With COVID-19 sending everyone inside you may wonder what to do at home with all the extra time. Instead of being lost in the sea of appalling news and posts on social media, turn your focus back to work. With multiple live events going interactive, and so many more opportunities already available online, now is the time to move forward and improve your resume. It is how you can improve your abilities or gratis learn new ones.

Attend online events

Events that wouldn’t usually be accessible online during the quarantine are now being offered digitally. Large events like Salesforce Connections and the Adobe Summit are not only virtual this year but also free to attend, making them available to you regardless of location or budget.

To make the most of any virtual case, treat each one as you would if you were actually attending:

Check-in with the participants before, during and after

Post the event on social media using the hashtag

Plan ahead to find seminars and talks that will be of greatest interest to you

Co-working

Coworking isn’t just a way to combat loneliness; it’s also a perfect way to learn from others and gain the feedback you need to complete your course or refresh your resume with new certifications. To Keep You Honest and Focused, consider a Virtual Accountability Partner, virtual coworking to keep each other company when working on their respective projects. That followed was two hours of crazy creativity that none of us had ever done anything like this.

Find a mate, and inspire each other to make constructive use of this time. Share, know, and get the job done so you’ll be able to take your career to the next level once you return to your workplace.

Take a free online course

With the millions of courses at your disposal, it’s easier than ever to advance your education and career skills, thanks to sites like Lynda, Udemy, Skill share and much more. Despite COVID-19 holding you home, you’ve got the time to start and finish a course now. What’s more, other course sites also offer discounts to make learning accessible in quarantine to anyone.

When you’re not sure which skills to concentrate on, read work ads for the role you want to take. A great place to start is because of the skills that you lack.

Attend webinar

Webinars are a great way to learn in a short period of time, typically 60 minutes, more about a specific topic. Perhaps better, somebody’s leading them, sometimes in real-time, so you can ask questions and enjoy the atmosphere in the classroom. While there are hundreds of organizations and brands offering webinars if you are looking for free options, here are a couple to start with:

• Career Confidential

• Career Contessa

• eLearning Industry

• Hubspot Webinars

Get a new certification

Take webinars a step further and walk away with certification after your learning is completed. Being certified indicates you’ve passed a certifying body test, which you can then use while looking for a position or applying for a promotion. There are several qualification choices, programs and organizations to choose from, depending on your industry. For instance:

• You can be able to graduate in marketing with Google Analytics, Google Advertising, Salesforce, Hubspot and Facebook.

• In IT, you can get project management, risk, routing or architecture certifications.

• You will become a Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP), Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP), and much more on sales.

As when selecting a digital course, by testing job ads find the areas where the Career Skills are lacking. Specifications often exist about the certifications required or preferred. Check the organization’s credentials to ensure credibility when choosing a certifying agency to work with. You can even check with your boss or a coworker if you’re unsure.

Why you need to learn new skills now

Using this extra time to improve your curriculum vitae and learn new skills to help you become better at what you do. If you can go back to work, you can take advantage of these new career skills to boost, encourage, or even assume a new job, helping you to make the most of this uncertain period.