Whether you have been subject to corporate downsizing, have taken time off to tend to family, or are voluntarily taking time between jobs, continuing education may be just what you need to learn new skills that will be valuable to your next employer. Even if you seem to be well-qualified for another job in your field, many professions are rapidly changing and your skills may not be as current as they could be even after a few months of unemployment.
Benefits of Continuing Education and Professional Development When You Don’t Have a Job
One of the hardest parts of being unemployed can be figuring out how to fill your days. Once the routine of a full-time job is gone, you may find it easy to spend your days pursuing other interests, taking care of children, or binging on Netflix, or you may find that you miss the sense of fulfillment that came from working with a team or completing important business tasks.
In the middle of the often-discouraging experience of job-searching, continuing education courses can be a positive part of your day that keeps you going and balances out the rejection and waiting to hear back about an application. No matter what else happens, continuing education courses give you one positive step to move forward in your career by learning something new.
There are few things more beneficial to your career than continuing education. You can never learn too much, and you never know when skills learned in continuing education may be exactly what you need for your next job or may make you stand out from other candidates. You can also take continuing education courses that focus on soft skills like leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, which will be helpful for any future job you have.
One thing that often happens when you are in between jobs is that you begin to forget or lose the skills that you were used to using on a daily basis. Your mindset changes to focus on your current reality and make it harder to re-enter the workforce when you get another job or want to resume your career. Continuing education will keep you connected to the mindset you had when you were employed and make re-adjustment easier when the time comes.
Networking is another way that continuing education courses are valuable. Whether you are actively looking for a new job or just keeping up your skills until you are ready to look again, continuing education courses can be a place to meet people in your field who may be able to point you toward jobs as well as being professional colleagues that you can learn from and talk with.
CCSU offers continuing education courses that cover many topics, career fields, and soft skills. Courses are affordable and some even lead to certifications that employers want employees to have. View our open courses to see which courses interest or benefit you as you look to continue your education while between jobs.