Safely navigating your career through the corona crisis is not something you do on your own

The job market was hit hard

The corona crisis has a significant impact on the labor market. It does not impact all profiles to the same extent. However, groups that have felt invulnerable in the past are likewise affected. Among the higher educated, the impact is even greater than average. The hardest hit are academic bachelor’s degrees.

For the first time in almost five years, job opportunities are looking worse than the year before. Positive growth has stopped. The number of vacancies is declining, particularly in the business and financial sectors, but also in social services. KULeuven university saw a decrease in the number of vacancies in the database it offers to its students.
Employers are less keen to attend the annual job fairs – although the forced switch to an online approach will undoubtedly also play a role in this.

Perhaps you started your studies fully convinced that you would be selected for a position before you even graduate. Things are not quite turning out that way.

Precisely this year, the Flemish government decided to tighten the conditions for career coaching and significantly reduce the budget. The number of hours of coaching per worker is reduced. And above all: from now on you must be able to present 7 years of work experience in order to be eligible for coaching without having to bear the full cost yourself.

That is unfortunate. Certainly at a time when the facts show that finding a job that matches their profile is not an easy task at all for young people. Getting your career on the right track sometimes requires very deliberate redirection. Perhaps you started your studies fully convinced that you would be selected for a position before you even graduate. Things are not quite turning out that way. Or perhaps you made a hasty choice during that first application, possibly under pressure from your parents, loved one, partner or the drive to stand on your own two feet?

Working on job satisfaction

Sometimes that first job does not quite match the rosy picture painted at job fairs or employment interviews? Or is it just difficult to ‘find your way’ through a succession of application letters or within the organization where you are working?

As a member you can therefore, even as a recent graduate, turn to the ACV to get on track for the career of your dreams. Your job satisfaction, this is what it’s all about for us. Regardless of your right to career vouchers from the Flemish government, our Center for Career Development offers robust coaching in the shaky labor market. The career coaches developed a specific range to help young people who do not yet have 7 years of professional experience on their way. This range includes a mix of thinking exercises and assignments, but also individual coaching discussions that link the ‘desire’ to find the right job to tips and ways to get there.

What is the best way to go about your search? What can you change about your current job? How do you best handle that difficult conversation with your manager? What competencies do you still need that may lie just outside your comfort zone? In short, how can you evolve your career the way you want it to?

Curious about this opportunity to more closely align your career with the career of your dreams? Our coaches are happy to tell you more during an initial meeting. You will then receive online access to the thinking exercises and reflection assignments. You mutually agree on the three individual coaching moments. This can take place at the office or online, but also during a walk. The choice is yours.

This free offer only applies to ACV members. All information via

www.loopbaanontwikkeling.be