Job Searching During (And After) A Pandemic
Job Searching During (And After) A Pandemic
There are two words that can be used to describe what you need if you are searching for a job during a pandemic: Patience and Tenacity.
From the beginning of the pandemic until now as we are slowly reopening, companies and recruiters have been experiencing unique challenges with a job market paralyzed by the healthcare crisis. Service industries and businesses with front-end workers have experienced a boost in productivity and hiring while every other job sector is trying to figure out how to serve customers, keep employees safe and change how they do business for the future.
Experts are forecasting that employers will face what has been named, “The Great Resignation.” As people have experienced challenges within their jobs due to the pandemic, it has caused them to reevaluate what is crucial to their work/life balance and overall happiness. This has led many to quit their jobs or to look for jobs more aligned with their personal satisfaction and career goals.
All of this is leading to companies having to figure out new ways to do business and impress potential employees. They have to figure out how to recruit, how to onboard a new person and how to keep all of their employees safe whether that means remotely or in the office. They also have to determine what new hires want and what they are able to offer.
The job market is slowly opening up, but with the rapid changes and increased amount of job seekers this leads to a very uncertain job search. There is no way to gauge how long it will take and you can’t depend on what worked in the past.
However, there are some things you can do to stack the odds in your favor:
Career Search Tips
Don’t depend on an Indeed-type website to help you find a job, especially now. You are up against many laid-off employees with years of experience. Your job search has to be targeted.
You need to identify the companies that you are interested in working for and go to their career website. Many more available jobs will be shared on their website because it’s free for them to post them.
When a position is posted outside of the company website, the company has to pay money for them to be posted. They will only spend money if they need to hire multiple people for the same position or if the position is so specialized that they don’t think the right person will organically find their way to the company’s website. There has to be a return on investment that makes it worth spending the money to advertise the position.
Follow-up
People who are searching for a job should keep a detailed notebook. They should keep track of the positions they apply to and mark the date applied. If you had a conversation with someone, you should write their name and contact information and plan to follow-up with them in a week.
This is where the patience and tenacity really come in. You shouldn’t assume that if you didn’t hear anything that you were eliminated from the recruiting process. If you had a good interview and then you hear nothing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they didn’t like you. There are many variables at play.
You should contact the recruiter or manager that you spoke with within a week to let them know you are still interested. You should continue looking for other jobs, but also keep following up with the company you are interested in until they tell you they have found someone else. The position may be on hold or they may not know how to proceed with hiring someone. But, when they are ready to make their move, they will know that you are still someone they can hire.
If you can be mindful of the challenges the company might be facing, then you can be the perfect hire for them. Follow the company on LinkedIn; read any industry-related news; be informed. By keeping up with the company, you are more likely to know when the best time is to reach out to the recruiter.
Mine your professional and personal network. Talk to people you know in a personal and professional capacity. Find out if they know about any openings at the company they are working for. Collaborate with other people who are looking too and share jobs with each other. Work together as you are all looking and running across jobs. If you interview with a recruiter and know someone better for the job, share their information with the recruiter as a referral. Get others working on your job search for you.
Searching for a job is not a simple act. It needs to be a strategy. You are going after thousands of dollars. That shouldn’t be something you take lightly or that you expect to simply fall into your lap.
You are the best person for the job. You just have to help them find you!
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