Are you losing faith in your job search?
Things were smooth sailing last January. Maybe you were projecting your best year ever! Then (in what seems like out of nowhere, and now impossible to imagine life without), the pandemic hit and sales halted. Now you’re worried about landing a job during COVID collecting unemployment benefits for the first time in your life wondering how you will get back what you lost. Does this story resonate?
Job hunting is hard. But job hunting during a pandemic is harder. Interviews are getting canceled. Offer letters are being delayed. The hiring process has slowed down. Competition around jobs has increased significantly. The overall stress of job searching is amplified with COVID.
No one ever expected to be job searching during a pandemic.
Your overall search for a job will most likely take longer than normal.
That does not mean job searching is impossible.
The most important thing to remember as the pandemic continues–Negativity can ruin a job search.
Negativity coupled with impatience won’t get you anywhere. If you don’t take the time to value the effort you put into your job search, you won’t see the results you expect. Know that it is going to take longer, but know that if you stay motivated, your efforts will pay off.
Advice on how to find a job during COVID
Paul Dan is a perfect example of this. He provides some insightful advice and when it comes to job landing during COVID.
“COVID doesn’t decrease your chances of finding a job. As a matter of fact, it can be used to make you more productive, and potentially increase your chances. Not leaving the house allowed me to save a lot of time and I put all this time towards finding a job. The more time you spend looking for jobs, training your skills, networking with people, completing certificates, and creating projects, the higher your likelihood to find a position. There are plenty of companies still hiring and a good idea would be to look for positions at companies that are not laying people off right now.”
Karina Cuenca explains what worked for her during her job search.
“Persistence. Applying every single day multiple times a day if I could. Even while on vacation I didn’t stop the application process. Believe it or not, the job I found was something I lined up while I was on vacation. This was a big lesson for me, showing me that if I’m on a break and I feel like I haven’t set something up, then there is no harm in putting some time towards this goal, you never know what opportunities you miss by missing even a single day. Also, using LinkedIn worked very well for me. I have some presence on LinkedIn and when I reach out to employers or recruiters over this platform I have a good response rate. From there I would ask questions about the company, what skills they’re looking for, what I need to work on to be with them, and anything else that would come to mind in regards to the position.”
According to Indeed.com, one of the top five most stressful events in a person’s life is experiencing job loss. But there are many ways to advance yourself towards finding a job. Positivity, patience, and motivation are everything during the COVID-19 job search.
Free COVID job searching resources
Indeed.com provides plenty of resources for optimizing your job searching:
- Update and upload your resume to Indeed.com and create a free account
- browse for currently-available jobs on Indeed
- Narrow your job search by using the left-hand filtering panel or by clicking “Advanced Job Search” next to the “Find Jobs” button.
- Explore virtual resources (indeed live, job cast, virtual hiring events tips).
Linkedin.com has regularly updated pages on landing a job during COVID:
- Check their “who’s hiring right now” page
- Learn how to protect your mental health while job seeking
- Prepare for your video interview
- Focus on networking
Final Thoughts on Landing a Job During COVID
Persistence is everything during a job search. Using your resources is everything during a job search. But above all, your attitude is absolutely everything during a job search. Stay motivated, lean into the process, and opportunities will fall into place.