Job Hunting During a Global Pandemic



Just a few months ago, I’m betting that the conversations around your holiday dinner table did not at all include a serious pandemic or the global economy taking a gut punch as a result of pretty much everyone on the planet being told to “stay home”.

Well…here we are, watching unemployment claims being filed at a pace well beyond anything in history, duct taped “X’s” on the floors of grocery & drug stores to help ensure we don’t get too close to each other, cancellation of basically every imaginable event, including church services, along with the delay or cancellation of the seasons for all professional and amateur sports. Some experts are predicting that unemployment might go as high as 32%, which is nearly ten times what it was in January…just three months ago. If your employer isn’t included on the list of essential businesses, you’ve most likely been furloughed.

Although none of that news breeds much confidence, it’s not time to throw your hands up in the air and give up. There are a growing number of companies that are hiring…they’re not hiring a few or a couple dozen employees…some of these companies need hundreds or thousands of workers…NOW!

Beyond companies like Amazon, many of the “essential” businesses, and those in their supply chain, need extra help. I was recently in a grocery store and the cashier told me that, “this is my first day”. I asked her what she did previously and was told she had worked in a restaurant. Since her employer was forced to close its doors and only do take out, she was furloughed. But, that new cashier told me she found the grocery store job in just one day. When I asked what she was planning on doing when the restaurants were again allowed to open fully for business, she told me that would be a decision to be made at that time – One door closes, another door opens.

So, what are your plans? It is entirely possible that the vast majority of furloughed/laid off workers will return to their jobs once the COVID-19 storm has passed and States feel safe in allowing their citizens “out of the house”.

But, what if you don’t get called back? Maybe, this is a good time to do what that new cashier did – start looking for opportunities right now. Have a “Plan B”.

Thus, just in case you are looking for a new job or just putting together a “Plan B” for yourself, here are some suggestions to get you started:

Get Organized
  • Do a self-assessment of your skills and traits. Be brutally honest with yourself and rank from strongest/best to needs improvement.
  • Perform a “Personal Brand” test. First, do a self-assessment. Choose five words that you feel best identify you/your personal brand and rank from strongest to weakest. Then, ask several people – who you know will provide you with candid/honest feedback – to do the same. Then, compare your self-assessment against theirs. Identify the gaps and develop a plan to close those gaps. Their perception of you is the reality of your personal brand.
  • Search online job sites to get an idea of what types of jobs are posted with which your skills and traits line up very well.
  • Research, thoroughly, employers offering the job opportunities that you wish to pursue. For most companies, there is more than enough information online to include them on your “targeted employer” list or eliminate them from serious consideration.
  • Use LinkedIn to research the people already employed by the companies on your target list. You can use the search filters LinkedIn provides to narrow your search to find those currently employed in the area of the company that you wish to join. Try to determine which of those employees the boss is, and then determine when that person became the boss. Let’s say that was five years ago…then, look through the profiles of all employees in that group that have been there for five years or less. Focus on their past experiences, certifications, accomplishments…anything that will give you a clue as to what that hiring manager is looking for in a candidate. Remember, all of these folks WERE hired by the current manager.

 Customize your Approach/Story
  • Based on all of the information gathered during the “Getting Organized” phase, you’ll clearly see that each company, each hiring manager is seeking something different – even for jobs with the same title. Position descriptions will vary slightly to significantly, because each hiring manager has his/her own vision of what makes a candidate “the one”. So, you’ll need to customize your approach to line up with each different opportunity sought. Whether it’s your networking dialog, your resume or how you answer interview questions.
  • Connect the dots between your skills and traits and the needs/requirements of the targeted employer.

Make the Most of Social Media
  • Join relevant groups on LinkedIn and contribute discussions that will catch the eyes of hiring managers who are using LinkedIn to find candidates. You can also attract attention by commenting on the posts of others.
  • Write your own blog or contribute comments/feedback to other relevant blogs. This is a great way to demonstrate your knowledge of specific topics, situations, industries, etc.

 Get Creative

You are the CEO of your job search. The degree of success is determined by decisions you make…the most important of which is how much time you are willing to dedicate to your search. Doing this right takes a lot of time, which is why most people don’t find the type of success they are seeking. Ideally, you should be spending many days just doing the types of research suggested in this post, before writing one word in a resume.

Push yourself to look at job opportunities/industries different than what you now have/where you were previously. You may be surprised regarding how many of your skills & traits will successfully transfer.

When this COVID-19 storm does pass, we’re going to wake up to a very different world. The “new normal” for employees and employers may take a year or more to truly shake out.

Use this time now to get organized, develop a strong social media presence and be ready to go after something currently open or execute your Plan “B”.

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