Guide to a Post Pandemic Job Search

Job search has always been complicated and often daunting. Job search during (and post) pandemic is even more so.

Everyone involved is scrambling to adjust to the new challenges that have come with the pandemic.

Below you’ll find some specific advice.

 

Post-COVID-19 Job Search: What’s Changing

Social Media Is More Important Than Ever

According to research by Jobvite, cited by Scott Steinberg in a CNBC article:

“84% of recruiters are currently adapting their hiring processes to facilitate remote exchanges. Of them, 58% are now using social media networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Instagram to connect with potential hires, while nearly half are increasing the number of postings that they make on these services to advertise open positions.

A growing army of recruiters are likewise turning to videoconferencing solutions to screen and interview candidates as well, with as many as 8 in 10 now making it a key part of the hiring process. Digital communications tools such as artificially intelligent job outreach programs and text messaging are also increasingly being implemented as a means of connecting with candidates. But 55% of recruiters are also falling back on phone calls to source potential hires.”

Here are 4 LinkedIn things you should be doing to keep your personal brand top-of-mind:

• Posting updates regularly
• Uploading videos to your updates and adding videos to your profile
• Updating the content in your profile regularly
• Staying active with LinkedIn Groups

Video Conferencing and Video Interviewing are the THING!

Tech columnist for USA TODAY Jefferson Graham says that, just like in in-person meetings, “for video meetings, the eyes have it.”

People often are not aware of how poorly they come across:

“We think we’re making eye contact in a video meeting because we’re looking at the faces on our screens and responding accordingly. But the camera isn’t on the screen, it’s usually above it, and sometimes even below.

Neither is flattering, and the bottom approach, seen on some laptops, is about as unflattering as they come. Laptop magazine referred to the camera on some of these models as a “nose cam,” Horror film directors have used the technique in films like “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” to scare the “yell” out of you.”

To overcome this predicament, videographer Larry Becker notes in the article what he does to stay focused correctly:

“He makes a small sticky note with the topics he wants to cover from the call and pastes it right atop the webcam. He makes sure that it’s a small sticky note, ‘so I’m not breaking eye contact and obviously looking away. ‘The bigger the sticky note, the more obvious it is you’re looking away.’”

Job Interviewing Looks and Works Differently

As noted above, you’ll need to prepare for video interviewing and learn best practices.

Not only will you need to prepare to answer the traditional interview questions, and know what questions YOU should ask. You’ll also need good answers to the workplace challenges COVID 19 has brought.

Career coach Barbara Schultz suggests that you position yourself in interviews as someone who can help the employer solve some of the problems associated with the pandemic.

Here are some job interview questions she says you can expect to be asked now:

• Have you ever worked remotely? If so, what changes did you make to adapt to an at-home work environment?
• What aspects about working from home did you enjoy, and which did you find most challenging?
• When working remotely, how do you organize your day?
• What ways would you communicate with your manager and co-workers in a remote setting?
• What are your thoughts on how our teams can collaborate? And how can we interact with clients safely once we return to work?
• How have you handled the stress of Coronavirus?
• What would you personally do to maintain safety in the workplace?
• What life lessons have you learned during the pandemic?
• Will you be willing to work in an office again when/if working remotely is no longer required?

Interview Questions to Be Careful Answering

An article on Career Contessa warned that some interviewers may fish for personal information they’re not entitled to by asking questions that tiptoe on the line of legality, such as:

• How is home life during the pandemic?
• Where is your home office located?
• What does your home life look like right now?
• Do you have any childcare or caretaking needs?
• Are you overly concerned about your own health?

Post Corona Job Search Tips for 50 Somethings

In an article with tips for 50+ job seekers, career coach Dorothy Dalton put it plainly:

“One of the most vulnerable groups in this, or any other, recession is the 50 somethings . . . they are simply more expensive than junior employees. Severing a few senior execs or older employees can make an instant and positive impact on any organisation’s salary bill. Additionally, at this level employees are also costly in terms of perks and benefits, with company cars, phones, laptops, health and pension plans and longer holidays etc, all contributing to reducing a company’s overheads when they no longer work for the organisation.”

She detailed a number of things 50+ job seekers should consider:

• Get emotional support
• Set up coping strategies
• Take stock
• Update your resume
• Identify your transferable skills
• Update/upgrade your professional skills
• Take interim assignments
• Tap into your network
• Get comfortable with social media
• Assess your physical image
• Stay fit and healthy
• Prepare for the new kind of interviews
• Be willing to relocate
• Do some volunteer work
• Become an expert
• Determine whether self-employment is right for you
• Be willing to change tactics

You Need to Become Relevant Again

We all know how much the pandemic has disrupted so many aspects of our personal lives. It’s also disrupted businesses and industries.

The better you position yourself as someone who is prepared to help your target companies thrive through disruption, the more valuable you’ll appear to them. Begin by identifying the particular disruption impacting them.

Marc Miller of Career Pivot put it this way:

At Automated Systems, we have a team of recruiters to guide you during the challenges of interviewing.   If a position on our Careers Page interests you, don’t hesitate to reach out and apply.  Our team of experts will work with you every step of the way through our job placement process.

References: Executive Career Brand, 2021, Meg Guiseppi, Accessed July 20, 2021, www.unsw.edu