Top 5 Job Searching Tips for The Covid Era
Never lose hope and never give up!
Men on Employment Line (Unsplash)
It’s easy to get frustrated and to lose hope that you will find a good job when you have been out of work for a long time. This is especially so during the current Coronavirus crisis. The important thing is to never lose hope and never give up! Here are five tips for your continued job search.
Networking
The importance of networking can never be overstated. Every person who you might meet could be a potential contact for a future position somewhere. Be sure and get to know people and be likeable.
If needed, don’t be bashful about reaching out to such people. Just don’t annoy them by calling all of the time. Use your contacts strategically. See first if they are at a company which has a position that suits you. Know exactly what their job is there and if they can actually do anything to help you.
Only then should you reach out to someone. And then give them a week to get back to you. Don’t keep calling them back. Everyone is busy with their jobs and their families and just because you asked for a favor it does not mean that they need to be in a rush to get it done.
Be Persistent
Again, don’t be bashful. What have you got to lose if the decision has already been made to reject your application? Once you have applied for a position, follow up. Try and find out who is working in that office or is in charge of that department. At the very least, call their human resources department directly to see if they even got your resume.
If you should see the same company listing the same position again then apply for it again, as long as they never sent you a rejection. Remember, they may have never even seen your resume the first time that you applied. Companies get overwhelmed with job applications. The people who handle to job search don’t really have time to review every single resume that they get. Yours might have been at the bottom of the pile or anywhere below the spot at which they stopped redoing them.
So you obviously have nothing to lose by applying again.
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Law of Averages
This is a general rule in sales. Any successful salesman will tell you — never skip a possible lead! You can never know if that one will convert into a sale. And it is the same way when looking for a job.
If it is a position which fits you and which you would want to do then apply for it. Don’t ever be discouraged by a lack of required prior experience. Such things are generally listed to weed out the unserious candidates. You can never know if the company will accept someone who might fit the position, but with less experience than listed. Again, what have you got to lose?
Don’t just go through one or two websites with job listings. Look up companies directly and see if they have openings. Even if nothing is listed on the website there still might be some position which they need to fill. So call the human resources department directly and ask.
When you meet people, don’t be afraid to ask if they know about any openings where they work.
Even if the job listing is more than a few weeks old you still have nothing to lose by sending in your resume. It could be that they have still not filled the position. Also, many times a person may get hired and then not work out. Usually they try to let the new person go as quickly as possible when this happens. So the company might have filled the job once, but is already looking to fill it again.
Also, keep different versions of your resume, highlighting a different skill or experience on each. Then you will be able to use a specially tailored resume which matches the job opening.
Apply Directly
As frequently as possible, apply to a company directly. If it has a job opening then there should be a listing on its website. See if the website allows you to apply for the position.
People tend to apply through websites like LinkedIn. Whenever you see a job opening on LinkedIn, go to that company’s website. It will always look better if you apply on your own, instead of having your resume sent in by a third party.
This is also true for any job listing sites.
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Don’t Despair
As in sales, you can never know if you will make that sale in the morning, or at the end of the day; on Monday or on Friday. So you keep on going. You never stop, you never give up. As disheartening as it may be to keep on getting rejected, to not even hear back from the company which you applied to most of the time, you must persevere.
You need to get a job. In sales you can keep on selling more than your quota and make more money from commissions. The good news about looking for a job is that once you get one, you can stop looking. You do not need to continue selling yourself.
Bonus
Take any job offered, even a part time one. It is always easier to get a new job while employed. First, it makes you appear more desirable. Psychologically speaking, a prospective employer likes the idea of poaching someone else’s employee, even if only subconsciously.
Take the job even if it is below your skill set and level of experience. It always looks good to show that you are willing to work, willing to do any work. Employers will know that if needed they will be able to rely on you to do the job, whatever job. They will know that you are a person who does what is needed in your own life. They know that you will bring this to your career as well.
