How To Get Back To Work Quickly During A Recession
Five Things You Should Be Doing Right Now To Get Back To Work Quick
You’re over the initial shock of being laid off, and you’ve done your homework by preparing all of the tools you’ll need to go out and find a job. Now it’s time to get back to work and quickly.
No one wants their job search to drag on for months, especially during a recession. In this section, we’ll explore five specific things you can do today to get yourself back to work in a hurry.
As of writing this, over 20 million Americans have lost their jobs due to the global Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Virtually all so-called “non-essential” businesses have been forced to close their doors, and the majority of Americans have been forced to shelter in place.
We’re in uncharted territory in many ways, facing new and unforeseen challenges in our private and professional lives. It is, without a doubt, the most sub-optimal time to be looking for a job in modern memory, far outstripping the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
Yet, here we are. Tens of millions of professionals looking for work in an environment where we can’t even congregate in groups, set up a business lunch, or attend a conference.
We all know that “job search networking,” (as broad of a term as that may be), is the best way to find new employment, especially if you’re a seasoned professional operating an executive level. But how can we network in this brave new world we find ourselves living in? It is a difficult question, to be sure.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “One by one, the incubators and co-working offices shut down, along with the coffee shops, convention centers, bars and restaurants that host thousands of business meetings and events every day. The abrupt end to networking has been one of the coronavirus’s brutal effects for job seekers, entrepreneurs, sales professionals and others who depend on face-to-face interactions with potential clients, employers, and customers.”
Go Online
With traditional networking opportunities shut down for the time being, job seekers have no choice but to go online to connect with potential employers. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social network that allows professionals to connect, share thoughts, and search for jobs, is the first place to start.
According to LinkedIn, member engagement such as commenting on and resharing posts, jumped 55% in the week ended March 24 from the year-earlier period.
The key to successful LinkedIn networking is to give more than you expect to receive. Start out by sharing articles you’ve written, or by commenting on other people’s posts and adding your thoughts or suggestions. The key is to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise without being obnoxious.
It has been said that job hunting is a full-time job in and of itself. This is true in more than one respect. In the best of times, job searches require a game plan, patience, determination, and ongoing effort. In times of crisis, however, it requires all of that plus one very important addition: strategy.
Here’s a hard truth: There is a job out there for you. You just have to find it, which requires more than a decent resume and a bit of luck. You need a clear, concise, and measurable strategy in order to locate your job and convince the employer to bring you on board. Here are a few ideas that can form the basis of your job hunt strategy.
- Nurture a targeted network: The first step in building a job hunt strategy is to surround yourself (albeit digitally) with the right people to help you reach your goals. According to Forbes Magazine, there are four groups you want to target right away:
- All your past colleagues, bosses, educators, employees, partners, and colleagues who you’ve ever enjoyed working with or learning from.
- People in all walks and fields who think highly of you and what you do, who’d happily give you recommendations and endorsements.
- Professionals who are moving and shaking in the field and contributing in an inspiring way.
- Thought leaders, authors, and experts who are important to follow to help you keep your finger on the pulse of new developments and trends in your field.
LinkedIn is the perfect platform for this type of networking. Reach out directly to professionals who fall into any or all of the above categories. Try to reach out to and connect with at least 50 people per week. It’s important to engage with them, ask them who else you should connect with, and whether or not you can help them with something they need.
- Build your personal brand: Personal branding isn’t just for the vain; it’s an essential step in helping to package your skillset and market it to a potential employer. Remember, you’re not asking someone for a job; you’re selling yourself, your skills, and your potential to them. Employers hire new team members the same way they buy consumer goods. Branding matters.
- Take yourself to market: Make it clear that you’re in the market for your next job. You need to let people know you’re valuable and available. Don’t wait for employers to contact you. Now is the time to be proactive.
Your goal is the same as the millions of other Americans who have recently been laid off. You want to get back to work, and fast. To do this, you need a strategy designed to help you stand out in the crowd. These tips can form the basis of that strategy and help to get you back to work faster.
Understand How To Use The Job Boards
There once was a time when job boards reigned supreme, and all a job seeker had to do was click through a few listings on Monster.com or a similar site in order to land their next job. Unfortunately, those days are over. The world has changed, and while job boards still have a role to play, they’re certainly no longer the “end all be all” for job seekers.
Job boards are simply not as effective anymore since there are social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter where you can pretty much network your way to the right contacts.
According to Work It Daily, “The fact is, job boards have a 2-4% effectiveness rate whereas networking has over a 50% effectiveness rate. Think about if you were a hiring manager: Would you be more likely to take time to interview a candidate you don’t know except for what’s been given on a submitted cover letter and resume or someone who’s been referred to you? A referral has much less risk, and that’s why networking has a higher success rate than job boards when it comes to securing a position.”
The problem is that most companies these days use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which automatically scan resumes for keywords and rank them based on the results. Each algorithm is different, and that means that unless your resume is optimized for that particular algorithm, chances are the hiring team will never lay eyes on it.
So how do you get around this ATS dystopia? The solution is to try to get in front of a real live human and tell your story.
Use The Job Boards For Inspiration
One of the best ways to utilize job boards is to look to them for inspiration and ideas. To do this, go about your search as you normally would. However, instead of just applying and sending your resume into the proverbial black hole, log into LinkedIn, and start to do some research.
Try and find either the hiring manager or someone in the department you’re trying to join. By connecting with them and expressing your interest in the role, you might be able to circumvent the ATS algorithm and get in front of a real person.
From there, you can connect and tell your story. Sometimes, you might be a fit for specific roles that don’t seem directly related to your prior experience. That’s okay because a diversity of backgrounds is often a strength.
We tend to think about a job search as a solitary endeavor, but that is a mistake. Job searches are most effective when you employ a group approach, expanding your network and leveraging the experience and connections they have. One way to do this is to take advantage of a job support group.
According to Forbes, “Job support groups, also known as job networking groups, come in many varieties: Some are online, others are local and in-person; a few combine the two. In certain cases, they’re initiatives facilitated by nonprofits and private membership groups like ExecuNet.com, that include networking groups as part of their offerings.”
These support groups can serve as safe places to share stories, experiences, and fears. Participants help each other grow, gain confidence, and practice essential skills like interviewing.
Searching for a job can be a discouraging process. As time goes on, it’s easy to begin to feel depressed and hopeless. At times like these, connectivity with other job seekers can make all the difference between exhaustion and enthusiasm. It takes guts to join any support group; to sit in a roomful of strangers and share your story. But if you’re wondering where you went wrong in your search, where to look for new contacts and how to make the most effective use of your time, a support group can help break you out of that rut and into a more productive job search.
In today’s age of crisis and uncertainty, layoffs feel all-too-commonplace. When people are laid off from the jobs they’re accustomed to due to nation-wide or global challenges like COVID-19, it can be difficult to simply find another comparable job.
For some workers, especially those who are farther along in their careers, refreshing and expanding their skill sets can be the secret to landing the next high-quality job.
This may feel like a daunting task, especially if you’re comfortable with the skill set you’ve developed over the years. However, discomfort is part of growth. Remember that you’re not alone in this crisis. Many others find themselves in need of job skill development in order to find gainful employment in this post-COVID-19 world.
While a lot of modern professions require college degrees, many of the jobs currently available do not. In fact, there are many unfilled positions that do not even require high school diplomas. And while this would appear to make these job openings ideal for those who may not have completed their formal educations, there are still many prerequisite skills needed in order for a job candidate to be considered.
For instance, quite a few of these open positions call for specialized skills that require specific training, like the ability to operate an 18-wheeler truck. Though, not all of these open positions come with such extensive requirements.
Without this specialized training, many unemployed individuals can’t join the workforce. This means that there is a large pool of untapped talent that is being neglected simply because of a lack of specialized training.