Top 5 Job Searching Tips for The Covid Era

Men on Employment Line (Unsplash)

It’s easy to get frustrated and lose hope that you will find a good job when you have been out of work for a long time. This is especially true during the current Coronavirus crisis. The important thing is never to lose hope and never give up! There are multiple platforms where you can find excellent job opportunities as a professional.

Here are five tips for your continued job search:

Networking

The importance of networking can never be overstated. Every person you might meet could be a potential contact for a future position somewhere. Be sure and get to know people and be likable.

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 that has a position that suits you. Know exactly what their job is there and if they can 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 ask for a favor does not mean that they need to be in a rush to get it done.

Be Persistent

Again, don’t be bashful. What will you lose if the decision has already been made to reject your application? Once you have applied for a position, follow up. Try to find out who is working in that office or in charge of that department. At the very least, call their human resources department to see if they even have your resume.

If you see the same company listing the same position again, apply again, as long as they never send you a rejection. Remember, they may have never even seen your resume the first time you applied. Companies get overwhelmed with job applications. The people handling job searches don’t have time to review every resume. Yours might have been at the bottom of the pile or below the spot where they stopped redoing them.

So, you 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.

Suppose a position fits you, and you want to apply for it. Don’t ever be discouraged by a lack of the required prior experience. Such things are generally listed to weed out unscrupulous candidates. You can never know if the company will accept someone who might fit the position but has 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 positions that 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 over a few weeks old, you still have nothing to lose by sending in your resume. It could be that they have not filled the position. Also, many times, a person may get hired and 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 can use a specially tailored resume that matches the job opening.

Apply Directly

As frequently as possible, apply to a company directly. If it has a job opening, 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, visit that company’s website. It will always look better if you apply independently 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 Friday. So you keep on going. You never stop, and you never give up. As disheartening as it may be to keep getting rejected and not even hear back from the company to which you applied most of the time, you must persevere.

You need to get a job. You can keep 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 poaching someone else’s employee, even if only subconsciously.

Take the job, even below your skill set and experience level. It always looks good to show that you are willing to work and do any work. Employers will know that they can rely on you to do the job, whatever it is. 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.