You’ve lost your job because of COVID-19. Now what?

Although stressful and overwhelming to be without solid income during one of the most trying times in modern human history, the distance to your next full-time job can be shorter than you might think. What you need is a solid work plan and patience.

Before the hopeful parts begin, we have to come to terms with the harsh facts.

Finding A New Job During Covid-19 Might Be Challenging

I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. COVID-19 has made it considerably more difficult to find a new job. Partly this is because more companies than not have healed their hiring, but also because some industries do not provide adequate conditions. This last part applies to the restaurant industry in the US.

It’s daunting, but don’t lose hope. Companies are adapting to the logistics of remote work as well as the radically altered circumstances due to COVID. Industries are regrouping and we’re already seen early signs of restarts and growth. This means having to wait and prepare for when more and more job postings hit the water. The biggest challenge is going to be the sheer volume of people in direct competition with each other for the same position.

Acting fast and first is most important, because it’s a first-come-first-served kind of world out there. An added pressure comes from the negative impact of having a big gap in your resume even if it’s because of the pandemic.

Here Are 5 Ideas You Can Apply

1. Build A Strong Network

The pandemic has isolated us and it’s been proven to have erased a whole breed of social contacts based on the fact we’re deprived of spontaneity. As we’ve still closed our ranks, for the time being, the burden falls on our established network to provide us with leads. Now is the best time to send out feelers for new opportunities through friends, relatives, and acquaintances in thriving sectors.

A strategic advantage to this approach is the fact that you’re getting inside info on the position and the company, which helps you better prepare for the application and interview portion. You can also count on some internal endorsement from your contact on the inside.

Perhaps the biggest advantage has to do with timing. Ideally, you want to be in the first volley of resumes. You never know how far down the log recruiters will go. Plus, being among the first makes it easier for HR to remember you.

2. Update Your CV To Look Professional But Also Trendy

The best policy on CVs is to keep a live document, which you edit as you progress in your career on your current job and add your accomplishments over time. This way you’re not forgetting anything next time you apply for an open position. I’m not as meticulous. I imagine many others aren’t as well, so there’s the next best thing – set aside a day to perform a deep dive on your recent career chapter and refresh your CV.

I’d also argue that you don’t need to add everything you’ve ever accomplished to your CV. Yes, a long CV might sound impressive in your head, but for a recruiter, all it does is diminish valuable skills and achievements by drowning them in everything else. Edit your CV whenever it makes sense to do so based on your application. Tell a story with your past experience and qualifications that convince their HR to give you a chance.

3. Be Active On LinkedIn

LinkedIn gets the job done if you know how to use it. In the before times, LinkedIn might not have been as important since there were such things as conferences, trade shows, seminars, and networking lunches. Now we’re all digital for the foreseeable future, so update your profile picture and revamp your profile, because the bulk of your networking for creating new connections will take place online.

But don’t be a try-hard. You don’t want to do the most and spam everyone in your network. Post relevant articles on your feed. Make sure you engage with content shared by your connections – for bonus points, companies’ pages you want to work for. That’s one way to get noticed so when you do submit your resume, your name is already familiar.

Just do it. Sensibly.

4. Use An RSS Feed Reader

RSS feed readers are essential in regards to timing and acting swiftly. Advanced readers have come a long way in what they’re able to accomplish. They’ve become productivity tools for businesses, but also make for effective tools in job hunting. Inoreader can keep you well-informed in real-time and also provides you with a browser extension for you to check on updates as they arrive in your dashboard. Of course, there are other benefits:

• Directly receive new job postings from job sites based on your criteria.
• Follow hashtags on social media platforms without having to be on there.
• Set up notifications so that you receive some sort of alert when a job posting from your dream company is published.
• Follow your dream company’s activity online.

5. Subscribe To Companies’ Websites

Why search for an A job, when you can be searching for a job? The pandemic has restricted the job market, but that doesn’t mean you should be satisfied with any old job (unless you have to but that’s a different conversation). You can still hold out hope that you can land the job you’ve always dreamed of. You probably even have your list of dream companies. That’s a good starting point.

Through your RSS feed reader, subscribe to the companies’ feeds that make sense for your career path. Inoreader can help you follow more than just their official blog. You can subscribe to their newsletters, Instagram, Facebook page, LinkedIn page, Twitter page. The same applies to the high-ranking personnel working there as well.

Receive live updates as they happen and receive notifications whenever a post matches with your keywords such as job opening, a new position, help needed.

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