A job search during a pandemic almost feels like swimming in uncharted waters. How long has it been since you applied for a job without getting a response?
While some people struggle to find work, others consider themselves to be lucky if they get and prepare for an interview appointment. As many businesses shut down, the prospects of finding a job become slimmer that ultimately leads to even tougher competition.
Whether you’re a fresh graduate or an entry-level professional, here are five tips to ease a job search during a pandemic.
Online job boards help students and graduates to find career opportunities. Many of these websites, however, don’t connect job hunters with local and international employers.
When you sign up you’ll do more than just submit job applications to different employers:
The extensive database provides essential data about companies in diverse sectors. Plus, you’ll not only access job openings in the Philippines but also in over 10 countries.
An established online presence also requires you to put targeted keywords in your social media profiles. Here are some examples of potential headlines on LinkedIn to reflect searches done by recruiters:
Remember to keep your social media profiles as updated as possible. Most recruiters rely on social media accounts to find out more about a potential candidate. In other words, remove everything that can indicate unprofessional behavior.
Your job search doesn’t just begin and end with submitting résumés on job portals. Estimate the time that it would take you from submitting a resume to signing a job offer. Some companies are known to have a tedious hiring process.
BDO Unibank, Inc., for instance, takes one to six months to fill graduate job vacancies. If you’re interested in working for the Philippine government, you may also need to wait up to six months before landing a civil service job.
For this reason, you should carefully study an employer’s hiring process to understand how the company sifts through countless applications.
Once you become familiar with the recruitment process, the next thing to do is setting clear and achievable goals:
By setting clear goals, you won’t end up feeling like going in circles with your job hunt. Understand that the circumstances for a job search during a pandemic are unprecedented. When you do so, you won’t easily give up and accept whatever fate may bring you.
After months of being in quarantine, how did you spend most of your free time? Adding microcredentials to your CV will be a huge boost for a job search during a pandemic.
These credentials include short courses about skills sought after by recruiters. If you’re planning a career shift in the tech sector, many jobs don’t require applicants to finish a four-year university degree.
Google is an example of a tech company that recognizes the importance of job-ready applicants through microcredentials. A $300 short course, for instance, can be a good substitute for a computer science degree.
Take note that most employers in the Philippines still prefer degree holders. Engaging in short courses primarily elevates your worth as a potential hire, and these shouldn’t undermine the importance of completing a college or university degree.
You’ll need to overcome your discomfort about online interviews to be successful in a job search during a pandemic. Health and safety restrictions led companies to depend on virtual career fairs and video conference calls to fill open positions.
Look out for virtual career fairs hosted by your alma mater or other schools. For example, Far Eastern University became the first academic institution in the Philippines to launch a university-wide, interactive online job fair.
This goes without saying, but many job applicants still can’t wrap their heads around the concept of an online job interview. Most of us have been accustomed to in-person interviews, but it remains important to cope with changing norms.
Remember these rules for your next online interview:
It’s important to manage your expectations for a job search during a pandemic. At the same time, you also need to define a realistic timeline for landing a job.
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