9 Tips for Job-Hunting During a Pandemic

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Since March, our whole world has been thrown into disarray with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thousands of people have been made redundant, and hundreds of companies have been made bankrupt.

It’s hard to find a job at the moment.

I speak from experience, because here at NSC, both Dean and I have started new jobs in the past month.

I decided to hone in my general marketing role to a content-focused career at a marketing agency, rather than client-side.

Dean was unfortunately made redundant from a company that had to shut down, partly due to the pandemic – a place he’d been at for seven years, pretty much all of his working life.

Through determination, persistence, and, I’m sure, a few sprinklings of luck, we’ve both found fantastic roles, despite the issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

It’s taken us both a few months to get to where we are now, and along the way, we’ve picked up and developed some hints and tips on how to find a job during the Covid-19 pandemic:

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Don’t Panic

If you’ve just been made redundant, don’t panic.

Take a deep breath, centre yourself and remember that this, too, shall pass – in life, we all have temporary glitches, and, more often than not, we overcome them.

It can be heartbreaking when you’re leaving a job that means a lot to you, like ending a relationship, but put your mind to the future, for your next Big Love.

It’s tempting, particularly during a pandemic, to wallow when you get some bad news, gorging on junk food, watching endless repeats of Friends on Netflix, and drinking every day just because you can.

Okay, you can spend a day or two wallowing, because we all need a little self-pity every now and then, so set aside a couple of days of mourning, then get back on that horse.

Keep your mental wellbeing in check by eating healthily, exercising regularly, going outside for a breath of fresh air, and meeting up with friends (where appropriate).

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Update Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is probably my favourite social media platform at the moment (besides TikTok – I’m addicted!).

While I didn’t actively find a job via LinkedIn, I did find it useful to build my connections, spitball ideas with other people, and get new ideas.

Headline
First, make sure your headline best reflects your skills and experience in a couple of sentences, and add any tidbits you think might make you stand out from the rest.

For reference, my LinkedIn headline is: “Marketing Manager at Wired Media & co-founder of NSC | Author of 'A-Z of Marketing for Small Businesses' | Advocate for sustainability and equity across genders, races, backgrounds”.

I’ve essentially described myself in a few lines how I would want to be seen as by a prospective employer.

About
Your about page is basically an extension of your headline.

Go into more detail about your skills, passions, experience, education and qualifications, and anything you do in your spare time that links to your career.and professional life.

For example, my ‘About’ section reads:

“Experienced Marketing Manager with a demonstrated history of working in B2B marketing, specialising in digital marketing, copywriting and running short- and long-term integrated campaigns.

Skilled in reporting and analytics in addition to editing and managing website content.

An ambitious marketing communication professional with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Drama Studies and Professional Marketing Level 4 Certificate with CIM - always keen to learn.

Keen writer, producing articles on marketing, sustainability, creativity, entrepreneurship, and (occasionally) poetry for Medium.

Advocate for sustainable/green/eco-friendly living, alternatives to animal testing and equity across all walks of life.”

Make it personal to you, write in your voice, and try to keep it concise – if you can use fewer words, then cut it down.

Featured
This is a new feature from LinkedIn (at the time of writing), where you can flag recent articles and posts from LinkedIn as well as external media and links.

Here, you can highlight key pieces of work, thoughts, or research that you’ve done, to further showcase your professional worth.

For example, I’ve selected a few articles I’ve posted straight on LinkedIn along with a post linking out to an article I’d posted on Medium.

Experience
Make sure each role that you’ve had is listed in your experience, along with how long you worked there and what your job entailed.

I tend to write in bullet points for this section because it’s easier to read online rather than large blocks of text.

It can help to do some keyword research into your job role, to see if there are any certain phrases or terms that you should use.

Recommendations
If you’re looking for a new job, it can help to ask your current colleagues for recommendations on LinkedIn.

Just make sure you write one in return – keep it short and sweet, but personal to that individual.

Basically, with LinkedIn, if the platform is offering space for you to complete a section of your profile, you should complete it, and they’ll also offer more advice for each part.

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Create Content To Demonstrate Your Value

In the modern world of the internet, there are many ways to prove your expertise – through blog writing, video creation, Instagram posting, snippets on TikTok...

The content you produce is a measure of your value to potential employers.

It’s an excellent way to communicate real expertise in your field beyond a couple of lines on a CV.

Employers are looking for risk-free candidates, people they can trust to the job well. 

The best way to ease their mind is to prove your value, which you can do with the content you create in your own time.

It’s a much better way to spend your time rather than clicking refresh on your inbox waiting for a recruiter to reply.

Image courtesy of @hirmin via Unsplash.

Take New Headshots

People relate to people, you need to put a face to the skills.

You don’t need anything fancy, but you also don’t want to look like the serial killer like your passport photo (what is it with those booths that seem to turn everyone into serial killers?).

Your headshots are a great opportunity to show your personality – don’t go crazy, but a good balance of humour and professionalism can be a great way to connect with potential employers. 

Don’t forget to smile!

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Get Your Zoom Background on Point

In a virtual, pandemic-ridden world, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams are the new normal.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I watch the news, and they’re interviewing someone via Zoom on BBC Breakfast, I definitely judge that person by their background.

Plain background are so boring – it’s another opportunity to show off your personality, so add some relevant books, artwork, plants… make it interesting, but not distracting.

Make sure your room is tidy, no-one wants to see your dirty laundry or yesterday’s lunch in your job interview.

Make sure your lighting is good – test whether you should use your normal bulbs with your curtains drawn, or if natural light works better for you.

We’re trying out natural daylight bulbs at NSC central, and they’re working wonders for us!

Position your camera to help bridge the virtual gap – your camera (usually at the top of your laptop or monitor) should be level with your eye line.

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Optimise Your CV

Think about what your employer is looking for, and tailor your CV to align with that specific role.

If you’re applying for the same role in different sectors, or role with different specialities, it’s best to send out CVs that are personalised to those roles.

Have a pick and mix CV, with a bundle of skills that you select for each role, choosing the ones that are most relevant.

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Contact Recruiters

Reach out to recruiters – it’s literally their job to find you a job.

When you start speaking with a recruiter, they’ll have a chat with you about your skills, your experience and what you’re looking for in a new role, then they’ll get to work finding something that suits you.

Recruiters do also take a commission from employers when they find a new recruit, but they’re another sector that needs a little bit more support during the pandemic, so it’s well worth it for their expertise.

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Keep Busy

When you’re creating new content that showcases your skills, start publishing it in places potential employers might find it – even places like Medium can be great to generate a little extra income.

It can also help to comment on articles and social media posts by your professional peers or role models, and even companies you’d like to work for/with, plus it shows your interest and enthusiasm.

Learn new skills, especially if you’re working in an industry that’s evolved recently, or isn’t as popular as it was before the pandemic.

Digital skills are imperative right now, so if you don’t know how to do something that could help you find a new role, learn about it.

Treat your job hunt like a traditional 9-5 – wake up at a reasonable hour (it’s tempting to lie in), get dressed, get to work, and take regular (reasonable) breaks.

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Reach Out

Make a list of your dream employers, and start reaching out to them.

Sure, it might be a bit of a longshot, but you never know what might come of it.

Try to see this as an opportunity to land your dream job, rather than a place of desperation.

It’s hard, I know, but perspective and positivity can really help your mental health in situations where you find yourself without a job.

Reach out to old colleagues and friends as well, even if it’s just on friendly terms rather than specifically for your job hunt – again, it’s brilliant for your mental health, and you never know what might happen.

Image courtesy of @christianw via Unsplash.

Make Connections

Another LinkedIn suggestion: make more connections.

This is something I love about LinkedIn – it’s easy to make more connections and build your following.

Make connections with employees of your dream companies, people you look up to in your industry, recruiters, and people you haven’t spoken to for years.

With you posting regularly on LinkedIn, you’ll get more eyes on your content, and increase the chances of someone seeing your worth in their business.

Those are our top tried-and-true tips for job-hunting during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We hope you find them useful, and that you find your dream job soon.

Even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, this too shall pass, and if you follow these tips, you’ll be all the better because of it.

If you have any other hints and tips on finding a job during the pandemic, feel free to share them in the comments below – we’d love to hear from you.