A national lockdown created 15,000,000 unemployment claims in the past weeks. We have a few tips for anyone that finds themselves on the job hunt.
Companies are laying off and furloughing employees at an unprecedented rate and there are tens of millions of people thrust into a position they weren’t expecting only a month ago: an active, urgent job search.
The Hirewell team is doing our part, as best we can. We’re offering two sessions of our Executive Candidate Marketing service to anyone who needs assistance, no charge. Two weeks in, the demand has unfortunately exceeded our expectations. We are doing our best to keep up and have created a form to better track responses (sorry to anyone that hasn’t gotten a response) Click here for more information.
The first question we heard is always “where do I start?” You can only control what’s in your control, so just start moving forward, one foot after another.
Personally, here are the first 5 things I’d do:
1. Clear your head.
As much as you need to jump right into it, deal with your emotions first, otherwise they’ll hold you back. Take a day or two to get yourself into a headspace where you’re ready to take on any challenges and execute.
2. Tell your inner circle.
Family, friends, and the professional colleagues you know will go to bat for you. You don’t need to have your ‘narrative’ on lock yet (more on that in a minute) with this crew, in fact talking to them will help you figure that out. And you may find out quickly in these conversations that you have more options than you realize.
3. Sort out your finances.
Money is why we do this whole ‘work’ thing, after all. Figure out exactly how much runway you have. Set a budget, get a handle on your spending, and determine exactly how much time you have to find something and if you need to get a side gig in the meantime.
4. Construct your narrative.
Who are you, what do you want to do, and why are you the best to do it. This is the story you’ll be prepared to tell to anyone who will listen, be it in a networking conversation or formal interview. Put this into motion in your resume, LinkedIn, social media, etc. (More on this to come, we promise.)
5. Create a plan.
You’re going to create a multichannel approach (applying to jobs, reaching out to old contacts, talking to recruiters, networking your way into new companies, etc.) and it’s going to be a daily effort. With the amount of active job seekers, it’s absolutely a numbers game. You’ll need to stay mechanical in your approach to ensure your activity level is where it needs to be, and that you’re knocking interviews out of the park when they happen. Success in this doesn’t come by accident, it comes from developing a plan of attack.
And remember, we’re here if you need us. Feel free to reach out to contact@hirewell.com.
