It is certainly more difficult, but it is not impossible.
The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the entire global economy, to say the absolute least. Many people have lost their jobs due to emergency cutbacks and layoffs, and many companies are tightening their belts instead of putting out their usual feelers. If you’ve lost your job due to the pandemic, well, you’re in for a rough time. But pandemic or not, you still need a job, and though they may be harder to find, you owe it to yourself to try.
Your very first order of business should be to apply for unemployment. If you have any reservations about being on unemployment, I suggest you put them aside. We’re in extenuating circumstances, and you can’t afford to be overly picky about a source of money. Visit your state’s unemployment benefits website and file right away. If you’ve got any questions, call your previous employer. Thankfully, unlike in normal circumstances, unemployment services are not requiring anyone to be actively looking for work to receive benefits. Granted, you still should be, but you won’t have to file reports or anything like that.
Once that’s squared away, make sure your resume is up to date. If you had your previous job for a long time, then it’s probably been a while since you’ve touched up your CV. Update it with your latest skills and work experience. There are resources online you can check for ideal formatting. If you maintain presences on sites like LinkedIn, make sure that’s up to date as well. You want your hiring profile to be consistent across all platforms, because picky businesses will definitely be checking them.
With all the prep done, it’s time to hit the pavement, metaphorically speaking. If you’ve got any reliable industry connections, send out some feelers, see if anyone needs some assistance. Check job listing sites like Indeed or GlassDoor for new listings. The one thing you don’t want to do is start desperately applying to anything and everything. I know I said you shouldn’t be picky, but you should still have some standards. It also may not hurt to ask your previous employer if they could hire you back once things stabilize, just to have a back-up plan. More than likely, this will take even longer than a typical job search, but keep at it, and an opportunity will present itself, provided you’re flexible enough to work outside your comfort zone.
