Job-seeking in a pandemic

Without stating the obvious, we are in a very different situation to this time last year. February 2020 was a world of opportunity, goals for the next 365 days of our lives were set, the jobs market was relatively safe, secure and consistent. We were in a position to plan. But we didn’t consider what we would do or how we would react to such a startling and drastic change to our lives.

One Year Later

Fast forward almost 12 months and as the familiar saying goes, we are where we are. FRS Recruitment have remained fully operational throughout all the various levels and restrictions that we have had to adapt to. Given the ever-changing landscape, I as a Recruiter have seen a common denominator when speaking to candidates who find themselves in the position of being unemployed, perhaps for the first time in their working lives.

That common denominator is burn out.

Outlook for 2021

Whilst the outlook for 2021 is strong as you will see in our 2020 Review and 2021 Trends Report, the first month of 2021 has proven we are still in a very stop/start market. It’s to be expected given the circumstances, but if you are in search of a new opportunity at present, instead of highlighting the things you should do, I’m going to make a point of the things you should not do.

7 'Don'ts' for Job-seeking in a Pandemic 

• Don’t be afraid to approach a recruiter. Be proactive and not reactive, schedule a call with us and discuss the next best step in your career. We can add some clarity to your goals and objectives. We also know the market inside out and are delighted to share with you.
• Don’t spend hours trawling job boards and company career pages – you will get frustrated, and quite frankly it’s mentally exhausting when you add in the other pressures that come along with job seeking.
• Don’t be put off by that small requirement listed in the advert that you may not have. Women in particular are less likely to apply to a role where they don’t meet all of the criteria, if it’s relevant to your background and skillset and the interest level is there, apply.
• Do not approach an online interview casually. Treat it as an event in the same way you would a face to face interview.
• Don’t panic. This is a big one and something I have seen a lot over the last few months. Easier said than done at times, and I fully appreciate that. But panic loses focus, which in turn loses energy, which in turn impacts on enthusiasm and well-being.
• Don’t be afraid to take a break. We’ve all heard the expression “looking for a job can be a full time job”. Don’t let it be. Approach it as you would anything else important, but take a break. Have a couple of days where your mind is not solely focused on getting your CV out.
• Don’t be dissuaded to follow up, to say hello, to forge relationships, to develop a network.

These all seem very simple and perhaps even somewhat trivial points, but stresses and highly impactful changes tend to have a habit of disassociating us with the basics. Maybe not disassociating us with the basics, perhaps overshadowing them to the point they seem really difficult. If you would like to have a conversation about your current employment situation and perhaps see if we can help, don’t hesitate to contact myself or Maria Weafer