Top 5 Tips To Get Hired Fast During COVID-19

“Unemployment claims near 17 million in three weeks as coronavirus ravages economy” – Politico

“COVID-19 Pandemic could make another 25 million jobless”- UN

With Coronavirus hitting businesses hard, economists forecast that unemployment will exceed it’s historic 25% peak which happened during the Great Depression.

According to CNBC, more than 3 million Americans filed their first time claims for unemployment compensation in the most recent week.

During these tough times, while getting a job may be tough but, it’s not impossible.

Get hired fast by following the super easy tips below.

Concentrate on Growth Industries

According to Chine Briefing , some sectors are hugely being benefited by the COVID-19 epidemic. Some of them to mention are:

• Food – fresh groceries and meat, cooking appliances, cold storage, vegan startups
• Entertainment– gaming industry, online cooking classes, virtual visits to landmarks
• Education, sports and well-being – Virtual classrooms, online fitness classes
• Healthcare and Health technology– Pharmaceuticals, supplements, medical devices, online consultations, apps, telemedicine
• Electrical appliances– dishwashers and washing machines

Look out for job openings in companies related to the above-mentioned sectors and if things go well you might find your job quick!

Keep your LinkedIn Profile Up-to-date

LinkedIn is one of the best professional networking platforms available out there, so make the best use of it during these crucial times.

Checklists that you can follow to get noticed :

• Profile Picture: Use a good quality camera for the perfect professional headshot that oozes confidence. Smile is a must.
• Your Headline: Try unique headlines that catch attention than the regular business name or designation.
• Summary: Keep the summary interesting highlighting or objectives, experiences, and achievements.
• Key Skills: With more than 45000 skills to choose from LinkedIn, add all the relevant skills that describe your job. Add the most notable ones and keep updating your profile regularly.
• Highlight recent Experience:  Make sure not to include too many points and highlight only the most important ones including your achievements. This helps you stand out to potential new connections.
• Let people know you are available: Use your headline to make an announcement so that it catches the recruiter’s attention

Resume should be Job Specific

A generic resume for all the companies is one mistake everybody makes. This is a big blunder and you might miss your next big opportunity due to this one mistake. Invest some time to tailor your resume highlighting your relevant skills matching the job description. Leave out things that don’t have much to do with the job you are applying for.

The below steps can be helpful in writing a target specific resume:

• Prepare a core resume: This resume should include all your roles and responsibilities, experiences, achievements, skills, and education. The number of pages doesn’t matter here. The main thing to keep in mind is including every single detail related to your professional life. This can be used as a reference when creating a targeted resume for specific jobs.
• Look at the Requirements of the Job: Always research on the job requirements. Don’t confuse between duties and requirements. Requirements are fundamental so focus on them first. Think, how you can showcase your experience matching the requirement. Are any soft or hard skills repeated throughout? Example: Leadership, multitasking, communication, etc.

• Reorder and Remove  : Now that you have everything written down, push the most relevant experience at the top of each section and move the other less- relevant points lower down.
• Provide Convincing Evidence : Providing facts, figures and examples add weightage to what you have stated and makes it look believable to the hiring manager. Everybody prefers a result -oriented resume.

Example : If you are applying for a Digital Marketing job, stating your achievements from your previous experience in numbers can grab eyeballs.The below snippet helps:

“Delivered a 75% increase in readership(mention the name of the Brand) and 10k new subscribers in the first 6 months”

With a high volume of applications received by the hiring managers, they don’t spend more than 7 seconds to review your resume. Hence, it is important to stand apart from other job applicants. A cover letter will help you get noticed. Give a brief description of all your skills and qualifications and mention how you are a fit for the role.

A sample cover letter that might come in handy is give below:

For more such samples, Hubspot has curated cover letter templates that can help you with your next job application!

Don’t Quit

It’s no brainer that life isn’t a bed of roses. Some people might land a job on their first attempt while some may not. Hence, it is always good to keep trying as you keep learning from the mistakes you made during your previous interview(s). So, don’t wait to hear results from the employer you have just interviewed with, keep on applying to as many jobs as you can.

Staying positive during these tough times is the key to keep yourself motivated. Remember that after tough times, good times follow and if the job is meant for you, it will never pass you!

Good luck searching!