Hi fellow Females of Filadelphia readers 🌻 Hope everyone is staying safe and practicing self-care. Today I bring a HIGHLY requested blog about job/internship hunting during this global pandemic. Below I provide some tips to land your dream role despite the setbacks. If you want more of these types of blogs, please comment down below.
Tip #1: Update Your Resume
When you can’t rely on meeting people face to face or going to events, your resume is usually the first impression an employer will have of you. This is why you should update it and keep it in its best form.
In today’s day, many large companies will use some sort of ATS (applicant tracking system) to review your resume before it’s read by a hiring manager or recruiter. I highly recommend optimizing your resume for this system so you can get a leg up in the hiring process. My top tips for optimizing your resume include:
- Tailor the resume to the job. You should have a different resume for each type of role you are interested in. Think of the skills needed for the job you want and represent those in the experience section of your resume.
- Avoid too many distracting fonts, colors or graphics unless you’re applying to a job in the art/design/advertising space.
- Look at the job description of the role you want and make sure the description key words match the key words in your resume (but remember to be honest about your experiences).
For more tips on how to optimize your resume, click here.
Tip #2: Focus on Companies Hiring
If you know that your dream company is in a hiring freeze, it doesn’t make sense to continue applying to jobs in that organization. Instead focus on companies that are still hiring or even on hiring sprees. While the pandemic has greatly affected many companies negatively, some companies have been able to increase business. I recommend focusing on these so you can ensure you get hired. But always remember there are probably more applicants than there are roles, so you’ll still want to focus on the other tips I provide in this blog.
Check out this website to see some companies still hiring during this time.
Tip #3: Do Some Freelance Work While You Find a Steady Income
To ensure you don’t have an experience gap in your resume, continue to do some work while you look. I recommend looking at websites like Fiverr or Upwork to get ideas of what Freelance work you can do. But if you already have a side hustle (i.e. making art or being a social media influencer), I recommend being more aggressive with it during this time. Market your art on eBay and Instagram or reach out to more companies that may want to work with a micro-influencer.
As a last resort, and if you can afford to do so, I recommend doing some work on the side for free. Example: Ask your uncle who is also a small business owner if he needs help with his spreadsheets or running his social media accounts. Or search on LinkedIn to see if you can do a small project for someone who owns a small business and is struggling during this time. This way you show employers that you took the free time seriously and continued to be productive (if this is a priority to you).
Tip #4: Get Used To Online Interviews + Networking
Lots of people tell me they feel uncomfortable doing online interviews or networking. This is totally understandable but there are ways to make this virtual experience a positive.
If you are networking on the phone you can write down some key questions you want to ask in your notebook to avoid long and awkward pauses. Or if you are doing a video call, you can put sticky notes on your laptop to remember key topics to hit. Here are some tips for networking online. Additionally, try to network with people on LinkedIn who have mutual connections or are alumni of your school since they are more likely to respond. Bonus tip: On the desktop version of LinkedIn you can filter by alumni and then filter again by what they do or where they work.
If you are doing an online interview, you have the benefit of being comfortable at home. Feel free to wear your lucky socks and avoid wearing stockings and/or heels. Although some experts recommend wearing the full professional gear to ace the online interview. Make sure to look at the camera and ensure your wifi network isn’t bombarded with video streaming to prevent lagging. There are many positives to online interviewing, you just have to remember there is a person on the other side and that can make the experience slightly more similar to regular interviewing.
Tip #5: Work on Some New Skills
Not being the most productive person is totally OK during this time, but I know I love to feel productive most of the time (except when I take my occasional 5:30pm nap). So if you’re like me I highly recommend taking any free time you might have to learn something new. This will also look good to employers if you can explain what you did in the few months of this terrible crisis. Some of my friends are learning Python, new languages on Duolingo or reading some classics. I, personally, have been trying to remain more active on my different social media accounts, have been taking some extra LinkedIn classes and have also enjoyed reading.
Some extra skills you can learn during this time include learning:
- To paint through YouTube tutorials
- To meditate through Headspace
- How to become a better writer
- How to cook delicious meals
If you enjoyed this blog, make sure to follow our Instagram and Facebook to stay updated on new content coming out during this time! Stay safe 💛