An (entirely serious) Guide to Job Hunting in a Global Pandemic.

Ah, a Global Pandemic. A time of confusion, grief, and frustration. What an excellent opportunity to boost your CV and make yourself more employable. We must see this time as a gift and use it to better ourselves and our employment prospects. We really have no excuse. So here are my top 5 tips for job hunting and making yourself an irresistible candidate for any employer. Follow these and you will be absolutely golden.

1. Unpaid jobs are great!!

Some companies might ask for 3 years’ experience in an industry. They might ask for a specific skill set, 3 references, 2 essays and 3 days’ worth of virtual tasks, but do not expect them to pay you if you get the job. Unpaid work is a great way to become mentally burnt out and have no financial gain or progression in your professional life. It is totally reasonable for people to expect students and recent graduates to help their business in a troubling time while offering them no financial stability.

2. Start 10 New Hobbies a Week!!

When future employers ask you what you have been up to in lockdown, it is not good enough to say that you have been getting from each day to the next, trying to stay mentally and physically well while worrying about your loved ones. Try and do one of the following each week: learn a new language, become a professional baker, learn to sew, complete 10 linked in learning courses, run a half marathon, learn sign language, start a blog, run an Etsy shop, volunteer for a local charity. Start with these and remember, if you are not feeling burnt out and stressed, you are not trying hard enough.

3. Linked In to Get In!!

The social media platform for professionals, academics, and show-offs. Post all the time but remember to leave out how mentally exhausted you are from constantly trying to better yourself while in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. Make sure it is up to date, that you are constantly engaging with industry professionals, and that you look an up-together, motivated and inspired young professional, ready to break into a buzzing and promising job market.

4. No Feedback is a Great!!

You spent hours on a zoom presentation, sleepless nights on a set of tasks given to you in the third interview stage, but do not assume you will get feedback or actually hear back from the company. It is important to realise sometimes just how insignificant we really are. See it as a helpful reality check, you should just have been grateful for the experience. All learning experiences are wonderful, especially ones which cripple you to exhaustion.

5. Lower Your Standards!!

I cannot emphasise enough how important this is. Do not ever dream of applying for something which is not an entry level job. If you do, you can only expect to be met with humiliation and blank rejection. It is not as if you have not been able to gain experience because no where is hiring, or offering work experience, or placements. Employers will expect you to have the full 15+ years’ experience to even have a shot at an interview, because really, you have no excuse.

Emily Hall

Featured image courtesy of Mike Lawrence on Flickr.  Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.