How It Feels To Land A Job In A Pandemic
As I’ve mentioned in other stories, I was laid off from my job at a luxury hotel in late March. The lay off notice was for 60 days but we were told that our company was doing everything they could to lessen that time. When I went home that day, I truly thought I’d be back at work in a couple of weeks. However, as that week progressed and the news became more and more dire, I realized this was absolutely not going to happen. By April it was evident that I was not going back to my job anytime soon and I was facing the stark reality of months of unemployment.
I didn’t look for jobs right away as lots of companies weren’t hiring and, if I was going to change industries, I wanted to be sure that my next move was one I really wanted. I even took a ten week course to delve into what I wanted and what was important to me in an employer. By mid July I had figured out what I wanted — to work for a non profit in a fundraising capacity. After carefully selecting organizations that resonated with my values, I crafted beautiful cover letters and finetuned my resume to align with the available job descriptions. And then through August, I only heard crickets. By the end of August, I decided to pivot my job search. As much as I wanted to work at a non profit, I had an nagging feeling that September and October would see some movement on hiring, whereas it would slow down into the winter.
So, in September I used the law of large numbers. I submitted my resume and cover letter at as many organizations as I could. I had several bites but nothing that felt right. Finally, a small start up that I was super interested in contacted me to organize a phone screen. I was particularly delighted when the HR Coordinator said that the hiring manager had time earlier than she initially proposed. This was good for two reasons; firstly, the fact that the hiring manager wanted to speak to me instead of an HR rep suggests that they are more serious, and secondly, they wanted to do the phone screen earlier than their initial proposed time, also suggesting that they are serious.
When I spoke to the hiring manager the following week, I quickly understood why he wanted to speak with me instead of HR. As an experienced hospitality professional, with an M.B.A, he was rightly interested in why I had applied to an entry level role. I explained the trouble with the hospitality industry and that with changing industries I respected the need to start at the beginning. I assured him I would not be bored and that I was very keen to get back to work. He seemed receptive to this explanation and we planned a video interview for the following week.
After two video interviews — one with the hiring manager/director and another senior manager and the other with a colleague on the same level as myself and a fellow manager — and a last minute phone chat with a 3rd manager, I got the amazing news that I was going to receive an offer. While the offer was less money than I had been earning at my hotel job, I accepted the offer because I recognized the tumultuous job market and wanted to keep my resume active.
Luckily, the company gave me a start date that was fairly soon, which I was grateful for because it gave me less time to fret about starting a new job. I think everyone can relate to the new job nerves but in a pandemic there are additional worries (working remote, when will we go back to the office, is the company solid enough to withstand the pandemic, etc). Working for a start up compared to a very traditional employer also proved vastly different. I was mailed a brand new MacBook Pro the week before my start date (before they had even spoken to my references) and all of my onboarding was going to be done virtually via Google Hangouts.
After not working for nearly seven months, the thought of having my days filled with productive tasks was both daunting and thrilling. I was used to my pandemic routine — wake up, do a crossword, workout, go for a walk, read, etc. I certainly could not continue to do these things now that I was employed. Saying goodbye to this routine was bittersweet; my routine had kept me sane during the height of the pandemic but now I had something more to keep me sane.
Landing a job during a pandemic feels even more impressive than landing a job in a normal job market. It’s really tough. Lots of people are unemployed and have transferable skills so competition is fierce. Also, I really didn’t want to work for a company that wasn’t aligned with my values and didn’t respect my work ethic. For example, a recruiter reached out to me about a sales job where the key metrics were the number of dials you made each day and the number of converts (from lead to closed deal) you made each month. Additionally, while most of their staff was remote, the sales people were in the office. I knew right away that company and role was not right for me — I would be micromanaged and regimented in a way that would stifle me.
My advice to job seekers right now is to be flexible but have boundaries. I accepted a lower paying entry level job (I’m flexible) but at a company that fostered growth and respected my experience and background (I have boundaries). I was able to speak to so many people on my team before I was even hired that I knew I would not be micromanaged and my growth would be a top priority.
I have first day of school jitters but I also have the reassurance that I selected a company that has good morals. All will be okay. If you are still looking for a job, stay strong. Be persistent. In interviews make sure that you have your personal sales pitch down pat. Good luck & stay healthy!
