Pandemic Job Hunting: Why Are You Not Hearing Back About That Job You Applied For?

I haven’t worked since March. Every time I say those words or write them down, it feels unbelievable. It was definitely not the future I imagined for myself. I’m currently looking for new jobs and opportunities but also trying to figure out what I really want.

I did some soul searching over the summer and decided I really wanted to work in non profits because I want to be proud of where I work and to be working towards a more positive future. I carefully selected a couple of non profits and sent it beautifully curated applications. And then I waited. And waited some more. And all I heard was crickets.

I have pursued higher education, I have always sought more responsibilities and knowledge at work, I have volunteered with non profits. Were there really that many people out there who were far better qualified than myself? Of course the answer is yes — there will always be someone who has more experience or a specific background or degree. But this is a hard pill to swallow.

One of the non profits I was extremely interested in lists their staff on their website. So I religiously checked the updated listing to see if the position I applied for had been onboarded yet. The job posting went down on July 19th, which means it has now been seven and a half weeks — more than enough time to interview and onboard — and there is no new staff listed on their website.

Could it be that organizations are posting jobs but then not actually hiring for them?

The short answer is yes.

The coronavirus pandemic affected the whole world in ways that no one could have imagined prior to March 2020. From a business perspective, a manager in a department notices a gap in her team (perhaps someone left or work load has increased), so she gets approval from senior management to recruit for a new hire. This process could take up to a month, depending on the management structure. Then, the manager posts the job and applications start coming in. Now, perhaps six weeks has gone by since the manager first noticed that her department needed some support. Another two weeks go by of sifting through resumes and selecting candidates for interviews. Now two months have gone by. The growth the company had been experiencing has slowed, the team is able to handle their work load and no deadlines are being missed.

Would you still hire for that role? Everyone realized that they needed to tighten their belt buckles during the pandemic. So, it’s absolutely possible that a company may have thought they needed a role but when it really comes down to it, they can manage. If there’s anything 2020 has taught us, it’s that we can get by with much less than we used to believe we could.

Another scenario is that they receive all the applications, they really want to move forward but then HR realizes that none of their onboarding material can be taught virtually. Do they go ahead and hire without a solid plan to onboard the new hire? That doesn’t really sound like a positive experience for the new hire.

Businesses have a hard time planning for the future in normal circumstances. 2020 has challenged this in every way, between closures and disruptions to normal life and the added pressure of the U.S. election. Organizations may think they know where they are going and what people they need to get them there. But things are changing rapidly and that new hire may not end up being part of the plan. Or it will be part of the plan, but not right now, it’ll be reassessed in six months.

Election years are always full of uncertainty and the events of 2020 have only amplified that uncertainty. Businesses have no idea what will happen. They may have one strategic plan for a Biden win and a completely different one for a Trump win.

Job hunting is really, really hard. Not hearing back from prospective employers is incredibly demotivating and it requires a huge effort not to get completely bummed out. I know that it’s easy to blame recruiters for a lack of communication and transparency. It’s just not always that easy for them either. They are also dealing with all the stress of the pandemic, trying to work from home, and constantly reassessing business needs. The decision to onboard during a pandemic is not easy and lots of businesses have hiring freezes right now.

This encourages me because it takes the rejection off of me personally. It’s not that I am not the right candidate. It’s very possible that role never got filled and no candidate would have been the right one.

If you are job hunting right now, I am with you. Stay strong, stay positive and stay true to yourself. I have come up with a couple of positive affirmations that I write down after I finish my morning journal pages and I find this practice focuses and motivates me. I’ll share one with you here as a parting gift.

“My success is just around the corner and I will find it.”

Originally published at https://www.contena.co on September 9, 2020.