My first job was in an ice cream shop a few blocks away from my house when I was fourteen (I should say paying job, if you come from a big family like mine you know what I mean). I worked there until I turned fifteen when I was able to work at the mall, which back then was the place to be. I used the skills I'd acquired and was able to move up the working ladder, learning, and flexibly applying my previous knowledge to a new environment. This has been my strategy for my entire working career, of course now with higher stakes and no ice cream. There was always opportunity. This has drastically changed due to COVID-19. To be fair, the job market is always evolving. We saw this with the industrial revolution, and again with the increased reliance and ingenuity in technology, but these were gradual changes. The sudden impact of this flu has put a halt to many businesses hiring, or firing, and left millions without jobs. With the US currently at unemployment rates similar to the Great Depression (14.7% in April), and advisors expecting rates to jump greater than 20% in the next couple months, the adaptation process has to be equally adjusted to not be knocked out of the game entirely.
With businesses closing or reducing staff, the market is saturated with talented people such as yourself. How are you planning to make your presence noticeable with doors literally closed and emails the main source of communication? By now you've probably subscribed to all the internet job posting sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, and the handful of other large posters out there, most likely without any luck. Because guess what, everyone's doing the same thing. So... why you? What are you doing differently that sets you apart? If you're simply mass applying to job postings that are overflowing with qualified applicants, you probably want to try a different tactic.
First, make a list of companies you want to work for. Use this forced reroute as a stepping stone, and target companies you can see yourself grow in. Right now with most companies offering remote positions, some even potentially permanent, location isn't such a big deal so don't let that stop you. Do your research on these companies, because your cover letter and resume need to creatively target each company.
Once you identified 10-20 companies, search their career site, these are usually cleaned out frequently, and only have relevant postings (unlike job sites). Then reach out to corresponding department heads directly. This information is usually public. Demonstrate why you're unique and what sets you apart from the rest, besides you being so audacious and directly sending them an email, not only professionally but personally. Great companies have strong cultures and they want to know how you can contribute to their team. Don't beat around the bush either, be direct and say what it is you're looking for. You still have to submit an application, so be sure to do that first so you can reference it in your email.
This process is not only time consuming, but also mentally tasking if you're personalizing each email. If you send two a day, I salute you! Don't try and squeeze too many in one day if that takes away from how impactful each submission is. Definitely quality over quantity in this case.
Once you've submitted your email, follow up about a week later. Applying to so many places can get confusing, and you don't want to accidentally make a mistake when following up, so have a notebook with some notes and the date you applied. Open that dusty calendar and write when you need to follow up with each company after submitting to take the guesswork out of it.
As I've posted before, if you don't ask for help, guess what, no one is going to help you! You might feel a little imposing for sending a direct email, but to get what you want sometimes you need to be confrontational. You can apologize after you get the job!
PS... For my future entrepreneurs with an idea and PASSION, let me remind you of a few (now) business giants that rose in the face of adversity: GE, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Google, and Facebook. Don't get stuck with the mindset that because the economy is not favorable towards many, that includes you automatically. With market record lows, now might be the perfect time to take your idea to the next level. If there's a large TAM (total addressable market), don't be afraid to fill the void.
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