Job seekers seem scared of the job market.
No, not all.
But the stories I have heard are just these crazy waiting games.
- Waiting to see if their furloughed job rehires and gets back to normal.
- Waiting to see what certain companies or industries are doing.
- Waiting to figure out what they want to do.
And that’s great if you have the ability to wait it all out, BUT, that is not the story I am getting from most. They cannot wait… but many seemed paralyzed to make a move or go after the job search hardcore.
All I hear is panic, stress, and worry.
I get it.
What I have personally seen over the past few months in the Resume and Career Coaching world:
FIRST: In the first few weeks and months since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic really hit hard, Management, Directors and C-Suites jumped immediately into the job search game. Prepping and not waiting at all.
THEN: I had more and more international candidates contact me going after roles and needing resume and coaching help – moving countries for work, and doing whatever it took, including jumping into whatever industry needed their skills.
NOW: I am now seeing a HEAVY amount of job seekers contacting me (primarily US-based) waiting… still waiting. Still holding out that their furloughed positions would bring them back and everything will go back to normal.
Yes, it’s a challenging time to find a job.
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think things will go back to ‘normal’ anytime soon.
Millions of Furloughed Could Lose Jobs
Yes, the unemployment numbers have gotten better. But it’s not great. And now we have thousands and thousands that were furloughed, getting the bad news this week.
MGM – 18K
Coca Cola – 4k
American Airlines – 19k
And that is just some in the news this week.
And then you have the city and government workers slowly being laid off as cities are not at fully operating standards.
Heidi Sheirholz, economist at the Economic Policy Institute, is worried that the recent wave of layoffs at big companies signals something more permanent.
“We’re still in a terrible hole,” Shierholz said. “The fact that jobs growth is slowing is devastating.’’
Job growth is bad and nothing looking great in the foreseeable future.
The job search is a bit more challenging.
Are there companies hiring? YES! SOOOO many!
Should you wait – HECK NO.
Get to your job search now. Jump in. If it took a few months before- it could very well take longer now to get into a new position.
- There is more competition.
- Recruiters and HR is slower at hiring just because of the situations.
- Should you be TOTALLY prepared to be the candidate they are seeking? YES!
- Don’t wait.
If you were furloughed- this is your moment.
Even if you are STILL waiting for your company to bring you back from being furloughed- you shouldn’t wait.
This is not just my 2 pennies here… look at the list above of all the furloughed workers losing their jobs. Jump into the job search NOW before there are even more vying for the positions available.
A recent Goldman Sachs analysis of Labor data found that the share of furloughed workers who were permanently laid off nearly doubled from 3.7% in June to 7% in July. And late last month, 42% of unemployed workers expected to “definitely” or “probably” return to their jobs, down from 68% in May, according to a University of Chicago survey cited by Goldman. As the duration of a furloughed worker’s unemployment spell increases, their hiring prospects steadily fall, Goldman found.
Job seekers:
Here is what you should be doing – STARTING Today.
Start listing down roles you would like to go after. Research companies that are hiring… here is a list of companies hiring during this time. Link below for a FULL list of companies hiring.
- Instacart says it’s looking to hire 300,000 contract workers over the next three months.
- McDonald’s says it’s hiring about 260,000 people this summer.
- Amazon says it’s looking to hire 175,000 new workers for its fulfillment centers and delivery network.
- Albertsons Companies is hiring 50,000 people across their companies for open roles.
- CVS Health is hiring 50,000 employees to serve in various capacities across its business.
- Walmart is hiring 50,000 workers for its distribution and fulfillment centers.
- FedEx is hiring 35,000 people for essential roles.
- Allied Universal is hiring more than 30,000 people for open positions.
- Taco Bell is hiring 30,000 people to work at its restaurants.
- Ace Hardware is hiring 30,000 people to work in its stores nationwide.
- Lowe’s is hiring 30,000 employees to meet the demand created by the coronavirus.
- Dollar Tree, which is also the parent company of Family Dollar, is hiring 25,000 workers for its stores and distribution centers.
- Walgreens is hiring 25,000 employees for permanent and temporary roles.
- The Home Depot is hiring people to fill more than 22,000 jobs.
- Instawork is hiring 20,000 workers over the next two months.
- Domino’s is hiring up to 20,000 employees across the country for various roles inside the company.
- 7-Eleven is hiring up to 20,000 employees due to increased demand.
- Kroger is looking to hire an additional 20,000 workers across the U.S.
- AutoZone plans to hire 17,000 people over the next three months.
- Citi is hiring people for more than 15,000 positions globally.
- USAA plans to hire nearly 10,500 people by the end of the year.
- Northrop Grumman plans to hire more than 10,000 people across the U.S.
- Appen is hiring people to fill more than 10,000 positions.
- ByteDance, TikTok’s parent, is hiring more than 10,000 people.
- Chipotle Mexican Grill is planning to hire 10,000 people.
- Papa John’s is hiring 10,000 workers to meet demand.
- Securitas Security Services is hiring 10,000 security officers.
- TTEC is hiring people to fill 10,000 work-from-home roles.
- Chewy is hiring 10,000 people to help it meet increased demand.
- O’Reilly Auto Parts is hiring people for more than 9,000 roles.
- Advanced Auto Parts is hiring people for more than 8,000 positions.
- Robert Half is hiring people for more than 6,000 positions.
- PepsiCo says it plans to hire 6,000 employees over the coming months.
- Accenture is hiring people for more than 5,500 open roles.
- Panda Express is hiring people for more than 5,000 open roles.
- AdventHealth is hiring more than 5,000 people to fill open roles.
- TNG Retail Services is looking to hire 5,000 people for hourly roles.
- Amwell is hiring people to fill 5,000 positions across the country.
- Nestle USA is hiring more than 5,000 people.
- Lockheed Martin is hiring more than 5,000 people to fill open positions.
- Tractor Supply Company is hiring more than 5,000 people at its stores and distribution centers.
- T-Mobile is hiring 5,000 people across the country over the next year.
- Rite Aid is hiring 5,000 people to work in their stores and distribution centers.
- Big Lots is hiring 5,000 people to help meet increased demand.
- Outschool is looking to hire 5,000 teachers to start offering online classes.
- Everise is hiring people for more than 4,500 positions
- Sherwin Williams is hiring people for more than 4,000 positions.
- Office Depot is hiring between 3,000 to 8,000 people to be seasonal retail associates.
- Ross Stores is hiring people for more than 3,000 roles.
- Providence St Josephs is hiring people for more than 3,000 positions.
- IBM is hiring people for more than 3,000 open positions.
- Raytheon Technologies is hiring people for more than 3,000 open roles.
Next, after you have researched the companies and roles you want to apply to, I want you to think about these questions and really think about how your background fits WHO they are looking for in a candidate right now. What elements do you have in your career experience that would give you an edge:
1. Did you create a process that helped streamline something or improve efficiency, production? What were the results?
2. Did you do something that helped increase revenue? What was the $ or % or X period of time, and how did you do it?
3. Was anything specific achieved due to an initiative that you created or led? Again, let’s talk about results in this too.
4. Have you helped a company through an acquisition/merger? What were the results? Even if not successful for the company bring out the top things you did to help it go thru.
5. Have you managed a team of people? (even just 1-2 is great to list)
6. Do you do something for a company to boost team morale, or increase employee retention? Think processes, or communication improvements, or just taking control of a situation or managing something that made people appreciate it more.
7. Did you save the company money? Maybe you found a better vendor or through auditing you realized a problem. How much did you save over tenure, or during X amount of time?
8. Have you been recognized by any Senior Management for anything? Even a pat on the back for X achievement in a project might be something to bring out to show how you are valued in a company.
Now it is time to put all of this together into a resume and your LinkedIn profile.
I would have to say that now is NOT the time to have your sister’s ex-boyfriend’s aunt who used to be a recruiter write your resume. Sorry… its just not.
Unless you are 10000000% sure you can write your resume to speak to the interviewers, show value, get more interviews… hire a professional.
Your job search will be drastically reduced and a LOT more positive and active by hiring a professional resume writer, career coach, interview coach, etc… you get my drift. We know what we are doing and have helped job seekers get interviews during the pandemic and can help you obtain interviews and salaries you deserve.
Changing careers or industries?
I cannot stress enough how imperative it is to hire a professional to help you navigate, transform and translate your background to what hiring managers are looking for.
Don’t forget with everything going on… to be as professional as possible and make sure your resume is a snapshot of you and everything you have achieved in your career – keep it relevant to the jobs you are applying for and I promise you will get noticed.
Amanda, The Job Chick
Have questions? Ask me!!
Just book a call with me.
