Here are a few best practices, things to expect, and pieces of advice for you or anyone you know taking on a job search during COVID-19.

Looking for a job can be tricky, and with typical ways of networking and interviewing currently at a halt until social distancing is no-longer the standard, it can be even trickier.

Here’s what job seekers should expect and consider when applying for work or interviewing for a job during COVID-19.

If you need help with your job search, apply for career coaching.

The Ultimate Job Interview Prep Tool. Read this to ace your next job interview.

Lead with compassion

It is easy just to assume that a hiring manager is ignoring your message or that a decision maker isn't stressed by the harsh realty of the affect COVID-19 may have on hiring and business plans.

Lead with compassion in all of your communication, slowing down and taking a breath, and really being thoughtful about the messages that you're sending are all extremely important right now.

Communication might feel all over the place, but if you can be kind, clear, and compassionate when interviewing or speaking to different stakeholders about potential opportunities, you will stand out.

Accept reality

There's, as you know, a lot of shit's going on right now.

Shit might go slower than expected. The job search might take a little longer.

Opportunities you thought you had in the bag may no longer be a thing.

Just be realistic because by being realistic, you can take the right actions to get yourself into a better situation.

Be okay with things changing and with vague timelines

Ask for clarification throughout your interview process.

You may ask, “What are the next steps? When will I hear from you?”

Timelines may change.

I think it's important to expect this so that you aren't so disappointed and sound super frustrated when you are on the phone or communicating via email.

You just don't want any miscommunication through your tone, throwing you off an opportunity.

So, are people actually hiring? Yes.

But some companies are definitely on a hiring freeze.

There are tons of companies out there that are not just on a hiring freeze.

Some of these companies may be letting people go, slashing expenses, really looking at their budgets, and really having to reconsider how to allocate budgets and headcount and things like that.

Still, as some are letting go, some companies are still hiring.

So, with that being said, you know to expect things to move a little slower than normal, right? Like, be okay with the fact that those timelines might be a little vague.

Follow Up

But most importantly, during this time, you're going to want to follow up. Because, in normal interview processes, from time to time, candidates can be left behind.

A joke or a term that I like to throw around in the recruiting space is the “no candidate left behind act.”

And that act is the promise that recruiters have that they will not allow a candidate to fall off the face of the earth and just kinda get lost in their pipeline, never touching base with the candidate and the candidate never hearing from the recruiter.

You want to follow up with people in general because candidates can get lost in the shuffle.

Unfortunately, it happens, especially when dealing with a high-volume amount of candidates and interviews and things of that nature.

This is why it's especially important right now to follow up at a time when things are all over the place, and timelines might be changing.

It's really important that you follow up with the recruiter as it helps them help you. Never assume that people forget you.

Also, when following up, there are a lot of different ways, so be creative about this.

Ask if they're okay

I want to share two or three ways I was thinking about earlier.

Of course, in your follow-up, ask if they're okay. If you have not heard from them and maybe you've followed up already, ask if they're okay.

You know, say, “Hey, I know with the coronavirus and everything happening right now that people are out of the office, etc.

I just wanted to reach out and make sure that you're okay.”

Another thing you can say is, “Hey, I just wanted to reach out and follow up.” or “Hey, what are the best next steps? Are we moving forward?” You can say, I'm just curious if we're still moving forward with me as a candidate.

Do your best to figure out what the holdup is

Do your best to figure out what the holdup is, whether it's them stalling, hiring, or if you are no longer a candidate.

That's the thing you're just trying to figure out, and that's okay.

You want to make it clear, just make it clear that no one's upset. You’re just looking for clarity.

COVID-19

Ask how COVID-19 will affect the interview process, timeline, or start date.

It's totally fine to ask for clarity on how this will affect your interview process and onboarding experience with them. 

Slow down, to speed up

Another tip I want to give you as a job seeker during this time of life is to slow down, to speed up.

And you may have heard this terminology in the past in different industries or various contexts.

And the reason why I say you want to slow down to speed up during your job search right now is that it is critical that you are organized.

Always do your best to present yourself as the best candidate when you are job searching, especially right now, as opportunities may not feel as abundant as they once did.

So, the thing is, when you apply for a job, it is most likely that your information is being put in an applicant tracking software, also referred to as an ATS.

And what applicant tracking software does is to fix your resume, and create a candidate profile for you.

And what happens is if you go all over the place and you're applying for jobs and being organized, what can happen as you're applying for this same position sometimes over and over and over again.

Or you apply for one-click positions and maybe apply for three positions that you're not qualified for, one that you are, and two of them are at the same company. Internally, your profile just looks messy.

It can show how often you've applied for different roles, and it can almost show like you could see - wow, this person applied.

For these three different types of roles consistently over the last three years.

It just shows interesting trends about job hoppers and just disorganization in general.

And I think that now is not the time to be mass applying for jobs.

You're going to get more rejection emails that will affect how you feel as a job seeker, which would not help you in your long-term job search right now.

So, you want to be mindful of what jobs you apply for because this is what your profile looks like when you're applying for jobs that you're not qualified for.

This is just a screenshot that I found. Still, typically, it could say, instead of timing, underqualified, underqualified, under-qualified, and then, you know, 15 more.

How many other jobs did this person apply for here?

Over what time span? What is happening?

So, something that can help you, especially in a job search right now where I know a lot of people are thinking about a lot of things like, who am I? What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Figure out your why and when.

Figure out your why for your job search

What I really mean is, why are you doing this?

Why are you spending your time right now applying for this job?

Why this job over any other job you have multiple skills for?

There are different opportunities and industries out there, so why this company over any other company?

And I find that this will help you as you go out into your job search so that you are applying for.

With jobs that are a little more meaningful, that have more of a place in your career, you'll be more inspired to do a better job when things make sense.

And when things don't make sense, that's when you're just going to haphazardly go all over the place, applying for all these jobs, interviewing at places that don't really make sense to wasting your time, and then feeling upset.

Gain clarity on the interview process and communication styles

So, while you are job searching right, it is very important to get clarity on the process.

What is the interview process?

What is the interview process for this role?

How many stages?

Who am I meeting with?

Don't be surprised to hear that you'll have a phone screening or some kind of zoom conference.

You might have two different zoom conferences.

More people might be involved than normal.

Ask for clarity because right now, especially with things being all over the place, some places are freezing, hiring for 30 days, or not making offers for 30 days.

So, you want to just understand what the expectation is, and you also want to understand what the interviews are going to look like.

As there may also be industry-standard interview processes that you're used to, but then there may be this variation that we're using right now because maybe you're not coming on-site or certain people won't be able to meet you.

Expect to use more video than you have in the past, especially if that's not the norm for you or your industry or roles you've interviewed for in the past.

Also, it may be full of processes, like the processes might be a little longer than you're used to in the past.

So just be mindful that might just be because of the time.

Get clear on the timeline

Ask questions like, what are the next steps?

When will I hear back?

How will I hear back?

Would it be via email? Some companies will text you, some will call you, some will email you.

It is also really important to read the news and research about these companies.

You know, you really want to be mindful of a few different things in general, but specifically to this case, you want to understand if they have laid-off employees.

Are their customers largely clients that are currently being affected by the coronavirus?

So, I saw that recently, unfortunately, restaurant software that helps optimize the delivery process and the whole restaurant experience, may not want to be the companies that you're applying for.

A huge portion of their userbase is massively affected right now.

Quite literally. I just saw someone in that industry that was in sales who was recently laid off because of this.

So, applying for jobs like that may be a waste of time.

It's not to say that you don't love these companies, that you're not a fan of these companies, or that you do not wish that they serve, drive and do well.

But it might definitely be a waste of time to apply for opportunities like this right now when their user base is not necessarily doing well.

Think about how your application materials can help you stand out

This is also another time to be consistent, be creative, and be thoughtful with your applications and the different materials that you create. Be mindful of how you will be interviewing.

If you know that you would be interviewing through zoom, maybe have visuals, decks or presentations, or data visualization tools.

There are so many different ways to stand out during interviews right now, especially by showing that you are forward-thinking and tech-savvy.

Another thing to consider with the time and you know with career changes and everything happening right now is maybe considering taking some kind of online class. 

I spent some time developing a certain skill.

I will be working on my Excel skills this year. I want to continue working on photography, so keep an eye out for that.

And I'm currently taking a class in one of those areas.

I took an Excel class last year. I need to do another one or a refresher or something a little more advanced.

Consider creating a new portfolio piece

With the extra time, because we're not leaving our houses, this is the perfect time for you to start working on that passion project that you've had for a while. Create something to stand out during your job interviews.

If you're a UX/UI designer, perhaps, design a certain layout or the wireframe of an app.

And also use this time to think about software technology.

Learn a new piece of software

Maybe there's a new industry tool one that you've been meaning to check out or a new feature on a piece of software that you typically use that you haven't been able to play around with.

Use this time, and it will definitely help you out and help you stand out during your job search.

Read a book

Also, consider reading literature by an industry leader or a CEO. Maybe the CEO of one of the executives at the company that you're interviewing for wrote a book.

If you need help with your job search, apply for career coaching.

The Ultimate Job Interview Prep Tool. Read this to ace your next job interview.