Advice on the State of the Job Market
I’m writing to you during a time filled with enormous stress and uncertainty – more than most of us have ever known in our lives. While we don’t know how long this situation will last, the best advice I’ve received revolves around maintaining much needed routines and doing our best to stay productive. That of course extends to your career. I’m hoping that the following intel and ideas provide some perspective and positivity during the next few weeks.
Some sectors are experiencing a hiring surge right now.
If your skills are in health care, pharmaceuticals, government, community response, or crisis management, you will have seen a spike in job listings. Research and communications roles specific to healthcare are getting a lot of play right now. Foundations and non-profits focused on healthcare and pandemic response including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have listed program management and strategy jobs, as just one example.
Tech companies are also hiring. Not surprisingly, Amazon is hiring 100,000 workers to keep up with the surge in orders, while giving warehouse and delivery workers a $2/hour raise. Google has committed 1,700 engineers to building two information sites to provide information for healthcare workers and the public about the virus.
Anecdotally a colleague at Procter & Gamble told me this morning that, while they are working remotely around the world, it is business as usual and hiring continues. They are even hiring summer co-op students with the expectation that they will start either in person or remotely come June. P&G is far from alone in making products people need now and always, like cleaning products, paper towel and toilet paper, and personal care.
Keep up the Momentum Remotely
While industries such as hospitality and others reliant on operating in-person have been very hard hit, most people who can work remotely are doing so. And while it’s a big adjustment to set up at home and our internet connections are getting a workout, our technology is at a point where doing so is pretty seamless.
The challenge will be to keep up a positive attitude as our physical worlds shrink and we see just a handful of people in our daily lives. I’ve been taking walk in the park breaks with friends while aiming to keep the six foot distance between us which I highly recommend for continued mental health.
Crisis spawns opportunity.
There is no question that new opportunities and business ideas will flow from this crisis, in terms of mitigating both future epidemics and adjacent crises. Think of fields like crisis management, compliance and cybersecurity -- all launched in response to specific disasters or threats within the last 20 to 40 years.
We are now seeing just the tip of the iceberg in terms of funds being earmarked for prevention and treatment of the virus on a global scale.
Your career demands that you skill up – and it’s a great time for online learning.
You know all those classes on LinkedIn Learning, General Assembly and other online learning sites you’ve been meaning to take? Now’s your chance to use this unexpected free time to skill up for when the job market comes back with a vengeance.
You want to be prepared when hiring cranks up again.
Good career management takes a lot of preparation and you’re busy. Now is the ideal time to get organized and put the steps in place so you can act quickly as soon as the time is right.
Solidifying your career direction, getting your marketing campaign together, researching companies and roles, and mobilizing your network are all things you can take time to do right now. And you’ll thank yourself later, once this difficult period is over and you’re ahead of the game.
I welcome your thoughts and strategies for keeping the positive momentum going. And if you’d like to chat about working together I am working remotely and here to help.