Pandemic Pursuits
What job seekers need to do differently in the pandemic economy By Lorri Malone
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find myself glancing at my phone constantly, nervously checking for texts, posts, IMs, emails … anything ... any sign of connection. I admit to having fragile feelings when things don’t work out. I console myself with thoughts like:“It’s just as well. There was no chemistry.” “I’m better off.” “It’s their loss.” “The right one will come along.” Am I dating? No. I’m job hunting. I lost my job at a nonprofit organization at the beginning of June, laid off as part of a national downsizing, a direct result of the economic impact of COVID-19. I’m 28 years into my career, but job hunting in this economy has left me feeling like I’m in middle school again in the early 1980s, passing a handwritten note with instructions to check one: Yes or No. Does [prospective employer] still like Lorri and want to be friends? Follow up: Does [prospective employer] “like like” Lorri? Gosh, I need something to occupy my time … you know, like a full-time job. And I’m not alone. The pandemic has affected many areas of life, including the economy and job market. Looking back on the summer months, Kentucky’s unemployment rate in July was 5.7 percent. In Indiana, where I live, that rate was 7.8 percent for the same month. Both stats, while higher than the previous year (4.3 percent and 3.2 percent respectively), were still lower than the national average for that month of 10.2 percent, according to each state’s Department of Workforce Development. Back in the old days (you know, 2019), we job seekers would need to hit networking events with a resume in hand to work the room for job prospects, introduce ourselves to key contacts over coffee and close the deal with a firm, confident handshake. Those methods aren’t going to work in the socially-distant market of 2020. So, what does? Networking.
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October 2020 / TodaysWomanNow.com
NETWORKING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD Tried and true, networking is still a thing — a big thing, actually — for job seekers in a saturated market. But like so many other facets of life, it has gone virtual. Networking organizations had to scramble last spring when the guidance for social distancing affected the size of crowds that could gather, with many canceling or postponing events in hopes the guidance would be short-lived. It didn’t take long for organizations to see they would have to pivot to other options. “I think we were just naïve in March in thinking we would just take a two-week break,” says Ann Marie Maldini, executive director of the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL). “So we went virtual right away.” She said the YPAL board of directors, made up of 18 volunteer members, sprang into action immediately, helping reimagine networking events and rework sponsorship proposals to help the organization shift to serve its members. “I have been blown away by my board,” Maldini says. “They all have full-time jobs, families, and their own worries about COVID-19, but they’ve been so great, so creative.” PAGE 12 >>
