coronavirus

The Ultimate Guide to Job-Searching in the Age of COVID-19

Isn’t it ironic that it took social distancing to make our world feel closer? We may be apart physically, but in many ways, we’ve never been more strongly connected. One of the beautiful things to rise from the ashes of this pandemic is the breaking down of digital barriers—something about these unprecedented times has brought out human goodness and a surge in strangers helping strangers.

Whether you were affected by COVID-related layoffs or furloughs, or you’ve simply reached a point where you’re looking for a career change, I hope the following resources, reads, and recs are of help. To those whose jobs have been impacted in recent months: my heart's with you. Please shoot me an email or DM me on LinkedIn if I can help introduce you to any of my connections.

Onward, friends. Here’s to a brighter future.


⭐️Favorite resources

  • First and foremost is Teal—a company started by Dave Fano (former Chief Growth Officer at WeWork) that helps people advocate for themselves professionally and build meaningful careers. My favorite features:

    • In response to COVID-19, they’ve pivoted nimbly to launch critical tools and resources—including a Career Assist program, which is now free to those whose jobs were impacted by COVID-related layoffs.

    • You can read more directly from Dave in this LinkedIn post, but I highly recommend one of the resources he mentions there: the Teal Career Commons Slack channel.

  • A sorority sister of mine, Jamie Albers, co-founded an amazing company called Mento, which provides people with the support, tools, and resources they need to better manage their career health. Like Teal, Mento has sprung to action in recent weeks with some valuable COVID-19 resources:

    • Unemployment Care was designed to help people manage their jobs (and their income). Their Benefits Finder Tool helps you determine your healthcare options and if you're eligible for an extra $2,400 per month in pandemic assistance.

    • Their COVID-19 Relief Resources Tracker rounds up helpful relief programs, free services, and job opportunities, all in one place.

    • The Mento blog offers a ton of helpful resources on topics like COVID care, unemployment, and healthcare.

  • LinkedIn has put together some helpful (and free) learning courses and employability tools to help folks hone the skills they need to pursue in-demand roles in an increasingly digital job market. (There’s even a specific learning path geared toward finding a job in challenging economic times!)

✅TL;DR, who’s hiring?


📋For recruiters

In the wake of mass layoffs, some incredible databases have surfaced to help those impacted land new roles elsewhere.

  • Following the layoffs at WeWork last November, many alumni looking for new opportunities added their information to this master spreadsheet. (List may be updated soon—stay tuned.)

  • Airbnb’s humane approach to their most recent round of layoffs made waves—and for good reason. I love how they compiled this database of alumni in an easy-to-navigate format on their site to help them find new roles.

  • A newly formed list of Uber alumni impacted by recent layoffs.


👋Additional ideas

Huge thanks to those who’ve reached out to offer to help. If you want to add your services below, please fill out this form and I’ll edit the post on a regular basis.

  • Max Johnson (based in Seattle) is offering free resume, cover letter, and copywriting services.

  • A fellow WeWork employee named Edward Gorbis launched an awesome career coaching platform called Career Meets World with some helpful (and free!) resources to help people land on their feet quickly. In addition to job-searching, the platform also offers tips for interviewing and negotiating.

  • Social enterprise MovingWorlds is on a mission is to empower people and organizations to scale world-changing ideas. Part of how they do that is by sharing resources on topics like professional development, career transitions, capacity building, and more with a focus on the social impact sector. Check out their career growth resources here, and articles on how to leverage your career during COVID here.


📰Critical linking

If you'd like to be featured as you navigate your job search, we'd love to highlight you on our blog and in an upcoming issue of The MarketHer. You can get in touch here.


📹 Creative Spotlight: 6 Feet Apart by Clare Cheyne

There’s no doubt that the past few months have shaken us all to the core. With so much of the world in a delicate balance of quarantine, self-isolation, shelter-in-place, and by-choice hibernation, creativity feels more precious than ever. (Anyone else feel self-imposed pressure to create something meaningful during this pandemic? I can’t stop thinking about how Shakespeare wrote King Lear during lockdown.) But that inner critic aside, many loved ones (and total strangers) are finding inspiration and creative outlets in this newfound sense of quiet. It felt like the right time to introduce a new series highlighting the incredible work and passion projects of fellow storytellers, creators, and marketers.

As a videographer and visual storyteller, my good friend and colleague Clare Cheyne was determined to use this time at home (outside of work) in a positive way, to create and contribute something good to the narrative. “This moment in time felt like an important story to capture given all we’re facing at the moment,” she said. A few weekends ago, she ventured out for the first time in a number of days (keeping a safe 6 feet away from everyone), and shot this video.

Clare said it best in the caption of her Instagram post:

“I hope we never see anything like this again in our lifetime. I hope we can save as many as possible while we still can. And I hope that amidst all of the fear, what we remember after all of this is over is the humanity that so many people showed when it was easier to only look after ourselves. More than ever, we need to keep sharing the good stories—and to keep staying home, so we can beat the shit out of this virus. *Note that we stayed 6 feet away from all humans while shooting this.”

 

Clare is a New Zealand–raised, New York City–based videographer and storyteller. Happiest behind a lens (or in downward-facing dog at a Y7 class), she currently oversees social media video strategy at WeWork. You can check out more of Clare’s videography and photography here, and connect with her on LinkedIn.