Whether you’re an upcoming college grad seeking your first career or a displaced employee, locating a new job during a pandemic takes a different approach. There are a number of factors that can make your job search a little slower than normal however, there are ways to ensure that you hit the top of a hiring manager’s list. Let me share the inside scoop from the hiring side…

• Make Search Algorithms Your Best Friend- More than 22 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last month. Unemployment rates are the highest that they’ve been in decades and the volume of incoming claims is overwhelming state unemployment agencies causing major delays in payments. Tell you something you don’t know, right? This means employers are being flooded with talent and are relying on technology more than ever to help them pin point their next hire. Your resume absolutely has to have the critical keywords that are relevant to the role you are seeking. Important keywords to consider are: any licenses or credentials you have, software programs you are fluent in, machinery or equipment that you have experience in and details of your typical responsibilities. Think of your resume as precious real estate and make the most use of the space. You can impart your soft skills during an interview but your core experiences must be marketed on the resume.
• Check The Job Posting Date- Many employers were forced to send staff home immediately with stay at home orders. This means jobs that were posted for what were immediate openings, are now on hold yet may still be posted online. Be sure to sort listings by posted date and apply to the newest jobs first. Most job boards also allow you to sign up for email or text alerts when new jobs meeting your search criteria are posted. This is a great way to get your information in front of hiring managers right away.
• Partner With A Recruiter- Many employers will be apprehensive to bring on full time employees until they are certain that their business can sustain it. In previous economic rebounds a large number of employers looked to staffing firms to help them bridge this time period and hired the employees in permanently once business was more stable. A recruiter typically only presents an employer with 3 or less candidates for consideration, drastically increasing your chance for hire in comparison to an employer evaluating hundreds of applicants.
• Stay Fresh- Staying active and in your normal routine will absolutely increase your chances of interviewing and presenting as well as you did before this pandemic hit. Stay engaged with your industry through podcasts and online blogs. This will give you great ideas to bring to a new employer and give you some great topics for discussion during interviews. Be sure to be knowledgeable of how local and state pandemic restrictions may impact your future role and employer.

While certainly more difficult, it is absolutely feasible to land your next role during this pandemic. Many essential businesses are up-scaling their teams to meet the increase in business demand and are eager to find new talent for these roles.

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Technical, and Trillium Environmental. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 35th Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2018 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.