Every struggle, personal or cultural, present opportunities. These are activities career professionals suggest you focus on to make the most of the slowdown in the hiring process caused by the virus.
- The pause in your plans is a great time for research. Research the connection between your major and professional opportunities. Research locations you might be interested in once opportunities opened up.
— Collegiate Parent, Business Insider, Forbes - Network virtually. Use resources such as LinkedIn to find alumni. Plan questions you want to ask to enhance your understanding of your field and its opportunities.
— Collegiate Parent, Business Insider, Forbes - Develop a CV (curriculum vitae) as a resume resource. You will want to tailor each resume to the openings you seek, which may or may not be posting during the hiring uncertainty of the shutdown. However, this season presents a good opportunity to record the details you will want to use, such as skills learned in classes all the way back to your freshman year, certifications, and extracurricular activities.
Sharpen your skills so you will be ready for the time comes to present yourself. People have done this before. Enhance your ability to stand out by reviewing the article here. Prepare what you present for applicant tracking software here. - Update online profiles. These, whether in social media or more career-oriented sites represent you and can either enhance or undermine your career efforts.
— Forbes
“The key is to go a step beyond just ‘hiding’ your personal life from the world. Think, instead, about how you can impress them with your online presence. What if you did a series of interviews with senior people in your field and wrote about what you learned on LinkedIn?” - Practice interviewing. There are YouTube channels and other online resources you can use.
— Forbes - Demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning NOW.
For instance, make the most of the fact that much of the world is adjusting to managing a remote workforce for the first time. Become an expert, challenges Alexa Shoen here. - “Temper your expectations so that you wont get disappointed if this takes a long time.” Many companies are uncertain of the speed at which the economy will rebound and so will take time to determine their needs. This is a time for people persevering, optimistic faith to stand out and show how we can serve.
— Forbes
Piedmont Career Services is still available to help. Email eshlemanb@carolinau.edu.