Americans have lost 10 million jobs because of the coronavirus outbreak and due to the quarantine the job search has become more challenging. However, do not lose your heart, the companies are still hiring. It’s only that the interview and the whole recruitment process has considerably changed.

As the pandemic forces millions to socially distance or quarantine companies that previously worked in the offices are going remote for the nearest future. Thus, new positions, they are searching candidates for, might be posted as remote jobs. Which means that their recruitment process are now remote too and you have to be ready for that. 

Below we’ll speak about how to increase your chances of finding the job and actually getting it. We’ll also cover what job-boards to use to find a remote position or a freelance job.

What has changed

Job interviews

  First of all, interviews are now conducted by video and phone calls. So be prepared to show your best via Google Hangouts, Skype, or Zoom.

  Here are a few tips you can use before the interview to provide it goes smooth:

  • dress up for the interview, your pajamas won’t do; 
  • show up 5-10 minutes early;
  • test your camera and headphones (if they are charged);
  • see what you look like;
  • check if your background looks good and contains nothing disturbing.

  Some of the companies are just like you: are not used to having video interviews, so think of the ways you can make your presentation a bit special and easy to remember. Think about what it would have been like in reality. Source a whiteboard for a design challenge and they will be impressed. Have your work samples ready and offer to screen-share them when you are asked about your portfolio.

Specialist in demand

  Everyone is feeling the impact of the outbreak. While some industries are facing the hardest times, companies like restaurants and gyms have long shut their doors for visitors, some may be hiring even more. 

  Due to obvious reasons, industries like shipping, offline retail, travel, restaurants are not hiring at the moment. The new jobs posted are related to the government, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and non-profit organizations. The openings include registered nurses, communications associates, project managers, technicians, as well as cleaners

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  So, when job-hunting don’t assume that companies are not hiring, even at these times, companies are still in search of talents. 

Means of communication

  If you apply for the jobs via email and don’t get the reply, try to use alternative means of communication. Some companies skip submitted applications and search for the perfect candidate directly at LinkedIn. As they can pinpoint the exact combination of skills they are searching for right in the LinkedIn search function. 

  So the best advice here is to optimize your LinkedIn profile, make sure you are showing in those searches. Besides, there is no harm in being proactive, if there is a company you are aiming at, you can contact the hiring manager directly via email or LinkedIn, just letting them know you are in search of the job and listing the things you could do to benefit the company’s goals. 

 In other words, you should be ready that some companies are not getting back to you as soon as possible and this is understandable. Another thing you can do in this situation is take a step back and accept that things are going to move a bit slow. 

Besides, though we do not know when this situation will end, one day it will, and you will want to be the number one candidate whom companies contact when this ends. To achieve this:

Job offers

  While interviews might be going in a decent pace. When it comes to locking down that offer, and naming the start date companies may demonstrate a little bit of uncertainty.

  The first thing you need to remember is that this has nothing to do with you. During these times of uncertainty, you need to follow up more than ever, persistence gets the job. If you are in the interview process and the company does not seem to respond, keep following up every 5 business days.

  During the coronavirus outbreak, one needs to be very flexible, if a company demonstrates uncertainty in whether they are ready to hire you, try to be the one who understands their concerns. You can offer a 90-days trial period so that you both can make sure you are suitable for this role. 

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  Alternatively, you can agree to a lower payment during the time of trial, it may seem not the best option, but at least you know you have an agreement and some positive perspectives ahead.

Skillset

Revise your set of skills and think what and how you can offer them to companies for an hourly or project rate. Use sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Toptal to advertise yourself as a freelancer and to get the job offers.

Your mindset

  We all tend to lose optimism and shift our way of thinking into a more negative direction. Having this in mind be aware of what you are consuming and what you are thinking about. Otherwise, you will feel stressed, anxious, frustrated, and uncertain during this time period. If you are completely consumed by the news, hearing the worst-case scenario, living in fear, you will end up feeling hopeless, trapped, and feeling there is nothing we can do in this situation.


  In fact, there is always another way to live. You don’t need to live in stress and anxiety every day, you can choose what information you are consuming and what thoughts you let into your mind. You always have the choice to live your life differently. If you choose to go that path of awareness you won’t fall victim to the anxiety and depression. This is the best time to rethink what you really want in terms of your career.

Where to find jobs

  Finding a remote job or a freelance project won’t be that complicated if you use the above advice and refer to the below listed job-boards which are focused on the remote jobs. 

JustRemote.co

Just Remote will suit you if you are looking for jobs in marketing, customer service, tech, design, and writing. Many of the jobs are posted by startup companies spread all over the world.

Remote.co

Remote.co is great for anyone searching remote job as a developer, customer service representative, recruiter, designer or sales professional.

WeWorkRemotely.com

WeWorkRemotely.com offers jobs for people searching for the jobs in programming, design, sales, marketing, part-time, full-time and contract-based. 

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FarFarJob.com

FarFarJobs provides great opportunities for people searching remote jobs in programming, design, marketing and ads, system administration, and other spheres. The service offers 2,5K openings at startups as well as big enterprises, many of which are remote positions.

FlexJobs.com

FlexJobs has many work from home jobs that are full-time and part-time, it offers employee and freelance jobs. Besides, you can find on-site jobs including flexible and alternative schedules.

Outsourcely.com

Outsourcely.com is great for people looking for jobs in design, multimedia, web development, mobile applications, customer and business services. 

Fiverr.com

Fiverr is a freelancing site that offers all kinds of jobs. Some of them are entry-level, but some need a little more effort and qualification. Here are the examples of what you can be engaged in: marketing, design, writing, virtual assistant, managing social media accounts, SEO services. All you need to do is create a profile with a list of services you can provide and choose a price for them from. Fiverr keeps about 20% of every job you complete and pays  the rest via PayPal.

Freelancer.com

At Freelancer you can post your profile and browse available jobs which range from designing t-shirts to designing apps to managing social media accounts. Once the client pays for the work, you can withdraw your earnings to your PayPal account, bank account or have them wire transferred. 

Upwork.com

Upwork offers many kinds of jobs in different spheres, everything from writing to voice-overs. You can create a profile with examples of your work and companies will see your profile and approach you, and you can bid on jobs. If your portfolio is thin, try to make your prices lower to establish a body of work and ratings from satisfied clients.

  Treat the pandemic and the time you have now not as a catastrophe but as a precious gift you have been given. It is really a gift of time for you to be introspective. You can look back at your life up to this point and in your career too. 

  Think about what you would like to be doing now when you have finally got out of the hamster wheel and ask yourself some hard questions you didn’t have time to think of. Maybe it will occur to you that it’s time to shift the direction you’ve been moving in. Good luck with the job hunt, don’t doubt everything will be better than you imagine.