Searching For Work In A Time of Pandemic

Happy Tuesday, Dear Readers. For those of you who celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I hope you are having a good one.

We have to talk about it; COVID-19 and how it affects literally all aspects of our lives now.

I'm not going to lie; I have been mostly a hermit and doing all of my job searching online, which keeps me inside all the time. I go out to get groceries once every two weeks or so, and the rare in-person interview, and other than that, I've been communicating with people via phone or email or chat. So now that COVID-19 has forced governments to tell people to not go out so much and to not congregate in large groups, I find my way of life largely unchanged, with the exception that the general atmosphere has changed when I go run errands.

I went to get groceries this weekend, and the atmosphere was tense; sections of shelves were completely bare (they were completely out of every size box of original Cheerios, which I had literally never seen happen before), and people spoke to each other in whispers. It was so quiet that it was almost surreal.

A week ago today, I went to a job interview via a staffing agency. It was a good interview, and I am waiting to hear back as there were several other candidates for the position and they needed time to interview others. The atmosphere was not tense, and everybody was carrying on with business as usual. I wonder, if I am sent to other in-person interviews by this staffing company, if that will remain true, or if it will go the way of the supermarkets. I wonder if I will be doing a lot more video interviews instead. I wonder if, in the case that I do get a job through this agency, will I be expected to just work from home and learn via online resources they send me on how to do the job.

However, dwelling on "what if" scenarios will absolutely run me spare, so I know the best thing to do is to wait and see what happens, one day at a time. Either the scenario shows up, or it doesn't, and I will do what I must to keep going. It is important to keep moving forward, and keep yourself busy.

I am still applying to jobs, I am still keeping my house tidy, I am still writing and reading and learning. Do not panic, and do not hoard. Be good to yourself, but be good to those around you too. We either get through this together, or not at all.

Stay safe, Dear Readers; I wish good health for all of you.

-A.M.W.

Using Humor As An Awkward Nerd

Happy Tuesday, Dear Readers.

When meeting new people, I can get social anxiety, which should surprise nobody considering that I am a massive nerd and growing up I had a significant stutter, so my positive social interactions were, to put it mildly, less than optimal. It is why I gravitated to written communications; with written words, I could get out what I wanted to say, without being an awkward, stuttering mess.

I was able, over a couple years, to stop stuttering (well, stop stuttering mostly; there are still times if I am extremely flustered that it will happen, and yes, it makes me want to cringe myself inside-out when it happens), but the awkwardness stuck around for quite a bit longer, which is when I learned a very valuable lesson which helped me out immensely: if you can get people to laugh first with you, they are less likely to laugh at you for being awkward or stuttering.

I love comedy, but I love comedic timing more; you can turn lots of stories you have from okay to engaging with a bit of timing, and with a turn of phrase and an expression as you pause, you can get people who were not expecting to laugh to do so. I like making people smile, and if I can use humor to leave a good impression, then it is a win-win for me. Laughing relieves tension, and it makes engaging and interacting with people to have a conversation easier.

I am by no means a stand-up comic of any sort, but I work with what I have, and what I have is an absurd lexicon, an ability to use timing in my stories to my advantage, and knowledge of how language and a little bit of hyperbole can go a long way. It works for me, as I can usually get my friends and family to laugh, and just today I was able to get two businesswomen to laugh during an interview I was having to work for their company. In the moments they laughed, I wasn't nervous during that interview and I didn't feel as awkward as I usually do; I was just one professional telling two other professionals a funny anecdote of my past that tied in to what I can help them with in the future.

I hope that you laugh today, Dear Readers. Really, I hope that you laugh every day, but in case laughs are few and far between for you, I hope today is the day.

-A.M.W.

The Anxiety of Radio Silence and The Keyword Game

Being in the job market is stressful. There are companies to research, job listings to comb through, applications to fill out, people to contact for follow-ups or more information about the company, emails to set up interviews, phone interviews, in-person interviews, and thank you notes to fill out. Along with that, there are resumes for various positions in the career track of interest to tweak, cover letters to write, and practice for interviews which may or may not ever happen.

The worst is, after all that work, all that effort, to be met with radio silence. Apply with your best foot forward, with what you think is your strongest resume and cover letter, send the follow-up inquiry a couple days later, and yet...nothing. No response. The anxiety of what wasn’t good enough swiftly follows if you can’t shake it off and go to the next job.

I keep thinking of search engine optimization in relation to job application systems, fueled by keywords, which HR departments use to “help” them whittle down which resumes they actually look through to determine who gets an interview. As far as I understand it, have all the specific keywords HR has programmed in for that particular job, and the resume is sent to the department for consideration. Don’t have enough keywords, and your resume could be categorized as unfit for the position and HR doesn’t even see it.

I have filled out hundreds of job applications so far, and I’ve had over a dozen interviews, either in person or via phone. Some of these interviews went well (though not well enough to be hired), some interviews did not, but I was happy for the experience they gave me all the same. The anxiety I can’t shake, the thing that makes me wonder, late at night as I research yet another company, is this: if it wasn’t for the keyword system that HR departments have adopted, how many more interviews would I have been offered? Followed immediately by: if it wasn’t for this system, would I have gotten a job already?

Then the last, most pressing question: if that is the game HR managers are playing via keyword system, what is the best way to game that system to my advantage? After all, if I’m going to have to play by these rules, then I should figure out a way to consistently win and acquire an interview. The ultimate win state is to acquire an interview that lands me full-time employment.

Let the games begin.

-A.M.W.

Dress for Success

‘Dress for the job you want’ is a motto that, via fashion and business changes throughout the years, has become significantly more fraught than the last time I was looking for work. There are plenty of places that still do full professional dress as their standard for everyday wear. There are also a significant amount of places that fully lean into business casual for everyday wear, so nice slacks or dark jeans with a polo shirt or blouse is acceptable.

Of course, interview outfits have rarely changed, even if the in-fashion style changes from year to year. I made an effort to acquire up-to-fashion-date interview clothes recently. I found a retailer, Torrid, that carries the most comfortable business slacks I have ever worn. As a bonus, they have varying leg-length sizes so I could get the short inseam version and finally stop having to worry about scuffing my leg cuffs if I don’t wear heels to an interview or meeting. It helps that Torrid has multiple colors too, so depending on how dedicated one is to color coordination between items, there is plenty to choose from both in-store and online. 

At this point I feel I need to say that this blog is not sponsored by Torrid. I named them because I appreciate the fact that they finally created a suit pant that I don’t mind wearing all day because they stay comfortable. In addition, their selection for plus-sized women really is amazing, and keeps up with current fashion trends, which I also deeply appreciate.

In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to worry this much about fashion in order to be perceived as a good candidate for a job when I'm at an interview. Unfortunately, the world we live in is far from perfect, and to that end I have had to critically assess my clothing choices, both past and present, for the past several months. I feel decidedly more confident in my clothing choices as they are now, and my closet is more organized than it has been in years.

So, here is to the New Year, to new job interviews, and to new jobs. I hope that everybody has exactly what they need to get what they want accomplished in 2020!

-A.M.W.