OK, anyone else getting a little antsy after sitting in the house for the past couple of weeks due to COVID-19? Particularly if you are on the job search and things have seemingly slowed down as a result of the pandemic, you may be feeling some anxiety about what's next and when you may be able to find your next opportunity. The silver lining is that with the #StayAtHome order and social distancing rules being in effect, you now have the time (LOTS of it) to set yourself up for job search success.
Here are five tips to get you started:
Get your knowledge up!
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With so many programs and universities halting in-person classes and transitioning their courses to online, this is a unique opportunity to build your knowledge base and make yourself more marketable as a candidate. You can learn a new skill, take classes, and earn new certifications for discounted or no cost. These can then become additional highlights that you can add to your resume to help set you apart from other applicants in the job market.
Update your resume and LinkedIn profile.
Speaking of resumes, now that we've got time, you've got plenty time to update yours! And contrary to popular belief, companies are still hiring. In fact several industries are ramping up hiring to help meet the increased demand during this crisis, including:
- Grocery Chains
- Pharmacies
- Healthcare
- Crisis Management
- Remote Meetings & Communications
- Online Learning
- Online Retail/Amazon
So put the extra effort in to overhaul your resume and LinkedIn profile to ensure they are competitive and will attract the attention of recruiters. Don't feel like doing it yourself? Hire someone! There are plenty of resume writers who are taking on clients now (hi!!) and offering discounted rates to help job seekers navigate this new environment to find employment.
Define your potential employer list.
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Part of finding the right job is also identifying the right companies to work for. Use this extra time to research and select prospective employers and understand what they may be looking for in candidates. Utilize the online forums like Glassdoor to review what current and former employers are saying. Search various news/media outlets to learn how this company is viewed by the public, what challenges they may be facing, and any major organizational changes. Find current employees you can connect with to learn more about the inner workings of the company and its culture. Then narrow your company list so that you can begin to tailor your documents (resume, cover letter, etc) to align with what those companies are seeking.
Prepare for virtual interviews.
As a result of the coronavirus, employers are getting creative with how they are connecting with and interviewing candidates. Even after the crisis is contained, you can expect that remote/virtual interviews will become more of the norm. So take this extra time to get comfortable with using remote communication software, practicing your interview answers in front of a camera, and establishing the interview space in your home (please don't be the person interviewing in the bedroom with the headboard in the background).
Build your online network.
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Now that we can't hang out in person, people are leveraging online and social platforms to maintain and build relationships. First one that comes to mind is LinkedIn, so after you update your profile (see #2), start engaging with other members via groups and forums. Identify decision-makers, peers, and other industry personnel to add to your network and send connection requests (pro tip: don't just blindly send connection requests. Personalize the note so the person knows you aren't spamming them).
But it's not just about LinkedIn. Many companies have become even more active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep connected with their customers and employees. So utilize these platforms to interact with company personnel directly and engage them in relevant conversation.
As you seek to connect with more companies and decision-makers online, this is also a good time to do some cleanup on your online brand. It's 2020, you know that companies will check you out online, so don't give them something to find. Even though your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts may be for personal use, they are still a reflection of who you are and how companies perceive you. So if your accounts are public, you'll want to spruce up your profiles and remove posts that may come across as inappropriate (i.e. the drunken party photos and the highlight reel from your trip to the dispensary in LA).
For more information about Julia Rock, check out Rock Career Development or follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak