• About
  • Article PDF
  • White Papers
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Advertising & Sponsorships
Friday, July 1, 2022
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Times Of Entrepreneurship
Growth and Equity for a Changing World
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

Job Hunting In The Midst Of A Crisis

How Can I Find A Job In The Middle Of A Meltdown?

by Seth Levine
August 26, 2020
in Mentorship, New Builders
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

My posts last week (which included predictions of pending lay-offs at technology businesses) prompted a number of people to reach out and ask a variant of the question: “How can I find a job in the middle of a shutdown/meltdown?”. I don’t know that I have a great answer to that but I thought I’d take a stab at it with the hope that some of these ideas will be at least somewhat helpful to those that find themselves in the position of being out of work during this crisis.

TBC, while we’ve already seen a number of layoffs, I think there unfortunately are many more coming. Early lay-offs were widespread in the hospitality, travel and related industries. We’re just starting to see these in the tech sector – especially for companies that have exposure to travel and hospitality. I think we’ll see many more as companies get their hands around the cost cutting measures that will be required for them to weather this crisis and (hopefully) stay in business. I wrote the other day about companies considering measures such as covering a few months of COBRA and/or allowing for longer stock exercise periods as some tools they can use to help mitigate the pain, but the reality is that being out of work right now is challenging and something that millions of Americans are going to be dealing with over the coming month. This advice is focused on people working for tech companies, as that’s the world I know. Some of the advice is applicable outside of that sector, some not.

Don’t Panic. That’s my first advice for just about every situation and in this case it can be significantly easier said than done. But it’s important in this case, even though your emotions and fear may be running high. Take it one step at a time, form a plan, then get out there.

Companies are still hiring. Yes it’s true that many startups are locking down hiring (and that’s been the VC 101 advice that most investors – including Foundry – have been giving in general to their portfolio companies). But most are still hiring for at least some key positions. There are many companies that are actually seeing an uptick in business (sustainable uptick, not just the near-term “WFH” bounce that many saw last week into this).

Focus your profile/resume on return on investment. More than typically, companies are measuring return on all their spend. Crisis brings focus and focus brings out the data analysts to measure everything. This is probably a good thing (as long as eventually budgets free back up for experimentation) but it’s something you should have in mind as you think about how to best position yourself for another role. Be clear that you fit into this paradigm of measured expenditure. You’re comfortable with it; you’ve done it before; you think everyone should be measuring return and focusing their dollars (whether marketing, sales, development, etc) on those things with the highest near term return.

Expand your geographic focus. Everyone is working from home so at the moment we live in a “post-geographic” world. Might not be the first thing you think about when you’re starting to look around (maybe in this environment it is, so sorry if this is obvious). Go broad and don’t worry about location. Most companies are much more open to WFH as a longer term prospect now that they were 2 weeks ago.

Get your Zoom game on. It’s not ideal to interview over Zoom, but that’s today’s reality. Make sure you show up like a pro. And embrace it – it’s the new normal.

Keep at it. Lots of companies that put hiring on hold a week ago will have a better sense for how their business is really being impacted over the next few weeks (and to be clear, most companies are making week-by-week assessments). Pace yourself and keep at it. Companies are changing their views continually through this and what their plans are today (no more hiring) may be completely the opposite a week from now.

I’ll keep thinking about this and will post updates. I know this isn’t a great time to be looking for a job. But markets are cyclical and I know that we’ll ultimately recover from this.

For more inspiring stories, insights and actionable funding opportunities, subscribe to Times of E’s weekly newsletter, www.timesofe.com/introduction.
Source: VC Adventure
Via: VC Adventure
Tags: COVID-19EmploymentHuntingJobsRecession
Seth Levine

Seth Levine

Hi, I'm Seth Levine, a Boulder, CO based technology investor and managing director at Foundry Group. While I love technology I’m also a husband, father, avid cyclist, snowboarder and outdoors guy.

Related Posts

Two blonde women outside, leaning against a pole

Big Social Media Doesn’t Work So Well For Small Businesses. But the Market Is Shifting.

by Lori Ioannou
April 27, 2022
0

QBSleeves co-CEOs Barbara Booth (left) and Cornelia Quinn created airplane tray covers to safeguard travelers against germs during the pandemic....

woman in a colorful skirt and turban

Main Street Caught in a Whipsaw as the Fed Looks to Combat Inflation

by Lori Ioannou
March 16, 2022
0

Meghan Noland founded her own brand, Meghan Fabulous. It's taken creative tacks to deal with inflation. Credit: Tyler Rowell (https://www.tylerrowell.com/)...

black woman florist

A Washington, D.C. Florist Steps into her Father’s Shoes, With the Help of Georgetown Students

by Skyler Rossi
March 1, 2022
0

Alexes Haggins recently re-opened her father's florist shop. Alexes Haggins grew up working shifts at her father’s floral shop in...

Entrepreneurs are Tapping into Employees on a Booming Island Nation With 11% Growth

Entrepreneurs are Tapping into Employees on a Booming Island Nation With 11% Growth

by Skyler Rossi
February 28, 2022
0

Alex Ross, Jose Herrera and Jared Karson, co-founders of Hire Horatio When e-commerce boomed during the pandemic, Jose Herrera and...

Black man in headshot

Problem Solved: A Lawsuit from Mattel Almost Killed a Board Game Dream, but the Founder Rebounded

by Skyler Rossi
February 23, 2022
0

Sherry Martin Sherry Martin’s first go at the board game business went better than he could have imagined. A year...

A Historically Black Community in Miami Helped A New Small Business Survive the Pandemic

A Historically Black Community in Miami Helped A New Small Business Survive the Pandemic

by Skyler Rossi
February 16, 2022
0

Akino and Jamila West Jamila West always wanted to open a bread and breakfast. So when a developer told her...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Learn about the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders

Popular

  • Commentary: Women Now Face Pressure To Look Beautiful Everywhere They Go. Here’s How To Set Them Free.

    Commentary: Women Now Face Pressure To Look Beautiful Everywhere They Go. Here’s How To Set Them Free.

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 20 U.S. University Entrepreneurship Competitions, 2021

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Out Of Delta Dirt, A Bright Clean Splash Of Hope: A Sweet Potato Distillery

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Commentary: Authenticity Is Women’s Most Powerful Weapon in Raising Funds. Here’s How To Tap Into It.

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: Times of E is on a reduced publication schedule

June 23, 2022
Video: Armory Square Ventures’ Sawhney On The Rise of Upstate NY

Newsletter: Varsity Blues, redemption stories and women-led finance

June 23, 2022
Video: Armory Square Ventures’ Sawhney On The Rise of Upstate NY

Video: Armory Square Ventures’ Sawhney On The Rise of Upstate NY

June 19, 2022

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: A Comeback in Syracuse

2 months ago
Lisa Falzone

Weekly Headlines: Coronavirus Aid, Gun Sales Surge, Industries That Will Be Winners

2 years ago
  • About
  • Partner
  • Bespoke Research
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

(703-966-7357)

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • New Builders
  • Ecosystem
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Editor’s Note

© 2022 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Free Download

Times of E Speaks with Jim McKelvey

Get exclusive insights on the future of entrepreneurship. 

Download Now

Support Times of E

Times of E covers the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders.

With your support of our journalism, you will receive our weekly newsletter and one of these resources for free: 

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?