Ask Me Anything Webinar: Job Searching During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Adjusting to the ongoing changes when it comes to the job market during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t easy, but leaning on a trusted resource can help you turn your perspective around. Prepped continues to deliver educational webinars focused on the current shift in the job market across various industries, so you can gain clarity and continue your job search with confidence and ease. In this Ask Me Anything webinar, Prepped's Co-Founders, Laura Kirsch and Julia Fulton answer users' questions about job searching during the pandemic. Here’s a look at some of the topics we covered:

How to approach your job search during a pandemic

It’s a common question these days, and the easiest response is to keep your strategy more or less the same. There are things you can do on an ongoing basis that will help increase your chances of landing a job, even as the landscape changes. Approaching your job search with a solid career plan will help you stay on track. Your plan should include a vision for your career and what you want to accomplish. Breaking this down with long and short-term goals will help you understand what steps to take and when while you are job searching. Prepped helps guide you through your job search with our My Plan feature. This feature breaks down your career plan into small and actionable goals so that your job search becomes more approachable. Each plan provides you with ten goals per week, all targeted at building specific job search skills, such as:

• How to present yourself in job interviews
• How to build your confidence
• How to network

Sign up for Prepped to gain access to this feature so that you can begin your plan!

What to realistically expect while job searching during the pandemic

The job search can feel like a long process under ordinary circumstances, so given the current state of things, it’s important to understand that this is a challenging process, and you need to be kind to yourself as you move along. Again, one of the best resources is to lean on your original career strategy.Here are few things to keep in mind as you continue your job search:

• The job search will take longer during the coronavirus pandemic and will require more of your patience than usual.
• Networking will take place online, and should focus on checking in with connections.
• Coffee chats have become virtual chats, conducted by phone or video conference.
• Interviews will be conducted virtually and will require some tweaks to your environment to ensure you are still showing up professionally.

What you can do during this downtime

Research - Find companies that make you excited by the prospect of working with them, and spend some time researching what they do, who they hire and what their culture and values are.Practice an elevator pitch - The goal of an elevator pitch is to describe yourself in 10-15 seconds so you can feel confident in your delivery in any given situation. This is a great time to practice, and Prepped can help you create the perfect elevator pitch. Practise interviewing skills - Whether you’re practising in the mirror or over a video call with a trusted friend, practising your interview skills is an excellent use of time. Use common interview questions as prompts and craft your response so you can build your confidence when the opportunity strikes.

What the proper etiquette is for salary negotiations

We often feel awkward or uncomfortable when it comes to discussing salary, and even more so when we are preparing for salary negotiations. But it’s important to normalize conversations around salary and to prepare for negotiation before you dive in. Know your worth - Spend time researching the average salary range for a role you are interested in so you can set realistic expectations. Be flexible - You may not get exactly what you want, so it’s important to be flexible when an offer comes through. Speak to your strengths - When you are asking for more money, it’s important to be able to speak confidently about your strengths and unique attributes.