What it’s like searching for and starting a new job during COVID-19
What it’s like searching for and starting a new job during COVID-19
What it’s like searching for and starting a new job during COVID-19
By Alex Schroeder
May 28, 2020
Summary
When it comes to job searching in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrea Barringer has seen it all. She interviewed via Zoom for an opening at one company, and in person for another, where the prospective employers weren’t wearing masks. She got rejection letters from the retailer Target — three of them, to be exact — despite it being “one of the busiest places” in her area at the moment.
And, most importantly, after six weeks of searching, applying, interviewing and getting rejected, she was finally hired.
According to the Marketplace-Edison Research Poll from late April, nearly a quarter of Americans are not at all confident that they would find a new job within six months if they were to lose their current job. That has more than doubled from 11% in 2019.
Trying to make ends meet
For some, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant taking even riskier work after a job loss. As has been widely reported, there’s no shortage of jobs in certain retail sectors, as delivery services expand. Walmart has hired more than 235,000 workers. ZipRecruiter says searches for grocery positions have increased 22% since the start of the crisis. CVS said in late March it would hire 50,000 people to keep up with demand.
Taking one of these jobs, however, means taking the health risk that comes with working in a warehouse, store or other densely populated area.
That’s been the challenge for Avanne Foster, 31, in Phoenix. She lost her job building hot tubs and spas in part, she says, because she told her employer she would not be coming in over concerns about her asthma during the pandemic. The company maintains that she quit, and has since filled Foster’s position.
Onboarding online
Jenna West accepted her new job as a public relations manager for Workhuman, a human resources software company in early February. She was all set to start in the office on March 18.
“On the Friday before I started, I got a call, and said, ‘Actually, no. Everybody’s working from home, you will be getting your computer mailed to you and everything’s going to be remote,’” West said.
It’s a particularly hard spot for West to be in because, working in communications, part of her job is getting to know the company and its employees and telling their stories.
COVID-19 Economy FAQs
As a patchwork of states start to reopen, businesses that fall into a gray area are wondering when they can reopen.
Will you be able to go on vacation this summer?
There’s no chance that this summer will be a normal season for vacations either in the U.S. or internationally.
When does the expanded COVID-19 unemployment insurance run out?
The CARES Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in March, authorized extra unemployment payments, increasing the amount of money, and broadening who qualifies.
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Reference
Schroeder, A. (2020, May 29). What it's like searching for and starting a new job during COVID-19. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.marketplace.org/2020/05/28/covid-19-job-search-onboarding-open-positions-unemployment/