My Journey Navigating Through the Job Market During COVID-19

Disclaimer: This is the very first article I've written on LinkedIn and I am not a professional blogger; I hope you enjoy the read.

It was early March when the first COVID-19 Shelter in Place started and the pandemic was still new to all of us. I had an ominous feeling when I received a last-minute early morning invite from a VP who happened to be my former manager. My coworkers had a more positive outlook about the meeting, perhaps I thought I was going to get that promotion I was hoping for after nearly 3 years of being with the company. Then what I thought was going to happen, happened - I was laid off.

Being laid off wasn't a situation I had ever been in or thought I'd be in. All types of feelings and emotions embodied me. I went through the 5 stages of grief:

1. Denial - I was in disbelief that this happened to me and my coworkers were also blindsided. How could they let me go when I met my deliverables and contributed greatly to some of the largest projects the company had ever handled? I thought my tenure would have given me safe passage.
2. Anger - Once the denial phase passed, I was angry. I was angry at the people who made the decision to let me go. I was angry at myself for not taking the job offer I received the year before. I was angry at the world. I was angry that I didn't see this coming. I saw red for a while. It took a good deal of time for me to move on from this feeling of rage.
3. Bargaining - The next day I opened up my laptop as if I were to check on my projects only to remember that I had been let go. I kept thinking, "perhaps they'll reconsider" or "maybe this was a bad dream." It wasn't. I was laid off for the first time in my life and had no plan.
4. Depression - I cried. I cried for a few days because of depression, fear, and feelings of despair that overwhelmed my being. I had overwhelming feelings that I wasn't good enough. I had fear that I was going to lose my house and not be able to provide for my family and fear that I wouldn't ever get hired anywhere.
5. Acceptance - It started to make sense that it was me. I had been pushing for a promotion/raise for 2 years and didn't even receive a cost of living raise over 2 years - not many people in the company did either because of "cost savings" reasons. People who weren't laid off took a pay reduction; something I would have probably not reacted well to as I had been seeking the opposite for 2 years.

I still had no idea of what I was going to do or how I was going to navigate the job market in a broken economy full of scared people, especially against other candidates that also had been laid off.

I was rejected constantly and experienced many bouts of Imposter Syndrome. Although I had several years of experience using SQL, many positions I looked into had Python or R as the "preferred skill." No matter how many self-learning online courses I took, I didn't feel confident in my Python skills and online training certifications are more like participation medals and unfortunately in my opinion, don't carry a ton of weight. I even took the time to earn a Tableau Desktop Specialist certification, thinking it would give me a big boost in the job hunt - it didn't. I felt like I'd never be good enough for any company. By this point, I had applied to more than 20 positions (I wasn't keeping track) and had been rejected from several roles that I thought I would land easily. I felt worthless and I was frustrated.

During this time, I wanted to better myself and not rely solely on online learning platforms (although there are some awesome ones out there) but wasn't sure where to look. Do I start a Master's program? That's about an 18-24 month long commitment for most programs. One day, while perusing Facebook, I happened to see an advertisement for a Data Analytics course offered through UC Berkeley Extension and I requested more information. The recruiter/sales rep called me promptly and provided me with a sales pitch that sounded really enticing. However, I was on the fence about doing the course because of the hefty price tag and it wasn't exactly a quick course - it was a 24-week commitment. Seeing that my job prospects had dwindled, on the final day before the registration period ended, I pulled the trigger and signed up for the course. This was by far one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself.

Out of the blue, I received a phone call and an email regarding a position with a company that I had never heard of - it was a staffing agency based out of Maryland. The position was for a Data Management Analyst contractor role working for the Federal Government and they wanted to move along with the hiring process quickly. I couldn't help but feel skeptical and thought it was possibly a scam at first. I decided to do some research and it turned out to be a legit position after all. It appeared they needed to fill the headcount for a contract that had already started...and it appeared I needed a job, so I accepted the role, not knowing where it would lead.

It was quite an interesting experience at first; I joined 5 other team members and we all started about the same time. It was the first time I worked with people with varying backgrounds and degrees, including social work, child education, public health, and others. Having a job at this point was definitely a lifesaver for me as the CARES act payment support for unemployment was coming to an end and I was in need of a consistent income. I met some of the best people in my career during this time so I am glad the opportunity came when it did. Unfortunately, I wasn't challenged by the work and wasn't working with the technology (SQL & Python) that I really wanted to.

Inspired by an article that I read on Medium, I decided to build a model on how many jobs I needed to apply in order to get at least 1 job offer. I tracked all of my submitted applications, including the dates, technical tests, and final outcomes for each application. I determined with my luck and typical results that I would need to apply to 84 jobs in order to land one offer. As of writing this article, my job search metrics are:

• 43 job applications
• 25 without responses, not even a rejection/no-reply email
• 6 initial phone screens with recruiters
• 2 times where I was ghosted by the recruiter or hiring manager
• 5 technical/take-home tests, 1 of which I received prior to speaking with anyone - this organization weeded out applicants before a phone or video call
• 3 final/late-stage interviews
• 1 offer

Prior to getting the one offer, I was speaking with three to four different companies in a 2-week period. For one company, over the course of a 5-week period, I had 10 interviews with 5 different people. It was the most I had ever prepared for a job. The interviews were in this format:

1. Recruiter phone screen
2. Technical test (SQL) with the Senior Analyst
3. Hiring manager initial call
4. Recruiter check-in call
5. Data Scientist call - part of a four-person panel interview for the day
6. Senior Analyst call - part of a four-person panel interview for the day
7. Hiring Manager call - part of a four-person panel interview for the day
8. District Manager call - part of a four-person panel interview for the day
9. Recruiter check-in call
10. Hiring Manager final call

Don't think for one minute that the recruiter calls in between interviews aren't another interview in themselves. Early on in my career, I put recruiters on too high a pedestal, where I thought they'd have a tremendous impact on my outcome. Then I went through a phase where in my mind, they were "just recruiters" and thought they didn't influence a hiring decision much, if at all. What I've come to learn is that it is in a candidate's best interest to be courteous and polite to recruiters as well as show a genuine interest in the role and share any concerns with the recruiter. Positivity, honesty, and enthusiasm definitely shines through and can influence your standing - whereas negativity, arrogance, and dismissiveness will most likely eliminate a candidate fairly quickly. Always have questions prepared - not just any questions, relevant questions that show interest in the role and company, while trying not to sound like the material came directly from a blog.

After this tenuous interview process, I received a follow-up email a few days later - I didn't get the job. I was invited for a feedback call with the recruiter. This was a new experience for me in the job search process. The recruiter was kind and open, providing constructive, positive feedback that was much appreciated. For many other rejections, I was hit with the "no-reply" automated email, which is literally the rudest thing any company can send a job seeker, especially if there were multiple conversations that took place.

Although I didn't get this position, I can honestly say it was one of the best interviewing experiences. The recruiter I worked with was consistent, transparent, and really cared about how the candidates felt about their interviews and the company. Unlike many other companies where I didn't land the job and their recruiters I dealt with in the past, I felt valued.

Fast-forward two days, I had my 4th interview in a two-week period lined up. For this role, I had received a voicemail from a recruiter that found my resume on Dice.com. It was for a Business Analyst role, a role that I had a high interest in and for a company that I didn’t know existed. The recruiter, James (name changed for privacy), had been very polite and delivered on his follow-up promises. After speaking with James, he let me know that he'd set me up for a technical interview with the hiring manager and team.

The timing couldn't be any better coming off a small bout of depression after finding out I wasn't getting the job from the last company where I spent weeks interviewing and tons of preparation time. I joined the Google Hangouts call and was met by three interviewers. I had a stigma that interviewing with multiple people simultaneously was more difficult than a normal face to face, but actually found it to be easier as I wasn't repeating the same talking points and stumbling over my thoughts. I was able to pass their SQL test and we moved on to the next test questions and standard interview questions. I actually had a really good time on this call and kept the flow of the conversation going when there were moments of awkward silence.

Coming off a 5-week interview process, I thought I'd have some time to relax and look through more jobs online. I wanted to check if any new positions opened up over the weekend that I hadn't applied to yet. Thirty minutes later, I got a phone call from James. He asked how I thought the interview went and I replied that I had a great time and enjoyed speaking with the 3 interviewers. He let me know that I was going to get an offer. I couldn't believe it, that right after the two-hour session I just had, I was getting the job. This came as a huge surprise to me because in my years of job searching, I've never had a decision made this quickly unless it was where I didn't get the job. All of the job prep I worked on for the previous company came into play and set me up to be successful.

Getting laid off was definitely one of the worst times in my life. Yet, it was the catalyst that pushed me to become a better version of myself.  A version that may not have existed had I not been put into such a precarious situation. I once read somewhere if you can improve yourself by just 1% a day, that'll become a 38% improvement in one year's time. I've spent the greater part of 2020 shooting for that 1% and will continue to into the new year.

What I learned throughout this process is: 

• Prepare for interviews thoroughly and never stop learning. 
• Search online for top interview questions for both recruiters and managers. 
• Practice, practice, practice. 
• As an interviewee, the last thing anyone wants is to sound rehearsed or robotic, but being unprepared is even worse. Practicing dialogue will smooth out any unnatural sounding tones and allow a personal touch to shine through. 
• Use all and any resources available, whether that is networking, using job boards, or making new connections. 
• Keep your skills sharp by reading articles, joining groups, or taking online classes. For three out of four of my last positions, I was recruited through job boards - two of the jobs I was recruited through LinkedIn and one I mentioned earlier through Dice.com, for roles I didn't even know existed. Many times, recruiters will make their own search efforts prior to posting the position to a job board, to find candidates they think will be a good fit for the role, rather than sift through hundreds of resumes or rely on the ATS to bring in the candidates it has the highest match % for on keywords or phrases.

I wish everyone can have the same success that I've experienced through job boards or land a role through networking. I understand that everyone's circumstances are different, however, if there isn't 100% effort put into the job search and/or lacks using as many resources and avenues as possible to find a new job, then that needs to change.

A good friend of mine helped keep my spirits up and helped me mentally throughout this journey and told me:

"When it is the right time for you to move, you will move into the RIGHT role & company - It is all about timing."

If you happen to be a job seeker, good luck on your journey - I sincerely hope you find a job where you will grow and do something you are passionate about. If you currently have a job and don't feel it is the right place where you can develop your career and/or are not happy doing the work, I greatly encourage you to see what else is out there - it could make all the difference for both your career and life. If you have a job that you love and want to grow with the company and even retire there, hats off to you, keep chugging along. If you've been laid off, I know it is hard and at times feels like nothing is going right - keep pushing there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thank you for taking the time to read my article, I hope that it will inspire job seekers to not give up on their searches and to try different approaches and use their resources. I'm more than happy to chat with anyone further about my experiences in the interview process, application processes, rejections and so forth, please feel free to reach out. Keep your head up, don't give up, and remember, your time is coming. Don't worry, you got this!