Navigating COVID-19 as an Early-Career Professional

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our world upside down -- both at home and at work. No group of individuals has felt this more than young professionals who are eager to jump-start their careers.

Landing that first internship or entry-level job was already a daunting task in itself. Now, with layoffs and furloughs taking place across many different sectors and industries -- young professionals are unsure of how to navigate these unique times.

During this time of uncertainty my advice to early-career professionals is simple -- stay encouraged. You may feel isolated and overwhelmed as you confront what many deem a professional crisis. But use this time to work on the foundational elements of who you are and what you bring to the table.

While you're in the process of deciding what your next move is, here are a few things you can be working on:

Solidify Your Resume

Your resume needs to speak well of you when you're not in the room. When a hiring manager or HR professional is looking through a stack of resumes to fill a position, they don't know or care if you voluntarily walk dogs across the street every Saturday morning. They see what's on that paper and what's on that paper defines you. With that in mind, your resume needs to be comprehensive, you need to paint a picture of who you are and what you stand for.

Include organizations you've volunteered with -- you never know the connection it could spark with the person looking at your resume (ex. the hiring manager could be battling diabetes and gained a human connection with you because you volunteered with the American Diabetes Association). List workshops you've participated in or professional development opportunities you took on. It shows a potential employer that you care about your professional growth and are eager to get better.

For each job you have listed, include 1-3 bullets that outline your notable achievements in that role. This can include metrics/data, projects you led, significant milestones, etc. Naturally, when reading our eyes are typically drawn to what's presented in bullets. Therefore, what you present in bullets MUST be impactful. Remember you're painting a picture to the hiring manager/HR professional of who you are.

Last, include in your summary of qualifications the three skills you have that can benefit you in the role your applying for, along with your years of experience. As an early-career professional your "years of experience" will be limited but that's okay the hiring manager is well aware of that. Call it out, be honest, and speak to the 1-year experience you may have in that respective field.

Ensure Your LinkedIn is Dynamic

If you have an Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter -- you NEED to have a LinkedIn profile as a young professional. I know some hiring managers who won't even consider early-career candidates if they don't have a LinkedIn. Remember, when trying to find potential candidates for a position the hiring manager will go by what they see on your resume AND what's included on your LinkedIn profile. Now that we've established that you need one, here are some suggestions on how to make your profile dynamic.

You need to have a professional headshot. You can even use your iPhone to take a photo, just get a white background (a white wall or a white sheet) and take a nice clean photo.

Spend some time researching individuals or positions you are seeking and structure your LinkedIn profile like theirs. Everyone's LinkedIn profile has the ability to be dynamic because you have millions of profiles that you can essentially imitate. Maybe limit yourself to three profiles that you find super impactful and mimic some of the things they have included -- just switching out the content to match your skills, experience, education, etc. The assumption about early-career professionals when it comes to your LinkedIn profiles is that you won't take the time to make them thorough because you'll think that you don't have enough experience -- so make them thorough! Include the volunteer opportunities and workshops that you have listed on your resume, amongst other things.

Last, for each of the jobs you have listed on your LinkedIn profile, include one to two sentences explaining your role. This gives someone viewing your profile insight into what you actually do instead of them trying to figure it out on their own. If you can, include links to articles that highlight your work or projects that you had hand in.

You want to stand out amongst the other candidates, ensuring your LinkedIn profile is up to par will help you do that.

Develop Your Networking Tree

Sometimes it's not who you know. but who knows you!

This exercise is beneficial as it will help you narrow your focus and make you more targeted in who you're reaching out to as it relates to networking.

You'll start off by writing down your ideal geographic location(s) -- ask yourself "what cities do I want to work in?". Once you have that, then write down the companies in those cities that you would be interested in working with.

Now that you have geographically where you want to work and the companies, write down the field of interests within those respective companies (ex. communications, marketing, sales, etc.). Under that, write down the heads of each of those respective departments along with the coordinator(s), which you can find on LinkedIn. Additionally, write down the HR professionals within each of those companies.

Your networking tree is complete -- you have where you want to work and individuals in those respective companies that you should be networking with.

Before reaching out, think through what your message is -- what's your hook. Your message needs to be concise and straight to the point, you need to assume that there are 100 other people doing the same thing you are -- so what is going to make your message stand out.

But here's the key, you don't necessarily need to shoot for the top and network with the VP or director -- they may not have the time. Start at the coordinator level, reach out to them and see if you can set up some time to learn more about what they do and how they got into the role they're currently in. Remember, you're jump-starting your career and the person in the coordinator role is the journey you want to follow so engage with them. Ultimately, they may end up being the director or VP at some point. I would aim to reach out to the individuals on your networking tree once every quarter of the year -- you don't want to be overwhelming or overbearing.

I know this may seem like a lot, but these minimal tasks go a long way to making you the best candidate for the position. As an early-career professional, you're not being hired because you have an exuberant amount of experience -- you're being hired based on your potential.

You rather not get a job because someone is a better fit or more qualified. What you don't want is to not get a job because you didn't give your best effort. Completing these things is you giving your best effort.

I'll leave you with this, at the end of the day all you need is 1. One phone screening, one interview, one person believing in you, and one job. The odds are in your favor -- good luck!

Feel free to drop any advice you have for early-career professionals into the comment section.