The small drops that make an ocean

The COVID-19 crisis has caused hundreds of millions of job losses around the world and put many millions more at risk. In Singapore, notwithstanding unprecedented economic support by the government, economists expect up to 65,000 jobs to be lost in 2020 alone. 45% of the workforce is anxious about job loss according to a recent Straits Times article. In India, over 120 million people lost jobs in April 2020 according to estimates by the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy, CMIE. In the US, 40 million people, or nearly 20% of the workforce, lost their jobs in April. While these numbers have reduced somewhat in the month since, a full recovery is likely to be protracted as global economies stall or shrink and the virus continues to depress the overall business climate. Many jobs that were lost will not come back, and many people will need to acquire new skills to re-enter employment. In times like these, every one of us has a responsibility to step up and do what we can. Every small act matters. And one simple, wonderful way almost anyone can contribute, is by teaching what we know.

As an HR professional who has worked with several companies across multiple industries and geographies over the years, one area that I could certainly contribute in, that would directly improve people's ability to get rehired, is resume-writing. Almost every job post attracts hundreds of applications. Recruiters often need to scan through dozens or hundreds of resumes in a very short period to shortlist the few candidates that might fit a job description. Most large companies use Application Tracking Systems (ATS), which are limited in their ability to process resumes that use complex formatting like panels, columns, images and tables. As a result of these challenges, many candidates who may otherwise be well-qualified don't get through to the final shortlist, simply because their resumes don't catch the recruiter's attention, don't showcase the candidate's talent and experience well enough, or are not ATS-compliant.

With senior professionals, this problem is exacerbated by the fact that many haven't updated their resumes in years, sometimes decades. The last time they wrote a resume could have been when they were applying for a relatively junior role. They would now need to craft an entirely new resume. And their resume-writing skills might be rusty, outdated and of limited relevance at their current level of seniority, and/or in the face of today's hiring technology.

With this in mind, I decided to design and run a free 90-minute webinar on resume writing, specifically targeted at senior professionals who have been, or are likely to be displaced by, the COVID crisis. Dr. Uma Gautam, a good friend who runs HeadPro Consulting, a well-known Executive Search firm in India, agreed to co-host the session and bring the recruiter's perspective to the table.

We created the webinar content mostly based on our own experience, and supplemented with information from a few credible sources. We used simple methods of publicity, setting up a Facebook Event and a Google Meet and posting the webinar coordinates within our respective social media networks. We didn't know how many people would turn up, but hoped we would have at least 10-15 participants.

Nearly 30 people joined the session, which was scheduled for this Saturday. We had designed the workshop to be relatively content-light to spend more time on real-life examples and questions. We discussed issues as diverse as gaps in employment (be transparent), the importance of cover letters (important to tailor each application to the employer), working around ATS constraints (have a text-only version of your resume available), including a good photo (absolutely), mentioning gender (your choice) / location (yes) / compensation (no) / objective statement (no) etc. in the resume, whether an exit due to lay-off should be stated up-front (yes), and so on.

When we closed the session 95 minutes later, 27 people were still logged in. Closing feedback comments showed that people had perceived the session as of good value and well worth their time.

Selfless service with no expectation of reward is a truly magical thing. The joy that derives from making a positive difference to others' lives is deep and long-lasting. This workshop was a very special experience for both Uma and me. The emotional high and feeling of deep contentedness that we both felt at the end of the workshop has not yet abated, and we both carry it with us into the new week where we hope it will spread within our professional and social communities.

Personally, I know that I will continue to find avenues to contribute, serve and support those who have been less fortunate during these troubled times.

I'm writing this piece in the hope that it might inspire others to do the same, and share their stories as well.