WASHINGTON, D.C. — If you’re on the hunt for work, you’ve got company.
Millions of Americans are unemployed and millions more are under-employed, meaning they're working less than the full-time job they had before the pandemic.
“There's certainly so many people unemployed right now and so many industries, like retail hospitality and others, they're just suffering so bad,” said Bruce Faber, a business consultant and with EHS Recruiting.
Faber said there are some steps job seekers can take right now to give them a better shot of landing new employment.
“You can be one of thousands of people applying for that job,” he said. “So, what's your chance? How are you going to separate yourself?”
First step: make sure your resume is updated. Faber said to make sure you include any work, even gigs or jobs unrelated to your field, that you may have found yourself doing since being laid off.
“Even if you took a temporary or part-time position during COVID, that's fine. Put that on there, it shows that you're out there,” he said. “Doesn't matter if you're delivering food or working in a manufacturing plant or doing whatever, it's okay. Put that on there.”
Second step: make sure you know a lot about the company you are applying to. It could be the make-or-break question you get when contacted by a potential employer.
“They may get that initial call and first question will be, ‘What do you know about our company?’ So, really researching it is so, so, so important,” Faber said.
Final step: where you apply for a job can matter. Applying for a job directly on the website of a company might be better than going through a general job seeker website.
“There's less people they're going to be doing that,” Faber said. “And, oftentimes, you might apply for a particular job and they might look at your résumé and say, ‘Oh, you're not a good fit for this position, but with this one.’”
Lastly, remember that persistence and patience can go a long way to paying off.