How to Find a Job During a Pandemic – Writing a resume in Ottawa for Young Professionals

1. Update Your Resume and Tailor the Content to the Position in Question

Find relevant skills and experience sets that match the job description. Employers want to see competencies that will make you a right fit within their team and by showing off the skills that would help them out will increase your chances to get the job. For example, if I was applying for a human resource recruiting position I would personally highlight the following :

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal

• Strong time management and multi-tasking skills

If I was applying for a marketing position, I would shift the focus of the skills and experience towards more Marketing qualifications. Some skills and experiences would stay for both positions but we always want to highlight the skills that reflect the position we are applying to.

• Strong social media skills

• Strong creative thinking & writing

• Strong understanding of site analytics tools, in particular, Google Analytics

2. Apply to many jobs – Be patient

Now that you’ve updated your skills and experiences you should apply to multiple jobs, even the ones where you might not think you will be accepted. This will not only optimize your chances of getting a job sooner than anticipated but also give you more opportunities. Even though you may not be 100% qualified for a specific position you should still apply, people tend to question themselves a lot. While hiring, people who tend to get jobs do not have all the necessary qualifications and it is why companies will give them training, so, be confident and take a risk. You may get a job you never would have expected and worst case scenario, your resume will be put in the rejection pile and you'll move on to another job. Ultimately, a pandemic may make everything take longer than usual so be prepared to wait a bit longer and be patient, you will find a job soon!

3. Be ready for Video Interviews!

Prepare, prepare, prepare. This is key. Plenty of things can go wrong in a video interview like your internet disconnecting or your camera never turning on or even muting yourself in the middle of your sentence. Therefore, you need to prepare yourself and practice with a friend once or twice to get the hang of things. Being prepared and knowing the platform well will show the interviewer that you already have the skills it takes to use the platforms they are using during the pandemic. Lastly, come prepared just as if this were an in-person interview. Dress up in professional clothes – just because you can work from home doesn’t mean you should show up to a video interview in sweatpants.

Here are a few links for your job search:

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/opportunities/government.html

https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/jobsearch/jobsearch?mid=22409

If you have any more tips and tricks to help myself and others find a job, contact me in the form below to start a conversation or just to reach out on my social media to create a new contact!

Here are the links to my social media

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