Navigating Recruiting in the Time of COVID
Recently we’ve had many questions about uncertainty in this time period with layoffs and recruiting. Whether you’ve been laid off, furloughed, or were planning on recruiting anyways, we’re here to help you navigate those waters. Joining us today for our talk are two of our Merit coaches, Will Howard and KC Oh.
Will is currently the CTO of a startup called DoWhatWorks and was previously the Director of Engineering at Meetup. KC is a Senior Manager at JustWorks with over 12 years of experience in UX and Product.
They both have experienced hiring and recruiting during recessions and shared some tips and advice on navigating recruiting during any time of the year.
WILL: I started my career right before the original dotcom bubble burst. So that was interesting because I ended up staying in a job that I hadn’t intended to stay at for a very long time because I was worried about being able to find a job and at the time it was very difficult to find a job.
That was true for a lot of my friends who were also in tech. I know a lot of people who got laid off in that time period. It took them a year or two years to find jobs again because everything had changed so much.
ON LEVERAGING YOUR NETWORK
Both Will and KC stressed the value of reaching out to your network in a time where everyone is open to helping.
WILL: If you look at Twitter or personal networking groups that you’re a part of, you’ll find that everybody wants to help right now. And the best way to find a job is to go through someone who you know who works at the company. The nice thing about how that works right now is that there are a lot of people that want to help people who’ve been laid off. Everybody wants to help. And so the more that you can reach out to your network and find someone that works at the company, that’s the best first step you can do. Get your foot in the door by finding someone that works there.
I used to work at Meetup and we have a big alumni Slack group where people are posting, “Hey, my company is hiring. I would love to refer you.” And it might not even be someone you actually know, but just someone that worked at the same company you did at some point.
KC: Back in 2008, I got fired from a job in San Francisco and then decided to move to New York. I remember it was a six-month job search for me until I landed at Etsy.
One of the things I leaned on was alumni relations. I went to Carnegie Mellon and reached out to anyone and everyone I knew. It was really important to try to get a foot in the door.
There are all sorts of things popping up. There was a spreadsheet Randy posted in the Merit Slack channel of companies that are actively hiring. I think there are more ways to be connected in the digital distribution center. Every now and again, I’ll see a retweet pop up about someone who lost their job. And then you have a rush of people who are trying to help. I think the things that you can take advantage of are different from what we used 10 years ago and they will be different 10 years from now, but the principles remain the same. It’s about the community.
The key takeaway is that you have a network that you can and should talk to. And of course, leveraging your Merit network or coach is always a helpful platform to tap into during these times.
SUCCESS STORIES
Learning from success stories can be helpful for your own recruitment process, and you can hear these from Merit coaches who are often hiring managers or have helped someone through the process successfully already.
WILL: I do know someone who did just get an offer at GitHub, and this is someone associated with Merit. She was telling me about the interview process and the thing is that they’ve been a remote-friendly company for a long time. Places that are remote-friendly are already set up to onboard you as a new remote employee.
RESOURCES FOR RECRUITING DURING A RECESSION
On the flip side, from the perspective of those who are hiring, now is a great time to hire people if your company is still able to do so because the talent pool has grown and includes those who would have otherwise not been open to new opportunities.
WILL: I was a hiring manager in 2008 during the recession. I think that if your company can hire, it’s actually a great time to hire because there’s a lot of people in the talent pool, which is usually a problem for hiring managers. On the engineering side, you often find that getting the right people in the door is almost always the hardest part. That becomes easier when companies are laying off people because there are more people looking for jobs which means you get more candidates in, which means you’re much more likely to be able to hire someone quickly, which is really great.
During these uncertain times, some job seekers might go in with the mentality that companies aren’t wanting to hire, but if there are job postings available online, those companies posting them are seeking new employees eagerly. Since companies that are hiring now are more remote-friendly than ever before, go into your interview with an optimistic attitude. Resources such as newsletters, Slack groups, and Twitter can come in handy during these times in finding opportunities.
Resources for finding who is still hiring:
Resources for getting your resume out:
ON STANDING OUT
For those who are about to start recruiting or have already started, the process can be a long one sometimes. Tips for navigating the field during these times included leaning on your background, following up, and being persistent. They say that half the battle is simply showing up and that’s never been more true than now when everything has gone virtual.
KC: I tried to lean on my experience working at two startups. Basically, “here’s my experience from working at two startups in the Bay area. I’ve done prototyping, etc. I went to CMU to study product design.” Looking back at my cover letter, I saw that I applied in September 2008 and again in December. Be persistent [laughs]. I referenced the fact that I emailed back in September, so I didn’t give up. I got a reply the second time. I had updated my website, my first portfolio books, etc. Even after a response in December it still took another month for the recruiter to reply. My other piece of advice would be to follow up and be persistent. Things will get dropped, right? I’ve dropped emails and have not noticed them, and it doesn’t hurt to follow up a second time or third time because you never know what the reason could be for why they haven’t responded yet. In this current environment with all the different personal situations people are going through, I would strongly suggest following up and being persistent.
ON BEING OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES
These are unprecedented times and times of change. But change can be good sometimes and now is as good of a time as ever to be open to new opportunities that you otherwise wouldn’t have experienced.
KC: Regarding my role at Etsy, I didn’t know anyone there. I saw an opening on their company page and cold email applied and then got brought in for an interview. My first thought was, “What is going on? I can’t believe I’m here.”
I managed to get in and got hired there as a relatively early employee. One piece of advice would be to stay persistent and take a chance on new opportunities, even if it looks like a bad shot at first. You never know how it will turn out. I met some really incredible people at Etsy, and it was a really amazing experience.
ON TACKLING SILENCE
What about those who haven’t made the progress they’ve planned on making or aren’t hearing back regarding interviews?
KC: I was just on a Merit call with someone last week about this topic, and he’s actually super experienced. I remember looking at his resume, and it was kind of intimidating. I was like, “You’re incredibly senior at a really big tech company. What do you need help with?”
And we talked about it. For him, it was less about his skills. It seemed to me, on a cursory level, he had the skills to do the job, but he was trying to transition fields. It was more about expectation setting and a marketing problem. One way to look about hiring that is true for many things is that it’s a sales funnel. You, yourself, are a product that you’re trying to sell to an organization. You’re essentially saying “your company would be better off if I were working with you”. The process is about convincing them that this is worth the conversation, and once you have your foot in the door, starting the process around convincing them. You have skills that are valuable. In the beginning, you’re just trying to stand out from the crowd to prove that you’re an attractive candidate with potential.
There are things to look at in terms of troubleshooting your resume or how you talk about yourself or thinking critically around what objections people might have and why you’re being cut off all the way at the top. And it might help to talk to people who are in those roles as hiring managers to understand, especially on Merit. Reach out to an engineering manager or designer or head of product or whomever you know who might be able to give you some insight into your resume, cover letter, and interview persona.
Ask them “What are some of the things that might be getting in the way of having a chat?” There might be nothing, in which case, it’s just about persistence. But there might be something around concerns about the experience, trying to transition or a gap in skill sets. In those cases, it’s up to the applicant to think “I can do this, and I’m confident in my ability to do this.” It’s a communication challenge that becomes “How do I explain this so that you understand and have some confidence amidst the concerns?”
For those who are recruiting: take a deep breath. Relax. Stay optimistic and improve always. We recommend networking and leaning into groups or communities that are open and willing to help at this time. Be more open to new opportunities and companies. Seek mentorship from someone who has been in your shoes and/or hires and get advice and feedback from them. Don’t let the interview be your first attempt at the game and show up prepared and confident. Recruiting, at the end of the day, just comes down to two things: networking + mentorship. Networking to get the interview and mentorship to pass the interview. To get started with both, schedule a call with a Merit coach today.
