I found a job because of the pandemic
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels
Yes, I achieved what I thought was impossible. Got a job that I applied for back in March or April or maybe May. Did a recorded interview then (which my parents thought was quite bizarre, but I just shrugged and said I had done recorded video interviews probably three times prior to this one, all through SparkHire) but soon after, got an email saying they had hired enough to suit their current needs but would keep my application active. I was glad I still had a chance, but was unsure if they truly would reach out if a need arose.
Sure enough, they did earlier this month. Only a short questionnaire to see if my situation was still the same. Came at a good time too. I had earlier accepted then soon retracted a tentative offer with the federal government. I’ve shifted my job search to healthcare functions lately due to current concerns of the world, so I was quite passionate about the mission and work this role would involve, but it was for a spot forty miles away in another state. While the role would allow for occasional remote working days, the cost of public transport here, then a commuter bus there, then public transport there would add up quickly for the sole two or three days a week I’d spend onsite. Not to mention, I received the offer only about a month away from the start date. I’d considered relocating as well, but we weren’t confident I could make appropriate arrangements in time. Additionally, my mother was laid off from her role as an assistant district attorney, despite her management’s reluctance to remove employees for a portion of this turmoil, they finally had to scale back their workforce in June. While I’d intend to pay my own rent if I had to move, my family doesn’t have as much of a fallback plan financially as we once did.
Funnily enough, my federal tentative offer was another one I was pretty certain I wouldn’t obtain. I guess I didn’t know the nature of federal jobs too well and how drawn-out the onboarding can be. Still, I think I rejected the offer with enough grace and dignity to keep me in the running for future candidacy (this is a two-year fellowship program that begins in the fall). Perhaps my application to the job will be even better should I consider it again next year. I’ve started my job as a contact tracer for the state this week.
I don’t say this to sound like I am capitalizing on a(n) (inter)national panic. The least thing I want to do is anything such. I’ve already come from a background of taking phone calls. I did fundraising calls for my university, made and answered several calls while in fine jewelry sales of a department store and as a tutor at an after-school center, and did some more for school assignments in broadcasting, journalism, and communication classes in high school and college. I do want to utilize my empathy and allow this detection I do go toward good use. I used to get interviews to encourage people to attend a concert, visit a restaurant, museum, or landmark, join a club/extracurricular, buy some jewelry or toys, or even pledge a donation. A lot of those things I can’t do just now. I’ve always wanted to use my information of people to solve a mystery, and that’s really what I feel this disease is. This and political interviewing seems to be the only sort of interviewing that is still possible. (Oh, yes, I’ve been taking calls for the Biden campaign and other Democratic figures at my mother’s insistence. She, too, volunteered in political causes after she was laid off in 2009, and ultimately, she did get her recently parted position after her campaigning.)
So, to sum it up, you still can get a job amid these strange times. You do really need to recalibrate your wishes to reflect current events, especially nowadays. But I don’t think there’s ever been an event that that has put me so attune to the needs of my environment until now. If you are still searching, I wish you all the very best of luck and health. God bless.
