Hi, everyone.
Thank you for joining.
My name is Clint Carrens.
I am a social media specialist and career coach
here with Indeed.
So we are here today to share the most up to date
job search information and resources that we can provide.
We want this to be as helpful and relevant as possible
for you.
So please comment below on two things.
What do you want to know about looking for a job
and are there any specific topics
you want information about?
Our moderators are in the chat ready to answer your questions.
And while you're doing that, let me tell you
about what we're going to be covering today.
First, I'll discuss some recent changes
to our website that may make it easier for you to find a job,
then I'll tell you about some employers who
are hiring right now.
And I'll remind you how to find and apply to jobs on Indeed.
Next, I'll provide an economic update
before sharing some information on how and when to follow up.
Finally, we'll wrap up with some of your questions
and success stories from the past week.
Now, a quick disclaimer before we get started.
The information in this video is for informational purposes
only.
Indeed is not a career or legal advisor.
And just FYI, you can come back to this video on Facebook
if you want to listen to certain parts again
or you can check out our YouTube channel in the coming
days, which we will link below and you can watch it there.
Great, so let's get started by recapping some Indeed updates.
First, we've made a few changes to our website
to make finding a job during COVID-19 faster and easier.
Now, employers have posted job on
and can specify whether that job is fully remote or remote
temporarily due to COVID-19.
If you're looking for a remote job,
just put the word remote in what or where box
on the Indeed homepage.
And if you're interested in remote careers but you're not
sure where to start, check out indeed.com/career/work from
home.
Again, that's indeed.com/career/work from
home.
You can explore remote careers and salary ranges on this page.
Alternatively, you may be looking for a job
as quickly as possible.
Here are some features that can help you.
First, Indeed has an urgently hiring tag.
If an employer is looking to bring on new hires right away,
they can add the urgently hiring icon to their job postings.
If you want to find these jobs, keep an eye
out for a read clock near the top
of a job posting with the words urgently hiring next to it.
Second, you can now signal to employers
that you are ready to work immediately in any position.
If you'd like to do this, go to your Indeed Resume
by hitting the person icon in the top right
corner of the page and selecting resume.
You will see the option to toggle hashtag ready to work.
This allows employers to easily find and contact you
about job opportunities when they are looking for someone
to start right away.
If you're looking for a job in a different location,
we'll be providing updates about virtual hiring
events in the near future.
So keep following and tuning in for more details.
OK, so a couple more questions for you to tell us
about in the comments.
First, what do you think about these features?
Also what else could India do to make finding a job easier?
And finally, what is your biggest challenge
and looking for and applying to jobs online?
OK, let's talk about urgently hiring employers.
First, I want to make sure you know about our Indeed career
guide page that lists the companies that are urgently
hiring.
It gets updated weekly.
Now, we'll link it below.
Here are a couple of major national employers I recently
posted jobs on Indeed.
First, we have Staples who is urgently
hiring for 4,000 roles in Massachusetts, California,
Illinois, New York, Texas, among others.
Example positions include manager, sales associate,
and more.
Their apply to hire process takes under one week.
Which means that from the time you apply,
it will take less than a week to begin working if it's a fit.
They're also holding virtual and same day interviews.
Next up, we have Encompass Health
who is urgently hiring for 4,900 roles in Alabama, Texas,
Florida, Ohio, and more.
Example positions there include registered nurse,
licensed practical nurse, along with other roles.
And finally, we have All State Insurance
who is urgently hiring and holding
virtual interviews for 1,100 roles
in New York, Florida, Texas, California, and other states.
Example positions there include insurance sales representative
and customer service representative.
Now, for the full list, check out the link below
in the comments section.
What do you think about these employer updates?
Are they useful?
Also is there any other information
you'd like to know about employers right now?
OK, now, we'll move into the topic of job searching.
If you decide you want to apply to a job on Indeed,
here's a quick refresher on how.
To start searching and applying to jobs,
you can create or update your free Indeed profile.
That will make it easier to apply for jobs quickly once you
find roles that interest you.
Next, you can browse jobs by location in the search bar.
Once you've identified a potential employer,
click the Apply button and follow the instructions
from their.
And here are a few tips.
Make sure to tailor your application
to the specific jobs you're applying for.
Take a really close look at the job description.
You want to research the company, which
you can go to their website, Indeed Company Pages,
or recent articles in the news, you
might even want to talk to others who work there.
And you want to use that information
to customize your application and think about how to best
position yourself for the job.
Now, one more thing before we move on.
While you're searching for a job online,
it's important to stay alert.
So look out for anyone who asks you to wire money,
anyone who asks you to provide passwords of any kind,
or anyone who wants to send you a check via email,
these are likely scams and you should report them.
We want to know about these posts
that we can remove them from the site
and continue protecting people like you.
We rely on people like you to flag suspicious job postings.
If you see something that seems off,
we would greatly appreciate if you
would click on the suspicious job posting,
then scroll to the bottom of the job posts,
select the report job button, and fill out the report
this job form.
These reports help us remove spam, fraud, and low quality
postings and make Indeed a safer place for everyone.
Now, let's move on and talk about the economy, COVID-19,
and the current state of job market.
At Indeed, we have a team of economists
that provide insights into what's happening in the job
market and economy right now.
This week, Indeed economist, Daniel Culbertson shares this.
The most recent employment report
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
contains some good news for last month.
The US labor market added 1.8 million jobs
and the unemployment rate reduced to 10.2%.
This marks the third consecutive month
that these labor market indicators have
trended in the right direction.
However, there is still a ways to go as the US labor
market has only recovered 42% of jobs lost during the COVID-19
crisis.
So here's what I take from this.
If perhaps goes without saying but depending
on the status of COVID-19 in your area and industry,
the availability of jobs varies greatly
and the labor market is definitely still feeling
the impacts of the pandemic.
That being said, overall, we're seeing improvement,
which is encouraging.
If you're interested in learning more about what
Daniel Culbertson has to say or what's
happening right now in the US and global job markets,
a great resource is www.hiringlab.org.
That's hiringlab.org.
This is run by Indeed a team of economists,
so that brings us to our next topic.
Now that more states are opening up businesses,
we've received a lot of questions
recently about how and when to follow up with employers
during a job search.
So here's our tip of the week.
A clear and concise follow up email
can reinforce you as a qualified candidate when
the appropriate time.
There are many points in the job application process
where you can anticipate waiting for a response
from an employer.
After you've submitted your application
and after an interview are a couple of the most
common waiting periods.
While employers may take some time
to respond if there are lots of applications to process,
it's usually appropriate to send a follow up email
if you haven't heard back after a few days.
Let's discuss how to write a follow up email
and how the time is right to send it.
So first, what is a follow up email?
A follow up email is a message you send to gain an employer's
attention if you haven't heard back after an interview or job
application.
The email serves as a reminder to the employer
of your interest in the role and why you
are a great fit for the job.
So why are they important?
Well, they act as reminders to a pending application,
they give you a second chance to make a good impression,
they help you pick up conversations
that may have slowed, and follow up emails
resurface you as an interested candidate.
Now, that we know what a follow up email is
and why they can be useful to you,
let's talk about when to follow up.
Today, we're going to discuss when
to follow up after an application, immediately
after the interview, and after if you have not
heard back from an employer after the interview.
So after an application, if you submitted an application
and haven't heard anything back from an employer,
wait about a week before sending an email asking
about the status of your application.
Moving on from the application phase to the interview phase,
I'd recommend sending a thank you email within 24 to 48 hours
after your interview.
Use this as an opportunity to thank your interviewer
for their time, reiterate your excitement for the role,
and recall something from your interview that makes
you stand out as a candidate.
For example, if you share something
in common with the interviewer or if you
have specific relevant experience that
has prepared you for this role, go ahead mention that.
Now, if you have not heard back after an interview,
it's a good practice to send a follow up email
to reiterate your interest in the role no sooner than one
week, but no later than two weeks
after the interview occurred.
Now, you might find yourself in a situation
where you still have not heard back from an employer
after sending your thank you email
and that first follow up email.
At this point, you might be considering
sending an additional email.
Well, we recommend only one follow up email.
But if you're going to send a second follow up email,
make sure you do it after waiting at least one week
after your first message.
It's possible that the recruiter or hiring manager will
need time to send a response.
So it's good etiquette to give them a you days.
If you don't hear back at that point,
refocus your attention on another opportunity.
A successful interview isn't just about getting an offer,
it's about determining at the company
and opportunity is the right one for you.
Your time is valuable.
So if it's not a good fit, pivot your attention
and devote your time to finding an opportunity that is.
Plus in any situation, you want to wait a period of time
after your last action before the next follow up
to give the recipient some time to respond.
For more detailed examples of follow up emails,
be sure to check out the career guide article,
how to write a follow up email link in the chat.
So now that when to send a follow up email, let's
talk about how to write an effective message.
A follow up email has four components that
will break down further.
Subject line, reminder, purpose, and call to action.
So first up, write a concise subject line.
When writing a follow up email, your subject line
should be straight to the point and clear to the recipient.
It informs the person you are writing to
of the reason you're following up.
If inquiring about the status of your application or interview,
consider including your name and the position you applied for.
An example might be regarding Jane Smith's application
for human resources manager position.
Next, provide context to remind the interviewer of who
you are by including information like the position title,
the date of your application, interview,
or last correspondence, and one piece of information that makes
you stand out as a qualified candidate,
and aim to keep it brief.
This makes it easy for the reader
to locate your application materials
or remember what your previous conversation was about.
Next, reiterate your purpose for writing,
like mentioning your interest in interviewing
for the role are moving on to the next phase of the interview
process.
And finally, include a call to action.
At the end of your follow up email,
include a call to action that indicates your expected
response.
A good way to make the interviewer feel
more comfortable is to indicate that they
may be-- they must be busy and that you appreciate their time.
This will help you come across as patient and a pathetic.
Now, a few quick bonus tips.
First, address the email to the name of the person who
interviewed you.
It's appropriate to use their first name if you
were on a first name basis.
If not, address them by their last name.
Second, make sure your email is concise.
Third, close the letter with your name and contact
information, including your phone number and your email.
And finally, carefully proofread before you hit send.
Tree follow up emails with as much care
as you give your other application materials
and give it a final edit before you hit send.
So in summary, when sending a follow up email, assess
how much time has passed, keep the email short and concise,
include a reminder about who you are,
which position you interviewed for,
and what set you apart from other applicants,
and finally, make a call to action.
The purpose of the follow up is to elicit a response
and move you to the next stage of the hiring process.
So don't hesitate to express your desire to move forward.
All right, now, onto this week's questions.
First question we got is, I recently got a job that I
like after a long job search.
But it's a pretty small company and I'm not sure
how stable it is.
Should I just go ahead and start looking at other options?
This is a really difficult question.
Every situation is different and job security
is especially important during this time
to a lot of job seekers.
I would suggest that you consider
whether your overall needs are currently being
met by your current employer.
Since it can be so difficult to predict
what will happen to one company or another,
it could be beneficial to approach it
from that concrete needs based perspective.
Ultimately, I advise that you assess
your individual situation in the jobs you're interested in
to see if it makes sense to move forward with a new opportunity.
Our next question is this.
Now, that we are this far into the pandemic,
how has the hiring process changed?
Should we be preparing for a job search any differently?
This is an excellent question.
For those searching for a job right now,
it's wise to prepare yourself for a different hiring process
than you expected.
You may be asked to interview virtually, which
can have its own unique set of quirks and challenges.
If you like more information on how
to prepare for a video interview,
check out our YouTube channel, we've
covered that there before.
Also networking is pretty much online only these days.
So be sure to check out professional interest groups,
reach out to your connections, and build up
your online presence.
And finally, you're hiring and onboarding
process may be a bit up in the air or slower than usual.
While we're a while into this pandemic,
many employers remain in a phase of constant readjustment
due to the changing status of COVID in their locales
and evolving government regulations.
They're figuring this out as they go along.
So try to go in with that expectation.
Our last question is this.
Will it hurt my resume if I take on a temporary position that's
different than the field I plan on entering after the crisis is
over?
Well, great question.
If you are able to work during this time,
adding experience to your resume could help improve your resume
and give you an advantage in the long run.
Showing employers that you were able to adjust
to this challenging situation could make your application
more competitive.
Even if a job is not in your ideal industry,
there may be opportunities to develop skills
that you can average later when applying for future jobs.
For example, complex problem solving, remote software use,
diffusing conflict and communication
are experiences that could be added
to your resume in the future.
In short, work experience is always valuable.
If you'd like to take a temporary job, go for it.
All right, finally, I love to wrap up today
with some good news.
Now, it can be easy to feel like there aren't job opportunities
out there, but job seekers and employers
are connecting every day.
And when job seekers get hired using Indeed,
they often choose to share their stories with us.
So I'm going to end by sharing a few stories from folks
who were recently hired.
One Indeed user wrote, I was a substitute teacher
for five years and I was laid off due to COVID-19 regulations
in my state.
I now have a new full time teaching
position with benefits, which means the world to my family.
Another person wrote, Indeed was very instrumental
and not only introducing me to my new employer,
but also preparing me to have great interviews.
I believe this gave me the confidence even as an older job
seeker to stand out above the competition even in COVID.
And finally, another person shared.
This job means I'll be able to pay for my rent and living
experiences, save some money, and be in a better
position a year from now.
The Indeed Resume made it easier since I
didn't have to fill out a lengthy application
on the employer's website.
To each of these folks, congratulations and thank you
for sharing your story with us.
If you are ever in need of some inspiration
during your job search, check out gotajob.indeed.com.
Again, that's gotajob.indeed.com.
This page shares up to date success stories from Indeed
users around the world.
And we hope that when you get hired,
you will share your own too.
All right, well, that's it for today's live stream.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Let us know if this content was helpful by commenting below.
And if you enjoy today's session, you can like this page
and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Also if you know of someone who could use this information,
consider sharing it.
One more thing, this is our last episode
of a COVID-19 update for now, but please
join us the next time we go live when
we'll be moving toward sharing job search tips and career
advice.
All right, everyone, see you soon, bye bye.