Youre waiting job offer

Youre waiting job offer

You got the call, went on your best interview yet and sent a courtesy follow-up email thanking the potential employer for the interview opportunity.

Now, the waiting game begins.

One day, two days pass, and you receive no callback or reply. You might start to feel nervous and hit the refresh button in your email a few times.

Everybody goes through the agonizing waiting period. While you’re going through yours, here are a few pitfalls you should try to avoid during the post-interview stage, and some tips to make the most of it. We like to think of them as four power plays you could make during the waiting game that can reduce anxiety and help you stay focused on what’s really important: finding your next best career move.

Don’t obsessively contact your potential employer

Is following up good? Yes. Can you do it more than once? Sure.

Following up with potential employers is great and can be really useful (more on that later), but there’s also something to be said for leaving a little something to be desired.

You may have heard the rumor that candidates who are currently employed will come off as more desirable for a role. This thought goes even further for those who may unintentionally make themselves look desperate by trying to contact a hiring manager too often.

As a general rule of thumb, after your interview, you should contact an employer three times before hearing back: 1). When sending a thank you note within 24 hours of your interview, 2). Following up a week after your interview, and 3). Following up 1-2 weeks after your last attempt to contact the company. After this, it’s probably best to move on to more promising opportunities than to spend more time pursuing an unresponsive company.

Don’t assume the job will be yours

After a great interview, it’s easy to overestimate your chances of landing a new job. There are many factors at play behind the scenes that go into a final hiring decision. Unfortunately, you have no idea how many other applicants are in the running for the same position or their unique qualifications. Secondly, you do not know if the potential employer is actually seeking to fill the position or is simply soliciting qualified candidates in the event the position needs to be filled.

Don’t put in a resignation notice to your current employer until you’ve received an official offer (in writing) from a potential employer and have finished your negotiations. Keep applying for other positions and going on interviews when invited throughout your job search. The only certainty is that nothing is certain when it comes to job hunting until it’s in writing.

Don’t string along potential employers

We like to tell candidates that options have inherent value. If you’re given an offer, it’s ok to let a company know that you have another interview lined up and you’d like to weigh your options. Your transparency will probably be appreciated. Just try to give the company a timeline of when they can expect to hear from you and then stick to it. If you need more time, keep the lines of communication open and let your interviewer know. One of the worst things you could do is ghost the company until you know what you’re doing. Do your best to leave a good taste in any potential employers mouth, not a sour one. You never know if they might have a place in your future career.

If you do have to turn down a company who offered you a position, try to do it as soon as you’re sure. Politely thank the potential employer and let them know that, though you are appreciative of the opportunity to interview, you are no longer interested in being considered for the position. Be willing to consider any counter-offers made by the potential employer (more money, better working hours, etc.) but do not expect them. Avoid ‘calling their bluff’ by turning down a potential employer in anticipation for a counter-offer, as this may result in you barring your chances for a job that may have been a great fit.

Do keep the relationship “warm”

While there’s something to be said for looking “desirable” to an employer (ie. doing your best to not seem desperate after sending your twentieth follow up email), you may be surprised to hear that a lot of hiring manager actually find follow up emails helpful.

If you think about their job from day-to-day, they spend a lot of their time in meetings, writing and following up to emails, interviewing candidates. So just because it may take them a while to respond to your job application, it doesn’t actually mean you’ve been kicked to the can. Your email may have just gotten lost in the shuffle of a busy week.

So, do write a follow-up email. Just make sure that you’re polite. Try to give the hiring manager the benefit of the doubt. Let them know how excited you are about the role and the company, and that you’re available to talk more when they’re free.

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Do continue your job search

You may have had an interview at your dream company, but that doesn’t mean you should throw the extra copies of your resume in the trash. If you come across another job listing that catches your eye, go ahead and apply. Attend interviews if you’re invited to them, even if you’re unsure about your fit for the role. An interview is a two-way conversation and you’re at no obligation to commit to a company after meeting with them one or even a few times.

The point here is to keep your options open. The hiring process can be a long one and if it turns out that you don’t get the role you had your hopes set on, you’re going to find yourself starting your job search again from square one.

Do give yourself time to make your next best move

Before handing in the towel with your current employer, allow yourself some time to decide whether or not the position would actually be your next best move.

Respond to your potential employer within 24 hours of your acceptance notice, thanking them for the opportunity and letting them know you will respond within three days. If you are waiting to hear back regarding a more desirable position, here is your chance for making a power move. If you are more interested in a potential employer than the one who has offered you a position, let the potential employer know you’ve been offered a position with a different company who is waiting for a response. Politely inform the company that you are interested in working for them and proactively ask what you can do to expedite the process.

Do your research

When applying for new jobs, it is important to do research into the companies you’re seeking out as potential employers. A recent study identified company culture to be an important factor in workplace satisfaction, with 92% of respondents believing that improving the corporate culture of the company would result in improvements in the value of the company. Find out as much as you can about their mission, their reputation, and their health as a company. Ask yourself if their values in align with your own and/or how would you feel about going to work every day here. Do your research before applying and decide whether or not an organization is one you feel comfortable representing.

Looking for your next dream job? Check out open roles on Scouted here!

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Top 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid in 2020

There’s a lot of resume advice out there. Some good, a lot bad. Why not take some advice from people who help you get jobs?

Makes sense to us.

We spend a lot of our time reviewing resumes in order to match candidates to great jobs. And doing so, we’ve come up with a simplified list of some of the top mistakes we see all the time. We often get on the phone with candidates and ask them to tweak some of these resume mistakes and see them go on to land amazing jobs.

Are you making any of the mistakes listed below? Read on to find out!

Typos and grammatical errors

Ok, yes, everyone knows this one but we had to include it because it is a huge deal breaker. It’s understood that resumes are looked-over and polished 100 times before sending them to employers, and if you miss a mistake on your resume, the notion is that you’ll probably miss mistakes at work, too.

Try this: before sending your resume to employers, have a family member or friend read over it first. It’s not always easy to catch your own mistakes, but a friend will have a fresh set of eyes.

Listing duties instead of accomplishments

Copy and pasting your previous job descriptions on your resume isn’t going to do you any favors. Nothing about that helps you to stand out and it also doesn’t tell employers what you accomplished while on the job.

Instead, try thinking of the differences you made while working at your previous job. Did you streamline any processes, take on big projects, or manage a team? Write about it!

Not including strong data/number/performance indicators where appropriate

Going off of our last point, it’s a great idea to keep a list of personal metrics on hand to include within your resume later. Say you grew the revenue your team generated by 20% last year, that’s impressive – include it! Maybe you created 15 new processes that streamlined business functions – add it!

What we’re saying here is that numbers stand out. They tell future employers exactly what you accomplished in the past and what you can potentially do for them in the future. So, if you can include your own personal metrics on your resume, do it!

Failure to tailor your resume to the job description

Most people don’t just apply to jobs with a singular job title. Say you’re coming from an account management role and would be happy to land a new job in account management, but you’d also be open to roles in project management. While your experience hasn’t changed, your resume typically should (unless you’re applying from Scouted where we tell employers why you’d be a great fit for either role).

The thing is, if someone who’s hiring for a project management role reads a resume who seems like they’re actually looking for an account management role, that’s an easy way to get filtered out of a resume pile. Instead, do your best to tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for. Take a deep look at the job description to see how it would work within your resume.

Also read: How to Edit Your Resume Based on the Job You’re Applying For

Making your resume too long

The rule of thumb here at Scouted is that if you have less than 10 years experience, keep your resume to one page. In fact, we’ve seen employers automatically turn down people with less than 10 years of experience with over 1 page resumes.

Even if you feel like you have a lot of information you want an employer to know about you (much) more often than not, a resume that’s over 1 page simply seems to ramble about things that aren’t particularly relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Instead, as we stated above, tailor your resume to the job you’re applying to and if some of your previous experience isn’t relevant, think about either leaving it off or cutting down that section to make more room for your experience that is relevant.

Founder tip: The space you allocate on your resume should be proportionate to your time spent at a job. Think – more real estate for places you were at for a longer time, gained the most experience, etc.

Adding an irrelevant “skills” section

This is often one of the unimportant sections that make a resume run longer than it should. In this day and age, most employers will assume that you know basic computer functions, so feel free to leave Microsoft Excel off your resume. And, you may have great leadership skills, but if you’ve mentioned how you’ve lead teams and made a difference in your workplace in the experience section above, a hiring manager will gather that themselves rather than taking your word for it in the “Skills” section of your resume.

When should you have a skills section on a resume?

We typically tell candidates that special certificates and training can be mentioned in the “Skills” section. If that’s not you, better just leave it off. However, a “Skills” section can actually be really important for technical resumes to show the languages/programs you know and can also be useful if you’re concerned about being picked up by ATS (applicant tracking systems).

The main idea here is that you want to include programs/products/skills that are unique and make you stand out versus simply saying you know how to use email and write in Word.

Not using strong action words

It’s no secret that hiring managers are looking for effective people to join their teams. if you start each of your experience descriptions with “Worked on…”, “Was responsible for…” none of your experience will seem exciting or particularly unique to hiring managers. Instead, start each job experience section with a strong action word that describes what you accomplished in your previous role. Need some help thinking of strong action words? Check out this list, here.

Poor formatting

We get it, it can be easy to overthink your resume and try to do anything possible to make it stand out. We’re here to say that, unless you are going after a creative role, try to keep the formatting of your resume simple and easy to read. In fact, our founders have reviewed hundreds of thousands of resumes and this resume template is their favorite. Why not try it on for size?

Founder tip: Save your resume and share it as a PDF. This ensures your resume will look the way you intended it for all audiences.

An objective or summary section

We’ll keep this section short and sweet. An objective or resume summary section is basically a reiteration of your cover letter. Summary sections tend to be useful in 2 cases. 1) you have a non-linear career path and you need to synthesize your story to make it clear to the reader and 2) if you want to switch careers. If neither of these situations apply to you, it’s probably best to leave it off. It’s simply another section distracting from your experience and unnecessarily lengthening your resume.

Not telling a clear story or career path

What many job seekers don’t realize is that hiring managers read resumes to get a clear picture of a candidate’s career path. They want to know why you want the job.

So, before submitting your resume to job boards, read over it to see if your career path makes sense. Have a friend do the same. See if it makes sense to them that you’re applying for the roles you’re applying to. If it doesn’t make sense, I try mirroring some of the language in the job descriptions you’re applying to. Ask yourself how your experience would make you great at those jobs. If you’re able to communicate that, that your resume will make much more sense.

Bonus founder tips from Jax:

Add taglines for companies you worked for that are not well known or “brand names.” Ie. if you worked for Chelsea & Associates, a hiring manager will probably have no idea what industry that’s in. So, on your resume, try writing something like Chelsea & Associates A Boutique Law Firm to give hiring managers more context to your experience.
If you can, add a hobby or interest section to make yourself stand out as more human to hiring managers. It may feel like a breath of fresh air after sorting through 100s of resumes.

Looking for your next dream job? Check out open roles on Scouted here!

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Work-Life Balance: Tips on Balancing Your Career With Starting a Family

Deciding whether or not to have a child is a complicated decision on its own. But aligning that timing with your career? An entirely different conversation – one that’s often complicated for most (potential) parents-to-be.

And just to be clear – we’re not here to tell you if, or when, or how, to make that decision. Heck, it’s one of the most personal decisions you’ll likely make in your lifetime. We’re here to help you navigate the workplace and be proactive about how you approach planning.

Here at Scouted, we partner with incredible companies that offer progressive benefits to parents, so we’ve compiled a list of top benefits, considerations, and conversations you should be prepared to contemplate as you adapt and adjust your family planning around your advancing career.

Look for companies with ample paid leave

Not all industries offer ample leave, but you should note the industries (and companies) that prioritize paid family leave. For example, in tech, offering 4 months or more is the new norm. You should also look into who the policy applies to: Are you adopting? Do you have a surrogate? Is your partner the one physically having the child? Check in with your HR Manager or Head of People to make sure you fully understand the paid leave policy.

Check out state and city mandates

And on that note – make sure to check out your state’s legislated policies surrounding paid leave. Did you know that NYC recently passed a law that requires all employers to give parents 12 weeks of leave at (a minimum of) 50% of their salary? NYC employers and healthcare providers also now have guidelines for covering Egg Freezing, IVF, and similar procedures.

If you’re thinking about a change of career or if you are deciding on where to settle down, picking a state that prioritizes paid family leave can make a world of difference when you do decide to have a child.

Talk to your exec/HR team about family planning benefits

Thanks to the influx of women in the VC space, we’re seeing an uptick of women-forward healthcare startups like Maven and KindBody. Companies of all sizes have the ability to control what benefits they offer their employees. Encourage your employer to consider thinking outside the box when it comes to healthcare perks.

Look for flexible WFH or remote work policies

Not every company will have the capacity to give an employee 20+ weeks off, but a company can incorporate flexible work-from-home (WFH) or remote work policies. If you work on a small team or a with a company with limited budget (and staff power), talk to your team about what it might look like if you were to return (at first) while working remote.

Ditch the fear that you must choose family or career/that your career can’t have a pause

It’s 2020! Times are changing for the better. Driven women (and men) shouldn’t feel as though they have to choose between starting a family and advancing in their careers.

This starts with an open and communicative workspace/relationship with your executive team. Start the conversation early: establish what you want your time off and return to work to look like, and be steadfast with leadership that you expect to return after your time off.

And with that comes the responsibility of building a team that can (and will) function while you are out. Hire and mentor the right talent from day one.

And actually plan to take the time off

Men/Non-carrying parents often won’t use all of their time off! In fact, according to this study, seventy percent of fathers take ten days of leave or less! This sets a complicated precedent in the workplace, one that makes it more difficult for women to take their full leave.

And be prepared to have the conversation with your partner: Not who is taking time off, but when? Keep in mind that both partners (if you are in a two partner household!) do not necessarily need to be off at same time! This can help cut down on initial childcare costs, too.

If you’re planning on starting a family, how confident are you about your career staying on track? Leave your questions and concerns below and we’ll do our best to answer!

Looking for your next dream job? Check out open roles on Scouted here!

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Optimize resume get past digital screening tools

Have you ever submitted your resume through a career website, only to receive an email a few minutes later to say that your application is no longer being considered for the position?

If so, you may have been a victim of the dreaded applicant tracking system.

According to research by Jobscan, 99% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems, or ATS. These systems are popular with businesses of all sizes because they are designed to sift through a large quantity of job applications and rank which ones are best suited for a particular position, before a hiring manager even looks at a single resume.

When applying for jobs, you may have been directed to a website with a URL that contains the words Workday, Taleo, or iCIMS. These are some of the most popular ATS. When you upload your resume into an ATS, it scans the document in a digital database to determine if it’s a match for the employer’s desired qualifications. But these systems can be finicky, and one small resume mistake could cost you a shot at getting the job.

The good news is that it’s possible to adapt your resume to be ATS-friendly, ultimately increasing its chance of being seen by human eyes. Start by following these six rules for optimizing your digital resume.

Keep the format simple

You might think that using graphics or a colorful design for your resume would put you ahead of the pack. And that’s possible if a hiring manager is reviewing the resume, but your plan could backfire if it has to go through an ATS first. Research from TopResume found that 21% of resumes include graphics or charts that an ATS cannot read. Instead, keep your resume to one or two simple sheets of white paper and choose a basic font like Times New Roman or Helvetica–no frills needed. If you’re not sure how to format it properly, you can try Scouted’s recommended resume template.

Incorporate keywords based on the job description and industry

The way an ATS determines if your resume is a good match for the job is by scanning the text for relevant keywords. Keywords usually refer to a specific skill (“Javascript”), educational background (“journalism”), or previous position (“marketing manager”). You can get a good sense of what the keywords for the job are by looking at the job description. Note what the employer is asking for in the “Qualifications” section and see what’s on the list of job responsibilities. From there, you can adapt your resume to incorporate the words and phrases that appear frequently.

However, don’t “stuff” your resume with keywords. Using them once — or twice, if it’s an essential part of the job — will suffice. In addition, if you use industry-related acronyms in your resume, the ATS might only be calibrated to pick up on the full spelling of the word or phrase. It’s best practice to include both (such as “UX Designer” and “User-Experience Designer”).

Tailor your resume to the specific job

Remember how incorporating keywords is crucial? This means using a generic resume for all job applications is unlikely to get you very far because it won’t include the keywords for that specific company. This is especially true if you include an “Overview” or “Summary” section at the top of your resume. You won’t have to rewrite your resume from scratch every time, but minor modifications could make a huge difference.

Use section headers

Organizing your resume according to common headers like “Education,” “Work Experience,” and “Skills” signals to the ATS what keywords to look for in each section. There’s no need to get creative with your section headers (“Academic Background,” etc), since this will only confuse the algorithm. Furthermore, the “Skills” section is a great way to include a list of your qualifications that don’t necessarily fit into your previous employment experience or education, such as if you’ve taught yourself Photoshop but not used it in your college major or previous jobs.

Proofread

An ATS will only pick up on exact keywords, not close matches. If you’ve misspelled an important word, you’re out of luck. So relying on a spell checker isn’t enough. Ask a friend, a teacher, or a family member with eagle eyes to read through your resume. You can also read it out loud to make sure everything flows properly.

Follow the directions to upload

Finally, when the ATS requests that you upload your resume, make sure you use one of the accepted file types. Usually this will be a Microsoft Word document or a PDF (we always recommend saving your resume as a PDF so it always appears the way you intended). If you try to upload a file that isn’t supported, then your application is over before it was even submitted. You can use a free online converter if necessary.
Don’t let your resume be part of the 75% that’s filtered out by an ATS. By putting in a little additional work on your resume at the outset, you can greatly increase your chance of advancing through the application process and landing the interview.

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The scouted virtual interview is now optional

Here at Scouted, we’ve always believed that you’re more than your resume. And that foundational value has driven how we’ve built our entire company, platform, and product. That’s why we give you the opportunity to complete a Virtual Interview as part of your holistic profile, to help you show off your talents, personality, and potential.

Until now, candidates who’ve not completed a Virtual Interview haven’t had the chance to apply to jobs on Scouted. But we recently re-evaluated. Since the last thing we want is to inhibit great candidates from finding amazing jobs, we’ve streamlined our onboarding process and made our Virtual Interview optional.

You might still be wondering: if the Virtual Interview is an integral representation of Scouted’s values, why are we making it optional?

We’re all about empowering you to tell your story, your way.

At the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone else. That’s why we’re still giving you the option to complete your virtual interview, only if you want to. It’ll unlock ALL of our jobs, and, more importantly, it also significantly increases your chances of landing an interview with our partner companies.

Below, we’ve detailed a few key benefits of completing the Scouted Virtual Interview and why it will help you land that awesome job…

Unlock all jobs at Scouted

The first benefit of completing your Scouted Virtual Interview is pretty obvious – it unlocks all jobs on Scouted! While many of our partner companies allow candidates to apply to roles without a Scouted Virtual Interview, several of our high-profile partner companies require it – they find the Virtual Interview extremely valuable in getting to know the candidates on their rosters. Many hiring managers also use the Scouted Virtual Interview to replace their initial phone screen, so it can also expedite your interview process!

Increases your chances of being selected for an interview for any/all jobs

Candidates on Scouted who complete their virtual interview are 58% more likely to be selected for an interview with our partner companies. Like we mentioned above, our partner companies value the Scouted Virtual Interview as a way to get to know candidates on a deeper level. It helps hiring managers make better decisions by providing more information beyond a resume by enabling them to virtually meet you (at their convenience).

Say a startup is looking to hire an operations manager and you’ve been in Financial Services your whole life but are looking to break into the startup world. From your Scouted Virtual Interview, a hiring manager has a chance to get a sense of your interpersonal skills, process orientation, as well as your grit. They can get insight into why you want to change careers and how your previous experience is transferable and relevant to other industries and functions.

Lets you control your narrative

As a candidate, your first goal is to get yourself to the interview stage with your top companies, and your main tool to do that is your resume. Most companies get inundated with applicants, and the average hiring manager spends roughly 6 seconds(!!) on each resume. If you’re worried about hiring managers making the wrong assumptions from your resume and/or overlooking your individual talents and story, your Scouted Virtual Interview provides a way around that.

Our unique five-question Virtual Interview is intentional and thoughtful: Our questions probe for grit, tenacity, interpersonal skills, and other key factors of potential success – factors that don’t always come across on a resume. We see way too much talent get overlooked for opportunities because they didn’t attend the *right* school or didn’t have the *right* former title and we realized how much both candidates and companies were missing out. We want you to be in control of the story you tell, and your Scouted Virtual Interview empowers you to do that.

My career path makes sense, but I want to stand out

Even if you’re not worried about the story your resume tells because, to be honest, your career progression makes perfect sense – it’s linear, logical, and impressive – your scouted virtual interview can be what sets you apart from the rest.

It puts a face to a name and a story that goes beyond a piece of paper. It helps you add an additional dimension to a standard job application by humanizing you and bringing your story to life.

The choice is yours

Here at Scouted, we’re all about empowering you to tell your story, your way. If you feel like you can do that without completing your Virtual Interview, we get it! Just look for the Scouted job postings without the video logo. We value you as a candidate – and we respect that you’ve opted to not complete the Scouted Virtual Interview.

Like I said before, at the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone! We’re just here to help guide you in your job search. We’re excited to offer job opportunities to even more candidates than before – and we’re equally committed to supporting you along your career journey in whatever way we can.

Whether you are changing careers or simply wanting to add another dimension to the standard job application – the Scouted virtual interview lets you control your narrative and, it helps us tell your story the way you want it to be told.

Happy applying!

Cheers,

Jax

#hirepeoplenotresumes

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Tips for working remotely during covid 19

COVID-19 is leaving both employees and employers with questions on how they should continue working while staying, and keeping others, safe and healthy. If your company’s decided to work remotely for the time being, here are some tips for how to carry on your work as usual, while working from home.

Over-communicate

It’s not a surprise that working remotely can feel as though certain means of accountability fall to the wayside. Not making direct eye contact with your manager might mean they forget about that project you owe them. And it might feel like not a big deal to postpone meetings or deadlines because I simply feel more arbitrary when working remotely.

As an employee who’s been working remotely full time for 2 years now, the best piece of advice I can give any remote team is to over-communicate.

These days, companies often have messaging systems to communicate interdepartmentally. These systems become especially important when your team no longer shares an office. If you’re used to working in an office, it may take some time to get used to communicating more via messaging apps or email but It’s crucial to staying in sync and on top of goals as a team.

While over-communicating may sound like more work, you’ll actually find that being completely transparent and timely in your communication will save your team world of headaches, miscommunications, and dropped balls down the road.

Video conferencing is your best friend

Leading from our last point, not everything is communicated perfectly over messaging apps. Don’t be afraid to hop on quick 5-minute video calls with your team to get on the same page.

Companies should do their best to set the standard that video calls among teams don’t need to be perfect or polished. This way, teams are much more likely to feel as though they can ask for a short call with a manager or coworker without feeling like they’re imposing or asking for a lot.

Aside from being great for communication, video conferencing is a great way to lift morale and feel connected to your company as a whole. Teams can even take this a step further by creating team bonding initiatives, even working remotely. Since writing this blog, our team has decided to work remotely for the time being but still plan to keep up the team spirit by:

Keeping up with our Friday Scouted Tunes (our collaborative weekly Spotify playlist)
Continuing to provide Tuesday team lunches
Planning themed/spirit days
Organizing a simultaneous podcast stream & team-wide discussion

(Ideas courtesy of our Co-founder, Jax).

Structure and defined expectations are crucial

There are two types of structure we’re talking about when it comes to working remotely: the structure you set for yourself throughout your day and week, and the structure your company sets for itself and its departments. Like we said while working remotely it can be easy for assignments to fall to the wayside because of a feeling of less accountability.

The thing is, if you want to do your job the very best you can, it should be your desire to set up accountability and structure for yourself in order to do that. Don’t wait until your manager asks you if you’ve completed a project. Schedule regular meetings with them and be proactive about holding yourself accountable so others don’t need to do it for you.

As a remote employee, I have meetings with my manager at the start and end of each week. One meeting to sync on my goals for the week and the latter meeting to talk about what actually got done, where I might need help, and how I’m feeling about the projects I’m working on. For me, this has been really helpful to set very clear expectations for the week and to know that there will be helpful accountability at the end. It helps me create small, achievable goals that are broken down into realistic segments that I can complete from week to week.

From working remotely, I’ve learned that accountability isn’t scary or annoying, it helps us achieve more. I’ve also learned that creating large goals for each quarter and then breaking them down by tasks for each month and week is a great way to get big things done without feeling overwhelmed.

There’s a very good chance that if you’re reading this, your company has decided to work remotely or has at least talked about the possibility. Do you have concerns with working remotely or are you up for the challenge? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll do our best to respond!

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Covid 19 and you what are your next steps

Today, most of us are sitting down to our computers just beginning this work from home transition, all the while COVID-19 email updates stream in from companies we love (and some we forgot about) and news updates of businesses closing their doors and schools closing ping on our phones.

Personally, I’m juggling working from my kitchen table trying to get the same amount of work done while my kids (whose school has been canceled for the foreseeable future) watch Frozen 2 on repeat. It could be worse.

I believe the hardest part of this transition right now is figuring out how to conduct “business as usual” in a situation that’s completely new to the world as we know it. We have a lot of questions, like:

Will my job still function the same?
Am I still prioritizing the right goals?
I’m looking for a job – are companies still hiring?
I recently accepted a new job, will they rescind my offer?

But as Anna reminds me in the background, all we can do in our current situation is “the next right thing.”

If you’re still wondering what that is, we’ve come up with a list of suggested first steps for you to take during this transition. Hopefully, they’ll provide some direction and clarity and be helpful to you in the days to come.

If you’re working, connect with your manager

There’s a lot of confusion right now, across every industry. Even though you won’t be working alongside your team for the time being, it’s now more important than ever to sync on what your team’s goals should be over the next several months. Schedule time to get clear on what goals or KPIs need to change, what’s staying the same, and how often you’ll check in with each other throughout the process.

If you were just hired, connect with your manager

You might be finding yourself just hired at a new company but faced with a world of questions. Is the position you were hired for still needed? How will onboarding work? Will your start date be pushed back?

If you’ve yet to start your new job, now is the time to reach out to your recruiting manager for updates. Don’t waste time by running through all the “what-ifs” in your head or stressing over questions that simply need clarification. Instead, reach out to your hiring/recruiting manager and ask for updates and transparency as to how their company is handling hiring and onboarding and what that means for your position.

Also, do your best to be empathic to their situation and mention that you totally understand if they are working through the particulars; but, don’t be afraid to be proactive so you can get the information you need to be reassured.

If you’re looking for a job, know that companies are still hiring

Of course the state of companies hiring depends a lot on their industry but we want to tell you as a recruiting company, companies are still hiring. So if you were on the job hunt before, we want you to know there’s still hope. Keep applying!

If you’re interviewing, be communicative

Scouted works as a liaison between companies and candidates. That being the case, we’ve had to remind both companies and candidates who are “in-process” (interviewing) to still do their best to be responsive and transparent about their situation. If you need to reschedule a video or phone interview because you’re focused on getting settled after COVID-19 work or school transitions, that’s ok! Just be sure to let the appropriate people know and follow up as soon as you’re able.

Make time for self-care

Probably just as important as making time for self-care is realizing that self-care will most likely look different for now. Instead of heading to the gym or making a pedicure appointment, self-care might look like a creative home workout, a Facetime call with family, or ordering in from your favorite restaurant. While everyone is forced to be cooped up at home, self-care might simply be making a virtual social connection when you need to.

Whatever the case, make sure to take time to fill up your cup each day. No one can pour from an empty cup.

Refine your video skills

Now more than ever, being able to communicate well via phone or video is going to be extremely important. As we said, many job interviews are still happening via phone or video so this means you’ll need to come across as eloquent on camera as you are in person.

Depending on how familiar you are with taking selfies, this could take some practice. On the bright side, you’ll probably get more practice with video calls whether you wanted to or not. Here’s to learning new skills.

Create a sense of community by helping where you can

We can react to uncertain times in many different ways. One the one hand, feelings of anxiety and confusion are completely normal. On the other hand, we can feel desperate to see the good. At the risk of sounding extraordinarily cliche, now is a chance for us to “be the change [we] wish to see in the world.”

This attitude can permeate many areas in our life and our job search or relationship with our coworkers is no exception. During the next few months, if you feel inspired to do so, don’t be afraid to offer extra help to your coworkers, bosses, and even hiring managers with whom you have a working relationship. It is possible to be your own source of encouragement, as well as others’, during uncertain times and you never know who you may inspire along the way.

We want to hear from you! How are you handling the work from home transition? What does your makeshift home office look like? Do you have any questions about your job search in a COVID-19 world?

Leave your questions below and we’ll do our best to answer.

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9 practical productive things soon graduates can quarantined

Check out internships and 2020 campus roles on Scouted!

It’s normal to experience a fair amount of uncertainty during your senior year of college, but COVID-19 is introducing a whole new level of unpredictability into the lives of soon-to-be-graduates. With many universities suspending all in-person activities for the spring semester and transitioning to online learning, it can feel frustrating to finish what you once assumed would be a ‘victory lap’ at school from the kitchen table of your childhood home.

Although your frustrations (and all of your emotions surrounding this uncertain time!) are valid, it’s important to realize that you’re not alone, with hundreds of thousands of college seniors facing the same looming question marks as you are. It’s equally important to realize that there are proactive steps you can take while quarantined that will increase your post-graduation success. We’ve come up with 9 practical things you can do right now to finish your last semester strong from wherever you are.

If you have a job or internship lined up, connect with your manager

If you’re lucky enough to have a job or internship lined up for after graduation, now is a great time to connect with your hiring manager. Reassert your interest in the position, your eagerness to become part of the team, and ask about resources like reading materials or online courses that can improve your preparedness for the job.

If you’re feeling worried about the state of your job as COVID-19 uneasiness continues, don’t be afraid to ask for updates and transparency regarding your position—just make sure you come across as understanding and empathetic, versus demanding and hysteric.

Make a list of ‘dream companies’ to work for

No job lined up for after graduation? No problem.

Now is the perfect time to create a list of dream jobs, and dream companies you could see yourself working for in the future. Set some time aside and imagine yourself in 10 years: What does your ideal professional life look like? Whatever you envision doesn’t have to be a position you’d secure immediately after graduation, but writing down your goals on paper is helpful for two reasons.

By imagining your career trajectory, you can start to take proactive steps towards establishing a roadmap for how to get there—which in turn helps determine what types of positions you should apply for post-graduation.

Also read: Why you should start your job search with companies, not job titles

Thinking about grad school? Start studying for the GREs

Without your regular undergraduate extracurriculars, you might be finding yourself with some extra time. If graduate school is potentially in your future, now is a great opportunity to start researching the prerequisites required for programs you might be interested in and start studying for whatever standardized test your program might require. Prospective graduate students will likely need to take the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, or TOEFL—so if you think higher education is in your future, check out resources like Kaplan, The Princeton Review, and Magoosh for prep materials like online courses and practice tests.

Look for remote internships

In the wake of being kicked out of their dorm rooms, many college students have retreated home to finish out their spring semester from their childhood homes. Rather than seeing this as a setback, you can use this time living rent-free as a chance to take advantage of a part-time remote internship, research gig or another professional opportunity you wouldn’t otherwise be able to take on. Many companies provide internships in exchange for school credit, meaning you could boost your GPA, add to your resume and gain valuable experience all at once.

Attend virtual conferences within your industry

Just because you can’t physically network at this time doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the countless virtual conferences, webinars, panel streams, and forums that are available online. Take some time to research what’s available in your industry of choice, and if a particular conference or webinar topic interests you, sign up to virtually ‘attend.’ Those interested in digital marketing can take advantage of Adweek’s free upcoming webinars while technology buffs can stream videos about Saas, big data, virtual reality and more from leading tech conferences via TechEvents.Online.

Even if you can’t connect with others in real-time, a nicely-worded email to speakers and presenters thanking them for their time and including your own personal insights and questions is a great way to make valuable connections.

Create or revamp your resume, LinkedIn profile, and personal website

One of the first things your potential employer will do upon receiving your resume or job application is Google you—so if you want to impress them, now is a great time to polish your resume, and create or revamp your online presence. If you’re feeling totally lost, Indeed has a variety of free resume templates to choose from, and you can even consider sending your resume to people you know in your industry and ask for feedback. When it comes to your LinkedIn profile and personal website, feel free to model your own after other professionals in your target field—just make sure to add your own unique spin. When in doubt, remember to keep it professional, straightforward, and true to you.

Also read: Top 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid in 2020 and How to Edit Your Resume Based on the Job You’re Applying For

Take additional courses that interest you

If you’re like most seniors, you’ve probably already completed the most important and vigorous classes of your college career. Challenge yourself by taking a free online course from one of the eight Ivy League schools: Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale and Columbia. Yale University’s most popular course, The Science of Well-Being, might be especially useful at this time.

Brush up on your video interviewing skills

While we can all hope that life returns to normal within the next couple of weeks, the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 is real—and has emphasized how critical video calls and Zoom meetings are, and will be in our future. Now is a great time to brush up on your video interviewing skills in case you need to virtually connect with companies before you can connect IRL.

Recognize this time as a learning opportunity

So much of our college career is predictable. We have a curriculum that chooses most of our courses for us, assignment deadlines provided weeks ahead of time, consistent class meetings, and designated time off. Yet the working world can definitely be a bit more uncertain, and it’s important to recognize this period as a learning opportunity for reacting to situations beyond your control in the workplace. You may not always have a say in circumstances in the professional world, but you can control how you react to them—and rise to the challenge of whatever comes your way.

No matter how bummed you are about missing your final semester, remember that there are actionable steps you can take to stay positive and make progress during this time.

We want to hear from you! How are you handling these changes to your final semester of college? What are you doing to get ahead and stay busy while quarantined? Do you have any questions about your professional future in a COVID-19 world?

Leave your comments and questions below and we’ll do our best to answer.

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How to work from home with your family

Two words: duct tape.

Sheesh, just kiddinggggg.

Working from home with kids is no joke though. I’ve personally found myself feeling jealous of my kidless coworkers being able to sit down with their steaming cup of coffee after waking up precisely when they intended to and getting a morning workout in, of course. Whereas some mornings I find I can’t put my sweatpants on and pour the cereal fast enough before I start hearing the Slack “tap-tap-tap on your shoulder” sound coming from my laptop on the kitchen counter.

As someone who works full-time from home with my husband and two small children, I’ve come to feel like visiting my office in person is like going to a work spa where the luxury is being able to sit at my relatively clean dest being relatively uninterrupted for most of the day.

And for those of you who are finding yourself missing that luxury right now, I wanted to share a few tips about working from home with your kids that may come in handy over the next few months.

It’s a whirlwind, but we’ll make it work.

Talk to your boss about flexibility of hours

Most of the people I work with have come to understand that I typically step away from my computer in the afternoons and pick up work again after bedtime. Do I do this every day? No, it depends on the urgency of different projects I’m working on. But if I do have the option to finish things at night and have a few extra hours to spend with the kids, I take it. They’re only young once.

The key here is being able to communicate with your coworkers and boss when you’ll be available. Ask your boss if you’re able to have some flexibility in your hours while you’re working from home with your family.

Be clear about when you’re available and when you’re not

Once you get the green flag from your boss, then communicate with your coworkers. This way, if they ping you “after hours” you don’t need to feel obligated to respond that very minute. You’ll get back to them when you’re online again.

One of the new things we’ve been doing here at Scouted since we’ve gone fully remote is saying “Hello!” in the mornings when we officially start our workday. In the same way, we also say, “Signing off!” in the evening. This helps to give a clear picture of our availability as well as help us not work around the clock since where we work is now where we live, also.

Leave the room (if you can)

Being able to leave the room to work depends a lot on how old your kids are as well as the help you have available. I’m lucky to have my husband at home to help support me while I work so I can be in another room to focus. If you have older kids, potentially ask them to supervise while you work heads-down for an hour in another room. If you have a partner at home, try working it out so that each of you gets at least a couple hours of heads-down work time each day by trading off the time you work from the kitchen table while also supervising and entertaining.

Prioritize your tasks

You’re going to have interruptions throughout the day, it’s not a question of “if” but a question of “when.”

That being the case, be sure to prioritize your tasks and start on the most important ones first. Map out the things you hope to get done each day and in the order you should get them done.

That way you don’t spend too much time in your inbox and then have a difficult time finishing an important project later.

Ask for help

We’re in a unique time where we’re unable to have “mother’s helpers” or grandparents come over to be with the kids while we work from home. We really do have to get creative with how we multitask being parents while simultaneously doing our jobs. Do your best to assess your situation and ask for help wherever possible.

Wherever you are, be all in

It can be really easy to feel tied to your computer throughout the day. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is look at my kids like they’re an interruption.

But to be honest, the feeling is almost inevitable if you’re always trying to work at the same time as being a parent. Sometimes you really need to get that email out by 3, and sometimes your kids will act like they’re going to die of starvation if they don’t get a snack precisely at 2:55.

The point here is to be intentional, wherever you decide to put your focus. If it’s on work, try communicating with the kids that they need to have a snack now and no more for the next hour because it’s work time. Then, after work time, be all in with the kids. Play games, go in the back yard, make physical contact and give them hugs. They miss that whether they know it or not. If you’re able to separate the two and be “all in” with each, you’ll feel way less stressed and frustrated throughout the day, I promise.

Communicate when you need to just be with the kids

Depending on your work’s culture, you may have coworkers that work into the night and ping you during your designated family time. Or you may have meetings scheduled during when you need to do this new homeschooling thing.

Whatever the case, communication is so important. If there’s a meeting you know conflicts with your schedule ahead of time, communicate that as soon as possible. Make sure your coworkers know when you need to be offline and when they can expect you to be available again.

Enjoy this time

There’s no question that we wish working at home with our family came under different circumstances. But we all know this is something you had previously wished you got to do more. Working from home with your kids is a temporary situation that can feel frustrating at times, but is also an opportunity to be with the ones you love most more than you ever could before.

Enjoy the extra time you now have with your family and be intentional about the little things each day.

We’ll see you on the flip side.

What are your tips on working from home? Leave them in the comments below!

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