Are companies hiring during COVID-19?

Among all of the headlines about massive job losses, it’s easy to lose sight of industries and companies that are hiring during COVID-19. And many companies are playing a critical and active role in response to COVID-19. 

As companies have come to a stand-still, or have closed their doors, there are some that are scrambling to hire more employees. 

Some companies that provide essential services and products are even increasing their recruitment efforts to meet their hiring needs. And some companies may even have a hiring fast-track to meet their urgent hiring needs. So think of companies that provide essential services such as Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart, food delivery services, and medical manufacturing companies. 

GoodFood, a Montreal-based food preparation company recently announced that it is hiring 500 hundred people across Canada. And what’s interesting is that they have opportunities across different functions including:

• Logistics
• Marketing
• Food Safety
• Technology
• Operations.

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Companies hiring during COVID-19

As a result of COVID-19, other examples of industries that will look to increase their recruitment efforts include:

• Healthcare: more healthcare workers and doctors are required to meet the increasing patient load. 

• Medical manufacturing: rapid response to manufacture personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other healthcare equipment is critically important.

• Accounting and finance: banks and other financial institutions are under pressure to provide assistance to many people facing financial insecurity. 

• E-commerce: many retailers and service providers will increasingly rely on e-commerce to distribute their products and services.

• IT: telecommunication companies are facing pressure on their servers and networks as more people work from home.

How COVID-19 has changed the nature of business today

The arrival of COVID-19 has caused many companies in Canada to change the way they do business because of:

• Travel restrictions
• Quarantine and isolation requirements
• Retail closures, and
• Identified essential services.

And because of COVID-19, many businesses are:

• Increasing their hiring requirements
• Adjusting the way they deliver their products or services
• Altering the products that they manufacture to meet healthcare needs for medical masks and other personal protective equipment. 

So in some cases, these changes will mean companies will see a sharp increase in their hiring.

How to find a job during COVID-19

While job hunting during COVID-19 may not be simple, there are steps that you can take to make it easier, for example:

• Take advantage of online job search resources such as Indeed, Monster or Workopolis
•  Look for recent jobs that have been posted within the past two weeks
• Use LinkedIn to search for jobs, access webinars, and other support services
• Be open to opportunities that may be indirectly related to your professional background
• Be positive and maintain an optimistic outlook.

Job search activities that you can conduct during COVID-19

No doubt about it, this is a very challenging time if you are currently unemployed, or have recently lost your job. COVID-19 has created a great deal of uncertainty and instability in many areas of life including your career.

However, this time may provide you with an opportunity to adapt and manage your career situation. For example, you may want to:

• Think of how you can redirect your career
• Build new skills 
• Take free University of Toronto online courses
• Update your resume.

So if you use this time to focus on these activities, you will be on better footing when this crisis ends.

The article was originally published here: prepareforcanada.com/covid-19/employm…