Smile and the Whole World Smiles With You…
…Except when you’re wearing a facemask.
Like now, where it’s all Mad Max out there. Neighbors have morphed into strangers and people’s inscrutable expressions are concealed behind makeshift or store-bought protection, no one daring to look each other in the eye in case we’re doing something wrong.
And on top of all that, 3 million of us in Cali lost our jobs. Deep anxiety? Check. Unfathomable consequences literally out of nowhere? Check. Government stepping up with a safety net? Like the t-shirt says, no one is coming. It’s up to us.
I attended a Zoom thing hosted by sf.citi where speakers from HireClub, LinkedIn and Zendesk were giving advice about how to get hired in the tech industry during COVID-19.
Presentation skills, communication style, and the ability to listen will all be prioritized, they told us. Hiring managers may not meet you in person. Ever. Onboarding will be a whole new ball of wax. Being present when it’s hard to be present together will be key. One panelist said, hiring managers are real people who want to work with people who care.
They also implored job seekers to “know the lingo.” Know the acronyms. Be a quick ramp (her phrase). Meaning, have the ability to ramp up and be valuable in the first 30-60 days. Quick ramp is so trendy you can’t find the term on the internet yet, which reminds me of the time in 1999 when I was on the phone with a gal from Adobe and she told me she didn’t have the bandwidth. It was my first time hearing that phrase and I thought, what a dingbat.
So, let’s reshape the workforce. Obviously, there’s way more that can be accomplished without commuting into the office.
If companies need a smaller footprint, what happens to all that commercial space in SF? And if job losses motivate people to move away from the Bay (and let’s face it, if we learned anything from this pandemic, it’s that you don’t need to be in SF to do tech), will housing prices come down? Will tech bros move back to Ohio?
One thing that’s true in SF or Ohio or anywhere else you’re headed is that breaking into any industry under any circumstances is to know your strengths, be able to talk about them, be engaged, be curious, and wow ‘em on Zoom.
Not sure how to do that? Check out Arya’s class, Interviewing Strategies. And Patty’s Branding class. Dov’s Career Pivot. And Chris Sams’ Virtual Meeting Vibrance.
You’d pay about $250 per class anywhere else. At BAVC Media, they’re free (thanks, SFOEWD). So, go ahead. Take care of yourself. As my friend and colleague Keith Battle says, you gotta put on your own mask first, before helping others.
Last Gal Standing is a regular blog series from Senior Engagement Director (and BAVC Media staff member of 21 years), Mindy Aronoff.
