With increased isolation and anxiety worldwide, COVID-19 affects different aspects of our lives, including the job market. Though networking is the best way to find your career, it is usually practiced individually. As we start rethinking our regular work, the way we search for new work deserves something different.

I am outlining a plan that you can follow over the next months to keep the market ready while you are in the comfort zone of your home.

Recognize Existing Connections

You may realize it or not; you already have multiple connections. Your classmates, parents, friends, roommates, advisers, mentors – they all have connections who can help you find the next job.

What to Do? Reach out to the strongest buddies. Tell them you are on the job market and request them to introduce you to their one connection, which can help you.

Update Your Brand

What do your social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, and others say about you? Well! This is the time to explore. This essential step finds out which hiring managers and recruiters seek you out, and there is more probability that they will reply when you try to contact them.

What to Do? Take the help of a friend to type your name into Google and see what shows up. After that, request them for feedback on your multiple social media platforms. What themes and details exist about you on the internet? Do they strengthen your chosen brand?

The next step includes updating your brand with the content you need. Add publications, professional experiences, videos/photos, and keywords to what appears about you on different social media platforms. Even you can create your own webpage. Be sure to ask career coaches and friends to review all the changes you make.

Describe New Connections

Different career offices offer tutorials of their workshop and maintain their regular services online. These services include coaching and assessments to help you explain the potential connections and companies that align with your values, skills, and interests.

What to Do? Within the next seven days, research different potential connections in your chosen field. With whom do you have the nearest connection? Choose at least ten people whose expertise can inform your potential career choices and offer future leads.

Make New Connections

Meeting new individuals need clarity and authenticity. Some significant networking errors include random emails that do not acknowledge common interests, long emails that are not precise and generic ramblings without any point. Try to craft something more meaningful and concise for individuals with more downtime.

What to Do? Over the next 15 days, reach out to people above, asking them for a phone or Zoom conversation or lunch/coffee post-COVID. Use the below-mentioned guidelines for invitations:

• Explain what you need and why they are the best person to assist.
• Compliment them and show a fit with your experience.
• Provide a precise description of your future goals and background
• Keep it brief and use an engaging subject line to increase the chance that the individual will read it.

This guide is all about networking during COVID-19; I hope it would help you in your job search.

Kash Data Consulting LLC is a Search Marketing firm with years of experience in SEO, Google Analytics, Google Ads, Social Media Marketing, Local Search Marketing, YouTube Optimization, and Content Writing with WordPress CMS in Plano, Frisco, Allen, and surrounding DFW Metroplex areas.

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Written by Tarundeep Kaur, freelance content strategist and writer passionate about SEO and Social Media Marketing in Plano Texas. Loves to cook and paint in her free time. You can reach her on Linkedin. 

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