Annie Walker has been helping people find employment for nearly forty years. She said that 2020 changed the trajectory of office work, depending on your industry.
“The type of work that is available is changing,” said Walker. “And how work is being done is changing.”
The latest numbers from the New York State Department of Labor say that about 14,000 more people are unemployed in Greater Rochester, since the pandemic. That’s an unemployment rate of 7%, up from 4.6% this time last year.
Some job seekers tell Walker that companies want them to be flexible with hours and location including working from home indefinitely, which she said creates opportunities and problems.
With the shift to white-collar work from home, Walker said office workers have more job options because of the potential for out-of-town employment. That means less face-to-face contact with potential co-workers and bosses. Walker said that begs for concise communication.
“The language that we use to be clear convey is going to be vital to the next opportunities that are provided for us,” said Walker.
Walker said this also applies to work inside the region because she expects Zoom interviews to become a normal part of the job search process.
Rosa Smith-Montenaro does organizational development workshops for companies and works with hundreds of job seekers weekly at RochesterWorks! Whether you’re out of work or are seeking your next job, Montenaro said it's important to embrace the process of finding a career path because it may take longer than normal in this job market. She said that you have to take an entrepreneurial approach to your career.
“When I first got started 20 years ago, people were put into a defined career path in an organization and groomed into that career path,” said Montenaro. “Now you have to own it and do it yourself.”
Montenaro said people should find ways to enjoy parts of the process, like networking. She suggests reconnecting with old friends and co-workers because those talks could lead to job referrals.
“There are a lot of people we’ve lost touch with, who care about them and they care about us, we’ve just lost touch,” said Montanaro. “This is the best time to reconnect with them.
“You have to be really logical at this time. This is not the best time to throw caution to the wind.”
If you are in between jobs, both Montanaro and Walker say you should not waste this time. They say job seekers with an employment gap should be prepared to answer the same question at their next interview: What have you done with your time off? They say people should be ready to show how they invested time in learning new skills, sharpening old ones and giving back to their families and communities.
