During this pandemic, many people have lost their jobs. No doubt about that. And, it’s been horrible. But, at the same time, many people are accepting and starting new jobs–including many in the PR, comms and social media world. And, over the last few months, I’m starting to see more of these folks in my feeds.
What’s more, what an interesting and unique time to be starting a new job. Challenges abound: How do you get to know your new team over Zoom? How do you assimilate into a culture that’s now almost entirely virtual? What does onboarding look like?
I looked to ask the handful of people I know that started new jobs recently about their experience. Both–what was it like looking for a new job during a pandemic? And, what was it like accepting and starting a new job during a pandemic. The answers might surprise–and inspire you:
Katie Fitzpatrick, director of content and PR, DKY
Bill Van Cleaf, marketing communications consultant, Cargill Animal Nutrition
What were the pros and cons of the Zoom interview process?
I really enjoy video interviews and think I do well on them. It allows you to get the nonverbal feedback you see when you’re in the room with someone. The silences aren’t so awkward when you see someone nodding their head in agreement. It also relieves the stress of driving, parking, waiting nervously in a lobby, small talk in those transition times. Interviewing with multiple people is actually much easier on video. To show up best on video, I keep my focus and eye contact on my webcam. I don’t get distracted by what the other people are doing until I’m done talking.
Did you feel like you had more or less communication with your new employer during the search process? Were recruiters more responsive?
I worked through a consulting agency, Antenna, on my search, and they were great about communicating with me throughout the process — from status to follow and the final offer. They also involved me in some team development before I even started, which really made me feel they were committed to me as part of the team. Outside this experience, it feels like other recruiters have been incredibly unresponsive, far more than “normal times.” It could be the added stress and uncertainty candidates are facing, which makes those small updates that much more important.
What was your onboarding process like?
Cargill did a great job putting together an onboarding outline of key meetings and tasks for me first week. At the same time, they are a culture of ownership and responsibility to their employees. I was given the lay of the land, But I was also accountable for my schedule and meet and greets. Cargill also has good tech for collaboration. I’ve able to pop into IM for this quick questions. Upside: it doesn’t feel like an interruption, compared to coming into someone’s office.
What did your new employer do really well during onboarding?
One thing I’ve been grateful for is a team that clearly values each of us as individuals, how we’re doing, and makes time for us to get together, chat, celebrate and focus on things other than work. Our leader has been very clear that whatever the business needs can wait for an hour or two.
How have you managed getting to know a new team, boss and company while working completely remotely? What has worked to help get to know people better?
Cargill is still working remotely and has been very bearish on opening the office back up. But that aside, I’m a team that is geographically dispersed anyway, working with people from Toronto to California, so my job was always going to be done virtually.
Have you been able to get a strong sense of the company culture while working remotely? How has that played out?
When it comes to learning the culture, I think a lot of that comes through in meetings and conversations. What behaviors are we celebrating and rewarding, how are we working to include people in the conversation. Last week, I was gently prodded to not be so polite and jump in and speak up, poking fun at my Minnesota nice.
What advice would you give others looking to make a job transition during COVID?
For job seekers, it will take longer. Recruiters and hiring managers are stressed and stretched, too. Don’t be afraid to speak up and keep your name out there. For recruiters, take a walk in your candidates’ shoes. More than normal times, there is a lot of anxiety about For new hires working remotely, it’s easy to feel forgotten when your calendar isn’t full and you’re not at full capacity. The team didn’t want to overload me with meetings right away, I instead asked them to please include me, because it was the best way to learn how the team works together and ended up setting me up for success later. Use the tools you have for collaboration to ask questions, share ideas.
Emily Negrin, senior director-marketing & communications, Inari
What were the pros and cons of the Zoom interview process?
Interviewing with an out-of-state company can normally get complicated as it often requires travel – which can be tricky to manage when you are employed elsewhere. Doing everything via zoom made it easier to manage schedules. Even with local interviews, you had to allow time travel time – so interviewing always took chunks of time out of your day. With Zoom-style calls, I could easily squeeze in interviews between my other meetings. By this point, I’ve gotten used to meeting people via video-calls – but I could see where that could have been a bit more awkward back in March. There is also the fact that my 4.5 year old ran into the room in the middle of my first interview … he never got on camera but I did have to stop the interview and excuse myself. While I wasn’t happy that it happened, how they responded told me a lot about the culture of the company. We laughed about it and quickly moved back into our conversation. Family happens, I respected the fact that they understood that.
Did you feel like you had more or less communication with your new employer during the search process? Were recruiters more responsive?
Everyone I worked with through this process was very communicative – but I’m not sure it was a reflection of the process. I find companies either are or are not good about communicating during recruitment.
If you interviewed with multiple people via video, did you feel that was easier or tougher than doing it in person? Why?
I guess it felt a little more relaxed. You’re interviewing from the comfort of your home – I was literally barefoot (and since I’ve been asked numerous times already, I wore jeans with a dress shirt and blazer. No shorts or yoga pants … and thank goodness since I had to stand up to escort my son out of the room.)
What was your onboarding process like? What did your new employer do really well during onboarding?
Very comprehensive! It’s probably one of the best onboarding processes I’ve had in awhile. I have had one-on-one calls set up with people throughout the organization to ensure that I get the opportunity to meet folks. I actually prefer this to typical approach when the new person is quickly introduced to everyone at the same time and you spend the next few weeks trying to remember everyone’s name.
What surprised you the most about your digital onboarding process?
The number of people I’ve been set-up to meet via one-one-one calls. It’s been wonderful.
How have you managed getting to know a new team, boss and company while working completely remotely? What has worked to help get to know people better?
I’m going to sound a bit like a broken record, but the one-on-one calls. I also happened to start at the perfect time, as the leadership team I’m apart of had a two day planning session planned for my first week. We were each asked to do DiSC assessments and went through them as a team which was a great way to get to know my counterparts for various departments.
Have you been able to get a strong sense of the company culture while working remotely? How has that played out?
Yes, it comes out in various ways but I think it’s because they have put a lot of focus on their company culture. It’s more in the little, every day interactions (via meetings, slack, emails) where you see it play out.
What advice would you give others looking to make a job transition during COVID?
Keep an open mind and be flexible to a new process. Talk to as many people as you can – in the end, it’s the people that make up the business, not the building. If you find good people who you are able to connect with, who you are excited to work with, the rest will work itself out.
Dustin Smith, senior associate marketing manager, Polaris
