Finding a job during Covid: Keep Trying, Stay Positive

Back in December, my mom told me that 2020 was going to be my year. More than that, March was going to be my month! How did she know you ask? Because she read it in some numerology article obviously! Usually, that conversation gives us both a good laugh and that is generally the end of it.

This time, however, circumstances made me somewhat more receptive to these “good tidings” as I was pretty much losing my job at the time… I was a real estate analyst for some large retailer in Quebec, but the company did not have enough work to keep justifying the position so I did not get renewed...

Where most people bring gifts and good news for Christmas, I told my parents I lost my job. A pretty high fallout from the “Don’t worry, I already have a job lined up!” that I had told them back in April, as I was finishing university.

Oh well, such is life. I then found myself with a renewed option to reevaluate my career choices, which is a plus in my book! At first, it was hard to narrow down my choices and applications.

I applied to over 50 positions in total, all mostly related to finance and business analytics. I was on LinkedIn scouring the jobs place every day. Day-in, day-out, making applications until I would forget what the hell I was doing.

Of these 50+ applications, a dozen or so became phone calls, of which I passed the qualifications for five. Next ensued a back and forth of sending documents, phone interviews, and even more phone interviews. Finally, I ended up having two in person interviews: Ivanhoe Cambridge & Lightspeed. So I went to both with hopes of enthused by one afterwards. It was the time to either pick traditional finance or tech.

By that time, it was nearing mid-February. That is when my current employer reached out to me in the most millennial fashion possible. My HR partner posted on Facebook asking our common acquaintances if I could contact him, and so I did! Two weeks later and I was beginning my first day at work.

Turns out my mom was right, March indeed seems to have been a very good month for me!

I accepted the position at the AI firm as a business intelligence analyst and started just in time to have my first day in office before the pandemic... and I have to say, what luck I had to join a leader in their field in these challenging times!

Despite the fact that as an AI search engine we are considered established, you still get that feeling of the tech startup of one big family making things happen. I have to say, I am blessed for that, but also for the seamless switch to remote work. I imagine I don’t need to tell you a tech leader has quite the application stack. And let me tell you, as far as you can be ready for this type of event, they were ready!

Since then, I am proud to say that I am one month away from being an official permanent employee. I have completed three projects so far, for two different business units, and I love my job! I could not have wished for a better place to work at, even more so as we are now all stuck home, trying to make the remote work life as manageable as possible.

#maybelistentomom #jobsearch #recentgrad #quarantine #findingwork