April 17, 2020

As a student or graduate looking for employment, you are probably wondering what employers are doing during the COVID-19 outbreak? Career Services has been gathering information from the Nation Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) to get some information to share with you.

Here is what the employers are doing and what they want you to know:

With their business

• Determining if and how to make their company thrive virtually or while business is postponed.
  NOTE: "This is our top priority!"
• Focusing on the current staff's wellbeing during this period.
• Shifting all of their employee's work to be remote or virtual.
  NOTE: "It is taking us time to figure out how to do our own jobs virtually."
• Trying to determine what their new "normal" looks like.
• Emerging and shifting business with the hope of being successful.
• Communicating in a very transparent fashion.
  NOTE: "It can be hard to hear what we have to say, but stuff is shifting from what our idea of normal used to be."

With recruiting

• Training all staff to be up to speed and effective with virtual recruiting.
• Figuring out how to onboard new employees virtually
  -  I-9 Forms
  -  Background Checks
  -  Drug Testing
  -  Getting new employees equipment 
• Deciding how internship programs will move forward.
  -  If and how to make a virtual internship program
  -  If their internships should be canceled or simply postponed
• Brainstorming ways to collaborate with Colleges and Universities.
• Focusing on career competencies when they are hiring.
• Looking to online resources to hire.
  NOTE: "Candidates need to have their Handshake, Linkedin, portfolios, personal websites and online applications in order to make it easier for us to connect with them."
• Looking for candidates to be patient. They want to hire but they are working to get everything in order as they deal with the situation.
• Pullbacks on hiring and work are temporary.
  NOTE: "History demonstrates that recessions in our economy will turn around."

Top five industries hiring during COVID-19

1. Internet/Software
2. K-12 Education
3. Healthcare
4. Investment Management
5. Management Consultant

Along with... Grocery, shipping, accounting and software development.