10 Career Coaches Offer Advice for Navigating Today’s Evolving Workforce

The statistics around job losses for women during the COVID-19 pandemic are staggering: It’s been estimated that four times as many women than men have lost their jobs. More than 11 million women have lost their jobs and another 2.65 million have left the workforce. And with so many people—women and men—out of work and looking for new opportunities, getting back into the workforce is going to be challenging, to say the least. So women need the support of other women more than ever.

Global beauty brand No7 has a long history of empowering women, so they’re doing something about this never-before-seen #Shecession: On February 24th, along with Hello Sunshine and The Female Quotient, No7 hosted the first-ever, free virtual #UnstoppableTogether Job Summit, featuring speakers and experts like Padma Lakshmi, Kate Walsh, Tamron Hall, and Arianna Huffington. Their goal was to get women back into the workforce by providing them with inspiration, motivation, and the skills they need to put their best foot forward.

Another No7 is helping women be #UnstoppableTogether is by tapping top female career coaches from around the country for sessions addressing everything from interview tips to rewriting your personal story to avoiding the burnout we’re all feeling right now. Because we can only get more women back to work if we look out for each other. One of the coaches, Katie Fogarty, CEO of The Reboot Group, said: “Offer a helping hand to a woman behind you, once you get your foot back in the door.” If we all do that, think of how much more effective we’ll be at finding women jobs.

In the spirit of working together, I touched base with all of the coaches and rounded up their best job-hunting advice tailored to the unique challenges women are facing right now:

1. Be patient with your job search. “Remember that interviewing at this time will feel like a marathon, not a sprint. Get your mental wellness in place to be in it for the long haul. After all, virtual interviewing can take longer due to demands on everyone’s schedules — I’ve heard of people being in virtual interviews for four hours straight! It’s important to prepare yourself for a potentially lengthy job search,” says Nekpen Osuan Wilson, co-founder and CEO of @WomenWerk.
2. Lean into your networks. “Take every opportunity to connect with someone new (or someone you’ve known for years!) to expand your network and to deepen the relationships within it. Be open about being on the job hunt; don’t be afraid to ask for help, for referrals, even just for ideas about who else to speak to. You never know who is going to know someone who knows someone who needs someone just like you,” says Catherine Connors, CEO of The League of Badass Women. She adds, “Treat networking as a kind of play — approach it as an opportunity to enjoy yourself, to make connections and have conversations that might not have a clear or immediate professional result.”
3. In that same vein, make it easy for your network to help. “People truly want to be helpful, but COVID has stretched everyone thin. When you are asking people for a favor, you need to make it as easy as possible for people to help you. Requesting someone’s time and advice is a big ask under normal circumstances, in this climate, it can be Herculean,” Fogarty says. “Before you send an email, make a call, arrange a Zoom, ask yourself, how can I minimize the effort it takes for this person to be of assistance? Am I being measured (and clear) about what help I need? Do I need an intro to a specific person? Do I need help opening doors at a particular company? Do I need a reference?”
4. Once you’re in an interview, let your personality shine. Osuan Wilson says, “I advise candidates to remember to be personable, because people really want to be informed about your background and skills during an interview, but you also want to observe good EQ. Maybe highlight one or two things that aren’t on the resume and bring your humanity in a virtual environment. You ultimately want to show how you’ll be a compatible and cordial coworker in these challenging times.”
5. If you’re feeling stuck in your job search, admit it to yourself.  “My tip for getting unstuck is to identify, name, call out that stuck feeling. Just saying it out loud actually lessens its grip on you.  Literally, admit it to yourself,” says Beryl Greenberg, executive coach and founder of Career Coaching by Beryl. “After calling it out, see what story you may be telling yourself. Determine what is true and what is false. Often, there is a whole lot we make up. For example, many job searchers during the pandemic feel stuck because they believe they cannot network.  It’s true that networking does look different right now, but it’s false that we cannot do it.”
6. As we’re all experiencing COVID-related burnout, boundaries are important. “Set boundaries with yourself. Most people talk about setting boundaries but focus on the boundaries with others and we forget about the hardest part – standing up to ourselves,” says personal and professional coach Caru Jones. “I’m talking about getting quality sleep, limiting your job search time so you can balance other responsibilities and your health, asking for help from others (in your household or outside), giving ourselves permission that the cover letter doesn’t have to be perfect, etc. We are our toughest boundary breaking offenders and COVID has broken those boundary lines even further.”
7. Struggling with at-home responsibilities? Have honest conversations with your partner — but make it fun. “Creating a weekly (or nightly) check-in can be a game-changer. I recommend starting with just 10 minutes and set a timer! It’s important to have this conversation when cognition is high and emotion is low, so the kids are in bed and all distractions are turned off,” says Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play. “Bring some ice cream or tacos to the check-in to make things a bit more enjoyable. “
8. If you’re struggling to find time for your job search, do an audit. “Perform a time audit to understand how and what you’re spending your time on. From there treat time like a currency and make a budget for your time,” says Lynnette Phillips, owner of Empower Your Possibilities. “Understand how many hours of quality sleep you need, the amount of time you want to work out even with digital learning at home you can do PE with your kids. And ask yourself whether you’re spending time on the things that matter most. If not, why?”
9. Lost a job during COVID? Reframe how you think about it — and yourself. “What matters is how you respond, recover, and regroup to capture the lessons about yourself and your situation. It’s really important to listen to your self-talk messages,” says Colette Ellis, founder of Start Within Coaching. “We all talk to ourselves, and we tend to be hardwired towards negative messaging: I’ll never be able to do this. I can’t do that. I should have been able to do that better. Why did this happen to me? As you hear yourself repeating negative or limiting beliefs, aim to stop yourself and flip the script. Begin to reframe your thinking to create a more positive outlook. Make a list of your accomplishments and achievements. When you feel that negative energy surfacing, revisit your list and read your accomplishments to remind yourself of all that you have done, and what you have learned.”
10. Whether you’re employed or unemployed, this can be a time to broaden your skill set. “If you have a job currently, how can you pivot in your existing job? What new stretch assignments can you take on that will give you new skills and perspective?” says Faye Penn, Executive Director of women.nyc. If you don’t have a job, what online classes can you take that may open doors for you, even just mentally? There’s so much to learn online right now and so many places to learn it: Coursera, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning and more. What new exciting skill speaks to you?

This original essay was featured in the February 28, 2021 edition of The Sunday Paper. The Sunday Paper publishes News and Views that Rise Above the Noise and Inspires Hearts and Minds. To get The Sunday Paper delivered to your inbox each Sunday morning for free, click here to subscribe.