The pandemic has affected the world as we know it in its entirety. While many places around the world navigate into the new sense of normality, others are still working their way through tough times. The landscape changes every day.

And the same can be said for the talent landscape – an area that, perhaps, hasn’t had quite the credit it deserves. Yes, jobseekers – I’m talking to you.

Here at NLG, we speak with jobseekers every day. We talk “shop”, of course – tell me about your experience, what you’re looking for next, where you can see yourself working. But then there’s the real piece myself and my team love – the reality of jobsearching during a pandemic. These are the things we really want to know – how are you finding the market, how is your job search going and, most importantly, how are you doing?

It’s been as tough a ride for the world’s jobseekers over the past two years, so here’s just a little appreciation for what they’ve been through.

You’ve dealt with the unprecedented and sold yourself all the same

Jobseekers, whether you decided to look for a new opportunity pre-pandemic or whether the choice wasn’t yours to be made, no one planned for this. No one planned for a job search with so many stop-starts, so much unsurety, such little ability to talk about the future and what it may hold with this company or in this position. When everything is still happening around you, how’s it possible to talk about where you want to be in a few months’ time, let alone a year?

Yet jobseekers have made plans, set goals, and talked about them fluidly with potential employers. They’ve shown steadfast courage in their own careers, despite anyone really knowing what the future holds. All this while learning an entirely new way to interview – online, largely.

You’ve come back every time, no matter how many disappointments

For every business which had to close down during the pandemic for one reason or another – lockdowns, permanent closures, or otherwise – there’s a jobseeker who’d hoped to work for them. There’s a jobseeker who’d been waiting on a job offer, which was then left unmade – to no fault of either party. There are jobseekers out there who thought the opportunity of their dreams was finally around the corner, before restrictions left them unable to job search altogether, let alone pursue this specific role.  Yet, they still press apply the next time, because they’ve had to.

You’ve faced down countless stats and beaten innumerable predictions

It’s one thing to throw yourself into a job search with a ton of motivation day in, day out; it’s another thing entirely to do so while constantly hearing stats and expectations for your industry, for the economy, for jobseekers themselves – few of which have been particularly positive, at times! Jobseekers over the past couple of years haven’t had it easy when it comes to the mental challenge of finding a new role. To continue to apply for positions, show up to interviews, and give their absolute best in the face of many unpromising numbers about jobs being talked about constantly on the news and social media… That’s something worth celebrating.

You’ve adapted, pivoted and reskilled

When the profession you’ve spent your career honing was unable to provide employment opportunities, you thought about where the skills you have could add value elsewhere. You’ve adapted countless resumes to reflect transferrable experience. You’ve learned new skills to break into a more “pandemic-proof” industry. Over the last couple of years, jobseekers have had to adapt in very much the same way organizations have done. Where many could have seen it as a door closing, jobseekers are expanding their skills, knowledge and experience in new ways in order to see this as a door on its way open.

You’ve persevered despite all of the above

So hats off to you, jobseekers. And, if you’d like to talk about opportunities here in the manufacturing world, we may have an opportunity or two to discuss – get in touch.