Daniel Zhao, a senior economist with Glassdoor, joined ABC7 via Skype to discuss the job market amid the crisis.
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What are good industries for jobs right now?
"Well, it's no surprise that there are some industries that are increasing their hiring right now. So when you think about e-commerce industry or supermarkets - those are industries where they're increasing hiring for warehouse workers or delivery drivers, customer service workers, but I think it's not necessarily a question of which industries are increasing hiring, it's really a question of which companies are. There are some companies that are adapting to the crisis faster than others and seeing an increase in demand as a result of that, so it's really on job seekers to do that extra level of research to figure out which companies are actually increasing hiring at this time," said Zhao.
Can you tell us about some of the new tools featured on Glassdoor?
"Glassdoor has assembled some resources to help job seekers during this difficult time. Really to highlight the jobs and companies where there is an increase in demand right now and to assemble some of the tips, advice and research that can help job seekers figure out what to do and what to expect. So, if you go to glassdoor.com/covid19, you can see all these resources and find the latest information," said Zhao.
What about those looking for a part-time job? Does Glassdoor offer help in those types of job searches?
"These are not normal economic times and so people might not be going through a conventional job search. Glassdoor's job search engine does allow you to search for just part-time jobs or just remote jobs. And that can help people find the particular jobs that fit their current circumstances," said Zhao.
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Many people might be looking for a job that's outside the type of work they normally do. How do you recognize skills you have that could translate into landing another job?
"Well, I think it's important to separate knowledge and skills. So there are a lot of folks who right now their industries just aren't hiring right now. So that knowledge and experience they have might not be as relevant to another job, but there are a lot of skills that are transferable. In particular, soft skills, which right now are more important than ever, things like communication, empathy, problem-solving, critical thinking - these are all skills that are important in every job and are highly transferable. So I think it's just a question of, you know, even if you don't have the knowledge about a particular industry - there are definitely skills that are transferable from what you've done in the past and it's just a question of highlighting those," said Zhao.
Can you tell us more about Glassdoor's job search tool - and what it takes to land those jobs?
"Customer service is really interesting because it typifies all those things I just talked about. It highlights a lot of soft skills, a lot of transferable skills from other occupations so everything from communication, again empathy and problem-solving. Knowing what customers need and clients need. It also covers a wide variety of industries. I think when people think about customer service it's normally about a retailer or something, but there's also local governments who need help, call center workers to help answer questions about the on-going public health crisis or to actually undergo contact tracing to help public health organizations actually reduce the spread of the coronavirus. And so, I think that it's interesting that there's such a wide variety of jobs available in the customer service space and again these can mostly done from home. So this is a job that is particularly accessible for people who are working from home right now," said Zhao.
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For more information, visit: glassdoor.com
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