Ready To Quit After COVID-19? Use These 3 Strategies To Find A Better Job

Unsurprisingly, no one was prepared for what 2020 would bring. With little warning, nonessential businesses were shut down or forced to transition to a fully remote work environment, and many faced tough decisions that involved pay cuts, furloughs, and layoffs. Others scrambled to ramp-up hiring to meet pandemic-driven demands and take necessary precautions to keep their employees safe and healthy.

While some businesses have risen to the challenge and responded to the crisis with creativity, kindness, and empathy, others’ efforts have fallen short—to the dissatisfaction of their employees. In fact, when TopResume asked over 1,000 professionals nationwide to evaluate their employer’s behavior toward them throughout the pandemic, the majority (68%) admitted they would consider leaving their job because of the poor treatment they received during this uncertain time. From shoddy communication about major issues such as working hours, layoffs, and pay, to an unwillingness to provide the necessary flexibility to handle family responsibilities, companies have failed to meet workers’ expectations during this crisis—and will likely face a mass exodus as a result. If you’re like many who are unhappy with their employer’s treatment during COVID-19 and want to quit, it’s important that you carefully vet your next job opportunity to ensure your future employer will be a better fit. Use these tips to ensure your next employer shares the same set of values as you.

Reflect on what matters most

Before you begin your job search, consider how recent events have changed your opinion of your current employer.

• How do you believe your employer dropped the ball during the pandemic?
• Has communication been poor, inaccurate, or nonexistent? Do you feel they mishandled employee layoffs or furloughs?
• Were they unwilling to provide the flexibility needed to homeschool your children or handle other new responsibilities that coincided with COVID-19 and the lockdown?
• Did they substantially reduce your pay or hours without warning?
• If you are considered an essential worker, have you felt your employer failed to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and health of you and its customers?

By pinpointing the issues, you’ll be able to identify criteria that can be used to evaluate new job opportunities and find the right match. Once you’ve determined what matters most to you in your next role, search for companies that embody those traits. For example, if COVID-19 has made you realise you want to continue working remotely or that you value companies that truly support working parents, then seek out employers that are known for being the best companies for working remotely or great workplaces for parents. You can also target companies that have made headlines for giving back to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Find out what others are saying

While a company’s website—particularly the “About Us” and “Careers” sections—and its social media accounts will provide some useful information, don’t rely on these alone to assess a potential employer. Remember, employers create the content for those pages and platforms to entice potential candidates to join their team, so naturally, they’ll paint the company in the best possible light. To help you gauge the corporate culture and decide if a company’s work environment and its values are right for you, it’s best to seek feedback from those who’ve worked at the company. Check out sites like Glassdoor to read employer reviews from current and former employees to get a better sense of the company’s values. Better yet, delve into your network to find someone who was working at the company during the COVID-19 pandemic to get a firsthand account of how things were handled, what was communicated, and how employees were treated during this uncertain time. In addition, run a “Google News” search for the company’s name to see if anything pops up in headlines from the past few months, such as a notable layoff or furlough, praise for their employee wellness program or crisis communication plan, or a hiring surge to meet pandemic demands.

Interview your interviewer

Thanks to social distancing and other measures taken to slow the spread of the virus, most interviews will continue to occur over the phone or via videoconference for the foreseeable future. However, just because you’re unable to tour the corporate office doesn’t mean you can’t properly evaluate the company culture and work environment. In addition to asking the usual questions during your interview to gauge the corporate culture, going forward, it will be important to learn how an employer treated its employees during the coronavirus outbreak and their plans for reopening. The last thing you want to do is quit one company that mistreated its staff, only to join another one that doesn’t handle things any better. Approach this topic with care. You don’t want to put your interviewer on the defense. Start out by saying, “I’m unsure if any company was prepared for how the pandemic would affect their business. How did your company handle the crisis with its employees?”

Then, depending on the interviewer’s response, follow up with a couple of these questions to probe further:

• “What changes did your team make in response to the crisis? (e.g. operating hours, staffing levels, budget reductions)?”
• “What allowances were made for those employees who had children at home?”
• “How did your team stay connected while working from home?”

How your interviewer responds to this line of questioning will help determine whether the company took necessary precautions for its staff, demonstrated sensitivity to the employees’ needs, and tried to make everyone feel more connected and well-informed throughout the crisis. A word of caution, though: don’t take your interviewer’s answer at face value. If a hiring manager is wooing you to join their company, their response will highlight the positives, while avoiding the negative. In addition, don’t be afraid to ask what the company is doing or planning to do to maintain employees’ safety, health, and well-being as offices begin to open once again.

Be strategic with your exit

If you cannot fathom working for a company any longer whose actions (or inactions) during COVID-19 are misaligned with your own values, then it’s time to consider changing jobs. Vet potential employers to ensure your next move is toward an opportunity that’s a better match, rather than merely sidestepping a bad one.