Rejoining the Workforce with High Unemployment – Current Realities

By Anna Marie MacDonald, Workforce Connection Center Manager, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin

In these uncertain times, with unemployment rising, please be encouraged. You can get through this difficult time.

All job seekers must be aware that the workforce is no longer an employee’s market as when jobs were plentiful and employers raised wages to stay competitive. We are now entering an employer’s market, which means employers can be much more intentional about who is hired.

Competition will be fierce, job seekers might receive a lot of job denials, and finding a job like your former position with the same pay might not be a reality. Therefore, you must be better equipped to brand yourself and be more self-aware of your own abilities, skills and accomplishments.

Goodwill organizations across the United States and Canada are available to support and assist you in reinventing yourself so you will be equipped to take on the new employment market. This comes with a bit of preparation, but we are confident that, if you follow these steps and take time to practice interview questions, you will be more successful in landing the job you are seeking versus your competitors.

1. Reflect. Find time each day to reflect on your day-to-day work tasks and catalog your behaviors, accomplishments, strengths, weaknesses, values and transferable skills.
2. Prepare. Indeed and Goodwill have a partnership that can help you build your online résumé, easily apply to jobs and get found by employers.
3. Practice. Consider scheduling a virtual mock interview with an employee at a Goodwill career center near you. Practice and receiving open, honest feedback are the best ways to improve.

To find a virtual career center near you, visit the Goodwill Locator, enter your ZIP code, select the “Headquarters” option from the filter and contact the Goodwill for more information.

Reposted with permission from Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin.

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