It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that current work options and future career choices will be changing in the wake of covid-19.
Teenagers and college students likely won't be working (in the time-honored tradition of us baby boomers) at retailers this summer.
I spent the first evening following my 16th birthday visiting every retailer at the Parmatown shopping center near my home, filling out applications for part-time work. Within a week or so I started selling women's clothes at Lerner Shops (5-9:30 p.m. three or four days a week).
Eventually I moved on to a trendy little shop called Adam's Row (a subsidiary of the much more traditional Richman Bros. menswear chain headquartered in Cleveland), where we catered to fashionable male hippies of the day with fringed buckskin jackets, leather vests, bell bottoms, embroidered and tie-dyed full-sleeved shirts, and beaded necklaces. Among our employees were Joe and John, two extremely handsome identical twins who quickly acquired mall-rat groupies. The store manager was in his early 20s and played in several rock bands. Customers came in not only for the clothes but to hear the latest album releases from Cream, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Chicago, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull. We were the cool kids in the mall and were pretty full of ourselves. It would be tough to duplicate that experience today.
Now, students and others will have better luck finding employment at supermarkets, pharmacies, and fast-food outlets, as well as companies like Instacart that provide grocery delivery and pickup. Waiting tables won't be lucrative. Bartenders might be OK--staying behind a bar allows for social distancing--but not cocktail servers.
Landscapers could need some help, but not all that much if people don't go back to work and are so desperate to keep themselves busy that they'll resort to doing their own yard chores.
There won't be much opportunity in the near future at theme parks, water parks, resort hotels, travel-related positions with airlines and cruise lines, music and sports venues, and many other service-industry jobs.
Who's hiring: Zoom. Slack. According to Forbes, Zoom, a video-conferencing website that's taking the place of physical conference rooms, has openings on almost all of its teams including technical support, engineering, finance, and customer care.
Slack, an online communications workspace organized by channels for group and private discussions, recently added openings on its accounting, customer service and sales teams.
As we've seen with the closing of Murphy Oil's home office in El Dorado because of the industry-wide collapse in oil prices, seeking employment in the oil and gas industry isn't a great idea right now. If that was your chosen field of study in college, you might want to switch majors.
What are feasible choices for those seeking a degree or area of study that will enable them to make a living in the long run?
Tops for job security: Joining the military. You might find yourself in harm's way, but job loss is unlikely.
According to studentloanplanner.com, other decent options include nurses, physician assistants, and other health-care professionals, lawyers, pharmacists, clergy, IT workers and sales reps at large multinational corporations. And teachers.
I'd add bankers and government workers (in positions that don't hinge on political connections). Not dentists; more than half have seen their incomes disappear since April 17. And as long as the coronavirus is around, a job that requires such close contact with others might not suit everyone's levels of stress endurance.
Much as I enjoy my work, I can't recommend journalism in this era of economic downturn. Not a prime time to launch a music career either, since many musicians depend on live performances for most of their income, and there's no telling when huge gatherings of fans will be safe.
Forbes reports that becoming a union electrician, carpenter, plumber or craftsperson offers steady work, decent pay and good benefits. "If a person has an entrepreneurial streak, they could then open their own business. Since so many people have gone to college and avoided the trades, there is a dire need for these blue-collar workers."
Whatever you decide, there is a lot of competition, so be prepared. Here's what you need technology-wise, according to workitdaily.com:
• Get a Zoom account, figure out how it works, and practice using it with friends and family.
• If and when a work-related Zoom meeting looms, dress professionally (wear pants), find a neutral-background space to sit, be aware of when the camera and microphone are on, and keep kids, critters, and other distractions out of the picture. Do not let the first words out of your mouth be "Can you hear me?"
• Connect with professional networks like LinkedIn. Update career info, special training, recently acquired skills and resume additions.
• Keep track of who's hiring via LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor and other such sites.
And be aware that everything you post on social media can and probably will be seen by prospective employers. The Internet is public, people.
Take this advice from collegegrad.com about things that you needn't share. And if you already have shared them, delete, delete, delete:
- Profanity.
- Abusive content, arguments, rants.
- Selfies that show you in a less than professional light. We're talking about clothing (or lack of), as well as the appearance of not being in possession of your faculties.
- Racist, sexist, and discriminatory remarks. You might think they're funny, or that others will know you're just kidding. They won't.
- Negative comments about present and past employers.
- Poor spelling, bad grammar. As an editor, I instantly eliminate guest-column submissions that show a lack of command of the language. That includes typos introduced by spell checkers. Proofread before sending.
- Drug-related content.
- Threats to others, or yourself.
- Illegal content. It would be really stupid to get arrested--or eliminated from consideration for a job--because you brag about shoplifting or damaging your ex's car.
The future, once considered to be so bright that ya gotta wear shades, isn't all that, at least not now. We all need to do whatever's necessary to crank up the illumination.
Karen Martin is senior editor of Perspective.
kmartin@arkansasonline.com
Editorial on 05/31/2020