Manifesting a New Job During a Global Pandemic

Many of us found ourselves unemployed at this beginning of the year, even until now. Some have been lucky enough to work from home remotely or have the opportunity to choose between the two. One of my main goals for 2020 was to have a Full-Time, degree related job, making good money with good benefits.

Personally, I was unemployed for the first time in March after starting a new position 3 weeks before a Pandemic hit, then off and on throughout the Summer because I sprained my ankle. Throughout the pandemic, I was in the office and out in the field, working a Marketing/Sales position, in contact with co-workers and several strangers daily.

Once the end of July came, I was let go from the Marketing/Sales job and applied for unemployment a second time. From this point, I actively searched for work, did several interviews, received denial emails and ended up very stressed out and frustrated.

Finding a job during Covid-19 was very difficult. I'd done a lot of journaling, praying, venting, stressing and wishing for something worth it to come my way. I applied to jobs through various staffing agencies, job portal profiles, JobLinks Illinois (Unemployment Job Portal), and did my best to refer friends and acquaintances that were in need of jobs as well.

When I noticed my efforts to find a job weren't having the best outcome, I reached out to a recruiter I'd kept in touch with throughout Quarantine. As jobs came the recruiter's way, she assessed whether I'd be a good fit for them or inquired about my interests.

Some jobs were too far of a drive from home or wasn't what I was looking for degree wise. End of October, she presented me with a job out of my wheelhouse, but it was a Government job that paid $15-$17/hour, so I said yes.

In November, the position was for a Housing Voucher Specialist with the Chicago Housing Authority, I was going to be helping Chicago residents find affordable housing with Gov. assistance. I completed paid training the first week and a day for the job, but couldn't score high enough on the exam to pass to start the job the following week. So again, I was unemployed.

At this point, I stopped waiting on the recruiter to present me with a job opportunity. I went back to applying actively and had two interviews, but they went no where. Right when I felt myself becoming annoyed again, the recruiter reached out with a new and different opportunity, no test required.

Now it's the end of December, and I have started my new Full-Time position as an Entry Coordinator/ Temperature Checker at a liquid bulk trucking company called Heniff Transportation Systems. I complete random office tasks while checking temperatures of guests and visitors as they enter and exit the office while practicing Covid safety procedures. I am in training to become the receptionist and there's plenty of room for growth within the company.

Although this job isn't degree related, I have plenty of office and customer service experience that qualifies me for it and I'm going to use it as a stepping stone. Knowing that there's true room for growth here moves me several steps closer to meeting the goals I have set for next year.