What Do We Do Now? (Or, How to Deal With this Insane New "Normal")

It all seems so heavy right now, doesn’t it?

Not just the career stuff. It’s ALL the stuff.

I swear it was just a hot minute ago that my top worries were my broken furnace, the kids’ screen time and how I’d not lost the 10 pounds that I bloody swore I’d peel off before our annual spring break trip to Palm Springs.

It was a hot minute ago.

And now, everything is different.

The trip, of course, went by the wayside. All non-essential businesses are now closed here in Portland. There’s not a chicken breast for sale within five square miles. And, I cried at the grocery store twice last week — once over the inexplicable poultry shortage and once when I crossed paths with an elderly woman sadly chugging her way through the store. Her eyes told me everything.

It was just too much.

And, throughout these emotional moments, I’ve been fielding emails and calls that tell me you’re feeling much the same way.

You’re feeling the weight of day-to-day life, of course. But also, the weight of job search.

I’ve spoken with people who’ve been furloughed, or had in-progress interviews put on indefinite hold. Some of you had flights to in-person interviews cancelled or have concerns about reaching out to people who may be helpful to your search, for fear it will seem callous or inappropriate.

I’ve also spent time observing some of the chatterbox marketers (regrettably, this includes a couple of fellow career coaches) who’ve been speed-barfing all over the internet, as means to capitalize on this moment.

And this just doesn’t sit with me, at all.

It’s also why it’s taken me some time to show up here and start talking about “this.”

I just wasn’t ready … and I suspected you might not have been, either.

Heck, maybe you still aren’t, but when is the right time?

I’m hopeful today works for you.

Certainly, we can’t make coronavirus the proverbial elephant in the room as we work to find new jobs, earn promotions, or keep ourselves and our teams employed.

But we also need to proceed with this insane new normal top-of-mind.

So, what do we do now?

Here at JobJenny.com, we’re gonna talk about it.

We’ll address your questions and provide some tools and resources — for free or at deeply discounted prices — that’ll help you as you catch your breath, regroup and keep pressing forward.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be tackling the topics and concerns that are popping up in our inbox most frequently.

We’ll start with:

Thursday, 3/26 - How to Keep Job Search Networking Going (Without Looking Like an Insensitive Clod)

Tuesday, 3/31 - How to Figure Out What’s Going on With a Job You Interviewed for Pre-Coronavirus

Thursday, 4/2 - How to Survive (ahem, Nail) Your First Video Interview

Monday, 4/6 - Who’s Hiring Right Now? (And, Who Probably Will Be Very Soon?)

From there, we’ll keep on tackling the topics that matter most to you through this fast-evolving new reality. (I’m also investigating group video chats, so stay tuned if this sounds like your jam.)

If you’ve got a question right now, leave it right here in the comments or send to info@jobjenny.com.

Be well, you guys. Take your vitamins. Air hug your people. Tip the Door Dash guy well.

We got this.