Job hunting: Best work options while businesses close

As the economy begins to reopen and workers start job hunting, you may notice that a lot of the companies that were there in 2020 are now closed. Some businesses may have simply transitioned to a strictly online presence, abandoning their brick-and-mortar locations for the convenience of the internet.

It has become more acceptable to do virtual business meetings and online transactions are becoming the norm. There is the added benefit of paying rent for a smaller workspace or paying no rent at all if the entire staff is working from home.

This is not the case with at least 6,000 small and medium-sized businesses locally. These businesses have had to close their doors permanently, resulting in thousands of lost jobs.

Job hunting under normal circumstances can be stressful enough, so under these circumstances it may seem impossible. There are countless unemployed people competing in a job market that has too much labour.

Finding a job shouldn’t be a full-time job. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll get to work for you.

ZipRecruiter is a leading online employment marketplace, actively connecting people to their next great opportunity.

6,496,044 Work from Home Jobs

550,734+ Work Remotely Jobs

490,971+ Remote Writer Jobs

219,516+ Virtual Assistant Jobs

125,111+ Visa Sponsorship Available Jobs

59,791+ Virtual Teacher Jobs

Apply with one click

This is made only worse when one considers that approximately 20,000 graduates at various levels enter the job market every year. If you ask some business owners, they would tell a different story, one where there are more jobs than workers. The fact is that most of the workers are competing for a very small number of desirable jobs.

Do the work you love, your way

Build rewarding relationships in the world’s Work Marketplace. Your home for the work you want.

Sign up

If you have read this far, you may be thinking that it is all gloom and doom, and there is no way for the average person to either get a better job or even get employed in the first place. Fortunately, there is hope, especially if you broaden your search and start thinking outside the box.

Best options for success when job hunting

Make yourself more employable

When job hunting, make yourself more employable. If you are looking to improve your current work situation, be it a promotion or a career change, a free online course would give you the edge that you need to land the job you desire.

Here is a list of 10 websites that offer free online job-related courses:

TopResume

2. Coursera

3. edX

4. FutureLearn

5. Udemy

6. Skillshare

7. LinkedIn Learning

8. The Shaw Academy

9. Codecademy

10. BitDegree

Do Work You Enjoy

Thousands of buyers are ready to pay for your skills

Start Earning

Work remotely for international companies

If you are finding it difficult to get a job in your hometown or native country, consider expanding your search. With the recent popularity in remote jobs, the concept of working from home is now an acceptable option.

There are companies that have done better with employees working from home. Other companies have realised that if they are letting employees work from home, it could be anywhere in the world. As a matter of fact, by recruiting across borders, they may get even more talented workers for a fraction of the price.

There is a common misconception that only jobs that require a degree are available remotely. There are jobs that require no qualifications. Some employers would go as far as to train prospective employees in the required skillset. Some popular no-skill remote jobs are:

Micro Job

Online Juror

Data Entry

Website or Application Testing

Search Evaluator

Proofreader

Virtual Assistant

Social Content

Graphic Artist/Graphic Designer

Transcriber

Blog Editor

Travel Consultant

Conversational English Teacher

Social Media Specialist

Customer Service Specialist (phone, chat, email)

There are also similar positions that require academic accreditation and these would of course pay more. If you have recently left school and hesitant about entering the physical job market, or you were recently laid off there are employment options out there.

Search smart and not hard

Hard work is its own reward, but it is always wiser to work smarter and not harder. As you may have realised, there are thousands if not millions of jobs available out there, the problem is finding them. The internet is a really big place, and searching for the right job, is a job in its self.

The smart thing to do is have someone do it for you, signing up with a recognised and reputable online employment agency would make job hunting a lot easier. You may be surprised to see what people are willing to pay for, but as with everything in life there are scams purporting to be job opportunities.

Find Remote Work From Home and Flexible Jobs

100% hand-screened, high-quality jobs
Entry-level to executive roles
50+ career categories
No ads, junk, or scams
Experts in remote and flexible work since 2007

Currently listing 29,110 jobs from 5,476 companies

Sign up

How to spot fake job sites or job posts

A website may be operating a legitimate business, but the prospective employers may be up to no good. So, you would have to practise due diligence even when you are on a safe website. Here are some telltale signs that the job site or job post is a scam.

1. Sounds too good to be true.

2. The company has no online presence, or only recent social media presence.

3. The recruiter’s email does not match the company, or website name.

4. Interview is done via chat or SMS text.

5. Post starts off with “No experience necessary”.

If you are interested in reading up on spotting scams from recruiting experts, follow this link: 15 Common Job Search Scams and How to Protect Yourself