Finding jobs during the pandemic: Staffing pros say they're still out there

ST. CLOUD —The novel coronavirus pandemic is changing how employers and job-seekers are connecting.

Finding and applying for jobs online was common before COVID-19 eliminated much of the face-to-face interaction of our society. So what's different now? 

"What has changed is how they access our services," said Joan Berning, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Field Operations Regional Manager at the CareerForce center in St. Cloud. CareerForce helps job-seekers start or change jobs and helps employers find workers. 

As of Tuesday, 12,087 people had filed for unemployment in Stearns County since March 15, according to DEED. That is 13.1% of the county's 2019 annual labor force. In Benton County, 3,446 people filed for unemployment in that same time period, and 8,179 people in Sherburne County had done so. In both counties, that is 15.6% of their 2019 annual labor forces.

CareerForce staff are still working so they can continue to help people with the job search process, including helping individuals navigate websites, fill out online applications and prepare for phone interviews. Much of what was done in person is now done online or over the phone, as the offices remain closed to the public.

People can also send in their resumes by email to careerforce.saintcloud@state.mn.us, and a staff member will review it and respond within a business day, Berning said. Additionally, DEED and CareerForce are offering virtual workshops on topics like interviewing and resume writing — seminars that used to be offered in person.

A number of companies are doing more video interviews than the past, Berning said.

The transition to online and over-the-phone offerings is not an entirely new venture, as CareerForce had already done some work this way. Residents of greater Minnesota may live far away from a CareerForce location or may have transportation restrictions, Berning said.

Doherty Staffing Solutions, also in the business of making job connections, is adapting to a changed landscape as measures attempting to stop the virus's spread limit in-person interactions.

Lisa Koll, area vice president of Doherty, said the company is doing virtual interviews with job candidates and doing paperwork electronically when possible. The transition to virtual interviews has been a positive experience so far, she said.

Doherty largely serves light industrial businesses: manufacturing, food processing and distributing businesses. The remaining 25% of its work is helping fill administrative positions as well as skilled workers for office environments.

"With the workforce reductions that we've seen, we're seeing more people contacting us," Koll said.

Several essential businesses Doherty works with are busy and continue to need help finding talent, Koll said. Food and beverage production facilities are hiring, as are some banks working on small business loans. Manufacturing could move both ways: Some continue to be busy, while others are less so.

DEED is looking for ways to spread the word about their services. According to Tammy Biery, executive director of Career Solutions, letting people know about Career Solutions' dislocated worker program has been a challenge because, before the pandemic, workers who had been laid off would attend a Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment orientation and learn of the dislocated worker program there.Now those gatherings are off.

The number of people coming into the dislocated worker program is down, Biery said, "and it's because we lost that communication piece."

Career Solutions provides training and resource access for employers, employees and job-seekers to help build a skilled workforce. 

The hope is that most workers will be able to go back to their previous positions in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus, Berning said.

Still, "We're gearing up knowing that not 100% are going back to work after this is over," Biery said.

Some employers are getting creative in how to keep team member working through the pandemic.

In addition to the traditional JobSpot offerings, the Greater St. Cloud Development Corp. is serving as a connection point for local businesses looking to reconfigure their staffing — even borrow or loan staff — during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This connection is B2B (Business to Business) Workforce Job Share, an offshoot of the GSDC's JobSpot page. It is a place where employers can share whether they temporarily need more employees or temporarily have employees to spare.

"The ultimate goal is just to help provide some ideas and support to help connect those businesses that maybe either are being slammed ... and also with those that maybe have experienced a little bit of a slowdown" because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation Talent Director Gail Cruikshank said.

 The site launched March 29. Cruikshank said the intention is for companies to work out whatever relationship is most conducive for them when it comes to the technicalities of the swap.

"We don't want to dictate the how-to," she said. "We just want to encourage the connection, however it makes sense. ... Our whole role is just connection."

The idea came from a conversation with two area businesses after one reached out for advice and then attempted to partner with another business to fulfill an increased need for delivery drivers. Although that pairing didn't end up moving forward, Cruikshank said, the idea was the spark for the B2B portal.

It has been slow in starting, Cruikshank said, but some early postings included those for stocking shelves and delivering food at Coborn's and Food Dudes, respectively.

She said the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation is considering whether B2B will have a life after the novel coronavirus activity decreases. Cruikshank thinks there could be a place for it.

"Everybody has peaks and valleys to their businesses," she said.

Koll encouraged people looking for work to stay positive.

"There's still companies that are hiring," she said. "(Do) not get discouraged. Know that the way to connect themselves to that work is going to change a little bit with the social or physical distancing — companies moving more toward virtual interviewing versus in-person interviewing — but there is still many companies hiring out there."

Sarah Kocher is the business reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-255-8799 or skocher@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahAKocher.

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