The job search after the layoff

With layoffs happening across sectors and new jobs hard to come by, new platforms have sprung up to ensure these unfortunate professionals have a new work card, as quickly as possible. These services are offered on a pro bono basis.

Support for techies

Over 400 professionals have listed themselves on ‘Support and Survive IT’, a public spread sheet that unites those laid-off due to COVID-19 and potential employers. A talent identification number is assigned to each professional to ensure privacy.

Support and Survive IT is an initiative by TechnoPark Today, a techies collective that is creating a pool of jobs at IT parks in Kerala. Since its launch, this platform has seen to it that 34 IT professionals have been placed in companies. And offer letters have been sent to another 20.

Renjith Ramachandran of Technopark Today says small and medium-sized organisations have requirements and don’t always rely on big platforms to post their needs, and that is where such platforms help.

Listing of ‘HR Jobs’

Recently, National Human Resources Development Network (NHRDN), a not-for-profit, started a new section on its website ‘HR Jobs’, encouraging employers to volunteer information about openings in their organisation. The requirements by companies will also show up in NHRDN’s social media platform.

Smita Saha, president, NHRDN — Bengaluru chapter points out that the organisation’s core competency is capacity building, but when there is need such as this, it has to roll up its sleeves and meet it. She adds: “We are doing this to help our HR folks.”

Additional role

SourcingAdda, a resource-sharing platform for recruiters, has similarly taken on an additional role.

“All these years we have largely been a platform for recruitment professionals to share ideas on new technology trends in recruitment. With the pandemic robbing many people of their jobs, we created a platform that is as simple as a Google form. Through this, the job seeker’s details are shared among the recruiters in our network,” says Mitchell Dudani, co-founder, SourcingAdda.

Digital marketing consulting firm Markivis Pvt. Ltd recently launched MondayJoining.com, a recruitment portal, for the same reason.

Amit Khanduja, CEO, Markivis, says till the end of the year the service will be free for both employer and employee. To make sure job-seekers joining the platform are serious about their search, the platform has a few checks in place.

For example, the platform allows only those people to register with it who are prepared to join an organisation within 14 days of getting the job offer.

“If someone accepts an offer and does not join, the organisation’s HR department can flag it,” says Khanduja. Another significant feature is having the background-verified profiles highlighted; it benefits small organisations by sparing them the additional costs of screening and reference-checking, he says.

One challenge encountered by all these platforms is the paucity of possible jobs for senior-level professionals. “Those with one to five years of years are likely to find job matches more easily,” says Ramachandran.

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