CLEVELAND — Employment experts report a growing number of workers in Northeast Ohio and across the country are searching for "at home" or "remote" jobs, due to the ongoing coronavirus lock down.
Both FlexJobs.com and Indeed report demand for "work from home" employment is growing significantly.
Brie Reynolds, Career Development Manager with FlexJobs.com, told News 5 there are hundreds of "work at home" job openings for Northeast Ohio workers.
Reynolds said "remote jobs" are available in medical and health, Computer IT tech positions, customer service, accounting and finance, and education and training.
“We’ve really seen this tremendous growth, not only in interest, but the urgency to work remotely, and get it done correctly," Reynolds said.
“And you can look by career category, job title, other keywords and pull up a nice list of potential remote jobs to apply for.”
"We are seeing more companies taking this seriously, trying to be as productive and effective as possible, and really equip their teams to do this.”
Paul Wolfe, Indeed Senior V.P., Human Resources, told News 5 job applicants should be prepared to do effective online interviews, by making sure they have a good internet connection and the most recent versions of video conferencing software.
“We've seen a huge increase in searching for remote work and virtual work on the site since February,” Wolfe said.
“I think interviewing for a work from home job virtually, like most of us are doing today, is not different than than doing an office interview."
“You should still do your research, do your homework, understand the job description and what they’re looking for and what skills you have that match those job descriptions.”
“It’s the largest social experiment that I have ever been a part of. There’s so many people, more people, now are working from home because of COVID-19.”
Jeff Malek, with Hiretech Group, which provides information technology staffing in Northeast Ohio, told News 5 job seekers should keep their job search active during Ohio's coronavirus lock down.
Malek said job candidates should use on-line methods, video interviews and conferencing, even if they are looking for a regular job.
He said online techniques will keep them closer to the top of the hiring list once the coronavirus lock down is finally lifted.
“Start the process now, because these video calls and submitting your resume now and these initial phone calls, these are important value parts of the process,” Malek said.
“I think a lot of employers have needs and they want to fill them, they want to line-up the right candidates as soon as the dust settles it’s going to be hiring time.
“So submit your resume, don’t give up, there may be some unorthodox things with the videos, and extra steps, but people want to hire.”
Indeed has set-up a COVID-19 information page with resources on what do do if your job is impacted, and how to search for a remote job.
Indeed will also host a March 31 Job Cast Webinar, which is set to start at 1 p.m. eastern time to help job seekers navigate through this new coronavirus employment landscape.
