An Emotional Roller-Coaster: The Pandemic's Impact on Job Seekers

Often, the job-search process is an emotional roller-coaster — even when the job market is strong. Throw in a year-long global health and economic crisis, and it's safe to assume most job seekers will be taken on an especially taxing and emotional journey while pursuing their next role.

At TopResume, we wanted to find out how the pandemic has impacted job seekers' outlook over the past year. Between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021, TopResume asked 45,963 active job seekers in the U.S., "How do you feel about your job search given the current climate?" The respondents were asked to choose between the following options: Confident, Optimistic, Frustrated, and Very Negative.

These responses were then grouped into one of two categories — Positive Outlook (Confident, Optimistic) and Negative Outlook (Frustrated, Very Negative) — and filtered by gender.

While both genders have yet to reach pre-COVID levels of optimism when it comes to their job search, it's clear that women overall have felt less optimistic about job seeking than men throughout this tumultuous year.

This comes as no surprise, considering that working women — and working mothers in particular — have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The sectors hit hardest from the downturn, such as leisure and hospitality, retail, and education, are predominantly staffed by women. In addition, women have had to navigate the stress and time-management challenges of taking on the role of teacher and child-care provider while attempting to work or find work during quarantine. All of these factors together have led to what economists are calling the world's first 'she-cession'— a women-led economic downturn.

On an ongoing basis, the data science team at Talent Inc., the global leader in technology-enabled career services and also the parent company of TopResume, TopInterview, and TopCV, compiles nationwide data from their customers to better understand current behavioral trends in the job market. Visit TopResume's Career Advice blog to see their latest tips for coaching job seekers through their search.