As a recruiter, it has been interesting to see what different companies have done over the last 6 months in response to the challenges of the pandemic. Back in late March, there was a tendency to put many positions and hiring in general on hold due to uncertainty. Some of my searches were in the final interview stage when my clients decided to postpone the interview process; there was also a tendency for candidates to withdraw from the process as they were concerned about job security. This was especially the case with outside sales positions where meeting in person was difficult since many doors were closed to outside visitors.

This has not been the case with all companies, however. I have had several companies proactively move forward and confidently hire for senior-level positions even though all interviews were done online and candidate and client never met in person. Some of these have in fact been remote sales positions and they have been successful in large part due to previously developed relationships that account managers had with their customers who still needed product. I have noticed that there seems to be more demand for these more experienced reps that can leverage their relationships and do well without needing to travel and meet their customers in-person to do business.

Will this change the way business is done in the future? I believe so, but only time will tell. It does seem to be a good time for companies to be competitive and move forward with confidence when they locate good talent. We are all learning how to adapt to the pandemic and unfortunately, it appears that it will not be going away anytime soon.

Scott Jamison; Co-President