After her family and friends lost their jobs to the coronavirus, 2019 College graduate and 2020 Graduate School or Arts and Sciences graduate Sigal Spitzer was inspired to launch a free, community-based job search platform called “I Lost My Job to Coronavirus” to connect unemployed individuals with job opportunities.
Spitzer launched the website in April to help those who are unemployed due to coronavirus find job opportunities, employment resources, and a career network. The website displays over 100,000 job listings and has 30 independent active recruiters who can browse for job candidates.
Spitzer co-founded the website with her husband and her brother.
The May unemployment rate in the United States is currently 13.3%, a drop following 14.7% in April. In February, before the country shut down due to the coronavirus, the unemployment rate was 3.5%.
Rising Wharton senior Simcha Stadlan, who works on developing the website, said the platform encourages recruiters to focus on candidates who lost their job specifically as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, rather than the entire pool of unemployed Americans.
Spitzer added that while ILMJTCV competitors such as Monster, Glassdoor, and Indeed allow recruiters to search for potential employees without the users’ knowledge, her platform notifies the user when they have been searched, giving the user the opportunity to reach out first.
“There is so much uncertainty and there is so much instability that knowing just that someone is looking at your profile or that someone is looking at your resume can go a long way,” Spitzer said.
The website also hosts community forums to promote discussion about job searching tactics, networking opportunities, and general employment support for its users.
“We hope that it’s not only to find employment resources but for others to see that they are not alone,” Stadlan said.
ILMJTCV is also working on incorporating a mentorship aspect, which includes resume, cover letter, application, and interview skill-building workshops.
“Our goal is to better the entire employment ecosystem in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic,” Spitzer said.
Rising Engineering senior Abigail Stein, who is the site's front-end developer, said the platform and its community discussion forums are an excellent way to help the unemployed population as it allows users to pose and answer questions — such as where to look for jobs and what the appropriate wages are.
Spitzer said she believes the pandemic’s effects on unemployment will continue for decades and therefore plans to maintain the platform for as long as the unemployment crisis persists.
“It is more than just a static platform to find jobs. You can do that anywhere,” Stadlan said. “It is supposed to help people and try to give them a little hope that there are others out there to support them.”
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