Job Hunting during the best of times is always a challenging task. Add in a global pandemic, and this challenge may seem impossible. To be selected out of hundreds of candidates who are competing for the same job opportunities can be quite disheartening. Now more than ever, having the ability to challenge oneself in creativity and ingenuity plays a big part in getting hired. We asked Maryanne Pascua to share her experience about her job search and how she shifted her mindset to stand out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meet Maryanne Pascua, Corporate Relations Coordinator

Maryanne joined our GTA Marketing Team this past November as our Corporate Relations Coordinator. Maryanne learned firsthand the struggles, challenges, and fears with job hunting during a Pandemic. For several months she had been interviewing for positions that met her qualifications from different employers to which she received no call back or updates on the position, leaving her feeling rejected.

Shifting your mindset

When Maryanne was given the opportunity to interview with GTA, she had decided to take a different approach and did not want GTA to think twice about not hiring her. “I had to create an analogy in my head. The public sector, sadly, was the boy I had a crush on but wouldn’t call me back. GTA was the fun, boy-next-door that I never considered before. I told myself that with GTA, I’m not going to hold back and I’m just going to go for it. I’m going to court GTA and I’m not going to be afraid of making the first move.”

Standing out

Click here to view Maryanne's story

Since the interview was virtual, she knew it would be hard for her personality and talent to show through. She began to ask herself, “how do I convey my talent and my capabilities to the hiring managers who had never met me and the only time they will meet me is through a screen?” After much thought, she decided to take an innovative approach, by leveraging her talent and experience in social media. She developed a clever campaign all around why GTA should hire her with a hashtag #gtahireme and an Instagram profile @gtahireme. The profile served as a type of online portfolio, showcasing her skill set, experience, and achievements. This forward thinking only fueled more of her ideas, like creating an IG story using GTA’s pre-screening questions.

This out of the box thinker who's favorite phrase is, “tell me if I’m crazy?” had won the hearts of the Marketing Team and secured the position she so passionately promoted herself for and is now part of our GTA PR Squad.

Congratulations Maryanne and welcome to our GTA Familia!

If you’re job hunting during the global pandemic, we hope Maryanne’s story provides you with tips to help with your job search. We encourage you to use this time to learn new skills, expand your knowledge, and update your resume to reinforce your capabilities around flexibility, adaptability, and resiliency.

 

If you'd like to read more employee work life stories, head over to our employee blog page, where you can find a collection of the best of them. GTA is currently looking for skilled talent to grow our GTA Familia. Learn more about our open roles here.

To find out more about their journey, connect with them on LinkedIn.