I thought my job was safe and secure as I was working as a software engineer in a reputable firm in Islamabad. Our most of customers were US based and we had plenty of out-sourced work.
Right at the start of March, I was complaining about extra work hours and the stress of work to my family, and the very next week, we were sitting idle as the projects were put on hold and payments were halted. My company waited until the end of April, and then started laying off in bulk as the work had dried up without any hope of resumption in near future.
I spent half of May, hoping that I would get another job but hiring freeze was everywhere. So what did I do? I didn’t just lay around there and watched cable whole day. I brushed-up my Linkedin profile, started making connections in my field and the response was very warm. I reached out to people via LinkedIn and even via Facebook, and told them to refer me if they find any vacancies anywhere.
I also started writing articles and tips about my day to day work on LinkedIn, and soon people started commenting and liking as it seemed the whole world was sitting on LinkedIn. I was cold-calling or cold-messaging on Linkedin like crazy for days and days, and then I received a response from South Korea of all places for a remote software engineer role for 3 days a week. I interviewed for it, made no demands, showed best can-do attitude and landed the job within the week and now working there.
So that is how to find a job in Pakistan during coronavirus pandemic. If I can do it, you can do it with flying colors.
