OHIO — As COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases make headlines, the pandemic continues to reshape how people get jobs.
Company vaccine mandates could be discussed as candidates go through the interview process. According to a recent poll by ResumeBuilder, 67% of hiring managers prefer recruits who are vaccinated.
What You Need To Know
- A recent poll says that 67% of hiring managers prefer recruits who are vaccinated
- Not all companies in Ohio are asking candidates about their vaccination status
- Sharing vaccination status upfront may give candidates an edge if they're OK sharing that information
- The search for hybrid work options continue to be a priority for many candidates, but they still need to be flexible
Jeremy Worthington, a certified career and transition coach at Buckeyes Resumes, said for job seekers, there are benefits to providing vaccination information ahead of time if they are OK sharing their vaccination status.
“Provide the information upfront, if you’re comfortable with it, provide it wherever you want to. If you’re comfortable providing it on the resume, go ahead and do so. If your applicant tracking system requires it online, in the online application, absolutely provide that,” he said.
For companies, asking for vaccination status in the application can help.
“You have that question out of the way, you don’t have to ask it inside the interview so there’s no breach of anything health-related or religious”, Worthington said.
The risk for employers may be missing out on a very good candidate, who may see that question as having a protected status and may feel uncomfortable sharing that information.
For candidates, it’s all about demonstrating capability, credibility and compatibility with the company where they’d like to work.
Worthington said if vaccination status fits in any of those categories, you want to put that upfront. But he points out that not all companies are asking job seekers if they’ve been vaccinated.
“I know that some of the statistics say that they are, I’m still talking to hiring managers these days, I’m talking to candidates these days, some are saying that they prefer to have it, some are saying that they're nowhere to be found, so it’s not one blanket answer,” he said.
As candidates and employers continue adjusting to the pandemic, Worthington said he doesn’t expect many changes when it comes to candidates seeking hybrid work options.
“I think the lines are drawn. And those lines were drawn a long time ago when the pandemic started,” he said. “I would recommend to candidates that they’d be very flexible. If you’re going to work from home and that’s where you’re comfortable doing so, then you have to prepare a home office that enables you to work from home so you don’t hijack the kitchen table.”
Still, he stressed that it’s important for job seekers to be willing to do what it takes to become a contributing member of that particular organization.