Seven women who started new jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic share how it feels to settle into a fresh role in times of uncertainty and, most importantly, what it has taught them.

Pre-pandemic, the first day at a new job was a familiar prospect. Meeting your new manager, being introduced to your team and battling with inevitable IT issues were all to be expected. But since lockdown measures came in, most office staff have found themselves working from home - meaning that for many women, the first day at their desks has taken place from their front room.

Here we speak to women that have navigated the challenges of starting a new role over Zoom calls, Slack chats and bad internet connections to discover the highs and lows of starting a new job during lockdown.

Rachel Yancius, 26, is a Digital Marketing Manager based in New Jersey, US. She started a new job at EverythingBenefits when the entire company had gone remote as a result of the pandemic. Since then, she has only been into her new office once.

Searching for a job during Covid didn’t feel all that different, other than that I knew that the interviewer and I would have something in common to discuss right off the bat! It’s strange only knowing most of my colleagues virtually, as I think that it’s important to build relationships that go beyond work, which is harder to do when you don’t have those few minutes in the morning, between meetings or at lunch to get to know one another. But it’s still doable, especially if your company offers virtual opportunities to engage with and catch up with your team.

Developing a mentor relationship with the colleague that I manage may sound daunting during a time when we are all remote. But what it really comes down to is developing a bond with someone, understanding what they like and dislike, what their learning style is and where their skills lie. The foundation doesn’t change, but the approach does. While there are certain aspects of management and mentorship that benefit from live interactions, we’ve been able to make up for these with virtual meetings and creative exercises.

Gina Buckney, 39, is based in Leeds and London, UK. After being unable to work as a Corporate Delivery Project Manager during Covid-19 she launched Journals for Life, and has hired an entire team since the start of lockdown.

When starting a new business, you usually want to be with your team and to feel the energy and excitement. Zoom and webinars are great, but you can’t beat all being together to celebrate when you hit a major milestone, or even when things are not going to plan and you need a boost from your team.

It’s been challenging ensuring that new staff are cared for, and that they feel that they can pick up the phone and ask questions or for help. It’s not in some people’s nature to do this, so I have to let them know that I’m available to chat from afar.

At first I used freelancer websites to build my team, and also had help from a mentor to find some great interns. I now have a core team based in London, Leeds and Paris, and have contractors working from India, Egypt and Canada. I’ve ensured that I’ve spent a lot of time on Zoom with them, and have tried to get to know them personally. I’ve also been able to visit some of them and make sure that we had nice team lunches somewhere special as a treat.

Kriti Spinoff, 32, from Krakow, Poland had to shut down the events company that she had run since 2017 due to Covid-19. She was hired as a part-time Marketing Executive working remotely for startup agency NOVOS, and has just been promoted to full-time Marketing Manager.

I had to shut down my company at the start of the year, and after a short period of retraining and upskilling via online courses, I decided to return to employment. The experience of searching for a job was strange and stressful. My interviews for NOVOS consisted of two telephone calls and a presentation, which was done via video call. I was onboarded remotely in early June, and didn’t see the team in person until August. Even then, this was only for one day.

I had a bit of an issue in the beginning as I thought that my manager didn’t like my work – it was a complete misunderstanding, as typed out words rarely convey the emotion behind them. But when I had a video call with one of my close associates, he told me that my manager had only great things to say about me. I finally got the opportunity to meet him in August, which helped me understand his working style better.

The company has organised virtual quizzes which have helped me develop a relationship with the team, and they’ve also held online yoga classes and fitness sessions. I’ve learned that the verbal cues of a conversation are essential to understand the meaning behind what people are saying, and now always ask for a call instead of spending hours exchanging Slack messages.

Cherie Richards, 46, is a Chief Business Development Editor from Shrewsbury, UK. She joined the senior management team of Not Just Travel in June after working for her previous employer for 15 years.

I accepted my new role in February 2020 and resigned from my previous job. Little did I know that just three months later, the travel industry would come to a standstill. I did wonder if my new job would still be there, and as a single mother to a six-year-old the thought that the offer might be pulled was a big worry. Fortunately, the co-founders stood by their word, and I started working in June.

I manage a number of different teams and departments, so I was keen to ensure that I built trust and confidence early on. I knew that having a new manager in a tough and challenging time could be hard for them, and so they would need to know that I’m here to support them, and that I understand what they are feeling and going through. I’m also a mental health first aider, which I think helped to let people know that I could be there for them during this time, as I fully appreciate the anxiety and stress that the pandemic has caused people.

This move has been the best that I could make both professionally and personally. I am one of the lucky ones, where a Covid change of job has been a successful and happy move for me. I know that the travel industry has been affected so badly and there's not a day that goes by that a friend or colleague isn’t affected by redundancy or loss of hours or salary. It's very tough out there and I feel blessed for the opportunity I have been given.

Missy Pecheles, 27, is from North Carolina, US, but moved to London just before lockdown. She recently started working as an Account Executive at Prezzroom after being unemployed for several months.

I thought that looking for a job when moving countries would be hard, but when Covid hit a month after my move it became basically impossible. People were furloughing instead of hiring, and many recruiters had been furloughed themselves.

Being new to London I was looking for somewhere that did a great iced vanilla latte. I was talking with a friend from back home and she told me to check out a company called Bottleshot Cold Brew. I immediately ordered some of their drinks and fell in love. I ended up connecting with the owner, who put me in touch with Prezzroom, their PR agency. A week later I was on Zoom interviews, sitting in my flat, with my husband listening in to everything I said. Who knew I could get a job just from looking for some coffee?

You don’t typically know what your colleagues' flats look like, so I think that working remotely actually helps you understand their personalities a bit more, through all of the Zoom calls and different backgrounds. One of my clients owns an all-female strength and conditioning gym, StrongHer, so once gyms reopened I went along to a class with my co-worker. It was nice to be able to connect and learn more about each other. She’s also a member of AllBright Mayfair, so we’ve met there a few times. It’s been great to have a face-to-face conversation and work side by side instead of always having a computer screen between us.

Madolline Gourley, 30, works as a Web Content Editor in Brisbane, Australia. Her role is for a new statutory authority that came into effect in July, and she’s been working for them from home ever since. She also runs a cat-sitting business on the side, using this to fund travel opportunities.

I was approached by a recruitment agency after coming home from a short house and cat-sitting trip to the US. I was supposed to be picking up a contract job with another government department, but the funding got allocated elsewhere due to all of the coronavirus craziness. The new contract that I secured was supposed to be for six weeks, but has since been extended until Christmas Eve 2020.

I usually hate being introduced to everyone on the first day of a job, but not meeting the people I would be working alongside was weird. It’s strange to not be able to run through ideas and chat about work with the people who sit next to you – you have to either message them or send them an email, both of which have the potential to be missed or ignored.

For other people looking for work at the moment, I would recommend reaching out to recruitment agencies. A lot of their jobs don’t seem to get advertised on job boards because they’re able to go through their database and see if they have anyone with suitable skills already. Let them know that you’re available and can start as soon as possible.

Marta Rodriguez, 33, lives in Manchester, UK, and was made redundant during the first UK lockdown. She found a new role as a Social Media Manager for recruitment firm Adria Solutions soon after, and has been working from home for them ever since.

The worst part of applying for a job during Covid-19 was the interview. I’d spent a lot of time preparing for the video, and of course that exact afternoon our internet connection was terrible, The interviewers couldn’t hear me, and one of them couldn’t see me either. I ended up using my mobile data and holding up my smartphone. Not the best first impression! I was glad that they offered me a job after such an eventful interview.

I was introduced to my whole team via video conference, which was a weird experience. I’m an extremely sociable person, so it’s strange to think that I’ve been working with these people for four months and don’t even know how they like their tea or coffee, which is usually one of the first things that you learn about your co-workers.

Starting a new job during lockdown at Adria Solutions hasn’t been easy, but I’m not scared of challenges – English is my second language, and I’ve attended university in the UK and worked in the UK for a number of years. I don’t get easily stressed, and I think that I have done OK so far. I know that I’m confident at my job, and although sometimes spending the whole day on my own was strange at first, it seems that it will become usual in the ‘new normal’ and everyone seems to be coming to accept it.