Since the Wuhan Coronavirus has delivered a quick kick to the nads of the economy, I’m sure being out of work really sucks right now. Here’s a quick roundup on economic resources that might help, both in Texas and elsewhere.
Candor has a long list of companies that covers which are still hiring (and there are many), which have hiring freezes in place, which are having layoffs, etc., along with more info, links to company hiring portals, etc.
Hiring statuses at Austin companies. Just started March 31, so there’s only a few companies there now.
Some newly unemployed Texans have complained that they can’t get through to Texas Workforce Commission by using either the website or by either telephone numbers (800-939-6631 for claims or 800-558-8321 for Tele-Serve). Two pieces of advice: For the website, try late at night or early morning when it’s not so slammed. For the telephone, the listed hours are 8 AM to 6 PM on weekdays, and I hear the best times to call are between 5-6 PM (when the phones are still staffed in El Paso).
If you’re stuck home under quarantine, now is a good time to increase your skill stack by taking courses to give your resume buzzword compliance. If you’re signed up through TWC, they have free online courses in a variety of areas.
Cisco also has an online learning portal and access to some sandbox tools, not only for their own stuff but also several basic technology tools.
CodeAcademy offers basic tech courses for free.
If it’s been a while since you looked for a job, you need to be on Indeed and LinkedIn. There are others, but those are pretty much mandatory.
There are various loan programs available to small businesses.
If you live in the Austin area, there’s an Austin digital jobs Facebook group that’s worth joining, and which I got some of the links above from.
One tiny bit of good news in the gloom: Due to the coronavirus outbreak, you tax return deadline has been extended to July 15.
Tags: Austin, Cisco, coronavirus, Facebook, Taxes, technology, Texas, Texas Workforce Comission, unemployment, Wuhan
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