We’re about two months into the pandemic, and more than 885,000 people have sought unemployment benefits in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Of those, more than 103,000 came in just the last week.
But let’s not forget the companies scooping up that talent.
Despite eight weeks of social distancing requirements that have thrown the region’s business community — and that of the country — into disarray, plenty of players big and small continue ramping up.
Here’s a look at how they’re innovating in the face of Covid, and where they need employees.
The Reston smart water bottle startup is looking for local out-of-work fitness instructors.
That’s because the company wants to hire them to host live, free workouts via its social media channels, as a replacement for their classes that aren’t happening because, as we know, such environments don’t adhere to social distancing rules.
The instructors earn pay at the same rate they otherwise received from their classes at studios and gyms (before they closed, of course). Each instructor is hired for three classes — on the calendar for 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday — “as a way to help these out-of-work trainers stay afloat and continue to connect with their clients as well as broaden their base,” a company spokeswoman said in an email to DC Inno.
The company has already hosted 23 live workouts and hired 10 fitness instructors.
LifeFuels is also stepping up its community role amid Covid, donating its smart nutrition bottles and face masks to health care workers at local hospitals.
And speaking of its product, the bottles are now selling after a more than five-year journey to this point. The bottles themselves ($99 apiece) have a four-day battery life and communicate with an app that monitors hydration, intake and other metrics. The bottle infuses water with nutrients and supplements via replaceable “FuelPods” ($12 each or $10 on a monthly subscription).
The Fairfax cloud technology contractor runs multiple offices across the DMV — that is, when employees aren’t teleworking during a quarantine. It’s now looking to hire 81 people across its corporate, client delivery and business development teams.
And that’s because work is busier than ever, as federal agency clients seek Pyramid’s help to digitize paper-based processes into online applications, it said.
“We are seeking passionate, energetic individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of people and who would enjoy working in a fun, employee-centric culture,” said Dae Lee, Pyramid’s vice president of client operations, in a statement to DC Inno.
The roster includes an array of open slots for developers and engineers, and project managers, among others.
The Rockville-based contract research organization is recruiting about 70 employees — roughly 10% of its local workforce — to support new and expanded research projects.
The positions include biostatisticians, bioinformatics experts, project managers, clinical research auditors, technical writers, proposal managers, clinical operations workers and data management staff.
Emmes, which works with scientists to execute clinical research, counts about 675 people across its offices in D.C., Tysons and Frederick, as well as at its Rockville HQ.
“The pandemic has generated a large number of new requests for clinical research support,” said Anne Lindblad, president and CEO of Emmes, in an email. “Our biotech and pharmaceutical clients, as well as our government partners, are engaging Emmes to support clinical trials associated with COVID-19 therapies and vaccines.”
The Arlington software startup is actively hiring for eight positions across sales, marketing, product and customer success, to add to its roughly 100-person team.
The company — which serves nonprofits, associations and corporations with software to build advocacy and public policy programs — is looking to grow up to about 10% this year, “with continued growth into 2021,” said Shelli Holland, its vice president of human resources, in an email.
And it’s fueled by a boom in grassroots advocacy during coronavirus, she said.
“As a company that offers advocacy software, we have seen record-setting levels of civic engagement, with activity from our nonprofit, trade associations, and corporate clients alike,” Holland said. “Every single Phone2Action staff member is dedicated to supporting our customers and community overall when it comes to advocacy needs during these unprecedented times — we have seen people from every walk of life mobilize in ways and numbers never before.”
