Looking at the present scenario, the market is very unstable for the jewelry retailers as gold rates have fallen by Rs 2,000 per gram in recent weeks. Jewelry production houses are closed because of lockdown. The Jewelry industry has lost over 75-80 percent of sales in the month of march as people are buying only essential commodities and holding cash with them as there is no transparency on how long this crisis will go on and if the condition goes worse, then they must have money to buy essential things in coming time.

Jewelry business was growing up as the wedding was on the floor, but weddings are postponed due to an outbreak of coronavirus that also affected the demand for gold. It is expected that consumer demand may remain moderate in the first half of the year, but retailers hope that as COVID-19 subsides wedding preparation gets resume again and people will buy gold too.

On the other hand, retailers are also utilizing quarantine days by doing development activities for employees and clients. For employees, they are running online training modules and as most clients are at home, jewelry brands are recalling the value of the brands by using social media marketing such as posting a picture of jewelry, send responsible social messages and solving client’s queries through WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps.

Remote hiring is beneficial for recruiters during coronavirus outbreak because:

• Candidates are easily available because neither they have any meeting nor they are traveling because of lockdown orders.
• It helps in reducing business costs.

Employers and candidates who are used to in-person interviews now switching to the virtual hiring process and look for ways to convey themselves and their companies online.

Tips to candidates for a virtual job interview:

1. Before the interview make sure your video conferencing program and internet connection is working properly.
2. Remove all distractions around you such as your phone, household chores, and family members.
3.  Engage with the interviewer by making eye contact and signify your enthusiasm for the role.
4. Dress sense is also important for a remote interview. Dress like you are going for a face to face interview.
5. To crack interview questions, rehearse the responses and prepare for questions to be asked.

For interviewers

1. Interviewers must have the candidate’s resumes and other relevant information so that they can prepare their questions.
2. Interviewers should plan interview questions according to the skills and characteristics they are looking for in a candidate.
3. Pause to ensure the candidate is done with their response before moving on to the next question due to time lag and lack of general social cues.

Thanks to the advancement in technology, companies are using remote hiring and virtual methods to maintain business continuity during this time of uncertainty to reduce the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the economy.