Helping to find employment amid the pandemic

Startup I Lost My Job to Coronavirus aids young people

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Unemployment is something the United States has continuously struggled with. When coronavirus is added to the mix, this creates a complex equation. Throughout the pandemic, the country has reached the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.

The main current concern is to flatten the curve to reduce the number of cases to return to somewhat of a normal life. Yet, an abundance of people need jobs now, and are not in the position to wait for a vaccine.

After realizing the immense impact of Covid-19, not only on people’s health, but their employment status, the founders of startup ILMJTCV, or I Lost My Job to Coronavirus —Rachel Brenner, Amanda Jedwab and Sigal Spitzer — three young women who were unable to proceed with their employment arrangements because of the pandemic decided to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to help people get back on their feet.

Unable to begin her position at the Boston Consulting Group in New York as planned, Spitzer decided to join her brother, Gilad Spitzer and husband, Zachary Flamholz, in co-founding ILMJTCV in an effort to make a difference and help others in similar situations.

“[I] became especially passionate about helping the unemployed population find new employment resources and opportunities after I saw friends from university and close family members struggle to secure stable employment,” Sigal Spitzer said.

The University of Pennsylvania graduate oversees all operations and management for the startup company. Spitzer was able to help a fellow UPenn graduate and future colleague at the Boston Consulting Group, Brenner, land a job at ILMJTCV after she was placed in a similar situation. Brenner heads up the marketing division and says that even though she is not continuing with her original plan, she said: “Joining ILMJTCV has provided me with the opportunity to actually make a difference,” even while working from the confines of her bedroom.

After Jedwab’s summer internship was canceled because of the pandemic, she was introduced to ILMJTCV through a friend. Jedwab is a Lawrence resident and a Hebrew Academy of Five Towns and Rockaway High School 2016 graduate, and now a rising senior at Hunter College. After viewing the company’s website, Jedwab knew she needed to be involved in helping others during this difficult time. As the lead content creator, she is, “In charge of developing different resources for our website that will allow individuals to prepare themselves for landing jobs as well as finding networking events and opportunities that can help put users in touch with companies looking to hire.”

All three young women exude the confidence needed to be successful in a difficult situation.

Communicating through Zoom, phone calls, email and Slack, the employees at ILMJTCV are able to touch base daily and run their company smoothly.

The company is committed to continue after the pandemic ends. They developed a community to help people land a job interview, prepare for it and understand how to cultivate mentor relationships with veteran industry professionals.

Signing up with ILMJTCV entails creating an account, including a resume, where the job seeker is located and their chosen industry. Employers are able to browse through candidates’ profilesto find a potential match. Go to, https://ilmjtcv.com/.