check off 3 of the most effective job search strategies

#Check off 3 of the most effective job search strategies update

Systems-oriented skills are associated with your areas of expertise. To show you are adaptable, generalize the skills on your résumé into three main areas: systems-oriented, people-oriented, and self-oriented. Many companies are nervous about hiring more specialized candidates because they’re unsure what the business landscape will look like after the pandemic. You might have been told to tailor your résumé for each role you apply for, but from what I’ve seen, that strategy won’t work in 2021. For example, strong writing, time management, and problem-solving are all examples of what would be considered “transferable skills.” The fancier definition of this term is “an ability that isn’t highly specialized.” Non-transferable skills, often called “hard skills,” are specific to certain industries, like coding, animation, or graphic design. Transferable skills are all of the things you’re good at that can be applied to various roles in various industries. People talk about the importance of having “transferable skills” on your résumé all the time, but what do they really mean?

#Check off 3 of the most effective job search strategies update

Week 1: Update your résumé to highlight transferable job skills. This summer may be the best time to actively search for and interact with potential employers before the September through December hiring surge. The traditional “dead zone” of January through March will likely be exaggerated in 2021 as large companies recover from the effects of Covid-19, so don’t be disheartened if you fail to land a job before April. Hiring trends, however, tend to surge upward again at the end of the year, between October and December, because companies want to devote any leftover budget to new talent. After this initial rough patch, the market hits peaks and valleys based on the state of the economy, which explains the increase in unemployment during the pandemic. Before you even begin to look, you need to know your odds.Ĭompanies hiring top talent often spend the first few months of every year focused on corporate strategy instead of recruitment, which will typically hinder your job search between January and March. Through my work as the CEO and founder of Cheeky Scientist, a job search training platform for people with PhDs, I have developed a five-week strategy to fast-track the job search - and anyone, at any stage of their career, can use it. Even though you can’t control the ebb and flow of the market, there are still ways that you can make yourself a marketable candidate. Now is the time to embrace these opportunities and form a strategic approach to your application process. Today, virtual work environments have freed up companies to search for talent regardless of location. Before the pandemic, the majority of recruiters were limited to candidates located in their cities. Remote work has expanded talent pools and fostered more diversity in hiring. Yes, your competition has increased, but so have your opportunities. Together, these factors amount to increased competition for scarce positions and extreme stress for job candidates.Īs a job seeker, you may feel powerless right now, but rest assured - this is not entirely true. Nearly 100,000 small businesses have permanently closed since the pandemic began. While the economic downturn has tilted the market in favor of employers, many companies are financially strained and lack the resources to survive another lockdown. Hiring fell to a seven-year low last fall. If you are looking to land a new role, your success depends largely on hiring trends and the economy, both of which are working against you right now. There’s no other way to put it: Finding a job during Covid-19 is hard.

Craft a few questions catered to the company, the work they do, or projects they’ve launched that catch your interest. Week 5: Prepare for your virtual job interview.Getting a job search referral usually guarantees that your application will be seriously considered Week 4: Ask for job search referrals from your connections.Week 3: Conduct informational interviews with potential co-workers. These conversations might land you an informational interview, or they might guide you toward other potential opportunities.Week 2: Improve your personal brand on LinkedIn and make your profile visible. Make sure hiring managers see your LinkedIn profile by using keywords to land more search results.Week 1: Update your résumé to highlight transferable job skills.Here is a five-week strategy to fast-track your job search. Yes, your competition has increased, but so have your remote work opportunities.

As a job seeker, you may feel powerless right now, but this is not entirely true.