I have been job hunting at regular intervals in my career, and can tell you that these days it is different. The rules have changed significantly, and will continue for the foreseeable future. It is both fascinating and a bit off-putting to discover today’s super evolving, fast dynamics of the job seeker landscape. But hey you might as well get into it, if you want to win at this game!.. Let’s look at it from a curious mindset perspective, and see how we can make it fit us like a new piece of clothing.
First of all, and I am sad to announce, we are no longer that unique, that special candidate. The talent pool is huge and increasing, with influx from overseas, longer careers, extra degrees, on-line learning. Gone are the days where your university degree validated your career. Every candidate is now more like a commodity. And employers are getting their big, razor-sharp selecting antennas out. Have you looked at a job ad recently? the list of requirements often equals, if not regularly exceeds the list of responsibilities. In other words we tell you with extreme precision who we want, then if you are that person there is what you need to be doing.
What else has gone away? The big ‘blanket approach’ of sending your resume to multiple jobs in a few clicks to maximise interviews, then to maximise conversion into a job offer like a funnel approach. The selection of 1-2 recruiters who have your back and really want to place you. Chasing up applications over the phone. Registering your CV with agencies or on-line websites for upcoming opportunities. Now you chase them up and the ownership is all on you to drive your job search like an agile project.
Employers have gotten better at recruiting. And technologies have greatly facilitated this, along with social media. They are now able to look up candidates freely and often anonymously. They are able to set up complex application frameworks on-line, forcing candidates to reveal details they may have wanted to keep for the interview. They even reformat your CV to suit their lenses. The world of data science has clearly reached the recruitment process. You are now a number with an ID and a profile, but the human element of it has gone lost along the way.
And with that, the middle person who was usually the recruitment agency is losing relevance. One less human connection removed from the chain process. Companies want to get to the data and the facts, then make their own selection quickly. They are not all like this of course, I’m talking about all the major players and the clear trend that is shaping up. Recruiters meanwhile have to move faster & faster, and constantly evolve their game, advocating for their value. And they behave more & more like their clients when handling candidates. Try getting an appointment and you’ll get a 30 minutes spot on Skype with successful agencies.
So what to do, when you are at the other end? Well first, do not panic and do no despair. As much as it sounds harder, when you adopt the new rules and the new ways of marketing yourself, you can be in the job chair. Here are my top tips in this new ‘laser’ environment:
- Apply when you fit most of the requirements (at least 80%): otherwise you are only wasting your time and their time. It sounds harsh but remember they can take their pick. Best to let it go and wait for the job that is much closer to your profile.
- Apply quickly. By this I mean within 24h, maximum 48h. That is the pace of job applications and initial selection these days. Don’t wait, because they won’t be waiting either. Because you are selective, this will be feasible.
- Change your application content from ‘I have done all this’ to ‘this is what I can bring better than anyone else’. This is the critical element of these new marketing rules. You need to sell yourself by clearly and succinctly articulating what value you can bring, why you would be an ideal candidate based on your skills and why you want to work for them. It literally sounds like an elevator pitch for a new product. In the interconnected world we live in, this is how you talk and you’ve got 5 minutes.
- Make your resume sharp too, but with the right information above clearly coming through (employers don’t often have the time to read cover letters).
- Innovate to stand out. Approach a company you want to work for and market yourself creatively, for instance by doing a quick video showing how you use their products and what they mean in your life. Or create a piece of artwork that showcases your skills and your interest in their brand. You will need to fit the profile as well, but that will get you on their radar super quickly (and it will be fun too!).
- Clean up your social media profiles so your image is aligned with what you want to convey as a job seeker. Leverage LinkedIn resources in your favour with premium tools which give you data on your performance as a candidate. Employers are playing that game, so you might as well too.
- Don’t wait for the perfect job ad. Look at what you are offering, which companies you want to work and apply directly with a win-win conversation.
- Network for ever. You might not like this one, but due to the interconnection of everything and the fast rises of needs at any given time, you cannot do this for a while and retire because it hasn’t worked out. If you keep at it as a regular practice, you might find yourself right in the middle of that laser at the right place at the right time. Grow your network, meet people, connect, liaise again…rinse and repeat.
- Use data. It might sound super dry but data speaks now. Quote your achievements with numbers, put your experience into perspective with interesting statistics. Less blurb, more facts.
These are the main ones. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments below, because we are all still learning the rules of this new process. Of course everything changes once you get to the interview, where the human factor takes well over. But to get to that, we simply don’t have a choice, we need to get on board and embrace it like a new challenge if we want to play and win. And beyond everything never loose the faith, keep believing in yourself and in your incredible value.
