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Job Search Stories I’m Watching

Job Search Stories I’m Watching by Mark Anthony Dyson

Whether you would want to emulate or avoid strategies in these job search and career stories, they’re worth tracking and watching developments as they happen. I’ve written about some recently, and others I am watching from different sources. There are no promises of how I’ll keep up with these angles, but they’re exciting, and you should know about them.

#JobFishing

If you’re not familiar with the term “job fished” or “job fishing,” it is “catfished” but with jobs. Scammers will portray well-known brands to lure victims away from employment and solicit money from them or give private data from them. Many victims have left legitimate jobs to onboard these seemingly actual companies, see scams coming and stop pursuing them immediately.

A viral Tik-Tok video showed how a job seeker applied to a well-known name company, but it wasn’t the actual company. The site, run by scammers, tried to legitimatize the company by staging a LinkedIn page with employee pictures (not existing employees). The victim in the video initially saw signs the fake company wasn’t real, but it wasn’t until she received an invoice for work computers the scammers promised to reimburse her.

I’ve learned over the years that when the job market is overwhelmed with confusion and uncertainty, it exploits opportunities to scam vulnerable people. Last month, I wrote an article for Lensa about scammers using advertisements masquerading as actual companies to lead them to fake jobs and how to avoid them. I expect scams will trend upwards to play on the uncertainty of rising gas prices, hiring freezes, and widely implemented wage freezes. Just as easy as creating scams today, excluding false companies is, too.

I’ve advocated for years to research companies deeply, ask questions to and about the company and its employees, and if there is doubt, walk away. Scammers pretending to be employers have one goal to either get your money or private data.

Overemployment

I talked with Alex Levit three years ago about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will affect business. In our discussion, we discussed how contract workers would forge forward with multiple contract full-time jobs. She said, “And yes, many will find it difficult to balance new business development with existing work and other obligations.” There are YouTube videos with people sharing how they managed to have two or more full-time jobs simultaneously.

To be clear, we’re not talking about two jobs to survive. Overemployed workers are tech or six-figure workers (many are tech) who make more than $250,000f yearly.

If you check #overemployment today, there are less than 100 videos exclusive sharing how they managed it. I like one of them because he’s transparent about his experience, thought process, and lifestyle while working two tech development jobs. While he was able to manage both jobs (each at 100K+ salary), he told us one of his employers caught him but didn’t make a big deal out of it.

Three things I learned about over employment after watching several videos:

Make sure you don’t intermingle computer and software usage between companies.
My suggestion (not mentioned in the video) is to obtain two IP addresses dedicated to each company. There will likely be a little pricey. It would make things a little easier for required uploads.
Some companies have a “moonlighting” clause. More companies will be more conscious in the future. Make sure you understand each company’s policies before engaging them.

Want to know more about the “over employment” movement? Go here.

Normalizing the boomerang employees

I wrote an article recently about boomerang employees and their successful move back to employers they left. While many quit during the height of “The Great Resignation” last year, some companies rehired them. Most companies move on from those leaving in the past, especially when it’s tough.

It’s also a reminder to employees to have options as they leave companies, and the best way to remain employed is to keep former employers close as an additional option for your job search. Please read the article. Let me know if these trends are recognized and resonate with you.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Podcast Interviews I Love (As a Guest)

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Podcast Interviews I Love (As a Guest) by Mark Anthony Dyson

This episode contains clips from three podcasts where I was the guest interviewed.

So, let me run down the shows, but not particularly in this order.

I was a part of the “Leading in Color with Sarah Morgan” podcast. You can catch the entire episode here.
I offer a clip from the “Jazzed About Work” podcast with Bev Jones. Here is the entire episode.
I talked with Mike Bird on his Career Builders podcast. You can catch the entire episode here.

Enjoy the show.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Here’s One Reason to Research Companies Before Your Job Search

Here’s One Reason to Research Companies Before Your Job Search by Mark Anthony Dyson

If you’re conducting an effective job search, you will realize it starts with a lot of work at the beginning and the end. It’s work. Most people will do the minimum until they needed a job yesterday. Then it’s doing the most and expecting the best. Target and research companies of where and you want to work.

To paraphrase, “…to strain a gnat and swallow a camel.”

People won’t do that with dating or marriage if they’re serious about marriage. Or if they’re serious about commitment.

We could dig deep into marriage counseling, but I remember it was a lot of work. And without it, my 31-year marriage would be moments of smiles yet, lingering strains of despair.

I cringe at how many dating analogies apply to finding jobs. It goes back a few decades, and boy, they’ve gotten old. But it’s one of the few ways to engage job seekers in this discussion. Most people want to know every detail possible before committing to another person. People underestimate how much it is to long-suffer 40 or more hours a week to an employer. Their mindset may say they are not emotionally involved with their work, yet, working requires an emotional involvement.

So, let’s talk about finding a desired dish and a desirable restaurant instead.

Your goal in researching an employer to make to ensure:

There’s a match in skills and work
That pay is what you desire or a fair work/pay exchange
Many now care about shared values with the employer
There’s an equitable (as possible) exchange of value between you and the company
If you want to work remote or in-office as you desire

Beyond all things you can do to research a company, clarity of what you want to do must be evident. The other important decision you’ll make is where you want to do it. Without clarity on these two issues, you’ll regret where you end up working. Well, maybe.

Why research companies?

In a recent interview, I told my friend Hannah Morgan about my wife, and I found restaurants serving big juicy shrimp. I like the fried shrimp, and she wants them fried and grilled. We asked friends and people they knew for recommendations, Googled, looked at customer reviews of several places, found what past employees thought of working there, and looked at restaurant reviews from online food critics. Not only did we find the restaurant serving big juicy shrimp, but also the experience was top-notch. Why not conduct a similar search for job satisfaction?

Most people treat their job search as if they were looking for a fast-food restaurant on a road trip when they’re famished. You are looking to satisfy your hunger at the time without putting a lot of thought into it. Anything tastes good at the time, and you’ll settle for food you promised yourself to avoid if necessary. Aren’t you tired of paying for jobs you temporarily like?

In this case, the size of the shrimp mattered as much as how it was delivered. It was not the best shrimps we ever had. We were willing to experience different restaurants to find THE one we love. People research diligently for dinner but won’t do it to avoid job dissatisfaction.

Isn’t the extra work worth it to increase the chance of finding job satisfaction? What do you think?