Articles - The Voice of Job Seekers

The Job Seeker Nation Report 2021 by Jobvite

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I know some of you enjoy reading the “Job Seeker Nation” yearly reports from Jobvite. The report will help job seekers with their selection of tools to use to reach employers and appeal to recruiters and employers among other intel to inform their job search.

I hosted on behalf of my LinkedIn live stream show, “#JobSeekerNation” the two people who worked on the report on my LinkedIn live stream Amber Ferrari, Marketing Manager, Communications and Sales Support, and Kerry Gilliam, VP of Marketing at Jobvite, as guests to talk about the 2021 report released last week.

I encourage you to download the report. You can watch the video on LinkedIn or my YouTube channel.

You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Here are three ways you can:

– Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

– Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

– Send email feedback to mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com

The report covers many areas.

A few of them you might find interest in:

How job seekers shifted and pivoted to find jobs
Why were some job seekers were unsuccessful and their challenges
The new job search includes remote working and those who are ready to go back to the office
How are recruiters working with potential candidates
How more job seekers are desiring to work for companies truly promoting and changing to a diverse working culture

Here a few results of their survey that interested me:

Nearly 1 in every 3 workers report that they or someone in their immediate family have gone without food for 24 hours in the past month due to a lack of food or money.

Workers with children (49%) are most concerned with losing a job.

53% of surveyed workers have or plan to have a second source of income outside of their current job, compared to 36% in February 2020.

Employers need to embrace COVID-19 safety measures and diversity initiatives, as both significantly influence workers’ decisions to accept or reject a job.

The pandemic has led to longer workdays, with signs showing it’s affecting employees’ well-being.

Recruiters should consider how lack of access to adequate technology or Wi-Fi negatively impacts a worker’s participation in a video interview.

42% would reject a job offer if the company lacked diversity or clear goals for improving diversity in hiring.

These were very eye-opening and concerning stats as we as career professionals need to understand the conditions of the people who seek us out for help. While some or mildly affected or unaffected by the economic impact, many more are affected by the mental health concerns exposed by the pandemic.

Two more shows left in this season of the podcast. I will continue to bring you help on LinkedIn with my shows, the bi-weekly newsletter (and the Job Lab for newsletter subscribers only), and the articles.

On May 4, my guest will be Claudia T. Miller, career coach, and May 18 will be a montage of my guest appearances on other podcasts since last September. The new series of podcasts will begin on September 14.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Betting On You with Laurie Ruettimann

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You’ve heard many of my guests, and I advise you to take control of your career. Laurie Ruettimann tells you how to in her latest book, “Betting On You: How to Put Yourself First and (Finally) Take Control of Your Career.”

You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Here are three ways you can:

– Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

– Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

– Send email feedback to mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com

More about Laurie:

Laurie is a consultant and advisor to CEOs, CFOs, and CHROs who want to fix work. She speaks around the country on all things HR (Human Resources). She is also a podcaster and a writer.

Highlights from our conversation:

😎COVID has exposed broken systems but shone a light on what was going on in the marketplace

😎We talk about how we can’t go back to the things that we wrong

😎People can live on less social and money.

😎Professionals will ask in an interview, “How did you treat people during the pandemic?”

😎Control your career by creating more choices: Time, attention, and attitude.

😎Laurie describes “professional detachment” as treating their job like a client.

😎Being scared doesn’t help to make the best decision. Take small steps rather than large ones.

😎”Practice in the small moments.”

Three more episodes until my summer hiatus.

April 20

May 4

May 18

The new episode of the podcast will start on Sept. 14. But since you know me, content is constant writing on a few career platforms, new videos on my YouTube channel, and two LinkedIn Live streams.

I will continue the newsletter on a once-a-month basis during the summer after May 18. Or, if there is something major, I will send out a special one.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Professional Skills Matter—Adapting is Essential

We’re experiencing a world where hundreds of people can have the same skills and years of experience. Yet, proving you can adapt to hostile and turbulent environments create a professional brand employer will hire to get. Not necessarily to keep unless you prove your skills extend beyond what’s needed today.

We see this with businesses, but it’s much clearer because of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, businesses with an online presence didn’t have to rely on in-store customers to profit. Amazon didn’t have to close stores or lay off employees because they were already where the attention remains. You must think the same way Amazon does, and be as vigilant and cognizant successful businesses are, and adapt preferably before the demand rushes in.

Have a profound sense of the skills required to work in your industry.

Recently, I talked to a healthcare worker who is a trauma nurse manager. She explained how drawing blood, titrating fluids, and emergency life-saving skills are the same everywhere. But if you cannot adapt to change quickly without minimizing distractions, it’s harder to find jobs and escalate your pay rate. A nurse who cannot perform at a high-level where anxiety flows through intravenously and unpredictably during a “code blue” is a liability as it’s vital to keep the patient alive.

Understand your profession.

In many cases, it doesn’t take long to show your inability to adapt. The pandemic and the sudden layoffs showed how people were ready to pivot and change immediately—those who take more time to acquire newer skills to an aggressively changing job marketplace.

Yes, this pandemic brought unpredictable changes but exposed job seekers who did not pivot with their urgency in needing work. That doesn’t invalidate their need for help or their need for a job. They need patience and help. But it does reveal the need to future-proof their careers in what will matter to employers.

Results in an ever-changing environment that “fast” used to be the word to sift candidates. Although speed matters, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The ability to forecast and adapt to change has to be proven. You can add more value if you can teach others how to do it if you’ve constantly done it. It’s proof. I’ve talked over the years about having a consultant mindset. The things you implement overtime get better because applied knowledge is tangible, and you know the secret.

No strategy, ability, or implementation are irrelevant if you cannot show methodology and consistency.