Mark Anthony Dyson, Author at The Voice of Job Seekers

Forget A.I.: 10 Never-Changing Job Search Tactics to Use in Years to Come

Forget A.I.: 8 Never-Changing Job Search Tactics to Use Today and in Years to Come by Mark Anthony Dyson

Despite all the talk about how A.I. is taking over industries, pushing people out of jobs, and reshaping the hiring process, I’m here to tell you that as long as “human” remains a central element of “human resources,” you can rely on a few surefire job search tactics that reach people.

Here are some timeless ways to find job search and career success today:

1. A Well-Written Resume

Many career analysts and insiders claim the resume is dead, but you have permission to ignore them at least for one more year. Many companies still use screening technologies that hinge on parsing resumes, so a well-written, keyword-rich document is crucial to your career.

2. Consulting and Independent Contracting

You’ve heard the predictions that more and more people will become independent contractors over the next few years. Why not get in on the trend now? Nothing will ever replace human-to-human business activity, and this is one area where advances in technology are set to help instead of hinder. Thanks to smartphones, you can be easily accessible to your clients and offer the kind of on-demand services that so many organizations want now.

3. Flaunting Your Recommendations

LinkedIn recommendations are a powerful way to publicize your value to the world. Last year, I heard the story of a virtual assistant who received high praise from a businesswoman on LinkedIn. The post was viewed more than 10,000 times and generated hundreds of comments – many from people hoping to hire the assistant.

4. Networking

Networking’s value can never be overstated. Everything is networking, and networking is everything. Don’t forget to explore how to leverage your “weak ties” on social networks.

5. Staying in Touch With Your Field

Staying current on the latest trends and involved in relevant conversations helps you to actively promote your brand, your work, and your value. It will also keep you informed of what changes might be on the horizon for your industry – which lets you get the jump on those changes and position yourself for success.

6. Producing Content

Producing audio or visual content that presents your original thoughts to the world can be nerve-racking, but it’s necessary. This content produces value for other people – including people who may want to hire you based on how great your content is.

7. Volunteering

I call volunteering “the new work experience.” Not only does volunteering show employers you’re proactive and passionate, but it also gives you a chance to sharpen your current skills and develop new ones. Volunteer work with the right organization allows you to achieve your goals, learning outcomes, and marketability.

8. Soft Skills and Personality

Hiring managers and other decision-makers want to envision themselves working with you. Set yourself apart by using your soft skills and personality to show off how much you’ll thrive at their company. Don’t limit your conversations to dry, technical matters. Exchange ideas, share stories, laugh a little – start adding value before you’ve even got the job.

9. Emotional Intelligence

My friend, workplace futurist, and author Alexandra Levit told me a few years ago, “Professionals must “develop the skills they need to compete with small machines: empathy, intuition, judgment, and interpersonal sensitivity.” Machines aren’t programmed for emotional intelligence. Only humans can employ these attributes without relying on anyone to process them.

10. What tech-relevant tools are in your industry?

The easier you can navigate the constant changing of technology, the interviewer can imagine you in their vacant role. Employers today prefer less time training for more contributions by new hires. It’s better to invest in yourself to get updated training to control your career advancement. In some cases, you may need to invest time. In most cases, you’ll need to invest time and money. Volunteering, as mentioned earlier, can help you find a place to hone your newly attained skills.

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A.I. is only in its early stages in recruiting and hiring. In the future, it may radically alter the landscape, so pay attention to new developments as they come along. If you’re wondering about the value of your skills in general, research how many industries demand the skill(s). That will tell you how and if they could be scaled as is, or if new training is needed.

But until A.I. really does take over recruiting and hiring, the tactics offered above will help you achieve success – no robots required.

Originally published on Recruiter.com!

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

6 Signs Your Career is a Wilting Plant

Many professionals coast, wait in the cut, or disengage from their job search because the Department of Labor numbers indicate it’s a “job seekers market.” Many more professionals dread the stress of the application process, scrutiny, and potential rejection of their efforts. In any economy, starting a job search is tricky because there are many things to manage, and it’s never easy. You don’t have to apply for a job to stay engaged in a job search.

My wife told me a story once of how she planted sitting for her roommate, and eventually, the plant died. Then she bought another plant to replace that one, and shortly after a while, the new plant resulted in a similar fate as the first. I know very little about plants, and it will show, but stay with me.

Many professionals work with their heads down, focused – until the announcement of your position has been phased out. Is your career watered and nurtured? It’s not too late to keep it moisturized and nurtured. Cut the still green parts, and cut the finished pieces – this is your career!

Recent history should have taught us that remaining engaged in improving and moving your career along requires more attention you give your plants:

1. Prepare and cultivate the soil of your experience
2. Plant the seeds of new skills
3. Water them regularly, growing new experiences
4. Prune old and useless weeds of skills you won’t need
5. Offer an array of vibrant and radiant personality

A plant is a living organism. Your career growth is similar to a plant’s health. It needs your attention. It will die if you’ve left it to fend for itself.

Like an unattended plant, your career lacks water (or life):

1. If you water your plant now and then

You’ll find out your company wasn’t using “cutting-edge” technology after all.
Budgets crumble, management changes, and innovation stifles, but mostly, they never used cutting-edge technology. The “cutting-edge” technology part was right ten years ago. You didn’t research or network with others outside your company in your industry to see if they claim it is true. Let’s not make that mistake again.

2. If you don’t prepare the soil

You waited for the company to pay for the training to make you marketable
When companies spend money on training, their specific business need is at the forefront, not your career aspirations. You can find other business needs requiring the same activity or control of your career and invest in the resources for skills other companies demand.

3. Oops, now you’re drowning your plants

By tomorrow, you have to update all of your marketing tools (resumes, cover letters, etc.). Just as flooding your plants with water is not correct, neither is binge preparation.
Athletes train in their off-season to remain competitive to keep their position during training camp. Similarly, successful professionals keep their resumes updated and ready to compete.

4. You may need to see if you have enough seeds

Your references and network have moved on in their careers (and they’re not rushing to your rescue)
Like jobs, former references become irrelevant and, perhaps, have moved on and no longer offer a relevant job reference. If they’re not more than ten years removed from your exploits, keep up with them. Don’t forget to add others who can offer testimonies about your work and, if possible, write favorable Linkedin recommendations for you.

5. Gone before you noticed, and the loss is overwhelming

For many professionals, losing a job is similar to losing a family or family support. The narrative needs to shift as companies change staffing, or selling is a new norm. Absorb the shock of a sudden job loss by engaging with your network, professional development, or industry organizations.

6. Afraid you’ll get caught watering other plants

Getting caught looking is not just a baseball batter’s worry but a legitimate career concern, too! There are many ways to find work while working, and it’s easier now than ever to protect your current employment. You can conduct a stealth job search easier with many of the resources available on your mobile, as well as other ways to find job leads.

If you neglect a plant for long periods, it will die quicker than if you watered them regularly. Similarly, your career goals will fade away or die if they go unattended. Then again, your career reflects the life of a tree planted that grows in water. It’s big, healthy, and often has a long life – but it stays in the water, surviving any drought.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

8 Ways to Foster Effective Job Interview Conversations

8 Ways to Foster Effective Job Interview Conversations by Mark Anthony Dyson

The best jobs or contracts I’ve had came from conversations initially called a job interview. My theory is most of us dread the interrogative approach. Well, actually, all of us hate interrogations. I wish more employers made an effort to stop the madness.

Some job candidates don’t have a chance to get off the interrogation freight train, a train that has no regard for stop lights, cars, bikes, or humans. It’s a process with fury the size of a category-five tropical storm. In this Psychology Today article, job candidates often expect one of two scenarios: either having a “casual” conversation or being interrogated.

Oh yeah, you know this takes practice, right?

You, as the candidate, can turn the interview into a conversation. But like anything else, it requires preparation and strategy.

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The combination can invite a relaxed and balanced approach to solutions and contributions to the employer’s challenges attractive enough to bring conversation and intrigue from the employer using these suggestions:

1. Show you’ve done the research

If you don’t research the company you are prospectively seeking, you will never know what they need. Talk to several employees (even a recent former employee is helpful) and polish your message according to their needs at the time. Based on what you know, can you anticipate a need? If so, you can speak to solutions your job competition couldn’t.

Listen to: The Yin and Yang of Convincing Job Interviews with Thea Kelley

2. Give your hearers something to hold onto

What two or three problems do they repeat or what recurring problematic themes can you solve? Find ways to bring them up throughout the conversation through stories and examples. The CAR method (Challenge-Action-Results) helps you craft useful examples. Proper research and storytelling that demonstrate experience and skill place them (employer, interviewer, people you meet) on your career journey, and they likely will remember you.

3. Include resolution of business conflicts within your examples

People grow aware of how you will treat them through your scenarios involving other people. They’ll note how you made others feel and relate it to themselves. They’ll remember the tone and the volume, and your eagerness to take responsibility for the problems you resolved.

Read: The Audacious Follow Up Call After Your Interview

4. Reflect and be sure you answered all interview questions completely

You are juggling your precise answers and the employer’s information, and it’s possible you have unsatisfactorily answered a question(s). There is nothing wrong with stating you would like to go back and answer an earlier question.

Confusion and ambiguity never work in your favor. Don’t risk being misunderstood by the interviewer.

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5. Follow up appropriately

Letters and notes as follow-up are great ways to follow up, but find out what kind of communication is preferred. The question is not should you, but how and when is best. Establish the expectations before leaving the meeting for clarity.

6. Hear what they say, and what they won’t say

Interviews are draining. You want to state your potential contributions while attempting to understand expectations. Your work isn’t done when the conversation is over. Reflect on what wasn’t said (i.e., Why did the interviewer ask how many hours do I work a week at my current job?) and what was said. Depending on where you are in the process, you will need to follow up at the next interview or follow up with a call or email.

Read: Time for the Job Interview! Are Your Quirks Ready?

7. Use your excitement to drive the energy to synergy

A good interview is a good date. The excitement of one person infuses the energy of the other person. If you’re not the one generating the enthusiasm, why would the other person continue? The interest you bring is just as significant as your skills. Candidates do not impress employers with talent alone.

8. Let your personality come through

Your uniqueness offers value in profound ways. One of the unwritten tests of an interview is your primary response to stress (you know interviews are stressful, right?). If your personality shines during a panel or one-on-one interview, it’s likely to leave a positive impression. Although showing your character doesn’t mean a stand-up comedy routine, a little self-deprecating humor can help your likability factor.

A consultant mindset establishes an invaluable relationship with employers, but it comes through the business conversation. You won’t foster a business conversation if you don’t have clarity of your vision of a position delivering what employers want. Confusion can muddy the compensation discussion and create more of a wall than a bridge. Decision makers base their decision on skills and abilities and will hire the candidate who resonates with them the most.