Mark Anthony Dyson, Author at The Voice of Job Seekers

Don’t be a Desperate Job Seeker in 2021

There must be some way for you to find your truth and not get swept away by broad sweeping headlines of millions of job openings. Whether you’re unemployed or employed, hearing people land jobs right now when there are lots of job, when you haven’t yet, can trigger feelings of desperation. You can appear desperate without meaning to appear that way.

It has already ready started:

From a CEO:

“I interviewed 12 candidates this week… 60% are looking for new roles because their current company is asking them to come back to the office 3+ days/week”

It’s happening

— Chris Herd (@chris_herd) July 3, 2021

It’s sexy to have left your job in May because you wanted to take this job and shove it. You’re not the first. But if you didn’t go without having another job lined up, then you might be feeling anxious and a little desperate. Somewhere at the intersection of your ego, pride, and taking a McDonald’s job is where logic should kick in. You were caught in the spirit of “The Great Resignation” but realize that’s not the spirit you were ready to be baptized.

If you didn’t interview well before you quit, and didn’t take any steps to improve, then it’s likely you still don’t interview well now. A movement where there are many available jobs doesn’t mean employers will be “wowed” by your performance.

If your resume sucked before quitting, unless you received help to correct your grammar, employers would just trash it now.

More available jobs never mean forgiving the lack of basic skills such as interviewing required by the employer.

If you’re feeling desperate at this moment or you’re experiencing intermittent anxiousness, there are a few things you can do to find some sanity and balance. Money is often at the root of anxiety. But that’s not always the case:

Ask for emotional support from professionals with counseling experience. Please don’t take this lightly because people commit suicide more often than most of us think because of employment. It could go up if people are not connecting with opportunities when job openings are plentiful. My good friend and mentor, Damian Birkel, wrote a book some years ago about the emotional wave unemployed job seekers feel. It might be worth your time to purchase it for less than eight dollars.
It’s time to productively connect with people who can help you find a job. It’s OK to get a job that’s temporary or contracts. You don’t want to ask for jobs. Ask if they know someone who can connect you to the right person. This way, your network for now and for the future. New relationships can potentially introduce you to potential hiring managers.
If you need food or physical resources, dialing 211 is an excellent resource in some states, and in other states, the service is not active. You can try searching for help at 211.org. The most active organizations in providing food and other resources in many cities are churches.
There are times when volunteer work becomes paid. You never know until you ask questions. I know someone who worked for non-profits organizations but started by volunteering for years. And get this, they never needed a resume because they made great impressions at past organizations.
Let’s go back to temporary work. There are apps like Wonolo to connect you to temporary work that turns into full-time jobs. Wonolo encourages interested candidates to simply head to the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android) and search for the Wonolo app to download. Open the app and submit all your relevant information in a matter of minutes. You can get working as soon as the next day.
Right now, the restaurant industry is universally short-staffed. There are many resources with hot industries hiring now, but consider these as bridge jobs until you can find what you believe is desirable.
Career One Stop has a Worker ReEmployment program to train you for new skills and pay you for training. Each state has different requirements for participation, and they have thousands of resources if you feel hopeless.

There is no quick fix for needing a job tomorrow. There is no one-fix-all strategy for a job seeker feeling desperate. What’s hard to hear, yet, true: stay engaged and keen on potential opportunities even when you have a job.

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

Still Not Convinced You Need an Online Presence?

After a year, have you changed your mind about how an online presence enhances your job search?
There are no tricks involved. No tight rope to walk. You’re not putting on a show for others to see other than work. It would help if you created a demand for your work.

People who found work in my private group increased their chances of finding a job after investing time in their online activities. Posting, commenting, networking, creating articles and videos, participating in group chats, and more.

If your goal is to impress future employers, recruiters, and referrers, creating an online reputation helps. It would be best if you tried to impress friends who are working where you want to work. Or people you want to collaborate with on projects to advance or solidify your career. Or how about impressing someone who knows someone working in the industry who is hiring.

By building demand for your work creates a robust referral and search engine. Think personal SEO as I have presented how you can do that. It can trump Google and Bing when it comes to being found.

You can’t do it without networking or a two-prong approach of people getting to know and demand the need for your work.
If you’re not doing this, or haven’t started, then you’ll be behind.

You should bet on yourselves if you’re satisfied with your current job. Very few people are happy with the job they have for years to come. Stop waiting to lack job satisfaction. It might be too late.

You must keep your fishing line in the water to catch fish. But you must know the best spot to catch fish, and others will tell you where they saw a bunch. You’ll go where others are catching fish successfully. Or you can play the long game, which is finding where the vacant spots where there’s much fish. My wish is for you to play the long game.

It’s not too late for the 2023 job search. You’ve got a lot of work to do for 2021. Let’s go.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Not All Career Advice is Good For You

For any bad career advice given, someone will defend it, and others will claim it worked for them. Then there is the career advice police who will collectively say why you shouldn’t follow that advice. Most career advice is general unless you fit the counselor or adviser’s intended audience or you’ve paid someone for specific advice for you. There isn’t a one fit’s all career advice.

As a career professional who writes and speaks about careers and is often asked for career advice, policing all advice I hear is exhausting. I stay in my lane more often than not. But right now, hundreds of thousands are giving career advice under the guise of a career coach. And much of it isn’t good. But I think there are lots of good. I am willing to focus and celebrate the valuable and practical, no matter who and where it comes from.

Scrutinize all career advice. If you don’t, conflicting advice will get pretty messy. The bottom line is often what you want to do and where you want to do it when it comes to your next job. The lack of clarity becomes a journey for the career professional and the job seekers (or the client).

Successful job candidates today must understand more than the job they want. Become critical thinkers of how the employer expects success. It would be best if you epitomized what employers want. As I said before, be the prescription to the employers’ job description.

Most career professionals these days wouldn’t suggest the old-fashioned “Objective” statement on a résumé. Yet, the church that’s been looking for a secretary for six months will hire someone with skills even if they have an “Objective.” Not to mention if the person with the “Objective” is referred by a church who was that person’s former employer. Referrals, in many cases, eclipse errors on résumés.

I’ve suggested job seekers replace the “Objective” with a “Contribution Statement” on a résumé. It’s not just what you bring to the table. It’s the culmination of thoughtfulness, research, and listening to what an employer and recruiters say the problems are. You don’t treat a cold with Ibuprofen, and you shouldn’t apply Neosporin to the skin if someone complains of a stomach ache. It truly takes an examination on the job seeker’s part to understand and communicate they have the skills to solve the problem. It’s up to you, the job seeker, to apply best practices to fit your goals, motives, and career moves.

“Don’t be late” is said to adults as it is to kids, but it is a best practice in all industries. It’s preached from sermons to elementary school. That doesn’t mean someone can’t call to say they will be late. Or if it’s overlooked if someone vouches for you. Some of you will think this is petty advice, and it is petty on all levels. It sounds good, but it may not be suitable for you.

People in government sectors who’ve had long careers will still give the old, cut-and-paste-the-job-description-into-your-resume trick. And people have gotten interviews and jobs from that strategy. I saw this with my own eyes in a recent conversation. Generally, it doesn’t work well, but someone it did. We can call it an anomaly. But it’s not a good practice being that I’ve heard a thousand other folks who tried and failed at the same strategy.

My friend Hannah Morgan has said throughout the years to call informational interviews something else. Contextually, she is told to stop going up to people, “Can I conduct an informational interview with you?” She’s right. She has several articles where she makes it clear it needs to be a conversation. I call it informational interviews countless times, and I’ve qualified it by saying it’s a business or informal conversation. Not always, but you get the point. Maybe I should say stop taking career and job-search advice so literally?

Career professionals offer career advice on how they would if they were the job seeker without hearing what they are saying. What they say isn’t always in words, nor is their story a literal translation. Within those stories are feelings, and the words they speak are louder unspoken. The career practitioner has to listen for the unsaid as diligently as they are interpreting what is said. People who need advice are rarely straightforward, specific, and aware in their approach to job search and not always sure what they want.

Many will argue they don’t have to customize their résumé to each employer. That’s arguable in this instance despite the best practices, but you will need to customize your approach if the companies values and philosophies vary. Everyone prefers a different way to be charmed. You must respect their preferences if you want to be noticed.