Summer of 2022 Job Search Looks Different From Here! by Mark Anthony Dyson
With lifted COVID restrictions everywhere, you can expect people will not stay inside unless this latest COVID concern lands in America. Your job search efforts should ramp up if you want to change sooner. The job competition is high now but will die out from June-August. No matter what season you choose to ramp up your search, a new job won’t be a walk-in.
You cannot follow the wide road and do what everyone else will do. Think of how you can tread some uncommon waters in your job search strategy. I’ve always told you job search is a lifestyle. It’s hard to do, but it’s more challenging when looking for a job without a job.
Consider these counterintuitive but unorthodox ideas:
- What is it can you do to reimagine your next job? I know it sounds lofty and unrealistic, but the goal is to idealize solutions an employer wants.
- Get the discussion off of your resume and into thoughtful dialogue. The employer sees thousands of job candidates with similar qualifications, but how many candidates can recreate possibilities? Show that you’ve done it, and point to how you’ll do it for them.
- Agility and creativity win the day. Rigid routines have some benefits, but employers are interested in your flexibility and versatility. Employers ask you how to fit a square peg in a round hole. Will you be the one to tell them how you’ll find or create another hole for the peg to fit?
- Who benefits when you’re hired? Show and demonstrate how the team wins, not just you: research and network deeper to find those answers if you use informational interviews wisely. Don’t just ask many questions and mindlessly increase your connections without a strategy.
- Be the incessant learner. Those who approach interviews like a consultant have a competitive advantage. You are learning the employer’s needs before you offer solutions.
- Lean into strengths and sure up weaknesses. Everyone wants to exploit their strengths rather than their weaknesses. But if a weakness weakens your ability to use your strengths, then anything you do is a liability. A grip is as firm as its fingers.
- If it’s too easy, something is wrong. Another good reason to research everything from the company itself to the coworker you will sit next to is to determine if the position is as advertised. Jack Kelly, Forbes Senior Career Contributor, included me in this article about avoiding a job change you may regret. There’s a lot of jobfishing happening. You want no part of it.
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.
