Job Search - The Voice of Job Seekers

How Can Volunteer Work Be The Perfect Career Hack

In today’s job market, volunteering can be a valuable strategy for unemployed, underemployed, and those already employed. It offers the opportunity to gain experience, upgrade skills, and expand professional networks.

Volunteering can also serve as a branding tool, connecting individuals with shared values and showcasing resourcefulness. To find meaningful volunteer opportunities, individuals should approach organizations with a professional mindset and seek partnerships where their skills can address specific problems.

When leveraging a volunteer opportunity to enhance their careers, individuals must manage expectations, seek clear agreements, and negotiate valuable returns, such as feedback, reference letters, LinkedIn recommendations, and referrals.

Unlike artificial intelligence (AI), volunteer workers offer unique qualities such as personality, integrity, and adaptability that technology cannot replicate.

Volunteering can be a powerful and fulfilling way to contribute to the community while advancing professional development.

Think about it: Where else can you fail safely?

Unemployed and underemployed individuals can benefit from volunteering to gain experience, upgrade skills, and network during a career transition. It provides an alternative to formal training or college, allowing individuals to create on-the-job training opportunities.

While job market trends evolve, volunteering enables workers to adapt and stand out as current contributors. It also presents opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals, develop new skills, and align with companies or individuals who share their values. What makes volunteer work a robust growth strategy?

I recently wrote an article for Lensa on the same topic. Above is a shorter summary.

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

Thriving In Chaos: Job Search Advice to Overcome Uncertainty

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Thriving In Chaos: How To Be Super Successful, Wealthy And Happy In A F*cked-Up World is Jack Kelly’s latest book about current job market dynamics, job search strategies, and dealing with economic uncertainty.

Jack shares his insights on the fluctuating job market, emphasizing the need for constant vigilance and adaptability.

More about Jack Kelly

In this episode, I feature my conversation with my boy Jack Kelly, Compliance Recruiter, entrepreneur, CEO of WeCruitr.io, and Forbes Senior Careers Contributor. He talks a lot about the Future of Work, especially job search.

Show highlights

We discuss Jack’s background as a Forbes writer and how he observes economic trends. Jack highlights the importance of maintaining momentum in both career and personal life.

Jack stresses that job seekers must remain proactive, continuously improving their skills and staying updated with market trends to avoid stagnation.

We discuss the necessity of maintaining momentum and habit-building in job searching.

Jack provides insight into the challenges of today’s job market, acknowledging the proliferation of job scams and the frustrations faced by job seekers, such as being ghosted by employers or encountering fake job listings.

He advises job seekers to be strategic and vigilant, advocating for holistic approaches like networking and leveraging personal connections to discover hidden job opportunities.

Jack also touches upon the broader economic environment, noting the difficulty for white-collar professionals to find new employment due to limited job creation in that sector.

He advises job seekers to adopt various mindsets and practices—such as affirmations and a stoic mindset—to build resilience and stay motivated.

Jack and I emphasize the need for proactive, continuous engagement in career development, including building a network, staying informed about industry advancements, and preparing financially for potential job loss.

Jack concludes that understanding these realities can help job seekers navigate the complexities of the current job market and thrive despite the chaos.

Jack shares his thoughts on AI’s role in the job market and its potential as a valuable tool for job seekers, provided it’s used wisely.

We agree that adaptability and continual learning are key to succeeding in today’s dynamic job landscape.

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About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

This is The Best Time To Apply To Job Opening

Job openings are not created equal, and to say upfront, there are no rules to publishing job openings. Since companies have come out to say they purposely post “ghost jobs,” we realize we don’t like our job search, um, gamified.

People refer to the Bright.com survey indicating Monday and Tuesday as the best days to apply. But we have to separate how people use it. At least for many people today, the cliche is that the early bird catches the early job opening.

Yeah, but don’t be so sure.

Historically, when job ads were published in the Sunday paper, people were up early to receive the newspaper and would apply. The same principle applies if you know when the platform publishes jobs. I did it along with most Americans. You scoured the Sunday morning job section. If you’re hyper-focused on specific jobs, locations, and salary (many times, salary ranges were included back then), finding the right job may not be as long. Generalists spend up to half a day looking for anything remotely application- or fax-worthy. It’s not being a “generalist.” It’s time-consuming to find what box you’ll fit in.

Today, it would matter as much for some positions.

Companies post jobs on their websites, and if you visit a company you want to work for often, you can see the jobs when they are posted.

LinkedIn and Twitter users will watch their timelines for job postings if their industry connections regularly post. You can create a Twitter account for people and companies posting jobs regularly. The benefit is that you can see the posting in real time if you follow your list.

Many LinkedIn industry-specific groups have members who regularly post on non-specific days. The advantage of finding publications there is you can ask for additional information on the poster, who may have insider information about the job.

You can try “Google Alerts” or “Talkwalker” to assist in finding the jobs you desire. Use Google’s suggestions on search, and alerts can come to your Gmail once a day. Use different titles to fit your skill set, i.e., “salesperson,” “sales associate,” or “sales consultant.”

Last year, I was quoted in a GoBankingRates article about the “best day.” This is relevant because people revert to old-school tactics in a tough job market.

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/jobs/best-day-of-the-week-to-apply-for-a-job

The professionals I know who are active in this job market are not getting strings of interviews because they applied early. The common thread among them is their strengths match the company’s needs, they have valuable intel about the company’s culture and how they work, they are well informed about company openings relevant to their skill set, and they are connected to many other professionals in the industry.