The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ "The Job Scam Report" on Substack! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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Job Search Trends of 2021

Job Search Trends of 2021

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Welcome to The Voice of Job Seekers podcast. This is the ninth year of this show as we’ve reached more than 40 countries over the years. The advice here is universally useful, and we hope you can take away strategies you can use in your job search. I’m happy to have Hannah Morgan and Jack Kelly in this discussion of job search trends you can use in 2021.

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

Here are short bios of both guests:

Hannah Morgan is the Career Sherpa, a weekly contributor to U.S. News and World Report, and author of three books. She is a nationally recognized career expert who has been featured in many news outlets.

Jack Kelly is the founder and CEO of WeCruitr.io and an entrepreneur who runs several other companies. He uses his 25+ years of recruiting experience to help as many as possible with their job search. He is also a Senior Contributor in careers at Forbes.com.

Highlights of our discussion:

  • Remote work will have a hybrid of employees’ work-from-home and to come into the office.
  • For employers and recruiters will have a broader pool of talent because of remote work.
  • Rarely will there will be a local or regional job search for many industries. International students graduating from American schools can go back to their country and still find U.S. opportunities (with correct documentation).
  • Salary will differentiate to their local areas.
  • The job seekers who will win in 2021 are the ones who do the research and target companies.
  • Learning what’s comfortable and uncomfortable and to adapt what’s best.
  • Can you ask for a raise in 2021? What are some things you should consider?
  • Stepping up and getting and notice is positioning yourself. Is it appropriate since we’re in a pandemic?
  • What will be effective job search strategies for college students in 2021?

I look forward to bringing you another Resume Trends series with Ashley Watkins in two weeks.

 

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.

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Setbacks Are Part of the Job Search Game

Setbacks Are Part of the Job Search Game

If we’re honest, events that bring unprecedented circumstances teach us things we’re unwilling to learn:

  1. Setbacks are inevitable and unavoidable
  2. Crisis exposes who we are and what we’re prepared for
  3. We’re forced to embrace what we’ve been avoiding for years

I saw this as a young man named Joey reached out to me several weeks ago about his job situation. He was looking for work, and through a few email messages and some time on the phone, he was able to obtain a four-month employment contract. He accomplished this without another agency getting involved and after the stay-at-home mandates.

To comply with their hiring process, he had to learn how to scan employment documents with his phone, learn to interview over Skype and Zoom (with different companies) and work with IT to install the company’s VPN software. In the past, he would have had the Geek squad or his thirteen-year-old son do for him.

In the past, there would have been a formal interview, hiring, and onboarding process. Instead, there were phone calls, online assessments, and one meeting.

With 30 million people filing for unemployment tests, the rest of us! One rule of thumb for me: Offer people help and patience I would like to receive if I lost my job. It’s not 2008 with a 10% unemployment rate. To some degree, and to loosely quote U2, we’ll have to carry each other.

The now in what’s essential for your adjustment of the new norm is understanding what will happen next.

The following are my ideas of how our lives will change:

1. Preparing the home for remote work
2. Adjustment to constant text and voice communication
3. Privacy and decisions about online authenticity
4. Data protection for you and your work product
5. Your online network is your primary bridge to career advancement
6. Your references will matter (they’re transitioning too)
7. New core values will emerge
9. You may need a mentor more now than ever
10. Video is the new phone call

11. You will fail if you’re not a perpetual learner
11. Are you the epitome of your resume?

Those who physically go to a job will need to digitize their efforts. The early and fastest worm are using their mobile phones as a workspace, and their primary job search tool. Once Joey understood he needed to control his career, the first thing he did was to learn to scan, use video frequently, and over-communicate his efforts to comply with the application process.

 

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Earlier this week, I got a note from James, who started a new job three weeks ago was furloughed because several people were COVID-19 confirmed. The building was shut down except for the security guard who turned employees away. James sounded discouraged and wondered what he should do.

First, I paused before I gave any advice as a reaction. I was more interested in what James felt rather than giving him advice. I called him immediately after the text, and after 15 minutes of just listening, I decided NOT to offer help then.

Sometimes, giving quick advice is feeding the panic. I heard through James’ tone, not words, was a concern. Conversely, it helps to not seek advice right after a shock like he received this morning.

I will advise James to do this week:

-Audit your financial stability

-Talk to HR. You may still be covered with a few benefits during a furlough leave, even if you’re no longer on the payroll. Many times benefits start at 90 days but have the conversation.

-File unemployment

-Apply temp agency

-Have daily conversations with people in your network

-The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is helpful to low-income individuals to get job training. Depending on your income, you may qualify.

I also think it’s vital to encourage job seekers and not lace their fears with “or else” advice. It’s time for temperate sound guidance and not reactionary, and sometimes laced with fear. I believe it’s best to respond to unemployment with speed, but only if that person in the space of clarity.

James will be ready in the next day or two to pursue other work. He was told it would be two weeks when they could come back to work. James doesn’t have any PTO (Personal Time Off) to use. He can’t be sentimental in thinking they will call him to work. If they do, great. If not, he’s out of a job.

I advised him to act as if he is out of a job and start looking again. If you’ve followed me for a while, I urge you should never stop looking. Never. There will always be a crisis, and it will indirectly affect you or someone in your family.

You want three things to be true about you:

  1. You’ve created a more agile career.
  2. You’ll endure industry crises.
  3. You can embrace changing technology seamlessly.

Even if you need help with these things, you’ve started the preparation before you need 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.

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The new economy is here — and so is Job Search 3.0

The new economy is here — and so is Job Search 3.0
As the great recession and social media have defined a chapter in the new economy, COVID-19 and the incessant use of technology marks the midst of “Job Search 3.0!” Successful career advancement means your job search becomes a lifestyle. To disengage from any career advancement efforts for more than four to six months creates a career chasm. It puts you light years behind your competition, who are always ready to move, shift, or find an additional job. It’s lethal to your livelihood and you want to avoid it like the Corona Virus.
The merge of technology, business, and reliance on resumes and job sites in short, but not entirely, describes “Job Search 1.0.” The defining moments of “Job Search 2.0,” in my view, coincides with Web 2.0 where web traffic is generated by content and social media. Job seekers had a new way to stand out if they adapted to these social tools and generated content to show their value in order to get hired.
COVID-19 has disrupted every industry in one way or another. But it shouldn’t disrupt your focus to find a new job, change a career, or bounce back from a forced separation (being fired).

The time to advance career your career is NOW! 

What you need to know, if you don’t know already, is that your job search needs to be a lifestyle. Perhaps we should call it “Job Search 3.0.” This is not just something you say you’re starting to do, it’s a perpetual engagement in the war against mindless meme posting and incessant entertaining videos.
You’re already swiping up, down, left or right a dozen times a day. It’s the shift from a technology novice to an intentional job seeker. You’re always connected, even if you’re just using text. You’re communicating with others outside of your work meetings, church services, and fellow travelers. “Job Search 3.0” simply means you’re always in a job transition, transformation, and career advancement mode. You’re one decision away from a job move or career change.
The role needs to change to adapt to the mindset of a consultant:
  • Always listening for industry pain points to solve
  • Assembling a portfolio of your work demonstrating a range of results, solutions, and innovation
  • Knowing which companies would benefit from your value
Even passively looking and entertaining advancement opportunities is part of “Job Search 3.0.” I had a mentor who practiced interviewing once a year just to remain on the cusp of her career. You may want to adopt this spirit by grasping your current or new industry’s innovation trends moving towards new or away from old technology, delivering results, and new positioning.

Here are 16 actions and strategies for your immediate consideration:

  1. Exchange value with your network and give more than you get.
  2. An active and engaged network will bring you opportunities and visibility to employers/recruiters.
  3. Stay on top of the changing technology trends.
  4. Sharpen your negotiating skills (compensation packages).
  5. Promote yourself on social media, and keep those who boast about you in the front view of you and your followers.
  6. Maintain quick access to relevant references, mentors, and sponsors in your industry.
  7. Understand the short life of your skills.
  8. Do not fear job separation nor allow the myths associated with it to penetrate your goals.
  9. Career transformation is a necessity, preferably to have it occur seamlessly but that might not always be an option.
  10. Young careerists (30 and under) should have a wealth of informational interviews under their belt.
  11. Who is on your team?
  12. Engage in industry organizations, online groups, and committees.
  13. Create a robust LinkedIn presence with a convincing profile.
  14. “No” is a valuable asset, but also the drive behind motivated discontent.
  15. Building a personal brand that creates a demand for your work.
  16. Choosing your employer is more important than who is your employer.
  17. The best career tool for high school, college, trade, apprentice students are informational interviews.
  18. Serving is the new networking.
Some of you are thinking (but you’re really resisting) about the challenge of changing from your comfort zone:

Is this going to be more to add to my to-do list for each day?

We already do this. According to a recent Vox article, the average American smartphone user had an average of three hours and thirty minutes a day on their phone.  If you have more than two hours of screen time, I’m sure there are 45 minutes a week for you to comment on LinkedIn a couple of times, watch a free YouTube DIY (Do-It-Yourself), or participate in an industry organization call or video conference.

How are we supposed to remain in “job search mode”?

Your mobile apps are tools. I’ve written several articles over the last three years that the apps we can download allow our phone to be a job search hub and a lifeline. Our mobile phones empower our ability to learn, connect, research, and apply. The right mobile apps are the power supply to engage in a continual job search without extra equipment or expenses.

Why can’t I focus on my job now and look when I don’t have one like I always have?

It takes too long to gear up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in fall of 2019 that the average time of unemployment is nine weeks. Since the BLS does not report underemployment numbers, the true extent of an effective job search is immeasurable. Nine weeks is not an eternity, even in a job seekers market where it’s assumed jobs are plentiful. Another report from the BLS shows the amount of people quitting are twice as high as separations (layoffs and terminations). Conclusion: no one wants to be without a job in any economy, recession, or even in a job seeker’s market.

Why are some many people emphasizing the use of LinkedIn?

You’ll be more attractive as a job candidate to recruiters. Job seekers making the best use of LinkedIn are treating it as a living and breathing, online document. They are updating their status, engaging in conversations, and offering original thoughts. If you’re not active on LinkedIn, recruiters will not find you. Recruiters have explained to me that they’re checking out a target candidate’s activity more than once before engaging them with a potential opportunity. Treating your activity as a passive tool doesn’t serve your job search as an asset.
There is so much to unfold in the upcoming months as we find out the industries that will take hits from COVID-19. We can also expect technology will disrupt our lives in a major way because our lives will be changed forever. Will the healthcare and insurance industries experience another crippling blow? How will small businesses survive the challenges of working remotely or brick and mortar businesses completely closing? If you haven’t already built your own expertise in an industry that will drive your career, you’ll probably need to take the time to decide where your current skills are most needed. If you’re deciding to take any job that crosses your path, you may be waiting a long time.

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.