The Voice of Job Seekers - Page 2 of 209 - Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

Professional Skills Matter—Adapting is Essential

We’re experiencing a world where hundreds of people can have the same skills and years of experience. Yet, proving you can adapt to hostile and turbulent environments create a professional brand employer will hire to get. Not necessarily to keep unless you prove your skills extend beyond what’s needed today.

We see this with businesses, but it’s much clearer because of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, businesses with an online presence didn’t have to rely on in-store customers to profit. Amazon didn’t have to close stores or lay off employees because they were already where the attention remains. You must think the same way Amazon does, and be as vigilant and cognizant successful businesses are, and adapt preferably before the demand rushes in.

Have a profound sense of the skills required to work in your industry.

Recently, I talked to a healthcare worker who is a trauma nurse manager. She explained how drawing blood, titrating fluids, and emergency life-saving skills are the same everywhere. But if you cannot adapt to change quickly without minimizing distractions, it’s harder to find jobs and escalate your pay rate. A nurse who cannot perform at a high-level where anxiety flows through intravenously and unpredictably during a “code blue” is a liability as it’s vital to keep the patient alive.

Understand your profession.

In many cases, it doesn’t take long to show your inability to adapt. The pandemic and the sudden layoffs showed how people were ready to pivot and change immediately—those who take more time to acquire newer skills to an aggressively changing job marketplace.

Yes, this pandemic brought unpredictable changes but exposed job seekers who did not pivot with their urgency in needing work. That doesn’t invalidate their need for help or their need for a job. They need patience and help. But it does reveal the need to future-proof their careers in what will matter to employers.

Results in an ever-changing environment that “fast” used to be the word to sift candidates. Although speed matters, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The ability to forecast and adapt to change has to be proven. You can add more value if you can teach others how to do it if you’ve constantly done it. It’s proof. I’ve talked over the years about having a consultant mindset. The things you implement overtime get better because applied knowledge is tangible, and you know the secret.

No strategy, ability, or implementation are irrelevant if you cannot show methodology and consistency.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

My name is Mark Anthony Dyson, and I am the Founder of The Voice of Job Seekers. I am a career advice writer, but more importantly, I hack and re-imagine the job search process.. I've worked with hundreds of job seekers one-on-one helping them to construct a narrative and strategy that appeals to hiring managers and recruiters. I present at colleges and organizations, and facilitated many workshops including my volunteer effort through a Job Lab. I write and create useful job search content on this blog and write career and workplace advice for blogs such as Glassdoor, Payscale, Job-Hunt.org, Prezi and more. Media Feature highlights: Forbes, Business Insider, NBC News, Glassdoor, LinkedIn's #GetHired, and NPR Freelance writer and content contributor: Glassdoor, Payscale, job-hunt.org, The Financial Diet, RippleMatch.com and more. Contact me to contribute career, job search, or workplace advice for your site at markanthonydyson@gmail.com.

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What Changed in Job Search in the Last Few Years

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Well, this was a show takeover.

That’s right. For the first time since I published the show, you will not hear my voice. Not even in the intro.

It’s just one episode. It’s not a mistake.

Job Search Secret Weapon has taken over one episode. I’ll forgo the usual jargon for this show only. Let me introduce these women who are fervently at work serving job seekers with high-quality services and content. They will offer solid job search advice while parsing the trends of the times.

Job Search Secret Weapon:

Virginia Franco is the founder of Virginia Franco Resumes and a five-time award-winning executive resume writer. She is also the host of her podcast, “Resume Storyteller.” She is also a past president of the National Association of Resume Writers.

Sarah Johnston, the founder of the Briefcase Coach, is helping many job seekers with their resume writing, LinkedIn strategy, job search strategy, and interview preparation. She is a past “LinkedIn Top Voice” for careers and job search.

Adrienne Tom is the founder of Career Impressions: Executive Resume Writing and Job Search Strategies and is a 31x award-winning resume writer and “LinkedIn Top Voice 2020” for careers and job search.

Highlights from their conversation:

Build on a target list. Doing 20 to 40 hours of market research to set up for success. Think thoroughly about every possibility.

Different is better than better. What can you differently from your competition?

6 of 10 users use LinkedIn for industry insights.

Job search is a muscle you’ll need to work on and strengthen constantly.

Professionals are now changing jobs every two to four years.

Soft skills and transferable jobs are critical right now in changing industries.

Bridge jobs are also used to help transition to your next career change. It helps you stay fresh and meet people.

Consider how you position your story around your bridge job and how you’ll use it to change.

Clubhouse is evolving and useful to meet people.

Customization of your resume is no longer an option. “It’s a must.”

Be ready to address how you did during the pandemic. Show you were resilient and persevered.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

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How Black Professionals Overcome Their Job Search Challenges

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I am fortunate to have Tristan Layfield on the show to talk more about today’s job search and how it is experienced through Black Professionals’ lives. Many of the long-standing challenges for Black professionals are exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and the civil uprising last summer. This is one way to keep the momentum and exposure of equality issues resolved in the new workplace.

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

Let me tell you more about Tristan:

He is the founder of LayfieldResume.com, a service helping professionals with resumes, cover letters, career coaching, and the like. He is a LinkedIn Top Voice for 2020 in job search and careers and featured in Black Enterprise and The Muse.

Here are a few of our discussion highlights:

✊🏾 A large percentage of Black workers are essential workers and at greater risk of exposure.

✊🏾 1 of 5 Black workers can work from home, much lower than other groups

✊🏾 Black people will need to strategize differently when it comes to finding a diverse company.

✊🏾 Understand better at applying effective strategies so it will feel like progress

✊🏾 Developing networks, mentors, boosters, and sponsors can optimize a job search.

✊🏾 Many times Black people are not connected well to corporate connections.

✊🏾 Relationships are essential to creating resources from networking.

✊🏾 We discuss whether or not if it’s worth working for companies that exclude Black or Brown people.

✊🏾 Employers should spend more money recruiting Black by going where Blacks are, such as HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

If you haven’t read my Medium column exclusively about the plight of the black professional job search experience, go here to read.

421 Modern Job Search Tips for 2021! Get it today! Sign up now.

Have a profound sense of the skills required to work in your industry.

Understand your profession.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

Job Search Secret Weapon:

Highlights from their conversation:

About Mark Anthony Dyson

You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Here are three ways you can:

Let me tell you more about Tristan:

Here are a few of our discussion highlights:

About Mark Anthony Dyson