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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by Mark Anthony Dyson

Every Job Seeker Needs to Act as Their Own Hype Man

Every Job Seeker Needs to Act as Their Own Hype Man

Every Job Seeker Needs to Act as Their Own Hype Man by Mark Anthony Dyson
When it comes to your job search, job seeker, no one is going to amplify your best attributes, skills, and abilities but you. No one can better testify to your competencies than you can. Furthermore, employers will have doubts about you unless you’re proving your worth in one of two ways:

  1. a body of work showing the depth and breadth of the value you can deliver,
  2. or the testimonials of people who have witnessed the manifestation of your value.
If you are going to be your own hype man, you’ll need to be supremely confident. Take a cue from Flavor Flav, a member of the rap group Public Enemy.

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You may laugh when you hear his name, but Flav is the only hype man ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rather than just a sidekick, Flav was essential to the music and message of Public Enemy.

There are several attributes job seekers should pick up from Flav’s performance as a hype man, including:

1. Show Your Distinct Voice

“Distinct” does not mean “loud” or “constant.” Rather, a distinct voice is one that is clear and resonant. You won’t stand out by repeating what others have said. Your role as your own hype man is to show how your voice adds value.

Listen to B.S. Incorporated Will Make You Serious About Your Job Search and Career

For example, during Public Enemy’s performances, you heard two very distinct voices: Chuck D.’s authoritative bass delivering its message like “CNN for Black people,” and Flav’s commentary on Chuck D.’s rhetoric.

2. Accentuate Your Distinct Qualities

 

Flavor Flav brought everything unique about himself to the stage, including his voice, energy, and message. You have to do the same: Don’t just amplify what you have – demonstrate how what you have to offer can add value.

Job seekers often fail to explain exactly how they can help an employer solve it’s problems – which is why so many people struggle to land jobs.

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3. Live Your Message

Flavor Flav wore a large clock around his neck during Public Enemy performances. Many people thought it was just a unique fashion statement, but it was actually a powerful symbol of Flav’s message. As he once put it, “Each minute we live, we got to live each second to our best value.” Similarly, your message as your own hype man must sync with your actions.

4. Be the Ying to the Employer’s Yang

How do you complement the employer’s mission and goals? Much like Flavor Flav complemented Chuck D.’s voice, you need to show employers how you can help heighten and further their missions.

Listen to Stress Less, Achieve More in the Workplace and Job Search

5. Energize Others to Take Action

Flavor Flav’s energy inspired concert crowds; in return, the crowd’s growing enthusiasm generated more energy for Flavor Flav to feed on. You may not have an audience to cheer on your job search, but you can share your successes with the world.

Pay attention to referrers and those who say good things about your career exploits. Remember they can play crucial roles in your career advancement. Correspond with them often.

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Your connections can help you prepare for interviews and remain sharp if you keep engaging them.

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The purpose of the hype man is to get the audience excited about the featured performer. In Flavor Flav’s case, his antics created a compelling experience to deliver Public Enemy’s message. These days, job seekers must serve as their own hype men. It is not easy to do, but it is essential to a successful career trajectory.

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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Filed Under: Job Search, Jobseekers Tagged With: Job Search, Job seekers

by Mark Anthony Dyson

What Happens When AI Revolutionize The Way Recruiters Recruit with Destiny Lalane

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What Happens When AI Revolutionize The Way Recruiters Recruit? by Mark Anthony Dyson

My guest today is Destiny Lalane, recruiter and founder of Recruiting School. She’s been experimenting with ChatGPT and Open AI as recruiting tools. She’s been posting her findings on LinkedIn to help job seekers and recruiters discover AI tools and their usefulness.

Highlights:

  • AI tools can help recruiters humanize the process by reducing, doing redundant work as a recruiter.
  • Destiny talks about the framework, job descriptions, and templates she created.
  • She mentions how she uses Boolean searches.
  • Can AI read resumes as a recruiter does?
  • Will AI make the hiring process more manageable? Find better “fit” job candidates?
  • ChatGPT can (possibly) help make better content, improve grammar, and sound more empathetic.

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

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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Filed Under: AI, Recruiters Tagged With: AI, ChatGPT, Job seekers, Recruiters

by Mark Anthony Dyson

How To Deliver Results In 4 Ways AI Won’t

4 Ways To Stand Out in the Job Market AI Can’t by Mark Anthony Dyson

There’s so much uncertainty about how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect how people find work and advance in their careers. Humanity Works: Merging Technologies and People for the Workforce of the Future, the latest book by Alexandra Levit, focuses on the traits of humans, not on technology. Let’s look at a few ways professionals can stand out from AI to remain competitive and valuable in the workplace.

 

Here are some of Levit’s suggestions for competing with small machines:

1. Rely on emotional intelligence.

Levit said professionals must “develop the skills they need to compete with small machines: empathy, intuition, judgment, and interpersonal sensitivity.” Machines aren’t programmed for emotional intelligence. Only humans can employ these attributes without relying on anyone to process them.

Despite the positive business side of automation, the human role is not disappearing. After all, it took humans to build and program the software and the machine. Develop these necessary skills to show your value.

2. Be vigilant of how technology changes your career industry’s landscape.

We experience how shortcuts and ease are the catalysts for change every day. Perhaps not for every change, but the indicating factors seem to equal saving money and time. Through awareness, you can remain competitive and align with the trends.

Levit says, “Professionals can prepare by reading the writing on the wall and noting the aspects of their jobs most likely to be automated, and get ahead of it by reskilling into areas where human expertise and traits are still required. They will be more successful in the contract workforce if they practice taking on new assignments in their current organizations, especially cross-functional ones, and work diligently on their personal brand and marketing.”

3. Present this one skill to stand out.

While skills are a dime a dozen in some industries, Levit says integrity is the one skill professionals can set themselves apart from their competition: “…integrity is one of the most critical traits a job seeker at any level can display. I think this will only become more important as candidates have more access to technology and systems that can more easily misrepresent qualifications and abilities.”

4. Be open to the extinction of one full-time job.

The idea of having one full-time job to meet all of your financial and career advancement is slowly dissipating, although it still exists. Levit says, “Full-time work won’t be a thing of the past anytime soon, but it will become less common, and more professionals will be thrust into the contract workforce whether they like it. I think a majority of contract workers WILL work 2+ gigs at once. This will be essential to earn a living. And yes, many will find it difficult to balance new business development with existing work and other obligations.”

The idea of today’s professional being a business has come to life. The constant marketing, contracting and negotiating of yourself no longer refers to storefront businesses. This is the 2019 and beyond careerist—the professional who will need to strategize, execute, and obtain their opportunities while finishing their current one. Levit says she sees it happening already: “A recent study by QuickBase illustrated that today’s professionals want to choose the technology they use to do their jobs, and having this choice is a major factor in the jobs they decide to take. Organizations employing all types of professionals need to become more flexible and trusting of workers when it comes to the best technology available to get the job done.”

I wrote this article that originally appeared on FlexJobs.com!

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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Filed Under: Job Search, Jobseekers Tagged With: Job seekers, stand out

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I moderated a panel on Wealth Management for executives by Black Enterprise Magazine in October 2023 in Miami.

I was interviewed on Scripps News show, “The Why!” 4/13/2023

I talked with John Tarnoff and Kerry Hannon of “The Second Act” podcast about job searching after 50 in October 2022.

I was on “The Career Confidante” podcast to talk about “boomerang employees” and “job fishing” in June 2022.

Making Job Search a Lifestyle With “Dr. Dawn Graham on Careers,” SiriusXM Ch. 132, Wharton School of Business May 2021

In May 2020, I talked with LinkedIn’s Senior News Editor Andrew Seaman on “#GetHired” Live.”

Beverly Jones, host of the NPR podcast “Jazzed About Work,” invited me back to talk job scams, job search trends, and AI tools in April 2024

WOUB Digital · Episode 183 : Job search expert Mark Dyson says beware of scams, know AI & keep learning

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