Goldman Sachs\u00a0survey<\/a>\u00a0of more than 1,500 small business owners found that over 50% of them believe they\u00a0cannot\u00a0stay in business for\u00a0longer than\u00a03 months amid the current conditions. While it\u2019s difficult to predict the exact damage, it is easy to see that there will be a period of dramatic decline\u00a0in\u00a0the number of job opportunities coming\u00a0out of\u00a0this pandemic.<\/p>\nThe story is not much better for larger businesses, many of these businesses have already laid off thousands of workers and have cut salaries of the remaining employees. Many other businesses, like Disney have furloughed employees, a process where they temporarily lay off workers and promise to rehire these\u00a0workers\u00a0later\u00a0when\u00a0demand returns. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning, larger businesses will continue to see\u00a0degrading\u00a0revenues as the\u00a0trickle-down\u00a0effect\u00a0of more\u00a0unemployment \u00a0and that will undoubtedly reduce their willingness to engage in hiring.<\/p>\n
Small and large businesses will think about how to safeguard their core businesses until they can see a semblance of normalcy returning. Make no mistake, it will be far more difficult to land a relevant job but it is not impossible. To be seen as top talent and a desirable candidate coming out of this pandemic, you will need to embrace new strategies that makes you and your talents standout so you can separate yourself from other job applicants.<\/p>\n
Expand your Job Search from Traditional Public Job Boards<\/h3>\n
Since there are fewer jobs, it means students now have to consider more novel means of finding opportunities in places they are not used to searching. Job seekers need to continue to search the public job boards like Monster, Linkedin, Google, and Indeed\u202fto find jobs, but not to get discouraged by the lack of opportunities available. The silver lining here is that there are many job opportunities that are not posted to public job boards. To find these jobs, you will need to go directly to employer websites and be prepared to network your way into the hidden job market. This is a much less convenient way of finding jobs in comparison with public job boards, but because these opportunities have less exposure, it means they have fewer applicants which increases your odds for success.<\/p>\n
According to PayScale, 70-80% of jobs are not advertised. Employers fill many of these jobs through networks and referrals. For you this means you need to ensure that your personal network clearly understands your value and brand. You also need to make it easier for them to get you in front of decision makers if the opportunity arises. Having an Acadiate Showcase or Short Bio accessible to your network at all times is a great way to achieve this. Employers find filling jobs by referral is a safer bet, but their timing often don\u2019t fit their hiring timelines. \u202fThat is why it\u2019s sometimes effective to do your own outreach. Connect with professionals in the field. Try calling local businesses and speak to someone in the career field you are targeting. Most people are unwilling to do this, but it can be a great way to build bridges. The key is maintaining an well-targeted online presence that is easily accessed and shared.<\/p>\n
Another place to look is within forums and community sites relevant to your profession. Many employers have found substantial success going to these niche corners of the web because industry insiders and good candidates congregate in these forums. These can be Reddit groups, professional association groups, Facebook groups, Google groups and more. As a beginner in any field it is important to identify where and how people within it communicate online. You can a do a search and research on it, but it also helpful to ask around, talk to mentors, professors, or professionals. You\u2019ll often find there are hidden circles and niches outside of the mainstream visibility. Once you figure that out, get involved and active in these groups. You never know who could be in these spaces looking for high potential candidates. It will also keep you highly engaged and up to date on the pulse of the industry.<\/p>\n
Double Down on Your Personal Marketing<\/h3>\n
Now that I\u2019ve given you some ideas on where you can find additional job opportunities, it becomes even more important that you do not waste these opportunities by\u00a0under marketing\u00a0yourself.\u202fBuilding up\u00a0your\u00a0ability to market yourself more effectively so you can separate yourself from your\u00a0peers is what will make the difference in landing a job you love and a job you settle for.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t see personal marketing as a process, see it as a skill you need to invest in.<\/h3>\n
Personal marketing is one of the most important life skills you can develop. It is an investment in a skill set that will pay off time and time again. \u00a0Not only when trying to find a job but also in fast tracking your career\u00a0through promotions. The ability to effectively\u00a0market yourself is a skill. And like any other skill, you will start off by sucking at it and\u00a0over time you will\u00a0improve\u00a0with\u00a0practice. Practice is the key. Don\u2018t psych yourself out by trying to create the perfect resume, or the perfect website. Bring a growth mindset (seeing failure as a springboard for self improvement) to your personal marketing. You are going to fail repeatedly, it is part of the journey. Embrace this by leveraging fresh approaches, tactics, and strategies to see what works and doesn\u2019t.\u00a0There are many great resources you can find online to help you with this.\u00a0To save yourself a lot of time, within\u00a0Acadiate\u00a0we have curated\u00a0the best practices\u00a0that we have seen make the biggest differences for new graduates.\u00a0You can\u00a0access these resources within your\u00a0Acadiate\u00a0account, under \u2018Learn\u2019. We recommend you leverage these resources because people that\u00a0have adopted our best-practice\u00a0foundations\u00a0have\u00a0seen\u00a0a\u00a0doubling\u00a0or\u00a0tripling of their appeal to recruiters out the gates.<\/p>\n
Get Feedback<\/h3>\n
Next is getting feedback from others. We all have blinders in\u00a0self-criticism. It is hard to catch our own mistakes and our own biases.\u00a0When marketing yourself, you know yourself; you know all your skills, and your mind will subconsciously fill in a lot of blanks that others can\u2019t see when reviewing your\u00a0self-marketing\u00a0documents.\u00a0Having someone review how you are marketing yourself is essential, whether they are\u00a0a friend, a parent, a mentor, or a professor.\u00a0Unfortunately,\u00a0in the job market you will not get that kind of feedback from employers and that leads to candidates making the same mistakes over and over for often months at a time.\u00a0You need take it upon yourself to ensure you have a steady stream of feedback.\u00a0Like any other skill, the more\u00a0feedback you get,\u00a0and\u00a0the more iterations you make\u00a0to your applications,\u00a0the better you get.<\/p>\n
Make your applications evidence-based<\/h3>\n
Recruiters expect that many candidates embellish or overstate their abilities on their resumes. No matter how honest your job application is, expect recruiters to be cynical. Recruiters will take most of your claims with a grain of salt. They know not everyone is hardworking, punctual, excellent communicators, trustworthy, or whatever other positive personal characteristic you claim to have on a resume. As a candidate you should think of how to get ahead of their cynicism by providing proof your competency, while others are only speaking about it. This means taking a deeper look at your resume and starting to ask yourself how can I prove this? For example, if you say you are an excellent communicator, innovative, or trustworthy, how can you provide evidence to a prospective employer? Those are all soft skills that can be demonstrated more effectively by providing a short 1-minute self-introduction video in your applications. What if you say you are an incredible graphic designer – showing an example of your work will leave a far more powerful impression. Online portfolio’s like Acadiate\u2019s Showcase is an ideal vehicle for you to include these difference-makers in all your job applications.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The current\u00a0job market\u00a0for students is not optimal,\u00a0but there is no competitive advantage in dwelling on it. The key message for all students is that there are still opportunities out there for those willing to put in the work to secure them. Don\u2019t feel defeated by the current climate.\u00a0Take control of\u00a0your situation and seek new strategies that can provide competitive advantage.\u00a0You can find a competitive advantage even in this job market by widening your job search and by taking advantage of those opportunities by making meaningful improvements to the way you market yourself for\u00a0every\u00a0job.\u00a0Stay safe and best of luck to everyone in their job search!<\/p>\n
Learn more about getting your free account<\/strong> and get started today at: Acadiate.com<\/a><\/p>\nTrusted by top global universities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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The first major influx to the number of qualified applicants comes from massive layoffs because of the pandemic – and unfortunately the first casualties of mass\u00a0layoffs are usually junior employees. These are disproportionately the people who graduated\u00a0in the last 5 years. What this means for recent graduates is they will have to compete with an influx of individuals who have similar educational backgrounds and have several years of real-world experience. With that said, some job boards report that applicant volume is down. This is\u00a0most likely because of\u00a0reduced\u00a0job postings\u00a0with the stay-at-home orders, but there are other factors to consider. Many people who have qualified for unemployment insurance may not yet feel safe to re-enter the job market. It may also be because individuals are in a mental state of paralysis and feel that applying for jobs during this time is a pointless exercise and are waiting for the economy to bounce back before seriously applying to jobs.<\/p>\n