Is job hunting really getting harder? At first glance, it doesn’t seem like it…The internet, online job boards and initiatives like Google for Jobs (an AI-powered job search engine, showing vacancies from company websites and major online job boards) gives you hundreds of available job vacancies in just a few clicks.
This is great, but if you dig a little deeper you will discover around 70% of jobs are never actually posted online and are filled by recommendations instead. With so few jobs open to public application, you can see why it’s not always easy to find one and get hired, even with the assistance from high tech job search engines.
Hidden jobs
Since many of the positions are being filled by word of mouth and referrals, it presents more of a challenge to job seekers. Even when jobs are advertised, there is still a chance they will be given to someone who was recommended to the company.
How to get around this and land your dream job?
- Expand your network on and offline – Make contacts with people in the industry or company you want to work for. Spread the word about (and demonstrate) your area of expertise, so you are the person people think about recommending to the recruiter if they see a suitable job opening. Keep your LinkedIn profile looking good, over 90% employers will check this and it’s a great way to network.
- Invest in yourself – Increase your value by learning new skills that not everyone will be prepared to learn. There are courses for just about every subject, so keep brushing up your knowledge while job hunting, it will give you an edge and recruiters love to hear about fresh, up-to-date skills. If you have just graduated, find ways to build experience in your chosen field such as starting your own project, or producing your own material.
- Go above and beyond for any work demonstrations or skills tests – Recruitment process may be long and hard. If you want the job, see it all the way through. Try your very best at each stage and don’t give up.
- Demonstrate qualities and soft skills – Many jobs have been replaced by automation, so you need to show the employers that you have the skills they need, and computers can’t provide. Things like creative thinking, meaningful customer service, being empathetic, seeing the bigger picture and adapting to change, are all valuable soft skills.
- Feel confident about the job – Managers like to see that you are confident to do the job, so make sure you are! Do plenty of research about the position, the company, its values and its history, so you feel more confident about what you can give to the role.
- Stand out during a job interview – Passing interview stage is the final obstacle. You can maximize your chances of being offered the job by giving yourself some interview skills training to include things like eye contact, body language, speech rate and knowing the right way to handle hard questions.
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