MY ANSWER TO “HOW IS THE JOB MARKET DOING?”

As a career coach and someone in the recruitment industry, I get a lot of questions about the job market – “How is the job market doing?” “What is the employment outlook for this year?” “Do you think this is the right time for job search?”  “I heard that the market is not doing well?”, and a few other variations. Earlier in my career, I would have given an overview of how different industries are doing, which ones are hiring, the overall economy of the country and the region etc. However, with experience, I have realized that the job market is very subjective. It is always good for good candidates and challenging for candidates who do not know how job search works currently.

One of the things I would like to highlight is use of the term “Good Candidate”. I do not say good employees, good professionals or anything else on those lines. Throughout my recruitment career, I have realized that your competence doesn’t always translate to successful job search. I have met numerous professionals who are great at their work and still struggle to find jobs. I have also met some professionals who might not be contributing a great deal in their roles and have multiple opportunities lined up for them.

So, what makes a good candidate for job-search? While there are many factors, the top 3 will be the following.

1.      Self Belief

One of the fundamental traits of a good candidate is their self-belief and confidence in their own competence. Job search may take a toll on your confidence due to many reasons – you might be returning to work after a career break, you might have got retrenched from the previous role, you might have been looking for a very long time without success. When you lose faith in your abilities and the value you add to companies, how can you convince a potential employer of your value? So many job seekers come from the place of desperation instead of coming from the place of power.

Take a step back to evaluate the way in which you have contributed in your previous roles. Once you have realized your own value, understand that the inability to get a job fast is due to the fact that you don’t know how the recruitment landscape has changed. It is no way a function of only your capabilities. Look out for your next job from the position of power and not desperation.

2.      Self Awareness

Even before the first meeting with people interested in joining my career coaching service, I ask them a question over the phone to determine where the person needs support – “What do you think are your challenges in getting the next role?” People who blame only external factors immediately pose a red flag. These are people who would blame the market, the government, their visa status, foreigners taking their job etc without a single thing they could work on. With experience, I have learned that even on further probing if they come up with only external factors to blame, then my service will just be an additional item on their blame list. On the other hand, there are people who believe in their capabilities but have also identified a few areas where they need support and improvement. Typically, these clients get great results with just slight tweaks in their approach.

If you have been struggling with your job search for a while, then I would highly encourage you to take a hard look at your action as well as results at each stage of job search. Are you getting a lot of interview calls but they are not getting converted into a job offer? Then you need support with interview skills as well as your positioning in the market. Are you applying to a lot of roles without any calls? Then let’s look at how you are reaching out to employers, your CV, and your overall positioning. Taking ownership of your job search outcome will pave the way for improvement

3.      Strong Network

“Who you know is often times more important than what you know” – a cliché which has proven to be true always. Your network during job search is not just the professional network you have cultivated over the years, but also the personal network of friends and family which can help in job search. Having a strong network has career-long benefits. I have had clients who were changing their lines of work completely and still managed to get great roles in a matter of weeks capitalizing on their network.

Dig the well before you are thirsty. Growing your network should start much before you actually need a job. But if you haven’t paid much attention in this area before, it is never too late to develop your network. A lot of clients think their network is very small when we start working together. However, by pushing your boundaries a bit, the network can grow exponentially very soon. My first boss in recruitment always used to say, “Magic happens when two people meet face to face” And in all honesty, it is a lot more interesting than just clicking on applications online.

Becoming a “Good candidate” is a skill you can develop with time; the first step is to believe in yourself and your employability. So, here is the confirmation about the opportunities out there – the job market is great. Now get that job.

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JobS-ME: Job Search Made Easy

JobS-ME is a training, coaching and consulting company helping professionals get their next ideal job fast. True to its name, JobS-ME was launched to make job search easy and effective.