Job Search In The New Millenium – What To Expect And How To Survive IT?

If you haven’t been active in the job search market for a few years, you probably scarcely recognise it! The speed of change in the job market is accelerating by the minute and job search today is completely different to ten years ago. Paper resumes are now only a small part of the job seekers toolset and both recruiters and applicants have a world of new opportunities to connect in the marketplace.
Job blogging, video resumes, social networking, resume optimisation, web portfolios and behavioural interviewing are just a few of the changes to job search practices that have been introduced over the past ten years and are all strong indicators of why it’s so important to remain abreast of changing job search technologies and employment trends.
Riding on the back of these trends has also been the swelling of awareness for candidates to have strong personal marketing and to be able to specify, quantify, document and articulate their employment value.

In today’s fast-moving employment market its commonplace for employers to see hundreds if not thousands of resumes pass over their desks, and only those that truly showcase the applicant’s unique value and relevance to the employer will gain a second glance. Employers want evidence of success and quantifiable outcomes included in resumes to ensure they are making the right choice. This evidenced based selection approach has also extended to the interviewing process with behavioural interviewing becoming one of the most common interview tools.
Finally technology has also brought new challenges in the presentation of application materials. Resumes now need to be designed so that they are scanner-friendly and optimised so that they stand-out when reviewed by the database scanners used by many recruitment agencies and large employers in first round selections. Further issues such as spam filters, recruiters’ use of PDA’s to receive email and online applications have all seen resume formats adjusted to suit these domains. Given this complexity many job seekers are now accepting that investment in professional career marketing and advice is a must.
The most significant change to job search has definitely been the explosion of online networking. In the Career Directors International 2007 Research Report “Career Industry Mega-trends” they stated that over 50% of recruiters surveyed said that they either currently use or intended in the future to use Social Online Networking as a method of recruiting candidates. Forums like Facebook and Myspace has seen traditional networking move online and has dramatically increased opportunities for job seekers but also poses significant risk if used inappropriately. “According to a March survey by Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank, 35 percent of hiring managers use Google to do online background checks on job candidates, and 23 percent look people up on social networking sites. About one-third of those Web searches lead to rejections, according to the survey.” Job seekers, particularly Gen Y, as the largest users of these forums, needs to be aware that the transparency of information on the internet allows employers to view them from all angles, and should ensure that anything posted will not hurt future job search activities. On the flipside, smart jobseekers are now using job blogging to position themselves as an expert in their field leading employers to them, rather than the other way around.
With changing technology it’s hard to imagine exactly what the face of job-hunting will look like in ten years time. Many career coaches particularly in the US are already embracing the advances of online communication such as video resumes and web portfolios to deliver more impact to application presentations.
Regardless of how the job search is conducted, one thing is for certain, social networking, technology and personal marketing will continue to remain the key axis of an effective job search strategy. Regardless of the medium, the fundamentals of marketing yourself competitively remain paramount. Know the employer and understand what they want; identify, evidence and document your unique value in terms of these dimensions; and develop skills to articulate this in person both in social networking forums and formal interviews. Finally seek solid advice from career specialists to ensure you leverage the full advantages of latest job search technologies and also remain abreast of pitfalls of these new arenas. Doing this will ensure you present well be it in an interview, video resume, or through social networking forums.
With the speed of change in the job market today it is also critical that candidates prepare themselves through a strategic approach to their job search activities. Invest in building effective marketing materials including a resume that is tailored to your job target and presented in a variety of contemporary file types (Word, ascii, pdf) so that you are ready for any application forum. Seek out advice and coaching in what form of resume should be used in each forum and familiarise yourself with the current styles of interviewing. In particular understand how to articulate your contributions made to past employers so you can evidence your skills and what you offer employers in the future. Finally make sure you continually stay abreast of, and are open to, newer styles of job search and networking. According to Career Directors International’s Megatrends report “Job seekers will be better positioned for success, if they look beyond the traditional networking, and consider networking online, or social networking, as a part of their holistic job search campaign.”
Today’s job market is an increasingly complex arena. Changing technology brings a world of new opportunities and risks to job seekers today. Online technology allows greater opportunities for visibility by techno-savvy candidates wanting to get employers attention. On the other hand this visibility also means that it’s critical to ensure anything uploaded into this domain is well thought out and highly professional, otherwise your visibility may be your downfall. However embrace technology, seek solid advice and ensure you are prepared and the world can be your oyster.
Good luck!
Article by Jill Kelly, an international award-winning resume writer and Principal Career Consultant for Career Edge, a major Australian resume writing firm. This multi-award winning business has helped executives and professionals globally to progress in their chosen fields. Click here to contact Career Edge for assistance with your career marketing or visit Jill’s career blog at http://careeredge.blogspot.com for more career strategy articles.