AARP Hearing Center
If you’ve vowed to make 2019 the year to find a new job, here are eight ways you can get ready. Understanding the current trends in recruiting—from the rise of temporary positions to the importance of soft skills—can help you land the job you want.
Target, target, target
Get specific about the kind of job you’re seeking and how it syncs with your skills and ability. Do you really want to replicate your old job, just with higher pay or better benefits? Is it work from home opportunities you’re looking for? Do you want flexible , part-time, seasonal, or full-time work?
Importantly, is there a company or nonprofit in your town that has a mission or product you respect and value? One approach for finding a new job is to start with who you want to work for and why. Then look at those organizations’ websites to find opportunities through their job boards. Seek out specific people you know working at the firm, or who might know someone who works there.
It’s often who you know, not what you know, when it comes to getting that first interview. Sixty percent of job seekers have referred a friend or contact to a company they’ve worked for — and 35 percent of job seekers obtained their current or most recent job from a referral, according to a 2018 Jobvite report.
Consider temporary positions
This is the new reality. And it’s been coming for a while now. Employers are concerned about the possibility of a recession, the volatility of the stock market and other kinds of big picture economic events. As a result, they’re minimizing the risks and costs associated with hiring full-timers, who carry the additional expenses of benefits such as employer-sponsored retirement plans and health insurance. The result: Employers offer part-time and contract positions with the potential to transition to full time down the road.
It’s not just older workers who are facing this hiring jig. Millennials, too, are weaving together contract work and side gigs to pay the rent and student loans. This can play out in your favor. The upside is that it’s your chance to check the company out before you’re stuck in a job you don’t like. Even better, you’re keeping your résumé alive, your skills sharp and building new relationships.
Expect more tech
Expect the human touch to be harder to come by this year. The hiring process is growing frostier, with more requests for applicants to take online personality assessments and convene for “virtual” interviews by a recorded computer program. Employers are increasingly connecting with candidates via online rendezvous settings—texts, web chats, Zoom meetings, WhatsApp, Facebook and other cyber playing fields.
Employers also are browsing social media sites to learn more about you, sometimes before an interview is even scheduled. Seventy percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, while another 7 percent plan to start, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Of those that do social research, 57 percent have found content that caused them not to hire candidates. Understand how social media impacts your job hunting and learn how to ace your virtual interview.
Get serious about soft skills
Even with the increased use of computers in the workforce and the recruitment process, human skills are actually hotter than ever. According to an analysis of job postings, résumés and social profiles by the Strada Institute for the Future of Work, job seekers who want to be competitive should focus on their soft skills. “Human skills—like leadership, communication, and problem solving—are among the most in-demand skills in the labor market,” according to the findings. As the report concludes: “Automation will create an opportunity for those in work to make use of the innate human skills that machines have the hardest time replicating: social and emotional capabilities, providing expertise, coaching and developing others, and creativity.”
Employers look for skills in two categories: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills (also referred to as work skills) are those required to do the job, such as network security, accounting, marketing, data analysis or graphic design. These skills are typically learned and are quantifiable. For example, you can earn a degree or certification or at least point to a course on a transcript showing that you received training in a particular area. Or you can point to jobs you held that required those same skills.
Soft skills are more subjective and harder to quantify, such as an ability to communicate clearly, solve problems, manage your time and be a team player. In many ways, these skills, which include your outlook and attitude, are gauges of how well you’ll fit in. Employers want to be sure you’ll work effectively with your coworkers, your supervisor and the organization’s clients. They also want to be sure that you can think on your feet and can make smart decisions.
Take note of transferable skills. If you’re switching industries, you’re “redeploying” skills you already have in place. Most soft skills are transferable to a new industry. For a skill boost, you might check out your local community college for offerings, or look for courses accessible via Coursera, edX, LinkedIn's learning platform, and Udemy.com.
