Today’s job market has changed significantly since the Internet gained in popularity and now the field of applicants includes not just local competition there is also global competition for the same employment positions. This makes landing a job much more difficult for the applicant and much more involved for the employer seeking someone to fill his or her position.
The old jobs are gone. They are not coming back.
Even today you continue to see listings for jobs in service and sales; however, you also will note that these are the types of positions that barely pay living wage as far as compensation is concerned. Moreover, you will see an abundance of jobs advertised that appear to be the equivalent of multi-level marketing pyramid scheme. Still, the qualified individual capable of closing a transaction will always find him or herself in demand in the job market. That individual will simply be competing with a larger field of other applicants making his or her resume all that much more important.
What you will not find in the modern job market is the stereotypical manufacturing jobs as these have all but vanished in today’s job world thanks due to new automation and outsourcing. Machines milk cows, harvest grain, grind compost, and till the ground among many other things. Mom and Pop stores on neighbourhood corners have folded to giant retailers such as Wal Mart, and because there is no population boom underway the demand for skilled tradesmen has declined. On the upside, new jobs proliferate in health care, information technology, engineering and many other employment positions that formerly only required a high school diploma now require a minimum four year college degree. What remains consistent now as before is the need for plumbers and electricians. However, electrical jobs likely require a much higher degree of expertise than simple wiring and connections.
Opportunities with skilled and unskilled.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and other industrialized nations have desperate need of experienced professionals-physicians, dentists, registered nurses, engineers, and educators. Hospitals and large health maintenance organizations offer alluring salary-and-benefits packages, handsome sign-on bonuses, and reimbursement of relocation costs for experienced professionals. Naturally, oncologists and professionals with specialties in geriatrics can negotiate for just about anything they want or need, because everyone desperately seeks primary care physicians and Certified Nurse Practitioners.
Under privileged nations desperately need medical professionals and educators but the work environments are not as inviting as those in the UK or USA. Still, if you are not in it necessarily for the money and wealth you can find a given satisfaction in knowing that you have contributed to the betterment of humans. This alone is worthwhile for some who are willing to put others above their own interests.
For the first time in history, it seems rather than entering into a career in an effort to merely earn a living; applicants are more interested in pursuing personal interests and passions more so than income production. This may not be as true to mid-career individuals with families to support, however, for the collegiate groups this is especially true. The good news for those mid-careers is that despite the challenges presented to most twenty-first century wage earners many of their skills and talents can be adapted with a bit of retooling.
Recruiting in the internet age
For the foreseeable future, employers enjoy the luxury of having a pool of highly skilled, well-qualified job applicants. In the United States reports suggest employers receive six ‘perfect’ applications for each job posting and hundreds of resumes and letters that satisfy the minimum criteria of each open position. Another non-surprise in the modern marketplace is the employer’s preference for younger candidates. The reason for this is quite clear; the younger candidate has fewer responsibilities such as family and mortgage so he or she comes at less expense. In the United Kingdom, the situation of finding a new employment position tends to rest on whether or not the applicant is currently employed. The old adage, “It is easier to find a job if you have a job”, remains a constant. This is especially true in the UK as conventional wisdom suggests those who are laid-off and down-sized elsewhere likely lack motivation, drive, talent, skill, training, or ambition or else would not have been one of those to be let go. This mindset, of course, makes that particular CV less appealing than one from an individual currently employed, Suffice to suggest, then, to anyone thinking of changing employment, the best time to look for a job is before leaving or losing another job.
Work as a recruiter also has changed. Sophisticated software and online resources simplify the work and increase recruiters’ productivity, effectively screening less-than-qualified candidates from digital screening pools. The wonderware may, however, ironically disqualify some of the most promising candidates for creative or exceptionally demanding jobs. The “bots” in the software naturally read resumes and cover letters for key words, matching job-description essentials with applicants’ statements. An otherwise mediocre applicant with some specialized skill in “search engine optimization” may rise to the top of the pile while a gifted but not so savvy prospect will sink or fall out of the rankings.
Similarly, the standards and definitions of “skills and attributes” have changed. “Exceptional communication skills” used to signify command of the mother tongue and the uncanny ability to make complex ideas seem simple and desirable. Some employers even valued allusions, metaphors, and other figures of speech that defy search engine optimization. In the Twitter-driven age, however, fast-flying thumbs and command of tweet-speak matter far more than the ability to quote Shakespeare for any occasion. “Bi-lingual” as often means “fluent in English and hyper-text mounting language” as it means “speaks both English and French”; and “multi-media” has, for the most part, replaced “multi-cultural” as the virtual world invents a culture of its own.
Drawing and blurring the line between public and private
Whether or not it is ever made public by an employer, there are certain unspoken rules relating to the use of social media and appropriate behaviours that can and do weigh in on a hiring situation. This is especially true when the employer is a high profile brand. Recruiters need to make certain that applicant and potential new hire gives the same impression they wish to portray company wide. In the past, this was something along the lines of “Dress for success” and dressing properly for the desired job interview. Now days, it is much more dependent on social network use and inappropriate behaviour both personally and professionally online. For example, any applicant who blogs about drunken and disorderly behaviour publicly if discovered will likely destroy their own chance for the position. Similarly, it is common knowledge to many recruiters around the globe that YouTube has killed as many careers as it has attempted to launch so it is imperative that applicants ‘clean up’ their own social profiles and refrain from self destructive and poorly reflecting comments especially while hunting for new employment.
Today’s global job market sets no limits geographically for applicants and the wall between public and private has toppled. Intelligent job seekers must first ‘brand’ themselves in an effort to ‘imprint’ upon the recruiters and employers of the world and make certain anything adverse to the individual brand is ‘cleaned up’ prior to, rather than – after the hiring party discovers it online. We asked a top -yet unnamed professional recruiter for a quote in closing and that reply suggests follow the golden rule which is to apply while you still have a job and make certain your online profiles and rep reflects a cohesive message across the board.
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