Tips for job seekers in these challenging times

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Tips for job seekers in these challenging times

It’s an understatement to say that this year hasn’t been what any of us expected.

From an employment perspective, whether you lost your job, were furloughed like me, or have worked through the whole mess either from home or in a changed office environment, it’s been a huge, exhausting challenge for everyone, particularly as there is still no immediate end in sight.

Returning from furlough has been a baptism of fire and seeing our market in its current state was devastating, both professionally and personally, because the most rewarding part of my work is placing people and providing opportunities. I know many people in my network will remember the 2008 crisis, but I have never experienced anything like this. With no commuting time to reflect or recharge, and no personal space due to the blurred lines created by working from home, my job feels relentless, especially with the market saturated with so many talented change and transformation experts looking for work. On a positive note, we are all in this together, and there is significant change taking place in every business across every sector at the moment. And where there is change, there is opportunity.

Despite social distancing or even another lockdown, finding those opportunities is all about communication at the moment, from leveraging your networks to reaching out to people online. I’ve been doing it to generate some momentum and it’s working, so here are my top three tips for candidates that I hope will help you create an opportunity and secure the position you’re looking for.

1. Connect

Connect with everyone you can. Call, text, email, message on every platform available to you. Don’t be put off if you don’t hear back immediately, just keep on connecting, especially if it’s with recruiters who are snowed under with applications. I’ve been actively sending candidate profiles to my clients purely to connect them; encouraging people to have conversations, whether there’s a position open or not. Sharing skills and experiences is valuable for both sides, and you never know when either party might need the other in the future.

I emailed a client about an excellent candidate: they weren’t hiring, but they passed the candidate on to someone who was – and they got the job!

Leverage your network: I made a recent placement by reaching out to an old contact, who then introduced me to a Managing Director who had a need for contractors.

2. Use every resource

Don’t overlook the online angle and revamp your LinkedIn profile to sell yourself as best you can. Engagement is a two-way street, so tag people you know or think might be relevant in posts of interest; send jobs to them; and keep in touch with people in the comments. Think of your profile as your brand and make sure you stay visible to keep your name out there.

I recently tagged two people I knew on another recruiter’s LinkedIn post for hire. There was nothing in it for me and in a normal, competitive world, I wouldn’t have done it, but at the moment it’s all about people connecting and getting back to work.

As a recruiter, I’m currently receiving 10 times the volume of applications for roles. Candidates who have followed up with a call or a LinkedIn message can often find their way to the top of the pile.

3. Make recommendations

Recommend people directly for jobs that are relevant to them (and that you’re not applying for yourself!). If there’s no obvious way for you to make a referral or an introduction, suggest that they apply for it themselves. If you do have any links to the employer or the recruiter handling the role that mean you can make a personal recommendation, do it, as it will only enhance your brand further. Building those kinds of relationships and forging common ground with people enables you to stand out.

A PM emailed me recently emphasizing his availability. When the email came in, I was on the phone to a VP of Operations, so I mentioned the candidate. The VP recommended another hiring manager who might be interested. It hasn’t come to fruition yet, but it just goes to show you never know when recommending people will pay off!

My view is that we are very much fighting this pandemic together and we need to help each other stay positive about our future careers as much as we can. Reaching out and engaging, even though it can’t be in person at the moment, is a vital tool in our armoury, not just for our jobs, but for our mental wellbeing. If you would like to get in touch about business transformation opportunities, hiring, or to put your personal brand out there as I’ve suggested, I’d love to hear from you.

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by Sophy Moyes • 03 May, 2024

Join us for an exclusive webinar as we delve into the latest findings from our comprehensive salary survey, spotlighting the dynamic legal landscape of Saudi Arabia. While our recent focus has been on the UAE, we are now shining a light on the diversity of opportunities emerging in Saudi demands. We will be exploring: A comprehensive overview of the current market landscape, highlighting key trends and developments shaping the industry in the Middle East. Valuable insights into the latest salary trends prevalent in the Middle East job market for the year 2024, and how they impact professionals across various sectors. The compensation landscape within law firms and in-house legal departments in Saudi Arabia, examining salary benchmarks, factors influencing pay, and emerging trends. The nuances of compensation packages offered to Saudi nationals versus expatriates, exploring disparities, considerations, and strategies for equitable remuneration practices. The standard benefit packages being offered in the Middle East job market, including perks, allowances, and additional incentives that are becoming increasingly prevalent. You can view this webinar from your computer, tablet or mobile phone. This discussion is tailored specifically to partners and HR professionals within legal practice, as well as legal hiring managers and HR business partners for lawyers operating within the Financial Services (FS) and Industrial & Commercial (I&C) sectors in the Middle East.

"2025 and Beyond" Question and Answer session

26 Feb, 2024

Our webinar 2025 and Beyond: Why Your Hiring, Learning, and Culture Need to Evolve brought together thought leaders Enrique Rubio (Hacking HR), Lisa Skinner Källström (Teamtailor), and Hydrogen Group’s Dean Jennings and Michelle Miller. The conversation explored strategies used to tackle the challenges of the future workforce, shift organisational cultures towards lasting partnerships, and ensure teams are equipped for the age of artificial intelligence. _ The Q&A box was brimming! Our webinar offered participants the chance to consult our HR experts on addressing shifts in the people and culture realm as we approach 2024 and beyond. Interesting questions were raised, and we compiled them all to seek and reached out to our experts to get some definitive answers. For a recap on the webinar, check out our blog Navigating the Future: Insights from our Webinar "2025 and Beyond" So, here we are. Your questions - answered! - How can companies make people feel more secure in their jobs? Is it just a matter of increasing communication? Lisa suggested a shift towards a more sustainable approach. 'In recent years, we have seen many companies experience massive growth, and the need to get great talent onboard - hence offering extremely generous compensation packages. Unfortunately, many have now faced layoffs, and while the compensation and benefit strategies are not the sole reasons, I would like to propose a more sustainable approach for the future. [Increase benefits as the company grows, and as business results allow, we can increase pension levels or similar benefits – and discuss it internally! Open dialogue about results, investment choices, and their rationale fosters a sense of involvement among team members and signals the company's commitment to a sustainable direction.]' Dean echoed concerns about job security in today's volatile economy and advises, 'In today's uncertain economic climate, job security is a concern. However, by becoming indispensable and embracing tools like AI, individuals can enhance their value to employers, securing their positions for the future. Apart from using Chat GPT, what other tasks can be automated with AI? Lisa commented, ‘We’ve mentioned a few examples already, but I would look at all the systems your company allows you to use and question your suppliers on what features are or will be based on AI. For example, many applicant tracking systems allow the opportunity for AI to summarise CVs for an easy overview, generate interview questions and suggest more personalised replies to rejected candidates based on their CVs. Also, the opportunity for AI to transcribe an interview is an amazing tool which allows the interviewer to solely focus on listening and talking to a candidate as opposed to taking notes. As always, AI in these types of systems is not designed to make the decisions for a recruiter or business - but serve as an assistant to save time and work more efficiently.’ Dean added, ‘There are far too many to list. The AI directory https://aitoolsdirectory.com/ does a really good job of showcasing what does what and where you can find it.’ What is the impact of AI on employee engagement and how can HR teams use AI to promote engagement? Also, what precautions should professionals take when using AI? Dean offered his perspective by stating that ‘engagement and AI may seem contradictory, but there's a clear benefit when HR uses AI to streamline admin tasks, freeing up time for vital human interaction. Tools like Koios, for instance, offer Acoustic AI, helping HR understand team and individual personalities better, for more tailored approaches. Professionals must approach AI implementation carefully, ensuring ethical use to maintain trust and transparency in the workplace.’ How can we make sure our services stay personalised while using AI? Dean responded, ‘By leveraging AI to handle time-consuming tasks. The best thing about AI is that you get to choose what it does and what it doesn’t. If you feel strongly about human interaction to enable personalisation, you don’t have to let go of that – just embrace AI to make those interactions better. Get it to strip data in the background for you, or to type up your notes and actions as you have the conversations. The possibilities are endless, and they can be tailored to your needs.’ Within your businesses, have you experienced any resistance to the adoption of AI? How have you handled these objections? Dean responded, ‘A lot of the resistance I have seen has either been a fear of trying or a fear of being caught. There seems to be a negative connotation with AI, that if you get it to do something for you, are you cheating? The answer is a resounding no, you are working with the tools available to make yourself more productive for your organisation. Robot proof recruiter, if you haven’t read it, you should. Especially if you are a recruiter or if recruitment is part of your job role. I’ll spare you the details, but it is an amazing read that showcases the fact you can never take the people part out of recruitment - you’ll always be able to provide a better level of service than a robot (at least for now) and you need to focus on the parts of the process where human interaction is at its most vital and automate/utilise AI to get back time in your day to improve that social element of the process.’ Do you feel Employee Resource Groups will be on the rise with the future generation of workers? Dean replied, ‘A truly hybrid workplace cannot function effectively without the right technology in place. That doesn’t even need to be AI. For employees to feel a sense of belonging in a workplace, there should be a seamless experience that goes beyond just having teams up on 1 laptop in a room full of 30 people. Again, this will only advance with time ... my eutopia is to have my whole team (who are based in the UK + Thailand) sat around a virtual desk, on a beach with an interactive whiteboard we can utilise in real time via virtual and augmented reality. You may laugh now, but in the next couple of years, VR and AR tech will be the staple of hybrid working and teams coming together around the globe. This doesn’t take away from the in-person experience and nor do I think it should. It should be a tool that compliments real-time working solutions.’ How can we support older generation employees in the changing landscape? Dean offered his perspective, ‘AI is truly remarkable. It embodies the futuristic vision many of us had as children—computers and programs taking on tasks for us. For those uneasy about it, I believe it's a matter of not fully comprehending it or lacking the skills to use it effectively. AI has quietly become a part of the workplace, and many are still navigating its intricacies. The focus should be on empowering employees to leverage AI to enhance productivity and value to the organisation. Those who resist or fail to adapt won't be replaced by AI but by individuals who embrace change and view AI as a tool for greater contribution.’ How can we safeguard against the risk of AI stifling creativity in the workplace? Lisa said, ‘I would say the opposite, if we use AI for the more regular and routine tasks then we will have more time to use to be creative! For example, instead of spending hours on creating a presentation for an important project - let AI do this creating for you and spend the time on how you want to engage with your audience instead. Using ChatGPT to find easy tasks that I would previously have spent a lot of time on has been a big change in how I work and allows me find space in the day.’ Is there a regional divide across different parts of the world? Are Europeans more prone to appreciate safety/job security than Americans? Lisa commented, ‘My thoughts are that globally we have been through a lot in recent years, covid affected everyone regardless of location. After that, we had war in Europe for the first time in many years which had major effects on the economy, which I believe has made people appreciate job safety even more and value this in choosing their next employer. However, in some parts of Europe employees are still very protected by labour laws etc so I believe it is different from America where it is more common to have short notice period and less resistance from employers to terminate an employment.’ Expanding on the key themes discussed in our webinar, we're thrilled to introduce our Thrive Guide – a practical roadmap for building a thriving workplace. Within the Thrive Guide, discover actionable strategies to enhance employee engagement, foster diversity and inclusion, and implement flexible working models. Discover practical solutions to enhance workplace productivity and satisfaction. As our expert Dean Jennings emphasises, 'adapting to evolving workplace dynamics requires strategic initiatives.' This sentiment is echoed by other industry leaders in our webinar. In the Thrive Guide, these insights converge to offer practical solutions, providing a roadmap for organisations navigating change. Revolutionise your workplace. Download the Thrive Guide now!