When the economy crashes, you may find yourself in a situation where you’re looking for a new job. If you’re not that person, you may be part of a company letting a lot of people go and seeing people struggle can be unsettling. Whichever side of the table you sit on – it’s tough, but what I’ll address today are the job seekers.
There’s one thing supporting someone with wanting a career move vs supporting someone actually needing a job. A different approach and mindset is needed. There are often bills, mortgages, child care and lots more on the line which need to be covered, which can escalate stress and one’s urgency.
The most important thing during this challenging journey is to have people to talk to. Whether it be friends, family or your professional network – speak to people. Talking is the best medicine.
Below are some thoughts on how to support your journey in a challenging job market. One needs to consider that there’s lots of talent and few jobs, so how do you make yourself stand out?
- Cold reach outs : It’s like selling. When selling a product or service, when you have an internal flag flyer at a targeted prospect, it can really support your conversion. Your application is the same. So…connect with someone at the business you’re applying to and try to secure yourself an open, friendly chat. One can only say no or ignore you and it costs nothing, whilst that person may be so impressed they’ll fly your flag and sell you internally.
- Create the best CV ever! : Look, HR people and recruiters look at CV’s EVERYDAY. They are always 1-2 pages, black and white and scream out little personality. Of course, some companies may want to see a ‘normal CV’ ,but many would appreciate someone standing out. Design it to make it relevant to the company, in branded colours / imagery, in the background / fonts / borders. I created myself a version of my CV in a powerpoint format, which has warmly been welcomed. I’m happy to share it with you in case it helps – so just reach out.
- You need to hussle, hard : I don’t believe that you don’t know at least one person who can help you. There will be one. They may not be on your doorstep so you may need to find them. It’s an infamous network game. Speak to people and just ask if they know someone, or does someone they know – know someone who can help. Your network is your most powerful asset.
- Go above and beyond : It can be hard to look at companies you want to be part of who just aren’t hiring. What can you do? Make them hire! How :
- Research the company
- Understand the department you’d want to join
- Do your DD on the department head
- Dive into what they do, how and why and try and find opportunities for the team or spot ways how they can do something better / differently
- Create the best deck ever re your findings and thoughts
- Send it to the department head (linkedin or email, where you can always find the email structure) with a carefully curated email to make one excited and curious to read your findings
If you don’t get someone to reply who will give you 30 mins of their time for this effort, then you don’t want to work for / with that person. How would you respond if someone approached you like that?
5. Stay active : The most important thing is to keep your morale high. Being active is vital. You need to stimulate your brain and feel like you’re being productive, so whether it be being on top of all of the above, self learning, reading or releasing energy with exercise – do something that gives you a sense of achievement.
If you want any further support on your journey to discuss your CV, approach or to see how if I can introduce you to anyone, feel free to reach out at [email protected] / 0781 685 6633.
