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#JobSearch : Does Your Résumé Pass the Six-Second Test? How to Make your Résumé Stand Out in Today’s Job Market.

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No pressure, but your résumé has six seconds to make an impression before it is sent to the don’t-even-bother pile.

That is how long a recruiter typically skims a résumé to decide whether to pass it on to a hiring manager, said J.T. O’Donnell, chief executive of career-coaching site Work It Daily. Recruiters often have hundreds of online applications to wade through, even with algorithms helping filter many of them out. They will likely give yours little more than a glance to judge whether you make it onto the shortlist of candidates.

In other words, your résumé has to be highly “skimmable,” Ms. O’Donnell said at The Wall Street Journal’s recent Jobs Summit. “The human eye works in a Z-pattern, and I’m going down, looking for four to five things that I was told you need to have or you cannot be considered.”

The CV won’t clinch a job offer, but it gets you to the next step, she and other career coaches say. A résumé that’s hard to skim or fails to mention key skills needed for the job could keep you from ever getting the chance to make your case in an interview.

Some ways to make your résumé stand out, and some job-search killers to avoid, according to the experts at the summit:

1) Forget the professional statement.

Job seekers have long been advised to include a short paragraph atop of their résumé summing up their skills, experience, achievements and goals. No more.

“Recruiters don’t have time for that,” Ms. O’Donnell said. Instead, open with a one-line “headline” stating your occupational specialty—ideally with words matching the role you’re applying for, like “digital marketing specialist” or “technical writer,” she said.

Follow the headline with two short columns of bullets with concrete skills. If you coordinated a team to pull off a big assignment and the job posting mentions project-management experience, use that same language, since that’s what recruiters and their applicant-tracking-systems will screen for, said Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation, a nonprofit focused on workforce development.

“Every job you apply for, you should customize your résumé just a little bit by putting in some of the words that are in that job description,” Ms. Oates said.

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

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Article continued …

2) Don’t be a jack of all trades.

It is tempting to pack your résumé with the entirety of your work experience, especially for those who have a lot of it. Resist the urge, and focus on your relevant professional work history. “You don’t need to have any more that you scooped ice cream at the Margate Dairy Bar,” Ms. Oates said.

Recruiters are looking for a match to that particular job opening, Ms. O’Donnell said. They aren’t interested in the twists and turns of your career, which could suggest you’re overqualified for the role.

“A lot of companies don’t want to overpay, and that’s exactly the message you’re sending when you put everything on your résumé,” she said.

It is OK for a résumé to be two pages, if necessary, she adds. But make sure it is formatted with enough white space to be easily skimmed. Start each line about your experience with the bolded job title, so that they are easy to scan down the left side.

3) Use numbers.

Avoid subjective, ambiguous language, such as “passionate self-starter” or a “dedicated hard worker.” The hiring manager or recruiter will assess your soft skills when they interview you, Ms. O’Donnell said. A résumé is about your hard skills, which are best told through numbers.

Her tip: Circle all of the nouns on your CV, because they can usually be quantified.

If you are describing your experience as a receptionist, for instance, don’t just say “Answer phones.” More effective is something like: “Work for a 300-person company, answering more than 100 calls a day, on a 12-line phone system,” she said.

4) Make your LinkedIn profile the priority.

“Your LinkedIn is really your best résumé,” said Brian Liou, founder and CEO of Rora, which advises tech-industry professionals in negotiating with employers. Recruiters trawl LinkedIn to find candidates for a given job opening. A few hacks can improve your chances of coming up in their searches.

First, set a reminder to switch up some of the keywords in your profile every two weeks. Changing the content helps prompt the site’s algorithm to re-scan your profile, keeping it toward the top of recruiter searches.

And take advantage of Creator Mode, which Ms. O’Donnell calls one of LinkedIn’s best-kept secrets. The setting alters the presentation of profiles to emphasize topics that users discuss most on the platform and lets them choose hashtags aligned with their skills, showing LinkedIn you are an active user. “This is going to help get your content showcased,” she said.

One LinkedIn feature she does discourage using is the “Open to Work” banner. Though more hiring managers say they don’t frown upon career breaks, discrimination against people between jobs persists, she said. Instead, tweak your privacy settings to signal more indirectly to recruiters that you’re open to invitations, she suggested.

5) Resist using ChatGPT.

The artificial-intelligence chatbot from OpenAI has quickly become a popular tool for creating and tweaking résumés. The trouble is, recruiters can spot a ChatGPT-built résumé “a mile away,” Ms. O’Donnell said, “and you get points off for that sort of thing.”

The chat assistant can be helpful if you’re building a résumé from scratch, but use it only as a starting point, she cautions.

One tool she does suggest is a free word-cloud app. (Wordart.com and wordclouds.com are two popular ones.) Paste the text of the job posting to see which words show up as the biggest—the ones repeated most often in the ad.

 “That’s how you’re going to find your top five or six things” to describe your skills and experience, she said.

WSJ Author:  Write to Kailyn Rhone at kailyn.rhone@wsj.com

WSJ.com | April 17, 2023

#JobSearch : How To Leverage AI And Use ChatGPT In Your Job Search, According To Résumé Writers And Career Coaches. A MUst REad!

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ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. The chatbot saw a meteoric rise, gaining 1 million users within the first five days of its November 30, 2022 launch. By January, it became the fastest-growing platform with 100 million users, reaching 1 billion visits in February alone. To put ChatGPT’s ascendency into perspective, it took social media app Twitter five years to reach 100 million users, while Instagram took 2 ½ years after its launch and TikTok nine months.

ChatGPT’s resonance with its global users and overnight success can be attributed mainly to the chatbot’s many uses and its human capability. OpenAI’s technology platform managed to score in the 90th percentile on both the college-entry SATs and the attorney bar exam.

Cutting-Edge Job Seekers See An Advantage To Using ChatGPT

Forward-thinking job seekers are also leveraging artificial intelligence in their job searches. According to a February survey from ResumeBuilder.com of 1,000 current and recent job hunters, nearly half (46%) of job seekers are using the chatbot to craft their résumés or cover letters.

Seventy percent of respondents saw a higher response rate from companies when using ChatGPT. Seventy-eight percent of candidates who used the chatbot scored interviews, while nearly six in 10 job hunters were hired after using the AI tool during their application process.

However, it is worth mentioning that 11% of job seekers were rejected once it was learned from the hiring company that the candidate used ChatGPT.

With the AI platform disrupting the job search, I spoke with career coaches about the manner in which they were advising job seekers on how to gain a competitive advantage by using ChatGPT to streamline and guide the application and interview process.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Here’s What Career Coaches Are Saying About The Benefits Of ChatGPT And Some Challenges

Hannah Morgan, Job Search Strategist

“ChatGPT is empowering job seekers. It can provide answers to their specific questions beyond what a basic Google search will find (articles and videos). For example, ChatGPT can help develop a list of questions a job seeker can ask during an informational meeting. It can help job seekers identify alternative job titles in a new industry. It can even help them make a career shift to something totally different. Plus, it helps get rid of writer’s block. It can craft a rough draft of a cover letter, thank you note or even a follow-up email.”

Samantha Foster, Executive Recruiter

“ChatGPT is a great ‘complementary’ tool. I just started using it and it cuts the time I spend rewriting boring job descriptions and preparing better interview questions. For candidates, it is definitely helping them stay organized when applying to and interviewing for several positions simultaneously.”

Sweta Regmi, Career And Résumé Strategist/ Interview And Branding Coach

“Job seekers have the power to use AI just the way employers have been using it for years for recruiting.

I tested ChatGPT as a job seeker by providing the prompt. I asked ChatGPT to identify core competencies based on the targeted role and added four job postings. Now, I have the resources with soft skills and hard skills to create a résumé. It helped me understand my strength, weakness, opportunities and threat (SWOT) to self-reflect.

As an employer, I created job descriptions to test out. It saved me time on productivity. I still have to have knowledge of HR and employment laws in my country and city. AI can only help if you have the skills or knowledge.”

Marti Konstant, Workforce And Career Agility Trainer And Writer

“Use AI as your personal genius bar and you will not lose jobs to robots. You will only lose out to those who embrace AI.

AI use cases for job search: conduct job research; compare your transferable skills to open up ideas for new role possibilities; create project planning examples to demonstrate your understanding of the work requirements; extract language and requirements from job description to use in your job search process and ATS; develop branding phrases and talking points that integrate your competencies and strengths; feed in your accomplishments, milestones and your “about” section via LinkedIn (requires specific prompt crafting) and identify case studies in your area of expertise (digital marketing, product development and learning and development) and include these in your written and verbal talking points during the outreach or interview process.”

Ruth Sternberg, Job Search And Résumé Writer

“AI can help you when you’re preparing your materials for a job search by providing a compilation or list of expectations from job postings, all in one place; providing rough organization of your career history—an outline to give you somewhere to start and helping you identify new job possibilities.

When you feed it your résumé, you can ask to see jobs that seem to align with it. ChatGPT can give you a list of what’s important for a particular role, based on descriptions and other developed material, so you can compare your own job history to see if you match up. You also can ask the software to suggest ways you could improve what you’ve written based on a particular job. It can help you determine what types of jobs match a particular college major.

It also could translate résumés into other languages; add keywords from a particular industry and help you spot incongruities or flag unusual claims in your narrative to prompt a fact check.”

Virginia Franco, LinkedIn And Résumé Writer

“I see AI tools serving as powerful tools for job seekers, who will be able to use it to support interview prep and even outreach. AI could disrupt ATS systems as we know them! I’ve tested it out by plugging in the résumé I wrote and a job posting and asking it to write a cover letter. It provided a great start, but a so-so final product. Once I edited it, it was good!”

Adrienne Tom, Executive Résumé And LinkedIn Profile Writer

“Job seekers must understand the limitations of AI. Content is not always accurate, customized, or personalized. So, AI support may only be a starting point or a booster, not the complete solution. The output of AI is typically only as good as the input or questions it is asked. So knowing what to ask is critical.”

Shennee Rutt, Executive Résumé Writer And Career Strategist

“I think as AI evolves, and more shortcuts from writing a résumé, applying for a job, interviewing could potentially eliminate highly qualified candidates due to bias in scripted computer-generated content. It also removes the “human” in human resources and talent acquisition. Since humans write the codes, it could be biased and adversely impact job hunters.If the human-being who writes the code has biased discrimination and it is interpreted in the code written, this could impact candidates and job seekers with disabilities or pre-existing conditions.”

 

Forbes.com Author Jack Kelly :  Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

 

Forbes.com | April 3, 2023 | Jack Kelly

#JobSearch : Workers Face Fears Of Further Layoffs, AI Stealing Jobs And Higher Inflation. Workers and Job Hunters will be Harmed by AI and Ghost Jobs

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Only slightly more than half of American workers are “extremely or very satisfied” with their jobs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The results seem better than expected.

Workers have endured a lot recently. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank closed down due, in part, to a run on the banks out of fear of losing their life savings. Following the bank collapses, there was a palpable fear of a full-blown banking crisis. There has been a steady stream of layoffs, hiring freezes, record levels of inflation and rising interest rates making the costs of everything more expensive.

The start of the 2023 second quarter finds UBS’s acquisition of ailing Credit Suisse, which could lead to massive layoffs. Artificial intelligence could wipe out 300 million jobs, according to Goldman Sachs, and oil production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will drive the prices of gas higher into the summer travel season. Mysteriously, McDonald’s shut down its home offices this week to figure out who and how many people the iconic burger chain will let go.

UBS Layoffs

With concerns over the viability of Swiss-based Credit Suisse, intra-country competitor UBS bought out the bank under pressure from Swiss regulators. Since both institutions offer similar financial services and have offices in many countries around the world, including a sizable presence in the U.S., there is a chance that jobs could be made redundant.

The two banks offer investment banking, high-net-worth wealth management, asset management, stock and bond sales and trading. UBS has more than 74,000 employees working from nearly 50 countries. Credit Suisse is also global and the second largest Swiss bank with around 50,480 employees.

Since there’s overlap in nearly all the divisions, intense competition between talented people at each organization will occur to keep their jobs. To slash costs and integrate the two entities efficiently, UBS, the stronger of the banks, will cut around 20% to 30% of its 120,000 global workforce after completing its merger with Credit Suisse. The numbers are staggering, as roughly 36,000 bankers, brokers, traders, wealth managers and compliance personnel will be laid off.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

McDonald’s Is Temporary Closing Its Golden Arches

McDonald’s announced that it would temporarily shut down its United States offices this week. The closure will bide time for the global fast-food chain to determine layoffs and corporate restructuring, and alert the affected employees, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Last week, workers were told via email to stay at home and work remotely for the first few days of the week. All in-person meetings with outside entities will be canceled.

Waiting is the hardest part. McDonald’s has more than 150,000 employees in corporate roles. Many people will be anxious and stressed out over whether or not they’ll have a job. In a white-collar recession, it’s not a good time for a middle corporate manager or executive to be let go, as it will be difficult and time-consuming to procure another opportunity at the same level and compensation package.

Adding to the employees’ worries, McDonald’s in January said its Accelerating the Arches program will place emphasis on “deliveries, drive-thru, digital and development,” and didn’t mention what will happen with the college-educated office workers.

Cuts In Oil Production Driving Up The Costs Of Summer Traveling

Families going through McDonald’s drive-thrus will be spending more money on gasoline, as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers announced that there would be oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day. The reduction in drilling and production will cause an immediate rise in prices, which the U.S. called “inadvisable,” Reuters reported.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday at an event at Yale University that OPEC+’s cut to oil production is a “regrettable action” that will add to the current global economic uncertainty. The decision will cause further financial strain to consumers already burdened by high inflation.

Oil prices jumped on Monday. St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard was surprised over OPEC+’s sudden and unexpected decision to cut crude production. The move may make things challenging for the Fed, as it is desperately trying to bring down record inflation levels. There are some concerns that stagflation may result as inflation remains stubbornly high. While Fed chair Jerome Powell wants inflation to go down to around 2%, Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg last month that his own forecast is for rates to peak at 5.625% this year.

Workers And Job Hunters Will Be Harmed By AI And Ghost Jobs

Goldman Sachs, the highly regarded New York City-based investment bank, wrote a sobering and alarming research report about the ascendency of artificial intelligence. Goldman maintains that if generative AI lives up to its hype, the workforce in the U.S. and Europe will be upended. The bank estimates that 300 million jobs could be lost or diminished due to this fast-growing technology.

Office administrative support, legal, architecture and engineering, business and financial operations, management, sales, healthcare and art and design are some sectors that automation will impact. AI is anticipated to replace workers in a wide array of sectors ultimately. In the past, blue-collar and frontline workers usually bore the brunt of painful changes created by technological innovations. This time, it’s after the office class.

Job seekers are chasing ghosts.In a survey conducted by Clarify Capital, around 25% of hiring managers self-reported that they’ve kept job listings open for more than four months. Moreover, they don’t intend to hire anyone in the near future.

The reasons for posting “ghost jobs” include building a pipeline of candidates for when the tide turns and recruiting gears up again, making it seem as if the company is doing well and expanding, humoring employees that help is on the horizon with new staff arriving to help with the workload, languishing on job aggregation sites and human resources and hiring managers forgetting to take down old job listings.

Forbes.com |  April 4, 2023 

#JobSearch : Getting Ghosted By Phony Phantom Jobs. Are the Jobs on the Job Boards, Real? MUst REad!

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Thousands of white-collar professionals have lost their jobs recently due to the fast-changing economy. Eager to return to work, job hunters scour job boards, LinkedIn and corporate career sites. However, there is a high likelihood that the perfect role with the company you’d love to work for is not real, according to the Wall Street Journal..

In a survey conducted by Clarify Capital, around 25% of hiring managers self-reported that they’ve kept job listings open for more than four months. Moreover, they don’t intend to hire anyone in the near future.

The reasons for posting “ghost jobs” include building a pipeline of candidates for when the tide turns and recruiting gears up again, making it seem as if the company is doing well and expanding and humoring employees that help is on the horizon with new staff arriving to help with the workload.

Why Companies Post Phantom Jobs

As a recruiter, I’ve seen this trend play out over two decades. Human resources and hiring managers place phantom jobs, anticipating that things will improve and companies will eventually hire. The position is somewhat real, as the firm is lining up applicants for the future.

When companies lay off personnel, the extra work is dumped on the remaining employees. Feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by taking on more assignments for the same pay, they’ll contemplate leaving and seeking a new job. To appease the workers, posting a job buys time. It makes it look like the company understands that people are overworked and actively searching for new talent to fill the empty seats.

Businesses want to keep up appearances. Posting jobs gives off the illusion that the company is in good financial health and growing.

Job Aggregation Sites

Many job aggregation sites exist, such as Indeed, SimplyHired, GlassDoor, LinkUp and CareerJet. These sites scrape jobs from various sources and list them on their respective platforms. Often, there is a disconnect between the original posting on a career site, like JPMorgan, and the listing on a job aggregator site. The listing may linger on for many months, as the company that posted the role doesn’t have control of taking it off from the aggregator. It’s in the best interest of aggregators to keep up the jobs longer to entice job hunters to keep returning. To someone unaware of this system, they’ll think the job is freshly posted, but, in actuality, it has been up for months.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Diversity Hiring

There is a big push for hiring diverse candidates. Jobs are posted to show that the company is trying to build an inclusive workforce. Most of the time, it’s genuine. Other times, it’s virtue signaling, and the jobs aren’t moving too quickly.

Somewhat related, hiring managers have already picked the person for the role, but need to publicly show that they are making a good-faith effort to interview a full slate of candidates.

Testing The Waters

One of the best ways to find out if a job catches the attention of job seekers is to put it out there. Once the job is posted, companies can ascertain if there is an interest. If it doesn’t receive many applicants, the company may iterate and change the copy, include the salary or enhance the total compensation package.

It’s a little cold-blooded, but businesses place job postings to get a sense of whether or not they can get someone less expensive than current workers. In a tough job market with many people in between roles, a manager may feel they could let go of some low performers and malcontents and replace them with people who desperately need a new job and won’t push too much for a higher salary.

Picking Your Brain And Getting Free Work

Sometimes, companies want to pick the brains of job seekers. They want to find out what their competitors are up to, how much they pay their staff and whether or not they’re doing well.

A common lament of aggrieved job seekers is that they are made to do tasks, submit work products and offer ideas that the company will use.

A Big Issue That Impacts The Federal Reserve Bank’s Decisions

In a time when the United States Federal Reserve Bank is raising interest rates to combat inflation, relying upon, in part, job openings could lead to erroneous decisions being made by the Fed.

The U.S. Department of Labor releases a monthly jobs report showing how many jobs were created or lost. A lesser-known report is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The report relies upon the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data about job openings. Since we now know that there are many dubious job listings, the government is operating on flawed data. Fake jobs may make the job market look better than it really is.

This May Make You Feel Better

It’s easy to get frustrated when you keep searching and applying for jobs, but don’t get any interviews. It may be cold comfort to know that it’s not you; it’s the system. In your job search, you must scrutinize the job listing for any hints that it may not be real. If you’re called in for an interview, be assertive. Let them know you’re aware of the proliferation of phantom jobs and ask direct questions to determine if the job is real. It may be awkward. However, you’re better off asking the tough questions to ensure that after months go by, you don’t get ghosted by a phantom job.

 

Forbes.com | May 28, 202| Jack Kelly

 

#YourCareer : 5 Common Career Change Fears And How To Handle Them. Study Shows 26% Want to Change Careers Entirely. How about Yours?

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More than a quarter of Americans might make a career change in 2023, according to Globalization Partners’ 2022 Global Employee Survey. The survey revealed that while 33% of workers are likely to switch jobs within the same sector, 26% want to change careers entirely. In terms of why they want to make a switch, workers ranked better pay (34%), the opportunity to change their work schedule (34%) and professional opportunities that weren’t available when they were younger (34%) as the most common reasons.

Hating your current job might be costing you job offers

But it can be scary to make a career change. In fact, according to the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, changing to a different line of work ranks just below the death of a close friend. Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate the anxiety so it doesn’t prevent you from moving forward. Here are some of the most common career change fears and how to handle them.

Fear of failure

One of the most widespread career change fears is the fear of failure. The fear of failure often originates from a fear of experiencing shame or embarrassment. We worry so much about feeling humiliated and disappointing others that we give up on attempting to achieve our dream. The problem with fear of failure is that it can be paralyzing, causing us to do nothing.

Here is an exercise to deal with the fear of failure:

Consider all the worst-case scenarios and write them down on paper. Be specific. Then in a second column, write down what you can do to minimize the likelihood of the worst-case item happening. In a third column, decide what action you would take to get back on track if the worst case did happen. Then in a fourth column, rate how likely the worst-case scenario is on a scale of one (not likely) to 10 (highly likely). This simple exercise will help you put fear into perspective and realize that the worst-case outcome is unlikely or manageable.

 

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Article continued …

Fear of what others may think

If you’re afraid of making a career change, fear of people’s opinions may hold you back. Perhaps your father encouraged you to pursue a “secure” job in finance, and now you feel you’d let him down by becoming a professional chef. In the end, you’re the one that’s going to live with the choices you make, not others. To deal with this concern, start by cultivating authenticity and developing a strong sense of self.

Ask yourself some important questions:

  • What do I care about?
  • What do I really want?
  • What activities do I enjoy?
  • What legacy do I want to leave behind?
  • What would I pursue if I wasn’t so worried about being judged

Then focus on your purpose and intentions. Why are you thinking about changing careers in the first place? Is it because you want to make a difference in the world? Do you want a better quality of life? If you can remember your “why,” you’ll be able to stay focused and less concerned about the opinions of others.

Fear of being too old

Changing your career path may seem scary, especially if you are over 40. But it is not uncommon or impossible. The good news is that the majority of older career changers are successful, based on a study from the American Institute for Economic Research. One way to face the fear is to think about all the advantages that come with someone who has a significant amount of work experience. For example, as you progress in your career, you acquire valuable contacts and diverse hard and soft skills. You also may be more financially stable, which provides additional flexibility when planning a career change.

Fear of wasting experience

A typical career change fear is having to start from the bottom. To deal with this, recognize that you have more transferrable skills than you realize. Also, if you have a strong network, it will be easier to make the right introductions to make a smooth transition. Finally, don’t overlook your soft skills like leadership, communication and problem-solving, which are more in demand than ever. Everything you’ve done up until now has prepared you for what’s coming next.

Fear of uncertainty

There are no guarantees in life. When you make a career change, there is always some risk involved. But you can mitigate that risk in several ways if you:

  • Embrace uncertainty and look at it as a learning experience
  • Take small steps instead of giant leaps
  • Develop new skills outside your comfort zone
  • Avoid dwelling on things you can’t control
  • Seek support from a small group of people you trust

Uncertainty is all around us. But by focusing on developing a resilient mindset, you’ll be more likely to face the unknown with confidence.

The most important thing to remember is that it’s okay to be afraid. Just don’t let it interfere with your vision. Mastering fear involves learning how to recognize and change the conversation in your mind. Once you do that, there are no limits to what you can achieve.

 

Forbes.com Author:  Caroline Castrillon Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

 

Forbes.com | March 26, 2023

 

#JobSearch : LinkedIn Job Search Strategy You Should Be Using But Probably Aren’t. Great REad.

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Kaitlyn, a career counseling client, was finishing her MBA at Columbia University. She started job hunting and saw her dream job listed at Goldman Saks. She knew that positions there were super competitive. She asked,” Besides applying online, is there anything else I can do to help me get on their radar?” My answer was yes. She was surprised when I explained what I thought she should do. It involved using a unique networking technique that is highly effective and almost no one uses. When Kaitlyn exhausted her contacts, she felt her networking options were over. Not true. She overlooked an effective strategy you likely aren’t using – her college alums. Let’s review what Kaitlyn did to see how this technique works.

She went to her College’s Alumni Association to determine if they had an alum career group. Columbia did. They had one group for MBA graduates. These groups exist to help people with networking and job search. She searched the alum listings for executives at Goldman Saks with an MBA from Columbia. Kaitlyn uncovered a high-level executive. I recommended she send her a LinkedIn message that said, “I’m finishing my MBA at Columbia, and I saw you graduated from there too. I am applying for a financial analyst position at Goldman, and I wondered if you could help me and forward my resume to HR?”

 

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Article continued …

To her great astonishment, the executive she asked said yes. So Kaitlyn sent her resume, and the executive passed it on. She only spoke to the executive again to say thank you. Yet, that simple but critical referral opened the door, and as a result, Kaitlyn got hired.

Most people recognize that networking should be the cornerstone of your job search efforts, but not many people do that. Some contact a few people they know and leave it at that. Yet you open an array of possibilities and opportunities when you network. This technique works well. You most likely didn’t even consider asking for help by connecting to alums.

Jessica Hernandez, President of Great Resumes Fast, advises job hunters to seek out alums for job search help. She teaches a LinkedIn course outlining how to use this strategy on LinkedIn. She explained, “The Alumni feature is one of the most effective tools on LinkedIn, and it’s been reported that alumni are more likely to help you than any other type of connection.”

Finding alums on LinkedIn

Hernandez said to start by finding your college’s LinkedIn page. Just type the school’s name in the search bar. Once you’re on the college’s page, you’ll see a tab for Alumni. Click that tab.

This Alumni feature allows you to search for job titles, industries, and the years attended — you can broaden this range to find people who graduated close to you or ahead of you. You can also search for alums employed at a specific company where you want to work.

“I love this alumni networking feature because you can find multiple points of commonality, which is what networking is all about,” noted Hernandez. “The first connection point is that you’re alumni of the same school. Next, find alums where you live. Now, you have two common issues of connection with this person. Then identify the organization you want to work for. For example, it’s Mayo Clinic, so click Mayo Clinic. Now, you can see all the alums that work for Mayo. Next, do a deep dive search for your department, such as Operations or Accounting. You now have several things in common you can mention when you reach out to connect with that person.

Finding alums on LinkedIn

What should you say when sending the alum a LinkedIn connection request? Hernandez advises that you list one or two of your common points. She offered a few messages you could use. Remember, it’s all about pointing to something you have in common. For the example below, the commonality point is highlighted so you can quickly see how these can be woven into a message.

“Hi (name), we’re both UNF alumni and Jacksonville natives. I studied and worked in HR, too. I’d appreciate the opportunity to connect and network since we’re in the same field.”

After you’re connected, you can follow up and ask questions like:

“I aspire to work for Mayo Clinic one day. I’d love to hear what path you took to work there.”

Alums are much more likely to help you. These are the people you want in your network. They are the people who are willing to hold informational interviews with you, share their stories, and give you advice. That’s the goal of networking when you are looking for a new job.

 

Forbes.com | March 21, 2023

#JobSearch : Human Resources And Recruiters Are Getting Axed. Job Cuts this Year are the Highest Since the 2009 Financial Crisis. Thoughts?

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A year ago, a study conducted by Workvivo, an employee experience engagement app, highlighted the challenges human resources professionals had to contend with at the time. The study surveyed more than 520 HR professionals in the United States and the U.K. on burnout in the HR department. Ninety-eight percent of HR professionals self-reported that they were experiencing burnout, while 94% said they felt overwhelmed and 88% of respondents said they dreaded work.

As a result of workplace transformations, HR navigated in-office, remote and hybrid work styles. They contended with the Great Resignation, sourcing, recruiting, onboarding and retaining workers. The war for talent took its toll, as HR professionals felt undervalued and under-resourced.

Human resources professionals are, once again, experiencing stress and anxiety, but this time for a different reason. Instead of being exhausted from all the hiring, HR, talent acquisition and diversity, equity and inclusion professionals are on the chopping block. A pattern has emerged: recruiters and HR professionals are let go when companies lay off personnel and enact hiring freezes. If there isn’t hiring, there is no need for this function. Relatedly, DEI teams are more quickly dismantled in the absence of a “talent war,” according to Bloomberg.

Recruiters Getting Cut

Recruiters are the canaries in the coal mines, as they know what will happen before anyone else. When the job market is blazing hot, headhunters are the rockstars held in high regard and relied upon to secure the best talent for their corporate clients. However, in recent months, the white-collar job market has been plagued with layoffs at several companies in various sectors.

In a challenging economic environment, the demand for recruiting services slows down. Once companies start letting go of recruiters, it’s a sign that the firm will increase layoffs and enact hiring freezes.

While other areas within tech companies saw headcount reduced by 10% to 20%, companies downsized 50% of tech recruiters, according to the Wall Street Journal. This means that there are now fewer qualified headhunters actively recruiting. Protocol reported, “Tech companies that have conducted layoffs this year eliminated around half of their HR and recruiting staffers,” according to a survey from interviewing.io. A year ago, tech companies couldn’t hire enough recruiters to fill all of the open technology positions. Now, the same recruiters have become job seekers.

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Article continued …

Meta, Apple, Amazon And Twitter Let Go Of Talent Acquisition

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media giant is reducing its headcount. “Recruiting will be disproportionately affected since we’re planning to hire fewer people next year,” Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees. Around 1,500 recruiters and human resource professionals were slated for layoffs, as part of the 10,000 headcount reduction and the elimination of 5,000 open job requisitions roles.

Elon Musk took over Twitter and quickly cut 30% of its talent acquisition team. The layoffs came after the company announced that it would be pausing hiring to cut costs. Tesla, also run by Musk, laid off recruiters. The EV carmaker’s remaining employees complained about the increased workload and pressure to stay productive, Business Insider reported.

Home rental firm Airbnb eliminated 30% of its recruiting staff. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn laid off workers in its recruiting department. Recruiting software company Gem—with over $100 million in funding and a $1.2 billion valuation— sent an email to 100 employees on the recruiting team, letting them know that they’re being let go.

Contract Recruiters Discarded

Over the last number of years, tech companies aggressively hired to keep up with demand. Recruiters and HR were needed to keep the pipeline of hiring constantly moving. The situation dramatically changed when the economy was impacted by a one-two punch of runaway inflation and high interest rates that impacted the tech sector. Suddenly, hiring stopped, and the firings commenced. Many of these firms utilized contract recruiters that were not employed, but hired by third parties. It was easy to swiftly dispatch the contractors, as they didn’t have the same employment rights and protections as full-time, permanent employees.

Toward the end of last year, Apple downsized about 100 contract recruiters. Amazon commenced laying off contractor recruiters prior to its tens of thousands of corporate job cuts. Google-parent Alphabet exited external recruiters, as it slowed hiring, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As a sign of the fast-moving shift in hiring, last April, companies were advertising more than 10,000 openings for tech recruiters—twice as much as the year before. By October, the number of tech-recruiter postings plummeted to around 2,500, according to ZipRecruiter.

Recruiters, HR and DEI

With fewer new hires to recruit, cost-conscious organizations are also trimming budgets for workplace programs, including diversity, leadership training and well-being. HR and recruiting roles accounted for nearly 30% of all layoffs in tech, training provider 365 Data Science found. Postings for general HR jobs declined 23% over the past year, according to Textio, a workplace software service.

To keep up with demand over the last three years and the overall aggressive hiring across the board at tech companies, businesses hired one full-time HR employee for every 69 employees last year, compared to a historical norm of one to 100, according to workplace consultant Gartner. Outplacement agency Challenger, Gray & Christmas points out that job cuts this year are the highest since the 2009 financial crisis.

 

Forbes.com Author:  Jack Kelly  –  Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

Forbes.com | March 20, 2023

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 18K Reads. Must REad- Whether It’s The Notable Silicon Valley Bank, Meta Or Google, Your Job Isn’t Safe—It’s Time To Look After Yourself.

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The economy has become too volatile, and workers are no longer safe. The lurching back and forth from good to bad times has accelerated, causing workers to feel lost and confused. Only a year or so ago, everything seemed fine. Record inflation, high-interest rates and soaring costs are eating into everyone’s paychecks. Jobs for white-collar workers were seemingly ubiquitous, but now switching jobs is harder. The tech sector alone laid off nearly 130,00 workers in the first two and a half months of 2023.

Americans are contending with fear, uncertainty and doom. It looks like perpetual change will be the new norm for the near term. You’re not guaranteed job security even if you work at notable firms, like the once highly regarded Silicon Valley Bank, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon or Google. The reality is that this new economy is harsh, cold and unforgiving. You must take ownership of your career and create your destiny. You cannot solely rely upon the largesse of your company.

After many years of catering and pampering tech workers, tech firms are implementing cost-cutting initiatives. The change in tone is voiced by venture capitalist Keith Rabois, a general partner at Founders Fund, known for his big wins in investing in PayPal, LinkedIn and Square at early-stage investment rounds, said that the tech sector has too much “fake work” and too many people were hired as a “vanity metric” to help managers build their egos and fiefdoms.

Silicon Valley Bank Was Shut Down

On Thursday, SVB, the 16th largest bank in the United States, experienced a run on the bank, as depositors rushed to withdraw $42 billion from their accounts, leading to the largest U.S. banking failure since the financial crisis. The lender was best known for servicing the “innovative economy landscape.” According to its website, about 50% of all U.S. venture-backed technology and life-sciences companies banked with SVB.

The VC and tech depositors held accounts with millions of dollars. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the United States government entity responsible for insuring deposits, only covers up to $250,000. More than 90% of the money held at SVB was greater than the amount the FDIC would cover. Startup founders worried about how they would be able to meet payroll. If the funds were stuck in limbo, it would have likely caused large job losses, as companies wouldn’t have the assets to pay them.

Depositors who held money in SVB, Signature Bank, First Republic and other smaller or regional banks spent the weekend worried about losing their funds. It was a roller coaster ride, as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen initially said she wouldn’t bail out SVB and other similarly situated banks. Strong protests were made by venture David Sacks and others, asserting that it wasn’t fair for customers to be wiped out of millions of dollars, due to bad decisions made by the leadership at SVB. Ultimately, Yellen, the Federal Reserve Bank and others in the Biden administration ensured that depositors would be made whole again and would have access to their money on Monday.

 

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Article continued …

Lessons Learned From The Near Disaster

One of the lessons learned from the pendulum swinging to extremes is that you cannot be complacent and must always be vigilant about your job and career. The days of the Great Resignation, quiet quitting and acting your wage are behind us. There’s no room for Bare Minimum Monday and Try-Less Tuesday. The new normal is more akin to FUD—fear, uncertainty and doom.

It sounds dramatic, but it’s meant to be a new reality check. If you have a job, hold on tightly and make yourself irreplaceable. At the same time, you need to cushion your career by creating an action plan to prepare for if things take a terrible turn at your current company. The onslaught of layoffs, hiring freezes and job offers rescinded calls for action, instead of waiting for the ax to fall. Keep looking for new opportunities. Update your résumé. Stay in touch with recruiters. Seek help and advice from mentors, sponsors, career coaches and trusted friends and family. Continue learning new skills as the economy constantly changes and evolves, so you won’t get left behind. If you haven’t started, build a network of like-minded people. These will be the ones to turn to for job leads and introductions to new opportunities. If you have the time and inclination, find ways to have multiple income streams in addition to your job.

Think of what happened over the last three-plus years. We staggered from the depths of despair, slowly digging our way out of a global pandemic. For a time, the U.S. economy experienced a period of exuberance. After millions of layoffs during the early dark days of the pandemic, the U.S. economy experienced a job boom with record-low levels of unemployment. Now, Americans are facing tough times again

Layoffs And Stress

Finding a white-collar job will be more challenging now. Blue-collar and frontline jobs are seeing more growth. However, there is a white-collar recession happening, as thousands of tech, Wall Street, real estate, media and other interest-rate sensitive sectors collectively laid off hundreds of thousands of college-educated office workers.

According to data from LinkedIn’s State of the Labor Market, the market for these professionals is slowing down. The report conducted by the professional social network shows hiring on LinkedIn dropped by 23% year-over-year in the U.S. in January.

The data shows that the number of posts by members mentioning the words “layoff” or “retrenchment” on LinkedIn soared. Posts referencing “open to work” increased by almost 20%. These indicators reflect that the labor market is cooling, beyond the ongoing layoff announcements from industries that saw massive overhiring during the pandemic

Job seekers no longer have the luxury of picking and choosing from a large array of opportunities. If you switch roles, you may be the last person hired and first one fired when things take a turn for the worse. As a result, people are working harder and longer hours, especially since inflation and higher interest rates have increased the costs of everything. Losing a job can become a financial hardship.

Many Americans are financially squeezed, sandwiched between caring for their children and young adults, while also providing for their aging parents. As life expectancy continues to rise and many young adults grapple with financial autonomy, 23% of adults in the U.S. are now part of what is being called the “sandwich generation,” according to a Pew Research Center survey. The sandwich generation consists of adults with a parent 65 years or older, who are raising a minor or providing for an adult child.

Working Weekends

According to a report by ActivTrak, a workplace software company, people are working more hours over the weekend. In the beleaguered tech sector, reeling from an unrelenting stream of layoff announcements, the amount of time put in on Saturdays and Sundays soared by 31%. Job cuts have also impacted media company employees, and the study shows that they’ve put in 53% extra hours on average on weekends.

According to the study, the additional hours spent working are primarily due to the layoffs, which result in the remaining workers having to take on the workload of those who were let go.

The American Psychological Association says that a stressful workplace leads to a multitude of health problems, including headaches, stomachaches, trouble sleeping, losing your temper and lashing out and trouble concentrating. Unrelenting stress can also cause anxiety, insomnia and high blood pressure, weakening your immune system. When you’re burned out, there’s a risk of depression, obesity and heart disease. People in this situation sometimes turn to drugs and alcohol, which worsens the situation.

Here’s What You’re Dealing With

A new policy will make it harder for Googlers to advance within the organization. Google informed its employees that fewer people would be offered promotions to senior levels this year compared to the prior years “to ensure that the number of Googlers in more senior and leadership roles grows in proportion to the growth of the company.”

With fewer promotions available, the tech company is actually pitting people against each other. If they don’t aggressively exceed their manager’s expectations, there may not be a path forward within the company. The new program is another blow to workers shortly after the search giant coldly laid off 12,000 people via email.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed out the proliferation of managers within his company, claiming it creates unnecessary bloat and spiraling costs. According to reporting by the Verge, Meta is making 2023 the “year of efficiency.”

Zuckerberg called out the inefficiencies within the large social media platform, which is also happening at other large tech companies, stating, “I don’t think you want a management structure that’s just managers managing managers, managing managers, managing managers, managing the people who are doing the work.”

Under the cloak of the Silicon Valley implosion, Zuckerberg is reportedly conducting a second round of layoffs that could match the breadth of last year’s job cuts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Every time a company, including his own, announces large-scale layoffs, the company’s stock price jumps higher.

Forbes.com Author:  Jack Kelly       Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Forbes.com | March 15, 2023

 

#JobSearch : How To Find A Job Looking In All The “Wrong” Places. The Old Ways is the Best Ways of Securing a Job in Today’s Market.

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Over the past few months I’ve vocalized my thoughts on the current state of the job market and predicted what will happen next. I’ve discussed the trends— the tech layoffs, the flood of job applicants, the growing competition for remote work—and I’ve given job seekers strategies to take control of their careers despite today’s zeitgeist of overwhelming uncertainty.

It probably comes as no surprise that most of these strategies involve leveraging tools that help you stand out in today’s digital job market. After all, even older generations know a successful job hunt relies on mastering the newest technology.

An article published by AARP writes “Newspaper ads for openings have been replaced with online listings,and a computer is more likely to conduct the initial scan of your resume than a human being.”

 

Did I mention that article was published in 2008? Read that sentence with no context and it could very well pass as the broad opening to an article published this morning… But no, it’s been 15 years since newspapers stopped being the go-to for job listings. During that time, we’ve adopted other helpful gadgets like LinkedIn and Fiverr as well. Emails replaced letters and phone calls and referred job candidates to applications posted on company websites.

As technology took over the workforce, the places we once networked became desolate. To get a job in the modern workforce, a candidate must stand out in a pool of a thousand other digital profiles —and the survival of Darwin’s fittest is determined by LinkedIn hashtags and algorithms.

But old methods of job-hunting, though no longer popular, still exist. It’s because they are unpopular that they may very well be someone’s best shot at securing a job in today’s market. Instead of hitting you with a tech-savvy tip that will bring your LinkedIn profile to the top of employers’ feeds, I’m dishing out some old advice. This is the advice your parents heard from their parents, who likely heard something similar from their parents. It’s the advice that has been recited again and again, spit out and recycled, in one ear and out the other, passed along from generation to generation.

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

I’ve edited some of these vintage job hunting tips slightly so they still apply to today, but for the most part, they’re the same as they were decades ago. They’re also great ideas to try out when your digital job hunt leaves you stuck.

Pick up the phone.

For many millennials and Gen Zers, few things are less unpleasant than calling someone on the phone. Not only is phone phobia a real thing, there are actually people out there who charge as much as $480 dollars an hour to help people overcome it.

This presents a significant opportunity for other job seekers, especially those from younger generations. Curious about what job opportunities are available at a company you’re interested in? Pick up the phone and call. There’s a good chance the first person who answers won’t have most of the information you’re looking for. Ask if there’s a hiring manager you can speak to or someone with more information who can give you a call back.

Even if you speak to someone who refers you back to information posted on the company’s website, you never know what conversations are happening back in their office. Going out of your way to call the company and inquire about positions shows them you have serious interest, and there’s a good chance your name will be mentioned around the office.

Visit the library.

With access to online PDFs and digital libraries, visiting the actual library has sadly become somewhat of a pastime. People don’t realize that some of the best things about the library have nothing to do with books—many libraries offer career services ranging from tips on looking for jobs to reviewing your resume and helping you prepare for an interview.

These resources are great for anyone to take advantage of, especially those who have been out of the job hunt for a little while. Handing in a resume that is not only updated with your relevant work experience, but also fits “with the times” can make all the difference when it comes to getting a response. Plus, with ATS tracking softwares filing through most resumes these days, experts from your local library will probably have a few tips to help yours stand out from the pile.

Spend time in third places.

Gyms, community centers, coffeeshops, local restaurants, places of worship —these are all third places, or places outside the office that are vital to the community. Often, third places are where friends gather and information is disseminated. Leave your office and take your laptop to a coffee shop or rock climbing gym instead.

Keep your eyes open for bulletin boards and flyers highlighting any help wanted signs. Start conversations with baristas and gym rats and see where they lead. A friendly encounter may just lead to your next interview.

Attend networking events.

Love it or hate it, networking is here to stay. After all, you cannot beat the power of human connection! Before LinkedIn allowed us to skip the awkward small talk and “connect” seamlessly, developing a strong professional network relied heavily on networking events and conferences. Don’t let the number of LinkedIn connections fool you – connections made through social media platforms are rarely as impactful as those developed in person. Do a deep dive on some of the professional groups in your industry and create a list of networking events to attend.

Show up in person and dress the part.

Job interviews and professional networking events are not first dates: showing up overdressed won’t make the situation awkward. In fact, it’s better to be overdressed than underdressed. When in doubt, wear a tie and fish through your closet for a pair of dress shoes.

Check the newspaper.

Despite what AARP said in 2008, companies still post job ads in newspapers. If you can’t find any in print, meet the employer halfway between an old-school tactic and tech-savvy maneuver– check what jobs newspapers have listed on their website.

 

Forbes.com Author:  Ashley Stahl

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website. 

 

Forbes.com | March 14, 2023

 

#JobSearch : One LinkedIn Trick That Enables Recruiters To Find You. Here’s How to Set up #Opentowork Tag, so Only Recruiters See it.

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People were skeptical when LinkedIn added the #OpenToWork feature a few years ago. Many job hunters worried that this tag surrounding their profile gave off an “I’m desperate” vibe. At that time, recruiters said it had no effect on them and that they ignored it. Fast forward to now. Things have changed a great deal because of the labor shortage. As we start seeing more layoffs and many people quietly job hunting, more people have been using this tag. But is there a better way to get recruiters’ attention without telling the universe you are job hunting?

Theresa Chow, Senior Recruiting Manager for Clark Nuber, shared her insight. “The #OpenToWork tag on a candidate’s photo doesn’t impact me. However, candidates seem unaware they can use that tag so only recruiters see it. Marking their profile as ‘Open to Work for recruiters’ makes it a searchable item for recruiters. I consider those candidates first as they are looking to leave versus those that are passive candidates. Usually, I start my search with the skillset and get hundreds of names. I can sort those so I see #OpenToWork candidates and contact them first. Only once I get through those individuals do I look at the passive candidates,” she says.

Another Senior HR recruiter said, “I like the tag because there is a higher chance that an individual might actually write us back! In today’s marketplace, we get ignored—a lot.”

Matthew Warzel, president of MJW Careers, noted that whether or not to use this feature is a personal decision involving your comfort level with publicly declaring that you are looking for a new job. Some job seekers may prefer to keep their job search private.

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

LinkedIn has reported that members who have added the “open to work” tag to their profiles are more likely to receive relevant job recommendations and more messages from recruiters. However, there is no guarantee that using this feature will lead to more interest. Numerous other search techniques, such as networking, should always be a part of any candidate’s strategy.

I had not been recommending using the #OpenToWork tag with my career counseling clients. But considering several recent conversations with HR people who explained that their talent search has changed due to this tight labor market, I now recommend that people use the Open To Work tag but make it only visible to recruiters. After all, those are the people whose attention you are trying to get.

Here’s how to set up #opentowork tag, so only recruiters see it. In the LinkedIn Recruiter help section they explain precisely how to use this feature to share with Recruiter privately they are job hunting. Only recruiters who aren’t affiliated with your current or related companies can view this tag.

To activate this feature, follow these steps on your Profile page.

Below your picture and headline, you’ll see the blue button “Open to.” Click on it and select “Finding a new job.”

Complete all the information requested. Note titles, locations, type of work—remote, in-person, hybrid.

Select Onsite location—identify where you live (select the city name if you are in a suburb).

In the Remote section, you can pick five locations to appear in searches. This makes locations a searchable item for recruiters so everyone should use it.

Select Immediately for the start date.

Select the Type of Work you desire—full-time, contract, etc.

On the bottom tab is a drop-down menu. Check the Recruiters only tab and they will be the only people who see the tag. (If you wish to make your search public, so anyone on LinkedIn can see this tag with its green label around your profile picture, click that option.)

Hit save.

 

Forbes.com Author: Robin Ryan  Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

 

Forbes.com | March 8, 2023