Five Steps to Prepare for Your 2021 Job Search
I know many people are going to be embarking on a job search in 2021. How do I know that? Well, as we all know, 2020 was a tough year in a lot of ways, but especially for career growth. There aren’t a lot of industries that benefited from the toll the pandemic took, except for maybe video conferencing.
Many people were laid off or furloughed and those who weren’t remained fairly stagnant in their roles. Those who were planning a career change in 2020 likely put that plan on hold until the economy improved.
All that being said, I know there are going to be a lot of people starting their job search, some for the first time in years or even decades. I wanted to put together a helpful blog post with some tips to help you prepare… because the best kind of job search is a short one!
Update Your Resume
This is the obvious first step, but I know it’s one that causes a lot of people dread. I get it. Working on your resume is not exactly a fun way to spend your free time, but it is so important. A lot has changed since the last time you looked at your resume, and I’m not just talking about your employment history and skills. I’m talking about resume best practices, too!
Your resume needs to be brought to current standards before you submit it to a single potential employer. I wrote this blog post about preparing your resume for a job search and it includes four easy tips to update and modernize your resume so it’s super competitive. This year, there are likely going to be more applicants for every position so you need to make sure your resume does a great job of selling your expertise and value.
Hire a Career Coach or Join a Group Coaching Program
This isn’t something I would normally recommend for every single person embarking on a job search, but this year is going to be different. If you are a mid to senior-level career professional, you absolutely need a career coach to help you prepare for the job search process so you can really showcase your value and get the offer you deserve.
This year is going to be a tough one when it comes to negotiating a fair salary because so many businesses are still in a “budget conscious” mindset. But you know what you’re worth and you need to know how to politely fight for it. If your resume is done well and you have the talking points that really show your value, it makes the process that much easier. A coach or group coaching program (like my Thrive Career Coaching Accelerator program) can do that for you.
Tap into the Hidden Job Market
Have you ever heard of the hidden job market? There are usually a whole bunch of jobs that are available but not listed on the regular job boards like Indeed or Monster. You typically find out about these jobs through networking or through a job recruiter. One of the easiest ways to tap into the hidden job market is to make sure your network knows you’re seeking a new employment opportunity.
If you don’t already utilize LinkedIn, you need to start ASAP. Make sure you’re connecting with people in your industry, former colleagues, classmates, and local networking groups. Once you’ve built up your connections and updated your profile to include your most recent roles and skills, make a post to let everyone know that you’re looking for employment and specifically what role you’re looking to land and ask people to send you job listings that might be of interest.
If you have a specific company and role in mind, reach out to the hiring team and ask about their hiring process. Even if they’re not hiring at the moment, you’ve made a connection that shows you’re proactive and eager, which are excellent traits in a potential hire!
Educate Yourself
I’m not talking about going back to school (unless that’s something you want to do, then by all means). I’m talking about getting in the know of what people in your industry (or desired industry) are talking and thinking about.
There’s nothing more impressive to a hiring manager than someone who shows up to an interview fully informed of everything that’s currently happening in the industry. Someone with ideas that are not just relevant, but cutting-edge.
What conferences are the people who are one level above you attending? There’s a good chance you can stream the keynotes from those conferences. Are you following thought leaders in your industry on social media? Are you listening to podcasts? You should be immersing yourself in everything you can get your hands on so you can show up to your interview (and your new role) with all kinds of amazing ideas and talking points that will really show people how dedicated you are to the success of the company.
Manage Your Expectations
I am a big believer in mindset and I believe that you have to put confidence out into the world. I don’t say that I “hope” something will happen. I say that it WILL happen. However, in 2021, I do think we all need to manage our expectations a little bit.
The last thing I want you to do is abruptly quit your salaried position because you believe that something better is out there. These are unprecedented times (are you sick of hearing that phrase yet?) and we need to approach things a little differently than we normally would.
I like to tell people that it’s totally reasonable to expect to land a new career within 3 to 9 months, but this year, there’s a chance it could take longer than that. Don’t lose confidence in yourself or your skills. There are so many factors at play, and most of them have absolutely nothing to do with how qualified you are for a given role. So, keep your head up, keep your resume updated, and keep knocking on doors. Eventually, it will happen for you!