4 hacks to stand out in the tough new COVID-19 job market
By Kangli Hu
If COVID-19 isn’t enough of a punch to the guts of the economy, unfortunately it ramps up the difficulty for jobseekers as well. With more and more people losing their jobs, a greater number of talented folks are competing with you for the same jobs.
It’s a classic case of simple demand and supply. There’s a greater supply of talented jobseekers (you), and a smaller demand for them (as companies can’t afford as much). And, according to those classic economic laws:
Supply increases => price decreases
Demand decreases => price decreases
Unfortunately, that means ‘price’ (your salary) is decreasing twice!
So what does it all mean? Well, beforehand, you could skate by and command a high salary based on your skills alone, but in a COVID-19 competitive jobseeking environment, you have to counteract these forces by standing out. Here are four ways to elevate yourself above your competition:
1 .Leverage niche skills, or learn new ones
The number one way you can stay relevant during a tough job market is to possess a skill that other people in your field don’t have.
Let’s say you’re a marketer with management consultancy experience. This is a (genuinely exceptional) competency that other people in marketing usually won’t have — which translates to a competitive advantage for you. Or suppose you want to become a Department Manager for the first time, and you’ve got prior experience as an entrepreneur running a side business. This is another strong skill that your competitors may not have, which makes you the stronger candidate.
In order to leverage skills into a competitive advantage, however, you don’t need to learn a completely new industry, nor do you need to torture your brains creating a profitable new business within three months. Instead, the best way is to focus on niche skills — smaller specific abilities, within your industry, that most people don’t possess.
Maybe you’re a Human Resources Coordinator looking for a job. Maybe it used to be that Human Resources was a ‘people-based’ industry, where a bubbly personality and a bright smile could solve most problems.
Now, however, with the rise of data analytics, you can create a genuine competitive advantage over your fellow candidates by proving you’re good at creating, collating, and presenting data to corporate decision-makers. By focussing on this niche skill that other people don’t have, you just might find yourself with a new job despite the COVID-19 job market.
2. Record yourself for virtual interviews
With most businesses still maintaining work-from-home practices, it’s likely your interview will be virtual. While you may quiver at the knees at the thought of conducting an interview online, this is actually an amazing opportunity.
The thing is, other jobseekers also aren’t used to conducting virtual interviews either — which means, if you prepare and improve, you can differentiate yourself once again from the pack.
The right way to prepare for a virtual interview starts from the basics. Universal interview etiquette is still important, such as dressing well and making sure you’re present on time, while there are also virtual-interview-specific needs, such as making sure the room is quiet so you won’t be disturbed for that block of interview time. (This can be tricky if you have kids at home!)
Most importantly, if you’ve never done a virtual interview before, it’s essential to practise. Run through each difficult question (like ‘What are your greatest weaknesses?’ and ‘Can you tell me about a time you failed?’) several times so you’re confident.
Online interviews also exhibit unique challenges. Make sure you test your computer for volume, connection, microphone, video camera, and any other necessary technology. Another underrated challenge of the virtual interview is how it can be extremely easy to forget to make eye contact.
For a virtual interview, you have to pretty much make excessive eye contact with one spot on your screen during the whole interview. This can feel awkward, not least because it feels like you’re breaking social norms by staring too much at the other person, but it’s important to remember that (with your head taking up almost the whole screen) everything you do with your eyes will be magnified.
Ultimately, you can make the virtual interview process feel a lot easier and more natural by recording yourself to see how you look on video. Yes, seeing yourself on camera is one of life’s greatest torments, but if you land your dream job because of all this preparation, are you really still going to complain?
3. Elevate your LinkedIn presence
In a time where 77 per cent of recruiters are using LinkedIn, and during a pandemic where everyone is stuck at home, your LinkedIn profile has never been more important.
These days, recruiters don’t just look at your resume, cover letter and interview: they thoroughly examine your social media presence as well. Lose the Facebook posts about winning a Multi Bet and start posting about that company award you won, even if it feels cheesy.
For professionals, though, the most important form of social media is still LinkedIn.
A strong LinkedIn profile translates to excellent personal branding, and authentically telling people your story over social media helps build trust with the real you. Plus, one of the best things about having an engaging LinkedIn is that it suggests you’re confident with technology.
There’s a lot of things to think about for LinkedIn, but don’t forget your Headline and Background Image. Most people don’t bother with these, so they can really separate your online presence compared to an equally skilled but less tech-savvy competitor.
Mastering these little tips for LinkedIn can be tricky. If you’re stuck, Executive Agents offers a unique LinkedIn service where we customise an online strategy for your career and your industry, and we overhaul your LinkedIn to a sleeker, professional profile.
Plus, LinkedIn isn’t just good because it boosts your application. It can also help you connect with recruiters directly. Email may feel a little cold, and cold calling straight up can be intrusive. But a LinkedIn request accompanied by a polite, complimentary message to a recruiter is much more likely to help you on the next stepping-stone in your career.
4. Use a professional resume writing service
In the past, if you were the best candidate in the pool, you could write your own resume and get away with it. But — with COVID-19 creating more competition in the job market — now you’re competing against other people who are just as talented and experienced as you are.
What’s the most obvious way to create an advantage? Your resume. That’s why resume writing services have never been more relevant, offering an immediate and oftentimes drastic improvement to your value as a candidate.
Professional writing services hold a few unique advantages over the old do-it-yourself method.
A professional resume team has seen hundreds (if not thousands) of resumes. No matter how many resume writing advice articles you’ve read, how much do you really know about your fellow jobseekers? At Executive Agents, we’re experts at identifying your value, especially at the C-suite level. It can be hard to know where you’re better than everyone else if you don’t even know what they’re doing!
In a professional resume, there’s an enormous amount of ‘hidden work’ that a self-written resume usually skips over. About 75 per cent of resumes aren’t getting past ATS software — luckily, we optimise your resume to make sure it gets through for you. We also provide a bespoke, eye-catching design to make your resume look instantly more attractive.
No matter what happens, it’s clear that the economic market will undergo a sizeable shift. If you find yourself in between jobs, here at Executive Agents we’re passionate about helping and guiding you in your job search. Contact us for a free 15-minute consultation today.
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