It’s no secret that job searching is a difficult process, no matter how much experience you have. Whether you’ve been in the workforce for 30 years or recently graduated college, navigating the job market is something you need to learn to succeed. Physically walking into a business was once the only way to find and apply for jobs, but this practice has now been replaced with a plethora of tools and services online that you can experiment with. Even with these tools, it’s still hard to know exactly what an employer is looking for in an employee. Use these job market trends of 2019 to your advantage this year and land the job you’ve been looking for.
Low Unemployment Increases Your Value
With the unemployment rates in the United States at their lowest in decades, many employers are beginning to take a second look at potential prospects. The advancements in technology have also led to the creation of more jobs than some companies know what to do with. These two factors, in addition to a growing retirement rate, leaves these companies with many seats to fill. While this doesn’t mean that they’ll hire just anyone to fill the spots, it does bode well for those with limited professional experience.
This development makes companies more willing to offer training for entry-level employees, especially those just out of college and entering the workforce. Training offered by employers means it’s not as important for a potential employee to have all the experience and knowledge they’ll need for the position. Instead, employers will look for individuals who are open to learning the craft and have enough background knowledge to understand the basics.
This need to fill positions is also why we see an increase in job-hopping. The strategy of staying in a position for one to two years before quitting and moving to another is often used to earn new titles and negotiate higher wages. This method is also good for diversifying an individual’s resume in a shorter amount of time, which can open additional opportunities.
Work-Life Balance is More Important
Since companies are looking to fill more roles, they’re beginning to take notice of what will attract potential employees. Benefits, like the ability to earn paid time off, make companies more attractive to employees, and will most likely increase their retention rate. These perks also make an employee less likely to seek out other opportunities because they’ll feel comfortable and valued.
Along with this job market trend comes an increased interest in working remotely. Individuals who have enough experience in their field tend to look into freelancing their work, or even starting their own businesses, to maintain control of their work-life balance. This has also contributed to companies taking a greater interest in their employees. As more people aim to work for themselves, companies are making themselves look more attractive to potential employees by adding more benefits.
Large Emphasis on Data in Jobs
As technology begins to play a bigger role in how we do our jobs, we find that even the smallest businesses are driven by data recording and analysis. Data science creates ample opportunities for companies to collect large amounts of feedback about their products and analyze how to do better business based on their data. Using this method of critiquing their business naturally generates a need for jobs and can lead to the development of entire departments based on this science.
While some companies, if big enough, can develop these departments, smaller businesses are simply incorporating data analytics into jobs that already exist. Further opening more opportunities for entry-level training and increasing the need for receptive individuals.
Employers are More Aggressively Searching
Another way that jobs are being discovered is through more aggressive tactics by employers. Job networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, allow employers to see what your interests and fields of expertise are. These online platforms also allow them to view your credentials before you even know they’re interested in you. If they think you may be a good fit, they’ll take the initiative to contact you to let you know that they have a position available. In the past, they would often wait for you to find them, but the growing job market has employers and hiring managers trying to get a jump on the competition.
Dubbed as “sourcing,” this process of searching for potential candidates is being adopted by an increasing number of industries as more jobs become available. When they find what they think will be a good fit, they generally reach out to you to gage your level of interest in the position. The ways they can contact you if they can access that information varies—from sending you a message on the networking site to emailing or calling you.
The Use of AI is Growing in Recruitment
Not only are recruiters checking out your social media accounts when you apply for a job, but they’re probably using artificial intelligence technology to do it. They can weed out all the candidates that don’t automatically meet their requirements with this technology. As companies grow, and the need to hire more hands increases, it becomes difficult for them to keep up with all the applications they receive. AI allows them to shorten the screening process by filtering out individuals based on their lack of desired qualities.
While this technology is useful for employers, it presents a potential problem for those applying for the job. If the AI filters out every candidate that isn’t a complete match, that means even those who lack one of the criteria are excluded as well. This is important to remember, as being filtered out shouldn’t discourage you from continuing to apply. Your networking profiles on LinkedIn and Indeed can also make recruiters and hiring managers notice of you anyway. Since companies are training their workers now more than ever, simply lacking one point of experience could be negotiable.
People Use New Methods to Search for Jobs
Smartphones and tablets give us more access to the internet than we often know what to do with, and many individuals job hunting often use these technologies to search for jobs. People can continue their search wherever they are due to the portable nature of these devices. Smartphone apps also feature functions that save your searches so that you can return to them later, and there are also features available that will automatically compare your experience to the requirements of an open position.
Based on the app’s algorithms, even jobs you haven’t searched yet could be recommended to you based on the similarity to the information on your profile page. This process also allows you to apply on the go and makes pursuing your dream job as simple as a few taps on a screen.
If you need help navigating this new and complex search environment, don’t be afraid to reach out to a recruiter at Burnett’s Staffing. Our Dallas staffing agency specializes in keeping up with these ever-changing trends and making sure you go into the application process feeling confident.
