Job search during the crisis has its own characteristics, because the labor market has changed. Many companies are forced to cut their staff, which means that many specialists enter the market. And if during optimization, as a rule, weak employees are fired, then with the complete liquidation of the enterprise, the entire staff is dismissed. In other words, a huge number of highly qualified and qualified specialists enter the labor market. And this high competition must be taken into account when looking for a job.
So, what should you pay attention to and how to act if you decide to look for a job in a crisis?
- Do not make sudden movements. If you are still at your current place of work, but have already decided to look for new career opportunities, let the search move in parallel with your activity.
Now the labor market is on the side of the employer, not the candidate. This means that the employer selects candidates more carefully and sometimes even sorts out candidates. The process of finding a job and recruiting personnel is delayed. Therefore, it is difficult to predict how quickly a new job will be found. Hence the conclusion – we are driving quieter, we will continue. Do the work also with high quality, but gradually, in your free time, study vacancies on employment sites, respond to interesting vacancies. Feel the market to understand the current situation.
- Analyze your experience and do a career SWOT analysis. This will be your writing assignment. Draw a piece of paper into 4 parts and describe in detail:
- all the skills and competencies that you possess. Think about the undeniable advantage you have over other candidates. What is in you and what other specialists may not have? Be sure to write it down here;
- what opportunities are given to you by the so-called advantages that you described above. What projects and companies are coming off in front of you due to the existing skills and experience, what positions can you apply for? Describe everything in detail;
- what is missing and what is the development zone? To correctly identify this block, I recommend studying the labor market and analyzing open target vacancies. What are the requirements for candidates, what functional duties does the employer plan to assign to specialists of your level and qualifications? Everything that you do not yet possess and that is not yet in experience and qualifications should be written here;
- what risks can the lack of this or that experience and competence entail? What is becoming unattainable in search – which companies, vacancies will it be extremely difficult to get? Describe here.
This point is important to understand two things – strengths to focus on and weaknesses to develop.
- Based on the SWOT analysis, determine for yourself the target positions and companies – the combination that will be the most profitable and selling for you. Focus on it in your search.
- Go to networking and connect all contacts from your address book. The rule of five handshakes works very effectively, and each call can lead you to very interesting career options and challenges. The main thing here is to correctly formulate a short message that you will address to your acquaintances: what position you are considering in the search, which companies are focused on (sphere, scale, specificity) and what do you have for this.
You should start with a closer circle of people – those with whom you interact every week and who are most likely aware of your intentions. After that, go to those contacts with which you are familiar in real life, but rarely see each other. For example, former colleagues or classmates. And after that – go to contacts from social networks. Even if you are only virtual friends, do not hesitate to ask to recommend you.
As you can imagine, all this work can be done confidentially, without prejudice to the current location.
- Get active on LinkedIn. This social network is perfect for finding a job. Fill out your profile carefully, add target contacts – recruiters, HR managers, HR directors – and start communicating with them on the same principle as with your friends. Here you can write expert posts, share cases and work moments. In short, it is important to be visible. This significantly increases the chances of getting an interesting job.
Now let’s consider what to do if you were laid off or you lost your job for another reason.
- Go through the algorithm described above, but only more actively and completely openly. So, for example, you can write in the headline on LinkedIn that you are open to new offers and indicate the position you are targeting.
- Place posts on social networks that you are in search, ask friends to share the publication. Here it is important to prepare a high-quality text so that it is clear what your request to the labor market is.
- Do not exclude partial work. Returning to what we talked about at the very beginning – you cannot know in advance how long you will be looking for a job. Finding a job is also a job that takes time and energy. And if the thoughts in my head are filled with the need to earn money, then the focus of attention immediately shifts towards finances, and not search and self-positioning. Therefore, assess the situation, and if you need to connect additional income, think about what it can be. Sometimes what we do in the state, we can easily transform into a freelance format. For example, writing articles, recruiting personnel, doing primary accounting can be done remotely and on a project basis.
- Accept the fact that you may have to give up the career ladder and agree to a position below. There was a case in my practice when a CFO was looking for a job for several months. And when he realized that the financial cushion was coming to an end, he agreed to the position of chief accountant. After a while, of course, he will take the position that he held earlier. But at least during the crisis, he will be with work.
Guided by such an algorithm, you will approach your search for a new job in a more balanced and conscious manner, which means that there will be an order of magnitude less pitfalls on the way.
Success in your career and easy search for new career opportunities!