It is difficult to quantify quite how much of an impact the past twelve months have had on the job market. We are all aware, whether by first-hand experience or simply word of mouth, that the job market has experienced an unprecedented surge of job hunters, in conjunction with a momentous dip in terms of job availability.
In essence, for those seeking employment – at any level – over the course of the past twelve months, the general experience has been one of profound frustration and anxiety, as seemingly every job posting is met with hundreds of applicants seeking to grab the employer’s attention, and stand out from the crowd.
Never before has something like this occurred on such a widespread level, and between so many diverse industries – many of which were thriving just a year or so ago.
Still, hope is on the horizon, with massive strides forward occurring around the world as we speak, and a new normal moving in to replace the turbulent and trying events of 2020. With that, we can feel confident that new opportunities will begin to open up, and that the job market will begin to resemble something with which we are all much more familiar.
Still, with periods of unrest comes the remarkable propensity for change and renewal. So, will the job market simply return to the old ways, or will prospective employers and prospective employees alike use this as an opportunity to reinvent the entire system, and bring it into the twenty-first century? Read more below.
The Resume Embraces the Digital Age
In spite of the massive strides forward technology has made over the past decade or two, much of the job hunting process has remained the same. While we can now type up our resumes on our laptops and email them out to potential employers, the process still largely resembles what we were doing on library PCs and copy machines just a forty years ago. We are still faced with the difficult task of condensing our life’s achievements into a bland and sterile document.
Now, however, more and more people are choosing to embrace the digital resume. A prospective employee can now utilise website builders in order to design and publish a unique online resume website that details their personal achievements, work, and, most importantly, who they are, rather than what they have done.
This allows for a far more personable approach to the concept of personal branding – one that promises a far greater impact than the traditional, A4 resume.
Some Signs Point to the Weekend Job Interview Becoming the Norm
At first, the notion of attending job interviews over the weekend may seem distasteful – and potentially enough to keep you plodding away in your current position for the foreseeable future. But, when you look at the positives for candidates entering into job interviews for weekends, it begins to become clear that moving these events out of the 9-5 workweek could be just what we need.
For one thing, accessibility has long since been an issue for many people in the world of work – even beyond the recruitment process, the collective shift toward emphasising flexible working policies over and above the traditional 9-5, five day a week workweek has grown immensely. What was once a standard across many industries – and particularly within the corporate world – has begun to show its cracks, even before the events of 2020 through a spanner into work life as we knew it.
Thus, as a result of the shift toward more flexible workplaces, those seeking entry into the world of work are also embracing a more malleable approach to interviews.
Of course, the shift toward remote interviews, held over Skype and Zoom, has no doubt expedited this evolution. No longer is there a physical divide between the office and the home – whether we are on the recruitment side of the coin, or coming to the process as a hopeful candidate – and that means that logging into that virtual workspace and entering into an interview on a Saturday afternoon feels a lot more natural than it would have in 2019.
While both these examples may seem totally separate, they both indicate an ever increasing emphasis on the digital sphere, and the unique opportunities it offers for those looking to distance themselves from the more traditional approach to recruitment and job hunting.
Already, the overwhelming majority of us begin our job searches online, and it stands to reason that the rest of the process should inevitably follow. Online, we can mould the world to fit with our requirements – whether that is for building a personal brand, or conducting interviews at a time that genuinely suits both participants. We can expect plenty of change in this arena going forward.
