Inside Recruiting and Hiring
When searching for a new job, understanding how companies are recruiting and hiring their employees can give you a leg up on the competition.
Once you understand how the job search process works, you can better tailor your strategies to land new opportunities.
Even if you aren’t actively searching for a new job at the moment, there are things you can do to better your chances once that time comes. Actions like updating your resume with all recent projects and achievements, or cleaning up your professional social media sites, can enhance your personal brand while also keeping your personal marketing materials sharp.
Think of your resume, online profiles and even your professional network as critical tools in your career advancement. The more you update your materials and nurture your relationships, the better positioned you’ll be to improve your career.
Check out these statistics from the professional networking platform LinkedIn to get a better lay of the land when it comes to the job search market.
• 70% of the global workforce is made up of passive talent who aren’t actively job searching, and the remaining 30% are active job seekers.
• The #1 reason people change jobs is career opportunity.
• The top channels people use to look for new jobs are online job boards (60%), social professional networks (56%), and word of mouth (50%).
• The most important factors in accepting a new job are compensation (49%), professional development (33%), and better work/life balance (29%).
Companies Love Referrals
Can you find success by simply posting your resume to job boards or by applying for roles of interest? Sure. Will your chances of landing a job be substantially increased if you are referred to the opportunity by someone connected to the hiring manager or recruiter? Absolutely.
Here are a few more statistics from LinkedIn’s recent report that show the power of referrals:
• Companies can expand their talent pool by 10x by recruiting through their employees’ networks.
• 35% of employees refer to help their friends. 32% do it to help their company. 26% do it to be seen as a valuable colleague. Only 6% do it for money and recognition.
These statistics should show you that companies value personal referrals from their networks. Here are a couple of easy ways to keep your professional relationships strong as you grow in your career.
Make networking a planned daily routine
When networking feels forced or like a burden, you’re not going to want to do it. But when it feels more like a natural part of your day, you’ll easily strengthen the relationships you’ve worked so hard to build. Consistently join more professional online groups and interact with your colleagues’ posts on social media. This is a great way to stay top of mind with your peers in the industry.
Get out there
If you are interested in a publishing career, attend various book conventions. Many events are starting to come back up as we work through the COVID-19 pandemic, so keep an eye out for local opportunities to advance your network and meet new people. You can also volunteer at industry events, whether in-person or virtually. Using your skillset to help improve an event can make a big impact on key industry connections.
No matter what you do to improve your career opportunities, it’s important to do something. Remember that your competition is likely scratching and clawing for every promotion that’s available to them. Stay focused, consistent and hungry, and you’ll find success.