Prepare to meet job competition
BE RESPECTFUL TOWARDS OTHERS, LOOK PEOPLE IN THE EYE, GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO ENGAGE PEOPLE PERSONALLY, DEVELOP YOUR WORK NOT JUST SOCIAL NETWORKS …
THE balance of power in the workplace has radically shifted from the employee and candidate to the employer due to COVID-19 and the extremely reduced level of opportunities available to those who have found themselves out of work over the past three months or fortunate enough to still be employed.
I remember recruiting at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 at the time of the GFC when unemployment levels were increasing and my clients, the employers realised that they were spoiled for choice. Rapidly I had to have real confronting conversations with my candidates to help them adjust their expectations and align them with employers expectations in the hope of ensuring their future employment.
Back to 2020 and in just three short months over one million jobs where wiped out of the market place and this figure is expected to increase over the coming months as more data is collected and processed and to make matters worse most businesses are not relying on market conditions to survive but rather Government handouts. What can you do?
Four key things and a few tips.
I urge you to have a chat to the dreaded Boomer or Gen X in your circle of friends and family and take a trip down memory lane with them but most importantly listen in order to understand where you actually stand in the new version of the “bigger picture”.
Consider “the many potential employees with your skills now available to your employer and the need for that employer to seek employees who will help save a struggling business.”
The definition of “flexibility in the workplace” will need to be understood within the context of the needs of the employer in terms of rebuilding the business.
Rise to the challenge. After all, a generation with your level of access to information and education is capable of great success at anything. Opportunities for your job will depend on it.
Be respectful towards others, look people in the eye, go out of your way to engage people personally, develop your work not just social networks, recognise and openly acknowledge the strengths of others as this shows your level of perception and ability to learn and grow, look at challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles, because I can tell you that most employers have too many real obstacles at the moment and don’t want more.