Low Unemployment is Good News for Job Seekers
It’s hard to miss the news about US unemployment dropping to 3.9%. According to the March 2018 Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report, we reached the first-ever one-to-one match between the number of job openings and the number of unemployed. Despite different explanations and skepticism about these statistics, they are good news if you’re looking for a job.
The job market is more competitive than it’s been in a long time—for employers, not applicants! Many companies are finding it harder (and taking longer) to hire the people they need. This and other factors are giving candidates more power to call the shots.
- Fewer people are competing for each job opening.
- Employers are improving the candidate experience by streamlining applications and interacting with more respect. Many are taking new steps to ensure a good match.
- Companies are focusing on employer branding and the employee experience to attract, engage, and retain the employees they want.
Surprising Data is In Your Favor
Current circumstances make it even more likely to land a job by applying online. I know this flies in the face of prevailing “wisdom” that 80-90% of jobs are never advertised and that nobody gets hired by applying on line. Myths about the hidden job market and networking being the only way to get hired are long overdue for extinction.
Multiple sources show at least 40% of jobs are filled by candidates who apply online. These include SilkRoad Sources of Hire 2017 (44%) and the Jobvite 2017 Recruiting Funnel Benchmark Report (46%). Another source says 85% of all jobs are filled through networking, but the same source also shows 40% of active candidates getting hired by applying rather than networking.
People can use data to make whatever case they want to make. Putting US unemployment and hiring statistics aside, you and your job search are what matters when you are in transition.
I’ve changed careers three times and landed more than six advertised jobs—without networking. The majority of my resume clients and many people in my network have landed jobs by applying online. Sure, it’s always a good idea to boost the odds of success for online applications with networking. But it’s not the only way to get hired!
5 Ways to Mine for Gold In Online Job Sites
As I’ve written in previous articles, online job postings are a goldmine for job seekers. This is true if you want to replicate previous roles and especially true of you:
- Have been out of the job market for a while
- Are not sure what you want to do
- Are considering a career change
- In a nutshell, you can mine advertised jobs to explore what you can and want to do, discover options to pursue, learn how to market yourself, screen daily alerts, then apply and network to land interviews and offers.
To describe each step, I’ve assumed you don’t have a specific type of job in mind. Like a funnel, the 5 steps start with broad exploration, and then narrow your focus to pursue targeted opportunities. You can also follow these steps if you know what kind of job you’re looking for.
Step 1: Explore Possibilities
At this early stage, explore an extensive variety of jobs without specifying a location or date range. Cast a wide net to find new ideas, consider options, and learn how jobs are defined.
Experiment with key words in the Job Title field. For example: customer, project, program, executive, marketing, communications, and account. Words like these pull a wide array of jobs. Read them thoroughly to gain clarity about the types of jobs you do and don’t want to pursue.
I searched mainly on Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter. It’s important to stay current with what works best for you as job search platforms evolve.
Step 2: Discover Options to Pursue
Types of jobs you are most and least interested in will emerge as you read a large assortment of job posts. While reading the posts, capture a running list of interesting titles, key words, and phrases to hone your searches.
This is the time to distinguish work you do and don’t want to do, and work you are and aren’t qualified to do. Be honest with yourself about responsibilities and requirements that do and don’t fit your experience and capabilities. Listen to your inner voice and physical cues to discern work you are attracted to and work that makes you want to run in the other direction. You might find a patchwork of parts of jobs that are and are not a fit.
During my recent transition, I discovered and pursued three distinct directions and ruled out many others.
Step 3: Learn How to Market Yourself
Today’s robust job posts are a goldmine to learn how to market yourself. Once you zero in on jobs that excite you (regardless of where they are), mine the descriptions for titles, key words, and phrases to use in your resume and LinkedIn profile.
Job posts you are most attracted to are especially valuable for the top one-third of your resume and the headline and summary of your LinkedIn profile. They are the best resource to write descriptions of what you have done, creatively positioned for what you can and want to do next. They will guide you to tell your story in a way that fits target roles. Feel free to mix and match content from different job posts.
Step 4: Set-Up and Screen Daily Alerts
When your resume and LinkedIn profile are ready for prime time, move full speed ahead with your search.
Set up daily alerts using key words in the Job Title Field that pulled the jobs you used in step #3. Use advanced search filters to set up alerts in your target commuting range (e.g., zip code plus 25 or 50 miles). I created daily alerts on Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and career pages of target companies.
Job search platforms respond differently to search criteria in the Title Field. I had success with specific titles in quotation marks (e.g., “Chief of Staff”) and with a string of key words separated by “or” (e.g., Writer or Editor or Proofreader).
Your initial alerts will probably include hundreds of jobs. Once you wade through these, most jobs you receive will have been posted since your previous alert. It takes a week or two to get this working efficiently. You will get faster and faster at scanning through many job posts to find the sweet spot treasures you want to pursue.
Step 5: Apply and Network
Rather than warning job seekers to not waste time applying online, my proven method is to apply first, then network.
Based on receiving more than six job offers by submitting applications and the experiences of many people in my network, factors that increase success rates with online applications include:
- Superior quality resumes
- Strong LinkedIn profiles
- Selective pursuit of opportunities that are a strong fit
- Applications submitted within 24-48 hours of the job being posted
- Skillful navigation of online applications and applicant tracking systems
- Customized cover letters that demonstrate the unique value you can bring to the job (The importance of cover letters is evolving as one-click applications without cover letters become more common.)
Read Losing Your Job & Finding Yourself to learn more about these 5 Steps and other proven job search methods.