Landing a Job in 2021

The job market today is a network-driven environment and is highly competitive by nature. The “spray and pray” approach to job hunting will no longer cut it, especially in a post-pandemic world. Job hunting has become a science and this feat should be tackled as if you were planning to launch a new product to market where market share is limited, especially for any new comers.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring patterns have changed as the majority of companies and industries have felt the impact of the global pandemic that has consequently eliminated the need for many jobs that have become redundant in just a matter of months. The recruitment process has moved towards a complete digital transformation. The competitiveness of the job market and the new role digital is playing has made it increasingly difficult for Job Seekers to stand out. The truth is- job hunting in 2021 is a science which fundamentally is based on the concept of marketing, enabling candidates to stand out from the crowd. Marketing is synonymous with setting goals and developing a social presence that aligns you with the target market that you are trying to appeal to- this concept applies to the process of finding employment.

How do you market yourself for the job you want? Start with setting goals– identify what industry your abilities and skill-set are best suited for, what are the industry’s minimum requirements? Then determine whether you meet those requirements– tailoring your focus to a specific industry and position enables job hunters the opportunity to identify their shortfalls and fill in those gaps to make them more marketable. Desperation often misleads job seekers into the trap of applying for every vacancy they encounter, irrespective of whether or not it matches their qualifications or experience. The issue job trawling poses is that not only is the type of work not in alignment with a candidate’s skill-set but the approach does not offer the opportunity to identify weaknesses. “Job seekers underestimate the critical importance of a customized, well-researched motivational letter, that could be the deciding factor between you and someone else- who may even be less qualified.” Says Jeannette Campbell, Graduate Support Programme Advisor at Boston City Campus. “We teach our graduates the importance of marketing themselves to the right job market and developing a root CV that sells themselves to the right audience”.

Effectively marketing yourself within the right job market involves the development of a social presence and a personal image. These are two important factors that come into play in the job searching game, in order to stand out among the crowd you need to brand yourself. The way candidates present themselves in interviews is a determining factor- it shows the interviewer your level of effort and gives them an indication of whether your brand is in alignment with their company culture.