The job market – when measured by the number of active job ads on LinkedIn – is finally looking up in Europe. Some countries have actually surpassed the initial number of job ads pre-COVID. That’s good news! Having said that – the people who have lost their jobs are not necessarily the candidates that the job market is hiring. There is a certain mismatch between supply and demand. But it doesn’t have to be that way – especially if you do have the competencies that companies are looking for – but are not exposing them in the right way.
So: which competencies are sought after? Which candidates are attractive? How can you be one of them?
First off, we need to define two types of candidates:
- plug & play candidates: those who hit the ground running and are “ready to go” (apples)
- non-standard candidates: they need guidance, training, extensive on-boarding, mentoring, etc. (oranges)
The more volatile the job market, the more low-risk companies are, in other words: the more they will be looking for plug & play candidates – very precise “apple”-candidates – discarding “orange”-candidates right away!
Currently, sought-after competencies are:
- experts with technical, digital, analytics skills
- managers with interim, BPO, digitalization, restructuring, change management, strong leadership
1) Sought-after competencies delivered on a silver platter
What’s most important to understand: the fact that you possess those skills / competencies, doesn’t mean that others (recruiters, decision makers) see them on your CV or LinkedIn profile. You need to be able to prove them with tangible results, successes, projects or business cases.
Even more so: if you are an “orange”-candidate with apple-potential, make sure your CV (your entire positioning) says apple – not orange! Otherwise, you won’t even get a chance to be taken into consideration.
Candidates react to the current job market in the following manner:
- passively: react to CV / interview request that you like
- actively: react to all inquiries, apply to job ads
- proactively: create opportunities
2) Creating opportunities proactively = understand & hack the system
- Activate your network strategically & close the gaps where necessary
- Reach out to 60-120 companies that could find your profile attractive:
◦ contact your potential boss directly by email
◦ add a ”human” CV
◦ add business cases if relevant - Understand / adapt tools: ATS / Linkedin algorithm
Moving forward, ask yourself the following questions:
• Assess your own profile: Do I have competencies that are currently needed?
• Do I have evidence that supports them?
• Who should know about it internally / externally?
• How do I communicate that? (CV, LinkedIn, network, during meetings, presentation)
The last 3-4 weeks have shown an immense improvement – more than 70% of the European countries have positive trends in the number of job ads and a handful have now more published job ads than at the beginning of the pandemic. Let us translate that for you:
COMPANIES NEED TO HIRE CANDIDATES OVER THE SUMMER
for them to start work on September or October 1st
So, if you are currently looking for a job: use that opportunity! Create your own opportunities!
If you are an experienced manager or executive – no matter whether you are an apple or an orange with apple-potential a – get in touch with Career Angels to discuss your positioning strategy. Request a complimentary career consultation of 30-40 minutes via Skype. You can book a session via this link or by sending an email to Bichl.Sandra@CareerAngels.eu Subject: Apples & oranges
