January is one of the busiest hiring months of the year and
recent economic data suggests a favorable environment in 2020 for job seekers.
According to the Labor Department, the U.S. unemployment rate continues to
hover near a 50-year low.
The Wall Street Journal reports that wages are rising for
most workers, but especially for those in non-supervisory roles. The tightening
labor market has placed job seekers in a position of power.
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But while hiring trends are helpful in assessing the health
of the economy, they can’t predict your unique job search experience.
January brings with it an influx of new opportunities, but
it’s also a challenging month to beat out competition. If you are launching or
continuing a job search in the month of January, here’s what you need to know
to capitalize on this month’s increased activity.
1. You’ll need
flawless execution to stand out:
Finding and identifying jobs will be easier in January than
in the slower month of December. But with a lot more people searching for the
same opportunities, you may find it surprisingly difficult to get recognized by
recruiters and hiring managers.
This month, more than any other, you’ll need to stand out as
a candidate. It takes extra effort to land the best jobs in January and you
can’t afford to raise any red flags that would cause a recruiter to move on to
the next applicant.
For starters, know that the most important thing you can do
to edge out other candidates is to be personally recommended for the job. Do
not rely on online applications alone, but instead do the legwork to identify any
possible connections you can make within your target companies.
You may not have any direct contacts at first glance, but
someone else in your network might. Check LinkedIn for second-degree
connections and don’t be shy about leveraging your professional and personal
relationships to boost your application.
In addition, make sure your résumé is error-free and clearly
articulates how your skills and experiences qualify you for the job you are
applying to. This is a basic task, but it’s still extremely important. Don’t
assume that any recruiter will take extra time in January to guess at what you
might bring to the table or look for other roles for you if you haven’t shown
how you are qualified for the one you applied to. Unfortunately, they are too
busy in January to take those extra steps.
Finally, focus on writing better emails when inquiring about
jobs or making networking introductions. Your emails should be short (about one
paragraph), concise and ultra-personal. Do not send any long, copy and paste
emails ever, but especially in the month of January. With an overloaded inbox,
recruiters will notice and appreciate the short messages that stand out from
the pack.
2. Companies open
jobs before they know what they want:
In January, many companies are looking to add talent who can
launch new product lines, address changing customer needs or take the business
in an innovative direction. Whatever new and aggressive 2020 goals leaders set,
they won’t achieve them without hiring the right people.
This creates pressure to kick off searches in January, even
if leaders aren’t fully aligned on what the job will entail. The hiring manager
may know more about what the business needs to accomplish than what it actually
takes to get it done.
Pay attention to what is driving the need for each job
opening you apply to. Be sure to ask recruiters if a position will be a
brand-new role in the company. You’ll need to prepare differently to interview
for new roles than you would for a job that is already well established.
During your first round of interviews, try your best to get
each interviewer to tell you about their vision for this new role and what they
think it will take to be successful within it. Don’t be surprised if each
person describes a slightly different role and wants to dig into parts of your
background that another interviewer ignored completely.
Go into these initial discussions knowing that you have to
remain flexible and might need to adapt your interview strategy based on each
interviewer’s priorities. The most important thing is to help each interviewer
understand how you would meet their business need and to show that you can
handle the uncertainty of a newly created position.
However, as you move deeper into the process, make sure the
main stakeholders are in agreement on your final job description, or else you
won’t be set up for success when you join the team. Before accepting, have a
candid discussion with your potential boss about organizational support for the
projects you will be launching and be clear about how your performance will be
measured.
January brings a large number of positions that are new to
an organization. These are often some of the most exciting career
opportunities, but weigh the risks before taking a leap. If the company still
doesn’t know what they want by the end of your hiring process, it is a major
red flag that should make you question taking the role.
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