3 Ways to Adjust Your Job Search For An Uncertain Market
Caroline Ceniza-Levine, Senior Contributor
If you’re looking for a job in a troubled sector, you have to adjust your job search. “Commercial real estate is in trouble” warns CNN in a piece about the broader economy, though it may just as well be a piece about the job market. Troubled sectors, like commercial real estate, are more likely to have limited job prospects. Employers pause hiring till conditions improve, or at least till there is more certainty that conditions will improve.
However, uncertainty or even negative market conditions don’t mean you should pause your job search entirely. People still move around in down markets, and critical positions still need to be filled. Therefore, keep looking for that ideal job, but adjust your job search for an uncertain market:
1 - Focus on uncovering hidden jobs
Employers may decide not to widely post positions – to save money, to save time since they’re busy protecting their jobs and business, to prevent an onslaught of desperate candidates. Hiring managers may not have clear approval to hire, so even if they have a pressing need, they keep it quiet, scouting their own networks for a solution. For senior-level openings, leadership may not want to advertise that they have a critical opening in an already difficult market.
These are just some reasons why jobs might exist but go unadvertised during an uncertain market. As an experienced professional, tap your connections to uncover what your target employers want and need right now, so you can see if there is potential for a job there – irrespective of whether one is listed or not. Review your messaging to ensure you’re clear and compelling about what you can contribute to the bottom line. Employers may not be actively searching, but they may pounce on an experienced colleague who can help their business right now.
2 - Follow up closely and consistently
In an uncertain market, business conditions can change quickly. An employer who wasn’t hiring last quarter may be hiring now. Key employees may decide to change careers out of their troubled industry, leaving an opening for you. Changes in strategy to accommodate the shifting market may create an opening for your skills and expertise, where before there was none.
Following up with your own network, as well as potential employers and recruiters, is always important. In an uncertain market, close and consistent follow-up is even more critical to catch potential openings as they arise. Employers are hesitant to hire in down markets and can get distracted to non-hiring activities, like saving their business, so you need to work harder to stay front-of-mind. Hiring can take a long time, so following up consistently ensures you are not forgotten during the gap between interviews.
3 - Minimize the risk of hiring you
The wrong hire is always expensive. The employer may have paid recruiting fees. Internal employees, including HR and the hiring group, dedicated time to the search. The vacant position cost the company lost productivity and impact to their bottom line. In an uncertain market, the wrong hire can feel even more expensive since spending is more closely scrutinized. If the wrong hire needs to be replaced, the hiring group may find that the headcount no longer exists so they’re stuck with a bad fit or an empty resource that can’t be refilled.
As the candidate, you need to be mindful that employers in an uncertain market have a heightened sense of risk. Make sure your interviewing skills are sharp! How are your skills, expertise and experience relevant to the particular concerns of the employers you target? How will you contribute from day one? What are you doing – in each networking outreach, at each interview – to establish rapport and demonstrate that you’re someone other people will want to work with?
If your job search is slow, improve your career right where you are
Don’t stop your job search in an uncertain market, but know that there are other ways to improve your career without changing jobs. Start a side venture – either consulting in what you already know or monetizing a personal passion. Raise your thought leadership profile by publishing blogs, curating content, speaking at industry events or taking a committee or Board role in a professional association. Update your skills and expertise by taking courses, reading industry publications or advising startups in your field. There are many other ways to burnish your career apart from landing a new job.