Job hunting post pandemic

Job hunting during and post pandemic

Up to February/March 2020, the job market had been candidate driven – as in there was a real shortage of candidates across sectors, from technology through to retail and hospitality.

The tables have well and truly turned and companies are now shedding staff, or worse – closing up shop altogether.

There are of course companies that are buoyant in the prevailing market – pharma, delivery/logistics, healthcare and food retail for example. As well as other recession-insulated industries such as chemicals, medical devices and certain FMCG – electronics for example.

So, what do you now need to do to ensure that you’re in the optimal position to engage with with the opportunities that are out there, using your current skills/knowledge and experience?

The recent announcement of the Irish Government to invest in re-skilling and training/education opportunities for those that have lost their jobs is to be welcomed. However – this is not an instance fix to get back earning again. That is a whole different topic, which would warrant a longer debate, but in summary – if this is the route you choose to go down. be sure to choose a subject/discipline that you are seriously interested in – for example, it might be social media or marketing, not something that you really do not have a clear understanding of what it might do in terms of enhancing your overall quality of life.

1. CV – please give this your utmost attention before sending out to any prospective employer, I write about and include CV templates here

2. If the nature of what you do lends itself to creating a profile on LinkedIn then spend time refining this and making relevant connections. For existing and new users of LinkedIn, ensure that you display the ‘open to offers’ icon currently available on LinkedIn. Ensure that you call out clearly in the summary, what you are looking for and where your key experience and knowledge lies. LinkedIn database is the primary source for recruiters to search for relevant candidates for the job opportunities they have. Therefore, it is vital that you spend time creating a compelling succinct profile.

3. Utilise the job searching features on LinkedIn and other common job boards. The main generalist ones in Ireland are: Irish Jobs Recruit Ireland and Jobs.ie In general terms, Irish Jobs is geared towards the more professional market, Recruit Ireland – more for the South West region – Cork, Kerry etc. And Jobs.ie – is more casual, entry level roles. Sign up for the alerts on these sites. Most people are aware of Indeed too, but it can be a difficult site to navigate, although quickly looking at it today, it appears to have undergone improvements.

4. Social media sites: Twitter has a searchable hashtag, the predominant one being #jobfairy Facebook has a sizeable group called Leinster Job Fairy, if you’re looking in Leinster and there are multiples of a similar theme for various geographical areas and sectors on Facebook.

5. Good old-fashioned manual job postings – shop windows, notice boards in community settings etc. Always a good source for local job hunting and not to be dismissed.

In summary, I can bang home enough the importance of getting a presentable CV. And, when applying for jobs on the Facebook Jobs platform, please do not fall into trap of just applying without any details of your experience. Carefully read the job poster’s instructions on how to apply for the job. That can be via email, or an on-line application process, but adhere to the request, as it will be a hopeless exercise if you don’t.

Good luck – there are jobs out there, it is just a matter of being flexible and slightly changing your mindset.

You can contact me at: amanda@short-call.com

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