A Different Kind of Job Search

Changes keep happening, happening, happening

If there is a watchword for today’s job search, it might as well as be different. That seems to be the common thread that runs through every aspect of the process.

Of course, the overall approach to looking for a job is different from what it was two or three decades ago. How one applies for a job is different – witness, the entire online application process. How one interviews for a job is different – today there are Zoom and Skype interviews, video conference interviews, etc. Even how one dresses for an interview today is different. Then you have preparing for the interview – the online searches, including resources such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. – much of which is driven by AI.

Let’s not forget that it’s different for the people doing the hiring as well. Most notably, there are AI-generated job descriptons. Then you have ATS – applicant tracking software – that sorts, separates and eliminates candidates by electronically scanning their resumes. Because of these developments, how candidates prepare their resumes also has changed in lockstep.

Partly because of this electronic invasion, many companies have completely taken the hiring process in house. They recruit their own pool of candidates through LinkedIn, online jobs boards and the like – in addition to casting their nets among the more traditional sources such as networking and other word-of-mouth approaches.

Even those positions that have been handed over to recruiters are stocked with candidates who have been unearthed digitally. Not only do recruiters have their own staple of job seekers, they reach out electronically to uncover just the right candidate with just the right set of qualifications.

The other approach that candidates have begun to pursue is to target companies directly. You find a company that intrigues you. You research it online; you find out what others think of it on Glassdoor. If you’re still interested and still want to pursue it, you search through LinkedIn to determine if there is anyone you know (directly or second hand) who might work there, or if you know someone who works there who could possibly open a door.

Such is the state of the modern day job search. The preparation, communication and identification have gone mostly digital. You may even negotiate the terms of your employment electronically.

If the power goes out, no one will ever get hired. Maybe we should change that one word from different… to electronic.

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