For applicants, prepare to compete; for employers, don't expect top talent to be on the market long

According to U.S. department of labor data, monthly job gains are declining. Based on the chart from Indeed (above), this might look depressing if you are in job search mode. If you are an employer, this downward shift might suggest more applicants for open positions. A closer look at the 10-year employment figures (chart below) suggests a return to pre-pandemic levels (normalizing) which is to be expected.

What to do if you are in active job search mode or thinking of testing the waters

1. Develop clarity around your career goals, next ideal career step and take advantage of any internal development opportunities. Communicate your long-term career interest with your boss and your boss' boss.

2. Ensure your resume and LinkedIn profile are polished and focused based on your career goals.

3. Proactively prepare for interviewing. Practice your elevator speech and develop STAR responses to at least 3 common interview questions. Target companies that have the potential to elevate your career.

4. Don't just apply to jobs. That will likely be very disappointing. Instead, apply and leverage LinkedIn to find and connect with key people at companies you are interested in. Send your resume directly to those key people using the LinkedIn Premium Message. Ask for the interview or, if no relevant job is posted, request an information meeting with an appropriate decision maker, recruiter or HR business partner at the company. Every high-quality company is looking for good people to hire, if not immediately, in the near future.

What to do if you are an employer looking to hire top talent

1. Realize there is a bell curve of quality in your applicant pipeline. Even the best interviewers/application screeners are at best 50% successful identifying top talent based on screening resumes and interviewing alone.

2. Ensure a high ROI of time and money by using the 10-5-3-1 rule: Use an applicant pool of 50+ applicants to screen down to a top 10 for a phone screening. After the phone screening, stack the top 10 to determine a top 5. Assess the top 5 using valid and reliable talent assessments with a proven track record. Based on assessment results and other insights (overall resume quality, relevant work experience, phone screening, etc.), rank the top 5. Interview the top three. After the interviews, evaluate the top 3 and determine the #1 candidate. Make a competitive offer.

3. Leverage high-quality, valid and reliable talent assessments to assess applicants. Don't ignore or dismiss the assessment results! Combine resume screening, talent assessments and interviews to identify top talent.

4. Apply insights from the talent assessment, the assessment's job benchmark and talent indicator report to craft interview questions.

The Nielson Group offers best-in-class talent assessments to determine job fit. Our assessments identify behavioral style, personal drivers/motivators, cognitive thinking ability (often called acumen) and development indicator skills. For hourly and customer service applicants, we also assess for 'quality of person' or work-related attitudes across 7 scales (supervisory attitudes, work attitudes, customer service attitudes, prospects for long-term employment attitudes, safety/risk avoidance attitudes, drug use attitudes and theft attitudes - including a honesty/transparency rating).

Success Discoveries offers personal branding, resume writing, and job search and interview coaching to individuals.

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