Employable - How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market

As a recruiter, I am often asked why it appears so difficult to find jobs.

Young graduates commonly face a kind of culture shock when they get into the marketplace. I mean, they did the hard work, passed the exams, and got the degree. Getting a well-paying job was supposed to be the ‘happy ever after’, but only turned out to be the beginning of the next chapter.

The utopia they were promised where the jobs would be lining up and waiting for them to take their pick turned out to be a huge, dense jungle of other employment hopefuls with varying amounts of time spent already in the job jungle, vying for the same seemingly finite number of jobs.

So, what can you do as a job seeker to stand out among so many?

1.??????Job Seeker, Know Thyself.

These days, knowledge has become a currency. That is, the more you know or the better skilled you are, the more you attract employers. Things like age or years of experience become secondary. What employers want is someone who can deliver the value they need to attain their business goals.

So, what do you know? What are you known for?

Using the VRIO model** that was designed to help organizations discover, protect, and properly utilize the resources that give them a competitive advantage, a job seeker, can use this discovery to properly situate him or herself in the job market.

V - Are your knowledge, skills, or attitudes Valuable to someone or in some sector or industry? What are those skills and in which industry are they valuable? Knowing that would help you know where to focus your search. Examples would be tech or tech-enabled skills in almost any industry, communication skills in mass media and advertising, Microsoft Excel skills in Finance and Accounting, etc.

R - Is there any knowledge or skills you have acquired that are Rare among your contemporaries? These would be things like acquiring a professional certification or already being highly skilled in a programming language by the time you complete your first degree.

I - Is there something you’ve experienced or have been exposed to that if leveraged would give you opportunities not readily available to others, something Inimitable or “not easily copied’? Perhaps you were privileged to win a scholarship or fellowship with a significant brand or reputable foreign university, or maybe you were part of some social entity like Toastmasters or Rotary Club where you have access to highly placed individuals.

O - When you have cataloged all your advantages, and researched about where they would give you the best opportunities so that you can explore the right connections or networks, you are Organised.

Taking the time to think through these points helps you to make well-thought-out and targeted career decisions. You show up in places where you know your combination of skills would separate you from the pack.

** Developed by Jay B Barney in 1991

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2.??????Show Your “Soft” -er Side

To stand out in the job market, you will need to place a premium on your soft skills. They are those behavioral skills that help you work and socialize well with others while building positive relationships.

In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that the top relevant skills of the future are soft skills (WEF 2022 report).

If we liken soft and hard skills to a birthday cake, the hard skills would be the cake itself while the soft skills would be the icing; the part of the cake that appeals to the eye, that invites people to want to eat the cake, that makes the silent promise of something special within.

It has been argued that the University system wasn’t set up to train students on soft skills like it was to teach technical or hard skills. While I would agree that soft skills may not in many cases be codified as a course, there are many opportunities in the university to develop and hone soft skills like leadership skills, project management skills, critical thinking and analytical skills, public speaking, and presentation skills, and so on. For example:

• You can learn collaboration, teamwork, and project management through individual or group projects.
• You can develop leadership and organizational skills by being involved in departmental events.
• You learn public speaking and presentation skills when presenting project findings or your final year dissertation.

Imagine a student campaigning to be the president of their departmental association and getting elected. He or she is not elected because they have the highest GPA in the department. They are elected because they are charismatic, empathetic, intelligent, good with people, a good communicator, have strong leadership skills and are influential. Given the role, they might even need to develop a knowledge of budgeting as well as financial management and planning.

Now imagine this person is interviewing for a job, having developed these qualities, and other candidates for the same role did not have quite the same exposure. Who do you think would more likely be selected?

According to research, 97% of employers surveyed said that soft skills were either as important or more important than hard skills. However, 46% of new employees fail within 18 months and of these, 89% percent fail because of a lack of soft skills. ***

Companies that habitually run graduate or management trainee programmes look for fresh graduates, so it’s always a good place to start your job search. Simply Google “Graduate Trainee 20---"

While work experience would be beneficial, it is not as critical as having the right attitude, expressed through soft skills like excellence, teamwork, and a willingness to learn.

Intentionally developing your soft skills would easily set you apart from those that don’t give them the same kind of attention.

*** Susan Collins SHRM 2020 Talent Conference

?3.??????Be Adaptable

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We now live in a world where the tried-and-true methods and practices of job seeking are constantly being challenged. Once upon a time, all you needed for your application as your CV. Nowadays and for some time now, employers would consider your online presence as part of your application. Simply by being deliberate about building your professional brand online; consistency in your name, areas of interest and expertise, care in the comments you make and your associations would already keep you ahead of the curve.

Don’t get me wrong. You should still tailor your CV to the role you’re applying for by emphasizing your skills and relevant aspects of your formal or informal experience and following application guidelines. You should still make helpful professional connections that could contribute to your career growth. You should still value self-development and gain knowledge and skills that would improve your chances for the roles you want.

However, one of the most valuable skills that can make you a standout candidate is Adaptability.

Adjusting to changes in the environment is a very desirable quality in a job seeker, mostly because the environment itself has become very unpredictable.

So, if you are or can learn to be open to new ideas, accept new technologies, respond quickly to feedback, and have a backup plan in case one way doesn’t work out, it will get you noticed.

?4.??????Embrace Technology

Though a lot has changed and is still changing, the one constant seems to be the role technology plays in all of it. And it’s not going to change anytime soon.

If you enter the job market without basic skills like proficiency in the Microsoft Office applications like MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, talk less of more sophisticated tech skills, you have already placed yourself at a disadvantage.

The maturity of the Nigerian labor market makes it possible for you to get jobs that do not require a high level of proficiency in these skills, but they won’t be the types of jobs that will offer you the kind of exposure or pay that you want.

The more tech-savvy you are, particularly in those technical skills that apply to your desired profession, the better positioned you are to be sought after by employers.

Digitalskillsgloba.com considers the following as the top digital skills that are vital for employees in the digital era:

• Programming, Web and App Development.
• Digital Business Analysis
• Digital Design and Data Visualization.
• Digital Project Management.
• Digital Product Management.
• Digital Marketing.
• Social Media Management.
• Data Science and Data Analytics.

Having one or more of these skills almost guarantees you a spot in today’s world of work if you organize yourself properly.

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Standing out in the job market admittedly takes some effort and intentionality. However, if you put in the work consistently, believe in yourself, and trust the process, you will create the career you desire.

For more career stories go to my blog, https://toyintalkstalent.wordpress.com/ ?

Connect with me on Instagram @toyintalkstalent, Twitter @toyintalktalent, and Facebook @Oluwatoyin Puddicombe

This article was featured in "Employable" Digital Magazine by Mindshift Career Solutions. Go to https://mindshiftcareer.com/employable-magazine.php for the full magazine.