From Urgency to Agency–Finding Your Power in the Most Competitive Job Market in Years

If you're like me, you’ve had enough of the “New Year, New Me” messaging flooding every headline,TV commercial, and TikTok manifestation account this month.?In our careers, many of us have been watching and waiting, and instead of new me, we're saying 2024 is time take back control of my career and do me!

2024 is the time for professional reinvention. A new LinkedIn survey finds that almost two-thirds of U.S. workers are now refocusing on their career growth, with 90% of Black professionals and 88% of Latino professionals considering moving on from their current job in 2024. But it won't be easy. The job market is more competitive than ever, and for professionals of color, that can stack the deck even higher--especially if we're using the old "you have to work twice as hard" playbook.?[No offense Pappa Pope!]

Gone are the days of thinking we can just outwork the system–put in more hours, complete more applications, shoot out more cold emails. The real power in your job search is out strategizing the system. 2024 is about quality of applications over quantity. Overexertion isn’t our only option, and it’s not even that reliable anymore. My newsletter turns one year old this month–more than 9,000 subscribers and countless conversations later; it’s a journey for which I’m so grateful! In that time, we’ve heavily discussed what I like to think of as a modern Black proverb: If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready!?

Well, I hope you’re ready, because now is the time to turn your urgency into agency. Here’s how.??

Blast Your Professional Theme Song

Listen: Don’t underestimate the power of a professional theme song. Music has a way of capturing our vibes ever so perfectly, and what’s more motivating than a bop with catchy lyrics and car-shaking beats? We’ll get into the specifics of how to work smarter this year but first, take the example of some of my colleagues and select a tune that best captures your spirit going into this 2024 year of reinvention:

• Gianluca Russo : “2024 is the year where my many professional eras combine into one thriving career path, which can be marked as a delicious mix of ‘Sweetener’ by Ariana Grande and ‘This is What Dreams Are Made Of’ from the forever iconic ‘Lizzie McGuire Movie.’”?
• Logan White : "In 2024, DJ Khaled's 'All I Do Is Win' vibes with my pursuit of success, reminding me that every challenge I face is an opportunity to rise and conquer."
• Gorki De Los Santos : “My choice: ‘It's My Time’ by Kelly Price. After 2023 being a year filled with ups and downs, 2024 will be my time to shine and show that I'm ready for the next step.”?

As for me, when I'm preparing for a big meeting or presentation, I listen to Jay-Z's Blueprint album. That album hypes me up. It makes me feel like a cross between President Barack Obama, Reginald F. Lewis , and Stokely Carmichael.

Now that that’s settled, let’s get you a new job.

Determine the “Why” Behind Your “I’m Not Like Other Girls” Mindset

To begin developing your strategic job search plan, you need to first analyze what sets you apart. This can best be described as understanding what backing you have to your “I’m Not Like Other Girls” mindset. Here’s how you can do so in three easy steps:

1. Refresh your Experience section on your LinkedIn profile with all of your top wins, achievements, and growth measurements. Then, have two talking points per piece of experience ready to go should a recruiter or interviewer ask you to explain the ways you excelled in your previous positions.?Pro tip: While doing this, also get your references ready. Think of who in your past roles can best speak to your impact at work, and proactively see if they’d be willing to vouch for you.?
2. Make a running list of your top skills and qualities that set you apart in the job search. These are your professional SUPERPOWERS. Begin by making a list of 10. Ensure they are specific! Don’t generalize but rather, get to the core of the very things that make you a superstar. Once you have a list of 10, condense it down to 5. Up for a challenge? Condense it even further to 3. Those 3 very top skills are what need to be plastered across your LinkedIn Profile and throughout job interviews. You can make yourself truly stand out by labeling yourself as the go-to, most knowledgeable person for these qualities. Once this is front of mind, you’ll have an easier time decoding job descriptions to see how your skills make you a surefire fit.Note: This is especially important to do as we know that skills matter to employers: LinkedIn members who list at least one skill receive up to 2X more profile views, 2X as many connection requests, and 4X as many messages.?
3. Lead with confidence in every action you take. This can be tricky as confidence is built over time and not easily bought. But a confident job applicant is a successful one, even in an uncertain market. We know it’s nerve wracking to begin the search, with LinkedIn data showing that more than half (55%) of Black and Latino professionals believe that looking for a job is frustrating and hard. That’s precisely why developing agency over your own career is so important. This can be done in many ways: Bolstering your Profile, refining your skills, finding a community of support, dressing to impress, etc. Whatever makes you feel the most confident, cling onto that and let it lead you forward.?

Streamline Your Search For Optimal Results

We’ve all seen the posts where someone claims to have applied to over 1,000 jobs and not received an offer. For some, this is a very challenging reality. But this job search season, I encourage you to take a different approach. It’s all about quality over quantity.

Don’t waste your time applying to a plethora of jobs that you likely won’t be happy at. Instead, begin by determining what your professional deal breakers are. LinkedIn data shows that the values most important to Black and Latino professionals are continuing education/upskilling, 401K matching, and remote/hybrid work. Once you’re set on your values, head over to the LinkedIn Jobs tab and use our New Preferences Features to input them. From there, any job posting that aligns with the preferences submitted will be highlighted in green on job posts.

Next step: Take advantage of our new Job Collections tool , which you’ll see at the top of your Jobs homepage. These collections allow you to see relevant job postings based on your profile in a number of different categories, ranging from value driven to industry specific. For example, if you’ve always worked in corporate America but want to find a nonprofit job that has a strong sustainability component, Job Collections can bring you there.?

Pro tip: Take a look through our 2024 Jobs on the Rise list to see if any of these hot positions catch your eye.

With these new tools, you can streamline your search and only apply to positions that are totally relevant to your wants, needs, and values. Do fewer applications, just do them better and smarter!

Find Your Weak Spots and Keep Growing Every Day

The best thing you can do in your job search? Never stop growing. Regularly analyze yourself to see where your professional weaknesses lie, and then find ways to approve upon them, whether it’s taking a LinkedIn Learning course, subscribing to newsletters, following online thought leaders, or reaching out to others in similar positions to learn more about their experience.??

The 2024 job market may still be plagued with the impacts of uncertainty, but you don’t—and you can’t—let that deter you from giving it your best shot. Take full agency of your career and the possibilities out there and then, whatever the outcome, you’ll truly be able to say you gave it your all.?

The 2024 professional mantra isn’t NEW YOU… It’s DO YOU!!!

Editor’s Note: I mention Reginald Lewis in this newsletter. If you’ve never heard of him, check out the link embedded in his name. He was the first African American to build a billion-dollar company and at the time of his death was the richest Black man in America. A staunch philanthropist, he gave millions of dollars to Howard University, Harvard Law School and Smithsonian Institute.