The Key To Securing Corporate Clients In An A.I.-Dominated Hiring Market

The future of solo consulting is emerging amid an A.I. war over jobs.

Corporate employers and job seekers are leveraging A.I. tools, leading to chaos in the hiring process.

This fight is just beginning, and no one knows who will win.

Understanding this trend is crucial for adapting and thriving in this evolving landscape. Here's how to leverage this mess to secure coveted contracts.

What A.I. War in Recruitment?

A.I.'s revolutionizing recruitment process has not been necessarily for the better.

More and more employers increasingly rely on A.I. to write job descriptions, publish open positions, screen candidates, and even conduct interviews today.

Meanwhile, candidates use A.I. tools to generate resumes, overwhelming recruiters with applications.

This combined practice is now a trend.

The trend is producing a chaotic environment for job publishers and job seekers, because it has made the traditional job application process ineffective.

Your Challenge

Candidates, whether going for a permanent or temporary work assignment possibility, often find themselves now wholly frustrated:

• Their resumes are filtered out by algorithms with zero feedback as to why.
• Keywords are prioritized over actual work skills, real experience, even referrals.
• Verification procedures demand uncompensated work from candidates to validate them.
• Depersonalization creates a moat around hiring managers and zero transparency about the real candidate pool.
• Conventional channels no longer work to secure a conversation much less an actual job.
• The selection process, allegedly designed to speed up hiring, only creates greater uncertainty, indecision, and a longer selection cycle all due to choice overload.

This trend in efficient ineffectiveness affects all types of job candidates, including freelancers, solopreneurs, contractors targeting these corporate accounts.

Bucking This Chaotic Trend

To overcome this A.I.-dominated job market, it's essential you focus on sidestepping it.

Don't ride this beast!

Avoid playing by rules that leave you at a disadvantage.

Rather, build personal connections which is invaluable.

You're already here on LinkedIn. Find and connect with potential clients and collaborators directly. Then, start conversations with intelligence and finesse.

Personalized outreach and genuine interactions do set you apart from the sea of automated applications flooding the jobs market right now.

Rather than rely on traditional job applications, consider the following alternative approach to finding clients, by bypassing HR and reaching out directly to hiring managers.

It's a tactic I advocate along with recruitment industry expert Nick Corcodillos, who emphasizes the importance of networking and personal connections over automated systems.

Here's a snippet from Corcodillos' advice:

“If a hiring manager doesn’t control candidate selection and hiring, what do they control as a manager? If you encounter a weak hiring manager, consider moving on, because you’re not being hired by the authority who owns the job. You’re being processed by clerks who understand little, if anything, about the job — or about you.”

Let me add that if you don't control getting that meeting in front of the person claiming to need someone just like you, then skip the dog and pony show that HR will require you to put on in front of NOBODY worth speaking with.

Find The Client And The Job The Smart Way

Let me suggest 3 mission-critical steps to take in your search for professional work:

1. Opt for direct outreach over any kind of automation. Identify the decision-makers in companies you want to work with and reach out to them directly yourself. Be bold! Use mutual connections to get introductions whenever possible. But don't let that stop you either. Don't use a machine to avoid boldness. Sometimes snail mail or literally bumping into the person you want to speak with at a store or restaurant works best! Be creative. Old school (pre-2000) techniques are creativity today. Start with getting insider knowledge, i.e. get inside connections!
2. Leverage your social proof to showcase your expertise and thought leadership. Publish articles, engage in discussions on social media, publish recommendations, endorsements, testimonials on your online profile. Participate in relevant online communities where you'll be seen. Be everywhere your potential employer or client is at. It doesn't have to be all business either. You can get an interview taking your kid to a little league game or trading business cards at a car show.
3. Don't say gimme first. Be first to give the moment you reach out. Share a reference, an insight, a resource. Heck! start with a joke, a compliment, a positive observation. This helps pave the way and may even help solve a problem that you ought to know how to remedy anyhow. It builds trust and demonstrates your expertise and personality.

Effective navigation out of the A.I.-driven recruitment landscape to secure meaningful client engagements without getting lost in the current chaos of automated systems will keep you out of the noise in today's job market and into the action.

The future of solo consulting that's being affected by the emerging trend of A.I. job searching also makes it indispensable regularly to meet with like-minded professionals, which is why I set up the Solo Consultant Empowerment Forum to share your experiences, get personalized advice, and connect with other solopreneurs navigating these trends.

Drop by to share your thoughts and keep from going entirely alone down your solo consulting journey!

Securing corporate clients in an A.I.-dominated hiring market can be nerve wracking. But you don't have to do it alone.