Phones are for talking too: 5 top tips for online job seekers

Just read the latest UK Workforce Confidence Index from LinkedIn which, unsurprisingly, shows increasingly pessimistic views about the jobs market.

Before we all go down a rabbit hole of gloom, it's worth remembering that there will still be jobs out there. Sweeping generalisations like "it's going to be a recession to end all recessions" are not only depressing, they're unhelpful. Little is said about what an individual can do to survive such an environment, so here are a few practical suggestions.

The Clue is in the Title

We're in an online jobs market. It's all there, online. Not just the jobs, but the people you already know who can connect you to those jobs, often before they're ever advertised online. Our own research found that people returning to the workplace after a break were five times more likely to find work through their network than through a recruiter.

Other research suggests that as many as 70% to 80% of jobs are found through the job seeker's network. This means that you need to be proactive about connecting or reconnecting with people you know who could, ultimately, help make introductions.

Be smart though. Ask first not what people can do for you but what you can do for them. Seek to be helpful, supportive, generous with your time. Follow, connect, share useful content. Build up your relationships with the people you used to work with, who you know and who will, in time, be happy to help. They're out there, I promise.

Before there was online, there were phone lines

And believe it or not, they still work. Why rely on an email when a phone call is so much more personal. Fine, use a brief email to set up a convenient time for a call, but do not dismiss the power of a human conversation.

Last week I spoke to four clients, three candidates, four leading edge thinkers in the D&I space and every phone call gave me a bounce in my step. Admittedly, none of them led to short term revenue - but neither was that my intention. They all gave me advice, prompted me into some actions, gave me a sense that there will be a future. It was just the sort of motivation I needed at the time.

So pick up the phone. Ask people how they are doing. Listen to the answers. Empathise, chat, rekindle those bonds that are so easily lost when we're all flying around being busy with whatever it was we used to be busy with.

Be Competitive: Work Our your USP

Whether it's online or real life, the jobs market is exactly that. A market. Employers compete for the best talent, people compete for the best jobs.

This means you need to be clear where you're most competitive. It could be through your industry experience, could be through your competency set, it could even be because of the network you bring. Who needs what you have to offer.

If you're an inhouse lawyer at a retailer whose future looks uncertain, who else could use your skills set? If you have experience in employment law, I can tell you the answer is "lots of people". If you have a lot of supply chain and logistics experience, but are working in a sector that's hard hit, then emphasising those skills will be important.

Having worked our your competitive advantage, make sure your online, LinkedIn profile does a fabulous job of selling it. It needs to have the right key words, illustrate all your experience, highlight the impact you've made for other employers. Make sure your profile will pop up in searches made by anyone looking for someone just like you.

Be Prepared to Pivot

I'm in the middle of reading Range by David Epstein, which argues that generalists ultimately triumph in a world which encourages specialisation. And I've been talking to others who, like me, went through the recession of the late 1980s, the Dot Com boom and bust, the financial crisis of 2008/9 and other sector specific ups and downs.

What we learnt was that you have to be prepared to reinvent yourself, to learn new skills, to pivot from something you know very well to another adjacent field. Anne, one of our original Reignite Associates, began life as a property lawyer but since then has moved through insurance, oil and gas, to telecoms and tech. Be brave. Now is not the time to be putting yourself down. If you know 50% of the job already, you'll be able to figure the rest out.

It's a job finding a job

Don't wait for the jobs to be advertised. That way, you'll always be on the back foot, behind those savvy networkers who've already got themselves an informal introduction.

Be strategic, become your own recruiter. Identify which companies could be looking to hire someone with your skill set and who, within those companies could be doing the hiring. Follow them on LinkedIn, do your research, work out who you know, make a plan, build your network and - most importantly - make those calls.

Good luck.

Some Resources that Might Help

1. For any lawyers thinking about how to make their next move, we're running a free "Next Steps for your Legal Career" workshop on 4th June. You can register here.
2. She's Back: Your Guide to Returning to Work by myself and Deb Khan (relevant for men too) is currently ï¿¡7.72 on Amazon and goes into more detail about the tips listed above.
3. For those looking to invest more time in planning for the future, the Reignite Academy is running an online programme "How to Future Proof your Career" - five modules each of 60-90 minutes - for groups of 8-10 people. Register here if you'd like to join us for a webinar to find out more.