The trends that defined job hunting in 2019

We’ve covered a lot of ground in #GetHired over the past year. Many of the topics have come from suggestions you made in comments, posts and messages. Before the calendar turns to January and we dive into new trends affecting the modern job search, I want to revisit some of the topics that resonated with you in 2019.

Ageism

Hiring bias against people at both ends of the age spectrum is one of the topics you mentioned the most in comments and messages. That’s not surprising when you look at the data. Despite laws protecting against age discrimination, the U.S. jobs report continues to show signs of bias in hiring. While young adults are most likely to be unemployed, for example, older Americans are most likely to be stuck in long-term joblessness. Both groups may be contending with hiring managers who implicitly or explicitly say they’re too young or too old for certain positions. 

People worried about age discrimination should be mindful about the way they present information to prospective employers, says Kerry Hannon, a career expert and author of “Great Jobs for Everyone 50+.” She suggests that job seekers should emphasize skills more than experience, for example.

Click here to read more about ageism.

Applicant tracking systems

Applicant tracking systems, or resume-sorting robots (as I like to call them), help companies and recruiters manage a job seeker’s journey through the hiring process. They may be a source of frustration for many of you who get automatic rejections or feel like your applications are being sent into a black hole. That’s because the systems are best known for automatically sorting through resumes and applications based on keywords or phrases.

In reality, the systems’ functionalities vary from company to company. Some may also help recruiters track how far along the candidate is in the hiring process, for example.

Job seekers should know a bit about how these systems work as they look for their next gig. So, I turned to Dana Leavy-Detrick, director and founder of Brooklyn Resume Studio, and Chris Villanueva, founder and CEO of Let’s Eat, Grandma. They both advised paying attention to keywords in job descriptions and not submitting wild-looking resumes that can’t be read by the computers.

Click here to read more about applicant tracking systems.

What’s the deal with recruiters?

#GetHired took me to Dallas earlier this year for LinkedIn’s Talent Connect, which is one of the largest annual gatherings for recruiters and human resource professionals. You sent me there with a list of questions for attendees to help you learn more about what happens behind the scenes when a company is hiring.

In addition to learning more about applicant tracking systems, we talked about the day-to-day processes of recruiters. For example, many recruiters still read job applications despite also using an applicant tracking system. They also told me that the hiring process can get slowed down for a number of reasons, including hiring managers being out of the office and the company’s policy on job interviews. 

Click here to read more about recruiters.

Finding success in a new job or career

A recent edition of #GetHired about finding success in a new job or career struck a chord with many of you. The topic was built around Simon & Schuster’s Masters at Work series, a growing collection of books that explain how professionals in various fields became successful. The collection is written by journalists and covers a broad range of jobs, such as “Becoming a Real Estate Agent” and “Becoming a Firefighter.”

I spoke with Kate Bolick, the author of “Becoming a Hairstylist” and the forthcoming “Becoming an Interior Designer,” and Gary Rivlin, who is the author of “Becoming an Ethical Hacker,” “Becoming a Venture Capitalist” and the forthcoming “Becoming a Sports Agent.” In addition to them finding that successful professionals have a thirst for knowledge about their industries, Bolick and Rivlin pointed out that there is no singular path to success.

Click here to learn more about finding success.

What has been your biggest challenge or realization this year about job searching? Join the conversation.

? The follow-up:

As you start making your New Year’s resolutions, it’s a good idea to keep in mind what you want to learn to be more marketable in the job market. You can set a goal to learn a specific skill or improve an existing one, for example. In the last edition of #GetHired, Sanyin Siang, who just won the Marshall Goldsmith Distinguished Achievement Award for Coaching and Mentoring at Thinkers 50, told me about two avenues of learning to pursue if you want to remain competitive in the job market throughout your career. Specifically, the Duke University professor suggested looking for skills that will be valuable throughout the workforce and then skills that will be useful in your field or industry. Here’s what people are saying about the advice.

? Other news to help you #GetHired:

Companies should care about how they treat job seekers. While many companies do put in a lot of effort into how they treat applicants, others have a less-than-stellar hiring process. A new report shows that bad hiring experiences can haunt companies. Of 10,000 U.S. job seekers surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 49% said they have turned down offers based on bad hiring experiences. More than half also said they would recommend against family, friends and colleagues from applying to companies based on those experiences. The findings align with recent survey results that found inappropriate interview questions are the top deal-breaker for job seekers. Here’s what people are saying about the findings.

Hispanic women are a driving force in today’s labor market. The most recent jobs report shows 61% of Latinas are part of the labor force — more than the 59% national rate for all women, reports Bloomberg. By the end of the next decade, they are projected to account for nearly 10% of the labor market. Research also suggests women are behind a lot of business growth within the Hispanic community. In addition to low unemployment, experts suggest increased education and shifting cultural norms are pushing these women into the workforce. Here’s what people are saying about the trend.

Why didn’t you hear back after that interview? While job seekers used to always hear back from companies after interviews, a recent piece in Forbes says that’s no longer that case. A number of factors pushed recruiters toward the silent treatment, such as a fear of lawsuits and an inability to respond to a large number of applications. Additionally, companies are likely dealing with smaller HR departments than in the past and some recruiting work being outsourced to vendors. Here’s what people are saying about the explanations.

? Up next:

I’ll be taking a break next week for the holiday, but #GetHired will be back Monday, January 6. We’ll be talking about the jobs landscape in 2020 based on LinkedIn data. I’ll offer a glimpse of where the jobs are physically located, the skills that are in demand and which professions will see growth over the next 12 months. I’ll also point you to some informative pieces written by my colleagues based on the data.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #GetHired. You can also email me at GetHired[at]LinkedIn.com.