I've been following forums and listening to people for the last few weeks and it seems like every door is closing down. Last week the UK chancellor announced that we might see the economy shrink by as much as 35% in the worst case scenario. Most companies including Google and the big tech houses have announced a hiring freeze. Yet more are facing lay-offs and furloughs. In fact those who have had their BAU staff intact are the odd ones out right now. But someone asked me the other day, "Is anyone even hiring right now?"
Yes, there's a lot of uncertainty in the market. Yes, the competition is starting to be even more intense. Yes, most companies have declared hiring freezes for the next two quarters. But does that mean no one is hiring? I can only tell you what I am seeing for myself and some of the top performers I work with. My phone is still ringing with recruiter calls. So are the phones of some of my friends and students. Yes, everything is a bit slow and it's starting to look a bit grim but not everything is lost. I was getting 5 recruiters calling me before Covid and now it's probably 2. But there are still jobs in the market for top talent.
I have mentioned time and time again that it pays to do the extra bit of work that few sign-up to do. But this is what top-performers focus on to cut out the noise. One of my favourite quotes ever is by Warren Buffet. He says about the markets, "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." However, this doesn't only apply to markets. This applies to life if you will dare to make it work. The top talent in every industry is still getting called upon. The normal market unemployment rates don't apply here. Why? Because top talent is always in short supply. ALWAYS!
If you're reading this, chances are that you have the hunger to be better than average. So if your phone isn't ringing, there are three things I would focus on:
1. Skills
People who are getting calls are the ones who are the complete package. This is true of any recession when more people are looking for jobs than employers looking to hire. If you're not getting called, ask yourself if you have the skills to thrive in this market This includes not only hard skills like maybe technical development but also non-technical skills like business acumen and communication. If not, no time like right now to sharpen these.
2. Resume
I wish I could stop going on and on and on about how important your resume is. But the number of crazies out there who claim that you only get jobs through networking are out to just talk non-sense. Why? Okay, let's for a moment even believe that a networking opportunity presented itself as a hidden job opportunity. What's the first thing that the employer wants from you?
That's right, your resume. So if someone tells you only resumes can't get you jobs, please could you politely remind them that while only resumes are not enough to get you a top job, without a resume you for sure wouldn't get one!
3. LinkedIn
Gone are the times when one could ignore the power of LinkedIn. Especially during Covid-19 it's becoming more and more important. Recruiters are searching on LinkedIn, employers are vetting on LinkedIn even before talking to the talent, and basically the whole job market screening test has moved to LinkedIn. So yes, if you're selling yourself short on LinkedIn, you're basically missing out on tons and tons of opportunities. Not only do you need to be present on LinkedIn these days- you need to look good as well.
Coming back to the question - "Is anyone even hiring right now?", my answer is YES! But they're hiring only top talent. Whether you are one of them is really up to you.
