Trends in job applications and career development: What’s new?
So, the new year is here and well underway. The initial period of getting back into things is long gone. A good time maybe to ask … What is new in job seeking, employability and career development? Well, on the face of it, not a lot.
- CVs remain a favourite recruiting tool amongst many employers in the private sector.
- Application forms are still of the kind that have one main question at the end which more or less says ‘Tell us everything we need to know in order to select you’. The challenge of being able to effectively structure an answer to this vast open ended question is at least as challenging as writing a CV. It takes just as much learning in order to get it right.
- Video CVs and video interviewing are still available and effective for those who choose them. For candidates, the task of learning how best to present yourself remains the same, but with added opportunities from the digital media.
- Interviews are still almost always a part of the process because employers rate their ability to judge suitability in this environment (whether or not this proves to be true).
- Recruitment Consultants still play an important role in seeking talent for highly skilled and senior positions in particular.
The tendency to ask silly interview questions or to put candidates under pressure may be on the decline. Employer brands may not fare well if using such techniques.
What is constantly evolving is the range of media available to connect employers with employees. This is balanced by sites that aggregate this information and by the social media channels through which you can learn about new opportunities. The ability to deal directly with employers is thus strengthened.
The ability to know what a job or a particular company will be like is greatly improving also with digital media and even review sites for employers. As with anything of course, lots of different opinions abound and they can’t all be right!
So, the media and technological environment is ever changing whilst the fundamentals of knowing what you specialise in and communicating your value by whatever means remain.
