HOW TO FIND A JOB IN THESE CRAZY TIMES

So today I’m going to talk to you about how to job search even in uncertain times

I think the careers people love are found when our skills meet the right opportunity. So today we’re going to focus on those two things. So first up skills. I want you to look at the job that you really want and think about what skills you need for this job? This is a major part of job searching. You have to have the skills for the job. Don’t let them slide in this weird time, the mistake I’m seeing people make is they think “Well, no one’s hiring right now (that’s false BTW), so why should I keep working on my skills? I’ll just wait until people are hiring again”. Put in the work NOW so the second people are really hiring in large numbers again you are a TOP candidate because you have all the skills needed as you used this weird time to your advantage.


So, what skills do you need to work on and start practicing? Is it getting better at Excel, is it in working on food plating? Is it a soft skill that maybe you need to work on, something more like communication?

You can still do that even if you are still having to stay at home. So just start working on that skill.The key to this is to focus on one skill at a time. Don’t try and do all of them at once, pick one and get really good at that, then you’re already a levelled up candidate! Now move on to the next one, build a base and then move on to the next thing, one by one you will get all the skills you need to be great for that next job. And if you’re wondering how you get those skills while sitting at home?

Well online learning is a real thing, there are online courses from everyone under the sun.Okay, so that other part of the job search process is having the right opportunity. And how do we get the right opportunity? We network, you can still network from your couch at home. In fact, there are two types of networking. There’s outbound (you reaching out to people) and inbound, where you do things that make people come to you.

So let’s talk outbound first, as outbound is reaching out to people, this could be texting people that you haven’t talked to in a while. Right now is a great time to check in with everyone you’ve ever met, send a text and to say “Hey, I thought about you today wanted to see how you’re doing”?

They will hopefully respond with what they’re doing and ask you what you’re up to. Now, you don’t want to say… “Oh thanks for asking. Actually, I was wondering if you know of any openings at your company for jobs?” But you’ll get the chance to tell them what you’re up to, which could be, “I’m starting to look at making my next move. I really would love to talk to some people in “ABC” department, if you know of anyone let me know, but no pressure”.

Whatever the next step for you is just keep building relationships because even if they don’t have the opportunity now, you can’t go and knock on the door of someone you’ve never met and say “Hey, can you give me a job?”, but you can with the people you’ve built relationships with. So start reaching out and saying something like “Hey, I would love to do a virtual coffee chat with you, can we have a chat over Zoom? I would love to just hear more about what you do.”

If it’s somebody who’s almost a cold connection, for example they’ve accepted your LinkedIn connection request, you might need to build that relationship a little bit more first before you ask for that Zoom. But I really believe right now is the time when more people are willing to say yes to talking with strangers than they ever have before, the best way to get that connection is if you have somebody in common and ask for them to introduce you.

There’s also a thing called inbound marketing where people come to you. Well, how do you do that? You create an Instagram, if you are a Chef post your awesome food and work pics up there, or you can post content on LinkedIn. You can start a blog (if you have a strong blog on your subject it can be an incredibly effective way to grab an employer’s attention), create a Youtube channel on something that draws people to you, or post videos of talks that you have been invited to give on a work related topic. If you aren’t good at it just keep doing it until you are.

So use this opportunity to expand your online presence. If you want to go more into a certain area, start posting every day about it, for example, how people are coping around your chosen topic in the weird times we are living and right now, who did it well, and why do you think they did it well, who could do it better and what did they mess up? Talk about all those details, put up a different piece of work every single day for the next 30 days, learn to use tags correctly, learn to ask questions at the end of your post so people comment to you, comment on other people’s posts so that they come back and look at you.This is a way to start drawing people to you and it also hopefully highlights one of those skills you were working on. It’s a great way to end up creating opportunity just because you start to get noticed by people, and I have plenty of examples of people who have got jobs this way. So, make sure you are reaching out to people but also that you’re also proving what your worth by showcasing those skills and drawing others in.

There’s a blessing to this weird time of uncertainty, you hopefully have at least a little more time to work on those skills that you might be lacking and you have a lot more opportunity to meet people, even if it’s virtually because more and more people are willing to connect right now. So, keep job searching because the more you do now in terms of applying and meeting people and building those skills, the quicker you will get a job. Whether we get through this by this time next week or in three months (It won’t be three, please….. don’t let it be three months….), you’re going to get a job faster the more work you put into it TODAY. So, start getting to work.

Thanks. Have a great day.
Until next time,
Nathan.