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The Ideal Job Search in 2019 and beyond


Editorial Team
23/10/2019 12:57 PM

Why is it so difficult to land a job in 2019? The Human Capital Hubs www.thehumancapitalhub.com posts an average of 10 new jobs weekly. Why then does the job search seem to get worse than it was before? If you have been searching for a job for any serious amount of time, then you understand how difficult it can be to find a job in 2019. You might even wonder if you are not as employable as you thought were before. That is right! It is excruciating. However, does it have to be? Let us discuss why the job search is what it is.


Country report for Zimbabwe produced by the Economist Intelligent Unit (Generated October 9th, 2019) forecasts real GDP will contract by 12.9% in 2020 following an estimated decline of 18% in 2019.  GDP shows the gross value of output produced in an economy. We are far from a tech-driven GDP growth where employment rate either falls or remains the same, even as GDP growth rate rises. This then implies its most likely employment rate will contract with the decline in GDP.


Many job seekers expect that finding a job will be much easier. Once you understand why jobs are so hard to land right now, you can take steps to improve your odds of success. Understand not all companies intend to fill positions they advertise. Some promote from within.  Others simply solicit resumes on a regular basis to have a reservoir of potential candidates they can turn to when positions do come open. Therefore, the job market may not be as wide-open as it appears at first glance.


According to a study by TheLadders, an online job-matching service, recruiters spend about 6 seconds before they make the initial “fit/no fit” decision. The study sought to see how recruiters reviewed resumes. They conducted a comprehensive eye-tracking study of recruiters while they reviewed CVs. Eye-tracking is a line of research that uses technology to record and analyze where and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of information or completing a task. Prioritizing information is essential; you only have 6 seconds to make an impression. Interesting to note is the study’s eye-tracking technology showed that recruiters spent almost 80 percent of their resume review time looking at just a few essential elements: the candidate’s name, current title, and company, previous title and company, start and end dates for current and previous positions, and education. In the six seconds they spent on these bits of information, they absorbed little else. “Beyond these data points, recruiters did little more than scan for keywords to match the open position, which amounted to a very cursory pattern-matching activity,” the researchers said.  “They’re looking for job hoppers, minimum education requirements, and a candidate’s steady career progression,” says Will Evans, TheLadders’ head of user experience and the man behind the study.


Sometimes job candidates fail to choose positions that best match their skillset. Understand that when you are exhibiting your skills show a record of accomplishment of your past work supported with tangible data and metrics. This could mean, for example as a digital marketer, your work resulted in a 60% increase in digital revenue collections, as a developer your software reduced the turnaround time for a task by 75%. All these should be factual and have points of reference.


Landing a job does not have to be a painful ordeal. Recognise the challenges you face and take proactive steps to overcome them. Use your network of associates and contacts in your industry. Leverage those relationships to get your foot on the door. Get a professional to help you with your CV. Have on online profile on job sites like the IPC jobs portal, which offers direct head-hunting services to employers so you can be visible to future employers.


Jerry Ndemera is a consultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants. He can help with CV Writing, Interview Coaching and Job Hunting Tips for individuals and teams. You can reach him on email at jerry@ipcconsultants.com or call 0242 481946-8.


Editorial Team

This article was written by one of the consultants at IPC


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