Over time, job searches have changed. In 2008, LinkedIn was just barely getting off the ground. Most people were still mailing paper copies of their resumes to potential employers, and applying through an app on your smartphone was unheard of.
Flash forward to today: the app market and the internet have completely revolutionized the way people look for and apply to jobs. Although shifts from year to year are often small, the job search can vary enormously. What can you expect if you’re looking for a job in 2018?
Keywords and Pre-Screening
LinkedIn and similar sites have made it easier than ever to apply to jobs. Fill out your profile, upload your resume, and start applying to jobs with the click of a button.
The ease of applying to jobs has meant most recruiters and hiring managers have seen an exponential increase in the number of applications they receive. They’ve had to devise new ways to sort through applications to find the best people.
Software is helping them do it, and 2018 will see more reliance on keywords and pre-screening than ever before. The customized and tailored resume will be even more important in light of this. Employers will screen resumes and those without particular keywords will be filtered out. Ensuring you have the right lingo becomes imperative.
Welcome to the Gig Economy
The trend toward temporary, part-time, casual, and contract work has been ongoing for a number of years now, and it’s unlikely to change in 2018. The tendency of workers to move from job to job rather quickly has become known as the “gig economy.”
The gig economy has meant big changes to the world of work, with benefits for both employer and employee. Employers are now able to hire on an as needed basis, quickly getting people into roles they need filled for only as long as they need them. When the project is done or the seasonal rush is over, the employment relationship ends.
Workers can benefit from this as well as they move from gig to gig gathering experience. Employees now have more choice in selecting their gigs and choosing schedules to fit their needs.
Employers still need full time workers. Many positions will be temp-to-perm for that reason, allowing employers and employees to “sample” each other for fit before making the relationship more permanent.
The Rise of Specialists
Given the saturation of sites like LinkedIn and job search sites, many employers are now turning to specialty sites to find qualified professionals. An IT professional, for example, may look for work on a job search site dedicated to IT jobs, instead of looking through LinkedIn.
Employers like this move because it allows them to truly target the candidates they want to apply to this job. It limits the applicant pool to more qualified professionals, eliminating some of the less suited applicants. This in turn makes less work for hiring managers and recruiters as they have fewer applications to sift through.
Job seekers increasingly need to know where to look. Check out job search sites dedicated to your profession before you hit LinkedIn. You may find some job postings you wouldn’t otherwise see.
More Staffing Agency Partnerships
Many job seekers still believe they can go it on their own for the job search. In this day and age, it’s becoming less and less likely you’ll land an interview by submitting your resume on your own.
Since there are so many job seekers and so many applications, employers are turning to recruiters to help them find the best candidates. Recruiters can pre-screen candidates and ensure the employer only has to review the best applications.
In 2018, the job search will be facilitated by agencies for more job seekers than ever before. If you’re hoping to land a new job in 2018, get a head start by teaming up with a staffing agency like Liberty Staffing now.
