Applying for jobs is much easier these days, thanks to online apps, job boards, and the Apply Now button on LinkedIn. Recruiters now receive an ultra-high flow of digital resumes per position. Decisions of the would-be employers often feel arbitrary. The letters with refusal look as if no one bothered to read the CV. Often, it is so. ATS bots now reject up to 75% of resumes before they even reach the recruiter.
ATS forms make a shortlist from thousands of candidates in the recruiter’s database. If the ATS system does not understand your resume, it will filter it off. Sometimes, people get rejected and begin thinking that they lack professional qualities and may need the help of a career advice expert. What they actually lack is a bot-beating resume.
Before you apply for a job, you could refer to the help with my resume service like skillhub.com to ensure better chances of landing an interview. This step is quite a profitable way to invest in your career.
Job seekers need more than key skills and a high-quality CV to land an interview. Timing is also fundamental. For example, recruiters note that companies of all levels experience personnel shortages in spring and summer. This loophole gives applicants a perfect opportunity to get a dream job facing less competition on the job market.
In 2024, the pandemic is going to abate due to mass vaccination. But the changes it brought about will remain. Many IT companies stick with the work-from-home trend, and this tendency spreads. At the same time, COVID-19 boosted the automation of the applicant tracking process and online job markets. Whatever the future holds, here are some tips to keep in mind while building a career in 2024.
1. Avoid Job Search in January
It is a bad time to look for a job. Long vacations and an emergency regime imposed by the holidays lead to an odd situation. Some employees enter the new working year poised and relaxed, while others hastily finish the annual reports. Hardly any of them are determined to communicate with the HR managers and refer to recruiting firms regarding vacancies in their department.
The approval of the annual budget continues through a couple of months. It remains unclear whether the company will pull one more employee aboard.
2. Look For Growth Opportunities From February to May
Interest in new employees begins to grow during these months. Companies are ready to staff teams up with skilled personnel to embody far-reaching plans. During this period, hiring managers consider applications for both basic and management positions as the annual reports already showed who worked and how.
Organizations are actively looking for employees for seasonal industries: tourism, construction, and so on. This trend significantly affects the number of vacancies.
3. Craft a Winning Resume in Spring
If the decision to change your career path is final, it is time to update the resume. One could use numbers from annual reports to illustrate performance and support work experience descriptions with the most recent data. Yet, brace for competition.
4. Note That May to August Is Low-Level Workers’ Time
This period is best suited for a job search if you have low or medium qualifications. Junior positions at big companies, traineeships, and internships are blooming in summer. This time could be a good chance to start a job in a completely new career field.
This concerns official pieces of training only, not probation periods. In summer, departments rarely work in full force. Some employees go on vacation, and tasks get distributed among the remaining employees, so they have no time to train newcomers and discuss personnel integration strategies.
But this does not mean that it is impossible to find a job – quite the opposite, there are few vacancies, but there are few job seekers as well, and the competition is extremely low.
If you are not sure if it is worth changing jobs, update your resume anyway. In summer, companies open only urgent positions designed to close a hole or solve sudden business problems. Recruiters actively research the candidate market and can find your CV without any effort on your part.
5. Scan the Market From August Through September
When applying for a job, do not hesitate: if it contains requirements that you do not quite fulfill, it is still worth trying. As a last resort, you will have time to learn everything until September, when the workflow returns to its typical state.
6. Apply From September to November
The spring rise was just a prelude to the autumn activity. Many individuals postpone their job search until September to gain strength for career achievements. Businesses show a similar logic: the first half of the year reveals the company’s needs, and the second half is all about fulfilling those. HR departments work fast. So, there will be fewer vacancies over time.
Applying for a leading position, you will have to fight many applicants to prove that you are the best.
7. Skip December Job Search
It will be challenging to find a job right before and after the holidays. All departments sum up the results of the year, fill out reports, and go on vacation. Even if a firm has many open positions and is actively conducting interviews, the final decision will likely be postponed until next year. And after the holidays, they may decide that new employees are not so needed.
Conclusion
Seasonality of work is a factor to remember. Yet, note that different industries have varying employment strategies. For example, vacancies in construction pop out in March-April because recruitment in the construction industry is up from April to October.
Positions of an accountant, auditor, and financial manager show little dependence on the seasonality of the labor market. Recently, the weather has become completely unpredictable, and various industries dependent on weather conditions, for example, agriculture, have to adapt to new conditions.
When looking for a job, keep in mind other important factors that can influence employment. A well-edited resume will be of value any time of the year.
