As a recent graduate in 2019, you will be entering a highly competitive job market. The good news is that there are plenty of jobs available. The bad news is that there are ever-increasing numbers of candidates in the candidate pool when applying for jobs. In this guide we'll cover why this is, what you can do to stand out in a competitive job market (stand out), prepare for interviews and increase your chances of landing a job.
Why is the job market so volatile?
The number of candidates entering the job market is constantly increasing due to the fact that more people around the world are unable to obtain the financial well-being needed to be able to retire. This means that they stay in the labor market longer. In addition, the most recent graduates are also entering the labor market. Retirement matters financially. And when that balance shifts, the supply and demand for the labor market go through greater amounts of volatility. As is the type of volatility we are experiencing today.
This volatility is a job market where it can take longer to get hired, and it also means that your preparation to do so needs to be at a much higher level. This is because not only are you competing with other recent graduates for even entry-level positions, but you are also competing with potentially experienced people moving down the corporate ladder. This happens when those who struggle to find work are placed in positions that are below their experience level.
Take the time to find opportunities and potential employers
As the job market begins to make these turns, more communities have developed. These communities can sometimes be digital and other times they can be location driven. Your goal, as a graduate, will be to find your community that is most similar to the job you are applying for.
Let's take web development as an example. There are a variety of digital communities available for web development, most notably GitHub. You could take part in open source code projects where you can showcase your talents and potentially be recruited by other contributing members who have employment. Or you could just create open source projects, get some attention on the discussion forums, and possibly use that as experience for future employment.
The point here is to participate in the communities where your peers thrive. They have resources, job boards, networking events and more. These are all amazing opportunities to showcase your skills and get the attention of lucrative employers that are specific to the job function you want to play. There is absolutely nothing better than having an employer recognize your work and offer you an interview based on it. The more time you invest in these communities, the better your chances of combating the competitive landscape.
As a graduate, experience is key
Having experience is absolutely critical in this job market. Now more than ever. Indeed, recent studies have shown that almost 80% of employers do not check whether a bachelor's degree or a university degree has actually worked before hiring someone. This means that experience takes precedence over employment decisions. You will have heard other drivers talk about work experience being required for gainful employment. Here are some simple things to think about when thinking about combining your experience:
Personal projects are still considered experience. For example, if you are interested in a web development career and have built your own website, mobile app or product. These are absolutely pieces of experience that you can use to increase your chances of employment. The roles you played in university also count as experience. For example, did you work for your school newspaper? Did you coach a sport? These are seen as opportunities to learn about business and to learn about leadership.
Finding experience doesn't necessarily mean just an internship, although that can certainly help. But if you take a moment to think about the last four years of your life, there should be something there that might make you take notice. Anything from a building project you did with a family to a church retreat you went on. In those moments, there was an opportunity to learn a skill that is likely practical for the business world. Once you find them, it's important to package them into a format that will be polite to your interviewer.
Packaging these experiences
The most important thing you can do to get noticed is to avoid simply listing these experiences on your resume. In most cases, you will be able to find time to speak with an interviewer in a hands-on manner. This means you will have a few minutes to show them something important about your background. If you already have something digital, this will help you show it to them when there's a free moment or when you're discussing your work history. If you don't have something digital, you may want to create a small presentation or at least something that can be emailed as a PDF in response to the work list, which they can refer to later.
These presentations should speak to the fact that you have surpassed other potential candidates. The way to do this is to talk to your background and then talk directly to the job opportunity. Try not to make your digital presentation cookie-cutter that you can use for every interview. Talk about your past experiences and why you fit the mold of the opportunity this particular employer has. You'd be surprised how far this will get you. Just putting in the extra effort.
Once you get the experience, it's about being comfortable
If you're competing against a veteran job seeker, they'll be more comfortable than you when they're in the “hot seat” of the interview process. It will be because they just had more work than you. And with that comes some knowledge of what the searcher is looking for and what they are not looking for. Fortunately, there are many resources available that can help speed up this process. And you can kind of skip the line when it comes to knowing how to properly answer interviewers. Remember, experience will be a big component of any interview process. But they will continue to ask the usual behavioral interview questions throughout the process.
For example, you'll want to make sure you know:
What to expect during a phone interview. Like the questions in a phone interview. And what happens next, which is often a thank you note you'll want to send. What to expect during an in-person interview and how many potential employees you may need to speak with (sometimes it can be 4-5 depending on the job function and industry). What to expect when interviewers proceed to ask you questions that do not appear to be related to the function of the job. Some “trick interview questions” you'll want to be prepared for, like how to answer “What makes you unique?” And finally, how to handle accepting your job offer, negotiating salary, and transitioning to your new position.
These are the general areas to look out for as they are the most common parts of the recruitment process around the world. Once you take the time to prepare yourself for what to expect, you'll naturally feel more comfortable, know how to answer certain questions, and increase your chances of getting a job offer and being hired as a recent graduate.