New year, new job? Top tips for finding career success in 2021
With 2020 finally behind us, we can all hope for and look forward to a much better year than the one we have just had. For some of us, the new year may also mean a new start, at least in terms of a job and career. As England enters the latest round of lockdown and the other home nations are all also locked down to varying degrees, we are once again travelling unchartered territory. Although the ‘world of work’ has changed in so many ways, navigating a job search or developing your current career is not impossible. We share some of our top tips to help you be in the best position to find career success in 2021:
Expand your horizons
Don’t be put off by job locality. Working from home has become the norm for many businesses and employees throughout 2020. With no end yet in sight for this trend, it means that you can expand your job search wider than within a certain commuting radius, which may have influenced your job searches in the past.
Update your work information
It goes without saying that your CV needs to be as correct and up-to-date as possible. But, what about your social media profiles? If you use LinkedIn, make sure your work information is correct and you position yourself in a way that makes you attractive to a potential employer.
Reach out to your network
Although face-to-face networking is currently out of the question, the digital world makes it incredibly easy to connect and communicate with potentially useful contacts. Get in touch with your existing network. Find out what is happening to your connections and share your own experiences with them. In the same as face-to-face networking, it is crucial to develop two-way communication. By developing a rapport, you might find that they have an opportunity for you or can point you in the direction of your new dream job. It might also help to branch out of a particular field and look for something new in an untapped sector. Connecting with people in those fields could help get you noticed for a role.
Practice your interview skills
It’s likely that job interviews will be remaining solely online, at least for the foreseeable future. While this has advantages, trying to undertake a professional interview whilst at home can highlight its own set of problems. An online interview needs to show the interviewer that you will have an adequate and quiet workspace, even with children at home from school or a partner also working from home, as this will be looked upon favourably.
Make sure you can undergo an interview with an unfussy or non-contentious background behind you, in a space where you will (hopefully) not be disturbed. Iron out any technical issues, such as making sure the camera and audio will work and invest in a microphone headset to appear more professional. You should try your best to have a distraction – and IT issue – free environment. However, people are much more tolerant of these hiccups now, then they ever would have been 12 months ago. Practice having online interviews with your Career Consultant, it’ll help you prepare for the real thing.
Enhance your prospects
If your business is looking to provide outplacement to departing employees, Career Evolution can help by supporting employees their next step in their career through one-to-one training, delivered virtually. All of our Consultants are experienced in assisting with career transitions and come from a variety of sectors and work backgrounds. Our Consultants will work with your employees to identify their options and transferable skills, to make a difference to their job search or career enhancement and realise their full potential.
Stay positive
The job market is tough, but our professional Coaches can help your employees to develop resilience for a more positive and effective mind-set and attitude. Get in touch to see how we can help.
Good luck, and happy job hunting in 2021!
