Searching for job opportunities can be overwhelming. Whether you are pursuing a career transition or aiming for a new position, one thing is certain: it takes time and effort to land that perfect dream job. In the interest of facilitating the process, Combine Global Recruitment, in partnership with Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), a leading outplacement services provider, created a panel to offer insider tips on how to spot and be ready for new job opportunities in 2022.
The virtual event, promoted by Anderson Moreira, Market Connections Coordinator at LHH, gathered over seventy high-profile professionals in an open conversation about market trends, high-demand jobs, and the overall future of job searching. Additionally, the speakers, Luiz Paulo Dias (Combine’s CEO and Founder) and Carol Di Domenico (Relationships Manager), experts in talent recruitment in the global arena, shared strategies for candidates to succeed in any job search. As the demand for talents increased, they emphasized the importance of reinventing ourselves throughout our careers to stay ahead of the competition.
How to spot job opportunities
By nature, trends change from time to time. Rather than providing the audience with a quick-to-expire recipe on how to spot job opportunities, Dias and Di Domenico invited professionals to think of it on a larger scale. Though opportunities are a subjective matter guided by one’s perception, a common thread among them is easy to identify. As counterintuitive as it may sound, opportunities arise where problems are yet to be solved. Which could present themselves almost everywhere.
Drawing attention to the growing potential of new economies, Dias and Di Domenico laid out how unicorns (startups that reach a $1 billion valuation) are leveraging problem-solving to deliver innovation and value to customers. According to CB Insights, as of March 2022, there are 1,000 unicorns around the globe breaking new ground to create solutions to the daily challenges of modern life.
And what does it have to do with job opportunities? Everything. When aiming to innovate, companies will indubitably look for professionals who are up for the challenge. It’s part of the foundation of supply and demand. The need to grow and innovate will drive up the demand for talents. “When businesses obtain new investments, they need to assure growth for investors. And to grow, they must have the two p’s: product and people. After securing capital, companies often hunt for talents to fill the gap in strategic positions,” confirms Luiz Paulo Dias.
Segments on the rise
Forecasting hot segments for 2022, Dias and Di Domenico pointed to exponential growth in cybersecurity, virtual reality, and augmented reality. But that doesn’t mean that other segments won’t benefit from the intersection between innovation and technology. In the past two years, the world witnessed the rise of remote learning, which stimulated the surge of edutech companies. The same happened with money transactions. When bank operations became too bureaucratic, fintech companies showed up to simplify the way people deal with money. However, the future isn’t about tech-related jobs only; it’s about bringing talent to the table to promote innovation in any field. “During the past two years, we saw the demand for tech professionals rise.
Understandably, companies were pushed to digitize their products. But almost like a domino effect, when sales start to go up, there will be an appeal for companies to invest in other teams as well. Businesses go through different stages that require specific sets of skills. It’s all about the timing. Nevertheless, the demand for talents grows regardless of the segment,” explains Dias.
It’s all about people
Due to the necessity of catching up with consumers’ new demands, traditional segments like health care and logistics will also undergo significant changes that will lead to more strategic hires. Furthermore, as people grow more alarmed by climate change, Bloomberg Intelligence predicts that investments in businesses linked to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) will reach $50 trillion by 2025. Additionally, as products must sell, the demand for marketing and e-commerce professionals is likely to remain high.
By comprehending society’s movements, as well as peoples’ behaviors and needs, it is possible to predict where job opportunities will emerge. After all, people are what drive businesses. Companies don’t sell products but rather solutions for the struggles of daily life. Learn what people need, study how to deliver simplified solutions, and enjoy the road to a very successful professional life.
The new reality of work
A generation or two ago, professionals could afford to wait for opportunities to show up. Having a good education and some references would be enough to secure a great job. Now, in the era of remote work, candidates aren’t competing with other local talents but virtually with the whole world. In today’s reality, to secure a great job, professionals will have to reinvent themselves and adopt a proactive learning attitude to stay competitive, regardless of their rank. One’s ability to learn is a single skill that encompasses all others.
According to the third edition of the Future of Work Report, elaborated by the World Economic Forum, 85 million jobs could be replaced by machines by 2025, while “97 million new professions more adapted to the emerging distribution of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms are expected to rise”. In less than three years, 50% of the world’s population will need reskilling to guarantee their place in the workforce.
Work vs Purpose
Another aspect of the new reality of work is that companies also have to rethink their culture to retain talent. The record number of professionals voluntarily leaving the workforce last year proved that companies couldn’t stay put either. “It’s a cyclical dynamic. The new economy changes the new reality of work, and the reality of work will force the economy to change again. Companies and professionals have to adjust to the constant work transformation. And that goes beyond the hunting for hard skills. Although technical knowledge remains important, companies and professionals alike will need to match purpose more than ever if they seek long-term commitment,” emphasized Carol Di Domenico.
Furthermore, job opportunities aren’t measured by paychecks alone anymore. People realize that they spend most of their lifetime at work, and this daily effort must serve a bigger purpose. The high costs of turnover or the implications of a disengaged workforce are issues easy to prevent. By welcoming honest conversations about goals and aspirations in the early stages of the hiring process, both parties involved can make an assertive decision for the future. Moreover, it’s about time to reformulate the way people get hired. Although a tailored resume and an impressive cover letter open doors, they don’t cover the complexity of an individual. A superficial analysis of a resume won’t give the dimension of one’s full potential. Efficient recruitment solutions incorporate rounds and rounds of data-driven methodologies to find the right talents.
Be yourself a brand
Regardless of the segment, businesses are primarily about people. And the same can be said when the business in question is one’s ability to get hired. Although automatization is an ever-present part of modern life, there is always a decision-maker, a person who must be impressed, convinced, and engaged.
To stand a chance in the competitive market, professionals need to differentiate themselves from the competition, which can be achieved through personal branding, among other tools. By crafting an image that showcases your purpose, set of values, and the contributions only you offer to the world, it’s easier to engage recruiters. “Every professional brings unique skills to the table, and recruiters want to see that. Try to resist the urge to follow the trail of others or match today’s trends to secure a job. Being yourself is a powerful asset,” says Di Domenico.
Stay ready for opportunities
In addition, building a virtual presence that translates who you are in real life will also help distinguish job opportunities that don’t resonate with you. Remember, companies and professionals pursue the same objective: the chance to thrive. Businesses are looking for the right candidate, while candidates seek the right environment to grow professionally. “We see that there isn’t such a division between professional and personal life. Whether or not we want to acknowledge it, our personality can’t be left at home when we go to work. That isn’t to say that we can’t adapt, but rather that we should look for opportunities that match ourselves and our goals,” affirms Di Domenico.
The ability to solve a problem is the backbone of a good personal brand. Build yourself and your image as someone who aims to be a resource for companies rather than a liability. Admittedly, there is an overuse of problem-solving as a soft skill in resumes left and right. Yet, recruiters can spot the difference between having a problem-solving mindset and using it as a broad term for self-promotion. As a set of non-technical abilities, soft skills are commonly overlooked. Yet it has the power to enhance the performance of professionals at every level, an asset that employers certainly will be looking for.
