If you’ve been working for more than a decade and are embarking on a job search this year – because you’ve been laid off or you just want to move on – don’t get consumed by discouraging job market data or the perceived threats posed by AI.
Yes, job growth has been fairly anemic overall. But you’re not looking for a job overall.
Your prospects depend on your talents and transferrable skills, your contacts, the industries in which you’re looking and where you live. And, just as critically, they will depend on how you approach your job search.
That search may take longer than you expect. But you have more agency than you think over whether you get that interview or eventually get hired.
The first and most important step
Career experts CNN spoke to said the same thing: Before doing anything, clarify for yourself – even in broad strokes – what you want and what you have to offer.
“Get clear on what you bring to the table. Inventory your skills. And get clear on what you want to do next,” said Hannah Morgan, a job search strategist who runs Career Sherpa.
For instance, what kind of role would you like? Would you prefer to work at a large or small company, or at a startup? Do you have a preliminary list of employers you want to pursue? What transferrable skills do you have that can be applied in several industries?
Having a rough roadmap makes it easier to align what you’re communicating in all your job-related documents (eg, resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letters, etc.). And it makes it easier to clearly convey what you want to others, who may provide valuable information or introductions to people who are hiring. (More on that below.)
Be clear, too, on what you really don’t want to do in your next role, said Lisa Rangel, CEO of Chameleon Resumes, a job-search services firm for mid-to-senior-level executives.
Even if you’ve had great success with certain tasks or assignments but you never want to do them again, don’t emphasize them in your job materials and conversations. “You can talk about it if asked,” Rangel said. But your goal is to attract what you want.
So highlight first the skills and experiences you’ve had that speak to what you’re pursuing. Say you want a leadership role. If you’ve managed people in the past, lead with that fact, even if the titles you’ve held don’t indicate managerial experience, Rangel said.
Recruiters and employers are increasingly using AI to sort through incoming resumes and other organizational functions in the hiring process. But it’s not calling the shots.
“People are still making the decisions,” said Rangel, who is an advisory board member and investor in a company creating agentic AI for recruiters.
But you can use AI to your advantage to figure out if your experience and skills are a good fit for a new role, and to lower the chance that your resume gets tossed due to a technicality like the words you use.
An AI tool can call up a variety of job descriptions for the type of role you’re seeking. So take note if there is a similarity in terms used. Also, closely read the listings for specific jobs you plan to apply for.
“Use the same language,” Morgan said. “If a posting says we need someone with ‘Power BI’ skills and your resume doesn’t list that, you’re not a match” – even if your resume notes you have experience using “business intelligence tools.”
AI can also help you prepare for potential interview questions, said Priya Rathod, workplace trends editor at jobs site Indeed. Just don’t rely on it solely, and don’t parrot what it offers up. Anything you present about yourself needs to be authentic to your skills and experience, Rathod said.
Organizations may want employees who are technically proficient.
But they need candidates with human skills like critical thinking, empathy and a track record of collaboration, Rathod said. “Lean in to your human skills. … Those are the differentials for employers now.”
If you work well collaboratively, for example, highlight how. Perhaps doing so led to a given project being completed two weeks ahead of schedule.
“Talk about soft skills, but use quantifiable results,” she said.
You’ll do a lot online: Research jobs and specific companies, and search listings. (Career Sherpa compiled this helpful list of the best general and niche job sites right now).
You might take free courses and seminars. (LinkedIn, for example, is offering five free job-seeker courses through March 31.)
And, of course, you’ll submit your resume to online job postings. But, Morgan said, “[that] isn’t enough to guarantee it will get seen.”
Rangel suggests that especially for those seeking higher level roles, submitting a resume to online jobs postings as your main strategy is like planning to win the lottery: Your odds aren’t good.
To succeed, take a more holistic, human approach.
That will mean networking. A lot. That will be key to landing more interviews and increase your chance of being hired, Morgan and Rangel said.
Reach out to professional contacts. To people your contacts refer you to. To alums from your college. Have conversations at professional conferences and events that you attend or volunteer to help run.
Rather than cold-calling a hiring manager or someone at a company you don’t know, “It’s much better to reach out to someone you do know who is not part of the hiring process and ask them to make a ‘warm’ introduction for you (to someone who is),” Morgan said.
If you’re in the middle of an active search, “finish (your day) when you’ve reached out to 10 people versus spent three hours reworking your resume,” Rangel suggested.
And, she added, “Don’t chase job openings. Talk to people where you want to be, even if there isn’t a posting.”
Why? There’s a good chance they may realize they have a need for your skills and experience and if they eventually do create a job opening or hear of one, they may recommend you.
“If you’re only job chasing, you’re severely limiting the opportunities that could come your way,” Rangel said.