The current job market is booming. With businesses recovering from the pandemic-related economic slump, they are eager to hire new skilled workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were over 11 million job openings as of October 2021. 

However, just because it is a job seeker’s market, it doesn’t mean that it is easy to land a job, especially for recent graduates and people reentering the workforce after an extended absence. 

Entry-level jobs are in high demand, and positions are highly competitive. To overcome the challenges of searching for a job in the current labor market, you need to know the latest trends and factors to consider before deciding on a career.

1. Remote Work is Becoming Increasingly Common

If you are starting or returning to the workforce after a job loss or extended leave, there is a huge job market trend toward hybrid or remote work, which may enable you to create your own career as a freelancer or self-employed contract worker. According to a recent report by the McKinsey Group, up to 90% of businesses across all industries expect to use a combination of onsite and remote workers. 

Some common sectors employ remote workers, including IT and tech design, sales and customer service, financial services, and project management. Look for remote jobs in your industry with JobsFuel’s simple search tool and negotiate a flexible work schedule to create your own dream job. 

2. Most Employers Prefer Skills Rather Than Qualifications

In the past, high school students were encouraged to get college degrees and tertiary qualifications to be more appealing to potential employers. This practice implies that you will find and retain the same career throughout your life. 

While this may have been true for employees in the post-war and Boomer generations, the nature of the job market and workplace is changing, and younger generations are likely to have several jobs over their lifetime. Gallup studies show that job-hopping is common among millennials and zoomers. 

This shift has seen recruiters and hiring managers focus more on the skills you bring to the job rather than the degree you hold when considering you for a position. According to the World Economic Forum, over one billion jobs will be augmented with technology by  2030. This means that a third of the global workforce will need to engage in reskilling to find or retain their job. In addition to technical skills, employers are looking for people with high-level interpersonal, creative, and collaborative skills. 

To help demonstrate your skills when job hunting and interviewing, learn how to write a strong cover letter and resume, and master the art of answering interview questions. Your resume should use plenty of action verbs and highlight how you have used your skills in specific job-related situations. 

You can also use social media accounts as a portfolio to demonstrate hard and soft skills to potential employers. For example, being invited to sit on a discussion panel at an industry event demonstrates higher-order communication skills. 

3. Customize Your Resume for the Job

Today’s hiring managers no longer read resumes one by one. They use automated tools (bots, search engines) to process applications more efficiently. These tools look for the keywords most likely to represent a relevant skill or qualification for the job.

One of the best ways to increase your chances of success is to customize your resume and your cover letter, tailoring both for the position you seek. Review the skills and qualifications required for your desired job, and build your application around these factors.

For example, if a specific job position requires applicants to demonstrate teamwork skills, consider including details that showcase how you’ve worked with teams in your work history and what you’ve achieved as a team player.

Custom resumes not only increase your chances of being seen by the recruiter’s search engine, but it is also a way to show you meet your potential employer’s specific needs and requirements.

Well-written resumes don’t just inform your recruiter of your work history and qualifications. They should tell a story and offer a compelling argument that you are the right person for the job.

4. Your Vaccination Status May Be a Determinant Factor

According to a 2021 ResumeBuilder report, as many as 1 in 3 employers automatically reject job applicants that do not list their vaccination status on their resume. Another 1 in 3 prioritize vaccinated applicants over non-vaccinated ones.

There’s no question about it: Not listing your vaccination status on your resume reduces the number of potential long-term career and job opportunities. Vaccinated applicants are more likely to land a full-time job, and vaccinated employees face fewer risks of job loss.

However, it is essential to remember that vaccination status may only be relevant for positions that do not include fully remote work. Before sending a job application, verify that your employer has a vaccination mandate and whether it would make sense to list your status for this specific position.

If you intend to list your vaccination status on your resume, the information should be easy to find. Good ideas and practices recommend including it in the top half or a clearly defined section, such as your professional summary.

Build Your Career With JobsFuel

Although the unemployment rate is down, there are more job openings than ever before. But, searching for a job in the ever-changing job market can be challenging. With current job-hopping and remote work trends, you need to find positions in your preferred industry quickly and easily. 

To streamline your job search, try JobsFuel’s easy-to-use job searching tool. JobsFuel lets you refine your search by job title, part-time or full-time work, location, or keywords and select the most relevant openings for you. Check out our educational blog series for more information about crafting a cover letter or acing interview questions.