Master the Modern Job Search and Job Interviews

As the influence of technology continues to grow, the effects are rippling across several areas of daily life. Your job search and job interviews are no exception. Here are some current trends to keep in mind as you look for work.

Remote job interviews

This is likely nothing new if you’ve been searching at any point in the last several months. With Covid, many organizations have moved to an interview process that is partially (or even completely) remote.

Get familiar with a remote job interview option

If you have never used Zoom or another similar program, find a buddy in your personal life to chat with. This way, you can get a feel for how these programs work. And they all are rather similar to one another. So, if you get comfortable with one, you’ll be able to use another without too much trouble.

Job interviews are a little stressful by nature

So why make more stress for yourself than is necessary? Tackling the technology ahead of time is one more way to feel confident going into your interview.

Create the environment for remote interviews

This is an area that is relatively easy to control. When getting ready for a phone interview, be sure you’re in a spot with solid signal. Make sure your phone is fully charged. Be mindful of and minimize background noise.

When getting ready for a video interview, all the same points about signal, battery power, and background noise apply. Only now, you also have the visual. Take note of what will be in the background. Keep things neat. Create good lighting for yourself (light source is best when placed behind the camera, not behind you). These all factor into one’s assessment of how professional the candidate is.

Getting messages from AI

Many job boards are beginning to incorporate AI into their technology, both for the candidate and for the employer. Often, that technology is used to review resumes of candidates in the database to unearth individuals who could be a match for a particular job. The system may serve up your resume to that employer, or it may just notify you of a job that’s a match. Or it could do both. In any case, having your resume on there just means you may be on the receiving end of this AI outreach. In those cases, the email could be coming from the system, not from the employer.

Vetting out candidate skills

Also more common now is the use of a wide range of assessments. Like many things, hiring is becoming more and more data-driven. So job boards are finding new ways for employers to vet out the candidates who apply to jobs. Some that we’ve seen most often are Microsoft, Google applications, attention to detail, customer service, filing, and typing. Depending on the job board, there could be many other possibilities out there.

How to stand out

As always, one of the best ways is to avoid doing what one might call “quick apply.” While this is convenient, it gives you very little chance to customize the resume or the cover letter. When you customize, it makes it clearer to the reviewer why you’re a great match. If your resume and cover letter cannot accomplish that within a few seconds, you’ve likely lost your chance.

Be prepared for these remote interviewing methods.

If you give a little attention to the details, you’ll really stand out as someone who is professional. Without adequate preparation, you may find yourself doing a great deal of apologizing during your conversation.

Get a jump on required assessments

In some cases, employers aren’t only assessing your skills with these tests. They may also be testing how serious you are. They know it’s easy enough to submit an application, but are you engaged enough with the opportunity to take those next steps?

It’s always best to take these promptly. And as with the remote interview prep, be sure you’re in the right environment. Many of the tests are time-sensitive to make you work under pressure. Being in a quiet place with no distractions could be a make-or-break.