Expert Recruiter Insights
On October 7, NYWICI’s professional development series Next Level You held the Expert Recruiter Insights for Making a Career Change event. The webinar was moderated by NYWICI member and award-winning television journalist Jackie Hyland and spotlighted Jamie McLaughlin and Carly Mednick from top digital recruitment agency Monday Talent. McLaughlin and Mednick shared their tips for navigating career transitions in communications and advice for aspiring professionals.
McLaughlin expressed that recent trends have shown that more people are making significant career pivots later in life, compared to previous years. The impact of global politics and events has shaped the way that job-searchers approach job-hunting. He mentioned before making career pivots would’ve not been a good period to do so, but currently, there are more opportunities for people to do career transitions.
Adaptability and showcasing a wide range of skills on your social media and resume are two of the most desirable traits in job candidates. McLaughlin and Mednick expressed candidates with a diverse set of experiences and skills were often more noticed by recruiters.
In addition, tailoring your language on social media and resumes to fit specific job positions is vital to hearing back from recruiters. Mednick emphasized because of the wide pools of candidates, many recruiters don’t pay as close attention to applications as they previously did before. The use of artificial intelligence has narrowed down the candidate pool to be much smaller. While certain candidates may be skilled, Mednick said that the way they describe their skills and qualifications is just as vitally important.
McLaughlin mentioned relationship-building and networking with those in the industry greatly benefited job-searchers’ chances. It’s important to not spread yourself too thin and identify around three to four companies you are interested in and regularly stay in touch with people who work at those employers.
Perfecting the art of the pitch is crucial to landing a job. McLaughlin expressed that it helped candidates stand out from the crowd and garner positive feedback. The volume of applications can dwindle the attention paid to individual applicants, and thus it’s important to make the most of the time allotted to you.
Searching for jobs can be a difficult task and one that can drain energy and confidence. Mclaughin taking a step back to get a perspective on things greatly helped him. What matters more in the end is not your mistakes, but keeping a positive attitude and staying dedicated to the task.
