You may do okay at interviews - and you may get the job. But consider this: 

• Is it the right job - or the best job for you?
• Did you get as high of a salary as you could have?
• Did you get as good of a title as you could have?
• Did you get a job that meets your life’s needs?

Imagine an Olympic athlete without a coach. Coaches and trainers are essential for achieving excellence in sports, fitness, business, or personal development. They provide strategies, tactics, and best practices that help individuals reach their goals quickly and effectively. This same principle applies to job seekers in today’s highly competitive job market.

At Career Oyster, our career coaches are here to help you every step of the way including:

• Career Goal Planning
• Resume Creation
• Networking Strategies
• Interviewing Strategies and Techniques

Let’s look at how a career coach can help you at each step of the way.

Career Goal Planning

You may have had a career plan early on -  had it all mapped out your career path.  But the reality is that many factors can impact your career. Things like job market changes, industry changes, personal life, and needs, and how AI impacts jobs across the board.  Let’s dive into each one of these. 

Job Market Changes 

In July 2024 the unemployment rate jumped to 4.3%, up from 3.4% early last year. According to the Wall Street Journal,  ‘the labor market is notably cooling. New claims for unemployment insurance have risen. Companies that once complained about dire labor shortages are more easily filling jobs, and hiring has slowed sharply. Wage gains have slowed.’ So the job market today for candidates is much tougher than it’s been in the last few years.  

Industry Changes 

Industries can also change.  Here are just a few examples:

• ‘Between 2000 and 2010, the U.S. lost one-third of its manufacturing jobs’. (Elon Musk, by Walter Isaacson).  
• ‘384 tech companies have laid off more than 124,000 employees in 2024, adding to the 428,449 tech workers who lost their jobs in 2022 and 2023’. (Forbes). 
• ‘According to a new report by Citi, a little more than half — 54% — of jobs in the banking sector have a higher potential for automation, while another 12% could be augmented by AI’. (pymnts.com)

Personal Life and Needs

We have different needs from our careers at different phases of life. Starting out, you want growth opportunities, networking, and learning.  When we have young families, we need balance and flexibility. As we mature and grow, we need increased salaries.  As we enter ‘the fourth quarter’ of our careers, we may want to take a step back, and leave leadership roles for individual contributor roles, and we may not need the same income levels we did earlier on. As our needs change, having a career coach can help us navigate these changes and find the best role based on that point in life. 

Resume Creation 

Howard Cattie, our longtime Professional Recruiter, Founder, and Head Coach, emphasizes the importance of a well-crafted, Forward-Looking Resume^TM  in today’s job search. According to Howard:

“50% of the resumes we’ve seen are very poorly written; they rarely get through the ATS screen, leading to frustration and poor options. 40% are traditional resumes, formatted from the rules of the 1980s, and although some of these may get through, they often look alike and fail to differentiate one candidate from another. Only 10% of resumes are truly effective as ‘selling documents.’”

So, how do you win in the resume game in 2024? While many job seekers attempt to craft their own resumes, this do-it-yourself approach often results in a “poor or traditional look-alike resume,” leading to a longer job search, a suboptimal job offer, or, in the worst case, a reactive and disappointing job choice. The critical questions in today’s competitive job market are: “How can I get a competitive edge?” “How can I stand out to get the job I want?” and “How do I win TODAY’S ‘Resume Game?’” 

In these situations, your resume becomes your primary tool for “selling yourself” when you’re not there. It’s essential to stay memorable throughout the long interview process, as your resume could be the deciding factor in a final hiring decision made by someone who hasn’t even met you. Just a few of the purposes of the resume are:

1. Getting Through the ATS: Your resume must pass the recruiter’s random selection of keywords.
2. The Initial Scan: If your resume is scanned by a recruiter, you have 15 seconds to make it into the “A” pile, rather than the “B” pile, where it will likely never be seen again.
3. Manager Review: The Recruiting or Hiring Manager may then review and narrow down the selection further.

So, how can you ensure your resume stands out? A short, generic resume is often less effective than a complete, focused resume. A well-crafted resume is 50% more likely to get you interviews and can support you throughout the interview process, helping to build chemistry and confidence.

A Resume Coach, especially one with a sales-oriented approach, can provide the guidance needed to craft a focused, compelling resume that stands out. The best resume coaches understand the complete job search process and can advise you on how to differentiate yourself in your field. Investing in their expertise can significantly shorten your job search and increase your chances of “winning the job you want.”

Networking

Hiring managers are often not present in your immediate network. Exploratory meetings, direct and indirect, are required for an invite or a referral to this hidden market.  Did you know that 50% of positions filled occur through networking and personal referrals? 

Interview Strategies and Techniques

60% of winning a job - happens in the interview. Yes, you need a resume, and yes, you need networking, but the magic happens in the interview process.  

The most qualified candidate doesn’t usually win the job. It’s the person who interviews the best who wins the job. 

Some of the most common mistakes candidates make in interviews are:

• Not having a clear understanding of what matters most to the interviewer
• Not having a strategy to control the interview
• Not preparing for the interview like it’s a sales call
• Talking too long about things that don’t matter to the interviewer

A Career Coach can help you win job interviews by:

• Creating a strategy to control the interview
• Giving you techniques to understand what matters most to the interviewer
• Preparing your stories so you can tell them in a memorable way
• Helping you stand out from the crowd 

Want a competitive edge? 

We encourage you to consider CareerOyster’s proven and innovative approach to “stand out from the crowd.” Check us out and learn how to win the resume game. And most importantly, we highly recommend exploring the benefits of working with a professional Career Coach.