The Future of Job Opportunity Seeking
The CoVid-19 Pandemic wave has left many things in its wake. Global uncertainty as to the future of business, regional flux as neighboring nations posture for scarce foreign investment and intense local chaos, as businesses close due to their innate inability to reframe and adapt quickly enough to changing circumstances. CoVid-19 has struck the world economy with the biggest shock since World War 2. World economy is forecasted to contract by 5% for 2021 (vs the Global Financial Crisis of 2009, where it shrank by 0.1%). Low and middle income economies are forecasted to shrink drastically for the first time in 6 decades and it is estimated that close to 90 million people will be pushed to extreme poverty. Prolonged school and university closures have led to dire academic ramifications and already the “Gen-Covid”, a term coined by a work colleague Verticka Kohli, are facing significant mental disorders as well as uncertain state of graduate employment.
A key net recipient of this World Disorder are the billions of full and part time employees. It is estimated that over half a billion full time jobs have been lost globally over the past several months. Closer to home in Malaysia, all too often we have heard stories of airline pilots manning burger bars, software engineers involved in the freight of fresh fish from the local port to restaurants in the city, out of work university lecturers selling products at the local product exchange like Lazada or Zalora and accountants taking to the road as Grab drivers. Never before have so many people been displaced from their full time jobs within such a short time period. No matter the billions of Ringgit being spent to contain the business impact of the Pandemic and to spur economic growth, unemployment rates continue to increase drastically. It was forecasted by MIER in Q1 of 2020, that unemployment levels will reach over 2.4 million over the course of coming year.
What does this now mean for those unemployed looking for security of income? How will things change from the way it use to be when applying for jobs? One thing is clear, the time for the “new normal” has ended… instead it is now The Normal. And what does Normal look like in the employment space?
What is clear is that the days of the traditional CVs or resumes are fast coming to an end. No longer have employers the luxury of time to go through 3-4 pages of CVs per candidate. Instead, now its all about speed and effectiveness of the selection process. And if there is anything that could be done to support the employer or the recruiter in this, it will be taken up with hands clasping in glee and immense appreciation.
CVs, as we are only too aware, are static and very much one dimensional. It does not at all showcase the communication capabilities of the candidate, nor does it allow the candidate the ability to let his or her personality come across. Furthermore, research has shown that 8 out of 10 CVs out there have been ‘falsified’ in some way or other by the candidates.
Enter the Videome. This is a short video clip of about 70-90 seconds that is designed to specifically showcase the articulation, the presence as well as the personality of the candidate. The time of the Videomes are fast approaching us. Hence, the sooner candidates get use to effective and seamless Videome crafting and submissions, the faster they will get attuned to the coming of and the significance of online interviews. In specific roles which are managerially and functionally driven, candidates now have the opportunity to articulate and openly express their thoughts, points of view, skills, experiences and critical thinking within a 90 second video clip.
From an employer’s or a recruiter’s perspective, viewing a 10 second introductory clip of a candidate will allow of easier preliminary filtering and quick selection, based on the requirements of the role. The added advantage of a visual alternative to the traditional 3-4 page written CV makes the selection process that much more simpler and more effective.
The future of recruitment is changing and it is changing exponentially fast. Speed, adaptability and effectiveness recruitment is the norm. The days of the traditional and static CV are already in its proverbial dying spasms. A dynamic perspective to how a job seeker portrays her/himself is now the way forward. Its all about expressing and articulating the true you to the employer / recruiter alike.
No matter what you think, the future of job seeking has arrived.
Co-Authored by Taranjeet Singh (taranjeet@joopps.io) and Kevin Yong (kevin@joopps.io), who are both Co-Founders of JoOpps, respectively. JoOpps aspires to reframe the recruitment sector by making it easy to use and more applicable to candidates, employers and recruiters alike. Taranjeet is also the CEO of Quantum Steppe Advisory and Kevin, the Principal Consultant of Optimus Consulting.
Sources:
a) IMF report analysis
b) World Bank analysis
c) The Economist, Oct 2020
d) Malay Mail, 24 March 2020