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Mastering the Modern Job Market: Tips for Success
48 Plays4 months ago
In this enlightening episode of "Water Cooler Wisdom," we sit down with Anne Baker, a career and performance coach with over two decades of experience. Anne shares her invaluable insights on navigating the dynamic job market, leveraging your unique superpowers, and becoming the CEO of your career. Whether you're considering a career change, seeking new opportunities, or looking to enhance your professional journey, Anne's practical advice and strategic tips will empower you to take control and thrive.
Tune in to discover how to identify your core values, build a resilient network, and effectively market yourself in today's competitive landscape. Plus, Anne discusses the impact of AI on job requirements and the hidden job market, offering a fresh perspective on finding meaningful work in an ever-evolving world.
References:
Getting to Yes - William Ury
Recommended
Transcript
Standing Out in Your Career
00:00:11
Speaker
In a world where the only constant is change, standing out in your career is more important than ever. Whether it's navigating the great resignation or unlocking the hidden job market, understanding what makes us unique can transform the way we approach our careers. On today's episode, we're joined by Anne Baker, an expert in management consulting and career coaching. Anne will share her insights into the world of career development, uncovering superpowers, and how to stand out in the shifting job market.
00:00:47
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to Watercolor Wisdom.
Meet Anne Baker
00:00:49
Speaker
I am Jake Blocker. And I am Rachel Grail. Rachel, great to see you. Always happy to be here, Jake. Great to see you too. Yeah, and we have yet another great topic and a great guest. Another one I'm really excited for, because I know a lot of people that need this topic right now. Yeah, it's around career coaching. and And I feel like, you know, back in the day, it was pretty normal for people to celebrate 20, 25th anniversaries and maybe even somewhat today, but that's not really the future. That's not really how what it's going to be. but Can you imagine just going to one job and then having a pension and that's the whole thing
00:01:29
Speaker
um man It's so far from my reality. I'm quite jealous of that. And you know in preparation, i did I wanted to look up some stats around 10 years based off of generations. So you're ready for some for some solid stats. I am ready. I am ready.
Generational Job Trends
00:01:46
Speaker
All right, so this is 10-year based off of generations. So we'll start with Baby Boomers. Their average is eight years and three months, which I thought was a little lighter. It was lighter than I expected, but yeah I'm sure there's other factors that go into it. Eight years and three months, okay. Gen X drops a bit, five years and two months.
00:02:06
Speaker
Okay, yeah, yeah. Millennials, bigger drop here, two years and nine months. Wow. Yeah. I think it was three years, a little like a few years ago when I looked, but it's dropped again. And then Gen Z, while they're new, so this is, you can take this with a grain of salt, two years and three months. So I think the trend is obviously drop and drop and drop. Right. Well, it' when I was 20, I was doing jobs for two years too. ah checks that That's amazing. I'm actually most surprised that boomers weren't longer. I know me too. I fully expected like 20 years to be the average there.
00:02:42
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Wow.
Need for Career Coaching
00:02:45
Speaker
And that's that's what makes talking about career coaching, I think, so important because so many of us are constantly now shifting our careers. You know, I'm on my third career, third time's charm, I think. yes And I see how they all come together. It's all kind of come together to be the amalgamation of my skills and what I offer. And it's almost, I mean, as a marketing expert, would you agree that finding the right career and landing the right role, is it's almost an exercise in marketing.
00:03:19
Speaker
So yeah, I think it's full on branding is figuring out who you are, figuring out who you want to be, what you want to be known for and putting that out to the public. So that's what I'm really excited about today. I think, I think that's going to be the theme of today's topic is how to put yourself out there and get picked. Yeah. Well, I know, I personally know a lot of people who are are in the job market right now, so I'm excited. Should we dive into it? Let's do it. All right. All right,
Anne Baker's Career Shift
00:03:49
Speaker
welcome in. So a little about in and is a board certified motivational leadership effectiveness and career coach, consultant and facilitator, partnering with individuals, teams and organizations for over 20 years. Currently, she designs and delivers experiential workshops to help career changers seek engaging and meaningful meaningful work.
00:04:11
Speaker
and begin her career in management consulting, working with CEOs to motivate and retain their teams through engaging rewards and retention-building practices. Later, she pivoted to developing consultant leaders and building high-performance teams to IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Welcome, Ann. How are you? Thank you. Happy to be here. Excited to be here, actually. I think the timing of having you here, Ann, is so good because I've been talking to a lot of people. I personally know several people who are in the job market really at all levels, and it seems like a lot of the standard ways of finding good roles just aren't getting the kind of results that they used to.
00:04:55
Speaker
So we know it's sort of old news, the great resignation is balancing out, but companies are still really struggling to find good talent.
Navigating the Job Market Post-Resignation
00:05:03
Speaker
So what do you advise professionals do when they're out there looking for a good fit for a job? So well, first of all, I think, yes, the the market is what we we finished with the the great resignation and it is kind of a bit more balanced with the the seeker and the employer. But it's still one of the most dynamic job markets we've ever experienced in the history of work. And and that a perspective could be exciting about that. A lot of different things that that you can take advantage of. Unemployment is still very low. It's lower than pre-pandemic. It's still teetering below 4%. There's still 1.4%.
00:05:47
Speaker
jobs per person. Yes, right around the great resignation. It was around, um you know, over two per person, but still so good. ah You know, we're we're going to see there's a lot of uncertainty out there right now with, of course, ah you know, are we going to have a recession? What is it going to look like? And the um whole, you know, unrest with ah the Middle East and Ukraine and Russia and an election year. Yeah. But there's still just a few things. No big deal. My stress dreams at night come to haunt me. But there's still a ah lot to be hopeful about. there When you think about COVID and the pandemic impact and and what to take advantage of there, what what was proven there is that we can work effectively remotely. So that' that's good news.
00:06:36
Speaker
ah You can ah network remotely. Virtual chats are are a reality, and an effective reality, which is great for those introverts out there. And it's much easier now to change careers because of the great resignation and people wanting to bring in people, employers wanting to bring people in so quickly. You don't have to have the experience. You don't have to have the degree, what they call kind of the paper ceiling. They just want to know that you are able to come in and and have impact immediately. And there's other ways you can demonstrate that besides showing experience and showing a degree. So that's good news, I think. Also, what's good news is because of the mass layoffs that happened right around pandemic, it's expected. It's not a matter of if it's a matter of when and it's not a scarlet letter. So I think that's also ah because people get so they feel so less than confident when they're in the job market because of the layoff and they shouldn't. It's right.
00:07:35
Speaker
I think that's such a good point is that people do, they get a hit to their confidence and then we know that they're unique and wonderful and they bring all of these great things, but sometimes it's hard for them to um feel that or sense that are or talk about that with people after a hit. Right. And so so this that that makes it easier. And then just one other thing I want to touch on and then how the the people, whether they're in their jobs right now or out of jobs looking for work, how they can take advantage of this time, the
AI's Impact on Jobs
00:08:05
Speaker
AI impact. we We have to speak about that because it is in our faces.
00:08:09
Speaker
And you know whenever there's a change, people get nervous, like, oh, my job's going to become ah obsolete. And yes, jobs are becoming obsolete. Requirements are changing. But they're changing for other jobs, for other requirements. So it's actually an opportunity. ah So you know that that's the perspective I'd like people to see. so so If you're out there or if you're, a you know, stuck in your current role, there there are things you can be doing. The best advice that that i I like to give is to really think about being CEO of your career. You know, and we know what a CEO is, yeah having a mission where where you want to and not just think about the now, but but but a bit of the long term it can involve, businesses evolve. um So having your mission, having your strategy and having a plan.
00:08:55
Speaker
is the best advice I can give you. And the first thing- I'm over here taking notes for myself. This is a great tip. And the two things to really help catapult that into a reality for yourself or making it clear for yourself are being very clear about what your motivating drivers are, what are your core values. And those are indicators of the job requirements you want and the type of organization you want to be in. ah because they do evolve ah as well as what are your superpowers. Since role requirements are changing, what you really need to hold on to are what those superpowers, those skills you have that you both enjoy using that you're very good at because that they are what can translate into different roles for you.
00:09:41
Speaker
Yeah, you know, there's two things that you kind of, you touched on that I thought of just a minute ago was one around the degree and two around the job descriptions. Like one, I am, so I agree. I'm seeing a lot more of like job required or don't care about your degree. Even college students are less enthused about what they're doing. I have a niece who's near college and it's like, I'm not going to go to college. I don't need to for what I'm doing. And then there's also a piece on the job descriptions. I remember reading somewhere, I was like, If you match up with maybe like three quarters of it, then apply for the job. Don't feel like you have to tick every single box. Is there anything around that that you want to speak to further?
Applying Beyond Qualifications
00:10:20
Speaker
Absolutely. I 100% agree. Actually, you'll even see so those trend companies are saying that they said passion and interests are more important. So please do apply. Because first of all, but when they're writing these descriptions, nobody's skilled at that. And they really don't know what they want. it's It's an opportune time for you to come in and help them carve out what they really need. Because you know, what what's the outcome you're looking for? Well, these, this is what you need. So, so absolutely. ah and And I encourage when you're applying for the role on your cover note to to say I'd like to further explore this role with you because the the description may, you know, there might, may or may not adequately reflect the the role that they're seeking. Yeah.
00:11:03
Speaker
It's interesting. and suddenly we When we chatted before, you had talked about the hidden job market. I want to dig a little bit into that.
The Hidden Job Market
00:11:12
Speaker
and I didn't know anything about this. I'm sure other people haven't either, so I'd love for you to share about it. Yes. I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm very passionate about the hidden job market because it's the only way I've ever landed a role and and is and it's a way to put looking for a job back into your control. ah So many times when I work with ah my clients who are in a career transition and they say, oh, nobody's hiring for that role right now. And I said, well, what's your data behind that? And they said, I don't see anything on LinkedIn or Indeed or ZipRecruiter. I said, no, no, no.
00:11:46
Speaker
no doesn Using these job boards is really going out of style. Companies are more focused on relationships and networking. And so really what's being advertised is probably right now eighty five up to 15% of the picture. 85% of the roles are not being advertised. Wow. Wow. That's an incredible number. Yeah. it's It's because it's expensive. It's because of this applicant tracking system. Um, it, it throws out qualified resumes. It's a, you have to hire somebody to sort through all that. People are doing LinkedIn, put this easy apply in. So, you know, artificially filling, uh, the applications for this, this role. So, so they're really leaning against advertising roles. Some companies have always liked Zappos and always made it a policy that they would not advertise for roles.
00:12:37
Speaker
ah More and more companies are following suit there. So what does it mean? Oh, go ahead. I'm sorry. Oh, I was going to just ah ask a follow up to that. And I don't want to and interrupt your train of thought, but maybe you can fold this into it. is that there's i When this kind of thing happens, it favors those that have connections. It favors those that are maybe already affiliated with the populations that know the people that know the people that get the jobs. And so that can be, I think, problematic for people that don't have access to certain communities, um maybe underrepresented groups that we know we don't see in white collar jobs. How do those people build meaningful connections so that they can get access
00:13:21
Speaker
to these kinds of roles? Right. That's that's a very good question. What what I suggest there is is similar things that even if you were going to, if you do see these dream roles being advertised, you would still want to do do these outlets. One is you absolutely need to be comfortable with LinkedIn. ah LinkedIn is 24 seven advertising for you. ah free advertising, I should stress. and ah ever And it's the first impression. And so having your profile out up there in terms of who you are, what your superpowers are, what you're capable of doing, you know, and then a few, you know, you're about on there can also provide, a you know, very concise and compelling story. um And as well as of of what you're capable of, it's kind of like your elevator pitch on there.
00:14:08
Speaker
and then um the companies. So that's a start. Then what LinkedIn provides is so you have where you want to, you you're clear about your motivating drivers, so what type of companies you want to work with. You go on to LinkedIn and you see and you click those, you start following those companies and you click people and you see people that that work in them and you start connecting with them and you start giving them ideas of how you can be the solution, how you can be the value adder. All right, I want to bring you in for a conversation. So that makes it a little easier. And you can also start using your own network. You do not realize that maybe on the surface that, oh, my my next door neighbor, they work for AT&T and I'm interested in a nonprofit. But they know 500 people who could possibly help you. So start getting out there and start chatting about what it is you want to do and where. And you'd be amazed at who knows who that can help you get in the door.
00:15:01
Speaker
I love that. And I think one little follow up question to that is for people who might be a little bit shy to just reach out to someone on LinkedIn um and say, Hey, yeah I'd love to strike up a conversation with you. I'm interested in what you're doing. I'm passionate about it um and not have it feel salesy. Do you have some, a couple tips or recommendations for those people on how to initiate a conversation like that? Yes. So first of all, I want to say with with the the the reach out and yes, introverts, I want to stress
00:15:36
Speaker
that it to have these conversations, I mentioned before with pandemic, these virtual chats, you can ask for just 15 minutes of time. It's no longer going in, can I meet you for coffee? Can I pick your brain over lunch? and Which those yeah know people like want to agree with, and they ah but they get rescheduled because they can't afford the time. and Now, with a Zoom, FaceTime meets, what have you, you can do have a very productive 15-minute conversation. And people will do that. ah One job coach, that is that a friend of mine from Kadima Careers, he's killing it out there. He says it is a numbers game. So yes, you know you have to get comfortable with it. And it's not just one person. for Per your wish list company or target company, he suggests you reach out to 20 people.
00:16:27
Speaker
i'm I'm a little bit easier with my clients. I say 10 and 10 quality reach outs. and Not just would you, you know, can I talk to you about this, but but demonstrate maybe you have something in common with them. Maybe you all went to the same school. These are all great things you can find on LinkedIn. ah Maybe you both ran a marathon um or maybe you come from a similar background, but ah just something to kind of help ah break the ice and a very small, you know, just a bite to excite excite in that. LinkedIn message and out of the ten I guarantee if you're not asking for a job if you're just asking for a conversation People will say yes. I Like that a lot and you know, I'm also wondering what about
00:17:11
Speaker
What about people who maybe they're not really job seeking right now? I think all of us, you know, we're semi open to work at all times because we experienced COVID. Hyper vigilance out there. whoop yeah exactly what What could we be doing like right now just to, you know, if something happens, if we start wanting to seek or, you know, the worst case scenario happens and you're desperately seeking work, what can you do now to start? working on like your LinkedIn and other things to be ready for that, if it happens.
Building Your Network
00:17:43
Speaker
Absolutely. I think we should, ah back to being CEO and and taking charge of your career and not waiting. I have a friend ah right now, one week she'll call me and say, I'm going to quit. I need to quit this week. And then next week, oh, I had a great meeting. No, I don't want to do that. And it's just going back and forth. I said, that's fine. you know Go back and forth in your head, but let's let's prepare yourself for you know whatever. I just don't want you to wake up and say, you absolutely, I'm miserable. I have to leave tomorrow. So those types of things that you should should be doing right now, um ah I'm going to name drop again, Austin Belchak, who's ah an amazing um job seeker, influencer. And he states, a well-nurtured network will serve a lifetime. so start building the reserves in your network. you don't need to So you're more comfortable when you actually need to tap into them. Reach out to people. Let them know what you're up to. Check in on how they're doing as well. It's a great way to practice your pitch. It's a great great way to reconnect with people so that when you actually need their help, it's it's a it's more comfortable for you. So that's definitely one. The other is absolutely be clear about those superpowers and continue to uplift them. Continue to find ways to use them.
00:18:57
Speaker
ah may And maybe, you know, whether it's in your organization, you can find, ah there there's trainings to help you upskill, showing and demonstrating that you're continually refreshing those skills is very marketable. um If not in your organization, LinkedIn, if your premium member has amazing classes, and and they're not huge investment of time or money. I'm not, you know, like those 10 grand project management certifications. No, so these things are are like, you know, maybe ah a few hours for a couple of days. And you post them on LinkedIn and it's a great ah career brand presence uplifter. Another one that I love and I'm i'm a junkie with is massonlineclasses.org. They have amazing classes. Definitely include in those uplifting classes something around AI and digital because that is going to help future ready you.
00:19:45
Speaker
Love that. And we'll link all of these wonderful resources that you're sharing in um in the podcast. and Information. Description. Description. Thank you, Jake. I think we have time for one more question, which is a little bit of a shift in topic. But I think we're seeing, partly due to COVID and maybe just natural evolution, people are starting to look at their life a little bit more holistically and increasingly they want to have a job that integrates well with their priorities in life. um Shout out to the younger generations, I think really driving that forward. Can you talk about that a little bit? um Do you see this? How do you see that impacting the way people look for jobs now?
Evolving Career Priorities
00:20:29
Speaker
Absolutely. And you're right about the generations. ah one One thing, when but when we were talking about the state of the job market, there is an opening now for more of the Gen Zers, and that is going to be a huge impact on our workforce. The the the boomers are are rapidly moving out. The Zers are coming in. They have similar values as as the the boomers, but they're more of the, what do we call them, the digital natives. And their their values are on octane about being socially responsible and making green decisions. And that's kind and I think you know that changes their priorities, absolutely, in terms of what they're looking for in roles and work. But that's not the only thing that that drives these changes. And that's actually how I got my start in um
00:21:11
Speaker
Career coaching was working with people with with shifts in their life priority it was right around 9-11 and people that ah You know things that were really singing to them at the time that now life is very fragile And I don't want to be working on Wall Street anymore I want to be working at something that has meaning or or a Purpose if I'm gonna have to be away from my family for those amount of hours So so those kind of things that these uh, you know and the and the priorities can be evolving and when we talk about taking charge of your career you really need to be a making a note of that. so um So I would absolutely recommend keeping in mind what those priorities are because they are indicators in terms of the type of work that you want to be living, ah working it in and the and the types of organizations. But also, if you can't get that through your work and start finding ways outside of your work. And what I mean by that is several years ago, I was in a role ah where I wasn't able to work in a leadership development capacity. And that's something that I'm very passionate about. So what did I do? I ah and my i put my
00:22:14
Speaker
It was kind of painful, but I put my hat into be PTA president of my school. and I can facilitate these leadership development workshops with the teachers and the administration. So I was able to to achieve that and and that that was rejuvenating and and fulfilling for me. I have a client right now that I'm working with and he's about to accept a role. It's not fulfilling for him. But what is his life priority right now is that he has a six month old and his wife wants to take a career break. So he's taking a job with more money that does not seem to him. But knowing why he's doing that is motivating for him. And that is temporary. And that, you know, when she's back to to wanting to get back to work that they can he can find something that is is more fulfilling.
00:22:59
Speaker
Right. We have a multitude of drivers. I think that's a good note. Well, we could obviously keep chatting about this, but we do have to kind of bring it in for a landing. We'd love for our listeners to get to know you a little bit more. So we've got some hard hitting questions to close out the interview with and today. And here we go. First one, coffee or tea in the morning? So most definitely coffee, and it has to be a non-dairy cappuccino. Ooh, yum. Early bird or a night owl work style? Oh, absolutely early bird. I am a fan of new beginnings, whether it be the week, the morning. So yes, I am. And how fitting that you help people find new beginnings in their careers as well. What's an app, a platform, or some software that you swear by for the work that you do?
00:23:53
Speaker
I absolutely am a fan of Google Docs, just whether it's with my and my clients and helping working with them collaboratively on their career brand tools, or with my, i I have three girls in college, and they're constantly asking me to edit their college papers, or with my friends with social events, and we're you know making our calendars. It's, it's ah yeah. What did we ever do without it? Right? How about a book that made a significant impact on you? continues to make a significant impact on me is getting to yes. Yuri and Fisher, you know, on the surface, you think it's a it's a negotiation buck. But when you when you think about it and use the skills, it's all about effective communication that can be influential and impactful in every conversation you're in. ah The greatest gift you can give somebody is to really proactively listen and it it stresses that and gives you
00:24:52
Speaker
great tools and tactics to do so. So it's ah my Bible. That's so well said. I couldn't agree more. I try to understand the interests of everyone I talk to, especially ah with my partner. I'm like, what is your interest in not cleaning all the dishes when you're done with it? What's important about that for you? If you could have a water cooler chat with anyone dead or alive, who would it be and why? i I love this question. And yes, it it is challenging right to to narrow down to one person. ah But the person that's singing to me today, in terms of her influence, how she continues to reinvent herself to be relevant to how she's brilliant, and just is is kind and does ah just constantly finds ways to be generous and and do good is Dolly Parton.
00:25:47
Speaker
yeah Using your craft. I love it. I was on the edge of my seat. Who's she gonna say? i know um yeah love it Thank you, Anne. It's been such a treat to have a water cooler chat with you. So we appreciate your time. Jake, always a pleasure to see you. And thank you so much for joining us in our virtual water cooler um chat today. It's been such a treat to have you. Where can people find out more about you or connect with you if they need your help or wisdom?
00:26:21
Speaker
Yes, thank you. Thank you for having me again. And because I'm in process of uplifting my brand, I think the best way right now is through LinkedIn. And because I was one of the first sand bakers out there, you can actually punch in an A&E baker and I'll come up. And with an E, banker at LinkedIn. All right. Until next time, we'll see you all at the water cooler. Have a great afternoon. See ya.
00:26:50
Speaker
Thanks for listening to Water Cooler Wisdom. This podcast is brought to you by Interaction Associates, a leading professional development and leadership training organization whose mission is to help people work better together. If you'd like to learn more, visit interactionassociates.com. If you have questions, comments, or are interested in collaborating with this podcast, you can email us at watercoolerwisdom at interactionassociates dot.com.