So many people lost their jobs or were forced to cut their hours due to the pandemic this year. As a result, many of them are hoping for great things to come in the New Year. That’s a nice though, but it requires taking action now!
Most people have the opposite mindset. To them, December usually means taking it easy, focusing on the holidays and just a time to slow down in general. If you want to be ready to reclaim your career in 2021, you have to do the opposite and really rev things up this month. What do you do? Where do you start?
Here are five tips to help you land that new job in 2021.
Be different
The reality is, right now the job market is ultra-competitive and there are a lot of highly qualified people fighting for that same position as you. What makes you different? What makes you standout? What can you do to make the hiring manager notice you? The answer is different for all of us, but whatever it is just do it, or you’re going to blend in with the crowd. As Stephen Covey said, “strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”
Show them your flexibility
Hiring mangers always like people who can wear multiple hats. This is an extremely important attribute to sell yourself to employers in 2021. Many companies still haven’t recovered financially, and they don’t have the money to hire an entire team. If you can show them your flexibility and that you can pull more than your weight, this is going to help you standout.
It’s about independence and collaboration
The big workplace theme over the last 10 years has been collaboration over everything else. Collaboration is still important, but independence is now higher on the list with so many of us working remotely. Companies still want a collaborative approach to problem solving but showing a hiring manager that you take initiative and do things independently is very important nowadays.
Be a technology pro
A computer savvy employee is always a standout, but especially now more than ever. With so many people still working remotely, this is a must! A big selling point right now is an employee who will not pick up the phone and call IT every five minutes. We all experience computer problems from time to time, but you have to show a hiring manager that you are willing and able to try and troubleshoot on your own first.
Have a positive attitude
We all get it. Life’s been hard lately. Companies don’t want a Debbie Downer making things even worse. Be upbeat, positive, optimistic and the type of person that people enjoy working with. We all have bad days and have faced our share of frustrations over the pandemic but find an outlet outside of work to deal with it.
The takeaway
2020 has been a tough year for most of us. Nothing will magically happen when the clock strikes Midnight on Jan. 1, 2021 on its own, but if you start to take action now, put in the work and effort when most everyone else is slowing down, you’re going to be one big step ahead of the competition. As the late Andy Warhol said, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
