Post-pandemic job seekers and aspiring entrepreneurs who are unsure how to navigate the new normal for employment and financial security — this post is for you!
This year, I took stock of the multitude of changes that have taken place with respect to seeking purposeful and gainful employment post-pandemic. As a result, I decided to publish a second edition of Careers AF! …new rules, new tools for the post-pandemic gig economy …Good call!
There are two core areas of content that I felt important to include. First, a new, fulsome chapter on post-pandemic best practices for job search. …And second, a full new chapter on how to start your own small business. The second edition has been re-edited specifically for:
- New grads/Gens Z&A/Recent Alumni — looking to get a foot in the door
- Gens X & Y — looking to move up the corporate ladder
- Boomers — shifting out of staff jobs into freelance or consultancy roles
- New Immigrants — seeking the all-important Canadian experience that will give them a toe hold in the labour markets.
Available in hardcover, softcover, and E-book on Amazon.ca
Read Up On Employment Survival c2022!
I decided to include a full, new chapter: Smart Start: How to Start Your Own Small Business. Many professionals are moving from staff jobs to a freelance capacity. There are a multitude of best practices that post-pandemic job seekers & aspiring entrepreneurs need to know about when they envision taking a product or service to the market place.
Smart Start will set you up for freelance/entrepreneurial success! This chapter will take you through how to establish your business concept. It will teach you new methods for developing business leads. Smart Start also outlines how to establish a “living brand”, including legal and operational basics! Therefore, Careers AF now answers all the questions you have about starting your own freelance/consultancy gig!
I also wanted to share essential information on three key areas of the employment landscape that have changed post-pandemic: Hiring has been radically altered for employers in general, and human resources departments in particular. The greatest changes we’ve seen are with the job seekers themselves. So let’s have a look at each group.
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Employers
Employers have been busy overhauling policies and procedures for remote work and post-pandemic best practices. They are increasingly looking for referrals from internal staff… Therefore, building your network and connections is more important than ever. Further, much greater emphasis and recognition is being shown to marginalized groups. As a result, companies are also stepping up their efforts on Diversity & Inclusion. There are a lot of post-pandemic info in Careers AF! Second Edition, to help you understand all the changes, and how to navigate them successfully with employers.
Human Resource Departments
HR departments too, have radically changed: 62% of Canadian employers are now using AI on the front-end of their hiring processes. They are now seeking to integrate and deploy AI/ATS to source and build talent pipelines. Screening practices have altered accordingly! Most importantly, job seekers need to be aware of: a) how to navigate AI/ATS systems; b) how to manage Zoom calls for candidacies; and c) and how to get past the AI screening and secure “real time” with HR decision makers…let alone, use that time effectively.
Job seekers also need to be aware of how to navigate “asynchronous interviews” (read: no human involved whatsoever). As a result, job seekers can successfully get past the AI screening and get “real time” with an HR decision maker. These best practices are all designed to help job seekers get favourable consideration for a role in a company!
Job Seekers
Similarly, the final area where we’ve seen the most change is with job seekers themselves! Job seekers too, are looking to understand all the new requirements for job applications c2022. This chapter will show you how to navigate the “the new normal.”
No matter what stage or age you are at in your career, the last year has given us all the opportunity to reassess where we’re at, what we’re doing, why, and who we’re doing it with! We’ve had a full year to take stock of where we are at with our careers. Job seekers are pursuing more purpose-driven work and seeking greater sustainability – all tied to their passions!
This is great news because it allows job seekers to take greater control over their career trajectories. Specifically: job pursuits tailored to what YOU want, not what you think the market wants from you. Careers AF! Second edition is designed to help with exactly that.
Conclusion
Now, you may be comfortable in a job. If you are, (amen!) that’s great news. I do invite you, however, to consider paying it forward for others who are not enjoying the same level of security as you are at this time in your career. Specifically for new grads trying to get a foot in the door; Gens X&Y, looking to move up the corporate ladder; Boomers transitioning out of staff jobs into a freelance or consultancy capacities; and new immigrants desperately seeking that coveted experience that will give them a toe hold in the Canadian labour markets. All these groups really need the information I added to the second edition of Careers AF!
Above all, please consider spreading the good word. Think of others in need of career support…and share! Let’s all take part in helping set each other up for success going forward in the labour markets. Thanks for reading!