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Career Advice For A Changing Landscape in 2023

November 16, 2022 by Markitors

What is the best piece of career advice you’d give someone as we head into 2023?

Believe it or not, the next year is almost upon us. It’s good to get ahead and make a plan of attack as one year ends and the new one begins, well before the New Years’ Resolution Rush takes hold. To better establish yourself professionally and in your career, take the advice of these 15 career professionals with you into the next year and beyond.

Choose Your Manager, Not the Company
Accept Criticism
If You Can’t Find a Great Career, Make Your Own
Upskill and Reskill Yourself
Find a Company That Works for You
Follow Industry Trends
Live Your Life, Not Someone Else’s
Engage with Your Curiosity
Infuse Passion Into Your Career
Focus On Your Soft Skills
Build a Personal Brand
Never Doubt Your Abilities
Improve Your Emotional Intelligence
Stay Flexible and Prepare for Change
Establish a Global Network

Choose Your Manager, Not the Company

The kind of person you report to and the relationship you’re able to build with them is infinitely more important to your mental health, growth, and career goals than landing at a company with a big name or well-known reputation. The right manager can propel you forward into places you never knew possible; a popular company has the power to do the same, but without that manager connection, you may find it difficult to remain at said company and likely won’t see the same level of opportunities thrown your way.

Michael Fischer, Founder, Elite Hat

Accept Criticism

Always accept criticism regardless of how rude or mean it may be. We might think that is degrading you, but most of the time, this is to point out some flaws that we might not be aware of. Learn to handle it professionally, no matter how hard it can be. Turn deaf to comments that do nothing but bring you down and accept comments that help you build yourself. There is no need to react to everything. Instead, constantly be reminded that constructive criticism can help you improve your career growth and development.

You must understand why you give such feedback, and perhaps you can ask the question but not in the sense of being defensive. Keep in mind the benefits of getting feedback and understanding the perspective of your criticizer, whether your boss or colleagues. Always extend your gratitude for sharing feedback with us. The criticism we often hear, especially in our workplace, is always the only way we learn about our weaknesses–without it, we can’t improve and grow.

Peter Bryla, ResumeLab

If You Can’t Find a Great Career, Make Your Own

After college, I worked a wide range of jobs, from bartending to restaurant management to sales and marketing. Nothing ever felt like the perfect fit. I struggled to fit into a role that someone else had made for me. But once I started freelancing in 2016, everything in my career seemed to fall into place effortlessly. I didn’t have to struggle to make my job work.

Six years later, my career and satisfaction are stronger than ever. I can work my own schedule, choose my salary, and partner with the clients I want. My advice: if you don’t feel like you belong at your job, you probably don’t. And that’s okay—you are meant for something better. Keep trying.

Alli Hill, Founder and Director, Fleurish Freelance

Upskill and Reskill Yourself

Upskilling and reskilling represent the search for knowledge acquisition in organizations. Technology and others are accessible to most companies, from SMBs to big corporations. Thus, individual knowledge will make a difference in 2023.

With upskilling and reskilling being the trends for companies to keep up competitive in the market, they tend to give the best opportunities for people who look to improve their knowledge base. In other words, to build your career getting the best chances, it’s crucial to bring and contribute new knowledge to the business. Upskilling and reskilling play a vital role in career growth and development.

Ricardo von Groll, Manager, Talentify

Find a Company That Works for You

Just like people, companies have their own unique personalities, and just like with people not all personalities mesh perfectly with one another. Finding the type of company culture that best fits you is critical to setting yourself up for future success. Company culture is a combination of company behaviors and company beliefs. Research is the first step to finding out more about a company’s culture, but there are areas that hold more weight than others.

Interpersonal communication, or who you will be working with most, decides aspects of work life like working on teams versus individually or working with clients more often than colleagues and vice versa. Autonomy, or how much control you have over your day-to-day tasks, is another area to consider which also includes areas of flexibility and supervisor structure. Professionals that take the time to find the companies and cultures that best fit their professional needs and wants set themselves up for success regardless of the role.

Bryor Mosley, Career Coach, Southern New Hampshire University

Follow Industry Trends

It never hurts to pay attention to trends in your industry and look out for changes. Read the news, follow market forecasts, and analyze how they can influence your industry and your job. Stay alert to layoffs as well as hiring. If you notice anything alarming that has the potential to negatively impact your position, react. Take some courses, take an interest in new technologies, and learn how to use extra tools, apps, or programs.

Do everything to stay current and not fall out of the market. If a recession hits your industry, don’t change jobs, as new hires are the first to get laid off. Do everything to show your employer that you are an indispensable employee. Remember, how your career will develop in 2023 is up to you, but following trends, constant development, and reacting will contribute to your success.

Nina Paczka, Community Manager, Resume Now

Live Your Life, Not Someone Else’s

Stay true to your values, wants, and needs. Your journey to success will not be the same as someone else’s, and that’s totally fine. It’s good to have role models to look up to and emulate, but continue to embrace what makes you unique. This will help distinguish you from your peers and make you more memorable. Stay true to your core values, perspectives, and ambitions.

Natalia Morozova, Partner, Cohen, Tucker & Ades P.C.

Engage with Your Curiosity

One of the biggest differences I think you can make in your working life is to stay curious about the sector you’re working in or focusing on. This might look like reading (fiction and non-) subjects directly related to your work, attending digital or in-person events, and generally reading up on relevant news. Pocket can be a fantastic tool for this. By staying curious, even if you aren’t actively ‘in love’ with your career or sector, you’ll still be learning and mentally engaged which can help tackle feelings of anxiety, imposter syndrome, or all round burnout.

Jessica Higham, Marketing Manager, Onoco

Infuse Passion Into Your Career

Find your passion and be persistent in pursuing it. For example, finding a career you can be passionate about is only the beginning. You need to follow that passion up by putting in the work. Expand your skill set and always look to improve even as you’re pursuing the next step in our career. Give yourself goals to pursue and grow your talent, by putting your passion into your career, you can find success.

Brianna Bitton, Co-Founder, O Positiv

Focus On Your Soft Skills

In today’s world, hard skills can be taught relatively easily and rapidly. However, it’s the soft skills that will set you apart from your peers and make you more successful in your career. Soft skills focus on who you are as a person and include abilities such as effective communication, problem-solving, and time management. To be more successful in your career, focus on developing your soft skills.

Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Clock

Build a Personal Brand

Being known in the industry you work is a key element of your career. Invest in building relationships with coworkers and in the industry you are working. It sounds complicated, but the key element is to start sharing with other people what you’re doing, how you can help and what areas you enjoy working in. Use LinkedIn to connect with other people, invest time to take part in the podcast or write columns. These investments will help you to find your next job opportunity or start a business yourself one day. Start small and find your voice.

Irina Serdyukovskaya, SEO Consultant, Irina Kudres

Never Doubt Your Abilities

Finding and working with decent people should be a priority for everyone, but it’s especially important for women. To get ahead, it’s important to locate a mentor who can help lift you up and connect you with influential people who can help you succeed. Women have to fight harder to join these groups, so if you find yourself excluded, create your own.

Develop your self-assurance now so that you’ll be ready to sit down at those tables and in those places when the time is right. Also, while you’re doing it, try not to be too hard on yourself. You deserve the highest possible wage, benefits, justice, and esteem. You should get it.

Daniel Carter, Founder, SEO-AUDITS.IO

Improve Your Emotional Intelligence

With the business world comfortably settling into hybrid remote and in-person workplaces, it’s more important than ever that you are able to adequately prevent and resolve conflicts when some parties may not even be in the same room as one another.

Train your emotional intelligence and empathy as more and more of our interactions happen across screens. Without the benefit of being able to notice all of their subtle expressions and details face to face, this can be a difficult task, though not impossible. Keeping an open mind during your interactions and reminding yourself that people do not usually say things in bad faith can help avoid unnecessary conflicts within the workplace.

Jonathan Krieger, VP of Sales, Fabuwood

Stay Flexible and Prepare for Change

The best piece of career advice I’d give someone as we head into 2023 is to stay flexible and be prepared for change. The world of work is constantly evolving, so it’s important to both be open to new opportunities and willing to take on new challenges. Keep learning and keep growing—that’s the key to success in any field. Additionally, make sure you’re always putting your best foot forward by maintaining a positive attitude, actively participating in professional development opportunities, and networking with other professionals in your field.

Nuria Requena, Talent Acquisition Manager, Spacelift

Establish a Global Network

With the idea of a global workforce that works for organizations across the world sans the challenges of geographical boundaries and time zones, opportunities are now limitless. And for you to be able to open these doors, you will need to build a network that makes your own outreach infinite too. As a driven career professional, I’m sure you’ve never undermined the advantages of networking. Keep up the consistency, and remember that heading into 2023, you’ll also need to expand your network globally.Ashley DeJesus, Marketing Manager, AIS Network

12 Most In-Demand Career Roles In 2022

July 6, 2022 by Markitors

What career roles are the most in-demand for companies in 2022?

To help you identify career roles that are in high demand in 2022, we asked hiring managers and recruiters this question for their best insights. From Tech Development to Data Scientist to Marketing Operations Professional, there are several career roles that are noted as among the most in-demand for companies in 2022.

Here are 12 of the most in-demand roles for companies in 2022:

Tech Development and Support
Hiring Manager
Robotics Engineer
Human Resources Professional
Cybersecurity Expert
Copywriter
PR or Brand Specialist
Artificial Intelligence Specialist
Data Scientist
User Experience Researcher
Project Manager
Marketing Operations Professional

Tech Development and Support

Network development and support. Between companies’ reliance on websites, social media, and online reacting as well as office technology in the hybrid work era, businesses are in dire need of tech development and support. This can range from web design to in-office IT. Not only are potential employees proficient in how various platforms can work in demand, but those with the skills to build and maintain them are essential. Careers in tech and online development are highly sought after.

Brett Estep, Insured Nomads

Hiring Manager

Hiring managers are an in-demand role for most companies this year. With the Great Resignation still looming over businesses’ heads, the need for new hires is great. Companies will have to rely on experienced recruitment professionals to fill those vacancies.

Isaiah Henry, Seabreeze Management

Robotics Engineer

As a recruiter who actively seeks talent in the machining and manufacturing industries, one career role I’ve noticed become high in demand this year is Robotics Engineer. From my observation, there has been at least a five-fold increase in job vacancies for such positions compared to 2021. Almost all industries are in need of AI and robotics specialists right now, from industrial and biotech to logistics and consumer, due to the growing number of companies leveraging these technologies for business operations and services. Employers and recruiters are striving to attract qualified talent with skilled and targeted efforts as the need for designing both software and hardware for robotics solutions remains higher than ever and is bound to increase further.

Anjela Mangrum, Mangrum Career Solutions

Human Resources Professional

Today, hiring an experienced human resource team is crucial. For example, human resource professionals have the tools and education to develop winning retention strategies based on employee feedback. As the average amount of time an employee spends with an employer continues to dwindle, it’s more important than ever to focus on retention.

Cesar Cruz, Sebastian Cruz Couture

Cybersecurity Expert

Increased dependency on online tools and platforms, especially driven by the shift to remote and hybrid work environments, has made the role of cybersecurity experts a highly essential one. Their expertise is coming in handy in not just integrating cybersecurity solutions into evolving organizational structures but also in maintaining the integrity of these solutions throughout the process cycle.

From decimating security threats and putting in place preventive measures to creating a secure online environment and setting up security protocols that help manage employee behavior, the cybersecurity expert of the day has plenty to do.

Mary Jurgensen, Gary and Mary West PACE

Copywriter

Content is still king, and whether you’re building a website, running a blog, or executing a video marketing strategy – you need good copy. There are, of course, AI writing services that will surely replace the need for inexperienced copywriters. But great copywriters who understand what drives a customer are and will be in high demand. They do highly skilled work that takes knowledge, creativity, and years of practice.

Georgi Todorov, ThriveMyWay

PR or Brand Specialist

2022 has been a challenging year but with those challenges one thing is evident. The ability to tell your company’s story in the sea of the internet is becoming apparent. PR / Brand specialists I feel are in high demand. When you have someone who can help create more brand awareness with your company physically and digitally is now key. Companies need professionals who can tell the world about the story of your brand the right way. As more companies take suit the only thing left will be higher SEO costs or having a brand that people recognize and go to each and every time.

Krisztian Riez, Condo Control

Artificial Intelligence Specialist

In 2022, the most in-demand careers will be those that involve artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a system that can perform tasks usually requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception and speech recognition. AI systems are trained to do these tasks by being shown many examples of the task and receiving feedback on their performance. AI is already making an impact in our lives today through things like Siri and Alexa and these forms of technology will only become greater in demand.

Nick Cotter, Growann

Data Scientist

The most in-demand career role for companies in 2022 is expected to be data scientists. Data science is a relatively new field that combines statistics, computer science, and business analysis to help organizations make better decisions using data. With the continued growth of big data, companies are increasingly turning to data scientists to help them make sense of all the information they are collecting.

In addition to being in high demand, data scientists also tend to be well-paid, with salaries often exceeding $100,000 per year. If you’re interested in a career in data science, now is the time to start learning the skills you need to be successful in this growing field.

Lukasz Zelezny, SEO ANT LTD

User Experience Researcher

Companies are starting to understand the critical role UX research plays in informing online and offline product design. UX research roles are opening up across industries because it’s necessary to properly understand the needs, motivations, and experiences of users to create products and services they’ll love.

Paul Chesterman, EthOS

Project Manager

Businesses are feeling the crunch and have more of a need than ever before to maintain efficiency. The best project managers can evaluate the key metrics a company needs to hit and create a proactive plan to come in on time and under budget. Whether a company is already successful or not the continued need to deliver on product and even launch new initiatives in an uncertain economy is more challenging to navigate than ever. A skilled project manager is a must in current business.

Zachary Hamed, Clay

Marketing Operations Professional

With the technology backbone of marketing, and the need to integrate systems, manage the tech stack, and all of the requirements and data flow between them all, one of the fastest-growing needs inside of companies today is the marketing operations role. While it varies in definition, at a high level it’s the role that manages the business marketing processes. They manage assets, budgets, data, campaigns, demand gen, performance management, analytics, conversion tracking and more. Systems include platforms like salesforce, marketo, pardot, hubspot, close.io, outreach, netsuite, and more.

There are a number of ways to learn about this role – would highly encourage people interested in shifting into marketing operations to join a slack community dedicated to marketing ops. There are also a couple of really great podcasts that discuss marketing ops weekly for more insights.

Ali Schwanke, Simple Strat
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How To Write A Red Hot Resume

March 23, 2022 by Annelise

Landing your dream role begins with writing an irresistible resume, although for some job seekers this can be easier said than done. Writing a resume can take hours, even a couple of days, and a lot of brain power to “sell yourself” to prospective employers.

At Career Connectors our mission is to help you successfully achieve the role you’ve been dreaming of, so we have broken down the overwhelming task of writing your resume into an easy to follow step-by-step process. Let’s get started!

STEP 1: Prepare

Resume writing can be a overwhelming and mentally draining task, so set yourself up for success by collecting all the information you need before you sit down to write.

Create a checklist using the following points and tick each off as you gather the relevant information:

Previous job titles, including the date you started and left your role
List of major accomplishments achieved within your positions
Your education history
Any training you have completed
Any certificates you have achieved
A list of the key skills you have gained from previous roles
Volunteering work

STEP 2: Design

While the information you provide is what will ultimately land you your dream role, a well designed resume helps you process through quickly as a top level candidate.

Stand out from the competition with an easy to read resume design:

Include plenty of white space on the page to avoid overwhelming the reader
Swap sentences for bullet points where necessary, such as beneath each role
Format your resume chronologically with your most recent work history at the top of the page.
Choose one easy to read font for your cover letter and resume, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
Use font size and type intentionally. Make your name and section titles stand out by using bold and larger text.

STEP 3: Execute

Now it’s time to get to work.

We recommend keeping the information you share relevant, short and to the point. Your potential employer does not need to know about the retail job you had at 15 if you are applying for a tech role. Most resumes have about 1-2 pages of content.

Starting from the top of the page, a job-winning resume will include the following:

Heading: Your name, email address, contact number
Profile: Dedicate this section to what you have to offer the role in relation to what the hiring manager is looking for, this should be specific to each application.
Qualifications: Skills, abilities, experience qualifications related to the role you are applying for.
Work experience: Work history, including your job title, where you worked, the date you started and ended each role. Stating your accomplishments are essential in this section – do not list just responsibilities, list what you did with those responsibilities. Each sentence should provide a brief synopsis of your strongest accomplishments in the position.
Volunteer experience (optional) If you have volunteer work that relates to the role you are applying for, include it beneath work experience.
Education history: List your highest education accomplishment first, with the name of the school, degree and graduation date.
Certifications, Awards and Accomplishments: If you have achieved any certifications, awards and accomplishments that are relevant to the role you are applying for, list them beneath education history.

STEP 6: Edit

This is a valuable step that can mean the difference between a basic resume and a job-winning resume.

When it comes to editing, we recommend the following two strategies:

Proofread your own work: Cut out long sentences and unnecessary words, and fix spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Make sure all previous jobs use past tense and your current role uses present tense. A hiring manager won’t be impressed by your valuable qualifications if they have trouble reading your resume.

Seek helpful feedback: Ask a resume expert to review your resume and offer feedback on how you can improve it. Everyone has a strong opinion on resumes so make sure you are getting guidance from the right people – those that can help your resume get through the applicant tracking system!

Once you have a strong resume foundation, you can change specific words that align with the different companies you are applying for. You can also cut out irrelevant jobs and skills that are not related to the specific role you are applying for. Now that the hard work is done it will be alot easier to keep your resume up to date as you gain more skills and qualifications and work experience.

Once you have completed your job-winning resume, come along to one of our bi-monthly events for job seekers! This is an engaging and interactive experience where you can network with hiring companies, interview with prospective employers, and learn powerful techniques for landing your dream role from industry experts.
Learn about our upcoming events here: https://careerconnectors.org/event-schedule

Is Career Ownership For You?

April 19, 2022 by Annelise

Have you ever thought of escaping the chaotic corporate world and starting your own business? To most people, the thought of leaving their comfort zone is very challenging. Transitioning from your day job and starting your own business might be a leap of fate but definitely something that’s possible and worth the jump.

Launching your own business is not rocket science but you need to have great timing and an organised, well-thought process. What’s a better way to start this journey than getting help from an expert?

Watch this interview with Anna Brambilla as she shares her process of helping people explore entrepreneurial opportunities. Simply click the image below to watch.

Trying to build a career by working 8 hrs a day (or sometimes more!) but still feel unsuccessful? Maybe you’re not meant to work ‘FOR’ people but instead working ‘WITH’ people? Changing paths and taking that detour to career ownership is never too late.

We know just the right person who can kick-start your next big step, her name is Anna Brambilla. Through her process of helping people explore entrepreneurial opportunities, she is indeed a catalyst to a lot of people’s success. Connect with her through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabrambilla/ or book a call with her here: https://annabrambilla.youcanbook.me/

Here are a couple of tips that you can read from Anna’s team, The Entrepreneur’s Source: https://entrepreneurssource.com/press/three-tips-for-making-the-leap-to-career-ownership/