How will you stand out in the job market?

It’s going to be a tough one, looking for a new job. So many other people looking for jobs, so how will you stand out?

We know the reason for this – the Covid-19 pandemic has put tens of millions of jobs at risk across Europe. Lockdown lead to businesses putting employees into furlough, many people falling in the cracks and not getting any money from the state (as they have income from different sources or had just changed jobs).

Back in 2008/9 the unemployment rate rose by 27% across the 28 EU countries and it took 10 years to recover, with some like Greece, Portugal and Spain still not back at pre financial crisis levels. McKinsey have created a report, it’s a deep read and you can access it here:

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/safeguarding-europes-livelihoods-mitigating-the-employment-impact-of-covid-19

A quote from the report.

“Our analysis, based on occupation-level data, estimates that the COVID-19 crisis could leave up to 59 million jobs at risk¹ in Europe—a staggering 26 percent of total employment in the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU-27), plus the United Kingdom (EU-28)”.

And, from a UK recruitment article, there is a long term decline in job ads with job postings dropping by 28% between February and April.

Roofers, security guards and artists are amongst professions with increased demand in mid-May. I can see why security guards but was surprised by artists.

If you think you may be losing your job, you need to be open to what’s available, but remember that even for low waged jobs there will be strong competition.

Make sure your CV is focused on the job you are applying for, rather than a standard career history. If you are applying for jobs, e.g. on a production line think about what will be relevant and make sure this is clearly seen from your CV.

I’ve masses of articles that can be relevant for you, so here are some favourites: