How to Improve Your Job Search

If you’re trying to find a job, it’s time to get scrappy.

While the job market hasn’t fallen off a cliff and layoffs remain low, stiffer competition for roles, surging use of artificial intelligence, and some employers’ hesitation to hire are scrambling some job searches.

That means some job seekers might have to pivot — potentially to an entirely new industry — or find other ways to stand out if they’re set on a certain field.

In some cases, you might have to adjust your goals.

“Maybe put aside for the moment that dream to work for Amazon and Google, and maybe think about a different company that’s more mid-cap,” Angie Kamath, dean of the School of Professional Studies at New York University, told Business Insider.

Kamath said the need to stay open to various options if you’re looking for a role reflects the rapid change in many industries, especially as employers and employees alike try to understand what AI will mean for many aspects of work.

“That’s here to stay,” she said, referring to the need for job seekers to understand how technology might remake jobs.

To keep up, Kamath said, you should find ways to build your skills. That doesn’t only mean getting a degree in a field, she said. Kamath said you might look to freebie or low-cost classes, for example, on AI from Amazon, Google, or online learning platforms like Udemy.

“That’s my No. 1 advice. Try something out. See if you like it. See if you hate it. See if you’re energized by it,” she said.

Finding ways to stand out

If you don’t want to shift to a different field or job type, you might simply have to work harder to stand out.

Ryan McManus, a vice president at the tech-focused recruitment firm Selby Jennings, told BI that some employers have become more selective in who they hire.

“It might just be a bit more competitive in the sense that we’re looking to check more boxes,” he said, referring to finding candidates for the company’s employer clients.

For those who don’t necessarily have every part of a job description nailed down, intangibles like being personable and a strong communicator can make a difference, McManus said.

While finding ways to be flexible and try to stand out in a job search can help, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy to land a role. Some employers are slow-walking hiring, and some workers’ confidence about business prospects is slipping.

In the Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index released Tuesday, the share of employees who expect a positive six-month business outlook fell to 44.1% in May from 45.8% in April. The May reading was the lowest since 2016, when Glassdoor began collecting predictions from tens of thousands of US workers.

Test your ideas

To navigate an uncertain landscape, NYU’s Kamath said job seekers might think of themselves as entrepreneurs who generate more than one idea for a business.

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“That’s what we should do as we’re looking for jobs. We should come up with a couple of versions of success, or what’s interesting,” she said.

To know which option might be best, Kamath said it can help to ask friends what they think. She said that might mean having a conversation with a connection on LinkedIn who’s in the line of work you’re considering. Or it could involve visiting an employer that has public events or conferences.

That manner of thinking, Kamath said, helps you avoid putting much pressure on yourself to land a certain role, and the thinking that “anything other than being successful in that one path equals failure.”

“It widens out what you might do and where you might do it,” she said.

Ultimately, Kamath said, job seekers often benefit when they step back and consider alternatives.

“That’s been very eye-opening for our students and our alumni to say there’s more out there than the singular path to success,” she said.

Do you have a story to share about your job hunt? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.