Regardless of your work situation, we expect your anxiety levels to still be on the high side at the moment. This is an understandable reaction to the past 8 months of constant challenges and continued uncertainty in the market conditions. At Parity, we believe it’s important to use this time for career strategising and recruitment housekeeping until things fully stabilise.

With over 30 years of experience collectively within Recruitment across 5 countries, our team of specialist consultants have brought together their thoughts and ideas on what you can do in this time of flux:

CV Maintenance

There are some pretty crazy CV templates out there and we are LOVING seeing the variety! Examples here.

There is no longer a need for a formal document which outlines your career over a strict 2 pages – so why not show some character and your personality in your CV?

Some high-level tips include:

•Ensure your CV is achievement led rather than skills/duties led. It’s not just about the job you did but also what you delivered in the role that people are keen to hear about;

•Not too wordy – it must be easy to read and just covering relevant details rather than long-winded paragraphs;

•Ensure hobbies and interests are included to demonstrate who you really are;

•Consider whether a profile picture is relevant? (Note, there is a fair bit of research suggesting heightened levels of discrimination when there’s a picture on a CV);

•Consider drafting a one-page CV as well as a full version (spanning no more than 4 pages) – this way your one-page CV will showcase your skills and achievements on a higher level, whereas your detailed CV will provide more detail and examples of just how fabulous you are!

•Gain different perspectives from people who work in the Industry. Filter the feedback and land on what you think will work for you;

•Do not include your references, however include your LinkedIn recommendations if they are from senior individuals;

•Have multiple CVs focused on different areas of expertise or tailored for a specific organisation/industry/role.

LinkedIn Maintenance

Some facts first:

•347 Million LinkedIn users globally (and growing!);

•40% of users access/check their LinkedIn account daily;

•30% of job applications have come through LinkedIn (and this is set to grow as the platform grows);

•It’s the no. 1 social platform for lead generation for businesses.

Until we need it, LinkedIn is often left untouched and unloved. When you are between roles or your role is being challenged, it becomes your new best friend. Below are a couple of tips to think about:

•Customise your LinkedIn URL – this is particularly helpful when there may be lots of people with your name across the world (can be found under “Edit public profile & URL”);

•Update your profile picture to reflect who you are and where you intend to be going in your career – ensure it matches your line of work!

•Consider hiring a LinkedIn expert to refresh your page. We like Lucy Singleton from Your Spark – she is affordable, terrific to work with and works remotely (perfect!);

•Headline - curate one that rocks and showcases YOU! Experiment with this as it may just be the thing that catches the eye of your next line manager

•Consider using LinkedIn new profile overlay “Open to Opportunities”.

‘About’ section – Keep it short and to the point:

•Aim for 3-5 sentences;

•Focus on achievements, including figures/numbers (not the place for subjective strengths such as team player, hard-working, proactive, etc).

•Accuracy in qualifications and dates – keep details current and updated. Ensure that you add relevant licenses and certifications you may have for your industry/role as well as digital badges from courses undertaken;

•Contact information should be updated and visible (this may also depend on your privacy preferences);

•Interests – follow companies you would want to work for and tailor your content and interaction to your industry (be ‘seen’ by the right people);

•LinkedIn Premium – a MUST for anyone seeking a new role!

•Manage (edit) your skills and recommendations depending on your proposed audience – select the order in which you want them to appear.

Career Roadmap

Similarly, to a project at work or a new product launch, you are unlikely to approach it without a solid plan. Searching for a new role is no different. Here is what we think should be on your roadmap:

•Define success – this is where you write your perfect job description and salary (!). It’s helpful to define the company, the culture, the leader and the peer group to ensure you can reference this when you are further along the continuum of your job search;

•Financial timelines – these may be different milestones for you which indicate how close you may be to dropping your expectations of your desired job and defaulting to ‘a satisfactory job’;

•Different networking channels – including webinars, virtual meetups, virtual conferences, specialist recruiters, old colleagues/bosses, friends, family and many others who may provide beneficial insights and support;

•Tier your network – How is your network prioritised? Have you considered tiering your LinkedIn connections in line with how well they know you and your skills?

•Activity KPI’s – How, why and when you will be contacting your network?

•Accountability – who are you accountable to and when are those check ins?

•Career advisory board – who are your confidants/mentors who play different roles for you in this process?

Mental Wellbeing

Isolation and working remotely can be challenging at the best of times, let alone when you throw in no or an irregular income… now that is going to be really tough. What are you doing to fend off the black dog and keep yourself in the green zone? We love Graeme Cowan who talks about the need for self-care. We have outlined some of Graeme’s work and resources below:

VIP weekly planner

Building a Mentally Healthy Culture Checklist

How to support a teammate in distress

Now these action points are by no means an exhaustive list, rather a starting point that will lead you to the next step. Should you want further assistance, a guiding hand or simply someone to bounce ideas off to get you started in the right direction, we would love to hear from you. Simply email our team at info@parityconsulting.com.au and we’d be happy to have a virtual coffee!

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About Parity

At Parity we love what we do, and it shows in our results! As micro-specialists in product management, marketing, communications and digital recruitment we’re obsessed with adding value to our community. We don’t just have an outstanding reputation for matching great talent with the best companies, but we’re also proud to invest 10% of our profits into industry training and events through

Parity Plus, a recruitment industry first in Australia.

Whether you are a sports fanatic, shark diver or part time antique collector, we celebrate your uniqueness. Parity Consulting works with clients who embrace diverse and inclusive environments and empower their teams to bring their authentic whole self to work. We encourage people with different beliefs, abilities, backgrounds and life experiences to contact us.

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This article was first published in March 2020.

Updated in November 2020.