Aside from our commitment to eating healthier and exercising more (this is the year we’ll stick with it, right? right?), the start of each new year brings with it another sure thing…a considerable uptick in job seekers looking to make a career change.
But with each “New Year, New Career” you see and hear this week, stop and ask yourself what you and your TA Teams are actively doing to identify and attract these “career changers”? Chances are you either haven’t given it much thought at all or you have tried various strategies but simply come up short.
Well, you’re not alone, and frankly it's because we still rely on resumes as our primary recruitment tool. The resume’s inherent purpose is to tell you about a candidate’s past, giving you a full picture of where they have been but no clue as to where they are going in the future.
That’s where video comes in…For “career changers”, video provides a way to convey to employers why they would be an ideal candidate, despite lacking specific experience in their industry. It gives employers and job seekers the opportunity to connect in ways traditional job descriptions and resumes never could. Employers get the opportunity to hear from candidates, in their own words, what is driving their decision to change careers and what highly valuable, transferable skills they bring with them.
As an employer, if you are entirely overlooking this pool of career change candidates, then you are missing out on several valuable benefits. For starters, these candidates tend to be more passionate, ambitious, and not afraid of change. All of which are qualities you want in a team member. They also demonstrate a high level of maturity and an openness to learning new things. So don’t stress about how they will get up to speed, these are precisely the types of employees who thrive in those circumstances and will make an impact in no time. Furthermore, since they are coming from unrelated industries, they bring with them a varied background which means varied perspectives and skill sets. This can be particularly helpful in organizations that find themselves “stuck” for new ideas, inventive strategies, or creative approaches to solving challenges.
Though hiring a career changer is not without risk. You can set yourself up for success by first trying to identify what is prompting the career change. If it’s simply because they are “unhappy” at their current job than without any assurance that the job itself is the source of their unhappiness, there is a risk that their unhappiness will continue even in their new role. You should also be wary of career changers who are doing so just to make more money. That’s not to say that money isn’t a motivator (it is) and that money doesn’t matter (it does), but rather that money should be one of many deciding factors, not the deciding factor. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, do you get the sense that this candidate did their research? Do they know enough about your industry to have a good idea of what to expect working in it? The more thought a candidate has put into their career change decision, the higher likelihood they will succeed.
If the past two years have taught us anything, job seekers will continue to throw us curveballs. But TA Teams have proven themselves to be invaluable to their organizations as they navigate the ever changing hiring landscape. So let’s make 2022 the year we finally move beyond the resume and lean into video as a means of connecting with our candidates.
Ready to see what video can do for you?
JobPixel is a video-first hiring platform that is transforming the way companies identify, evaluate and hire the best candidates. We are on a mission to humanize hiring – making the often impersonal hiring experience more personal. We believe companies should hear directly from candidates, in their own words, why they would be the perfect fit. With JobPixel, the future of hiring is video.