Where Australians can get a job in 2021; How to improve career prospects
COVID-19 created a surge of in-demand jobs, but they may not be the same next year. See Australia’s largest employers and the best ways to land a job.
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Uncertainty is here to stay as we move into the future world of work, regardless of COVID-19.
The labour market was already changing but the pandemic has accelerated a lot of the trends we knew were coming.
Technology, digitisation, automation and demographics are going to have a big impact on where the jobs will be in 2021 and moving forward.
In the middle of this year, we had massive demand for frontline roles, and companies offering things like telecommunications and home office equipment experienced sudden demand but they may not necessarily be trends when things settle down.
Make sure the jobs data you are looking at is credible, up to date and taking those things into consideration.
Good sources of labour market data include the Federal Government’s National Skills Commission, Labour Market Information Portal and JobOutlook.
According to them, there is likely to be demand in industries where employment has grown strongly in recent years, including: healthcare and social assistance; professional, scientific and technical services; education and training; and construction industries.
It’s roles like aged care, nursing, child care and teaching as well as those technical roles that are coming, like software and application programmers, data analysts and organisation analysts.
If you are choosing a new career path in 2021, look at roles that cannot be displaced by automation or offshored.
Explore the jobs that are a great fit for your skills, values, work preferences and interests, and energise and excite you, then look at the labour market data to see if those roles offer good prospects.
Find the roles that will feed your soul and feed your family.
IF YOU ARE A SCHOOL LEAVER
Education and skills are important, particularly as Australia moves towards higher skilled occupations and service-based industries.
A qualification is highly helpful, but it does not have to be a degree.
There are so many options now – such as degrees, vocational courses and micro credentials – so it just depends on your personal circumstances and the requirements of the type of position you are considering.
There are programs and incentives to help young people, too.
For example, the Federal Government’s JobTrainer provides low fee or free training courses for people between 17 and 24 and other people who are out of work.
They fund a range of accredited diplomas and short courses related to jobs in demand.
Some states are still finalising details but you can search courses or register interest via myskills.gov.au/jobtrainer
The difficult thing for people coming out of school is gaining industry experience but one way to do that is through volunteering.
Do not wait until the end of your studies to build your industry connections.
The more known you are, the more likely you are to hear about opportunities and get introductions to organisations.
IF YOU ARE RETURNING AFTER A CAREER BREAK
People who have not had to create a resume for a while should know is that resumes have evolved and generic resumes are no longer ideal.
You need to recreate your resume each time you apply for a job, and tailor it to showcase your specific skills that are relevant to that hirer’s needs and show clear evidence of your ability to do the job.
Put a focus on your past achievements.
Like everything, technology is also affecting hiring so resumes need to be tech friendly and able to be read by applicant tracking systems.
Avoid creative templates that might interfere with those hiring systems – for example, text boxes are problematic.
If you are concerned about age discrimination, remember hirers are most interested in your most recent experience so do not go too far back on your resume – 10 or 15 years is usually enough.
Interviews have also changed. Many hirers during COVID-19 have moved to virtual recruitment so a lot of people have had to do video interviews for the first time.
These take new skills and practice to master.
If you are aged 45 or older, you can take advantage of the Federal Government’s Career Transition Assistance (CTA) program, which helps people build confidence, gain a better understanding of local job opportunities, and create tailored job applications.
IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR JOB OR IT IS INSECURE
Identify target roles and create a job search plan to manage your search effectively.
You may want to use available downtime to make yourself marketable by upskilling or building your network.
We know employability skills are becoming increasingly valued, and critical thinking, communication, relationship building and complex problem solving are going to be in demand, as well as technical and digital skills.
Digital fluency will be increasingly important in the future.
Microsoft has a global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to people worldwide.
Skill Finder is also offering digital upskilling.
There are lots of short courses or, if you are able to, more robust qualifications may be helpful.
Before taking any course, you should always assess it carefully to make sure it’s credible and a good investment of your time, money and energy.
If you are feeling insecure at work but are enjoying your role, try to make yourself invaluable to your hirer.
Otherwise, if you are unhappy where you are, take actions to broaden your value proposition and get job search-ready with an updated resume so you can make that move if you need to.
It is harder to make a career pivot than it is to continue in a similar role or industry so before making a change you need to understand what you want, what skills you need, how to get those skills, then how to market those skills.
Tools such as Skills Match on the JobOutlook website can help you explore potential options that may use the skills you have.
You may also consider going to a career coach, which you can find through the Career Development Association of Australia.
IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT PAY OR CAREER STAGNATION
Asking for a promotion or pay rise right now is a delicate topic that you should handle sensitively.
A lot of organisations have hiring and pay freezes so acknowledge the timing and the challenges.
Now is a good time to show your loyalty, flexibility, teamwork and willingness to help the organisation be successful.
They are all things that are highly valued by employers as they navigate challenging circumstances that are constantly changing.
Let your boss know that you understand the situation but would like to have that conversation down the track when “normal” resumes.
In the meantime, you may want to build new skills, experiences and networks.
You could offer to take on new tasks or projects, or upskill on new digital technologies.
Keep track of the things you are doing and your achievements.
That is good practice under any circumstance.
When it does come time for negotiation, be ready to show evidence of the value you have brought.
This year has been tough for organisations and for people but let’s hope 2021 is a good year moving forward.
Gillian Kelly is a CDAA fellow; career transition coach and Outplacement Australia director
Originally published as Where Australians can get a job in 2021; How to improve career prospects
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