FORT MYERS, Fla. — Local job seekers face a challenging market as businesses are hiring at the slowest pace in more than a decade, with about a quarter of unemployed people remaining jobless for at least half a year.
Senior Reporter Emily Young learns the tips to get you a job:
Fort Myers based career coach Rasheka Battle says getting a job in today's market requires strategic planning and precision.
"How I get people to understand how the process goes in general I just think about dating. That résumé is the first date cause that person, they're just taking a look at what you have, you're résumé and interviewing it goes hand-in-hand as a first date," Battle said.
And she would know. Battle is a certified career coach and founder of Career Clinic, in Fort Myers. But she also has extensive experience as an HR specialist, having worked at companies including UPS, Walgreens and the CDC. She has both sifted through, and helped craft thousands of resumes throughout her careers.
According to Battle, local employers have also become much more selective in their hiring practices, partly because Florida's minimum wage has increased by one dollar each year since 2020.
"It's no longer a rush to hurry up and try to hire someone just to hire someone and put them in a seat and train them, how most people think. Now, it’s I wanna make sure that I hire the qualified person," Battle said.
Battle emphasizes that job seekers should tailor their resume precisely to the position they're applying to, instead of having one all-encompassing resume that is sent to every job, and to submit them on the appropriate platforms.
"I have a young lady right now. She's been applying for jobs on Indeed. She's like 'no one is reaching out to me,' well, you're not Indeed material, you are LinkedIn material," Battle said.
Knowing the distinction can make all the difference in your job search, because different job platforms cater to different types of positions.
Indeed typically features more entry-level and hourly positions, while LinkedIn caters to professional and management roles. Choosing the wrong platform can waste valuable time during a job search.
Most companies now use AI to filter candidates, said Battle. That's why that precise resume with the right keywords is more crucial than ever.
"The system decides if the person is qualified or not. So sometimes when you're getting that automatic rejection it’s not an actual person that is rejecting it," she said.
While career coaches offer valuable guidance for job seekers, their services represent an additional expense that may be unrealistic for those experiencing long-term unemployment.
