Annually, LinkedIn appoints Top Voices who stand out with their posts and activity on LinkedIn and spark relevant discussions. 2022 application expert Selma Kuyas was honored in the "Job and Career" category. For Kuyas it is the second award.
LinkedIn announced the "LinkedIn Top Voices" for Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the fifth time on Wednesday. Application expert Selma Kuyas was the only Swiss woman to receive an award in the "Job and Career" category – for the second time in a row.
"The renewed appreciation I interpret as appreciation for my commitment to applicants. I quickly realized that after the outbreak of the pandemic and the precarious situation on the job market, I had to support the LinkedIn community even more. Among other things, I volunteered to organize online events for job seekers with up to 1,600 participants in cooperation with Social Switzerland," says Kuyas.
Pandemic put finger in open wounds of labor market
According to Kuyas, the pandemic exposed many things that have been going wrong in the labor market for years. Whether it is that home office has finally been recognized as an employee need or that identification with the employer has been given a more weighty role. How did companies deal with staff during the crisis?? How were employees accompanied and promoted – or not?
The pandemic caused many people to lose their jobs because entire industries were paralyzed or certain job profiles were no longer in demand virtually overnight. As a side effect of the pandemic, Kuyas recognizes the tendency for many employees to suddenly become more aware of and more intensely involved with their own career planning.
LinkedIn is the most important professional network in Switzerland
The social media platform LinkedIn has seen strong growth in recent years and now has 3.4 million members in Switzerland alone. In the entire DACH region, there are about 18 million of them. However, the power of LinkedIn is still underestimated in Switzerland, Kuyas emphasizes. For job seekers and those looking to change jobs, Kuya believes the platform offers direct access to the open and hidden job market. I find that a strong network can be particularly helpful in times of crisis, such as a job loss.
INTERVIEW
"There are big gaps in knowledge, and I can close them"
On Wednesday, Selma Kuyas was named a "LinkedIn Top Voice" for the second year in a row for raising awareness about important issues, such as discrimination in the job application process. Advertising Week.ch talked to the job expert about knowledge gaps, the perfect resume and the job seekers of the future.
Advertising Week.ch: Selma Kuyas, how did you become a job coach??
Selma Kuyas: I worked in the telecommunications industry for ten years before I ventured into the job coaching integration business in 2015. As a job coach, the mission was to integrate teenagers and young adults with physical or mental disabilities into the labor market. I quickly realized that there is also a great need for specialists and executives to learn more about how to apply for jobs and how to market themselves.
Why is that?
There is still a huge knowledge gap on how candidates can convince companies of their merits and suitability for the job. Here I offer proven assistance with the goal of shaping one’s own career in a self-determined way. I regularly organize free events for job seekers from German-speaking countries.
Are there any tricks or secrets that lead to success??
There are no tricks when applying. It is important to communicate your added value as a specialist or manager convincingly to the outside world. For me, an application is only perfect if it is authentic and shows the reader what he or she will gain by becoming a new employee.
How important are pictures in the resume?
A professional photo in the resume is not mandatory, but I still recommend it. A picture is part of the overall impression of the job application. Chances are high that an application without a photo will be ignored. Until that changes, I would always put a photo on the resume.
What exactly do you offer in your coaching sessions?
Most people – especially women – struggle to put together a convincing application. There is a lack of professional know-how on how to present myself to companies as an applicant. After all, who likes to write about themselves? The application is the entry point and decides the professional future. To leave such an important decision to the factor luck or hope that it will work out, I find fatal as a job application coach. No one teaches us how to apply well or which job profiles to apply to that really suit us. With a trained, experienced coach, you take the shortcut and can ultimately plan your own career in a self-directed way.
Why LinkedIn is a good channel for job search?
Digitalization stops at nothing and no one – not even the workflow for assigning open roles or jobs. Learning how to target LinkedIn for your job search will save you valuable life time looking for a new job. When I take a look into my crystal ball, I see that LinkedIn will take on unimagined dimensions for the world of work. It’s already possible to apply to companies with a one-click application. The classic resume is becoming a discontinued model and digital profiles the new standard.
What is meant by a "hidden job market"??
The results of a study by the Institute for Labor Market Research in Germany show that only 35 percent of vacancies are actually advertised. So you don’t get to hear about the other 65 percent of vacancies. They are referred via contacts, on- and offline networks, personal contacts and recommendations. Increasingly, companies are also using active sourcing to find new talent themselves. The potential to be found digitally is huge. Especially professional networks like LinkedIn can help in this case. More than three quarters of recruiters regularly use the network to actively search for candidates.
A perfect resume is just the first step. At the interview, the candidates have to present themselves personally. How do you help?
With my coaching method the interview is a walk in the park. Because the main work takes place before. The intensive examination of your own strengths, talents, successes, professional history and your own personality are the basis to convince in the job interview. Of course a job interview should be prepared intensively. Here, too, I support my clients with my experience as a job application coach.