What job seekers need to land their next WFH job

THE Covid-19 crisis has made the need for retraining and mindset change more urgent. The Ministry of Manpower revealed in June that Singapore's overall unemployment rate has reached a decade-high of 2.9 per cent, with the rate for Singaporeans even higher at 4 per cent. As the pandemic continues with seemingly no end in sight, and businesses struggle to cope with the economic fallout, the future appears gloomy for job seekers.

While some industries have been battered by the crisis, others are thriving due to the shift to digital. A report by JobStreet.com revealed there are at least 33,000 job vacancies available in Singapore today. Among the top sectors actively hiring include education, banking and finance, and computing and information technology - most of which are remote positions.

For prospective candidates looking to make the switch, undergoing retraining and highlighting skills that complement today's remote workplace needs are key to clinching their next work-from-home job.

Upskilling to meet today's needs

Though it may be a bitter pill to swallow, upskilling and retraining are necessary, especially for those hoping to break into a different industry from their previous employment. To stand out among the competition, look beyond the job requirements and consider building complementary skill sets that would add value to your role. This is personally something I look out for when hiring new members on my sales team. Apart from industry-recognised sales certifications, having other tools in their arsenal such as social media or digital marketing gives candidates an edge. It shows they are attuned to the market's needs and are driven towards self-improvement.

The Singapore government has long been a strong proponent of lifelong learning, offering SkillsFuture credits for citizens to participate in all types of courses. Job seekers looking for additional guidance should also take advantage of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres set up in community centres across the island, where they can receive tailored support in jobs and training from expert coaches.

Being remote-ready

For those who've been away from the workforce for a while, the workplace has changed drastically. In a matter of months, physical offices have closed and shifted online, meetings are now done from behind a computer screen, and watercooler chats have been reduced to sending text messages.

Embracing digitalisation has never been more important. Candidates need to be familiar and comfortable with using today's digital tools and collaborating with their teams remotely. From being well-versed in video conferencing etiquette to co-developing ideas together on shared documents and sheets, digital collaboration platforms have become indispensable in businesses' daily workflows.

In addition to these hard skills, certain soft skills or qualities have proven to be important in working in remote teams. It goes without saying that communication and collaboration skills are a must-have now that everyone is working from different places. Being adaptable to new ways of working, sporadic changes and unexpected situations are also crucial in today's unpredictable landscape. Candidates would be wise to highlight these soft skills and provide instances of how they have exemplified these qualities in their previous roles.

Those applying for a leadership position should also demonstrate their understanding of the current climate and explain how they would manage remote teams.

For instance, offering teammates empathy and flexibility trumps prioritising efficiency during this period, when many are juggling added household responsibilities while working from home. Small gestures like gifting food delivery vouchers or organising virtual drinks to toast milestones and successes can also go a long way in making others feel supported.

It takes two to upskill

However, the responsibility of upskilling does not lie only with employees but employers too. Companies should provide ample opportunities for their employees to develop their skills. Even before the pandemic, technological advancements and new ways of working were disrupting jobs and the skills employees need to do them. In a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 87 per cent of executives reported experiencing skills gaps in the workforce or expected them within a few years. But only less than half had a clear sense of how to address the problem.

Upskilling has always been a sure-fire way to futureproof one's business or career, and there are many ways for companies to build a learning culture. For example, chief learning officers, or CLOs, can help organisations develop digital training programmes and create a learning ecosystem to produce and deliver regular content to employees. Organisations can also incentivise learning by providing rewards to employees who complete certifications or offering paid time-off to attend these classes.

Brown bag sessions are also an easy way for teams to share best practices and knowledge on a particular topic. Our team at Lark recently concluded a session on customer success, where senior members on the team shared helpful tips on how to strengthen relationships with clients and boost customer happiness.

Equipping employees with the right collaboration tools

Besides encouraging upskilling among staff, employers themselves should be open to digitalisation and keep updated on the current developments in remote tech. Oftentimes these decisions are left to the IT team, when ideally senior management and human resources should be involved. They would have more insight on how teams collaborate every day, and thus can identify and plug gaps in these workflows using digital tools.

When deciding on digital tools, choose smart digital collaboration platforms that can seamlessly integrate various apps such as email, messenger, video conference, docs and more onto a single platform.

This will reduce app fatigue among employees, which is often caused by having too many communication channels to manage.

Adapt and evolve

Overall, there is no doubt that job seekers need to navigate a host of challenges today. From developing new skill sets to learning to collaborate remotely, candidates need to be agile and adaptable, while staying positive and resilient during this pandemic. However, employers too have an important role to play in Singapore's journey to upskilling. Building a culture of lifelong learning not only benefits employees but companies themselves. It allows them to introduce new ways of working, stay globally competitive, and perhaps most importantly, pivot quickly in tough economic times.