As the hiring market shifts and the scales of power continue to tip between employers and candidates, it’s important to remain on your A-game as a jobseeker. If you want to get ahead in the current market and build your dream career in tech, transformation or beyond in 2024, here’s what you should consider:

1. Keep your skills fresh

As technology continues to evolve, it’s important to keep your skills up to date. Skilling up in in-demand competencies such as AI, cybersecurity, data analysis, cloud computing, and software development will hold you in good stead for the next 12 months. Talent Melbourne Managing Director, Simon Yeung notes that over 2024, “There will be a massive focus on network security, cyber, cloud security and data. The pressure to protect sensitive data and systems against evolving threats will persist, and demand for skilled professionals in cloud computing, data science, and software development should increase as businesses prioritise digital transformation.” In the US, it’s a similar story with Talent North America CEO, Colin Etheridge sharing that “Cloud Security and Data Analytics opportunities have seen high demand over the past year, and are two of the most in-demand skills.”

2. Be flex on flex work

The working landscape is shifting, so it’s important to be flexible on your expectations when it comes to flex work. Many companies, particularly across Australia and New Zealand, are increasingly seeking that team members spend the majority of their week in the office. So, to avoid limiting your opportunities, see if you can come to a happy medium with prospective employers. Saqib Zia, Talent Sydney Candidate Manager notes that “flexibility may not always equate to work from home days, but instead, can be negotiated and shown through different arrangements.” If flexibility can’t be provided by way of more remote work options, it could be presented in different ways to meet your needs, for example, compressed work weeks, amended start and end times, flexible hours, or time in lieu.

Uncover more about the latest in flexible work in our blog, Behind the headlines: What’s really happening with flexibility.

3. Tailor your resume

Where employers were more open to hiring candidates who weren’t an exact match for a role during the candidate-short market of the past few years, they are now in search of candidates who meet more of their requirements. Talent Sydney Managing Director, Matthew Munson notes that “companies are becoming fussier, with an expectation of an 80%-90% match to the job profile, whereas throughout the COVID period, candidates with a 60%-70% match were being hired.” Consider tailoring your CV to the role you’re applying for and highlighting transferrable skills to demonstrate how good of a match you are for the position.

4. Re-assess your salary expectations

Across a number of job families, especially Project Services, salaries are stabilising and seeing decreases. Talent Auckland Delivery Lead, Stefanie Mortimer, observes that “salaries have levelled out we are not seeing the steep incline we had been seeing in the prior year. We’re seeing companies standing firmer on their budgets and certain groups of candidates being more flexible on their expectations, particularly within Project Services.” As a result, you may need to adjust your salary expectations to align with the market and what employers are offering. With employers increasingly bound by tighter budgets and looking to cut costs, as well as more candidates on the market due to recent tech layoffs, many of the salaries that were on offer across the 2021-22 market boom are no longer being provided. Talent Wellington Managing Director, Nik-King Turner, notes that price could be the determining factor in being selected for a role “if organisations have two candidates that they can’t pick between, they will pick the best priced candidate.”

With that being said, professionals with in-demand skillsets, think – cybersecurity, AI, and data – have been able to continue attracting those higher salaries. Matthew Munson observes that while “we have seen the cooling of salaries across many job families, hard to find niche talent will always test the top end of what the market has to offer.”

5. Consider what’s important to you

If an employer can’t offer you the salary you’re after, consider what else they can bring to the table in terms of share schemes, flexibility, progression opportunities, and benefits. Matthew Munson notes that “with more candidates competing for jobs, the advice to candidates is to be flexible and think holistically around what matters most when considering an opportunity.”

6. See what’s on offer

If you’re considering a new role, uncover opportunities in tech, transformation and beyond that are best suited to you. Search our jobs board to find your dream role.