The Job Market for 2022

Follow the trends.

By Jacquie Liversidge

In 2020, we watched as new clients joined our ranks the like of which we would not have seen otherwise. Qantas leaders with 20+ years’ experience. Pilots. Self-employed publicans and resort managers. Trades.

We watched as chefs and front of house personnel fled the industry, we helped nurses move from hospitals to COVID-centres and we worked with clients to get transitionary roles with the Australian Taxation Office, Commonwealth Bank and in administration roles with state’s respective Departments of Health, who all experienced massive and immediate compliance challenges.

It was heartbreaking to hear about the sudden end to some client’s long-term and much-loved careers. And it was grueling to consider that come the day we return to normal, all of these people are gone from these industries.

JobKeeper tided some over. Some weren’t eligible. Those who really suffered were the staff hired just after March 2020, those who worked on a contract basis, those who were self-employed, or for those whose industries—like above—simply collapsed.

Huge amounts of hiring occurred for the winning businesses—those who survived and thrived in COVID conditions. Huge amounts of hiring occurred in government departments. For corporations that relied heavily on overseas outsourcing, their capacity to maintain their commitment to customer service was hugely reliant for the first time on the government’s management of COVID in an overseas jurisdiction. COVID brought those roles back onshore.

In 2022, prepare to see it go the other way. Those who won riding the wave of boom will experience the bust as well.

You might have seen a lot more advertisements for:

Health administrators
Vaccination nurses
Working from home customer service
Cleaning
Data entry
Freight staff and deliveries

In 2022, it’s going to be a buyers’ market for those who originally suffered.

Cheffing, front-line customer service, the aviation industry, the entertainment industry, tourism, trades will all be in high demand. Expect to be able to negotiate salaries in these sectors for some roles for the first time.

The demand will hit immediately, but the skill has left the room. Be there at the right time and these businesses which are going to experience a surge in revenue for some time will be happy to reward you for your efforts.

In getting across your messaging, and your value, you want to consider your pitch. The key skills of the current time which will carry over into the future will be resilience, autonomy and agility. What did you do during COVID? Did you ride out your time on JobKeeper, or did you shift industries? If you kept your job, what changed about your job? What higher duties or responsibilities did you adopt during this time?

How did you as a person respond to the changing needs of the ebb and flow of the pandemic?

Leadership roles in the pandemic

Leadership changed, too. Modelling your leadership behaviours over ZOOM or Teams wasn’t easy. Actually, remember how you had to teach everyone to use Teams?

How did you maintain an engaged team during lockdowns? What systems did you put in place to keep those external relationships going? How did you out-do your competitors?

This is an exciting time for managers and leaders who did well during COVID, because it speaks for itself and it’s a challenge that all businesses faced—whether in managing growth pains, or in innovating rapidly to stay afloat.

So, in 2022?

Work smart and not hard.

Be visible, ready and in the right place at the right time. Watch the news. Borders opening? Go check out aviation jobs and snap one up. Cities coming back from lockdown? Get your resume to the pub and snag a front of house job. International travel reopening? Tourism, entertainment and hospitality for days.

Happy hunting.