A journal of events, trends, 
challenges and opportunities
in the employment marketplace.

Summer, 2007 Issue

Employment Trends . . .

Employment Marketplace
Continues Its Upward Journey

FOR THOSE OF US WHO MAY HAVE THOUGHT that the job market might pause in any significant way in 2007, the most recent statistical findings from both Monster.com and the Conference Board should lay those concerns to rest. As shown in the chart above, new job post-

Population demographics.  Baby boomers are reaching retirement age at a faster rate than young people can be brought along to either replace them or fill the new jobs that their efforts have created. 

Hot industries.  Energy challenges, the ageing population, federal regulations, homeland security concerns and the general need for higher productivity levels are driving growth in a number of industries and job functions, including healthcare, alternative fuels, financial services, manufacturing design, production, information technology and many more.  

As can be seen, the Top 10 list represents is a diverse group, which includes huge states like California, relatively small ones like Delaware, some that are highly populous, and some that are quite rural. 

And yet this is by no means the list of all states that are growing: it is simply the top 10 out of 50.

Because of the intensity of current hiring, Candidates are even more challenged to make the right decision when considering a career move than they would be if things were moving along at a more leisurely pace.

This is an employment market which offers many opportunities for development and growth, and which will respond best to a systematic approach.

The article in the “Winning the Job” section of this e-zine addresses how to make good career decisions in a dynamic marketplace.

Happy hunting!

Prioritize Your Career-Move Goals and Criteria
Write them down, in detail, working on them until they truly reflect what you are trying to achieve. This process of refining your goals and criteria may take longer than you think – but when you’re done, you should have a list of 3-5 items, not including location and money -- that are clear and definitive enough that you can use them as a checklist to evaluate the job opportunities you want to pursue.

Use that checklist to boil the interviews you accept down to the three or four that most conform to your criteria.

Develop a list of 6-12 questions you will ask each employer during the interviews.
Break these questions into three groups:
(1) Questions about the company;
(2) Questions about the department;
(3) Questions about the job and the opportunity.

Seek objective advice about what’s realistic.
Knowing what is realistic to expect in the marketplace regarding compensation – as well as what the trade-offs are – is critical to your evaluation. All too often, good candidates turn great opportunities down because they don’t understand what they stand to gain by accepting them and performing according to their own usual high standards. Get this advice from someone who is in a position to know the market -- i.e., a corporate mentor, a career counselor, or professional recruiter who focuses on your specialty area. 

Make allowances for the intangibles.  
The objective information is important, but oftentimes it’s the way a job and company makes you feel that is the most critical factor in your ability to make real progress in the short run and a significant and rewarding contribution over time.  The intangibles cover numerous topics, including the nature of the work, the way the company encourages you to approach the task, the physical environment, the company’s involvement in the local community, and the philosophy of the management group.  Make notes on these and other intangibles and be sure to pull them out and re-read them when it’s time to make a decision. 

Trust the process, review your data, and go with your gut. 
In the final analysis, there is only so much information you can gather, and then it will be time to make your decision. If you have taken the steps outlined above, you will be in a strong position to make a great one.