| |
What
the Coming Job Market Means to You
Volume
II, Issue VI
We have
all seen the press reports: Unemployment remains at stubbornly
high percentages, and most of those who continue to have jobs
would rather tough things out at their present employer than
risk being terminated somewhere else. And when the economy
rebounds for sure, some pundits are predicting it will be
a "jobless recovery."
The actual
situation is less bleak.
In the
United States, for example, unemployment may have risen by
50 percent (from four to six percent) - but that still leaves
94 percent of the workforce with jobs. Even during periods
of "full employment," as defined by economists,
close to four percent of the workforce will be between jobs
or unwilling to accept one.
Moreover,
the U.S. Department of Labor says that several million people
take new jobs every month. Some come from the ranks of the
unemployed, while others were employed somewhere else. Thus,
there is more movement than appears on the surface.
Most
important, the recovery - which is already under way - will
not be jobless for long. There are three reasons for that:
- Employers
have "done without" for three long years. Corporate
fat has been trimmed, and further cuts will slice through
the meat and into the bone. Employees have been doing their
own and someone else's work for far too long, and productivity
has begun to suffer. The search consultants at Sanford Rose
Associates find numerous hiring managers anxious to restore
critical positions that were lost during the recession.
- Many
employees are plain "fed up" and plan to leave
their current employers once the economy improves. In an
ongoing series of "Quick Polls" on www.sanfordrose.com,
Sanford Rose Associates has been surveying people like you.
The May/June SRA poll found that 58.7 percent of respondents
said they are likely to change jobs, while another 20.4
percent were undecided. In a survey conducted in late summer
by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and
CareerJournal.com, 64 percent of all employees said it is
"extremely likely" they will change jobs, while
another 19 percent were "somewhat likely." Both
the SRA and SHRM results are consistent with a recent Korn/Ferry
web poll, which found that 62 percent of employed respondents
disliked their jobs.
- More
employees are leaving the workforce than entering it - the
result of an aging population. With or without expected
new job creation, there will be increasingly fierce competition
for available employees. By 2005 (or 2006 at the latest),
the employment marketplace will resemble that of 1998 and
1999.
What
does this mean to you? If nothing else, it means that you
will be an increasingly valuable commodity. In fact, the word
"commodity" may no longer apply.
There
is no rush, of course, to change jobs if you don't want to.
Surveys have shown that employees who remain with one or a
few employers do as well financially as those who change jobs
frequently. Conversely, the longer one stays with an employer,
the greater the risk becomes that one will be regarded as
too set in his (or her) ways.
If you
are so fed up that you can't stand it any longer, create a
sensible "game plan" for changing jobs. Begin by
defining the ideal job for you - in terms of title, responsibilities,
compensation, promotional opportunities, corporate culture,
level of stress, etc. Don't expect to become the next CEO
of a multi-billion-dollar corporation if you enjoy leaving
at five each night to play with the children.
Through
careful research, determine the industries, employers and
jobs most likely to mesh with your personal objectives and
past experience. Be honest: Evaluate how closely your past
assignments and demonstrable accomplishments match the opportunities
you are likely to be considered for.
Try to
be visible in a non-job-hunting sort of way. Serve on committees
of major trade associations. Write an article for publication.
Make speeches. Win awards.
Keep
your resume updated and in the hands of key search consultants
with whom you have developed a personal relationship. (In
fact, you may want to have more than one resume if you are
pursuing several different career paths.) Raise your visibility
with recruiters who call you by being helpful and responsive
if they need something from you - your resume, the name of
a colleague who might fit a particular position, etc. Keep
in mind that professional recruiters work on behalf of client
companies, not candidates, and have no obligation to help
you find a better job.
Don't,
on the other hand, post your resume on every job board and
send it to every recruiter in the land unless you want to
throw caution to the winds and risk being fired.
In contacting
anyone for advice, assistance or even employment, remember
that the end objective is a personal visit if at all possible.
Nine times out of ten, a phone call will be more productive
in that regard than will be even the most cleverly written
letter or e-mail.
And,
last but not least:
Network,
network, network - because you can never know too many people.
One, two or three of them just may prove helpful to you someday.
|
