Job seeking likely to be more difficult this year

March 8, 2007 · Filed Under Finding Your Job 

Or so says CNN.

Which, if you’re a corporate recruiter, is probably good news. A tighter labor market means more selection in the labor market. It can mean tighter salaries too. If you’re a third-party recruiter, this can still be good news but not necessarily. After all, less jobs can mean less work but I am guessing that even the best third-party guys aren’t having to be coaxed off the ledge quite yet. And people in corporate recruiting certainly cannot rest easy tonight either.

Recruiting is a fluid science and is certainly industry and regionally dynamic though. And the government has admitted that it still hasn’t found a great way of counting employment gains. People recruiting in Nebraska have different situations than those recruiting in Pittsburgh. Not to mention that it doesn’t take into account job movement (which can be spurned by job growth) which can be dictated by regional availability and unemployment rates. A peak over at bls.gov also shows that unemployment ranges state to state from 2% to over 7%. And that number may be more important to job seekers than any national figures.

Even if you do end up in a tight labor market, there are certainly things you can do to stand out. Here are three things to do right now in a tight market:

  1. Carry out a focused search. Focus on your particular area of expertise and do not go outside of it. Even if there are only a few job openings in six months in that area, focusing on it makes you spend time on researching and playing a good job candidate. Having the time to follow up and write compelling cover letters and resumes is worthwhile enough.
  2. Use all available resources. If you are serious about job seeking, use all of your available resources. From placement agencies, to free resources available online and at the library, there are a lot of resources that are simply ignored.
  3. Network today. Don’t wait until the alarms go off before you start networking with professionals in your field. Join an industry association, LinkedIn and even MySpace. Start with people you know, then people they know and branch out.

This list might even be worthwhile for recruiters in tight markets. Not that I think a tight market is inevitable. I just think that it is worthwhile to do these things anyway. :-)


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Comments

2 Responses to “Job seeking likely to be more difficult this year”

  1. JustJobs editor on March 8th, 2007 7:04 pm

    Great post. A tighter job market basically means that you will have to double your efforts and use ever resource at your disposal. Tighter job markets make things a little more difficult, but clearly not impossible.

    Juan Rodriguez
    Editor, JustJobs.com

    [Reply]

  2. Simon Clay Michael on March 12th, 2007 11:12 am

    It’s interesting to see the various conflicting reports coming out about the future labor market, but whatever or whenever it happens, your advice to be proactive and prepared is spot on.

    I’d also add to the list getting your support network in place. It always hurts to loose your job, but being somewhat ready for it and able to deal with it will make it a less-bumpy ride.

    [Reply]

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