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Finding a good job in a bad economy |
| By:deepika bajaj on Mon 29 Sep 2008 1:15 PM under Business, Careers and Job Search |
Many business professionals have been concerned about what does this economy mean for their jobs. Some of them have lost their jobs and are now looking for opportunities that are in line with their career objectives.
Here is what my friend Steve, who is an accomplished career and life coach has to say:
The current economy is unstable to say the least, unemployment is up, jobs are
tougher to land, and yet there are jobs out there if you know where to look.
Even in a bad economy you can find good work!
I try to read everything I can about job trends and while you still need to have
a top flight resume and cover letter, know how to effectively network and
interview and all the rest, looking in the right places is also crucial.
An excellent article was recently written by Beth Fitzgerald (unfortunately I
can’t find an electronic version of it.) She confirms what I’ve heard from
others about where to look in this current down time.
Despite a net loss of jobs, the health care industry has expanded by 367,000
jobs this year. The government hired 17,000 job-seekers last month and that
doesn’t include all the education providers not funded with tax dollars. And
electronic manufacturers created 5,000 jobs in August 2008.
As baby boomers approach retirement age, millions of job openings will open and
yet the boomers will continue to spend which fuels the demand for goods and
services that will help the economy. Fitzgerald says “The economy is on track
to generate 33.4 million replacement and 174 million new jobs between 2006 and
2016 – more than 50 million job openings, according to the most recent
forecast from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.” This will include
thousands of health care works needed care for the aging Baby Boomers. The
number of teachers will also swell.
Fields to pursue are ones that are difficult to outsource and aren’t given to
cyclical contractions—so look into health care, education, transportation,
energy production and research.
The federal government is also hiring because one half its work force will
retire in the next five years! Fitzgerald says that 193,000 mission critical
jobs will need to be filled in the next two years. And the federal workforce
jobs span the entire professional range of opportunities—take a look at the
jobs listed at www.usajobs.gov
In the private sector, large corporations are shrinking, so look to smaller
companies. Fitzgerald says that these jobs are often under the radar and are
rarely advertised or posted.
On staffing firm executive suggests driving around industrial parks, making a
list of the tenant companies, and then checking them out on the internet. You
can also scour the venture capital reports in the San Jose Mercury to see what
new companies are getting funding.
Strangely enough some industries are hiring and laying off at the same time! A
current example is the pharmaceutical industry. Another staffing executive says
that “For every big company that’s downsizing, you have a generic company
that’s opening a new line and creating production, quality control, operator
jobs and the white collar support that goes with it.” And don’t forget that
skills can always be repackaged to launch you into an exciting a new career.
And of course if you need help with any of this, here is where you can contact Steve.
Source: Steve Piazzale, Ph.D, Career/Life Coach, at www.BayAreaCareerCoach.com.
Thanks Steve!
Deepika
Jennifer Says:
Despite the stats, I see thousands of high paying jobs posted on employment sites –
http://www.linkedin.com (networking)
http://www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
http://www.realmatch.com (matches you to jobs)
I see 75K, 100K and 150K jobs. There are jobs if you know where to look.
Mark Says:
Not wasting time doing things the wrong way is a good tip. I’d recommend using a meta job search engine like http://www.metajobsearch.110mb.com . It is a lot faster than going to each and every job site.
Also a professionally prepared resume will pay for itself.