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Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Apr 1, 2009 in
Executive Coaching,
Job Search,
Thinking Positive Last week, I attended a Hay Group presentation in Tysons Corner, VA where I was able to speak one-on-one with a variety of DC area Human Resources professionals. While we all came to the event from different companies and backgrounds, we had one major commonality last week: companies are struggling with decision making in the quicksand of our current economy.
Hiring authorities in many fields feel they are dangling by a vine in the quicksand. Many are scared to make too quick a decision, which may cause the sand to collapse around them, eventually smothering their career and/or the company. Others have jobs that they just can’t locate qualified people for (like nursing and engineering) and are grasping at any and all available vines hoping candidates they find hanging there will ultimately pull them out of their understaffed situation.
The general consensus was that this analysis paralysis is the direct result of executives now being forced to bear an unlikely double burden. Leading an organization in an uncertain economy forces them to make the best choices they can with the information they have available. But that information is changing at the speed of light. One day the stock market is up, one day it’s down. One day their best client is signing a new contract, the next day the best client is being bought out.
These leaders are struggling just like everyone else is with loss of retirement savings coupled with concerns about job security. Yet, for the good of the company, they are forced to put up a good front for the employees that report to them, making them feel safe, secure and ensuring productivity increases with fewer resources. It’s a tough position to be in; hanging on a vine, hoping the quicksand will fill in beneath their feet, eventually buoying them above the danger back into business as usual.
According to a study published in the current issue of the journal Nature, it is impossible for a person immersed in quicksand to be drawn completely under. The fact is, quicksand is heavier than water so humans float in it. At rest, quicksand thickens with time, but it remains very sensitive to small variations in stress. At higher stresses, quicksand liquefies very quickly. The higher the stress the more fluid it becomes. This causes a trapped body to sink when it starts to move.
The problem is that we panic. We’re fearful of drowning and we do anything we can to prevent it, when, if we trusted general physics (and mother nature), we’d ultimately rise above the danger.
At the Hay Group event, I discovered most companies are still hiring, but they are inundated with applications, thus making them feel they have plenty of choices so they don’t need to be in a rush to hire someone. Digging a little further, though, I found that the truth is that companies really are still seeing very few exceptionally qualified people in those piles of resumes. Essentially, the inbox is full, but not with a high quality workforce, so they are unwilling to move forward until the perfect candidate surfaces.
As a job seeker, how can you rise above the quicksand to meet the executives on the vines? For one, make sure you are only applying to positions you are qualified for. My recent book TEN STEPS TO FINDING THE PERFECT JOB discusses creative, unique strategies for navigating the new economy and conducting a well planned job search. You can locate those executives, just above the quicksand, that need your help. Get your resume right in front of them before they get sucked under by the pressure around them and convince them YOU are the person they should hire.
Carolyn Thompson
Author of TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME…available on Amazon.com!
and TEN STEPS TO FINDING THE PERFECT JOB…available on Amazon.com!
Tags: economy, fear, hiring, Job Search, jobs, resume
Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Mar 17, 2009 in
Job Search,
Thinking Positive Let’s talk turkey here. The turkey is notable for its inflexible neck, which makes it unable to turn its head and see the diversity of a jungle. This leads me to draw the parallel from the turkey in the jungle to the recent unemployment figures released. We need to turn our necks and really evaluate what we are hearing. How does it affect us, personally?
Look at Omaha, NE as an example. I was in Omaha last week conducting a resume workshop and promoting my new books. The US Conference of Mayors and the Nebraska Workforce Coalition both showed Omaha ending 2008 at 4.1% unemployment, and have projected the rate will increase to 4.9% by the end of 2009. With an estimated workforce of 466,000, that works out to about 3,000 more people being unemployed at the end of this year as compared to last year. That’s just fewer than 300 people a month. In contrast, in the past 30 days, 1,670 jobs in Omaha were posted on Monster and Career Builder combined.
This trend is true in a lot of cities I’ve been visiting. It was true in Las Vegas; it’s true in DC, even in Miami.
Take this theory and apply it to the national unemployment numbers: The US Department of Labor estimates our national workforce to be 154 Million people; 12.5M of which they estimate are unemployed. Understand that it’s easy to monitor new claims filed at the unemployment offices around the country. The way the tracking works, though, creates a build in lag time as people roll off unemployment, so those numbers are not tracked as accurately, if at all.
Those people who file for unemployment repeatedly are also falling into the new claimant statistics. This doesn’t necessarily get reported in the news lately.
Let’s turn our necks again to jobs being advertised. On a national level, in the past 30 days, 240,000 jobs were posted on Career Builder, according to Emily Wysocki, DC area Career Builder representative. Several representatives of Monster were unwilling to participate in this survey, but my staff researched and estimates 155,000 jobs were posted in the US in the past 30 days on their job board.
Overall, these numbers indicate the weekly availability of jobs being posted both online and on company websites in nearly every city we polled is outpacing the number of applicants filing for unemployment.
Yes, at the end of the day, more people are unemployed now than in the recent past, creating a more competitive marketplace than we’ve seen in most of our lifetimes. But, we also have a larger workforce than we’ve ever had, so that’s not as surprising as it might seem.
We are a service-based nation, and we are adaptable and innovative. Necessity is the mother of invention. Who’s to say that one of those unemployed people isn’t sitting in their garage as I type, having a few beers, discussing ideas with friends, and preparing them to possibly become the next Bill Gates?
For a list of on demand webinars relating to job searching, interviewing, and resume writing visit: http://www.carolynthompson.net/webinars.htm
Carolyn Thompson
Author of TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME…available on Amazon.com!
and TEN STEPS TO FINDING THE PERFECT JOB…available on Amazon.com!
Tags: jobs, statistics, unemployment
Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Mar 9, 2009 in
Career Path,
Thinking Positive Where have all the hardworking professionals gone? Have they retreated to their caves (or Florida) for a long winter’s hibernation? Are they snuggled in, hoping to emerge their sleepy heads in a few months when the promise of the new administration finally starts to pay off? Are they waiting to complete that resume re-write until they can send it to 100 positions like they could a year or so ago instead of just one or two? Are they waiting for the abundance of the good old days?
Well, in some professions, the good old days are still around. Professionals looking for work should pay astute attention to what jobs are being advertised. There are large pockets of professional areas that are still lacking talented people.
Take the tax profession as example. Not a generally exciting topic, but it’s a lucrative field. Right now, if you were a Senior Tax Accountant in our area, there are over 100 positions available within 50 miles of DC.
So, unemployed professionals take note…if you’re looking for a new career path, there are jobs out there! Some training or re-training might be necessary, in some cases, the bill for that might be picked up by an employer. Do your homework, it never hurts to ask! Don’t hibernate your days away! Wake up, get out there, and find your niche!
Carolyn Thompson
Author of TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME…available on Amazon.com!
and TEN STEPS TO FINDING THE PERFECT JOB…available on Amazon.com!
Tags: jobs, resume, training, unemployment
Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Feb 4, 2009 in
Thinking Positive This week I am in Las Vegas, participating in the BULLHORN LIVE User’s Conference. This has been one of the best events I’ve attended in the staffing and recruiting industry for the past couple of years. The technical information has been excellent, but the positive enthusiasm shared by this diverse group of attendees and presenters has been the most refreshing part of this conference.
Search industry guru Danny Cahill and President of Bullhorn Barry Hinckley both discussed a sentiment I firmly believe in; looking at the glass half full. No doubt, a continually rising unemployment rate is troubling. However, let’s not lose sight of the other side of that statistic; if an area has 7% unemployment, it also has 93% employment.
In response to President Obama’s call to volunteer service, Bullhorn provided me a meeting space at the Red Rocks Resort to conduct a RESUME WORKSHOP which was free to the public here in Las Vegas yesterday evening. NBC affiliate KVBC3 invited me to appear live on the noon news Monday to promote the event and I also had a great conversation with Barbara Kusak on KDWN Las Vegas Talk Radio yesterday.
About 60 local job seekers attended the workshop where we discussed my book TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME as well as some specifics about job search and interviewing. With 7.2% unemployment in the Las Vegas area and 10.1 % statewide, the attendees really wanted to know how to set themselves apart from other job seekers. They all left with enthusiastic, positive, outlooks towards their job search, newly empowered with creative strategies, ideas and techniques to utilize in this competitive environment.
As my second book TEN STEPS TO FINDING THE PERFECT JOB comes out next month, I look forward to continuing to share some positive job search strategies and ideas with people in other cities over the next few months. Upcoming workshops are slated for Washington DC, Miami/Ft.Lauderdale, Baltimore, Omaha, and Denver over the next four months.
Since none of us (including our elected officials) really know how to tame the ELEPHANT, we all need to adjust our thinking and find areas of positive change within the situation. Everyone has something to contribute and there are jobs out there, it may just take a little more strength, internal fortitude, and personal willpower to move the ELEPHANT out of your room to find it.
Carolyn Thompson
Author of TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME…now available on Amazon.com!
Tags: jobs, resume, resume workshop, statistics, unemployment
