RESEARCHING THE JOB MARKET
Before you start your job search (or get any further with the one you’re in the midst of), take some time to put your search in a larger context. Every job seeker should know the “lay of the land” for his targeted industry or profession. Start by asking yourself these questions:
• Do you know the titles or descriptions of positions you should be applying for?
• What is the current outlook for the jobs you’re seeking in your geographic region?
• Do you have the appropriate qualifications for the level and type of job(s) you’re searching for?
• Are there other industries or positions you might be qualified for that you should include in your search?
• And finally, if the outlook for your targeted industry/positions is not good, can you find a different profession that might be easier to be hired into? If so, what will it take?
You can improve your odds of finding great jobs that match your qualifications by starting out with a broader search. As you research the job market and review job postings, look at all types of jobs within your targeted industry or industries and see what is available. If this becomes too overwhelming, you can begin to narrow your search by eliminating certain positions or other criteria from your search.
FOR INSTANCE . . .
“Lateral” moves like the examples below don’t involve a complete career change; they simply stretch the options for using the skills and experience a professional has already acquired:
• daycare worker to teacher’s assistant
• telemarketer to receptionist
• office manager to computer tech support
• ad agency graphic designer to account representative (or vice versa)
• high-speed Internet installer to high-speed Internet customer-service rep
You may need to sell yourself a little more strongly in your résumé and interviews to convince an employer that your experience will translate.
“If you read the odds of your résumé getting you an interview, it’s depressing. Statistics are always against you—but just keep at it. Your qualifications will be a perfect match for a job somewhere, and they’ll find you, if you just do the homework.”
—Bernice Kao, job/career specialist and job service outreach librarian at Fresno County (California) Public Library
BEST IN SHOW—OCCUPATION/CAREER LISTINGS ONLINE
The Riley Guide’s Career Research Center at http://rileyguide.com/careers/index.shtml. “This library includes job descriptions, salary data and employment statistics, and education information for over 160 occupations!”
The Vocational Information Center’s www.khake.com/page5.html offers lots of valuable links to sites with employment trends, state-by-state labor market information, economic statistics, and more.
Job-posting aggregator Indeed.com adds statistics for a dozen industries each month, providing at-a-glance information on where the jobs are. Click on “trends” from the home page to get started.
GET AN INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT
So what do you need to learn about your industry in order to shape your search? Your industry or profession snapshot should include answers to questions such as:
How is the industry’s overall economic health? What is the forecast for job growth in the field? What is the unemployment rate within the industry? Are the companies that are major players doing well in the stock market?
What’s happening in your neighborhood? Which organizations are located in your city or county? Are they hiring? Is growth in your area increasing or decreasing?
What’s on the horizon in D.C.? Is there any pending legislation that will affect your industry’s trends or economic health? (For example, the Homebuyer Tax Credit in 2008 and 2009 gave real estate a short-term boost.)
What are the trends? What does the business press have to say about your industry? Are there new technologies, new organizations, or changes in the business world that will affect your career?
YOUR FIRST STOP: THE LIBRARY’S INFORMATION COUNTER
Public libraries serve their communities—and if your community’s needs include help with job searching, your library should be able to provide information and resources to help with your research. Check your library’s website for job or career pages and stop by the reference desk to see what type of help is available. You may find that a librarian has already created a ready-to-use list of Internet resources you can get started with, or you may be able to access the library’s information databases to gather information.
“Right now, we’re seeing more interest in career planning. As jobs are disappearing, people are seeking new industries with better demand.”
—Bonnie Easton, librarian at the Career Center of the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library
HIT THE BOOKS (ONLINE)
The federal government compiles industry information every year in volumes that are now available online for free. These are absolute “musts” to include in your research:
1. Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) Published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this guide should be available at your library in print and can be found online at www.bls.gov/oco. Revised and updated every two years, it includes detailed career information for all types of occupations, including a description of what workers do on the job, training and education needed, expected job prospects, salaries or wages, and working conditions. You’ll also find links to information on state-by-state job markets, job-search tips, and more.
2. Career Guide to Industries (CGI) A companion to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, this BLS publication is only available online, at www.bls.gov/oco/cg. It is similar to the OOH and provides information on careers by industry, including occupations in the industry, expected job prospects, training and advancement, earnings, and more.
3. Occupational Outlook Quarterly An online quarterly magazine published by the BLS that covers a variety of career topics, such as new and emerging occupations, training opportunities, salary trends, and results of new studies from the BLS. The “magazine” is available at www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/ooqhome.htm.
4. O*NET Online Visit http://online.onetcenter.org to browse the O*NET OnLine database of occupational information. The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration, and the database is a user-friendly resource with information on nearly 1,000 occupations. Browse by occupation or by skills (e.g., How can I use my teaching skills and desire to help people?). There is a lot of information and a lot of ways to search or find it—so take some time to click around O*NET.
FIVE MORE RESOURCES
There are other outstanding sources for up-to-date information. Check these additional online and print sources for details on your industry and/or career:
1. Wetfeet.com offers its own insights and information on trends, major players, and job descriptions in major industries, as well as career information, at www.wetfeet.com/careers—industries.aspx.
2. The Career Project (thecareerproject.org) is a site that provides a brief description of thousands of jobs—from the workers themselves. Select an industry and see comments from actual people working in it. Better yet, you can ask any of these “mentors” a question via e-mail if you want more information on the kind of work they do (or money they make).
3. Another place to check is the listing of “Best Jobs in America 2009” at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/
bestjobs/2009/snapshots/1.html. You won’t exactly find the “best” jobs, but you can see those with the most growth, highest pay, and highest-rated quality of life.
4. The websites or member publications of any professional associations related to your chosen work. Associations will report—either directly or indirectly—on trends, pending and current legislation, and other factors that influence jobs in the field.
5. For general business information that may affect your chosen industry, browse these well-known publications online or in print at your public library:
Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/home-page)
Fortune (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/)
Fast Company (www.fastcompany.com)
Forbes (www.forbes.com)
ENTRY-LEVEL WORKERS AND CAREER CHANGERS
If you are planning to change careers—or are just starting out in your first career—you’ll face your own unique challenges. Job seekers in these two categories are similar, because a complete change in careers can put an experienced professional back at the starting gate, looking for entry-level jobs. An employer is unlikely to give you credit—or a salary increase—because of past experience that will not translate to your new job.
CHANGE RULE
To be clear, changing careers refers to a complete shift to a new industry, requiring different skills or knowledge from your previous positions. A legal secretary who wants to become a teacher is changing careers; a legal secretary who wants to become a paralegal is not.
Whether you’re a new graduate, a mom reentering the workplace after a multiyear hiatus, or simply want to change careers, you’re in for a lot of research. You need to figure out three things:
1. Where the jobs are
2. What you really want to do
3. How to make it happen
You know about the first item—just follow the advice for all job seekers at the beginning of this chapter: head to the library, hit the web, and research the job markets. Don’t choose a profession simply because the employment outlook is good! Training to become a nurse just for the guaranteed job security is sure to lead to unhappiness, stress, and possibly bad patient care if you’re not suited for the work. So head back to the library, because the second item may take some additional research.
TAKING APTITUDE AND ASSESSMENT TESTS
An assessment test or career aptitude test can reveal what specific jobs might best suit your abilities, interests, and personality. Ask a librarian what the library—and the Internet—has to offer in this area.
The most widely known assessment tests are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Strong Interest Inventory, and the Campbell Interest & Skill Survey, but there are dozens of them. Some library subscription databases include assessment tests. For example, “Gale’s Testing and Educational Database includes many employment and aptitude tests that are very useful,” says Jim DeArmey, coordinator of information services at Baltimore County (Maryland) Public Library.
The results of your aptitude or assessment test(s) should give you some specific ideas on careers to pursue. If the results simply outline your skills and aptitudes, match those up with the skills listed in the O*NET OnLine database to find careers. (That website again is http://online.onetcenter.org.)
GAINING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Finally, you need to determine what qualifications you need to begin working in your chosen career. If you need some experience, look for an internship or volunteer position or project that might apply. (A librarian can help with this!) Perhaps you need to take a class—or earn an entire degree. Maybe you need to learn new skills or specific business expertise, or will have to pass an industry-specific exam. Again, the library may be able to help. Many libraries own software that teaches or tests specific skills—from an extensive program on studying for the GED, to learning Spanish, to a practice exam for master carpentry.
Jerome L. Myers, MLS, main library manager at the Tacoma (Washington) Public Library Education and Job Center, says, “There are certain careers that require applicants to pass a test, whether it’s for air traffic control or typing skills. The civil service job exams are our most popular—for employment as a postal worker or police officer, for example. You can come to the library—or log in from home if you have a library card—and take a practice exam. You can work at your own pace; it’s very beneficial.”
BEST IN SHOW—CHANGING CAREERS
Jansen, Julie. I Don’t Know What I Want, But I Know It’s Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work. (New York: Penguin, 2003).
Tieger, Paul, and Barbara Barron. Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You through the Secrets of Personality Type. (New York: Little, Brown, 2007).
Lore, Nicholas. The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success. (New York: Simon and Schuster, Fireside, 1998).
STUDY YOUR SUBJECT
You’ll see this same advice at various points within this book: research your target industry. Make it part of your job-search research to stay abreast of what’s happening. Don’t wait until you have an interview lined up—do it now so that while you’re networking, or leaving a comment on an industry insider’s blog, or meeting your new neighbor who happens to be a headhunter, you’re knowledgeable, up to date, and prepared with facts.
“Do your own research. It’s in the newspaper every single day.”
—Bernice Kao, job/career specialist and job service outreach librarian at Fresno County (California) Public Library
YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Major players in your industry and/or region—the organizations and perhaps the people who run them.
• Any recent changes to those major players. Mergers, moves, new products introduced, or headline-making news.
• The latest trends. By monitoring professional associations’ websites and publications, relevant news sources, blogs, and LinkedIn groups, you’ll see patterns emerge—those are the trends.
• Industry lingo, acronyms, and jargon. Want to write websites? It’s easy enough to find out what SEO stands for—and you’ll need to know!
NEWS DELIVERED TO YOUR IN-BOX
You can stay up to date on industry news with daily or weekly e-mail alerts by setting up a Google News Alert. From Google.com, click on “About Google” and select “Google Services and Tools” to find “Alerts.” Type in specific phrases and words on what you’d like to see. For example, you may choose to see news items (and blog entries, discussions, and videos) on “property management.” If you then find that you’re seeing too many items that aren’t relevant, you can refine your search criteria to “property management,” “condominiums,” and “Florida.”
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP
If you feel you need some specific insights into the state of your chosen industry, try for one or more information interviews. These are one-on-one meetings that you set up with established professionals in your field. For more on information interviews, see Chapter 8.
THE LAST WORD
The time you spend researching your chosen industry will pay off. It will help you set parameters for your job search now, and you can draw on the information you find when you’re in an interview—to demonstrate your knowledge and insights in your field—as well as once you get a job. In fact, staying abreast of what’s happening in your industry, including hiring trends, is always a good idea, even when you are employed. So make this type of research a habit!