President Obama says the massive stimulus package he recently signed into law will create or save 3.5 million American jobs. Republicans say that number will be less — but all agree that new jobs, including at the manager and executive levels, will be created as a result of the $800 billion legislation.
So, if you’re out of work or concerned that you might be laid off by your current employer, is there a stimulus job out there for you?
For most jobseekers, the answer will depend on how well the stimulus plan works. Initially, many of the jobs created will go to blue-collar workers (such as construction workers), public-sector employees (such as teachers), and those experienced in working with government entities (such as IT pros with government security clearances).
Ultimately, however, the stimulus plan’s backers predict that 90 percent of the jobs created will be in the private sector. This projection is based on the belief that the economic activity generated by the stimulus will lead to new jobs in retail, leisure and hospitality, and other sectors as companies and individuals who directly benefit from the plan begin to spend their windfall.
No matter how well the plan succeeds, however, it’s safe to say that the following six white-collar occupations should see an upsurge in demand over the next two years:
1. Urban planners. As state and local governments quickly determine how best to use the billions of dollars flowing in from the federal government, they will rely on urban planners to guide them on everything from the best location for new school construction to the environmental impact of infrastructure projects. Although more than 60 percent of planners currently work for government entities, an increasing number are employed at architectural, engineering and management consulting firms.
2. Civil engineers. After the planning comes the design and construction. Thousands of civil engineers will be needed to design and supervise the construction of roads, bridges, tunnels, buildings, wind turbines and other projects that get a green light as a result of the stimulus package. The government employs about 12 percent of the nation’s engineers; the rest work in private industry. Civil engineering was experiencing double-digit employment growth even before the passage of the stimulus.
3. Computer systems analysts. Improving the technology infrastructure of schools, hospitals and medical offices is an important objective of the stimulus. IT pros will be needed at all levels, for jobs ranging from wiring buildings for Internet access to transitioning the healthcare system to electronic medical records and e-prescriptions.
4. Medical researchers. With billions of dollars being funneled to the National Institutes of Health and President Obama prioritizing a “cure for cancer in our time,” the stimulus represents a boon for medical researchers. About a third of medical researchers work for colleges and universities; most of the rest work at private research firms, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals.
5. Management consultants. When making complex decisions with big money, corporate and government leaders tend to get sweaty palms — and that’s where management consultants come in. Consultants can bring the expertise to analyze vexing problems and develop sweeping, ambitious proposals to solve them. And if something doesn’t turn out as planned, the politicians and execs have someone to point their fingers at when it’s all over.
6. Auditors. With so much federal money flowing into so many hands so quickly, there will be a significant need for oversight. Some experts predict that the government may need to hire auditors for its auditors. At the federal, state and local levels, accountants and auditors will be required to make sure the numbers add up.
The company, which Sathe launched in 2007, is still in early startup mode, but seems to be getting traction. It raised $3 million in series A venture funding late last year and now has 30 employees in Pune. The company has landed a couple of large corporations as customers, including Affiliated Computer Services …
The business model makes a lot of sense, and executives at ACS … sing RiseSmart’s praises. Now it’s ramp-up time. And, man, does RiseSmart have a lot of potential business on its plate…
The overall unemployment rate currently stands at 7.2 percent, a 15-year high according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It seems like every day since the current recession began in December 2007, the news has been full of reports of job layoffs. In fact, the government just released a report indicating that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is at its highest level in a quarter of a century, as more workers seek government assistance.
Are you concerned you might be next? If so, a RiseSmart membership can keep you one step ahead of the game. That’s because RiseSmart was created with the needs of busy managers and executives in mind.
We know that if you’re currently in a job, it’s probably a demanding one — so demanding that the last thing you want to do when you get home from work is to spend hours searching for jobs online. This is particularly true if you’re worried about being laid off; it’s more critical than ever that you dedicate yourself to your current job to show your value to your employer.
But what happens if the rug gets pulled out from under you and you lose your job anyway? You’ll have to start your job search efforts from scratch. And for $100K+ jobs, HR experts say the average job search is taking six to nine months.
Can you afford to go that long — or longer — without a job?
Consider RiseSmart an insurance policy of sorts. Join RiseSmart while you still have a job, and then leave your online job search to us. You are free to focus completely on your current job, while RiseSmart searches for new opportunities for you. All you have to do is periodically check the customized list of job openings we find for you.
Here at RiseSmart, we add thousands of jobs a day to our job postings database — compiling job postings from all the Web job boards, corporate sites, recruiter networks and more. We have real people assigned to each subscriber’s account who go through our databases and provide you with results of relevant job matches. Then you can tell us which openings you like best, and we’ll find more like it.
In other words, we take the search out of your job search. So you can keep working at your current job — while we find your next one.
If your social media strategy looks like this, you might be in trouble.
Then again, social media is all about experimentation. Bottom line: if whatever your company’s doing doesn’t involve social media marketing, you’re getting left behind. If you are a job candidate who doesn’t grasp the whole social media thing on at least the most basic level, you’re getting left behind. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to create a marketing buzz for your company brand or your personal brand, so your brilliance is irrelevant if you’re going it alone without blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Nowadays, social media is equally effective in reaching all generations, not just the coveted 18-to-26 demographic. Everybody’s doing it, so it’s time to get on board.
Social media was a hot topic around the blogosphere this week. Here is an example of a company that got it right. Here is an example of a company that got it wrong, showing how a social media misstep can spark a nasty backlash. Social media can facilitate teamwork. It can facilitate feedback, particularly among younger generations. Wondering how to know you’re on the right track? Jessica Lee, newly named editor at Fistful of Talent, shows us four ways to measure your social media ROI. If you don’t know the difference between a tweet and a Tiny URL, it’s not the end of the world. Just be open-minded enough to identify someone in your organization who does know, and is willing to put that knowledge to good use for you and your bottom line.
RiseSmart announced today the launch of AfterWallSt.com, a Web site dedicated to finding new jobs for workers displaced by Wall Street layoffs. Wall Street layoff victims who sign up at the site will receive one month of free job search help from RiseSmart, a $43.95 value.
We decided to create AfterWallSt.com because we don’t think laid-off financial services workers should be discouraged. They are among the most educated and talented workers on the market. And there are currently nearly a million senior-level management openings on the Web, including tens of thousands of $100K+ finance and accounting positions.
The bigger problem is that finding jobs using conventional job-search sites is time-consuming and inefficient — like searching for a needle in a haystack. This is the problem RiseSmart Job Concierge was created to solve.
RiseSmart Job Concierge is a subscription-based service for $100K+ jobseekers that assigns each member a dedicated HR professional who searches senior-level job listings across the Web, returning only the listings that best match the subscriber’s specific criteria. The RiseSmart Job Concierge team listens to customer feedback to continually enhance the results it delivers to each subscriber.
By signing up at AfterWallSt.com, laid-off Wall Street workers will receive one free month of RiseSmart Job Concierge service, a $43.95 value. Interested jobseekers should visit www.AfterWallSt.com.
I have a friend who is in constant crisis, but not the life-threatening kind of crisis. This is the, “Oh my gosh, I forgot about x, y, and z and this deadline is up – can you bail me out?” crisis. It is a relationship drain, to the point where I often consider dodging phone calls.
Likewise, if you are in a leadership role and this is your modus operandi, it can deflate your organization. If this describes you, consider whether you might be overextended. Alternatively, does this signify other problems like poor time management or an inability to multi-task, plan ahead and stay organized? The following basic steps can help you stay on top of your game.
Delegate the right way Obviously, delegation is a key of all effective leadership. You can’t do everything, nor should you want to. If you’re trying to do everything without any delegation, that’s probably the root of your problem. However, there is such a thing as too much delegation. Maintain an active role in the organization to bolster your credibility and relevancy with your team. It also presents opportunities to prove you will do what you say you’ll do.
Another key part of delegating the right way: respect. Don’t delegate at the last minute. Give your delegatee a very reasonable amount of time to accomplish the task. It’s also important that you’re not approaching team members only when you need something. Develop relationships and talk to them even when you don’t have to. Lastly, spread the delegated tasks around so you’re not monopolizing any one person’s time.
Plan ahead
Seriously, keep a planner. Set a cell phone reminder. Make lists. Send yourself a voicemail. Just as there are different ways of managing people, there are different ways of managing information. What works for your colleague might not work for you, but find a system that does work and stick with it. Whatever it takes to get the job done and remember all your commitments, that’s what you should do.
Stop and think
Make it a habit each evening or each morning to think about the next 24 hours you’re about to face. Do you have any standing commitments on that day of the week? Mentally run through the day from start to finish, considering personal and work life. If you feel like you’re forgetting something, don’t hesitate to ask colleagues and family members for a little help jogging your memory. Everybody needs a little assistance sometimes, but you must balance that with self-sufficiency. If you don’t, you may look around one day and see nobody to help you out. They’ll be too busy dodging your phone calls.
I recently had the opportunity to discuss executive jobs and outplacement services on KPIX 5, the CBS affiliate in San Francisco. This is a five-minute talk with Sumi Das in which I overview our company’s services. Enjoy!
Every day brings new news of the current employment picture in America. Most of it’s negative, as seen this week at Punk Rock HR and the uber-depressing Layoff Tracker. Nevertheless, there were some bright spots in the blogosphere this week! Toby Dayton’s Diggings blog discusses news that the banking and finance sector saw a 24% increase in new jobs in January. Bet you didn’t see this one coming - eye care is another career field on the move, according to stats published at CollegeRecruiter.com. Ophthalmology ranked third on a recent list of the 30 fastest growing occupations in America, with projected 36% job growth through 2016.
Additionally, an increased number of job listings were seen in the following industries:
Technology
Aerospace
Aviation
Defense
Government
Legal
Technology
Not faring so well were the following industries, where job listings declined:
Internet
Non-profit
Agriculture
Forestry/Fishing
Retail
Engineering
Architecture
And the industry faring the worst right now (drum roll, please) is Health and Medical. There, new job listings were down 24,347 in January, while total job listings were down 34,135. If your industry is among the unlucky ones hit by waves of layoffs lately, Jessica Lee at Fistful of Talent has great advice for HR and corporate communications staff to handle the situation professionally.
Speaking of layoffs, don’t forget about RiseSmart’s Transition Concierge Service, which has numerous benefits for corporations and their employees when going through tough times. During staffing cutbacks, let your employees know you care by giving them custom resumes and cover letters, professional job search assistance and career advice, all with consistently branded messaging at a budget-friendly price.
