hireatx's posterous

Why job market pain may linger

Unemployment rate is expected to take years to tumble to 'normal.'

By Christopher Leonard
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

There is a growing sense among economists that the worst of the recession might be over. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the labor market.

Most forecasts predict that Americans are in for a long, painful slog as they try to get back to work. Some forecasts don't have the unemployment rate returning to "normal" levels of about 5 percent until 2014. The rate was 9.4 percent last month.

It always takes awhile for jobs to start appearing after a recession, but the wait could be particularly long this time around because of the unique nature of this downturn and the severe damage it has done to the labor market.

Here are questions and answers about why dark days might still be ahead for workers.

Q: If the economy starts improving, why won't the unemployment rate start dropping right away?

A: Unemployment is a lagging indicator, meaning that its improvement tends to lag behind broader economic growth. That is partly because hiring is expensive and companies want to make sure that they are on solid footing before they start bringing in new employees.

Q: How long does job growth typically trail behind the end of a recession?

A: The lag time has been growing. After almost every recession since 1960, the unemployment rate started to drop one or two months after the recovery started. But that changed with the recession that ended in 1991: After it, there was a 15-month lag. After the recession of 2001, the lag time was 19 months.

This time around, most economists do not expect the gap to be that long, but the unemployment rate could take years to hit pre-recession levels.

Q: Why is the lag time for job creation getting longer?

A: One big reason is the changing nature of U.S. recessions. Downturns used to be cyclical, meaning that demand dropped for whatever reason and companies responded by cutting production and laying off workers. When demand picked up, companies simply rehired employees and got back to business.

That's not the case anymore. A 2003 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that downturns are increasingly structural, meaning that the economy changes and jobs disappear for good.

Many U.S. manufacturing jobs that were lost in 1991, for example, never came back; instead, they were shipped overseas. Many Internet firms disappeared altogether during the recession of 2001.

After this recession, millions of jobs will probably disappear in the construction, finance and automaking sectors.

This increases the period needed for new jobs to be created and for workers to be trained to fill them.

Q: So when will jobs start being created?

A: Sophia Koropeckyj, a managing director for Moody's Economy.com, said that hiring should start in the second half of 2010.

But there is a lot of damage to undo before the unemployment rate starts to fall. About 6.7 million jobs were lost during this downturn, the steepest labor market decline since at least World War II. As of July, 14.5 million workers were unemployed. Moody's doesn't expect the unemployment rate to sink toward 5 percent until 2014.

Q: What will it take to put a real dent in the unemployment rate?

A: The economy needs a net gain of about 127,000 jobs each month just to absorb new job seekers created by population growth and immigration. To create more jobs than that requires some strong economic activity. But most analysts expect growth to be weak over the next four years.

Q: Why will growth be so weak when the economy recovers this fall, as many analysts expect?

A: One key reason is that this recession has its roots in the financial sector. Growth will be hobbled because of the deep damage that banks suffered during the financial meltdown last fall, which will make them less likely to lend money and fuel the economic recovery, said Chris Varvares, president of the National Association for Business Economics.

That means credit, the lifeblood of economic growth, will be slow to come even after orders start to pick up and businesses want to expand.

Q: Is there anything that could hasten job creation?

A: Koropeckyj said options are limited because it will take the private sector years to recover. Government spending on direct hiring, such as hiring teachers for educational programs or construction workers for infrastructure development, could create jobs in the near term.

Phrases that kill resumes in the Austin job market

The 2009 job market in Austin is very different from job markets of the past. If you haven't job-hunted in a while, the changes in the landscape can throw you for a loop.

One of the biggest changes is the shift in what constitutes a strong resume. Years ago, we could dig into the Resume Boilerplate grab-bag and pull out a phrase to fill out a sentence or bullet point on our resume. Everybody used the same boilerplate phrases, so we knew we couldn't go wrong choosing one of them -- or many -- to throw into your resume.

Things have changed. Stodgy boilerplate phrases in your resume today mark you as uncreative and "vocabulary challenged." You can make your resume more compelling and human-sounding by rooting out and replacing the boring corporate-speak phrases that litter it, and replacing them with human language -- things that people like you or I would actually say.

Here are the worst 10 boilerplate phrases -- the ones to seek out and destroy in your resume as soon as possible:

·         Results-oriented professional

·         Cross-functional teams

·         More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience

·         Superior (or excellent) communication skills

·         Strong work ethic

·         Met or exceeded expectations

·         Proven track record of success

·         Works well with all levels of staff

·         Team player

·         Bottom-line orientation

You can do better. What about adding a human voice to your resume? Here's an example:

"I'm a Marketing Researcher who's driven by curiosity about why people buy what they do. At XYZ Industries, I used consumer surveys and online-forum analysis to uncover the reasons why consumers chose our competitors over us; our sales grew twenty percent over the next six months as a result. I'm equally at home on sales calls or analyzing data in seclusion, and up to speed on traditional and new-millennium research tools and approaches. I'm fanatical about understanding our marketplace better every day, week and month -- and have helped my employers' brands grow dramatically as a result."

You don't have to write resumes that sound like robots wrote them. A human-voiced resume is the new black -- try it!

 

 

www.hireatx.com

 

6 Things You Should Never Do on Twitter or Facebook

If you are looking for a job in Austin, chances are you have utilized social media networking sites. Here are some things you should never do on any of the social media sites. Enjoy!

 

Since the unspoken rules of many social-networking sites evolve daily, it’s all too easy to commit online gaffes and sabotage your career-advancement goals. Here are six common online missteps to avoid.

1. Don’t be a job-search bore

Few people would walk into a professional meeting and ask for job leads, but many seasoned professionals commit the online version of this faux pas regularly. No matter how well you know contacts — or how panicked you are about unemployment — never mention a job hunt in an initial note to anyone on a social-networking site. “You’ve got to think of all the people who are looking for jobs right now — they’re probably being overwhelmed,” says Randy Hain, managing partner of Bell Oaks Executive Search in Atlanta. Instead, offer some praise or acknowledgement or, even better, some well-thought-out help or advice with no strings attached.

2. Don’t be too stiff

While you don’t want to share too much, leaving all personal information out of your profiles to protect your privacy can put you in the same league as colleagues who show up for casual Friday in a business suit. A few well-chosen items about your interests or charitable activities can make it easier for other like-minded folks on a site — including potential employers — to strike up a conversation. “If you just put your resume on LinkedIn, you’ll be like 500 other people who share the same skill set,” says Hain.

Antoine Dubeauclard, president of the Web-development company MediaG in Troy, Mich., says his company routinely researches potential hires on social-networking sites to figure out what type of projects would be a good fit for them. If he found from a person’s Facebook page that a candidate was really interested in music, for example, he might try to see if he could have them work with music-industry clients. “We want to get to know them,” Dubeauclard says. “What are the things that get them really excited? When we can dovetail, that makes them much happier.”

3. Don’t remain invisible

Put up a photo, even if you haven’t lost that 30 pounds or tried Botox. It makes the process a little more human and warm. And if someone is going to discriminate against you because of how you look, you probably don’t want to work with them anyway.

4. Don’t market yourself on anyone’s Facebook page — or even look like you’re trying to

“Some people really cross the line,” says Matthew Fraser, a senior research fellow at INSEAD and co-author of Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work, and World. “As soon as you accept an offer to be their friend, they’ll write a note on your wall: ‘I’m Bill Jones. I’m a life coach. I help people solve their problems.’ You realize someone is using your personal space as a billboard for their business, and it’s irritating.”

5. Don’t goof around

“I get a lot of people poking me on Facebook and sending me goofy stuff,” says Sharon Rich, founder of outplacement consulting and coaching firm Leadership Incorporated. “If I’m working on building a business relationship with them, I’ll respond and say thank you. But privately I find that I think of the person as being less than professional.” It’s better to just stick to direct messages on Facebook with your professional contacts.

6. Don’t let your networking end online

Many people rack up new connections on sites like LinkedIn without ever solidifying the relationships they’ve started there. Try to set up an in-person meeting when you can, or perhaps even arrange a “virtual coffee,” where you both chat by phone over a cup of coffee at your desks, advises Rich. “Once you’re in a real relationship with someone, you find out who they are and how they’re doing,” Rich says. “And when you help them, they’ll try to help you back.”

 

Jobs in Austin: www.hireATX.com

Cross the bridge, or burn it down?

Austin is still a small town. Chances are you will run into the same people you work with now, in the future.

Nobody expects you to never want to leave your current position for a better opportunity.

Given the recent economic climate and the wave of job cuts that has swept through the country, it isn't a surprise that some extremely frustrated employees are throwing out the traditional routines when it comes to quitting time. Burning bridges between your former company, managers, and fellow employees never benefits you, even if it feels good at the time to stomp out the door.

How you leave says a lot about you. here are some tips


  • Give two weeks' notice. Both your past and future employer will consider it a plus.
  • Explain that you are leaving because of growth opportunities with the new company, not due to dissatisfaction, even if it's not true.
  • On your last day, write your boss and colleagues a thank you note via e-mail about how much you enjoyed working with them.
  • Offer to train your replacement, and if possible, be available after you leave to answer questions.
  • Make sure your work is caught up before you leave and write notes, when relevant, to guide and inform your replacement.
  • If you have external customers, collaborate with your boss on how to transition them to your replacement.
  • When telling customers you are leaving, say only good things about the company and your experience there.
  • Let them know you only want to leave the job, not the relationships you have built.

I didn't do all of these, but wish I had in a few cases.

 

 

www.hireATX.com - because you are looking for a job in Austin!

Organize Your Job Search

I read all sorts of websites and I come across things that can help you. I think the principles mentioned in the link below can help you in your job search. Can you name the last three jobs you applied for? Probably not. If you log your job search activity, then you are more prepared to know who you have submitted your resume to and when. You shoud also consider organizing your job search via Excel. Email us at Hireatx@gmail.com if you want to see the one we created for you.

 

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/21/free-life-affairs-organizer/

 

 

www.hireATX.com

Practice your Elevator Pitch

You're in looking for a job in Austin and no other than Michael Dell walks into the elevator with you. What would you say to him that would have him pick up his cell phone and call his assistant and tell them to prepare hiring paperwork for you? Oh yeah, you've only got 15 seconds, if that, to communicate your value as a potential employee in a compelling way — just 15 seconds to cram in a whole resume's worth of work and accomplishments and late nights and successes. There's so much you want to say, but your message has got to be crisp, tailored, to-the-point. Handle this one right, and you'll be the newest member of the Dell team. Flub it up, and you're back to scanning listings on Monster.com. What are you supposed to say?

Here are the five key things to know and do in order to make your elevator pitch successful: 

  • Practice, practice, practice. Very few people have the oratorical power to make compelling 15-second speech about their entire professional lives on demand and under pressure. Practice your speech 100 times — literally. Know it, get comfortable with it, be able to tilt it effectively for a different audience. Practice your body language with it: how will you give the speech differently sitting down vs while walking down a hall? How will it be different over the phone vs in person?

  • Focus on impact. Two weeks ago, 60 Minutes aired a segment set at a white-collar job fair. One of the interviewees, a laid-off Wall Street secretary, looked straight into the camera and said, with total conviction, "I can make any boss shine." I wanted to hire her on the spot. Who doesn't want to shine? Describing the impact you've had, and can continue to have, is much more compelling than talking about your number of years of experience.

  • Ditch the cultural baggage. A lot of us have been taught — by parents, teachers, or team-oriented corporate environments — not to toot our own horns, and to use "we" instead of "I". Elevator pitches are all about "I". You've got to get comfortable with bragging about your own individual contributions (in a graceful way).

  • Be slow and steady. Whether out of nervousness or a desire to cram in a lot of information, people giving elevator speeches tend to talk at breakneck pace — which is extremely off-putting to potential employers. Speak at a pace that shows your calm and confidence. You want them to think of you as thoughtful and deliberate — not as some manic babbler.

  • See the whole world as an elevator. Too many people looking for jobs save their elevator speeches for job fairs and interviews. Remember the first rule of sales: ABC (Always Be Closing). Give your elevator speech to everyone — at family gatherings, in the waiting room of the dentist, at coffee hour at your church or temple. You never know where the next job is coming from.

    • How do you pitch yourself to prospective employers? What advice do you have for other people doing the same? What works — and what doesn't?

     

    Now, we have never been in an elevator with Mr. Dell, but we have been in the same city. I would have flubbed the opportunity if it was given to me, but hopefully you won't. Don't say you weren't warned. You never know who you will run into in Austin.

     

    HireATX.com is designed to get you either quality talent, or a quality job in Austin.


    Austin moving up

    EMPLOYMENT

    Job market in Austin No. 4 among big cities

    Austin's job market is one of the best in the country, based on new data from Indeed.com, an online job-posting service.

    Austin had 56 job postings per 1,000 residents in the second quarter, making it the fourth-healthiest big-city job market in the country, the company said, up from a seventh-place ranking in the first quarter.

    Washington remained the top market, with 133 postings per 1,000 residents, followed by Baltimore (90) and San Jose (80).

    Dallas, with 36 postings, ranked 20th. San Antonio was 23rd, and Houston was 34th with 32 postings per 1,000 residents.

    The lowest-ranked city in the survey was Detroit, with 15 postings per 1,000.

     

     

    Post a job with us... prove our Mom's wrong.

     

    www.hireatx.com

    Strengths Finder

    Do you have the opportunity to do the best at what you do best?

    Chances are, you don't. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.

    To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents.

    In its latest national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more. While you can read this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades.

    Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this book will change the way you look at yourself -- and the way the world looks at you -- forever.

    Get the Book at http://astore.amazon.com/hireatxcom-20

     

    Finding a new job is hard. Play up your strengths.

     

    Folks at www.hireATX.com