Subscribe to RSSManpower: Many jobs remain in demand
Even with a flood of unemployed workers, industries still are having hard time filling many career types, especially high-level administrative ones.
In a study released Thursday by Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc., trades associated with manufacturing remain in high demand locally.
“In the four years we have performed this research, the same positions appear on the list again and again,” said Jonas Prising, Manpower president of the Americas. “Despite the current economic instability and high unemployment, there are still skills that the U.S. work force seems to lack.”
According to the study, the 10 hardest jobs to fill are:
- Engineers
- Nurses
- Skilled/manual trades
- Teachers
- Sales representatives
- Technicians
- Drivers
- IT staff
- Laborers
- Machinist/machine operators
Each of the 10 job categories on the 2009 list has appeared on the Hardest Jobs to Fill list in the past. Technicians, machinist/machine operators and sales representatives have been present all four years. Engineers, drivers and laborers have appeared three out of four years; and nurses, teachers, skilled/manual trades and IT staff have been present in two of the four years Manpower has performed the survey.
“While talk has slowed in the U.S. about the pending talent shortage, it is becoming more clear that there is a talent disconnect,” said Melanie Holmes, vice president, world of work solutions for Manpower North America. “Our work force needs to be more open to retraining and upskilling for jobs that are in demand. And, our government, business leaders and educational facilities need to take action together to ensure students are being enticed to enter these fields.”
The U.S. findings are part of a Manpower global study that surveyed more than 39,000 employers across 33 countries and territories in January 2009. Positions in the skilled trades, sales, technical work and engineering remain the most difficult for employers to fill globally. Manpower surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. employers in the fourth annual survey to determine which positions employers are having difficulty filling this year.
An in-depth look at the study is found at us.manpower.com.
Resume Anxiety - How Many Spaces After a Period?
I was always taught that two spaces were required after the period and before the beginning of a new sentence. But sometimes that doesn’t look right. What should I do? How do I handle this on my resume?
Here is what the research revealed:
Nowadays, computer characters have variable widths so only one space is used after a period.
Don’t believe me? Well, pick up any popular magazine or book and take a look. All professionally typeset pieces have one space after the period.
Free Resume Printing
Office Depot is trying to help those looking for jobs.
The Boca Raton-based office products company said Monday it will offer customers free copies of resumes and free faxing until May 30.
Customers can visit the Design, Print & Ship Depot center in any of Office Depot’s retail stores nationwide, where they can get up to 25 single-sided pages, along with faxing to five domestic numbers at no cost.
Customers can choose to upgrade their resume paper selection to a color or premium paper for a fee.
If you need help developing your resume, please contact InterviewAdvantage for our resume writing services.
The Best Way to Avoid Layoffs
Take it from a guy who has been laid-off before. While it can be a blessing in disguise, the best way to avoid looking for new job is to keep the one you currently have!
Make yourself a “must-have” teammate. You can do this without grovelling for your job. Here are a few steps to take
- Dust off your resume - this not only helps you prepare for what could happen (and gioves you the confidence to handle a lay-off) it also reminds you of what you are supposed to be doing in your current job. Are there any duties you have slacked-off for the past few months? Are you still updating the TPS reports in a timely manner? Is there any way you could improve the TPS reports?
- Maintain (and improve) your current job duties - Now that we remember what they are paying us for, let’s make sure that we are doing, and doing it well. Is there anything you could improve? Your performance? Your attitude? Remember an attitude of gratitude for your current situation will go a long way toward your final job status.
- Help the Boss - I know, this sounds like brown-nosing. But, how could you help your boss improve the performance of the group? Could you set up the copy machines so that they can scan documents into pdf format? This can save a company a lot of money on toner, paper, storage, etc. It also helps you look earth-friendly and tech savvy.
- Be visible - Make sure that you are in the office when you are supposed to be there. Don’t take long lunch breaks (bring your lunch if you need to).
These are few quick and easy suggestions for avoiding the job market, but if you end up there, like I did, it may just be a blessing in disguise. Often times, being laid-off can help you recalibrate your compass. What do you really want to do? Would you like to move from a financial analyst role to an investor relations role that would utilize your people skills? Would you like to move from marketing and be more involved in operations. This just may be the time to explore those avenues. And when it’s time for the big job interview, send us an e-mail!
Credit-card debt shrinks at fastest pace in 32 years
The balances on American consumers’ credit cards fell at a 9.7% annual rate in February, the fastest rate of decline since late 1976, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.
What is a Resume Worth?
I recently read an article with the premise that a top-notch resume was worth well over $50,000 through the course of your career!
This really shouldn’t be too astonishing to most readers, in fact it may be on the conservative side! The reason a well written resume is worth so much is that it becomes a great advertisment for future employers to see what a great fit you would be with their team and what problems you could solve for your future employer. Most people tend to write their resume more like a college course catalog.
When you consider that well-written resume could get you $5,000 more per year, it’s not hard to see that $5,000 times ten years is $50,000. But you also have to consider that even your 3-10% raises per year are now based on a higher starting salary and the figure begins to have compound interest working in it’s favor. If two people started the same job, one at $50,000 and the other with a starting salary of $55,000 at the end of ten years (with only 5% raises each year) the person who started with the higher salary would make an additional $66,000!
If you would like to learn more about our resume writing services, please take a look at the Resume Writing Page on our website or feel free to e-mail us a question.
Dressing for the Interview
I recently read a great article about Secrets to Dressing for Job Interview Success.
This article provided an in-depth look at what you should and shouldn’t wear to a job interview. If you have any questions about this topic, this would be a great article to read.
If you have any questions, let me know . . .
Interview Advantage
Congratulations! By visiting InterviewAdvantage.com you have taken the first step towards greater success in the most important facet of the job search process. You are one step closer to making the most of your career situation. Our process will enable you to have an advantage in your carer development.
By providing cutting-edge virtual career services via the internet, Interview Advantage allows users to share information and work in a collaborative fashion across the internet.
Partnering with Interview Advantage shows that you are not only interested in success but that you are committed to becoming the best person possible. We are honored to help you during this process.
Latest Unemployment Figures
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Source: www.salary.com
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Rates are a percentage of the labor force who are unemployed.