Metro Areas will Set the Pace for Job Recovery
Recently BusinessWeek.com teamed up with Moody’s Economy.com to identify America’s recovering job markets. While full-fledged job recovery is a long way away, the report identified some metro areas poised for job growth by the first quarter of 2010. The findings predict that the weak dollar will provide a boost to communities with international trading ports and metros that border Mexico, towns that are closely linked to the energy industry, and military towns. The tourism, retail, and hospitality industries are also predicted to make a comeback as the economy improves; these industries will have an impact on other metro areas that are identified in the report. Read the full report here.

Contributed by Beverly Harvey, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, MRW, CPBS, CLTMC, CJSS

Executive Opportunities will Rise in Global Markets and Specific Industries
Until the US economy recovers executives might want to consider taking a job in a different country. According to the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) in its semiannual 2009 AESC Member Outlook report, China is expected to see the greatest need for senior executive talent in 2009 (66%), followed by India (43%) and Eastern Europe (30%). Additional data released by AESC shows several US market sectors are expected to strengthen despite the state of the world economy. Executive search consultants anticipate executive job opportunities to increase in healthcare (32%), government (30%), pharmaceuticals/biotech (26%), and natural resources (26%).

Contributed by Beverly Harvey, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, MRW, CPBS, CLTMC, CJSS

Planning Emerges as a Critical Career Strategy
In this highly competitive market, job search requires a well-thought out strategy, a job search plan, hours of consistent implementation, and ongoing assessment of your progress. In a University of Missouri study, researchers found that thinking about a plan, acting on a plan, and reflecting upon that a plan were important early in the job search. The study found that metacognitive activities, including goal setting and plan development, affect resume submission and success in first interviews. They further stated that conscientiousness, a person’s self discipline, and dependability affected metacognitive activities and directly influenced the number of final job offers received.

Contributed by Beverly Harvey, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, MRW, CPBS, CLTMC, CJSS

Social Networking Sites will Become Valuable Job Search Tools
In a poll of hiring executive conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the most effective job search tools included networking and social/professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The social networking sites garnered an average rating of 3.3 on a 5-point scale, with 47% of respondents rating this item four or five. Challenger stated that “Job seekers must learn how to use all of the tools at their disposal.”

Contributed by Beverly Harvey, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, MRW, CPBS, CLTMC, CJSS

Women Need to Find Career Sponsors and Advocates to Land Board- and Senior-Level Management Positions
In a recent survey conducted by Bain & Company in association with the Harvard Business Review, it was determined that women continue to struggle on gender parity issues such as career development and access to leadership positions. The survey results show that while both men (91 percent) and women (82 percent) aspire to be senior leaders, fewer women realize their dreams than men.

Deborah M. Kolb, a professor specializing in women and leadership at Simmons School of Management in Boston, stated in a Wall Street Journal article entitled “Study Asks: Who Has Easy Path to Top?” by Sarah E. Needleman, that research shows men are better at developing career advocates than women. Kolb suggests that one reason for this gender disparity may be that “Men are much more likely to have sponsors who put them forward.” According to the Bain & Co. survey results, about twice as many men as women feel that women have an equal chance as men of being recruited into executive roles, promoted on the same timeline into executive roles, or appointed to key leadership or governance roles.

Based on these studies and surveys, career-driven women might want to consider identifying one or two career sponsors and advocates to accelerate their path to board- and senior-level management positions.

Contributed by Beverly Harvey, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, MRW, CPBS, CLTMC, CJSS

The Demand for Job Search and Contact Management Apps for Web-Enabled Smartphones is on the Rise
People are relying more heavily on their mobile devices as their primary connectivity and communication device. According to a Gartner report (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1372013), “Smartphone sales to end users reached 54.3 million units, an increase of 48.7 per cent from the first quarter of 2009.”

As with computers, the apps for smartphones are operating system-specific. However some application programming companies are writing apps to run on multiple operating systems. There’s also a mobile Web universe for smartphone users. Sites such as Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed, TheLadders, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook have mobile Web sites enabling job seekers to conduct their job search from their smartphones.

For more information on specific smartphone apps, see the article “Job Search & Contact Management Apps for Smartphones” on the Articles/Job Search page.

Contributed by Beverly Harvey, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, MRW, CPBS, CLTMC, CJSS