Traditionally the job market begins to cool in the week’s coming up to Christmas, but currently it’s as busy as ever! And Easy Tiger are no exception!
It’s been well documented recently that employers continue to struggle to find and hire great talent. As a result there are trends in increased pay, perks and opportunities. It is quite possible for you to take advantage of these job market trends and grow in your job and get on a path to professional success.
Opportunities Await!
A recent internationally researched report from ManpowerGroup found organisations are hiring, and in many of the countries surveyed, their hiring plans are the highest-ever—since the survey began in 1962.
ManpowerGroup’s report found that globally, the strongest hiring is projected for the US, India and Canada. In addition to these top-hiring areas, the following countries also expect increased hiring: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
Conversely, the countries experiencing the greatest difficulties in finding the right talent are India, Romania, Singapore, Bulgaria, France, Japan, Belgium, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Spain.
The report continues, that, the industries experiencing the greatest difficulties in hiring are manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate and business services.
Interestingly the research found the greatest job growth will continue to be in the areas of transportation and warehousing, technology, healthcare, professional services and construction.
Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO stated “This recovery (post covid) is unlike any we have seen before with hiring intent picking up much faster than after the previous economic downturns,”.
So what’s the career implications?:
When searching, consider focusing your search on the countries, markets and industries in which there is the greatest demand for talent. Now may be the most pertinent time to strike out beyond your current country or industry—and grow in new ways and new places.
Fulfilment
According to data from Monster, 86% of workers say their careers stalled due to the pandemic. Although, conversely the pandemic has also made a large volume of the workforce question their future job and entire career.
Strictly speaking, there’s never been a better time to regroup and re-assess your career goals.
You’ll certainly be in increasingly good company as you consider what you love to do, what work provides the greatest fulfilment and the people with whom you want to work. With the rise of the ‘workers market’ as people continue to make their change.
Never forget, work is a fundamental way we find meaning, express our talents and contribute to our communities. While no role is 100% perfect you’ll experience greater happiness when you can align, what you love to do with what you have to do.
Skill Development
According to the ManpowerGroup study, 69% of employers said they are having trouble filling roles due to a lack of candidate skills. As a result, 20% of employers are reducing their requirements for skills and experience, in return, offering on the job training, skill development and mentoring as a way to attract and retain employees.
Understanding and considering the skills you require in order to stretch to a new role, new job or new career is vital. You may be able to enter a new-to-you field and obtain training from your employer. Or you may be able to enter a company leveraging your existing skills and expand within the organisation through skill development, learning and mentoring.
Scott Blumsack, senior vice president for research and insights, Monster, offers this perspective, “The return to work poses a great opportunity for job seekers to leverage their skills for career advancement. Tech skills are always in demand across industries, but so are softer skills such as customer service and collaboration.”
Salary Increases
While the job market is a worker’s market currently, with the high chance of a post covid recession, large wage increases may be tricky to achieve.
Don’t consider wages as your only criterion for a new job. Also consider your fit with the culture, the content of the job, the leaders with whom you’ll work and the colleagues from whom you’ll have the opportunity to learn. There are a lot of factors which contribute to your happiness at work—remember wages are only one of them.
Remote Work and Flexible Work
A now staple side affect of the pandemic when choosing a career is where you’ll work and the hours you’ll work. Increasingly, employers are offering flexibility in these areas to attract and retain in this tight job market.
ManpowerGroup found 39% of employers are offering more flexible working schedules and 28% are offering more flexible working locations. A study of 420 decision makers by Atlas found 95% of companies believed some portion of their workforce would work remotely, either full time or part time. In addition, companies predicted 1/3 of their workforce would work fully remote and ¼ would work in a hybrid model.
A previous study from Monster found 69% of employees who don’t work remote today are considering switching jobs if a new job would offer the opportunity for remote work.
Says Scott Gutz, chief executive officer, Monster, “…the world has changed in 18 months. Employees have changed their approach to work-life balance and the relative importance of being in an office setting versus a home office setting.”
And according to Harper, “It’s clear that people have been changed by the pandemic and have higher expectations of their employer to align with their values, enable work-life blend and positively contribute to our communities.”
More than ever you will likely have increasing opportunities to work your way in your location. Consider how and where you like to work, and seek choices and options from your employer.
You may be able to move to a new region or community and do a job which would previously have been unavailable. Or you may be able to flex your schedule so you can find the just-right mix of the rewards of your work and rewards of activities outside of work (children, family, volunteering, etc.).
Consider flexible work as one aspect of the set of advantages your career choice offers. In addition, give thought to how much you’ll want to be face-to-face with colleagues to build your relationships and present in the organisation to ensure visibility and future career growth.
Now is the time to grow your career and Easy Tiger Executive Search are here to help —in whatever way it is most meaningful for you. From more fulfilment and flexibility to greater pay and enhanced training, the opportunities are significant.