October 23, 2010

Setting your course for a jobs recovery in 2011

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With the midterm election looming, there has been a disproportionate amount of focus on the past in recent weeks. The relentless and misleading campaign ads both for and against Patty Murray and Dino Rossi have saturated the airwaves with endless finger-pointing about which person or party was most responsible for the economic disaster of 2008-09. Meanwhile, we were also reminded that the Great Recession officially ended way back in June 2009. So why aren't you rich yet?

This way lies madness--especially if you're a job seeker looking for ways to get your career back on track. That's why I would rather focus on the future, as this region continues its incremental recovery. Just in time for a new fiscal year full of promise, nationally recognized career expert Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., has release a new book called "2011 Career Plan: The Best Moves Now for a Solid Future" (Jist Publishing, $9.95), full of job-search tips, education resources and information about expected hiring trends for the next several months.

"America is climbing out of recession now, and job opportunities are better now than they've been for a long time," Shatkin writes. "That's why 2011 is the time to make your move."

While jobs, in general, are still not expected to be plentiful next year or even in 2012, Shatkin says there are some sectors to watch that may have the most promise in terms of job creation. "This recovery is also a patchwork affair, with some industries bouncing back much faster than others," he writes. "For example, in March 2010, while manufacturers were adding jobs, the news and information business was still losing jobs."

Because of this uneven recovery, Shatkin encourages those who are looking to switch careers to "choose a specific goal and develop a smart strategy to take advantage of the opportunities that 2011 does have to offer." Quoting figures from the U.S. Department of Labor, Shatkin recommends that job seekers concentrate on the following 11 fields, which are projected to grow fastest between now and 2018:

1. Management, scientific and technical consulting services
2. Computer systems design
3. Social assistance
4. Software publishing
5. Scientific research and development
6. Health care
7. Employment services
8. Construction
9. Child day care
10. Advocacy, grant making and civic organizations
11. Education

While Shatkin cautions in "2011 Career Plan" that these professions are by no means the only ones that are expected to grow next year, he says that developing expertise in a specific niche will be what interests hiring managers the most. "In a tight job market, employers are more interested in someone with the perfect fit of skills than in a generalist," he writes. "Your niche may be at the intersection of two very different skills; for example, you may be the chemist who is an ace computer programmer or the police officer who is an inspiring teacher."

The best way to get this expertise across, Shatkin adds, is to be visible beyond your workplace. "Join a professional organization, find something missing from their services and put yourself in that key role," he advises. "Start a blog or be active in commenting on a prominent blog; this is a readily available way to become known by people with connections in your industry."

As Shatkin suggests, the economy still has a long way to go to get healthy again. But it has improved enough that job seekers should stop looking for any job and start looking for the job that best fits their skills and interests. Developing a solid career plan for 2011 may be a long journey, but deciding what job you want first is your best first step.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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career change, hiring, market trends