Job Seekers
Employers
Exec. Search
Recruiters
Work Ministry Resources
Job Seekers Newsletter
February 2008
Welcome Everyone!
The first month of the year is behind us and the shape of the job market for 2008 is beginning to emerge. We wish you the best of success for your job search! Our site and resources, plus the leadership of the job support groups, are here to help.
Comments About the U.S. Job Market
Manpower Survey: (summary) Manpower is a global staffing firm with 4.4 million contract employees. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is the most comprehensive research study of hiring plans based upon surveys of 14,000 US employers.
For 2008, the core finding is steady as she goes.
“The employment panorama is easy-does-it,” says Melanie Holmes, vice president of workforce solutions at the Milwaukee-based staffing giant. The forecast was issued Tuesday, December 11. “The numbers are relatively unchanged from quarter to quarter.”
The survey findings from 14,000 U.S. employers are:
- 60% report no changes in their hiring pace going into 2008
- 22% anticipate a surge in hiring activity
- 12% expect a reduction in staff levels
Manpower’s forecast for the first quarter of 2007 painted a similar picture, with 60 percent reporting no changes in hiring plans, 23 percent anticipating increases and 11 percent projecting a decrease.
Additional findings from the survey are: hiring expectations remain strongest in durable goods, manufacturing and wholesale/retail. By contrast, the hiring outlook is less stable in construction.
"Those findings make sense," says Ken Jacobs, chair of the Labor Center at the University of California, Berkeley. "Manufacturing is strong because a weak U.S. dollar makes production cheaper. Meanwhile, anything related to construction and real estate will be choppy because of malaise in the housing market," Jacobs explains.
Additional Findings:
Companies are generally upbeat about hiring for the beginning of 2008, but there is a different attitude permeating the workforce, according to the Hudson Employment Index.
The index—which offers insight into employee perceptions of hiring intentions, career opportunities, retention and job satisfaction—came in at a record low in November, meaning that many employees are concerned about the job market, according to Robert Morgan, co-president of recruitment and talent management at the New York-based HR consultancy.
The findings were derived from a national telephone survey of almost 9,100 workers last month. According to Morgan:
- 19 % of respondents worry about job security
- 17 % expect their employer will cut staff.
“There is no doubt that jobs are being created, but workers have a different feeling than what is really happening.”
Morgan says the differences in perceptions when it comes to the job market are likely embedded in a workforce concerned about high gas prices, a global economy and national security issues.
“They are exposed to that information on a daily basis in the press,” he notes. “It is enough to raise one’s concern.”
"Fears about job security will likely result in higher retention rates, as workers become reluctant to leave an existing employer."
Comment: Note that a greater percentage of employees are worried about job security (19%) or layoffs (17%) than seems warranted, since only 12% of employers are reporting plans for reductions in staff. Focus your job search concerns on what employers are doing, which is maintaining a steady pace of hiring for either replacement or expansion of staff. The job market is not being driven by the anxieties of the week.
Alliance Partners
We support the following resources in service to job seekers:
- BPWUSA. Business and Professional Women USA
- HACEUSA, a professional Hispanic Association
- Jobkabob.com: sell your skills, not your work history.
- Career Concepts USA: Job Fair resource
Networking Tip Of The Month
What are you doing with job leads?
The job search process is productive when focused, and the focus is solely determined by the job seeker.
Step one for job leads is: find a job of interest and apply. Step TWO?
Take the job lead and work it. Send email to people in your network, attend job support groups, talk to neighbors and friends and share the following:
- I found a job opportunity at company (name) that I am interested in...
- Do you know someone at company (name)?
Repeat the message continually until you get the answer. Our experience in networking is that it takes three to four weeks of questioning to get to the answer. Once you get a contact, connect with the resource with:
- an introduction,
- an explanation of your relationship to the person you are contacting
- a description of the job you are interested in
- a copy of your resume
- a request for help by getting your resume to the hiring manager
Sometimes, things are both simple and difficult. But this is the job search process that leads to more successes than any other process. Work it!
Networking Group of the Month
Southeastern Michigan
The state of Michigan, at an official rate of unemployment of 7.6%, is leading the nation versus the national average of 5%. We encourage everyone in the Michigan area to access the job support groups offered by the many volunteer programs available on the Workministry.com site: Michigan Job Support Groups
Important Information
Leaders: please review your Job Support Group web page and see if all information is accurate and up-to-date. Please send any corrections to work@workministry.com.
Remember networkers: once you have landed your job, complete our landings survey.
Quote of the Month
From The Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton ( a book of sayings from the fourth century monastic period):
A brother asked one of the elders: What good thing shall I do and have life thereby? The elder replied:
God alone knows what is good.
Whatever you see your soul desire according to God, do that thing and you shall keep your heart safe.
- Abraham was hospitable and God was with him.
- David was humble and God was with him.
- Elias loved solitary prayer and God was with him
A Prayer While You Are In Transition
The will of God for your life is simply that you submit yourself to Him each day and say, "Father, Your will for today is mine. Your pleasure for today is mine. Your work for today is mine. I trust You to be God. You lead me today and I will follow."
- Kay Arthur
We hope you have enjoyed this month's Newsletter!
The Work Ministry Team
Contact us at work@workministry.com
home | about us | in the news | job support groups | career sites | resources & links | more links
spirituality | vision & mission statement | FAQ’s | advertise | contact us | privacy
©2010 Work Ministry. All Rights Reserved
design by www.websiterevamp.org
