Land a better job in 2019
Tired of your job? Been at the same company for a little too long? No longer feeling challenged in your role? Not engaged with your work?
If you’re looking to make some career changes in the New Year, there’s never been a better time to land a new position, says Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist for Glassdoor.
“This is the strongest job market in a generation,” he says, with more job openings (7 million+) than there are people out of work.
As Chamberlain outlines in his new report, this strength is expected to carry into 2019 — despite recessionary fears that have been spooking Wall Street.
“The signals we’re watching are not flashing red, and we expect workers will remain in the driver’s seat,” he says. “During the Great Recession, there were 5 or 6 workers competing for every job, and today it’s below one.”
Where to look
“There are jobs in health care, professional services such as consulting ... anything related to ecommerce—logistics, warehouses, delivery, due to the upheaval in retail (and of course, tech)," he says.
There’s also demand for non-tech workers, even in tech-related fields, he says. These positions are already accounting for a larger share of job openings overall.
“The future of tech is hiring for non-tech jobs — in sales and marketing, business development, operations and finance — so you no longer have to be a data scientist to work in tech,” he adds.
Nor do you have to live in New York, San Francisco or Boston. Chamberlain says there are plenty of opportunities in smaller cities like Raleigh, NC, Nashville, TN and Kansas City, KS.
Another - albeit surprising - sector that’s beefing up in 2019 is artificial intelligence, says Chamberlain.
“There’s been a lot of talk about AI and that it’s going to hurt jobs. What we’re finding is that AI is actually teaming up with workers - as an ally - to help them do their jobs more efficiently,” he says.
AI technologies are being used for everything from customer service chatbots at banks, meeting schedulers and even fashion suggestions for online shoppers.
“In these instances, AI handles the more transactional and administrative parts of a job, freeing up workers to focus on the more interactive and challenging tasks that are harder to automate,” says Chamberlain.
Things to consider
The ramp-up in hiring typically starts in January, when everyone is back from vacation and has their annual plans locked down.
So dust off the resume now, and remember to consider what would make you happy in the New Year, beyond the actual job itself.
“Don’t think about flashy perks,” says Chamberlain. “The three traditional ones — health insurance, paid time off, and the 401(K) match -- are the benefits that drive long-term satisfaction at work.”
Vera Gibbons is the Founder of nonpoliticalnews.com which produces “NoPo” - a free daily newsletter that covers and curates non-political news only within Consumer/Personal Finance; Health & Wellness; Fashion/Beauty; Fitness/Diet.