My Crystal Ball For The Job Market

People ask me daily, "What do you see in your crystal ball for the job market?" We'll, I hate to disappoint you all, but I do not have a crystal ball. What I do have though, is a number of opportunities to meet with various business people. And like me, they do not have a crystal ball either. There is one thing that is for sure, things will not remain the same. There will always be change in the world of work. Ask the buggy whip maker, if you can find one. Over the last twenty years we have seen changes occur at break neck speed. In general much of the world of work has changed to some degree. Who would have thought that computers would play such a major role in so many jobs. There are fewer and fewer middle managers around today. The rank of clerical staff has seen the same fate. So, back to the initial question, what does the future hold? Some businesses are going to be big losers and others are going to come on strong. Case in point, look at the medical industry. As baby boomers age, they will need a wider variety of medical services. The baby boomers were the ones that gave us the "weekend warrior" culture. We (I am a baby boomer) are postponing growing old as long as we can. According to the Department of Labor, some big job growth will be in biomedical engineering and home health care. In addition other areas of growth will be in Psychology, especially in industrial and organizational psychology.


Construction will continue to be a good area of growth. As one gentleman told me once," they can't ship construction jobs overseas." Along with the construction area, there are many sub category businesses that are tied to the construction industry. Case in point, is plumbers, heating/air condition technicians, electricians and welders. Many people overlook these jobs and feel that they are beneath them. My advice, get over that feeling. There are not any jobs beneath you. In short, we all can't be lawyers or wall street gurus with the multi-million dollar bonuses. Besides, it would be very boring if everyone did the same job, plus we would never get anything done. I have a good friend that is a plumber, and believe me, he does very well for himself!

There is another key issue, have the entrepreneurial spirit. You have to look at yourself as an entrepreneur. You are in business for yourself. As Don Paul put it, "work is the price we pay for money." Make your business something that you are good at. We all have more talents and skills that we can use to our advantage as we move forward into the future.

If you are having difficulty in finding your nitch, ask some friends that know you well and are willing to be honest. Also consider consulting with a Career Coach, they have numerous tools at their disposal that can help you discover your passion and purpose. They are able to help you look to long term opportunities and show you how to market yourself to meet the "new needs" of business.

So, stop looking to the crystal ball, Tarot cards and fortune cookies. Go out there and make your own future.