Thursday’s Thought: Time To Pull Out All of the Stops

I really feel that 2011 needs to be "The Year of Urgency". I have very strong feelings on the economy and the future of work. And even if I am wrong, I am right! Let me explain by listing 4 reasons why you need to work hard to land a position very soon.

1. About 75% of currently employed people are not happy in their current job or company and will look for new opportunities as soon as they feel "safe" in doing so. More competition for you.


2. Those that recently accepted positions may be happy in their current role and company, but remember they were offered a low-ball (or discounted) salary offer and they may leave to get back to where they were at in prior positions. More competition for you.


3. Those that accepted a temporary job with a company will get priority consideration over "outsiders". More competition for you.


4. The economy may even get worse than we have seen. I feel the government has put band-aids on the problems and they are starting to fall off and these temporary fixes have not solved the real problems. Corporations have rode the "all is getting better" balloon for a long time now, but will soon see that bubble burst more loudly than the dot com bust.

So, no matter what side you are on, you can see that if the economy is great, you will have an increase in competition from those that are working (but waiting) to leave their current situation. If you believe me and feel that the worst is still to come, then landing a job early in 2011 might be easier than in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th quarter.

It is now time to kick your job search into high gear. If you have been doing the same things over and over and are not getting results, it is time to try new avenues and modify your job search plan. It might even be time to look at those "alternatives" that you have been avoiding to consider.