Thursday’s Thought: I Might Be Wrong… Nah, Probably Not… But Maybe…

Those of you that have been following me closely know that my stance on the job market recovery is not an optimistic one. I never promote pessimism so I like to think of myself as a realist. I have consistently said that we are in for a very long-term recovery (ie. multiple years away; around 2013 at the earliest). I still think we are in worse shape than everyone realizes, and I still wouldn't be surprised if we haven't seen the bottom of this recession yet.

However, there is a definite spike in the need for recruiters. I have seen more advertised positions for recruiters all across the US. In fact, Kenexa had an online Recruiter Career Webinar today where they are looking for 80 recruiters to join their RPO team. They are not alone. I have been contacted by numerous recruiters in the past few weeks asking me if I am interested, or if I know any good ones that I could recommend.

One thing I know for sure is that these companies are planning to hire. So in the short term (and hopefully long-term), I predict a surge in the number of open positions. And with most corporations only hiring mostly internal employees to fill their openings during the last 12 months, there is no more room for internal shuffling. That leads to looking at the external market. And when this dam breaks, look out. Anywhere from 60% to 85% of the currently employed workers are dissatisfied in the current situation, and they are going to leap after these newly created jobs. That massive avalanche of people that are currently employed will now feel that it is safe to test the waters of a new company, and start applying for these new openings.

That creates more competition for the unemployed worker. So, get out your fighting gear, put on your best attire, polish your elevator speech, and fight for your right to be hired!