You can almost hear a universal sigh of relief in the air. We made it, passed the worse recession in decades, into a summer of a booming job market. All the economic data suggests times are good and jobs are out there for anyone who wants one.
Yet at the risk of sounding like a “Debbie downer” I say not so fast. One of my greatest fears as I mentioned in the Star Tribune last week http://www.startribune.com/ask-matt-tips-for-a-candidate-driven-job-market/311197921 is that with all the talk of a good labor market job seekers will not approach the market with a respectable effort or organized plan. Even in the best job markets, jobs do not fall out of the sky into job seekers laps, though I know many job seekers wish they would. I don’t worry about the lack of jobs, I worry that job seekers become complacent.
It is also important to note that the Twin Cities job market has been flooded with extremely talented professionals from a recent lay off, many of which want to stay put in the Twin Cities which means competition for jobs will be abundant.
Lastly, individuals in niche professions will continue have longer than average searches just by the nature of what they do and the market’s need for their given specialty.
So let me go on record to say I do believe that the present job market is favorable and will prove to be especially for those who approach it with good focus and a sustained effort throughout the summer.