Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, and his views on the job market.

"I have been blogging about the job market in the US and around the world since August 2001."

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In last month's issue of "The Job Market Report," I cautioned you about a number of things:

"America is like a star that is imploding upon itself, not sure of what direction to take and with few resources available to apply to the challenge. "

"Companies are hiring again but in small numbers."

"State and local governments are cutting back on jobs that are visible to the public (like teachers) with the hope that there will be such outrage that the public will agree to tax increases (They won't). "

The federal government has grown beyond the public's capacity and willingness to sustain its size and is about to begin a cycle of "right-sizing."

I then wrote about some of the political ramifications and cautioned you that no matter who was elected, The President or a Republican opponent, we already know what each will do . . . and neither outcome is good.

To briefly summarize, the President will try to postpone the pain and try to inflate us out of the recession. But that is like giving more sugar to a kid who is crashing. On the other hand, a Republican will try to force us to take our medicine and feel what was postponed by TARP, stimulus and other spending programs. That kept government workers working but did nothing to create jobs.

America does not like to feel pain. It will be a tougher election than many forecast now and I have no idea who will win.

No matter, you have work to do.

By now, you know that America created exactly zero new jobs in August, 2011. By the time the nunbers are revised next month, there will have been a net loss. It will be month number one when economists decide a recession has begun.

The private sector created 17000 jobs last month and government cut 17000 jobs.

But the worst news and the news that no one reports because the financial press just doesn't report it, is that large calendar year corporations have begun their budget cycle.

If you were a manager, director, or C level executive, given what we know about the economy today, how inclined fo you think you would be to submit a request for new hiring?

If you were the CFO of that firm, how inclined do you think you would be to approve that hiring?

And that's a huge problem.

It portends what could be as much as ten years of lost opportunity for America.

You need to protect yourself because no mattter who is elected, the problems will persist for quite some time.

Your success is not based upon your employer but upon your skills.

Do not accept assignments or jobs that will take you away from marketable roles.

Be nice to third party recruiters even if they are not your normal vendors. You may need them (If you need to send a resume to a third party recruiter, it is probably not a good idea to send one that speaks of how you reduced hiring costs. We interpret that as you either reduced fees or agency utilization. We don't like either. Save that for resumes you send directly).

Consulting (I'm not talking about temp work) will continue to be a very strong theater for people to find work.

Follow the trends closely in your field and stay up-to-date so that if there are job cuts you advantage yourself against your competitors for work.

Make no enemies, only allies.

Keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date and be nice to recruiters when they call.

Make sure you collect phone numbers and personal email addresses from co-workers and managers and add them to circles on Google+ and connect with them on LinkedIn and Facebook.

During the President's first year in office, I criticized the stimulus proposal; as many heard me say, he campaigned on doing it and he did it. I complained that if we needed stimulus we needed it right then and there, not in three installments that we have yet to complete.

As the battle of healthcare raged and the economy in terrible shape, I wrote that the proposal needed to be done, ideally by July, but no later than October. Why? Because companies that operate on a calendar year basis enter their budget process in July and finalize their budgets by October. Who is going to hire anyone and not know what it will cost them because they don't know what health insurance will cost them.

Well, we're in a different boat with the same issues. Business does not like the uncertainty that the President and the Congress are leaving them with just as they start their budget cycle.

Instead of waiting for what I write to be obvious to everyone, follow my advice. At the end of the day, you won't be harmed by doing so and, more likely, you will be advantaged by planning ahead.

 

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Copyright 2011 Jeff Altman

 

 

 

The Job Market, Employment, layoffs, The Job Market USA, The Job Market Report

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