Playing Your Strong Hand in a Strong Market

            Much has been discussed about the strength of our job market. Statistics have been spewed, analyses offered, predictions launched – including here. Well, the stats and analyses, but I’ve learned not to make predictions. They seem bold when you make them but foolish once you have. On the other hand, expectations make for meaningful conversation, so that leaves open the important question, what does this mean to us in practical, actionable terms? Here’s how I see it. 

• Strike while the iron’s hot. Employers are tripping over themselves to find the talent they need just to keep up with rapidly growing demand and economic expansion, inflation notwithstanding. Although the job market shows no signs of weakening, we know this can’t last forever. Still, there hasn’t been a “No time like the present” like this present in decades. I’m not suggesting you make a move just for the sake of a move. I had plenty to say about that folly in last week’s column. But what a time this is. Carpe diem!
• Hiring, hiring, hiring: Despite high inflation, the economy is still growing at an impressive rate. That means if employers are going to keep up with demand, they’re going to have to seriously increase their hiring, which is exactly what they’ve done – and must continue doing. That’s where the record-high 11 million open jobs come in. Hiring is going on in all employment sectors: healthcare, business and professional services, construction, retail, transportation – all sectors – and at every level. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
• Raises, raises, raises: Not only is all this hiring going on, but employers are paying more for it. Wages and salaries have risen strongly for the past 16 months and are expected to continue through 2022. This increase applies to starting salaries and to raises, which are, to many employees’ surprise, much easier to get. It’s clearly an employees’ market.
• Get what you’re worth. Given the favorable conditions, gone are the days of settling for what you could get: lower salary, lesser position, and generally unsatisfactory circumstances. It is just the opposite now and you should know it. If you’re a qualified candidate, you have leverage, and that holds for all levels of the workforce. It’s a rising tide that lifts all ships.

• Seniors, too. In a market so tilted toward the worker, employers are the ones who have to concede ground – and that includes to the older worker. And, dear senior, while we’re on the subject, stop hiding your age. Your age is your strength, not your weakness. Strut your stuff. You’ve got plenty to offer. And you’re now in demand.
• The new workplace: With all the fuss about remote work – which (1) saved us, and (2) now seems to be the preferred mode for many workers – don’t expect it to take over. Cohesive teams, strong culture, and supportive camaraderie can’t be built remotely, and employers know it. But they also know the value of remote work, so expect a compromise: two days in the office, two at home. And that fifth day? Hello, 4-day week! Like your 3-day weekends? How about 52 of them per year?
• Pay equity: Women making 82 cents for every dollar a man makes? Not anymore. That horse has been out of the barn too long and it’s not coming back. But it’s up to each person to know what their pay scale is – and then expect it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the most unbiased and reliable data in their Occupational Outlook Handbook. When you’re going for either a job interview or a raise, nothing is better ammunition than this data. [Scoop: see next week’s column.]
• For a good cause.   Increasingly, companies are increasing their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Whether it’s climate change, Special Olympics, World Central Kitchen, UNICEF, paid family leave, or any good cause for that matter, it makes a big difference in why you go to work. Awareness of these things – and an inclination to align them with core corporate values – is increasingly front and center. If we didn’t know that before 2020, we sure do now.
• Add it up. An unprecedented strong market, rising and equitable pay, new workplace dynamics, and alignment with things bigger than ourselves. Not a bad workplace, wouldn’t you say?

            In fact, it’s one we’ve been waiting for all along. It’s just that now we have it.

            Strong hand? Full house, I’d say.

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Career Coach Eli Amdur provides one-on-one coaching in job search, résumés, and interviewing.

Reach him at [email protected] or 201-357-5844.