Industries That Seek Workers in 2012
Posted on January 4, 2012 in CBIZ Solutions+
Phil Noftsinger Comments on Popular Jobs for 2012:Industries That Seek Workers in 2012
Dan Rafter – Gatehouse News Service
3 January 2012
The Evening Tribune
Copyright 2012 The Evening Tribune. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by NewsBank, inc.
The national unemployment rate stubbornly hovered near 9 percent as 2011 drew to a close. That doesn’t mean, though, that companies won’t be hiring in 2012.
But not all will be hiring equally. Career experts across the country said that certain occupations will offer solid career opportunities in 2012, with everyone from health-care workers to IT pros to sales stars in good position to land solid jobs in the coming months.
“Jobs are harder to mid. The good times are not rolling,” said Billie Blair, president and chief executive officer of California’s Change Strategists, Inc. “But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t jobs out there. There are, in a wide range of fields.”
WHERE THE JOBS ARE
Sid Mitchener, partner with the Raleigh, N.C. office of accounting, financial, IT and administrative staffing firm Vaco, said that high-tech professionals who can help develop software for mobile phones, tablets and other smart devices will be in demand in 2012.
“Wc arc seeing more and more people focusing on developing software applications that are mobile,” Mitchener said. “People are continually thinking today about how to get applications to consumers and end users faster through mobile smart devices.”
A growing number of companies are also looking for security engineers, the high-tech professionals who can help develop security software to protect the desktop and mobile computers and devices oil which consumers today rely so heavily, Mitchener said.
Job seekers looking for positions in the healthcare industry should find plenty of options in 2012, too, Blair said.
There’s an obvious reason for tin’s; the U.S. population continues to age. When people get older, they need more medical care, opening the door for an expansion of medical office buildings, emergency care clinics and hospital additions.
Blair also sees an expansion of home health care.
Consumers and medical companies are looking for ways to reduce the cost of health care, Blair said. One way to do this is to treat patients in the comfort of their own homes. Job seekers who are willing to pro vide home health care sendees, then, should find plenty of employment opportunities in 2012.
Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll, a provider of business services such as payroll processing and COBRA administration, says salespeople will be in demand in 2012.
“As organizations sec new revenue opportunities opening up, they will expand their sales forces,” Noftsinger said. “As consumer demand for goods returns, something that is already starting to happen slowly, there will be a lot of new sales positions to open up.”
Michael Mclntyre, chief executive officer of Benefits America and author of the book “The Authentic Salesman: Mastering the Art of Transforming Real Objections into Real Transactions,” says that as federal stimulus money continues to be spent, more workers will find jobs in the construction industry.
And as the economy continues its struggles, more workers will find opportunity in childcare. There’s a reason for this: More households today feature two spouses who work outside the home thanks to the demands of the challenging economy. Someone has to care for these couples’ children during the work day.
Mclntyre points to the accounting field, too, as one that will grow in 2012 and beyond.
“Accountants, especially those with good, strong personalities, will see plenty of opportunities,” he said.
HOW TO GET THESE JOBS
What skill sets are needed to land these positions? That varies. Mclntyre says a strong work ethic will be needed in 2012 and beyond.
That may sound trite, he said, but when so many people are looking for a relatively small number of jobs, a good work ethic can make a dramatic difference.
“It’s like with professional athletes. People are hired and recruited based in part on how well they can nlav the mnw when hurt/’ Mclntvre said.
Now, don’t iorgo an appendectomy to go to work. But if you have a sniffle or a cough, it might be best to gut it out and show up anyway.”
Being able to adapt to evolving workplaces is also an important skill set. Job hunters today can’t afford to be skittish about new technology. They must instead embrace it.
And in today’s jobs world, the ability to communicate is a more important skill than ever, said Mclntyre.
Finally, there’s persistence. This underrated trait can give job hunters the will to go on when a job search seems hopeless.
“Companies today might get 500 applications where they might have gotten 80 to 100 applications in the past,” Blah’ said. “For people getting out of university, this might be a surprise. But contrary to media reports, there certainly arc jobs out there. You just have to work harder to find them.”