Back to School, Back to Work

As sad as it sounds, summer is coming to an end. Kids go back to school, parents go back to work.

With the exception of those people taking advantage of shorter lines and lesser crowds for a late summer vacation, most feel the back to work mind set. This time of year there is the realization that there is work to be done prior to the end of the year and budgets to be utilized.

The same is true for hiring. During the summer month’s people are less available, especially in those locales where summer is short.  People try to pack as much summer into their…summers.  This is a great time of year for people to look for new opportunities and for employers to find people that are now in the mindset of considering a change.  During the summer months trying to schedule interviews and interviewers can be challenging.  Now that will all change.

Some things have changed however. Pay rates for in demand areas have risen sharply.  For IT people salaries are up 15% – 18% just over the last year.  Engineering and manufacturing technical are up 10% year over year.  In states including Wisconsin as an example, overall unemployment hovers in the 3% range.  Recruiting methods have changed as well.  Now LinkedIn is the largest marketplace for people hiring.

As an employer, it’s time to think about why people would want to join your organization? Do you need to adjust your message, benefits, remote work policy, salary ranges?  We had an employer tell us “our benefits are actually lousy”.  These days’ benefits are important especially with the cost of healthcare continuing to rise.

As a job seeker do you need to freshen up your resume, research companies you would like to work for, change your search strategy? Even those that hadn’t considered a change, now you have to opportunity for larger salary, opportunity to work in a company culture that suits you better, seek a promotion, work with more current technology.

Summer fades, the real work begins. Enjoy the remaining longer days.