Hiring Trends for 2007
With the year half over, the direction of hiring is shifting as the Tampa Bay area, along with the rest of the country, adjusts to a period of economic uncertainty. The good news is many companies are still seeking and hiring strong candidates to fill their needs, and no one is talking about staff reduction.
Steve Tutwiler, owner of Sterling Management Resources, shares key insights into how changes in the economy are affecting the local employment scene and shines a spotlight on 2007 trends for employers and job seekers.
More Selective Hiring: With the growth slowdown, many employers are taking a closer look at candidates and aiming to fill positions with the best and brightest. However, while companies are filling vacant positions quickly, they’re not talking about significant hiring for business growth, which is normal during periods of economic correction, says Tutwiler.
Focus on Productivity: Employers are taking stock of their personnel and determining if they have the best team members on staff. According to Tutwiler, top performers won’t feel the pressure of possibly losing their jobs, but average employees might feel like they’re under the gun as their employer proactively seeks staff members who maintain high levels of productivity and contain expenses.
Shift in Job Seekers: Due to the uncertainty surrounding their current positions, many mid-level performers will start a job search. Typically, these are people who have a history of moving from job-to-job every couple of years, something Tutwiler and his staff are very cognizant of. “We see people who traditionally change jobs a lot trying to change now,” says Tutwiler. However, the market has changed, cautions Tutwiler, and they might not find it as easy to land somewhere new as they did a couple years ago.
Consulting Boom: While the economy may be cooling, work for many consultants is red hot. According to Tutwiler, there are two reasons driving the boom in consulting. First, technology spending. After Y2K, many employers who invested heavily in precautionary measures that proved unnecessary vowed to cut or cease technology spending. However, the fast pace of innovation in the industry have pushed employers to start pumping money back into technology to get their systems up to date. For many businesses, this requires a consultant. The second reason consulting work is booming is because of Congress and Sarbannes Oxley. With the approval of the AS5, which determines auditing standards for smaller companies, many businesses are hiring consultants to help them come into compliance by the end-of-the-year deadline.
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