We’re back with the third article of our Ultimate Career Guide series! This one is on Career Resource No. 3 – job market knowledge.
This career resource is an interesting one. Although everyone talks about how important it is to know your job market, only very few of us actually make the time and effort to specifically learn more about it.
But let’s take it step by step.
What exactly is job market knowledge?
Basically, it is understanding current job market and employment trends. I know, this is confusing at first sight. Let’s zoom into the details:
What are employers looking for? Which skills are highly sought-after? And what salary do other people in similar positions to yours earn? These are all questions that have the same goal: knowing the job market you are dealing with and understanding what employer look out for when hiring.
And such understanding is crucial to have.
After all, to win a game, you must know how to play the game.
The same counts for your (future) job! The more you know about the hard skills and soft skills needed, the better you can judge whether your desired job is something for you.
On top of that, it gives you an idea on what training or courses you could take, in order to develop skills that you are still lacking. This means, job market knowledge helps you acquire the step-by-step know-how to perfectly prepare for your desired job. And this is true for students, employees, or entrepreneurs who would like to take the next career step!
What is your level of job market knowledge?
Now that I have hopefully convinced you that knowing the job market and the employment trends is key to managing your career successfully, let’s have a look at two questions you can reflect on. This will help you to find out how well your knowledge on the job market already is:
- Do I have a lot of information about the current job market (average salaries, job opportunities, etc.)?
- Do I have substantial information on current employment trends (key skills, application procedures, etc.)?
These questions are relevant for both students and all of you who are already in the workforce.
Generally, if you haven’t done any research on the job market in the last, say, 6 months, I challenge you to put some time aside and look into it again. Things can change rapidly and even a quick 10-minute Google search can help you to be up to date if you are considering to switch jobs or enter the workforce.
How you can inrease your job market knowledge.
Luckily, there are many different ways that can help you to increase your job market knowledge and understand employment trends.
1. Use your network.
Your network is probably the best starting point to find out more about the job market and employment trends. Any information from your network can be helpful. BUT. You can find the most relevant information through people who work in the occupation, position, or company that you are interested in.
During an internship, you will learn almost implicitly information on job market and employment trends, just by observing and being involved in informal conversations with your colleagues.
2. Get work experience.
If you are still studying, then applying for a summer internship in a position that is relevant to your desired occupation, can help you out incredibly! Not only can you build a network that will be highly relevant for the future and learn from them. But you can also experience the application process yourself.
During an internship, you will learn almost implicitly information on job market and employment trends, just by observing and being involved in informal conversations with your colleagues.
3. Google is your best friend.
Surely you already knew this one. Researching online can answer a lot of questions. Still, we wanted to mention some resources that you may not know about yet.
O*NET is one such example. It’s an online tool that includes information on different occupations, valued skills, current trends in high demand occupations.
Another great website, especially for information on salary, is salary.com. All you need is the name of your desired position and the country you work in to get information on minimum, maximum and average salaries.
Lastly, Glassdoor is probably one that you know, but that is so popular, it had to be on this list. Glassdoor encompasses information ranging from company reviews, to salary information specific to companies. Tip for students: Sometimes, you can also find reviews on internship positions and internship compensation for different companies.
That was it for Career Resource No.3! If this article was helpful to you, share this article with someone who could also benefit from it!
If you want more insights on how to create a career of your dreams, check out our other articles in our Ultimate Career Guide!
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November 12, 2022This post is based on the following sources and academic articles:
Hirschi, A. (2012). The career resources model: An integrative framework for career counsellors. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 40(4), 369–383.
Hirschi, A., Nagy, N., Baumeler, F., Johnston, C. S., & Spurk, D. (2018). Assessing key predictors of career success: Development and validation of the career resources questionnaire. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(2), 338–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072717695584
Rottinghaus, P. J., Day, S. X., & Borgen, F. H. (2005). The career futures inventory: A measure of career-related adaptability and optimism. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(1), 3–24.
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