The job market may seem like it’s stagnating at the moment, but if you take a closer look at what’s happening in many industries you might be surprised with what you see: they’re hiring! So getting a job might not be as grim as the news makes it out to be.

Alcoa Inc. is the first blue chip company to report its financial earnings this year. Alcoa unfortunately reported a loss of $454 million in its first quarter. However, even with the bleak earnings reported in this most recent quarter, their HR department is still posting new positions at Alcoa as its CEO, Klaus Kleinfeld, rebutted this loss by saying that they “expect to see improvements in the second quarter. [Improved] cash flow will be our primary goal.”

Other companies like Google, Levi and T-Mobile are also taking the optimistic high route by announcing new products and expansions in business, despite the economic doom and gloom. So there’s no reason you shouldn’t keep your own employment hopes high.

To keep my own employment hopes high, I’ve been following these three basic rules:

1. Network – Now that you have extra time on your hands, get out there and talk to people. You never know who might need a position filled.
2. Be memorable – Business cards are like mini-resumes for those on the go. While you’re out meeting new people, keep business cards handy so you can make a lasting impression and so people can keep your name and number handy, just in case they do have a position open up.
3. Research – Keep abreast of the latest happenings in your industry. If companies are looking to increase sales to counteract first quarter losses, new Sales Managers are going to be needed. Are companies announcing a slew of new products? Public Relation Managers will be needed to keep up with the demand. Did Google just announce a new OS? Many software developers will have to look into hiring new Computer Programmers to rewrite programs so they’re compatible with the new Chrome OS.

You never know when something might come along, so stay sharp, keep your eyes open and your job prospects up!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 12:21 pm and is filed under Job Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.