Are you about to start searching for a job in 2015? Is your college graduation to take place in the months to come? If so, you need to have a good idea about the 2015 job trends. Figuring out which fields are emerging as popular and what the vast majority of candidates is looking for can help you make the best decision about your professional future.
A Widening Skill Gap
In 2015, the skill gap will continue to widen, giving individuals having particular skills competitive advantage in the recruitment battle.
Over the past few years, the skill gap has become a very critical issue. What employers are looking for and what college graduates have to offer are completely different things. Many individuals start college with completely unrealistic expectations and their choices narrow down the employment possibilities in the future.
According to Labor of Bureau Statistics for the end of 2014, there were 4.7 million job openings on the American labor market. Half of the employers reported their inability to discover a suitable candidate for the positions. Many colleges feature outdated curricula that don’t teach students practical skills. This is one of the main reasons why employers are unhappy with what recent graduates have to offer.
If you’re about to start looking for a job, focus on practical skills. Internships and actual experiences are incredibly valuable, especially if they’ve given you some of the skills that the modern employers are looking for.
LinkedIn Presence is Becoming Even More Important than the Resume
LinkedIn is a powerful tool that both job seekers and employers can make excellent use of.
The dynamics today have changed completely. In the past, HR officers got information solely from the candidate’s resume. Today, everybody has a digital footprint. Make sure that yours is clean and professional because the number of employers looking for candidate information online is growing all of the time.
Create an informative and good-looking LinkedIn profile. You may also want to consider the creation of a blog or a website discussing professional topics. Being active online and establishing the right kind of reputation can help you easily beat the competition and differentiate yourself from all of the other job seekers. The prominence of this trend will continue growing in the years to come, which is why you need to jump on the bandwagon right now.
What are the Most Popular Jobs?
Each year, certain professional fields gain a lot of popularity and attract a big number of candidates. Understand these trends, if you want to have a realistic idea about how hard you’ll have to work in order to get the job.
According to US News, certain professions will be particularly hot in 2015:
- Dentists: the unemployment rate for these professionals is solely 0.9 percent. The number of expected new job openings in 2015 is going to be 23,300. In addition, dentists earn a competitive salary and they also have wonderful opportunities to establish their own practice and become self-employed.
- Software developers: this profession has been hot for numerous years and 2015 will be no exception. The unemployment rate in the field is slightly higher than in the case of dentists – 2.7 percent. The number of new job openings for software developers, however, is expected to reach 139,900. The median salary of these professionals is the lucrative 92,660 dollars per year.
- Registered nurses: an aging population is making all professional choices in the medical field quite lucrative. The new job openings for registered nurses will reach 526,800! There are many medical and healthcare institutions that employ such professionals and new registered nurses are needed almost all of the time.
- Market research analysts: these professionals analyze the habits of consumers and come up with strategies on the basis of this information. Companies are expected to need 131,500 new market research analysts in 2015 and they offer a median annual salary of 60,800 dollars.
- Civil engineers: there will be 53,700 new openings for civil engineers in 2015. These professionals build bridges, reservoirs, public facilities and other kinds of infrastructure. As cities are becoming more and more populated, the need for civil engineering solutions is increasing.
Social media, mobile devices and new technologies are definitely having a serious impact on 2015 job search trends. The demand for certain professionals is also on the rise. Even if you’ve already chosen a major or you’ve graduated recently, it’s still possible to make use of the trends. Improving your presentation and taking additional qualification courses will boost your competitiveness and make it much easier to land that dream job in 2015.
