These days it's impossible to avoid hearing about the economy... at least a few times a day. Stories of companies downsizing are all too common - on the evening news and at the dinner table. We all know the past few quarters have been tough. While many economists are still highly skeptical, there are signs of recovery. And this seems to be the case also with the labor market. Here are a few signs that I've come across recently that companies are hiring again:
- Anecdotal evidence from TechEd - I attended TechEd in Phoenix just a few weeks ago and I spoke with several partners and customers who are looking for talent. This includes entry level positions for new graduates with little or no experience.
- We are also seeing an increase in activity in the new SCN Career Center, which launched in Aug '09. If you are looking for work in the SAP ecosystem, make sure to post your resume there, so SAP partners and customers can find you!
- SAP ended its hiring freeze and is starting to hire again for some positions. This is a good sign for our SAP colleagues, indeed.
- The Monster Employment Index, which tracks online job activity in the US was up in October. Not by much, just 1% but up, none the less. Online job availability rose in seven out of the 20 industries that the index tracks. In addition, online recruitment increased in five out of 28 major US metropolitan areas.
- According to ExecuNet, which tracks executive level hiring, "fewer companies are planning to trim leadership staffs in 2010 and many are using the opportunity to get talent on board that will help them come out of this downturn profitably." Most of the incremental executive level jobs through the end of '09 are expected to be in industries such as: healthcare, clean/green technology (a hot topic also at SAP), biotech and environmental products.
So, I would like to think it's not all doom and gloom out there. Certainly it's not a rosy picture but hopefully the worst is over. Good luck to those of you looking for jobs in the SAP ecosystem!
