Topping the list of New Year's resolutions for one-in-five workers (20 percent) is a new job, according to CareerBuilder.com's latest survey. The study also shows that this may be the ideal time to look for new opportunities as a shrinking labor pool has employers struggling to find qualified labor and implementing more competitive recruitment efforts. Nearly half of employers plan to increase salaries on initial offers to new employees. The survey, titled "2007 Job Forecast," was conducted by Harris Interactive(R) and commissioned by CareerBuilder.com. It ran from November 17 through December 11, 2006 and included 6,169 workers and 2,627 hiring managers and human resource professionals in private sector companies.
Forty-eight percent of workers planning to leave their current positions in the next 12 months say they are looking for a job with better pay and/or career advancement opportunities. Eleven percent are electing to change careers, 9 percent are retiring and 6 percent plan to start their own business.
Looking at key job factors that influence job satisfaction and company loyalty, workers reported the following:
Pay - Thirty-three percent of workers are dissatisfied with their pay. Twenty-six percent of workers did not receive a raise in 2006. Of those that did receive one, one-in-five were given an increase of 2 percent or less. Sixty-seven percent of workers did not receive a bonus.
Career Advancement - Thirty-five percent of workers are dissatisfied with career advancement opportunities provided by their current employers. Eighty- five percent did not receive a promotion in 2006 and 26 percent felt they were overlooked.
Work/Life Balance - Twenty-seven percent of workers are dissatisfied with work/life balance. Forty-five percent report their workloads have increased over the last six months.
Training/Learning - Thirty-three percent of workers are dissatisfied with training and on-the-job learning opportunities provided by their current employers.
When applying for new positions, workers say the most important attributes they look for in employers are:
-- Good career advancement opportunities (23 percent) -- Company's stability and longevity in the market (23 percent) -- Good work culture (20 percent) -- Ability to offer flexible schedules (11 percent)
Three-fourths of workers say they will pay more attention to health benefits offered by employers than in the past.
"January is one of the busiest job search months of the year as workers put their New Year's resolutions into action," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. "Job seekers may have more negotiating power as employers offer sweeter deals to fill productivity gaps and headcount quotas impacted by the Baby Boomers' exit from the workforce. Bigger paychecks and promises of career advancement and flexible schedules are expected to be offered on a wider scale this year."
Although 68 percent of workers say they are satisfied with their jobs, some are always on the lookout for a bigger, better deal. For those searching for new opportunities in the New Year, Haefner recommends the following:
1) Recharge Your Resume - List out your accomplishments for the year.
Update your resume with bullets highlighting how you specifically
contributed to the company, quantifying results when possible.
Employers may scan your resume for a number of seconds, so you need to
capture their attention quickly.
2) Offer Up Ideas - One of the best ways to stand out in an interview is
to show the employer that you're already thinking like an employee.
Offer up ideas for the position you're applying for - how you can
increase sales, improve productivity, enhance customer service,
effectively promote a new product, etc.
3) Investigate Your Worth - Forty percent of employers say they currently
have open positions for which they can't find qualified talent.
Prepare yourself for salary negotiations by investigating compensation
ranges for your title and experience in your geographical area via
online resources such as CBsalary.com.
4) Build Your Network - Having a warm resume placed on an employer's desk
by someone who referred you tends to get noticed. Build or update your
network. Include colleagues, friends, relatives, neighbors, vendors,
etc. Keep in touch by sending news articles they may be interested in,
tips for a great golf coach or other interests. The key is making the
relationship mutually beneficial.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,169 workers (employed full-time; not self employed) and 2,627 hiring managers (employed full-time; not self employed; with at least some involvement in hiring decisions), ages 18 and over within the United States between November 17 and December 11, 2006. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 6,169 or 2,627 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- 1 and +/- 2 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc.
Media Contact: Jennifer Sullivan 773-527-1164Jennifer.Sullivan@careerbuilder.com
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:
SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com
CONTACT: Jennifer Sullivan of CareerBuilder.com, +1-773-527-1164,
Web site: http://www.careerbuilder.com/