|
|
|
|
|
| How bad is the job market in America? Vol.2 |
|
Executive Vice President & General Manager
Mr. Takeo Suzuki
|
Small job opportunities for Japanese-English Bilinguals
I must say that there aren’t as many jobs for Japanese-English
bilinguals at this moment. The major reason, as it is said, is
the Sep. 11 attack. After the incident, there’s been a decline
in the IT world, return rush of Japanese companies in the US,
and further more, a big merger of travel agencies and Japanese
major banks. It is clear
that the balance between supply and demand
in the job market in the US today is one-sided. And that of course
means demand surpasses supply in this case.
But I don’t think this unbalanced job-hunting situation will last
too long. I think new businesses will show up sooner or later based
on the IT field. In 19th century, James Watt had created a steam
engine, and his invention was crucial for the Industrial Revolution
to progress, and if it hadn’t been for the invention, God knows
where we would be today. I believe that IT field has the same potential
to help create new fields in the long run. So I think that new jobs are
going to be created under the influence of IT field, and as a logical
consequence, the number of opening jobs and job seekers will be balanced.
I don’t think we should be too pessimistic about the future.
Who is in needs?
Generally speaking, employers prefer job seekers who have 3 or 4 year’s
experiences in a certain field. However, there are also plenty of entry-level
administrator positions available. This is the point I don’t want job seekers
to misunderstand. It is not that the job market is utterly bleak and dry.
But what job seekers should keep in mind is that at least, Excel and Word are
necessary ? probably almost mandatory. If you don’t know how to use them, it
is the same as saying, “I don’t know how to use the calculator,” I think.
It is true that job seekers are full to the brim. Recently, HR resources revealed that there are a hundred, sometimes, a thousand of resumes sent to one opening position. It seems impossible to draw an attention to your resume, with so many other competitors for one spot.
But if your resume has some kind of “decoration,” it helps to be noticed by employers. For example, “typing skill; 70 words in a minute.” This is a skill. If you have such a skill, you could be a secretary, bookkeeper or assistant of CPA, and the list goes on. I think the saying, “Accomplishments are a lifelong benefit to their possessor,” is really true.
In this job-less era, job seekers are eager to get skills, and consequently,
the level of job seekers gets higher and higher. From the employers’
point of view, if you look carefully, there are many capable, skillful
job seekers available in the job market today.
|
Provided by ProX J
|
|
