Marylanders are working ? but not necessarily whistling.
Despite seeing a decline to 3.8 percent in the Free State?s unemployment rate for the month of January as compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, many local residents are taking advantage of the opportunities around them to find new work. In a study by Harris Interactive, a global research firm, the company indicates that nearly 74 percent of workers are either actively or passively looking for a new job.
Read more employment news here
The first step to finding a new or better career is knowing the right place to start from.
“We have people sit down with a career development facilitator and have a dialogue on what their interests are,” said Ruth Tyler, director of communications for the Mayor?s Office of Economic Development, which serves more than 18,000 city residents each year. “Once they find [their interests] out, we begin to direct them into a corresponding career path.”
In Baltimore City, the OED works to provide free services for people looking to jump into ? and around ?the job market. Career centers throughout the city provide free access to a meeting with a career development facilitator, creation of an e-mail account, related Internet access, telephone bank utilization and resume building. At the OED, the organization looks to benefit everyone from employees trapped in a bad situation who are looking for a change to recently released convicts who are looking for a fresh start and a second chance.
Whatever someone?s situation, the key seems to be experience. Adecco, a global human resources company with offices in Baltimore, finds in a recent study that with 70 million baby boomers retiring over the next 15 years, there will only by 40 million new workers to take their place.
“The most important thing on the applicant?s side is that [a job placement service] saves them a great deal of time,” said Mary Kraft, the president of Mary Kraft & Associates, a staffing solutions firm in Lutherville.
