London Jobs Market Update

For a vibrant city with a history of setting global trends in the arts and culture categories, London has always enjoyed a multicultural hustle and bustle not dissimilar to other major capital cities across the world.

Like its other global counterparts, London is in the depths of recession. Whilst I always feel it is vital to portray a truthful picture on employment prospects anywhere in the world, I also don’t believe in doom mongering in order to satiate a media frenzy. The idea that nobody is recruiting and everyone is displacing is clearly an exaggeration. Economic downturns however naturally mean that the job seekers.

However, the real key to success is not to panic. For those who have been forced to look at new employment, through no choice of their own, jobs in London will still remain extremely competitive, perhaps even more so, now there are many more applicants for each job advertised. Many firms have downgraded their job opportunities and will be more selective in their shortlist, than they were 12 - 18 months ago. But remember there will always be many organisations and firms who are still hiring and looking for skilled staff.

Back in the heady boom days of, well, 2008, published reports forecasted a growth of 16% of London jobs opportunities within professional services, property, technology, media and financial services to name a few sectors, This was of course with no indication that 12 months on we would be faced with a depressed job market, or, job seekers faced with the task of learning what to do and how to cope with the possibility of redundancy or being unemployed for the first time.

Contracting and temporary work also offers a valuable way to maintain skills and build new ones. It also offers the chance to build up networks of contacts,. Many people are now looking at gaining unpaid work experience as a way of building skills and knowledge or even exploring voluntary charity work.

There are other reasons to feel positive. A recent article highlighted the fact that many people were choosing this time to emigrate overseas, being enticed by better weather and the hope that there would be a more stable future in relation to job hunting. This will create job openings for others in London. Coupled with the diversity of businesses, and the number of businesses as well as the opportunities that hosting the Olypic games in 2012 may offer, I know I would certainly prefer to be in London at this time.

In addition, we now have the internet as a fantastic resource for information and learning. Unlike in the last 2 recessions, we are able to build our skill set, learn about new job opportunities and network at the click of a button.

Therefore, it is important not to sit tight and just wait. This is a good time to review carefully your capabilities and ambitions and see if there are gaps within what the London job market requires and what it has to offer us as individuals.

You may choose this time to change career even if you are in work, in the knowledge that many good firms will hire if they have skills that are in high demand. Some people believe that they can take on more responsibility in a new firm which values their skills and experience gained from working in other firms, while their current employer may not offer them the career development they are looking for.

Nevertheless, more than ever, success for the London job hunter will require a reality check. Know that you may have to apply for more jobs than before, in order to secure an interview. Understand that different jobs may need you to highlight different skills and make sure that you put the effort in accordingly.

This article is written by Kellie Whitehead. Kellie writes job related content for TeleportMyJob.Com, specializing in helping professionals relocate their careers in international opportunities like London jobs, Singapore jobs, and Jobs in Dubai.