COVERITLIVE.COM

10:49

Jay Hancock - Hi everybody. Hanah Cho and Jay Hancock are chatting at 11 about Maryland's job market, which seems to be reviving, and the experiences of many of you out there who are looking for jobs. Feel free to submit questions at any time.

11:00

hanahcho - Welcome everyone! This is my first live chat, so be patient. But ask away.

11:01

Jay Hancock - Hi everybody. I talked to job seekers and biz executives for today's column in The Sun. The picture seems to be looking better. Baltimore has many more job openings per capita and almost any other region of the country. And employers I talked to, even if they're not hiring now, are thinking about hiring later this year after the stimulus kicks in.

11:02

Jay Hancock - We're going to put up a survey -- how long have you been job-hunting? This is a stat that the Labor Department tracks, and obviously the length of people's job searches has been getting extended.

11:02

[Comment From Liz ]
We all hear constantly about how hard it is to find a job, but there have to be some sectors that are hiring. What are those bright spots?

11:05

Jay Hancock - Liz: The sectors with jobs seem to be health care and defense. Also a lot of temp agencies are hiring -- but those aren't the first choice for many seekers, of course. The base realignment process is creating jobs here, and the hospitals and docs are still hiring. Education and government haven't been downsizing as badly as, say, finance or manufacuturing. But I don't get the sense they're in a super hiring mode, either.

11:05

hanahcho - I've also been hearing from recruiters and staffing firms that things are starting to look up as they're getting more requests from companies for employees. But no doubt, it's hard. In a piece I wrote today, I spoke with two laid-off workers that I've encountered over the past six to nine months to see where they are today. One, a former DHL worker, is still out of work after being laid off in November. He was a driver and he wants to find a similar job but he's having trouble. He says there are limited openings and far too many people applying. Another found a job but it's part-time contract work in her field of marketing and start-ups. She's going to waitress part-time as well to help her with expenses.

11:05

[Comment From Evan ]
I just moved to the Baltimore area because I heard how its one of the better places right now to find a job, but I am still having trouble. I try to go to companies personally to introduce myself or call on the phone, but still everyone just tells me to apply online, then I never hear anything back

11:06

Jay Hancock - Evan: What kind of job are you looking for?

11:07

Jay Hancock -

As noted, certain sectors are much more challenging than others.

11:08

hanahcho - Evan: That's one of the biggest frustrations I've heard from job seekers. This online black hole. I've heard from job seekers who have never heard back from recruiters because their resumes have gotten lost in the Wild Wide Web. Depending on yoru field, have you tried joining associations which hold networking events and other types of events where you could actually introduce yourself to a real person. That seems to have worked for one of the laid-off workers that I interviewed in my story today. She went to a ton of networking events and then narrowed down on groups and people that she kept in contact with.

11:08

[Comment From Evan ]
I just recently graduated college with a degree from Clarkson University, majored in e-commerce. Something involving internet marketing....I've researched ecommerce jobs, but everywhere I look you need like 10 years experience for openings.

11:10

hanahcho - Evan: One of the laid-off workers that I interviewed ended up finding a part-time contract work in a similar field of marketing and social media. She found that job through a school contact of hers. Have you tried to use your career services, which in recent years have enhanced services for alumni?

11:10

[Comment From Evan ]
Most of my friends from college just went home to live with their parents or went back for grad school. I wanted to get out on my own and get a good start to my career at a young age.

11:11

Jay Hancock -

Evan: One weird thing going on in the economy right now is a dearth of jobs for recent college grads. It's weird because often companies prefer new grads because they're less expensive than more-experienced workers. But in this recession, anecdotally at least, we're seeing companies prefer more experienced people because they're more productive, and they don't have to be trained. This won't last forever, however. Lots of babyboomers will be retiring in coming years, and it should loosen up. Ecommerce is also still expanding -- there should be decent opportunities there as the economy improves.

11:11

[Comment From Darlene ]
I have been looking and sending resumes to people all over the State of Maryland, but so far nothing! Any help would be appreciated.

11:11

[Comment From Darlene ]
I am not from Baltimore, but from Western Maryland where the job market is really slow.

11:12

hanahcho - Evan: Several Maryland schools and universities have entrepreneurship centers, where they house many start-ups that may need your experience. One is at college Park's Dingman Center, where they help local start-ups. Try reaching out to the folks there. Also there are incubators housing start-ups that may need some help, also.

11:14

Jay Hancock - Darlene: In combing through the help-wanted ads for Baltimore, I was struck but the huge proportion from government and government contractors. They're largely defense-related, but they need all kinds of workers with all kinds of skills -- from engineers and interpreters to clerks and technology pros. You might want to check out some of them. In this area, that's where the jobs are.

11:15

[Comment From Bob ]
So the job market is coming back in Maryland, but how does that compare with elsewhere in the country?

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