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Arguably conducting labor market research can be the most important component of your job search. The following are four reasons why:
Help you write your resume: If you want to know what to include on your resume, you need to understand which skills and experience employers require for their positions. Although you know which skills you've performed in the past, employers might have different needs. One source that is useful to determine the tasks required for a position is www.onetonline.org. Type in your occupation and read the tasks.
Understand the growth of your occupation/industry: Certain occupations are doing better than others depending on the region. For example, the projected growth from 2022-2026, for editors in Massachusetts is an abysmal -4%. But for an assembler it's 26%. Should you change your career from editor to assembler? Not necessarily, but as an editor you might consider technical writing where in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, LMI shows a 13% growth over the same period.
Help you determine if you need training: You're an assembler or intelligence analyst and have noticed in job ads that you lack certain skills and/or certifications. This is an indication that you may have a skills gap and that you could use training to acquire those skills.
Help you with salary negotiations: Do you know your value in the labor market? If you don't, there's a website called salary.com that will give you a general idea of what you should expect for salary. You're a mechanical engineer who hasn't had to look for a job in 20 years. How do you know which salary range is expected? Salary.com gives an estimated range of $70,321-$95,185. The median is $81,689. We're not suggesting that you ask for the median, even if you're satisfied with it.
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