America's best jobs in the hottest markets

Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, CFRWC
www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com

It's Monday morning and my office telephone begins to ring and my first client is Jason Albright calling from Ft. Lewis Army Base in Washington State. Jason is an E-7 IT Specialist with experience in programming and project management. Jason states, "I am retiring from the military after serving for 20-years and I need to find a job in the civilian sector fast." He proceeds to tell me that, "rumor has it that it is very difficult for those of us with IT backgrounds to find work in the civilian sector because the market is flooded with unemployed IT folks." Jason states, "I'll work or relocate anywhere." Ms. Adams, can you write a powerful resume for me to help employers understand what it is I do in the military?" I pause to gather my thoughts and begin to address Jason's remarks and question.

Jason is only one of thousands of calls www.militaryresumewriters.com receives each month. I explained to Jason that just this morning I read on Yahoo the about the hottest job markets and best jobs listed below. I proceed to tell Jason that, yes, in some American cities the IT market is flooded, but if job seekers are open to the idea of relocation, there are cities (listed below) currently experiencing high levels of job growth for IT and Software Project Managers, Construction Project Managers, Regional Sales Reps, Office Managers, Financial Analysts and the list goes on.

Of course, we can help Jason (as well as any other job seeker) help himself by encouraging him to research his job market and prepare himself to compete. If job seekers are willing to relocate, they may increase their chances ten-fold in securing jobs in their specific career fields. Another critically important element of competing for civilian jobs is the development of military resumes that reflect the "added value" of hiring military veterans to the civilian workplace. It's unrealistic to assume that civilian hiring managers are able to interpret military acronyms and jargon on a military resume. A sure way to beat the competition is to eliminate military jargon, spell out or eliminate acronyms and present a hard-hitting military transition resume.

The following list was published by Paul Kaihla, Business 2.0 Magazine senior writer on May 9, 2007.

Hottest Markets

1. ORLANDO, FL
   • 2-year job-growth forecast: 6.8%
   • Metropolitan-area population: 2.0 million
   • Who's hiring now: Electronic Arts, Lockeed Martin, Starwood Vacation Ownership
   • Hottest jobs: Senior mechanical engineer ($80,400), physician's assistant ($76,000), IT project manager ($75,200), construction project manager ($71,200), electrical engineer ($64,900)

   • Orlando once leaned heavily on Disney World and its service-sector spinoffs to prop up its economy, but these days it's pulling in life sciences, digital media, and health-care companies with affordable (or subsidized) land and tax breaks. Electronic Arts; Hollywood animation firm House of Moves; and Burnham Institute, a top-rated cancer research center, are all expanding and adding jobs here. Despite the housing slump, such diversification will help Orlando crank out 72,600 new jobs this year and next.

     Most of the hiring will still come from the region's tourism backbone. But Orlando will also post higher growth in professional-services jobs--everything from office managers to advertising account executives--than any other city on our list. The high-wage, white-collar category is projected to balloon by about 15 percent. The reason: Orlando's population is expected to expand by 150,000 by decade's end.

2. LAS VEGAS, NV
   • 2-year job-growth forecast: 6.5%
   • Metropolitan-area population: 1.8 million
   • Who's hiring now: Boyd Gaming, InfoGenesis, MGM Mirage, Station Casinos, Zappos, tech firms "nearshoring" or relocating to Vegas
   • Hottest jobs: Construction project manager ($78,800), IT project manager ($74,600), construction superintendent ($71,900), civil engineer ($70,000), executive chef ($65,500)

   • Analysts say Las Vegas could end up topping Orlando in job growth, because it's uniquely insulated from downturns in ways that most major cities would envy. True, the region took a hit when the housing boom went bust last year--a sixth of its workforce is involved in construction and real estate.

     But almost in sync, another engine of the local economy went into overdrive: As the value of the U.S. dollar fell last winter, foreign tourists surged in, sparking restaurant openings and hotel expansions. MGM Mirage alone plans to hire 28,000 new employees by the end of the decade. Milken Institute economist Ross DeVol notes that Vegas continues to attract back-office operations from California's high-tech regions. The cost of a knowledge worker, including salary, training, and benefits, is about 20 percent lower here than it is in Los Angeles or San Francisco.

3. RALEIGH, NC
   • 2-year job-growth forecast: 5.8%
   • Metropolitan-area population: 1.5 million
   • Who's hiring now: Cisco, Credit Suisse Group, Fidelity Investments, Network Appliance
   • Hottest jobs: Senior software developer ($91,000), software project manager ($87,300), senior network engineer ($84,100), IT project manager ($83,300), pharmaceuticals project manager ($82,300), biotech research scientist ($75,300)

   • Raleigh-Durham remains America's top region for tech workers--and is expected to keep expanding faster than other tech hubs like Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. Last year the metro matched the job-creation record it set in 2000 by adding 38,000 new positions. "This year is going to come in almost as high," predicts Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner. Like Washington, Raleigh-Durham has a large public-sector base that helps protect it from economic slumps. But its economy is more diverse than Washington's, with expansion in pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotech, and financial services. Raleigh's cost advantages keep drawing more top employers. This fall Fidelity Investments will open a $100 million tech center that will add 2,000 jobs, and Silicon Valley-based Network Appliance is expanding its operations division here

4. CHARLOTTE, NC
   • 2-year job-growth forecast: 5.7%
   • Metropolitan-area population: 1.6 million
   • Who's hiring now: Bank of America, Wachovia, life-science startups at the North Carolina Research Campus
   • Hottest jobs: IT project manager ($83,000), senior software developer ($82,900), regional sales manager ($80,500), senior financial analyst ($72,900), construction project manager ($71,200)

   • The $2.1 trillion in assets that local financial services giants Bank of America and Wachovia pulled in last year made Charlotte a close second to New York City as America's financial capital. Thanks in part to its big banks, the region's total business investment--a powerful driver of jobs--nearly tripled in '06, hitting $4.1 billion and adding 12,000 jobs to Charlotte and 20,000 to the region overall.

About the Author
Barbara Adams, President & CEO of CareerPro Global, the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com has been a member of the careers community for the past 17 years. Ms. Adams holds three prestigious industry certifications. CareerProPlus is one the fastest growing Military, Federal and Civilian Resume Writing and Careers Coaching companies in the industry. Barbara's team of Certified Professional Military and Federal Writers assist thousands of veterans applying for and gaining employment each year. Questions may be emailed to badams@careerprocenter.net.

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