HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - "I think there are 9 million open opportunities in America right now, and that hasn't happened in a long time," said Francina Harrison with The Career Engineer.
Everywhere you turn in Hampton Roads you see the signs: "Now Hiring."
"It is a job seeker's market. I can't remember the last time i saw this," she said.
Harrison runs The Career Engineer in Virginia Beach, a consulting firm helping career changers, entrepreneurs and job seekers increase their bottom line.
"We used to ask employees, 'Why should you work for me? Give me your best skills. What makes you different now?'" she said. "Now, the employer has to answer that question."
Harrison says employers now need to find creative ways to nab the best candidate since job seekers have the pick of the litter.
"I would say listen to your staff; ask them what they want," she said. "Maybe it's flexibility in work hours, days off, comp time or higher pay."
She says employers should try to offer work-from-home or hybrid time since most people have been used to that lifestyle for more than a year.
"Sixteen months of being in an incubator, a couple things happened - employees got new skills; they did a work reset of what's important," said Harrison.
Harrison says for the job seeker, this is still a time to shine and be on your game and to sell yourself and sell your value.
"This is a time for your 'A game' to be an A+, and you can negotiate can get best deal," she said. "Your interview skills have to rock; [your] resume skills and networking skills all gotta rock."
