As global employment market optimism reaches its highest level for seven years, job seekers can at least benefit from a rising number of opportunities and improved sentiment. The nature of these opportunities and the constantly changing nature of the job market pose alternative challenges, however, which can only be overcome by a proactive mind-set and willingness to adapt.

Technology and innovation have also had a huge impact on the employment market in the last decade, and established trends which have impacted heavily on both employers and employees. Your ability to recognize and react to these trends is crucial, especially in a competitive market where there are a number of applicants for job roles.

3 Impactful Employment Trends and how Workers can benefit from them

With this in mind, let’s address three topical employment trends and establish the practical steps that workers can take to benefit from them. Consider the following:                        

1. The Importance of Specialization
   

Across multiple sectors, there is a growing demand for skilled workers who have the capacity to specialize in a specific discipline. No industry embodies this better than search marketing, as Google’s drive to promote informative and engaging content has altered the perception of existing SEO techniques and created a need for highly-talented, conceptual writers. This trend has emerged as evolved technology has become accessible to small and independent businesses, as this has levelled the playing field for competing companies and forced employers to focus on refining their recruitment and talent management strategies. With this in mind, it is crucial that you look to hone your skills in your chosen market and profession, so that you can deliver clean and measurable value to employers.

2. Learning how to Market yourself and your Skills
   

Flexible working directives and methods have also emerged in recent times, with technology giant Intuit reporting that an estimated 40% of the American workforce will be freelancers by 2020. While this is a significant shift in employment market dynamics and the viability of freelancing varies across alternative sectors, there is no doubt that this provides a huge opportunity to employees with a clearly defined, in-demand and marketable skill. Whether you want to work independently or add an additional income stream, you can look to market yourself as a freelancer and develop your career accordingly. If you are to do this successfully, it is imperative that you network aggressively across multiple social media platforms before you take the plunge, as this will provide a constantly growing resource from which you can win contracts and temporary job roles.

3. The Evolution of Employee Benefits Packages
   

As employers have faced the prospect of losing top talent to the lure of freelancing, they have been forced to reconsider their recruitment and remuneration policies. One of the reasons behind the popularization of independent contracting is that is affords workers freedom, while also fulfilling their need for career development and advancement. Today’s employees have a clearer idea of their value in the job market and whether or not they are achieving their potential, and as a result of company bosses have realized that high salaries by themselves are longer enough to retain or attract talent. They have subsequently developed a more diverse and rewarding range of employee benefits, and to capitalize on this and earn the contract that you desire it is crucial that you establish a clear idea of your motivation for working and learn how to negotiate effectively.