Recruiting Firm CEO Offers Career Advice For Bay Area Job Seekers
Despite a weak U.S. jobs report in August, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, John Williams, believes recent economic data suggests an improving job market for the U.S. economy. Speaking in San Francisco ahead of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Williams said, the central bank probably won't raise interest rates until after mid-2015. He also told reporters that he sees "signs of pretty good, solid increases in jobs in the U.S."
Those comments should be good news for Bay Area jobs seekers as a consensus of leading job experts seem to agree that the positive job trend will continue to improve well into the new year, particularly in the technology and health care sectors.
One exceptionally successful San Francisco entrepreneur, Carolyn Betts, founder and CEO of Betts Recruiting, offers valuable career advice for Bay Area job seekers.
What can you tell us about yourself?
"I'm Carolyn Betts, the founder and CEO of Betts Recruiting. I am a Bay Area native and live in San Francisco. I graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2003. Previous to starting Betts, I had worked in sales and recruiting and saw a need for a more consultative approach to the industry. Since 2009, Betts Recruiting has worked with startups throughout San Francisco, New York City and nationwide to find top talent for some of the world's most innovative companies."
What Bay Area jobs are seeing the greatest growth?
"In 2010, the Bay Area saw a huge boom in technology startups that has continued through today. With the startup boom, companies are in need of both engineering and sales roles. We're seeing the most growth in these positions. Once companies find products they can monetize, they need revenue generators; that's where Betts Recruiting comes in to help find the talent."
What advice can you offer to new job seekers?
"Have a plan. Understand what you're looking for and your career goals. Based on your ambitions, figure out where you need to be to accomplish them. Also, be realistic about your skill set and leverage your natural skills to land a job. Understand that your first few jobs will not be the most glamorous, but you have to start somewhere and work your way up. One of the questions we first ask the talent we work with is what are the top three things they want in their next position. We can then use those three desires to guide the job search and eventually use them to evaluate if various job opportunities are meeting those initial desires and goals."
Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.
