Rest assured that this is not a self-serving article, but may point to the fact that the travel, tourism and hospitality industry is picking up steam.
Or at least it is on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Recruitment firms like ours rely solely on finding our clients the best candidates available for their travel and hospitality technology related positions. We search for people who have experience related to software development, sales and marketing and executive level management.
It is true that there are still a large number of companies holding back on hiring mid-level executive positions so if one is coming your way…ride it!
However, there appears to be a substantial lack of “on the ground” development talent in the hospitality and travel space right now.
I was watching yet another of the morning shows early-last week that was touting doom and gloom related to the jobs market. What the???
My firm currently has nine open PHP/.NET development positions that we are trying to fill and we can’t seem to find anyone who is interested.
Now, granted some people don’t want to move for new jobs and some of these new openings are not paying what they would have pre-apocalyptic economic downturn, but these are jobs available today.
This says to me that the front end engine of the travel industry is well on its way as it rebounds back from recession. This also tells me that companies are concerned about their B2C website user experience and how it affects their clients buying decisions.
Mobile apps are going crazy and so they require developers to help them ensure that the user experience there is flawless as well. This is all good as it shows us that companies are hiring in the industry.
One note of caution however - the game has changed and will never be played the same way again.
If you are on the job market and some open positions look interesting, be sure that you wrap your mind around moving and making less money.
Companies are still in the drivers seat and will remain so for the next three to five years.
If you stand firm on the fact that you are not willing to relocate and that you want the exact money you made in 2007, then you will be looking for quite some time.
Jobs are out there for the taking… go get them.