If you’re looking for a new job before the holidays, you still have time. There is a common belief that the holiday season is not favorable for job hunting, however, there are solid reasons why it can be a good time to look for a new opportunity.
There is less competition this time of year, as many job seekers pause their searches before and during the holidays. This can mean fewer people opting for the same role, which can increase your chances of standing out among employers who are still hiring.
Additionally, companies often have recruiting budgets that must be spent before the end of the year, which can lead to an increase in job openings as employers look to fill positions before the new year begins .
Because of this, time-to-hire can also be faster: this urgency can slow the normal time-to-hire technology from a few months to a few weeks.
5 jobs to discover this week
- Software Engineer II (AWS, Python), The Travelers Companies, Inc., Hartford ($117,200 – $193,400)
- Geospatial Software Engineer, Reinventing Geospatial, Inc. (RGi), Denver ($100,000 – $145,000)
- Full Stack Software Engineer, SciTec, Huntsville ($93,000 – $120,000)
- Senior Full Stack Software Developer (Remote), ICF, Reston ($84,533 – $143,706)
- Software developer: Java, Uline, Pleasant Prairie
Jobs in demand
So which papers are worth looking at right now?
According to new data from LinkedIn Most in-demand jobs (Q3 2024), report, software engineer, full-stack engineer, and application developer are among the top 10 roles employers really want to hire. So much so, these are the roles that see the most paid jobs on the platform.
These jobs and more are in demand because critical skills gaps are emerging and widening in the US. Skills in AI, machine learning, blockchain and cybersecurity are in short supply, with fewer qualified candidates.
McKinsey estimates that less than 50% of quantum computing roles will be filled unless significant interventions occur. And those of Skillsoft 2023 IT Skills and Salaries Report found that 66% of IT decision makers are dealing with skills gaps in their teams.
Globally, dependence on technology has increased, especially as a result of the pandemic. Most people now use various technology solutions for daily activities such as communication, shopping, banking, healthcare and research.
This means that these days, it’s not just big tech companies looking for tech talent. So are startups, and increasingly, software engineering isn’t limited to traditional tech companies.
Now, it spans multiple industries, including healthcare, finance, retail, and more than what would have been considered “traditional” businesses, such as supermarket chains and newspapers. These days, these companies also have extensive technology hiring requirements.
Other factors, such as the continuous software development life cycle, also add to the bottleneck of available developers, because as programming languages evolve and new technologies emerge, companies require engineers to adapt the existing software or create new applications from scratch.
Software skills
This is good news for talented and skilled software engineers, full stack engineers and application developers. However, within software development, there are a large number of subsets of skills and languages that companies want to hire for, and many of them are in particular demand.
Statistical report that as of this year, JavaScript and HTML/CSS are the most used programming languages for 62% and 53% of developers. Python, SQL and TypeScript complete the five most widely used programming languages worldwide.
When it comes to skills, SkillSoft identifies AL and ML, infrastructure as code, secure coding practices, data structures and algorithms, and knowledge of databases and SQL as critical.
But interdisciplinary skills are also seen, with communication and collaboration, agile practices, problem solving and critical thinking flagged as key skills software professionals should develop to improve their employability.
Overall, the outlook remains bright for developers and engineers. The USA office of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts a 26% increase in employment for software developers over the next decade; much faster than the average growth rate of all occupations.
This high demand translates into competitive wages. The BLS reported that the median pay for software developers in 2023 was $130,160 per year. Additionally, high demand means that software engineers can often command more money, flexible work options, including remote positions, and better health care and associated benefits.
Get hired fast
If you want to speed up your job search, try Robin. it is VentureBeat’s new conversational AI work search agentand can help you locate your next software position quickly.
Robin appears at the bottom right of the screen and lets you search for jobs that best match your resume, or you can tell us a little about yourself, your skills, and where you’d like to work.
Discover Robin today or browse the VentureBeat job board to find your next exciting role.
