• Being proactive and in control leads to a higher level of confidence.

• Control the job search process by targeting your job search efforts making your job search easier and more manageable.

• Save you money and time - minimising overall job search time and reducing time spent unemployed.

• You can find career or job opportunities in areas where there is less competition, increasing chances of being hired.

• Increasing knowledge of your industry leads to better interview performance.

• See what employer's want so you can address their needs more effectively to possibly gain an interview.  See Job Applications

By the time you have completed your employment market research, your approach, no matter what process you use to find career and job opportunities, will be far more effective.

Don't get bogged down in research.

• Don't overdo the research at the expense of applying the knowledge.

• Know when to stop and make sure your reading is relevant.

• Decide how much time are you going to invest in your job search? 

• Set goals with timeframes.

• Write them down.

Get organised

Keep comprehensive records.

For more comprehensive information about developing a research plan  jump to  Develop an Action Plan

Conducting research  is not for everyone. There are many people who will not want to do research because it is not the way their brain works. They can work better without structure. if you are one of these people don't worry. Do not stress yourself out by this method, just take what you need or want.

Just a word of warning.

Before you start looking for career or employment opportunities, you might want to do a skills analysis. Prepare a précis of your unique skills, interests and values or take a test to re-affirm your career goals. Take the FREE online "Personal Career Analysis"

Before you start - Are you job ready?

See this article Are you job ready - What are your skills worth in the marketplace? Having a focus will help you conduct a more effective and efficient targeted job search. 

How to conduct employment market research

Use the internet to conduct research

Research Sources

All resources provide information on career or employment opportunities. The information has been gathered for the Australian job market.  However, other counties will have similar resources. If you are moving interstate, or making career decisions you must look at The Hudson Report.

The Hudson Report  (produced quarterly).
This comprehensive report provides labour / labor market statistics, employer recruitment expectations, employment trends and predictions of future labour / labor needs. It is broken up into each state.

Utilise all government resources

Government Departments listed in this section have counterparts in all states, territories and countries such as The Department of Labor/Labour and Industry.  All other information is generic and unique to this site.The first stop is:-

The Job Guide

The next  source of career and employment related information is the Job Guide published by the Australian Federal Government (Australia). You can use the publication to see how many industries there are that use people with your skills/job classification.  For example, the Job Guide states that Call Centre Operators “work in a diverse range of industries such as banking, insurance, tourism, government agencies, utilities and telecommunication industries”. 

The Job Guide identifies the skills and education level needed for the job as well as career and employment opportunities.  It also provides you with some Industry Associations where you can do further research (all have web sites) and also shows related jobs.  For example, a related job for a Call Centre Operator is a Telemarketer.  Further, it will advise you if there are any certified training courses available. 

You can also find job descriptions and training requirements for every job classification. If your job or preferred career is not listed in the Job Guide you will need to do further research. The following information is just a guide.  It doesn’t mention trade journals which are an excellent source of information.  Most people will know of these resources if they belong to an occupation that produces industry journals. The Job Guide can be found online HERE

Department of Treasury and Finance

Provide monthly labour / labor force statistics under latest publications in the menu on the right hand side of the home page. They also provide wages/ salary information. These publications are useful for potential immigrants or anyone thinking of moving to WA. Also they provide information on Graduate career opportunities as most government websites do.

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (Federal) Australia.

The most valuable employment market research for Australia, is the PDF file Australian Jobs (Updated yearly). On this revamped site there are several excellent resources. "Labour Market Analysis". is updated quarterly. You will find information on the labour market in your area and other interesting publications. These are now under one site Here

Here you will get information on every topic of interest to the jobseeker. This includes occupations, industry and most importantly "where the jobs will be" in the future.  It is particularly good for job seekers looking for a new career or employment opportunities, career direction or for students planning their career, especially in regional areas.

All Australian Government Websites
Links to Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local Government websites.

The Department of Education and Training in Western Australia

This site another excellent resource for any other career or job information in Western Australia.  They also have a Job Guide, although it is related about how to find jobs and provides job search information.

Each state/territory/country will have their own resources.  I know people rarely access this valuable data. I have used it training for many years with a great deal of success. There are many categories to look at. See Jobs and Careers

See other State Education and Training Departments

Industry Groups

Employers / Industry Associations

Employer Association may be able to assist you with career opportunities and targeting information if you ask in the right manner. You need to ask if they can provide you with information about your industry at this present time. They may know who is recruiting and who isn’t, which industries are downsizing and others that are growing, which is valuable employment information.  Some companies do not recruit for 10 years because their workplace is so stable – so why not eliminate them if you can.  Employer Associations can be found under some of the links under unions.

Employer / Recruiter Websites

It is imperative you find out as much about your industry as possible. It is the norm these days for large sized businesses to have a recruitment section or information regarding career opportunities within their organisation on their website.  Do a "Google search".  You can even find job descriptions which are very useful to see if your skills match their requirements. .A large majority of employers have graduate recruitment information. They will usually give you information about company values and what qualities they are looking for in their employees, so you can tailor you cold calling letter to their organisational culture.

Use the Google search box to look for job opportunities or careers. If looking for an engineering graduate programme put in  Engineer+ graduate+ recruitment; for recruitment in HRM try recruitment+ human resource management +New South Wales;  graduate recruitment+finance + Western Australia; or just  job vacancies + Banking+ entry level + your state.  Experiment with different searches.  

USE THESE KEYWORDS USE A PLUS SIGN TO PUT YOUR OWN STATE, OR COUNTRY. MANY RECRUITMENT FIRMS ARE NATIONAL. THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES.  SEMI COLUM IS JUST ON THIS PAGE TO SEPARATE GROUPS. DO NOT PUT IN SEARCH BOX. 

     Use Key words only - upper or lower case and separate with and Add sign +

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