Ever wonder if your skills and experience are in demand or in decline? There are no set rules, but there are some trends that come and go with the economy and other trends that are influenced by a function or technology that changes the marketplace dynamics. Here are some examples:
When the economy or a company is on the downslide or business is just bouncing along the bottom with revenue, then the cost cutters are in demand within the marketplace. This can take the form of cost accountants, performance improvement expertise, system analysts, controllers, project managers, waste reduction, process improvement, reengineering, value analysis and more. The focus is on the reduction of expenses, operating optimization and cost efficiencies.
When the economy or a company is on the upswing and business is beginning to show life after the cost cutting has been completed, then marketing and sales take the lead to generate revenue. Revenue can be accelerated by a new marketing approach, developing new products or services, upselling current customers, generating new customers, sales campaign or a whole host of other sales and marketing activities. In this way, new revenue will increase with a lower cost base, thereby expanding profit. Eventually the cost base must raise, but the spread between cost and revenue will advance and a healthy profit margin will fund future growth.
When the marketplace sees a new technology or a way to use a function in a different way, the same market dynamic makes that new application “hot”. Such is the case with “Big Data”. Organizations with access to mountains of information, either their own or purchased from others, there’s a need to sift through the data to find usable information from which to drive new business.
Big Data goes by different names and uses. Here are a few words to look for:
Data mining: Research large amounts of data for usable information
Forecasting: Estimate a future outcome, event or trend based on available information
Simulation: The imitation of an operation of a real-world process or system over time
Modeling: Creating new prototypes of a product or service based on new knowledge
Algorithm development: Specific method to create a mathematical process in solving problems
Deep machine learning: Algorithms to model high-level abstractions in data with complex layers
Data or Cloud Analysis: Integrating data sources that exist outside of the organization
Predictive or Advanced Analytics: The prediction of future probabilities and trends
Information Retrieval: Obtaining information resources relevant to an information need from a collection of information resources
Mapping: An association of a given set of information with one or more elements of a second set
If you have any experience, knowledge, certifications or even just courses in any of these areas, you’re a “hot” prospect. Hiring organizations are looking for various levels of experience in each of these areas. Make sure your resume focuses on these niche functions.
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