On this week’s WSB radio show Ilyce discussed the job market and advice for job-seekers with John Challenger from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Then, find out what’s next in the housing market from Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia.com, vas well as Ilyce’s financial New Year’s resolutions for 2015.

Where’s the job market at the end of 2014?

The job market has turned upside down since where it was in the recession and the aftermath, Challenger says. It’s a seller’s market and companies are no longer in the driver’s seat.

“The strongest areas are in the highly-skilled professions such as engineering, computer science, technology, healthcare, accounting and finance,” Challenger explains.

If you’re looking for a job, you need to get in-person in order to separate yourself from the competition. Use your connections to find someone that you want to work for—otherwise your resume is just one of the many thousands.

“The vast majority of available positions in any market go unadvertised, because companies are able to fill them with employee referrals, candidate pools from previous job openings, temporary employment firms,” Challenger says.

If you’re on the market and looking for advice, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. will suspend normal business operations for two days so that its staff of professional job-search coaches can provide free advice to callers.

When: December 29-30 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT.

What: Challenger’s 29th annual call-in for free job advice

Contact: 312-422-5010. Job seekers can get more information about the call-in at firm’s website (http://www.challengergray.com/tags/job-seeker-call)

What to expect from next year’s housing market

Also on this week’s show, Ilyce and Jed Kolko of Trulia.com discussed the expectations for next year’s housing market, especially the outlook for young adults.

“This year, there’s good improvement in the job market for them,” Kolko says, which should also start to impact housing. Many will move out of their parent’s homes but will continue to rent for some time. As a result, multi-unit construction will continue to lead the apartment recovery.

2015 will also be a better year to sell because prices have come back up in some areas and the increase in demand should lead to more homeowners to sell. There should also be more inventory on the market for buyers to choose from.

To hear more about Kolko’s predictions for 2015 and Ilyce’s financial New Year’s resolutions, listen to this week’s show.

Click the audio link below to listen to the full Ilyce Glink Show on WSB Radio, or go to iTunes and download the show to your handheld device.

Download the podcast via iTunes: iTunes – Podcasts – ThinkGlink » Audio by ThinkGlink

Thanks for listening.

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