Nursing and sales execs. careers in demand

Ryan Borchers News Editor	September 05, 2008

The economy may be down, but according to one Web site, there are some jobs that are still going strong, even in a recession.

Jobfox.com, a Web site designed to match potential employees with high-paying, professional jobs was named 2008’s most promising start-up by American Venture Magazine. In July, it released a list of the 20 most recession-proof professions based on which jobs remained most in demand from November 2007 to July 2008. Sales representative/business development is the No.1 most recession-proof job. Other highlights include nursing, project management, technology executive and sales executive.

Tim Bastian, a professor of economics in the Creighton College of Business Administration, thinks the list is sound.

“It’s a fair list,” he said. “I think some of the descriptions are a little bit wide, but those are jobs that are always going to be there.”

The reason for this, he said, was because most of the jobs involve similar tasks, such as implementing technology, improving productivity or selling a product.

Creighton Students Union President and Business senior Micah White said she agrees with the job choices on the list. White is an accounting and finance major who hopes to go into public accounting. “I think it’s becoming increasingly important to have a well-rounded skill set,” she said. The jobs on the list, she said, place a high value on a variety of skills, including critical thinking and teamwork.

Business junior Greg Gilg, said the list is mostly correct, but he argued that it has too much faith in sales positions.

“Most of the pressure in sales is because most of the compensation is commission-based, and with tight pockets in tough economies, it can be extremely difficult to find that one big sale to make or break a salesperson’s year,” he said.

White said Creighton does a good job of teaching the desired and necessary skills to succeed in the real world.

“I would argue that Creighton is probably one of the best institutions to prepare you for leadership in your field.”

Bastian said that Creighton does a good job of preparing students through internships that allow students to apply the skills they learn in college to real-life situations.

“The ones who are going to succeed the most at these types of jobs are the ones who go out and do work outside of college,” he said.

However, Bastian also said the list is not the final word on what is recession-proof.

“I gotta tell you, if you’re coming out of college, and you’re thinking that ‘I’ve gotta get a recession-proof job’ and ‘I want to go work for a company that has really great benefits,’… I’m going to probably find you really boring,” he said. “The way to really be recession-proof is to be a person who adds a lot of value.”

There are a few tricks to adding value to a company, Bastian said, such as making yourself look good while making your boss look good, too. Also, try to put yourself in your boss’ shoes. Bastian said you should ask yourself, “If I own this business, what would I want me to do today?” And, like White said, a diverse skill set also helps.

“Transferability of skills is what’s going to keep you recession-proof,” he said.

To see the whole list, go to http://www.jobfox.com/Site/Employer/pdf/TopJobsJuly08.pdf.