Career Coaches Say Coloradans Should Get Prepared Now For Increasingly Competitive Job Market

DENVER (CBS4) - Looking for a job in the current market is unlike anything job seekers have experienced before.

"It was competitive before the crisis and it's going to be even more so now," said Nicki Massman, who runs her own career coaching and networking business called Professional Impressions.

"Nowadays there's 200 to 300 applicants for every job, so you really have to try to stand out," said Massman.

She recommends taking the time now to prepare your resume and get your LinkedIn profile up to date.

"Hiring managers and recruiters, 90% of them are using LinkedIn as their only tool to find applicants," she said.

"In essence, your LinkedIn profile is sliding your resume across your desk to a potential hiring manager," said Ryan Haith, President of Talent Navigation Experts, a staffing and recruiting company.

Haith says now is a good time to line up referrals and references and to expand your network.

"Right now there's a ton of people on social media, take advantage of it and reach out to people, connect with old coworkers," said Haith.

He says he gets the sense from his clients that there is reason for hope and optimism.

"Everything is kind of damming up right now and I anticipate here in the next 30 days that the dam is going to break and there's going to be a lot of hiring needs out there," he said.