Now's the time!

If you've been thinking about looking for a new job, it's time to quit thinking and start taking action. Ignore what you've been hearing about lackluster job growth and an unstable economic climate caused by massive deficits, the war, and other gloomy factors. Those are real concerns, but they have little to do with the job boom that's happening right now.

What is driving this boom?

It's sort of a side-affect or backlash caused by what was going on a few years ago. You remember... in the early part of this decade, the dot-com bubble burst and hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared as companies all over America downsized, reorganized, outsourced or went bankrupt. Employees lucky enough to hold onto their jobs have been subjected to longer hours, lower salaries, fewer advancement opportunities--with little choice but to put up with whatever bosses dished out because the job market was so weak! Employers held all the cards.

But this type of environment resulted in the worst employee productivity (the amount of work done by each worker) in almost a decade. It makes sense, right? Unhappy workers are not productive workers. And unhappy workers eventually say "Enough is enough!"

The result? An unprecedented "quit rate." According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people who have quit their jobs has dramatically increased since 2003. There are now nearly 3 million people leaving their jobs each month. At the same time, job openings have increased by about half-a-million positions.

And on top of that, baby boomers are retiring like crazy!

As people retire or quit, employers struggle to hold onto their dwindling workforce. According to Business 2.0 magazine, "The result is a volatile labor market that teems with opportunity for employees...but move fast: the current situation is the job market equivalent of an unusual astronomical event. The planets have rarely if ever been aligned quite like this, and the period of optimal conditions is likely to be fleeting."

In other words, the time to strike is now.

Cities like Las Vegas, Orlando, Austin, and Phoenix are experiencing record-breaking job opportunities. But you don't have to live in those locations to take advantage of this job boom. If you're unhappy where you are, this could be the best time to move on.

But do it wisely. Polish up your resume and improve your interviewing skills. Do not let your current employer know you're looking for another job. And do not quit until you have a firm offer somewhere else.