Ray Rivera

Ray leads the Office of Strategy Management at BOLD, and is particularly interested in helping talent and employers better find one other in a labor market that is rapidly reinventing itself. He has more than a decade of experience in both the theory and practice of human capital management, frequently working at the intersection of the two. His previous roles have included software product manager, software designer, consultant, author, and scholar. He received a Ph.D. from Stanford University, where his research investigated the financial impact of investments in workforce learning and development.

Job Market Growth

April Job Market Trends: Less Talk About What Is Working and More About Who Isn’t

By Ray Rivera | 19th April 2017

Taking a page out of the standard playbook for new executives, President Trump began his tenure promising transformation within the first 100 days of office. While most new executives can hope only to sketch out a transformation plan within their first 100 days, they will nevertheless try for some early and visible wins to inspire READ MORE

February Job Market Trends: Chances Are Your Chances Are Getting Awfully Good

By Ray Rivera | 15th February 2017

If you were a newly elected president just assuming office in 2017, you’d review the final reports of overall economic and job market performance under the outgoing administration’s watch and feel assured that the situation is about as favorable as it could be for you. Indeed, the incoming administration inherits an economy where consumer confidence READ MORE

January Job Market Trends: New Broom, Clean House…Sweeping Changes?

By Ray Rivera | 18th January 2017

By just about any measure, President Trump will inherit a strong economy on Inauguration Day, 2017. Unemployment is at its lowest level since the summer of 2007. Wage growth is increasing for the first time since 2009, accompanied by productivity that has risen to a two-year high of 3.1 percent. The overall economy grew 3.5 READ MORE

November job market trends: Good track conditions, with a few spots of soft turf

By Ray Rivera | 29th November 2016

In the final weeks leading up to the U.S. presidential election, financial markets became a bit skittish as investors reacted to an unexpectedly narrow race in the homestretch, and a lot more uncertainty toward the finish. What was certain during this time, however, was that track conditions for jobseekers remained good, as the latest reports READ MORE

Thanksgiving conversation: Some calm reflection on what President Trump means for me and my job

By Ray Rivera | 15th November 2016

November 8-9, 2016 will likely be one of this generation’s Kennedy moments. Everyone will remember where they were and what they were doing when they got the news of Donald Trump clinching the electoral vote, and how it registered that his ascendancy to president was a done deal. Regardless of whether one approved of it READ MORE

Take Care of Your Belonging: Why People Go Above and Beyond at Work

By Ray Rivera | 11th November 2016

While on holiday this summer in the magnificent city of Hangzhou in Southern China, I encountered a bilingual sign urging patrons to mind their personal possessions. The Chinese was scrupulously correct and mannerly. Yet the English translation contained an unwitting error, and one that transformed a commonplace message into some of the most pertinent wisdom READ MORE

September Job Market Trends: Time is of the Essence for Both Jobseekers and Employers

By Ray Rivera | 19th October 2016

It’s a fortunate time to be at work, and the majority of the official labor market figures bear this out. Those who want to keep their jobs are better able to do so, while those who’ve recently lost jobs are finding new ones more quickly. And those who want to switch have a lot of READ MORE