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Take control of your online job hunt
Abridged: Associated Press
CHICAGO, IL -- Applying for jobs online may make you feel like you're sending your resume into an abyss even though it's not true. John Thieman, a career development specialist at Stratford University in Falls Church, Va., offers these tips for using the Internet to your advantage during your job hunt:
Build a professional website or enhance your current online resume profile. The site can double as a resume and portfolio to demonstrate your skills and experience. Use job search engines and job search tools to save time. Network online. Use social networking sites to let others know what your skills are and what type of job you're seeking. Try different resume formats. Depending on your field, an online video resume may give you an edge. It's also a great opportunity to showcase communication skills.
Google yourself. It's important to know what others will find if they are researching your background. If you find unsavory pictures or information, contact the sites and ask them to remove them. Be assertive. Use alert systems on job boards and be sure to check a company's website for employment ads.
Use online tools to search and apply to jobs!
Staff Writer, The Career News
LOS ANGELES, CA -- With a new service called MyJobHunter, you can search all top career sites at once AND apply to all matching jobs with 1-click. Just enter your search criteria, review the matching jobs and select the ones you want. Then, click a single button and you'll instantly apply to all selected jobs with your resume and cover letter (without having to log into each job site separately).
Click another button and you can automate the whole process! MyJobHunter can remember what you searched for, search for it again each day, and AUTOMATICALLY APPLY FOR YOU to new jobs matching your criteria. Review jobs in advance or put searching & applying on auto-pilot. The choice is yours.
You'll also get an application history report that makes follow-up a breeze! It shows the jobs you were applied to, full job descriptions, employer contact info, and application dates. You can even add personal notes to each job! This service is proven to reduce hours of job searching and resume submitting to just minutes. Simply upload your resume, enter your job search criteria and let MyJobHunter take it from there. Organize your job search efforts today and visit MyJobHunter.com.
Revolving door for job seekers
Abridged: Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Paul Ries can't keep a job. His last one ended in early November when his employer, a Minneapolis medical-device company, closed a factory. It was at least the sixth job since 2004 for Ries, including temp work at a local refinery -- twice -- and at another medical-device company. A "permanent" position at a chemical-research company ended after six months when the firm folded.
The job losses are hitting young and old, those with college degrees and experience and those just starting out, and they show no sign of abating as the economy lingers in a recession. It's the revolving door at job agencies. Counselors see people coming back through their doors after they just left. People get placed successfully in a job, then all of a sudden the company runs into problems and they get laid off again. It's devastating for people if it's their second or third layoff; it's really hard luck when that happens.
Typical of economic downturns, it is getting harder for many to even get their foot in the door. The average job search has stretched from six to eight months in the past year. And as in all buyers' markets, the shoppers are increasingly picky. So any job candidates with the usual minuses - short on education or lack of experience, for example - face tough odds. During times like these, it's a good idea to stay up to date in your industry by taking classes to advance your skills and volunteering to gain experience.
Considering a new job or new career path?
Abridged: LATimes.com
LOS ANGELES, CA -- If you are currently employed and considering looking for a new job, you may notice there are many careers available that may be beyond your expertise. If you want to move forward in your career or change it altogether, you may need to re-create yourself to be more marketable. First you will need to consider the career you want. Is it completely different from the one you are currently working in, or is it in the same field?
Take time to research the different careers that interest you. Something that never would have appealed to you when you graduated from high school or college might now be a career that truly holds your interest. Consider available options on training and education. There are many online colleges that offer degrees and certificates. Research the college beforehand and check to see if it's accredited.
Check with your state and local employment offices. They have great resources and counselors available to help you in your quest for a new career. If finances are holding you back, consider applying for financial aid. Grants and school loans are available to most people and can considerably help with the cost of your training. Some of the career fields that are understaffed right now, such as nursing and teaching, are offering a chance to forgive your student loans once you have completed training and have taken a job in that field.
Get your degree online from an accredited university
Staff Writer, The Career News
NEW YORK, NY -- If you think that the only way to earn a degree is to spend gobs of money and traverse across a complicated college campus, taking anywhere from two to eight years to get your Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's or even doctorate degree...think again. With advances in technology, you can now get your degree online, from an accredited university in your spare time and from the comfort of your own home.
Jennifer Day, Chief of the Education and Social Stratification Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau says, "In 1999, average annual earnings ranged from $19,000 for high school dropouts, to $26,000 for high school graduates, and $45,000 for college graduates and $99,000 for the holders of professional degrees. That includes medical doctors, dentists, veterinarians and lawyers.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau the difference in lifetime earnings between a high school diploma and bachelor's degree is a million dollars. Add on a master's degree and you can expect to earn an additional half a million dollars in earnings. Those with professional degrees earn much more - about 4.4 million dollars during their working life. To learn more about available schools & programs, and instantly request complimentary course catalogs of the ones you like, go to this website.
Social networking sites are powerful job hunting tools
Abridged: Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- As the country's recession continues and millions of Americans swell unemployment rolls, workers are turning to professional networking sites more than ever to search for jobs. As well, corporate recruiters increasingly are scouring these professional networking sites, looking for the best candidates through references and recommendations.
It's common knowledge today that human resources collect resumes in databases that require them to read through piles of resumes. They are more turning to job sites that allow them to find people through someone who knows someone. According to a survey by Robert Half International, 62% of executives say networking sites will prove useful in recruiting job candidates over the next three years.
It still is quite challenging to find qualified workers. But social networking sites are a good way to tap into additional contacts. A person found through networking tends to be a stronger candidate than a blind job seeker. The real value in many social networking sites is that they allow people to "link" with other users whose own links may prove useful to the job seeker. For example, a software designer seeking a job at Microsoft can link with a friend who's linked to his college roommate whose fiance happens to be the company's vice president of product development.
Career sites & job boards your resume should be on
Staff Writer, The Career News
LOS ANGELES, CA -- While the job market is very competitive right now, there are still millions of jobs being offered by hiring managers who search all of the top career sites and niche job boards. Sure it may take some time, but posting your resume on these websites will give you better exposure than your competition!
If you want the benefit of maximum exposure, but don't want to spend 60 hours researching and filling out website forms, consider letting a service like Resume Rabbit do the work for you. With this service, you fill out one easy form and in about 15 minutes you'll be posted on up to 80 career websites like Monster, Job.com, CareerBuilder, Net-Temps, Dice and more. A comprehensive list of all the sites they post to is on their home page.
If confidentiality is a concern, use Resume Rabbit's new confidentiality feature. Your resume can be seen, however, no one will see your name, street address, phone number or even your current company name. Whether you do it by hand or use a service like Resume Rabbit, creating accounts on all the best career websites will give you access to millions of jobs and exposure to 1.5 million employers and recruiters daily. Try Resume Rabbit now.
Use the magic of the web to enhance your job search
Abridged: Greencollar.wordpress.com
NEW YORK, NY -- Obviously the web has completely changed the way job searches are done. Gone are the days of circling ads in the local paper. But so much information on the web comes with a downside: it's really hard to manage it all. You have to check the job boards, specific company websites, blogs, news, etc. every day. Plus, what if you're interested in a company and eventually want a job there, but they aren't hiring? Are you going to check their site every day for years?
Fortunately, there's an amazing solution that I don't think enough job seekers are taking advantage of. It's called Really Simple Syndication, or RSS. In short, RSS is a feed that pushes content (new blog posts, changes to websites) out onto the web. If you have a feed reader, like Google Reader, you can pull lots of feeds together in one place and read them the same as you would your emails.
RSS is used a lot in the blog world so that one doesn't have to visit 15 blogs multiple times per day, it's just all in one place. So why is this useful for job searches? Over the past year, many companies, career sites and job boards have started to include RSS feeds for their job posts. Play around with RSS feeds a bit and I guarantee you'll be impressed at how powerful they can be for your job search. |
