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Getting smarter with your job search
Abridged: Examiner
NEW YORK, NY -- Job seekers there is no doubt that you are facing a very challenging time. Whether you have 20 years of experience or only a year, the pressure is on. But realize it is not impossible to find opportunities, despite our current economic standing.
Job seekers, you have to take the extra mile to show employers that you are the right fit. A few years ago, employers could handle the risk of hiring the wrong fit, but today it is very different. The cost to let an employee go and hire another is very costly. Employers want to pick the right fit the first time around. Here are some tips to help you stand out from the competition.- What will you bring to the employer? What makes you better than the rest? This needs to be communicated in your resume, cover letter, interview and even as you network.
- Utilize the free career related workshops offered in your city. Services that can cost hundreds of dollars are available at no cost (or very small fees) from organizations looking to help out job seekers in transition.
- Joining LinkedIn is a requirement. Recruiters, headhunters, hiring managers and others with hiring decision power are recruiting via this site.
- Your documents need to be flawless: Resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, websites, social networking sites, portfolio and any other tool you are using to market yourself.
Get the job first, before your competition!
Staff Writer, The Career News
LOS ANGELES, CA -- To land a job over the competition, you have to work smarter. The hard part is to get your resume into the hands of the hiring manager first! Good jobs aren't on the market very long. To succeed your resume has to be available to the employer the moment they decide to fill a position.
One easy way to be found by employers who are looking to hire someone with your skills, is to post your resume on all the top career websites. As soon as an employer needs someone, this is the first place they look. It's a proven, documented method of successful job searching. While it may take a fair amount of time to find and fill out the forms of all these websites, you will definitely multiply your chances of landing a job.
If you want all the benefits without all the work, you can let a service like Resume Rabbit do it for you. You fill out one simple form and they'll instantly post your resume on over 85 career websites like Monster, Job.com, CareerBuilder, Net-Temps, Dice and more. Then you'll be seen by over 1.5 million employers & recruiters daily. It takes only 5 minutes to complete, and saves you 60 hours of research and data entry. Try Resume Rabbit and get noticed today!
Job market recovery's missing ingredient ...
Abridged: Washington Post
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite signs that the recession gripping the nation's economy may be easing, the unemployment rate is projected to continue rising before topping out. The likelihood of severe unemployment extending into the 2010 midterm elections and beyond poses a significant political hurdle to President Obama. "Our hope would be to actually create some jobs this year," Obama said recently. Obama has defended his economic approach -- which includes the $787 billion economic stimulus plan.
So far, the White House has counseled patience even as the political debate surrounding its economic policies grows more urgent. Officials point out that job growth will not come until robust economic expansion takes hold. Still, the flagging job market is likely to stir calls for further stimulus efforts as polls show voters growing increasingly wary of federal spending in the wake of a costly series of financial- and auto-industry bailouts and amid current efforts to expand health-care coverage to the uninsured, which is estimated to cost at least $1 trillion over the next decade.
Many economists agree that the job market would be in much worse shape had the stimulus package not been enacted. And some say more stimulus measures may be needed. Since the recession took hold, the U.S. economy has lost 5.7 million jobs. In recent months, the velocity of job losses has slowed substantially, which, combined with a rising stock market and increases in consumer spending, has offered hope that a recovery is beginning to take hold.
Job seekers starting over as an entrepreneur
Abridged: The Wall Street Journal
NEW YORK, NY -- With the economy tanking, lots of people are striking out on their own. Some never thought of starting a business until they got laid off. Others kicked around the idea but never found the time or the passion to pursue it. Now, launching a start-up seems like a better bet than taking on an endless job hunt.
Call them entrepreneurs by necessity. And while some of them have waited years preparing for just this moment, others may not
"I think we're going to see a lot of businesses started by people who otherwise would not have started businesses" in better times, says Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. "Necessity-driven entrepreneurship can be a powerful motivator."
This new crowd faces some obstacles. Banks and investors are handing out a lot less money these days, especially to first-timers. What's more, necessity entrepreneurs have often done less of the spade work than other entrepreneurs -- in part because they weren't thinking that a layoff was imminent. So, how are these new entrepreneurs faring? We found that they often had to struggle to find their footing and adjust to the demands of entrepreneurship. But most also found an unexpected passion and success in flying solo.
Entrepreneurial career path becomes more accepted
Staff Writer, The Career News
LAS VEGAS, NV -- As the entrepreneurial career path becomes more accepted, its appeal is rapidly growing. These days being an entrepreneur means creating your own opportunities, and there's no telling where a good idea can lead you! By now you probably have dreamed of owning your own business, but don't know where to start. Franchises are becoming more and more popular as a way for people to buy and own their own business. Here are 4 main advantages to owning a franchise.
First, you're able to operate your own business with the security of working with a large company. Second, the start-up, operations and general business plans are laid out for you with training and support from the franchisor. Third, you reduce your risk due to the success of the franchisor's reputation & experience. Fourth, it may be easier to borrow money to start a franchise than an independent business. If you've been thinking about starting your own business, we recommend a free consultation with FranChoice, the premier "matchmaker" of the franchising industry.
During your consultation the consultants from FranChoice will help you identify franchise businesses that meet your criteria based on your goals, skills and preferences. Then they'll guide you through the franchise investigation process and answer all your questions. Because FranChoice is paid for by the various companies offering franchises to help them find suitable matches, it's free to you and there's no commitment or pressure to buy. To instantly sign up for your free consultation, just go to FranChoice.
Tips for using search engines in your job search
Abridged: CNN
LOS ANGELES, CA -- When you're looking online for something that interests you -- say, a new apartment -- you suddenly become a master of the Internet query. You're trying different keywords, searching by zip code one moment and neighborhood nickname the next. If there's an available property in a two mile radius, you'll find it. You know how to work a search engine without a second thought.
Take that mentality to your job search. One of the simplest ways to broaden or narrow your search is to use quotation marks. Searching for a phrase without quotation marks (i.e., dental assistant) will find you jobs with either word in the description. However, enclosing the entire phrase (i.e., "dental assistant") in quotes will only return jobs with those words together in that exact order.
If you find your searches are returning too many hits or too few, play with quotes. You can also used the Advanced Search options to tailor your searches or use other shortcuts, such as minus signs to exclude words from results.
New search engine tool makes finding a job easier.
Staff Writer, The Career News
LOS ANGELES, CA -- With a new service called MyJobHunter, you can search all top career sites at once & apply to all matching jobs with one 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. For more information visit MyJobHunter.
Keys to reinventing your career in a recession
Abridged: Denver Jobs Examiner
DENVER, CO -- I began the process of figuring out how to turn my 'hobby' into a full-time career. I imagined running my own business and helping others. But turning my 'hobby' into a full time business? It was completely intimidating! I had no experience in entrepreneurship! How do I write a business plan? What about licenses, IRS rules, business accounting, lines of credit, investors, how would I insure myself?
There were many times when my dream just seemed like - a dream! So I talked to a lot of people who encouraged me but I also spoke with others who warned me about of the risks of starting a business in a recession. The thing that kept me pushing forward was imagining the life that I REALLY WANTED! There were several keys that helped me overcome the common fears and anxieties of reinvention. Whether you want to start a business, transfer your skills into a new line of work, or learn a new set of skills to follow a new career path, here are some strategies I found helpful:
1.) Imagine and make a commitment to living the life you want to live. 2.) Make a plan. 3.) Research. 4.) Learn from others. 5.) Educate yourself. We all have the potential to be life-long students. If you believe additional education is necessary in order to pursue your dream, then go back to school! Scholarships and financial aid are available to students of ALL ages. There are also a variety of non-traditional ways to further your education.
Career education can be the key to your success!
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 Find-The-Right-School. |
