Where the jobs are: Industries with hiring potential
Wednesday, December 10. 2008
The economy continues to recede, leaving massive job losses in its wake. But while layoffs are widespread, they are not across the board. Some industries are thriving -- and hiring. The Labor Department reported that 533,000 jobs were lost in November, which puts the year-to-date layoff total at a whopping 1.9 million. And with the unemployment rate now at 6.7%, job seekers face the worst job market in 15 years. But it's not all doom and gloom: A range of industries are posting gains in employment figures. Here's a look at them: Read more...
Navigating the real world can be overwhelming for a new college graduate. You made it through college but now the real test begins—finding a job! Even if you aren’t driven to achieve CEO status, every young professional is proud to know that they are self-sufficient and moving forward. But how do you get there if you have no experience or perhaps never even had a job before? Never fear. There are things you can do to show potential employers that although you’re new to the game, you take your future very seriously and you are worth a second look. All it takes is a little more homework.
Thank you to Brad Karsh of JobBound for alerting me to the fact that September is International Make Over Your Resume Month (seriously!). In honor of this occasion, here are my top 13 resume tips for college students and young professionals, adapted from my book, Getting from College to Career: 
Professional certification is a process in which a person proves that he or she has the knowledge, experience, and skills to perform a specific job. The proof comes in the form of a certificate earned by passing an exam that is accredited by an organization or association that monitors and upholds prescribed standards for the particular industry involved. The National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) is a leader in setting quality standards for credentialing organizations. 
We often hear from new college grads that they’re not sure what kind of jobs are relevant to their college major. The beauty of many entry-level jobs is that your college major doesn’t matter much at all. There are a ton of jobs out there that will let you start fresh; but what if you feel committed to trying to put your education to good use? A few months ago we added tags to all of our posts to make it easier for you to navigate the hundreds of entry-level employers whom we’ve featured. In this post we’re going to link those tags to specific college majors. 
If you pay any attention to the news, you might think that anyone who is looking for a job should immediately cancel his or her Facebook membership and never sign up again. Headlines read: Bank Intern Busted by Facebook, Employers Look at Facebook Too, and Employers Snoop on Facebook. There’s rarely anything new in the stories, but somehow they continue to pop up in all sorts of media outlets. More and more companies are using Facebook as a recruiting tool (and those who aren’t yet should hire us to help them), but for the most part any press that has included the words “employer” and “Facebook” has been negative. Not anymore. 
Their book really emphasizes on creating results instead of just “being there.” An employee’s ability to produce positive results is what really matters. Every company that I’ve ever worked for threw sludge (snide comments from co-workers). Just last week I heard a comment about me coming in late when in reality I was giving a talk to a local organization, promoting our services. 
If you're like most women, restarting your career after a few years off to raise kids depends on three magic words: flexible work schedule. While a 40-hour-plus workweek remains the norm, many employers—maybe even your old one—have adapted to the demands of working parents. With a little smooth talking and determination on your part, you might find a good job in which you set the hours and maybe even set up an office at home. And if not right off the bat, you might be able to work a conventional schedule for a while, then angle for a more flexible gig after an initiation period. 
Forget working hard for the money. Some factors that influence salary are beyond your control. The truth is that some factors correlated to higher pay are impossible for a person to control. Studies show that taller people make more money, but can people increase their height? Similarly, can a man become a lefty after decades as a right-handed man? Can a woman become a man? What's more, there are factors in how you behave outside the office that are associated with higher pay. For example: If you like rum in your Coke, you'll make more money. (It is, at least, a good argument against prohibition.) 
Dear Christine,
In a recent survey, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas asked executives, “What skill do entry-level job seekers lack the most?” Nearly half of respondents (45%) said that entry-level job seekers need to be better writers. According to an article about the survey in this weekend’s New York Times: 