Many With New College Degree Find the Job Market Humbling

The individual stories are familiar. The chemistry major tending bar. The classics major answering phones. The Italian studies major sweeping aisles at Wal-Mart. Now evidence is emerging that the damage wrought by the sour economy is more widespread than just a few careers led astray or postponed. Even for college graduates — the people who were most protected from the slings and arrows of recession — the outlook is rather bleak. Employment rates for new college graduates have fallen sharply in the last two years, as have starting salaries for those who can find work. What’s more, only half of the jobs landed by these new graduates even require a college degree, reviving debates about whether higher education is “worth it” after all.

Career Coach: Stomping out ANTs (otherwise known as Automatic Negative Thoughts)

With unemployment rates still inflated and millions of Americans looking for work, the long search process can be challenging and stressful, especially as this year’s new graduates are set to enter the workforce. The search process can quickly take its toll on job seekers’ self-confidence and well-being. I’ve sensed feelings of fatigue, frustration, fear and even anger about their job prospects.Some psychologists contend that the impact of stress in your life is not determined by mere exposure to such pressures, but rather how you respond and cope with issues. These psychologists suggest that individuals who display self-awareness and resilience will be more likely to successfully navigate turbulent waters during the job search process.

How to Get an Employer’s Attention in 20 Seconds

I review a lot of resumes, and they often land in my mailbox with the exact same titles: resume.doc or resume.pdf. Can you say boring? Try these alternatives to stand out as an interesting candidate

• “THE GLOBAL WEALTH PYRAMID HAS A VERY WIDE BASE AND A SHARP POINT.”

84% of the world assets are controlled by the wealthiest 10% and over half those assets by the richest 1% – “giving them a lot of say in funding businesses, charities and politicians.” The bottom half people control maybe two-percent of assets, giving them nominal, if any, voice

4 Reasons to Stop Thinking and Start Doing

I’m a compulsive over-analyzer. Rarely am I able to just “let things go” when I should. Instead, I dwell. I pick apart. I dissect until whatever it is no longer resembles itself. I think way too much. The human brain has a remarkable ability to find order in chaos. I blame my need to over-analyze on this biological fact. I think, ultimately, I’m searching for some sort of reason in an unreasonable world. In business they call it analysis-paralysis: becoming so obsessed with understanding what happened in the past and why you fail to actually move forward. You simply become stuck in the analysis phase

How Do we build Trust in Online Communities

Our reputation is important in life in so many ways. It is the sum of many parts that identify who we are in this world. Prior to the Internet, reputation was all about how we were perceived in our local community. How did we treat people? What church or synagogue did we attend? Were we good neighbors? What activities and causes did we support? Did we obey the law? Since then, reputation has expanded with the increasing complexities of our modern world. We now all have a credit rating that captures our past history of paying bills, which is important in determining our worthiness for credit cards, car loans, and mortgages moving forward.

Jobs Outlook: Careers Headed For The Trash Pile

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Economists believe that many of the jobs lost in the “great recession” will be coming back. Construction and high finance positions that were temporarily slashed, for example, are expected to steadily return. Regardless of the economic dip, however, several career paths have been declining for years due to larger structural changes in the economy. These dying occupations are headed for the trash pile.

Facebook, Groupon, Netflix Drive the Next Big Thing and America’s Economic Resurgence

Facebook, Groupon, Netflix Drive the Next Big Thing and America’s Economic Resurgence The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was abuzz with wireless broadband – the unfettered Internet, released from the bondage of desktop computing. Most of the news focus and appetite for devices and bandwidth is driven by social networking and video-everywhere. Hot, hot, hot. Maybe the next Big Thing. Big enough to inspire Qualcomm’s [NASDAQ: QCOM] pricey $3 billion acquisition of wireless chipmaker Atheros [NASDAQ: ATHR]. Maybe hot enough to drive another Silicon Valley dot-com-like investment frenzy. Witness the stratospheric valuations and expectations for still-private Facebook and Groupon as iconic faces of social-networking. But something more fundamental is going on. Not to stretch a well-worn analogy, but focusing on the social and entertainment industry in this context is akin to focusing on vacation travel as the chief economic benefit enabled by the 1950s construction of interstate highways. Obviously the new highways (plus cheap automobiles) spawned a huge tourism industry, but that was a side benefit. Construction jobs abounded too during the highway construction phase, but that new system provided economic value far broader and longer lasting, virtually reshaping America. Analogies are imperfect, but we are today experiencing a comparable infrastructure build-out, with comparable implications. It’s just much less visible than tarmac and engines.

2 Things Maslow Validates About Career Success

Lately, I’ve found myself referring to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs chart a lot when talking to members inside the Career HMO I run for professionals. He included it in his 1946 paper called, “A Theory of Human Motivation.” It truly helps members visualize where they are right now in terms of career satisfaction and what it’s going to take to find the success they see all around them, but can’t seem to get for themselves. Take a look…

3 Reasons to Avoid Making Phone Interview Mistakes

The reality is, a Phone Interview is one of the most important steps in the recruitment process for almost every position available in today’s crowded job market

Did you realize LinkedIn has a built-in marketing and search engine-friendly capability that is easy to use–and often overlooked? Well, neither do mos

The best 120 characters of keyword optimization you can find for a job search, your LinkedIn Headline (or title) is a major piece of the puzzle that can help recruiters locate your skills. If you’re one of the many that loaded up this field with your current job title (such as ‘Vice President of Operations’ or ‘Sales Executive’), or worse yet, used it to declare your unemployed status, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to market yourself!

Top 10 Ways to Sink a Job Interview

You did well enough on your cover letter and resume to be invited for that all-important interview with those actually doing the hiring. Sure, you're nervous. But a case of nerves isn't going to knock you out of the box. Actually, there are 10 standard mistakes that applicants make on interviews, any one of which means the end of you as a serious candidate, reports Fins.com. This list of 10 comes from speaking with nine serious players in recruitment and job search field.

Coping with Long-Term Unemployment

In August, 30 percent of Americans who were unemployed had been out of work for over a year, according to an analysis by the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative. That’s about 4.4 million people—not just a big economic problem, but a big psychological one. So how do you keep your chin up if you’ve been jobless for a while? Here is some of the advice out there (and in here):

Standout from the Crowd of Experts

The number 1 strategy job seekers neglect is the selling of their UVP (unique value proposition) over other qualified candidates. Your competition is not the under-performer with an unpolished resume and poor communication skills! (Wouldn’t that be easy?)

Business Planning

BUSINESS SUCCESS IS (ALMOST) ALWAYS THE RESULT OF “PLANNING, PERSISTENCE, AND LONG-TERM APPROACHES, as opposed to quick fixes, and of acting in a positive way in a given situation” versus ‘winging it.’ “In an age where it is increasingly easy to ignore reality and retreat into virtual fantasy worlds… psychologists testing whether fantasies help or hinder the achievement of personal goals

Book of Tens 10 Disruptive Trends That Will Shape Our World in 2011

If you thought 2010 was disruptive, wait until 2011. This year we saw major game-changers emerge -- the iPad, a flurry of mobile apps, the rise of social commerce, C-Suite fixation on enterprise social-media -- and more. This coming year we'll see even more dramatic change. Keep your eyes on the following:

The Importance of Resume Keywords

Years ago, when résumés were still sent to employers by mail, job seekers hoped things like a high-quality paper stock and unique, professional formatting would catch the eye of an employer. These days, things are a little different.

Return of the Right Brain

Ten years ago, we were mired even deeper than we are now in the Age of Left-Brain Business. We were way into Six Sigma and ISO 9000 and spreadsheets and regulations and policies. We thought we could line-item budget our way to greatness, create shareholder value by tracking our employees' every keystroke, and employ a stitch-level dress-code policy to win in the marketplace. Ten years ago, lots of us believed that order and uniformity could save the world—the business world, anyway. We had to go pretty far down that path before we caught onto the limits of process, technology, and linear thinking.

Five Strategies for Success - Riding the Wave of Changing Careers Trends

A friend who knows I am a specialist in career change recently asked me, "What industries are seeing growth and can anyone transition into those in-demand careers?” Her question was drawn specifically from a recent article in USA Today (see below), about how specific industries have been supported by recent developments, economic stimulus and economic developments. This article provides timeless strategies for you to always find answers to those critical questions and advance your career.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is an essential resource to add to your personal brand toolkit. They keep you apprised of what people are saying about you online, what others in your company and industry are up to, and the latest trends within your niche and areas of interest.

Helpful References

In learning to run meetings effectively, the business professional is also taking a giant step toward personal career success. Here are some books that might help provide the guidelines that every manager must know.

Human Resource Departments

Human Resource departments are transforming themselves from cost centers into corporate assets," says Kennedy Information CEO Wayne Cooper. "Everyone needs to do more with less nowadays, so companies are focused on recruiting, retaining and creating incentives for top performers. Quality consultants can be critical allies in transforming HR into a strategic partner of a corporation's top executives."

The Case For Hiring Older Workers

There is clearly an increase in older workers and a decrease in younger workers. Older workers can bring a great deal of value to a company. Studies have demonstrated that older workers can bring expertise, maturity, and good contacts to an employer.

Resume Guidelines

You've probably heard the advice from a friend, a career counselor, or maybe you read it online: "Make sure your resume has strong keywords." In a world where resumes are often scanned by computers hunting for certain words phrases, the right keyword has the potential to land your resume at the top a recruiter's pile. But how, exactly, is one to know just which keywords to use? Read on for some tips.

Starting a New Career After 50

For those who are over fifty and are looking to start a new career, you need to consider exactly what you mean by "new”. Are you looking for a new job that allows you to use the same skills that you have used for many years? Or are you making a complete change to a different type of job that requires you to use new skills?

Useful Interview Tips

Knowledge is king when you are considering a career move or being considered for a new position. Knowing the score about the industry and the companies you are targeting will help you make critical career decisions. Using this knowledge in networking and in marketing your talents to a company will give you a terrific advantage in securing your desired position.

Who's Hiring this Year

With ad sales on the Web booming, so is the market for online-ad salespeople, sparking intense competition for talent that is pushing up compensation and prompting comparisons with the earlier dot-com boom. Keith Richman, chief executive of Web-video site Break.com, has taken to creative measures to find ad-sales staff.

Salary Review and Negotiations

Do you know what you are worth? Close to 90 percent of workers rate salary as the most important factor in deciding whether to accept a job. Learn how to research salaries for your geographic area and career field, what to do when an employer asks for a salary range or history, and tips for negotiating benefits. The key is preparation, since the only time you have real power with an employer is when you get the job offer.

Careers and Job Search - Should I Get Help?

How can you make the "right” decision about using professional assistance to enhance and accelerate your career change or job search? This article defines the main questions you need to ask yourself, and provides clear criteria for assessing your needs. To further support your decision-making, the article offers a simple cost-benefits analysis for using a career coach to increase both the probability and the speed of a successful job search.