Job-Hunting in a Weak Job Market: 5 Strategies for Staying Upbeat (and Improving Your Chances of Success)

Job-Hunting in a Weak Job Market: 5 Strategies for Staying Upbeat (and Improving Your Chances of Success)

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Job Market Blues: A malady affecting millions of Americans during a weak job market caused by a struggling economy. Symptoms include high levels of anxiety, fear, and depression related to keeping one's current job or finding a new job, tied to the ability to pay one's bills and maintain a place to live and food to eat.

For many job-seekers, searching for a new job is a stressful experience. The end result, though, is usually a positive one in which the job-seeker is rewarded for his or her past accomplishments with a better job -- a job that has more prestige, higher pay, and perhaps with a better organization.

But when you have to conduct a job-search in a weak job market, the stress level increases dramatically -- especially if you are currently unemployed, expect to be let go from your current employer, or work in an industry or profession that has seen widespread job cuts.

To read more of this informative and current article, please go to http://www.quintcareers.com/job-hunting_weak_job-market.html

Ten Questions You Should Never be Asked in an Interview

Ten Questions You Should Never be Asked in an Interview

By The Editors

There are numerous state and federal antidiscrimination laws designed to assure that employers hire based upon skill, rather than stereotypes. Therefore, there are some things an interviewer isn't allowed to ask. How do you know what’s fair game? Here are some questions that should raise red flags.

1. “What’s your race?”It is illegal for an employer to ask you questions about race or skin color. Unless appearance is a “bona fide occupational qualification” (BFOQ)—for example, if you’re applying for a modeling job—you cannot be required to submit a photo with an application.Fair questions: None. An employment application may include a space where you voluntarily indicate your race.

To view more of these interesting questions, please go to: http://wetfeet.com/Experienced-Hire/Getting-hired/Articles/Ten-Questions-You-Should-Never-be-Asked-in-an-Inte.aspx

Who's Hiring Now: America's Most-Wanted Workers

By Kate Lorenz

Though the U.S. economy has softened this year -- headlines warn of mortgage woes, layoffs and escalating gas prices -- there are still jobs out there ... you just have to know where to look.We dug deep into Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find industries that are still adding jobs despite a rising national unemployment rate.

Health Care
With a large segment of the population entering retirement age, health care remains strong adding more than 254,000 jobs so far this year. All sectors of the health-care industry experienced growth from January to August 2008. Ambulatory health-care services (which include doctor's offices, outpatient care centers and home health services) experienced a gain of 117,100 jobs. Hospitals added 92,700 positions, while nursing and residential care facilities grew by 19,600 jobs. Additionally, social assistance (like substance abuse and mental health counseling) added 24,000 jobs. Indeed, 30 percent of large health-care employers (50 or more employees) expected to expand staffs in the third quarter of 2008, according to CareerBuilder.com and USA Today's "Q3 2008 Job Forecast."

To view more of this article, please go to: http://www.wetfeet.com/Undergrad/Finding-the-job/Articles/Who-s-Hiring-Now--America-s-Most-Wanted-Workers.aspx

How to position yourself to withstand the cuts at your company.

Article appeared in Career Journal (Wall Street Journal)
By SHELLY BANJO

As the economy takes a nosedive, the number of layoffs continues to rise across industries. Some 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008. The national unemployment rate jumped to 7.2% in December, the highest since January 1993, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million.

It's more important than ever to make sure your manager knows how you are contributing to the company's bottom line. For young professional women, who sometimes fail to sing their own praises or point out their contributions, that can be particularly challenging.

To read the rest of this article visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123151080100667967.html?mod=djemCJ