Employment - How to Find a Job:

Finding a job can be a daunting task, especially for younger people who have less job skills to rely upon when looking for employment. Unemployment in the country is currently around 5% which is quite low when compared to double digit unemployment the United States has seen in the past. Many other countries regularly see 10% or higher in their unemployment figures but America has done a great job of creating new jobs through technology and business growth. Where should you start when looking for that new job? Do you talk with recruiters at college campuses? Go online and search employment databases in your field? Perhaps sign up with an employment agency who will then try to find you a job through their services? The best solution is to talk with your friends and family to see if there are any positions where they work. If you can get your resume in the hands of the person who actual makes the decisions on hiring, you have cleared the biggest hurdle in job hunting. Nowadays, too many resumes that are emailed or faxed to companies are rarely seen by the human eye. They get scanned by computers that look for keyword matches and crudentials and 99% of them are tossed aside. You want your resume to be viewed by a hiring manager so that you stand out from the others.

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Before you even consider giving your resume to anyone, consider the type of job or position you want. Think about your interests or the field in which you received your college degree. Next, determine if you will be working full-time, part-time, as a contractor, or freelance. A good self-assessment test can show you which areas you are strong in and where you should pursue a career. I was recently talking to a career counselor at a local college and the biggest concern students have it that they will get dead end jobs that they hate. He always reminds them that you are not "stuck" with a job and you can always change career paths at almost any age. Finding a career you are passionate about is not easy, but through trial and error you should land a job that you can go to everyday and feel good about. Many people do "information interviews" with people who are currently working in positions they would like to work at someday to get a feel for the job itself. No matter what you do, try to get the college degree first since the difference between a high school education and a college degree is something like $1 million over your lifetime. It's perhaps the best investment you can make in yourself. We have tried to supply you with various tools in helping you find the best job opportunities and employment options below. Start with friends and family and if they don't lead anywhere consider the following avenues when searching for a job.

Employment Services/Agencies:

When all else fails and you need employment, consider a staffing agency or employment agency. Employment services are great for temporary work or part time jobs that can eventually lead to full time positions. I used to work on the road for my old job and we would go from town to town and setup shop for 3-4 months at a time. We would always call the local employment agencies to find quality employees looking for short term work. We didn't have time to advertise online or in newspapers so the only way to get a job with us would have been through employment service companies like Kelly Services, Adecco, or Manpower. These temporary employment agencies place applicants fairly easily if you have some basic skills. I've even known several friends that graduated college and couldn't find a job so they used these employment agencies to land temporary jobs that eventually turned into real full-time positions and careers. It's often a way for a company to hire you on a temporary basis to see what you can really do without legally having to commit. After a short period (often 6 months) they can pay the staffing agency a fee to hire you full-time. You can go online to find out more about these agencies at Kellyservices.com, Adecco.com, or Manpower.com.

Online Employment Search:

The Internet has made looking for a job so easy, you can now get online and search through 1000's of jobs on sites like Monster.com, Hotjobs.com or Careerbuilder.com. Just type in the category you are looking for (marketing, sales, accounting, IT, advertising, retail, etc) and let the site pull up all available jobs that have been posted to their website in your area. You can then send your resume via email to the perspective company and hope for a callback. We mentioned that this is a "shot in the dark" often since many resumes never see a hiring manager, but for a few seconds of effort, you can get your resume into their databank of potential employees. There are even online job sites dedicated to specific professions like IT Computer jobs at Dice.com or Nursingjobs.com which has nursing positions available. Craigslist.org is another excellent source for employment opportunities with complete job listings that are listed by city so you can quickly find what is available in your area. I have found that many of the listings on Craigslist are for freelance or part time work but there are still 100's of full-time positions listed. You are also more likely to get personal responses from their website after submitting your resume. If you actually know a company you want to work for, try going directly to their website and view their job listings directly. Many companies like Wal-Mart, Target, UPS, Sears, Home Depot, Fedex, Kmart, Lowes, Intel, and HP have great job postings on their websites. Even federal and state employment jobs are listed online. If you aren't looking online, you are probably missing out on 85% of all jobs.

Employment Labor Attorney:

Employment law is something most of us will never deal with, but consider talking with an employment labor attorney if you feel you were wrongly fired or let go from your previous position. Employment lawyers can quickly assess your situation and determine if unjust cause was used in terminating your prior employment. Start with your local yellow pages and search for attorneys or lawyers who handle employment law. You can probably figure things out with a simple phone call.

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