Newsletter
Apr 12How to Land a Job in Today’s Market
Posted in Career Article, Tips & Tricks at 1:16 pm
Parade Magazine Shares Techniques to Take Advantage of Social Media, Part-Time Work, Your Skills, “Safe” Positions
The economy added more than 160,000 jobs last month. That’s good news, considering there’s been no increase in the unemployment rate in months.
However, “Early Show” co-anchor Harry Smith observed, that’s little comfort for the millions of Americans still searching for work.
How can people find jobs these days? And what’s the current state of employment in America?
Lamar Graham, executive editor of Parade magazine, said it’s still tough sledding out there. He said, “Approximately 15 million people were out of work late last year, with national unemployment peaking at 10.1 percent in October, and it’s been stuck at 9.7 percent for the last three months. Add part-timers who can’t find full-time employment, plus people who have stopped looking for work, and the picture is even bleaker.”
Graham continued, “Last year, states paid a record $79 billion in unemployment benefits to as many as 30 million claimants. But if there’s any good news to come out of it, it’s that the economists we talked to believe the worst is over. Manufacturing jobs are coming back, and we’re seeing a rise in overtime. But still, a complete recovery could take years.”
Katie DeVito, a job seeker in New Jersey, also appeared on “The Early Show.” She’s riding the wave of social media to find a new job.
DeVito has been out of work for a month. She said she spent about a year looking for a job and finally found employment as a communications coordinator for 90 days. However, when that company downsized recently, she lost her job again. She’s been looking for work since.
DeVito said she’s been utilizing social Web sites — especially Twitter — to not only search for a job, but to help others in the same position.
She said, “I’ve been arranging meetings for people who are unemployed to talk about what they’re looking for. It’s amazing how we’ve been able to help each other out. For example, one person may know of someone hiring in the medical field. That job isn’t for me, but there might be someone in the group who’d be a good fit for the job. So I’m out there looking, but there are others out there looking as well, and we’ve been able to help each other out. Using social media, I’ve landed interviews and made some good contacts that could one day lead to a job.”
Graham said there are still millions of people like DeVito out there looking for work. He suggested job seekers begin using these techniques:
UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook and Twitter are great ways to make contacts, and let people know you’re looking for work. You can reach so many people by sending out one simple message. Also, it’s a good support system for when you get frustrated. Knowing you’re not the only one out there looking for a job can certainly help when frustration starts to set in.
WORK PART-TIME
More than 26 million people work part-time, and two-thirds do so by choice. We talked to one guy who’s 73 years old, yet puts in a few hours a week as a school crossing guard. The $5,900 a year he makes is a handy supplement to his Social Security income. For others, only short hours are available. People worry that a part time job will take away from their ability to look for a full-time job, but it shouldn’t. It’s a great way to earn some extra cash to stay afloat.
DEVELOP NEW SKILLS
To improve their job prospects, millions of people are heading back to school for more training. Popular programs include health care, computer technology, and criminal justice. So definitely don’t be afraid to be willing to learn a new skill. You might end up benefitting from it. One woman we profiled was a paper product saleswoman, but realized there was no growth in her industry. So she found a company willing to train her in online ad sales and is now making double what she did at her old job.
LOOK FOR “SAFE” JOBS
While there really is no “safe” job in today’s economy, some are safer than others. The health care industry, for example. People will always be sick, so there will always be work available. The federal government is another example: it boosted its payroll by some 66,000 workers. Although state and
local governments haven’t been immune to the recession, their job cuts have been restrained. Further, you should be willing to relocate if you find the right opportunity. If you’re a computer programmer living in the Midwest, you might consider heading out to Silicon Valley or Seattle and searching for work there.