Careers

YOUNG MONEY career and job articles, books, tips advice for college students and college graduates- finding internships, job hunt, career trends, vocational careers. Video: How to Apply for Unemployment

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Career in Law

You talked with the lawyer who lives next door to Mom and Dad; she gave you a very different view of what lawyers do. Criminal lawyers work with legal cases where the State is the plaintiff and individuals are the defendants.

Become a Better Public Speaker

Speaking to a group doesn’t need to be scary. Two main components of public speaking are preparation and presentation. If you’re well prepared before you arrive, and cognizant of ways to keep your speech interesting, you’re sure to succeed.

Contacts in a Tough Job Market

Perhaps the glow of having just graduated from college has passed, especially now that you may be in the hunt for careers in one of the most difficult employment markets ever seen. Read on for more detailed information in the following article.

Unique Job Application Tactics

You’ve managed to finish up that resume, checking every word for spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. And, when it comes to what’s on that resume, you think you’re pretty well equipped. Your education is good and you may even have some work experience to back you up. Still, with the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, you may be considering options to make your resume or interview stand out. Read on for more.

Nursing

Well, if you plan to be a nurse for life, you really should aim for at least a Registered Nurse (RN) degree. It is a two-year degree and seems to be the minimum for almost any job in nursing (from staff to travel to school). You can also get a four year degree, which is a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN). Either way, you will be required to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in order to practice. Most fields also require additional certification depending on both the area of expertise and the state you will practice in. And now, on to the fun stuff.

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"What Can I Do with a Major in ________?"

Whether I'm working with students one-on-one, presenting to a class or another group audience or responding to students' concerns, there's one question I hear perhaps more than any other: "What can I do with a major in ________?"

10 Cutting Edge Jobs

Work with radiation oncologists to administer treatment as prescribed and supervised by the doctor. They also maintain records and check the operations of the radiology equipment.

10 Ways to Blow the Interview

Information abounds regarding what you should say in an interview. But it can be just as important to realize what not to say. It is also imperative to note that what you say can be communicated through both your words and actions.

4 Steps to Cringe-Free Networking

A popular misconception is that networking is just about getting a job. In reality, it's much more than that. Networking is about establishing relationships that provide you with valuable feedback and allow you to make educated decisions. You do it every day without even realizing it. Let's look at an example.

7 Ways You Can Prepare for Job Loss

In today’s uncertain economy no one’s job is safe. Businesses are closing their doors, salaries are being cut and 401k matches are a thing of the past. But as credit remains tight and consumer spending slows there may be even more job losses still to come. If you think your job may be in jeopardy then you need to start taking action today so you’re prepared when unemployment strikes. Here are seven ways you can prepare for job loss.

9/11 Alters Students' Career Strategy

You always knew it was a good idea to stay in school, but recent problems with the economy are making it just a bit more important. Due to post-September hiring freezes, layoffs and a general decrease in employment of new college graduates, students are changing their career strategies before they even start the job hunt.

A Brand New You: How to Stand Out in a Crowd

Within 15-30 seconds of someone meeting you, he or she has already sized you up and decided the kind of person you are.

A Brand New You: How to Stand Out in a Crowd

In this age of information you have to learn how to market yourself. If you need some help cleaning up your image to make a good impression during interviews for jobs, read on.

A Bright Spot in the "Real (Estate) World" for Young Women

Yes, the employment prospects for those graduating in 2009 are somewhat challenging due to the current economic situation. But there is good news—particularly for young women who are considering a career path that is to some unconventional, but very exciting.

A Guide for Working with Employment Agencies

You may be a job candidate who is considering seeking the services of a commercial employment agency. There are an estimated 20,000 such firms in the United States, and distinguishing the type and quality of services they offer is no simple task.

A Guided Tour of MonsterTRAK

Maybe you're a college freshman or recent graduate, or maybe you're somewhere in between. Regardless, your future career is on your mind. MonsterTRAK has resources and tools to help you successfully plan your career development. Take this quick tour of what we offer.

A Passport to the World of Business: Accounting Career Paths

A typical entry-level job in a public accounting firm, whether a big or small firm, is going to be as a staff accountant or junior auditor, says Clar Rosso, director of communications for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

A Professional Resume Gives You an Opportunity to Market Your Career

Perhaps you've discovered that your career has stalled. While it is true that you are gainfully employed, you just don't seem to be progressing down your career path as fast as you'd like. You've determined that the roadblock in your career is not the result of your lack of experience, your lack of education, or your lack of interpersonal skills.

A Whole New Mind: Learning to Excel in the Modern Workplace

Technology has forever changed the way we work. I know this is highly apparent and nothing new to anyone living in the modern world. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the full impact this has on our economy and the availability of various kind of jobs. In today’s workforce you are competing against yourself. What does that mean?

A Winning Strategy: Tactics for an Effective Job Search

Is there anything else you can do to look for a job? Absolutely! In fact, the more diverse your job-hunting strategy, the more effective it's likely to be.

Accounting: Myth vs. Reality

Think accounting would make a boring career? Then you haven't given the industry a close look, argues Clar Rosso, director of public relations for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. Do any of the following careers pique your interest?

Ace the Interview: In Person or On the Phone

We just completed our discussion on getting noticed by a hiring company. Now we’ll make sure you do everything right before, during and after the interview. This week we will look at what to do so you are prepared for your interview, whether it is in person or on the phone.

Ace the Interview: Writing the Follow-Up Letter

If you were paying close attention during the interview (or if you were taking notes), you may have noticed one or two particular concerns from each interviewer. You could address these concerns in your letter. For instance, if you heard, “Well, your grades look great, but you don’t have a lot of experience,” find a way to address that issue, such as mentioning your internship or how well you learn new things, and give an example.

Acing Your Performance Review

Most people roll their eyes when it comes time for performance reviews. This is because the review is, by nature, an uncomfortable and contrived process. In most companies, reviews happen once or twice a year, and during this time, every employee is forced to sit in a room with his boss and talk turkey about how he's progressed and how he's screwed up. Performance review documentation is notorio...

All-Pro Internship

College students face challenges when entering the work force. Being surrounded by political figures, sweaty professional athletes, or well dressed executives all day without pay takes outgoing, determined individuals to change their career paths by landing high-profile internships.

America's 10 Most-Wanted Workers

As more workers from the baby boomer generation retire, millions of jobs are opening up across a variety of industries; unfortunately, hiring managers are having trouble filling these vacant positions.

Are You Interested in Everything? You Can Still Pick a Major or Career

One day you're interested in philosophy, and the next day you think a career in journalism would be cool. The following day you lean towards a major in finance, and the day after that you swing way back to your fascination with archaeology.

Ask the Career Expert: Will Having a Tattoo/Piercing Cost Me My Job?

If you're in college right now and it's real important for you to express yourself with body art, then you have to think about the industry you're going to work in. Maybe working for a large corporation or as a pharmaceutical sales manager is not something you want to do because there would be a certain amount of conformity that would be necessary to become part of that team.

Ask the Right Questions to Start Your Career

If you are just starting your career, you need to maximize your experiences and develop your skills. Remember: In this employment environment, you are expected to manage your own career.

Ask YOUNG MONEY: How can I find a marketing job?

The first thing to do to find marketing internships is to search by checking with both large companies in your area, college placement offices and various websites such as Internships.com, which is a wealth of information.

At job fairs, goodie grabbing is a bad move

A job fair isn't an excuse to trick or treat from table to table. This is the time of year when campus career centers are beginning to hold job fairs for graduating students. Job fairs dot the calendar outside the ivied halls as well. Typically, employers come with goodies - pens, mini-flashlights, candy, stress balls, magnets - all kinds of merchandise imprinted with their logos.

Avoid the Top 10 Resume Mistakes

It's deceptively easy to make mistakes on your résumé and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it. So prevention is critical, especially if you've never written one before. Here are the most common pitfalls and how you can avoid them.

Avoid the Top Ten Resume Mistakes

It's deceptively easy to make mistakes on your resume and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer has your resume. So prevention is critical, especially if you've never written a resume before.

Avoid These First-Job Traps

Your first job will be a lesson in people skills. Avoid office politics. Listen and then contribute ideas when appropriate. If you recently landed your first "real job" after graduation, you're probably on a high right now. But your challenge is just beginning, because getting that first job is one thing, and thriving at it is quite another.

Avoid These First-Job Traps

If you recently landed your first "real job" after graduation, you're probably on a high right now. But your challenge is just beginning, because getting that first job is one thing, and thriving at it is quite another. It's practically impossible to avoid office gossip, but you don't have to take part in it. Indeed, becoming a participant is almost guaranteed to backfire on you.

Beat Out Experienced Competition

It's tough enough landing an entry-level job when you're competing against your peers, but what do you do when more-experienced workers are after the same job you are?

Become a Better Public Speaker

Speaking to a group doesn’t need to be scary. Two main components of public speaking are preparation and presentation. If you’re well prepared before you arrive, and cognizant of ways to keep your speech interesting, you’re sure to succeed.

Becoming A Financial Planner

According to Financial Planning Magazine , the average annual income for a financial planner with one to four years experience is $59,000 and those with five to nine years average $112,000. Those who stay in the profession over 15 years can expect to earn...

Becoming One of the FBI's Most Wanted

With the right combination of education and experience, you could soon be included on the FBI’s Most Wanted List—of FBI employees.

Best Career Advice Books for Grads

If the thought of writing cover letters and going on interviews makes you more panicked than cramming for final exams, then head to your local bookstore. These three new career books have advice for job seekers just like you.

Best Entry-Level Jobs for College Grads

It's the typical college senior dilemma. After four years of hard work have gone into earning a degree in a field that now provokes second and third thoughts, it's time to start making a mark on the world. The only thing many recent or soon-to-be graduates are sure of is they want a good job after being in school for so long, but have no clue in what industry or for what company they want to work.

Blogging for Money

Millions of people regularly log on to share their rants with anyone who will listen. Among the vast amount of bloggers, two young men stand above the rest. They have turned blogging into a profession - a profession with a $90,000 annual income. David Wilkinson was twelve years old when he started blogging.

Body Language Do's and Don'ts in Interview

It's not a full-blown interrogation -- although it may feel like it -- it's just a job interview. While it's no secret that job interviews can be nerve-racking, a lot of job candidates spend a significant amount of time worrying about what they will say during their interview, only to blow it all with their body language.

Brand Yourself in Your Networking Contacts' Minds

You've heard me -- and others, no doubt -- preach many times before about the benefits of networking. It really is the best way to look for jobs and internships. But too often it can be sort of hit-and-miss. You talk to people, pick up a tidbit or two and then move on, never to contact them again.

Break Into the Publishing Biz: DIY Style

More and more people are self-publishing now. And why not? Becoming a published author has become easier and easier. It gives you the opportunity to be in control, and to carry your vision from start to finish. Author Cara Bruce published her first book herself. “It was a great learning experience. It teaches you every part of the book business.

Build Your Career through Personal Branding

You've heard of big brand names like Apple, Reebok, and Coca-Cola. But have you ever thought about your personal brand? That is, the impression that you're giving recruiters, coworkers, and other people that you interact with, both in personal and professional settings.

Build Your Resume (and Your Life) Abroad

Life after college doesn't have to be defined by briefcases, ties and the monotony of a boring office and a 9-to-5 schedule. College students and recent grads dreading the transition into the working world often consider hitting the road and taking their skills abroad.

Build Your Skills and Your Bank Account with a Holiday Retail Job

Retail is one of the best options. Work on teamwork, self-motivation and initiative. With the holidays upon us, you may already be thinking about what you're going to do with all that extra time on your hands once your papers are complete and finals are over. If you're interested in using that time to earn some extra money.

Building a Good E-Image

Some employers are searching the Internet, either on their own or with the help of college-student or recent-grad employees, to see if they can catch a glimpse of you beyond your sterling resume or fabulous interview performance. If the two pictures don't match, that internship or job you've been pursuing -- or are already in -- could potentially vanish.

Can't We All Just Get Along (at Work)?

You arrive at work, ready to go for a productive day. But your cheery "Good Morning" is met with a withering glance from your cubicle mate. Or maybe you're in a meeting, and one of your co-workers - someone you trusted - presents one of your ideas as his own. These are just a few of the scenarios that can occur when you work with "difficult" people.

Career in Law

You talked with the lawyer who lives next door to Mom and Dad; she gave you a very different view of what lawyers do. Criminal lawyers work with legal cases where the State is the plaintiff and individuals are the defendants.

Career Paths

Do you know exactly what you want to do, yet find that it is somehow still not happening? There are a myriad of reason that you may feel stuck in the middle. Here are some examples from clients I have worked with.

Career Testing: Direction for the Directionless

You feel so lost that you can't imagine how you're going to be able to choose a major. Or you feel so clueless that determining a career path seems next to impossible. Or you feel so iffy about the major or career path you have chosen that the thought of actually pursuing it gives you the willies.

Cash Flow

Metrics are a powerful tool for measuring progress, evaluating decisions, and when done right, an early warning system for problems. By measuring cash flow, you are measuring the blood flow of your business.

Change Has Finally Come for Women in Corporate America

Why do some women have it all while others struggle with first one obstacle and then another? Do you wonder what those women have that you don't?

College Students' Top 10 Job Search Mistakes

College students never learn about careers that might really interest them, because they don't explore career paths beyond the few they already know. Give yourself the opportunity to truly explore all your career options.

Common Courtesy Often Exceeds Employers' Expectations

It's amazing and somewhat sad, but in today's world, if you use common courtesy when dealing with prospective employers, you'll more than likely give yourself an edge over the many other candidates who fail to do so.

Conducting an Ethical Job Search

What's the first thing you think about when you see the words ethics and job search used together? If you're like most people, your mind immediately jumps to unethical hiring practices such as illegal interview questions, or possibly even discrimination on the part of the employer.

Contacts in a Tough Job Market

Perhaps the glow of having just graduated from college has passed, especially now that you may be in the hunt for careers in one of the most difficult employment markets ever seen. Read on for more detailed information in the following article.

Cruise Ship Jobs

Here's the natural order of things. When the ship is in port, most of the passengers get off the ship, so hotel department and entertainment department services naturally are at a minimum. So people in those departments get time off, which is what most people want.

Cultivate Your Contacts

This is as evident in your job search as it is in anything else in life. Your network of business associates, family members and friends is an awesome tool that could ultimately help you land a job, gain employment information and obtain employer introductions or leads.

Dealing with the Quarterlife Crisis

When high school pals Alexandra Robbins, 25, and Abby Wilner, 25, got together over lunch several years ago to catch up on their lives after college, they were both ready to tell some glowing stories about how well they were doing.

Decoding Office Lingo

The business world's language is one of subtlety, filled with euphemisms and pet phrases to cleverly disguise what people actually mean. Since you wouldn't visit a foreign country without a pocket translator, I've provided one here for your convenience.

Digital Job: Video Game Careers

When people say they want to work in video games, they really just want to play games. In spite of those cheesy commercials you see on TV for gaming schools where the attractive female supervisor wryly chastises two stoners for not playing hard enough, being in the games industry doesn't mean you get paid to play.

DIY Hollywood

There will be times when you might get frustrated with your current work situation and think there is no way up or out. I had achieved making an excellent pot of coffee and copying and collating scripts without pages missing, but something was lacking in my life.

Do What You Love

For one, if you’ve been reading Young Money and making good decisions, you should have little to no debt. Many school loans give you a six month break before you have to start paying them. You can wait tables in Rio and meet your credit card minimums.

Do You Have an Investment Plan for Your Human Capital?

Human capital is defined as “the stock of skills and knowledge embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value.” Put another way, it’s the earnings capacity of your work.

Does It Take a Gimmick To Get a Job?

Don't just mail it and wait for the phone to ring. Take the initiative to go out and meet recruiters face to face when they visit your college campus.

Don't be Cheap When Job Hunting

Congratulations! You are graduating soon and heading out into the "real world." This is an exciting, fun, challenging and sometimes overwhelming situation. But as with everything else in life, the journey can be made much easier and less stressful with planning. The same research, thought and strategizing you employed when deciding where to go to school, what subject to major in, and what classes to take needs to be applied when finding a job.

Don't Just Tell Employers You're Motivated - Show Them

There are many skills employers are willing and able to teach you if you don't already have them; e.g., proficiency with a particular software program or familiarity with a specific manufacturing or design process.

Don't Know What You Want? Then Explore the Opposite

Sometimes the harder you try to figure out what you want to do for a career, the more you wind up beating your head against the wall. Sound familiar to you? If so, then try the reverse strategy: Take a close look at what you don't want to do. That way, you can explore the opposite and start getting at least some sense of what you do want to do.

Don't Let Money Lead You

The salary numbers you see on Monster and elsewhere are median figures, meaning half of the people working in the field earn less than that figure. And of course, whenever you're reading about the financial future of a particular career, you're dealing with predictions, not known facts. Just ask one of the thousands of disenchanted grads who decided to major in an information technology-related field when they began school in 1999 or 2000, thinking it would lead to instant, high-paying jobs when they graduated in 2003 or 2004.

Don't Let Poor Writing Sabotage Your Job Search

If you're like most people, you're not that interested in working on your resume writing skills. That's OK. You don't need to become the Ernest Hemingway of resumes and cover letters; however, you do have to write clear, effective job search documents.

Don't Take Your Average Computer Skills for Granted

Summary Not everyone is proficient at using computers. Your computer skills are valuable. Note these skills during job interviews and on resumes. When my wife left her last job, there was still a sign hanging on the staff computer with instructions on how to turn the computer on and off and save files on the hard drive or disk.

Dream Jobs

While the rest of us are cramped into cube farms, a few lucky people earn their livings by shopping for designer duds, eating ice cream or traveling the world. The following jobs, envied by people everywhere, are almost too good to be true.

Dreaming of a Big Paycheck? Know What Skills Employers Look For

If you can't live without spell check, aren't sure of the difference between a salad and dinner fork or have a difficult time carrying on a meaningful conversation, then it's important to get your head on straight before marching into the job world. "You really have the edge if you're able to write well or communicate well verbally," said Amy Glass, a corporate trainer with Brody Communications.

Earn Extra Money: Clinical Research Trials

One way to earn extra money and help other people is to volunteer for a medical research study. Before a new drug or treatment comes out it must first go through a process of "clinical testing."

Eight Major Job Trends for 2008

You've made up your mind. You're going to stop procrastinating, update that résumé and (finally) look for a new job. So what should you expect? Smooth sailing and a fast and easy job search? Or long months of applying to countless jobs and waiting for just an interview?

Entry-Level Job Outlook 2007 Market Looks Good, but Employers Aren't Giving Jobs Away

According to the MonsterTRAK 2007 Entry-Level Job Survey , members of the Class of 2007 like their chances of landing good jobs in fairly short order after graduation. Indeed, 55 percent of the more than 2,000 grads-to-be surveyed said they're confident (31 percent), very confident (17 percent) or extremely confident (7 percent) about the job market they'll enter after they graduate.

Entry-Level Job Survey Shows Strong Outlook, Yet Flat Salaries

The class of 2006 will soon graduate and join an entry-level job market that continues to strengthen, according to MonsterTRAK's annual nationwide survey of employers, college students and recent graduates. Findings reveal that 72 percent of employers plan to hire 2006 graduates in the spring or summer, compared to 64 percent last year.

Evaluating a Job Offer

Looking for a job after college is difficult enough. Deciding on a job offer when it comes is often even more challenging. After all, you're not only talking about one, two, three years or longer of your life.

Examples Beat Mere Words in Job Interviews

When you make claims in your interviews -- perhaps in response to a question like, "What is your greatest strength?" -- you're not likely to blow. Stand out by providing specific examples to back up the statements you've made. It's not difficult, especially if you prepare beforehand, and it will greatly elevate your standing in the recruiter's eyes.

Experience Down Under: Work or Intern in Australia

Without a doubt, traveling has crossed your mind more than once. Even more likely you have considered working overseas. And maybe somewhere along the line, Australia has come up.

Expert Career Coach Answers Your Questions

The most important thing to do when you get upset at work is nothing for 24 hours. Do not take any action. Do not write a memo or e-mail or IM. Do not do anything about what just happened.

Extracurriculars Mean Extra Points Toward Your Career

Most college campuses offer a dizzying array of clubs and organizations to fit just about every interest, talent, personal preference and career goal a student could possibly have.

Facing the Challenges of Goal Completion

Can the project work well with other activities? Can it be enhanced by alliances?So if you find yourself in the middle of deciding whether to abandon a goal or revise your plan, return to these questions and realize that getting stuck in the middle is a part of being successful. And if it time to move on, realize that the last project was not a complete failure, but a stepping stone to your next successful endeavor.

Factors Affecting Job Search Success

There's no way to say with certainty that you'll get an instant job if you go into nursing or that you'll never find a job if you major in music or sociology. Why? Because there are simply too many variables affecting your eventual job search in any field.

Financial Internship Program Embraces College Rivalries

College rivalries aren't just for sports anymore. While some students vie for championships in football or soccer, others are participating in friendly rivalries that seek to bolster their career opportunities.

Financial Services Internship Gives Real-World Career Experience

It's no secret that internships give college graduates a head start in a competitive job market. An intern program with an excellent reputation and long-standing experience will get you even further.

Find a Government Internship

Getting paid to learn, making important professional connections, and transitioning to your desired permanent employment are just a few of the reasons to become an intern.  Government internships programs can offer you all those benefits and more.

Find Jobs in Your Liberal Arts Field

One way for you to work in your field is to earn your master's degree and then your PhD so you can become a professor at a college or university.

Find Work Outside Your Major

An accounting graduate gets a job as a passport specialist with the federal government. A music major and an art history major both find their niche in public relations. A sociology grad ends up working for a major nonprofit organization as a speakers' bureau coordinator. These are all true stories and proof positive that you can land a job in a field outside the scope of your college major.

Find Work outside your Major

An accounting graduate gets a job as a passport specialist with the federal government. A music major and an art history major both find their niche in public relations. A sociology grad ends up working for a major nonprofit organization as a speakers' bureau coordinator. These are all true stories and proof positive that you can land a job in a field outside the scope of your college major.

Find Your Future: Treat Career Exploration Like a Trip to the Toy Store

Remember going to the toy store as a kid? There were aisles and aisles of doodads, some of which you'd seen advertised on TV or in catalogs, but most of which you'd never heard of before.

Finding a Tech Internship

In the post-boom era, college graduates have found out just how tough a job search can be. They've also learned something else: An internship is a virtual necessity when seeking a position as a technology professional.

First Things First: Passion or Practicality?

I'm a firm believer in being practical while planning a career. There are some basic pieces of reality that must be considered in career choices, such as grades, test scores, natural ability, motivation, economic trends, opportunity, finances, etc.

Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume

Look at your résumé: Would you still be compelled to read it if it wasn't your own, or would the vast array of typos, unusual fonts, long sentences and obscure language turn you away? While your résumé may not be a full-on Monet (meaning, up close, it's a big old mess), it may simply need some minor tweaking in order to get noticed.

Five Holiday-Break Activities to Advance Your Career

Why not devote some time and energy to one or more of these five low-key activities that will leave you in better career shape come mid-January? Read on the following article to learn more information.

Five Reasons to Visit Your Campus Career Center

You probably know the career center is the place to go when you need résumé help or tips on preparing for job interviews as graduation approaches. But the services most campus career centers provide go much deeper than that and can help you starting your freshman year. Here are five less-than-obvious ways you'll benefit from using this valuable career resource throughout your college career.

Five Signs You Should Change Your Major

Picture yourself in a room with nine other college students. Before you graduate, at least six of those students will have changed their major at least once. And one or two of the remaining four will likely leave school regretting the major they chose and wishing they too had switched to another major.

Five Tips to Refocus Your Career

Your hard work will not always get recognized. People are too busy and overwhelmed to notice good work, but they will certainly take note when something goes wrong. Read on to learn how to refocus your career.

Five Tips to Survive a Job You Hate

It's exciting to start establishing yourself in your new company and proving to your boss that you’ve got what it takes. There’s just one problem—you hate your new job and you’re starting to think you made a big mistake. Now what? In today’s economy, most people don’t have the luxury of quitting the moment things get a bit difficult.

Five Tips to Survive a Job You Hate

Congratulations! You’ve started your first “real” job! Welcome to the wonderful world of adulthood. It’s exciting to start establishing yourself in your new company and proving to your boss that you’ve got what it takes.

Five Ways College Gave You More Training Than You Thought

According to CareerBuilder.com's 2006 college survey, one-in-four hiring managers say relevant experience is the top thing they look for in a new graduate.

Five Ways to Beat the Low GPA Blues

Does your grade point average really give prospective employers an accurate picture of your abilities and potential? You may want to shout, "No!" And many people would agree with you. There's no point debating whether employers should judge candidates by their GPA. Right or wrong, employers will judge you by it.

Following Up the Right Way

You've applied online for a job you really want. But you can't help wondering what your chances are against other applicants or whether your materials have disappeared into cyberspace. A follow-up phone call or email to the employer might help you see where you stand.

Forensic Accountants

An employee embezzles millions of dollars from his company, but he doesn't know his firm is on to him. To combat his schemes, the company brings in a forensic accountant, a professional with a combination of financial expertise and investigative prowess, to determine exactly what's going on. Eventually, the forensic accountant uncovers the fraud, gathers evidence, and turns it over to the FBI.

Former College Athlete Scores Points in Sales Job

Coming from a sports background - including a stint as a varsity defenseman at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) - Scribner fits in perfectly with his company's intense, sport-like work style.

Four Ways to Earn Respect at Your First Job

When you've worked so hard to get that first job after college, the last thing you want is to screw it up. Sadly, new grads do it all the time. The problem rarely stems from lack of knowledge or poor technical skills. It often goes back to something simpler: Your persona in the workplace, particularly during your first few weeks on the job.

Four-Year Career Checklist for College Students

What makes you tick? What major will fit you best? How will you find a good career? And how can you keep from going crazy trying to sort through this swirl of career-related questions? Many college students feel confused and overwhelmed by all of the career decisions they must make.

From the Classroom to the Boardroom

College can be both challenging and exciting. For college graduates transitioning into the corporate workplace, the challenges and excitement can turn into outright stress and anxiety.

Get a Job! On-Campus and Off-Campus Jobs for College Students

While searching for a job may be the last thing on an incoming college student's mind, one expert claimed that waiting may cost that student the possibility of employment. According to Don Vince, associate director of financial aid at the University of Dayton, incoming college students should avoid taking time to settle in before finding a job.

Get a Job: Our Five Favorite Gigs for College Students

Whether you take an on- or off-campus job, one thing is certain: not all jobs are created equal. Read on to find out about some job opportunities for college students so you can land a great job.

Get a Job: Our Five Favorite Gigs for College Students

As you know, the price tag for a college education is hefty. Between scholarships, loans, grants, and help from the 'rents, hopefully you'll be able to scrap together enough dough to pay for the basics: tuition, room & board, and books.

Get Creative to Land a Job with Your Dream Company

One of the best tactics you can use in any job hunt is informational interviewing -- meeting briefly with people working in your target industry and getting their suggestions for your search.

Get Hired: Write the Perfect Cover Letter

Most people spend so much effort on their resume, they forget about their cover letter. In some cases, your cover letter may actually be more important than the resume.

Get Inside the Employer's Mind

College students in the job market all want to know: What do employers really look for when hiring? Matt Lowney, a corporate recruiter, career consultant, and co-host of Career Talk, a radio talk show in Nashville, Tenn., decided to share some common things that hiring managers consider in potential employees.

Get Noticed, Get Hired, Get Paid! Cover Letters are Key

The next couple of paragraphs should state why you are writing to them, and why they would be crazy not to ask you for an interview (don’t use those exact words). You could begin by using something like one of the following.

Get Paid To Go On Vacation

As Maura and thousands of her fellow college students embark upon their summer job hunts, many will quickly become discouraged, giving up fun in the sun for financial glory.

Get What's Coming to You: Severance Packages Explained

Sometimes, when you are about to lose your job, your employer may offer you a “severance” package or “separation” package: an amount of money that is meant to temporarily offset your job loss.

Getting a Job is a Job

You know yourself better than any employer could ever know you. If you're a people person, don't apply for a job as a ticket taker in a parking garage; you'll go nuts.

Go Global: International Internships

How would you like to be an intern in the British parliament? Or teach English in Japan? With an international internship, you'll show employers that you have a knowledge of international business, as well as the ability to work in another culture.

Go Guerrilla to Beat a Tough Job Market

Is your job hunt doomed? No. But you'll need to be ready to compete not only with your immediate peers, but also with more experienced workers who have been laid off, and maybe with people who graduated a few months ago.

Grads Have Hard Time Finding Jobs That Pay

Got a job? College graduates and seniors are finding other alternatives to entering the job market since employers have cut back on college recruitment. Lower salary offers, lack of benefits and fewer openings are causing students to be less than eager about entering the work force.

Graduate Degrees Pay Off In Higher Salaries

If you think saving up money to attend graduate school is going to take you one step closer to a millionaire, you might be right. Students who continue their education after their undergraduate degree is completed are the ones who will probably end up with higher salaries in the long run, said Beth Ingram, a professor of economics at the University of Iowa.

Graduate School Degrees Help Grads Make More Money

With jobs in short supply, college graduates are flocking to graduate programs at colleges across the nation. According to published statistics from the Law School Admissions Council, applications to law schools are up 22.6 percent nationwide, with some schools reporting increases as much as 40 percent.

Graduating College Students Considering Peace Corps

Students expecting to graduate within the next year have plenty to think about. Many are uncertain about their plans for the immediate future, while others have specific goals mind.

Great Expectations: Dealing With "First Job" Anxiety

Don't be surprised if brief moments of doubt strike soon after you accept your first professional job. While it's impossible to erase all career anxiety, you can minimize the jitters by understanding what a 9-to-5 job is really like.

Green Internships Are a Win-Win

This summer you can help the environment while adding a green edge to your résumé. Even if you are not majoring in environmental studies, these green internships can help the planet and your career.

Green Internships Are a Win-Win

This summer you can help the environment while adding a green edge to your résumé. Even if you are not majoring in environmental studies, these green internships can help the planet and your career.

Guerrilla Job Search Tactics

If you're like most job hunters, you probably spend most of your time doing two things: reading the Sunday help-wanted ads and uploading your resume on the Internet. And you're probably wondering why it takes so long to get hired in this job market. Why not try something different? I'm always urging job seekers to go against the grain, and zig when others zag.

Having a Great First Day

Only a parent could offer the kind of advice Jessica Donnelly got when she started her first job: "My old-fashioned mother warned me to have my clothes ready and bag packed the night before," says Donnelly, a 2005 Marist College graduate who works for a New York City-based public relations firm. "

Health Care Careers with a Bachelor's Degree

You’ve heard that careers in health care are lucrative and plentiful. Your school guidance counselor insists, “If you choose a medical career, you’ll always have a job.”

High Cost of Finding an Internship

There was a time when students could find internships based on their hard work, good grades, and fantastic résumés. Unfortunately with the current recession and high unemployment rates there are fewer jobs available. This means that more college students and graduates are searching for internships.

Holiday Jobs: Five Ways To Make Extra Cash

The fall semester is winding down and in between studying for exams, packing up your stuff and saying arrivederci to all your homies, something truly terrible happens.

How to fill out a W-4

Here you will learn how to fill out W-4. The Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 is an employment form that your employer needs to withhold the correct amount of federal income tax. This guide will make it simple to get this done right.

How to Fill out a W-4

When you start a new job you will probably be asked to complete a mountain of forms. You’re asked to present a driver’s license, social security card and other form of identification while your employer finishes the I-9 form.

How To Get a Cool Internship

If this sounds good to you, then it's time to start looking for an internship that will not only provide you with the experience and references that you need, but will also give you great summer stories to tell when you go back to school.

How to Graduate in the Green

After graduating from college, most people have two things that no one can take away. The first is a college degree; the second is about $10,000 to $20,000 dollars of debt from both student loans and credit cards. College debt is a financial burden most students cannot avoid. The Army National Guard gives students the opportunity to get the degree without all the debt.

How to Nail an On-Site Interview

Many students feel confident about campus interviews, when recruiters question potential candidates on their home turf. Yet, big businesses are following up with an on-site interview, which is usually the last step before an offer. A little prep work, showing genuine interest in the company and making a lasting impression can get you an offer on the table. Find out what recruiters are really looking for when they invite you over for dinner.

How to Negotiate a Bigger Salary

As someone who is in the beginning stages of your career, you may think you have little or no leverage when negotiating salary and benefits when interviewing for your first job. However, by playing the game correctly, you may end up with exactly what you want.

How to Write a Business Proposal

Starting your own business can be very rewarding—you get to do what you love, be your own boss and answer only to your customers. An important step in entrepreneurship is writing your business proposal.

How to Write a Winning Resume

To write a good resume you must first know what to put into one. Your name is always a good start. You also need to provide at least two ways to contact you—preferably three.

I Have to Pick a Major - Now What?

Every time you're on break from school, someone hits you with that most common question asked of college students: "What's your major?"

I'm Graduating with the Wrong Degree -- Now What?

Let's pretend you're a senior biology major, but the only reason you chose biology in the first place is because you liked going to zoos and didn't really know what else to major in. Now as graduation approaches, you wish you could go back and major in communications and become a writer instead.

I'm Not Stalking You, I'm Shadowing!

Before investing a whole semester or summer in an internship or part-time job, shadowing can give you a quick feel for a job or industry.

In Shaky Economy, Grads Turn to Teaching

Michael Shapiro, class of '03, plans to go to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon, but after graduating Cornell University as a biology and society major last May, he put those plans on hold to join 2,000 other college graduates in the quest to improve the quality of education in America's public schools.

Informational Interviewing - How?

Summary Figure out whom you want to talk to. Write questions that will help you learn about potential careers. The time and effort could pay off big in the future. Second in a two-part series Several years ago, a graduate student who was pursuing a master's degree in counseling set up an informal meeting with the director of career services at a local college.

Informational Interviewing - Why?

If you've ever asked another person for help, then you have a key skill you can use to learn about careers, both those that already interest you as well as the ones you know little or nothing about.

Informational Interviews

You're all set for the big meeting. You've got your questions written out, and you're excited to learn more about the industry and what could be the perfect job for you. This isn't a job interview; it's an informational interview, and if you're going to choose one career planning strategy, this is your best bet. Informational interviews are one of the most effective ways to land a job.

'Intern' should Debate Consequences of Asking for Paycheck

I'm an intern at a local business this fall. I put intern in quotation marks because what I really am is free help. That's what I'm writing about. The company is loosely related to the music industry. When I signed on for the internship they said I'd be learning their part of the business, be involved in all sorts of stuff.

Internship Queen Offers Job Tips

Once the collegiate fun is over, the next phase in adult life is finding that first crucial job after graduation. Outside experience is the key to getting any job, taking what you've learned in school and applying it. The question is how can you get your hands on some "real world" experience that employers are looking for? One word, repeat after me: Internship.

Internships Are About People, Too

Don't forget about the other reason internships and similar experiential activities are so critical to your future: The professional relationships you develop with people both inside and outside the organization where you intern. The more you do to cultivate these relationships, the more opportunities you'll create for yourself in the world of work, perhaps for years or even decades to come.

Internships Can Give You a Competitive Advantage

As an employer, hiring someone right out of school can be somewhat daunting," says Melissa Kinsey, senior account executive for Jackson-Dawson Integrated Marketing Communications in Greenville, South Carolina. "However, hiring someone right out of school who has had an internship can make the task a little easier.

Internships Help Students Follow Political Dreams

Seton Hall student Linda Manus is turning her interior design degree into a career in diplomacy here in the nation's capital and she encourages others to do the same.

Interview Dining Etiquette

Summary Some interviews may include going out to eat. Proper etiquette is required before, during and after the meal. Relax and be yourself. No matter where an interview takes place, it is still an interview. If a potential employer decides to interview you over a meal at a restaurant, your table manners must be up to par. The following etiquette guidelines will help get you through your next dinner interview.

Interview Prep Checklist

The stakes are high during job interviews, especially when you're a college student who is about to compete for your first job -- the one that could launch your career. It's no wonder you'll be nervous. But you can minimize your anxiety and put yourself in a position to win the job by preparing for your interviews, thoroughly. Here's how:

Interview Questions: Most Common, Illegal, and Questions You Should Never Ask

There are two types of questions at the interview. There are the questions the interviewer asks you and the questions you will ask the interviewer. We will discuss both types of questions, as well as those that should not be asked.

Invasion of the College Grads

They're here: Freshly scrubbed and graduated, the members of the Class of 2001 have entered the workforce. Every summer, there is a rite of passage in the world of work. A crop of new ones come in and, too often, a crop of the not-so-new ones get worried.

It's Never Too Early to Start Your Job Hunt

One common definition of looking for a job centers on the idea of applying for current job openings by sending a resume and cover letter and trying to land an interview.

Job Benefits: Insurance and other Perks

Salary is probably the first thing you’ll consider when offered a job. Many online resources, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website, list pay ranges. Take into consideration that salaries are often higher in larger cities.

Job Hunting Tips for Recent Graduates

As soon as you get your first credit card or loan, you have entered the world of credit reports and scores. A credit report is compiled by credit bureaus and contains information about your identity and credit relationships, among other things.

Job Outlook for 2007 Grads

The Class of 2007 is benefiting from the first wave of Baby Boomers' retirements, hiring experts say. "There are more people exiting the workforce than entering, yet more jobs are being created," says Carl Kutsmode, a principal in the recruiting solutions practice of Capital H Group, a consulting firm based in Chicago.

Job Outlook Strong for College Seniors

Thousands of graduating college seniors have good reason to believe that there is a light at the end of the job-hunt tunnel. Employers say they are going to hire more 2004-2005 graduates than they hired from last year's graduating class, according to a recent National Association of Colleges and Employers survey. Seven out of 10 employers surveyed expected to offer even higher salaries to the gr...

Job Q&A: Financial Advisor

Our advisors take a comprehensive approach to financial planning based on a long-term relationship. They get to know clients personally -- their goals and dreams -- and then provide guidance through the development and implementation of a financial plan.

Job Seekers' Bill of Rights and Wrongs

If you're expecting a survey to decide your career path, you're in for a huge disappointment. Assessment tools will not save you from the heady responsibility of deciding on your future.

Job Shortages Force Grads To School

Twenty years ago a high school degree was enough. Ten years ago a college education did the trick. Today a college education is status quo and not enough to be competitive in the job market, said Albert Chen, executive director of Kaplan graduate programs. But without more advanced degrees, college students are still faring better than their less educated counterparts. The...

Job Spotlight: Financial Services

Do you love to talk with people and get really excited at the idea of helping make their dreams come true? Have you always had entrepreneurial drive? Even if you didn't thrive on doing math in school, you may be surprised to hear that a financial services career could be right for you.

Jobs Are Plentiful for New Graduates

Employers are planning to hire 19.2 percent more fresh-from-campus graduates this school year compared with a year earlier, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Jumpstart Your Career

Things you can do now to create a smooth transition from school into the workforce includes finding a part-time or summer job within your field of choice or that requires similar skill sets. For example, if you want to work in the medical field, consider life guarding during the summer. Ask yourself how do the skills and training from this part time job demonstrate to future employers the qualities they are looking for in a candidate?

Jumpstart Your Job Search!

To ensure you can land that summer internship or dream job after graduation, it’s time to jumpstart your job search now!

Keys to Successful Communication at Work

One of the keys to a successful career is the ability to make people happy. For you to achieve this, they have to like you. Being popular is not more important than being competent, but it is as important. You will get more done if people want to help you, if you listen to them and they listen to you, and if they are pleased when you succeed.

Laid Off? Five Things to Do Right Away

In the following article, you will learn some information about job hunting and everything you need to know about unemployment. Read on the following article to learn more information.

Learn a Second Language : Talk Your Way Into a Better Job

We have never been more of a global community than we are now. With increased communication, the Internet, and international trade, knowing a foreign language is a highly desirable skill that will make your résumé shine. Which language should you learn? Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish are in high demand right now.

Learn a Second Language: Talk Your Way Into a Better Job

Learning a second language is extremely valuable. Here you will see what foreign languages are in demand. Now it’s easier than ever to lean a second language. There are programs and software that really know how to sink in. Finding a job is so much better when you know a second language. Your chances for career advancement improve and you can negotiate a better salary. Read on, follow the link and get inspired.

Learn to Work a Career Fair - Before, During and After

It isn't often that a bunch of employers will gather for several hours in a purposeful effort to meet you and other job seekers. So when a career fair is held in your city or, even better, right on your own campus, it's smart for you to attend.

Learn to Work a Career Fair -- Before, During and After

It isn't often that a bunch of employers will gather for several hours in a purposeful effort to meet you and other job seekers. So when a career fair is held in your city or, even better, right on your own campus, it's smart for you to attend.

Look Professional For Your Job Interview

Just as soon as you take off your cap and gown, the need to find the perfect interview garb presents itself. Employers have about 15 minutes to decide if you will be a good addition to their working team, so you only have one chance to prove yourself. As is the case with many things in life, a first impression is long lasting.

Make the Grade: Five Ways to Beat the Low GPA Blues

If your GPA is lower than you'd like, you've got some strategizing to do before you embark on your job or internship. Fortunately, there are several ways you can beat the low GPA blues.

Make the Most of Your First Job

As you step into your first post-grad work experience, there are a lot of things you need to know that your textbooks didn't teach you over the past four years. Here is what you should be gleaning from your first adventure in the world of work. Your First Job Is Not Your Destiny Your first job in no way predicts where you will ultimately end up.

Making Extra Cash: College Students Are Putting the "Odd" Back in Jobs

Washing cars, cleaning gutters or sweeping floors are all traditional ways of making a quick buck, but some college students have redefined the meaning of "odd" ways to make cash.

Making the Most of Your Professional References

The time and care you invest in choosing and even coaching the people who will serve as your references might very well determine whether you're ultimately offered the job or internship you so badly want.

Managing Your Boss: How to Play Your Cards Right

Prepare before seeking a raise or accusing your boss. Schmoozing can lead to greater success. One of the most important talents in the workplace is managing your boss. Of course most of the time it's your boss's job to manage you, but there are key situations when reversing that equation can get you what you want. I See You and I'll Raise You Think about asking for your next raise. You k...

Maybe You Can Get Paid for an Unpaid Internship

Many students pass on unpaid internships without researching other options. Explore alternative funding like financial aid. Unpaid internships often lead to bigger and better opportunities. The idealist in you wants to take that great but unpaid internship you heard about the other day.

MBA vs. CPA

The alphabet soup of finance credentials and degrees causes plenty of folks to agonize over pursuing an MBA or CPA. Both the master of business administration degree and the certified public accountant designation may appeal to those who have not yet found their finance niche. What's the difference, and which would be better for you to pursue?

'Millenials' Are 'Eager But Anxious'

Do you know what your college peers really think about careers and money? If you're not sure, then don't feel bad. Researchers everywhere are still trying hard to figure out how young adults in their early to mid-20s, The Millennium Generation, generally view themselves and their career aspirations. What do they want to achieve?

Missing in Action: Where Are the Women?

The role of women in the workplace is often recognized as one of lackluster importance. This reality is especially apparent in the business realm. Since the early 1990s, the issue of gender equality in the workplace has gained increasing attention.

Money Isn't the Only Way to Get Paid on the Job

What sort of pay do you need from a job or internship? There are many other ways to be paid for your work, and some of them may be more important to you than financial payment.

More Recruiters On Campus This Year

College career directors are reporting record numbers of recruiters on campus. Job offers are up, and companies are saying they'll bring on nearly 20 percent more new graduates than they did last year. This is a banner year for college hiring.

More Students Show Interest in Real Estate Careers

Debbie Farnoush, then a fifth-year student at the University of California in Los Angeles, knew she wanted a career in real estate. To prepare for her chosen profession, she looked around for a school organization that would help familiarize her with the business and be an avenue for her to meet professionals in the field.

Multiple Majors Won't Guarantee a Job

Completing more than one college major may help you impress potential employers someday. But if you think that multiple majors will guarantee you'll snag an entry-level job, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. How many majors you have "isn't so important that it would fundamentally sway an employer's decision about you," says Brad Karsh, president of Chicago-based JobBound and a college recruiter for 15 years at advertising giant Leo Burnett.

Myths about the Real World

While you're in college, it's easy to conjure up visions of the swanky apartment and high-paying job you'll have after you graduate. Or maybe an older sibling or classmate told a horror story that made you petrified of finding your first job and negotiating your salary.

Need A Job? Learn to Network

If you're anything like me, the thought of talking to a complete stranger is a horror akin to waking up covered in spiders. I'm an introvert by nature, and making an effort to meet new people is definitely high on my list of stressful situations.

Need Money for School? Try a Co-op

It's no secret that college students are bringing home more than a degree when they graduate. The average indebted graduating senior was $17,600 in debt on graduation day last year, according to a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, while a Detroit News examination of national college loans found that over the last two years student borrowing has risen 38 percent.

Network with the Well-Connected for Faster Results

With so many negative misperceptions circulating about networking, it's not surprising that many college students and new graduates want to pursue strategies that offer the most bang for the buck.

Networking Doesn't Have to Be Cheesy

What's your take on the idea of networking to learn about careers or job leads? If you're like a lot of college students or new college grads, the thought of networking makes you want to gag.

Networking: Is Socializing Just As Important As Studying?

A list of famous college dropouts would be a long list. Some of the best and brightest in the business, technology, and entertainment worlds have succeeded through hard work and all the right connections. Bill Gates, for example, dropped out of Harvard, and his Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dropped out of Washington State.worlds have succeeded through hard work and all the right connections. Bill Gates, for example, dropped out of Harvard, and his Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dropped out of Washington State. For that matter, Steve Jobs was only at Reed College for six months. Ra...

Nobody Majors in Unemployment

To begin, you should have some idea as to what you want to do. There are all types of resources available including personality tests and self-evaluations to help find the best job suited for your wants and skills.

Nobody Majors in Unemployment: In the Wrong Job? Find Out & Find a Better One

What do you do if you find yourself in the wrong job? You accepted the job offer because it seemed perfect. You were told, “You only have to work 40 hours and can come in to work late if you want. It’s a pleasant atmosphere and a family-friendly work environment.” Then you actually get there. Suddenly, you find yourself working late every evening, maybe even weekends. Your boss is constantly watching over your shoulder and teamwork ends up meaning you get to do the work for the whole team. You can’t stand the thought of staying there for another minute, but you can’t afford to quit. Now what?

Nobody Majors in Unemployment: Part II, More Ways to Find a Job

What if you’ve tried the usual sources and still had no luck in finding a job? There are still a few things you need to do. Read on the following article to learn more information about ways to find a job.

Not Enough Experience? A Functional Resume Can Help

The two most effective resume formats for entry-level workers are functional and combination. Steer clear of strictly chronological resumes, which place emphasis on your work history.

Not Getting Called for Interviews? Investigate Why

Sometimes, it's painfully easy to figure out why you didn't land the interview. Maybe your resume and cover letter aren't laced with mistakes, but if employers find even one or two errors, you're toast.

Number of Students with Jobs Rising

It's something we all wish we had more of but, like our parents tell us: money doesn't grow on trees. An increasing number of college students are finding this out as more and more of them struggle to find ways to pay for school and monthly bills, and still have some cash left over for the weekends.

Nursing

Well, if you plan to be a nurse for life, you really should aim for at least a Registered Nurse (RN) degree. It is a two-year degree and seems to be the minimum for almost any job in nursing (from staff to travel to school). You can also get a four year degree, which is a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN). Either way, you will be required to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in order to practice. Most fields also require additional certification depending on both the area of expertise and the state you will practice in. And now, on to the fun stuff.

Off-the-Beaten-Path Internships

Summary No matter what your major is, there's an internship for you. A little research may be required for more unusual majors. If you're in an off-the-beaten-path major -- like musicology, or global or medieval studies -- you may think only college students in common majors like accounting, business administration or computer science find decent internships. Think again. You can find a great Internships.

On the Job with ESPN's 'Dream Job' Winner David Holmes

Life is feeling like a pleasant dream for David Holmes right about now. The Kent State University senior still can't believe he won ESPN's "Dream Job" competition along with a broadcast anchor job with the world's leading sports network.

On-Campus Recruiting Information

If your school's career center has a well-established on-campus recruiting program, consider yourself lucky. It's the first and maybe last time prospective employers will seek you out. That's why it's so critical to understand how on-campus recruiting works -- and doesn't. Let's set the record straight on some prevalent myths.

Online Identity Makeover: Dress Your Profile for Success

Suppose you had a double who looked like you, spoke like you, had the same name, and sabotaged your job prospects. Time for a restraining order, right? Well, thanks to the Internet, we all have plenty of doubles running around;some more employment-friendly than others.

Online Networking Community Helps Students and Recent Grads Make Career Connections

Since I was a first year student in college, I have had a strong passion in business and helping people. However, I didn't know how to develop these passions into a lifestyle. So I tried to read all the business and career materials I could get my hands on. Luckily, my campus offered Young Money magazine to any student interested in such a field.

Pitching the Perfect Product

Effective sales happen when you know how to pitch a product. To pitch your product you have to know who your users are and why they need or desire product. Use this information as a stepping stone to create pitch. The Internet gives you an opportunity to circulate your product. Invest in e-commerce and use direct response marketing to attract specific target customers. Figure out what other distribution channels you can use and offer promotions. Read on and follow link below for more marketing tips.

Plan and Save in Case You Lose Your Job

Everyone needs to start a "Career Asset Working Capital Fund." This is a specific amount of money earmarked for the unique financial requirements of career transitions. This fund should be kept separate from personal or family emergency cash reserves.

Planning Your Future:Setting Goals

Setting goals you can follow will definitely improve the quality of your life. The people who don’t know what they want or are confused are the ones who are not taking the time to plan. Career, money management and future planning are all related to drive, desire and a dedication for goal setting and organizing life around reaching those goals. You aren’t going anywhere unless you put something in writing that will give you a mapping head start. Read on and get encouraged to set life goals.

Planning Your Future:Setting Goals

To separate your priorities, you need to write down your goals. But break them into three segments, short-term, medium-term and long-term. Read on the following article to learn more information.

Play to Win the Salary Requirements Game

Sometimes, your job search can be like a staring game. You and a prospective employer try to make one another blink to gain some sort of advantage over each other throughout the hiring process. One of the most common forms of this game occurs when employers place job ads asking applicants to provide salary requirements.

Pledge Adds Environmental, Social Factor to Future Job Hunt

Some graduating senior haves even take a pledge, which says they will consider the social and environmental repercussions of any job they take.

Postgraduation Internships

If you're a new college graduate, you already know how difficult the entry-level job market is. And if you graduated without picking up any work experience, your job search may be even tougher. But here's something you may not know: You can still do an internship even though you've already graduated, and it may give you a better shot at landing a full-time job later.

Pre-employment Tests: Make the Grade -- or at Least the Cut

You've done everything you can think of to prepare for your job interviewnatural abilities , but minutes into the meeting, you're caught off guard by one of the first things your interviewer says: "Later today, you'll be taking a series of tests." Tests? Aren't those supposed to be part of your collegiate past?

Procrastinating about Your Job Search?

How did you become a job-hunt procrastinator and what can you do about it? The following are four typical excuses students give for putting off their job searches, along with a reality check for each excuse.

Protecting Your Online Reputation

With many more recruiters screening potential candidates through Internet searches, career counselors are advising students to edit their online personas. Eighty-three percent of executive recruiters revealed they use search engines when making hiring decisions, according to a 2007 survey conducted by ExecuNet. Forty-three percent reported eliminating a candidate based on what they've found.

Prove Your Resume Claims with a Career Performance Portfolio

Employers are skeptical and for good reason: Most have looked at hundreds or thousands of resumes, many making claims that eventually prove to be a stretch at best and outright lies at worst.

Pursuing Your Career Passion

Three enterprising college students began their summer with an RV named "Maggie," a whole lot of Red Bull, and a slew of questions for professionals about what they were doing with their careers. The students hoped to write a book about people that have developed successful careers by pursuing their life passions. What they got was an education on how to pursue their own passions.

Put a New-Fashioned Spin on Networking

If you're looking for a creative, effective way to learn about an industry and make helpful professional contacts, consider the successful electronic strategy employed by Exuper Okouya, a third-year student at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

Questioning Everything as You Explore Your Career Options

College is really only about one thing: Learning how to become a critical thinker, someone who knows that truth is a moving target and who is willing to ask the many questions necessary to move continuously closer to that target.

References Without Work

This is common among recent college graduates. Although many college students work in the summer or part-time during the school year, many others don't. Or if they worked, their jobs may not have related to their fields of study.

Resume Tips, Do's & Don'ts

Throughout high school and college, keep in touch with past teachers, people who helped get you into college and current teachers that take a liking to you. You never know when you may need their assistance.

resume_whycoverletter

Your cover letter can explain things that are missing from your resume. If you have gaps in your employment history, if you are changing careers, or if you are conducting a long-distance job-search, a cover letter can help you explain these circumstances in a positive way.

Saving the World like a Superhero

You think superheroes only live in minds immersed in imagination? Think again. Saving the world may not be as tough as you perceive it to be. You don't have to be a mutant to do it. You just need to be a genuinely concerned human being. The job doesn't require unusual tricks or super powers; only time and dedication. In the end, it may not be as ambitious as saving many lives.

Secure a Big Paycheck: Gaining the Skills Employers Want

It takes a lot more than luck to land a great job with a sweet compensation package. So what if you don’t have the greatest GPA or an awesome internship experience? Do you still have a chance of making the big bucks? Fortunately, many of the skills that employers think are most important are soft skills that can be learned and practiced.

Seniors: Don't Fall Into These 5 Job Hunting Traps

Don’t panic. Finding a job is not impossible. It just requires that, more than ever, your job “swagger” is set on high.

Seven First-Job Tips for Women

There were so many things I wasn't prepared for. Seligson said. After comparing notes with friends and realizing they faced similar challenges in their first jobs, she decided to write a book to tell young women what she wished she'd known before entering the workforce.

Seven Job Search Myths

Although many job hunting surveys point to the power of networking as the single most valuable job search strategy, an effective job search strategy is much like a well-built financial portfolio that reflects the value of diversification.

Seven Ways to Land a Great Internship

Career counselors know where other students from your school are interning now or have interned before. They also work closely with on-campus recruiters from organizations in the area and even nationally. Thus, career counselors can be a prime source of internship leads for you.

Should I Apply If I Don't Meet the Qualifications?

You've discovered an exciting internship or entry-level job and would like to apply. But should you bother, even if you don't have exactly what the ad outlines? With few exceptions, send your résumé anyway.

Sincere Interest Will Take You Far in Your Career

By simply sharing with people what you're sincerely interested in and asking them for their advice and ideas, you can uncover or even create all sorts of opportunities that will help your career development.

Six Steps for First-Time Job Hunters

Congratulations, you've done it! You made it through college, have your degree in hand and are finally ready to make your mark. You are now in the real world and it's time to get your professional life started. If you are in the middle of this crossroad, it can be scary, exciting, confusing, overwhelming or all of the above.

Six Steps to Find Your Perfect Career

Often, your unique talents come so naturally that hunting for them can be challenging. Begin to look for tiny clues by taking out a blank piece of paper and ask yourself the following questions.

Smart Resume Packaging vs. Exaggeration

To get ahead in a competitive entry-level job market, some college students are giving serious thought to the unthinkable: Lying or wholesale exaggeration on their resumes.

So Whose Life Is It?

Parents pay a lot for their kids' college educations, and so they often feel they ought to help select their kids' future occupations. Sometimes it's subtle, and sometimes it's in-your-face coercion.

Some Grads Choose to Ride out the Recession Overseas

There's been lots of talk about how recent grads have been thrown into one of the shoddiest economies since the Great Depression; many plummeting into unemployment before their shiny new diplomas have had ample time to collect dust. But instead of crying into their beers, many recent graduates have taken the road further traveled, shipping out their skills to overseas employers.

Some Grads Choose to Ride out the Recession Overseas

The economic downturn has affected recent grads but a lot of them are opting for overseas jobs. There are plenty of opportunities available for teaching abroad. International ESL programs need qualified people to work abroad. Having an international job will gain you a tremendous amount of experience. Read on and get more information.

Spring-Semester Timeline for Landing a Summer Job

Want to land an extraordinary summer job? College career counselors have some blunt advice for you: Get going. Now. I emphasize with job searchers that it takes three to five months to find a summer job," says Andrea Dine, associate director of the Career Development Center at Macalester College.

Start Your Resume with an Attention-Grabbing Profile

Research has shown that your resume will probably get only a few seconds of a busy employer's time -- perhaps 30 seconds if you're really lucky. So the sooner you can highlight your best offerings on your resume, the better the chance you'll make an immediate impact on readers and nudge them to read on.

Strategies for Success at Your Next Job Fair

have a lot of students ask me for advice on effective ways to “succeed” at job fairs. Seems simple enough, but the fact of the matter is, job fairs are a catch 22. If the job fair is marketed and promoted well, it is reflected in the attendance. For you, the job seeker, this means increased competition with limited available positions.

Strategies for Success at Your Next Job Fair

Yes, you read correctly— job fairs DO require strategy. Don’t go through the motions and only hope to be hired. Take action with creative strategies to get you to the next step in the hiring process!

Strong Resume Key to Winning Scholarship

This year, thousands of juniors and seniors will visit their career counselors to get their résumés polished and shined for job interviews. However, freshmen and sophomores also should make similar appointments to begin preparing their résumés.

Students Describe the Benefits of an Internship

Employers overwhelmingly point to internship experience as the most important factor they consider in hiring new college graduates for full-time positions, and they have a variety of self-serving reasons for feeling that way.

Students Describe the Benefits of Interning

Summary Internships offer the experience employers look for. You'll gain inside industry knowledge and maybe a full-time job. If you're on the fence about whether or not to pursue an internship during college, the statistics alone should convince you to do one. Employers overwhelmingly point to internship experience as the most important factor they consider in hiring new college graduates.

Study: Jobs Come Before School Work

College students are spending more time working and less time studying. And for some, it's not paying off. Students who work more than 25 hours a week see their grades suffer, according to a new report by the state Public Interest Research Group's Higher Education Project. The report, generated by the U.S. Department of Education, says the rising cost of college education.

Success Without a College Degree?

Some of today's most successful people don't have a college degree. But what they lack in academic credentials, they make up for in tenacity, brains, guts and strong business sense.

Successful Internships Are Like Good Broadway Productions

You are ready to start your internship. But you may be asking, "How do I make sure I have a great internship?" Well, internships are similar to Broadway plays. Like a successful stage producer, you must pay attention to the players, scenery, finale and reviews. Here's how to ensure your internship steals the show.

Summer Farming Internship Opportunities

Organic and sustainable farms host the hottest green internships, and summer is here and college students across the United States are beginning to find new trend internships.

Summer Sales Jobs: 'You Get What You Put Into It'

Today, a new breed of college students in sales is blasting the old traveling salesman stereotype away. The realm of door-to-door retail has now become one of the most lucrative summer employment opportunities around. Whether they're selling encyclopedias or kitchen tools, young sales reps working for companies.

Summer's Hottest Internship Opportunity? Farming

Summer is here and college students across the United States are beginning their internships. While many college students may be seeking cushy corporate opportunities, a new trend has emerged this year – farm internships. Perhaps these students have read Fast Company's report that farming will be the hottest green job for the next decade. Kim Severson wrote about this new trend in her arti...

Surviving the First Day at Work

The first day on a new job is a lot like the first day of school. You have to find the bathrooms and the cafeteria, get all your supplies, meet new people, and maybe do some work. Many new college graduates say that the first day of work is the hardest, because they don't know what to expect. Will I be forced to regurgitate everything I learned in Marketing 101? Will my boss be a tyrant?

Take Control of Your Finances and Take Some Stress out of Your Job Search

Life immediately after graduation can be tough from a financial standpoint with all the newfound expenses. And when you add the inevitable monetary costs associated with looking for your first real job, you can easily start feeling financially overwhelmed -- perhaps to the point where you're paralyzed by anxiety and unable to explore every job avenue possible.

Take Your Small Business to the Next Level

Do you own a small business but wish it had the feel of a Fortune 500 company? There are easy steps you can take to speed up your company’s evolution and increase your market share.

Taking the Secrecy out of Salaries

As a naïve young woman in the food service industry, I knew very little about salary negotiations and fair pay. I didn’t think to ask for raises, assuming that one would come when I earned the increase. Then I found out that my coworker, who had just as many responsibilities (and seniority) as me, was making significantly more per hour. When I confronted my boss and asked for an explanation, he had none; my salary increase was awarded, but the feelings of frustration and injustice lingered.

Talk to Get What You Want

Have you ever noticed that some of your best ideas are not being well received? They look great on paper, but somehow you are having a hard time getting your boss or co-workers to support your endeavors. You may find yourself in a position at work where it seems like the tasks you need to be completed by others are at the bottom of their to-do list. Does this mean you’ve become some kind of socia...

Talk Up Your Foreign Language Skills

Learning a new language isn't an afternoon project, of course. It's a significant investment of your time, energy and money, particularly if you're wise (as Mehler was) and choose to spend some time studying the language in a country where it's spoken regularly, rather than learning it solely in a classroom setting.

Tap Your School's Alums for Resources

No one will ever care about your career as much as you do. But if there were ever a group of people to come close, it would be alumni from your college or university. They are generally among the most willing to help your career development if you just ask.

Temp Work Often Leads to Permanent Career Benefits

Temp work is short-term work that employers need done. Earn money and on-the-job experience. Possibly get your foot in the door to a company you like. Maybe you're about to graduate into the real world with little or no work experience. Or maybe you're feeling clueless about what career you should pursue or what type of organization you should work for.

Temping Can Have Permanent Benefits

Whatever your particular circumstances, temping -- doing short-term work assignments for a temporary staffing agency that matches willing workers with employers that need work done -- can probably help you as a college student or recent graduate. Why? Because temping, while not the perfect solution to all of your problems, does offer a considerable number of potential benefits where your career is concerned.

Temping Versus Interning: Which is the Better Career Path?

Getting your foot in the right job market is essential for any young person. However, finding a full time job is impractical if you have little experience or are still a student. Temping and interning are both great options offered to college students and recent college graduates. Take a look at the pros and cons of each and decide which is a better path for you.

Ten New Year's Resolutions for Entry-Level Workers

The dawn of a new year can be depressing if you focus on all the things you could or should have done the last 12 months. But if you look to the future, you can turn things around, especially if just starting your post-college career, by making a few career-related New Year's resolutions and committing yourself to achieving them in the next 12 months.

The All American Internship

If you've had enough of the same lecture halls, professors and familiar faces or just want to live in a thriving city for a short time, an internship in the nation's capital might not be a bad idea. Unlike studying abroad, living in Washington D.C. for a semester or summer won't involve the knowledge of a foreign language.

The Best Questions to Ask in the Interview

An interview is meant to be a two-way street. The hiring manager is interviewing you to determine whether you're the best fit for the job. At the same time, you should be asking questions to determine whether you would be happy in the position or with the company. But once nerves take over, it's easy to forget your role.

The Do's and Don'ts of Negotiating

Before you talk salary, you need to understand the perspective of the recruiting director and the company. They would like to pay you the least amount of money that they can. On the other hand, you would like to make the most money that you can. That’s why it’s a negotiation!

The Eight Hottest Jobs on TV

As a viewing public, we're obsessed with doctors, lawyers and crime-fighters. So what do the consistently high ratings for these types of shows say about us? Perhaps that we are intrigued by people in "service" professions, people who struggle to save lives and promote justice -- we tune in to lose ourselves in their heroism.

The Eight Worst Questions to Ask in an Interview

It can be easy to get caught up in delivering the right answers while on an interview, but asking the right questions is equally important. Your questions are crucial: They help you determine how you'll fit within the company culture, and they demonstrate your communication skills, interest in the job and knowledge of the company.

The Eight Worst Questions to Ask in an Interview

It can be easy to get caught up in delivering the right answers while on an interview, but asking the right questions is equally important. Your questions are crucial: They help you determine how you'll fit within the company culture, and they demonstrate your communication skills, interest in the job and knowledge of the company.

The Geographically Limited Job Search

Job hunting becomes harder than usual when you have to confine your search geographically. But as Harris and others have discovered, you can find a job under such constraints with the right strategy.

The Geography of Career Decision Making

What does geography have to do with your career? Well, we're not talking geography here in terms of Geography 101 -- mountains, prairie land, tundra, weather patterns and so on. We're talking about geography in the context of location, the part of the country or world to which one is referring.

The Hidden Value of Hourly Jobs

At face value, these job experiences may not translate into the type of work history you want on your resume, but most hourly jobs teach you a host of essential skills that employers demand. Read on to learn more.

The High Cost of Finding an Internship

There was a time when students could find internships based on their hard work, good grades, and fantastic résumés. Unfortunately with the current recession and high unemployment rates there are fewer jobs available.

The One-Size-Fits-All Resume Usually Fits Nothing

It's a strategy that's great for helping you feel like you're really doing something in your job search. Problem is it's far more likely to be a waste of your time, energy and perhaps money than anything else.

The Parent Trap

At their best, parents can be enormously helpful to your career development. They can be inspiring when you're trying to pick a major, supportive when your internship isn't going quite as well as you'd hoped and encouraging when you're trying to land your first real job after graduation. But at their worst, some parents go too far in their efforts to help you, thus hurting your prospects.

The Power to Shape Your Future

Whether your desires include improving your grades, traveling the world, or finding your soulmate, your dreams are POSSIBLE. As soon as you turn them into goals, prioritize them, and make them MUSTS they become PROBABLE.

The Pros and Cons of Working from Home

Over the past few years, many organizations have begun to allow their staff members to work out of their homesCons . With recent advances in technology, including the Web, email, intranets, cheaper fax machines, modems and voice mail, some people rarely go into the main office anymore. Working out of your home is a mixed blessing, though.

The Secret of Effective Decision Making

Lately I've been focusing on how listening to good advice can have great effects on your career. But, after reading a few books on intuition , it became clear to me that so many people don’t take the advice they are given from the most important people in their lives: themselves. Occasionally, intuition can be mistakenly perceived as bordering on odd (images of fortune tellers appear when some pe...

The Skills You Have and the Skills They Want

This is a common lament among college students, particularly liberal arts majors who don't see how their education will translate to the real world. But if you ever worry about not being attractive to employers, you shouldn't.

The Worse You Feel About Yourself, the Harder Career Issues Become

It's hard enough to choose a career path or find a job when you feel great about yourself. But if you feel lousy about yourself, it's a next-to-impossible task.

The Worst Boss Ever: Dealing with Bad Bosses in a Bad Economy

If you report to a miserable, soul-sucking boss at work, chances are, in this economy, you're going to have to suck it up.

Tips for Finding Internships

The Internet is a great source for finding internships and information about various careers. There are tons of helpful sights geared towards students that have internship postings as well as helpful information on how to update résumés and prepare for interviews.

To-Dos for Landing a Summer Internship

In some cases, application deadlines are only weeks away. You need to remember that fellow students nationwide are competing for the same internships, and before you know it, you'll be swamped with your spring-semester courses and activities.

Too Much Skin: 10 Taboos for Office Attire

Once you get the reputation as a sultry dresser, it may be difficult to shake that image and ever be taken seriously by your colleagues. If you don't want to put your image or career on the line, avoid these office attire don'ts .

Top 10 Internships of 2007

This summer, many college students will explore life in the real world through an internship. Some will stay for a few months, others for years, and all will come out with a better idea of what they want to do after graduation. There is no doubt that their experiences will help significantly when securing a job, as the number of internships completed by students has shown to increase their chances of receiving full-time jobs.

Top 10 Interviewing Tips

Having been on both sides of the negotiation table, we offer these tips in the following article to help you create a great first impression and land the job of your dreams. Read on to learn more information.

Top 10 Reasons Why You're Not Finding a Job

You've got the flawless résumé, impeccable credentials and the perfect look -- you are an employer's dream candidate. So why is it you've been on the job hunt for almost a year and there are no prospects in sight? You also need to have the right attitude, according to Tony Beshara.

Top 10 Tips for Career Planning

Take a variety of different classes. Don't pigeonhole yourself into one tight line of study. Branch out and take a good look around to see what interests you.

Top 10 Tips for Interns

Don't be intimidated because you are a student. People are sometimes too busy to roll out the red carpet so you have to make the first move to talk with coworkers and supervisors.

Top 10 Tips for Interns

Don't be afraid to talk with people. Don't be intimidated because you are a student. People are sometimes too busy to roll out the red carpet so you have to make the first move to talk with coworkers and supervisors. Ask for things to do. Don't wait to be told what to do. Solving problems and taking initiative are the best ways to stand out from the crowd.

Top Five Tips for Aspiring Writers

Many people dream of writing the great American novel. It's a beautiful dream and here are my top five tips for making it a reality.

Top Ten Internships for 2005

Thousands of college students worked as interns this summer, doing everything from running press conferences to running the fax machine. These internships can be a great way to explore career options and build a resume, but choosing where to intern can be daunting, since so many companies offer internship programs. Intern's responsibilities, payment, and work environment vary drastically dependi...

Top Ten Recession Proof Jobs

With so many layoffs and economic woes, it may seem like a frightening time to look for work. But here are 10 careers that have staying power in the face of the recession. Headhunter One company’s layoff is another's splash in the potential employee pool.

Top Ten Tips for Workplace Etiquette

Recent graduates across the country are preparing to start their first post-collegiate jobs and will soon pack their dorm lifestyle for a new office space - but what do their personal habits say about their professional image? MonsterTRAK reveals the top ten tips for workplace etiquette.

True Job Search Blunders

This is just one of the amusing comments our company received when we asked office professionals to recount the biggest job search mistakes they had heard of or witnessed firsthand. Responses to our recent survey ran the gamut from colossal, one-of-a-kind mishaps (like the error above) to smaller, more mundane faux pas.; This is just one of the amusing comments our company received when we asked office professionals to recount the biggest job search mistakes they had heard of or witnessed firsthand.

Turn an Internship into a Full-Time Job

If you want to land an entry-level job at a specific company after graduation, the best way to do it is to first prove yourself at that company through an internship or co-op. But you can't expect to turn an internship into a full-time job just by showing up for your assignment with a pulse and a clock to watch the time go by.

Turn Postgraduation Panic into Action

If the only thing you have planned for after graduation is panicking, you're not alone. But you'll be far better off if you transform your fear into the kind of action that will boost your chances of landing the job you really want.

Turning International Internships Into Interviews

Summary Internships abroad are a great way to gain work experience. Research the program affiliated with your institution. A unique internship is eye-catching on your resume. Right now, college students studying abroad are sipping tea along the banks of the Thames River in London. Others are drinking coffee in French cafes, while still more are downing pints in Dublin.

Uncle Sam Wants You! The Best Government Jobs

While some of the civil servant positions may sound sexy, the pay is still, well, civil. But, on the bright side, you will be serving your country and doing something for the good of mankind.

Unique Job Application Tactics

You’ve managed to finish up that resume, checking every word for spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. And, when it comes to what’s on that resume, you think you’re pretty well equipped. Your education is good and you may even have some work experience to back you up. Still, with the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, you may be considering options to make your resume or interview stand out. Read on for more.

VGM's Careers for You Series

Were you a class clown whose teachers and parents always said you'd have to get serious if you wanted to make something of yourself? Or have you always been the shy type and are concerned that most of the good jobs go to more outgoing, talkative candidates?

Visualize Interview Success

Many of us have visualized worst-case interview scenarios. It's not unheard of for people to have nightmares about upcoming interviews. According to Lynn Joseph, vice president of Parachute, an outplacement company in Point Richmond, Va., that power can be harnessed in a positive direction to get what you want from an interview.

Vital Tips for Submitting your Resume the Professional Way

When you launch a job search, the word "professional"comes up again and again. Your cover letter must be professional; your attitude must be professional; your interview attire must be professional. Still, you might be wondering what it really means to submit a resume in a professional manner.

Volunteer for Your Career

If ever there were a winning career-development strategy for college students, volunteering is it. Even if you have only a few hours a month to spare, you can make a significant difference for a person or even an entire organization by offering your time and energy to causes that need help but can't pay for it. And best of all, you can boost your career at the same time.

Warm Up Your Job Search This Summer

If you're just graduating from college and would like to postpone your all-out job search until later this summer, more power to you. You've worked hard the last few years, and if ever there were an entry-level job market that would allow you the luxury of catching your educational and vocational breath for a few months, the 2006 market is it.

What is Your Ideal Job Based On Your Personality Type?

When you look for a job you probably take salary, location and chance for advancement into consideration. Most people don’t stop to consider that they should be choosing a career based on the type of person they are.

What It's Like To Be an Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapists have been around since World War I. Soldiers would come home from the war and many were injured and disabled and could no longer work. Therapists, who initially worked in hospitals and military facilities trained these men in new occupations, and helped them occupy their time, thus the name occupational therapy.

What It's Like To Be an Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapists have been around since World War I. Soldiers would come home from the war and many were injured and disabled and could no longer work.

What Job Allows You To Give the Gift of Life?

Infertility affects nearly 15% of all couples trying to conceive, and it is a growing problem. The causes of infertility are many (and controversial), but credible evidence points to several factors that help explain why infertility has become not only an increasing problem, but a booming business.

What Kind of Employee Are You? An Eagle or a Turkey?

A troublemaker is a person who rocks the boat, then persuades everyone else there is a storm at sea. Did you hear what happened to Denise? Someone asked me. I nodded. Denise had been fired after she was found sound asleep under a vacant cubicle.

What NOT to wear - to that job interview

Pajama bottoms, hooded sweatshirts and flip-flops may be appropriate attire for an 8 a.m. psychology lecture, but recent college graduates looking to enter the workforce might have to change their sartorial habits in order to make a good impression on job interviews and in the office.

What Should I Do? Three Steps to Choosing a Career

A professional wrestler runs for governor of Minnesota and wins. The owner and pastry chef of my neighborhood bakery is a former investment banker. A friend from college who was a computer scientist for seven years now makes her living as a sailboat captain in Seattle. How did these people get where they are today? Through a combination of luck, confidence and lots of self-awareness.

What to Do Before and After You Lose a Job

No matter how secure you think your job is, every once in a while you should conduct a "fire drill" and go over your own safe exit strategy. Don't wait for rumors about lay off at your company. Be aware of the conditions of other companies in your industry and your state.

What to Do When the Internship Ends

For students, life has two seasons: the summer and the school year. When the fall semester kicks into high gear, summer activities are soon forgotten as students focus on the coming academic year's challenges. Like a summer romance, summer internships become ancient history when this annual rite of passage takes place.

What to Wear for Job Interviews

Summary Prep for your interview, right down to the shoes you wear. In an interview, you are marketing yourself as a product. You have a job interview in five minutes. You've learned everything about the company, you're prepared for any questions they ask, and you even arrived a few minutes early. You couldn't be more ready.

What's Business-Casual Attire?

Business casual is probably one of the least understood descriptions of appropriate business attire in the workplace. This common label is subject to a wide spectrum of interpretation. Business-casual clothing was meant to provide an opportunity to work in a more relaxed, yet still professional, type of clothing. With so many choices, it's easier than ever to commit a fashion faux pas that's not only embarrassing, but also detrimental to your career.

What's Next? Job hunting Tips for New Graduates

Are you ready for what lies ahead once you stroll across the graduation stage? Will you be able to steer yourself through the job hunt and, ultimately, your first job? Answer these six questions to find out.

When Internships Go Bad

In hindsight, perhaps three-ring binders and reality television are an odd combination. For 12 college interns, however, the pairing was a fact of life this summer. The students were hired to work for UniKeep, an office product manufacturer based in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.

Which Internship Is Best for You?

There's no such thing as the perfect internship. But you can figure out which one aligns best with your career goals, and then tap your own initiative to turn that internship into an experience that will grab the attention of future employers.

Why Networking Works

You may have days as a job seeker when you think you'll scream if you hear that statement again. But that's when you need to step out of your own shoes -- and into those of an employer. If you had a key entry-level job to fill -- and your butt was on the line to get it right -- whom would you hire?

Winning Interviews: How to Prep for an On-Campus Interview

The on-campus interview lets you meet recruiters with job openings. If you want to make the most of this opportunity, you need a focus, to know of what the employer wants, to prepare the information you wish to share and to execute a winning game plan that sells your successes pertaining to the job opening.

Work Experience While in College Will Help Grads Land a Good Career

This year's crop of college graduates is heading out into a welcoming employment market. But those who think good grades will be enough to land them a decent job should think again.

Work flow: Avoid 'real job' pitfalls

You've passed the final exams, graduated and landed your first job. Now you're eyeing that first rung on the career ladder, where you'll have to look and act like a grown-up.

Work Life

The real world we're referring to is the world of employment and career opportunities. Survival in the real world requires knowing and doing the dozens of things that make the difference between being viewed as a peon and being considered sharp and savvy.

Workin' Hard or Hardly Workin': Where to Live to Work Less

Why do the French live longer than Americans despite consuming plenty of fat and red wine? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Americans are workaholics, whereas the French get four to six weeks of vacation time every year, along with their fellow EU members.

Workin' Hard or Hardly Workin': Where to Live to Work Less

Here you will learn the cultural difference on work ethic between the U.S. and other countries. You will see how vacation time and maternity leave are valued differently. The most important thing a person who wants to work can do is to find a job you can enjoy and give employer your best everyday. Once you are out of work relax and enjoy yourself because life shouldn’t be stressful. There are always opportunities available and room and time for growth. One just has to be determined and not ever quit.

Working a Career Fair for the Best Results

Career Fairs, whether offered at colleges and universities or sponsored by an outside organization, can offer an excellent opportunity for help juniors and seniors to research a variety of careers and companies, to make informed major decisions about employment. However, due to the sheer size of the events and number of employers and participants, these career fairs also can be overwhelming.

Write Your Own Paycheck

No matter what you do for a living—whether you’re a salesperson, a business owner, a self-employed professional, or an office worker—chances are the paychecks for people performing the same job functions as you vary greatly.

Your Resume Can Secure a Salary Beyond Your Expectations

When candidates think about résumé writing they rarely think further than documenting their previous roles and responsibilities in an effort to persuade a hiring manager to call them for an interview. To many candidates a resume is simply a document that details their progression from school and university through each different role to date in their career.

Your Resume's Look Is as Important as Its Content

Imagine you're an employer and you have two resumes in front of you. One is filled wall-to-wall with text and uses four different fonts. It's also peppered with dozens of bolded, italicized and underlined words and phrases.

You've Got the Job! What's Next?

You've just hung up the phone after accepting a job offer, putting an end to a nerve-racking search. Since your start date is six weeks away, you can just kick back and enjoy yourself until then, right? Wrong. OK, you can take a few days off to decompress and put your head back on straight.

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