Career and job-search news, trends, and scoops for job-seekers,
compiled by the staff of Quintessential Careers.
April 26, 2004
We're celebrating the fifth anniversary of Quintessential Careers founder and publisher
Dr. Randall Hansen writing his Career Doctor advice column. In that
time he has written more than 125 columns, helping more than 500 job-seekers
with their college, career, and job-search problems. He's
also marking the 100th appearance of the print version of the Career Doctor column in
its flagship newspaper, the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
And as with all our celebrations, you readers get the true prize. Read the third
installment of Dr. Hansen's annual compilation of 10 of the most common problems
he receives -- along with his expert advice.
In the on-going yo-yo of job news, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that fewer people
signed up for jobless benefits last week.
New applications filed for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 9,000 to 353,000
for the week ending April 17... a decline, but still higher than the 340,000 analysts were
expecting.
The overall trend in new jobless claims appears to be on a slow drift downward and there are
reports of hiring returning -- from college recruiting to executives.
April 19, 2004
Good news for college seniors and graduate students who will soon be
graduating: college recruitment is up this year for the first time in several years.
An article in USAToday reports that firms are interviewing more
students, offering more positions, and even providing slightly better compensation.
Learn more about this positive trend by
reading
the article on the USAToday.com Website.
April 18, 2004
Studies continue to show that up to 80% of job seekers today find their jobs through networking,
followed far behind by online job postings.
What is networking? It's utilizing the power of the people you know -- and the people they know -- to
locate new job and career opportunities.
Tax day brought with it the added bad news that new claims for unemployment benefits jumped rather
dramatically -- and much higher than economists predicted -- in the last week, the biggest increase
in a year and a half.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that there were 360,000 newly unemployed workers filing for
jobless benefits last week, an increase of 30,000 (when only about a 7,000 increase was expected).
It was the largest one-week gain since December 2002.
Still, economists remain positive that this weekly spike was just a one-time occurrence and that
the job market is still improving.
So, if you have given up on your job-search, now is the time to dust off your resume and work
on polishing it and giving yourself another chance to find your job.
And here are some valuable resume resources for you:
More good news on the employment front. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of
Americans filing first-time claims for state unemployment insurance
dropped sharply in the week ending April 3 to the lowest level
in more than three years -- down to 328,000, the lowest level
since just before President Bush took office, from
342,000 the previous week.
The combination of today's new about jobless aid claims combined with
last week's news about the large increase in job creation in March may
finally be the consistent signs we're all looking for signaling a
return to a better job market for job-seekers.
April 6, 2004
What jobs will be most in demand in tomorrow's job market? Business Week reports on
research conducted by economists from MIT and Harvard that concludes that the key factor in the
future potential of a job is whether it is routine or nonroutine.
If a job can be broken down into repeatable steps that vary little from day-to-day, that job can
be easily replaced by a machine or outsourced to cheaper labor outside the U.S. Jobs that require
flexibility, creativity, and lifelong learning -- jobs such as sales, management, teaching, and
many professions -- will stay in demand... and stay in the U.S.
According to Frank Levy (MIT) and Richard J. Murnane (Harvard), in their forthcoming book called
The New Division of Labor: How Computers Are Creating the Next Job Market, two kinds of jobs will
remain impossible to routinize: one involves complex pattern recognition and the other relies on
complex communications skills.
Finally, some good news on the employment front was announced on Friday when the U.S. Department
of Labor announced that employment rose last month at the fastest pace in nearly four years. However,
the news was not all good.
While approximately 1.8 millions jobs have been lost since President Bush took office, non-farm
payrolls climbed 308,000 in March -- the biggest gain since April 2000. Job gains were spread
across just about every industry, though 47,000 came from retail and 71,000 from construction. The only
sector losing jobs last month was information services, where companies cut approximately 1,000 jobs.
Oddly, the unemployment rate increased slightly, from 5.6 percent to 5.7 percent -- mainly because
job-seekers returned to job-hunting, only to be unsuccessful in the search.
Also, the number of Americans in part-time employment continues to rise, as more unemployed
job-seekers accept any kind of work, rising to 4.7 million in March, up from 4.4 million in February.
April 1, 2004
It's no prank... while experts await the latest national employment numbers, which will be released on
Friday, other news came from the Midwest yesterday showing continued weak job prospects.
The employment component of the Chicago Purchasing Management Index dropped from 54.8 in February to
49.2 in March. A number below 50 signifies contraction. "The employment component was not encouraging,"
stated Gary Thayer, chief economist at A.G. Edwards & Sons.
A poll by the Reuters news agency reported that analysts expect about 100,000 news jobs were added in
March, which would be positive news but still far below the 300,000+ monthly job creation needed to
begin catching up with employment demand.
Job Stuff, A Blog for Your Career, from Stephen Harris.
Stephen's blog is a great resource for those job-seekers who find yourselves in transition, searching for guidance
and reassurance.
The Occupational Adventure Blog, from
Curt Rosengren, a Passion Catalyst. Curt's blog is great for finding encouraging ideas (and resources) for moving forward with your career... a career
that lights your fire.
TrueCareers Career Blog, from the career and job site
dedicated to professional and college-educated job-seekers... where they say you get the real scoop on how to get the job you want faster --
with insider tips and more.
