Career and job-search news, trends, and scoops for job-seekers,
compiled by the staff of Quintessential Careers.
August 27, 2006
Americans waste an average of two hours of work each day. How do you spend your day?
The top time-wasting activities done by American workers includes:
Surfing the Net (45 percent)
Socializing with co-workers (23 percent)
Conducting persona business (7 percent)
Spacing out (4 percent)
Running personal errands (3 percent)
Making personal calls (2 percent)
Applying for other jobs (1 percent)
Planning personal events (1 percent)
Arriving late or leaving early (1 percent)
Other activities (13 percent)
The survey, with more than 10,000 respondents, was taken by America Online and
Salary.com.
August 18, 2006
Almost 50 percent of business professionals think their resume needs improvement.
In a poll of 1,600 business professionals by Beyond.com, 48.2 percent of respondents
reported that their resume needed improvement. Another third (33.6 percent) stated
they could live with the resume they had. Only 18.2 percent indicated that they
were confident in their resume and deemed it "perfect."
Wondering about your resume? Is your resume distinctive? Will prospective employers
take notice and invite you for an interview based on your current resume?
Here are the sources where employers are finding that applicants are coming from.
According to DirectEmployers.com and Booz Allen Hamilton, companies reported
INCREASES in these recruiting sources for 2006:
Organization's Web site: 74 percent increase
Employee referrals: 68 percent increase
Social networking technology: 60 percent increase
Campus recruiting: 48 percent increase
Niche job boards: 51 percent increase
General job boards: 29 percent increase
Commercial resume databases: 24 percent increase
Career fairs: 21 percent increase
Search firms: 16 percent increase
Other: 12 percent increase
Newspapers: 4 percent increase
August 4, 2006
U.S. unemployment rate hit 5-month high in July.
Hiring companies, possibly experiencing the typical summer lull in hiring -- combined
with higher energy costs -- added just 113,000 new jobs last month, according to the
U.S. Department of Labor.
Employers had added 124,000 new jobs in June, while adding only 100,000 in May.
The slowdown in new job creation caused the unemployment rate to rise to
a five-month high of 4.8 percent (from 4.6 percent in June).
Experts had forecast a gain of about 145,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent.
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.
Blue Sky Resumes Blog, from career
expert Louise Fletcher, a general career and job-search blog that covers all aspects of the job-hunt.
