Happy New Year!  With 2009 right around the corner (29 hours and counting), it’s high time to give some thought to your New Year’s resolutions.  If you are looking for a job, no doubt finding gainful employment is right up there on your list.  But are you doing everything you can to maximize your job search?  Here are nine resolutions to get your started: 1. Become a perpetual student. Never stop learning — whether that means going back to school to finish your degree, enrolling in a Master’s program, taking a few distance learning classes, or just being an avid...

I’ll be back next week with the final segment in my series on Online Learning Programs.  This week, however, we’re taking a short break to look at the educational requirements of a career in the gas and oil industry.  The field offers a number of high paying opportunities, and even with the current economic crisis, these jobs are still in high demand.  That’s the good news. The less good news (well, only if you’re not the perpetual student type) is that most of these positions require an advanced degree — at least a Master’s Degree, and preferably a Ph...

There is not much happening on the blogs this week.  I think most bloggers are taking a well-deserved holiday break, which you hopefully managed to do as well.  I’ve got just two links for you today, with a little bad news-good news. >> US likely to lose another 1 million jobs in 2009 The Boston Globe recently reported the grim news that the unemployment trend is expected to continue well into the new year. Quoting Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a global outplacement consultancy headquartered in Chicago, the Globe says that 2008 has already seen an excess of 1 million ...

Happy holidays to all the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, and Festivus (okay, just kidding about that one) celebrators among our readers.  May your coming year be filled with joy, prosperity and hope.  I hope all your dreams come true, especially your career ones!  Peace. ...

I’m not sure how many of you are even checking in for hot jobs today.  But for those very dedicated job-seekers among you, I’ve got three great jobs for you fresh off JobMonkey’s free job center.    There is a marketing job with ABC Radio Networks, in Dallas; a news director job with CBS Radio, in Seattle; and an engineer position with the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  And don’t forget, you can search our job database anytime, day or night. Seek by job industry, by keyword or by location. #1. Sales Marketing Coordinator, ABC Radio...

Last week, I talked about the importance of keeping the course during your holiday time job search. And while that advice is true, it does not take into account just how hard it is to follow.  ‘Tis the season for joy and light, but when you are in the middle of a protracted job search, the last thing you feel is joyful light. So how do you stay positive about your careers possibilities even in the face of frustration? Here are some of my ideas. Get away from it all Yes, I did say that the holidays are a key time to stay on top of your job hunting game.  And that’s true.  But ...

As promised in last week’s post, Is An Online Degree Right For You?, I am back this Monday still talking about distance learning.  Specifically, we are going to take a look today at the accreditation of online programs — what is it and whether it’s important.  Let’s dive right in. What is accreditation? According to the U.S. Department of Education, the goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. The DOE meets this goal by publishing an annual list of accredited schools in the Uni...

Winter break seems to be in full swing and the start of Chanukah and Christmas is just days away.  No doubt that the last thing you want to do right now is slave over your resume and worry about networking.  BUT… don’t let the temptation of holiday sweets and that punch bowl full of eggnog distract you from your most important mission: Finding a job.  And not just any job, a great job.  A job with a good salary, robust benefits and plenty of opportunities for growth. Maybe even something unusual and fun like a ski instructor job (seasonal but fun for sure!). If you need some ins...

Every Wednesday, I post three of the hottest new jobs from JobMonkey’s free job database.  Today, I’ve got three very different but all equally dream-like jobs.  The first is a summer job in Alaska with Great Alaskan Holidays (talk about an adventure), the second is a sports job with ESPN (I know a few people who would call that the job of their dreams), and the third job is with the Spa at the Westin Resorts in the Dominican Republic (need I say more). If you are in the market for a new job, start your search at JobMonkey.  The free job search engine features jobs in every i...

My local paper ran a story in the Sunday edition about job hunting during the holiday season. It got me thinking.  Their job expert said good job hunters know that there is no such thing as a holiday break when you are looking for a job.  She suggested that there are two reasons for the full throttle approach to job hunting during the holidays: * Companies that are planning to hire in January (and there are still some of them) have already allocated the funds for the new employee’s salary — which means, they are interviewing and making job offers NOW. * A lot of job hunters ta...