I haven’t shared any job searching link love with you in a while, but there are a few things I’ve found this week that are really “must reads”. We’re in for a rainy weekend, so hopefully you can curl up with a good URL (ah, how times have changed!). How to become America’s next top writer by Julie Kraut, author of the new novel, Slept Away. Julie was a featured guest poster at Lindsey Pollak’s blog and shared her advice for aspiring writers. I especially appreciate her advice to “read as much as you can, and not just from the genre you’re writi...

The Wall Street Journal’s Mark Penn published a column this week about the growing number of professional bloggers — and their growing earning potential. Penn says that 1% of American adults are now earning some income from blogging. That translates into 20 million blogging Americas, with 1.7 million profiting from their work in some way — and almost half a million earning their primary income from blogging. Wow. Penn also reports that as the number of bloggers has increased, there has been a seemingly inverse relationship to the number of journalists. Penn cites the numbe...

With the ranks of unemployed growing, and the number of available jobs shrinking, many of America’s jobless are considering freelance careers. We have talked about freelancing many times here at the JobMonkey blog, including posts about the benefits and challenges of working for yourself. (Do you read, for example, this recent post about how to avoid Work-at-Home scams?) The Green Bay Press Gazette ran a great little advice column today with tips for freelancers, including ideas for marketing your services, handling the accounting red tape, and making sure you have adequate health ins...

Every Thursday, the JobMonkey blog answers your burning questions about your job search. So far, we have covered how to negotiate a salary offer, how to write a cover letter for a nursing job, and how to find a summer job at Disney World. Do you have a question about your job search? Send me an email or leave me a note in the comment section. Dear JobMonkey, I am a Stay at Home mom looking to earn some extra money, while still staying at home with my kids. I need to find something that I can do during nap times or at night, once my kids are in bed. I have looked at some Work at Home sites, but...

We’re starting a new tradition here at the JobMonkey. Every Thursday, I’ll be answering a question from our growing stacks of emails from our readers. If you have a question about your job search, please send me an email so I can answer it in an upcoming post. This week we have a great question about part-time work-at-home opportunities.  Even if you’re not a full-time, stay-at-home mom, working from home can be a great way to find long-term professional fulfillment — or just to cover the gaps of an extended lay-off. Dear JobMonkey, I am a full-time stay-at-home mom ...

The unemployment figures are climbing and Americans are scrambling to find jobs. While starting your own business surely has its risks — especially in this economy — a growing number of recent college grads, recently unemployed and one-time stay-at-home parents are testing the freelance waters. One of the most popular jobs for stay-at-home workers is freelance writing. In fact, some of you might be thinking right about now, “Hey, I can write! I should be a freelance writer!” Well, if you’re considering trying to break into the field, hear this: Freelance writing i...

Announcement: Another New Job Category at JobMonkey JobMonkey just launched its newest job category: freelance writing jobs. A decade ago, freelance writing jobs were the exclusive purview of $1/word writers for glossy mags like Cosmo and Sports Illustrated.  An even more elite few wrote actual books. Today, however, with the proliferation of Internet content — websites, blogs, e-newsletters — there is a rapidly expanding market for freelance writers. Pay ranges from pennies per word to hundreds of dollars per hour, although most beginning writers earn closer to the former than th...