Happy Labor Day, dear JobMonkey readers! How are you enjoying your day off? I will be taking in a ball game later, and then joining my family for a barbeque for dinner — yum! Of course, if you are currently out of work and looking for a job, I suppose a “day off” is no great shakes. Well, allow me to cheer you up with some awesome freebies for job seekers. First, I’m thrilled to be able to share with you Totally Free Tuesday, an incredible resource for those of you who are or dream of becoming a work-at-home mom. Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 8, 2009 is the first ever...

Another first Friday of the month, another unemployment report. This one is a real mixed bag. First, the really bad news: The unemployment rate is 9.7% — the highest it has been since June, 1983. Unemployment creeped up from a rate of 9.4% in July, and many economists predict that it will top out at 10% by the end of the year. The news on the “expanded” rate of unemployment is even worse. It rose from 16.3% in July to 16.8% in August. Many economists believe this metric, which takes into account those who have given up searching out of frustration or who have taken a part-...

Welcome to Hot Jobs Wednesday here at JobMonkey. Have you been having a productive job search this week?  Are you searching for a job in the oil & gasoline industry? There are some exciting new leads in the field over at the JobMonkey Job Center. Do you have the education, training and experience to work in this field? Learn more from the JobMonkey’s section on the Oil & Gas Industry. 1. Facilities Control Systems Engineer, ExxonMobil, Houston, TX Exxon Mobil is seeking a Control Systems Engineer to oversee the implementation of all control systems engineering requirements. T...

Every Tuesday, I offer tips and hints for maximizing your job search. To get a crash course on Career Planning 101, check out JobMonkey’s section on Job Hunting Tools. Are you thinking about making a career change? Maybe you are looking for your first job. In either case, not having a lot of on-the-job experience may make resume-writing a challenge. If you find yourself in this situation, the term “Transferable Skills” is going to be your new best friend. According to author Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the ultimate career planning book, What Color Is Your Parachute?, says th...

The JobMonkey just launched two brand new sections on new and cool job opportunities: railroad jobs and business franchises. Have you always dreamed of workin’ on a railroad? What about owning your own franchise? The JobMonkey tells you everything you need to know to get started in either of these exciting — and potentially lucrative — careers. Come visit the JobMonkey today for more information. ...

Welcome to Hot Jobs Wednesday here at JobMonkey. How has your job search been going this week? If you are in the market for a job in real estate, there might be some good opportunities for you on the horizon. With housing sales finally picking up, agents and other real estate professionals will soon be in demand again. In honor of the housing upturn, I am dedicated this week’s Hot Jobs post to jobs in real estate. If you want to learn more about working in this field, check out the JobMonkey’s section on Real Estate Jobs. 1. Vice President, Planning and Strategy,  Prudential Re...

If you are looking for a job, you know that these are turbulent times. It can be super depressing, when all you hear in the media are the hardship stories. But the truth is, there are personal stories of triumph out there, too. You just have to know where to look. Finding inspiration just got a lot easier, thanks to CNN Money’s new Facebook group called Hired! Hired! started out as a weekly column, which is how I came to find the CNN Money group. (Check out this awesome story about a fashion buyer who lost her company, but found a new calling — all in less than 6 months.) With n...

TGIF, job seekers. Hopefully you’re heading out for a relaxing weekend, but I have a few quick things I wanted to share this Friday afternoon. I’ve read a number of great articles and blog posts this week about the job search world, which I thought some of you might appreciate. :: The Unexpected Benefits of Networking Events from the Wall Street Journal’s laid off worker blogs. This labyrinth of blog posts from a host of high-powered unemployed people is really an outstanding resource. I got lost in this blog for a good couple of hours. This post about those (dreaded) netw...

Welcome to Hot Jobs Wednesday here at JobMonkey. Wow, can you believe it? The 50th Hot Jobs post! That’s nearly a year of posting about some of the hottest job leads in nearly every imaginable field in the U.S. and around the world. Have you discovered a great job opportunity thanks to the JobMonkey? Please leave me a comment to share the good news! In the 50th Hot Jobs, I am going to be focusing on jobs abroad. There are a number of hot jobs in Europe and Israel on the JobMonkey Job Center today, so if you are in the market for an international opportunity, get yourself over there no...

If you are in the market for a new job, free web apps are a great way to increase your efficiency while saving you money. With a growing number of free web applications, you can streamline your job search with applications downloaded right to your computer or handheld device. Here are three applications you should know about: 1. Worksolver Worksolver is a great solution for keeping your networking contact straights. Its associative linking interface is combined with powerful tracking and management tools to help you to get your job search networking contacts working for you! 2. Payscale Not su...