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...

Notes from a Career Counselor by Amy Lindgren Here are a couple of things that crossed my desk recently. Maybe something will provide inspiration or innovation as you go about your job search. Jargonizing the Resume. It’s an age-old battle between a resume writer (me) and a job candidate (my client). The writer wants to create a clear, crisp document and the candidate wants to include all those industry terms that fly around a conference room like gnats in the outfield. Gnats? Well, maybe I’m harsh here, but my instinct is always to spit these terms out when I encounter them. An...

Notes from a Career Counselor by Amy Lindgren It’s been a quiet couple of weeks in career-land, but here’s a topic I’ve been concerned about for quite some time. Meaningless Metrics. In my last blog, I mentioned a disagreement with a client over using jargon in her resume. Well, not to pick on the same client, but here goes. Now we’re scuffling over the use of metrics – probably in part because my head still throbs from the jargon issue. Actually, I think I just resist the term “metrics” because I’m still a little attached to “measuremen...

Every Thursday, the JobMonkey blog answers your burning questions about your job search. In past weeks, we’ve talked about negotiating a salary offer, pursing a nursing career, and supporting a laid-off spouse. Do you have a question for the JobMonkey? Send me an email or leave me a note in the comment section. Dear JobMonkey, Hi! I am a 17 year old high school student from Germany. I want to work at Disney World this summer. What do I need to do to get a job at Magic Kingdom? Thanks, Greta Dear Greta, I have to tell you that we get a lot of letters like yours. Most of them have come fro...

According to Scotland’s The Herald newspaper, green jobs aren’t just on the rise in the U.S., but in the U.K. as well. The British company Centrica recently announced plans to create 1,500 new green jobs, from engineering positions to green collar assignments. Jobs will include energy efficiency advisers and wind farm installers. On Monday, I posted about four recession-proof careers and working for green industries definitely made the list. According to economic experts, as many as three to five million new green jobs will be created in the U.S. over the next decade. If you are in...

Newsweek online has a great piece this week about ten recession-proof careers.  Here’s a look at four of the job fields that are still hiring (Halleluyah!) and links to corresponding sections about these career options from JobMonkey. 1) Security Jobs with the Defense Department and America’s Homeland Security are on the rise. According to a 2007 report, there will be more 80,000 new jobs in these fields in the next two years. If you include local crime fighting in these figures, I’m guessing the numbers will be even higher — much higher — since the recently pa...

My apologies for not getting these up on Wednesday, but after the Thanksgiving holiday, our system wasn’t quite updated with current listings.  Today, I am ready to bring you three great opportunities, all of which were uploaded to the JobMonkey free job database yesterday — so these gigs are fresh and ready for you to pick!  (Sorry for the fruit harvesting metaphors, don’t know what got into me Today I have not one, but two great student internships — the first with Nike (how cool!) and the second with AT&T.  If you are in college or a recent grad, take a l...

Every Monday at the JobMonkey blog, we focus on a different career path and the educational background you need to get started.  Whether you are still in high school and thinking about your future, or you are a professional in a different field looking to try something new, the information here should help you get started on your journey. If there is a career that you are particularly interested in learning more about, please let me a note in the comments section so I can feature it in the coming weeks. There are many different career paths for someone wishing to work in the veterinary fie...

On the eve of Thanksgiving, most of us will probably be taking a day or two off from whatever rat race we are in to enjoy some quality time and turkey with our families. Of course, for the job seeker, the race for your next job never really ends until that golden offer is in hand! Even still, take a few hours to enjoy your family’s feast (I know I will!)… but then be sure to get right back to business. Here’s a good starting point: I’ve got three stellar Hot Jobs for you from JobMonkey’s free database.  There is an opening with the Environmental Protection Ag...

Every Wednesday at the JobMonkey, I share a selection of three new job listings posted in our free database.  If you are in the market for a new job, JobMonkey’s free job database is a wonderful first stop.  It’s updated daily and contains a wide range of positions, professions and locations. This week, I have a mechanical engineering job in California, a slaes rep job in Florida, and an operations supervisor gig in Western Australia. If none of these jobs seem like a good fit for your experience, skills and education, then click on over to the free job database and see what you...