Office supply stores Staples and Office Depot are both running job searching specials this month, with free copies of your resume, free faxing and even free business cards. If you are looking for a job, taking advantage of one (or both) of these offers is a great way to save your budget the expense of printing and faxing. Here are the details: At Office Depot, you can print up to 25 single-sided pages for free, and get free faxing to five different domestic numbers, up to 25 pages in total. The special runs through May 30. To find an Office Depot near you, call 1-888-GO-DEPOT. At Staples, you ...

We talk a lot here on the JobMonkey blog about the importance of networking. And really, I don’t think the impact of effective networking can be underestimated: Career experts tell us that 60-80% of all new jobs are landed through networking connections. But what if you are already talking to everyone you know (and everyone they know), regularly updating your profile on LinkedIn, attending networking parties, and participating in industry events … and yet you still haven’t found a job? How about this non-conventional networking idea: Volunteering? The personal and professional...

Are you a high school or college student looking for a summer job? You might be feeling overwhelmed right about now with all the news that summer jobs are hard to come by in ‘09. It’s true that tough economies equal fewer jobs and more competition for them. But that doesn’t mean you are doomed to a summer of pathetically watching soap operas. You can still land a great summer gig if you follow these seven golden rules of job searching: 1. Work on your resume. Even if you lack on-the-job experience, you can demonstrate leadership and community activism through school activi...

TGIF dear readers! The blogosphere has been a buzz this week with job search news and advice. Here’s a look at some of what I’ve been reading this week. If you’ve read a job-related article or blog post this week that you want to share, please do so in the comments section! >> The Keys to Landing a Job This Summer @ The Campus Buzz Yes, it’s still cold outside, but if you’re in the market for a summer job, now is the time to find it. Especially given the dire news that summer job opportunities (like the rest of the job market) are a bit dried up this yea...

The news hasn’t been good for weeks, but today America’s job market reached an all-time low. CNN reported this afternoon that 71,400 jobs were lost today. That’s the single highest job loss day since 1945. The companies affected include: - Catepillar, which is cutting 20,000 jobs - Drug-maker Pfizer, which is reducing its workforce by 10% — 8,100 jobs - Sprint Nextel, which is eliminating 8,000 jobs - Home Depot, which is closing its Expo Center and cutting 7,000 associates - Texas Instruments, which is slashing 3,400 employees - Financial group ING, which is reducing i...

If you are a college senior, you are entering the most glorious semester of your educational career. You are riding high, about to graduate and start the next chapter of your life. And in the meantime, you get to enjoy enough collegiate-style entertainment to last a lifetime. Perhaps you know you are going to graduate school and are just waiting on your final acceptance notices. But statistics tell us that most of you will be looking for a job come May — and given the current economic climate, that might feel like a pretty daunting task right about now. Here are some tips for starting...

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...

Not everyone graduates from high school at the age of 17, packs up all their worldly possessions in the back of a beater car, and drives across town — or across country — to enroll at a quaint little college on the hill. Whether it’s because you need to earn money NOW, or you just aren’t sure if college is the place for you, or any of a myriad of other reasons, the traditional four-year plan to a Bachelor’s Degree at a brick-and-mortar college is definitely not for everyone. The good news is that in the last decade, your options for education have grown exponentia...

Recession, economic downturn, depression.  Call it what you want, but there is no doubt that this is not a great time to be looking for a new job.  While unemployment figures have yet to pass into the double digits (with the exception of the hardest-hit communities in states like Michigan), companies are focused these days on getting through the tough times — not on expanding their payroll. Despite the doom and gloom, there are many of you out there who need to find a job.  Now.  So, recession / economic downturn / depression be darned — you can make this job hunt work for y...

Every Tuesday, we discuss tips and hints for making the most of your job search. We welcome input from our readers and want to hear about your most challenging job hunting issues.  To get a crash course on Career Planning 101, check out JobMonkey’s section on Job Hunting Tools. Whether you are facing a career change or looking for your first job, one of the biggest challenges is writing a resume that truly markets your skills to a potential employer.  If you don’t have a lot of on-the-job experience, or if you want to pursue a career in a new field, then this task becomes even more d...