Finding a job is a full time job. You can't just roll out of bed, look at a few ads in the newspaper, send a few resumes and expect to get a call back for the perfect job. It took me over a year but I wrote an ebook that pretty much summarizes all you need to know. For those who hate to read, if you buy it, you can download the audio that comes with it for free. Put it on a CD and take it with you in your car or listen to it at home. It's inexpensive, but well worth it if you don't have a clue as to what to do next. Many job seekers think they know what to do and 6 months later they are still jobless. The book will give you hope at least so it's worth checking out. I will be giving some tips and advice on this site and on my blogs regarding job search and the website is full of free information. So take a look at http://www.jobsearchtop10.com for some great free job search info.

Thank you for creating this circle! I have a great education and, I believe, terrific writing skills. But I've also been a SAHM for almost seven years. I want very much to go back to work, know what I want to do, and am absolutely paralyzed. I will definitely be taking a look at your e-book, and will be grateful for any advice you can throw my way!

I'm a PhD researcher and was offered a university position in December, right before the holidays, which was withdrawn 3 weeks ago due to a "hiring freeze" + budget cuts. Needless to say, it's hard to take back the kid's Christmas presents! Meanwhile, I am keeping busy but I can't move anywhere (I hear DC is hiring lots in my field right now) because of the kids are all hooked into school. My husband's home business just took a nosedive too, so I am not just searching for fulfillment and kids college tuition money anymore. Oh, "Hi everyone!".

I have worked for a school district going on 10 years. In the past year a new boss, new financial system, new co-workers...things have not changed for the better in our dept. It is the first time I do not like going to work. I manage to do my job, but I am less tolerant and turning crabby. Any advise on how to turn this around.

Hello! I am a stay at home mother with 2 children (ages 2 and 3 1/2). After being at home with my children for the past 4 years I received a call from my former boss offering me a GREAT opportunity, this was in December 2008. I have several years of experience in publishing. I was employed with this company prior to having my children. I accepted the job and loved it! There were a couple of drawbacks, however. First, putting my kids in daycare, I did do my homework and found a great place. So, off to work I go! All of a sudden I get my first call after working a few weeks that my son was sick and I needed to pick him up AND that he could not come back until he was fever free for 24 hours. This was fine! Unfortunately, my husband nor I have relatives to help out so the next day he took the first half of the day and I took the afternoon. Fortunately, my boss is a mom and understood. Well, unfortunately this happened 3-4 more times as my son's immune system was still not built up. Now I hope that what happened next was not due to the fact that I was out tending to my children, however, in April 2009 my boss took me in her office and I got laid off. The magazine I was working for was restructuring and since my postion was a new one I unfortunately was one of the victims of the lay off. I guess you might call this a God send because not only were there layoffs, but there were salary cuts as well! If I had stayed on mine would have been 7.5%! Great thing about this whole scenario...I get to be with my children!! Bad thing, thanks to this wonderful economic crunch the nation is in I really need to find some other way to make money! I have joined other circles on this site and have left my blog site I have created, however, if there is any advice you can give as far as working from home I'd love to hear them!! My blog site is http://mealplanningandtipsfortodaysfamily.blogspot.com. Take a look and if you like become a follower! I hope to make a little something on it! :-)

From http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/business/10women.html?_r=1&em :YELLING, scheming and sabotaging: all are tell-tale signs that a bully is at work, laying traps for employees at every pass.javascript:pop_me_up2('http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/05/10/business/10women2.ready.html',%20'10women2_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes') javascript:pop_me_up2('http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/05/10/business/10women2.ready.html',%20'10women2_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes') Peter DaSilva for The New York TimesKent Kaufman and Laura Stek, right, of the Growth and Leadership Center, coach Cleo Lepori-Costello, left, a vice president at a Silicon Valley software company, on communication skills.http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/05/10/business/10women.html?permid=18#comment18 During this downturn, as stress levels rise, workplace researchers say, bullies are likely to sharpen their elbows and ratchet up their attacks.It’s probably no surprise that most of these bullies are men, as a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, an advocacy group, http://workplacebullying.org/research.html . But a good 40 percent of bullies are women. And at least the male bullies take an egalitarian approach, mowing down men and women pretty much in equal measure. The women appear to prefer their own kind, choosing other women as targets more than 70 percent of the time.In the name of http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/betty_friedan/index.html?inline=nyt-per  and http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/gloria_steinem/index.html?inline=nyt-per , what is going on here?  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/business/10women.html?_r=1&em

Hello, I am an experienced Plaintiff Med Mal legal secretary that cannot find work in the Windy City, any suggestions?

After Michael Guarini lost his job as president of the health division of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide last year, he started dressing up more. The advertising and public relations firm had a business-casual dress code, but now for networking meetings, Mr. Guarini says he generally wears business suits, even with people with whom he is long acquainted.This often requires humorous deflecting. "People invariably say, 'I hope you didn't wear a suit for me,' " says Mr. Guarini. He has two pat replies: "You're worth it," or, "I had some other meetings today."In the aftermath of a layoff, style is critical. And it's about more than the decision to polish a wardrobe. The way people comport themselves after losing a job can make all the difference in what comes next. From how they convey the news to colleagues, to the type of clothes they wear and how they punctuate their emails, the newly jobless must use careful footwork to navigate the job hunt.When in doubt, it's a safe bet to retreat to conservative styles. After Michael Bragg was downsized from his New York-based job at a high-end European fashion brand, he went out and bought a new pair of shoes—lace-up, American-made Aldens. Play it straight with email, too. Sure, sometimes it's perfectly acceptable to shoot off a short, all lowercase missive to a colleague. But punctuation is a risk-free option. The same goes for social-networking. Now is not the time to post pics from a beer-sodden barbecue and share them with everyone in your network.View Full ImageRead on in the Wall Street Journal ...

From Newsweek, I thought this was an interesting take on the David Letterman, Steve Phillips affairs. The recent revelation of a summertime affair gone wrong between ESPN'sBaseball Tonight analyst Steve Phillips and a 22-year-old production assistant seemed like just another postscript of a year plagued by sex scandals.  Now it's been reported that http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4594666 . "His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged," said a spokesman for the network.  Phillips is apparently set to enter a "treatment facility" to address his sex-addiction issues. His romantic partner is also http://www.freep.com/article/20091027/SPORTS21/910270362/1049/SPORTS/ESPN--Woman-who-had-an-affair-with-Phillips-was-fired  and will be forever (or at least as long as Google exists) remembered as a "tubby temptress" and "bunny boiler." Meanwhile, the sports blog Deadpsin has gone on an unsubstantiated gossip dump, bringing up several more rumors about the sexual shenanigans of ESPN talent and executives (most of which involved younger women).  ESPN is not the only place with a problem. On Tuesday,  Nell Scovell, a former Letterman employee—one of only seven women writers in the show’s 27-year tenure—wrote for Vanity Fair about thehttp://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/david-letterman-200910  caused by the  senior staff's roving eyes. Did Dave hit on me? No. Did he pay me enough extra attention that it was noted by another writer? Yes. Was I aware of rumors that Dave was having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Was I aware that other high-level male employees were having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Did these female staffers have access to information and wield power disproportionate to their job titles? Yes. Did that create a hostile work environment? Yes. Did I believe these female staffers were benefiting professionally from their personal relationships? Yes. Did that make me feel demeaned? Completely.http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/10/28/Sex-Is-Not-The-Problem-What-David-Letterman-and-Steve-Phillips-Demonstrate-About-Women-In-the-Workplace.aspx

Both my husband and I are looking for jobs - he is looking for something in a new city and I'm looking to help him out which means getting an actual job. I'm clueless on how to make my resume as I've been doing freelance work for the last 5 years. Of course there are people out there to help but they want lots of $$ to help with our resumes - if I had the money I wouldn't need a resume! It's like the whole car/job scenario - you need a job to get a car and you need a car to get a job. Any tips on creating the best resume to showcase my husband and to let people know about my freelance experience??? SO lost!!

The U.S. added jobs in October, but the unemployment rate is the same ... and still high. How are you feeling about the recession? Are you still watching your budget closely? http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-11-05-jobs-october_N.htm

Tech Sector Hiring is Hot Again as Google, Twitter, etc., Grow SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley companies are swooping in and scooping up potential employees in a frenzy of hiring not seen since the Internet bubble of a decade ago. The tech industry is beginning to resemble an economic Nirvana, as established companies and start-ups alike hire aggressively and court prospective recruits. The competition is so fierce, many employers are dangling goodies such as iPads, nifty cubicles, shuttle service and meals to harvest top talent in engineering, social-media, website and product design, data crunching and analysis, and management. A surge in tech hires in California could portend an upturn for the larger U.S. economy, says Jesse Harriott, chief knowledge officer at online job site Monster.com. Nationally, 148,000 tech jobs are expected to be added by the end of 2011, says Sophia Koropeckyj, an economist at Moody's Analytics. Between the second quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2010, during the economic swoon, 308,000 tech jobs were lost. For non-tech companies, things aren't as bullish. Many are sitting on cash instead of hiring. "It is an incredibly competitive marketplace for (tech) talent," says Square COO Keith Rabois, drawing a comparison to the dot-com mania of the early 2000s. Since he joined the mobile-payment service eight months ago, the company has grown to 80 employees from 25. By the end of this year, it should have a staff of 150. Square is snapping up engineers and designers who it believes are candidates to eventually start their own companies, says Rabois, an early employee at PayPal, LinkedIn and Slide. Continue reading: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-03-29-technology-jobs_N.htm