MSU Alumni Association ::.. Career Services eNewsletter

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Previous issues of Job Market Trends eNews are displayed below:

Michigan State University
Job Market Trends eNews, August 6, 2007

Welcome to the August issue of Job Market Trends eNews. A variety of articles will keep you updated on the job market tendencies from both the employer’s perspective and from the job hunter’s viewpoint. As always, your comments and suggestions are at all times welcomed by email to MSU Alumni Career Services. Thank you for making this newsletter an outstanding success.

MSU alumni with resumes posted with Alumni Career Services receive this eNews to help with their job campaigning efforts. Employers with jobs posted in the job listings database receive this newsletter to keep them abreast of trends in the job market. Thank you for choosing MSU Alumni Career Services as your preferred internet-based employment resource.

For the latest online edition of Job Market Trends eNews, click here.

MSU Alumni/Job Seekers:

Post a RESUME

Search JOB LISTINGS DATABASE

SUBSCRIBE to Job Postings

Get a RESUME CRITIQUE

Use JOB CAMPAIGNING TOOLKIT

JOIN MSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Employers/Recruiters:

Search RESUME DATABASE (FREE)

Post JOB LISTINGS (FREE)

View EMPLOYER RESOURCES

Contact Alumni Career Services Today!

E-mail: careers@msualum.com

Phone: 517-355-7698

Thought for Success

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you'll be a success." -- Albert Schweitzer, Humanitarian

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Climbs to a Six-Year High

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had dipped in June, rebounded in July. The Index now stands at 112.6 (1985=100), up from 105.3 in June. The Present Situation Index increased to 139.2 from 129.9 in June. The Expectations Index rose to 94.8 from 88.8. An improvement in business conditions and the job market has lifted consumers' spirits in July. The Present Situation Index is also at a near six-year high (August 2001 144.5). Looking ahead, consumers are more upbeat about short-term economic prospects, mainly the result of a decline in the number of pessimists, not an increase in the number of optimists. This rebound in confidence suggests economic activity may gather a little momentum in the coming months. More here.

Employment Increases in July, Unemployment Rate Remains Low, Earnings Up

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up in July (+92,000), and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.6 percent. Over the first 7 months of 2007, job growth has averaged 136,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 189,000 in 2006.

Average hourly earnings for private production and non-supervisory workers increased by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, in July to $17.45. This increase follows 7-cent gains in May and June. Over the year, average hourly earnings were up by 3.9 percent. More here.

Are 401(k) overseers doing their jobs?

By law, and on paper, companies that offer a 401(k) plan should have in place an investment committee. By law, and on paper, those investment committees should have in place criteria by which they will choose which mutual funds to offer employees. And they should have in place criteria by which they will keep or toss mutual funds from the menu being offered employees. More here.

Tame Email Beast by Giving It a Rest

Who doesn't like complaining about email? It's the computer technology that we can't live without, but which also seems to be doing a good job of ruining people's lives. AOL, which helped popularize email in the first place, has done yearly studies of email usage, studies that confirm the technology has, for many people, become an addiction. For example, a growing number of office workers plan their vacations around whether they will have access to email. It takes guts and leverage and some confidence in your career to be able to unplug from email. Hat's off to someone who does that, but you have to know the field you're in and the state of your career than you're in. More here.

Appeal of early retirement fades, and industries take note

Listen to the legendary Jack Welch, retired CEO of General Electric, on the sexy subject of retirement: "People don't want to sit on the beach just because they've hit 70. They're too vibrant. They want action: 70 is the new 55." Welch himself is 72 and keeps up an incandescent schedule of producing business best-sellers, giving high-fee speeches and consulting. Of course, not all of us can be as energetic and talented as Jack Welch, but more and more Americans are following his path in retirement. Increasingly, after we hit 62 or 65, we seek action -- not necessarily in full-time jobs, but in part-time work. More here

How Do You Tell Your Boss A Pay Raise Wasn't Adequate?
Employers need to see people are willing to take on more responsibility and not expect something different in their agreement around money. But you probably aren't right to keep quiet now. Employees frequently need to approach their managers when they feel underpaid due to new circumstances. Your best approach is likely to sit down with your boss to talk about it. The last thing you want to happen is to hand in your resignation and find out that your manager was working out a way to pay you more but you just didn't know. A promotional salary increase may be justified, but understand that for individual contributors who move into management raises typically range from 10% to 15% of base salary. If your recent raise was within this range, your company may not be willing to pay you more at this time. More here.

Four Signs Your Job Is In Jeopardy

Is your job on the chopping block? It's a very real possibility. Americans under the age of 30 stand a 90% chance of getting canned at least once over the next 20 years, reports CareerBuilder.com, a Web site for job hunters. But how do you know when your time has come? More here

When Your Boss Is Always Breathing Down Your Neck

The relationship with a boss may seem different. After all, you probably don't share much personal information with her beyond that you're going to be late because you have a doctor's appointment. But because you spend so much time together in a tight space, you're likely to concentrate a large amount of your thoughts and energy on her. If you have a bad relationship, often even the smallest thing she does can make you angry with her. More here.

Please forward copies of this eNews to interested MSU alumni, friends, and colleagues. Thank you.

Employers, Post Job Listings!

Registration is needed the first time you access this website so you can select a User Name and Password. This service is FREE to prospective employers. After registering, you may login with your User Name and Password, and then post your own job listings. In addition you can review, edit, or delete your own job listings; extend or reduce job posting deadlines; search resumes of MSU alumni for outstanding job applicants, and enter job listings directly onto the website using word processing formats. REGISTER on the employer website.

Jobs@msualum.com

Send job listings to jobs@msualum.com if you DO NOT WANT to review, edit, or delete your own job listings; extend or reduce job posting deadlines; or search for resumes of MSU alumni. However, it is most advantageous to post your own job listings. It is quick, easy, and not very time-consuming at all.

Did You Find A Job?

MSU alumni, let us know when you find a job, so we remove your resume from the Resume Database on the Alumni Career Services website. Give us your new organization name, city and state, and job title of your new position for our records. You may reply to this message. Thanks much!

If we may provide additional assistance with your job campaigning or personnel recruitment efforts, please let us know. GO GREEN!!

Contact: L. Patrick Scheetz, Ph.D.

Director, Alumni Career Services

MSU Alumni Association

242 Spartan Way

East Lansing, MI 48824-2005

Tele: (517) 355-7698 · Fax: (517) 355-5265

Email: careers@msualum.com · Web page: MSU Alumni Career Services

To subscribe to this FREE Job Market Trends eNews publication, send a message SUBSCRIBE JOBMARKET to LISTSERV@MAIL2.ALUMNI.MSU.EDU To unsubscribe, send a message SIGNOFF JOBMARKET to LISTSERV@MAIL2.ALUMNI.MSU.EDU

Michigan State University

Job Market Trends eNews, June 13, 2007

Welcome to the June issue of Job Market Trends eNews. A variety of articles will keep you updated on the job market tendencies from both the employer’s perspective and from the job hunter’s viewpoint. As always, your comments and suggestions are at all times welcomed by email to MSU Alumni Career Services. Thank you for making this newsletter an outstanding success.

MSU alumni with resumes posted with Alumni Career Services receive this eNews to help with their job campaigning efforts. Employers with jobs posted in the job listings database receive this newsletter to keep them abreast of trends in the job market. Thank you for choosing MSU Alumni Career Services as your preferred internet-based employment resource.

For the latest online edition of Job Market Trends eNews, click here.

MSU Alumni/Job Seekers:

Post a RESUME

Search JOB LISTINGS DATABASE

SUBSCRIBE to Job Postings

Get a RESUME CRITIQUE

Use JOB CAMPAIGNING TOOLKIT

JOIN MSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Employers/Recruiters:

Search RESUME DATABASE (FREE)

Post JOB LISTINGS (FREE)

View EMPLOYER TOOLKIT

Contact Alumni Career Services Today!

E-mail: careers@msualum.com

Phone: 517-355-7698

90 Second Survey, Help the MSU Alumni Association

Please take 90 seconds or less to complete the MSU Alumni Association survey. Your opinion is very important. More here.

Thought for Success

“The second and perhaps greater hazard is that individuals don’t know what they don’t know and, worse yet, don’t know that they don’t know.” – Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Improves In May

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in April, bounced back in May. The Index now stands at 108.0 (1985=100), up from 106.3 in April. The Present Situation Index increased to 136.1 from 133.5 in April. The Expectations Index edged up to 89.2 from 88.2. More here.

Employment Increases In May, But Increase Below Last Year

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 157,000 in May to 137.8 million. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent. Job growth continued in a number of service- providing industries, while employment declined in manufacturing. In the first 5 months of 2007, payroll job growth averaged 133,000 per month, compared with 189,000 per month in 2006. Average hourly earnings for private production and non- supervisory workers rose by 6 cents (0.3 percent) to $17.30 in May. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.8 percent. More here.

The Elevator Speech is the Swiss Army Knife of Job-Search Tools

By now the Elevator Speech is a fairly well-known tool, not only for job-seekers but for organizations and individuals with products and services to sell. Whatever the exact origin, the Elevator Speech is an exceptionally useful and versatile tool in numerous situations. More here.

Updating Your Resume: Create a Historical Perspective

The basis of every good resume is a full and complete history. If you have not already done so, take the time to create an historical perspective by listing everything you have ever done - volunteer or paid. Include the duration of the job or activity, the time basis (full time, and percentage of full time), and the major duties - as well as the traditional who, when and where. Someplace you should also identify the major skills you used as you performed the duties. Everyone should maintain an historical resume that shows all the information mentioned above. Over time, your historical resume can fill several pages. To find more information on an historical resume, click here. Once your historical resume is updated, you should prepare your one-page job campaigning resume. You never know when you will need to start a job campaign…internal or external. Members of the MSU Alumni Association can receive a FREE resume and cover letter critique. Compared to outside resume writers who charge an average of $150 per resume and cover letter, the price of membership in the MSU alumni Association is peanuts. MSU alumni and friends can join.

Ensure a Newly Created Job Has Staying Power

More job seekers could find themselves in freshly created positions as companies revamp operations to cope with expanding markets, takeovers or financial crises. This high-risk situation "stresses people's emotional and psychological resources," says Rebecca Schalm, an industrial psychologist at RHR International, an executive-coaching firm. More here.

What to Ask Yourself About Retirement

When it comes to planning for retirement, most people focus first on money: Am I saving enough? Is my nest egg big enough? Yes, a healthy savings account is important for later life. But unless you have a good idea about what you want to do in retirement -- how you plan to fill your days and what your new lifestyle might cost -- questions about the size and adequacy of your nest egg are premature. Here are some steps for individuals to take when figuring out the life they want to lead in their 50s and beyond. More here.

Rise of Midlevel Professionals

Physician assistants constitute a rapidly expanding category of professionals that is like a warrant officer in the armed forces -- somewhere between an enlisted man and an officer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that physician assistants are the fourth fastest-growing profession in the country. They are going into fields that require less paperwork and shorter hours than the 60 per week that have become the norm in many fields. Small wonder then that talented people are choosing to become paralegals instead of lawyers, electricians instead of electrical engineers, bookkeepers instead of accountants, opticians instead of ophthalmologists. More here.

Hiring Plans Hold Steady

Company hiring plans for the third quarter remain unchanged from the second quarter, halting a slow decline in hiring plans over the previous year, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Eighteen percent of firms surveyed said they'll be hiring in the upcoming third quarter, the same portion who said they intended to hire in the second quarter, according to the Manpower report. More here.

Please forward copies of this eNews to interested MSU alumni, friends, and colleagues. Thank you.

Employers, Post Job Listings!

Jobs@msualum.com

Send job listings to jobs@msualum.com if you must, but then you cannot review, edit, or delete your own job listings; extend or reduce job posting deadlines; or search resumes for outstanding MSU alumni. It is most advantageous to post your own job listings; it is quick, easy, and not time-consuming at all.

Did You Find A Job?

MSU alumni and friends, let us know when you find a job, so we remove your resume from the Resume Database on the Alumni Career Services website. Give us your new organization name, city and state, and job title of your new position for our records. You may reply to this message. Thanks much!

If we may provide additional assistance with your job campaigning or personnel recruitment efforts, please let us know. GO GREEN!!

Contact: L. Patrick Scheetz, Ph.D.

Director, Alumni Career Services

MSU Alumni Association

242 Spartan Way

East Lansing, MI 48824-2005

Tele: (517) 355-7698 · Fax: (517) 355-5265

Email: careers@msualum.com · Web page: MSU Alumni Career Services

Thank you for thinking of Michigan State University alumni and friends when hiring new employees! Go Green!

Michigan State University
Job Market Trends eNews, May 7, 2007

Welcome to the May issue of Job Market Trends eNews. A variety of articles will keep you updated on the job market tendencies from both the employer’s perspective and from the job hunter’s viewpoint. As always, your comments and suggestions are at all times welcomed by email to MSU Alumni Career Services. Thank you for making this newsletter an outstanding success.

MSU alumni with resumes posted with Alumni Career Services receive this eNews to help with their job campaigning efforts. Employers with jobs posted in the job listings database receive this newsletter to keep them abreast of trends in the job market. Thank you for choosing MSU Alumni Career Services as your preferred internet-based employment resource.

For the latest online edition of Job Market Trends eNews, click here.

MSU Alumni/Job Seekers:

Employers/Recruiters:

Search RESUME DATABASE (FREE)
Post JOB LISTINGS (FREE)
View EMPLOYER RESOURCES

Contact Alumni Career Services Today!

E-mail: careers@msualum.com
Phone: 517-355-7698

90 Second Survey, Help the MSU Alumni Association

Please take 90 seconds or less to take the MSU Alumni Association’s survey. Your opinion is very important. More here.

Thought for Success

“When one door closes, another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell, inventor

Spartan Business Card - Networking Directory

A new service of Alumni Career Services is the perfect networking resource for job campaigning and for business development. Let other Spartans know where you work and what you do. Post your business information here. This is a new benefit of Alumni Association membership. Not a Member? Join Online. Search the Spartan Business Directory by keyword (i.e. individual name, company name, position, etc.), location (city and state), and business type. Post your card here.

Eroding Expectations Continue Consumer Confidence Decline in April

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in March, retreated further in April. The Index now stands at 104.0 (1985=100), down from 108.2 in March. The Present Situation Index decreased to 131.3 from 138.5 in March. The Expectations Index declined to 85.8 from 87.9. Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: "Unlike the decline in March, which was solely the result of apprehension about the short-term outlook, this month's decline was a combination of weakening expectations and a less favorable assessment of present-day conditions. Rising prices at the gas pump continue to play a key role in dampening consumers' short-term expectations. The decline in the Present Situation Index — the first decline in six months — warrants monitoring in the months ahead, as further declines would suggest a softening in growth." More here.

April Unemployment Rate Remained Unchanged

Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 88,000 in April to 137.7 million. In the first 4 months of 2007, payroll job growth averaged 129,000 per month, down from 189,000 per month in 2006. In April, job gains continued in some service-providing industries, while employment fell in retail trade and manufacturing. The unemployment rate, at 4.5 percent, was essentially unchanged over the month and has ranged from 4.4 to 4.6 percent since last September. Average hourly earnings for private production and nonsupervisory workers rose by 4 cents to $17.25 in April. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.7 percent, down from the recent high of 4.3 percent in December. More here.

An M.B.A. Is Not Enough

An M.B.A. provides the strong general education that an executive needs but it does not teach the skills needed in the day-to-day operation of a business, according to a survey of international executives. Only 20% of the executives surveyed said that an M.B.A. prepares people to deal with the real-life challenges that a manager must face, according to the survey of 133 top executives at firms in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany by Egon Zehnder International, an executive search firm. Among the executives surveyed, 40% hold an M.B.A. themselves. More here.

The Art of Showing Pure Incompetence

Strategic incompetence is not about having a strategy that fails, but a failure that succeeds. It almost always works to deflect work one does not want to do -- without ever having to admit it. For junior staffers, it is a way of attaining power through powerlessness. For managers, it can juice their status by pretending to be incapable of lowly tasks. In all cases, it is a ritualistic charade. The only thing the person claiming not to understand really does not understand is that the victim ultimately stuck with the work sees through the false incompetence. More here.

Employers Flexible, But Workers Still Leave Vacation On Table: Survey

A survey of 2,082 workers by Hudson, a recruitment-services provider, indicates that employers seem to appreciate the need for flexibility when it comes to extra personal time. More than three-quarters of the survey's respondents rated their employers favorably when it comes to allowing them extra time for personal matters, while 80% said their bosses are very or somewhat accepting if they need to stay home sick. Despite the favorable view on employers, more than half of the respondents said they do not use all of their vacation time, with 30% indicating that they use less than half of their allotted personal time. More here.

How To Make A Graceful Job Exit

Gone are the days of starting a career with one company and staying with it for 30 years or more. Today's workplace is more fluid then ever; according to the Bureau of Labor, 20-somethings change jobs every 18 months, while a 2004 U.S. job recovery and retention survey concluded that 75% of all workers are looking for a new job. But just because everyone is doing it does not mean they are doing it right. If you get a new job, it is crucial that you leave your old one gracefully -- for both your colleagues and your career. You may cross paths professionally with co-workers again, and you also do not want to tarnish your reputation as an honest, upright colleague. More here.

Read This and Weep: Crying At Work Gains Acceptance

Crying at work has long been seen as verboten. But there's evidence that a growing number of workers, especially those in their 20s and 30s, see it differently. Some think it is old-fashioned to hide your emotions. Others are quick to cry over negative feedback. And many find themselves at odds with managers who grew up with a more repressive definition of professional conduct. More here.

Start Your New Job Right

You made it past the multiple rounds of interviews, background checks and countless hoops. Congratulations -- you got the job! So now what? Many employees forget that the real hard work begins after they start a new job, not in the steps it took to get it. Yes, you have sufficiently wowed your future employers so they decided to hire you. But it is important to make a solid first impression on the job and assure them that they did not make a mistake. Martin Yate, professional development counselor and author of "Knock 'Em Dead: The Ultimate Job Seeker's Guide," says there are several things to keep in mind when starting at a new company. More here.

Please forward copies of this eNews to interested MSU alumni, friends, and colleagues. Thank you.

Employers, Post Job Listings!

Jobs@msualum.com

Did You Find A Job?

If we may provide additional assistance with your job campaigning or personnel recruitment efforts, please let us know. GO GREEN!!

Contact: L. Patrick Scheetz, Ph.D.

Director, Alumni Career Services

MSU Alumni Association

242 Spartan Way

East Lansing, MI 48824-2005

Tele: (517) 355-7698 · Fax: (517) 355-5265

Email: careers@msualum.com · Web page: MSU Alumni Career Services

Michigan State University

Job Market Trends eNews, April 12, 2007

Welcome to the April issue of Job Market Trends eNews. A variety of articles will keep you updated on the job market tendencies from both the employer’s perspective and from the job hunter’s viewpoint. As always, your comments and suggestions are at all times welcomed by email to MSU Alumni Career Services. Thank you for making this newsletter an outstanding success.

MSU alumni with resumes posted with Alumni Career Services receive this eNews to help with their job campaigning efforts. Employers with jobs posted in the job listings database receive this newsletter to keep them abreast of trends in the job market. Thank you for choosing MSU Alumni Career Services as your preferred internet-based employment resource.

For the latest online edition of Job Market Trends eNews, click here.

MSU Alumni/Job Seekers:

Employers/Recruiters:

Search RESUME DATABASE (FREE)
Post JOB LISTINGS (FREE)
View EMPLOYER RESOURCES

Contact Alumni Career Services Today!

E-mail: careers@msualum.com

Phone: 517-355-7698

Thought for Success

“Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens, author

Spartan Business Card - Networking Directory

Networking Opportunity. This new service of Alumni Career Services is the perfect networking resource for job campaigning and for business development. Let other Spartans know where you work and what you do. ADD your business information here. This is a new benefit of Alumni Association membership. Not a Member? Join Online. Search the Spartan Business Directory by keyword (i.e. individual name, company name, position, etc.), location (city and state), and business type. Post your card here.

Eroding Expectations Cause a Retreat In Consumer Confidence Index

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in February, retreated in March. The Index now stands at 107.2 (1985=100), down from 111.2 in February. The Expectations Index declined to 86.9 from 93.8. The Present Situation Index increased slightly to 137.6 from 137.1 in February. Consumers' overall assessment of present-day conditions was little changed in March. Those claiming conditions are "good" dipped to 28.3 percent from 28.7 percent. Those saying conditions are "bad" was virtually unchanged at 14.9 percent.

Labor market conditions remain mixed. Consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" increased to 19.1 percent from 17.9 percent. Those claiming jobs are "plentiful," however, increased to 30.5 percent from 27.8 percent in February. This series now stands at a five-and-a-half year high (August 2001, 33.6 percent). More here.

March Unemployment Rate Remained Unchanged

Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 180,000 to 137.6 million in March. The unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, was essentially unchanged. Construction employment rose sharply over the month; retail trade and health care also added jobs. Average hourly earnings increased by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent. Average hourly earnings for private production and nonsupervisory workers rose by 6 cents to $17.22 in March. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 4.0 percent. The number of unemployed persons, 6.7 million, was little changed in March. The unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, has been in a narrow range of 4.4 to 4.6 percent since last September. In March, the number of persons unemployed less than 5 weeks fell by 273,000 to 2.3 million. More here.

Top 10 positions for which employers seek workers

Sales representatives, teachers and mechanics are the top three jobs for which employers are struggling to find workers, according to a survey released Thursday by Manpower Inc. Overall, 41% of firms surveyed said they're struggling to find qualified workers for at least one position, according to the survey of 2,400 U.S. firms. The survey asked each company, "Are you having difficulty filling jobs due to lack of available talent?" If they said yes, the survey asked, "What is the one job you are having the most difficulty filling?" Sales representatives topped the list. That category includes retail sales and business-to-business sales, but not telemarketers, said Melanie Holmes, vice president of corporate affairs at Manpower, in a telephone interview. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics "projects that an additional 736,000 retail sales people and an additional 187,000 sales representatives are going to be required by 2014," she said. Teachers, the No. 2 job most in need of filling in the survey, includes elementary and post-secondary teachers, she said, noting the BLS projects an additional need for 524,000 post-secondary teachers and 265,000 elementary-school teachers by 2014. More Here.

If your 401(k) includes your company's stock, a rollover may be a bad move

When employees who own company stock in their 401(k) or profit-sharing plan retire or leave their employer, they have to become experts in evaluating what to do with that money. That means learning about "net unrealized appreciation" or NUA. Thanks in large part to the Enron fiasco, fewer workers invest a large chunk of their 401(k) in their own company's stock. The portion of participants' savings invested in company stock has dropped steadily over the years, to 13% in 2005 from 19% in 1996. But that 13% still represents a huge chunk of money for many 401(k) participants. And it represents a crash course in NUA. Not surprisingly, flunking the course can be expensive. What's more, flunking the course seems almost a certainty. "The average person doesn't have a shot at understanding this," says Mark Cortazzo, senior partner with MACRO Consulting Group. At present, workers leaving their company have four options, according to Robert Keebler, a partner with Virchow, Krause & Company, who wrote a brief on the subject for MFS.

More here.

Five Signals That You May Be a Workaholic

In the age of the BlackBerry, laptop and cell phone, distinguishing between workaholics and people just doing what's expected in their jobs can be difficult. A workaholic is addicted to working, devoting excessive hours to a job and sometimes becoming anxious when unable to do so, says Dr. Robinson, a psychotherapist in Asheville, N.C., who treats workaholics and other addicts. More here.

What Job Seekers Can Gain From Blogs About Recruiting

The blogosphere has become a virtual career center for job hunters seeking advice.

In recent years, scores of blogs on various topics related to recruiting have cropped up. Most are written by human-resources professionals, career experts, executive-search consultants and recruiting-technology gurus. Some of the blogs also have job ads from employers. Here's a sampling of blogs about recruiting and what job hunters can learn from reading them. More here.

Being Helpful Is the Secret To Business Networking

For some people, networking is almost as important as breathing. The more events they attend and the more people they meet, the happier they are. For others, it's as painful as pulling toenails. Networking needn't be painful, and it's something that builds on itself. People want to be helpful, and once you start making contacts, relationships can grow exponentially. The first thing to realize is that networking is simply seeking and sharing information with others. By making this one of your goals, your boss is saying you'll be a more effective employee if you connect with more people. More Here

Do I Have to Admit I'm Job-Hunting?

Be fair to yourself by seeing this as an opportunity for both you and the company to benefit. Once we step outside of the box and consider the ways in which we can take all of our ethical responsibilities into account, it becomes easier to find the best possible solution. You are at a crossroads in your professional life, and you might use this opportunity to explore with your boss what is bothering you and how your concerns could be addressed in a way that would be advantageous to you and the company. Let's also assume that even if your boss never made clear that he expects you to tell him about your desire to move on, the ethical principle of fairness suggests that your boss may very well be entitled to know about your wish to leave. You might understandably fear retaliation from your boss if you are truthful now. How could it be the case, then, that ethics requires putting your company's interests above your own? Can loyalty truly require jeopardizing oneself? More here.

But I deserved that promotion!

So your employer hired an outside candidate for that big job you wanted? Here's why and what to do next. Recruiting-industry research shows that, when competing against outsiders for a bigger job, only about one-third of internal candidates win. John Salveson, a principal at headhunting firm Salveson Stetson Group says there are several reasons why companies launch external searches even when they have strong candidates already on the payroll. More here.

FREE Employer Toolkit for Successful Recruiting

A new FREE resource is available to employers from MSU Alumni Career Services. Readers of Job Market Trends eNews can receive the Toolkit by simply emailing a request to Alumni Career Services.

FREE Job Campaigning Toolkit
A FREE job campaigning resource is available to job seekers as well. Readers of Job Market Trends eNews, MSU alumni, and friends of Michigan State University can receive the Toolkit by simply emailing a request to Alumni Career Services.

Please forward copies of this eNews to interested MSU alumni, friends, and colleagues. Thank you.

Employers, Post Job Listings!

Jobs@msualum.com

Did You Find A Job?

If we may provide additional assistance with your job campaigning or personnel recruitment efforts, please let us know. GO GREEN!!

Contact: L. Patrick Scheetz, Ph.D.

Director, Alumni Career Services

MSU Alumni Association

242 Spartan Way

East Lansing, MI 48824-2005

Tele: (517) 355-7698 · Fax: (517) 355-5265

Email: careers@msualum.com · Web page: MSU Alumni Career Services

Michigan State University
Job Market Trends eNews, March 5, 2007

Welcome to the March issue of Job Market Trends eNews. A variety of articles will keep you updated on the job market tendencies from both the employer’s perspective and from the job hunter’s viewpoint. As always, your comments and suggestions are at all times welcomed by email to MSU Alumni Career Services. Thank you for making this newsletter an outstanding success.

For the latest online edition of Job Market Trends eNews, click here.

MSU Alumni/Job Seekers:

Post a RESUME

Search JOB LISTINGS DATABASE

SUBSCRIBE to Job Postings

Get a RESUME CRITIQUE

Use JOB CAMPAIGNING TOOLKIT

JOIN MSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Employers/Recruiters:

Search RESUME DATABASE (FREE)

Post JOB LISTINGS (FREE)

View EMPLOYER RESOURCES

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Thought for Success

“The longer you wait to decide what you want to do, the more time you’re wasting. It’s up to you to want something so badly that your passion shows through in your actions. Your actions, not your words, will do the shouting for you.” – Derek Jeter, baseball player

Spartan Business - Networking Directory

Networking Opportunity. This new service of Alumni Career Services is the perfect networking resource for job campaigning and for business development. Let other Spartans know where you work and what you do. ADD your business information here. This is a new benefit of Alumni Association membership. Not a Member? Join Online. Search the Spartan Business Directory by keyword (i.e. individual name, company name, position, etc.), location (city and state), and business type. Post your card here.

Consumer Confidence Remains at Five Year High In February

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had marginally increased in January, improved in February. The Index now stands at 112.5 (1985=100), up from 110.2 in January. The Present Situation Index increased to 139.0 from 133.9. The Expectations Index edged up slightly to 94.8 from 94.4 last month. Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: "Consumer Confidence now stands at a five-and-a-half year high (August 2001, 114.0), as improving present-day business conditions and an easing in the proportion of consumers claiming jobs are hard to get have combined to lift consumers' spirits.” More here.

FREE Employer Toolkit for Successful Recruiting

A new FREE resource is available to employers from MSU Alumni Career Services. Readers of Job Market Trends eNews can receive the Toolkit by simply emailing a request to Alumni Career Services.

FREE Job Campaigning Toolkit
A FREE job campaigning resource is available to job seekers as well. Readers of Job Market Trends eNews, MSU alumni, and friends of Michigan State University can receive the Toolkit by simply emailing a request to Alumni Career Services.

Identity Theft Still Top Consumer Worry: FTC

For the seventh straight year, identity-theft complaints were at the top of list of consumer complaints in 2006, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday. About 36% of all complaints received by the FTC were related to identity theft. This was much higher percentage than the next complaint categories involving shop-at-home catalogs and sweepstakes, which both received 7% of complaints. More here

Employees Choose Phone Over Email

In the beginning there was spam, and the world saw that it was bad, including Stephen Jukuri. But he has changed his mind. "I love it," he gushes. "I can get rid of it. Delete. Delete. Delete." What craters Mr. Jukuri's day is deciding if, when and how to respond to his normal email. "Now that anyone can email me about anything, they seem to," he says. "Every single 'Forward' I've ever gotten fits into that category." That's why the telephone is looking ever better these days. "If Bill Gates invented the telephone and Alexander Graham Bell invented email," notes Dennis Fluegel, a retired senior project manager, "we would all be saying, 'You should get one of these telephones, you can actually talk to someone, hear what they are saying, and you don't have to use a keyboard!' " More here

What's the Best Way to Pick A Career Counselor or Coach?

The process of finding a career coach or counselor is the same as that for finding any other professional, such as a dentist or personal trainer. Consider what you need or hope to accomplish and then do research to locate someone who's qualified to address your issues.

Career counselors usually specialize in helping clients determine appropriate career paths or with their overall job-search strategy. Coaches might focus more on helping to achieve a career goal or improving a specific skill, such as interviewing. More here

When You're Expected to Stay Late At the Expense of Your Home Life

My job is destroying my family life. I'm working 60-hour weeks with no bonus or extra pay. Days off are full of constant emails and calls from work. Although management tells us to take compensatory time off, we're regarded as uncommitted when we do. I've tried to talk to management about the problem but nothing happens. More here

Women Outpace Men In Number of New Jobs
Women took on slightly more than half of U.S. jobs created in the first part of the decade and made gains in securing the most lucrative openings. Women posted a net increase of 1.7 million jobs paying above the median salary, while men gained a net increase of just over 220,000 of such positions, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report for the years 2000-2005. More here

Labor Market Is Strong, But There Are Signs That Small Cracks Are Developing

The headlines in the past month have been troubling. "Chrysler to fire 13,000." "Kodak says pink slips will hit 30,000." "Hershey to kiss 1,500 workers goodbye." Layoff announcements certainly get a lot of attention, both on Wall Street and on the production lines. Sometimes it seems as if no one's job is safe as the corporate world relentlessly transforms itself with mergers, restructurings, bankruptcies and constant cost-cutting. "I'd say there's nothing to worry about at all" right now, said Richard DeKaser, chief economist for National City Bank in Cleveland. He noted that layoffs reported by Challenger averaged just 70,000 a month in 2006. "They are scary low," compared with the height of layoffs in 2001 and 2002, when more than twice as many layoffs were announced each month. As evidence of underlying strength, the national unemployment rate was 4.6% in January, not much higher than the cyclical low of 4.4%. The jobless rate is so low; in fact, that the Federal Reserve is more worried about an acceleration of wages leading to higher prices than it is about a growth slowdown. More here

Seven Tips to Transition to a New Career

Whether you're in an industry that's desperately seeking workers or one that's continually announcing layoffs, you've likely toyed with thoughts of dropping everything to follow your dream career. But making that leap is often difficult. For some workers, now might be a good time to consider a switch. The national unemployment rate was 4.6% in January and 2.1% for those with a college degree according to the U.S. Labor Department. The employment picture "really gives job seekers a cushion that doesn't always exist," said John Challenger, chief executive of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "There is a lot of demand right now for skilled workers" in many industries, he said. If the job change you make doesn't work out, you're not necessarily facing a dire job market, he said.

More here

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Employers, Post Job Listings!

Registration is needed the first time you access this website so you can select a User Name and Password. This service is FREE to prospective employers. After registering, you may login with your User Name and Password, and then post your own job listings. In addition you can review, edit, or delete your own job listings; extend or reduce job posting deadlines; search resumes of MSU alumni for outstanding job applicants, and enter job listings directly onto the website using word processing formats. REGISTER on the employer website.

Jobs@msualum.com

Send job listings to jobs@msualum.com if you DO NOT WANT to review, edit, or delete your own job listings; extend or reduce job posting deadlines; or search for resumes of MSU alumni. However, it is most advantageous to post your own job listings. It is quick, easy, and not very time-consuming at all.

Did You Find A Job?

If we may provide additional assistance with your job campaigning or personnel recruitment efforts, please let us know. GO GREEN!!

Contact: L. Patrick Scheetz, Ph.D.

Director, Alumni Career Services

MSU Alumni Association

242 Spartan Way

East Lansing, MI 48824-2005

Tele: (517) 355-7698 · Fax: (517) 355-5265

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Michigan State University
Job Market Trends eNews, February 8, 2007

Welcome to the February issue of Job Market Trends eNews. A variety of articles will keep you updated on the job market tendencies from both the employer’s perspective and from the job hunter’s viewpoint. As always, your comments and suggestions are at all times welcomed by email to MSU Alumni Career Services. Thank you for making this newsletter an outstanding success.

MSU alumni with resumes posted with Alumni Career Services receive this eNews to help with their job campaigning efforts. Employers with jobs posted in the job listings database receive this newsletter to keep them abreast of trends in the job market. Thank you for choosing MSU Alumni Career Services as your preferred internet-based employment resource.

For the latest online edition of Job Market Trends eNews, click here.

MSU Alumni/Job Seekers:

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SUBSCRIBE to Job Postings

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JOIN MSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Employers/Recruiters:

Search RESUME DATABASE (FREE)

Post JOB LISTINGS (FREE)

View EMPLOYER TOOLKIT FOR SUCCESSFUL RECRUITING

Contact Alumni Career Services Today!

E-mail: careers@msualum.com

Phone: 517-355-7698

Thought for Success

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. IF you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” - Warren Buffett, investor

Spartan Business - Networking Directory

Payroll Employment Rose for January
Payroll employment through the United States increased by 111,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.6 percent. Payroll employment rose by 196,000 in November and by 206,000 in December (as revised). Average hourly earnings for private production and nonsupervisory workers increased by 3 cents in January to $17.09, a gain of 0.2 percent. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 4.0 percent. More here.

Consumer Confidence Inches to Five Year High In January

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in December, edged up slightly in January. The Index now stands at 110.3 (1985=100), up from 110.0 in December. The Present Situation Index increased to 133.9 from 130.5. The Expectations Index, however, declined to 94.5 from 96.3 last month. "This month's slight increase in confidence was solely the result of an improvement in the Present Situation Index, fueled primarily by a more favorable job market," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Looking ahead, however, consumers are not as optimistic as they were in December. All in all, the Index suggests a moderate improvement in the pace of growth in early 2007." More here.

How to Succeed in 2007
Business 2.0 Magazine asked 50 of the best and the brightest business leaders how they do what they do so well. Embedded in the 50 short takes on the website are some pearls of wisdom that might propel your career to new heights in 2007. More here .

Smart Salary Negotiation Strategies Can Make You Rich

The biggest salary increases almost always come from changing jobs and companies. These increases can be 20–30% higher than the old job. Some of my clients have seen 40–50% increases, and a few clients actually doubled their salaries. Lately, I find employers are open to negotiating salaries and are paying more than ever. More here.

Rise of False Deadline Means The Truly Urgent May Be Late
In many offices, setting false deadlines has became as chronic as breaking them. False deadlines are just that: moving little bars around. There are certainly legitimate reasons to impose early deadlines. Some people have never met one they didn't bust, for example. And certain office archetypes, such as people whose work won't turn out right until the ninth iteration, can invite early deadlines that aren't necessarily false but seem that way. Sometimes the difficulty of predicting workflow can make deadlines seem earlier in retrospect than they needed to be. More here.

Tips for Safeguarding Your Online Reputation

The Web could hurt your job prospects, according to a 2006 ExecuNet survey of 100 executive recruiters. About 35% of respondents said they eliminated a candidate based on information found online, up from around 26% a year earlier. Among the reasons cited for eliminating candidates: misstated academic qualifications, odd personal habits, legal proceedings against a former employer and a suspended driver's license. More here.

When an Employee Brings on the Waterworks

When did it become OK for women to cry in the office? When I, a baby boomer, was coming up, no "professional" was ever allowed to cry. But when I recently completed employee reviews, two employees burst into tears. Both received glowing feedback overall, but lost it when I mentioned one small point needing improvement. Does this mark some sort of generational change? More here.

Nearly Half of Workers Mull Job Change

Of respondents to a CNNMoney.com online poll, 49 percent expect to find a new position in the coming year, whether through job search or promotion. In an online poll created as part of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For coverage, CNNMoney asked readers "Do you expect to change jobs soon?" and found that many people were on the hunt. Of the respondents, 21 percent indicated they were already job-hunting, while 21 percent said they would start looking sometime this year.