We are at it again. If you have been following our blog, you know we have been compiling resources to help job applicants for quite some time. We will be compiling our resources that we have created from the past and also include many resources that we haven’t covered on the blog yet in an easy to download ebook. Some of the resources you might see on the blog as the days go by, however, having a copy of all the resources that you can download or simply print and take with you cannot be beat.

As of now we are planning to release the ebook on July 1st, 2009. It will consist of resources such as job search sites, career blogs, books, resume building sites, social networking sites, state offices among many other things. We promise you that this will be one of the most complete ebook out there for job applicants when it comes to finding resources online or offline.

We will be working quite hard throughout this month to compile all these resources so we are going to ask for some help. Please share job search sites, career blogs, books, social networking sites, resume building or anything that is related to information that would help job seekers that you know of. If we use the resource (link) that you provide, we will link to your site/blog along with your name in the ebook.

Mark your calendar – the date is 07/01/09.

you will be able to download the ebook at a reasonable price of $0.00

Although we hear whispers every now and then that the job market is improving, the truth is that it’s still far from recovering. Here at applicant.com, our sole purpose is make your job hunt as straightforward as possible.

However, the state of the current job market can’t be ignored. To help you better understand the labor force in all of the 50 states, we’ve compiled an easy to scan breakdown of the 50 states that includes data on employment and unemployment.  Why not check out the state of unemployment where you live?

Read the rest of this entry »

Is this really the right time to start a business? This is the number one question going through many entrepreneurs’ minds as they watch the economy take a slump. Although it may appear that a recession is the worst time to begin a new venture, it is the perfect time to utilize the economic downturn to spiral the growth of a new business.
Today we present to you five businesses that are household names.  What do they have in common?  They were all started during a recession.

Burger King

Founded : 1954
Employees : approx. 41,000
Customers : approx. 11.4 million per day
Period : Recession of 1953

Burger King was founded in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton during the recession of the early 1950s. Today the company has become a household name and there is barely any town where we can’t find a Burger King. The introduction of BK’s signature Whopper came around during 1957, a time of high unemployment rates and failing businesses. Burger King is one of the recession start ups that has grown tremendously over the years. Read the rest of this entry »

Office lingo is something we hear often and at times it’s hard to make sense out of them. Quite frankly, it’s nothing but a bunch of made up words to make things sound “cooler” than what they really are. Today we wanted to focus on some popular office terms. But before we start the list, let’s quick take a look at a hypothetical message from a CEO using these annoying words (the terms are highlighted in bold).

We need to start pre-planning so we do not repeat the same mistakes over and over again. This time we are going to take a granular approach to drill down the problems much better. The point of contact for this project will be Mr. John Doe who will also be in charge of the focus group. He will highlight the action items and I would appreciate if we could all brainstorm together on ideas he proposes to us. Mr. Doe has always given 110% to this company and I am sure his expertise will help us regain the paradigm shift in marketing that we saw a few years back. One thing is for sure, we just can’t afford to lose anymore windows of opportunity. We need to start forward planning in order to leverage what we have.

Also we will be adding a few more pods in the office so no two person will have to share pods anymore. I have had a few concerns regarding shoulder surfing and as promised in the last meeting, this issue will be soon fixed.

I have appointed Ms. Jane Doe as the product evangelist. As you all know Ms. Doe has been an indispensable asset to our company and our last hit product was a brain child of hers. If there are any problems feel free to conversate with me. If you need to take the conversation offline, feel free to call me so we can setup a time to talk about problems and touch base frequently. I have been running out of bandwidth lately since there has been quite a bit of pressure from the board of directors. Please turn on your idea shower. If this product doesn’t work as planned, we will be seeing a lot of pink slips being handed within this company.

If you have any questions feel free to ping me. This product has to be a 2.0 version of our last product or else we don’t have a chance in this market. This is our only chance!

Imagine listening to the above message from your boss, that would definitely annoy the heck out of anyone. However, it does help to know what they mean. Here is a list of 25 office terms that are annoying but worth knowing. Read the rest of this entry »

Job search is a job in itself. There was a point in life when it seemed like all I ever did was look for jobs. One of the reason is because even though I had a job, I either wanted something better or just wanted to test myself and see if I could land something better. As a result I have been through many offices, picking up job application forms and have spent countless night on the web finding sites that offer job tips and advice.

As a veteran job seeker, I have come across quite a few sites related to jobs and career which I am sharing today. Feel free to add to the list. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to networking, Twitter and Facebook usually steals the show. However, LinkedIn users will vouch for the service that it is one of the most powerful tool when it comes to professional networking and job search. We have already covered a visual guide to twitter and an interactive guide on how to form a business structure, and today we bring you a job hunter’s guide to LinkedIn. Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter has become one of the best job search tools on the internet. The growing number of job search sites and recruiters on twitter makes it one of the easiest platform to look for a job and build contact with potential employers. Social networking has become of extreme importance when it comes to job hunt and the power of twitter cannot be ignored. We have heard countless news of people landing their dream jobs through twitter and other social media platforms. If you have yet to utilize social media for your job search, especially twitter, it’s about time you let the potential employers on twitter know that you are available.

We have compiled a list of 30 twitter profiles to help you find job tips and advice that will help you land your dream job. The profiles mentioned below are a mixture of job search sites and job/career related blogs. Under each twitter profile link (numbered) you will also find a link to their site with a brief description. Here is our collection of 30 twitter profiles and sites that every job hunter on twitter should follow. Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter as we all know is everywhere, literally. While some are tweeting breaking news that hit the twitter stream before traditional media, others are busy tweeting from their bathroom giving everyone an update on what they are doing. Although I personally think all the hype surrounding twitter is a bit excessive, there is no denying this simple platform has evolved as something that is much more than a place to send 140 character messages.

There are many uses of twitter. Businesses are using to promote their products and create brand loyalty and others are using it as a tool to network. However, it seems like there is one thing that most people haven’t really thought of. Twitter is becoming the next virtual business card, well, it already is. The other day while I was tweeting, I thought that more and more people are utilizing their background as a virtual business card. This way of promoting yourself and your skills doesn’t only give others a look into your life but also allows them to see the field you specialize in. For example, usually a web designer will have quite fancy background along with their information on it. You can pretty much look at it and say the person is a designer, unless it is done by someone else. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was a kid I hated my teachers, not all but most of them. When I thought of a teacher back then, all that came to mind was assignments, projects and a mean looking person ready to throw an F at me. Ohh I hated those early years of education. However, as I stepped into college I slowly started realizing the impact these people have had in my life. The next thing that could come close to shaping a child’s future besides their parents are teachers. In some cases, probably more than the parents themselves (ever watched the movie Matilda?).

Teachers are an integral part of our society and more so a profession without which nothing is possible, and I mean nothing. So to help these amazing individuals that helped us in shaping our future and continue to do so for our kids, we have compiled a list of 10 social networking/resource sites that will hopefully help them collaborate and find resources to make their job much easier. Read the rest of this entry »

For some reason most employees hate their boss. I came across some reasoning that were pretty legit and some as lame as “My boss is a nice guy, but I just hate looking at his face. I hate my boss.” Anyway, we all have work problems and at times we do need to vent it out. However, using services such as Twitter, Facebook and others may not be a very good idea. I am sure you’ve heard of the woman who got fired for using Facebook while on a sick leave. Here are 10 sites that will let you anonymously share you frustrations with others.

There are two outcomes of using these sites and letting your “work frustrations” out : first, you get to share with everybody how much you hate your boss/work without having to worry about consequence and second, it will probably make you feel better cause it is almost guaranteed that you have it better than some. Read the rest of this entry »