The job search landscape has certainly changed. With unemployment rate at record high of 9.5% job seekers are definitely taking a different route to being noticed. Yesterday while browsing the web we came across a link that showed a picture of one such job hunter. Determined to grab attention from potential employer Leah Hannah went to streets with a sign and copies of resumes in her hand ready to go. We certainly hope Leah lands a job soon. A job seeker this gutsy and ready to take an unconventional approach to job searching certainly deserves a chance.

Good luck Leah!

If you are on twitter, please use the hashtag #hireleah.

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As most of you already know June has been the worst month so far for unemployment. According to the labor department the number of layoffs in June amounted to a staggering 467,000 as compared to 345,000 in May. The Bureau of Labor issued a press release today which shows employers took 2,763 mass layoff in the month of June which accounted in the separation of 279,231 workers. Below are some highlights from the report on layoffs,

1. Each layoff action involved at least 50 person from each employer.
2. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 170 and associated initial claims decreased by 33,649.
3. In June, 1,235 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector.
4. The industry with the largest number of initial claims was elementary and secondary schools (28,751), which includes both publicly- and privately owned
   entities.
5. The manufacturing sector accounted for 27 percent of all mass layoff events.
6. Midwest registered the highest number of initial claims in June due to mass layoffs (76,301), followed by the West (71,501) and the South (61,962)
7. California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in June with
   56,138. Read the rest of this entry »

We recently got an email from the marketing folks at hireflyer asking if we would be willing to publish their press release. We took a look at the site and it does seem to provide what employers and job seekers are asking for. Hireflyer, a job distribution site was launched in May 2009 so it still is new on the web to many. The design and usability of the site is pretty good, nothing outstanding to be honest. However, at this point it’s too early to judge whether this new job distribution service will be able to survive in an already crowded market. We’ll have to wait and see. If you are looking for jobs and have been using hireflyer or plan on using it do let us know what you think. Here is the press release from HireFlyer.com. Inc. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve talked about social media jobs in the past and how they are shaping the job market. One job related to social media that has been talk of the web is the job from Murphy Goode Winery known as “A Really Goode Job.” Hardy Wallace from Atlanta Georgia is the lucky winner who was able to land this job that was a dream to many. The contract will last for six months and Wallace’s primary job will be to help spread the word about Murphy Goode Winery. Wallace is the owner of “Dirty South Wine” blog and was recently laid off from his sales position with Kodak early this year. In a press release issued by the company, it also mentions that they offered other jobs to other finalists. Here is what Hardy Wallace is up for as a wine correspondent for Murphy Goode.

Job : Learn about the wine making process, interact with local wine makers and file reports of your experience via social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. So basically this job requires you to drink wine,have a good time and update Facebook, Twitter and write blog posts highlighting your experience at Murphy Goode.

Perks :

• Rent free deluxe private home
• Return airfare once the contract is over
• Free transportation
• Travel insurance
• Computer, internet, PDA, digital and still camera.

Pay : $10,000 each month for a six month contract.

Workday : Every day you tweet, facebook, drink wine and have fun

Job length : 6 months

Below is the video of Hardy Wallace “A Really Goode Job” video application followed by Press release from the company. Read the rest of this entry »

All workers who are covered by the Federal Labor Standards Act will be eligible for a $7.25 per hour minimum pay starting July 24th. The new minimum wage will be $0.70 higher than the previous wage of $6.55 which was implemented on July 24th 2008. Below you will find a brief history of Federal Minimum Wage which shows a $7.00 increment in Federal Minimum Wage since 1938.

Year	Federal Minimum Wage
1938	0.25
1939	0.3
1945	0.4
1950	0.75
1956	1
1961	1.15
1963	1.25
1967	1.4
1968	1.6
1974	2
1975	2.1
1976	2.3
1978	2.65
1979	2.9
1980	3.1
1981	3.35
1990	3.8
1991	4.25
1996	4.75
1997	5.15
2007	5.85
2008	6.55
2009	7.25

This increment in the Federal Minimum Wage is said to increase a full time worker’s paycheck by $120 each month. Read the rest of this entry »

Most of you are probably aware that the U.S. unemployment rate has hit a record high of 9.5% . According to the labor department the number of layoffs in June amounted to a staggering 467,000 as compared to 345,000 in May. The number of job losses in May gave job seekers hope that the job market was regaining the strength it once had. Economist had predicted 550,000 layoffs for the month of May and the actual number was much lower than expected. However, after seeing the June report it seems like it won’t be too long before past predictions will become a reality. Read the rest of this entry »

Would you care if you had to fill out username and password to your online profiles on a job application form? I sure would. We had talked about credit check a while ago and it caused quite a controversy among our readers. I wouldn’t be very happy if I was filling out a job application form that had a section for me to enter my login credentials. That to me is beyond a simple background check. That is exactly what a city in Montana had been doing for couple years until someone brought it up, finally. If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on it, here is the piece that you should read – Montana City Asks Job Applicants To Fork Over Social Networking Passwords.

Not long after the news broke of the unethical hiring practice of the Bozeman city, a press release was issued saying that the city has stopped the practice. According to the press release,

Effective at 12:00 p.m. today, Friday June 19, 2009, the City of Bozeman permanently ceased the practice of requesting candidates selected for City positions under a provisional job offer to provide user names and passwords for the candidate’s internet sites.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today there are hundreds of social media platforms that are available to us. Although we would like to use each and every one of them, it is only wise to choose the platform that serves our motive the best. When it comes to job search LinkedIn (take a look at our visual guide to LinkedIn) by far is one of the best platforms out there. Of course, Facebook, Twitter, etc. can’t be disregarded either. On June 15th 2009, a conference was held in Google Headquarters where speakers talked about the future of recruiting. As you can imagine, the future of recruiting is social. The participants of this conference were some of the best and brightest minds from the recruiting industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Just wanted to quick let everyone know that we added a feature that allows you to find content related to the topic of each post. At the end of the post you should see a section called “More on this topic” which will allow you to find related content. This feature is powered by pluck and the articles shown are from blogs that are under the blogburst network which we are also a part of. We just enabled this feature and so far it seems to be working pretty good. If you see any issues related to this feature please let us know through your comments or feel free to contact us. If you are using feedreader you probably won’t be able to see this feature. Read the rest of this entry »

Job applicants have been looking for jobs through different platforms. Some are using twitter,LinkedIn, Facebook and some are utilizing the combined power of all the options that are out there. These online platforms have made it lot easier for recruiters to find the ideal candidate.

Last week I had a chance to communicate with a few people on twitter who are without a job at the moment. So we thought we would give them one more platform to showcase their skills and their availability. Starting this week we will be featuring one job applicant each week. If you would like to be the job applicant of the week, simply contact us and we will send you the details. All featured job applicants profile will be shown at the very top of the sidebar on the right. The profile on the sidebar will link to your professional page on LinkedIn or any other platform that you have been using for your job search.