After spending months looking for a job, I finally found something working as a sales associate at a local department store. I’m making $10 an hour and averaging 30-35 hours a week. With an hourly rate like that I’ll barely be able to make my car payment and student loan payment, but at least I’ll be able to make them.

It’s a difficult market to find work in when 80% of the graduating class of 2009 weren’t offered jobs upon graduation and with many of us still out there looking for work.

It really is a full time job to try to find something; in my case it turned from a search for a dream job to a search for a job where I could earn something. Employers really do have the upper hand in this market, they know that they can offer you less money and that you’ll be willing to accept it only because work is so hard to come by.

I recently found a website that said those who graduated with a degree in business administration (just undergraduate) are earning an average of $42,000 a year. I’m getting no where near that number. After taxes, I’m lucky if I’ll be earning $12,000. As much as I want the sales experience so I may be able to get a job somewhere else in the future, I don’t know if this is something that I really see myself doing. The truth is, I really wanted to be making at least $20,000 a year while I lived in my current house and I honestly find the pay of $12,000 a year a bit insulting for all the work I put into college. Yesterday while I was sitting in the break area watching the training videos someone asked me why would I even consider working at that store when I had graduated college and had a business administration degree. I could only say, “because I can’t find a job anywhere else.”

Unemployment has hit a nationwide average of just under 10% and it looks like a lot of places aren’t hiring, have implemented a hiring freeze, or are laying off a majority of its labor force. However, there are places all across the country where you can find work (usually) and you actually have a good chance of finding work in one of these cities.

1) Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, so much so that the population of the city is almost half of the total personal income for Alaska. The median age in the city is 33 and while the recession has hit the rest of the country pretty hard, in Anchorage the city marked it’s 20th year of job growth.

Twenty percent of the city’s jobs are in education, health services and government, all of which have increased the number of jobs for the past year. Big box retail stores are also starting to move into the city. Stores like Kohl’s and Best Buy have continued to open new stores in the city.

2) Arlington, Virginia. Arlington neighbors Washington D.C. and is home to the Pentagon as well as Arlington National Cemetery. The biggest employers in this city include the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and the State Department. When there is a lot of government jobs in an area, the national unemployment rate has a much smaller effect on what is going on in the local employment rate.

Arlington also has several large private employers such as US Airways, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Marriott.

3) Columbus, Ohio. Columbus has a strong distribution industry as well as a strong transportation industry and this can likely be attributed to the city’s central location in not only the state, but as well as the country.

Columbus has a diverse economy for such a Mid-America kind of town. It boasts healthcare, manufacturing, technology, as well as hospitality services. The largest employers in the city include the biggest university in the state Ohio State, Nationwide Insurance, Bob Evans, JP Morgan Chase, and OhioHealth.

4) Houston, Texas. This Texas city, like much of the rest of the state, has come out fairly unscathed in this recession. Houston is one of the only cities in the country where people are actually finding work. Houses in Texas are affordable and jobs are plentiful. Thanks to the city’s large stake in the oil industry, this city has continued to fare well.

Not every little thing is caught by spell check on Word. Sometimes it won’t catch a word that is spelled right but used in a way that will ensure you don’t get a job. Here are a few examples of some misspelled phrases that have ended up on resumes in the past:

* “Hope to hear from you, shorty.”
* “Have a keen eye for derail.”
* Dear Sir or Madman.”
* “I’m attacking my resume for you to review.”
* “I’m a rabid typist.”
* “My work ethics are impeachable.”
* “Nervous of steel.”
* “Following is a grief overview of my skills.”
* “GPA: 34.0″
* “Graphic designer seeking no-profit career.”
* EDUCATION: Attended collage courses.

The first thing I thought when I read those was “wow.” However, when you really start to think about it, it’s not hard to make some of those mistakes, especially when you’re a “rabid” typist. People often think that they don’t have enough time to read over something that they’ve typed either, even when it’s something as important as a resume.

I know I have made plenty of typing errors while I’ve been writing for this site; they happen quite frequently and I usually don’t change them until I have published them and everyone else has seen the mistake too.

Some things you can do to help avoid such an embarassing situation is to:

1. Of course, use spell check, but make sure you also do some of the other steps.

2. Read over every word you type to make sure you have made coherent sentences.

3. Print it and read it again.

4. Have someone else read it.

You can check out a list of really amusing resume bloopers here:

Source

Over the past year, unemployment has been on the near-constant rise. Every time I turn around it seems as though some other company is cutting 20% of its work force. Many of the larger companies, however, are doing something to try to ease the layoffs before actually being forced to simply fire the workers.

They’re offering buyouts.

These buyouts, depending on the company, are typically a few thousand dollars ($10,000-$25,000) and are a one time payment. With the payout, the employee is immediately terminated and he or she is free from any contract that they might have with the company.

However, even when GM decided to offer buyouts to some of its employees that included a free car, employees weren’t taking the offer and instead were opting for the risk of not knowing whether they would be fired without a buyout or not. Many GM workers who could have taken the buyouts were fired with no money to help cushion the blow.

Most recently, the United States Postal Service has decided to offer a $15,000 buyout to anyone who wants to quit willingly. The offer extends to those seeking retirement or early retirement, a total of about 30,000 employees. They would get $10,000 now and the other $5,000 in October 2010. I’m sure that many of these people will not end up taking the buyout.

The problem is, many of these people know that their job is worth more than the buyout being offered. There aren’t enough jobs to go around right now and if they decide to quit and take the buyout, then they are much less likely to be able to find work again especially because these are the people who are eligible for retirement. They are the ones who will end up scrimping and saving because they can’t keep their electricity on if they burn through their savings.

In some ways, I don’t blame the people who decide to not take the buyout, but on the other hand, many of these people will be terminated without any financial compensation of any kind. The buyouts do leave a bitter taste in your mouth, don’t they?

A new study from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom has come out saying that nice guys really do finish last. The nicer the guy, the less he will earn per year versus his more aggressive counterparts.

On average, it is 1,500 pounds per year less than the more aggressive coworker.

The study was conducted over 3,000 men. They were divided into five different personality types then it ranked their salaries. The lull in pay even accounted for education, occupation, experience, as well as training.

I suppose that this could come from the fact that nice people tend to be more complacent where they are and how much they’re making. Nicer people are often less likely to ask for more when they feel underpaid. Instead, they’ll just complain about it to their friends or keep it to themselves or even make everything better by convincing themselves that everything is ok.

Sometimes being nice can be a bad thing if you’re in business, but being nice is one of the only ways to actually get your foot in the door at any place where you may not have any connections to.

Nice guys may finish last, but they often end up with the jobs.

Hundreds of thousands of previously full time workers who have been laid off have sought part-time work to pay the bills. In fact, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are almost two million more part time workers in the United States now than there were a year ago. Many of these people have been forced to trade the security of a hefty benefits package for a spatula and a hair net. However, if you know where to look, you may not have to trade those benefits.

“If you’re going to work part time, it’s best to work at places that consider part-time workers as integral to their success. For example, at Starbucks part-time workers hit the core of their organization, and because of that they’re going to be taken care of.” says Bob Nelson, president of Nelson Motivation, a benefits consulting firm.

Grocery stores tend to provide decent benefits packages. Some offer medical benefits, a 401(k) matching, profit-sharing and paid time off even to part time workers. These stores are also relatively recession proof so many are hiring and in some cases even expanding. If you are not into the food business, there are so many other places to go like:

1. Barnes & Noble: Part-time workers not only get a discount on purchases, but they also get transportation benefits to help them pay for getting to and from work. You only need at least 20 hours a week to qualify after only one year of employment. Benefits include: medical, dental, flexible spending, 401k matching (after 1,000 hours worked), transit benefits, paid sick days and a 30% employee discount on purchases.

2. IKEA: They are expanding their presence in America and bringing the European employee pride along for the ride. Once you get a job working 20 hours a week at IKEA, you automatically qualify for benefits without any waited time (except for the 401k). Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; 401k after six months of work. Depending on the hours worked, you may receive paid vacations.

3. Lowe’s: It looks like they want you to apply for a job there so you can “build something together.” They have flexible scheduling and there are no minimum hours per week or limitations required for collecting benefits. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; life and short-term disability insurance; 401(k) plan with company match; prorated paid vacation, employee discounts.

4. REI: You can discounts on great gear and other products. Part-time and seasonal employees are eligible for medical coverage after just 30 days of work and they require you work at least 20 hours a week. REI covers 60%. Benefits include: medical, dental, incentive pay, retirement and profit sharing (depending on length of employment), tuition reimbursement, up to 12 weeks unpaid leave, 50% discount on REI products, 30% off miscellaneous alternate vendor products and 30% discount on trips with REI’s travel company.

5. Starbucks: This author has a close friend who almost got a job at Starbucks in the morning before her business started for the day just to receive cheap health insurance, and that was before the recession. Workers receive free beverages while at work, a 30% discount on merchandise and a free pound of coffee or box of tea to take home each week. You need three months of continuous work and at least 20 hours per week to qualify. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; 401(k) plan with company match; paid vacation (after 12 months of employment), 30% employee discount, gym membership discounts, tuition reimbursement after 12 months of employment and free beverages while working.

6. Trader Joe’s: They won’t disclose much about their qualifications for benefits but will comment that in addition to a 10% employee discount, workers get free signature Trader Joe’s Hawaiian shirts and paid time off. We do not know how long you need to work there to get benefits, but part time workers can get up to 35 hours per week. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; company paid retirement plan, 10% employee discount and disability insurance.

7. Wegmans: This grocery store chain is expanding throughout the Northeast now. For employees who want to take advantage of the colleges nearby, the company offers scholarships for college or continuing education. You only need 20 to 24 hours per week for one year of continuous employment to qualify for benefits. Benefits include: medical, pharmacy; 401(k) matching, paid vacations (varies by state), an option for profit sharing, employee discounts on purchases, flexible spending, scholarships, smoking cessation programs and discounted gym memberships.

8. Whole Foods: This store that prides itself in health really goes all the way. Whole Foods covers 100% of employees’ health-insurance premiums after they’ve worked 800 total hours. All employees and their spouses or eligible domestic partners also get a 20% discount on groceries. You must work 20 hours each week until you have accumulated 400 hours of tenure to qualify for benefits. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, life and disability insurance, 401k, prorated paid time off, and a 20% in-store discount for employees and their spouses or eligible domestic partners. Sidenote: If you work at a Whole Foods in Los Angeles County, it is likely you will meet celebrities like Hayden Panettiere, Carrie Underwood, Hilary Duff, and Jamie Pressly. They are photographed coming out of Whole Foods by the paps a few days a week. If you do work at an LA County store, just remember to show up for work early so you can find a spot and get in. The photogs know how to crowd up a parking lot.

Your resume is the main way to market yourself to potential employers and now that jobs are scarce for some of us, it is important to play on your best skills, accomplishments, and why you would be an asset to the company.

Of course, there are a few ways to downplay some of your own pitfalls without lying on your resume.Yahoo’s The Savvy Networker had a list of tips on how to boost your resume, and I just thought it would be fun to revisit; especially because I know how hard it can be to get your foot in the door at any job.

First, eliminate resume gaps by taking out the month from your dates of employment. There are times in most people’s lives where they have been unemployed for some time or there were a couple of months where you were “between jobs” and gaps in employment make employers wary. However if you put 2004-2009 instead of May 2004 – March 2009 then the gap between March and now is gone.

Then, you should be able to describe your previous jobs. When you put on your resume where you worked and what you did, perhaps it would be good to tell your potential employer exactly what the company did or does. The reason for this is that not all companies can be a huge brand name that everyone recognizes.

For Example:

Global Supply Company
Inventory Manager 2006-present

Global Supply is the Midwest’s largest distributor of heating and cooling equipment to contractors. As Inventory Manager I was responsible for managing $1M in equipment and coordinating deliveries and outbound shipments among our 45 suppliers and 400+ contractor clients.

Also, don’t use corporate lingo in your resume. When you say something like “cross-functional collaborator” you are simply asking for your resume to be passed over. Yes, that may have been your actual job, but if you say something that you actually accomplished such as your ability to distribute your company’s product to resellers, then your resume will look a bit more practical than others that put some kind of lingo on their resumes.

Finally, make your resume sound human. Robots can spit out phrases and overused cliches like “attention to detail.” However, you can actually add something that sounds a bit more human. How much better does it sound to say that you are able to tackle office chaos and calm down your coworkers? Hmm…

Of course, these are all just boosters. Your real accomplishments are whats going to sell a potential employer on your resume.

Coming out of college, many people may be facing the same dilemma. Not only can they not find work, but the jobs that they are able to find simply don’t suit them or won’t pay the student loan bill. So, when is it okay to take a lower paying job and hope that it turns into a career?

Well, this is where it comes time to start talking to your coworkers. If you’re working at a retail store and aren’t making too much, start asking around to see:

What other people are making

How long they’ve been there

What kind of education they have

While this may seem to be a bit personal to ask some people these questions, the people who are equal to you are more likely to answer the questions and you’ll quickly discover if your job is a dead end job or if this job can become a career.

Today I came across a girl around my age, who graduated with a marketing degree from the same college I did in 2007 and can’t find work either. She has been working at the retail store for over a year and a half however, she is earning $1 an hour less than I am.

After talking to her and some of the people around the store who are a bit less educated than I am, I have discovered that this is likely a dead end job where the people who work higher up in the store rarely leave and corporate typically will look over this store when they begin looking for new hires in their offices.

It’s easy to tell when your job is a dead end job after you’ve asked around, but what if it’s a career? Well, you’ll likely hear that people are promoted more often than not and you’ve heard of at least a couple of people who have been moved into corporate or at least a regional position after being at the store for a few years.

Yesterday I wrote about things that can make your resume look unprofessional. These types of resumes often get overlooked. However, a resume isn’t the only hurdle to overcome when you try to land a job. The interview is the pivotal point in the hiring process. During an interview you can easily bore your potential employer or do some other blunders that can result in you not getting the job.

So here are some do’s and do not’s of interviewing:

Do:

Dress the part. You can really never be overdressed for an interview. I recently had an interview in an office where the dress code is always casual; I still wore a suit and heels.

Ask questions. Asking questions lets the employer know that you are genuinely interested in the job.

Do your research. Know about the company before you walk in the door.

Be yourself. I once interviewed with a company where the hiring manager told me that there were plenty of applicants that are “professional interviewees” and that they would not be themselves during an interview and then when they were hired, they were a completely different person. Also, when you be yourself you will be less nervous and a bit more easygoing.

Don’t:

Dwell on why you lost your last job.

Be unprepared in any way. This means don’t just “wing it.” This really goes back to being prepared for the interview by doing your research about the company as well as knowing your on skills and being prepared for any questions that the interviewer may ask.

Be bland. You have to set yourself apart from other candidates. You have to let them know what makes you different and why they need you. Every employer wants the best candidate for the job and that needs to be you.

Resumes are the first way that employers get a glimpse of you and your accomplishments. However, some accomplishments are greater than others and there are some that aren’t so great to put on a resume to begin with.

Some of the things that you should think twice about putting on your resume include:

No-so-great accomplishments such a a bad GPA and under achiever statuses. If you graduated college with a 2.3 GPA, then it is probably something you should want to leave off your resume. You should try to let work experience shine above that. Also, don’t put things on your resume such as you “get along” with other coworkers, not only is that not able to be evaluated in a unbiased manner but it is also not exactly noteworthy and is easily deemed as a under-achiever type of accomplishment.

Don’t put things on your resume that can’t be measured such as “most talented” or “I’m awesome.” Not only can those not be measured but they really should be left off because they make you sound a bit like a arrogant jerk. Also, an accomplishment talking about what a client said about you should really be left for the potential employer to find out when he or she checks your references.

Also, while it may be quite a feat, a potential employer is likely not to pick you for an interview knowing that one of your most proud accomplishments is your ability to win eating contests or other really off beat contests. You have to keep in mind that luck cannot also be considered an accomplishment. While it might be neat that you won lots of loot off a radio contest, that is just luck and won’t help you get ahead in your job.

Most of these are just kind of obvious things that should be left off of resumes, but there wouldn’t be articles about this topic if it didn’t actually happen from time to time. I have actually seen some pretty funny stuff on applications myself including people claiming jobs that I know they never had and references that included the President of the United States.

I suppose the most important thing to remember for a resume is to be honest but to definitely play down any negative things or holes in it. So…you did graduate with a 2.0 GPA, well if you have a lot more positive attributes, that can be overlooked and left out of resumes altogether. Your resume is your chance to impress your potential boss before you get a chance to give an interview.

Unemployment has hit a nationwide average of just under 10% and it looks like a lot of places aren’t hiring, have implemented a hiring freeze, or are laying off a majority of its labor force. However, there are places all across the country where you can find work (usually) and you actually have a good chance of finding work in one of these cities.

1) Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, so much so that the population of the city is almost half of the total personal income for Alaska. The median age in the city is 33 and while the recession has hit the rest of the country pretty hard, in Anchorage the city marked it’s 20th year of job growth.

Twenty percent of the city’s jobs are in education, health services and government, all of which have increased the number of jobs for the past year. Big box retail stores are also starting to move into the city. Stores like Kohl’s and Best Buy have continued to open new stores in the city.

2) Arlington, Virginia. Arlington neighbors Washington D.C. and is home to the Pentagon as well as Arlington National Cemetery. The biggest employers in this city include the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and the State Department. When there is a lot of government jobs in an area, the national unemployment rate has a much smaller effect on what is going on in the local employment rate.

Arlington also has several large private employers such as US Airways, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Marriott.

3) Columbus, Ohio. Columbus has a strong distribution industry as well as a strong transportation industry and this can likely be attributed to the city’s central location in not only the state, but as well as the country.

Columbus has a diverse economy for such a Mid-America kind of town. It boasts healthcare, manufacturing, technology, as well as hospitality services. The largest employers in the city include the biggest university in the state Ohio State, Nationwide Insurance, Bob Evans, JP Morgan Chase, and OhioHealth.

4) Houston, Texas. This Texas city, like much of the rest of the state, has come out fairly unscathed in this recession. Houston is one of the only cities in the country where people are actually finding work. Houses in Texas are affordable and jobs are plentiful. Thanks to the city’s large stake in the oil industry, this city has continued to fare well.W

UPS has announced that it believes that it will have to deliver nearly 22 million packages on December 21st – it’s busiest day of the year this year. This represents a 40% increase over normal daily volume.

It also announced that between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it expects to deliver around 400 million packages in the United States and abroad. The increase in shipping over the holiday season also leads to more employment. UPS is expecting to hire 50,000 seasonal workers starting soon to help handle the extra holiday volume.

The media watches these expectations from UPS as well as FedEx as a measure of how well the retail sector of the economy is doing.

If you are expecting to wait until the last minute to ship something, you can ship something by air with UPS on December 23rd and it will still get there by Christmas Eve.

FedEx has said that it expects December 14th to be its busiest day of the year and that it will ship 13 million packages on that day. FedEx does, however, have a partnership with the United States Postal Service, where FedEx ships to the post office and the postal worker delivers the package to the buyer.

If you were going to ship with FedEx, if you want your package there by Christmas, you have to ship it by Dec. 17th for ground service and December 23rd for Express service.

Of course, you can also ship with the USPS. I am unsure if it has guaranteed delivery for anything other than its overnight packages however. I do know that Priority Mail is supposed to be 2-3 day delivery and I haven’t been disappointed so far in that service.

SmartMoney has an article  talking about seven career fields that college graduates can work. The list is pretty good if you have an accounting, engineering, or computer science (IT) degree, but if you are anyone else things are not looking too good for you.

From the article:

That liberal arts degree isn’t a total waste. Various companies are looking for business or liberal arts students to fill their management training programs.

Rental car agency Enterprise?Rent-A-Car says it plans to hire 8,000 college grads by July, many of whom will start out at a rental branch in a customer service position and, within a year, move up to assistant manager, according to spokesperson Lisa Martini. L’Oreal and Macy’s are also seeking graduates to join their training programs, says Trudy Steinfeld, executive director New York University’s Wasserman Center for Career Development.

Wow. So, if you’re a liberal arts major you can start your life by working at a car rental place? I think that the “promise” of being able to be an assistant manager within a year is a complete joke.

I was able to find a job in the past few months that promised the same thing, but when I started talking to other employees about wanting to move into corporate to work in marketing all I got was a laugh. During my interview with this company, I was told that after about a year and a half I would be able to get a promotion (from a retail sales position at a department store) to area sales manager, it just moved up from there depending on if you wanted to have a higher store position or a corporate position.

Well, that all went out the window when I spoke to a girl who graduated with a marketing degree two years before I did. She was working the exact same position I was and was actually making $9 an hour, $1 less than I was.

I’m sure that there are companies out there that want to hire graduates to promote them, but I know at least one that is taking advantage of graduates on a regular basis. Besides, Enterprise wants to hire 8,000 new grads to move them into assistant manager positions? Does it have that many stores? Some of those graduates will be making minimum wage for a bit longer than a year.

SmartMoney: 7 Places Where College Grads can Find Work

It has to be that time of year again, when everyone is out looking for gifts for their friends and family. It always seems that the go-to gift for some is a gift card or a some kind of bath set (here’s a note to guys out there who think the bath sets are good ideas: They’re really not; chances are whoever you’re buying the bath set for already has 20 of them).

Because of the season, GameStop is looking to hire 15,000 seasonal workers. The jobs are all part time and only pay minimum wage, but the little bit of money that the store is paying is better than what some people are receiving right now: nothing.

GameStop does something like this every year. It hires this many seasonal workers starting in the fall and their time is over on December 24.

The biggest increase will be the “game advisers” which are the people in the store who are meant to help shoppers pick out video games. There will be 78% more of these than there are currently. Honestly, I have never seen a game adviser in my local GameStop. The most advice I have ever gotten on a game is “That game is really cool.”

You can really tell how much business the company expects over the holiday season because the 15,000 seasonal workers means that the employee base for the company increases by nearly 50%.

This also goes along with most retail stores’ holiday plans. After all, most of the business that retail stores do is done over the holiday season.

There are so many lists across the internet that tell you what jobs pay the most, but are unobtainable by many due to their position on the ladder. However, there are some jobs out there that are a bit more easily obtainable and still have a pretty hefty pay check.

As you can see, the majority of the jobs on the list don’t need any specific college degree, but some do need training or other certifications.

1. Elevator installer and repairer

Average salary: $87,518
Average hourly wage: $42.08
Average work week: 40 hours

2. Electrical and electronics repairer – powerhouse, substation and relay

Average salary: $68,084
Average hourly wage: $32.75
Average work week: 40 hours

3. Power plant operator, distributor and dispatcher

Average salary: $65,846
Average hourly wage: $31.50
Average work week: 40 hours

4. Gas plant operator

Average salary: $63,872
Average hourly wage: $30.71
Average work week: 40 hours

5. Locomotive engineer

Average salary: $63,125
Average hourly wage: $28.27
Average work week: 42.5 hours

6. Electrical power line installer and repairer

Average salary: $60,354
Average hourly wage: $29.02
Average work week: 40 hours

7. Structural iron and steel worker

Average salary: $59,224
Average hourly wage: $28.55
Average work week: 39.9 hours

8. Construction and building inspector

Average salary: $59,144
Average hourly wage: $28.31
Average work week: 40.2 hours

9. Ship and boat captain and operator

Average salary: $57,910
Average hourly wage: $24.86
Average work week: 51.8 hours

10. Radio and telecommunications equipment installer

Average salary: $57,149
Average hourly wage: $27.48
Average work week: 39.9 hours

Source

It seems as though, without a lot of jobs being available, many people are opting to go back to college. Even recent graduates are getting everything together and taking their GMATs and GREs. So, have you come to the decision to go back to school? How about get your MBA?

I have been thinking about it, if nothing else I would like to have the advanced degree to up my chances of getting a higher paying job. I even posted in another post a week or so ago about how getting your MBA really does improve your chances of getting a higher paying job and it’s one of the degrees that pays for itself in a matter of a couple of years.

How do you know if you’re ready for business school? You really have to look at your work experience, success throughout your undergraduate program and your GMAT score. There are plenty of places where you can find test prep for the GMAT, but many colleges are really looking at how much time you spent working and how much experience you have in the “real world” before letting someone into its graduate program.

I’ve found the Princeton Review website to be pretty helpful in finding business schools I would not have otherwise found. It also has a lot of test prep programs and classes. Plus, I really like being able to compare different colleges all at one site. If you’re thinking about getting your MBA, it even has a small, short quiz that relates to some of the information you would have learned in undergraduate school called the 5-Minute MBA Quiz. (It told me I should brush up a bit)

Really, you’re the only person who can decide if you’re ready to take the plunge into graduate school. I have been back and forth with the idea since last January. I suppose after a couple of years “in the real world” I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do.

Forbes compiled a list of five careers that typically earn six figures. This isn’t something that is too new for Forbes or any list for that matter, but there is something a bit different about this list.

This list is full of jobs that may actually surprise you. Most of the jobs on the list I assumed earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $60,000-$80,000 a year, but I was wrong.

A little extra from the article I sourced is that the best paid ship captains are in Tennessee. They actually earn almost $30,000 more per year than other captains.

5 Surprising Six-Figure Jobs

Human Resources Manager

Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $163,220
Average Annual Income: $103,920
Total Employed: 60,980
Top-Paying State: Delaware
What They Do: Manage personnel functions within a company.

Astronomer

Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $156,720
Average Annual Income: $99,730
Total Employed: 1,280
Top-Paying State: Maryland
What They Do: Study celestial bodies.

Art Director

Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $154,840
Average Annual Income: $88,510
Total Employed: 33,670
Top-Paying State: New York
What They Do: Manage and organize art-related presentations and functions.

Pharmacist

Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $131,440
Average Annual Income: $104,260
Total Employed: 266,410
Top-Paying State: California
What They Do: Distribute prescription drugs.

Film or Video Editor

Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $112,410
Average Annual Income: $62,500
Total Employed: 18,720
Top-Paying State: Massachusetts
What They Do: Edit motion picture soundtracks, film, and video.

Source

In our economy, it is hard to find a job (as if I haven’t said that enough), but as someone who went to business school, I also know that some degrees are “worth” more than others. The college that you went to also matters in some cases.

Clare Kaufman from FindtheRightSchool.com compiled this list of degrees that are the best for return on investment. These are the degrees where you will earn the most in comparison to the amount you spent on the degree.

1. Master of Business Administration (MBA). This is, of course, the degree that any hard-core business person is going to get. I knew plenty of people who were going on to pursue their MBA, then again, I knew plenty of people who had simply had it with college altogether. MBA graduates see an average salary increase of 35%. The problem I have with trying to tell people to go out and get their MBA right now is that there are plenty of graduates out there who can’t find work, let alone find the kind of work that will pay their student loan bill every month.

2. Bachelor’s in Engineering. This is the top earner from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ bachelor degree list of highest earners. After getting a four year degree, an engineer can come out earning more than $50,00 per year. The highest paying fields for engineers are in the nuclear and petroleum industries. You can also expect an increase in demand for these engineers as the “green” movement really takes off.

3. Associate or Bachelor’s in Nursing. This is one of the degrees that I definitely agree with. I have a friend who graduated with a BSN and almost has all her loans paid off and she was able to buy a car. Another good thing about getting a Nursing degree is that most people can find good paying jobs right out of college and will still have several offers from different hospitals.

4. Bachelor’s in Accounting. This is a segment of the workforce that will likely bloom in the aftermath of the financial disaster. In 2007, the median salary for an accountant was just over $63,000 per year. CPAs earn a lot more at around $91,000 per year.

5. Associate degree in Computer Science. You could find yourself with some good prospects with this degree. You won’t be the highest earner in the country, but after only two years of school, you can find yourself making up to $67,000 a year as a computer administrator after working your way up the ladder.

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While many employers take the approach that their employees do not have to be motivated or that their salary should be enough motivation, there are small things that employers can do to get their employees to go above and beyond what is expected of them just by offering small employee incentives.

Rewards Programs have been successful for credit card companies to get customers to sign up for cards based on what they purchase the most. In most cases, the credit card companies have seen a lot of success through rewards programs because customers will spend more money on the credit cards to get the rewards rather than using cash or debit cards.

Incentive programs have been used with success for more than just credit card companies. I remember being offered incentives for fund raising programs while I was in elementary school. Everyone always wanted to sell the most candy bars so they could get the “big” prize. People will work for something if they think they can get it for free. Even recently, Disney is offering a free day pass to one of its parks if a person signs up to donate a day of their time to one of the sponsored charities listed by the company.

An employee program could be based on a similar structure as the credit card program. It works for employees that are compensated with commissions. The more that the employee does, the more money he or she can make. If an incentive program is used, you may be able to entice your employees to do more work or be more productive with their time for a minimal cost.

In the past year, hundreds of thousands of people have graduated high school and college bound for employment (or unemployment as is the usual case these days).

With so many people between the age of 16 and 24 unemployed (the current unemployment rate for this group is around 18%), how could we not have created a “lost” generation?

Watch the video above for the story from BusinessWeek.

I think that people will be able to overcome this high unemployment rate and the generation is certainly not lost. Everyone who falls into this category just needs to make sure that they are getting into the workforce or doing something to make sure that they aren’t dormant while they’re waiting for their career.

In a CNN money article, the magazine lists out the top fifty jobs in the United States. The list was compiled by CNN Money and PayScale.com.

Here’s the list:

1 Systems Engineer
2 Physician Assistant
3 College Professor
4 Nurse Practitioner
5 Information Technology Project Manager
6 Certified Public Accountant
7 Physical Therapist
8 Computer/Network Security Consultant
9 Intelligence Analyst
10 Sales Director
11 Anesthesiologist
12 Software Developer
13 Pharmacist
14 Occupational Therapist
15 Nurse Anesthetist
16 Software Product Manager
17 Business Analyst, IT
18 Attorney/Lawyer
19 Physician/General Practice
20 Human Resources Manager
21 Senior Financial Analyst
22 Physician/Obstetrician/Gynecologist
23 Clinical Psychologist
24 Psychiatrist
25 Veterinarian
26 Marketing Manager
27 Speech-Language Pathologist
28 Technical Writer
29 Finance Director
30 Telecommunications Network Engineer
31 Director of Communications
32 Hotel General Manager
33 Securities Trader
34 Account Executive
35 Education/Training Consultant
36 Corporate Paralegal
37 Quality Control Engineer
38 Manufacturing Engineer
39 Computer Software Program Manager
40 Applications Systems Analyst
41 Senior Internal Auditor
42 Commercial Property Manager
43 Creative Director
44 Pharmaceuticals Sales Representative
45 Associate – Investment Banking
46 Training & Development Manager
47 Product Marketing Manager
48 Quality Assurance Manager
49 Financial Research Analyst
50 Outside Sales Representative

A lot of these jobs are all up the ladder from the blue collar jobs that most people start their careers at. However, there aren’t any real blue collar jobs on the list. There also aren’t any jobs on the list about working for yourself, these are all jobs that consist of a person working for someone else.

I would really like to see a list come out from these companies about best jobs to start out at. I think we all get the idea of where the money is later in life, but what about when someone is just starting out?

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There are millions out of work right now and there are fewer and fewer jobs available for those who are looking or work. Data that was released by the government on Friday showed that the recession is worse than it has been since the beginning of the recession right now.

It’s only expected to get worse because companies are still not hiring and most have no plans on creating jobs to start hiring.

It is so difficult to be unemployed right now because there are about 6.3 people applying for every one job opening. In comparison, when the recession officially began in 2007, there were only 1.7 workers competing for every one job opening in the united States.

Since the beginning of the decade, the largest amount of people who were competing for one job opening was in July 2003, when 2.8 people were looking for every one job opening.

From the beginning of the recession, employers have cut over 7 million jobs. Even though there are fewer and fewer job cuts with each job and unemployment report, there aren’t any jobs being created. Job creation is essential for the health of the economy.

So, people with jobs are feeling a bit more safe when it comes to their jobs. Job security can be priceless, but for those that were laid off or have found themselves unemployed, it is still quite difficult to find work.

It is, of course, more difficult to find work in some areas than others. Jobs are being created in some areas of the country, but there are other parts of the country that barely have any jobs available and are losing them much faster than they’re making them. The more industrial a town is, particularly in this recession, the more that town or county hurts it seems.

Hopefully, the job market will get a bit better sometime soon.

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In Louisville, Kentucky things are not good when it comes to employment figures. Times are tough everywhere, but it looks like there are thousands of people who are having a hard time keeping the lights on in their homes.

A General Electric factory has just created 90 jobs in the area, while 90 jobs isn’t exactly a huge number, it is a great deal to those without work. The factory jobs, building washing machines, pay about $27,000 a year and GE is generous with benefits.

For the first three days that the job was listed, GE received a whopping 10,000 applications for the 90 jobs that were open.

Over the recession, this particular plant hasn’t laid off any of its unionized workers even though the union and the company did have to come to a decision to cut wages a bit. The same job paid $19 four years ago.

The unemployment rate for the county the Appliance Park is in is 10.6% and there are nearly 40,000 unemployed.

These kinds of jobs can be hard to come by and that’s why I think that the openings got so much attention and so many people applied. A job with good benefits as well as “ok” pay for someone with little education and experience in the field means that the applicant may be able to pay the mortgage for the month.

Factory jobs are often the hardest to come by in a recession because many factories start slowing down production in a recession because spending has slowed down greatly. When factories slow down or cut way back on production, then the owners and managers have to decide who to let go and when to do it.

In GE’s case, at this Appliance Park, no one had to be let go even if they did take a pay cut. That’s not the case at all appliance facilities. In Oxford, MS, a Whirlpool Plant closed its doors a year or so ago and left thousands jobless. In a small town in Mississippi, that is a huge blow to the local economy as well as the surrounding areas where many of the people who worked at the plant lived. I am not sure what those people had to do to make ends meet after the plant closed, but I know that they had to try to find work somewhere else and in Mississippi, that kind of work isn’t easy to come by.

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Eric Schmidt, the Google CEO, said that the worst of the recession is over, well at least the advertising part anyway. He continued by pointing to signs of recovery in the United States as well as Europe. He said that Google first noticed signs of recovery in May and June.

Advertising has really taken a hit in the recession. I’ve said it before, because marketing professors burned it into our brains, whenever a recession happens, marketing is one of the first departments to feel the heat. Companies often turn to their marketing departments first when it comes time to cut jobs and start the lay off process.

Many companies do not feel as though marketing is a department that is necessary or vital to everyday operations.

I beg to differ. I feel as though marketing is extremely vital to the longevity and prosperity of a company through a recession. There are other places in a company that should be cut first, or at least downsized while the marketing department should grow. Then again, this is my opinion and I graduated with a marketing degree so I’m a bit biased.

If you take away your advertising budget, how do you expect to get any sales to keep your business afloat? I suppose there is word of mouth marketing, but there’s really nothing like a good advertising saturation to imprint your brand in the minds of consumers.

At least someone is saying that advertising is beginning to come out of the recession a bit. That is actually, really good news. When advertising comes out of the recession, other things can start to thaw out a bit as well. The more spending that is happening, the more the economy will grow. It is truly good news for everyone (even if some of those ads do get a bit annoying, teeth whitening anyone?).

Most employers (if not all) enjoy watching their employees be productive and make money for the company. Anytime there is a lot of anti-productive behavior coming from an employee, that employee will likely find him or herself as a pretty good candidate for unemployment.

This is why it is important to note exactly what NOT to do if you want to keep your job. Right now, just flying under the radar is not enough to keep a job that is in demand.

One thing, and probably the most important is never, EVER do anything to reduce your productivity.

Some people think that it is really cool to update their Twitter page every time they change positions in their office chair. First of all, your boss isn’t stupid and is likely catching on to how much time is being spent on the social networking site rather than filling out TPS reports. If you are one of the people who update your Twitter a lot then you really need to ask yourself this question: Is the next 140 characters worth my job?

Worse yet, people are Tweeting about things like getting job offers! Say that they aren’t even using Twitter at work; how hard is it for their current boss to see that? Not only that, but people tweet about some really random and embarassing things sometimes as well. How does it look to always be talking about your party habits or your drunken hookup over the internet?

I will say, sometimes I get really caught up in other people’s drama on social networking sites if I know who they are. I even feel embarrassed for them from time to time but then I have to realize that they are the ones who decided to post all of their personal business for everyone to see.

So, a couple of things to remember if you are going to use Twitter (even at work) is to never talk about office drama. Sally in HR is not going to be happy about your decision to talk about how she picks her teeth or something such as that.

Only update your Twitter or Facebook or whatever on YOUR time. If you’re off the clock for lunch or something, then go nuts! That’s your time. You just really need to make sure that you’re not talking about anything that may put your job in jeopardy.

Another thing, there are websites devoted to embarrassing things that people say from time to time. Even in a text message, you can still end up with your words for everyone to see.

You know, I was reading an article today and it said that 15.1 million people are out of work and looking for employment. At the same time there are “a lot” of $60,000 a year jobs available right now. The kinds of jobs that are hiring but can’t seem to find people to fill the positions are jobs in pharmacy, MRI techs, energy researchers, accountants, nurses, health care workers, software sales reps, actuaries, physical therapists, electrical engineers, data analysts, plant scientists, and geo-technical engineers.

As of July there was a 6 to 1 ratio of people looking for employment and open jobs. People are definitely out there looking for work, but they simply can’t find anything because of whatever conditions they have found themselves in.

In my case, I feel as though I am limited first of all, by the degree I received (in a time when most companies are cutting their marketing budgets, I graduated with a degree in marketing communications). Secondly, I feel as though I’m limited by my geographic location and being tied down to a house. I think this is where a lot of the people who are looking for work and can’t find jobs have found themselves. Right now, those who have houses don’t want to sell them because they know they’re going to take a loss on the house if they have purchased it in the last 2-5 years.

Also, no one wants to have to move when the job that they are moving for may not be completely secured. I know someone who has a house and lives there, but travels to wherever he has work. When you are contracted out for work, you cannot move around every single time you have a contract end and relocate…particularly if you have a family. Children can’t handle being uprooted several times; it is difficult for them.

Also, most of these jobs seem to be in fields that people aren’t exactly fighting to be in. At most colleges, you can compare the size of a business school class to the size of a geo-technical engineering class and I’m sure that you will notice a difference in how many students decide to go into business rather than geo-technical engineering.

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Your resume is the main way to market yourself to potential employers and now that jobs are scarce for some of us, it is important to play on your best skills, accomplishments, and why you would be an asset to the company.

Of course, there are a few ways to downplay some of your own pitfalls without lying on your resume.Yahoo’s The Savvy Networker had a list of tips on how to boost your resume, and I just thought it would be fun to revisit; especially because I know how hard it can be to get your foot in the door at any job.

First, eliminate resume gaps by taking out the month from your dates of employment. There are times in most people’s lives where they have been unemployed for some time or there were a couple of months where you were “between jobs” and gaps in employment make employers wary. However if you put 2004-2009 instead of May 2004 – March 2009 then the gap between March and now is gone.

Then, you should be able to describe your previous jobs. When you put on your resume where you worked and what you did, perhaps it would be good to tell your potential employer exactly what the company did or does. The reason for this is that not all companies can be a huge brand name that everyone recognizes.

For Example:

Global Supply Company
Inventory Manager 2006-present

Global Supply is the Midwest’s largest distributor of heating and cooling equipment to contractors. As Inventory Manager I was responsible for managing $1M in equipment and coordinating deliveries and outbound shipments among our 45 suppliers and 400+ contractor clients.

Also, don’t use corporate lingo in your resume. When you say something like “cross-functional collaborator” you are simply asking for your resume to be passed over. Yes, that may have been your actual job, but if you say something that you actually accomplished such as your ability to distribute your company’s product to resellers, then your resume will look a bit more practical than others that put some kind of lingo on their resumes.

Finally, make your resume sound human. Robots can spit out phrases and overused cliches like “attention to detail.” However, you can actually add something that sounds a bit more human. How much better does it sound to say that you are able to tackle office chaos and calm down your coworkers? Hmm…

Of course, these are all just boosters. Your real accomplishments are whats going to sell a potential employer on your resume.

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I’ve talked about it in the past week or so; little indicators of the economy’s health. Well, here is a list from Time that compiles some of the more strange indicators of the economy and what they mean.

1. Hikers. When times are hard and unemployment is high, people tend to have a lot more free time on their hands. This means there is a spike in the number of people going for hikes in national parks and other places as well.

2. Immigration into the United States. For a while now, like decades, the number of immigrants coming into the U.S. has been rising. However, now with a bad economy, the number has slowed down and even stalled a bit. It seems like our country isn’t as attractive as it once was.

3. Men’s Underwear. I talked about this one in a post I wrote last week about ties. I think this one is just silly. But, the idea is that men buy more underwear when the economy starts picking up. When the economy is down sales of men’s underwear drops dramatically.

4. Fewer babies are being born and planned. In a recent survey of women, 44% said that they were going to wait to have kids until the economy starts to pick up. This means that the sale of birth control items should be up, right?

5. More attractive waitresses. This is another silly one in my opinion. The idea behind this “index” is that attractive women don’t have a hard time finding work being models or working for some kind of marketing campaign when times are good. However, now that times aren’t so great, they are finding themselves working at restaurants. And restaurant owners are more than willing to hire the pretty girls to be waitresses so it will bring customers in.

Like I said, the whole thing is kind of silly. I mean, you can also look at more reliable sources to tell you how the economy is doing like unemployment as well as sales figures. I always thought that if sales in some industries were up then the economy is probably doing better than if sales are down.

The economy is one of those things that have many indicators ranging from the very silly to the very serious. Hopefully most of the indicators are pointing to the economy starting to pick up and maybe we’ll start seeing some growth soon.

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On September 15th Ben Bernanke said that the recession is basically over in a statement that rang so loudly, the stock market shot up like a weed after a rainstorm. Well, it was just over half a percentage point for the Dow today, but up is up, right (I really just wanted to use an illustrative language today and that was what came to mind also)?

So, on top of Bernanke’s statement about the recession being over, there was also new data to come out that said consumer sales were up. Sales rose in the past month the most they had risen over a single month in three years.

All of this news put together made for a pretty good day on Wall Street, but the statement about the recession being over was what made headlines that day. So, do I feel like the recession is over or that it may as well be over?

I think we may have seen the bottom. All indicators are pointing to the fact that we have bottomed out. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is well above the lowest point of the year and the overall stock market is doing well. Job losses have slowed down (although unemployment continues to increase). Consumer spending is starting to climb back up, homes are beginning to pick up in sales (and in return the amount of existing homes on the market is finally beginning to decline), and new construction has started once again on projects all across the country. Even auto sales have been kind of stirred after the Cash for Clunkers program.

But before we can all pack up our briefcases and drive to TGI Friday’s for Happy Hour, we have to remember something, it’s not over until it’s over and there are plenty of people out there who don’t have jobs and can’t pay their mortgages. I hate to be a buzzkill for those who felt like celebrating when Bernanke said the recession was basically over, but there are so many things still going on not only in the U.S. but all around the world that show the global recession is not over and that it will be a long road to go down before we actually see the end (and by the end, I mean economic growth like we were seeing prior to the beginning of the recession).

This is one of the biggest myths in business; it’s also one of the biggest cliches that can be told by a business owner to his or her employee. I believe that somewhere the real meaning gets lost in translation. I also believe that the customer doesn’t always know exactly what they want so how can he or she be right all the time?

As someone in the customer service industry, you (as an employee) have to help your customers discover what they really want and to help them receive no less than exactly what they need.

A good example that I can think of is when customers have a complaint. The first thing most managers and supervisors do is passify the customer with a refund or some kind of complimentary product. This does  not always work. From a customer’s point of view, I have called a company with a complaint where I didn’t want anything in return, I just wanted the company to know about the issue with the quality control of their products; the company sent me so many coupons my mailbox was stuffed. You need to actually listen to the customer rather than throwing refunds and smiling, trust me…they’ll be far more appreciative.

You also have to remember that some customers need to be turned away because they are bad for business. If you are in the business of customer service, then you will always have a customer or two that will cause trouble and you may end up losing money on that customer over the course of your relationship with him or her. You also need to make sure that you are treating your employees right and that the relationship with the customer isn’t worth the benefit you get from the employees. If an employee is constantly heckled by a bad customer, that employee will be unhappy and his or her work will be affected.

It will cost less to replace that customer than it will to hire and train a new employee.

You also have to realize when a customer is completely and TOTALLY wrong. If you go by the philosophy of the customer always being right, then when I walk into your clothing store and order chicken nuggets I should be able to get chicken nuggets. The customer can actually be wrong. It happens all the time, we’re all human and we make mistakes.

The truth is, I hate the phrase “The customer is always right.” That’s the worst phrase that can be taught and it needs to stop. It should be replaced with “Listen to the customer, sympathize, and come to some kind of mutually beneficial agreement.”