Unemployment Number Highly Flawed

Currently, 11.2 million people are considered unemployed. "I think a more reasonable number is about 18 million people," Hall said, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  It is too easy to be employed under the current definition, and too hard to be unemployed, Hall said Thursday on Fox News Channel's "Your World."

"If you do any work for money at all you are considered employed," Hall said. A laid-off engineer who helps his neighbor trim a tree and gets paid is considered "employed" even though his income is nowhere near his pay as a full-time engineer. 

To be considered "unemployed," a person has to have no work at all and be actively looking for work. But job hunters eventually run out of employers to send their resume to and run through all their friends who might have job leads. They then go into a "passive mode," checking want ads and seeing if anything pops up
.
For more details about employment figures, click here.

Getting the Job When You're Underqualified

When you're changing careers, getting your foot in the door can often be the most difficult part. Even though you may have tons of experience in your industry, which could carry over to the new career, odds are good that you don't meet every requirement on the employer's list.

So, how can you get a job when you're underqualified?

First, it's important to know that when an employer advertises a job opening, most of their list of requirements is a wish list. They are qualifications that the employer would like to find, but they aren't set in stone. Even if you don't meet all of them, you can still apply for the job.

In order to land a job you aren't completely qualified for, you have to consider what your qualifications are. Do you meet at least 80 percent of their advertised requirements? If you were the hiring manager, why would you hire someone with your skills? The answer to these questions will help you determine how to market yourself.

Although the current job market makes it considerably more difficult to land a job when you are underqualified, here are the most important things you can do to stand out:  Click here to learn these invaluable tips.

Negotiating the Best Salary

"What are your salary expectations?"

This is commonly one of the first questions you're asked when interviewing for a new job. Employers want to get this question out in the open:

·       They need a sense if you're willing to work at or below the top of their pay scale for the job

·       They are asking you to negotiate when you have the least negotiating leverage

Job hunters are often at a loss (figuratively and literally) trying to both get the job and obtain the highest possible compensation. Here's how to do it:

1.       Be responsive, but don't commit early on

2.     Find objective data to justify your request

3.     Figure out your Zone of Possible Agreement

4.     Talk about creating fairness and finding common ground

For details on these approaches, see the complete article here.

Three Job-Interview Myths

Think you know all there is to know about interviewing for a job? According to career coach David Couper, many surprising myths surround job interviews. In his book Outsiders on the Inside, Couper lists several myths that, if you believe them, may prevent you from landing your dream job. So here's the truth about three of those myths -- as well as several tips on making the most of a job interview:

Myth 1: The Interviewer Is Prepared:  What You Can Do?;

Myth 2: The Interviewer Will Ask the Right Questions:  What You Can Do?

Myth 3:  The Most Qualified Person Gets the Job:  What You Can Do?

For the complete article written  by Charles Purdy, click here.

Networking: How much is too much?

Whether you are a business development professional, CEO, owner of a small business or simply laying the groundwork for a prosperous career, you had better be networking. "It’s as simple as that."

There is no such thing as too much networking - so long as you have a plan and a goal.

Keep in mind the primary reason for networking.  Ultimately, what you are looking to do is create a pool of reliable and diverse professionals with whom you can share information, bounce ideas/issues off, and with whom you can build long-term professional relationships. The key here is in the wording: a reliable and diverse network of professionals. If this might be useful, see the article here.

Top five personality traits employers hire most.

Perhaps I know you:  you’ve made looking for your next job, well… your job. You’ve scoured your resume of clichéd buzzwords, brushed up on body language and even gotten a handle on the dreaded video interview.

But all that might be for naught if you just don’t have the personality your dream employer is looking for. New research shows that the vast majority of employers (88%) are looking for a “cultural fit” over skills in their next hire as more and more companies focus on attrition rates. Lucky for you, we’ve drilled down into data from 1,200 of the world’s leading employers (think General Electric, P&G and Accenture) to find precisely the personalities big business is looking for.

Click here to view the valuable insight that could make a difference on obtaining your dream job!  Note:  the advertisement disappears in 15 seconds.

Tips for attention-getting resumes

Employers nowadays are generally so overwhelmed with applications for a position that they can't devote much time to each potential candidate. How can your résumé spark their interest enough to garner more than just a passing glance? Here, experts offer suggestions on gaining precious seconds of "look" time.

Make it visually attractive. The adage that you should not judge a book by its cover may be worthy advice, but throw the saying out the window when submitting an application. The last thing you want your résumé to do is look sloppy or disorganized among a stack of stellar submissions.

"The design aspect of your résumé has to come across in a clean, refreshing, simple way," says J. Patrick Gorman, co-founder of iFind Group, a Manhattan-based executive search firm. "In other words, have proper alignment, spacing, grammar, same-size fonts, clear fonts (not fancy), full-looking sentences after your bullet points, no abbreviations and good flow of the information presented."

Know how to catch a reader's eye is the ultimately tool for job seekers. For more info on how to do it, click here.