What Are the Demographics of the Recession?

Good article from the NY Times giving the facts on what the general demographics of the Recession of 2008 looks like.

Here are two interesting facts:

• The recession is hurting more men than women
• More Latinos than any other ethnic group are out of work

States that have seen high unemployment before are seeing even higher numbers now. The article suggests that the only thing that could possibly help bring us out of recession successfully is for young people to become more educated. Yet I feel like that's very post Great Depression logic. There is already a large portion of highly educated individuals in the United States and many of them are out of a job (it's not just manufacturing jobs anymore!).

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Standing out

Another job article update from S. Chan.

Trying to stand out in a job is tough. Especially when you have no network, little experience or even no background on a field you want to enter.

That's why leverage is the way to go when trying to figure out how a company needs your set of skills. Even if you do NEED a job, the company you're applying to should never feel like they will be helping you, in fact, you should let them know they need you and you will be there to help them.

Giving off the scent of desperation never helped anyone in any situation.

In this article, a woman moves to new city in a new country in hopes to finding a dream job. With no contacts, network to speak of, she set off to separate herself from the pack. She leveraged her skills to show that the PR companies she was looking into, needed someone like her. This story has a happy ending, and if you think creatively enough, anyone's story can have a happy ending.

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Reinvent Yourself

Thanks to S. Chan for this article in regards to reinventing yourself.

Your skills shouldn't limit you to only one field. For example, a political science degree doesn't always equal a future career in law or getting a degree in engineering shouldn't always equate into becoming an engineer. There are many roads one can take, and that definitely include repurposing your skills to find something new and fresh for your background.

Do Laid-Off Men Turn into Brutes?

See articles from Newsweek and Gawker, because I can completely believe it. More drinking? Check. Rallying against their non-laid off counterparts (I believe, men and women alike). Check. Trying to become more manly men? Check????

Ok, so not all of these things may be true (for obvious reasons), but even for women, this will be an interesting phenomenon to look at. I wonder who will discuss this next?

The Weekly Roundup 2/22/09-2/28/09

Another sad week in the employment world:

• Recession Trickling Up To Beverly Hills (via)
• Do What You Love - Career Advice (via)
• Working 7 Days Becomes Norm For Some (via)
• Jobless CLaims Spike to 26-Year High (via)

The Weekly Roundup 2/15/09-2/21/09

• A Bonus By Any Name Still Smells Like Money (via)
• Tech Layoffs Surge to 300,000 (via)
• Jump to a New Career with a Killer Resume and Plan (via)
• Mashable's Guide to Jobs in Social Media, Technology and Web Development (via)
• What To Do Unemployed Bloggers Do? (via)
• Tech Etiquette for Job Seekers (via)
• How Bad Is The Economy (via)
• Unemployment Rate is 70% for Ex-Bush Administration Officials (via)
  

In Other Media

• Want To Work For A Paper? Don't Expect To Get Paid (via)
• Rumor: Newsweek Closing Bureaus? (via)
  

The Weekly Roundup 2/8/09 - 2/14/09

Hello!

Late post, but here are the articles as usual:

• Career Renegade: Make a Living Doing What You Love (via)
• US Newspapers Laid Off 9% Of It's Workers (via)
• Are Americans Surfing More Because They're Surfing Less? (via)
• Unemployed Workers Heading Back To School (via)
  

In Other Media:

• The Media Says Au Revoir To All That (via)
• Parade Is The Career Death at Condé Nast (via)

Twitter Fans...!

Twitter fans! Job seekers!... UNITE! Now on Twitter is @TheMediaIsDying's answer to media job hunting: @TheMediaIsHirin! Tweet your 140 character resume and see if anyone bites. There are plenty of Twitter feeds out there, like Twithire. I'll post more to come later, but everyone... START A TWITTER!!!

The Weekly Roundup 2/1/09-2/7/09

Ok, we're going to start out this week fresh with reports from the previous week (1/25/09-1/31/09) and lots of posts from this week. With last week and the week before having massive amounts of layoffs, there's a ton of news to read about:

• Desperate Youth Pay For Internships (via)
• 2008 Wall Street Bonuses Fell 44% (via)
• Engadget Recession Roundup (via)
• Tech Industry Announces Layoff Surplus (via)
• Government Job Database Hacked (via)
• Job Losses Surpass 100,000 for the Week (via)
• Macy's Announced 7,000 Job Cuts (via)
• 598,000 Jobs Lost as Jobless Rate Hits 7.5% in January (via)

Time Inc Related:

• Time Inc.'s Ann Moore Makes A Case for Magazines (via)
• Time Inc To Teach Itself The Business of Magazines (via)
• How Not To Save Newspapers (via)

In Other Media:

• Condé Nast Reshuffles Digital; No Layoffs Planned (via)
• AOL lays off 700 (via)
• The Death of Print is Agony (via)
• Should The New York Times Charge For It's Website (via)
• Media Job Security: All Gone (via)

6 Words That Make Your Resume Suck

DELETE THESE IF YOU HAVE THEM:

• Responsible for
• Experienced
• Excellent written communication skills
• Team player
• Detail oriented
• Successful

Just fix up your resume so it doesn't look like everyone elses!

(via Lifehacker via Squawkfox)

The Weekly Roundup 1/18/09-1/24/09

I apologize for skipping last week. A friend was in town so I was busy hanging out and having fun with her. I promise to be a better blogger. I swear! If I got paid... I would be a better blogger *wink wink... anyone looking for freelance bloggers?

• NYC Will be Hit Hard by Job Losses in 2009 (via)
• Find A New Job By Offering A Bounty (via)
• Bad Economy Means Less Migration From NYC (via)
• The Unemployment Picture for NYC (via)
• Jobs With Under 40-Hour Work Weeks (via)
• With Unemployment Soaring, New York State Borrows From The Feds (via)
  

In Other Media:

• Media Crack: Bankruptcy, Layoffs, Shutdowns and Spinoffs (via)
• Hearst Magazine Changes CEO's (via)
  

Unemployment Checks Running Out

Uh oh for some of you. Looks like unemployment is running dry.

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10 Point Survivel Guide to Keeping Your Job

Want to make sure that after lay-offs your job is still safe? Here are 10-steps from Fortune.com in how to "survive" after lay-offs.

1. Create successes for yourself
2. Set 30-day and 60-day goals
3. Watch your attitude
4. Keep your network active
5. Update your skills
6. Make sure your work serves the larger goals of the organization
7. For now, forget about work-life balance
8. Take a hard look at your finances
9. Never badmouth anyone
10. Remember, in the knowledge economy, you are the product

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The Weekly Roundup 1/4/09-1/10/09

• Unemployment Rate Rises to 7.2%, Highest Since 1993 (via)
• Job Hunting Grows Ever More Cutthroat (via)
• NYC Job Seekers: Mashable Networking Event (via)
  
• Google's Unkindest Cut: Tech Support Layoffs (via)
• How To Survive Work When Everyone's Getting Laid Off (via)
  
• Resumator Makes Hiring Collaborative - Paper-Free (via)
• In The Depression You Will Eat Squirrel (via)
• 7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media (via)
  

In Other Media:

• Forbes Trims Staff, Cuts Into Muscle (via)
  

Doostang's 25,000+ New Job Postings

According to an email from Doostang.com, there are more than 25,000 new job postings on their sites. It's good to see that at least some people are hiring.

A lot of industries have been hit, but there are still a lot of industries going strong. For instance, there is never any job that is recession-proof, but there are jobs and careers that do better than others in hard times. For instance, education, health-care and energy are all jobs that can appear to be "recession-proof."

According to this email from Doostang, it states that there are jobs from Morgan Stanley, Disney, Microsoft, Gap, Nike and Genentech. Well, in my mind, I am sure they have already cut some senior people to save some money, so therefore, the people they are hiring are probably relatively low-mid level employees. So if you're in that level in your life, then these positions might be worth taking a look.

Also, while looking at these postings - don't be afraid to RELOCATE!

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Flood of Unemployment Claims Overload New York’s System

Bad news people... via Daily Intel (at NY Mag) via ABC:

"New York's unemployment claims systems have crashed, overwhelmed by tens of thousands of jobless New Yorkers trying to call or log in at once ahead of this week's filing deadline. State labor department officials say the problem started Monday and caused the phone banks at the state's toll-free claims center to shut down, followed by the online filing system ... Technicians are trying to bring the systems back online Tuesday afternoon but officials couldn't say when they'll be back up and available."

Wanna Work for the FBI?

The FBI is looking for 850 new agents. The largest job posting after 9/11. So if you've ever had the dream to work in law-enforcement, it's a good time to apply!

Read about it at CNN.com!

(via)

The Weekly Roundup 12/28/08-1/3/09

• Affordable New Ways To Get Job Skills (via)
  
• Over 1000 Companies Have Eliminated Employee Pensions (via)
• Bad News for Workers is Good News for LinkedIn (via)
• Netflix, Adobe, Google Rated Best Places to Work. AT&T, eBay, RadioShack Among the Worst (via)
  

In Other Media:

• More Cuts at Conde Nast (via)
  
• How to Land a Media Job After Layoff - Get a Publicist (via)
  
• Media Layoffs Bad for Minorities (via)
• Losing Your Job? Blame Me (via)