Day 83 - 100 of the Best Sites for Job Seekers

The thing about going back to school later in life is that, eventually, you wind up right back where you started - looking for a job. These days, job seekers are doing most of their looking online, and with good reason. With so many useful resources, the Internet is an incredible tool that can help you find the right job. From niche sites to professional networking, this list offers a resource for every job seeker or new graduate.

The Majors
1. Monster: This is the most popular job listing site and it has some of the best jobs available, along with career tools and plenty of advice.
2. CareerBuilder: Browse and search jobs on an enormous search and career site.
3. Yahoo! HotJobs: HotJobs has job listings, articles, links and more resources.

Social Networking
Yes, it's great to network online. Savvy job seekers learn to use their existing connections. This is where you can make some!
4. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great place to create a professional profile and make connections within your own network.
5. MyWorkster: Get networking with people in your own community. The site has something for students, alumni, and anyone else seeking employment.
6. Facebook: Use Facebook to connect with old friends and make new contacts. Don't forget to check out your friends' friends.
7. MySpace: Although MySpace doesn’t exactly scream "professional," you can use it to connect and make professional contacts.
8. Tribe: Join Tribe to network with people who share similar interests.
9. Ryze: Make contacts and establish your networking homepage on Ryze.
10. Netparty: Get connected with young professionals at parties thrown by this organization.
11. Probook: Helps Canadians get connected.
12. Fast Pitch Networking: This is a social network for business; it allows you to step up your Internet presence, while also finding friends and colleagues.
13. Xing: Find people, manage business contacts and network for your career.
14. Layoffspace: The unemployed gather and network on this site.
15. Twitter: Use Twitter to update the world in 140 characters or less.
16. Meetup: Find a Meetup group and meet people in the area who share your interests.
17. Whototalkto: Help someone get your old position while you look for a new one.
18. ZoomInfo: Build an online reputation by filling out a profile on ZoomInfo.
19. Ecademy: Create contacts and market yourself on this business networking site.
20. orkut: Find new business contacts and join communities.

Job Listings
21. Craigslist: Yes, it can be a source for freelance work and permanent positions.
22. JobCentral: Check out the "national labor exchange" to find jobs and post your resume.
23. The Employment Guide: Find hourly, entry level and mid-management employment through this publication and its website.
24. The Job Planet: Check out employers and set up your own job alerts.
25. FlipDog: Search more than 500,000 jobs.
26. Job.com: Use the site’s search and career tools.
27. Career.com: Another popular search site, Career.com offers listings of available positions.
28. 411Jobs: The Career Directory: Using this directory, you can find a variety of jobs, online classifieds and job banks.

Niche Career Sites
29. iHispano: Join the latino job board to find employers that are looking for Hispanic and bilingual Spanish professionals.
30. Education Crossing: Check out Education Crossing to find education jobs available online.
31. CareerJournal: Executives, managers and professionals seek jobs on this site from The Wall Street Journal.
32. Dice: Dice features lots of top quality jobs for technology professionals.
33. HireDiversity: Check it out for jobs that value diversity.
34. ExecuNet: On this executive site, you can network, find a job or be recruited.
35. Guru: Put your skills to work by creating a listing and then responding to jobs in the freelance marketplace.
36. Law Firm Staff: Find jobs with law firms across the country.
37. CollegeGrad: Recent college grads can find jobs and resources on this site.
38. LatPro: Find Spanish, bilingual and Hispanic jobs.
39. iitjobs: Find international IT and tech jobs.
40. Idealist: Listings for nonprofit jobs around the globe.
41. College Recruiter: Check out this site for recent college grads. It offer jobs, tools and resources you can put to use immediately.
42. Law Crossing: Offers listings for every available legal position.
43. America’s Job Bank: Find jobs in state and local government, education and public utilities.
44. MilitaryHire: The leading job site for military veterans.
45. The Ladders: Find exclusive, six-figure jobs.
46. TalentZoo: TalentZoo offers a search engine for jobs in advertising, marketing, publishing and broadcasting.
47. American Library Association: Maintains the list of open library positions.
48. Findlaw: Offers a career center for legal professionals.
49. 37signals: Check out 37signals to find programming, design and executive jobs.
50. MonsterTRAK: College students and young alumni find job listings and useful resources.
51. Saludos: This website provides career resources specifically for Latino job seekers.
52. CoolWorks: Find summer and seasonal job listings at national parks and resorts on this site.
53. Alumwire: A place to search jobs for recent college graduates and young alumni.
54. Opportunity Knocks: Check it out to find nonprofit opportunities.
55. Care.com: Find a job as a babysitter, tutor, pet sitter or senior caregiver.

Search Engines
(These make the search easier by aggregating job listings from various sources).
56. Jobster: Jobster offers you the means to look for jobs across the Internet all on one simple site.
57. NationJob: This site lists jobs across the nation, and offers personal service.
58. Career Site: Career Site is a compilation of postings from a variety of online job search resources.
59. LinkUp: Check out this website to uncover hidden jobs on corporate web sites.
60. SimplyHired: Searches thousands of websites and companies to bring you the most qualified results; also offers tools for locating local jobs and tracking trends.
61. Career USAToday: This website allows you to search jobs listed in participating newspapers.
62. Hound: Hound helps you search directly from employers’ career pages.
63. JuJu: JuJu offers a search of all US and Canadian job boards.
64. JustPosted: Finds the most current job postings.
65. Indeed: Indeed searches job sites, newspapers, financial news, associations and company career pages to find a listing of local jobs.
66. SnagAJob: Perform a job search here to find hourly, part-time and full-time work.

Connections
67. Ziki: Lists what you’re looking for in an ideal company, shares your service profile and connects you with qualified employers.
68. NotchUp: Post your resume and employers actually pay to interview you.
69. Climber: Climber asks you to fill out a survey, then matches you to jobs based on your interests.

Salary & Job Conditions
70. Payscale: Get customized salary reports and even compare salaries based on your status as a candidate and job seeker.
71. America’s Career InfoNet: Find occupation profiles and salary information.
72. SalaryScout: See what type of compensation others are receiving.
73. Peekface: Read reviews of employers written by the people who work for and with them.
74. US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Research average salaries, outlook and more.
75. Abbott-Langer: Abbott-Langer offers in-depth surveys on salaries and organizations.
76. Salary: Get a good idea of what you can expect to earn using this site’s reports.
77. SalaryExpert: Help you figure out how much you should be getting paid by using compensation data and comparison tools.

Tools
78. CareerShift: CareerShift offers many excellent ways to organize your search information online.
79. Resolio: Help you create a professional resume suitable for online publishing.
80. RiseSmart: This concierge service may just help you find a position.
81. Emurse: Use Emurse to convert your resume into an hResume format for more effective online use.
82. Resume Calculator: Tom Jackson’s online quiz helps you build the perfect resume.
83. Isabont: Organizes your job search a free tool.

Advice and information
84. Ask the Headhunter: Get answers to any job search questions.
85. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Learn how you can prevent discrimination.
86. Job-Hunt: Susan Joyce offers advice for making the Internet work for you.
87. Damn Good Resumes: Offers lots of different templates and samples of effective resumes.
88. CareerLab: This website offers advice and answers to your most common job hunting questions.
89. Job-Hunt: Numerous job search resources.
90. Job Hunter’s Bible: This is the site maintained by the author of "What Color is Your Parachute?" and he provides many useful links.
91. InterviewBest: This site can help you create useful presentations to take on interviews.
92. Quintessential Careers: Tools and tips for employment seekers.
93. The Riley Guide: Learn about online job searching on this site offering some great advice and resources.
94. AceTheInterview: Learn interview dos and don’ts, and find a handy checklist you can use.
95. Susan Ireland’s Online Resume Writing Workshop: Enjoy Susan's tips and samples of effective resumes.
96. Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center: Useful information on jobs, preparation and education.
97. About.com: Job Searching: A helpful guide.
98. InterviewUp: Check out this community and sharpen your interview skills.
99. JobStar: Find resources and advice, and unadvertised jobs.
100. US Department of Labor: Offers information on salaries and unemployment.

Just type ".com" at the end of any of the site names. Google or your search engine will take you to any you choose to visit.

Happy job hunting!

Portions of the list found at Internsover40, the blog.

Day 82 - How to Register a Domain Name

Registering a domain name is not nearly as complicated as you might think. Once you've created a website, this is the next logical step.

It is best to find a registrar that is an "official" Internet registering service to register your name. Quite often, web hosting sites offer to register your domain name for you, however, there is some confusion among these sites when it comes to "ownership," so it is best to register your domain name yourself.

Where to Go
The domain name can be anything you think of that describes your site. As long as it is not already taken by someone else, you can be the owner of a name once you register it.

Find out if your choice is available by visiting http://www.whois.org and search the name you have chosen. Whois is a database that displays information for anyone searching for domain names. If someone does a search for the name you have chosen after you register it, this is where the information comes from that shows the name is already taken.

For instance, if you want to offer web design, then the name you select will be in the URL people enter when doing a search for web designers.

The name you choose should reflect the service or information you provide so it will be easy to find. There are millions of domain names out there already, so this can prove difficult. Do a search for all the keywords that describe your site, and you should be able to come up with the right combination.

Once you have chosen a name, make sure it is available by visiting some Internet registrars and finding the one you want. What a registrar basically does is resell domain names.

Prices vary among registrar sites but they typically start at around $5.00 for one year. This can run as high as $50, so finding the one that offers the best price for you may take some investigation.

When you are ready to register a name, you will be required to provide either a PayPal account or a credit card number. This is not optional. Most providers require these methods of payment. On the plus side, you will immediately have access to the name.

How Long Can You Keep a Name?
You may also register a name for longer than one year but that is the minimum. Domain names may be registered for up to 10 years. The longer time period is a good idea if you are worried about forgetting to re-register. If you have a very popular name and want to ensure that it remains yours, go ahead and register it for as long as possible and keep anyone else from purchasing it.

When you find the registrar you choose to use, be sure to input accurate contact information. This is what shows up in the Whois database when someone else searches your domain name.

The contact information should have your correct email address; this is also where you'll find re-registering information and anything else concerning your name.

If someone should want to purchase your name for their site, they can contact you and make an offer. Some of the more popular domain names have sold for a great deal of money.

The Domain Name is Important
The web hosting site you choose may not always be the site that you use. If you switch to another site at some point you can take your name with you.

If you have a web hosting service already, you need to get your name on its servers. There are normally primary and secondary servers. Email the host if you cannot find information on how to do this easily.

By following the instructions at your web hosting site, you can register your name. The main thing to remember is you'll need to re-register your domain name at the end of the time period you selected. This ensures that your name remains with you and people can always find your website.

Day 72 - How young is too young for career planning?

OK. This is getting out of hand! Kids as young as nine years old are scheduled to receive career advice in a new program underway in London. Children in the British primary schools are now slated to receive advice via Internet sites (like YouTube) on their future career paths under a new government plan. The program is designed "to help children of all socio-economic backgrounds realize their goals." Each student will be assigned a mentor, have a chance to visit a university, and receive counseling on what subjects to study (some of this will be done via social networking sites like Facebook).

A recent study showed that 75 percent of 11-year-olds in the UK already want to attend a university. So, why implement the new program? Some say it's because parents said they wanted the government to put an end to the "old boy" network which saw only the children from privileged backgrounds getting into universities. The Brits have said that age 14 is simply too late to influence young citizens, but seven, eight and nine are better ages for career counseling. (Really?) This new British program is being tried out initially in 38 schools. It was designed to encourage students to think about what they want to do for a living at a much younger age.

At nine, I think I still wanted to be a starship captain! If anyone had made a serious career suggestion to me then, I think it would have shortened my childhood and stunted my imagination. Opinions?

Of course, some might say that at 50, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Hmmmm. They would not necessarily be wrong. But would extra career counseling in elementary school have made a difference? It's certainly food for thought.

Day 70 - When you’re the only one who cares about your blog

I’ve heard that it’s lonely at the top. I know that it can also be lonely at the blog site. We face a lot of obstacles here, from serving as the lone advocate for an invisible community to feverishly fighting for readers in a battle that no one sees. This work can take you to task.

If you blog for a company, you can hope to develop an internal support system. Many managers pay lip service to a blog initiative and mention its importance from time-to-time, but the larger percentage of people in your office won’t understand what you (the blogger) are working on, what it entails and for that matter, HOW to support you in it.

If this is something you allow yourself to think about, it can consume you. Be cautious. And depending on how well the blog is delivering results, you may easily become apathetic, begin to hate what you do, or simply get bogged down and let the blog die a slow death. All of this can happen in a week, or in a matter of hours.

Encouragement for other bloggers-to-be:

Keep Caring. You have a job to do and you will make a commitment to your blog community. If you are passionate about it, maintaining a level of care and concern, you can make it great and it will move forward.

Spread the Word. Talk up your blog to others on campus or in the company you work for every chance you get. Share stories about your posts. Forward comments and links to blog posts (include photos if you can). Heck, go all out and create a laundry list of your post titles and send them to people you know in an email. If your blog has decent content, people will read it.

Talk to other bloggers. This, I can’t stress enough. Read other blogs. You have to share your experiences and find people who can relate to the issues you're discussing. Talk to me, I am always up for a chat; I respond to all comments!

Know when to walk away. If you start thinking about your blog 24/7, then it's time to do a reality check. I’ve been there and honestly, I might still be there. But we have to seek a balance. It can be hard if you’re doing everything on your own, but at some point, it's time to take the S off your chest.

Remember, we can all use a little more of the real-world from time-to-time!

Day 69 - The “Curse” of the Class of 2009

I remember the excitement of graduating with my bachelor’s degree back in the summer of 1980. I was 20 years old, eager, optimistic and confident that the world was my oyster. I boldly packed a bag, grabbed my guitar and headed for Los Angeles, where I was determined to make my mark. Of course I was going to make it ... I was freshly armed with my college degree.

How the times have changes. The only thing I know for sure as my second college graduation approaches is that December marks my existence forever as a member of the very first “cursed” graduating class.

The Wall Street Journal has coined a phrase, “The curse of the graduating class of 2009,” writing about the subject initially in a May 9th article that decreed my college class faces the toughest job market in US history. The article painted a bleak, hopeless portrait of the American college grad looking for work. The class of 2009's "cursed" status comes to us on the heels of a struggle to finance our college educations in ways no one could have imagined for us.

Back in the day, the average college student paid tuition by blending family support, financial aid and, maybe, a part-time job of 8 - 15 hours per week. In 2009, family support and financial aid have become sadly inadequate for a huge number of undergraduates, making full-time work a very common thing. We graduate students have generally worked to support ourselves through these extra college years, but we also rely on the grants, assistanceships, fellowships and loans, which are becoming more scarce.

Is working as a student really necessary at any stage of the game? Are our earnings always used for academic expenses? A handful of studies indicate there is a significant negative association between working long hours and completing (or not completing) a degree. The conflict of work versus school appears to be to blame.

A few weeks ago, a new study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published in the Journal of Population Economics released an article titled, Will Work for Beer. According to the report, they tested several ideas with regard to the financial motives for student employment. They found a decrease in financial help from parents meant an increase in the working hours of four-year college students. They also found an increase in the costs of higher education.

So the decision to work may have something (but not everything) to do with how much support parents provide and how expensive college has become. This is no surprise. But the authors went on to make an unnecessary assumption. They walked right into a stereotype, saying that their results meant the drive to work does not come from a need to make ends meet -- instead, students are working in order to have ‘beer money,' paying for entertainment but not their tuition.

This is a controversial assertion. I, for one, am not buying it. I can speak as a member of the group - all college students. I have been immersed in the collegiate lifestyle for nearly three years, and this hypothesis does NOT hold true for students at Murray State University. I can’t speak for students everywhere, but I do take offense at the notion. The evidence merely suggests that students work but don't generate enough income to match family contributions or meet their college costs. This could mean many things, including the fact that students are having a harder time finding enough work. Of course, it may also mean we need to find other ways to make ends meet - like student loans. The study does not provide solid evidence of what working students use their earnings for, how they prioritized expenses, or what they had to go without.

Working students are generally struggling students – be they undergrad or grad, traditional or non-traditional. There's good qualitative evidence on this. College professors will tell you they dislike full-time working students because they tend to fall asleep in class, and they have little time for studying. Let's face it. Traditional students who work are becoming more like non-traditional students every day. None of us get to know our classmates very well; we have no time for socializing. Our stress levels are higher, and the chances of degree completion are getting lower all the time. Why would anyone minimize the need to work, or mock us for trying, or reinforce a stereotype that students’ earnings are being spent in bars?

If colleges can’t work with students to help them find adequate financial supports, then working while going to school may soon be the case - and not the exception. As a proud member of the “cursed class of 2009,” I can only hope the job market improves quickly, and that all that successful pre-grad school career experience is worth something to potential employers.

Day 64 - News about the Blogosphere

Technorati's "2009 State of the Blogosphere" report is due out tomorrow but WebProNews provided a sneak preview of the results today. First and foremost, the Blogosphere is strong. Recently, some traditional media reporters have suggested that it might be dying due to the popularity of microblogging services like Twitter, but this new data indicates it's not dying or even leveling off. It's thriving. Yes, blogs are the new media!

The Technorati report is based on a survey of 2,900 bloggers and it includes interviews with blogging pros like Steve Rubel and Arianna Huffington. Here are some of the key findings:

- 72% of people blog for fun or as a hobby and they don't make money
- 28% are professional bloggers
- 2/3 of professional bloggers are male
- 60% are between ages 18-44
- 40% of professional bloggers have at some point in their life worked in traditional media (newspapers, radio, magazine publishing, TV broadcasting)
- 7% are still employed in traditional media
- 73% of bloggers are using Twitter vs only 14% of the general population

That last statistic is particularly interesting. Chitika has just released the results from a study which found that people who use Twitter are really looking for news. Bloggers who use Twitter use it primarily to promote their blogs. You may have wondered how the so-called "professional" bloggers make money. Here's a breakdown of how the Pros "monetize" today's blogs:

- Display ads - 40% (up from 28% last year)
- Search ads - 39%
- Affiliate links - 36%
- Paid postings - 8%

Self-employed bloggers are mainly selling their inventories through a blog ad network but they may also use affiliate links (this is like the small ads I include at the end of each blog post). Seventy percent of all bloggers are blogging about brand-name products, so corporate America is in fact deep into this shift to new media.

Hmmmmm. ( This really makes me think I should find a brand to blog for.)

What do you think of the idea that so many bloggers are trying to "sell" you something? As a former traditional media professional, I get it. I mean, newspapers, TV and radio have always (blatantly) sold products to a mass audience. Is there really any reason online media should be any different? More specifically, do consumers, like you and me, believe there is anything wrong with companies adding the blogosphere to their marketing mix?

Tools students can use to help navigate the net
Today, I leave you with a list of the most popular tools being used on the web. I've mentioned several of them in this blog previously. How many of them have you tried or do you use regularly? For college students (of any age), I recommend you at least become familiar with the following:

* Delicious
* Digg
* StumbleUpon
* Reddit
* Furl
* Facebook
* Google
* Yahoo
* Twitter

Day 39 - Have you heard of Foursquare?

Go back in time just about three years. Would you believe Twitter was being used back then by the same people who are now playing "Foursquare?"

What is Foursquare? It’s a location game.

What does it do? It gives you points and lets other people know where you are.

It sounds really dumb, doesn't it? But then, I thought Twitter sounded really dumb when I first heard about it. Didn't you?

It’s not dumb, according to its players. Apparently, it's weirdly fun.

The game gives players points for doing "check-ins," telling everyone where you are - work, school, a store or an event. If you do a lot of check-ins, you get more points. And, you get badges (achievements). For instance, if you check in a lot of times at one place, they make you the "Mayor" of that location. So, it's mindless fun with bragging rights.

Yeah, still sounds pretty lame to me, too. But the reports I'm reading say that this game will eventually be bigger than Twitter. Remember, you heard it here first, folks!

Why would this catch on? Because businesses will figure out that this is a better way to engage customers. They'll be able to target people at a certain location and make them offers on the spot.

The TV generation is fast becoming the internet generation. This is still anybody's game and no matter what, this thing is growing as quickly as Twitter did in 2006 and that's news.

We're right in the middle of a Paradigm Shift
According to a Pew Internet & American Life Project report from 2006, one in every 10 adult Americans had a blog back then. Yep, that's right, 2006. And they weren't including the huge segments of people who use chat rooms and sites like YouTube to show and tell their all. Not only are there are even more blogs today, but there are a lot more blog readers. The Pew study concluded that 39 percent of Internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs. Three years later, I think it's fair to assume that at least 100 million Americans, a solid one third of this country, are reading blogs.

And here I am, blogging away. I must confess that after 38 straight days of posting, this thing can be quite overwhelming. I have even considered cutting back as the semester wears on and the projects pile up. Truth be told, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't follow through on the commitment I made to blog - every day until I graduate. I wonder (often) if anyone is reading this stuff or if I can provide anything remotely useful. I'm looking for interesting news and hoping to make a difference.

I hope you'll hang in here with me while we explore the virtue of blogging - together. One thing is for certain, more and more Americans will continue to discover value in this place we call the blogosphere...and maybe there is a place for me somewhere in it. Fingers crossed.

Day 34 - It's the weekend!

With a mountain of work before me, I can report my genuine relief that the weekend has arrived. Honestly, I'm all written out. It was a week of good, solid effort all the way around - from the gym to classes, meetings on campus and right back to the keyboard. All in all, another good week. Tonight, I will start on a take-home mid-term exam, so please forgive the brevity of this post. As with most students after the first month of classes, time is becoming a real commodity.

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