More thank you notes and advice from readers

Here are some more emails that I have received from various readers....

I have been unemployed for almost 8 months now. I worked with the same morgage company for 6 years and thought it was a very stable job until I as well as everyone else got laid off because the company was closing. I have been looking for work ever since they told me I was going to be laid off 8 months ago. 4 months ago I found a sales position that was willing to try me out with training but being that i have no sales experince they did not want to hire me . It has been very hard to find any kind of job that needs my experince and qulifactions. I have been posting my resume on job sites like monster, carrerbuilder and local stuff. I have been visiting company's that are hireing and taking applications as well as telling everyone i know that i am looking for a job and if they have one to let me know. I have also tried searching google and other search sites for help wanted or hiring posts in my area . Its hard to do this everyday but I keep saying it will all help me to get a job and i have to do it.

Nancy

I was hit by a van 2 years ago and can't work a traditional job. I can however, work on my computer, as long as I can take breaks every 1/2 hour or so and stretch. So between the economy and my injuries, it's been tough looking for a job. I have my profile up on facebook and linked-in, looking for computer work. I network here on mturk - I already have gotten a freelance job through my work for a triivia company. I read through Craigs List every day for my area, looking for jobs, as well as scanning Gigs Offered. I also post in the computers area and have gotten some freelance gigs there. I printed up business cards through Vistaprinte for a couple of bucks, as well as postcards, and distribute those on bulletin boards in the surrounding areas. I go to all the merchants in town, drop off my card, and sometimes I leave a stack if they seem willing to pass them along. I started my own blog, and try to comment on others that seem attuned to the kind of work I do

Mike C

I am a mother of 4 and have been unemployed for over eigth months. I would say the first step for anyone facing unemployment would be to visit their local depart of labor office. Unemployment benefits can help pay bills while searching for a job. I reviewed and revised my resume to fit each job posting I searched for daily using sites such as www.indeed.com, www.dice.com and hotjobs.com. Networking with past associates from college, groups and jobs has been a help getting the word out that I am looking for a job. That way others are indrectly looking for me as well. I have also researched ways to improve my skills to make my experience more attractive to possible employers.

Janet

i have recently quit my job and moved to another state to move my family closer to my wifes family. Before we moved we had looked at jobs on various job sites such as monster.com, careerbuilder.com, and craigslist.com. We also spoke to numerous people in the area that we knew who had jobs and knew other people who owned businesses. We felt thorugh our research, i.e. talking to people we knew as well as looking online, that the job market in the new area was decent enough for me to find a job quickly after we moved. Needless to say we have been here a full month and I am still unemployeed and looking. Many ways i go about looking for a job have been to write up a nice resume and going around to different businesses that I have a lot of experience in or know that I would be a great assest to that company, then I just go to the Business and ask to speak to a manager or whoever is in charge of hiring introduce myself give them my resume and explain a little bit about myself. When doing the first impression is a lasting one so I make sure I am always well dressed, clean shaven and well spoken. When I am home me and my wife scour the internet looking for any job postings. Craigslist is a good place to look for smaller local businesses whereas other job sites like monster and careerbuilder are better for bigger businesses. I have also found that the walmart website has its on job classified section as well as the popular social networking site Myspace. Looking in your local papers classified section always help, the newspapers web site is even better. The online classified section of your local newspaper is usually free to post which yields more posts as well people can post there needs for employment immediatly where as that perfect job you found in the paper might be filled by the time you see it. So far i have canvassed the are with my resume and have only gotten a few responses but don't get down it takes hard work to find a good job and if you have to work somwhere that you fill is below you or under your skill set just remember making something is better than making nothing take what you can get. You can always move on when something better comes through.

Geoff

I am a stay at home mom that needed to make a little extra money. I have spent hours researching different ways to earn money online. I was not looking for anything that was going to make me rich, but that I could make decent money with. One of my favorite job boards is wahm.com. It stands for work at home mom, and they have tons of ideas to make money unconventially. They have a board for writers that I immediately liked. I have previously done work on Amazon's mechanical turk website, mturk.com, but they pay pretty low. Since I had wrote several article for them I had a little confidence and applied to a few writing websites. I got a few rejections, but I am now writing with Associated Content and Textbroker. Although it isn't much money I am making a few hundred extra a month and as my writing skill improve I hope to get better paying jobs.

Anonymous

Here is another way to make some money online....

I have another option to make additional income online. Swagbucks is an up and coming website that offers points towards gift cards etc when you use your search engine. This is great for people who are looking for ways to make money. Check it out here

http://www.swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=156267

End of the recession.... Not with the Jobless Claims rising

Here is another article that I found this morning, I think we are closer towards the bottom of the recession... IMO

New jobless claims rise unexpectedly to 576K

WASHINGTON – The number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly for the second straight week, a sign that jobs remain scarce even as other data show the economy is stabilizing.

Many economists expect the economy to grow at a modest pace in the second half of this year, bringing an end to the longest recession since World War II. But jobs are likely to remain scarce and many analysts worry that persistently high unemployment could cause consumers to hold back on spending, threatening a recovery.

The Labor Department said Thursday the number of new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 576,000 last week, from a revised figure of 561,000. Wall Street economists expected a drop to 550,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire new workers.

"Consumer spending is going to have a very difficult time recovering with the labor market as weak as it is," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc.

The jobless claims figures are volatile, and had been trending down, after remaining above 600,000 for most of this year. The new report indicates that the labor market is still weak. In a healthy economy, initial claims are usually around 325,000 or below.

The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out fluctuations, rose for the second straight week to 570,000.

The number of people remaining on the benefit rolls dropped by 2,000 to 6.24 million. Analysts had expected a slight decline. The continuing claims figures lag initial claims by a week.

The stock market rose slightly in morning trading. The Dow Jones industrial average added about 25 points, while broader indices also edged up.

When federal emergency programs are included, the total number of jobless benefit recipients was 9.18 million in the week that ended Aug. 1, the most recent data available. That was down from 9.25 million in the previous week. Congress has added up to 53 extra weeks of benefits on top of the 26 typically provided by the states.

The large number of people remaining on the rolls is an indication that unemployed workers are having a hard time finding new jobs.

Still, layoffs have slowed recently. The department said earlier this month that companies cut 247,000 jobs in July, a large amount but still the smallest number in almost a year.

The unemployment rate dipped to 9.4 percent in July from 9.5 percent, its first drop in 15 months. But many private economists and the Federal Reserve think the rates could top 10 percent by next year.

The recession, which began in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II, has eliminated a net total of 6.7 million jobs.

More job cuts were announced this week. Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said it will eliminate about 800 jobs in its space systems division, and San Francisco-based video and audio conferencing company Polycom Inc. said it will cut 3 percent of its 2,600 person work force.

Among the states, Tennessee had the largest increase in claims with 2,525 for the week ended Aug. 8, which it attributed to more layoffs in the transportation equipment, industrial machinery, and rubber and plastics industries. The next largest increases were in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Georgia and Washington.

California reported the largest drop in claims of 5,635, which it attributed to fewer layoffs in the construction, trade and service industries. Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Delaware had the next large

What do you think?

Here are some letters that I recived in my Email....

Here are some more letters that I received in my email today for people who are using varied tips for their job search.

I had recently moved back to Boston from Florida. Was bumming around for a little while since I had never worked so hard in my life when I was down in Winter Garden. My funds started running low, so I applied at a Card manufacturing company. They hired me onto their 3rd shift. The hours were easy and so was the work. I surpassed all their expectations and was being praised left and right. When rumors of lay-offs began I thought I was in the clear, oh how I was wrong. Thanksgiving rolled in and everyone got their free turkey to take home. The following Monday though...everyone was called into the lunchroom and the WHOLE 3rd shift was let go. Since then I've opened my own business, but with the economy in such a bad state I had to close down the main office. My lease was coming to an end and the landlord wanted to raise the amount on our new agreement. So now Im unemployed, luckily with a home business license until the end of this year. I've applied to many places online, in person and over the phone but to no luck. I've just been applying to places close to the home to avoid commuting and dependency on gas. But even if you find an underpaid opportunity at this point, it looks like travel will definitely be a part of that opportunity. At this point a cash-money laboring position would even work. Until then Im going to apply for Lowe's overnight shift for a store that hasnt even been built yet. I guess keeping your head up is harder and harder nowadays.

Reaksmey

I’m Ashley, a 23 year old from New York who finished undergrad studies in Spring 2008 and started a graduate program in the fall of that year. I wasn’t quite prepared to graduate as the economy fell apart. What’s worse is that arts related professions and non-profits, areas in which I hoped to work, were hit hard at the peak of the recession. As I did my daily job search, I found that many galleries and organizations were offering unpaid internships that had the titles and requirements of proper full-time positions. I felt that it was best to keep applying to anything that I felt qualified to do. I did end up with both a paid and unpaid internship which put a little money in my pockets and padded my resume. I can truly say that I am lucky to be a native New Yorker; so I’m able to live at home with my family and still be exposed to the opportunities that New York has to offer. I am also half-done with a graduate degree that should help me to be competitive when the economy and job market turn around.

Ashley

Now here is a email that I received from someone who is also a recent college graduate with a Marketing degree. This shows proof that even college students are having difficulty finding their dream career.


My name is Chris and I am a recent college graduate with a Marketing degree. I have tried, and successfully, been granted job interviews at surrounding businesses. A few from the typical networking of friends and former colleagues, but oddly enough a large amount from going to local job fairs and applying for positions in the local branches of many national companies. Although I still am unemployed, this technique has gotten me quite a few interviews.


Chris

Photograpy Jobs freelance work.....

I don't know if anyone is a avid photographer, however there is some ad that I found via twitter about a freelance photography if you are interested reply with these people it is a great way to rake in some extra cash while waiting for an potential employer.

http://www.getphotographyjobs.com

A job status update and 2 more emails....

Since starting my new job 30 days ago.... I found that I have been enjoying the new found benefits of working on my career. At times it may be hard, however I feel that I can enjoy the benefits down the road as I work further in my career.

I also received two more emails from more people who are looking for work as was recently laid off due to the recession here are some great tips and words of encouragement

It has not been an easy 4 months. I have been looking for work in an industry that continues to reduce staff. My wife is not taking it well especially since I have an Ivy League MBA. There are a few things I have been doing. Most important is to remain positive. The next set is the to flexible. An industry that is still having layoffs is one to be avoided. Monster.com is a good place to start but unless you are an exact match it is a bit of waste of time. I still continue to call my old contacts. You must network with old contacts and be willing to make new contacts

John

I was laid off from my job a couple of weeks ago & have been searching for a new one every day since. I mainly do job searches online. Since I am applying for jobs in management or supervisory positions, I find that many of those aren't advertised for in "Help Wanted" signs in the store. I put in my online applications & then go to the store in person to request an interview. I have found that if I only put in the online application & do not follow up in person, there is no way for me to truly know whether or not the position is actually open. Plus then the job seekers know I am serious about the position and may remember me more easily.

Cara