10 Best Accounting Firms to Work For: 2013 Rankings

Are you a college student or recent graduate looking for an accounting job and wondering which companies are among the best?  If so, you might be interested in Vault.com’s list of the 10 best accounting firms to work for, ranked for 2013.  The results are based on a survey done earlier this year. Continue Reading

College Graduate Jobs

Sonali Subhash, Education Linked

Are you getting ready to graduate from college or considering a career change? Do you need a little help in getting started?

If you’re a college senior or a recent graduate who is still seeking employment, don’t panic! Surveys report that hiring is up from last year, with many employers plan on hiring more employees than in the past. Continue Reading

Getting the Right Job or Doing the Job Right?

“If You’re Not the Lead Dog, the Scenery Never Changes” – Lewis Grizzard

When I was in college I worked as a “runner” on Wall Street during the summer (yes, it was a very long time ago and no, I’m not referring to drugs). A fairly simple job of taking securities and other important documents from one financial institution to another (basically, a messenger). At the time I was 19 years old and this was my first non-fast food job. So the first day I get there and all of the “regulars” (you know, the guys who actually do this as their real job) are sitting around waiting for their first “assignment”. They were a lot older than I was at the time (in their 40′s). Anyway, I get my first assignment – to deliver a package to a financial institution that was about 10 minutes away. As I walk out of the door, one of the regulars pulls me aside and says “this delivery will take you about 15 minutes, but you need to make it last an hour, don’t come back before an hour has passed. Get it?” So I did as he said and took an hour (thinking I would get fired for being so slow), but the “manager” did not think it was unusual that it took me an hour. So long story short, these guys were just milking their messenger job for what it was worth trying to do the least work possible and succeeding (if you could really call that success). Clearly not the recipe for “starting in the mailroom and rising to become the CEO”.

There is a delicate balance in getting the right job and doing the job right. First step in looking for a new job is, obviously, getting the right job for you. But, like everything else in life, nothing is perfect and even the right job will have its warts. Today’s post will focus on getting the right job and making the most of the job you’ve got. Continue Reading

Mozart meets MacGyver: Emerging Careers in Social Media

Sharon Jones of Career Thought Leaders

Part I (Content and Marketing)

Netpreneur Kevin Sproles created the online shopping cart in 1999 at the age of 16. He is founder and CEO of Volusion, an eCommerce company that helps retailers make more than $2 billion a year. Other young innovators are well known. Mark Zuckerberg began Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, and Jack Dorsey was a New York University dropout who developed the prototype for Twitter.

Mark Zuckerberg wore flip-flops and Jack Dorsey a nose ring when they first became prominent entrepreneurs. Not surprisingly, social media firms have distinctive corporate cultures. Facebook offers “baby cash” of $4,000 to new parents, 21 days of paid vacation and unlimited sick days. Twitter urges applicants to “JoinOurFlock,” and offers yoga and Pilate’s classes on-site. Continue Reading

HR Manager Listed Among Best Jobs in 2012

As the job market continues to improve, you might wonder which jobs are doing well.  Find out some of the best (and worst) jobs in 2012, according to one source.

Professions that provide us with our news – Newspaper Reporter and Broadcaster – ranked among the worst jobs in the nation, according to the new 2012 CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report. Lumberjacks, who work on the hottest and coldest days in a highly dangerous occupation with a low salary and a history of high unemployment, were rated as having the worst job in the nation. Continue Reading

How Returning Veterans Can Add Value for Tech Employers

Technology employers may want to consider returning veterans as candidates to fill their needs.

With the Iraq War over and the Afghanistan conflict winding down, military veterans face the transition back into civilian life. The industry posed to benefit most from the veterans’ skill set is the tech sector.

Many tech bloggers and industry professionals think veterans are actually the perfect hire in technology fields because they have strong technologic backgrounds in some of the industry’s hottest needs, including: Continue Reading

The recession is over, but my career is dead!

I keep reading about how the recession is over and the job market is improving, but my situation couldn’t be worse.  I’ve been working over 60 hours a week for the last 2 years and am doing the work of 3 people.  Prior to 2008 I got calls from headhunters all the time, but my phone is still silent.  I feel like my career is dead but I still need to work for a long time.  What can I do? Continue Reading

I Just Graduated…Now What??

Jeffrey Metzger, Your Resume Consultant

The graduation parties are over, you’ve moved out of your dorm, and reality is beginning to set in. The Real World. Not the MTV reality TV show, but the actual real world. It’s natural to feel a little anxiety (or a lot!), but as with anything worth doing, a solid plan is required. Though the high unemployment rate makes headlines, there are jobs to be had. There are opportunities out there and they’ll go to those who position themselves properly in this ultra-competitive job market.

Here are some things to consider as you begin your job search: Continue Reading

Number of Job Openings Up 46% Since June 2009

There were 3.5 million job openings on the last business day of
February, little changed from January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and
separations rate (3.1 percent) were little changed in February. The
job openings rate, at 2.6 percent, has trended upward since the end of
the recession in June 2009. (Recession dates are determined by the
National Bureau of Economic Research.) This release includes estimates
of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the
nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region.

Job Openings

The number of job openings in February was 3.5 million, little changed
from January. Although the number of job openings
remained below the 4.3 million openings when the recession began in
December 2007, the number of job openings has increased 46 percent
since the end of the recession in June 2009.

The number of job openings in February (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. Retail trade, health care and social assistance, and state
and local government had increases in the number of job openings over
the year. The Midwest and South regions also experienced an increase
in the number of job openings over the year.

Hires

In February, the hires rate was essentially unchanged at 3.3 percent
for total nonfarm. The hires rate increased in professional and
business services over the month and was little changed in the
remaining industries and regions. The number of hires
in February was 4.4 million, still below the 5.0 million hires at the
beginning of the recession (December 2007) but was up 19 percent since
the end of the recession (June 2009).

Over the 12 months ending in February, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and total private but
increased for government. The hires rate rose over the year in health
care and social assistance and in state and local government. The
hires rate increased in the South region over the year.

Separations

The total separations figure includes voluntary quits, involuntary
layoffs and discharges, and other separations, including retirements.
Total separations also is referred to as turnover.

The seasonally adjusted total separations rate was little changed in
February for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Over the year, 
the total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed
for total nonfarm, total private, and government.

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. In February, the quits rate was little changed
for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The
number of quits rose to 2.1 million in February from 1.8 million at
the end of the recession in June 2009, although it remained below the
2.9 million recorded when the recession began in December 2007.

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in February 2012
increased from February 2011 for total nonfarm and was little changed
for total private and government. The number of quits over the year
was little changed in all four regions.

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels and for the four regions. The layoffs and discharges
rate was essentially unchanged in February 2012 for total nonfarm,
total private, government, and in all four regions. (See table B.) The
number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm was 1.7 million in
February, down from 2.1 million at the end of the recession in June
2009.

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) for total
nonfarm, total private, and government was little changed from
February 2011 to February 2012. Over the year, the number of layoffs
and discharges rose for mining and logging. The number of layoffs and
discharges was little changed over the year in all four regions.

The other separations component of total separations is seasonally
adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels.
Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, and
disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.
In February 2012, there were 329,000 other separations for total
nonfarm, 270,000 for total private, and 59,000 for government. (See
table C.) The number of other separations for total nonfarm in
February 2012 was 12 percent higher than at the end of the recession
in June 2009.

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout
the business cycle. Net employment change results from the
relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires
exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires
level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is
less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the
hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in February
2012, hires totaled 50.6 million and separations totaled 48.6 million,
yielding a net employment gain of 2.0 million. These figures include
workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during
the year.

Top Five Ways to Get a Head Start in the Race to Employment Before Graduation

Many students erroneously believe that the job search starts after college, when actually students stand a much better chance of landing a job when they start searching by at least junior year. With studies revealing that the median amount of time it takes to find a job is about 40 weeks, starting early may not be such a bad idea. In today’s uncertain economy, college students can’t afford to wait until after graduation to begin what is most likely to be a long and arduous job hunt. Although this may sound like a bleak future, students can certainly make it brighter by planning ahead and getting an earlier start on the hunt than all of their fellow classmates. If you’re concerned about nailing down a job shortly after you graduate, start by adhering to the following top five things to do to get a head start on your search. Continue Reading