Stepping Into a Good Job Market

Abridged: JobWeb.com (by The Career News)

BETHLEHEM, PA -- Your chances of getting a job - maybe even the perfect entry-level job - are great! According to many of the employers who are currently recruiting, this is the healthiest job market in three years. Overall, according to Job Outlook 2008, employers plan to hire 16% more graduates in 2007-08 than they did in 2006-07.

The growing demand for entry-level employees and new graduates is a result of an increased demand for employers' products and services. It's also important to note that many employees are retiring, and other employees are leaving organizations for new opportunities. Employers expect the good job market to continue - or perhaps get better!

Employers plan to target business, engineering, and computer-related degrees in 2007-2008. The Top 10 degrees in demand are: Accounting, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Business Administration and Management, Economics/Finance, Information Sciences & Systems, Marketing/Marketing Management, Computer Engineering, Management Information Systems/ Business Data Processing.

Demand for IT Jobs Will Soar Through 2016

December 5, 2007

By Brian P. Watson

Five IT specialties are among the 25 fastest-growing jobs anticipated by 2016, according to a new forecast from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Positions in network systems and data communications analysis will increase 53 percent between 2006 and 2016, the highest rate of growth of any occupation. Computer software application engineers will see the fourth-highest growth, with an increase of 44 percent.

Computer systems analysts (29%), database administrators (29%) and computer systems software engineers (28%) also rank in the top 25 jobs in terms of job growth.

Other IT occupations expected to see increase growth include network and computer systems administrators, computer and information research scientists, computer information systems managers and computer support specialist.

The downside for IT? Computer programming positions are expected to decline by 4 percent, the 22nd biggest loss overall.

Overall, job growth in the next 10 years is expected to increase slightly less than it did between 1996 and 2006. The Bureau attributes the small drop-off in growth to the aging and retiring of the Baby Boomer generation. "As a result, the need to replace workers who retire or leave the labor force for other reasons—called replacement needs—is projected to create a significant number of additional job openings," the report states.

For more on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' workforce projections, click here.

Copyright (c) 2007Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Simple Rules for an Effective Resume

The goal of a resume is to solicit enough interest for an employer to want to talk with you further about a career opportunity. Below, you will find some simple, straight forward guidelines for putting together a good resume. There are some clear Do's & Don'ts to abide by!

Resume Do's

• Be truthful, clear and concise
• Sell yourself
  
• Use accomplishment-oriented language such as "Saved company 25K within Q1..."
  
• Avoid job description language such as "Responsible for..."
  
• Provide as much contact information as possible and best time to contact (especially during business hours)
• Keep your resume to 2 pages or less (it is not a book!)
• If printing, use standard 8.5" X 11" paper size and use high quality bright white color
• Use Spell Check
• Use good grammar
• Use Bullets when appropriate
• Explain gaps in employment
• List work history in reverse chronological order
  
• Include city & state for each job
  
• Focus on accomplishments
• "Accentuate the Positive" & "Eliminate the Negative"
• Always follow up with a phone call or email to ensure that the employers has received your resume.
  

Resume Don'ts

• List more than about 15 years of experience
• Provide skills of activities that you are not interested in doing even if you excel in these areas
  
• Include Upfront Reference information (simply mention that "References are available upon request")
• Include picture of yourself
• Forget to use spell check!!!
• Provide a laundry list of every tool, language, software that you've ever looked at. Keep it to a list of skills, etc. which are pertinent to the opportunity you are seeking.
  
• Include high school or irrelevant experience unless you don't have any industry experience
• Include salary history (this should be left for telephone or face to face)