How Good Is Your Network?

If you lost your job tomorrow, could you pick up the phone and have a job the next day? This may sound unrealistic, but for the serious networker, this is the ultimate goal. The serious networker builds their professional network before they need it, not after the fact. Because networking is about relationships, effective networking takes time. You need time to nurture your professional relationships, because in the end, networking is relationship building. You want strong relationships at your disposal when it is time to activate them.

Are You a Discouraged Worker?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a monthly jobs report of detailing, among other things, the number of jobs created as well as the number of persons unemployed. October’s report came out last Friday. The report shows that the unemployment rate held steady at 9.0 percent, representing more than 13.9 million Americans that are out of work. This number is huge by any comparison and suggests that we still have a tough uphill battle to turn this economy around.

It's All About the Numbers

When tackling the job search, it helps to know which job search methods work and which ones don’t.  The North Carolina Career Resource Network posted some figures related to the job search recently that I thought were pretty revealing. Let’s take a look at a few: