What’s going on, folk. I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend so far. And, for those of you reading this from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern areas of the U.S., I hope you’re all staying warm with the Blizzard of 2009 coming down around you today. I’m supposed to be flying back to VA to get some of my mom’s home cooking tomorrow, but it looks like I’ll be stuck in Chicago because of this weather. Ugh…oh well, there’s nothing I can do about the weather, right?

Enough about my weather-related issues…let’s move on to the point of this post. As many of you know, the global economic downturn has left many people around the world, particularly in the U.S., without full-time employment as we approach the holiday season. This is an issue that has been top-of-mind for me lately because of a few friends who have been on the job market for a while and are starting to wonder if they’ll be able to find a gig about which they can be happy. As a result, I’ve been keeping an eye out for job-related resources and recently came across two articles from The Wall Street Journal’s website that could be of interest to folks in the middle of a job search. The first article provides advice on how to improve on a resume and the second gives tipcs on how to kick-start a job search that has stalled. If you’re looking for a new gig, both of these articles should be useful to you.

By the way, I developed a strategic framework and approach to doing a job search while I was doing my own job search last year, but I’ve never had time to actually type it out and post it up here. Hopefully, I’ll be able to change that over the course of the holidays and get something posted up here soon.

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Title: “Creating a resume that sells”

Author: Sarah E. Needleman

Source: The Wall Street Journal Online, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539403154677622.html

Excerpt from intro text:

“In today’s cutthroat job market, having a top-notch résumé is critical to success. But there’s a host of conflicting advice about exactly what makes a good résumé—and not every tip is right for every industry. To find out what hiring managers look for most in these documents, The Wall Street Journal introduces Résumé Doctor, a new feature in which recruiting experts and hiring managers critique readers’ résumés and suggest ways to improve them.”

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Title: “Giving a stalled job search a jump-start”

Author: Sarah E. Needleman

Source: The Wall Street Journal Online, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574483430441125284.html

Excerpt from intro text:

“For many out-of-work professionals, finding a job in today’s market requires far more effort than it did in the past—and a lot more stamina. Last month, the Labor Department reported that it takes unemployed workers an average of 27.2 weeks to land a job, up from 19.1 weeks in September 2008 and 16.7 in September 2007. But career experts say there are several ways job hunters can revive a stalled search.

Taking a highly targeted approach, as Ms. Jones eventually did, is one strategy. Another is to focus on obtaining leads to unadvertised positions where the companies seek out their own applicants. Relying solely on job-board listings, which have been shrinking, isn’t enough these days. There were roughly 3.3 million jobs advertised online last month, compared with 4.4 million in September 2008 and 4.7 million in September 2007, according to the Conference Board, a research firm.”