Essentially, this bill is a tax break for businesses:

1. If a company hires a worker who has been employed for at least 60 days, the company will not have to pay the 6.2% Social Security payroll [...]]]> On March 18th, President Obama signed into law the “Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment” (HIRE) Act.

Essentially, this bill is a tax break for businesses:

1. If a company hires a worker who has been employed for at least 60 days, the company will not have to pay the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax during 2010.

2. If the new employee is retained for at least one year, the company will receive an additional $1,000 tax credit.

Theoretically, these tax breaks should encourage businesses to hire more workers.

The total cost of the bill is estimated to be $18 billion.

While the current focus of Congress is on healthcare, over 15 million Americans are still waiting for legislation regarding unemployment extensions and COBRA benefits. Hopefully, this should be on the horizon before the end of March.

The House of Representatives still needs to vote on [...]]]> As part of the jobless bill passed today (March 10th), the Senate voted to extend eligibility for unemployment benefits and COBRA through the end of 2010. Today’s Senate bill adds to the legislation passed on March 2nd, which extended eligibility through the end of March.

The House of Representatives still needs to vote on the new bill, which is expected to happen before the end of the month.

As a side note, if you haven’t yet visited Beyond.com, it’s worth a look. It is the world’s largest network of “career communities” and lets you search across thousands of sites to find the perfect job opportunity. Beyond is free to register and use.

The most recent data from the Labor Department shows that there are 2.4 million job openings available across the country. Sounds great, right?

Here’s the challenge: The 2.4 millions jobs pales in comparison to the over 15 million people who are unemployed. [...]]]> If you are reading this, you are probably looking for a job.

The most recent data from the Labor Department shows that there are 2.4 million job openings available across the country. Sounds great, right?

Here’s the challenge: The 2.4 millions jobs pales in comparison to the over 15 million people who are unemployed. In other words, there are over six people available for each job. On top of this, 85,000 more jobs were lost in December 2009.

While this may sound overwhelming, here is one strategy for finding a new position in ANY job environment: Go where the growth is.

I know you are thinking, “you just said that 85,000 jobs were lost last month”. Indeed, but this across the economy as a whole. Looking closely at the numbers from the Labor Department, some secrets about the job market are revealed:

• Professional and Technical Services gained almost 9,000 jobs. The two key subcategories here were architectural / engineering services and computer systems design.
• Health Care and Social Assistance added nearly 25,000 jobs. Specific areas of growth: offices of physicians, home health care services, and hospitals.
• Federal Government created over 3,000 jobs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics published a survey in 2008 showing that Americans hold an average of 10.8 jobs over the course of their careers. Don’t be afraid to learn a new skill, and go where the growth is.

Below are a handful of resources that you might find useful when looking for career opportunities.

Beyond.com – The world’s largest network of niche career communities.  Provides access to thousands of [...]]]> After filing for unemployment benefits and taking care of your health insurance, you will choose to focus your attention on the job search.

Below are a handful of resources that you might find useful when looking for career opportunities.

Beyond.com – The world’s largest network of niche career communities.  Provides access to thousands of top-tier industry and local web sites.  Search for thousands of relevant jobs across more then 25 different industries.

Executive Search Online – Geared towards experienced professionals (10+ years of experience).  Specialties include the following industries: advertising, aerospace, biomed, defense, financial services, management consulting, manufacturing, public relations, retail, real estate, and sales.

Job.com – Local jobs search.  Free to post.  Thousands of jobs available.

Kontacs – Job search network.  Enables you to create a profile that promotes your skills and experience along with your resume, an connect with employers for free.

Resume Rabbit – Gives you the ability to post your resume on over 80 of the top job posting sites.  The service will save you over 60 hours of data entry time.

SelectLeaders – Search for real estate jobs by location.

The Ladders – Search for jobs that pay over $100,000.  Subscription service.

WorkTree – The world’s largest job portal.  Allows you to easily search for and scan through millions of jobs.

Related:  Your Personality Profile

What is your personality type?

Happy, studious, comical, light-hearted, hardworking…

These are all helpful descriptions of aspects of a how you see yourself, but a one-word characterization does not fully capture the multi-dimensional nature of your personality.

If you are looking for a new career, one of the most important things you can [...]]]>

What is your personality type?

Happy, studious, comical, light-hearted, hardworking…

These are all helpful descriptions of aspects of a how you see yourself, but a one-word characterization does not fully capture the multi-dimensional nature of your personality.

If you are looking for a new career, one of the most important things you can do is to better understand yourself.

Your education, skills, or previous work experience may lead you to believe that you should focus on a particular field.  While these are all relevant indicators of your potential success in a job, the ultimate satisfaction you derive from your work will be based on how well what you do with your time aligns with your personality.

There are some great online tools for evaluating your personality.  The tests are quick, easy, and free.

Human Metrics – 72 yes or no question personality test that results in an assessment of your personality type and lists careers that may be of interest.

The Career Interests Game – Great tool that helps you think about what type of occupations and work environments are most suitable to your personality.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter – 70 question instrument that helps you discover your personality type, based on combinations of human behavior.