Have you lost your job? If so, you're not alone. There are always companies that are eliminating jobs or restructuring operations. Unfortunately, it is a normal part of conducting business in today's economy. Keep in mind that you might have advance notice or a lay-off can take you by surprise.

I still remember being shocked when I, and everyone in the same position across the country, were all laid-off one Friday afternoon. The company's restructuring ended up in an offer for a different job a couple of weeks later (which I didn't take), but that didn't mitigate the fact that I was suddenly out of work, without my job, company car, my phone, and everything else that when along with being gainfully employed. In my case, it was an unexpected opportunity to change the focus of my career, so it worked out for the best in the long-run. That's been the case for other job and career changers, as well.

The most important thing to do when you unexpectedly lose your job is to check where you stand as far as benefits and unemployment, then get going on a job search.

Losing Your Job

• Pink Slip? What Now?
• Leaving Your Job
• How to File for Unemployment
• Employee Benefits When You Lose Your Job

One of the questions I get asked most often is how to best manage a job search (and your career) and keep track of your applications, your resumes, and your contacts.

There is a solution. JibberJobber provides an easy way to keep track of all of the information that you collect during a job search. You can track where you have sent your resumes, the jobs you apply for, and log the status of each job as you proceed through the hiring process. In addition, you can track your personal networking contacts and keep a log of how they have helped you, as well as connect with them on LinkedIn.

Here's more on using JibberJobber to manage your job search, along with tips from JibberJobber CEO, Jason Alba.

Job Search Tools

• JibberJobber
• Job Search Widgets and Gadgets
• Job Search Tools
• Job Search Toolkit

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If you're a college senior or recent grad who is starting to panic because you haven't done anything about finding a job yet (and don't worry, you're definitely not alone) or an undergrad who wants to get ahead, spend some time reading Getting from College to Career. It will be well worth it.

The book is full of practical advice on how to discover what you want to do, transitioning from college to career, who to network with, how to communicate professionally, and the best ways to get ahead of the crowd when you're job searching. There is also good advice on how to use the skills you might not even know you have to your advantage, along with information on what to do when you're stuck, as author Lindsey Pollak was when she returned home from graduate school in Australia.

Related Resources

• Getting from College to Career
• Class '08 Plans for After Graduation
• Career Building Books
• Entry Level Jobs
• Internships for Grads
• College Job Search Tips

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Leaving your job can be a positive transition for everyone involved. You have the power to ensure that leaving your current employer strengthens your relationship and reputation rather than destroying it. Guest Author Elizabeth R. Rose (Mitchell), Social Work World and About.com's Guide to Southwest US Travel, helps you plan your departure so you can leave your job with the same collegiality and positive atmosphere you started with.

Leaving Your Job

• Tips for Quitting Your Job
• Resignation Letters
• How to Say Farewell to Co-Workers
• How to Resign

I love this time of year. It's when I get to hear about the plans college seniors have for after graduation. Good examples of the diversity of options available that I've heard, so far, include a graduate who is going to work on an organic vegetable farm, another who is attending a prestigious law school, a Phi Beta Kappa grad from an Ivy League university who is joining the Peace Corps, someone who is going to Los Angeles to try his chances at acting, still others who are going to teach in underpriviledged schools for Teach for America, grads who are about to start a career in finance on Wall Street, and yet others who are going to teach English in China.

It's amazing how many choices are available. The different interests that different people have always surprises me, too. Every year, I read about someone who is doing something I wouldn't have thought of. That's why it's always important to research career options, decide what interests you, and to not be afraid (regardless of where you are in your career) to make a career change if what you're doing isn't right for you.

Jobs for Grads

• Entry Level Jobs
• Internships for Grads
• College Job Search Tips
• Top Entry Level Employers for 2008

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A job seeker I know had a phone interview with a committee this week. It was actually the second interview in the hiring process. The first was a screening interview, the second was with the hiring committee. She aced it and is going for a third in-person interview next week. As you can see, the company seriously considered the results of the phone interviews, so, when you get emailed or called to schedule a phone interview, it's important to prepare as carefully as you would for an in-person interview. Just because the interview takes place on the phone rather than in an office doesn't mean that it counts any less.

Also, take a look at what you can expect from the interviewer's perspective. Susan Heathfield, About.com's Guide to Human Resources, has information on telephone screening, what the interviewer is going to be looking for from you, and the type of questions you'll be asked.

By the way, you may want to consider using a landline for your phone interviews - I know a couple of people who have had dropped calls or static on the line, which disrupted the interview. If you have any doubt about your cell phone service, schedule your phone interview for a time when you can use a landline.

• Phone Interview Tips
• Job Interview Questions and Answers
• Interview Guide

I spent some time this week helping a friend look for a new job. She wasn't sure where to start, so we talked about the job search engines so she could find job listings that met her specifications fast, job sites with local listings like Craig's List, and niche job sites like MediaBistro and the New York Times Media Jobs section (she's a writer). There are lots of sites out there, and it isn't easy to know where to start, especially when you haven't looked for a job for a while. The world of job searching has changed a lot in the eight years since my friend last job searched.

To help make it a little easier, here's a list of job search engine sites, jobs listed by location and type of job, networking sites where employers and recruiters can find you, and all the other job search sites where you should be looking for job listings.

Job Listings

• Career Networking Sites
• Help Wanted Ads
• Job Listings
• Job Banks
• Job Search Engines
• Local Job Search
• Top Job Sites

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I've mentioned frequently that LinkedIn is an excellent tool for job searching, as well as for building your career and keeping track of your connections. I thought it would be a good idea to share some LinkedIn success stories to show how effective LinkedIn really can be when you're looking for a new job - or even when you're not actively seeking employment.

LinkedIn

• Use Your LinkedIn Profile as a Resume
• How to Use LinkedIn
• LinkedIn and Your Job Search

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When you are dressing for a job interview the image you present is important, even if you're applying for a part-time hourly job at a local store. Your image is what makes the first impression on the interviewer, so it's important to dress appropriately when interviewing and when applying for jobs in person.

Regardless of the type of job you're interested in, you want that first impression to be a great one. When dressing for an interview for a professional position, dress accordingly in business attire. If you're applyng for a job in a more casual environment, a store or restaurant, for example, it's still important to be neat, tidy, and well-groomed, and to present a positive image to the employer.

There are, of course, some things you shouldn't wear to any job interview, even though, believe it or not, some people don't seem to think it matters what you wear. I've seen people show up in clothes that I don't think I'd wear anywhere in public.

What to Wear for a Job Interview

• How to Dress for an Interview
• Interview Attire - Professional Positions
• Interview Attire - Non-Professional Positions
• What Not to Wear on an Interview

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CareerBuilder's Summer Jobs Survey notes that 23% of companies are adding seasonal staff and they are hiring now. Most of the jobs are traditional: office support, customer service, landscape/maintenance, research, and restaurant/food service.

However, there are also some unusual summer jobs that workers shared with CareerBuilder: chicken wrangler, caretaker for diabetic monkeys, clown in an underwater theater, cast member in a haunted house, gopher hunter, soap-maker in a mock colonial village, picking burnt potato chips off a conveyor, and scrubbing rubber ducks for a national rubber duck race. I don't think I want to know about the gophers or the chickens, but some of the others sound like they could be an interesting or fun way to spend the summer.

If you haven't done so already, start your summer job search now, so you don't miss out on good opportunities with early application deadlines. There are sites that list just summer jobs and others that list summer camp jobs. You can search CareerBuilder, the other job boards, and the job search engine sites using "summer" as a keyword. Don't forget to ask your school Guidance Office or college Career Office if they can help. Also check the newspaper. It's a good source for local summer job listings.

Summer Jobs:

• Summer Jobs
• Summer Camp Jobs
• Part-Time / Hourly Jobs
• Job Search Engines
• Job Search Keywords

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