the contemporary shopping lifestyle

Think top sites for job hunting and you’re probably thinking of the mammoth Monster.com. But the world world of job hunting is changing and it’s becoming increasingly common to find your next gig through networking. With that in mind here’s the top five places I’d recommend schmoozing for your next job.

LinkedIn

Think of LinkedIn as a Facebook or MySpace for work. You can connect with colleagues, friends and bosses. From there you can see the contacts that are part of their professional network.

But the genius part of LinkedIn lies in the recommendations. Here people you’ve worked with can comment on your previous work. When potential recruiters see your profile they’ll see those recommendations from your old colleagues. Make sure to build your LinkedIn profile and ask for recommendations from colleagues. The simplest way to do that is to write a recommendation for them and ask them to return the favour. Don’t be scared to give direction – if you’re looking to change career direction ask them to comment on your abilities which most suit that new direction.

www.linkedin.com

Facebook

Facebook can be a double edged sword. It’s probably the more grown up of the networking sites when compared to Bebo or Myspace with more professionals heading there. It’s an ideal place to network among your friends and ask about opportunities they know about within their network.

Facebook groups can be a useful job search tool too. Groups are organised around a common theme and you’ll often find groups for certain workplaces. A quick look on there today found jobs from Accounting Assistants to Sales Directors.

But beware the curse of Facebook. Remember that embarrassing but hilarious photo your friend added a while back? It’s not really what you want your potential new boss to see. Make sure you vet your Facebook profile before doing any networking.

www.facebook.com

Niche/Local Job Boards

When we think job search the big names tend to spring to mind such as Monster. But there’s a whole different world of jobs out there in niche or local jobs boards and they’re especially focused on smaller employers where the responsibility and opportunities can be greater.

For every industry you can imagine there are niche job boards packed full of jobs that aren’t appearing in other sources. Find them via Google or have a look around Yahoo Groups where a lot of industry specific ones exist.

And there’s any number of local job boards. Again Google is your friend. www.CraigsList.com is perhaps the biggest but lacking in quality. If you’re in Boston, Chicago, New York or anywhere in the UK check out www.Gumtree.com which is owned by eBay. It tends to be the more organised and it’s been successful in the UK where it originated.

SoloGig

If you’ve got a marketable skill such as public relations, software development or marketing and some experience then maybe it’s time to think about freelancing. With employers feeling the pinch there’s increasing interest in using freelancers for short-term projects rather than hiring full time staff. There’s pros and cons to going freelance but in general you’ll find a lot more flexibility in how you work through freelancing. On the down side there’s not so much job security. Having said that if you’re laid off, it’s an ideal way of earning some income and getting the chance to check out employers and show off your skills.

If you’re keen to give it a go then check out www.sologig.com. It’s one of the better freelancing sites where you can pick up projects from sales to legal to clinical (I’m not entirely convince about freelance clinical work).

www.sologig.com

Work Rewired

Ok, I’m a little biased on this one because I’m the founder but I think it’s a great idea. Work Rewired allows you to rate your places of work past and present based on things like pay, team, training and career opportunity.

It also allows you to get an inside view on what its like to work at a place before you head there. Go find your ideal next employer.

www.workrewired.com

About the Author

Greig Harper is the founder and owner of Work Rewired - at Work Rewired you’ll find reviews of the best places to work. Why not write a review about your place of work?

There’s an incredible amount being written about the credit crunch and if you believe the constant media hype the result is going to be the end of civilization as we know it. While certain sectors such as aviation and banking are feeling the pinch it’s worth remembering we’re still looking at a period of high employment.

But it’s still wise keeping an eye on the horizon and planning for the future. Here’s five ways to beat the credit crunch.

Start or boost your cash cushion

Imagine the worst happens and your employer decides to lay off staff. You’re going to need money to live off while you search for your next job. The standard advice is to keep at least three months on standby, even more if you’ve got other commitments or big bills like auto insurance coming up.

What happens if you don’t have three months savings? Start today. Even the smallest amount will help should your employer lay off staff. Decide on an amount and make sure you save it straight after you get your pay check. Head to www.bankrate.com now and find a savings account.

Find a way to beat gas prices

We got to get to work right? But with gas prices hitting $4.50 a gallon in some areas getting to work has never been more expensive. With that in mind more and more people are looking for cheaper ways to get to work and as a result cycle and scooter sales are rocketing. [1]

Or check out these places where the average commute is ten minutes. [2] Think how much longer you could stay in bed each day.

Keep an ear out

There’s still a lot of recruitment going on despite what you hear from the media certain roles and industries are still recruiting as crazy as ever. If you’re having doubts about your employers ability to weather the storm then have a look around. Which companies do seem to be doing well? Which are recruiting? Chat with friends and associates and see what they think their prospects are.

Update your resume

We all get comfortable when we’re settled in a place but if the worst comes to the worst you’re going to need an up to date resume to start that job search. Take some to get your resume up to date now. Then it’s also up to date if you hear about an ideal opportunity.

When times get time it’s important to talk about value. Focus on money you’ve saved your current employer, efficiencies you’ve made or value you’ve added to the business.

Go start your retirement plan

I’m hoping to retire next week but the reality is that I’m going to be stuck working for at a good few years to come. If you’re not planning on retiring soon then why should you think about a retirement plan?

Nearly half of us are going to be stuck working longer than we’d like due to poor retirement planning. The sooner you start saving for your retirement the sooner you can do it.

And with the many retirement plans investing in stocks which are dirt cheap you can play the long game when it comes to investing. With all this doom and gloom stocks are cheap so whenever the market recovers those stocks will rise in value and as a result so will your retirement fund. Maybe we’re not talking sipping cocktails on a yacht somewhere exotic but the sooner you start saving the bigger the outcome.

About the Author

Greig Harper is the founder and owner of Work Rewired - at Work Rewired you’ll find reviews of the best places to work. Why not write a review about your place of work?

[1]
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/news/ny-bzbike075755457jul07,0,4375828.story

[2]
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/top25s/qualitylife/