interbiznet.com
S P O N S O R S
Michigan
May 28, 1998
Apparently, the state of Michigan (!) is experiencing a jobs boom.
The Michigan Jobs Commission
(MJC) and Michigan Employment Security Agency
(MESA) recently used newspaper ads and the
Internet in a multi-state search for workers interested
in jobs in Michigan. The four-week advertising
campaign netted more than 1,400 resumes. The
resumes were faxed in or uploaded to the America's
Talent Bank (ATB) Website by jobseekers.
Although the campaign is over, Michigan still needs
skilled and unskilled workers. Michigan's economy has
been booming since the early 1990s. More than a
half million jobs have been added to the state's
economy and unemployment dropped to a record low
of 4.0 percent in May 1997, down from 9.5 percent
in May 1991. June's jobless rate held steady at 4.0
but the number of unemployed dropped to a 24-year
low.
"That's good news but the booming economy also
makes it difficult for Michigan businesses to find and
keep all of the skilled workers they need," said Doug
Stites, acting MESA director. "That's where ATB
can help."
Jobseekers may visit the ATB
Website to post their resumes
directly or mail them to: MESA Talent Bank, 7310
Woodward Ave. -- Room 502, Detroit, MI 48202.
Businesses can review resumes
at Michigan's site on ATB.
Businesses will need to go through a simple registration
process before they receive identifying information
from the resumes.
Hidden Jobs
May 27, 1998
Mark S. Granovetter, a sociologist at Harvard University,
investigated how people get jobs. His study
included executive, professional, technical, and managerial workers who had
recently found jobs. His data indicated that:
"Informal" methods of job finding are those whereby the job seekers
exercise their own initiative in building on personal
contacts and making themselves known to potential employers. They are
differentiated from "formal" methods, which rely on
advertisements and/or employment agencies.
Granovetter's data also indicate that of the people who found jobs through
personal contacts, 43.8% had
new positions created for them.
Granovetter concludes: "Personal contacts are of paramount importance in
connecting people with jobs.
Better jobs are found through contacts, and the best jobs, the ones with
the highest pay and prestige and
affording the greatest satisfaction to those in them, are most apt to be
filled in this way."
(Granovetter, Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers.
Harvard University Press.)
These conclusions are broadly supported by a comprehensive study of 10.4
million people who had found jobs by the US Department of Labor
(Bulletin # 1886).
We found these statistics at the Bernard Haldane & Associates site,
which has some useful tips and advice despite being a blatant pitch for
their services.
Typically, firms like Haldane and Princeton Masters International
offer to "repackage" and "market" you within the "hidden job market".
Their services are little more than you can accomplish yourself - if you
are able to retain some objectivity about yourself - at considerably less
cost.
So Many Choices
May 27, 1998
Lots and lots of companies are coming to the web with their job ads. Here are some gems from the latest batch:
Peterson's
May 26, 1998
Peterson's is an information
services company, the leading provider
of information on US-accredited educational institutions and special
programs found around the world.
Peterson's books, software,
networking services, on-line activities (About
petersons.com), and
special admissions services are the most widely used
channels of
information dissemination about American schools,
camps, colleges,
universities, and other educational opportunities,
reaching students,
families, guidance professionals, researchers, and
other interested
people around the world.
Peterson's information covers elementary
and secondary schools, colleges and universities,
professional
degree programs, study abroad, executive management
programs,
distance learning, financial aid, internships, summer
programs, and
career information.
In addition, Peterson's provides wide-ranging
services to academic administrators in support of
admissions and
retention.
The Careers & Jobs
section of their site has employment and jobs postings, as well as articles
from a variety of publications.
Become a Bureaucrat
May 25, 1998
The Internet Job Source is a new Albany, NY-based print publication
devoted to finding the best Web sites for job hunting.
To be published every three weeks, each 40-page issue contains
articles on employment trends state and federal government jobs,
plus Web links for finding news and information on employers,
according to Media Daily.
Advertisements cost employers $50 per job and also appear on the
magazine's Web site, linking to more than 200 Fortune 500
employers, federal agencies and state government listings in more
than 40 states. A one-year subscription to the print version costs
$49.
The Internet Job Source site
is largely devoted to listing out the job banks at individual state and
federal levels. It also links to jobsites at over 200 Fortune 500 companies
and links to "Recommended Sites for Job Hunters" - although this listing is
hardly comprehensive by any stretch of the imagination.
By the same token, the listings of newspapers and magazines online leaves
much to be desired.
Nonetheless, for a targeted, localized job search, the site is a good
starting place, and the magazine is probably worth searching out at the
library.
The state listings include:
Last Week On 1st Steps
Thru May 25, 1998
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