Where to Find a Job

The unemployment rate has dropped to 9.5% which indicates that 14.6 million Americans are still out of work. In some cases those who previously worked one job now have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet if they want to survive in this economy.

Others are sitting back waiting for a job to magically appear or are in denial believing that they will be able make the salary they previously did or close too it. Still others have lived above their means – bought overpriced home, luxury cars, and lived the fairy tale lifestyle they dreamed of and are now paying the price.

Americans who have always lived below their means do not feel the effects of the recession as much others but are aware that wanting certain luxuries in life comes with a price - unless you are wealthy which is defined as being able to live comfortably for at least five years without working.

According to a Manpower survey more employers plan to increase hiring efforts starting in July 2010. The areas that have the most promising job opportunities are: Washington DC, Greenville, SC and San Antonio TX. Other areas that have promising job opportunities are: Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Troy, NY; Memphis, TN; Milwaukee, Madison, WI; Wyoming, Grand Rapids, MI; Houston, El Paso, Baytown, TX; Carlisle, Harrisburg, Wilkes, Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, PA; West Des Moines, Des Moines, IA; Baton Rouge, LA; New Jersey; Delaware; Maryland; Salt Lake City, UT; Raleigh, NC; Alexandria, Arlington, VA and West Virginia.
Detroit Michigan which was hit hard by the auto industry failure and Las Vegas, Nevada have the least promising job opportunities.

According to the Conference Board, in May, Washington DC was the only area where the number of job vacancies was greater than the number of unemployed residents. The management consulting firm Accenture plans to hire 7,000 people in the U.S. and an additional 43,000 worldwide by August 31, 2010.

To improve your chance of getting hired: do research on the company, ask questions at the interview, take training classes or get a college degree. The job market is much more competitive now and you will have to do more than just have good interview skills to get hired.

You Can Still Find a Job

With the unemployment rate at 9.7% many Americans have still having trouble looking for employment. Many Americans are unable to find jobs for many jobs: bad credit, competition, decision to relocate and other factors. In addition, many companies have gone under, slashed staff and/or benefits and hours and others are hanging on by a thread. Well, there is hope.

Many companies have survived the recession and are hiring. If you are still looking for employment be sure to contact these companies as well as the federal and state and local governments. Some of the major companies that are hiring:

Wal-Mart which currently has 2 million employees
PepsiCo who also hire hourly and commission-based employees
NetApp
Amazon
Abbott Laboratories who employs almost 70,000 employees
Netflix
Perrigo Company which is the world's largest manufacturer of over-the-counter drugs and generic prescription drugs
VistaPrint

Here are 5 tips to help you get hired for these companies.

1. Update your resume. Be sure your resume is up-to-date and brief. Don't bring a 5-10 pages resume; it will be thrown in the trash. Highlight major accomplishments and ways you've helped your current and previous employers such as: saving money, gaining new customers, helping large volumes of users, etc.

2. Review your credit report. Get a copy of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com and check for any errors or late payments. If you still owe debt on late payment accounts contact your creditors right away to setup payment arrangements and to get errors fixed. Many employers check your credit report when considering you for employment.

3. Update and practice your interview skills. Dress professionally, get a fresh haircut, and make sure your nails and clean and neat. Be prepared to respond to questions that ask how you would deal with difficult people or situations, provide examples of how you've overcome a difficult situation at work and examples of how you've helped your team or co-workers. Explain how you can use your skills to help them grow achieve their goals. Make sure you visit the company's website to learn about what they do. Also, bring a list of questions at least 3 to ask on the interview.

4. Follow instructions. If you are given any instructions prior to the interview make sure you follow the exactly. Don't be too eager and ruin your chance for an interview by failing to follow the instructions.

5. Bring supporting documentation. Along with your resume bring any documentation that lists you as the author of articles, technical reports, etc. to support your experience and skills. If you are a web developer bring your laptop and show some of the websites you have developed. If you are a technical writer or editor bring some writing samples.

Do whatever you can to give yourself an edge over the competition. Don't answer the questions too fast and don't provide information that you were not asked. After the interview send a thank note to all the persons you interviewed with. Don't be afraid to follow-up by email a week after the interview.