Bad economy, good jobs?

I'm hearing something interesting from my career center and the media: the poor economy means more jobs are available. This sounds crazy at first because we usually associate a recession economy with less jobs, but its true. Companies are holding off hires while we all watch the economy. That means some of the positions that are usually filled by the "hiring seasons" in the early fall of the academic year might be open.

Check out your best career job postings, and don't forget experience.com. Once you pick a position, check off the regular application tasks like researching the company and drafting a cover letter. Then, network it. I bring it up nearly every time because its important, if not essential, to getting a job.

The goal of this networking and application, like all other job search strategies I've mentioned, is to get your resume out of the pile and land the interview. There are tons of interview tips out there--you can find them at your career center or with a simple Google search. Here's one thing easily overlooked: the handshake. Watch this to learn some more.



This is part of a complete series on corporate etiquette. Feel free to browse the whole series and check back here; I'll highlight the best picks in a few different important areas. They call it corporate, but in reality these tips are great for anywhere you want to advance your career or personal life.

Finally, a CNN story caught my attention today: Credit card debt up to 315% and few pay on time.

Read this story to learn about the sad state of credit in America. I love credit cards because they offer the ultimate convenience, are a necessity for some (important) purchases, and actually pay me to shop! I did a lot of research for my first card and recently applied for my second. I'll share my findings and some more recent tips for credit cards in a later personal finance update.