Career Marketplace Blog

By Kat Krull

“Whenever it is possible, a boy should choose some occupation which he should do even if he did not need the money.” This commencement quote from William Lyon Phelps is food for thought for those beginning their careers. Maybe the message to all those college graduates out there looking for work is…consider pursuing employment in a small business.

What’s the correlation, you might ask? A survey by the Trade Union Congress found that employees in small businesses are the most satisfied at work. They were found to be the most committed and loyal to their organizations. They also felt most engaged by their employer and had the most freedom to choose their working patterns. There were lower stress levels and far fewer complaints about long working hours.

Here are some other positives to consider:

You can make a difference: Employees in a small company wear many hats – treat that as a benefit and you’ll succeed. “Employees of startups tend to have more varied duties, which can mean a chance to develop a host of valuable new skills,” writes Aaron, a community manager at ResumeBucket. “One day you may be designing a product, the next day closing a sales deal. It’s up to you to seize the many challenges and opportunities that come your way in such a fluid environment.”

Networking: Small business employees have more networking opportunities than large corporation employees. They tend to meet clients face-to-face much more frequently.

Experience: Small companies are the ones that have a total workforce of 500 or less. These companies are generally fast-paced and it is easier to excel. At a large corporation, you may work on one or two projects a year. At a smaller company, you’ll have more variety, earlier responsibility, and more opportunities to work on your own initiative and to have your work noticed.

In small businesses, a new employee often has a higher profile and is more appreciated than in a large company. You are also more likely to have opportunities to collaborate with senior management.

Flexibility: Roles are often less rigidly defined and the working environment may be more informal and less bureaucratic than in larger organizations. Many small employers provide alluring trade-offs such as shorter workweeks, less travel, and work-life balance incentives, including telecommuting arrangements and flexible schedules.

Pete Czech, owner and editor of www.peteczech.com and a self descruibed Web guru, developer, CTO, theorist, idea generator, social media enthusiast, and entrepreneur says, “A small business will be more lenient and more willing to negotiate (simple pleasures like work from home, unusual schedules, etc. as long as you can prove there is a value-add to it.”

So, as you move your tassel and toss the mortarboard, remember Phelps’ thoughts, “Do some occupation which he should do even if he didn’t need the money.” In other words, find a job you love…which may mean giving small business a chance.

Kat Krull is the Marketing Manager of Resunate, the world’s only automatic resume tailoring tool. You can find Kat and Resunate on Facebook and Twitter.

The New York Times article, Sifting the Professional from the Personal, Randall Stross explores the current trends in Social Media networking.

Read an excerpt from Stross’ article. Read full article

AMONG online networking sites, LinkedIn stands out as the specialized one — it’s for professional connections only.

That distinction has given it staying power as Facebook’s predecessors have dropped away and as Facebook has grown to dwarf other sites. By keeping professional identity pristinely separate from the personal and the messy, LinkedIn, which is now publicly traded, has grown to more than 135 million members in 200 countries.

But challengers have arrived, in the form of apps. Rather than starting from scratch, independent software developers are trying to add a professional layer to Facebook — and are hoping that users will accept a less-than-complete separation of the professional and the personal.

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In this article from LiveCareer.com, New Report finds Accounting and Auditing Jobs on Road to Recovery.

Read an excerpt from the site’s article. Read Full Article

According to a new report, professionals with accounting, auditing and bookkeeping experience on their resumes may have an easier time finding a job, as the industry is beginning to rebound from the height of the economic downturn in 2009.

The Global Industry Analyst (GIA) global outlook report found that accounting firms hit hard during the financial crisis are starting to slowly see an increase in business with service providers playing a more active role as trusted financial advisers as the market also begins to recover.

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In this Digits video from the Wall Street Journal, Leslie Kwoh explains how companies are looking to young employees for Social Media advice. (Click link below if video does not appear)

Young Workers Become Social- Media Mentors

In her blog for U.S. News and World Report, Miriam Salpeter reveals 7 Steps to Help You Land a Non-Profit Job.

Steps in Salpeter’s article include:

• Volunteer in organizations where you have a strong interest and your can create a real impact
• Meet People
• Get Involved in your target sector.

Read Full Article

LiveCareer article, Students Need to be Prepared in Order to Land a Job Post-Graduation, college students are advised to start their job search preparation before graduation and get a jump on the job market.

Tips from this article include:

• Visit your college career center
• Build solid interviewing skills
• Network with alumni

LIVECAREER News reports, Arkansas Launches New Program to Give College Credit for Experience.

Read an excerpt below. Read Full Article

Adults who did not complete their postsecondary education will be given a second change by being able to convert some of their earlier life learning experiences into college credit at 2-year institutions in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Association of 2-Year Colleges (AATYC) announced that an initiative will begin this fall that will allow students to get credit for prior learning they received through on-the-job training, military service, volunteer opportunities and open source course work.

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In this article for U.S. News and World Report, Miriam Salpeter explains The Best Way to Take Control of Your Job Hunt.

Below is an excerpt of Salpeter article. Read Full Article

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little more control over your job search? It’s frustrating applying over and over again for jobs and never hearing back.

When you apply online, the odds are against you unless your qualifications exactly match what the employer wants. (In other words, unless you are applying for the job you already have.) It’s not impossible to land an opportunity via an online application; many people do find jobs that way, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not likely to get hired from a resume drop.

What should you do instead? Stop looking for a job. Start looking for a company.

You may be surprised, but it may be the best career move you never considered. Instead of spending all of your time searching for appropriate job descriptions and targeting your resume to apply for them, you should consider shifting some of your efforts to identifying organizations whose goals are in line with your interests and whose problems you know you can solve.

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In her article for USA Today, Mary Beth Marklein reports College major analysis: Engineers get highest salaries.

Read an excerpt from Marklein’s article. Read Full Article

Just one word of advice for the nation’s 2011 high school graduates: petroleum.

An analysis of the projected lifetime earnings of 171 college majors provides a clearer picture of what one bachelor’s degree means compared to another in the labor market. And the answer can be as much as $3.64 million.

That’s the difference between what petroleum engineering majors can expect to earn over a 40-year career ($4.8 million) and what counseling psychology majors could earn ($1.16 million). Even the lowest-paying major beats the $770,000 average earnings of a person who holds only a high school diploma.

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