Commencement Of A Career: 2006 Graduation Employment Outlook

The members of the Class of 2006 are expected to be met with great opportunity after they accept their diplomas and embark on the U.S. workforce.

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Commencement Of A Career: 2006 Graduation Employment Outlook

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The members of the Class of 2006 are expected to be met with great opportunity after they accept their diplomas and embark on the U.S. workforce. Baby boomers are beginning to retire and, as a result, employers are aggressively recruiting top talent to not only fill open positions but to identify and retain the best and brightest.

Fortunately for these graduates, the job outlook is strong, as 72 percent of employers anticipate hiring entry-level employees in the next year, according to a recent survey conducted by MonsterTRAK, the leading careers site for college students and young alumni. Additionally, 37 percent of employers report plans to hire more college graduates than they did in 2005. The MonsterTRAK survey also revealed that 82 percent of graduates expect to receive at least one job offer following graduation, while 13 percent have already secured a full-time job.

According to MonsterTRAK, it is possible for 2006 graduates to land the opportunity of their dreams, if they follow their instincts and develop a strategic plan of action to secure their career goals. Before starting a job search, graduates should answer these four questions:

• Who Are You? New job seekers should first complete a self-evaluation, examining both personal and career-related goals, interests and values. This will provide the framework for exploring career objectives and narrowing a job search.

• Why Hire You? After completing a self-evaluation, grads will be better equipped to identify their most compatible career path and create a strong resume. Recognizing weaknesses can also be beneficial, as it can provide direction as to the skill sets they need to master.

• Where to Work? Throughout an initial job search, making a strong connection with a future employer is essential. The best strategy is to research successful companies within a given field, applicable hiring trends and the availability of entry-level positions.

• How Do You Make the Connection? Informational interviews and internships can be particularly beneficial, as they provide education regarding the skills required and help to forge networking relationships. Roughly 57 percent of 2006 grads surveyed by MonsterTRAK have already completed at least one internship.

Finally, one of the most important things recent graduates should recognize is that their job search will be an ongoing learning experience. Starting with clear objectives and a good understanding of their capabilities will help build the confidence needed to shine during interviews. The future looks bright for the members of the Class of 2006, but it is up to them to properly market themselves and seize all the opportunities ahead.

Career Outlook For Virtual Assistants

Government career outlook predictions aren't developed yet for the Virtual Assistance industry, whether that's because it's a relatively new field or because the tasks done by VAs are as varied as the VAs themselves remains to be seen. One has to examine similar fields and skill-sets to see how VAs will fare in the years to come. By looking at these similar fields, you can see that the growth outlook for Virtual Assistance is above average. The question of "Will this job sti...

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Government career outlook predictions aren't developed yet for the Virtual Assistance industry, whether that's because it's a relatively new field or because the tasks done by VAs are as varied as the VAs themselves remains to be seen. One has to examine similar fields and skill-sets to see how VAs will fare in the years to come. By looking at these similar fields, you can see that the growth outlook for Virtual Assistance is above average. The question of "Will this job still be around in 20 years?" can be answered by looking at the services that a specific VA is offering and closely-related "traditional" employment fields.

The most important thing to remember, though, is to keep current with technology and software that can progress your business. If you only know outdated technology, then you and your business are outdated and your clients may go elsewhere for service. Keep adding to your services and learn everything you can about your niche market and what they currently need.

With many businesses restructuring and downsizing (getting rid of middle managers), companies are utilizing more and more secretarial and administrative support staff to take over those duties. If you offer administrative support as a VA, and market yourself as an off-site solution to those downsizing companies, your "job security" looks pretty good. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you will have competition from on-site employees for these positions.

If you offer more specialized services than administrative support, you have different chances for sustaining an ongoing career. Here are two examples:

If you offer Public Relations (PR)services, your occupational outlook is rosy. With so many different types of organizations -- such as businesses, nonprofits, universities, hospitals and more - looking for media specialists and PR specialists to do more than just "tell their story." Creativity, initiative, good judgment and the ability to communicate effectively are some of the skills necessary to succeed in this job. There's lots of competition in this role, but employment/contracts for PR specialists is expected to grow faster than average, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

If you offer Desktop Publishing services, your occupational outlook is also great. Many companies are beginning to outsource these services, as opposed to having in-house staff. With experience and/or a degree in graphic design or a related field, desktop publishers have a variety of different organizations to market themselves to. VAs offer an affordable alternative to hiring a graphic design firm.

Whether you specialize in desktop publishing and graphic design or public relations or another niche specialty, it's clear that Virtual Assistance is catching on and the VAs who are out there aren't going anywhere. With more and more employers and companies looking to outsource projects turning to offsite personnel to fulfill these needs, the view of using "virtual" workers is changing. It's no longer as common to hear objections such as "How do I know you'll really be working?" when proposing using a VA to someone who never has before. Many people have heard of VAs now or know someone who uses theirs. In most cases, once someone has a VA on their team, they don't turn back to in-house staff to fulfill those duties.

To check out similar fields' occupational outlooks, visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006-07 edition) put out by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://www.bls.gov.

Flight Attendant Hiring Outlook

The hiring outlook for flight attendants hasn't been this good in five years. Please read on to see who exactly is hiring and what you can do to launch your new career right away!

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flight attendants, corporate flight attendant, Aviation Employment Board, aviation jobs, jet jobs

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The hiring outlook for flight attendants has brightened considerably over the past few months. Led by United Airlines’ recent announcement that they would immediately begin to hire up to 2000 new flight attendants, this news has sparked the most attention. If you are interested in becoming a flight attendant, the market is the best it has been in five years. Let’s take a look at who is hiring or who can be expected to hire over the next year.

Legacy Carriers – Beaten up by high employee costs, surging fuel prices, competition from low priced carriers, and overall inefficiency, two legacy carriers [defined as those air carriers who have helped shape the US airline industry] are turning the corner and are hiring flight attendants. United Airlines and Continental Airlines are hiring for various bases within the US.

Discount Carriers – Southwest, AirTran, Mesa, and Alaska Airlines are all hiring right now. In fact, across the board hiring is taking place at virtually all discounters right now as they seek to strengthen their footing in the marketplace.

Regional Carriers – Chautauqua, Comair, Champion Air, and Air Wisconsin are all hiring. Like the discount carriers, most regional carriers are awash in cash and are expanding their routes. More routes means additional employees needed to fill the increased capacity.

Charter Carriers – Air Miami and several other airlines that fly unscheduled flights are hiring.

Start Up Carriers – The two newest air carriers, EOS Airlines and Maxjet Airways, have recently hired flight attendants and are expected to hire again.

So, if winging your way to Peoria or Paris is the kind of lifestyle you want to lead, then working as a flight attendant is certainly one of the ways to do just that. Air carriers are hiring and the pickings are good for the right candidates. Contact your desired airline directly for up to date hiring information and open houses.