The dire numbers of unemployment in the United States keep making headlines as companies down-size, right-size, and just re-size. We are very familiar with this scenario.

In fact, we started this online shopping business while experiencing a layoff, so we have reason to offer you optimism and our moral support from the heart.

We have friends, too, who report some of their best experiences due to a layoff.

Our friend Ellee was laid off in mid-November 2003, and she says she and her husband had their best holidays ever with her less stressed for time and available to travel and spend more time with family. She was able to find a job within four months and has been working ever since.

Ellee’s cousin was laid off this year in mid-November, and she sees it as a good time to enjoy baking cakes for friends and family, one of her favorite things to do and a thing that supports itself through contributions from people who don’t have time to do their own baking but have heard of her “hobby” and request special home-baked cakes for their holiday parties and family gatherings. She says she may even start a bakery business next year if things keep going well and orders keep coming in.

Another friend Jenny was recently laid off ,and she says she is just going to relax and enjoy the holidays for a change, not worrying about deadlines, lack of vacation time, and getting everything scheduled so she gets no calls during the official days off.

We’ve often heard people say something to the effect that being laid off was the best thing that ever happened to them. It forced them to look at their life’s work and assess what they really wanted to do; often resulting in a job shift that took them away from the corporate world and put their destiny more in their own hands.

It’s tough. As the income and benefits subside, the loss of your sense of security certainly justifies a level of anxiety. Learning to live “lean” is not something that falls in the category of fun when it’s forced on you unexpectedly. We’ve heard that living lean as a sort of hobby can be fun, but personally our lifestyle much prefers eating out occasionally, being generous with those we love, and paying our bills on time.

The Internet has plenty of advice for the unemployed about finding a job, and many government resources are available for the unemployed, so we won’t duplicate that information.

In fact, as our friend Ellee has commented to us, “If we didn’t have unemployment, a lot of people would be unemployed” due to the numbers of resources available to support the unemployed.

We do encourage you to avail yourself of all the services out there and learn as much as you can about the market and yourself during this “down” time.

Our purpose here is to encourage you to be optimistic, creative, and ambitious in finding a solution to your problem. We currently many immediately available opportunities for those interested in and motivated to succeed in the various areas of online retail, you know? And, should you choose to start your own online business, please remember we offer a consulting service to help you. If this article inspires you, let us know. Perhaps we can link to your site and help boost your sales and you can return that favor by doing the same for us.

Whatever you do, remember to take care of yourself. Exercise, get plenty of rest, enjoy a good cup of coffee occasionally, and keep an open mind.

We are grateful we had the opportunity to break away from the “corporate culture” and launch our own business. We take this time to thank those of you who have contributed to our success by ordering our products, posting to our blog, and offering us encouragement and moral support.

We look forward to enjoying a very successful 2009 with you!

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Please feel free to Reply at:

http://i-shoptheworld.com/2008/12/09/hope-for-those-unemployed-for-the-holidays/

with any Comments and/or Helpful Tips you may have and wish to share to help those who may find themselves unemployed for the holidays, ok?

Michael S. DeVries is the Founder of I-ShopTheWorld.com (http://www.I-ShopTheWorld.com ) – where You may Save Money on Unique Native Products Direct to You from All over the World! and a Principal of The Virtual Consulting Firm (http://www.TheVCF.com).Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/hope-for-those-unemployed-for-the-holidays-1299227.html

Post from: Best Jobs For The Future

Hope For Those Unemployed for the Holidays

Health care is a booming industry and medical billing is included in that.  However doctors very often outsource the medical billing so if you live in a small town you may not be able to find a job.  I would suggest you do a search and see if there are any jobs in your area.  There are also companies that will hire you to work outside your home but most require a specific internet connection and sometimes even require you to be in a specific city, or list of cities.  Either way make sure you can get a job before doing anything else.

When it comes to medical billing employment there are two types that are out there, one is a medical biller which usually requires no schooling and is the aides the medical billing specialist.  The specialist has some type of degree or certificate from a college, program, or online school.  

If you are considering medical billing then you may want to consider starting as a medical biller, not all companies hire them and sometimes they are referred to by other names but it will be a chance to get started in the medical world.  Plus you will have the chance to see and participate in the work and decide if you want to go to school for it.  

Another reason you may want to start as a biller is to find some good programs in your area.  Before you choose a program you will want to do your research into the school that is offering it.  There are a lot of scams out there and more opening every day.  

The best way to find a good program is to ask other medical billing specialist where they went.  If you are not able to find a program that way or you would like to search more, then here are the best ideas for searching.

Check with your local college to see if they have any available programs or if they partner with a company to get you the schooling.  You can also check the phone book which will get you local companies that might offer a program.  Lastly, you can do an online search.  You will find 1000′s of programs online and you will need to be careful to choose one that is not a scam.

To avoid a scam I would check the companies history with the better business bureau.  You can also call a few places that offer medical billing employment and see if they accept a certificate from the company.  If you choose an online program there is government funding, if you qualify, if the company is able to accept the government funding then you can be pretty certain you have found a good program.

Once you have finished the program you will only have one last thing to do before searching for medical billing employment.  Take a state exam, when you take and pass the exam you will become certified and have a lot better chance at being hired.

Engineering jobs can often be confusing. There are so many different types of engineers and engineering jobs. Its often difficult to pinpoint the type of engineering job you want.

Using an engineering recruiter can often help you determine which engineering field career is the best fit for you. Often it makes the most sense to use a specialty recruiter. For example to find a mechanical engineering job you would use a mechanical engineer recruiter.

If youre questioning which type of career in the engineering industry fits you best you may want to try contract work. With a contract engineer job you can determine the best career choice for you.

Most engineering jobs require a college education, but not all jobs require extensive experience. A mechanical engineer recruiter can work with you to find a job for your level of expertise.

With the advancement and convenience of online job boards you can easily New Electrical Engineer jobs are constantly being added to this page, so bookmark it or check back often for the latest career opportunities.

Another way to keep updated on the open jobs with recruiting agencies is subscribing to their email service and the RSS feeds. Some have text messaging services so the open jobs can come straight to your cell phone.

Many engineering recruiting agencies offer contract work as well as long-term jobs. There are a variety of different options in the contract engineering jobs. You can either choose a United States based company or one that has jobs all over the world.

As you can see choosing the right engineering job recruiter is everything. Be sure to find a recruiter who has online job boards, email jobs, and text messages. These simple tools of technology make the world of difference.

Post from: Best Jobs For The Future

The Path to a Great Engineering Career

As you enter the job market, (for the first time or after a while) you might find that there are a lot of buzzwords thrown around, including the terms career and job. You might be looking for a career, but you aren’t going to enter the career market! Decide if you are looking for a job or a career today, and how to get the position you want.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a job is a piece of work that you do because of your occupation. A job also describes paid employment. A career, according to the OED, is a person’s course or progress through life.- This article defines job as the place where you are employed, and career as the field in which you work.

Even though you might have lost your job, you may still have a career. For instance, if you are an x-ray technician who has been laid off, chances are that you will be able to find new work in the field. Your job might change slightly: you might become a dental x-ray technician, or a veterinary x-ray technician rather than a hospital x-ray technician, but you will still remain an x-ray technician.

You can choose to change either your job or your career. For instance, you might still want to have your career as a computer technician, but you want to advance to a higher paying and more prestigious job. This would mean finding a new a job and quitting your current job. Conversely, you might feel that you want to change your career. Perhaps you no longer feel that you want to be a computer technician and instead you would like to become a journalist. Career-changes are more time-consuming that job-changes because they often require training. You will find yourself looking for experience in a field with which you don’t have experience. Neither career-changes nor job-changes are impossible, and often they bring much happiness.

When you are looking for a new job, it is important to consider what this means for your career. Some people choose not to have a career. Rather than having an over-arching goal in life, or in the field in which they wish to specialize, they would rather simply move from job to job. They might wait tables for a few years, then work as a receptionist, then work in retail.

You can, however, choose to have a career. In order to have a career, you need to have a plan. What are your interests? What would you like to be paid? Once you have planned your goals, you might have to take certain steps to achieve them. It is all well and good to watch a few episodes of Law & Order and then decide that you want to be a high-paid lawyer, but the reality of the matter is that you will have to go to law school for years, which is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Also, you might find that a real-life courtroom isn’t as stimulating as a courtroom drama series. So if you have set a career goal, speak to people in that career. Volunteer or intern in that environment so that you know what to expect in your future life.

You can also create a career out of a job. Perhaps you work as an assistant in an office. If you want to become a sales representative, you might need to take some courses. You might need to put in a few years behind the front desk. Ask your supervisor what opportunities you have for advancement, and how you can achieve it. Another way to create a career out of a job is to work in retail and accept promotions that you get to management. Management is often more work and more hours, but the higher pay and possibility for promotion might appeal to you.

Some people choose to work a job while they are trying to create a career. Many students work summer jobs that are not related to their field. They might want the break from the same material, or they might not be able to find a job in their field until they have completed their degree. If you take a job, consider how it affects your career. Are you biding your time there until you can break into a separate market? If so, when and how will you make your move to your career? Many people work at a job while they search for a career; if you don’t keep your ultimate goals in your mind, you might end up staying at the job you don’t particularly care for for much longer than you had originally planned.

There are careers that are often begun later in life. Many careers in ministry are begun after retiring from a first career. A career in politics can similarly begin after having a career in a different field.

Career planning, like all planning, takes both short- and long-term thinking. Make your goals accordingly. Write down your goals so that you can refer back to them and see how you are progressing.

While you are looking for a job, always think about your career. You will be able to find your ideal job if you work diligently and are not afraid of a few rejections. So go find that perfect job, or simply find a job while you work on building the career of your dreams.