Employers created 243,000 jobs last month. Those additions were across the board including: a) Professional & Business Services, which added 70,000 b) Leisure & Hospitality added 44,000 (on top of the 24,000 added the month before) c) Health Care, which continues to add jobs and rose by 31,000 d) Retail, which has added 390,000 jobs since a low in December, 2009 e) Manufacturing, which added 50,000 (on top of the 23,000 added the month before) f) Mining, which added 10,000 and g) Construction, which added 21,000 jobs (on top of the 31,000 added the month before). Unfortunately, with all this activity not all job seekers are well prepared!

As leader of the largest SEO (Search Engine Optimization) group in the Chicago area with over 500 members, I am on the forefront of applying SEO to job-hunting. My research shows that employers are increasingly selecting specific keywords when searching for talent. As a result, it is imperative for candidates to: 1) thoroughly research what keywords their target audience requires (not ones they feel are appropriate) and 2) seed their resumes and online offerings (e.g. blog postings) with those appropriate keywords. This will lead to increased likelihood of being discovered by desired employers and in turn being hired! To learn more, I invite you as my guest to a special symposium I am hosting on Tuesday, March 13th starting at 6 p.m. entitled, “Guide To Keyword Research.”

If you get a chance, I’ll be live on WGN Radio on Saturday, January 14TH from 10:15 to 10:25 a.m. CST (720 on the AM dial).

I will be discussing my expertise and upcoming, January 24th symposium on applying SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to job-hunting. Please go to http://www.meetup.com/chicago-seo/events/45640522/ for more details.

You can also listen in to this broadcast live on the Internet at http://www.wgnradio.com/about/listen/ and then click on “Click here to listen live” at the top and middle of the page.

Despite a downtick in unemployment to 8.5%, job seekers still have 23,700,000 competitors for each open job! That’s the sum of Americans who are either: a) unemployed (13.1 million) b) involuntarily working part-time (8.1 million) or c) have just given up looking (2.5 million) and are not even counted by the BLS numbers. As a result, job seekers need an edge. Fortunately, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can provide that edge and improve their chances of landing a job!

Over the last three years I have researched applying SEO to job-hunting in hopes of providing a differential advantage to my candidates. In the process I have developed the largest SEO group in the Chicago area with over 500 members. The reason is employers and recruiters are increasingly relying upon online search as a way to uncover and attract qualified candidates. The key questions are: 1) How can job seekers ensure that they will be found? And 2) What SEO techniques can enhance one’s prospects?

We will discuss these questions, appropriate SEO employment strategies and more during a special symposium on Tuesday, January 24th starting at 6 p.m. at TechNexus at 200 S. Wacker. I welcome you to join us.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that the U.S. labor market strengthened in November, as private employers continued to add jobs at a healthy pace and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since March 2009. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 120,000 last month. Private companies grew by a combined 140,000 jobs, while the public sector, including federal, state and local governments, shrank by 20,000 jobs. The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, fell to 8.6% from 9% in October. The rate is now lower than at any point since March 2009, when it was 8.6% as well.

This information confirms what we have been seeing for the last 45 days. We have been bombarded with recruiting assignments across North America. From Director of Fishery Operations in Eastern Canada to New Business Development Director in Austin, Texas to Chief Technology Officer in Cincinnati to countless searches in the Chicago area. As a result, it is time to break out my award-winning interview preparation video http://www.strategicsearch.com/real-benefit-exercise.php so you are ready for the onslaught of new positions.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that the October unemployment rate fell slightly to 9%. However, if you add in both: 1) those that were involuntarily working part-time (8.9 million) and 2) those that gave up looking (2.6 million) and are not even counted by the BLS figures, the total is 25,400,000 Americans who are either unemployed, underemployed or have just given up! Though that aggregate figure did drop 400,000 from last month’s BLS release, it is still way too high!

Fortunately, aid is available from the field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Because more employers are scouring social media for information on candidates, job seekers can adopt one of the Golden Rules of SEO to assist them; content creation. In fact, as head of the largest SEO group in the Chicago area with over 500 members, I hosted a symposium on October 29th on ways to create content to be noticed by employers. This is the key to standing out among the sea of 25.4 million looking for work!

The September unemployment rate held steady for the 3RD straight month at 9.1%. The only gainers were: a) Professional and Business Services up 48,000 b) Health Care, which continues to add jobs, up 44,000 c) Construction up 26,000 and d) IT which added 34,000 (Caveat: most were due to the 45,000 telecommunications workers returning to work after their strike). A troubling statistic is 700,000 workers. That’s the combined increase in the total number of workers over the last two months who are either unemployed, involuntarily working part-time or not even counted by the BLS numbers because they have just given up looking for work!

Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s focus on government spending, taxes, regulation and selection of industries (e.g. the Solyndra debacle) are all the antithesis of jobs creation. Historically, free markets, guided by Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand, have provided entrepreneurs with incentives to create jobs. Look no further than the passing of Jobs (Steve) for real jobs creation! Born the same year another visionary died (Albert Einstein), Steve Jobs rose, fell (in 1985 when ousted by the Apple Board and replaced by John Scully) and rose again, like the Phoenix, to create tons of high paying jobs by gambling on the iPod, iPhone and iPad when pundits predicted failure! This catapulted Apple to the 2nd largest U.S. market capitalization company behind ExxonMobil. Jobs was the blueprint for jobs: stardom for entrepreneurs with successful gambles (and failure for unsuccessful bets). Not Big Brother meddling!

Did you catch my quotes in this week’s Crain’s Chicago Business? If not, please go to
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20111001/ISSUE02/310019996/push-is-on-to-protect-small-business-credit-card-customers
and view the last paragraph.

One of my main mantras is: selling yourself in interviews is the most important part of landing a job. This took new meaning on MMA’s (Mixed Martial Arts) highest stage; the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)!

Nick Diaz, a fighter scheduled for a welterweight championship bout on October 29th, failed to show for not one, but two “interviews”! His type of interview was different from the normal job interview. It was a press conference, which was a mandatory precursor to his actual fight, but it was an interview none the less. As a result, he was fired from his “job” (championship fight) and may be removed from the UFC all together! Please go to http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ki-iole_ufc_stpierre_diaz_090711 for more details.

The U.S. economy failed to add jobs for the first time in almost a year, holding the unemployment rate constant at 9.1% and sending policymakers scrambling for answers to this dreadful labor market! Nonfarm payrolls were unchanged last month — the worst result since a small decline in Sept. 2010 – as IT (LOSS OF 48,000 JOBS), the government sector (LOSS OF 17,000 JOBS) and manufacturing (LOSS OF 3,000 JOBS) were all culprits! Fortunately SEO (Search Engine Optimization) continues to provide answers.

SEO is the field focused on ranking websites and online marketing efforts higher with search engines such as Google, Bing and Ask. It continues to provide a lot of jobs and job strategies during these terrible employment times.

Over the last two years I have researched applying SEO to job-hunting in hopes of uncovering a differential advantage for my candidates. For example, on Saturday, August 20TH I hosted a symposium on this topic. Please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/62192465@N08/sets/72157627507762486/ to view some photos from this unique event.

I’m sorry you missed my Saturday, August 20th symposium on state-of-the-art job-hunting techniques. Please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/62192465@N08/sets/72157627507762486/ to view some photos from this unique event.

Both keynote speakers, Nicole Bodem (Please go to http://www.hrsearchmarketing.com/ to learn more about Nicole) and Gordon Dymowski (Please go to http://www.gordondymowski.com/ to learn more about Mr. Gordon), shared a wealth of information about applying cutting-edge SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques to job-hunting.

Please let me know if you would like me to forward PDF’s of both speaker’s Power Point presentations.