With the economy continuing to show signs of weakening employment, more people may be looking for a new career situation.  Given the response to the list of real estate sites we compiled back in June, we decided to put together a list of job and career sites using the same methodology we employed for the real estate list.  What follows is a list of the sites that we believe job seekers will find to be useful.

1. LinkedIn – Popular career networking tool that also has job listings and job search capabilities.
2. Monster.com – Overall, it is the most popular job site, with more traffic than any other site on this list.
3. Indeed – Job search tool that scans postings from popular job sites from across the country, including Monster, Dice, and others.  Google-like interface helps make the site easy to use.
4. CareerBuilder.com – Jointly owned by Microsoft, Gannett, Tribune Co., and The McClatchy Co., CareerBuilder boasts 1.6 million job listings and provides back-end job search services for over 1,000 partners, including AOL and MSN.
5. Glassdoor.com – Recently launched, Glassdoor.com provides candid employee ratings and reviews of their employers, along with salary information.  Ever wondered how much a Google software engineer makes?  This is your site.
6. SimplyHired – Similar to Indeed, SimplyHired aggregates job listings from across the web and makes them available through an easy to use search interface.
7. Job.com – Similar to Monster.com, Job.com provides job seekers with the ability to post resumes and search jobs; and employers with the ability to post jobs and scan resumes.
8. Jobfox – Relatively new, Jobfox uses an in-depth questionnaire to learn about a job seeker’s experience, and then uses that data to match the seeker with prospective jobs.
9. Theladders.com – Focuses exclusively on senior-level positions with compensation over $100k.
10. Salary.com – provides employers and employees with tools to help analyze and manage compensation.  Want to understand if your salary is competitive?  Check here.
11. Jobing.com – Job search tool that focuses on specific local markets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin.
12. PayScale – Similar to Salary.com, PayScale provides employers, employees and job seekers with real-time salary reports based upon job title, location, education, skills and experience.
13. Dice.com – Best job site for IT, as it focuses almost exclusively on jobs within the high-tech space.
14. Sologig – Niche job search site for contractors and consultants that are seeking short-term or freelance opportunities.
15. Yahoo! HotJobs – Job portal that provides job search capabilities, along with tools and advice.

With the US continuing to lose jobs, some may be concerned about their job prospects.  If so, then it’s a great time to take steps to really stand-out from your peers.  Women's Day has a great article on ten ways to make yourself indispensable at work.  Their advice is valid for anyone wanting to maximize their value to their employer and includes tips like:

• Taking initiative and demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit
• Be flexible and willing to take on additional responsibilities
• Understand and play into the political dynamics of your office environment

Sound interesting?  If so, then check out the rest of the article.

With the government announcing job losses for the sixth month in a row, some may be wondering if there are any solid career opportunities available.  It turns out that there are a number of career opportunities available in areas where there is either growing demand, or are deemed to be resistant to economic downturns.

These opportunities include:

Medical:

• Physicians – median annual salary: $155,150
• Surgeons – median annual salary: $292,104
• Medical Scientists – median annual salary: $74,160
• Home Health Aides – median annual salary: $20,850

High-Tech:

• Software Engineers – median annual salary: $85,370
• Systems Analysts  – median annual salary: $69,760
• Multimedia Artists and Animators – median annual salary: $61,010

Petroleum Industry:

• Roustabouts – median annual salary: $30,480
• Service Unit Operators – median annual salary: $45,560
• Petroleum Engineers – median annual salary: $122,458

Engineering:

• Chemical Engineers – median annual salary: $78,860
• Electrical Engineers – median annual salary: $75,930
• Mechanical Engineers – median annual salary: $69,850
• Civil Engineers – median annual salary: $68,600

Manufacturing and Construction:

• Aircraft Assemblers – median annual salary: $44,180
• Assemblers and Fabricators – median annual salary: $32,700
• Security System Installers – median annual salary: $37,290

Education:

• Trainers – median annual salary: $36,950
• Library Workers – median annual salary: $50,976
• Non-specialized educators – median annual salary: $36,950

Finance:

• Finance Manager – median annual salary: $90,970
• Financial Analyst – median annual salary: $81,700
• Accountants – median annual salary: $54,630
• Financial Specialists – median annual salary: $61,760
• Personal Financial Advisors – median annual salary: $89,220

• "I don't know anything about the company" - Such a comment implies that you have not done your homework and that you are primarily interested in the money and not a career.
• "Are you an active member of your church?" - As a rule of thumb, you should avoid idle banter that can potentially take you into uncomfortable territory.