My Labor Day Lament could sound like a blues song from Muddy Waters or Etta James.  It’s deep and rich and has some sweetness mixed in with all the sorrow.
The news for workers is bitter-sweet and for the unemployed and the under-employed it is as dreary as a February day in Detroit, where the unemployment rate was 15.2 percent in July
Consider these blue notes:

• -The recession and job cuts have cut a wide swath through America. More than half of workers have a family member who’s lost a job, including one in eight who say someone in their immediate family has been unemployed. That data comes from a new Rutgers University survey of 802 workers.
• For what really qualifies as a double-dip recession, one-third of current job seekers say an immediate family member has also been unemployed in the last three years, the Rutgers poll shows.
• The “99ers” are not such an elite group of Americans unemployed for 99 weeks or longer. That’s 1.3/1.4 CK million people who have spent two solid years of life without a regular paycheck or work friends. The New York Times wrote a poignant piece about 99ers (and I hope to find a link to it and add it soon).
• The U.S. jobless rate is not coming down and companies are hiring sparsely if at all. One third of U.S. metropolitan areas are stuck with jobless rates of 10 percent or higher, and 17 are really bad with rates at or above 15 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. California, once the golden state, now has 12 cities with very high unemployment.  Three cities in Michigan are at or near 15 percent. Even Ann Arbor, the city where I live and one viewed as thriving and adding jobs, has  ahas a jobless rate of 10.0 percent in July.
• When the poverty statistics come out later this month, they are likely to show more Americans at or on the brink of desperation. More than half of workers surveyed for Rutgers rate their finances as “only fair” or poor and it’s 90 percent for unemployed.
• Workers are seeing decelerating wage growth in the last two years, which is hurting family incomes and the economic recovery, according to report from the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. The EPI also found that four of the five fastest growing jobs between 2006 and 2009 paid between $8 and $14 an hour – well below the median U.S. worker’s wage of $15.95.
• Almost two-thirds of workers in a Spherion Staffing survey say they feel less secure about their job, and more than one-third feel more negative about their situation since the recession began. Perhaps that negativity comes from a bigger workload: Half say they’ve added responsibilities thanks to a coworker’s layoff, and of course they aren’t paid any more for it.

The blues could go on and on, with job loss leading to health problems or lack of medical care and families split up. The anguish of being jobless for months, especially without close family to help you through, could be plotlines for many books and movies.

And what gives this Labor Day weekend some sweetness for workers? Much of it is far less quantifiable than the blues I was just singing. Many more people seem attuned to the plight of others and willing to help them with a lead on work or a few dollars for a meal. And Friday’s unemployment report does provide some glimmers of hope, as well as many worrisome signs. Factory overtime is rising and the average workweek for “nonsupervisory employees” in companies inched up too.
Hiring will continue slowly in September, with fewer layoffs, the Society for Human Resource Management reports. SHRM also reports more openings for both salaried and hourly jobs than a year ago, when things were really really blue.

Another encouraging sign: The Labor Department’s revised the job losses for June and July. Both numbers are still negative, but the declines shrunk considerably (by 50,000 or more each month).
EPI economist Heidi Shierholz called the BLS report “positive but underperforming” and suggested the government needs to step in with “bold action to create jobs and put America back to work.” I’m no politician, nor a blues singer either but I know that we’ve got a world of hurt out there, with 6.2 million workers who’ve been jobless for half a year or more.
And so we need to encourage and help the jobless – and if we have the means, take action. Many of us could hire people to rake our leaves or renovate a bathroom; tutor our children or staff up our small businesses. We also could press politicans for more help for the worst cities and more aid for long-term jobless. Then perhaps we could turn America’s  Labor Day Lament into a more upbeat song.

More information:
Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. joblesss report and metropolitan area reports  http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm   http://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.nr0.htm
The Economic Policy Institute’s report called Recession Hits Workers’ Paychecks: Wage growth has collapsed, is available online http://bit.ly/c3WI24

The teen job market this summer was as dreary as a week of rain when you’re vacationing at the beach. The percent of young people, ages 16 to 24, who worked was the lowest level in 62 years and millions just decided it was too tough and didn’t even attempt to search for work, new government statistics show.
Only 48.9 percent of all youth held jobs – the lowest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping records in 1948. The jobless rate for young adults was 19.1 in July, almost double the level of 2007.
Despite all that many teens did land jobs, including a handful at our Mity Nice Italian Ice cart in Ann Arbor.  (Seven  part-time workers spent at least a few weeks hawking lemonade and Michigan-made mango and cherry ice from our shiny silver cart.)

Teens who land jobs even when the world economy is wickedly out of whack must be standouts and lucky. They have these characteristics:

-A positive attitude. More than enthusiasm and more than a million-dollar smile, this shows up as joy, energy, a can-do, willingness to tackle anything approach. Be friendly, engaged, cheerful, outgoing, curious and you will improve your chances of being hired – as well as your everyday life. Not everyone has this approach baked into their DNA, but most people can learn to muster it up and put it on like a work uniform or lipstick.

-Persistence. This may show up as determination and dedication to finding a job. It may show up as volunteering every week at a homeless shelter or a Girl Scout troupe. It may show up in finishing high school in five years after family or health troubles. But that dogged determination leads to success.  Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

-The 4Cs – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. These traits were identified by an American Management Association survey as increasingly important to employers. Most 17-year-olds will have developed one or two of these but may not yet have proficiency in three or four.  So be sure to highlight them in your resume and interview.

-Extras in their resume. One of my Mity Nice hires this summer was class president and ran a blood drive at school. Another had three jobs this summer to help pay for her gap year in South America.  Head cheerleader or president of the Honor Society or Key Club, these extracurricular activities demonstrate an ability to juggle multiple tasks – and leadership abilities.

-People who believe in them. We hire people based largely on recommendations and referrals at Mity Nice.  We want to hear that the youth is hard-working and smart from neighbors, teachers, members of their church or synagogue and coaches or mentors. Teens who have believers are going to be more confident and more capable. They’re also going to have contacts who will advise them and help open doors to opportunities.

So what if you’re among the one-fifth of teens who did not land a summer job but desperately wants one this winter or spring?  Now is the time to start developing yourself and your skills and your network of believers.  Now also may be the time to start thinking about a small business you could establish over the next year.  (More on that soon.)

—-
MORE INFORMATION:

For more on the teen employment picture, read the BLS report here.
For my blog post on creating a first resume (for teens), check out WorkingKind.com archive  and also my Washington Post piece .

What can you learn from summer interns? Read my Glassdoor.com blog post on the traits interns have that are coveted by employers.

Need help with your tone and approach to hiring managers? Read my Washington Post piece on striking the right tone.

I hope to add more resources for young job hunters in coming weeks and months. Feel free to recommend websites, books, articles for teens and work. – VLE

Remember how your Mom used to tell you to stop fidgeting and look people in the eye?
Turns out her advice holds true – and especially if you’re at a career fair or job interview.
Lack of eye contact was the biggest body language mistake that could reduce your chances of being hired, according to a new CareerBuilder.com survey.
Skipping a smile came in second – so be sure to think happy thoughts just before your interview begins. And too much wiggling around tied for third worst with bad posture, according to the survey of 2,500 hiring managers who work full-time at non-governmental employers.
Non-verbal messages come through clearly and you want yours to say “I’m confident, competent and in control.” And you want to be seen as friendly and cooperative too. That means looking at the interviewer and smiling before you head to your chair. Then sit down easily, leaning forward  toward them to show you’re engaged and ready to begin.
A weak handshake, crossing your arms across your chest and frequently touching your hair or face also are body language mistakes that may work against you in interviews, according to the CareerBuilder  survey.
If you are shy or come from some other cultures, you may not be comfortable looking people squarely in the eye. Start working on this by looking first at the eyebrows or the bridge of their nose. Or look family or friends in the eyes and smile warmly – it’s easier to start with someone who cares about you rather than someone who’s judging your personality and professionalism.
So what else can you do to root out inappropriate body language?  Practice your smile or sitting calmly. Rehearse a handshake and an interview with a friend or friend of a friend, CareerBuilder suggests.  And if you can find a videocam, capture yourself on it – and play back your sample interview. You’ll see mistakes clearly and then can practice removing them day by day.
Forbes.com has a series on body language that offers insights on how to win an argument with your mannerisms and common mistakes women make.  Or you can check out some books on non-verbal communications – or read the full CareerBuilder materials online.
If you’re not sure whether your mannerism or body language are positive, ask a hiring manager or brutally honest friend to review your taped interview. Or go directly to your Mom – she’ll tell you what works and what doesn’t.

You graduated two weeks ago and you don’t know what you’re going to do with your life, much less the rest of the summer. Or you lost your job a year ago and you haven’t gone to a job interview in three months. Or the company you signed onto for the summer just filed for bankruptcy.
Quick – let’s heat up a summer job. It’s time to create an instant internship. That’s my term for an internship that is almost as easy to cook up as a barbecue for five friends.
This quick-made internship may not spring forth from the top tier law firms or at old-fashioned manufacturing companies struggling to keep its current workers in paychecks. And they may not pay as much as you think you’re worth – but they’re not volunteer work either. It is possible to develop an instant internship with a little ingenuity, luck and sales abilities. And it’s possible to take an internship even if you’re 33 or 57, especially if you’re changing careers or have been out of the workforce for a few years.
Here’s seven strategies for stirring up a short-term assignment in a hurry:

• Search for successes. Look for organizations in your city that cannot keep up with demand. They are hot and they are in need of new staff. They may be in health care (see my article on healthy careers from the Washington Post) or mobile communications (such as those that develop advertising or specialized apps for our cell phones). Professional, scientific and technical employers are the most likely to hire this year, acccording to the Society for Human Resource Management, and that includes marketing and engineering firms and laboratories. Hint: Do some research on their products or service and growth plans so when you query them you’re already matching your talents to their success tracks or needs.

• Drop out, drop in. Major companies choose their interns in February or March. So by June, a few have thought better of it – or found something better. When they drop out, you could fill in, suggests Mark Oldman, Vault.com co-founder said.  So contact the internship coordinator now and offer to serve as the relief pitcher- which after all is the one who often wins the game.
• Go face to face.  Visit a half dozen organizations in a business park and introduce yourself as their problem-solving. high-energy intern (or other words that make you sound very appealing). Go mainly to smaller or mid-size employers and you could stumble upon a job before they’ve posted it, according to Richard Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute? books. This direct approach is one of his top 5 best job search strategies (you can see all five as they appeared in his book  “The Job-Hunters Survival Guide.” (Ten Speed Press, $9.99, 102 pages)  which was excerpted with a Washington Post article last year.
• Get personal. Ask Dad and Aunt Sue or your neighbor whose yard you used to mow for work, or leads.  Family ties and personal connections were the No. 1 way this year’s college graduates expect to find jobs, according to a Monster.com survey. While you’re at it, find a family member or professional friend to promote you online. Ask them to send out your qualifications on Twitter’s Hire Friday or in a LinkedIn status or other posting.
• Follow in a new executive. When a new CEO or CIO joins an organization, they want to put their stamp on the organization – and fast. So often they want their own team in place. If you time it right and write an excellent letter to that executive, you could come in as an executive assistant or intern to the chief. Vault’s Oldman told me about a similar strategy: Write a persuasive, personal letter to a half dozen senior executives offering to serve as their executive assistant / intern for the summer. Choose people in fields that interest you, then Google them. The letter must be customized to that person’s specific work and explain “why you’re excited to work with them,” Oldman told me. “It shows initiative.”
• Seek a one-month assignment. Maybe this won’t be a summer-long internship but it could be a vacation relief or maternity leave replacement slot.  Offer to work the midnight shift; the dirty, undesirable clean-up job; the runner or the person who fields calls and customers who walk in. And take the job with a smile – and then come up with some ways to do it and something a little more meaningful too. You can find these directly or go to a temp firm, which is a field that’s been growing lately too.
• Win the internship coordinator’s respect. Be personable, polite and persistent. Offer her help in recruiting for future internships. Offer to carry her boxes to the next recruiting fair in your region. Show a lot of interest. “If you’re on par with 10 other people, I’m going to see that person demonstrated their interest.  not one of 20 generic applications.  you’re putting your best self forward,” said the Smithsonian’s Tracie Spinale.  Even if you cannot land a summer internship, you’re putting yourself in place for one in the fall, when the competition is less fierce.

Some of these instant internships may take a week or three to work out. And some may pay less than the $17 an hour average pay for the college-student internship, as reported by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. (That average may be high because many of the better companies respond to NACE’s surveys.)

But most are ways to find “the hidden job market” of unadvertised possibilities and openings – where by some accounts more than half of all jobs are. Learn to succeed at that and anything they throw at you in your internship or the real jobs after it will be like mixing lemonade for your barbecue – sweet and cool.

Work is work – even if it’s a paycheck from people who pushed you out the door  just months ago.

More workers are hearing “You’re rehired” these days, from employers eager to rebuild their ranks and bring in proven talent. So if you’re looking for your next gig you may want to look back at your last two gigs.

Among those laid off and back to work in the last six months, 57 percent boomeranged back to their former boss or workplace, CareerBuilder reports.

More than two-thirds of those still looking for jobs said they’re willing to be rehired by a former boss, though one in five say they’d return only if offered more money than before.

Despite such aspirations, not every employer will welcome back laid off staff with gusto – and some have policies or practices that prohibit their return. Others may bring back some staff, but others are less welcome, either because of their work history or the way they departed.

Because of lawyers and legal restrictions, some employers are unwilling to give a direct answer to the question – “Am I eligible for rehire?” said David Miles, managing partner of  The Miles Lehane Companies / OI Partners.  His firm offers career transition and coaching services from its headquarters in Leesburg, Va.

Still, the candidate must ask the question and  carefully watch the response. Enthusiasm means you’re more likely to see doors open while a “send us your information” or other basic reply that any candidate would receive may indicate you’re not eligible or not really welcome, Miles suggests.

If you’re intent on a return gig, here’s five tips for getting rehired from Miles and me:

1.  REVIEW YOUR REVIEW. Pull out your last performance appraisal and notes from your boss. They will give you a sense of how you were judged. You may have made lots of progress on arriving to work on time or shushing your sassy mouth since that review was written, but the record of it will still be reviewed. Even if your boss left the organization after you did, your employee file sleeps somewhere in Human Resources and someone will wake it up.

2.  STAY IN TOUCH. ” Chances of being rehired improve when the individual has maintained an ongoing but positive communications with the company,” Miles said. The best approach may be this: “sometime shortly after all the paperwork is signed off at termination, a person should write a a positive note to HR and/or their supervisor thanking them for the departure package and expressing a desire for rehire if the situation turns around.” Then touch base every month or so, inquiring about career possibilities and expressing a zeal to work there again.

3.  BUILD YOUR TALENTS. Ramp up  volunteering and educational opportunities – and if there are areas that you know your boss thought needed work, spend some time there. Consult. Mentor someone. Learn to tango or Twitter. Make sure you stay current in your field through a professional association, contract work or other ways. Said Miles: “This is a real big one.  If a rehire candidate can not speak to why are they viable today, they will have a problem returning to the position.”

4.  GROW YOUR NETWORK. Make yourself known to the new executives by a volunteer leadership role in a trade organization or by sending some market research or ideas for strengthening the brand. Take a short-term contract assignment at your former employer – especially if it puts you in front of new managers.

Show up at the happy hour your team frequents occasionally – but only arrive when you feel confident and upbeat about yourself. Check in with contractors, retirees who still consult with the organization and interns you hired.  If it seems appropriate, show up at company open houses or annual meetings – and call yourself a proud alumni. Introduce yourself to brass in other departments – often you may land a second chance in a different area than where you worked previously.

5.  EXPRESS EAGERNESS. ” Do verbalize your passion for what you do and how the absence focused you more on how much you enjoy your professional area,” said Miles, who has worked in career arena for decades.  Wear the company T-shirt to charity fundraisers or races. You may even want to develop an elevator pitch that is promote yourself as an adjunct member of the team or someone who’s sitting on the sidelines ready to be called back to the game.  Prepare for the  interview, addressing your reason for returning and what advancements you’ve made in the months you’ve been away. Express some empathy for the company and its managers who also suffered from the downsizings, Miles said. “This rehire interview is really critical, so practice for it.”

About half of all employers at least occasionally rehire former staffers, OI Partners research last fall shows. The main reasons for re-recruiting people let go: They have demonstrated skills and they know the organization’s culture. Many think it’s less risky than hiring new staff.

One-fifth of employers say they never rehire laid off crew, and 29 percent rarely do – among those unlikely to encourage boomeranging are government agencies and health care.

What won’t work for a return engagement?  If you expressed a lot of anger as you were laid off, that could taint your tracks back. This “depends on what level of anger and how abusive the language was,” Miles said. “Intensity matters here” as does the number of people who knew of your outburst of displeasure.

Other issues could sidetrack your return too, including questions about your ability to change and adapt to a new environment or a leaner, harder working approach.

If you want to check on your reputation and residue, quietly ask a couple of friends at the office if they will recommend you for a job – and what hesitations they have in doing so.  Be clear you want their candid feedback as well as their support in returning. Ask only those who you are certain have strong standing and careers themselves. It does no good to be endorsed by someone whose future or judgment is questionable.

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Read the CareerBuilder.com media release on returning to an old employer here.

ABC News’ columnist Michelle Goodman has a piece on going back to your former employer.

To learn more about David Miles and his company, check the corporate website here.

Ah – summer and the summer job. The first ones stay with us forever, whether we work as an admin in Mom’s business, a caddy on the links or at the Farmers Market. Some find first jobs in factories, others in candy shops.

This year, though, summer jobs look scarce for youth. Teen unemployment nationally tops 25 percent in April, and is higher than that in some hard-hit areas of California or Michigan.  So teens need help, lots of it.

That’s why Mity Nice and I are launching an ambitious series of teen job search tips. They’re culled from many sources and experts and from my life experience and expertise. After all, I’m a mom of three as well as a careers and workplace writer, and co-owner of Mity Nice, which hires teens to sell Italian ice and support charities in and around Ann Arbor. We know we can’t hire all the teens that need jobs this summer, or even a small percent of them. So we hope to help them with some advice and encouragement.

The tips will be offered on Mity Nice’s Facebook page, and also collected here. We’ll give one a day, or five each week for at least six weeks.

Here’s a sneak peak at the first three, a long-form version of what’s on Facebook:

1. Know what employers look for.

Some traits are universal:  NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, lists five top qualities: communication skills, analytical skills, teamwork, technical skills and a strong work ethic.   The American Management Association’s four Cs add to that list creativity and innovation.

Many of these are the very skills that make you a good student or the go-to co-captain of your sports team – the “soft skills” that you learn from teachers, parents, teammate. And a few requirements are specific to a job, such as lifeguard’s need for certification or sous chef must know how to chop and saute vegetables.

Either way, build these skills – and these words – into your resume and into your introduction to a future boss.

2. Develop a positive and confident attitude.

“Confidence is about trusting oneself,”" said the Buddhist monk Gayuna Cealo. You may feel very nervous about finding a job – that’s natural. When you go into a business to apply, push all that away. Take a deep breath. And fake it until you make it.

Another way to build confidence: Ask your best friend or a teacher  to list five great attributes you have. Write them down, put the list in your iPhone — and look at them often.

A third confidence booster: Practice. Recruit a friend to rehearse for job interviews. Or practice the introduction you’ll give walking into the store to  land a summer job. Or practice your affirmation – repeat it every time you wash your hands. (Yes, you can say it silently when you’re in the ladies’ room after gym.)

3. Create a resume.

Even if you’ve never held a paying job before, you really really need one. A resume is an important marketing tool – and a valuable way to gather up all the great things you’ve ever done or achieved, at least since you’ graduated from tricycle to two-wheeler. Your resume is an opportunity to tell your future boss that you’re a standout and you put extra effort in – whether it’s for a sport, a hobby, your classes, your volunteer activities or your friends.

If you can’t imagine what you’ll say, pull out your awards and recognitions. Then pull up your computer and send three adults who know you well these two questions: What have I accomplished or done that you think belongs on my resume? What three traits or qualities do I have that an employer will want?  (Yes, you may ask your BFF and your current beau those questions too, though they may not give you the best, resume-ready answers.)

Resumes are so important, Vickie wrote a longer blog post on creating a first resume. Read it soon – and then use it to create yours, or your kids.

I’ll post bonus material on this blog too, such as some advice sent to me from employment and recruitment companies, and anything that needs a little extra space beyond the short tips.

Please share these tips with teens who are searching, and with their parents, who are important career advisors and cheerleaders. And sign onto our MityNice page to see more later this week.

Teen tips are copyright Vickie Elmer, 2010. For permission to republish or use them, please contact the author.

This weekend, my younger son and I started looking for summer jobs – for him mostly, though I wouldn’t say no to a camp counselor job or maybe something selling fruity gelato and sorbet.  We looked online of course – CraigsList is our first stop – and also went to the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

I made him practice a few things – and pointed out the importance of creating a “cheat sheet” of names and phone numbers of the places he’s worked before. And I tried to coach him a little on what to wear and what attitude to put on to impress a shop owner or a farmer / sales person.

He’s not seeking an internship, just part-time work. But I want him to treat it as seriously as a full-time internship, which provides valuable work experience – and contacts in the intern’s chosen field. They also provide experience in different work environments – and aside from pay, three in 10 marketing professionals believe that is their most important role for students.

Internships also improve thes “soft skills” and technical knowledge, according to a Creative Group telephone survey of 250 advertising and marketing executives who work at the largest agencies and other companies.

The Creative Group, which places people in temp and permanent marketing jobs, offers some advice for landing an internship.Here’s an outtake of their tips:

·        Put on the polish. Your cover letter, resume and portfolio should be professional and without error. Likewise, your attire for for the interview.

·        Show your independent side. Many firms are stretched thin, so demonstrating an ability to work without much direct supervision can be a plus.

·        Emphasize your social media skills. Many firms seek professionals to help launch compelling e-marketing initiatives. If you’re a whiz with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, you could have an advantage.

For more advice on finding a great internship,  I checked outInternWeb.com. InternWeb offers free internship postings, and some good advice on developing a “power resume” and developing some experience through volunteer work and school projects and organizations. See all five strategies for landing “your dream internship.”

Please check my previous posts here at WorkingKind on a teen’s first resume and other internship advice.

As part of my youth jobs and nonprofit support company, Mity Nice, we will launch a series of job hunt tips for teens in about a week. They likely  will appear first on Mity Nice’s Facebook page and then will be gathered here somehow. My plan is to offer one a day, five days a week, for six or seven weeks – it’s ambitious, I know, but how else to help out young people who want jobs?

Bankrate.com via the Boston Globe offers 15 steps toward an internship – from tapping your professors and parents to introducing yourself to speakers at events – but the advice would have been more relevant in January.

And my advice to my son, on searching CraigsList jobs and gigs is simple – start by doing a word search using “summer” and then go to three to five categories and look at most of the listings.  Many won’t be appropriate and some may be bogus, but there are great possibilities there. Like our gardens in spring, we must look for the new shoots of beans, broccoli and sage and water and fertilize them — and throw out the weeds.

Note: This piece originally appeared on April 20, 2009, before my blog was hijacked. I’m reposting it here in hopes that it will be useful. It’s been updated – and the MityNice teen tips will be even more up to date starting right around May 1.

The new $100 bills was unveiled by the Treasury Department on Wednesday, complete with its anti-counterfeiting stripes, hidden images and copper bell.

The debut of the Ben Franklin bill gives me an excuse to write about professions that pay $100 an hour – or more – to their top practitioners.  I’m not talking about people who make $100 an hour once or twice a year. I mean those who earn $100 an hour for just about every hour they work.

That means they make around $200,000 a year – more if they win a bonus or take on extra consulting gigs, less if they take a six-week leave to explore India with their mother or daughter.  Some 3.9 million Americans earned $200,000 to $1 million a year in adjusted gross income, according to the Internal Revenue Service,  counting individuals and many dual income earning families. That means almost 9 percent of all  households — or at least those who filed tax returns — are bringing in a C-note an hour (though that includes investment and other taxable income).

My lists of occupations comes straight from the government, as will those cool new $100 bills. These are drawn from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for May 2008, the most recent data available.

The first list is those professions that definitely have plenty of $100 an hour people, even though the job category’s average pay doesn’t approach that.

Definitely $100 and up jobs:

1. Surgeons,  average $207,000 or $99.41 an hour

2. Anesthesiologists,  $198,000

3. Orthodontists,   $195,000

4. Chief executives,  $160,000 or $77.13 an hour

5. Dentists,  $154,000

6. Natural sciences managers, $123,000 or $59.30 an hour

7. Lawyers, $124,000 or $53.17 an hour

The BLS also gives some details on people’s income if they’re in the 90th percentile of their occupation or if they work in a city where their skillsets are sought after. So engineering managers in San Jose earn more than their counterparts in any other city, while dentists in Anchorage get some of the highest paychecks.

Also on that list are a variety of other doctors – from obstetricians to internists to psychiatrists. Despite being in short supply for years, nurses don’t even come close – they average around $65,000 and the top 10 percent earn maybe $50 an hour or less.

My second list, also drawn from the BLS data, includes occupations where it seems very likely some people reap pay of $100 an hour, either for consulting or project work or where their tenure and value reaches its zenith. Besides the BLS data, I’m relying on my 20-plus years as a business writer or editor.

Here’s’ probably $100 an hour types,with their average income

1. Airline pilots, $119,700

2.  Securities broker / sales person  $92,000

3. Petroleum engineers  $119,000

4. Physicists  $106,000

5. Engineering managers, $121,000

6. Computer, information systems managers $119,000

7. Management consultants  N/A

9. Professors, law or medical $101,000 and $102,000

10. Producers and directors, $83,000

All the salary figures are average annual earnings, from the BLS. So while one producer earns $19,000 a year running a small town theater company part-time, another one earns $205,000 for some big New York troupe or movie production company.

So how can you bring up your earnings so those new $100 bills will show up more often in your wallet? That sounds like a good subject for another blog post sometime soon. Or maybe a series of posts. So if you have great ideas on adding to your earnings, please send them my way.

Meanwhile, check out the amazing BLS document that is the statistical source for this. It’s chock full of data on 800 occupations, including quite a few that don’t earn $100 a day and a handful that earn $100 an hour but only in some locations.  Dentists in Alaska, for example, earn the highest average wage – and average $97.30 an hour, or $203,000 a year.  Anesthesiologists in Maryland and Kentucky earn $103 an hour or more, and they earn still higher wages in New Jersey and Washington state, though the BLS tables don’t give specifics.

As for me, I’d be happy to earn $100 an hour for my writing -  and hope to achieve that some day and for more than a few days. Just don’t expect me to don a surgical gown or wear a power tie or move to Alaska to collect it.

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If you want to see more on the new $100 bills, which debut to the public in February, check out the New York Times Bucks blog, or a video showing all the security details  and some music that would be right at home on the 4th of July. My prefered paper, The Washington Post , ran the Associated Press account on the new big bill.

Creating a first or second resume can seem like an impossible task to a 16- year old and his mother or father.

The youth has spent most of her time on the ice, playing hockey or figure skating, or on the courts, playing tennis or basketball, except when she’s on XBox Live with friends from around the world. Or maybe he’s a bookworm who would rather go to the library than any store and whose grades shine bright but whose social skills are a bit, er shy.

Why does a teen with no work experience need a resume anyway?  First off, it shows they’re serious about their job hunt. Second, it’s a chance to show off some talents that don’t fit neatly into the boxes on the online applications. Third, it gives the teen a start on a lifelong skill – career management and job hunts.

Start with three basic truths about a resume:

1. It is a sales tool, something that should make the person look good. That means singing your own praises and highlighting successes. So you include your GPA if it’s high and mighty and include your perfect attendance awards.

2. It represents you, as you want to be seen to an employer. Think of an employer as a cross between your parents, your strictest teacher and a really cool drama coach at summer camp – because they could be like any or all of those. Think of yourself as someone who is worth hiring – responsible, hard-working, bright and kind. So by all means mention fundraising for three mission trips and how you exceeded your goal by 200 percent. And if you’re really into hand made purses or swimming, show that – and think about the values and skills you’ve learned from it too.

3. It must be honest and truthful – not comprehensive. You can and should leave off some things – such as getting fired from a job or having to attend summer school because you failed Advanced Algebra. Just make sure there’s no glaring holes or omissions that would look strange or worrisome.

Now that you have that, let’s get started.

Figure out your skills and talents and abilities, the areas where you excel, writes Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. of QuintCareers. His excellent career website offers a five-step worksheet to help Jrs. create their early resumes and a sample from Suzie Student of DeLand, Fl.

Start listing your talents and skills – and then when you have a bunch, ask three or five people for their list too. Tell them it’s for a resume and job hunt so they’ll think about the traits that will appeal to your future boss.

Ask yourself: Where have I made a difference? Who have I helped? It could be at your church or synagogue or with a club at school. It may be through the YMCA or Girl Scouts or a family friend’s small business.

Think about all the different ways you’ve worked – as a volunteer in your church or at a soup kitchen or in your aunt’s company; babysitting; lawn mowing; helping a teacher with a special project. Work experience can come from paid jobs or volunteer experiences. It can be picked up as a counselor in training at a summer camp or as helping organize the neighborhood picnic.

Ask yourself: What awards or honors have I received? What other recognitions can I mention?

I also found some fine advice on developing teen resumes on ReadWriteThink.org,  which provides teachers and students resources.

If you have more questions about resumes, JobDoggy, which focuses on part-time jobs for teens and college students, answers 10 key questions, suggesting students include jobs where they’ve been fired (and be prepared to answer questions honestly about that in the interview without trashing your former boss).

And a site called Got A Job offers lists of action words to use in your resume – from improved to founded to solved and more.

Ask yourself: Where have I demonstrated leadership?

Leadership skills also are important, NACE found, so if you were the president of the Key Club or captain of your track team, highlight that. And if you still are stuck as to what to put on your resume, go online and print out three job applications from companies in your area. When you fill them out, they’ll give you some more ideas.

This post is adapted from a WorkingKind article from May 2009.

After Hurricane Katrina hit, an “enormous wave of good will and generosity flooded” VolunteerMatch with people and projects.  So the nonprofit that matches people with non profit organizations and assignments itself posted some volunteer positions, for people with tech skills.

Chad, an Intel veteran, showed up, and volunteered full-time for about two months. He loved  VolunteerMatch and so when a job opening came up, he said, “I want it.”

“He got the job from the volunteering bench. We all knew how smart and committed he was,” recalled Greg Baldwin, president of San Francisco-based VolunteerMatch.  Baldwin acknowledges that Chad’s story is “one in a hundred.” A more likely scenario, he said, is someone who is actively volunteering for one nonprofit ends up referred to another with an opening, perhaps even before the job is posted.

I wrote about this job-hunters benefit of volunteering for CareerFocus in a piece titled  ” Volunteer your way to new work.”  It provides some useful advice and suggestions to those who want to make their generosity pay off.  (You can see the article by opening this rather large PDF and looking in about three pages, or searching for the term “volunteer.” CareerFocus is produced by Washtenaw Community College in Michigan.)

Baldwin, of course, believes volunteering belongs on your resume – whether you’re working or not. And so do many employers and hiring managers, especially those who are active volunteers themselves.

Truth be told people who work part-time are much more likely to help out at a non-profit, school or religious organization than are unemployed individuals, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Maybe that’s because they haven’t realized the value of volunteering to their career as well as their community.

Volunteer assignments can be used right on your resume to show how you developed new skills or kept your current ones sharp. Integrate it into the paid work area if you’ve had a significant assignment or volunteered for more than one day a week at an organization. Label the assignment pro bono but you don’t have to make that a prominent piece.  Or create a separate category and call it Community Work or Pro Bono Projects.

A third approach, for those who are less actively volunteering:  Place it in the Interests section at the bottom of the resume. Definitely show volunteering ahead of hiking or baseball or mushroom gathering.

“It definitely matters. We don’t distinguish between paid work and unpaid work generally,” said Tracie Spinale, the Smithsonian Institution’s academic program manager who helps hire 1,300 interns a year. She likes to see previous internships, and also volunteer work at local museums or science centers.

Other employers like to see community service and volunteering as a a way to develop leadership skills, add to your connections or make you a well-rounded individual.

“The people who get jobs are the people who are busy,” said Baldwin, who with his staff volunteers once a month at places such as Habitat for Humanity. “People seek those associations where people stretch beyond themselves – to see some acknowledgment that you’re concerned about neighborhood or community.”

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MORE RESOURCES:

Career coach Laura Labovich offers six ways to implement a generous job search on Careerrealism.com

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has advice on moving from volunteer to paid status, and ways to combine pro bono and paying gigs.

I wrote about the value of pro-bono and between-job assignments for the Washington Post in July. See my piece http://bit.ly/aXDMDr

If you’re not sure what kind of volunteer assignment to seek, my CareerFocus article has hints, or check out this list, which I produced for the Washington Post:

• Join a cause that is timely and relevant to the industry where you want to work. Read execs’ bios or check corporate websites to see what charities they support.
• Skip a controversial cause or charity – or at least don’t put it on your resume. Among the pass on them are abortion rights, gun advocacy, some religious groups.
• Community groups, food cooperatives, neighborhood associations can be valuable, as can chambers of commerce and business groups. They may introduce you to your next employer.
• Kids and pets are  safe popular areas, as is a professional organization or association.