Many California college students just graduated and are now in the pursuit of a job that utilizes the degree they worked so hard to earn. Spending time to earn an associates, bachelors, or masters degree is all for the payoff of a better job that you enjoy. Ideally you want something close to a dream job, but if you do not hustle to land that job, then someone might beat you to it. The current job market is improving, but still very competitive as many qualified job candidates fight it out to land each job. Often times, college graduates in California will be up for a job against people with many years experience, so job searchers need to stay on the hunt non-stop until they secure a job. Until you land a job, your new job is working 40hrs a week trying to research, apply, and interview for jobs.

The first step in the job hunt is to make a plan so that you do not waste time, so get a spreadsheet together and figure out where to attack and apply for a job. List companies you want to contact and their contact information. Also find all of the job websites in your area, including craigslist.org, monster.com, and eBay classifieds. When searching, make sure you focus properly on what you want in terms of a job, if you search too broad then you will not get great results. Repeat the process each day, and check the same sites so you get into a groove and do not loose time with new techniques. When you get ready to apply, make sure you have variations in your resume and a cover letter. This will allow you to be prepared to apply for a wide variety of jobs in your niche. The last thing to consider is quantity versus quality, take time and apply to the best jobs first that you really want to land. This is much better than randomly applying to 100 jobs, many of which you might not even want.

Over the past few years the economy in California has had many events which have caused it to slow down dramatically, resulting in more people losing their jobs across the state. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million workers by November of 2009 have lost jobs, which represents roughly 10% of the overall workforce in California.  These reports from the Employment Development Department also indicated that a year ago there were 911,000 part-time workers, who would typically be full-time workers. Almost everyone that the EED is tracking is working part-time because the economy is struggling. As the economy slowed down many consumers became more thoughtful of what they were buying, which led to a reduction in demand for many goods and services. Without a constant demand of goods, many employers have difficulty keeping people on full time because of the roller coaster nature of business at this time.

Not all view part-time work as a bad thing as it allows them time to look for a better full time job, or time to enroll in a California college to further their education. With flexible online schedules, students have an easy time taking classes while working part-time. Governor Schwarzenegger has vowed to make jobs a top priority while in office, but with all of the economic troubles it has been hard to make positive progress. The Governor is also working to make California colleges and universities a priority which many believe is key to long term economic growth. 2010 is already shaping up to be an interesting year for higher education, jobs, and the economy in California.

Many small businesses around California have been having a rough time generating revenue during the rough economic condition in the state and country. Over the past two years, there were thousands of small businesses in California that went bankrupt as they struggled to make sales and stay profitable. Small businesses are trying to run lean and efficient to survive until the economy recovers and consumers begin to spend more money. In addition to fewer customers spending money, these small businesses in California are racking up debt and many are not able to get loans they need to help them stay in business. Friends and family are also having a rough time dealing with the poor economic conditions so it is hard for them to lend money to help out. Banks are also being more cautious about lending money because they have less of it to go around. Many banks have reduced their overall small business lending over the past year which, compounded with the other factors, has forced so many businesses to go under.

When economic conditions are poor, people typically go to school to advance their education for when the economy recovers, or they try and start a business. With it being so difficult to borrow money, economic growth is hurting because fewer people can keep their businesses running or try and start new businesses. Luckily things seem to be improving if you take venture capital money into account, as more start up companies in California are starting to get cash investments. Hopefully this will help translate into more jobs for people in California and allow consumers to spend more money, which is what these small businesses need most.

As the holiday season of 2009 approaches it means that the year is almost over and therefore time to make new years resolutions. Governor Schwarzenegger said that his only resolution for the new year will be jobs. The unemployment rate of California is still very high at 12.3 percent in November, dropping only .2 percent from the prior month. This translates to approximately 2.2 million Californians without a job as of last month. This high unemployment rate ranks California as one of the toughest states to currently secure a job. Luckily many feel like this trend is changing, especially with President Obama’s focus on education and the local push to create jobs in California. The Governor plans to start work with California legislators early in the new year to do what he can to create jobs.

While some people have a negative view on the current situation with the economy and unemployment in the state, many are looking at this time as an opportunity to get educated. Rough economic times are frequently cause for people to try and start their own business or go to college to further their education. In fact one of the most popular resolutions for the new year for people is to go to college and earn their degree. Job seekers with a degree will have an advantage when trying to obtain employment after graduation. Not all parts of the economy are seeing poor job growth, which is why many go to college so they can learn a very specific skill such as information technology, web development, or engineering. Investing in your education during a downturn in the economy will prepare you to capitalize on the job opportunities when conditions improve.