Obviously, you do not want to send the prospective employer to the ER with crushed metatarsels and dislocated phalanges, but one that’s too delicate exudes a timid nature.

“If you’re seeking employment, get a grip. A firm handshake is key to landing a job.

In a new study, scientists put 98 students through mock job interviews with businesspeople. The students also met with trained handshake raters who, unbeknownst to the students, rated their grips. Separately, the businesspeople graded each student’s overall performance and hireability. The two group’s scores were then compared.”

To read the rest of this scientifically proven article, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080507/sc_livescience/firmhandshakeshelplandjobs

The solution: Work from Home

You’re probably saying, “Yeah, right! It’s difficult to start a successful business from your spare bedroom.” However, it can be done.

“With fuel prices topping four dollars per gallon in some states, many Americans want to keep their paychecks in their pockets and out of their gas tanks. Thanks to cheap Internet access and fast computers, some workers can perform their jobs just as well from home as they can in the office. Government analysts recently identified ten fast-growing jobs that combine higher-than-average hourly wages with the benefits of working from home.”

Find out what careers will allow you to stop supporting the oil barons at: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_ten_hot_home_office_jobs.html

What’s good about these six figure careers is that they can be obtained without a professional degree.

“Earning $100,000 in any profession requires a combination of hard work, career training, and personal experience. These ten jobs prove that you can grow your salary to six figures without a law degree or a medical school diploma. In all ten cases, online career training programs can help you learn the skills to pursue a career with megabucks potential while continuing to build experience at your current job.

To read more, go to: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_10_six_figure_jobs_without_a_professional_degree.html

Below begins an article one should read in trying to find that thin line between original and scary.

“Imagine you’re trying to fill a job. Now consider whether you would want to hire a candidate who:

• Puts up posters of himself in your company parking lot.
• Attaches pineapple scratch-and-sniff stickers to his resume.
• Announces his candidacy with a singing telegram.
• Sends lottery tickets with her resume.
• Rents a billboard that you can see from your office to list his qualifications.
• Bakes cookies with icing to write several reasons why she should be hired.
• Delivers pre-paid Chinese food, including a fortune cookie with his name and number.”

You can check out the article at: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-wacky_job_seeker_stunts-362

Below is an article that may interest you.

“Recent studies indicate that today’s working professionals desire control of their time even more than a bigger paycheck. Job seekers can often uncover flexible jobs in businesses that serve customers around the clock, and in industries with a backlog of projects to process. Telecommuting offers professionals the ability to eliminate long commutes without cutting connections from clients or colleagues. Flextime gives workers the ability to set their own hours. Job sharing is a relatively new form of work flexibility, allowing two or three team members to share a single set of responsibilities.”

To read the rest, go to: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_top_ten_flexible_jobs.html

Anyway, it’s good to be in the know.

“WASHINGTON – It’s no longer a question of recession or not. Now it’s how deep and how long.

Workers’ pink slips stacked ever higher in March as jittery employers slashed 80,000 jobs, the most in five years, and the national unemployment rate climbed to 5.1 percent. Job losses are nearing the staggering level of a quarter-million this year in just three months.”

To read the rest of this article, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080404/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

Then again, so does everyone else. Read from the following article below:

“Well, here’s some advice from an article on the subject.

Here’s a question I often hear: What are some things I can do to prepare for a job interview?

Answer: There really aren’t too many things in life more awkward than a job interview. You’re dressed in formal business clothing, sitting across from a stranger. This stranger has the right to ask you anything from the most elaborate to the most mundane questions. And you have to spend an hour talking about nothing but yourself. Actually it sounds pretty similar to a blind date!

Just like a blind date, there are some definite no-no’s you need to avoid if you want to make it to the next level.”

You can read the rest at:  http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-experts-four_steps_to_a_better_job_interview-51

• Employment and Unemployment
• Prices and Living Conditions
• Compensation and Working Conditions
• Employment Projections
• Etc.

All of the information is compiled through the U.S. Department of Labor.

The URL is: http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm

You are your own boss!

Check out the Self Employment Center from job.com.

You can find a plethora of information on how to start your own business.

The site URL is:  http://job.franchisesolutions.com/

The people are friendly, the facility is very modern and the benefits are really outstanding!  Unlike many other companies, Trial Graphix seems to promote employee advancement to other positions.

As of right now, I’m still getting my feet wet, so to speak, but I like it and can see that this is the kind of job one wants to keep.