In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

How to find a job in a recession

(BBC) The U.K. government is planning to offer paid three-month internships to university graduates who can’t find jobs. Microsoft and Barclays are among the companies who will participate. The program will be announced with a package of economic measures this week as Parliament returns from its holiday break. “These are the children of the baby boomers. They will be a very big group. What do we do with them? We can't just leave people to fend for themselves," said Universities Secretary John Denham. The interns will be paid slightly more than they’d make from undergraduate school grants and loans. A new study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research suggests the U.K. economy is at its lowest point in 28 years.

1.

How graduates can get jobs in the creative fields during a recession

Brand To Be Determined - Web marketer Ed Schipul's blog
Ed Schipul, who runs a web marketing company based in Houston, Texas, offers candid advice for young people on how to stand out in a tough job market. Though much of the advice is common sense, such as making sure your e-mail subject line isn’t two-thirds mis-spelled, he has an interesting perspective on hiring; for instance, Schipul is wary of an overly groomed Facebook profile. “I can watch paint dry if I am looking for excitement, so why work with you?” writes Schipul. He also cautions graduates against making the often deadly self-deprecating comment, “I’m not good at math.”

2.

Tips for the tech-savvy job seeker

Scobleizer - Tech evangelist Robert Scoble's blog
Former Microsoft employee  and current Fast Company video blogger Robert Scoble counsels technology workers looking for employment in a shrinking market. While some of the tips are very tech- and Internet-specific -- not all of us should be posting a YouTube video of our talents every day –- Scoble does highlight the importance of the web in self-promotion in a way that computer-savvy college grads should be able to adapt for their own purposes in other industries. It’s also worth noting how many networking opportunities you have access to online. Some of his other tips, such as using volunteer work to build your resume, apply across the board.

3.

The employment recession and how to beat it

iTulip - alternative economic news and analysis
iTulip is a website and forum bringing together contrarian opinions and predictions about the stock market. Here, President Eric Janszen, who’s also written for Harper’s magazine, looks at unemployment in the United States by age group and tries to pinpoint how much worse it might get. Janszen determines that 16 to 24-year-olds are the most vulnerable to unemployment in the recession and predicts unemployment in that age group will peak at 17-18 per cent. However, he agrees with many mainstream economists that it could be a good time to start your own business.

4.

30 best careers for 2009

USNews - Business, education and breaking news
It isn’t a surprise to see many health-care related fields in this USNews list, but there are some interesting entries. The top 30 careers were selected based on a combination of their outlook in a recession, reported job satisfaction, ease of qualification, prestige, and rate of pay. Many of them, such as ghost-writing, don’t require a university degree, though some, like engineering, certainly do. A few unusual or underreported jobs appear, as hairstylists, fundraisers and clergy continue to prosper in tough economic times.

5.

British comedians explain the roots of the economic crisis

YouTube
Still confused about what made your job prospects start to shrink in the first place? Allow an apparently prescient pair of British comedians to help you out. The comedy team Bird & Fortune conducts one of their many interviews with eternal guest George Parr, who this time out is an investment banker and expert on the subprime mortgage crisis. There’s an awfully questionable reference to “an unemployed black man on a crumbling porch somewhere in Alabama,” but generally the video –- which is almost a year old –- combines the usual bite of British satire with an easy-to-understand explanation of High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Funds. Yes, really.