Layoff Support Network

The Layoff Support Network (LSN) was created to help people who have been laid off. This is a 100% free, 100% non-commercial site--we don't even carry advertisements. This is based on a pay-it-forward concept: hopefully people will find the site helpful and someday be able to help others in return.

We have a great job-searching tool, podcasts, career coaching and even
articles from a licensed psychotherapist.

This is not really a job-searching site--there are hundreds of those.
This site was designed to help people deal with the stress of not having
a job. We hope to use the wisdom of the crowd to offer resume reviews,
interview tips and other kernels of knowledge that might help someone
survive and find a job.

We also happen to be the only website that wants to go out of
existence--when all our members find jobs, we will consider it a job
well done and disappear.

If you can find any of the collected wisdom of use, or want to
contribute a blog or a forum post and share your expertise, our effort
will be considered a success. Come visit and tell us what you think.

Simply by becoming a member you help other members. Statistics from Google Analytics indicate that we have 100x the visitors as the number of registered members. By joining, other members can get an honest impression of the number of people using this site. It was our hope in designing the LSN that its users would take comfort in knowing that they are not alone. Well, now that I (Craig) have been laid off, at least you know you’ve got me to keep you company!

Using the Social Web to Find Work

Free eBook- Using the Social Web to Find Work

2009 will be an unprecedented time for workers in the US, with many people losing their jobs through no fault of their own. This will ripple economically to other countries as well. No one’s really safe. I wanted to offer some ideas ahead of the mess.

I’ve written Using the Social Web to Find Work as a free ebook for you to download and share with others. It includes ideas and information from chrisbrogan.com, and takes you from the specifics of using LinkedIn to your benefit, into some ideas on how to grow and nurture your social networks ahead of a need for them.

It’s not much, but I wanted to help in one way that I know how - by providing ideas and actionable information.

Editor's Note: Chris Brogan is one of the founders and organizers of the highly popular PodCamps around the country. His advice comes from his experience. If you are not familiar with social networks, read his free e-book anyway; you may decide it's time to connect electronically, and it's definitely a more informed way to job search.

Free FileMaker Campus Productivity Kit

The makers of FileMake Pro offer a free version designed for students to help them manage their time and be more productive. This specialized runtime version of the FileMaker database runs on both MACs and PCs and can be used by more than students. We think job seekers may find it very useful as well.
Some ways to use it are to:

• Manage Contacts
  
• Organize Research Material & Lecture Notes (job seekers: think company research and interviews!)
  
• Tracking Group Projects and Assignments
  
• Coordinate Events & Registrations
  
• Track & Prioritize To Do Lists

They'll ask for your email address and mailing address to sign up; that's often the price of getting something for free. They want more business from you later. But if you need a way to organize your community projects, job search, or school life, then this may be the tool for you.

Candidate Seeker: An Alternative Job Search

CandidateSeeker.com delivers job opportunity notices via email to you the candidate. We are the only major online recruiting and employment service that DOES NOT post resumes or application forms for viewing by the public OR subscribers. We never circulate resumes to employers.

Candidates are never charged to use our service. And, we do not allow placement agencies who charge applicant fees to use our service!

Job Central "replaces" America's Job Bank

For people and organizations who relied on America's Job Bank to list job openings or search for jobs, the Dept. of Labor's decision to close the website was unwelcome news. America's Job Bank had been a significant resource for many employers that did not have funds to pay for job postings on commercial websites such as Monster and CareerBuilder. The job bank also helped many organizations fulfill their Affirmative Action outreach because it covered every state and thus reached incredibly large numbers of job seekers.

However, a group of leading U.S. employers pooled their resources to create Job Central as a public service, achieving the same nationwide coverage. Take advantage of the free job search if you're job hunting and the free job listings if you're an employer.

Headway Corporation for Job Search

Headway Corporate Resources provides recruitment, staffing, outsourcing, and professional development services. In 2004, they placed over 25,000 individuals with more than 1,000 businesses.