Happy New Year! Over the holidays, I spent some time thinking about the career trends that are most on my mind as we head into a fresh new year. Here are my thoughts, and I hope you’ll share yours in the comments.

1. The job market is not improving fast enough for most Americans. I have to agree with a recent New York Times op-ed by Bob Herbert, which pointed out that, while many data experts are painting a somewhat rosy picture of the economy in 2011, prospects for the 15 million+ unemployed Americans are still very grim.

Citing a Rutgers study, Herbert provides this chilling assessment: “The recession has been a cataclysm that will have an enduring effect. It is hard to overstate the dire shape of the unemployed.” I, for one, am committed to keeping this issue top-of-mind and working to find creative and effective solutions. As always, I will continue to share as many tips, tricks and tactics as I can to help more Americans get the jobs they want and need.

2. Fortunately, recent grad hiring is a bright spot. The good news if you’re looking for an entry-level position is that the job market is improving at a faster rate for recent grads than most other demographics.  The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook 2011 survey has shown that the job market for the Class of 2011 is off to a good start.

According to the organization, “Employers responding to the NACE Job Outlook 2011 Fall Preview survey reported plans to hire 13.5 percent more new bachelor’s graduates from the Class of 2011 than they did from the Class of 2010. When asked to describe the overall job market for Class of 2011 bachelor’s degree graduates, the largest group—almost half of employers— characterized it as ‘good.’ In comparison, last year, the largest group saw the job market as just ‘fair.’”

This doesn’t mean it will be easy for the Class of 2011, but we are definitely heading in the right direction when it comes to entry-level hiring.

3. Job categories are being forever changed. In the op-ed I mentioned above, Herbert also cites another New York Times article, which highlighted the fact that many of the jobs being added to the U.S. economy are not full-time positions with salary and benefits. Instead, “temporary workers accounted for 80 percent of the 50,000 jobs added by private sector employers in November.” This is not a new trend. Temping, freelancing, “permalancing,” adult interning, “free agenting,” consulting and other forms of non-full-time, non-salaried positions have been on the rise for years and they will continue to grow in 2011.

While many people opt for this arrangement as a lifestyle choice, for many other people it is the only option they have. If you are a recent grad or any job seeker, you need to seriously consider launching or re-starting your career in one of these employment situations. Although they may not be ideal, for many professionals these gigs have turned into the only way to get a foot-in-the-door of the workforce.

What other trends will you be watching in 2011? Please share!

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I believe that constant news about the bad economy leaves job seekers with two choices: 1) focus on how bad the job market is and feel paralyzed, or 2) understand that it’s bad and look for opportunities anyway.

I’m going to recommend door #2. To help, I spent some time this past weekend looking for bright spots in the bleak job market. It wasn’t easy; there’s a lot of terrible news out there. But there are definitely opportunities in this recession.

Here are five of them:

1. North Dakota. Besides loving the movie “Fargo,” I can’t say I know a lot about North Dakota. Until this weekend’s article in the New York Times, I definitely didn’t know this cold state is a hot spot for jobs. According to the story, ND has about 13,000 unfilled jobs and is desperately seeking skilled workers. Click here to visit the state’s official job site.

If North Dakota isn’t your cup for tea, check out BusinessWeek’s list of 20 other locations it defines as the best places to ride out the recession.

2. Women-owned businesses. Nell Merlino, creator of Make Mine a Million $ Business, is launching a new initiative, the Make Mine a Million Dollar Race, which challenges women entrepreneurs to hit one of three business revenue goals—$250,000, $500,000, or $1 million—by the end of 2009. The goal? Economic stimulus and jobs, jobs, jobs. BusinessWeek just interviewed Merlino about the program.

The best way to find a job with a growing woman-owned business (or any small- to medium-sized business) is through networking, because most smaller companies don’t recruit through college career services or major online job boards. Talk to people in your personal and professional networks (parents, friends, professors, community members, etc.) to meet entrepreneurs, or attend events hosted by such organizations as Make Mine a Million $ Business, the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the Downtown Women’s Club or local women’s business clubs and organizations in your area.

(Note: Merlino’s program also has a component for high school and college-aged young women, called Make Our Daughters a Million, to encourage young women to begin entrepreneurial ventures. I’ll be facilitating a workshop as part of this program on Thursday, December 11, in Hollywood, Florida. Click here to learn more and register to attend.)

3. Your Monopoly board. The Associated Press just published a helpful Q&A (picked up in many local papers, including my hometown paper — shout-out to The Norwalk Hour!) about which industries are still hiring. The article advises job seekers to “look to your Monopoly board” for two of these industries: railroads and utilities. “Others are just as old school,” the article goes on, “like the logging and mining sector, and food, drink and tobacco manufacturing. The oil business is still adding a few jobs, as is pipeline transportation. General merchandise stores also did some pre-holiday hiring.”

The recent news that President-elect Obama is planning to create an enormous public works construction program to stimulate the economy supports the Monopoly theory. If you’d like to land one of those new jobs when they’re created, start studying now to understand what types of skills, experience and knowledge will be required. (For instance, you could set up a Google news alert for phrases such as “public works,” “national infrastructure” or “expanding broadband access.”)

4. Australia (the country, not the movie). I blogged recently about the new visa arrangement between the U.S. and Australia that makes it easy to study or work Down Under. The city of Sydney, in particular, is making a big push to attract twentysomething American workers. (Full disclosure: I am doing some paid consulting work with Tourism New South Wales, the organization promoting this program.)

Sydney is eager to receive resumes from young Americans with a variety of professional interests, ranging from environmental studies to hospitality to marketing to finance and beyond. Visit MySpace MySydney for a job search tool and information about how to get a visa. I lived in Australia for two and-a-half years and can honestly say it was one of the best experiences, personal and professional, of my life.

Another city seeking American workers is Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Click here for a recent story in New York magazine about young Americans working in this “hotly speculative Middle Eastern insta-metropolis.” I can’t say this story made me want to jump on a plane to Dubai, but, for some young people, this growing community might be an interesting option.

5. Accounting. Last week, blogger Penelope Trunk cited a study by recruiting agency Robert Half saying that, “accounting firms have been so chronically understaffed that we’d have to have a five-year recession for them to catch up.” It’s true that hiring has held steady at accounting firms across the country. Read this article to learn which accounting-related skills are most sought-after and visit this job board to find entry-level accounting positions.

Where else have you seen bright spots in the job market? Please share!

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Image of needle in haystack from KnowledgeWatch.com.

Alexandra Levit: Alexandra Levit’s Water Cooler Wisdom
Barbara Safani: CareerSolvers
Career Manangement Alliance Blog
Curt Rosengren: The M.A.P. Maker [Meaning Abundance & Passion]
Darrell Gurney: In The Line of Hire
Diane Danielson: THE WOMEN’SDISH with Diane & Friends
Jacob Share: JobMob
Louise Fletcher: blueskyresumesblog
Maggie Mistal: what if…
Miriam Salpeter: Keppie Careers Blog
Rich Milgram: EmploymentMetrix.com
Steven Rothberg: CollegeRecruiter.com Blog
Wendy Terwelp: Rock Your Career
Willy Franzen: One Day, One Job

I hope you’ll support Job Action Day by reading and commenting on the blogs from these terrific career professionals. Be sure to come back to this blog on Monday to read my contribution!