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!

There were about 20 of us at the table, including representatives from government, think tanks, media outlets and labor unions.  The discussion was moderated by Ron Brownstein, who is not only a well-respected journalist and father of a Millennial, but, I learned, is also a fellow fan of Lost. (Yes, he was careful to end the dinner before Tuesday night’s episode.)

Here are some of my main takeaways from the discussion and the poll:

Job security is trendy. One of the more surprising findings of the poll is that 55% of Millennials say their goal is long-term employment with a single employer. And, when asked to rank their most important workplace priorities, job security was number one (with money a close number two). Personally, I believe this will change as the economy improves. I just don’t see Gen Y-ers sticking with traditional career paths with all of the options and portable benefits available in the new economy. In fact, many of the dinner attendees joked that they don’t even want to work for their current employers for the rest of their careers.

Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…

A few months later, you might have come across a group of job-hunting, 20-something recent graduates promoting their skills though sidebar advertisements on Facebook and links to their online resumes.

What intrigues me about these methods is not just the guts these job seekers displayed. It’s the different generational approaches to self-promotion. The baby boomer gravitated to in-person, face-to-face networking; the Millennial went right to the Web.

If you are looking for a job in the current recession, my best advice is to borrow from the playbook of both of these self-promoters: combine “old-fashioned” methods with new technologies. Diane K. Danielson, my colleague and co-author on the book The Savvy Gal’s Guide to Online Networking, calls this a “clicks and mix” strategy, and it’s an important marketing strategy if you’re looking for a new position.

Here’s why: Young adults are competing in the job market with much more qualified people who have been laid off and need to find any job they can. At the same time, older professionals are competing with younger workers who are willing to be hired for less money and security. And, in this economy, every job seeker has to try every job-hunting method available.

Here are some self-marketing tips for job seekers of all generations: click here to read the rest of this article on ABC News on Campus…

To watch the video, click here.

The good news: It’s a new year, and with that new year comes new advice, new tips and new resources for job hunters.

Recently, PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the best places for young professionals to launch a career, invited me to provide tips to help students and recent graduates find jobs and internships right now.

Click here to watch the 5-minute video and to download a list of 10 ways to recession-proof your job search.

If you have additional questions, feel free to submit them here.

Click here to read the entire Career Q&A…

Click here to submit a question of your own

Many listeners shared upsetting stories of layoffs and difficulty landing new jobs, and many also offered suggestions on what companies and industries are still hiring. We discussed opportunities in healthcare, education, accounting, trucking, energy, defense and more. Listen to the full program here.

We also talked about the fact that job hunters today have to cast a very wide net in their jobs searches. To that end, here are several recent articles that offer an abundance of suggestions, resources and opportunities:

1. General career and job hunting advice for young professionals, from U.S. News and World Report:
5 Things Every Young Worker Needs to Know

2. Tips to follow if you’ve just lost your job, from career coach Maggie Mistal:
What to Do When You’re Out of a Job

3. Tips for international job searches, from Entry-Level Careers Examiner:
Finding an Internship or Entry-Level Job Abroad

4. Advice on finding a job with a small business (this article provides recruiting advice to small business owners, so just flip it around to see where to position yourself to be recruited), from BusinessWeek:
Where to Find Top Talent

5. Suggestions for advertising industry job seekers, from Advertising Age:
Getting Ready to Graduate? Five Tips for Weathering the Ad Industry Storm

Interested in more articles like these? Join the “Getting from College to Career” Facebook fan page, where new articles, videos and resources are posted every day!

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.

“If you can shine at this moment, you’ll shine forever.”

That’s a pretty strong statement. I’m not sure if any one time period can define an entire 40- to 50- year career, but I agree with the coach that your actions right now are crucial. If you want to stay employed and even advance in tough times, you have to go the extra mile. Here are some tips for how young professionals can shine in an economic downturn:

1. Be solution-focused. Now more than ever, it’s important to bring your boss and clients solutions rather than problems. Instead of saying, “Bad news. The printer has just raised his rates and we don’t have the budget to do our monthly mailer,” shine by saying, “The printer has raised his rates. I’ve researched three other possible printers that are less expensive. Here are my recommendations for how to move forward.”

2. Spend time on highest-priority projects. Now is not the time for busywork. Ask your manager what projects are most important right now and spend most of your time and energy on those. Check in regularly to make sure your work is always as relevant as possible.

3. Be visible. Getting your work done is very important, but it’s meaningless if no one knows what you’re accomplishing.  Do not — I repeat, do not — fall into the trap of keeping your head down and hoping that your work will speak for itself. Send positive updates to your manager, speak up at meetings and get up and walk around a few times a day. (To avoid looking like you’re not busy, use your walkabouts to discuss current projects and ask colleagues if there’s anything you can do to support them.)

4. Be a resource. Another way to shine is to be the go-to person in a particular area — industry news, company policies, trend research, a complex financial model, sentence structure, whatever is important in your company (hint: it won’t be helpful to be the go-to person on the best local happy hours).  If your expertise is valuable to your colleagues and you’re generous about sharing what you know, you’ll help to make yourself indispensable.

5. Study other stars. Finally, pay close attention to the professionals in your company who are thriving in tough times. Who is getting promoted? Who is landing plum assignments? Who is everybody talking about? There’s no escaping office politics, especially in bad times when everyone is feeling a bit more competitive. As a young professional, you can learn a lot by studying and emulating the actions, attitudes and relationships of your company’s most popular people.

What are your strategies for shining in dark times? Please share!