Alison's Job Searching Blog

America’s Toughest Jobs is a new extreme competition television series that will test contestants who are willing to take on what the show considers the most challenging and dangerous jobs on earth, competing for both glory and a paycheck.

The jobs include logging, crab fishing, search and rescue, ice road trucking, monster truck driving, bridge work, gold digging, and rodeo bull fighting. There are 13 contestants, including a Wall Street executive, a recruiter, a carpenter, a personal trainer, a teacher, and an administrative assistant.

At the end of each each episode, the contestants' new boss and co-workers decides who can do the job and who gets to go home. The over-all winner gets the combined annual salary ($250,000) of all the tough jobs. America's Toughest Jobs premieres on NBC Monday, August 25 at 9 pm ET.

Let me know what you think is America's toughest job and if you have a tough job that you'd like me to profile, here's how to submit. I already have a selection of cool jobs and I'd like to include some tough jobs, as well.

_{Image Copyright Tim DeFrisco / Getty Images}

One of the definitions of dog days, according to Merriam Webster, is "a period of stagnation or inactivity." That can happen to the best of us when the temperature is hot, the beaches are packed, and we're trying to hustle up a new job when everyone else is having fun. In fact, it can even happen when you have the opposite weather pattern, like we have had this summer - or what summer? - with rain almost every day since mid-July. And then there's estivating, passing the summer in a dormant state, much the same as a bear does in winter. It can be easy enough to do that, too.

Even though August is a big month for vacations, employers are still hiring and this is a good time to be job searching - especially since lots of people quit looking until after Labor Day. There may be less competition for available jobs and even if you split your time, some at the beach or park, some estivating, and some working on your job search, you will still be able to make headway and beat the crowds who will be job searching in force after the summer.

My OneStop Job Search Guide has all resources you'll need for a successful job search including how to write resumes, CVs, cover letters and other employment letters, where to look for jobs, how to effectively conduct a job search, how to interview successfully, and how to negotiate compensation.

Job Search Resources:

• OneStop Job Search Guide
• Online Job Search
• Job Listings
• Online Career and Job Search Networking

_{Photo © Alison Doyle}

Earlier this summer, I wrote about using Twitter as part of your job search. John Leger recently created a Twitter account not only to search for jobs, but so those interested could follow his job search. John linked his Twitter account directly from his portfolio. He says, "I made my Twitter page accessible from my portfolio site in hopes that potential employers would see who else I’m interviewing with and when. My intent here is to try and motivate employers to action."

I asked Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert, and Publisher of the Personal Branding Magazine, for his perspective on using Twitter for job searching. Dan said, "Applicants are hired by people and not machines, therefore by registering for Twitter, following people you have genuine interest in and messaging them, you can position yourself as a worthy candidate. This can be supplemented if you have a blog or portfolio in your Twitter profile you want displayed to recruiters. Even if someone isn't in HR or is labeled a recruiter, networking is networking. Twitter has over a million people and by participating and engaging, you have a leg up on the competition."

Hopefully, this will be the case for John and I'm interested in seeing how Twitter helps with his job search. You can follow John's job search, too, if you're interested. That's one of the things I like about Twitter - you don't have to be someone's friend, like on Facebook, or their connection on LinkedIn, to keep track of what they are doing.

You can follow me and the About.com Job Search site on Twitter, as well as some of my colleagues, including Heather McDonald, About.com's Guide to Music Careers, Andrea Santiago, About.com's Guide to Health Careers, and Susan Heathfield, About.com's Guide to Human Resources.

_{Image Copyright John Leger / Twitter}

When actively job searching, check the top job sites frequently - you can set up alerts to be notified of new listings via email. Use the job search engines to do some of the searching for you. A job search engine will search multiple sites for jobs based on the search terms you enter, including location and keyword. Also make sure that you check the niche sites which focus on jobs listed by career field and those that list jobs in specific geographic locations.

Yes, it's easier to just put your resume online and wait, but, you probably won't have a line of employers knocking on your door. In fact, you may be lucky if you get any serious responses.

Instead, you need to work at your job search and the more you diversify your job search, the more job listings you'll find to apply to and your job search will be much more effective.

Do you have a favorite job site? If so, let us know what site has been working well for you.

Even if you're not currently job seeking, it's always to good to survey the job market every once in a while and see what jobs are out there for someone with your skills and qualifications.

Best Job Sites

• Top Job Search Engines
• Top Job Sites
• Top Part-Time Job Sites
• Best Career Networking Sites
• Job Listings
• Your Favorite Job Site?

With the number of entry-level sports and entertainment marketing jobs listed on job boards, job seekers need to be very careful to avoid the numerous scams that take advantage of job seekers. You may be surprised at how many of them there are.

Guest author Willy Franzen, the founder and author of One Day, One Job and One Day, One Internship, explains how these scams works, the interview process (which is scary), how to avoid entry level job scams, and the top warning signs to watch for when looking for entry level jobs.

Job Scams

• Entry Level Job Scams
• Work at Home Scams
• How to Check Out Work at Home Jobs
• How to Avoid Bad Companies
• One Day, One Job Overview

When you're writing a lot of job search letters (and you should be when you're actively seeking employment), it can be helpful to start with a letter template. Templates are available for just about every type of job search letter, including cover letters, resignation letters, interview thank you letters, and reference letters. Also, Microsoft Word templates are available, in your Word program and online, for resumes and a variety of letters. Using a template, then tweaking it to fit your circumstances, can speed up the letter writing process and help you with what to say, how to say it, and how to format your letter.

When you're not sure what to include in your letter, reviewing resume and letter samples is a good way to get ideas to use your own job search correspondence.

Also, if you have a resume or letter you're proud of, here's how to submit your resume, CV, or letter to our collection.

Resume and Letter Templates

• Microsoft Word Templates
• Letter Templates
• Sample Letters and Resumes

_{Image Copyright Anatoly Vartanov}

When I wrote about my favorite new job search sites recently, Realmatch was high on the list. One reason was because it works a little differently from most job sites. Rather than just generating a list of job openings, Realmatch works more like online dating service, but with jobs. The system matches you with employers and presents the results according to how good the match is. Employers post jobs for free, then view a graded and ranked list of pre-qualified candidates.

Realmatch is growing by leaps and bounds, so there are even more jobs to get matched up with and more opportunities for job seekers. Rafael Cosentino, Realmatch's VP, Business Development, told me that, "We are now receiving close to 200,000 new jobs per month and seeing about 4,500 new job seekers register per day."

For more on how Realmatch's Real-Time Job Matching technology works, take a look at this ABC News interview and review more information on how to use Realmatch and how it can help you find your perfect job.

_{Image Copyright Realmatch}

Are you a high school student looking for an after school job for the fall? Or are you a mom looking for a part-time job for when the kids are in school?

Either way, this is a good time to start looking for a back to school job. One of the reasons is that college students often leave their summer jobs early to head back to campus. Another is that while summer seasonal business is slowing down, other types of businesses gear up in the fall.

When you interview for most part time jobs, you won't need to dress in a suit, but it's important to be neat, tidy, and well-groomed and to present a positive image to the hiring manager. Here's how to apply for a part time job, and how to dress for an interview. Also, here are the typical interview questions (along with good answers) that you may be asked.

Job Search Resources

• Job Listings
• Local Job Search
• Part Time Jobs
• Teen Jobs

_{Image Copyright Copyright Andresr}

I spent some time this week helping a friend look for a new job. She wasn't sure where to start, so we talked about the job search engines so she could find job listings that met her specifications fast, job sites with local listings like Craig's List, and niche job sites like MediaBistro and the New York Times Media Jobs section (she's a writer). There are lots of sites out there, and it isn't easy to know where to start, especially when you haven't looked for a job for a while. The world of job searching has changed a lot in the eight years since my friend last job searched.

To help make it a little easier, here's a list of job search engine sites, jobs listed by location and type of job, networking sites where employers and recruiters can find you, and all the other job search sites where you should be looking for job listings.

Job Listings

• Career Networking Sites
• Help Wanted Ads
• Job Listings
• Job Banks
• Job Search Engines
• Local Job Search
• Top Job Sites

_{Photo © Michal Rozanski}

About.com Job Searching guest author Tom Denham suggests reading at least three career development books during the summer. That's good advice and there's still time to get some reading in during these last weeks of summer.

My "to read" pile of books usually includes lots of fiction and memoirs. This summer, I've read all of Abigail Thomas's books. I am mesmerized by her writing and her stories. I started over with Stephen King's Dark Tower books this spring and I've got a long way to go, but I'm as enthralled with them as I was when I read them the first time. I do read job search and career related books, too, and and I've recently had the chance to read some excellent ones.

One of my favorites, so far this summer, is The Executive Rules!, which isn't, by the way, just for job seekers seeking high level jobs. I found plenty of advice that is relevant to anyone who is looking for a new job or planning the next stage of their career.

Author Thad Greer, an executive recruiter and career coach, provides advice on job searching and changing careers, with advice on what role works plays on your life and questions (for you to answer) on what your your capabilities and contributions to a new employer are, along with advice on how to market those abilities.

The Executive Rules! helps you evaluate what you want out of a career and helps you decide what your next move should be. Greer then steps you through the process of designing and implementing a "career marketing" strategy which will help you sell yourself and find a great job.

Have some more time? These career and job search books, are full of good advice and well worth reading - any time of year.

_{Image Copyright Young Author Publications}