By Ben Jablow, vice president of CareerBuilder Niche Sites

An improving economy affords workers more opportunities, and job seekers have a reason to be optimistic. According to a recent CareerBuilder study, more than a quarter (26 percent) of hiring managers nationwide plan to add full-time, permanent employees throughout 2013. This is up 3 percent from 2012 — one sign of the economy’s continued recovery.

As businesses continue to grow, job seekers will have access to more opportunities, allowing them to be more specific about the types of roles they pursue. To help navigate those opportunities, a niche job site can be the best choice for a job seeker looking for a particular role or level of experience.

Niche sites offer job listings and resources that target a specific industry or type of job seeker. These sites can help make a job search more efficient, saving job seekers the time and stress of sorting through listings they may not be interested in. Employers benefit from niche sites as well, because they know they’re connecting to interested applicants who know what they want in their career, making niche sites a win-win for job seekers and employers.

Niche sites specific to career level or experience
There are certain times in workers’ careers when their employment decisions are driven by their experience and desire to move to the next level. One such time is when they are just beginning their career, and another is when they’re ready to take on a leadership role. Niche job sites, such as CareerRookie.com and HeadHunter.com, offer resources for job seekers who are in the early or advanced stages of their career.

CareerRookie.com, the most visited job site for entry-level positions and internships, offers advice and resources specific to those just starting their careers. Job seekers can search for jobs, post résumés, get industry and company news, sign up for automatic job alerts, view local career fair information and receive advice on the job-search process — all from an entry-level point of view.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, HeadHunter.com matches senior-level and management professionals with relevant opportunities in areas such as higher level consulting, sales and marketing, finance and operations. Top industries looking for talent through HeadHunter.com include software publishers, pharmaceutical manufacturing and commercial banking.

Sometimes it’s life experience that can influence career decisions. MilitaryTimes.com offers advice and resources for the careers and personal lives of service members and their families. Job seekers can visit the site for news on issues important to the military community, including financial services, pay and benefits, education and training and promotions and certifications.  They can also search for both military and civilian jobs.

Industry-specific sites
Job seekers who have specialized skills and know what industry in which they want to seek employment can also benefit greatly from niche job sites. Industry-specific niche sites allow job seekers to customize their job search and target roles within their industry of choice, without having to sort through jobs in which they may not be interested.

CareerBuilder has created job sites specifically for those job seekers who want to target a certain industry for employment.

JobsInMotion.com connects employers in transportation and logistics with job seekers looking for targeted opportunities. The transportation and logistics industry is expected to grow by more than 7 percent in the next five years, according to Economic Modeling Specialists International, and the demand for mechanics, logistics managers, warehouse employees and especially drivers is high. With currently just one driver for every five job opportunities, sites like JobsInMotion.com can help job seekers with the right skills get to those jobs faster.

MiracleWorkers.com is the No. 1 traffic leader among all health care niche sites, offering the best resources in an industry that’s projected to grow 10.2 percent in the next five years, according to EMSI. A recent CareerBuilder survey states that more than one third of health care employers (34 percent) have open positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates. This is good news for job seekers looking for a role in health care, as there are a large number of roles employers are looking to fill in an industry that will continue to grow.

More than 7.8 million workers were employed in financial activities in May 2013, according to the BLS. MoneyJobs.com is a niche site targeted to those workers in financial services. This site offers finance and accounting jobs, allowing users to sort job results by company, location, salary and other factors important in a job search. This site is also the No. 1 traffic leader for job seekers within banking, finance and accounting professions.

Sologig.com currently has more than forty thousand job postings for information technology and engineering professionals. Site users can sort jobs by company, location, pay range, skills, employment type, job title, industry or role responsibilities.

WorkInRetail.com connects job seekers to opportunities in retail, an industry that currently employs 15 million according to the BLS. Beyond just job postings, job seekers can use WorkinRetail.com to get information on compensation, location, benefits, work-life balance and opportunities for advancement.

Ben Jablow is the vice president of CareerBuilder Niche Sites.

Courtesy: The Work Buzz

By Robert Half International

In your efforts to refine your managerial skills, don’t aim for perfection or try to imitate someone else’s style. Instead, determine how you might become an even better version of the boss you already are. Here are some strategies to try:

Lead by example. If you want your employees to work hard and push themselves to excel, you must be willing to do the same. Set high standards for performance and hold yourself to them. Be an example in terms of time management, client service and creative approaches to problem solving. Set a professional tone by treating everyone — your peers, staff members, customers and vendors — with equal respect and courtesy.

Establish clear expectations. Make sure your employees understand their individual responsibilities and how they contribute to achieving the company’s goals. Explain the criteria that you will use for performance evaluations so your team knows what you expect.

Set your employees up for success. Although it’s important to challenge your staff and encourage them to acquire new skills, you don’t want to overwhelm them with tasks that are  beyond their current abilities. When delegating tasks or calibrating workloads, analyze skills and assign duties accordingly.

Support professional growth. Take the time to find out each staff member’s career aspirations and motivations and then find ways to help them achieve these objectives. Share authority and responsibility to give individuals the chance to develop new skills and prepare for more complex roles.

Delegating tasks and involving your employees in decision making and planning are other ways to enable them to build their professional skills. Mentor promising employees so they can eventually move into a leadership capacity.

Keep an open door. Ask your team to come to you with any problems, and work at becoming a better listener so you can readily identify employees’ concerns, even when they are not stated directly. When employees believe their voice will be heard, they are more likely to perform at their best.

Also remember that communication goes both ways. Ask your staff to give you timely status reports and feedback about difficulties or challenges they experience.

Give employees more autonomy. Your responsibility is to provide strategic vision, establish goals, clarify objectives and set expectations. Your main focus is results, not process, so try not to become overly involved in how your employees perform their jobs. Give clear directions and guidance, then step back and allow team members to put their talents to work.

Criticize with care. In a perfect world, your employees would do their jobs flawlessly. But the reality is that they will make mistakes, miss deadlines and forget to tell you about important information.

When the time comes to criticize, make it your goal to preserve the individual’s dignity. Meet in private and allow him to explain what led to the error. Rather than assigning blame, reframe a mistake or failure as a lesson and focus on what the employee might do differently in the future.

Acknowledge both effort and achievement. No matter what their position or level of experience, all professionals appreciate recognition, particularly when they’ve put in extra time or effort. With a single sincere statement (“You’re doing a great job, and I appreciate your hard work.”), you can help your staff sustain productivity and stay on schedule, even during times of peak activity. Sounds simple, but it’s true.

At staff meetings, congratulate individuals and project teams on their accomplishments. But don’t just wait for formal occasions. Spread the word whenever a member of the company achieves something important. For example, when one of your employees attains advanced certification, publicize it in the employee newsletter or on your company intranet.

Personal milestones are often inspirational and worth acknowledging too. For example, offer congratulations if several of your employees participate in a marathon to raise funds for charity.

Experiment with these strategies but keep in mind they are not a hard-and-fast recipe. One of the most important qualities of a good boss is flexibility. Remain open to new management methods and techniques and be willing to experiment.

Robert Half International is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 400 staffing and consulting locations worldwide. For more information about our professional services, visit www.roberthalf.com. 

Courtesy: The Work Buzz