Some help for the unemployed with children, or at least those in parts of North Carolina, is being offered through a childcare program.

The Little Pros Academy announced Tuesday a free drop-in childcare program to assist families needing childcare assistance while interviewing for jobs.

As an unemployed father of a 4-year-old girl who is often underfoot while I look for a job, I appreciate such an effort and hope that other agencies start offering similar programs. Luckily, my wife works full-time at night, so I can schedule job interviews in the mornings and be home in the afternoon to take over childcare duties at our house. But as anyone looking for work knows, it's a full-time job looking for a full-time job, and having a safe place to leave your child while you go to a job interview is a big help.

"Little Pros Academy recognizes the strain being placed on families in today's difficult economic environment, and has created this program to assist families who might not be able to find care elsewhere when going to job interviews," according to a press release.

The program is available at its North Carolina facilities in Morrisville, East Cary and will most likely be expanded to the new North Raleigh location when it opens in March 2009, according to the press release. It notes that care will be based on current space availability for toddlers through pre-kindergarten children.

Now if some organization would only offer such help the rest of the day, when the job search or part-time work is in full swing. In the time I've been writing this, my daughter has interrupted me five times to help her find a toy, get a snack and turn the TV on. Yes, the TV, the perfect babysitter.

Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow his job hunt at www.talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com

As a young adult, I had my wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon. When I received the bill, I was shocked at the cost; over $400 per tooth. When I returned for the follow-up visit the next week, I mentioned the bill to the surgeon.

"It seems like a lot of money," I exclaimed. "Why it only took you about 10 minutes per tooth."

The dentist smiled and said, "That is exactly what you are paying for. If you want me to take an hour or more to remove each tooth, I can do that. In fact, most anyone can do that. But there is value in a 10 minute extraction."

Good point. I never forgot it.

True value is never based on time or even effort. It is based on intellectual property, ability, and the value of the service to the customer. Each item needs to be carefully evaluated when you are pricing your products, services, or time in the marketplace.

• Evaluate your intellectual property. This is the sum total of education, experience and expertise in your field. Most of us severely underestimate this value mistakenly believing that "everyone" knows this or "anyone" could do that. The accumulated knowledge after years in a discipline has tremendous value and establishes you as an expert. List your areas of expertise and include them in your resume, marketing and sales pitch. Make sure you differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace.
• Appraise your ability. Are you among some of the best at what you do? Can you accomplish quickly what it may take someone else extra time? One of the consultants I work with can evaluate the efficiency of corporate operations very quickly and make recommendations for money and time saving improvements. Organizations are willing to pay a lot of money for her time because she can accomplish in short order what it would take a team of consultants months to do. People that have high ability make what they do look easy (think of Tiger Woods). But that does not mean that it is. Make sure that you have an accurate appraisal of your abilities for pricing.

An occupational study done by Robert M. Hauser at the University of Wisconsin Madison several years ago is causing a buzz. Why is a study on jobs so interesting? Because the researcher laid out the average IQs of people involved in over 50 occupations. See how much these fit the stereotypes you hold in your own mind.



On the lower end of the IQ spectrum on his chart were workers in blue collar occupations like janitor, machine operator, truck driver, carpenter, assembler, and construction craftsman. On the upper end of the IQ spectrum were typically white collar professions, such as engineers, social scientists, legal occupations, college professors, doctors, and accountants.

Does this tell us anything we don't already know? Probably not. Those with higher IQs likely have an easier time in school and perform better on tests, and are therefore probably more likely to pursue a college education, which is required for most of these occupations listed for the higher IQs.

Should this be viewed as a dig to the blue collar workers? Of course not. While they may have a lower measured IQ, they may have a very high level of skill in their area of specialty. This skill level might not be captured by an IQ test, and therefore not reflected in this study.

The results of this study, however, seem to be worth more than just the bit of trivia demonstrated in the graphic. The author of the study comes to an important conclusion that traditional measurements of IQ aren't all that useful and it might be good to develop a different tool to measure abilities than just standard tests. He says that education reform should include reform of traditional testing tools in order to measure other important skills and abilities. I agree.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

A job agency in Germany is having difficulty finding enough people to work as Santas, creating a Santa shortage in the country, Reuters is reporting.

At least with the economy down, there's a job that won't go away -- until Dec. 26.

Apparently in Berlin there's a shortage of chubby, cheerful men with fluffy white beards who want to work one month a year -- and they must not have a criminal record. The pay's pretty good, too -- up to $75 an hour, or 60 euros.

"Being Santa is not an easy job," Jens Wittenberger, in charge of Santa Claus recruitment at the Jobcafe Munich, told Reuters. "To be honest, not many people have what it takes to be a good Father Christmas."

The agency wants its Santas to be child-friendly, good organizers, reliable and have acting skills.

"You can't have your Santa drive up in a car," Wittenberger said. "Every child knows that Santa travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeer so we don't want to disappoint anybody." Santas are told to park their cars a few streets away and walk.

I was a mall Santa while in college, and better than the pay was the fun of talking to the kids and hearing their stories. The beard was scratchy and carrying a few extra pillows around kept me warm, but I'll never forget the little girl who saw me as she entered the mall and came running to me yelling "Santa" the whole way.

Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job hunt at www.talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com

Over the last few months, bartending schools have seen a 20-25% growth in enrollment, as the newly unemployed begin to explore their next career move. For former financial-sector employees and office workers, this may be an outstanding move. After all, it's going to be a long, cold winter and it seems likely that a lot of people will be gathering together for warmth and community.

While I'm not much of a bar drinker (frankly, I'm way too cheap), I can certainly understand why so many people choose to while away the hours sitting on a bar stool and paying too much for mixed drinks. Bars are communities, comfortingly familiar, yet simultaneously offering the opportunity for surprise and excitement. They are places where you can drink the old familiar or surprise yourself with something new, talk to your best friends, or strike up conversations with total strangers. In the best of times, they are places to enjoy one's fellow human beings; in the worst of times, they are places to huddle for warmth.

This, perhaps, is why bars seem to do well, even when the rest of the economy is experiencing difficulties. Granted, the bar scene may change: frothy, ultra-engineered drinks will recede and traditional highballs will return, while microbrews give way to cheap, mass-produced beers. However, even as the scene shifts from upscale cocktail palaces to lowbrow dives, the taste for community warmth, leavened with whiskey, will survive. If you're not sure about your next career move, you might consider becoming a part of it.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. In bars, he usually just drinks sarsaparilla.

News of layoffs is happening daily, with the latest being Citigroup announcing 53,000 more job cuts and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. saying it will lay off thousands more. They join the 10.1 million Americans already unemployed, a 6.5% unemployment rate. At least they're getting a little notice before Christmas arrives.

Even if they saw it coming, getting laid off is a jolt. It not only means losing an income, but can also be at least a temporary loss of self-esteem. I was laid off on June 27 at a newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area -- a paper where I had been an editor for 13 years, so I know first-hand what it's like to lose a job. It was the first time in my career that I had been without work.

While the shock and sleepless nights ended after a few weeks, it took a little longer for the sick feeling in my gut to go away. It was the feeling and constant worry about how to pay the bills and ensure my family can stay afloat and in our home. Some days I still have those fears, although a few part-time jobs have helped ease my mind as I look for full-time work.

Strange jobs are probably common, but I had to laugh and wonder about job discrimination the other day when I came across an odd job description for the regular, everyday job of copy writer. The ad on Craigslist seemed straightforward enough, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a bit of discrimination.

A part-time, experienced channel editor/copywriter is needed for a social networking web site in San Francisco that focuses on hair loss lifestyle. Editors are needed in various categories, again, as they pertain to hair loss lifestyle. The categories include: Entertainment, travel, news and fashion (hats?).

Here's the part that caught my eye: "Preference given to those who live a hair loss lifestyle." So a bald writer will get preference over me, a man with a full head of hair? Is that fair? I understand that the company wants to hire someone who can best get their message across and knows what they're talking about, and as someone with a Don King type of hairdo if I let it grow for two months, I laughed out loud at the euphemism for being bald. But is putting that request in a job announcement akin to asking for writers who are white, female and have long, brunette hair?

A poor job market isn't always just a rain on the parade of American workers; sometimes it comes with a silver lining. This time Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is banking on the poor job market being the silver lining that keeps inflation away. In the past raises contributed to inflation as employers raised wages and then prices and then started all over again. This time around the Federal Reserve feels like employees won't push for the raises they want due to the poor economy and job market.

It will be interesting to see if the recent 12% increase in minimum wage plays into the inflation as well as the fact that by nature the majority of people think they are underpaid. While I can easily see the employers getting behind this logic the general public won't be as quick to jump on the boat. Even though the Fed's current plan isn't the most appealing to you and me, their hands are tied because the market won't likely bear the increased interest rates which would normally be used to fight inflation.

It's interesting that the rates need to stay low due to bad decisions made in the lending industry over the past few years and now, we can't take the standard actions to fight inflation because it could hurt these same industries. Bernanke is depending on the average American to forgo a raise this year to essentially boost up the economy while enduring the hardest part of the current economic state. Despite Ben's hope and the fact that it could contribute to inflation I plan to seek a raise later this year due to additional responsibilities and my performance. Even in this tight job market I think the increased costs that consumers are facing at the pump, the grocery store and for shelter will push many of them to ask for a raise too.

Last night a recent college graduate friend was telling me about a dinner he had with his aunt who had worked at the same company for the past 25 years.

When the topic of the job hunt came up, she started to talk about how he could negotiate for good vacation time, and that he should be sure to ask about it.

I'm not so sure. Call me an idealist, but I think grads who spent tens of thousand of dollars or more to prepare for a career should be able to find work they can get excited about, where vacation time is no object.

Then there's the impression that asking a potential employer about vacation time makes: people want to hire people who want to work, not lounge around on a cruise ship! I've met and learned from a fair number of successful people and, let me tell you, I can't think of a single one who was asking about vacation time when he started out. They worked hard to get where they are and, given how competitive the job market has gotten, the current crop of new workers will probably need to work even harder.

If the career you've chosen interests you so little that vacation time is a requirement your first year on the job, you may want to reconsider. What really interests you? For some great inspiration that, if followed, will lead to success, check out this Ben Stein column from a few years back.

It's the toughest job market in recent memory for teens, who are finding themselves competing with more people for fewer jobs, a result of layoffs that have left many people 10 years older or more desperate for jobs and willing to consider work that was once the domain of the under-20 crowd.

It's probably too late for summer jobs now, but many teens will want to work during the school year to save for college or, more likely, blow their money on convenience store snacks and overpriced, overrated, mall-based teen apparel. Struggling to find a job isn't any fun but, in the long run, dealing with a tough job market as a teen might be the best thing that could happen to someone.

Teens will have to learn how to put together a resume, interview well, dress appropriately, and hunt for jobs, skills that they could have gotten by without in a better economy -- it's no secret that many of the great entrepreneurs (Sam Walton being the most prominent) came of age during the Great Depression. Adversity breeds life skills.

If your teen is struggling to find a job, consider heading to the library to read up on job-hunting strategies -- it'll get him thinking about it long before most people do, and he'll be better for it.

If you're a recent grad looking to go into a traditionally lucrative career in something like finance, good luck: the big banks are struggling, cutting down on hiring, and laying off seasoned veterans: so you'll be competing for jobs with people who have a ton of experience.

But if you're a new graduate, you have some worldly options the seasoned veterans don't. According to The Wall Street Journal, (subscription required), Teach For America saw its applications rise 36% over last year's level. The Peace Corps also is expecting a 16% rise in volunteers at the close of its fiscal year in Oct.

Hard to say if this is a new and refreshing altruistic trend of the young generation, or simply a good way to get some do-gooder experience to pad the law school resume.

Either way, when the job market turns around, as it always does, your resume will give you a competitive advantage, demonstrating creativity and a genuine desire to change the world. Some programs have strong connections with top companies, and you may have an easier time going to work for Google after you work for slave wages with Teach For America for a few years.

Make the world better, improve your resume -- at a time like this, that's something worth considering. Then you can go get rich.

The current economic malaise has made this a difficult job market. It's especially tough for teens because the consumer is especially weak -- and most jobs suited to teenagers are in the retail sector.

A recent SnagAJob survey shows that 49% of hiring managers aren't planning to hire anyone at all this summer -- and 54% of summer jobs that are available are expected to go to people who worked at the same place last summer.

What's a teen to do? Fill out a ton of applications. One expert quoted in this Fortune column suggests seeking employment at 12 or more places. if you're a parent, you'll want to help junior put together a professional-looking resume emphasizing scholastic, athletic, and community achievements. It's a competitive market, and even 14-year olds have to find a way to differentiate themselves from the pack.

In the long run, this is a wonderful opportunity for kids to develop great skills. Sure, it's a lot more fun when jobs are easier to come by. But learning how to interview well and make yourself stand out are skills that will serve kids well for their whole lives.

Another tip: getting a job with the government could have better resume-building and networking opportunities than folding Marilyn Manson t-shirts at Hot Topic. Check out StudentJobs.gov to find openings in your area. Jobs there may be more plentiful. As Ron Paul will tell you, the government continues to expand rapidly.

The circle of outsourcing appears to be coming complete. Ashes to ashes dust to dust, high wages to high real estate values! Several Chinese firms are outsourcing to the U.S. to save money on...wait for it...manufacturing jobs!

Liu Keli, a Chinese businessman from the Shanxi province in China is investing 10 million dollars in South Carolina to open a plate printing factory. The factory will employ approximately 120 American workers who will be paid $12-13 per hour. Liu's reasoning for opening in South Carolina is simple, it is cheaper for his company to operate in the U.S. than it is to operate in China.

One of the areas in which Liu will save the most is in real estate here in the states. The plate making company saved 75% on the cost of land by building in South Carolina. Additionally utility prices in the U.S. are much cheaper than in China and also more reliable in South Carolina than in China. Even though labor costs are higher in the U.S. Liu is taking advantage of a tax credit from South Carolina to make up for some of the increase in labor expenses.

This whole arrangement is interesting to me because it seems to represent the way trade and global business can work out. When there aren't regulations to stop a business from opening a location anywhere on the globe, smart companies will find the areas which make the most business sense to operate in. I'm not a complete optimist when it comes to globalization but stories like these do a lot to re-enforce my opinion that the market can sort out complex issues on its own!

Money Magazine compiled a listing of the top ten jobs to have during a recession and thankfully I currently have one of the best jobs to hold during a recession. The list of recession resistant careers was determined using Bureau of Labor stats and Payscale experts and identifies white collar careers which for many different reasons will remain strong through an economic downturn.

I don't disagree that the careers they picked will be in high demand in the coming years, though there are a few you won't find me taking up anytime soon including "teacher". I don't feel like taking a job which may as well be subtitled miracle worker, due to "No Child Left Behind" goals and budget cuts just to get through a recession. Being an "Environmental Specialist" on the other hand sounds rather exciting; Smith, Josh Smith, Environmental Specialist!

I will be taking on another position in the fall as a college professor, furthering my ability to ride out a recession. As Money points out, being a nerd really does pay off! Though not everyone may consider it a career, I am surprised that entrepreneur didn't make the list. In tough times, new needs can be identified while cash strapped consumers are eschewing products which no longer fit their lifestyle.

Just as we inform you that department stores are planning to ride out the recession by leveraging teen spending, it is being reported that teens are becoming more thrifty. The change in behavior is being attributed not only to the coolness derived from thrift store finds, but also because teens are beginning to feel belt tightening at home and at work.

Teen hiring has dropped 5%, a much larger decline than the job market overall. This dip is attributed to the pressure local stores are feeling as part of the economic slowdown. At the same time as are teens discovering paychecks harder to find, parents are also cutting back on extras and allowance. These combined factors have high end retailers like Abercrombie and American Eagle reporting lower profit expectations, though Aeropostale and discount chain Steve and Barry's are expected to do well.

As someone who has had a job since a few weeks before I could legally work in my state, I worry about the trouble many teens may have as they try to find summer work. The jobs I had over the years were useful for many things other than getting spending money, including experience, adding to my maturity and building savings for college. I hope that there is an upswing in teen hiring as schools let out and that teens will put some of their summer paycheck in the bank or towards school payments. If teen hiring continues to decline through the summer months, business could get really tough for retailers whose niche is the teen market.