We’re excited to announce that we’re releasing two new editions this month! One is part of our Best Jobs series and the other was written by Louise Kursmark, one of the nation’s most renowned professional resume writers. See below to learn more about how these books can help you plan your career and education and succeed in the job hunt.

Best Jobs for the 21st Century, Sixth Edition

By Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D.

Are you looking for your first job or a better job? Planning your education and career options? Interested in exploring better-paying or more interesting jobs at your current education level? This book is ideal for making important career plans and decisions.

In two easy steps, this reference will help you learn about jobs that offer an entire package of rewards. First, you’ll browse more than 65 lists that reveal the best jobs for pay, growth, openings, and more. Then, you’ll choose from 500 occupations to review descriptions of the jobs that interest you most. These descriptions offer details about wages; projected growth through 2018; openings; required education, training, and experience; career clusters and pathways; and more. There is also information about each job’s top three industries for growth. Plus, this edition features the best jobs in the 16 career clusters and the best jobs in urban and rural areas.

This book is available at major bookstores, Amazon.com, and jist.com.

Best Resumes for College Students and New Grads, Third Edition

By Louise Kursmark

If you’re a college student or recent grad, you have your work cut out for you in the job market. Not only are you competing for internships and jobs against more experienced candidates, you may have had little to no instruction on how to write a resume. This is problematic, because a solid resume is essential for effectively marketing yourself to employers and recruiters.

With this guide, you can gain an advantage over your competition. Author Louise Kursmark, one of the nation’s leading professional resume writers, lends situation-specific advice for creating resumes and explains how to use them effectively while navigating the job market. She also provides guidance on writing cover letters, identifying skills, and presenting college experience effectively. You can browse a collection of more than 100 professionally written resume and cover letter samples—all written for college students and new graduates.

This enhanced edition includes a chapter on using social media and other online resources in the job search, as well as updated resume samples.

This book is available at major bookstores, Amazon.com, and jist.com.

Today’s job seekers face numerous obstacles: a recession that has eliminated countless positions and crowded the job-seeking field; ever-changing technology; and pressures to do more with less. It can be difficult for anyone to decide which career to pursue.

Best Jobs for the 21st Century, Sixth Edition, helps job seekers quickly and easily focus their career options and learn more about jobs of interest. Author Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., includes 69 lists divided by demographic, experience, salary and more. The “Best Jobs Overall” list contains 400 jobs ranked by the best combination of pay, growth and openings. Here are the top 10 best jobs overall for the 21st Century:

Software Developers, Applications

• Annual earnings: $87,790
• Percent growth: 34
• Annual openings: 21,840

Physicians and Surgeons

• Annual earnings: $165,279
• Percent growth: 21.8
• Annual openings: 26,050

Software Developers, Systems Software

• Annual earnings: $94,180
• Percent growth: 30.4
• Annual openings: 15,340

Management Analysts

• Annual earnings: $78,160
• Percent growth: 23.9
• Annual openings: 30,650

Computer Systems Analysts

• Annual earnings: $77,740
• Percent growth: 20.3
• Annual openings: 22,280

Registered Nurses

• Annual earnings: $64,690
• Percent growth: 22.2
• Annual openings: 103,900

Civil Engineers

• Annual earnings: $77,560
• Percent growth: 24.3
• Annual openings: 11,460

Medical Scientists (except Epidemiologists)

• Annual earnings: $76,700
• Percent growth: 40.4
• Annual openings: 6,620

Physical Therapists

• Annual earnings: $76,310
• Percent growth: 30.3
• Annual openings: 7,860

Dental Hygienists

• Annual earnings: $68,250
• Percent growth: 36.1
• Annual openings: 9,840

Additional information can be found in Best Jobs for the 21st Century. The book was published in December of 2011 and is available at major bookstores, Amazon.com and jist.com.

By Lori Michelle Ryan, JIST Publishing

Your resume should communicate vital information to a potential employer, but how do you know if yours is up to par and will compete with other resumes?

Authors Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark explain in their new book, Expert Resumes for Managers and Executives, that strict rules for writing resumes really don’t exist, but job seekers should consider some simple standards that most employers have come to expect. Here are some of Enelow and Kursmark’s tips:

Content standards

• Writing style: Always write in the active, not passive, voice.
• Phrases to avoid: Do not use “responsible for” or “duties included,” which are passive.
• Resume style: Organize your resume chronologically, functionally or both.
• Resume formats: Use paragraphs, bullets or both.
• Email address and URL: Include your email address and URL at the top of your resume.

Presentation standards

• Font: Use a “clean, conservative, easy-to-read” font. Some suggestions include Tahoma, Arial, Krone, Soutane, CG Omega, Century Gothic or Gill Sans.
• Type size: Ten- to 12-point fonts generally are easy to read.
• Page length: One to two pages usually is enough.
• Paper color: Use white, ivory or gray paper.
• Graphics: Entry-level or midlevel job seekers may use graphics to enhance their resumes; senior or executive job seekers should avoid them.
• White Space: Leave plenty of white space to ensure readability.

Accuracy and Perfection

• “Your resume must be well written, visually pleasing, and free of any errors, typographical mistakes, misspellings and the like. … Carefully proofread your resume a minimum of three times, and then have two or three other people also proofread it.”

“Consider your resume an example of the quality of work you will produce on a company’s behalf,” say Enelow and Kursmark. “Take the time to make sure that your resume is perfect in all the details that make a difference to those who read it.”

Expert Resumes for Managers and Executives, Third Edition, is available at major bookstores, Amazon.com and jist.com.

By Lori Michelle Ryan, JIST Publishing

The U.S. Deparment of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts total employment will increase by 15.3 million positions, or 10.1 percent, through 2018. This will result in more opportunities for job seekers, including managers and executives, but also fierce competition for these open positions.

In their new book,Expert Resumes for Managers and Executives, authors Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark offer advice to managers and executives on how to set themselves apart from other job applicants. The authors recommend taking three key steps to finding a job:

1. Write a powerful resume: “As companies have undergone massive changes, employment has become increasingly competitive. As a job seeker, you must know how to position yourself above the crowd of other candidates applying for similar opportunities. The best way to achieve that is with a powerful resume that clearly communicates your accomplishments, your unique brand and the value you bring to a new employer.”

2. Become a savvy job seeker: “To be an educated job seeker, you must know what you want in your career, where the hiring action is, what qualifications and credentials you might need to attain your desired career goals, and how best to market your qualifications. … You must be a strategic marketer, able to package and promote your experience to take advantage of the ever-changing wave of employment opportunity.”

3. Launch a successful search campaign: “The single most important thing to remember is that a job search is marketing! You have a product to sell—yourself—and the best way to sell it is to use all appropriate marketing channels just as you would for any other product.” According to Enelow and Kursmark, an effective job search marketing plan should include:

• Referrals
• Networking
• Responses to online job postings
• Responses to newspaper, magazine and periodical advertisements (print)
• Targeted email campaigns (resumes and cover letters) to recruiters
• Targeted email and print campaigns to employers
• Online resume postings

In addition to this three-step action plan, Enelow and Kursmark’s book includes hundreds of examples of resumes and several cover letters to help managers and executives achieve job-hunting success.

Additional information can be found in Expert Resumes for Managers and Executives. The book published in November 2011 and is available at major bookstores, Amazon.com and jist.com.

By Lori Michelle Ryan, JIST Publishing

Federal job seekers often are frustrated with, overwhelmed by or puzzled over the complex federal hiring process. In their new book, Find Your Federal Job Fit, authors Janet M. Ruck and Karol Taylor explain that the “federal application process, which is unlike any other, can be cumbersome and confusing at times. It is based on a set of laws and regulations that were written for a specific purpose. Over time, layers of new laws were added. Eventually they created a morass of rules that now make up the federal hiring system.”

Federal job seekers, especially those just starting their searches, often make mistakes during the application process that could easily be avoided. Ruck and Taylor highlight 11 mistakes that many federal job seekers make, and how to avoid them. The errors include:

Beginning the federal job search without target occupations: “Time spent in self-assessment and career exploration can pay dividends in seeking and finding a federal job that fits.”

Taking any federal job to get your foot in the door of the federal government: “Lateral transfers often are difficult to obtain. Given the arduous hiring process, federal managers are reluctant to allow employees to move from their current positions.”

Narrowing your job search geographically by focusing only on Washington, D.C.: “Only 15 percent of federal jobs are in D.C.”

Overlooking networking as a powerful federal job search tool: “Although federal law requires that the federal application process adhere to strict guidelines, you can find out about federal opportunities in many ways.”

Applying with a generic resume: “A one-size-fits-all resume robs you of the opportunity to market your qualifications in the context of the job.”

Not promoting yourself: “In a competitive marketplace, applicants who have the ability to toot their own horn are likely to get noticed, interviewed and hired.”

Applying for everything: “You are wasting your time by applying for a position without sufficiently analyzing the vacancy announcement.”

Not spending enough time targeting application materials to your audience: “Give yourself a chance to get an interview by analyzing the vacancy announcement and writing for your audience.”

Choosing jobs based on salary only: “If the salary for a federal position seems low compared to what you earned in the private sector, consider the many benefits of federal employment.”

Applying only for jobs on USAJOBS: “Federal law does not require that vacancies be posted on USAJOBS; the law requires only that jobs be advertised. Some federal agencies post their jobs on their own websites only.”

Misrepresenting background and experience: “It is certainly important to sell yourself, but do so authentically and honestly.”

Dr. Rich Feller, professor of counseling and career development at Colorado State University, said Ruck and Taylor’s advice comes at the perfect time.

“The federal government needs the best and brightest to deliver solutions in agencies that focus on issues from Main Street to outer space,” Feller said. “Fortunately, this book lands at the right time when many workers feel nervously employed, discouraged and eager to find some certainty, a second chance or a new purpose.”