Career Development

Work-life balance. In most corporate circles, it's the sort of phrase that gives hard-charging managers the hives, bringing to mind yoga-infused, candlelit meditation sessions and - more frustratingly - rows of empty office cubicles.

It's no secret that U.S. workers are in trouble, with the unemployment rate at 8.9% and rising. At the same time, the world faces a long-term climate crisis. But what if there is a way to solve both problems with one policy? A number of environmentalists and economists believe that by implementing a comprehensive energy program, we can not only avert the worst consequences of climate change but also create millions of new jobs - green jobs - in the U.S. "We can allow climate change to wreak unnatural havoc, or we can create jobs preventing its worst effects," President Barack Obama said recently. "We know the right choice."

The Recruiter Roundtable is a recurring feature that collects career and job-seeking advice from a group of recruiting experts throughout the United States. The question we put before our panel this month is:

I have been living and working outside of the United States for almost three years. I have a small spa in the Caribbean and due to the slowing economy, have decided to return to the States to utilize my bachelor's degree in communications. Could you give me a bit of advice on how to present my entrepreneurial past to prospective employers as I return to the corporate work force?

The Encyclopedia of Associations is a comprehensive source of detailed information on over 135,000 nonprofit membership organizations worldwide. It corresponds to the printed Encyclopedia of Associations family of publications as follows: National Organizations of the U.S., which covers more than 22,200 American associations of national scope; International Organizations, which covers some 22,300 multi-national, bi-national, and non-U.S. national associations; and Regional, State, and Local Organizations, which covers more than 115,000 U.S. associations with interstate, state, intrastate, city, or local scope or membership. The Encyclopedia of Associations database provides addresses and descriptions of professional societies, trade associations, labor unions, cultural and religious organizations, fan clubs, and other groups of all types.

Kristin Konopka sent out nearly 100 copies of her résumé in January in search of receptionist work, but got only one callback. That's when Ms. Konopka, a 29-year-old New York actress and yoga teacher, took her master's degree and academic teaching experience off her résumé. The calls started coming in. The slimmer version of her résumé landed in 30 in-boxes and earned her three callbacks and two interviews. "It definitely picked up the interest," says Ms. Konopka, who realized quickly that people don't "want to hire anyone who is overqualified."

DENNIS PALUMBO, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist who treats many artists and other creative types, says his patients previously tended to talk about problems like writer's block, procrastination and fear of rejection.

ON a recent Monday evening in the basement of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Brooklyn Heights, a group of seven local residents gathered to discuss their faith - in the job market. One woman, who had been laid off from a high-powered job at a local hedge fund, sought advice about the benefits of accepting part-time work. Another participant, a man who had worked more than a decade in the technology industry, wondered aloud whether switching fields would be wise.

MY last column, about the best way to use the Web to find a job, got an enormous response - a reflection of our economic times, I recognize, rather than my deathless prose. While many people agreed with the premise of the article (and some vehemently did not), one question popped up several times. It was about my assertion that searching online was great, but that nothing beats face-to-face contacts.

Description: Detailed information on over nonprofit membership organizations worldwide. Includes National Organizations of the U.S., International Organizations, and Regional, State, and Local Organizations. The Encyclopedia of Associations database provides addresses and descriptions of professional societies, trade associations, labor unions, cultural and religious organizations, fan clubs, and other groups of all types Content Type: Directories

Age discrimination in the workplace has long been a concern for the 55-and-older set. In this downturn, however, younger workers may have as much to fear as their more-mature colleagues.

With unemployment at a 23-year high, job seekers need to expand the ways in which they search, say career and workplace experts. These days setting up and maintaining an online presence is often critical to finding work. But for an accomplished professional, it might seem daunting to build up a social-networking presence from scratch. Here's how to do it:

When Frank Lloyd Wright unveiled the Johnson Wax Building in 1939, it showcased a new way of looking at work. One room, covering half an acre (0.2 hectare), was filled with women, lined up in rows, typing. Work didn't necessarily mean loud, dirty factories, but it still involved sitting in orderly rows, doing orderly work for a finicky boss.

Get accurate, real-time salary reports based on your job title, location, education, skills and experience.

The Employment Projections Program develops information about the labor market for the Nation as a whole for 10 years in the future.

What are Diigo Educator Accounts? These are special premium accounts provided specifically to K-12 & higher-ed educators. Once your Diigo Educator application is approved, your account will be upgraded to have these additional features:

ALAN KENNEDY, 54, had never used social networking sites until he was laid off from his job as an engineer last November. Then he did what many job seekers are now advised to do: he set up profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn.

TwitterJobSearch.com - the world's first job search engine to harness the power of Twitter. Search the hottest, most recent best paid jobs in the entire Twitterverse.

When the oldest members of Generation Y (born roughly 1978 to 1993) began graduating from college several years ago, a collective groan was heard in offices throughout Corporate America. People said many Gen Y-ers, also called Millennials, had an excess sense of entitlement and were arrogant and lazy. They wanted to do work on their terms and it seemed they wanted feedback on that work every five minutes. But then the economy tanked. Now, millions of Gen Y-ers are reinventing themselves to show how much, and how quickly, they can add value to their organizations. The Millennials I've met recently are aware of the changes taking place in the work world, and they perceive themselves -- and their jobs -- as vulnerable. Bruce Tulgan, author of "Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y," says he has seen the same thing.

It wasn't too long ago that women began taking sledgehammers to the glass ceilings of corporate America. In the years that followed, women were allowed into the privileged society of male executives, and as they marched up the ladder and commanded high salaries, everyone cheered. Even so, some powerful women wondered what they had gotten into.