Will the New Year Bring New Jobs?

Welcome to the new year. For the Chinese, this is The Year of the Ox —  a powerful sign said to govern dependability, achievement and strong work ethics. While employers and employees can’t base their futures on such symbolism, it doesn’t hurt to know that 2009 is represented by hard work and ambition. While these certainly are important traits, sometimes finding or filling a job depends on serendipity. Being in the right place at the right time is a surefire way to achieve goals.Enter ChemConnection — the career resource for chemical processing professionals. This is ChemicalProcessing.com’s corner for all things job related. ChemConnection (jobs.ChemicalProcessing.com) will help you be at the right place at the right time when the perfect job becomes available, or when the perfect employee is seeking a new position.Looking for a new job? You can anonymously post your resume and have it viewed by companies that fit your criteria. Want to see what jobs are available? ChemConnection has the latest chemical industry job postings — complete with job description, company doing the hiring, and job requirements. The tool enables you to search by keyword, location and job title. And by setting up a Job Alert, you can have pertinent job postings sent to you via e-mail. You even can apply for a job online.Additionally, you can set up an account to manage your list of potential employers. And if you post a career profile, new opportunities from interested employers will be sent directly to your e-mail inbox.Employers also can benefit from ChemConnection. It enables you to post your job for the length of time you choose. The site also hosts resumes of well-qualified candidates, which you can view. Employers also can create an account to manage jobs and candidates.To round out the ChemConnection community, we even have added several industry-specific articles related to careers, human resources and the job market. For example, how much do chemical engineers make, and are they satisfied with their jobs? Find the answers by reading Chemical Processing’s 2008 Chemical Industry Salary Survey (www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2008/048.html).Wondering what exactly goes into a great workplace? Read “What makes a workplace great?” (www.chemicalprocessing.com/articles/2005/308.html).These articles will help prepare potential candidates for work in the chemical processing industry, and will help companies understand what employees need in order to succeed, as well as what they want.Here’s to a prosperous 2009. Let’s hope we’re in the right place at the right time.Traci Purdum is Chemical Processing's senior digital editor. You can e-mail her at[email protected].