Welcome to the 75th edition of the Money Hack’s Carnival.

With the unemployment rate climbing and the economy lingering, I’ve decided to theme this carnival as an employment advice article. I’ve “hidden” 5 foundational tips on how to improve your chances of getting a job. They aren’t ground breaking or anything, but they are good reminders for those that are looking for employment.

I’ve marked all of my editors pick’s with a (*!*) before the article title… so scroll on through and take a peek! There are more than 70 articles, so have fun!

Write a Good Resume.

What’s in a good resume? Keyword density that is applicable to the job you are applying for, personal branding, value added propositions, and, of course, format. And by doing all of these things correctly, you may just get your foot in the door! That’s a pretty big deal, nowadays.

Debt & Credit

• Roshawn Watson presents Outrageous Law Transfers Parents’ Debt To YOU posted at Watson Inc.
• Jonathan from Debt Loans presents Debt Consolidation Services: What You Need To Know posted at Debt Loans.
• Chris McClelland presents Credit card perks that you might be missing out on posted at lucrative Investing.
• jim presents Is FreeCreditReport.com A Scam? posted at Bargaineering.
• (*!*)  Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Use credit cards to establish credit history posted at Cash Money Life.
• The Smarter Wallet presents How To Consolidate Debt: Ways To Reduce Your Debt Load posted at The Smarter Wallet.
• Mr Credit Card presents Credit Cards For Home Improvement posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.
• DR presents How to Get Your Free FICO Credit Score from myFICO.com posted at The Dough Roller.
• Madison presents Best Cash Back Programs posted at My Dollar Plan.
• Anthony Samuel presents Dealing with the Devil – Getting Better Deals on Your Credit Cards posted at Personal Finance Analyst.
• Cara Henis presents Confessions of a lousy debt collector posted at Taking Charge.
• Michael Bass presents Helpful hints for Debt Settlement posted at Debt Prison.
• Amy Fontinelle presents How to Maximize Your Credit Card Cash Back Using a Discover Credit Card posted at Two Pennies Earned.

Investing

• Jason presents Is it Time to Regulate Hedge Funds? posted at Automatic Finances.
• Mike S. presents 4 Benefits of Index Fund Investing posted at Your Personal Finance Source.
• D4L presents Bonds: The Next Bubble to Burst? posted at Dividends Value.
• Mike Piper presents Individual TIPS vs. TIPS Funds posted at The Oblivious Investor.
• Jeff Rose presents 5 Year Rule for Roth IRA Qualified Distributions posted at Jeff Rose.
• Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents Annuity Laddering posted at Go To Retirement.
• Dorian Wales presents Diversification is Dead. Long live Diversification posted at The Personal Financier.
• (*!*) MoneyNing presents 401k Plans and My Contribution posted at Money Ning.
• Silicon Valley Blogger presents OptionsHouse Review: Low Commission Broker posted at The Digerati Life.
• Four Pillars presents Make Home Affordable Refinance Program Changes Eligibility Requirements For Easier Refinancing posted at Four Pillars.
• Ray @ Financial Highway presents Canadian Discount Brokerage Review and Comparison for TFSA and RRSP posted at Financial Highway.
• Investing Toolkit presents Buy Low And Leverage The Stock Market posted at Investing Toolkit.
• Alisha Harmann presents 10 Essential iPhone Apps for Intelligent Investors posted at ETF Database.
• Super Saver presents A Gift of Retirement Funds posted at My Wealth Builder.
• Zachary Scheidt presents Interactive Brokers Earnings Propel Stock Higher posted at ZachStocks.

Reach Out to Your Network.

"It’s not what you know, but who you know." When more than 70% of jobs are unadvertised and obtained through peoples’ personal networks, could this be any more true?

Just make sure you network correctly.

Career & Making Money

• Samit presents 10 Tips for facing unemployment posted at MyBlogPartner.
• Jerry Lewis presents 23 ways for to make money posted at I NEED MORE ALLOWANCE!.
• The Financial Blogger presents The “I Want To Quit My Job” Evaluation Grid posted at The Financial Blogger.
• FMF presents The Number One Question a Resume Should Answer posted at Free Money Finance.
• (*!*) Pinyo presents 5 Ways To Dramatically Improve Your Business Profitability posted at Moolanomy Personal Finance.
• ChristianPF presents How to sell your books on Amazon.com! posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog.
• nissim ziv presents How to Pick a Career of Interest? How to Find your Perfect Career? posted at Job Interview Guide.
• Robert Alan presents Ultimate Twitter Starter Guide for Small Business posted at Sell It! on the Web.

Economy

• Curt presents The Future Global Currency Will Be Backed By Gold and Silver posted at PennyJobs.com.
• Master Your Card presents 6 Reasons Why Keeping Money In The Bank Isn’t As Safe As It Used To Be posted at Master Your Card.
• Rohit presents 5 personal finance lessons we all should re-learn from the present financial crisis posted at eMoneyLog.
• kathryn presents International Unemployment Rates posted at Out of Debt – Christian Finances and Debt Help.

Contact Head Hunters & Recruiters.

If you would like to get a good idea of what is out there, job fairs, head hunters, and recruiters can open up your eyes. Head hunters tend to be for executive level employees, but can be for less. Recruiters are typically internal to the company so can act as a good source of information and a way to get your foot in the door. Career fairs are a great way to meet a lot of recruiters from different companies at once.

Frugality & Saving Money

• Peter presents Saving Up And Paying Cash For The Things You Buy Makes The Purchase More Enjoyable! posted at Bible Money Matters.
• Craig Ford presents Frugal or Cheap? posted at Money Help For Christians.
• Susan Tiner presents Bulk Shopping Pays Off posted at Brain Dead Simple! Financial Organizing.
• Cindy S presents Living Under 10K posted at Small Homestead.
• (*!*) Benjamin presents How to Build Up Your “Emergency Fund” in a Dismal Economy posted at Trees Full of Money.
• PT presents How to Setup Multiple Savings Accounts at ING DIRECT posted at Prime Time Money.
• Banker Saver presents Sneaky Bank Fees: How To Avoid Those Extra Charges posted at Banker Saver.
• Charlie presents A Simple Way to Slash Your Grocery Bill posted at Pay Less For Food.
• Chris Lang presents Household survival tips – how to make (and save) more money posted at Home I Own.
• Finance Tips 101 presents Saving Cash With Coupons ? Three Tips To Keep More of Your Money posted at Finance Tips 101.

Have a Knock Out Interview.

It is pretty widely known that interviews are not very telling of how well someone will perform in their job role. All you really need to do is not commit a huge blunder and you should do relatively well. Prepare for the common questions, be conversational, don’t be afraid of silence, and be confident.

Lifestyle

• Jack Schmidt presents Albert Einstein and Your Personal Economy posted at SectorMatic Money Journal.
• Barry presents Managing Surplus Money In The Short Term posted at Associate Money.
• (*!*) J. Money presents Control Lifestyle Inflation Before it Controls You. posted at Budgets are Sexy..
• Wojciech Kulicki presents 5 Places to Find Diversified Financial Knowledge posted at Fiscal Fizzle.
• Len Penzo presents Is the Payback Period on Energy Efficient Bulbs Too Long? posted at Len Penzo . Com.
• Matt Jabs presents A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with A Single Step posted at Debt Free Adventure!.
• Patrick @ Money Saving Deals presents Free Gamefly Trial posted at Cash Money Life.
• Tom @ Canadian Finance blog presents Should You Lease Or Buy Your Next Car? posted at The Canadian Finance Blog.
• Miss M presents A Great Mental Trick: Look at Annual Cost posted at M is for Money.
• John presents Southwest Airlines – An Experience posted at One Family’s Blog.
• Paul Kamp presents Use Irrationality Against Yourself! posted at Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Personal Finance, Economics and Investing.
• Robert D Flach presents YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE! posted at THE WANDERING TAX PRO.
• Lazy Man presents What If There Was No Tomorrow posted at Lazy Man and Money.

Insurance

• Jim presents Financial Updates: 6 Types of Insurance posted at Financial Updates.
• Alex presents PPO HMO Insurance Differences posted at Home Life Weekly.
• Mrs Bankrupt presents No insurance. No doctor. You?re screwed. (part 2) posted at Mrs Bankrupt.
• Kelly presents Buying Life Insurance posted at Help for Your Personal Finance.

Negotiate What You’re Worth.

The best way to negotiate what you are worth is by knowing what you are worth. Just because the economy is down does not mean you need to accept whatever they offer you. Be prepared to negotiate for what you are worth. And if you are worth it, you will get it. Companies know the value of a good employee.

Thanks All!

I hope you enjoyed the carnival… there sure is a great selection of articles to read through!

Thanks everyone for your submissions.

And if you’re looking for a job, happy hunting!