The current economic challenges have had the unintended consequence of spurring a lot of media coverage regarding employment figures nationwide. The upside of this focus on job data is – if you’re starting a new career – you have access to a wide array of data on where you can find a good job in an area projected to enjoy continued growth. Since lately I seem to be stumbling across a lot of state-by-state lists of “Top Growth Jobs”, I have decided to write a series of posts detailing the career environments in different areas of the country for people with medical billing and coding expertise. This virtual tour of great American destinations (and their respective job markets) may be as close as this writer gets to a vacation this year, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I plan to.
Today, let’s look at the data from California, a State I once called home and a great place to be if you’re working towards a career in the healthcare field. The current recession has spurred significant job losses and a lot of coverage about California’s unemployment. Yet, less reported are the thousands of new job openings filled in the Golden State every day. According to labor statistics, California’s total employment is predicted to approach 20 million or more by 2016. That’s good news! What’s even better is that the healthcare sector is number one on the list of “growth industries” and medical billing is included in the list of “25 Jobs to Increase through 2016” in California. That makes the Golden State a good place to consider living and working.
This blogger lived in San Francisco during and after the Internet boom/bust and even in the dark economic days, post-bubble, I always found it a great place to find gainful and rewarding employment. It also has the added benefit of being a truly beautiful place to live. Pristine beaches, majestic mountains, acclaimed wineries, world-class golf, diverse music, innovative cuisine…***sigh***. Great place to begin your own Gold Rush. Have a look at the full report on California’s employment environment here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Top_California_Jobs 
Great news for health care job seekers: According to an article written in The New York Times, health care employment has increased during the recession, while employment as a whole has declined.
The article highlights that regardless of how the current health care reform ends up, industry jobs will likely remain abundant due to the aging population and technological advances in medicine.
To access the entire article, click here. 
Fortune Magazine and CNN Money recently put together a list of the top 10 blunders, screw-ups, missteps and SNAFUs made by candidates at employment interviews. The currently high unemployment rate has made it even more difficult than usual to land a job with about six job seekers for every available position. In normal economic times, there are about 2-3 seekers for every offered job. The list below the fold, adapted from the Fortune magazine list, was compiled by hiring managers from companies across a wide range of industry sectors. These are the folks who see hundreds of candidates each week. They see all kinds of applicants; the good, the bad and the ugly. Take their advice if you’re currently seeking gainful employment.