• What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job Hunters & Career Changers by Richard Nelson Bolles.

This book has been the bible for job hunters for many years.  It is updated every year or so.  If you are not sure of what you want your next job to be, Mr. Bolles has developed an excellent exercise that takes you through an introspective evaluation of yourself and can be of great value.  It's called "The Flower Diagram" and you can purchase it separately from Amazon by referencing The What Color Is Your Parachute Workbook.  Take the time to complete the exercise and you will discover a lot about your priorities in life.

• I Could Do anything If I Only Knew What It Was By Barbara Sher.

Barbara writes "Not knowing what to do with your life is not joke.  It's painful to be without direction."  This book is designed to help you find the good life.  It has a series of questions that you need to answer honestly that will eventually point you in an occupational direction.  Easy reading.

• Business First

Business First has been the primary business publication in Columbus for over 20 years.  It is published weekly and contains very good information and articles on Columbus based companies and other business topics. 

Each year in January, Business First publishes its 'Book of Lists' which gives you information about companies, industries, individuals, non-profit organizations or government agencies.  It is a vital tool for job seekers.   You can purchase the latest 'Book of Lists' from Business First or go to your nearest library and look at their copy.

If you subscribe to Business First like I do, you can sign up for a daily update that is sent to you via email.  This daily upddate gives you timely business news and information on articles that will likely appear in the next issue.  The daily update will also reference companies that are mentioned in that day's articles; as well as, the names of individuals that appear in the articles. 

• Columbus CEO Magazine

I like this monthly magazine for its articles about business executives in Columbus.  They strive to give really good insite into important issues in the business community.  Like Business First, there is a section in the back of the magazine where companies announce their promotions and appointments.  It's a good place to see who is moving up the ladder.

• The Employment Guide, Job News, Central Ohio Careerbuilder and Columbus Jobs

These four weekly papers can be found at the entrance to your local supermarket, Target Store, coffee shop, etc.  They contain display ads for local companies who are recruiting for mostly hourly positions in office clerical, customer service, collections, light industial, nursing, health care and distribution.  Occaisonally they will have ads for engineering, marketing and technical positions.

Many staffing firms (like Kelly Services) advertise for temporary and part time positions here.  So, if you need something short term to get you through your job search, picking these two papers up each week in well worth the effort.