Microsoft and Monster: a career lifeline for students

With a co-branded site, a quick one-stop shop towards the Job Seeker Career Center can help even the most down-and-out student try and get back up on their feet again.

The site lays out four steps which should help you in gaining ground on the job you like. Aimed at the moment towards US citizens, it will help you plan a strategy, find a job, plan your resume and allow you to post it on Monster.

Using Office Online, a new career center is now giving users access to Monster job postings and career advice. With Microsoft's help with Office Live Workspaces, new templates have been added to include job search help, interview preparation notes, a resume (curriculum vitae) and cover letters.

By bringing together the two superpowers, they aim to help with the struggling job market, students in particular. As of February, the unemployment rate in the US was nearing towards 10% of the entire country.

On April 7th, however, those looking for post-graduate jobs and internships with companies can enter and win one of 500 resume consultations, one-on-one with a resume professional. The "My Resume Talks" sweep stake will be run through Facebook, again available to US citizens, and will work in conjunction with Office Live Workspaces by sharing to-and-fro your resume with the consultant.

I was somewhat perturbed at the news Monster was getting involved, which suffered a massive data breach only a few months ago. Alexander told me, that the information stolen didn't include resumes, and Monster was incredibly important in the job search market. But by using Office Online with Monster would be a great way to provide templates but also add "search and submit"; using Monster's reputation can only be a good thing.

So - is this for you? Are you a prospective employee, and will this make your job search and submit process easier, or will the market have its own way and still make things just as difficult? Comment away.