Job openings up: Here's how to get one yourself

The Labor Department on Tuesday announced job openings rose to a near three-year high. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for December showed that companies and governments posted 3.38 million jobs, up from the 3.12 million advertised in the previous month. That number nearly matches the three-year high reached in September, and the number of job openings has increased 39 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.

While the news is good, the number of job openings remained below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007, and the competition to land a job is remains stiff: With 13.1 million people unemployed in December, the report means that an average of 3.9 people competed for each open job that month.

According to career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart, there are only two numbers that matter when it comes to a job: 0 or 100 percent. Or in her words, "You either have a job, or you don't." You may be surprised that Caroline is not a big fan of resumes, though she cautions against the dreaded resume typo.

Check out this episode of "Ask the Experts" in the video player above, where Caroline tackles questions on how to land a job in this competitive environment, ways to to present your skill and expertise, and how to build and maintain a strong network.

Jill Schlesinger

Jill Schlesinger, CFP® is the Emmy-nominated business analyst for CBS News. She covers the economy, markets, investing and anything else with a dollar sign on TV, radio (including her nationally syndicated radio show), the web and her blog, "Jill on Money." Prior to her second career at CBS, Jill spent 14 years as the co-owner and chief investment officer for an independent investment advisory firm. She began her career as a self-employed options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York, following her graduation from Brown University.

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