Business - Opinion

Never mind landing the job. Now people on the lookout for employment have another cause for worry: identity theft. As the joblessness rate soars, scammers are ginning up fake Web sites or posing as recruiters to trick job seekers into giving up sensitive personal information.

Call it the $787 billion question: Where is all that government stimulus money, and why hasn't it stemmed the heart-stopping slide in U.S. employment?

You can't believe you're hearing those words -- or some variation -- telling you someone else is getting the big job. This promotion -- which seemed all but assured -- was supposed to be your reward. You handled those dirty jobs no one would touch. You worked punishing hours; losing touch with friends, forsaking hobbies, and missing precious moments with your family. You bit your tongue and swallowed your pride 1,000 times. Sure, your bosses will say, "we'll make it up to you." But you feel as if you're starting from scratch. They may as well have demoted you.

Sergey Zinger raced through his undergraduate career as a student at SUNY Geneseo in upstate New York, finishing his degree in business administration in a record three years. During his senior year, Zinger, one of the top students in his class, started conducting a job search, but none of the entry-level postings that surfaced excited him.

After John Barclay sold his Glasgow-based Levis jeans franchise in 2005, he and his wife, Lorraine, knew they didn't want to spend their retirement braving the local weather. "We always said we didn't want to be old and cold in Scotland," says Lorraine. "I wanted to be warm all year round." They spent the next two years doing reconnaissance trips to Malaysia, which offered an enticing package aimed at foreigners over 50. But their plans to move to Malaysia evaporated on the strength of just one idyllic weekend in Bali. "We were blown away by it," Lorraine remembers.

U.S. job losses in June rose to 467,000 as the national unemployment rate rose to 9.5%. This follows a decade where job creation in the private sector hovered in the 1% range. In our feature segment, Chief Economist Michael Mandel explains why job growth has stalled, its importance, and what can be done to reverse this trend. Plus, the latest on the troubled housing market and Wal-Mart's (wmt.) unusual alliance with a labor union.

In today's competitive job market, graduates fresh out of college are looking to stand out. The earlier they start to give themselves an edge, the better off they will be, which is why more undergraduate business courses are starting to address softer skills -- from improving communication to learning how to effectively use your creativity. Unique, hands-on courses that are part self-reflection, part theory, and part applied learning are best because they engage students and leave a lasting impression, say educators.

The market meltdown unmoored many a financial plan. With the portfolios of countless baby boomers a shadow of what they once were, BusinessWeek asked five top investment advisers to draft a plan that would enable a hypothetical couple to meet all of their financial obligations.

Duke's Fuqua School of Business (Duke Fuqua Full-Time MBA Profile) was thrust into the spotlight in 2007 for a cheating scandal that had lots of people beginning to question the ethics of those in business programs. But Fuqua redeemed itself by taking tough action against the 34 accused students, and ultimately put the scandal behind it. Today, Fuqua remains what it has always been: a highly competitive MBA program with innovative programs such as the international MBA introduced last year on six global campuses.

Last time, in our column "Insurers: Effective Innovators -- Almost,", we said -- in total sincerity, we want to stress -- that insurance had the potential to be one of the most innovative industries on Earth.

Reading books can give managers and aspiring managers a new perspective and insight into the human condition that drives their businesses. "Reading will make you a better businessperson and a better, happier person," says Erik Gordon, associate director of the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business (Ross Full-Time MBA Profile). "Students don't want to hear it. They want to know the magical formula that will get them rich tomorrow, but we have a duty to try and convince them."

New York City Councilman Eric Gioia is drafting a bill that would forbid fast-food chains from opening new restaurants within one-tenth of a mile of city schools. Gioia cites a recent study's finding that when schools in California are that close to hamburgers and french fries, the student obesity rate is likely to be 5.2% higher. "Of course there's a degree of personal responsibility here," says Gioia. "But municipalities across the country need to be making it easier to be a good parent and raise healthier kids."

As of this writing, I have completed one-third of my MBA program. It is just as demanding as I expected it to be. And that is a good thing.

Americans are getting fatter, portending massive costs for the health-care system in general and Medicare in particular. Adult obesity rates increased in 23 U.S. states last year and did not fall in a single state, an annual survey released on July 1 found. Adult obesity rates now exceed 25% in 31 states, up from 28 states last year and 19 the year before that.

It wasn't so long ago -- against the backdrop of the financial crisis and its aftershocks, amid a tide of popular anger -- that financial-industry representatives took pains to acknowledge the need for financial reform, even in their own corners of the sector.

The good news for unemployed Americans is that companies seem poised to begin hiring. The bad news is that these are likely to be temporary jobs, often without health care and other benefits.

My colleagues and I at the Handel Group will be answering your questions about job-search and career-related issues at the Coaches Corner at BusinessWeek. Please e-mail us so we can help you find solutions. (Read our previous Q&A about what interviewers want to hear.)

Emory's Goizueta Business School (Goizueta Full-Time MBA Profile) has come a long way since its founding in 1909 when it offered classes in just three areas: economics, accounting, and business law. In 1925 the school had one faculty member and 145 students. But now, at its 90th anniversary, Goizueta's MBA program serves more than 350 students who are "strong academically and who want to make a difference -- both in our community and the world," says associate dean and director of admissions Julie Barefoot.