NCSU expects more than 245 companies at next week's engineering career fair.

The event attracts more than just students from the university's College of Engineering. The last career fair, in February, attracted more than 3,000 job seekers.

Among the companies participating this year: bioMerieux, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Burt's Bees, Cree and Duke Energy.

The fair is from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 5 and 6, in the McKimmon St. at 1101 Gorman St. on the NCSU campus.

For more information and a complete list of the companies attending, go here.

Toys "R" Us plans to hire 45,000 workers for the holidays.

The New Jersey-based toy retailer announced the hiring effort today, adding that the initiative will double its domestic workforce — albeit temporarily.

About 10,000 of those jobs will be in the 600 temporary stores — Toys "R" Us Express — the company is putting up at malls across the country.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily translate into lots of local jobs. Toys "R" Us has just one traditional big box store in the Triangle — at Cary's Crossroads Plaza — and two Babies "R" Us stores — on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh and on Fayetteville Road in Durham. It has opened an Express store at Northgate Mall. That store will close in January.

Financial services firm Edward Jones is planning to add 77 new offices in Raleigh over the next few years. But to do so, it needs people.

The company is hosting what it's calling a "recruiting event" from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Brier Creek Country Club, 9400 Club Hill Drive in Raleigh. A panel of local Edward Jones advisors will be on hand to talk about their work and answer questions.

The company is based in St. Louis and has 12,000 financial advisors around the country. For more information about the business, go here.

The NAACP and AFL-CIO have teamed to launch the One Nation Working Together Campaign. Their goal: jobs, affordable and safe housing and quality education.

To achieve those ends, the North Carolina chapter will hold a press conference on the steps of the legislative building in Raleigh at 3 this afternoon and a prayer meeting at Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill tonight at 7 p.m. Those events will publicize a march on Washington on Oct. 2.

If finding an employer who understands the need to balance work and family life is important to you, then check out the list of the state's Family-Friendly 50. The list is compiled annually by Carolina Parent magazine.

The magazine's staff works with the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at UNC-Chapel Hill which takes the nominations and supporting data to compile the annual list.

You can see the entire list here.

The state's unemployment rate dropped to 9.8 percent in July — the first time it has been in single digits in more than a year. You can read more about that here.

It's a small sliver of good news and a reminder that  as companies begin to hire - even if it's ever so slowly - you're more likely to get the nod if you're prepared. Ford  R. Myers, a career coach and author of "Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring," (John Wiley & Sons,) says autumn is a good time to focus on your career. 

"Hiring managers are back in their offices making employment decisions for the fall and early 2011," Myers says.

He offers these tips:

1. Create and control your Internet image.  Whether it's LinkedIn, YouTube or Facebook, every professional should have an online presence. Most employers research job candidates on the Internet before making hiring decisions. Therefore, it is vitally important that you take control of your online identity, and carefully monitor the "personal brand" you're building on the Internet.

2. Tune into the network.  Early fall is one of the best times of the year to make new connections and find new opportunities. With folks returning from vacation and refocusing on work, there are many fall networking events, planning meetings and group happenings. These are ideal environments for productive networking.  

3. Perform an internal career audit.  September is a perfect time to take an honest look at your career — where you've been, where you are today, and where you'd like to go. Identify new goals based on your own definition of career success, take action, and then follow through.

4. Update your career "tool kit." Most job seekers use only their resume as the cornerstone of their search because their other "tools" are weak or nonexistent. But there are many other documents you should have: accomplishment stories, positioning statement, one-page biography, target company list, contact list, professional references, letters of recommendation, and more. These items are important not just to land the next job — but also to maximize your long-term career success.

"There really couldn't be a better time than September to launch a professional job search. Hiring managers are back in their offices making employment decisions for the fall and early 2011," says Myers.
 

Military veterans in North Carolina will receive job training under grants awarded today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

In Raleigh, StepUp Ministry received a grant of $299,910, while in the western part of the state the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry received a $200,000 grant.

In all, 97 grants totaling more than $24 million were awarded to help approximately 14,000 veterans.

Funds were awarded on a competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards, local public agencies and nonprofit organizations, including faith-based and community organizations. 

The grant monies will be used for occupational, classroom and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance, including follow-up services.  The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program is the only federal program that focuses exclusively on employment of veterans who are homeless.
 
For information on the StepUp Ministry, go here.