(2 of 6)
careerjournal.com Aimed at executives and managers looking for work, the Who's Hiring section of this Wall Street Journal site lets you search job listings or link directly to the jobs sections of top-tier employer websites. A nifty calculator, located under the Salary & Hiring Info tab, invites you to plug in your current salary, the city where you live and the city to which you would like to move, then spits back what you need to earn to maintain your current standard of living. (To match your $34,395 in Louisville, Ky., you would need $100,000 in New York City.)
monster.com More than 800,000 U.S. job listings, aimed at everyone from the hourly wage earner to the senior executive. A free My Monster account helps you cover all the bases and keep close tabs on your progress. Save time by creating a personalized Job Hunter to sift through the site's listings for you.
salaryexpert.com The free salary tool delivers average compensation, benefits and cost-of-living information based on job title and zip code or metro area. The average salary of an actuary working in Dayton, Ohio, for instance, is $59,978 ($78,291 with benefits and bonuses).
wetfeet.com Articles cover everything from how to ace an interview to how to sift efficiently through that pile of resumes. The site's partner, TrueCareers, runs the job board and provides guidance for job seekers; a personal job-search account offers a place to store job leads, interview schedules and other notes.
CHECKING COMPETITORS
BEST DATA MILL multexinvestor.com A trove of company and market data, with a mix of free and paid research reports from some 200 sources. The Advanced Search button lets you specify industry or research provider. The Headlines section provides a summary of the day's news; read one capsule, and you will get a scrolling series of news briefs about the same company going back weeks or months, while the menu bar provides links to other company info. Biggest complaint: too many pop-up ads.
freeedgar.com Access every corporate sec filing (10Ks, 10Qs, proxy statements, etc.) going back years, or find out about upcoming IPOs.
hoovers.com A quick-reference resource for succinct corporate profiles, company news and financials, all free. Paid subscribers get access to more in-depth info on public and private companies.
BUYING GIFTS
BEST INDULGENCE bluenile.com Elegant sterling-silver gifts for special clients. Blue Nile specializes in the luxe life, but there are plenty of items under $100 too. Prices include shipping.
redenvelope.com This beautifully illustrated site sets the standard for online gift giving. Forget someone? There's a selection of Express Gifts available for next-day delivery.
surprise.com When you're stumped for a gift idea, head here for suggestions in dozens of categories, from "Loves Their Car" to "Wants a Little Peace & Quiet." The site will also link you to where to buy.
WASTING TIME
BEST ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE Eatonweb Portal portal.eatonweb.com A great way to enter the wild, wonderful world of blogs: online diaries exploring everything from comic books to medicine, posted by articulate, occasionally obsessive Web travelers. Browse by category (the site counts 88 business-related blogs), or submit one of your own.