Washington, DC tops the list of the best cities for this year's college graduates, according to a CareerBuilder and Apartments.com survey.  Also on the list are some of my favorite cities including Boston and Salt Lake City.  Salt Lake, by the way, is a terrific high tech city, Utah's job market is in great shape, and it's only a short drive to the mountains.  Even better, it has the second lowest average monthly rent of all the cities on the list.

As Michael Erwin, director of Corporate Communications for CareerBuilder says, it's a match game:  "While the competition remains tough, job prospects for recent college graduates have improved this year.  Job listings on CareerBuilder are up across industries and company sizes. The key is pinpointing those markets that not only have the greatest demand for your skill sets, but match areas of interest."

If you're flexible as to where you would like to live and work, it's worth taking a look at alternatives and considering relocation for the right job. Take a look at the best cities for college graduates and see if any them would work for you.

Best  Cities for Recent College Graduates

1. Washington DC
2. New York
3. Boston
4. Minneapolis
5. Dallas
6. Atlanta
7. Chicago
8. Houston
9. Philadelphia
10. Baltimore
11. Denver
12. Salt Lake City
13. San Francisco
14. Seattle
15. Oklahoma City, OK

Read More: College Job Search Guide | College Jobs

The job market is difficult, at best, which means that job hunters need to put some extra effort into their job search.   It's not enough to apply for a job and hope for the best.

These ten steps you can take to find a new job include where to look for jobs, the best  job sites, how to use your connections, how to ace the interview, and how to follow up.

On a related note, if you're interested in a career change, it is important to take the time to evaluate your present situation, to explore career options, and to choose a career that will be satisfying for you.

Follow these ten steps to a successful career change to explore options and choose a new career within or outside your current industry or career field.

In both cases, what's most important is that you stand out from the job searching crowd and get noticed as a candidate by the hiring manager.

Making not just a good, but a great impression, will give you the best shot at be contacted for an interview.

Read More: Job Listings | How to Use Your Connections

_{Image Copyright Jacob Wackerhausen}

Job searching isn't just about applying for jobs and hoping to get called for an interview anymore. It's more complicated than that, especially in a competitive job market.

The most successful job seekers utilize a variety of job search strategies to help them stand out from the crowd.

Here are job search strategies you can use to expedite your job search, find connections who can help, get your resume noticed, have companies find you, ace an interview, and get a job offer.

Read More: Job Search Strategies for Older Workers | Gen Y Job Search Strategies

_{Image Copyright Diane Diederich}

When writing a letter of resignation, it's important to keep your resignation letter simple, brief, and to-the-point. It should also be positive, because once you have decided to resign, there's no point in criticizing your employer or your job - you may need a reference in the future.

Write a formal resignation letter, so it can be placed in your employment file. When you're not sure how to write a resignation letter, review sample resignation letters to get some ideas. You can use them to create your own personalized resignation letter.

And if you're already written a resignation letter that helped you part with your employer on good terms, I'd like to include it in our collection of samples. Here's how to submit your letter.

Read More: Resignation Letters | Resignation Letter Examples