Last week was a success! Lots of you are loving the quick summary and perhaps more informal recap of each week’s big job search and employment news. So here we go again. I have been traveling a lot this week, hitting up Seattle, Denver and now Chicago, but thank goodness for the RSS. I have been checking out a lot of great stuff, let’s jump right in—

National News Stories Worth Noting

I was happy to see a publication as huge as the Wall Street Journal return to the basics with their piece reminding us ways to get out of a job search rut. Some of the highlights were as simple as realizing even the best processes can grow stagnant and no matter how useful something might have been in the past you need to evolve to another idea if it isn’t working. So true my friends, so true.

Monster announced a Q3 drop this week reminding us that the recession is still rocking our world unfortunately. They reiterated that many companies are still hesitant to hire as their bottom-lines still haven’t seen the much needed rebound. Monster stated, “Monster said the overall recruitment market remains challenging, but it's continuing to develop new products to lure both job seekers and employers.” Can we be lured, interesting…

On the Social Media Side of Things:

As I was scrolling through the blog updates from FistfulofTalent.com I came across this practical application of social media during the recruiting process. We have been told again and again that there is a turn toward the socially-driven hiring process, but this post really captures it with a specific, personal recall of their story. Thanks for sharing!

For the Feel Good Moment this Week:

A news story out of Fort Worth, Texas had me holding back happy tears this week. They told us the personal job search story of Andrew Espitia, where he reminded us that paying it forward after long job search pays off. He walked through the last year of his unemployed life and how he struggled to pay the bills for his family of six. He told us of the kindness that strangers and neighbors gave him and how he tries to consciously carry that with him these days after finding a job. Amazing, feel-good story for sure. A reminder we are all in this together.

Blogs, blogs, and more blogs…

Like I said earlier I did a ton of traveling, and when I travel I read blogs. I love it. For me it’s a chance to get creative—find things I want to post on, find people I want to follow-up with, and just let my mind wander. This week was particularly awesome in the quality of posts. Here are a few that I really loved…

I came across this post by Jonathon Fields that really made me think. He questioned his own beliefs on whether or not some people are meant to be entrepreneurs while others are not. He concluded that finding your own personal “renegade work situation” (where you feel alive and ready to dominate) is more complicated and fluid than it is polarized. I really appreciated his writing and the topic is true to my heart. Personally I also find myself concluding that at different points in my life I will want to be the one calling the shots while at other times I am hoping to be led. Great article. <!--[endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

Came across this fun article which outlined 25 creative ways to sassify your office. Talk about awesome and eye-catching ideas. For those of you just snagging new jobs and seeking out ways to dress up the cubicle white that surrounds you, this article is for you. Enjoy!

Lastly, TheGlassDoor.com posted about visualizing your career path and gave me the silly idea of assigning you all homework. What would your career board look like? It includes things like the cities you want to live in, the companies you love, the type of clothes you want to wear and the landscape you want outside your window. I love the idea, and once I settle down in my new home up in Seattle I have decided to cover part of my wall with my very own career board. Eeeek! I love arts & crafts for a good cause…

Okay that's it for now everyone. I hope you all have a very spooky Halloween weekend, and for those of you unemployed promise me something? Take the weekend off. Go eat some candy & remember...it will all work out. I promise.