Everyone who doesn’t have a job, wants one. And everyone who has a job kind of wishes they didn’t have to go when the alarm goes off in the morning. But what would you do if you didn’t have one? The NY Times ran an interesting article with an even more interesting interactive graph on how different people spend their day. Some of the differences are obvious, but you might be surprised by some areas. Have a look for yourself.

A few months ago, I posted a book review taken from the Wall Street Journal on Alain de Botton’s latest book, The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work. For the book, the author interviewed people from a variety of careers and closely examined the ideas behind one of the most crucial parts of our lives as human beings: our job, our vocation, or purpose. In this video below from TED, de Botton gives a very witty speech on these same ideas focusing in on failure and success and how we define these concepts. He’s an interesting speaker with a great sense of humor.

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of your industry or returning to the game after many years away, the same job finding techniques ring true. Sue Shellenbarger wrote an interesting piece for the Wall Street Journal yesterday that focused on mother’s returning to the work force after a child-rearing hiatus. Take a look at the article here.

Among the strategies the women in the article use to get their feet wet in a new (or old) industry, are group sessions while their kids play for practicing interviewing skills and sharing resume tips, volunteering at non profit organizations to build new skills and keep old ones sharp, doing pro-bono work to re-create a name for oneself and get back into the swing of things, and settling for lower wages and titles than in previous positions.

These sacrifices and techniques have helped the women featured to get back to work, even in the down economy. But what’s interesting is that these savvy ladies are using the same types of tricks and strategies that those who never left the business world are employing due to lay offs. Volunteering and interning are more popular than ever for professionals who are used to a pay check, whether it be for networking purposes or acquiring new skills. Once out of a job, role-playing to prepare for interviews is an essential part of job search preparation. And of course, many, many executives have been forced to take on lower salaries and less prestigious positions.

Interestingly, though, is how one woman in the article was chosen for a position because she was knew to the field and brought a fresh perspective untainted by traditions or other companies’ methods. The article also notes that after a haitus, only 39% of employees return to their original career, suggesting looking into new options and new industries might be a wise route to take.

So, while you might have never left your field and have been a faithful employee for years and years, if you find yourself laid off during these hard times, it might be wise to take a note from these mom’s who are stepping back into the fray after years of time off and finding success through trying something new, through giving back, and through diligence of course.

This is a question most  job seekers are asking these days. Even with professionally written resumes, taking in coverletter and resume writing seminars, designing an online CV and portfolio, and all of the other resources and strategies available to make an application stand out, the majority of job seekers who apply to jobs online never hear back, not even a rejection letter. It’s frustrating, some might say rude, and ultimately deflating to never hear boo from a hiring manager. This weekend’s New York Times featured an article on this topic with a few reminders about what those hiring managers are facing  (i.e. thousands of applications for a single job, many of which are unqualified) and some tips on how to go above and beyond the application process to try and get some response or at least get noticed.

“First, the Internet has made it absurdly easy to apply for jobs. This means that unqualified people are clogging the system with their wing-and-a-prayer applications,” writes Phyllis Korkki, the author of the article.

“Then add rising numbers of unemployed people. More job seekers — qualified, unqualified and desperate — are hitting the send button. Acknowledgments are going by the wayside as recruiters confront hundreds of applications for a single job.

In fact, organizations received 75 percent more applications, on average, in the first half of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, according to a survey by the Corporate Executive Board, a network of executives and a research company. Todd Safferstone, managing director of the company’s Recruiting Roundtable, said that one business advertised for a lawyer and received responses from 1,000 applicants — half of whom did not even have law degrees.”

The question remains, “But how do you make your highly qualified presence known without looking like a pest?”

“The best job seekers “take control of their application’s destiny,” said Kelly Renz, vice president for client services and human resources at Pinstripe, a recruitment outsourcing firm.

That means working hard to find a contact at the company who can be your advocate — or at least a conduit to the hiring manager. If you know someone at the company personally, ask him or her to forward your application to the right person.

If you don’t know anyone at the company, ask your friends and relatives if they do. If you have a Facebook page, post a polite plea there.

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, the hiring manager’s name is not readily available. Often that is a corporate ploy — a way to prevent an avalanche of follow-up inquiries about online job postings.

But do some research. Look on the company’s Web site or do an Internet search for a name. Call the human resources department and ask the receptionist if he or she knows who is in charge of hiring.

Ms. Renz suggested another way to get a name: Go on LinkedIn and look for someone who works in the same department as the posted job. Contact that person: ask whether he or she knows who is hiring, and how that individual can be reached. You might also ask for more information about the job, Ms. Renz said.

Don’t ask new contacts to vouch for you; that’s not fair. Just make use of the information they can give you. If it’s the e-mail address of a hiring manager, resend your application and state that you remain very interested in the position and briefly reiterate your qualifications.

Obtaining an employee referral is a good move, as far as it goes. There is just one problem: Nowadays “the referral channel is jammed in the same way that other channels are jammed,” Mr. Safferstone said.

To break through, you may need to leave the online world behind and make an old-fashioned direct phone call to whomever is doing the hiring. But wield this call wisely.

Some managers may be annoyed if you call them, though others will see it as a sign of initiative. Daryl Pigat, manager of the Manhattan branch of OfficeTeam, the administrative division of Robert Half International, says that when he receives a phone call, it often causes him to pluck the person’s résumé out of the multitudes, because it’s a sign of a serious applicant. But wait at least a few days to give the company time to review applications, Mr. Pigat said.

When you do call, ask if you can take any further steps. But after that conversation, don’t call back unless you are told to do so. That would be venturing into pest territory.”

Korkki’s advice implies striking a delicate balance between enthusiastic and annoying is the way to make yourself seen. Bottom line, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? Just don’t squeak too much!

Art by Chris Reed via the New York Times.

Read the article at the New York Times online.

Being in the business of spouting career advice, I find that one of the best sources of advice for job seekers is sometimes overlooked and that’s those who have in fact accomplished this insurmountable feat, those who have found a job in these impossible times.

Not only do their stories give us insight into what it takes but they are inspiring and shed some positive light on the daunting matter at hand. The New York Times profiled one lucky victim of the recession who spent 6 months unemployed, but in the end came out on top and not just with any job, with a job he created for himself. Have a look…

By Joe Kroog As told to Patricia R. Olsen.

Photo by Kevin Moloney for The New York Times

LAST November, I was laid off from a database marketing company in Louisville, Colo., a Denver suburb, for economic reasons. Six months later, I found another position, at Kutenda, a provider of online marketing tools for small businesses, in Broomfield, Colo., also near Denver.

After a six-month job search — and some soul-searching — Joe Kroog, 36, is senior director of product management for Kutenda in Broomfield, Colo.

Several things about my job hunt surprised me, including its length. I thought it would only take a couple of weeks to find a new job, or at most two months. I never expected to be out of work six months.

Other people would probably say that six months doesn’t sound bad at all, but it was to me. Even though the news media played up the job losses and how bad the economy was, I wasn’t worried. I had been a technical product manager, and I thought I had good qualifications.

My wife, Jill, was supportive of my job hunt. She’s a stay-at-home mom and entrepreneur who gives seminars to new mothers on achieving balance in their lives. She kept reassuring me that something would come along and that I shouldn’t feel overwhelmed as the main provider.

We have two boys under the age of 6, and I wasn’t financially prepared for such a long layoff. We were going through our savings, and we started discussing whether Jill should go back to work full time, or perhaps find a part-time job with benefits. We decided that she’d need a salary of at least $50,000 if we were to put the boys in day care. She took a full-time job until I was hired and now works as a marketing consultant.

Now that I’ve settled into my new company, I’m of two minds about that period of unemployment. On one hand, I still think that my expectation wasn’tunrealistic. I honestly felt that I stood a better chance than many other candidates. It’s my competitive nature.

On the other hand, I’ve talked to a number of executives in a business organization I belong to — vice presidents, chief information officers and chief financial officers — who were out of work much longer than I was.

I followed the standard advice, and I think I did everything a job coach would have told me to do. I tapped into a network of colleagues and friends and told everyone I was job hunting. I got a few leads, but the job possibilities all fizzled.

That motivated me to try to build a bigger network, but after a while I decided that this wasn’t the best approach. I was spending too much time having to explain what I did as a product manager in the software industry. The role can differ, depending on the company and the industry.

I scoured the job boards and set up a search agent, which automatically sent job openings to me via e-mail. But nothing came of that, either. I looked for job leads on Facebook, too. Then I thought that Twitter might help. I tried following companies I had submitted a résumé to, and those I had heard were hiring. The volume of messages was overwhelming, however, and most of what I read had nothing to do with job leads.

Next, I set up a Google alert for job titles to see which companies were hiring, and I applied to them. That didn’t turn up any interviews, either. I decided instead to try to learn more about the companies that were posting the jobs.

Once, I ended up helping a company president define the position he wanted to fill. He kept mentioning the title of product manager, but I told him that the company needed someone who was concerned about future product strategy, too. I explained that in my experience, small technology companies often start with a good idea, assemble a development team, build the product and start marketing it. At the same time, they need to design a plan that considers their customers and addresses the future of the product.

That conversation made me do some soul-searching. I decided that I wanted to do more of what I had described to that executive. I wanted to be a product marketing manager, more customer- and market-focused than in my former product-manager position, which was an operations role and more technical.

I visualized what I wanted this position to be like and wrote a list of bullet items about the job and my ideal company.

I wanted to lead a team in a technology company and be responsible for a product line, and I wanted the opportunity for advancement. I also wanted to be involved in online marketing, which I believe is the way of the future.

I LEARNED about Kutenda when a contact in a business marketing association said her company had a marketing position available. The role was marketing coordinator, which was too junior for me. But I had read about the company and was interested in its technology. Kutenda manages Web sites, pay-per-click advertising campaigns and e-mail campaigns.

I told the contact from the association that if the company needed help in determining future product features, I was good at that. She talked to the C.E.O., and I interviewed with him.

When the two of us sat down together, I told him my ideas, he liked what I had to say and he hired me. I had never talked myself into a role in a company before.

I’m working on product strategy and market plans, and I’m developing ideas for new products. I feel that I’m perfectly suited for the job.

See the story at the New York Times.

It seems that contrarian waves of thought are more and more the norm in these changing times. In the past week, we’ve posted two instances of uber successful professionals saying not only is it OK to fail but that, in fact, it’s more than OK, it’s good…and let’s celebrate it. We all know we learn from failure, but celebrating it? Especially in the workplace, that’s definitely a new way of thinking.

Today’s WSJ featured a review of a new book that introduces yet another off kilter business idea: ditching team work.

“I Hate People”–which I admittedly have not read yet, but now intend to-- is all about “obnoxious, sycophantic, incompetent, bullying, meddling, obstructionist, deceitful, self-serving and all-around dreadful fellow workers who can transform a cubicle into a squared circle of hell” and how, really, we should only be concerned with getting ourselves ahead. Forget the team!

“The only person at work who has your best interests at heart, after all, is sitting in your chair. Most of your colleagues are indifferent to your fate.”

The authors of the book, Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon, “propose to educate the office-bound in how to “kick loose from the overbearing and underhanded jerks at work and get what you want out of your job.” Along the way, they address two realities seldom talked about by career- advice gurus: On any given day, some of your so-called colleagues are consciously or unconsciously trying to sabotage your career; and being good at what you do is only part of getting ahead.”

Their solution to the problem? Abandon the team spirit…

“Teamwork, the authors say, suffocates creativity and has its own limitations. They describe a classic experiment done nearly a century ago by French agricultural engineer Maximilien Ringelmann. He measured people pulling on a rope connected to a strain gauge, first as individuals and then as members of tug-of-war teams. The result: A person pulls harder alone than as part of a group. Ringelmann dubbed the phenomenon “social loafing.” Today it is known simply as the Ringelmann Effect, and what it means in the real world, say Messrs. Littman and Hershon, is that “the more people you throw at a problem, the less each contributes.”

The review’s author, Doug Colligan,  writes that the book  advises instead to become a “soloist” and names six principles including “Separation of the pack is not rejection of the pack”; “Achievement won’t always make me popular”; and “Creativity doesn’t fit on a spreadsheet.”

“Solocrafting is of course reducible to “four easy steps”: Stop Talking, Start Doing, Stop Asking — “If you ask for a dedicated team (or resources), you’re not getting it done” — and Make Them Believe…Messrs. Littman and Hershon, in other words, are champions of the entrepreneurial spirit even in day-to-day office life.”

Not only does “I Hate People,” sound like a light, funny, and unfortunately universally relative  book, but the core idea behind it is pretty interesting. How often do we see resumes with “team player” listed as a skill? Why now are people realizing that abandoning that notion might push them ahead?  My thought is the comfort of more stable times led us to complacency and at times mediocrity. Now we see that success means standing out in the crowd and putting an end to social loafing. Interesting stuff. What do you think?

Read the full review.

“Once upon a time, it was very, very gloomy.  The skies thundered, the economy crumbled, and people only spoke to grumble. Everything looked bleak, bleak, bleak.

Until one day, shortly after a market crash and right before another round of layoffs, a girl named Miss B. came up with a terrifically bright idea.  As she later explained to her friend and business partner, Miss K., their mission would be to scour the world for the best in fashion, design, and décor.  Then, one by one and everyday, they would give it all away to some very lucky people.

This is how The Bright Side Project began on a wintry, gray day in February.”

I stumbled upon The Bright Side Project through Daily Candy this morning and not only found it to offer some really neat give-aways but also to be a lovely anti-Recession-attitude idea. When there doesn’t seem to be a bright side, why not create one? Its creators, two corporate gals, really get the meaning of taking life’s lemons and making some cool, crisp lemonade.

Their mission: “The Bright Side Project is here to bring you sunshine every day with themed, daily giveaways. We hope to inspire you to stop for a second and remember life is (still) beautiful and there is goodness in the world.”

Check out the site and answer questions to win some cool stuff!

Since the recession began, many companies have turned to furloughs to cut costs while avoiding lay offs. These unpaid days off were originally welcomed by many employees who would rather take the cut than be unemployed. But as the months have ticked by, many workers have been cashing their smaller pay checks without seeing that reduction in hours.

Yesterday’s New York Times uncovered this issue of less pay for the same work or, really, no pay for the same work, seeing as how these employees are missing out on entire days worth of pay but are still clocking in the hours.

“Some people take the time off but feel bad about doing so, out of loyalty to bosses and colleagues left to carry the workload. Others work quietly — and sometimes openly — through furloughs, because they fear for the long-term safety of their positions and hope their self-sacrifice impresses the management.

And some say the message from the management is unclear, leaving employees wondering: Is this real time off?”

“I think it’s a joke,” said Roland Becht, who works at the California Department of Motor Vehicles in San Diego. (More than 200,000 state employees are supposed to have two furlough days each month.) “I’ve tried to schedule furlough time and was denied because we’re short-staffed.”

“American workers are finding themselves at a new frontier, and the rules are being written on the fly. Some companies have strict policies forbidding work during furloughs, or close down for days at a time. Others simply tell workers, however unrealistically, to squeeze in furlough time when they can.”

A very interesting topic that I feel gets overlooked. With clubs, websites, support groups, and resources galore for the laid off, what happens to those that are working harder than ever but not getting paid? After all, they’re not volunteers.

“It’s not doing what it was designed to do. We were imagining three-day weekends,” a DMV worker in California told the Times. “There was some optimism. It was a trade-off for sure, but people were O.K. The mood now, I would say, is down. People are working in fear because they don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Read the article.

“Here I was four hours into being unemployed and I already had a phone interview,” he recalls. “I was like, Wow, this is going to be impressive.”

“Welcome to the new rules of the job hunt. Gone are the days of simply posting your résumé on CareerBuilder, e-mailing former colleagues and trolling company websites for open slots. These days, if you’re serious about being hired, you really put your computer and PDA to work. That means getting word out on social sites like Facebook and MySpace, sending instant job-search updates via messaging feeds like Twitter, and meeting new people who might be able to lend a hand through Web-networking outfits like LinkedIn and Ryze.”

So says a recent article in Time that details the job hunt of Brian Ward, a software architect. Brian lost his job on a Friday and found a new one in only eleven days.

Eleven days!

And who does Brian have to thank for his speedy success? The old world wide web. And of course, his own perseverance and quick reaction time.

“As the sole breadwinner for his wife and three kids, Ward knew that he had to get a new job quickly. He found himself unemployed at 5 in the afternoon; by 8 that night, he’d called four people he knew in Ohio who did the same sort of computer work he did, as well as his college buddy Lyell, down in North Carolina. “I’d been using Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn, but in a very passive, extracurricular way,” says Ward. “I knew Lyell was big into the Twitter scene. He immediately began blasting information out to contacts he had, sending them back my way.” Over the weekend, Ward updated all of his online profiles. He uploaded a fresh résumé to LinkedIn, the professionals’ networking site, and sent out a message to all 200 of his Facebook friends, letting them know he was looking for work.

One of them, a pal from high school, wrote back Sunday night. He now worked for a tech company in Louisiana, and asked if Ward would be interested in being put in touch with the Web-development group. Ward eagerly agreed and had a phone interview the next day. “Here I was four hours into being unemployed and I already had a phone interview,” he recalls. “I was like, Wow, this is going to be impressive.”

Ward didn’t end up with that job and although he did find one soon after, he says it wasn’t easy. Getting laid off still stung and rejection upon rejection wasn’t the best feeling either. But to fight those blues, Ward says the social networks he was tapping into helped him form a support system. Some didn’t turn up any job leads, but he came across a lot of other people in his shoes to commiserate with.

Ward only slept a few hours every night and woke up at 4 or 5 a.m. and tweeted. He joined groups in LinkedIn, many that didn’t even have to do with his industry and soon he had a myriad of different types of people sending out his resume or putting in a good word. In the end, the job came through an old Facebook friend, and get this, it was one he hadn’t imagined would provide any leads. It’s the perfect example of why Facebook can be a valid business tool. Reconnecting with old acquaintances, colleagues, and friends made all the difference for him and it can for you, too.

Ward was also upfront when he got the interview with his soon-to-be employer: “He said he needed to find a new job quickly and was interviewing at other companies, too. The next day, he had an offer. “It’s still all about connections,” says Ward. “What’s changed is how you do it.”

Read the full article here.

Last Friday, unemployed women of a certain age lined up outside Reveal clinic in Arlington, VA to receive free injections of Botox to help smooth their fine lines and keep them job interview ready.

At first glance of the article in the Chicago Tribune, I chuckled a bit and envisioned these ladies with resumes in hand forming a queue to be among the first fifty to arrive and receive painful facial injections gratis. I thought it not a very feminist choice for these working women to put so much emphasis on appearance, certainly not the best message to send to their daughters.

But upon reading their quotes and concerns and giving it a little thought, I no longer found it funny but practical and also a bit sad that such aesthetic and cosmetic techniques are not only deemed desirable but requisite to put a mature woman’s best foot forward.

One recipient of the treatment, Colleen Delsack, was quoted as saying, “Age is a handicap.”

Delsack’s home has gone into foreclosure in the 18 months since she lost her job as an account executive with a printing and document-management company.

“There’s so much competition and we’re up against kids coming out of college and not making the salaries that we’ve had,” she said.

Ageism is certainly a very real issue and one that’s only exacerbated by the recession.

I’ve touched on ageism a bit recently in a column on the qualities that employers look for in a digital executive. The skills and qualities I heard pop up again and again from those I interviewed described a member of a younger generation, a technologically savvy and utterly post-modern candidate.

When desired skills sets seem to cater to a younger crowd, it’s no wonder appearance has become an even larger issue for an older set of pavement pounders.