It’s that time of year again! As various commencement speeches circulate online from graduation ceremonies, one speech in particular resonates with us from two years ago.

Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler dished some advice to Harvard students:

“All I can tell you today is what I have learned. What I have discovered as a person in this world. And that is this: You can’t do it alone. As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own.

Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life. No one is here today because they did it on their own. Okay, maybe Josh, but he’s just a straight up weirdo. You’re all here today because someone gave you strength. Helped you. Held you in the palm of their hand. God, Allah, Buddha, Gaga.”

Congratulations to our Yankees vs. Mets subway series tickets winner David Ortiz, human resources generalist at Harlequin. David has been using Mediabistro’s job board since he joined Harlequin because it “ensures that our career opportunities reach a large pool of qualified candidates.”

When we asked him how he felt about winning the tickets, he said, “I was very surprised to receive the call. It put a big old smile on my face. I’m grateful to have won the contest.” We’re glad he won, too!

If you didn’t win, you still have many chances to win one of our fabulous giveaways. Keep posting jobs with us, and we’ll continue to enter you into our contests as a token of our appreciation.

Happy Friday one and all!

When we read this piece on Forbes, we got inspired. After all, as the weekend approaches with a nice break from the daily grind, we have recreation and errands on our minds. Well, apparently there’s a connection between successful people at work and how they spend their weekends. Let’s become part of that group, okay? Read more

Time to let it shine! And by “it,” we mean you.

That’s right, it’s time to let others see your true potential. According to a Harvard Business Review post by Dorie Clark, strategy consultant and author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future, there are a few ways to ensure people take notice.

1. Create content. Sure, it’s important to showcase your expertise to your boss but there are other people, too in the vast world of ours. As in the internet.

In the piece she writes, ”Just as a graphic designer has a portfolio she can display of her best logos and brochures, you should be creating intellectual property (blog posts, podcasts, videocasts — even a savvy and professional Twitter feed can count) that demonstrates your expertise.” In fact, creating content gives people the opportunity to see your new skills and knowledge especially if you’re in the midst of a career change. Read more

When we heard about this study pointed out by Forbes, we simply had to share. The Marchex Institute, the research branch of Marchex, relied on Call Mining technology to pull data from 600,000 phone calls from consumers to businesses spanning 30 industries.

Making the connection between curse words and their frequency of use to 50 states, they concluded people in Ohio are more likely to swear than people from another state.

In case you’re wondering, people from Massachusetts came next in terms of the highest frequency, followed by Arizona, then Texas and Virginia.

As for the state where people are least likely to curse? Well, that would be people from Washington state. They curse so infrequently (or maybe it’s just that Ohioans curse more robustly) equating to about half the amount of their Ohio counterparts.

According to the piece, John Busby, senior vice president of the Marchex Institute explained, “Ohio’s state slogan was once ‘The Heart of it All.’ One could argue this data adds an extra layer of meaning to that.”

Forget the doom and gloom, according to Snagajob, a site that publishes employment opportunities for hourly job seekers, prospects for summer hiring are up, up and away!

Let’s get a few things straight: Is it full-time employment? No. Benefits and paid time off? No and no. That said, we are talking about opportunities for seasonal work for people who are on the bench and looking to get in the game.

As per a piece on Fortune, the number of companies seeking to hire summer help has risen significantly and average pay is $11.50 per hour (this is compared to $10.90 one year ago). Read more

As you read this post, if you’re not running to an appointment or standing, how are you sitting? Really take notice of how you are sitting and poised. Are you legs crossed? Is your back hunched over as you read this? Or are you sitting up straight?

Mladen Golubic, medical director for the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute, talked to The Wall Street Journal about posture tips.

1. Practice relaxed, straight sitting. Although he alluded to technical studies on Sedentary Death Syndrome which highlighted hours worth of sitting which resulted in lower back pain, diabetes and obesity, sitting for a long time is simply not healthy regardless of the position.

Realizing it’s a fact of life, in particular for cubicle dwellers, he emphasized “relaxed, straight sitting.” Here’s how to do it: Sit away from the chair back so you’re not slumped over and keep both feet placed on the ground. Read more

Depending on who you ask, sending a cover letter for a job application is either outdated and hopelessly dumb or is the defining factor for whether you get the job. Of course, if your cover letter looks like one of the ten atrocious ones below, you’ll probably agree with those who hold the former opinion.

I’ve been collecting my favorite examples of egregious cover letters for years. From simple yet unfortunate typos to bigger issues, these ten, culled from the Web and from applications I’ve received, are among the worst of the worst.

#10: I sh*t you not
I’m looking for work because even though my company was profitable last year, this year they are expecting a large defecate.

Sent to ad agency Killian Branding, this line underscores why you should never rely on spell-check to proofread your letters. Have a friend look over your work before you send it off.

#9: I prefer oysters, myself
Other skills I’ve learned are, being a proficient multi-tasker, handling detailed oriented documents with care, handling stressful situations with a clam demeanor, and joggling different projects with time management.

Another lesson for would-be hires: TELLING about your skills is much less effective than showing them. In this case, this supposedly detail-oriented applicant made at least four mistakes in one sentence, depending on how you count, undermining his or her own claims. (Source)

#8: This was for a job that specifically said the hire must be based in Washington, D.C.
My name is [redacted] and I was hoping I could still submit and work remotely, as I never lived or be in DC. Please look at my resume and accomplishments to see that I have excellent expertise working on my own with no supervision.

While some say you may have nothing to lose by applying when you clearly don’t meet the most basic qualifications of skills, experience, or in this case geography, you also have very little to gain by ignoring explicit instructions. This letter came in for a job I posted and went straight into the trash.

#7: Same job, different applicant.
Hello from California…

Are you even reading the ad?

#6: Is this a job application or a romance novel?
Taking notes and pictures on the floor of the Senate Finance Committee boardroom with an H&M skirt daintily covering my folded legs. This is Tim Geithner’s third testimony on the Hill this week alone, and his eyes dart around the room more than usual… It is at this moment I realize that reporting and I were meant to be. He has had his practice, I have had mine — and it all comes down to this moment.

From our friends at FishbowlDC…I have no words.

Read more

If you don’t live in the New York TV market, you may know her from the cable clip show “The Soup” as the woman who puts up with co-anchor Greg Kelly‘s antics.

Rosanna Scotto, morning anchor for New York’s FOX owned station WNYW, sat down with the mediabistroTV crew to talk about how being willing to work when no one else will can help you get your foot in the door and how the antics of world-famous director Woody Allen are what lead to her first big break.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

As recruiters interview numerous candidates for a job, sometimes they hear redundancy as well as faux pas. Well, your friends here at MJD are nudging you to please don’t become that guy or gal.

According to a piece on Fortune, there are several ways to show a possible employer you an contribute to their organization. In doing so, please promise you’ll tweak the following statements.

“I am interested in everything this company does.” Really? Everything? The piece points out that hiring managers are looking for someone who is passionate for a specific role. Saying you’re interested in everything may come across as — gasp — desperate. Read more