ESPN is cutting its staff for the first time since 2009, reports Deadspin. One tipster indicated more than 400 staffers were going to be impacted but a source at the sports network indicated that number’s on the high side but it seems to be in the hundreds.

Per Deadspin, their official statement reads:

“We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs. While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative and productive.” Read more

Instead of agonizing over the fonts on your resume or other visuals like how big to make the margins, keep this statistic in mind.

According to a survey conducted by TheLadders, most recruiters spend only six seconds reviewing your resume. That’s worth repeating — six tiny seconds! One thousand one, one thousand two, see we’re almost there ourselves…

They’re not alone with their results. As pointed out by ERE, BeHiring mentioned the average time is five to seven seconds. Although the time is certainly succinct, each second counts. Read more

Want more vacation time? As PTO (paid time off or personal time off) requests kick into high gear at your employer, chances are several employees may be counting their days to ensure every moment is spent. Even if they need a mental health day for a staycation, time is typically tracked and accounted for, and prudently used.

Well, this piece in today’s New York Post got us thinking. How sweet would it be to have unlimited PTO? For instance, ZocDoc, the NYC-based online medical appointment Web site, offers unlimited PTO. This includes vacation, personal and sick days without an old-fashioned accrual system.

Don’t get too excited. The piece pointed out last year’s survey by the Society of Human Resources indicated only one percent of businesses across the country actually offer this perk to its employees. Read more

Have you ever wanted to be on the inside of salary review talks to hear what goes on behind closed doors? Okay, even if you haven’t we have to admit the following comments will make you chuckle.

Geoffrey James, Sales Source columnist on Inc.com, managed to provide some fodder with his post that compiled some of the best listener call-ins from a radio show he co-hosted on WRKO in Boston. Apparently these comments were real and made during salary review talks. Seriously.

10. “Yes, I know you are my best employee and you train all our new employees. However, I don’t see how that qualifies you for a raise.”

9. “That’s right, no raise this year. Maybe next year when you come off that high horse, you’ll get my coffee when I ask you to.” Read more

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