Just Stuff

The 405 Club, a support network for the unemployed, has just created a board on Pinterest of unique resumes that should serve as inspiration for anyone who needs to revamp his or her resume.

Some are a little over the top (and the pickins are currently a little slim) but we quite liked this clean one and this one with the name near the bottom, which manages to be bold without being over the top.

Need more? Pinterest users are pinning resumes like crazy—here are nearly 100 pins of creative resumes (though a few are whoa—we can’t in good conscience recommend a comic book resume for anyone, as cool as it is for this guy.)

Here’s a Tuesday evening moment of Zen (can we say that?): a wannabe art director’s “hire me” video. Can someone give her a job if only to ensure that this song never happens again?

Looking for… a job. from Fernanda Roedel on Vimeo.

In all seriousness, major props for having the balls (figuratively) to put this out there.

Red Frog Events, a Chicago-based events company, has a tree house in the office. (This isn’t it.)

It cost a cool 100 grand.

There’s also a zip line and a conference table made entirely out of LEGO bricks.

CEO Joe Reynolds says that this was totally worth the cost. It’s not just because of the fact that happy employees are more productive ones or that all you have to say at a job fair is “We have a tree house” and the resumes will begin rolling in.

It’s also a way to show mutual appreciation.

Fistful of Talent blogger Marisa Keegan expands on the thought.

“It’s hard work creating an office space this crazy but the companies that pull it off understand that being over-the-top sends a very clear message to their current and future employees. By saying nothing at all, the sheer magnitude of the office space screams, ‘Look at how much I’m willing to invest in creating an awesome work environment. If you think this is over-the-top imagine how much time and money I’m willing to invest in you.’”

And yes, it’s a pretty cool treehouse. You can see the photo here. Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware also has a (smaller, outdoor) treehouse for meetings. And Austin, Tx-based ad firm Smiley Media boasts an indoor nest and (not pictured) a conference room with a secret door.

And we don’t have to go into the perks offered at places like Google and Microsoft, surely.

The bill passed by both houses of Congress to extend the payroll tax cut will do more than put an extra few bucks per week in the average American’s pocket.

The bill, which President Obama has indicated he would sign, also expands a worksharing program that allows workers whose hours have been reduced to apply for unemployment benefits to make up for those reduced hours. Since the previous system favored layoffs, this provision is expected to keep more people on the job.

The bill will also allow states to set up unemployment insurance programs for freelancers and give more money to training programs.

It also extends, sort of, the length someone can be on unemployment, to between 40 and 73 weeks.

As Forbes blogger Kelly Phillips Erb says, “under the old old law, benefits were extended to as much as 99 weeks. Under the old new law, benefits were not extended. Now, under the new new law, they are extended with stipulations.” States with higher unemployment rates can extend unemployment benefits longer.

Gimmicky interview questions (the “How many ping pong balls would fit in a school bus?” sort of thing) are super popular at companies like Google, Yelp, and more. But as this post from mental_floss shows, trick questions like this didn’t get their start with the tech boom.

No, Thomas Edison was also an asker of trick interview questions.

“To test the mental mettle of incoming job seekers, he administered to each a series of 150 questions, tailored to the position for which they were applying. Some were specific to the industry, while others were mysterious.” Out of 500 young men who took the test, only 35 got 90 percent or higher. According to Mental_Floss, some popular magazines started releasing “Edison pop quizzes” based on the questions he asked (Edison wouldn’t release his list to the press, so disgruntled test-takers leaked the questions they remembered).

Edison was a dropout but managed to self-educate himself, and according to some historians, had a chip on his shoulder about college-educated “‘sperts” ever since, so perhaps his test was devised as a subtle means of payback. Or perhaps it was the only way he could get through the applications of people begging to work in his lab. Five hundred applications for 35 slots is not nearly as big of an applicant-to-opening ratio as we have these days, but it’s a lot for one man to deal with.

Journalism jobs:
Harris Tactical Group, the publisher of Tactical Weapons, Special Weapons, Combat Handguns and more, is looking for a copy editor. Attention to detail and ability to prioritize is a must, experience and enthusiasm for guns is helpful.

interviewer/videographer (Washington, DC)
editorial director (New York, NY)
reporter (Washington, DC)
Marketing/PR jobs:
web content editor (Plantation, FL)
beauty writer (San Francisco, CA)
social media manager (Los Angeles, CA or virtual)
PR manager (Indianapolis, IN)
Graphic design/art jobs:
graphic designer (Brooklyn, NY)
Publishing jobs:
contracts assistant (New York, NY)
Other jobs:
business analyst (Henderson, NV)

Every day we scour major job boards, including, but not limited to Mediabistro.com’s listings, to find the best media jobs out there. We screen out duplicates and scams so you know you’re only receiving the top choices.

As of the time of this posting, there were 1496 jobs on our board.

Here’s a pair of columns from WaPo workplace advice columnist Karla Miller. The first features a letter from a woman who thinks her manager is out to get her (and other ambitious women), and the second comes from a manager whose young, ambitious female report is a nightmare.

The young letter-writer in the first instance says that her manager is “running off” other women based on “minutae” and “has now set her sights on me.”

Not a great situation to be in, but the interesting thing is, the LW didn’t mention having attempted to talk to her boss about the way she was feeling attacked.

In the second letter, a relatively new manager finds herself being second-guessed by a young, ambitious woman. “Her communication style is very up-front and borderline rude. I didn’t speak to supervisors that way when I was her age,” says the new supe.

What’s missing: the LW’s attempts at communicating with her report. In fact, she says she’s ” stopped responding to e-mails in which I feel I have to justify any decision to her.”

The advice in both cases is similar: talk. The young’in should say this to her boss: “I was surprised and disappointed at being taken off the Hudsucker project because my last review was so positive. What do you need to see from me to show you I’m ready for more challenging projects?”

And the manager should try (perhaps a more polite version of) the following: “I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but my decisions are based on years of experience. I welcome respectful dissent, but you should start from the assumption that I have a reason for doing things my way.”

But seriously. Start by talking before writing to a workplace advice columnist, that’s our advice.

Letters Of Note is such a great blog you should be reading it even when the letters are not about media people. But yesterday’s letter is from advertising great David Ogilvy and in it, Ogilvy explains how he works.

It begins:

Dear Mr. Calt:

On March 22nd you wrote to me asking for some notes on my work habits as a copywriter. They are appalling, as you are about to see:

Ogilvy describes being completely ruined by distractions at the office and instead, going home to write with research material, an outline, and other background material. He talks about growling at his wife (“worse since I gave up smoking,” he adds), being terrified of failure, and his if-all-else-fails solution of drinking half a bottle of rum and listening to Handel records. He then calls himself “a lousy copywriter, but a good editor.”

In other words, just your usual creative genius. Though with an exceptionally good alcohol tolerance.

flickr: Unhindered by Talent

Jobseekers may be more able to find a little “wiggle room” in job offers, a new survey from Robert Half reports.

The staffing firm asked 1600 CFOs from US and Canadian companies with 20 or more employees how willing they would be to negotiate salaries with top job candidates, compared to twelve months ago.

While most of the CFOs (54%) said their willingness had not changed, 27 percent were “somewhat more willing” and 11 percent were “much more willing,” with only 5 percent saying they were less willing.

“Job seekers, especially those with skills in high demand, are gaining leverage in salary discussions today,” Robert Half CEO Max Messmer said in a statement.

Robert Half concludes with seven good strategies for getting the best deal in negotiations.

They are:

• Do a reality check. Is the firm in a position to bargain? Find out before attempting any salary negotiation. If you’ve been offered a job at a newly formed startup, or a company that recently announced layoffs or weak financial results, your leverage may be limited.
• Get your figures right. Don’t enter negotiations without doing your homework. Research the latest salary trends for your city, industry and job title by reviewing compensation surveys and publications such as Robert Half’s 2012 Salary Guides and talking to colleagues and recruiters.
• Don’t jump the gun. Wait for the hiring manager to bring up salary in the discussion, and make sure you fully understand the requirements of the position before answering questions about your desired pay. Ask prospective employers what they think would be an appropriate range for the position so you can avoid giving a range that is too high or low.
• Go for your goal. If offered a salary figure that doesn’t meet your expectations, it’s OK to request additional compensation. Employers may start at the lower end of their salary range, leaving room to negotiate.
• Don’t bluff. It’s never a good move to mislead a prospective employer about your current compensation or other higher-paying job offers in an effort to get more money. Instead, reiterate the value you can bring to the firm, and be honest about your desired salary.
• Think beyond the paycheck. Be sure to look at the full picture when evaluating a job offer. A generous benefits package or opportunities to learn and grow with the company may compensate for a lower starting salary, for example.
• End on a high note. If negotiations aren’t successful and you decide to walk away from an offer, remember to do so gracefully. You never know when you might cross paths with the hiring manager again.

The Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times) cut its staffers pay by 5% for five months starting last September to save $1 million. Pay should have been restored at the end of this month.

Instead, the paper is extending the pay cuts at least through April. Management will “take stock of our situation” in May, according to a memo from CEO Paul Tash obtained by Romenesko.

While this measure continues, staffers will continue to receive an extra day off per month.

Layoffs hit the Poynter-owned paper in October.