Today was 11.5 hours of constant decision-making, working on deliverables, and ushering projects to the next step in their progression.  It was a rolling sea of emails, meetings, web log ins and design comps. And while I wish my workload had been 3 hours shorter, I just wouldn’t have the flow of my day any other way.

Because slow days give me time to start to second guess myself.  And there’s nothing worse than taking your self-esteem on that journey.

Marie Forleo’s Q&A Tuesday this week covers how to shake off any niggling self-doubt that may creep in during your business day.

Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process. Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

Write thank you notes. No – not thank you emails. Handwritten missives for realz. There are times to go old school with the Pony Express: informational or job interview — those make the short list.

How much real mail do you get on any given day? Bills, catalogs, bulk rate mail, sure. Handwritten communication has practically gone the way of the dodo. Kids don’t even have to learn penmanship in school anymore because it’s just assumed they’ll all play a few rounds of Typer Shark to learn how to express themselves.

So imagine your interviewer getting a neatly written thank you on crisp stationery to break up the usual pile of continuing education flyers, office supply catalogs and invoices.

It makes an impression.

You want interviewers to remember you. Make the impression.

Buy some stationery that reflects your personality and your industry. Hot pink florals probably aren’t going to fly for an accounting job. But you might be able to find an understated color with a funky detail – like rounded corners – to make the note pop a bit more. In a more creative industry, have some fun with it.

Do your best to get thank you notes in the mail within 24 hours. Sometimes life happens and it takes a bit longer. Sometimes you just miss the boat entirely; if a thank you isn’t mailed out by the end of the business week, just let it go.

One last thing: thank you notes are also a good gauge of your interest. I know how interested I am in a job based on how easy it is to write a thank you note. If I just can’t come up with anything compelling to connect me to the work, it’s not going to be a good fit. In some cases, I intentionally don’t write the thank you because I really want to let that opportunity pass.

Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process. Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

Job listings on corporate web sites are not necessarily accurate.

I took advantage of a few marketing and creative industry placement industries. At least half of the opportunities showing up in my inbox aren’t listed on the companies’ websites. Human Resources doesn’t want to be inundated with resumes for positions, so the agency route means far less screening.

Two, some jobs postings are evergreen. On more than one occasion I have worked connections to land an interview for a position posted, only to find that there really isn’t a position. Some talent acquisition representatives try to stay aware of what the market looks like at any given point in time. And by keeping a job posting up indefinitely, recruiters are ready to tackle a surprise opening with the latest candidates to apply.

Lastly, just because it’s not listed on the site, doesn’t mean a position you want isn’t being filled.  A recruiter emailed me about suggestions for a senior level opening in my current area of expertise.  I checked out the company’s website to have a job description to reference when running through my list of contacts.  No listing tied to the mid-level position I am seeking. But when I sent a name for the position the recruiter was actively working on, I mentioned that I was also on the market and could she keep me in mind for any mid-level positions that may open up in the next few months. Turns out the recruiter was in the process of filling a mid-level position as well. By just throwing it out there as an afterthought, I landed an interview.

I make these points about job postings because I believe the company matters more than the position in question.  Create the relationship and the position will follow.  If there’s a company that you want to work for, reach out to someone relevant in the department that would be the best fit and start the conversation. Put your name out there.  Get on the radar.

Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process. Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

I love LinkedIn. I love my LinkedIn connections. But people don’t understand how third degree connections work.

You -> your contact (1) -> mystery contact (2)-> your target (3)

Frequently, when I request an introduction to a third degree connection, my contact says, sorry I don’t know that person. And then I explain how third degree connections work. The lightbulb goes on.

Save yourself that learning curve. When you ask for an introduction to your target, be sure to explain that you know that your contact doesn’t know that party. There’s a mystery connection between your contact and your target but you can’t see the name.

I often send an email outside of LinkedIn to my contact with a link to the target’s LinkedIn profile. And I ask my contact to check to see how s/he is connected to that party. Is that in between connection someone that might forward me along to his/her contact? If so, can I forward my resume and cover letter directly as a pdf to that contact or is a formal LinkedIn introduction preferred. It limits confusion and allows the in between party to set the terms for introductions.

Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process. Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

Applying for a job isn’t the end of applying for a job. So you’ve filled out the antiquated online corporate application, parsing the last 10 years of your work experience and providing references and contact info for supervisors ad nauseum.  Time to sit back with a Corona? Know that the hour you spent studious completely your application was probably a waste of time.

The resume-eating Human Resources Machine isn’t going to get you hired any more than the Great Spaghetti Monster in the sky will. It is a rarity that I get a phone call from a recruiter on the basis of an online application. These systems are designed to suck all of the personality out of applicants leaving behind a bunch of buzz words that can be found with a series of arbitrary filters assigned to a data set.

If you really want to land an interview, you need to get to the hiring manager. Some job descriptions make this easy and tell you that you’ll be reporting to the Director of X or the VP of Y. Plug that title and company into an advanced search on LinkedIn and you just might have a target desk for your resume.

If the supervisor isn’t apparent, try to get your resume to someone in that department. Work your connections to find someone at the company of your choice to get your resume passed along internally. A forward from a trusted co-worker or past colleague frequently gets you out of the slush pile and onto a hiring manager’s desk. I interview more often than not when I do so.

Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process.  Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

Networking is a multi-pronged effort. Yes, you should build your network today so that you can work it tomorrow. Go to industry events; be helpful and informative wherever you can. People really do remember who is always asking for something and who actually delivers on what she says she’ll do.

When it comes time to job hunt, you have a network that can both get the word out for you and relay openings back to you that you might not have found yourself.

But maybe you haven’t laid the foundation of a blanketed job hunt. What can you do today?

I can’t overemphasize the value of a LinkedIn account. Connect with classmates, connect with coworkers and don’t forget your extended family. It brings the magic of third degree connections to you.

Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process.  Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

Location, location, location. It’s long been repeated that Human Resources departments don’t look at applications from out-of-town candidates. Let me confirm that for you.

A co-worker, relocating cross-country because her spouse got a great new job, applied for a position that matched her current role. Crickets. A month or so later, a friend sends her a link to the same job description – and offers to connect her to a third party already at that company (more on networking later). Co-worker lands several interviews and is made an offer. Woo!

At her on-site interview she mentions to the Human Resources rep that she had applied online but hadn’t heard anything initially. He noted that for the first round of screening, it is practice to eliminate anyone more than 100 miles from the office.

It is short sighted that corporations are literally throwing talent by the wayside by only searching locally. But when budgets are tight it’s cheaper to hire and train locally than find the absolute best candidate for a role.

Find a local address that you can slap on your application because it matters. Use the address of a friend, a college roommate, a distant cousin, your boyfriend’s crazy Aunt Sue. It’s not exactly a lie because if you get the job — guess who you’ll be crashing with while you apartment hunt should relocation assistance not be provided?

 Job hunting took longer than I’d prefer. And I’ve learned a few things in the process.  Since contacts keep calling me for advice, I’m posting some of those lessons here.

Let’s start with what should be obvious but often isn’t.

A) At the risk of sounding like I’m parroting half of the job coaches out there, a resume is a marketing tool not a laundry list of your life’s work experiences. If you’re really targeting a specific role, you can keep your resume relatively concise.   You may need to include extraneous positions to show continuity in employment, but you don’t need to take up precious real estate to explain what irrelevant things you did there.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

One of my favorite annual posts, here are my top reads from 2011. While I read about 50 books a year, only a handful are standouts. This year I may hit 70 reads!

What were your favorite reads this year?

Little Bee (2008) by Chris Cleave (F)

While I didn’t think this novel was particularly well-written, I have not been able to get it out of mind since reading it.  It addresses the harsh realities of the immigration system and globalization by putting its focus on how one young girl irrevocably changes the lives of a British couple who meet her on a Nigerian Beach.

In the Woods (2007) and The Likeness (2008) by Tana French (F)

French writes detail-rich police procedurals that focus more on the lives and minds of the investigating officers than the suspects being investigated.   I couldn’t put these novels down.

Stumbling on Happiness (2005) by Daniel Gilbert (NF)

Though this book is already nearing its 6th birthday, it’s still full of fascinating studies that explain how the brain works.  Philosophers have written volumes on man’s pursuit of happiness; Gilbert wrote one detailing how the brain tricks us into believing we are happy even if all signs point to being unhappy.   From addressing the paradox of choice to how the brain uses filler details where information is missing, Gilbert explains the science and psychology of the brain that helps you understand why people act the way they do.

Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making You Smarter (2006) by Steven Johnson (NF)

Johnson dismantles the disdain for popular entertainment from television to video games to explain how each is actually contributing to a brighter populace.  Layered stories and multi-plot television programming and films require greater sophistication in comprehension to keep up. And strategic and spacial intelligence required of gamers.  Johnson makes the case that pop culture shouldn’t be broadly dismissed as detrimental to society, when it’s challenging our brains in different ways from the past times of yesteryear.

The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness (2010) edited by Dacher Keltner, Jason Marsh and Jeremy Adam Smith (NF)

This book is a compilation of articles from Greater Good magazine. It covers a wide range of research on ethics, empathy, happiness, showing how proper focus and framework in communications could move us all towards a greater good.  The research covered in this book gives me more hope about humanity than I had before I started reading.

Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (2003) by Erik Larson (NF)

Did you know that the Ferris wheel was invented in an effort to best the splendor of the Eiffel Tower?  Me neither.  And rigorous testing of the physics of hoisting all that metal and all those people in the air was not completed.   Everyone basically crossed their fingers on the maiden rotation.

Amidst the chaos of trying to create a spectacular and profitable Chicago fair, at least one man took advantage of the confusion and miscommunication to commit unspeakable crimes, killing, disfiguring and disposing of women (primarily), children and men.

Black + White (2008) by Dani Shapiro (F)

Shapiro’s novel follows the estranged daughter, Clara, of a celebrated photographer (who shot to fame with a series of sexualized photos of her then-young daughter) returning to NYC during her mother’s final weeks of life.   Clara does her best to come to terms with her mother’s self-serving actions and to understand that her mother loved her after all.

Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America (2010) by Matt Taibbi (NF)

Griftopia is another book that my mind keeps drifting back to consider.  After reading Taibbi’s reporting it’s hard to not be infuriated that much of Wall Street and the mortgage industry has not been held accountable for systemic practices that enhanced financial risks and encouraged predatory lending, directed primarily at minorities, setting up a bubble bound to pop.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: These books were not necessarily published in 2011. They do not necessarily belong on a list of best books ever, books to read before you die, or best kept secrets. It’s just a list of the books I enjoyed most in this calendar year.

Related: Favorite Reads of 2008, Favorite Reads of 2009, Favorite Reads of 2010