Pink Slipped: Make Your Layoff Pay Off

In Case You Missed It: Week of November 2, 2009

No week would be complete without a few ups and downs, but for some reason this week has been especially rollercoasterish here at Pink Slipped towers. By that, I mean that we've run the gamut with our stories: everything from the uber-depressing to the uplifting to the plain weird. If for no other reason than to have an excuse to listen to Ennio Morricone's masterpiece on the opening titles, then, we've decided to run with "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" as the theme for this week's summary.

The Good

The best news anyone can hope for in this economy is that we find some jobs out there, and we did, sort of. In addition to the news that being a college president is worth a bundle, we also found out that the oil and gas industry is facing a generational crisis—meaning there should be plenty of opportunities for younger workers to build careers. One caveat, though: the industry is like every other one out there at the moment, and laying off workers to deal with a drop in demand—so keep an eye on it for the medium term.

Other good news this week? Well, on Thursday we found a pair of tax-related items to gladden the job seekers heart: namely, that some job search expenses are tax deductible, and that the extension of unemployment benefits is likely to come with another extension attached: the home-buyer's tax credit.

The Bad

Isn't it obvious? Unemployment's at 26-year highs, while even "positive" news on the economic front is a relative concept.

The Ugly

OK, so the analogy kind of breaks down here. Sure, there are certain people (some of whom work at Pink Slipped HQ), who find the idea of rooting for the Yankees to be ugly, but the stats are in: the Bronx Bombers winning the World Series tends to be better for the economy.

On the weird side—rather than ugly—we also came across a list of unusual tactics job seekers have employed to try and stand out from the ever-increasing crowd.

Of course, all of that was in addition to our regular roster of job openings and events around the country, across the internet, and on Twitter. We'll be right back here on Monday doing it all again—and will also be attending an event on the power of social media come Tuesday, so make sure to check back in for the tips we gain from that.

--Posted by Phil Stott, Vault.com