Happy Friday, dear readers! How excited are you that it is almost the weekend? I’m super-excited because this is the first weekend in months that I don’t have anything planned. An entire weekend of relaxing is almost too much to contemplate. But first, let’s talk about some important stuff like job searching and success.

I think about job searching a lot because I have friends who are looking for work and I talk with a lot of graduate students who are looking for work. Also, I’ve been on hiring committees and that always makes me reflect on the entire job search process. Luckily for those of us who help others with their job searches, or are looking for work ourselves, Lifehacker has a ton of great information on the entire process. So below I share some of my favorite recent-ish links so you can use them or share them with others.

I think everyone should read this article: your resume is a sales letter. I try to get students to realize this fact, but most seem bent on making it difficult to read their resume. Make it easy for the people on the hiring committee to find the information they need. Don’t make them search for it.

This is a great article on how to combat the most common problems when searching for a job. Seriously, it should be bookmarked and re-read periodically whenever you are looking for a job.

Once you get a job, or have a job, you need to be careful to set boundaries and actually define success for yourself or else you may find yourself consumed by projects without making any forward motion on your own goals. Also, stop working all those long hours. Long hours don’t make you more productive or efficient or even effective. If you can’t get it done in 8 hours a day, you may be doing something wrong. Also, saying “no” strategically helps to no end in reasserting power over your workday. Remember, if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.

If you want to be part of the solution to not wasting people’s time at work, be a good committee chair because we are all stuck in too many meetings that we are required to attend. There’s a reason why people like having me as a chair of committees. I don’t waste people’s time, I’m prepped and have agenda items, reports, working documents, etc. out to committee members in enough time for them to actually review them, I don’t let one person dominate the meeting because everyone should get a chance to be heard, and I make sure that we always get out on time, if not early. (Seriously, that’s all it takes to be a good committee chair. I’m not saying that it’s not work, but you will save everyone so much time by being a good chair.)

Also, I love this idea of always having two lists, one of things to do and one of things to ignore.

Oh, and because we can’t be and shouldn’t be about work all the time, check out a geek’s guide to budgeting hobbies.

And finally, something inspiring for your weekend, watch this artist create some amazing 3D chalk art:

Have a wonderful weekend full of relaxation and fun. I’ll be back next week with more thoughts on libraries, archives, and life. Allons-y!