The Starbucks Guide to Job Status

Roman bath houses, or thermae, were massive public spheres (the Baths of Diocletian covered almost one and a half million square feet) that served as public gathering spots for every cross-section of society. Today, we have Starbucks.

CFO’s, soccer moms, drifters, aspiring musicians and more aspiring musicians all wait on line together. And then there’s you, a worker type. You could be unemployed, passing yourself off as a 9-to-5er. Or, you’re collecting a fancy salary but you’d like to pretend you’re one of the unwashed—you know, for kicks. You know which one you are, but can your co-caffeinators tell? It’s all right there in your order.

Espresso, Cream, No Sugar, to go-

You are gainfully employed. Usually you would be at work now, but you had to take a trip to the bank to deposit all of those paychecks and were in the area (of course you were). Plus, some extra caffeine will give that extra boost you need to pump out the Ralston account and serve as a responsible and contributing member of the work force. Drink up, you deserved it!

Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice, with an extra Espresso shot, to go-

You are painfully employed. No one should need that much caffeine. Yes, I’ve heard Voltaire drank between 20 and 30 cups a day, but you are not in the process of writing Dictionnaire Philosophique…

2009 Was a Big Year for Start-Ups

Isn’t it nice to be validated? For more than a year, we’ve been talking about all the new businesses that would be started as a result of the recession. We knew there were people who felt liberated by being laid off or by quitting miserable jobs, and others who were launching start-ups because they didn’t see any job openings out there.

According to a new survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 8.6 percent of unemployed managers and executives started started businesses last year, a four-year high.

“The start-up rate might have been even higher if banks had loosened their lending standards,” pointed out John Challenger, the company’s CEO…

Recession Briefing: Big Boost for GDP

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in more than six years during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a government report Friday. The nation’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, rose at a 5.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter. (CNN/Money)

Shoppers are taking haggling to new heights in the recession. A recent study found that 66 percent of American consumers had haggled at least once in the preceding six months, with an 88 percent ka-ching rate on gadgets, clothes, furniture and steak. (Washington Post)

Ben Bernanke won the backing of the Senate for a second four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve by a comfortable margin Thursday. Even with that storm behind him, Mr. Bernanke faces formidable political and economic challenges. (Wall Street Journal)

Screwed: Hundreds in Phoenix

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s total: 819

Phoenix is letting go hundreds of police officers and firefighters…Time Warner Cable is canning 350 people in Colorado…more than 150 police officers in Tulsa will lose their jobs…cable maker Commscope is cutting 150 jobs in Omaha…

Create a Personal Branding Statement

Whether you get to a hiring manager by referral, through a recruiter or a job board, today’s candidate needs to make a distinctive impression quickly. The traditional resume form does a poor job of quickly, clearly, and succinctly telling the reader why they should spend more time on this resume.

Since the average time spent reviewing a resume is 15 seconds or less, a job seeker needs to quickly convince the reader to stick around. A well crafted personal branding statement tells the hiring manager three extremely important things in a well crafted, concise single line. The following questions and explanations will help you craft the right statement for you:

What does the candidate want?

In a Fishing resume the candidate has to give a generic title, but can make it specific for a response resume. It should be a single title, rather than a range, or something so broad as just Executive, or manager. Listing an industry specialization can help make it more specific…

Downturnaround Deals: Reebok, Petco, Linea Pelle, H&R Block, Ann Taylor, The Knot

Just so you remember the importance of being frugal, each week we post online deals hand-picked for Recessionwire readers by the nice people over at Savings.com. Pass it on.

Start thinking summer shape-ups and take 20% off footwear at Reebok. (See more Reebok coupons.)

Take 10% off food and litter with no minimum at Petco. (See more Petco coupons.)…

Screwed: 1,500 at Macy’s

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s total: 3,242

Macy’s Inc plans to layoff a whopping 1, 500 store-level positions by March 6…Borders Bookstores will cut its workforce by 742 workers, which accounts for 15 percent of staff members…Time Warner Cable will soon cut 350 jobs in Denver, Colorado…Glassmaker Zeledyne LCC handed pink slips to 210 workers yesterday…ArcelorMittal plans to lay off 171 steelworkers at its West Virginia tin mill…Leading glass-manufacturer Owens-Illinois is foreclosing their Charlotte, NC plant and laying off 137 jobs…TTX confirmed 67 layoffs in their South Carolina plant…Prepaid debt card-issuer Meta Financial Group will lay off 40 workers…Yesterday, The Star Tribune cut 15 positions in the newsroom, increasing their unemployed total to 95 since the fall…Southampton Memorial Hospital have laid off 10 hospital workers since last Friday…Deutsche Boerse AG plans on laying off up to 10 percent of its work force…

Recession Briefing: Paulson Defends AIG Rescue

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

In last night’s State of the Union Address, President Obama promised to focus intently on the issue of most immediate concern to the nation: jobs. Obama sought to restore public confidence in his administration and to persuade Americans that he is directing his attention more fully to the economy. (New York Times)

Hit by the recession, Mexican migrants sent home 15.7% less in remittances last year, a record drop, the country’s central bank reports. Although it marked the second straight yearly decline — and the second drop since tracking began in 1996 — migrants still sent home big bucks: about $21.2 billion. (USA Today/On Deadline)

College and university endowments in the United States and Canada collectively lost $93 billion during the 2009 fiscal year, according to a study jointly released Thursday. The average institution lost 18.7% after fees. (Forbes)…

Recession Lexicon: Layoff Lit

n./ a memoir or novel about losing a job, a house or your life savings to the recession

Well, you know it’s been a long downturn when the book publishing industry has time to put out recession-themed fiction before the economy recovers. We read the recent New York Times story about forthcoming books…

5 Ways to Stay Focused at Work

Forget the days of limitless overtime compensation and relaxing hours spent chit chatting with coworkers at the office.

Whereas in the pre-recession years, it may have been commonplace for employees to take extended lunches and bill their companies for the overtime hours it took to complete the day’s assignments, more and more cost-conscious companies are now shutting down requests for overtime compensation and laying off staff—effectively telling the employees who remain to get the same amount of work done with less help and in less time.

What’s an overworked office dweller to do? You could work more hours, even though you’re not getting paid. Refuse to do the extra work that’s been piling up, and risk getting fired. Or simply become more productive with the eight hours a day you’re in the office…