The economic outlook for 2009 looks grim. Pick up any newspaper, watch the evening news or scan the Web and the stories are the same….more layoffs, store closings, and mortgage woes. According to the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy will get worse this year and unemployment is expected to rise into 2010. So how do you jumpstart your career when everything around you is turning south? Here’s a game plan:
1. Figure out who is hiring. One place to start your search is with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.bls.gov. Despite the economic downturn, these industries are still adding jobs:
–Education
–Professional and business services
–Information
–Leisure and hospitality
–Health care
–Mining/Oil and gas extraction
–Government

2. What do you like to do? Take stock of your interests and determine what you are really good at. Do a SWOT analysis of yourself so you can begin to map out a strategy. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. If after 25 years in law enforcement, you are stumped when it comes to identifying a new career path, check out the self-assessment quizzes at www.careerpath.com.

3. Volunteer. You can’t spend all your available time looking for a job. My boss recommends dividing your days into thirds. Devote a third of your time to the job search, another third networking and maintaining your contacts, and the rest of the time volunteering for an organization or cause you are passionate about. Volunteering will help keep your attitude up and will expand your network of contacts. It will also improve your story when you are asked during a job interview, “What have you been doing since you left the government?”

4. Tailor your resume to the job. Position descriptions posted on company websites or job boards are a window into what organizations are really looking for in an employee. Read those postings carefully and edit your resume to reflect the matching skills. Microsoft gets thousands of resumes a day. One way to pare down the stack is to toss the resumes that don’t match the job description. Make a recruiter’s job easier by shaping the content of your resume to the roles you are applying for.

5. Be flexible. In a downturn market with more people looking for work, job seekers do not have as much leverage with companies. Keep your mind open to new industries, new locations, and a different title. If you are changing careers, you may have to take a step back in pay or perks to move forward. Keep your eye on the big picture and BE FLEXIBLE.

This has the makings of a full-fledged scandal with plenty political repercussions.

By Martin Z. Braun and William Selway
Bloomberg
Federal prosecutors are asking if New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s former chief of staff told a state agency to hire a bond adviser that donated $100,000 to Richardson’s political committees, people familiar with the matter said.
A witness who testified before a federal grand jury in Albuquerque last month said he was asked if David Contarino, the former chief of staff, ordered New Mexico Finance Authority officials to hire Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc. Another person familiar with the investigation said Contarino, 47, is a subject of the inquiry and that prosecutors are looking at whether he solicited contributions from firms that worked on finance authority bond deals.
Contarino “is a very effective political professional,” said Edward Romero, a former U.S. ambassador to Spain and the national finance chairman for Richardson’s 2008 presidential campaign. “He’s a hard worker.” Romero said he would be surprised if Contarino did anything improper.
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Good to see there’s some sense of energy conservation going on.

By Mike M. Ahlers and Eric Marrapodi
CNN
WASHINGTON – As a candidate, Barack Obama promoted hybrid cars.
As president, he’ll be handed the keys to one. Sort of.
Shortly after taking the oath of office, Obama will climb into the Mother of All Hybrids — part car, part truck and, from the looks of it, part tank.
In keeping with recent tradition, the Secret Service will place a brand-new presidential limousine into service January 20 to drive the new president on the 2-mile jaunt down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade.
Already, spy photos of the limo — with patches of gray primer — have leaked out. And already, the reviews:
“Ugly as sin,” says one car enthusiast on an auto Web site. “Can’t we make a hotter ride for our pres?”
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OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Madoff Violated Bail By Sending Diamonds (Reuters)
• Conviction of Enron’s Skilling Upheld: New Sentencing Ordered (AP)
• Fed Reserve and Others to Join Fraud Task Force (Reuters)
• Former Texas Border Patrol Agent Pleads Guilty To Drug-related Bribery (AP)
• South Philly Mobster Pleads Guilty in Atlantic City Sports Betting Ring (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Indicted ex-D.C. Teacher on FBI List (Washington Post)
• Sen. Reid Says ex-Sen. Ted Stevens Shouldn’t Do Time (Politico)

The last thing the Obama administration wants to do is repeat how the Bush folks handled U.S. Attorney hirings and firings.

Joe Palazzolo
Legal Times
WASHINGTON –In a meeting last month with Barack Obama’s transition staff, representatives of the nation’s top prosecutors caught a glimpse of the president-elect’s thinking on the politically fraught issue of what to do with the the current 93 U.S. Attorneys.
“[The president-elect] is going to be smart and be cautious. My gut feeling is it won’t be like it was in 1993,” said U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of Texas’ Western District, a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys. On Dec. 11, Sutton and 15 other members of the committee met with Obama’s DOJ transition chief, David Ogden, and his staff at the Justice Department to advise them on law enforcement issues and to point out areas the committee believes require special attention.
At the meeting, Ogden briefly discussed the U.S. Attorney issue, though he said he had had no role in deciding who stays and who goes, according to one committee member. Ogden, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, is reportedly the leading candidate for the Justice Department’s No. 2 spot.
Sutton declined to characterize Ogden’s comments but said he left the meeting with the impression that the president-elect will address the U.S. Attorneys individually.
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Some of these folks look irritated enough just doing their job. Do they need this?

By Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The new blue uniforms issued to Transportation Security Administration officers at hundreds of airports nationwide may have a snazzy look, but they have become a major irritant for some of those employees.
The new uniforms are causing rashes and other irritations among transportation security officers who screen passengers at airports, according to the union representing the workers.
“We’re hearing from hundreds of TSOs that this is an issue,” said Emily Ryan, a spokeswoman for the American Federation of Government Employees. Most of the complaints have been for skin rashes, but they have also included runny or bloody noses, lightheadeness, red eyes, and swollen and cracked lips, union officials say.
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The questionable judgment of TSA and the airlines is costing money.