Meet the pnn.com community

5 Questions for....

Pnnprofiles — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:39:03 GMT

...Kelly S., the Costa-Rica-based blogger known as The Embassy Wife.

Q: Three words your friends would use to describe you:

A: Which friends? Every time we move I have to re-invent myself a little bit (or a lot), so it really depends on the friends and the location! In Jakarta -- where I was evacuated after only seven months -- they’d just ask, “Kelly who?” In Israel, they’d probably say, “Fun, energetic, slightly crazy.” In Germany -- which coincided with a particularly difficult time for our family -- you’d probably hear: “Nice enough, but I think she’s a little wacko!”

Q: What’s the best thing about having to move your family to exotic places around the world?

A: We get to skip the tourist stuff if we want (there are only so many baroque churches one can visit before going catatonic anyway) and do the real stuff -- go to the markets and grocery stores every week; find out from the inside the "interesting" customs that other cultures have; and see parts of the country that aren't on most…itineraries and are usually more fun because of it.

And, along with that comes real exposure to other people and cultures. I grew up in a small, rural town [in Texas] where [seeing] anyone whose hair was a bit too long or skirt a bit too short was a reason to stop on the street and ogle.

But after so long overseas I -- and perhaps more importantly, my kids -- don't even bat an eye when, for example, a native Nigerian in flowing robes sits next to us in church and strikes up a conversation; and my kids think it's quite normal that their classmates at school hail from six different continents and have every color skin and [myriad different] ways of speaking. It's good to get 'out of the box' for a while.

Q: Most memorable experiences?

A: I have illegally climbed [Cairo’s] Bent Pyramid (twice -- after posing with the guard's AK-47); seen Yasser Arafat's gilded toilet in the (former) airport in the Gaza strip; gotten repeatedly lost in the wilds of the West Bank; fought a rodent the size of a mastiff in my attic in Jakarta; and “rescued” a mail-order bride and sent her BACK to Chernobyl. And, when we lived in Israel, I kept anthrax antibiotics in my kitchen cabinet and somehow never remembered to get a gas mask (regulation issue at the time) for the baby.

Q: Who inspires you most and why?

A: I think that would be my younger sister Kathryn. In the past few years, a lot of trauma and drama have been poured into her family’s life, and somehow in the midst of living a perpetually upside-down life, four moves, and homeschooling three small kids, she’s never complained, wavered in her faith, or lost her sense of humor or her ability to find and reach out to people around her who need help. She’s an incredible example to me of what a “superwoman” looks like. She’s what I want to be when I grow up.

Q: What have you learned from your adventures?

A: There are only 3 rules when it comes to eating when you're abroad: 1.) Eat whatever you can, whenever you can. There's probably NOT a McDonald's between here and the border. Or here and the International Dateline. 2.) Don't look too closely. 3.) Don't ask questions.

Check out Kelly's blog at:

http://kellyarmstrong.pnn.com/articles/show/43479-my-mug-arrived

Meet Sara Sutton Fell

Pnnprofiles — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:44:12 GMT

As CEO of flexjobs.com -- a new pnn.com partner -- Sara Sutton Fell oversees a community and variety of services dedicated to matching workers with top-notch employers for rewarding telecommuting careers.

Even if you’re looking for a temp- or part-time gig, it’s worth checking out Sara’s site, and taking advantage of a big perk she’s offering the pnn.com community:

Monthly membership for flexjobs is $14.95 – but by using the code SAVE50 – you can cut that cost in half. Not bad. And if you’re interested in a year’s membership, and access to the thousands of opportunities, use SAVE30 to get a price break.

Want to know more? Check out my Q & A below with Sara, a mom of two who (of course!) telecommutes from her Colorado home.

(Oh, and don’t miss my shout out to the pnn.com community in a feature profile on flexjobs.com: http://www.flexjobs.com/community/article.aspx?id=60)

--Leigh

L: What makes flexjobs unique?

S: I started FlexJobs because I was frustrated in my own job search for legitimate telecommuting and flextime jobs. I was pregnant with my first son, knew that I didn’t want to work a traditional full-time on-site job, and was looking for a job opportunity that would be both flexible and in line with my career. Having worked in high-tech for 15 years, I knew that the technology was there and that these jobs had to exist, but I was stunned at how hard it was to find them. It was difficult mostly because they were buried under scams, ads, and too-good-to-be-true business opportunities.

As a result, FlexJobs is unique for a variety of reasons. First, because our site has no advertising or scams, which is not the norm in the telecommuting/work from home job market. Second, because you’ll only find hand-screened, scam-free, qualified job leads. Third, our staff all works from home offices and flexible hours, and so we really understand our users and what they’re looking for… we live it!

Finally, job-seekers are our top clients and everything we do is to provide them an excellent service; we answer to them, not to employers or advertisers.

L: There's gotta be some upside to this terrible job market, right?

S: Well, it’s a great time to consider telecommuting, freelance and virtual jobs. The job opportunities are there, and the audience has really broadened – both with job-seekers and employers – to include people and companies who had never previously considered these types of “alternative jobs.” But job-seekers can find very viable professional options in these markets, and employers who still need to get work done are hiring for these types of jobs because they have lower cost overhead than hiring a full-time on-site employee.

L: How have you seen telecommuting opportunities change -- even just over the last few months?

S: Yes, as the employer audience has broadened, it has also brought opportunities in an increasing variety of industries and fields. On FlexJobs, we have over 50 different job categories, and some of the most popular include education, writing, sales, and web design. The most common type of job listing is full-time, but we have tons of part-time, freelance, and contract jobs also.

What's the key to landing and being successful at a telecommuting job?

S: There’s no one key to landing a telecommuting job, but having an excellent and unique cover letter for each job you apply to helps immensely. You should research the company and include some of what you learned, such as a recent press mention or a new product, and describe why you are uniquely qualified and passionate about working with the company.

L: How can job-seekers stay realistically positive during such a difficult time?

S: In terms of the job-hunt, think out of the box and keep your eyes open; opportunities may appear where and when you least expect them. And in terms of life, there are three things I think are really important:

(1) Use the forced opportunity of free time to do projects or activities that you’d been putting off, which helps keep you productive.

(2) Spend time with friends and family, especially those who make you laugh or are positive influences in general.

(3) Be healthy and get outside! Whether it’s a walk in the park or training for a marathon, the fresh air and physical activity is good.

L: What's the most unusual opportunity you've filled on flexjobs.com?

S: LOL! Well, we have postings for jobs you would not expect, that’s for sure. A few of the current ones that are pretty unusual – some especially for a telecommuting job site – Golf Instructor, biostatistician, Social Etiquette and Manners Specialist and a Mixteco Interpreter. (The language of an ancient “Mesoamerican” culture, Mixteco is still spoken in some parts of Mexico and the Southwest U.S.)

L: What's your motto or mantra?

S: Balance!

Check out Sara's advice on the pnn.com Money Channel:

http://flexjobs.pnn.com/10863-the-front-page

5 questions for....

Pnnprofiles — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:58:19 GMT

Beth R., the Minnesota-based blogger also known as Wearmanyhats:

1. Three words friends would use to describe you?

Crazy, busy, funny.

2. Who's the cat?

Tux (short for tuxedo). He was a feral kitten that we tamed [and] he loves climbing up ladders and has been found in the rafters…

3. When you’re not blogging you’re:

Running around doing book signings (I just published a new kids’ book called “Abby Meets a New Friend” -- Tate Publishing) and I'm also a practicing reflexologist.

4. Favorite quote:

"If I can't dance, I don't want to be in your revolution." (I think it sort of captures my need to laugh even during hard struggles.)

5. A secret you’ve kept until now:

I played poker for kisses once – hey, I was young!

Check out Beth's blog at: http://wearmanyhats.pnn.com/9201-the-front-page

Who else do you want to see profiled?

(Also check out our previous profile with Annie B.)

5 questions for Annie B.

Pnnprofiles — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:15:23 GMT

Ann B., the blogger behind "Annie's Up":

1. Three words your friends would use to describe you: "Loyal, open, naive (but they don't know me)."

2. Your most unique talent is: "It could be described as a tap dance beginning with arms flailing about, legs rocketing backwards and then without cause or reason, I move into the 'butterfly.' My arms jet up and out into a 360-degree motion while my legs fling outward in a jumping jack motion. Quite a sight."

3. You're not letting the recession get you down by: "Continuing to do the things I love and letting go of the things that cease to serve me...I want to love more and work less; or at least I want to love more and do the things that don't seem like work, more."

4. You're blogging on pnn.com because: "I love the fact that so many wonderful writers have found a home here. I like that everyone is respectful and honest. Somehow this site has given all of us a place to vent, to sing, to nourish one another and explore without restraint of the written word. I enjoy waking up each day and reading posts that open my mind to different ways of being."

5. Cupcakes or fries? "French Fries, but there was a day that a cupcake would make me confess."

Check out Annie's blog at:

http://annie.pnn.com/articles/show/38008-there-comes-a-time-in-your-life

Who else do you want to see profiled? Post a comment and let us know!