One Short Day in the Gray, Snowy City

I woke up this morning to The New York Times reporting that companies actually give employees incentives to refer friends for jobs--incentives that make it virtually impossible for an unconnected job seeker ever to get in.  The article went on to say that job search sites can actually put applicants in an even worse position, since many company recruiters practically disregard these applicants without a second thought.
 
I could have let this article ruin my day.  It seemed so bleak in terms of job searching and in terms of humanity.  Instead, I let the article turn my day around.
 
The day began (well, began again after children were off to school) not with reading numerous listings, but with emails to friends and former coworkers.  And saying yes to a volunteering request.  And what came out of it was, well, just what the article was focusing on--conversations between people who knew each other. Who could reel off each others strengths and weaknesses without a resume to help them.  It was the kind of referral that the article said companies thought made for the best employees.
 
I won't attribute my productive day to a newspaper article. Maybe it was saying yes to the volunteering request.  Or the crisp snowy air.  Perhaps it was the accomplishment of laundry started at 6am.  Or maybe it was just some unexplainable good karma.
 
But the article did make me think.  And look at things in a different way.  It's kind of great how something you read or someone you talk to can do that.  Hey, the days are short.  So you may as well do anything you can do to make the most of each hour.  Your next referral--and your next job--might depend on it.