Okay so here’s a bit of a pickle we came across while On the Job Hunt: human resource departments are cutting back on personnel.  Meantime, human resource workers are being inundated with electronic resumés at a rate that has them buried in electronic paperwork.  At Denver Health, one of the area’s largest hospitals, “we get about 6700 applications a month” online, says Mark Genkinger, Human Resources Director of Recruitment.  Genkinger says it’s impossible to go through each one and this hospital doesn’t have one of the more sophisticated ‘applicant tracking systems’ some corporations use to sift out the contenders from the less qualified.   We asked Genkinger how someone stands out in a field of thousands.  He says, first of all, don’t send out the same resumé to a bunch of different openings.  Tailor your resumé to fit each position.  For example, Genkinger says, “…they may say, ’seeking to obtain management position’ but they’re applying for an individual contributor position.  Right then and there, I don’t need to read any further because I know I have hundreds, if not thousands of resumés still to review that may target those specific positions”.  Andrew Hudson, who helps people find jobs through his website, AndrewHudsonJobsList.com in Colorado, agrees.  Hudson also told us that if you’re unemployed, you still have a full-time job being the “Chief Marketing Officer for Yourself”. That means, Hudson explains, that you have to get offline to get yourself noticed.  Hudson says, “…it seems cliché, but networking is key.  Seventy percent of folks who get jobs, have gotten jobs as a result of who they know and being able to go to networking parties put on by associations that reflect your industry.”  Still not convinced? Consider this, in June of this year, more than 65 million Americans visited a career-related website.  The message we got while on this story was, much of the world may be in the state-of-the-art electronic age, but throwing back to the out-of-style, get-off-your tail age could be ingenious.  In other words, don’t overestimate the power of the internet while underestimating the impression of good ol’ snail mail. As we were told by a hiring agent who sees hundreds of e-mails a day, “What differentiates a candidate is an old-fashioned card in the mail that’s handwritten, that just says thank you for the interview.  It makes a big difference.”

“If you mess with America’s feelings, America will hurt you.” A line delivered by Richard Heene’s Defense attorney, David Lane, when asked by someone in the crowd of reporters what he’s learned from the case unofficially known as Balloon Boy.

The Heenes did not make a statement today and were clearly not interested in the flurry of media attention this time around. Instead, Mayumi, the mother of the Heene clan, quietly listened as Judge Stephen Schapanski explained the charge against her of false reporting to authorities. It’s a misdemeanor offense and a lesser charge than she may have faced had her husband not plead out to a class 4 felony.

According to the attorneys in this case and affidavits filed in the Larimer County Courthouse, Mayumi admitted in a videotaped interview with a police officer that the events of October 15th, when people around the globe watched in terror (and curiosity) as a giant saucer shaped balloon drifted in the Colorado sky supposedly carrying her son, was a hoax. The family had been planning it for two weeks, Mayumi said. This admission, attorneys say, could have cleared the way for authorities to charge the 45 year old mother of three with a felony.

This was a risk the family says it could not afford. You see, if Mayumi Heene were convicted of a felony, as a Japanense citizen, she would be deported to her native country. In a statement released by David Lane, Mayumi’s husband Richard chose to “fall on his sword,” and plead guilty to a more serious charge, so that his wife would not have to. It was a package deal, said Lane. After both Heenes voluntarily admitted to the charges against them, Judge Shapanski let both know that restitution would be sought and that jail time was a possibility. The cost of the four hour chase last month, that involved the cops, sheriff’s deputies, the national guard and the Federal Aviation Administration, is till unknown, but estimates start around 60-thousand dollars. Judge Shapanski will make the final decision during the Heenes sentencing hearing in December.

by FNC Reporter Alicia Acuna

The state of Arkansas is run by a popular Democratic governor and predominantly Democratic legislature.  The congressional delegation is made up of one Republican U.S. Representative, three Democratic ones and two Democratic U.S. Senators.  But if you ask folks around here, most will describe their state as conservative.  After all, they chose Senator John McCain over Barack Obama by 20 percent in 2008.  President Obama did not make Arkansas a campaign stop last year, and everyone we interviewed on this story mentioned it.  He clearly didn’t need it to win, but he may need Arkansas in 2010.  That’s because Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln is running to keep her seat in Washington and her opponents are talking like they can already taste the sweet victory.

Doyle Webb, Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party predicts, “This seat will change hands next year. Arkansans are ready for a change, Senator Lincoln has not been the United States Senator that they thought she was when she was elected. She’s drank too much of that Potomac River water and she’s forgot what it is to be an Arkansan, and become more of a Washitonian”.  Senator Lincoln rejects that notion.  While she acknowledged in an interview with us that, “2010 is a gonna be a tough election year,” Lincoln said, “it always is when you run midterm of a new administration.  I did it in 1994 when our own Bill Clinton…had just won the presidency, it was midterm of his first term. And it’s always difficult.”

Adding to the Senator’s challenge, is the debate on healthcare reform.  Dr. Art English a professor with The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Political Science department says, “I actually think she’ll win re-election but it may be a bit of a struggle. But right now I think with the health care debate, of course she’s been right in the vortex of that because of her re-election.”

Senator Lincoln says she does not support a government run, government funded option, but says the country needs to reform its health care system. In its current version, the health care reform bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is not popular with Arkansans.  This state has the second largest senior citizen population in the country (Florida is first). Concerns about potential Medicare cuts and increased taxes prompted a group called, 60plus.org to run TV ads appealing to Senator Lincoln.

She’s  in a tough spot: does she go with national party loyalty? Or cast a vote that reflects the constituents back home?  Either way, she loses something.  What Senator Lincoln does seem to get is the impatience growing around the goals of this administration. She told us, “People’s expectations have been high and most of them know that we don’t move at breakneck speeds in Washington.  But unfortunately when expectations go up, people want to see the results, and I want to bring them results, but I want to make sure that it’s positive and it’s what’s right for Arkansas, it’s what’s right for the country”.

Election day 2010 is not only a year away, it’s an eternity away in political time. A lot can happen, and probably will.