Online sites like Facebook and LinkedIn provide a fast and easy way to keep your networks active, even when you take a break from the workplace. Here are some tips for maximizing those tools:

1. Use LinkedIn for business contacts and Facebook for personal friends: Keeping the two separate makes it easier to decide what to post where. Of course, if you have business contacts who are also friends ( a pleasant problem in my line of work) you might opt to maintain connection to them on both sites.

2. Several times a week, respond to status updates that merit attention: Congratulate people on promotions or offer suggestions of useful resources to people who post work or job-search related questions.

3. Post links to useful articles: Almost all of the major online news outlets now offer the ability to easily connect to their articles on your Facebook or LinkedIn profile. Maintaining a steady stream of useful content on your profile helps reinforce your image as an expert in your field.

4. Update your status on a regular basis: Sharing projects you're working on or books you're reading keeps your network aware of your "continuing education" and accomplishments in a subtle way.

5. Don't wait until you are in active job search mode to nurture your network: The worst time to build a network is when you're out of work.

My clients are sometimes my best teachers.

One of my clients, Sarah, is a master at doing the little things that make a big difference in the job search. Sarah first came to see me as a result of being laid-off from her employer of the past seven years. She was justifiably upset about the layoff, but instead of lashing out at her former company, Sarah processed through her anger, and chose to look at this turn-of-events as an opportunity for growth.

She wrote a carefully worded note to her old employer, thanking them for her years of employment and wishing them well for the future. Although this was a difficult letter for her to write, the act of expressing her thoughts on paper helped to free her negative energy and enabled her to focus more fully on moving forward. Not only was it liberating for her on an emotional level, but it also left a powerful and positive impression on her former colleagues, who are bound to speak highly of her to any potential references.

Recently, Sarah used the power of thank you again, when she was turned down for a job at a prestigious university near her home. Upon receiving her rejection letter, Sarah wrote back to the university, thanked them for considering her candidacy and expressed appreciation for their kindly worded rejection note.

A few days later, Sarah received a reply back from the hiring manager expressing her thanks to Sarah for taking the time to write such a lovely letter. She also indicated that she would be saving Sarah's application for consideration for future openings. With just one brief note, Sarah distinguished herself from the competition.

As Sarah's story illustrates, saying thank you is not always easy, but it is almost always appreciated.  You never know when those two little words might make the critical difference in your job search.

Every once in a while I read a blog post that makes me want to jump out of my chair and shout, "Yes!" Such was the case when I stumbled upon Rosabeth Moss Kantor's recent blog entry about telecommuting on the Harvard Business Publishing's site. Here is an excerpt:

"President Obama, here is a deceptively simple action item to put on your agenda for business growth, working families, and a green future: Make it the norm for everyone to work at home at least one day a week. That single step could raise productivity, save energy, decrease pollution, reduce traffic congestion, cut household expenses, increase quality of family life, and keep educated women in the work force. Workers of the world, go remote!

During this time of economic crisis and reinvention of global capitalism, one of the things crying out for reinvention is the rigid workplace of the last century. It is amazing in the digital age that most work is still associated with industrial age work rhythms and the symbolic chains that tie workers, knowledge and otherwise, to fixed locations. Flexible workplaces with flexible hours and days are long in coming."

Yes, yes, yes -- I couldn't agree more!  To read her full post, click here.

21 years ago my daughter Danielle was born, and with her birth and the subsequent arrival of her sister three years later, I was honored with the best job of my life -- becoming a Mom.

As difficult as it is for me to comprehend, this Mother's Day weekend, that little girl is going to be graduating from college and starting on her own career path.

In honor of Mother's Day, in honor of Danielle and in honor of every Mom who helps to make a difference every day in the life of her family, I am pleased to offer a never-before special of 50% off the regular price of our online workshop and guide,  The Back-to-Work Toolkit: A Guide for Comeback Moms. 

To learn more about this one of a kind workshop, click here.  To redeem your discount, simply put in the code "Danielle" when checking out.  Act quickly -- offer expires at midnight on Tuesday, May 12. 

Teaching, with its flexible hours and focus on helping children, has long been an attractive option for Moms. Fortunately, even with current budgetary cutbacks, the job outlook for teachers remains strong in many parts of the country. Labor analysts predict that there will be a demand for approximately 4 million new teachers by 2014, due to retirements, turnover in the field and modest projected increases in enrollment.

In response to this projected demand, alternative teacher preparation and certification programs have proliferated over the past 10 years. These programs enable mid-life career changers to quickly and inexpensively train to become teachers, without enrolling in a full-blown degree program.

Click here to be connected to the website run by the National Center for Alternative Certification -- a one-stop, comprehensive clearinghouse for information about alternative routes to certification in the United States.

Finding out what companies pay for positions can be a frustrating experience and the lack of that information can cost you big time when it comes time to negotiate your salary in a job interview.