Sell Yourself: 5 DIY PR Tips

How to tell it's time to move on with your employment search

(NEWSER) - BusinessWeek gives job-seekers seven signs that you're getting the brush-off:

1. Your calls to the recruiter generate nothing but silence.
2. You miss the first phone screen; that ship has sailed.
3. Musical interviewers; someone else has landed the job.

Even polite fibbing can hurt you in the daily grind

(NEWSER) - Lying at work, even to be polite, can hurt you in the long run. CNN suggests we all try cutting out these too-tempting lies:

1. I'd be happy to. If you've got too much on your plate, speak up before you drown yourself.
2. No questions. Preface your questions as clarification, but do ask them.

The less glamorous side of research, from toxic waste to whale feces

(NEWSER) -

1. Hazmat diver: They swim in sewage, toxic spills and other undesirable liquid environments.
2. Oceanographer: With the coral reefs dying, pollutants rising, and overfishing it's just one long stream of bad news.
3. Elephant vasectomist: With a testicle a foot in diameter, it isn't exactly a walk in the wildlife preserve.
4. Garbologist: These scientists take dumpster diving to a whole new level.
5. Coursework carcass preparer: Someone has to get those fetal pigs ready for the classroom.

40 hours provides maximum productivity: Geoffrey James

(NEWSER) - Putting in a 60-hour workweek may look impressive—but it's probably not helping the company, or you. Plenty of studies back this up, writes Geoffrey James at Time , who points to a turn-of-the-20th-century analysis by Ford Motor Company that concluded the most productive number of weekly hours for workers was 40. Another 20 hours briefly increased productivity, but after just three to four weeks, it actually made workers less productive. The same is true of extended workweeks today, writes James. More»

Hiccuping cat, ambiguous lottery ticket top the list

(NEWSER) - Traffic, poor sleep, and bad weather are the three most common excuses for showing up late to work, according to a nationwide survey of employees and bosses. But what are the most outrageous reasons employees gave in 2011 for being tardy? Here are the top 10, selected by CareerBuilder.com as part of its annual survey: More»