Lindsay Olson

SXSW Interactive!

I'm attending SXSW Interactive until Wednesday. If you are in Austin, come say hi!

Hope to see you there.

Another Call for Guest Bloggers

As most of you who follow this blog or any of my updates on Twitter and Facebook, you've probably long realized I've gone off the deep end into Mommyland and I've become an annoying new Mommy looking for any excuse to post pictures her bundle of joy.

While I haven't seemed to be able to completely disconnect, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to spend as much time as I can with baby Julia Mai until January-ish. It leaves me with very little time to write.

Over the past two months I've enlisted the help of some awesome guest bloggers to contribute to the blog.  A huge thanks to Alison Kenney, Gerry Corbett, Jonathan Rick, Kelli Matthews, Ken Jacobs, Jacob Share, Linda Beltran, Rob Manfredo, George Nikanorav, Rachel Esterline, and Chris Perry for their hard work and contributions so far. You can find all guest contributions here

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I'll be continuing to work with guest bloggers for the next couple months, so I'm inviting anybody who is interested to submit a post.

Main criteria for a post:

1. The post must follow the theme of this blog: job search and employment, recruiting (written for hiring managers and/or candidates), social media, or anything about the public relations industry.
2. Original content and not previously posted on another blog.
3. Provide links and any images you want to go along with the post with appropriate attribution.
4. A short (two- to three-sentence bio).

If you want to make sure I′ll post your idea, feel free to email me about it.

The Time Has Come...

No, this isn't my baby (but she sure is cute!). The Olson-Fernandez baby is due any day now. While I'm busy joining the Club Mommy, I'll be going quiet for a bit, but it doesn't mean the death of this blog. I've lined up several guest bloggers to share their industry insights over the next couple months. I plan to also stay as active as possible with my own updates. Stay tuned!

I'm excited to open up this blog to communications professionals, staffing professionals, and job seekers who want share their knowledge and experiences with the readers. If you are interested in participating, I'm accepting guest submissions through January. See the details here.

Readers, please let me know if you'd like to see any specific topics covered. We're always open to suggestions!

I will be keeping up with my activity on Twitter and Facebook. Feel free to connect with me there.

Facebook: Lindsay Olson
Twitter: PRJobs

Thank you for all your support!

Photo credit: Deannster

Say Anything... rip

Call for Guest Bloggers

Ok, it's about time I pull my "get out of jail free" card. Every woman should be able to do this in my situation.

I'm very pregnant. Enough said?

In two very short weeks, Baby Fernandez-Olson will be joining us. I'm planning to take a bit of downtime for baby and my sanity. I expect I won't have as much time to write and the frequency of my posts will slow down for at least several weeks. It's already happening. Between working as much as possible, last minute preparations, waiting for doctors and test results, appreciating interior bathroom design, and spending more time trying to find a comfortable position to sleep than actually sleeping, I just can't find enough energy to keep up.

Of course, I plan to return to my normal self as soon as possible and you'll be able to find me on Twitter and Facebook.

I don't want to leave the blog too quiet. I'm looking for a few guest bloggers who are interested in being heard and could help me maintain my content over the next couple of months. In addition to being posted here, the posts are syndicated on a few different networks including Brazen Careerist and cross-posted to my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn networks.

Main criteria for a post: The Night We Called It a Day dvdrip

1. The post must follow the theme of this blog: job search and employment related content, recruiting (written for hiring managers and/or candidates), social media, or anything about the public relations industry.
2. Original content and not previously posted on another blog.
3. Provide links and any images you want to go along with the post with appropriate attribution.
4. A short (two- to three-sentence bio).

If you want to make sure I'll post your idea, feel free to email me

about it. Please send post submissions to Lindsay (at) paradigmstaffing (dot) com.

I'm also accepting ideas for baby girl names that work in English and Spanish. Two weeks to go and no names - we need all the suggestions we can get!

Photo credit: Mark Strozier

Welcome to the World, Baby Julia Mai!

I'm so happy to share that our daughter, Julia Mai, has finally arrived. She was born on September 24, 2009 at 1:48 pm in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 19.6 inches.

Matias and I are so in love with our little Julia.

Thanks for all of your support and kind encouragement throughout my pregnancy. We are thrilled and so excited to join the world of parenthood.

Mini-Vacation Mindset

Mini-vacations should be mandatory. It doesn't need to be something extravagant. It could just mean turning off the computer and getting out of your daily routine for a few days to spend it with friends and family.

I'm as guilty as one can be about sneaking a peek of work-related email whenever I get a chance on vacation. A two week vacation without checking in seems impossible for me, but four days... I can manage four days.

Rule 1: Make it rural. We went to Candonga

No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker trailer , a pueblo about 50 kilometers outside of Cordoba, Argentina. As you can see from the pictures, there is nothing, nada, zilch. Well, there is a Jesuit Church, animals, mountains, a river, and a very nice family that attends to filling your tummy with their homemade goodies four times a day from their farm and organic garden at the Posada Las Perdices. Not having a WIFI signal makes disconnecting much easier.

Thick as Thieves hd

Rule 2: Bring books, but only fiction or non-fiction that have nothing to do with business. As much as I love activity, adventure-filled vacations, I find I truly recharge when I'm not pressured to be somewhere or do something. Losing myself in a book for a few hours a day gives me something else to think about.

Rule 3: Bring the walking shoes and the yoga mat. Keeping up with my daily exercise is important even on vacation. Exercise gives me the energy I need to get through the day. Have you ever regretted a workout after actually completing it? It's easy to incorporate into your mini-vacation even without the fancy gym machines.

Where are you going on your next mini-vacation?

Photos: Matias Dutto

Destination: Cordoba, Argentina

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm off again for another short vacation. It is Semana Santa (or Holy Week) in Argentina. I figure if the rest of the country shuts down, I should too. And with the baby on the way (consider this the announcement!), it's probably a good idea to take as many as these quick getaways as possible.

My husband, Matías, and I are off to Córdoba, Argentina which lies about 700 kilometers from Buenos Aires to spend a few days hiking and lounging in the Sierras. Complete disconnect. You won't be seeing much from me on the blog until I get back, but stay tuned. I'll be back to regular posting next week.

Trekking the Perito Moreno Glacier

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Occasionally you'll find a post here that has nothing to do with career advice or job search. Believe it or not, I do have other interests! Despite the economy crashing and everything coming to a jolting halt in 2009, I decided to take the mini-vacation I've been talking about for the past four years I've lived in Argentina. Hey, everyone needs a break once in awhile.

So I finally went on a four day trip to El Calafate and the glaciers in the south of Argentina. El Calafate offers a spectacular landscapes and a ton of activities for people of all ages. The most memorable excursion of this trip was trekking on Perito Moreno glacier - not the type of adventure you can find in just any place in the world.

All the credit for the photos goes to my husband, Matias Dutto. Without his eye and passion for photography, I'd have nothing to share.

Some tips for those of you considering a trip to Argentina and the glaciers (from Matias's blog):

• Don't miss the Patagonia lamb dinner at the restaurant "La Tablita." It's one of the most recommended in town for reason, so ask your hotel or call for reservations in advance.
• Consider stay at Robles Sur Gone with the Wind full movie . Our friend, Oscar "Colores" Di Pietro, is the ultimate adventure host in Patagonia. If you're a photographer, if you're looking for an exclusive adventure, if you like serene places to stay, if you want to entire joy an authentic Italian cafe or if you're interested in climbing, this is the place you have to stay.
• Renting a car to see the area is always the best option (and cheaper in most cases).
• March is a perfect month to go because it is the end of high season and the weather is still very nice.

Where in the World is Lindsay?

It will be quiet around here for the next week or so. I'm going on short, but overdue vacation. See you sometime next week.

Photo credit: Marina & Enrique The Watcher divx

Happy Holidays

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It's that time of year when I'm U.S. bound for the holiday season. In about four hours, we'll be boarding the flight for the long awaited journey home. This year I've planned an extended trip with stops in Richmond, Virginia to see the family and three weeks in New York.

Ok, I know what you're thinking, why would I think about giving up a month of beautiful Buenos Aires summer days for freezing cold NYC winters?

I can hardly wait. I'm especially looking forward to finally meet so many of you with whom I communicate daily, but have yet to meet in person. So if you are in NY, please let me know. I'll be there from December 28th through January 20th.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy!

Photo credit: Trey Ratcliff

Hold That Ghost