Needle, Meet Haystack

If you’re new to Needle, Meet Haystack, welcome!  The archives can be a bit imposing, so this page is designed to help you make the most of the site.

The posts are divided into several topics and sub-topics.  They are:

• Employment: Posts about or related to the job search.  This section has two sub-topics:  Job Application, where you can find tips and tricks for resumes, cover letters, and filling out applications; and Interview, which is full of tips and tricks related to attending or conducting an interview.
• Posts in the Personal Development category are about self-improvement and working to increase efficiency and effectiveness in both work and life.  There are four sub-topics within this category: Body Language is about nonverbal communications that people (sub)consciously give off; Branding will tell you how to establish a personal and professional reputation both online and in the real world; Expertise covers the skills and competencies that you need to establish knowledge in a specific area; and Motivation is full of advice that can help you better achieve your personal goals.
• The Pop Culture category focuses on people, places, things and ideas within the cultural zeitgeist, some current, some retro.  It has two sub-groups: Social Trends, which is all about new and exciting developments in interpersonal relations and communication; Technology deals with the software and hardware that will someday become the Matrix and/or Skynet.
• The creatively-titled section The Blog contains blog-related news and features.  There’s a Benchmarks section full of little milestones.  The Blog section also contains links to all of the features: Guest Posts is full of posts that were written by other people of note; the Job Application Diet is a quick, five-day plan to revitalize your resume and cover letter; JTMSCBAKS, or “Jobs That Might Seem Cool But Actually Kinda Suck,” is a now-defunct feature about exactly what its title suggests; Links contains a whole bunch of links to interesting articles and websites; NSS, or “Non-Sequitur Saturday,” is full of random ramblings; and Question of the Week is full of reader questions (and answers).
• The Working section doesn’t have any sub-categories; it’s about surviving and thriving in the office and corporate environments.

The blog itself has several pages of content beyond the blog posts.

• The About page is about Andrew, the author of the blog.
• You’re on the New?  Start Here! page right now.
• NMH on the Web contains links to different subscription- and social networking-based sites to find more Needle, Meet Haystack goodies.
• Notable Posts contains both posts that are popular with readers and links to guest posts on other blogs.