The job search can and does feel like a crap shoot these days. When you may feel no matter you do, how many networking events you attend, how many job postings you apply to, you are in a mean game of rock, paper, scissors and you are always a mis-match! Even when you feel like your job search is more like a guessing game-guess again. You can win at this if you just sit back, and prepare yourself for an inevitable crap shoot with the occasional win.

When procrastination gets in the way of moving your career forward, you can either sit and let the stomach worms squiggle around inside or actually, get up and get on with finding out what’s holding you back. It’s never easy to make change when it’s something you started or was forced upon you. Change is as we all know, tough on those who stubbornly fight against it or easy for those who move with the flow. If you are holding onto something that no longer works for you in fear of the unknown, then procrastination has gotten the better of you.

Knowing when to make a left when you are going right, or to turn when the road seems to bend out of nowhere enables you to right the course of change when you come to a career crossroad in your search for the perfect job. It’s not as important to always have a clear vision of where your career is headed. It is important however to manage the obstacles, challenges, opportunities and gifts you come to find along the way.

Pamela Kleibrink Thompson kicks off 2011 by reminding us reminds of the power of change to achieve personal growth.

KidScreen Summit is renowned as the kids entertainment industry’s most important annual event. In 2010, the conference welcomed almost 1,500 attendees from 43 countries, with a record-setting 63% of delegates hailing from outside of the US. Top decision- and deal-makers in the kids business attend KidScreen Summit to engage in critical dialogue on issues that affect the industry and take advantage of some of the year’s best networking opportunities; recognize and understand current market needs, opportunities and challenges; learn more about key innovators and their visions; and share ideas that will drive their businesses forward.

2010 Statistics

Nearly 1,500 delegatesMore than 800 companies representedAttendees from 43 countries150 riveting speakers350+ kids content buyers & investors

Who Attends?

TV Programming, Acquisitions and Development ExecutivesProducers and CreatorsDistributorsRetailersLicensors & LicenseesMarketersDigital Media Content Creators and Distributors

Why Attend?

Build your business by networking with nearly 1,500 international leaders in all sectors.Engage in critical dialogue on issues that affect the industry.Recognize and understand current market needs, opportunities and challenges.Rejuvenate your creativity.Get face time with primary kids industry leaders.Discover new talent and build relationships with potential partners.

Just like the dead-air you get when your cell phone reception fails, your job search can feel like that sometimes, when you recant the same phrase over and over again, “Can You Hear Me?” Getting discouraged, frustrated, annoyed and downright fed-up with the lack of response, follow through and in some cases common courtesy, is unfortunately a routine part of the job search these days. When your emails, voicemails and even FaceBook requests go unanswered, all you ever seem to want to ask is, “Can you hear me?”

Pamela Kleibrink Thompson gets into the holiday spirit with some It's a Wonderful Life-inspired advice.

Just because you’ve been working your butt off interviewing, networking and working every angle you can to find your next job, doesn’t mean every job is the right one for you. When a job is not the one you were hoping it would be, you need to walk away from the a pending offer just like you would a bad first date. For whatever reason when the job you want does not want you, you need to figure out a way to move on with grace, courage and the speed necessary to get enough traction between you and your next career move.

When you struggle with what you think you want from your next job because you are convinced that you just need to work, you do yourself a dis-service. With unemployment benefits being extended to 99 weeks, it fuels the fires of doubt where it appears even the President is not confident in a job recovery anytime soon. Next time you find yourself ready to jump off a cliff because you just, “need to work” ask yourself, do you really know what you want?

I just hung up on Morgan Freeman. He called right in the middle of dinner and at our house, dinner is family time. Friday evening I hung up on Martin Sheen. I’m sure many other A-List celebrities have been calling of late, but I’ve hung up before they could introduce themselves and implore me to vote one way or another. The campaign phone calls have been relentless, like ants in the pantry in the middle of summer! I cannot remember a more vicious and completely demoralizing election. Who’s in charge of this pop stand? I demand to see the manager!