By Kate Louise Johansen

I pretty much stopped thinking about Michael Jackson in 2005 after his famous trial, when he was acquitted of child molestation charges. In my mind, regardless of the outcome, something had gone on at Neverland between Jackson and children - and it probably wasn’t anywhere near as G-rated as he and his lawyers claimed.

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There's something called The Survivor Syndrome, in the aftermath of downsizing and trauma experienced by employees left standing. You know, it's like the, "Why me?"

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My 12-year-olds have been anticipating camp for months now. Pretty much every day we have had some discussion about an aspect of their upcoming one-month stay. This is their first time and they picked the place on their own. We checked it out, talked to the camp owners and all looks fine.

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Since unemployment seems to be the new black, recruiters are taking a different stance on gaps in the resumes they review. I used to do it 24/7: see a six-month gap of employment here, a three-month gap over there. Immediately, questions. Was this person let go due to performance issues? Slacker perhaps? Or merely a case of bad timing and luck: last one in, first one out? Now, given the state of the economy, it is deemed understandable, no questions asked.

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Six million jobs have been lost. Unemployment is at a 25-year high. More than 14 million people are out of work. If you're not trying to find a job you're probably trying to keep one. Good news? If you're a woman, you have distinct, hardwired advantages over your male counterparts and competitors, says Catherine Kaputa, author of The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business (Davies-Black). "Women are naturally 'wired' for career success, says Kaputa, a personal branding expert.

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A new survey finds that 29 percent of companies have modified or will change matching contributions in their 401(k) plans this year. One in five will eliminate the match entirely. “Clearly, the economic downturn is causing many companies to reevaluate their 401(k) plan design carefully," says Grant Thornton's Gary Gross, who co-authored the survey. "The highest anticipated action reported by all respondents is the complete elimination of the match, which will generate the most cash savings for the plan sponsor.”

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If you've been to an Abercrombie and Fitch store you've seen the buff young shirtless men who greet you at the door. But in London, a young woman who got a job at a A&F flagship store (and who didn't exactly hide her prosthetic arm, but didn't exactly wave it during the interview) was banished to the stockroom after a manager spotted it and wouldn't allow her on the main floor.

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The dreaded "R" word is a blank check for bosses to fire anyone. They use a recession as an excuse to get rid of the highly paid people who would ordinarily be hard to fire. In other words, a recession climate is used as an excuse to clean house.

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Jean Tobin Zawlocki wrote HELP! My Company's Going out of Business, What do I do now? (Authorhouse) She says she wrote the book after losing a job for the second time. "I decided to share reactions of what other people have done when they’ve been in a worst case employment scenario." Jean shared some other thoughts with Women For Hire. "I’ve worked at some great companies and there were a couple of companies that provided the information that helped me become more knowledgeable."

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I love finding good deals or bargains at my favorite stores. Summer is also a great time to find sizzling hot deals and give-a-ways. Let's be honest: the recession has been great for finding deep discounts.

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