It doesn't take much time to send a thank you note, letter or email after a job interview. Sending a thank you letter is a good way to reiterate your interest in the job and to remind the interviewer why you are the best candidate.

It's also important to take the time to thank everyone who assisted with your job search. Here's information on thank you letters including who you should thank and the best way to thank them.

If you're not sure what to write, review a sample thank you letter or two to get some ideas and suggestions. And, if you have a thank you letter you're proud of and you'd like to share it with our site visitors, here's how to submit your letter for consideration.

More: Top 10 Thank You Letter Tips

_{Photo Copyright Carlos Arranz}

If you're not joining the Black Friday shoppers at at the mall or the outlets today, or if you have a holiday shopping list that is, like mine, way too long for the amount of time you have to shop, you might have thought about doing your holiday shopping from work.

According to CareerBuilder's holiday shopping from work survey, 32% of workers plan on doing some shopping from the office.  That's up from 29% last year.

A survey from  ISACA reports even more shopping this season.  10% of workers surveyed  plan to spend at least 30 hours shopping online at work.  And most employees plan to spend nearly two full working days (14.4 hours) on average shopping online from a work computer this holiday season.

Despite the fact that I'm a diehard online shopper and don't buy anything from the store that I can get online, I do need to warn you to be careful about shopping from work.   Before you start adding presents to your shopping cart, you might want to consider the consequences of shopping (and socializing) on company time, or you might end up looking for a new job. What you do online when you're doing it from work, is your employer's business and not much of it is private. CareerBuilder reports that 50% of companies monitor Internet use by employees.

So, if you're shopping on the job and don't want to end up job shopping, take CareerBuilder Vice President of Human Resources Rosemary Haefner's advice: "The Internet provides fast and convenient access to virtually any resources you need, but you want to make sure you're leveraging those resources during personal time that is allotted to you during the workday, such as your lunch hour."

More: Using Facebook at Work

_{Photo © Carmen Martanez Banas}

Writing about listening to folk music on my local public radio station one Thanksgiving has become an annual tradition for me, along with a family gathering and lots to eat on the table. I was struck that Thanksgiving, and still am, by the lyrics of Bob Franke's song Thanksgiving Eve:

What can you do with your days but work and hope
Let your dreams bind your work to your play

Bob's lyrics remind me, especially this time of year, as we move from fall to winter here in the Northeast United States, that life is short and none of have as much time as we'd like to do the things that matter most to us.

That's said, this has been a really tough year for finding a job - any job - let alone focusing on finding meaningful work.    What's interesting though, is the common thread that runs through many of the stories that unemployed workers have graciously shared with me.  Despite the fact that they don't have a job, that it's the worst job market that they can remember, and life is really difficult, they are thankful.  They are thankful for the kindness of friends, family, and sometimes strangers, who have taken them in when the've lost their homes.  They are thankful for a meal, for a referral to a job, and for unemployment benefits that have helped at least pay some of the bills.

Thanksgiving is also my time of year to say thank you.  A heartfelt thanks  to all of you have contributed to this site and shared your job search stories, suggestions, and tips. I appreciate you taking the time to comment on posts, email me, or post on our Forum. 

As I mentioned, this has been the most difficult year for job seekers that I can remember and I appreciate all who have shared their advice for to help other struggling with a job search or unemployment issues, even when you are in dire straits yourselves.

More: Share Your Unemployment Story

_{Photo Andrei Orlov}

Despite the latest unemployment extension passed by Congress, many unemployed workers will start running out of benefits at the end of the year because the extended benefits provided by American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) are set to expire. In addition, the 65% COBRA subsidy, the $25 supplemental payment, and the partial suspension of Federal income tax will also expire. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) reports:

• Almost 450,000 workers will exhaust their 26 weeks of states benefits without accessing the temporary EUC extension program or the permanent federal program of Extended Benefits.
• Nearly 600,000 workers will not be eligible to continue receiving EUC past their current tier of benefits.

If another extension isn't passed, many workers will not be entitled to any unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks of state benefits. That's because if you are not already collecting extended benefits, you will not be able to move to additional tiers of benefits, like you can now, because those extensions are expiring on December 31. The National Employment Law Project recommends contacting your Congress member and urging him or her to act now to extended benefits for all workers who are going to lose them.

Related: New Unemployment Extension News