Olympic Résumé

10/12/2026

Great opportunity with Valley Com 911.

🚨 LAST CALL for our November Call Receiver Academy! 🚨

If you’ve been thinking about starting a career in 9-1-1, now is the time to apply. This is our final recruitment post before the November academy, and the testing process takes time so don’t wait until it’s too late.

Join a nationally accredited 9-1-1 Communications Center and work alongside some of the best and brightest professionals in the industry.
A career in emergency communications can be demanding, fast-paced, and incredibly rewarding. If you’re passionate about helping others, providing excellent customer service, and making a difference in your community, this could be the career you’ve been looking for.
✅ Comprehensive benefits
✅ Dynamic, team-focused work environment
✅ Meaningful public service career
✅ Training provided through our Call Receiver Academy
The November Academy is approaching quickly. Start the testing process now to be considered.

👉 Apply today: https://valleycom911careers.org

10/12/2026

Sharing for a boost. Great opportunities with Rough & Tumble Pub.

Wooo! We have a couple part time server-bartender roles opening up and are interviewing for *experienced* food & beverage professionals! Head to our and apply if you’ve been hoping to join the squad 🙌

10/10/2026

"Please Note the Side Quests on My Résumé."

***

If one industry could serve as a metaphor for the strangeness of the job market in 2026...I would probably nominate the video game industry.

It's immensely profitable. Filled to the brim with talented, bright, wonderful people. And yet...we've seen historic layoffs. Studios gutted. Bright, talented humans suddenly finding out their jobs, teams, and projects are just...gone.

Resets and recalibrations, they say. The industry is evolving, they say. Painfully so, as we're seeing. However, it's proven to be a resilient, adaptable industry. It's risen from the ashes before.

The recent layoffs set me on a quest.

I kept searching for a complete Triforce: a solid, working database of gaming jobs that felt complete. I couldn't find one. They all seemed off...focusing on only AAA developers or Western studios.

But that's not the world we live in. The video game industry is globally diversified, with many studios operating behind the curtain, if you will. So many wonderful games and franchises are massively transnational. I discovered several studios I had never heard of. And I learned about behind-the-scenes production on many beloved franchises I couldn't have guessed. It's like sourcing all the parts of an airplane. Tracing the global supply chain of creative talent in the video games industry is wild. Who created the wireframes? The gameplay? Localization? Testing?

So...how the heck can folks submit their battle-tested résumé if they can't find the opportunities?

Then I engineered a new database. A list that includes AAA and indies alike. Contract and support studios. Pro-union outfits. And (gasp!) places with anti-AI policies. And I included studios and developers from phantasmic places such as Redmond, Poland, Toronto, Finland, China, Paris, Japan, London, Colombia...and even Texas.

It's not perfect, but I think it's on track. No paywalls. No subscriptions. No fees. Just direct links to jobs.

However...as usual, the main quest led to a side quest. I realized I had to turn the journey into an episode of my series. Building the list forced me to follow the supply chain of incredible global talent. So many people and so many hands are required to get a playable masterpiece into the world.

And the multi-billion-dollar industry isn't just having one existential crisis. It's struggling with content scope, delivery, platforms, pay models, distribution, and ever-changing gamer appetites.

Pop in a quarter and join me for the most recent episode!

Career Coaching After Hours: What's Next for the Video Game Industry?
https://www.youtube.com/

Check out the 2026 video game industry jobs d-base:
https://www.olympicresume.com/video-game-industry

***

P.S. The database has tons of entries and includes greats such as: 2K, 31st Union, ArenaNet, Behaviour Interactive, Blizzard Entertainment, CD PROJEKT RED, Duolingo, Electronic Arts (EA), Gearbox Entertainment, Larian Studios, Mojang Studios, Naughty Dog, Nintendo, Obsidian Entertainment, Raven Software, Relic Entertainment, Riot Games, Sega of America, Inc., Scopely, Supercell, Valve Corporation, and ZA/UM Studio.

P.P.S. By the way...be proud of your main quests and side quests on your résumé. I'm proud of the battle-won splotches on mine.

***

Artwork: John Davidsson (with Gemini Nano Banana Pro x Canva).

10/06/2026

Great event. Thank you WorkSource Spokane.

Spokane, ready to unlock your next big opportunity? 🔑 Get ready for the FREE Access Spokane Job & Resource Fair! 🗓️

Join us on October 14th from 1 pm - 4 pm at the CenterPlace Regional Event Center (2426 N Discovery Pl, Spokane Valley, WA 99216📍). This inclusive event celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and it's open to EVERYONE! ✨

We're committed to accessibility: the fair is wheelchair accessible, and ASL interpreters will be on-site. 🤝 Need some job prep tips or career coaching? WorkSource Spokane has you covered! Visit www.worksourcespokane.com to book an appointment.

Connect with local employers, discover valuable resources, and take the next step in your career journey. Don't miss out!

Find all the info at AccessSpokane.org. Tag a friend or share this post to spread the word! See you there!

10/02/2026

Ordinary Guardians: Quiet Victories in Public Spaces

***

Sometimes the news is hard to read. For example, earlier this year, the State of Washington agreed to pay an $80 million settlement to the Strode siblings. Eight-month-old Leo was left in a shed when it caught fire. Six-week-old Matilda suffocated when her parents fell asleep.

It's a fiendish cycle: Read the news. Shake my head. Say to myself, "We need to do better." Sure thing. However, it's one thing to say we need to do better for our children here in Washington. It's something else to step in.

Their cases reminded me of little Gary Blanton, who was rushed to the hospital with a skull "...so broken that doctors knew right away they couldn't save him."

Gary has haunted me for a decade.

Some folks know that I have a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) cert. Last week, I advocated in court for two children. It was another small victory. I wrote about a similar victory last year. A guardian is supposed to represent the best interests of a child (or incapacitated person) in superior court.

Especially since I received my cert, I've been dismayed at the lack of transparency, oversight, and responsiveness of family court systems. Nevertheless, I trudge forward. My guardian work is Pro Bono. Which is Latin for "the public good." But that's not accurate. It's Latin for "helps me sleep at night."

It's Latin for fooling myself into thinking I'm doing enough.

Back to the small victory. Victory as in, the court ordered community service for a parent instead of incarceration, as I recommended. Victory as in the family wasn't split up and subject to a CPS investigation. Victory as in the Department of Children, Youth & Families didn't have to step in. Victory as in the parent in contempt hopefully learned a lesson.

It was another quiet victory in a nearly empty courtroom. But like so many victories involving children, it was redacted. So many tiny wins never make it to the press. That's fine.

Yes, I spend most of my professional time helping folks with career decisions. However, occasionally, I have to do some volunteer work to drown out the sounds of this world hurting. Those Kim Wexler moments, I guess.

By law, I'm required to say volunteer work is a great way to develop skills, network, and tune up the resume. And since I regularly yammer about volunteering, I'll put in another pitch to help children in need. Maybe consider the CASA pathway...or GAL training.

The Washington Association of Child Advocate Programs has a training coming up soon. Link: https://wachildadvocates.org/

Or reach out to Kitsap Legal Aid Services if you're interested in GAL training. Link: https://kitsaplegalaid.org/events-and-cles/

Anyone can engage in these programs. Zero legal experience or training needed.

Know anyone who might be interested?

***

P.S. Gary, you haven't been forgotten.

***

Extra Credit / Background Reading:

Washington state to pay $80M settlement to injured siblings / King 5 / 2026: https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/investigators/washington-state-to-pay-80-million-settlement-to-injured-siblings/281-9ff0f127-4423-42dd-9e28-61ebf873a166

‘Everyone failed him’: Boy’s aunt accused of murder, DSHS accused of ‘critical errors’ / The Seattle Times / 2017: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/everyone-failed-him-boys-aunt-accused-of-murder-dshs-accused-of-critical-errors/

***

09/30/2026

Great opportunity with Snohomish County Office of the Court Appointed Special Advocate.

We're hiring a Human Services Supervisor to lead our team of Program Coordinators — the people who train and support volunteers advocating for children in the juvenile dependency court system.

We're looking for a thoughtful, collaborative leader ready to support an extraordinary team.

Apply here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/5456010-0/human-services-supervisor-casa

09/29/2026

Seattle...like Rome...is built upon seven hills.

New York, London, Paris — Seattle?

You read that right. A new report names these as the world’s four top cities this year, in that order.

The Oxford Economics Global Cities Index for 2026 puts our Puget Sound metropolis in the upper echelon, ahead of such heavyweights as San Francisco, Tokyo and Zurich.

Oxford Economics is a commercial advisory firm based in Oxford, England. Its annual index assesses 1,000 global cities across five categories: Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment and Governance. Seattle’s overall score was 92.8 out of 100.

I remember when I first moved here, then-mayor Greg Nickels often talked about turning Seattle into a “world-class city.” You hear less of that now, especially since the pandemic, as the city works through layoffs, budget deficits, a homelessness crisis and one of the nation’s highest downtown vacancy rates.

Still, if an advisory firm an ocean away thinks we’ve arrived, why argue? Let’s hear what they have to say.

(✍️ Gene Balk / FYI Guy / The Seattle Times | 📷 Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-ranks-fourth-among-worlds-top-cities-in-new-report/

09/29/2026

With Duolingo – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉