Ah, yes. There was that controversy over sex in the workplace, for starters. And employees dished about their most unusual excuses for missing work–including gems like “I was injured chasing a seagull” — and we promptly published them in a survey for employers everywhere to guffaw at (or scorn).

Employees come up with excuses for missing work for many reasons — including their boss. We spoke with the authors of “Working for You Isn’t Working for Me” about bad bosses, toxic workplace relationships, employee fear in today’s economy, and much more. Check out Part I, II, and III here.

Halloween begins the mad rush of the holiday season — and prime job search season. In the spirit of sharpening interview skills, we asked you to reconsider 5 “red flag” interview situations (yes, including a candidate’s lateness!), and in our first-ever contest on The Hiring Site, we asked you to give us your best interview questions–and you exceeded our expectations (and someone got a Flip Ultra video camera). We sorted through the many thoughtful, funny, and original responses, culminating in our Best of the Best interview questions–and Best of the Rest. Enjoy, and get in on November’s contest action!

Why aren’t you calling job seekers back? Many of you let us know that you just don’t have time –so we offered some solutions to get things back on track.

With all the Jon and Kate Gosselin Halloween masks out there, Halloween is scary enough. But in a recent CareerBuilder survey, we up’d the fear factor and asked employees which famous Halloween character their bosses most resemble  — and found that 18 percent of workers describe their workplace as scary. Mask or not, that’s no laughing matter.

On a positive note, lots of businesses are doing things right — and what better way to get tips on improving your own processes? We took a closer look at the things “best places to work” are doing to recruit and retain top employees.

Now go get that last-minute Halloween costume together.

1. I can’t stand my employee’s big hair! We released a list of the strangest workplace complaints out there — so sit back, read, and enjoy. (Did a Warrant crew member submit that first one? Hard to say.)

2. The “Vuick.” We took a closer look at General Motors’ decision to pull its new Buick after negative social media feedback, and what we can learn from it. What would you have done in their situation?

3. Don’t call us. We’ll, uh, call you. Or not. Job seekers asked employers why they weren’t calling them back post-application. Then, they asked again.

4. Sage advice. Ben Roth, founder of Roth Staffing, gave advice to other companies about how to build a values-driven company and accurately measure employee engagement.

3. Hey! Job boards aren’t dead! We learned that some job boards are alive and well (but shucks, we at CB already kind of knew that).

4. Time to dust off that briefcase. Job seekers are holding their own, too. More workers are landing new jobs with small businesses, and over half of workers laid off in the last 12 months have found new jobs.

5. Pay up — or employees may be out. Results of the annual Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report show that a whopping 55 percent of workers plan to make career changes, look for new jobs or go back to school after the economy improves. What might just make them stay? Money.

6. It’s now easy being green. Green-collar jobs are set to grow at a rate of 1.3 million jobs per year through 2030. Yowsers. In August, CareerBuilder launched GoingGreenJobs.com to connect green-minded employers and job seekers. Check it out.

7. Social Networking v. Social NOTworking. Does Facebook decrease office productivity? Is Twitter the devil? Or are they just the innocent equivalent of a coffee break? Join the social networking debate.

8. Good news for staffing firms: CareerBuilder’s Staffing Supply and Demand Outlook shows more job seekers planning to utilize staffing firms, gains in temporary health care hiring, and more.

Did I miss anything?

More FREE stuff for you! In addition to highlights and how-to’s on our My Letters tool, we picked the finalists in our “It’s Probably Time” contest. Best of all, you still have six days to vote on your favorite video! Have your say and help us pick a great one.

Oh, and FYI, your next chance to score free stuff is coming up really, really, soon.

4 million jobs. Think the stimulus plan won’t affect you and your business? You may be surprised. We launched Stimulus Hiring in March — with a goal of helping you understand how your business can take advantage of the stimulus plan and create more revenue and jobs. If you missed the conversation, read up here.

We got a bit romantic. Okay, well, we didn’t, specifically, but we did wax poetic about the 10 greatest on-screen workplace “romances” (strictly platonic, of course). Dwight Shrute and Michael Scott, anyone?

Surfing at work — Do you care? We brought up a subject that’s not bound to go away anytime soon — your employees’ Internet usage at work. The discussion got a bit heated, and what the comments really conveyed is that you all have a LOT of differing opinions on this. The world’s changing due to technology, and while some employers are recognizing those changes, others are shying away from them. What’s your take on it?

Retirement? Maybe not. A CareerBuilder survey found that a whopping 60 percent of people over the age of 60 are being forced to postpone retirement due to the financial crisis and its impact on their long-term savings. Are you one of them?

The Interviewer’s Chair. Oh, how the tables have turned on employers. Job seekers are asking more questions than ever before, and they may throw some curveballs at you. Are you ready? We posted 7 Job Seeker Questions You Didn’t See Coming, here and here.

Harmless fun or lost productivity? About one-fifth of you have been wrapped up in March Madness office pools… and also less, uh, traditional polls, betting around such things as co-workers’ cholesterol numbers, who would be named Pope, and who could win a burrito-eating contest. Does your company participate or find them distracting?

We rounded out the month with a healthy dose of Fortune’s most-admired companies chatter and a debate on Millionaire Matchmaker and recruiter envy.

Lending a hand and looking up. Last but certainly not least, we talked about — yes — a bright spot in our current economy! No, we’re serious. Oh, and we talked about the importance of your business giving back to the community. Complete with a Lloyd Dobler/”Say Anything” reference.

And I think a movie about a girl and a pen is a perfect way to end this blog post. Whew… did we miss anything?

Here on The Hiring Site, we had a few things to say about this past month’s both uplifting and often bizarre slew of events, as well as the effect they have had on workplaces and those employees and leaders who inhabit them.

1. From hot messes to new hires. We took one last look at the “hot mess” behavior of 2008, but we were already looking forward to 2009 with the release of our Job Hiring Forecast.  The survey predicted 7 major hiring trends for this year, green jobs and more flexible work arrangements among them.

2. Layoffs, hiring and the economy. Close on the heels of more sobering news about company layoffs was our discussion about leading in these uncertain times and what it means for you as a business leader. Better yet, we told you how to maintain momentum during a recession, Lost-style.

3. Our leaders are talking about it. Our CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on ABC News with Charles Gibson to share his thoughts on this year’s hiring outlook, and Jason Ferrara made a cameo on Nightline to offer five tips for workers looking to land that next job.

3. “Pulling a Sharon.“ My colleagues and I Many of us have guiltily been watching The Bachelor. Mary talked about the number of American workers planning to “Pull a Sharon” this year and leave their jobs for more exciting offers.

4. Free stuff for you! We’re fully aware of the tough times you or someone you know may be experiencing right now. So, we also decided to spotlight the free CareerBuilder.com user tools that you might not even know about. We’ll be discussing a new resource for you every week — check it out.

Holding in your burning desire for a free tool you don’t think we have? Spill it.

5. The Big Game. Before you prepare your famous taco dip for the big game this Sunday, get some management tips from Super Bowl contenders — and be sure to check out our commercial spot.

And please, let us know what you think – about any of this. We’re listening.

For those of you who’ve already started your holiday shopping, chances are you ran into product recommendations at some point before checking out–both in the mall or online–which is a topic we covered on The Hiring Site this past month. We also explored workplace issues, such as common sense with office scents, new technologies, what makes a company the best employer, and more. Here are the highlights:

If decision-making is not your strong suit, fear not: data analysis and recommendation engines are making life easier–and revolutionary.

Sniff, sniff … Ever have an experience involving a colleague’s overpowering cologne like that scene in Anchorman? What’s the best way to manage it?

After spending a day giving thanks last week, here are five more reasons to be appreciative when it comes to recruiting and technology.

An interesting conversation on the innovate breakthroughs job seekers and employers are currently experiencing online.

If you could work for a fictional company, which one would it be? And as far as reality goes, what can you do to make your own company a best place to work?

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia… You did what???
Why did I stay up to view the most-watched (yawn) VP debate in history?
The bailout’s here! The markets will be safe now, right?
The Dow lost how much in one day? The Dow gained how much in one day? Wait, now you’re saying the Dow lost more points again? Hold on a sec, I thought you said it lost 800–today it gained 800?
O.J…. guilty? Really?

We asked a few of our own this past October, and provided answers on The Hiring Site from CareerBuilder.com to help you with your hiring needs and workplace issues:
 
Do you feel like you’re married to your work? Or rather, someone at your work?

Could a hiring freeze leave your profits out in the cold? She was a turkey wrangler? He worked as a cat nanny? Surely you can’t be serious?
Which salesperson from NBC’s “The Office” would you hire for your team?
You’ve got style, you say? Well, what about when it comes to giving interviews?

The Hiring Site from CareerBuilder.com had several posts offering tips and advice for dealing with and overcoming the ways these issues hit the workplace and hiring process:

• Tough times call for leaders to actually start leading (we’re not talking about polticians here)
• People are calling for a lot of change in culture–could your corporate culture use it too?
• Show employees compensation-love that won’t kill your bottom line during budget-crunches
• Are your employees putting your clients on hold to take calls from their own? How to deal with daylighting
• Take a hike, or a bike, to get to the office. There might be a shortage of fuel, but not common sense for commuting and tele-working options