Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” I took his advice. When I was a junior in college, I went to a Halloween fraternity party dressed as a chicken leg. Yes, a chicken leg. My homemade costume consisted of brown tights and turtle neck and a stuffed, drumstick-shaped burlap mini-dress. I donned this burlap fowl appendage and hung a sign around my neck. The sign was provocative – something that you might not state on a professional website – but you would definitely wear to a fraternity party. It described the appealing taste of said chicken – and the desire ...
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Dateless and Desperate
by Sue Danbom
Nothing is as unappealing as desperation.
I used to listen to a radio program called "Dateless and Desperate." It was about people (okay - mostly women - but it runs both ways) who were so desperate to attract a mate that they actually repelled the opposite sex after the first encounter. They tried too hard. It was like they put out an alarm pheromone that made the other party run for the hills. It happened time and time again. And with each occurrence, the level of desperation increased.
Job search in this economy can make people feel desperate. I ...
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4 Super Bowls - 2 Grammys - 4 Stanley Cups
by Sue Danbom
How do you attract talent? With unemployment at its current level, there's no problem attracting candidates, but how do you convince true talent to seek you out and willingly come to you?
How would you convince Joe Montana, Will Smith and Wayne Gretsky to convene in an obscure suburb of Seattle on a September Friday night? (Joe Montana has 4 Super Bowl Rings, Will Smith won 2 Grammys and Wayne Gretsky earned 4 Stanley Cups.)
"No way!" you say? They didn't just accept an extended invitation to Sammamish, Washington. They came willingly and paid their ...
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Irrelevant Man? Gets the Job Done?
Picky! Picky! Picky! The clients/hiring managers who are hiring are so picky! The perception is that they can wait for the "best of the best" because there is such an abundance of candidates. Excellent candidates are summarily dismissed because their pedigrees (work history, industry experience, etc.) don't align exactly to what the client has defined. Yet the presented candidates may have the strongest credentials and bring a new perspective to the position. If this was the NFL Draft, what the client wants is the first overall draft pick.
Which brings me to "Mr. Irrelevant." Mr. Irrelevant is the ...
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Brett Favre - Poster Child for "Un-retirement." Will Boomers Do the Same?
by Sue Danbom
Brett Favre joined the Minnesota Vikings. He plays tonight. Talk about fickle! Why can't he make up his mind?
- Retire? Dec. 31, 2006: As a Green Bay Packer: "If today's my last game," he said, "I want to remember it. It's tough. I'll miss these guys, I'll miss this game."
- Un-retire? Feb. 2, 2007:Favre commits to playing a 17th season with the Packers. "I am so excited about coming back!"
- Retire? Mar. 4, 2008:Saying he hasn't got "anything left to give," Favre announces his retirement from the Packers.
- Un-retire ...
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If You Build It, Will They Come? Seven Steps to Building Social Media Presence.
"If you build it, they will come."
Okay - I blatantly stole this from Field of Dreams.
But applying this to social media, if you build a social media presence, will your target audience flock to you? Not always.
Most recruiters feel compelled to try social media as a recruiting tool. Just like everything else, results and opinions vary. With social media's immediate accessibility, it's easy to jump on board and just try it. What I find is that some recruiters put in the bare minimum (information and time) and expect amazing results. It won't happen if you ...
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The Philadelphia Eagles Hired Michael Vick. Would You?
The Philadelphia Eagles have set off a fire storm by hiring Michael Vick as a back-up quarterback. You remember him, right? Former Atlanta Falcon Quarterback convicted of running illegal dog fighting and gambling operations? Admittedly involved in extreme cases of animal abuse?
If you were in need of a quarterback, and Michael Vick was the most qualified applicant, would you hire him? Look at the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Vick was taken as the #1 pick in the 2001 NFL draft.
- He became the first quarterback in NFL history to earn more than four career 100-yard rushing games. He now ...
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Pantyhose to Interviews?
The question has come up. Should you wear pantyhose to a job interview? Seems like a simple question, doesn't it?
Pantyhose - the sheer type have been dying a slow death since 1995. There is actually a name for it - The "Sex In the City" Effect - where you wear your Manolo's sans hose. Oprah doesn't wear pantyhose. Neither does Michelle Obama. Hillary Clinton? Notice all the pant suits? Nancy Pelosi? Definitely pantyhose.
Is there an appropriate time to wear pantyhose? And I am not describing fishnets, patterned hose, thigh-highs with seams or opaque tights that still make a ...
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Just Not That Into Me
Web 2.0. Social Networking. What does it mean to you? To me it means interaction and engagement. A conversation. Two individuals may be engaged in conversation - or 20 may join the discussion - each learning and contributing from a different perspective. If social networking is being embraced by the recruiting community, shouldn't we make sure we are doing it the right way?
Some people don't get this. Whether it's in person or on-line, there are many who are interested in promoting only their agenda. They feverishly gather contacts. Now they spam out their message promoting their agenda ...
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Thriller - Recruiting the Best
A real shame about Michael Jackson. You probably have been way oversaturated by all the media coverage of his unfortunate demise. Can I take a turn - on a more positive note? No scandal. No judgment. Just a reminiscence of Michael Jackson's talent. And how it applies to recruiting.
No matter what you thought of the man personally, Michael Jackson embodied dance. When he took the stage, it was impossible to take your eyes off him. He became the visual form of sound. He was born with the talent to dance. One of the most vivid reminders of this is ...
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Fashionista or Functionista? What's Your Social Recruiting Strategy?
Lots of women have a "shoe thing." I wish I had a "shoe thing" because generally shoes continue to fit when other parts of you have grown and clothes don't. But then styles change so quickly - that you almost can't keep up. Last season's shoes - just won't do this season. Of course, fashion designers deal in planned obsolescence.
Case in point. Here's an interesting shoe.
This shoe is a Louis Vuitton Designer Shoe. It is called the "Spicy Sandal" and can be had for $3,390. It has something for everyone. A stiletto heel, lace ...
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Unmercifully Denied at the Gate
As I breathlessly ran up to the gate, I saw them shut the door!No-o-o-o-o!I had missed my connecting flight! And this just wasn�??t any flight. It was the one that was taking me to the Stevie Wonder Concert in Seattle. The concert that I had anticipated eagerly for months. The concert where I had to finagle and pay dearly for the tickets. The one that I would be missing because the weather at O�??Hare was crystal clear but my initial flight had an unexplained mechanical problem. That same concert that I would miss because I was ...
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Prove Your Independence this Friday and Beyond
I�??ve had a fierce independent streak since childhood. I was the first and only child in my family for 14 years. I got used to doing things on my own. In short, I become a very independent human being. �??I do it myself!�?? was my three year old mantra. I had great pride in learning new things and not needing my parents�?? help. Always an early riser, I would climb out of bed in the morning before my mother woke up and dress myself. I would go to the closet, pull down a dress and put it on. Except ...
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White Strings Hanging from Your Ears?
I work in one of the largest office buildings in Seattle. 50+ stories. A bijillion young professionals work in the building. One night I entered the elevator starting my retreat. The doors opened and I joined 10 - twenty and thirty somethings. Each stared silently and blankly at me with white strings hanging from their ears. iPods all around. I entered, turned toward the door and suddenly felt very old. I�??m surprised they even let me on sans white ear phones. I got the message that I was woefully out of step.Actually, I received a Nano for Christmas�?? a ...
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Recruiters Eating Their Young?
Recruiting as a profession has had a less than sterling image. Especially third party recruiters. We have been likened to ambulance chasing lawyers and used car salesman. We spend time compensating for this unflattering public perception. What have recruiters done to deserve such a rap? Have they eaten their young?
Wow! Besides bringing to mind a really disturbing visual �?? consider how short sighted the unscrupulous act of consuming one�??s young really is. While satisfying that nagging hunger for the moment, the result has definite long-term disadvantages. Once the offspring are consumed, no one is left to huddle together when ...
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Dr. Susan Danbom, OB/GYN ?!?
As a recruiter, I want my placements to be successful. I don?t want rework. And I certainly don?t want the candidate or the hiring manager to be less than satisfied with the result. I control my process, doing my due diligence to make sure that everything fits into place. Once I complete the transaction and my candidate turns into the company?s employee, control of the process truly passes out of my hands. Do I just walk away?
I have heard the recruiter?s role compared to an obstetrician?s role instead of the pediatrician?s. I am ...
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The Directions Lady
I have just made the best purchase. I finally took the plunge when offered an upgrade on a cell phone. After years of timidly telling myself that I just wanted a phone that simply ?called people?, I decided to step up to a phone with the latest technology. I held back in the past because I was busy and told myself that I just couldn?t dedicate time to immersing myself in the technologies of the newest phones. Would I really use all those bells and whistles anyway?
I guess what did the trick was the fact that this phone ...
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More Important than Winning?
A news story caught my eye last week. It was the one about the softball player who was carried around the bases by her opponents. It really made me think ? especially after my blog last week about the perceptions of the younger generations by management today. Hiring_Manager_in_"Cluck_and_Commiserate"_Mode?
In case you missed this news story, it was about Western Oregon University?s Sara Tucholsky, a senior on their women?s softball team. Sara hit a home run ? the first - in her high school and college career. She hit a three run homer over the centerfield fence. In her exuberance ...
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Hiring Managers in ?Cluck and Commiserate? Mode?
I was staying at a lovely hotel - a resort in the Sonoran Desert with a spa and all the amenities. I was there to give a presentation to a professional association. I checked in the night before and laid out everything I needed for the next day. I knew that time would be tight in the morning. The heat had taken its toll. I sank into the lovely, white bed amongst all the feather pillows and died ? until 5:30 the next morning.
I had a full morning of activities to attend and had just enough time to jump in ...
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Reaching Your Target Demographic
Last summer my whole familial herd descended upon us from North Dakota. (The ?herd? consists of my son, Jay, his wife, Heidi, and their son, Tyler.) Tyler was approaching his first birthday and I threw a birthday party in his honor. I bought some toys ? but mostly things to wear. He?s growing like a weed and his mom said that he needed Fall clothes. My son called before the visit to alert me not to buy Tyler a ?Pantera Onesie? for his birthday. He had already secured that for the birthday boy.
?I?m sorry ? a what? A ?Pantera ...
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