It's a good thing I like to travel. Six hours in a seat designed for an anorexic body type (which I'm definitely not) and sandwiched between two larger than life (and much larger than me) Americans headed for London is a definite challenge for a young person. For someone whose mind is young (or just never matured) and whose body creaks in the worng places, it is challenge a zen master would envy. I even paid extra for the priveledge of a bulk-head seat to move my legs. I think I may have been screwed twice by Virgin Air (what irony).

 

Sitting in the lobby of the Jolly Hotel in St Ermins (don't ask, I have no idea where these names come from) 12 hours later (after a fabulous Indian dinner at the Cinnamon Club), I'm just putting to bed some final thoughts I want to use at David Hurst's Onrec conference tomorrow. His venue about to blocks form here is extraordinary. It overlooks Westminster, Big Ben and more.

 

I don't remember a time when there was more activity in staffing accross a broader range of subjects and industry segments. I sense a convergence that is picking up from 2000. Where it is going to go is anyones guess but the ride is getting more and more interesting.

 

I'm headed home tomorrow to prepare for a weekend gig with Mark doing focus groups related to career management issues for a Japanese client and then we're headed down to DC Monday to meet up with a "Gang of 12" corporate staffing leaders we've invited to join us who are willing to lend their time and thoughts for two days with the Intelligence Community. If I disappear next week, you'll know they couldn't take a joke.

 

I leave DC for Dallas to work with Dick Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute?) at SWACE's last hurrah next Friday before it becomes SOACE (probably too long a story here to explain).

 

And then it gets busy. I know I'll be putting off the Candidate Experience whitepaper til August but the details are almost done and will be embedded in many of my talks this month. I just finished reviewing 115 messages (for example) that resulted from our (volunteers) who applied to the 100 Best Companies in America to Work For under this years assumed name. Many more firms this year are actually letting candidates know when they AREN'T selected. 11 out of 100 is good! Two actually promised to let applicants know either way in their initial acknowledgment. Congratulations to Nike for walking the talk. (We never heard from the second one).

 

Most will be done for the SHRM annual conference in Vegas.

 

By the time I finish the month, I may earn enough miles to come back to England with an upgrade