Tonight I stopped by a local tavern, not the one where everybody knows my name, rather one where I was a stranger. Not my first time dining alone, but I was a little more observant of the others around me.
I belly up to the bar and order a draft and ask for a menu. The attractive bar maid goes about her tasks in a pleasant manner. She makes small talk with the other patrons with whom she is already familiar with. The lonely gentleman to my right gives me the impression that he is looking for attention. He has already placed himself at the last seat at the bar to isolate himself, but he craves interaction. He is text messaging on his phone and laughing out loud. Then he is watching a video on his phone and again overtly reacting to what he is watching. I am not in a social mood, so I don't take the bait.
At the other end of the bar is a conversation quarterback. He is leading the conversation in the small group he is with and he is loud enough so that everyone in earshot can listen in. The barmaid, bartender and others are all making brief interjections into the conversation, but he is running the offense.
Tonight I choose not to participate. In fact, most nights I make that choice. In the book, The Tipping Point, by Malcom Gladwell, he speaks of a well connected individual who has so many contacts because of his natural social behavior. My wife has this amazing social behavior. In fact she is a magnet for conversation. Strangers just start talking to her. It is bizarre, but completely natural to her. I wonder if that is one of the reasons I am with her. She is my social connector.
December 17, 2009
December 15, 2009
HR Pet Peeves
I recently read an article (could not remember where I read this) for job seekers about what HR professionals look for when screening applicants. With the current economy in the toilet, it is expected that the number of applicants applying to any given opening is much greater than normal. The bluntly obvious part of this article was that HR professionals will quickly move your resume to the "No thanks" pile if you have spelling errors or you didn't follow the directions as posted in the job listing.
Now for my pet peeves with HR professionals and the companies they work for.
Abuse of terminology:
You can put a pig in a dress, but it is still a pig. Engineer's are persons who have spent at minimum 4 years at an institution of higher learning and received a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in a discipline that had the term "Engineering" in it. First and foremost the BS degree requires that you take math and science classes. You know, the tough classes that you didn't have to take to get your BA in Human Resources. An engineer is not someone who keeps the furnace running in a building, or any other mechanical device for that matter. These are technicians. There is nothing wrong with the title of technician. These are highly skilled individuals with talents that a lot of engineers do not possess. By posting a technician job under the title of engineer, you are missing out on several talented technicians who are not looking for engineering jobs and you are cluttering up the jobs that engineer's are looking for.
Consultant. This has to be the most abused term out there. I have seen postings for "Comfort Consultants", this was an ad to become a Lennox furnace sales person. Subway even had postings for "Sandwich Consultants". Lets keep it simple. If you are not a consulting firm, or you are not looking for a person with a specialized talent on a contract basis, you are not looking for a consultant.
Local candidates only:
I can understand that at a certain level of employment you would want to seek local candidates. What baffles me is the desire of companies that are seeking more skilled individuals and executives, who choose to limit there search to a geographic region. Think small, be small. Do you really think that your metropolitan area has the best qualified candidate for the job? In the long term, how much does that relocation cost effect your bottom line? You are willing to pay a six figure salary, but you don't have the funds to pay for a mover?
Overly specific qualifications:
Can you be a little more specific. Some HR folks feel that listing the exact qualifications that the previous person had, or that their dream candidate would have are the best fit for the open position. Guess again. The best candidate might not have any of the qualifications you desire, or only a few of them. Look deeper into the candidate, you might be surprised what you find. I know of a few college drop outs that have done pretty well without the "minimum qualifications" that so many people put in place. (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell)
The closing contact:
OK, so you have screened out a candidate for whatever reason. Take the 1/10th of a second and send them an canned email response that says "Thank you, but we have not chosen you for this job." I know you are swamped with applications, but it takes so little effort to send a "No thank you" note. This brings closure to the candidate and benefits both parties. Your IT staff can set up a dummy account so there is no response to deal with. If you are not friends with someone in the IT department, its time you were. They just might be the most powerful people in your organization.
Now for my pet peeves with HR professionals and the companies they work for.
Abuse of terminology:
You can put a pig in a dress, but it is still a pig. Engineer's are persons who have spent at minimum 4 years at an institution of higher learning and received a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in a discipline that had the term "Engineering" in it. First and foremost the BS degree requires that you take math and science classes. You know, the tough classes that you didn't have to take to get your BA in Human Resources. An engineer is not someone who keeps the furnace running in a building, or any other mechanical device for that matter. These are technicians. There is nothing wrong with the title of technician. These are highly skilled individuals with talents that a lot of engineers do not possess. By posting a technician job under the title of engineer, you are missing out on several talented technicians who are not looking for engineering jobs and you are cluttering up the jobs that engineer's are looking for.
Consultant. This has to be the most abused term out there. I have seen postings for "Comfort Consultants", this was an ad to become a Lennox furnace sales person. Subway even had postings for "Sandwich Consultants". Lets keep it simple. If you are not a consulting firm, or you are not looking for a person with a specialized talent on a contract basis, you are not looking for a consultant.
Local candidates only:
I can understand that at a certain level of employment you would want to seek local candidates. What baffles me is the desire of companies that are seeking more skilled individuals and executives, who choose to limit there search to a geographic region. Think small, be small. Do you really think that your metropolitan area has the best qualified candidate for the job? In the long term, how much does that relocation cost effect your bottom line? You are willing to pay a six figure salary, but you don't have the funds to pay for a mover?
Overly specific qualifications:
Can you be a little more specific. Some HR folks feel that listing the exact qualifications that the previous person had, or that their dream candidate would have are the best fit for the open position. Guess again. The best candidate might not have any of the qualifications you desire, or only a few of them. Look deeper into the candidate, you might be surprised what you find. I know of a few college drop outs that have done pretty well without the "minimum qualifications" that so many people put in place. (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell)
The closing contact:
OK, so you have screened out a candidate for whatever reason. Take the 1/10th of a second and send them an canned email response that says "Thank you, but we have not chosen you for this job." I know you are swamped with applications, but it takes so little effort to send a "No thank you" note. This brings closure to the candidate and benefits both parties. Your IT staff can set up a dummy account so there is no response to deal with. If you are not friends with someone in the IT department, its time you were. They just might be the most powerful people in your organization.
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