Moral Compass?

Back in the time of Christopher Columbus he used DR or Dead Reckoning and Celestial navigation to find is way to the New World. Later Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts used a compass to find their way so as not to get lost while on hikes. They are also taught the tenets of having a good moral compass by following the Laws of the Scouts which cover areas such as being honest and fair, friendly and helpful, be responsible for what they say and do, use resources wisely and leave the world a better place.

A lot of us grew up in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and I think right now most of us are wondering what has happened when we have people like Illinois Governor Blagojevich and Bernie Madoff operating in such a way as to cause harm to others? One could definitely say that Blagojevich wasn't trying to use resources wisely and Madoff certainly wasn't trying to leave the world a better place than he found it; other than for their own gain.

How does someone get off track and blatantly steal from people for such a long time? It's heart breaking to see just how many individuals, couples and families are ruined by Madoff's lack of a moral compass.

The moral compass light has been shown on the Recruiting Profession from time to time as well. Unfortunately all recruiters can get lumped in with a few that have tarnished our profession. So what can we as Recruiters do to gain and keep the trust of candidates and clients?

For starters let's treat everyone with respect; whether it's in person or on the phone. That means honoring their request to not contact them or not send their resume out to a client without first asking permission. How about keeping the Scouts Laws in mind as we go through our day. As recruiters we should be in the business of building relationships, not making a fast buck. (Remember Madoff?) I believe the overwhelming majority of recruiters are into building relationships with only a few dipping their toes into the dark waters.

Throughout history it has taken a few crazy people to make us think maybe now is the time to get back to the basics. Like I have always said, Ethics never go out of style.

Pictures of Prague, Vienna and Budapest Trip

Check out the pics of our trip on Flickr sorry the other link didn't work

Lauter's Lines: Our Prague, Vienna & Budapest Trip

Lauter's Lines: Our Prague, Vienna & Budapest Trip

Technology, Recruiting and the Blog Post

Today I want to talk about using technology from a recruiters perspective. You can probably tell from the majority of my posts that I am a work in progress in the blogging/tech world. I gotta tell you I am really good with LinkedIN I have actually been using it since it started in 2003/2004 time frame. I am also getting the groove of Twitter and I promise I am not obnoxious by tweeting about my own blog and self promotion; am pretty good with 140 characters or less in getting my thoughts across. And I am really good at using technology and the Internet to find the people my clients pay me to find.

I am actually good with all that stuff except I am a work in progress when it comes to the blog posts. I have been told that I over think things. Honestly when you are trying to capture your thoughts and then put them out there for everyone to see you just don't want to be judged too harshly.

So my secret is to read a variety of bloggers that discuss topics I am interested in knowing more about. It's a way for me to learn about what I don't do well...the blog post. I would like to give Props to a few bloggers and blogs that always seem to have interesting posts and thoughts.

One of the wittiest bloggers I follow is Maren Hogan not only is she a terrific writer and has interesting topics but she does it with humor and warmth.

As I have said in several posts you can't go wrong if you are following the folks at Brazen Careerist The cast of writers and the information they write about offer up some of the best advice and tips for your career; even for those of us in the Baby Boomer generation!

I also follow what I call general business folks; Donald Trump 's blog you can never go wrong if you are following successful people like Donald Trump. The guy pulls himself out of financial twists and turns and always comes out on top; let's face it who doesn't want to come out on top?

If you are trying to define yourself from a personal branding/marketing perspective you just may want to check out Dan Schawbel he offers practical tips on how to build a personal brand and market ones self. I always get some great advice when I check read his blog.

I give you these few folks so you can check them out. I am definitely following them and doing everything I can to be a sponge and learn from their brilliance. They are just a few of the shining stars out on the www, let me know who you like to follow. I just may be able to learn from them too.

Our Prague, Vienna & Budapest Trip

From November 7 - November 19 we took a trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest. We traveled with two other couples; Tim and Linda Gartland and Tom and Helen Fraser.

We stayed in some terrific hotels and had some good; some not so good meals and learned a whole lot about how the three countries have been connected through centuries.

Take a look at the pictures and you will see various architecture and points of interest. I can assure you Rick Steves has no need to worry about me trying to take his job. Travel can be fun but it is also exhausting. We actually used one of the travel guides he recommends in his information about Prague and we had a wonderful experience. In each city we booked a guide which made the experience all the better. It is worth paying for a guide to not only show you the highlights but also the out of the way places and interesting sites you would not have found on your own.

Eastern Europe overall was very interesting and a pleasant surprise. I would highly recommend checking it out; it's very different than Western Europe but the people we encountered were extremely friendly.

I hope the pictures will inspire you to travel with your friends; get outside this big United States and see how people in other countries live and work. They like us, work, have families and want a better life. I would say we are all alike.

Nothing Can Stop Us Now

A guest column from my friend Rev. Walt Brewer; couldn't pass up passing this along.

November 7, 2008 - "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson

Some days it seems like all is right with the world, everything is falling perfectly into place and the Universe is conspiring in our favor. Then there are those other days where nothing seems to work and every which way we turn, we face obstacles and road blocks.

What is the difference? Is the world really that different one day to the next? Do we have a certain number of good days and bad days that have to balance each other? Is the Universe a friendly place or not?

The world, the Universe, Law, it’s all constant. Our approach to it, our belief about what is possible for us and what we believe will most likely happen next are the variables that we each bring to our experience of the same day, the same Life.

As Jefferson says, our attitude determines our experience, our perception of what is possible and it is the filter through which we will interpret whatever is before us.

With the right mental attitude, a heightened expectancy of good now and good continuing, we will feel more adept, ready and able to take on whatever is before us. We will expect to move through this and onto something even greater.

With the wrong mental attitude, our pessimism will discount any present good and we will assume the worst regarding our future. Sometimes we can be quite creative in our visions of doom and demise.

While we cannot control the world and everyone else sharing it with us, the good news is that our mental attitude is completely within our power. It may not always feel like it when we get that message or letter or news that shakes us down to our foundation. At those moments emotions run rampant and our mind will scurry about from one fear to the other. It seems to take on a life of its own.

Yet in the midst of that creative process of entertaining an idea, basing our attitude and our actions upon it, we are completely free to choose another, bigger, bolder, inspiring idea, invest our energy into that and build our attitude and actions upon it.

Either way, the same amount of time will pass, the process we go through is essentially the same and the world will keep offering us opportunities. The difference will be the attitude we choose to entertain, nurture and engage whatever and whoever is before us in this moment.

Realize that you are always at a moment of choice and power. When you choose to believe the best about yourself and others, you align yourself with energy and support that is irresistible. With this attitude firmly established in each one, truly nothing can stop us.

Life is truly wonderful! Share this with those you care about.
God is All There Is,
Rev. Walt Brewer
Center for Spiritual Living Greater Austin"Creating Conscious Community, Individually, Collectively, Globally”
Office Contact Info:512-892-7777

Social Networking Do You Do It?

Lately there has been a lot of noise, talk whatever you want to label it around social networking and the next relevant thing. I will try to outline some of these for you to check out.

LinkedIn is fantastic if you want to look for a job or just be connected to various groups of people. I have been using LinkedIn since it's begininning; seems to be as relevant now as ever. The way I use LinkedIn now is different than when I was first signed up. I used it exclusively to find candidates and be get reconnected to people at consulting companies I had work for. But then I started being contacted by companies for my services; have actually recieved quite a bit of work off LinkedIn.

Whether you are a passive candidate, active candidate or general networker, LinkedIn is worth your time to fill out your profile and start getting connected.

Twitter is another story; little snack bite bits of information rushing across your desk on a minute by minute basis from the people you follow and of course from the information you share for the people who follow you. I have learned quite a bit from following some of my favorite recruiting folks on Twitter. It's important for me to add to my tool belt and the people I follow (my daughter included) are quite witty and brilliant and willing to share information.

The Ning system of Social Networks is fantastic; create your own Social Network or join others that suit your fancy or interest. I am partial to the MedxCentral Ning for all things medical related and all people in the medical field.

These are only a few of my favorite things/places to go for Social Networking. I hope you are inspired to cruise the web and get involved because your friends and even your family are doing it.

It's Been A While...let me break the ice

I know, it has been exactly two weeks since I stopped by to drop some lines...hmmm that sounds bad doesn't it? I guess I should say "write some lines"; better. At least my mom won' t think I am a coke head. Not that I ever was one or AM one. Okay this is getting out of hand I need to stop the stream of consciousness...moving on...

I was at the Alanis Morissette concert on Wed eve, Oct 15. I noticed that I couldn't really hear the words to the song; why? Because the Drummer was TOO loud that's why. This is not the first concert I have been to this year where the sound person mixed the instrumentals so loud you could not hear the voices. I mean lets face it if you go to a concert where the person is a vocalist you want to hear the words and the instrumentals as a support to the great voice.

All this loud drumming got me to thinking about artists on stage and job seekers or just everyday citizens being on stage (so to speak) I guess if you come right down to it we are ALL on stage (or in front of an audience) at some point during our day.

Just like the drummer, there are those of us that feel the need to be loud with our voices or in our clothing choices and others that are perfectly content to fade into the wood work. My advice if you are a job seeker is you need to stand out in this market. No I am not going to go all doom & gloom but you need to have the edge with more people looking for employment now than there were earlier this year.

By edge I mean a solid resume, good stories about your past experiences and you need to be polished and pressed in your suit with your hair combed and a shoes shined! If not you then the next person will and guess what: THEY will have the edge, not you. Don't think for a minute you can get away with sitting in your home on the computer to job hunt - that's only part of the equation. GET OUT and meet people; go to meetings that interest you and use them as a networking opportunity.

Now get out there on your own stage and *shine*

Information Overload

Do you ever just feel that there is not enough time to read everything you need to read to keep up with your industry or profession? OR that there is never enough time to read what you WANT to read for FUN!?

I have been feeling particularly overwhelmed lately with all the technology available. There is the chat on Recruiting Blogs, Twitter and then reading all the blogs I want to follow. (too many to list here) Oh yeah and that little thing called work; in my case my recruiting business and clients I would like to keep happy so they keep using me and I can pay my bills!

I haven't quite figured out how segment my time with access to all this technology for productivity sake. As someone once said to me "the discipline will set you free" I think I am going to take her advice and get back in the groove of being more disciplined in my day and my business. Then I can stop to smell the flowers!

I am leaving technology behind for a short time so I can re-focus. No I am not going cold-turkey but I do feel the need to not have to be so connected. There will always be someone smarter, better and faster than me in their ability to use technology. What I plan to do is get back to basics, what makes me, me? Why do my clients work with me? What is it about me that makes them happy and confident that I can deliver what I say I can deliver? THAT is what is important and as much as I would like to be seen as a recruiter that "gets" the technology thing, let's face it others are smarter, better and faster at adopting that stuff than I am. I just want to be able to understand and use enough of it so I don't become irrelevant to my clients.

trying to pingit people

The Many Ways We Connect With Each Other

I was thinking this afternoon on my drive to the hotel the many ways we as humans can connect or chose not to connect with one another. I was at a stop light and saw a homeless man with a sign that read "really homeless, live in the woods with wife who has ovarian cancer." This man absolutely looked homeless as well as exhausted.

My heart went out to him; as a human I felt compassion for his situation. I was in the right hand turn lane there were cars in the left hand turn lane. I wanted nothing more than to give him some money and look him in the eye and tell him I "see him" I wanted him to know I really saw him. I am still thinking about that man.

Do you miss an opportunity to connect with someone because you are in a hurry to get to your meeting, make your phone call or get to the bank before the deadline? Do you miss really seeing people, looking them in the eye and connecting with them even if its just a slight smile?

Or do you take every opportunity to find out more about them, ask them about their day, how they are doing? The girl at the magazine store in the Atlanta airport on Concourse B does. She was my first encounter today. As I payed for my water she simply asked me what kind of work I did. I explained that I had my own executive search business; a head hunter if you will in the health care and technology industries. She explained to me that she was going to school to be a surgical technician because working for $7/hour was for the birds! Even though she has a great personality I didn't get the sense that she really liked being a cashier. She proceeded to tell me that she was working full time, going to school full time, etc. She went on to say that she wouldn't be able to pay her rent if her parents didn't help out. I told her that she was on the right path; getting a job in health care would give her more security than most and that it was awesome that she was handling all that responsibility. She was smiling when I left the store.

Life certainly seems to be more challenging than it used to be; for everyone. I know you have a lot to do, so do I, so does everyone. Can you take a few minutes each day to be aware and awake enough and not afraid to look someone in the eye and let them know you you "really" see them?

That is your challenge; our challenge as human beings. Not human doings. We are all connected.

What a week..

I thought I would be able to keep you up to date on all the happenings with my executive search business and life in general. Business has been busy - lots of hiring, traveling for clients and we just started clearing the land on our 14 acres in Western, NC. We plan to build a guest house first on the site closest to the road. Our other site is up past the guest house in the hills. This picture shows the view from our eventual guest house. We are talking to a builder who seems to be a good normal guy, but we have never done this before and we just hear the horror stories about building a house. Hopefully it won't be too painful.

The girl (our daughter) is settling into her marketing maven position with the Internet marketing company; Mailchimp.

I continue to work at being a writer; look I basically write the way I speak. So you can pretty much get my voice from reading these words.

I promise to do a better job of writing when I am on the road and don't give me too much of a hard time for my first foray into the blog world; be kind; I am still learning! Thanks for your support and I'll be back soon!

The Power of a Network

Do you have a network of professionals you correspond with frequently? Entrepreneur.com's definition of networking is: 'Developing and using contacts made in business for purposes beyond the reason for the initial contact."

Do you use your network for good or evil?

Recently I got to witness the power of my network. I sent out an email to contacts I have frequent interaction with; some of them daily, some weekly, monthly. You get the picture; people I connect with more than just when I need something. (do you hear me all you people that only contact your network when you are out of a job?) Sorry I digress...

The email I sent out pertained to my daughter looking for a job. I didn't send the note to everyone on my network list but only the ones I felt would have a connection somewhere with the type of companies and individuals that may have connections with regard to the direction and career my daughter was looking to enter. I sent my email to my list mid-day with her resume inserted in the body of the note not as an attachment. By the end of the day and into the evening she was getting responses from people that had openings that matched her background and interests. My current network even sent the note along to others in their network and THOSE individuals were contacting her.

Networking works if you a) use your network appropriately and b) don't keep going to the well without reciprocating when one of them reaches out to you or asks you to help one of their contacts.

A network needs you to care for it and nurture it. Meaning connect with your network frequently. I want this post to also act as a BIG THANK YOU to all of the individuals in my network that were kind enough to pass my daughter's information along and/or reach out to her personally. I appreciate you all and look forward to helping you when you reach out to me.

More later this week...

Blogs, blogs everywhwere...

Where do you start with SO many blogs and interesting information to choose from? I know now that I have started using Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/) I feel like I have ADHD! I really have to find a better way to keep up with what's happening in and around my networks and I vow to do a better job.

Just to show you what I mean take a look at my most recent day events:
While reading Shelly Greenberg of the Brazen Careerist (http://www.brazencareerist.com) I looked up the Social Media 4 Social Good site http://www.sm4sc.com/ and from there got connected to Change Blogger http://changeblogger.ning.com/ So NOW you see my dilemma - I am like a bird hopping from one site or thought to another; not so productive when you have "real work" you should be doing.

As I have said here in the past and I still do highly recommend checking out the Brazen Careerist; lots of great info for job seeking and just managing your life - regardless of what generation you are from.

You will still find me tweeting or twittering from the web or my twitter berry and you can follow me if you so choose at http://twitter.com/VickiZLauter But now I must get back to my clients.

Interview success & the job market

Monday

This past weekend there was clothes shopping success with the daughter. She has several interviews these next few weeks; parents are hoping for job offer success!



I know it's tough when you graduate from a great liberal arts college and you have these great writing skills and you are a deep thinker. Unfortunately in the real world companies want tangible skills; the trick is how to present the liberal arts skills into tangible skills. You have to be crafty and astute as to how you get this information on your resume. I always recommend having someone that worked in Outplacement give you some pointers.



Its got to be frustrating as a relatively new graduate (3 years out) to get your foot in the door. You have to use all the networking skills you can muster; parents, friends and friends of parents. Anything (within the law) that will give you a head start or advantage over the masses. Then there is all the media hype and negativity. Like the story in Market Watch - Job Market Likely to Weaken into 2009. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/job-market-likely-weaken-well/story.aspx?guid={9314CB5F-3AAD-413B-9CB6-E074AECF7AE5}&dist=msr_1



I like to quote my friend Walt Brewer: "You already have everything you need inside you. Keep the faith and your eye on what you are going for, it's in your reach." http://www.scienceofmind.com/ Is a good resource for postive affirmations; check it out.



Again - the lines of life and recruiting/job hunting, etc are blurred. I hope you get the job you are seeking my friends. Don't forget to check out The Brazen Careerist www.brazencareerist.com

Thursdays Thoughts

This morning I waited for the house painters to come and (finally) finish the job they started over a month ago. It's been a long haul and at times very frustrating.

My interaction with the painters and painting company got me thinking about the parallels between different industries customer service tactics (they cut across the board). A good customer service rep can make a company look like a million bucks and bad customer service can 1) make clients (or recruits) angry and 2) make them say bad things about you and NEVER return.

I think employers sometimes don't realize that interactions between recruits or potential employees and the human resource and/or recruiting departments can reflect great or poorly on their brand. It's really strange because we hear about this ALL the time but yet few companies really get it right.

You can probably think of several companies you are familar with that do a good job and other that don't do sucha good job of making potential employees feel good about working for their organization. A few I think have been getting it right (although no one is perfect) that I have been following are:

HCA

Trinity Health

North Highland

Deloitte

There are many more out there and I would like to hear from you what companies you think are "getting it right" Drop me a note and I'll add your thoughts in another post.

Thanks for stopping by!

The week after a holiday

Tuesday - It's back to the work week and networking for more business and to fill the searches I am currently working. So far so good today; the daughter finished her resume and is starting her job search...diligently this is a good thing. I am starting to have hope that all will be well.

Met with an former colleague for lunch today. She works in health care technology; good lunch and glad to get reconnected to people I used to like working with. Lots of networking going on this month.

More to come later this week.

Labor Day

Today my husband and I spent part of the day watching our 26 year old daughter kick out her deadbeat roommate. My daughter unfortunately likes to take care of strays; all kinds; animals and apparently people. This person had come up with a business idea to promote bands and not only did he do very little work and put no money in the venture; he never paid rent. Why you ask; well do the words "deadbeat loser" mean anything? This is not the first time he has skippped out with out any payments.

Of course I can't blame him 100% maybe 75% and her the other 25%. Come to find out not only is he a deadbeat he is a bully too. Yep, he bullied her into a few things and now she has had to move back to her parents house because she litterally has no savings or any way to live on her own until she digs out of her debt hole.

I am sure you can sense the frustration in my tone. As a parent you have so many hopes for your child; send them to private schools and private college, thinking that if they get a solid education they will have some sort of edge when they do head into the real world. We'll the problem with my theory is this...this child has "free will" yes they have a brain of their own and you can only hope they use it for good and to better themselves. Not for one minute did I ever think my adult child would have to move back to our house.

Now you say, Vicki you are a recruiter you can help your daughter find a job. We'll again folks there is a problem with that theory and again it's called "free will" Just because you can give your kid advice and point them in the right direction does not mean for one minute they will take your advice and make something happen.

I can only hope in the coming weeks she starts to get her act together. This is definitely a different generation. I keep saying that and I am quite honestly not that old myself. But I do remember working my way up the ladder from menial jobs such as food prep and accounting clerk. This generation doesn't seem to understand that the first job you get is not the job you are having for life and yes you probably will be doing such menial tasks as filing.

For all of you looking for that foot in the door I can recommend this site as a start: http://www.collegerecruiter.com Good luck and try not to make your parents too crazy with your career choices.

Sunday thoughts

On Saturday I received a really nice note from an HR/OD guy I met while conducting a search for a VP of Human Resources. He wasn't an exact fit for that role but I continued to forward positions to him sent to me through my human resource/recruiting network.

I generally don't toot my own horn or wave my own flag but I thought his note was a reflection of what I try to do in my business as far as helping people any way I can during their job search. I have inserted his note below:

Vicki –

Good morning and I hope this email finds you starting to enjoy a restful, relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Your continual assistance during this transition time has been great. You have an excellent customer service work ethic and have earned a strong recommendation from me to colleagues that may be in transition in the future.

Several of the positions you have sent me sound extremely promising. However, at this time, I have taken a teaching position as a professor within a college of business at a university. Having earned my doctorate degree in 2007, working as a college professor was a dream of mine. Concurrently with that, I’ve started a consulting business specializing in human resource initiatives, project management and process improvement. You can visit my website at www.bridgepointllc.com.

Vicki, I sincerely appreciate the time and effort extended in my direction during these past few months. Were I not changing my career direction, I would most definitely be pursuing several of them until their conclusion.

You’re a pro and one I’ll not hesitate to recommend to friends, colleagues and/or clients.

All the best,

Todd

So I would like to say thanks Todd for acknowleging me for helping you and I wish you much success in your new ventures!

Friday before the holiday

So today I had to fight with house painters again. It is ridiculous that people just don't do what they say they are going to do. I just want them to finish what they agreed to do. As I have found most companies that have project people out on site will tell them what to do from an office, then send the people out to do the work. Problem is none of those "office people" don't come by and actually supervise the work. They usually wait until something has been done wrong and then there is a re-fix. My hope is they will be completed next Thursday 9/4/08 when they told me they would be done. (one can only hope)

So I am also trying to figure out how I can get twitterberry to download on my blackberry; want to have twitter on the run if possible. I really do like the Blackberry World Phone but some of the features are a little frustrating to learn. Maybe I am really blonde.

I actually do work; have my own recruiting/sourcing/consulting business. I really like it; generally my clients are great. I have been working with some healthcare companies and then technology companies that have web hosted applications. I quite enjoy it and must say I am not good at much but I am a good recruiter. I recently hired a part-time recruiter from Cincinnati to work with me; Justin. This guy is great! Reminds me of when I was a younger recruiter. He gets it and knows how to actually source the right candidates; very happy I found him.

Now I hate to go back to the crappy painters but I just walked outside and the sheetrock guy is here. Now why in the world he could not have come earlier beats me: AND he tells me he is going to be here tomorrow. Again not a problem because I just HAPPEN to be in town this weekend. I called the 'office' people; the ones that told me THEY were managing the project but obviously NOT!

So I muse...why don't people just do what they say they are going to do? Hmmm - I need a drink. More to come in the following days.