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.