Posts
Saturday, December 6, 2008
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.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, November 7, 2008
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
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
Thursday, November 6, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Friday, October 17, 2008
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*
Friday, October 3, 2008
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)