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.