the Maine HR Cafe

I’m on a new kick using my iPhone to take pictures of Help Wanted/ Now Hiring signs and cross posting them into my twitter & instagram streams. Each posting will be hashtagged as follows, #NowHiring, #Jobs,& #HR. The location of the opportunity will be the city/town name, #state

Huh? What did I just say?

Twitter is the 140 character per posting micro-blogging site. Membership is free. Coverage is global. Hashtags are used to identify and follow themes. FMI: visit twitter.com. Pictures can also be attached to postings.

Instagram is similar to twitter with a twist. Pictures are the main message and text is the ‘attachment’. Instagram has a feature that simultaneously cross posts to Twitter. Instagram is a smartphone app. FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

The process is simple, as a Job Finder:
See a Now Hiring / Help Wanted sign
Snap a picture with your smartphone
Post the picture on to Instagram with the Twitter feed enabled.
Be sure to include the Hashtags and Job Location.

Job Seekers: Monitor Instagram and Twitter for job opportunities in your area.

Spread the world and let’s get this viral. After all, each good job leads to the next great job.

Posted in HR, JOBS, Maine
Tags: HR, Jobs, Unemployment

@WSJ: Breaking: Initial jobless claims decreased by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 357,000 last week. http://t.co/CJYfCxIo.

From my twitter feed. Jobs are the number ONE thing that HR professionals should be talking & thinking about. Everything else is either overhead or a distraction.

Posted in HR, JOBS

Day 85, originally uploaded by Zeus Ocean Storm.

Two rain drips.

Posted in Uncategorized

Got too much to do because you are smart enough to do it all — eventually? Got too much to do and not enough of you to do it all. Well, it is your own damn fault. You are the dumbest smart person that you know best.

How does this make you feel? Better? Worse? Defiant? Indifferent?

Realization is the firstep to recovery.

Now breathe and think through why you are in this absurd situation.

1. The twin evil intentions of Best Intentions and Benefit of the Doubt.

2. The myth of multitasking. The cerebral brain processes thoughts & actions sequentially. At best, strengthened mental agility may allow for rapid fire task swapping. The truth remains, you can only really do one thing at a time.

3. Life’s many persistent distractions, disturbances and intrusions. Starting with that voice in your head along with cacophony of the phone ringing, an open door policy – coworkers bringing in their agenda, email & text alerts, cell phone ringing and that glaring pile of paper that you promised would be vanquished today (see Best Intentions).

Paths to a better today and improved tomorrow

1. Develop a deliberate sense of resiliency. Pause to let fears and frustration wash through your mind untouched by your imagination.

2. Utilized the metaphor of putting the big rocks in first (Google hits – 114,000,000). See: http://zenhabits.net/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/ These are the important things in your life that get trumped and stomped upon by the imposed urgencies of others.
2.1. The first big rock in your life is yourself. Being self-first is not being selfish. (yes, there are times for being selfless – but those are moments, not your lifestyle) At least one hour a day, every day of every week. Seven hours to exercise, reflect, think, meditate, read, and write your way to a more resilient future.
2.2. Other big rocks include activities create a better future – thorough planning – education – training – certifications.
3. Love & Laughter.

Take this moment and make a list of your big rocks.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Posted in HR
Tags: HR, life, time

Three years ago, I entered into a voluntary position without the benefit of a full personal due diligence review. IF I had really not only listened to myself, but also spoke up, I may have deferred on the opportunity.  But my core value of Service Before Self corrupted Integrity First and interfered with Excellence In All I Do. So with silent trepidation, I slogged into the position at a period of heightened transactional overload.

It took awhile for my eager heart and confident head to engage. The first year, I was nearly only doing the bare essentials.  Sometime during that first year, the following daily horoscope emerged through a subscription in my Twitter stream. I printed it out. It has been under the plexiglass on my desk, and is now in my personal journal.  The remindering is poignant.

“You may not want to retreat from a position you recently took. But you might realize today that you were too eager or overly confident. Finally, reality is starting to set in and you might see the consequences of your undelivered promises and unfinished work. Don’t waste any energy being mad at yourself. The best thing to do is apologize if necessary and move on.”

 I resented every moment early on.  Publicly, I remained polite to my predecessor while becoming aware of critical gaps and lapses in the transition.  Overtime, one full business cycle, until the task became less burdensome. There were other issues that first year that eroded political capital, created distress that emerged as difficult public intransigence.  Not to mention a needy laptop computer.

Now, the end is behind me.

My legacy became a better way to share the workload. Also, informally, I stayed on through the annual transactional surge, not wanting to deal my successor the same hand that was dealt me.

It feels awkward to leave this position now that I finally have the needed experience and confidence for success. I remain available as a mentor, informal alternate and future opportunities.

The moral of this story: Don’t start without your head and heart.

Posted in HR

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 – It’s challenging to stick to your agenda today because everyone seems to be making demands on your time. You may have to change your schedule as you get new information about what’s expected of you. But instead of hopelessly struggling to complete all your tasks, be clear and let others know your limits. Don’t give up your power by automatically saying yes. You’ll come through with flying colors if you face your discomfort and say no to anything that’s beyond your abilities.

Posted in HR

Well, after a dozen years of flying solo, my company has grown to beyond the point where they need not only me, but another HR professional. I tried to go down the efficiency route first, but the burgeoning urgent transactional workload crowded out the important opportunities, denying their investigation from concept to implementation.

The company, in fifteen months, went from 69 employees to nearly 120. Two dozen transfers due to assimilation, plus three dozen new hires, minus a smattering of mostly voluntary terminations filled the time between payroll, benefits, open enrollment, recruitment and the typical humdrum of Human Resources Services Requests.

My well intentioned plans of efficiency first then hire second was not feasible. By mid December, the strategic plan was modified to deal with reality. The job was announced at a job fair, followed by an online posting, then an announcement at the monthly HR chapter meeting. Publicly, I’m looking for pick of the litter. Privately, I’m torn between protege or partner. What I don’t want is a positional competitor. The interview process will reveal the path.

The first rush through the six dozen resumes was completed this evening yielding three dozen that met the blended requirements of HR experience, college degree and/or S/PHR certification. Ambition and potential were read into and between the lines. Some cover letters were succinct, others elaborative, some were blank. Too many resumes we’re job description litanies, others were strengthened wapiti supportable results.

Now that this first rush through is complete, I will pause to reflect on what the company truly needs. And the on boarding process needs to be mapped out.

Posted in HR