Archive for July, 2010

Do the thing you fear the most: not always a good idea, but in my case, it was empowering. I went tubing down the Little Miami river today. By myself. Bucket List item. Check.

white water, the not so lazy river.

Was it safe for a woman (my age) to go floating down a river by herself on an inner tube? Probably not, but I’m a big fan of getting out of the safe zone and exploring new territory. When does age become a determining factor into what activities we should try?

I dislike authority. I dislike rules, and I really can’t stand the status quo. I’d rather flail down a rampant river without a paddle, than be sentenced to a lifetime of standing still. For people like me, that’s a death sentence.

River tubing was a metaphor for exploration, and breaking out of the mold. River tubing can be lazy, lulling, bucolic. It can also be dangerous, difficult, and exhausting. The river has a mind of its own. It’s currents are swift, and speedy. The ride can be bumpy, and laconic.

Tubing in Ohio is for the most part a lazy, fun, relaxing ride down the river. Today, however; was challenging. It wasn’t the fast water that was troubling, it was the stagnant water that proved the most difficult. Picture me sitting in an inner tube, half drenched, mud caked, and stuck near a river bank surrounded by reeds, weeds, and errant branches.

Ok, now you can open your eyes. Scary? It gets better. Then picture me spinning round and round in a circular current, moving away from the bank with nothing in my hands but water droplets, fruitlessly dripping from my finger tips. #Good times.

Aimlessly wandering back toward the center of the stream, I locate the vortex, the current that will take me back to safety, but wait. It gets better. I find the current, and the water takes me on yet another journey into nature.

Shallow water has an upside. You can get out and portage, carry your raft on your back like a pack mule. The slimy sharp river rocks underfoot were buffered by my tennis shoes, and it occurred to me the only thing that came between me, and stitches was the fine sole of my old shoes.

I spent half the time jumping in and out of the tube, swimming playfully in the river. I spent the other half of the time, working really hard to steer away from rock, and drift wood. I’m not sure what was harder getting unstuck, pushing off from the muddy bank, or dodging danger through the rapids. All of this, I accomplished alone. That’s right, I went all by myself. I say this twice because sometimes I am afraid to go places by myself.
I wasn’t afraid today. I wasn’t afraid of danger.

nature's beauty, nature's beast

The stuff that scares me is a deeper reflection of how I feel about myself. Sometimes I don’t like to show up alone because I’m afraid of what people will think about me, which is utterly stupid, because it doesn’t matter what other people think, right? That depends on the circumstance. Obviously in a business situation, the stakes are higher, and what people think does matter.

But the fear, the thing I often fear most, the thing I simply must do, the thing I have to push back on is the fear of not being enough. I am strong enough, smart enough, pretty enough, I am enough. AND so are YOU. We are enough.

Today’s activity was an exercise in doing something that scared me a little, well a lot, and on so many levels.

Sure, I could laugh and poke fun at the women my age with beer bellies sporting bikinis, or at the drunk kayak and canoe jockeys. But, they are enough too. In fact, they’re plenty. *grin*

What struck me today is how much we judge each other, and how much we judge ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I judge myself far harder than I’d ever judge you, or anyone else for that matter.

I love to make fun of people all around me, and today I found myself doing just that. However, what I notice when I am making fun of someone else, it is usually because of something that I think is missing inside of me. There’s a philosopher who says there are really only two emotions: love and fear. Fear motivates. Love motivates. Love is a greater force than fear, and when we let love lead, we wind up in a much better place.

So, today, I got to visit my bucket list, scratch something off, and I can now say I can do yet one more than that I am no longer afraid to do. Facing fear, overcoming fear, building our self esteem, our worth and that which builds us stronger is worth the effort…even if it is gliding down the lazy river in an inner tube…*smile*

My dear readers, what would my posts be without a theme song? Today’s theme song is devoted to all the women who think they can’t, but they really CAN! I give you Tina Turner…Rolling down a river…

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Kevin Dugan and Margo Rose

There are two names synonymous with social media in Cincinnati: Daniel Johnson Jr, and Kevin Dugan.  These two gentlemen were gracious enough to allow me to interview them for this post.  Cincinnati’s Social Media footprint can be linked back to Daniel, Kevin, and Dave Knox, and Daniel Lally.  There are two groups that are vibrant in the Queen City.  How did it all begin.  The idea for Cincinnati Social Media emerged from The Social Media Breakfast in Minneapolis, MN.  According to their website:  ”The Social Media Breakfast was founded by Bryan Person in August 2007 as an event where social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.”

Michelle Beckam, Joanne, and Margo Rose

In 2007 social media like the wild west, was blazing new trails.  Both Dugan and Johnson realized the importance of encouraging knowledge sharing, and networking with other professionals.  The early adopters were primarily podcasters, and members of the advertising, marketing, and public relations industries.  Daniel Johnson grew weary of the daily commute to and from Dayton each day, and was hoping to find employment closer to home.  He began networking with professionals in Dayton and Cincinnati to learn more about how they were using social media, he wanted to build the relationships with the people he met on twitter.  Daniel joined twitter in 2007, as an early adopter, he was eager to connect with people of like mind.  Daniel formed the first meeting of New Media Cincinnati in October of 2007.

Dugan, and Lally wanted to find ways to integrate social media into sound business practices. Many professionals were anxious to adopt social media, but just as many did not know how to bring social media into the workplace.  When I interviewed Dave Knox, he said the impact of these groups has been tremendous because it helped cross functional areas.  Cincinnati historically has had very strong networking events, but most were structured around specific areas of work.  Social Media Meet-Ups were reaching across the aisle, and opened the channels of communication to include a diversity of business disciplines.

My next question dealt with the future trends of social media in Cincinnati.  Knox had an interesting answer.  He indicates that the next wave of social media will include what Dave calls  ”the Marketing Technopologist”  Dave Knox’s blog says it best:

According to the social media writer Paul Gillin, “It took 40 years for the TV to reach 2/3 of homes in the US.  The Internet did it less than 15 years.”

This means marketers need to master a tool that wasn’t even in existence 15 years ago but today is a dominant form of media.  Thus, a Marketing Technopologist (a term coined by the Wall Street Journal) will bring together the strengths of marketing, technology and social interaction.  They will be a person who combines the skills of marketer, technologist, and social anthropologist to study how digital advance are changing culture and media.  They don’t walk away from the traditional tools of marketing and Brand Management, but instead embrace breakthrough digital tools to create a new way of doing business.  A Digital Marketer will be as comfortable talking about new technology as they reviewing creative with their agency.  This new breed of Brand Manager 2.0 will lead marketers away from tools based on mass reach and instead act as Digital Marketers to understand the convergence of media and technology in new, ever-evolving ways.

Cincinnati Social Media Meet Up

Daniel Lally, and Stacy Cole joined Dugan to build the #CincySM, Cincinnati Social Media Group.  Daniel Johnson Jr. had a large base of supporters hungry to learn from one another , and together, they formed New Media Cincinnati. These two groups bring together diverse people from different professional disciplines to share knowledge, trends, and new ideas.  Johnson says, the people new to the occupation have a change to network, and learn from seasoned professionals. It is a great way to stay up to date on the latest tools.  While Daniel says it’s not possible to see into the future, when asked about new trends he says we can expect to see more portability.  ”…Microsoft wanted a computer in every home.”  Johnson believes that the time will come where we will see a computer in every hand.  We are more connected now than ever.

Are we compromising our privacy by updating our status about our meals, our dogs, and our relationships?  Or, are we cleverly leaking new business opportunities, projects, and professional insights, using our status updates as a tool to attract new business?  I personally think it’s a little of both.  In my own experience, I have become good friends with my associates on twitter, linkedin, and facebook.  It has enabled me to learn new tools, and make new friends.  Cincinnati’s groups are just one more way to reach out, and grow.

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Today’s Guest Post is by Josh Letourneau. Josh is blogger with Fistful of Talent, and has been a leader in the recruiting industry since 2003. He is also the co-host of our HireFriday Chat (Friday noon-1 est). Without further ado I give you, Josh Letourneau:

Job-Hunting During Today’s Recession: Go Guerilla or Go Home!

Along with everyone involved with #HireFriday, I want to see you get hired. Shooting straight, I’ve been in your shoes – I know how it feels to get sucked into the black hole roller-coaster of job hunting. When people ask me why I got into Recruiting, I honestly tell them it’s because I was once a Candidate that believed there had to be a better way. Little to no contact from Recruiters sucked. Setting my expectations and then missing timeline after timeline sucked. Getting past an initial phone-screen and then waiting 2 months to speak with the Hiring Manager sucked. Applying to jobs online, getting a “Thank You for your application” message, and then seeing the same job advertised for months on end sucked. Spending an hour or more tweaking a cover letter that generated little to no response sucked. You get the picture – I know how tough it is to be in your shoes.

After I “joined the dark side” and became a Recruiter myself, I learned much more about how the game is truly played. Put simply, Recruiters have their hands full. Within organizations, Recruiters are swamped with more open jobs than they can realistically handle. Many Hiring Managers don’t respect HR or the Recruitment function, so they provide little to no feedback on potential candidates. Further, many Recruiters wind up receiving hundreds of applicants for open positions, the large majority of which are not a fit. What I’m suggesting is that life isn’t always cheeky on the Recruiter’s side of the fence, so my first piece of advice is to cut your Recruiter a little slack – they’re not the bad guy, and if approached properly, they could be your greatest ally. Above all things, keep that perspective in mind. No man (or woman) is an island, and when it comes to job searching, you don’t want to be!

That being said, let’s get to the good stuff. The following are lessons I’ve learned that will move you forward, but you’ve got to be willing to go guerrilla. You need a Special Operations mindset – in the Special Ops world, cows that move with the herd need not apply. You have to be willing to become a jackal or you better not show up to the party. What do I mean? Simple — If you’re a risk averse person who likes to play by the same rules everybody else does, then come back to this post in another 6 months when you’re still unemployed. Sorry for the dose of reality, but it is what it is. At the same time, keep in mind that going guerilla doesn’t mean that you lose all tact, or worse, your mind.

The following bulletpoints are weapons – in the right hands, they can mean mission accomplishment (i.e. You get hired). In the wrong hands, they can spell self-sabotage. Employ them with discretion and see your results explode:

Tip 1: Avoid the path most easily traveled. Here’s what I mean: Most job-seekers are cows. They look for jobs online, click apply, and then hope for a response. Well, that doesn’t really work. Sure, some people get hired that way (about 13.2% according to the 2009 Career XRoads Source of Hire Report), but for the most part, it’s a losing strategy. Think about it — if you put 100 new-hires in a room and pulled out the 13 that get hired through a job board, you still have 87 people standing in the room You need to avoid this path and separate from the cows – when they’re waiting in line outside the building, you should be scheming up a way to climb in the side window.

Tip 2: He who dares, wins. What do I mean? Well, how about going onto LinkedIn and finding out the names of Recruiters working at the organization you’ve applied to. Email them directly – sure, some may see you as a pest, but what other choice do you have? There may be that one Recruiter that appreciates your tenacity and commitment to have a shot at the role. Now, don’t overdo it, but an email and then a follow-up email a week later will help you much more than simply applying and praying for a response. Don’t be afraid to make an all-in bet – “small-ball Poker” is no way to make a final table.

Tip 3: Adapt, Improvise, Overcome. Social Media should be leveraged to the best of your advantage. Search LinkedIn and Twitter for either Recruiters or current Employees of your target organizations. Reach out to them and make contact in a meaningful way. Have something interesting to talk about, not the typical “I need a job” message. I always tell Candidates to do a quick Google News search on the company so you have a platform for intelligent discussion. This makes for great conversation fodder not only on Twitter, but also LinkedIn Groups. Trust me, you’ll stand out.

Tip 4: Employ a Non-Traditional Approach. I say that in today’s Digital Age, it’s in your best interest to move beyond solely using a paper resume. Start using VisualCV instead, and as I’ve mentioned in the past, your highest probability of landing a new job is through video. Note, however, that if you create a video on your own, you may be playing with fire . . . so your better bet is to find an Executive Recruiter (“Headhunter”) that leverages video to present their Candidates. Believe it or not, your ability to get past the other 10 Candidates you’re competing with often comes down to your Recruiter’s ability to powerfully present you, not the words written in your resume.

My hope is that today’s post leads you to reconsider your current job-search strategy. Remember that the main advantage you have is your will to compete; your will to win. Sure, skills and experience are differentiators, but willpower can more than make up for a skill or two that you need to shore up. When you go guerilla, your results will improve – you’ll get more shots at jobs, more interviews, etc. Ultimately, that’s what you’re really after, right? All it takes is one. So get out there, go guerilla, and make it happen!

Jul 22, 2010 7:18:05 PM

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Steve Browne Director Of Human Resources, LaRosa's

Very few people understand the importance of Community like Steve Browne.  The essence of Community as an organic part of our online world is a topic I’m passionate about, and Steve really gets it.  He developed a groundswell community: The HR Net in Cincinnati, OH.  He’s humble, and won’t toot his own horn, so I’m going to do it for him.  HR in Cincinnati would be nothing without Steve Browne.   What I like the most about Steve is his authenticity.  He is a deeply kind human being.  His compassion abounds, and is manifest in everything he does.  I now give you: Steve Browne.

Why we need each other

Some 15+ years ago I remember signing up to be a “member” of the Greater Cincinnati HR Association (GCHRA). I thought it looked great on my resume and that it gave me credibility as an HR professional. The sad fact was I paid the annual membership and then never went to a meeting for seven years. I don’t think that I was atypical of others who do this.

Then, one day, a flyer hit my desk about a local HR Roundtable and I decided that I should go. It was 15 people sitting around a table griping about how difficult HR was and that no one supported them. I should have run into the night after this experience, but I was determined to get connected somehow to this association that had, up to this time, been a paper place holder.

One month the facilitator, who was amazing, asked me to fill in because she was going out of town and she was honestly getting burned out by the grind of this forum. I took a different approach and tried to get everyone she had on her list to attend. I called everyone and asked them to come. We had 16 the next meeting !! Even though it was only one extra person, it was a start.

Fast forward several months . . .

They asked me to be the facilitator going forward and the group began to grow exponentially. We went from 16 to 30 to 50 to 70 and more !! At one meeting we broke the 100 person mark.

During one of the revamped HR Roundtables, I was heard griping about GCHRA because our forum was successful, but I didn’t feel the chapter was. A great person literally pinned me to a wall and challenged me to be a solution vs. a griper. I took her advice and ran for Vice President of the chapter. I won and loved leading the chapter for 3 great years along with other phenomenal HR people who were also trying to build a greater HR community.

Fast forward again . . .

These efforts led to intentional networking and developing the HR Net which is an on-line internet message board for HR professionals where they can post and answer HR related questions. We started with 100 folks on the HR Net and now it reaches over 5,700 people globally each week.

I still facilitate the HR Roundtable each month and it now averages 130 people/meeting. The other networking I’ve done has led to over 1,700 1st level connections on Linked In and over 2,400 Followers on Twitter.

The point in this post is not volume or numbers – it’s understanding that we all need to have a community to belong to. By having a community, I’m now connected to people in the UK, Australia, India, Canada, Brazil, and every state in the US who practice HR. How cool is that?

Having a community allows me to be a better professional and also help others be better professionals themselves.

So, you have to ask yourself . . .

“Am I alone in what I do? Do I belong to a community in HR? Is it on paper only ??”

Time to change that. I’d be willing to be that 1st connection and would love to have you tap into every facet of my network to get connected to as many folks as you’d like.

Get me on Twitter (@sbrownehr) or send me an invitation on Linked In. Take that first step. Who knows where it will lead for you ??

I know that having a community is the only way I’ll be successful as a professional from now on. Join me.

*editors note: My readers know how much I love a good theme song:  The song I chose for this post is by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.   I love this song, and I hope you will too:

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Compassion = Action

Compassion is action
With an open heart
It leads us to the softest part…of our soul…where we are whole

Compassion is best
When it’s put to the test…it soars heads above the rest…where we sing…where we dine
Where we rally all the time

Compassion is the reason
We volunteer this season…to mobilize our friends…so that they will comprehend
Our mission…our vision…to execute our position…to move the world forward
So that we will move toward…our dream
It’s not a scheme
Rather, it bears fruition
And it is nutrition….

For our spirit, and our soul, to be whole, and complete in Compassion…it is our action…Let our world become small…so that we may touch one, and all…a perfect healing…there is no ceiling…when we enter the realm of Compassion.

By Margo Rose (inspired by Nate St. Pierre & Joni Thomas Doolin–It Starts With Us).

And now, I selected a very special theme song for my poem: Sailing by Christopher Cross

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