ResearchGoddess

I got really, really fired up by a post I read last Friday that went completely off on social media, ‘snake oil salesmen’, training and certifications, and so forth. I won’t do it the honor of linking to it here, nor will I tell you where I saw it because I do not want to attract attention to it. So don’t ask. Just strap yourself in – I’m sharing my uncensored thoughts on several different issues here. Because, after all, everyone is entitled to my opinion

Poo-Pooing Social Media For Recruiting. #Tired. #Lame. I feel there is a point that is being missed here. Social media: yes everyone gripes about recruiters’ approach to it as another job board, or how much of a waste of time it is. But you know, lots of people also approach the telephone with the same mentality – smile-and-dial and robotically go through candidate calls. And I know lots of recruiters whose phone time is tracked who call friends, family, and each other around the office to boost their phone time – talk about a time-waste! I don’t see how any of these are different, because they’re all still a misuse of communication tools. The focus of this, and any, discussion when it comes to recruiting tools should be your voice. Because your voice is where everything begins. These tools – the telephone, email, social media, and whatever is next (think augmented reality and hologram-type stuff… cool!!) – are merely channels to amplify your own voice. I know some people who have a GREAT voice on social media, and others who suck at it. On the same note, I know some people who have a GREAT voice on the telephone, and others who suck at that too. And I’m not referring to the sound of their voice – I’m referring to the overall message they convey and the passion behind it.

Think of it this way; art comes in many different forms – paintings, writing, music, acting, etc. Often, someone who is a poetic writer may suck at playing an instrument. Or an actor might be an awful screenwriter. As well, some people don’t like music, or hate to read, or detest going to plays. Do these personal preferences make the artists any less of an artist, or diminish the importance or value of the artform itself? Not in my book – artists choose to amplify their voice through a method that they feel is best suited for them. As well, not everyone is going to like or appreciate an artist’s chosen mode of voice amplification, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still art. Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks.

Continue reading “One Big Rant (Yep, It’s Big!)” »

the most relaxing porch ever!

I recently took a week off to vacation in New Hampshire at my aunt and uncle’s home. They live in a little town called Newbury in the western part of the state, and I had no cell phone reception where they are located. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I was able to (almost completely) disconnect for the majority of my week and enjoy spending time with my family going kayaking, hiking, visiting some special places with great childhood memories, and hanging out on the most incredible back porch I’ve ever seen. It was a breath of fresh air, literally, for me – I haven’t taken a real vacation in so long, I can’t remember the last time I left work at home and just relaxed.

When I came home after my week off, I was thoroughly exhausted. I napped for four hours the afternoon I returned, and two evenings last week I took long naps after work, only to get up for a couple of hours and go back to sleep for an additional 6-8 hours. Those of you who know me know that I never sleep that much – ever. I got concerned after the second four-hour evening nap, thinking there might be something wrong with me. And then it dawned on me.

My body was so starved for relaxation that it was revolting against my return to my normal routine. Continue reading “Hi. My name is Amybeth. I am a workaholic.” »

I read a post over on Fistful of Talent early this morning, and the basic idea of the post was what our sportsmanship says about our professionalism. I was inspired to leave a comment, however that comment turned into a short dissertation, so I decided to post it here instead!

I’m a University of Florida alumni, and from 2006-2009 when the Gators won a total of 4 national championships, two each in football and men’s basketball, UF was the most hated institution in the country. Florida is currently the only school in NCAA history to hold the men’s basketball and football championships during the same school year.

I have never understood the notion that too much success for any one person/team is bad. If success is being earned honestly, I say let it continue, and let it be an inspiration to others to work hard and achieve their own success. I have a great deal of admiration for Duke’s Coach K because he could leave and be wildly successful in a professional program, but he chooses to stay at Duke because he loves it there. To punish someone, to hate them for no apparent reason other than success, for loving what they do AND BEING GOOD AT IT is just ludicrous.

With that, I see similarities in the coaching styles of Coach K, Coach Billy Donovan, and Coach Urban Meyer. All three men are good family guys and have good morals. They command respect of their teams and demand nothing but the best from them. They are quick to punish inappropriate behavior yet also quick to acknowledge accomplishment. They are all intense and highly dedicated to their work, sometimes with the appearance of insanity to those who don’t understand. And all of them get hated for the success of the teams they have coached. Why? It’s jealousy plain and simple.

My belief is that instead of feeling jealousy toward people like these men and the teams they have coached, people would be better served going out and trying to achieve a similar level of success in their own lives instead of secretly wishing mean-nasties on someone who’s done the work it takes to achieve success. And I think that’s where most miss the boat – they see what they perceive as the finished product (any successful person knows you’ve never “finished” being successful anyhow..) and attribute it to ‘luck’ or ‘special privileges’ and pay no attention to the years or decades preceding that moment where all the work, practice, struggle, failure, and heartache occurred.

One more thing: none of the success achieved by these teams can be attributed to one person. Sure – the coach is at the helm… but you could have all the best players in the country on a team and still not be the best. As Herb Brooks said, ‘I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right ones.’ Just as in collegiate athletics, in Corporate America too it takes a team to achieve greatness – including being supportive of each other, holding each other accountable, and working together toward the greater good of the whole, and not just the individual. That’s when the team truly wins – when all of the cogs are working in harmony with each other, each carrying his/her own weight and contributing to overall success.

“Research Goddess” is a silly nickname that was assigned to me nearly 4 years ago. The story behind how it came to pass is pretty interesting, so let me share with it with you and put to rest any notion that its meaning is anything more than completely fun and innocent.

When I left my first internet research job, which I held for 4 years, I also left a sizable internet research community via a listserv (numbering near 500 participants). As it was a proprietary listserv, I was no longer allowed access to it. I started my blog in order to stay connected to several of these researchers as well as to meet new people outside of that community. My first blog, by the way, was called “SPI Research” (now simply a placeholder), NOT Research Goddess. Research Goddess came about after I had conversations with Joel Cheesman and Jim Stroud. Joel informed me that I needed to create a memorable identity (as he did with Cheezhead), and Jim told me it would be in my best interest not to tie my blog directly to the company for which I worked at the time. He told me it would be hard to continue with the blog title “SPI Research” if I ever left SearchPath International, which I eventually did a year later.

Jim and I played around with some new possible blog titles on the phone one day, most of which I cannot recall now. In jest, I threw out “Research Goddess” and the line went silent. I thought at first I’d lost the connection, or that it was a horrible idea, but then I heard an enthusiastic “That’s awesome!!” from Jim. I chuckled, stating that it was just a joke, but Jim insisted that it was a great blog title and a memorable one at that. To this day, whenever Jim calls me or I call him, he always greets me with “Hello, Goddess!” It makes me giggle that he still does this, as it’s all in good fun.

As months turned into years, the nickname stuck. In fact, when I go to conferences now, I usually introduce myself and then throw in “I write Research Goddess”, and only then do I get the “Ohhhh, I know who you are!” responses. I am almost better known by my silly pseudonym than I am by my real name. What this tells me is 1) it’s a memorable nickname, but 2) I need to do a better job of tying who I really am in with the nickname. Working on that…

As a test to those of you reading this, here are a couple of other popular ‘nicknames’ of people you might recognize:

• The Sourceress
• The Searchologist
• Cincy Recruiter
• HR Bartender
• The Recruiter Guy
• The Red Recruiter
• Recruiting Animal
• MN Headhunter

While you may not know their real names off the top of your head, you recognize the names and know that each has a niche or a gimmick that is recognized and understood. That’s one of the important parts of creating a memorable identity for yourself. And one of the reasons “Research Goddess” has stuck to me.

Does it mean I believe I am a goddess? Heck no. I’m just another girl in this game, trying to learn and grow just like the rest of you, while sharing my thoughts with this little community. And quite honestly, for those of you who know me, I mean REALLY know me, you know that pretentious, selfish, or conceited are not words that describe me. Opinionated, yes. You’ll never have to wonder where I stand on issues. But having an opinion does not equate to being full of oneself.

If you think that the nickname “Research Goddess” means that I think I am an expert or a guru of sorts, please talk to any of my peers and learn otherwise. I will say that I feel blessed to have had opportunities cross my path that have enabled me to learn and develop my skills. As such, I do believe I have a decent grasp on good research techniques as well as some application of social media technologies when it comes to sourcing. Also, I believe my peers will tell you that I certainly have earned any praise that I have received. I believe I’ve worked hard and contributed some value to this industry, and I hope I’ve done a good job of paying it forward as well. BUT… I know I still have SO much to learn, and you will never hear me say anything to infer that I feel I’ve ‘arrived’. EVER.

If after having talked to my peers you still believe there is a conceited, pretentious, or conniving underlying purpose for my blog and my nickname, I strongly urge you to leave a comment here. Or call me directly – (360) 389-3227 – and let’s talk. Give me your thoughts as to why you believe this of me, and make some constructive suggestions for alternatives. I’m open to all ideas if you think I should take another direction. All I ask is that you don’t judge me or my intentions until you get to know me.

In the end, you’re certainly entitled to think whatever you want to about me. But I believe my work, my track record, and my peers’ experiences with me speak louder than anything else. I hope this sheds some light on the whole ‘research goddess’ thing. It’s just a stupid nickname, but it helps people recognize and remember me. And in my book, that’s a good thing.

I have a confession. Over the last several months, I have sucked when it comes to communicating. Phone calls have gone unreturned, and emails have been piling up in my inbox. Looking at my inbox right now, I have 1,480 unread messages just in the mail email alone, not to mention a few of the filters I have. I have a few other boxes with close to 100 unread messages. Sure, lots of the unreads are probably notifications or email subscriptions that someone signed me up for just because I gave them a business card at a conference (shame on you!) – but the fact remains that I haven’t done a good job at staying in touch.

I could use any excuse in the book – the move, the travel, settling in to a new place, new job, etc. But I’m not going to because I’m tired of making excuses for not achieving the things I set out to do. It’s a bad habit I’ve somehow picked up and has never been a part of my M.O. before, so I am losing it today. No more excuses.

I feel like a hypocrite talking about the importance of networking and developing relationships with people, when many of you reach out to me and never receive a response, or it takes several weeks at best. Networking is not just about friending someone, or leaving a note on their Wall, or accepting a LinkedIn invitation, or retweeting something they said. It’s about responding, engaging, and building trust. And it may sound silly to you but I think it’s hard to trust someone who doesn’t acknowledge your attempts at communicating with them.

I’m so sorry

So my pledge to you today is this:

1. No more unreturned phone calls. If you call me, you can expect a returned call within 48 hours. If you thought enough of me to reach out, I am going to return the favor right back to you.
2. Personal emails will be responded to within 72 hours. I’m trying to give myself more personal time on the weekends, so if I get an email on Friday, it might be Monday before I respond, but I WILL respond.

To do this, I am going to need your support:

1. Be specific – if you have a question you want me to help you with, be specific about it. Don’t just say “I’d like to pick your brain”; tell me how exactly I can help you!
2. Be patient with me – we’re all human and we all make mistakes. I am not planning to slip up on this pledge, but it might happen and I might fall behind at some point. All I ask for is encouragement; be my cheerleaders! Kind words do more to motivate me than you may know…
3. Return the favor – we all lead very busy lives. For some of us, email or a phone call is the only way to stay in touch any more. I miss a lot of my friends whom I used to talk to a lot; please call me back

I hope you will all hold me accountable to this pledge. I’m completely serious about this: I am drawing a line in the sand. The time for action is now, and I am excited about reconnecting. Look for me in your inboxes and on your caller ID!