For anyone unfamiliar with either of these publications, here’s a quick ‘elevator pitch’ for each:

• The Fordyce Letter is a print and online publication that caters to the third party recruiting world. It is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year and brings news and knowledge to external recruiters on topics such as placement fees, cold calling, client marketing and development, interviewing, business ownership, and how to become a “Big Biller.” Fordyce also puts on the annual Fordyce Forum conference.
• SourceCon.com is an online publication that is geared toward the “nerdy” side of recruiting – research and sourcing. Readers typically come from telephone or Internet sourcing backgrounds or leading teams of such individuals. Topics covered on SourceCon include technology resources, Boolean knowledge, search engines, data mining, social media, and other topics of interest to researchers. Two yearly SourceCon conferences are put on by SourceCon.com as well.

The last year for me has been one of tremendous growth. I jumped into my new Editor role really only having practitioner experience from which to draw. Sure, I started ResearchGoddess.com in 2006 and had gained a lot of notoriety as a blogger, but ERE Media is a real, actual media company and I knew this would be a fun new challenge compared to where I was coming from.

I humbly started my professional recruiting career (almost exactly nine years ago, actually!) in the agency world working for Jonathan Scott International, a well-known and respected recruitment agency operating in the supply chain, mobile computing, and commercial printing industries, for four years. There, I was introduced to the business of recruiting by reading old issues of The Fordyce Letter – ironically, the publication I now oversee. From there I joined SearchPath International, a third party agency franchisor, and led the centralized research effort there. I trained recruiting franchise owners on basic Internet research skills as well as ATS/database organization, social networking, and social media marketing. This was before social media really became a mainstream area of interest. After SearchPath, I worked on the corporate side of recruiting, working as a Sourcing Strategist for Waggener Edstrom, a global PR agency, and on contract with AT&T as a Talent Attraction Manager. I believe every step along the way prepared me for what I’m currently doing at ERE Media.

• My time spent in the agency world enables me to empathize with the daily grind that my Fordyce readers experience in their businesses. Let me tell you – those folks are some of the hardest working individuals I’ve ever met. They are passionate about their work and it shows in how they handle their clients and candidates. Those who own their recruitment businesses too are faced with the challenges of business ownership, management, and earning a living to support their families. If you’ve never walked a mile in their shoes, you’ve never really experienced sore feet.
• As a career-long sourcer, my love for the sourcing community is evident. From the very beginning, I have been an advocate of continuous education for researchers – even to the point where I helped established break-out training sessions for Internet researchers at some of MRI’s regional conferences. When SourceCon started in 2007, I was asked to be the Editor for the newsletter, which I gladly did on a voluntary basis for the three years prior to behind hired by ERE Media. Sourcing was my first love and I’m sure it’s obvious to anyone who knows me.
• Moving into corporate roles helped to clarify for me a lot of the disconnect there is between corporate and agency recruiters. They are not the same by any stretch of the imagination. Agency recruiting is highly competitive and volume driven – to this day, I still believe that agency recruiters who “go corporate” have a much easier transition than corporate recruiters who “go agency.” But working on the corporate side of things presents its own set of challenges: internal clients, more at stake because you’re staffing your own company, and bottlenecks in the recruiting process due to policies, politics, and inefficient systems (sorry HR, a lot of times these are caused by you).
• Working for a PR agency stretched me and helped me to make some key connections between marketing/PR and recruiting. We are very similar in a lot of manners and I’ve written about this a lot. I absolutely loved working in PR – the people are fabulous and excellent communicators and I still maintain some wonderful relationships from my time in that industry.
• 2009 was a great time to be working in the telecommunications industry in a recruitment capacity. “Mobile recruiting” was becoming hot, and I had the opportunity to work directly with one of the individuals who set the standard for mobile recruiting initiatives. I did some of my most creative work while with AT&T and I owe it to a boss who knew just how to manage me.

Over the last 12 months with ERE Media, I have been able to learn a ton from my talented co-workers — communications professionals like John Zappe, Todd Raphael, and John Hollon who collectively have more experience in publishing and journalism than the number of years I’ve been on this planet. Just so you know – there is so much more to this job than what you may think! We don’t just sit around collecting articles. It goes way beyond that.

I still source – I just don’t source for candidates. I have to find good writers, good topics, and effective speakers for the three conferences I’m in charge of programming. I have to make sure there is content up on my sites and that I pull together the monthly printed Fordyce Letter in a timely manner. I’m responsible for chatting with industry experts (that’s many of you!) and seeing who’s doing cool stuff in both the recruiting and sourcing worlds. I frequently write myself, and I offer content suggestions to others so they can write the interesting articles that you read on our sites. I have to continually stay on top of what’s going on in both the sourcing world and the third party recruiting world so that when I set the agendas for our events, the topics are timely, relevant, and interesting for those who attend. And I need to make sure you all know about us as well, so I have to do promotional and marketing activities, too.

Was this a good move? Well, I just celebrated a year with ERE Media – I certainly think so! Every day I get to rub elbows with some of the best sourcers, sourcing leaders, and third party recruiters in the business. I get to talk shop with them and be an integral part of setting trends in both industries. When I talk, people listen (or at least they pretend to!). At 32 years old, that rocks. And I don’t take any of that lightly.

Thanks to everyone who has congratulated me over the last day on this milestone. It warms my heart to feel the love. And thanks David for providing me with this opportunity. I hope to be able to continue in this role for many more years to come.

In the world of recruiting, we often see the most broken of recruitment processes exemplified by our own staffing needs. Agencies suffer from the “turn and burn” syndrome and corporate organizations take months to make decisions on hiring recruiting professionals, often losing the best candidates in the (lengthy) process.

And writers who get hired by media companies often neglect their own blogs because they are so busy earning their bread and butter in new corners of the Internet.

I’m sorry I have neglected you.

If you want to see what has kept me from writing on Research Goddess for the last several months, you can check out my articles on SourceCon.com as well as my articles on FordyceLetter.com.

I hope you’ll forgive me for making you go barefoot lately.

First and foremost, stay tuned here for the next round of Pay It Forward spotlights. I’ve been conducting interviews with the folks who were recommended by the 2010 PIF candidates over the last several months and there are some really outstanding people who will be featured in 2011. I absolutely cannot wait to introduce you to them!

Secondly, I am a big believer in accountability. Holding yourself accountable to someone – whether it is yourself or another person whom you trust – is a big part of achieving excellence in your life. For me, it helps to have others hold me accountable for the goals I set for myself. I like to think that I am self-motivated enough to stay on track, and in some areas I certainly am, but I’m comfortable enough to admit where I suck at this and am more than willing to involve others in holding me accountable. This being said, On December 31 I did a ‘countdown’ of my ten resolutions for achieving excellence in my life on my Facebook wall, which I now share here in the hopes that you also will hold me accountable to these items.

#10: Ride 100 miles on my bike in one ride by December 2011. Many of you know about my love for cycling. This year, I pushed myself to ride a 43 mile route around where I live and I am quite proud of myself for achieving a ride of this length. However, I need another goal. So by the end of 2011 I hope to be able to complete 100 miles on my bicycle in one ride.

#9: Learn how to snowboard. I used to wakeboard a lot when I was in college, and now that I live within an hour’s drive of Mt. Baker, I think it’s about time I translate those days into some snowboarding skills. Last year I did not feel I was strong enough to attempt this, but I’ve worked out diligently all year and feel it’s the right time to give it a shot. I hope to head up to the mountain to take my first lessons before the end of January.

#8: Read one educational or inspirational book per month. About six years ago, I was on almost a one-book-per-week pace, and I ended up reading about 35 books over the course of one year. I accomplished some incredible things professionally that year and I attribute it to the fact that I had packed my mind so full of knowledge and inspiration that it spilled out onto all aspects of my life. Reading is an ‘active’ learning activity, and even though I am an editor and I read on a daily basis, I feel the need to add in some supplemental topics to keep things varied and my mind sharp.

#7: Find one good quality in each new person I meet – and tell them. Leave people feeling better about themselves than before you met them. No-brainer here.

#6: Try cooking at least one new (healthy) recipe every week. Being single and living alone are no excuses for every meal coming out of a box or a can. This is the perfect time for me to test out my culinary skills and see what interesting and delicious meals I can whip up. I am looking forward to this personal challenge!

#5: Reach my ideal weight and BMI by October 2011. I have a number in mind and I intend to hit it no later than October. Why? My “Ohio best friend” is getting married and I am going to be the maid of honor. I want to look good in the wedding photos! I have a local friend who is my support on the ground and militantly holding me accountable to my biggest struggle, which is diet. Exercising is the challenge I overcame in 2010; 2011 is my year to conquer the other part of becoming functionally fit.

#4: Spend more face time with the right people and less time worrying about the wrong ones. I spent way too much time in 2010 caring about what people thought about me. I also spent way too much time worrying about overly judgmental people. True friends and those who genuinely love you will love you even with all your warts because they know that you are only human. They know you’ll make mistakes, make bad choices, and not be the epitome of elegance 24/7. Those who do not understand this are not worth the time worrying about; in 2011 I will spend more time and energy focusing on the former instead of wasting mental and emotional energy on the latter.

#3: Shed the unnecessary – starting with “stuff.” If I haven’t used or enjoyed something in six months, or if I haven’t worn in in a year, it goes to Goodwill. Stuff does not own me. I have been watching “stuff” own a very dear person in my life for the last several years – in that this person’s lack of willingness to part with their “stuff” has driven off a number of friends and family members. Observing this has compelled me to live a more minimalistic lifestyle and enjoy the people, rather than the stuff, in my life.

#2: Take a trip to Scotland and Ireland this summer. Plenty of times in the past I’ve talked about going somewhere or doing something but never did it. I will take this trip this year. I would love to not do it alone as well… anyone care to join me in this objective?

#1: Return to my walk of faith more diligently by reading the Word at least once per week. First, there is a big difference between ‘religion‘ and ‘faith.’ Religion, in my opinion, consists of laws, rules, and a bunch of other stuff that humans put into place in order to try to have a better understanding of an abstract concept like faith. And because we are human, we mess it up. A lot. Faith is about the pure sense of relationship and connection to God. I am not shy about my faith – it’s part of who I am, and thus it’s definitely an area in which I feel the need to constantly stretch and grow.

I do not expect perfection from myself in any of these areas – but what I do expect is that I pursue excellence in them. Doing things in my life to the best of my abilities. Not half-assing the activities in which I choose to invest time. Will I achieve all of these goals? Probably not. But I certainly think I’ll be better off in pursuit of them than not.

What are you striving for this year? In what areas of your own life are you pursuing excellence by making yourself more disciplined and taking a more strategic approach?

Yes – I realize the irony of posting about how I hate social media on a blog. And I know I use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn a lot. Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious. Perhaps you’ll put down your stones and take off your robe long enough to actually read and learn something. Hold on – I’m on a ranty ride today…

I’ve been participating on social media sites since before a lot of people even gave them credit. W-a-a-a-a-y before it was considered cool. I started using social networks in the days of BBSes – my destination of choice was a site called TaBBS (which stood for Talk Bulletin Board System). I was fourteen when I joined and I was one of the more prolific participants. I even met one of my high school boyfriends through TaBBS. Yep – I “internet dated” before it was cool, too. And for the record, I still haven’t met anyone great from internet dating sites…

I moved on from there to participate in AOL chat rooms and, over the course of time, lots of different social networking sites including (but not limited to) FaceTheJury.com, Friendster, MySpace, and of course now Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. My ultimate quest: omnipresence and omniscience. I wanted to be everywhere and to know everything. I guess that’s part of why I became a sourcer.

I loved social networks. A lot. And once I became a grown-up, I started realizing that social media had much more use than how most of us actually use it. It could be used for business purposes as well as personal. We can meld our work, social, and personal lives into one huge digitally social mosaic of existence. We can market our products or services online to current and potential customers through emails, status updates, IMs, DMs, and PMs while at the same time keeping our family updated on the latest adorable things our kids are doing without having to pick up a phone or pay a visit.

And therein lies the problem.

In our quest to be hyper-connected to everything and everyone, we’ve forgotten how to be humans. We hide behind our technology to avoid actual interaction. We’ve forgotten that people with feelings and needs are on the other side of the technology. And this is why lately I’ve really started hating social media. Here is one of the main reasons why:

“Slactivism.”

This term is loosely defined as the desire people have to do something good without getting out of their chair. Boy, have we perfected this lately. And social media has just made it worse, if you ask me.

Just last weekend, there was a Facebook campaign to change your profile picture to a cartoon character from your childhood to “raise awareness about violence against children.” yes, I changed my profile picture. I loved having an excuse to be Jem for the weekend. But is this really doing anybody any good? My friend Jeff wrote this on Sunday: “Changing your profile pic to a cartoon character won’t do a thing to stop child abuse. If you want to make a difference with your life, get off the couch and do it. Serve someone, help someone, show love to someone who doesn’t love themselves. give your self away, not just your picture.” I wonder how many people who changed their photos also made donations to organizations that fight child abuse. (by the way, if you want a good one to donate to, check out my Pay It Foward tab and read up on Mercy Ministries…)

And then there was the recent Keep A Child Alive “Digital Death” campaign, where some celebrities “sacrificed” (yeah, right) their social network accounts until $1 million was raised for the organization. But most of them couldn’t even wait a few days for the money to be raised to start tweeting and updating again. One article stated that “critics said it proves nobody cares about their Twitter presence.” No kidding; some sacrifice they made.

Remember the bra color campaign earlier this year? You know, the one where women changed their Facebook status to indicate what color bra they were wearing, to “raise awareness for breast cancer”? Well, consider this: many of those who are breast cancer survivors can’t wear bras anymore – so that campaign alienated the very people whom it was supposed to be raising awareness in support of. Nice, huh? Also, there was no group affiliation and no funds were being raised. Just “awareness.” Seriously, if you aren’t “aware” by now that breast cancer is a real issue, you must be living under a rock somewhere. As one breast cancer survivor stated, “Okay, time for a little less ‘awareness’ and a whole lot of ‘action’. the time to act is now. no more awareness, fix it.”

I know there are those who will argue that awareness generates conversation and “look, we’re talking about it now, so see it works.” Whatever. I’m a firm believer that the world can be changed on person at a time, but in order for that to be accomplished, some action must be taken. People trust actions, not words.

Want to make an impact while still involving social media?

Do what my friend Jill has done for the last two years – she has participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, 60-Mile Walk for the Cure. She uses her Facebook page to share photos of her experience with her family and friends. She has raised nearly $6,000 over the past two years.

Do what one of my Fordyce Letter readers did this summer – he rode his bicycle 190 miles in memory of a friend he lost to kidney cancer, and helped raise $100,000 toward cancer research. He allowed us to post an article about it to help him celebrate this success.

Do what my friend Erica did – for her 29th birthday, she asked for donations to charity:water in lieu of gifts for herself. She offered photo shoots to people who donated at least $50 to her charity:water campaign this year. She raised over $11,000 for her cause.

Do what my friend John did – he grew out his facial hair for Movember this year and raised over $1,500. He posted updated photos of his ‘stache, and when everyone was done commenting on it, he implored, “Thanks for the comments. Now…everyone who commented, be sure to head over and donate one latte out of your budget for this week and support the fight against cancer (32K dads, brothers, sons, die each year).”

Do what I did a couple years ago when BlogCatalog.com ran Bloggers Against Abuse and asked people to dedicate their blogs for one day to a cause that helped abused individuals. A worker at Mercy Ministries commented on my post and thanked me for it, and I received an email from them shortly thereafter letting me know that they’d received donations as a direct result.

Keep in mind: all of the above required action by someone at some point.

Please don’t fool yourself. Hitting the “Like” button for a charitable organization’s Fan Page doesn’t mean you’re a supporter, because it doesn’t do anything to help that organization pay its bills so it can provide a service. If you really want to make a difference, get off your ass and go volunteer. Or donate some money or other resources. Charities can’t pay their bills with “likes” and “awareness.”

Do I always do it? HECK no. I’m not perfect. Not even close. I’ll never claim to be. I stick my foot in my mouth more times than I can count. I get ticked off and I show it. I tick others off. I make mistakes – lots of them. I judge – probably you, at some point in time. I am HUMAN. We all do these things.

But what separates us from the animals is the fact that we are self-aware. We are capable of reasoning. And we have the capability, and more importantly the choice, to love, cherish, and appreciate everything and everyone around us.

I started this blog in 2006. When I look back at everything that’s happened in the last 4 1/2 years, it just blows my mind. Ups and downs, highs and lows – not unlike life itself. I started it as a humble internet researcher and am now in a role where I have a well-respected voice – not just within the sourcing community, but the recruiting community as a whole. I like to believe I’ve earned that respect because I failed forward a lot and didn’t make excuses for myself, nor did I blame others for my failures. And I also proved my worth with the companies and the people with whom I’ve been privileged to work. Go ahead – ask them.

My point in writing this is to establish a new ‘floor’ for myself as well as to provide some food for thought. I’ve been in my new role as Editor for both SourceCon and the Fordyce Letter (didja know that I do both?) for about six months now. It was a step in an unknown direction for me – even though I brought with me a good deal of real-world experience. I had to start over at the beginning again, in a manner of speaking. I had to return to where I started and rely on others who’d already walked down this path to help me. And it’s still very much a work in progress.

Editing isn’t easy – I don’t just sit here and wait for the articles to roll in. I have to proactively reach out and communicate with people. I have to ask them to write, and then I must attempt to hold them accountable for written commitments. When someone cannot or chooses not to fulfill that commitment, I must then make sure there is still material to share on the sites. I have to proof everything before it gets published. I have deadlines I have to meet – in particular for the print publications, because they have to be proofed, printed, and mailed by certain dates. I have to have quality conversations with people to determine interesting topics for conference presentations and webinars. I have to make sure they not only possess the knowledge but also the engaging presentation skills to keep people interested. I have to make sure not to over-expose people while making sure not to alienate those who’ve given so much to our industries. I have to make sure people know about upcoming events, posts, interesting articles, and everything about both of my publications in order to remain relevant. I have to try to remain objective in everything I say and do because it’s no longer about just sharing my own opinion; it’s about bringing pertinent knowledge and information to the readers. It’s not about me.

It’s not about me any more. It’s about you, too.

You have work projects that must be completed. You have families – children, spouses, parents, siblings, who all need and deserve your attention. You have co-workers, direct reports, employees, bosses, colleagues, and stock holders to whom you must remain accountable for your work. You have hobbies, interests, and activities you want to spend time on outside of work. You have relationships that need to be worked on. You have personal growth that must be constantly attended to. You have health that should be your number one priority. You have a life that you want to live.

I’m with you. I understand. I know where you’re coming from, because I am in the same boat with you. We’re all just trying to make our way in this world – but we cannot do it without understanding and involving one another.

My Thanksgiving wish for myself – and for all of you – is that we look at each other and understand that we all need to reach out, reach back, reach up, and reach down… and remember where we all started. Remember that we are all capable of growing and changing. Remember that we all come from very humble beginnings. There was someone there with us from the start. Maybe it was a parent or a sibling. Maybe it was someone who saw us when we were invisible to the rest of the world. Maybe it was an employer who gave us a chance when no one else would.

We are all in this together. Whether we are related or not, we are all family. We are a sourcing family. We are a recruiting family. We are a crazy, Griswold-like family. So to my “family,” even the crazy uncle, the annoying stepsister, and the obnoxious cousin who never shuts up, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for serving a purpose in my life. Thank you for helping to make me who I am today and for pushing me (painfully at times) to never settle. And I ask of you in return to be thankful for those in your life who were there for you, even if just for a moment; even if they have faded from view, taken a different direction, or are no longer with you. Because each encounter in our lives serves as an opportunity to learn and grow.

So remember where you came from… and always give THANKS back.

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.

Passive-Aggressive Behavior. Enough. Enough! ENOUGH!!! I am tired of seeing people bashing one another while making absolutely NO attempt to share their thoughts directly with the perpetrator. This isn’t middle school. Passive-aggressive behavior is lame. I respect people who, when they have a poor perception of someone, go directly to that person and share their thoughts (tactfully of course). Once that action has been taken, what the offending party chooses to do at that point is out of your hands. Whether they want to accept your constructive criticism (read: you share that you think what they did/said sucked yet offer up some helpful alternatives) or they simply shrug it off is out of your control. If you do due diligence to go straight to the source first, then I’m all for broadcasting your displeasure. But if you’re just snarking off on Facebook or Twitter without reaching out, then you’re the one with the real problem, IMHO.

Education and Certification. As far as these things go, I have mixed feelings about this. As someone who studied Exercise and Sports Science in college and never used my education professionally, I suppose I could say that earning a degree, or a certification, is pointless unless you have a specific use for it lined up afterward. However, my college education helped to shape me into who I am today – I learned how to be independent and discipline myself to complete tasks (something I think is SORELY lacking across all generations today), I learned how to manage my time by balancing school, work, and fun (see my recent post on being a workaholic), and I made some great connections while there that are still valuable today. I’ll repeat what I said above for this: diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks. Some people need the structured environment that certification courses, higher education, and conferences offer in order to learn stuff. They might get too easily distracted trying to pursue knowledge advancement on their own, or perhaps they simply enjoy the camaraderie of pursuing learning with other like-minded individuals. On the other hand, the School of Life has some pretty valuable lessons to offer in an unofficial capacity, so it’s ridiculous to dismiss individuals because they don’t have a few letters before or after their name. Which leads me into the next point…

Dismissing Experts and Gurus. Another tired and lame discussion, and I always refer to Jason Falls’ blog post on this topic when this discussion comes up. (long live Johnny Incrediblog!) Calling people who are good at what they do ‘snakeoil salespeople’ sounds like major sour grapes to me. I had a discussion with a friend last Thursday night about arrogance. Guess what – I’m all for it! Because I think there is a difference between being arrogant and being a prick. Healthy arrogance is good because I think it’s very important to know – and acknowledge – when you are good at what you do; being a prick is when you take that a step further and belittle those around you. Oddly, I see more people doing the latter….

Now – if you’re proclaiming yourself as an expert or a guru, you’d better have some proof to back it up. But do the same rules apply to those who’ve been dubbed by others as experts or gurus? I’ve had people tell me that I’m an expert on more than one occasion. Does that make me a snakeoil salesperson or a prick? I don’t think so. Do I believe that I really am an expert or a guru? Y’know, I’d like to think I know a thing or two about sourcing and about using social tools for recruiting. I don’t think I would have the kind of endorsements from true experts or have landed my last several roles if I didn’t. I’ll leave it at that.

Following Blindly. This one really bugs me. Just because everyone else thinks that someone or something is the best/worst doesn’t make it so. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and form your own opinions. Nothing is worse to me than seeing a post that has 15 comments after it that say “You’re so right!” in one form or another. Grow a pair and challenge the herd! Don’t create a situation of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” where everyone is afraid to challenge the status quo even though we all know there’s something definitely wrong. Speak up!

In the same breath, don’t berate people who don’t share the same opinion as you on a particular topic or person. We can disagree while still respecting each other as human beings. Multiple thought processes are what make our community so knowledge-rich.

Hey – I’m learning all this stuff right along with you! Sometimes, seeing how ugly it looks coming from others helps you to wake up and realize how it looks coming from you too. My takeaway for you from my little tirade is this: keep your eyes on your own paper. Stop worrying so much about what other people are doing and pay attention to your own work. Just because you can’t/don’t have something, don’t make it your life’s mission to prevent others from having or pursuing it. Be respectful of each other and understand that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Form your own opinions about people and situations instead of sharing someone else’s just because they told you to. And don’t be afraid to say, “I was wrong; I’ve changed my mind.”

As how our colleague Joe Gerstandt wraps up his nightly tweets, “Be good to each other.”

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.

I was reading through a colleague’s blog one evening last week, and one particular topic compelled me to leave a comment sharing the story of my last semester in college when I worked two internships on top of waitressing full-time to pay for school. As I was writing out my comment, I started thinking about other periods in my life when I worked this hard….

• When I was about five years old, my family went to Florida for vacation. I worked the shoreline, picking up all the whole shells I could find. When we returned home to Connecticut, I set up shop at the end of my driveway and sold my shells to passers-by. (“She sells seashells”…)
• When I was around six years old, I decided I wanted to host a ‘reading hour’ at my house for the other younger neighborhood kids. So I made up invitations and walked them around the neighborhood, inviting my play-pals over for storytime. I read a book to them and then we had snack – string cheese and I think orange juice.
• When I was in 6th grade, our English classes had a reading competition called “Battle of the Books”. The competition consisted of about 60 books that were to be read between four teammates, and then a quiz bowl was held. Teams from each class competed answering questions they would know if they read the books. My English teacher had never won this competition, so I made it my mission to win for him. Between myself and my teammates, we read all 60 books – but I read 57 and they each read one (that was the bare minimum a team member had to read in order to participate). My team won the Battle of the Books. Or, I guess, I pretty much single-handedly won it.
• In high school, I was in an accelerated magnet program called International Baccalaureate. I was in the symphonic orchestra and also on the swim team, the Academic team, in the National Honor Society, and president of the Key Club. I also started working after school and on weekends when I was 15. To graduate, I took six IB exams and four AP exams. I passed all of them and graduated 10th in my class with a 5.35 GPA. (yup – that’s possible with weighted classes) I also entered college with enough credits to start as a sophomore.
• In college, I waited tables 30+ hours a week for over two years while carrying a full load of classes. My last semester I held two internships – one of which was a two-hour drive away. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I worked internship #1, and after finishing on Tuesday, I would drive to Jacksonville FL and stay at a friend’s mom’s house for internship #2. I worked Wednesday and then drove home. I waited tables on Monday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and worked double-shifts on Saturdays. I had Sundays off but I would often pick up evening shifts to make extra money. Oh, and I graduated in 3 1/2 years, with honors. And still managed to find time to party and thoroughly enjoy school.
• When I graduated, I couldn’t find work and was forced to move back home. I felt disgraced by this, so I worked two jobs to save up enough money to move out on my own. I lifeguarded Tuesday – Saturday during the day, and I waited tables on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I worked 16-hour days, six days a week, for eight months so I could move out and live on my own.
• When I moved to Cincinnati, I worked a full-time job as an internet researcher. But I also started a business that became quite successful. I would spend weekends traveling and working with my business clients. I did this for about four years. I had some very large corporate customers and spent almost all of my spare time servicing their accounts. At one point in time, I was requested to give a short presentation at a conference in front of 10,000 people, discussing some of my business’s success. I worked very hard at both my job and my company and was able to pay off my car and about $15,000 in revolving debt as a result.
• Over the last several years, I have devoted much of my spare time to writing my Research Goddess blog as well as helping out with local social media group efforts. I’ve also accepted speaking engagements, given online presentations, and volunteered to edit The Source Newsletter (until recently when I was hired by ERE Media). In the midst of all this, I also went on two mission trips to foreign countries and did a lot of manual labor while overseas.

Friends, I have been working since I was five years old! I simply do not know how to be idle. Proof? I’m writing this at 10:45pm because I am still going through work emails. Perhaps that’s more of a sign that I don’t have a life…

Have you ever felt guilty for taking time off work? I have. It’s lame, I know – and certainly not any of my employers’ doing. It’s all self-imposed guilt. I’m afraid of what I might be missing.

Hi. My name is Amybeth. I am a workaholic.

I know I will not be able to keep up this pace forever, yet I enjoy having an insanely full life. I don’t do things I do not enjoy, so all of the activities I fill my life with are things that bring me pleasure – whether they are my work, my pursuit of better health, or my social media hobbies. Admittedly, I don’t spend as much time as I should with my family – partially because they all live on the other side of the country. This is a big reason I took my vacation in New Hampshire with my aunt and uncle. And of course, when I do pause for a moment, my body takes FULL advantage and does its best to shut me down.

My point in writing all of the above is this: even though I do consider myself a workaholic, I love my pursuits. But I do recognize that I need to make more time for peace, meditation, and relaxation. I absolutely know I won’t be able to run this hard and this fast forever – I do want to get married and have kids eventually, and those two things will certainly change my pace and priorities. So I would like to ask any of you to offer up some suggestions on how I can work some relaxation into my hectic schedule. If you’ve found a good balance in your life, I want to hear about it! ‘Cuz my body sure is tired of running on all cylinders all the time…

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.

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 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!

Between the years 2000 – 2009, I’ve had ups and downs just like everyone else. I’ve been hired and fired, recruited and laid off, in and out of love, and I’ve welcomed new family members to the world and said sad good-bye’s to loved ones. I’ve built beautiful new friendships and cried as old ones soured, I’ve left familiar places for the complete unknown (several times!), I’ve taken risks that turned out to be bad decisions, and I’ve tried new things that ended up being the best decisions of my life. I have started businesses that were lucrative for a season, and learned that it’s OK to move on to new things without considering yourself a quitter. I’ve read books, blogs, magazines, published articles, spoken at conferences, shook hands, laughed, cried, hugged, and loved freely because that’s what life is all about. It’s about living and enjoying everything around you.

In thinking about the last 10 years, even the worst days carried valuable lessons. I learned how not to do something, how not to act, how not to conduct business from these low points. In the high points I learned how awesome real friendship is, how wonderful family can be (even when they’re irritating!) and how luck is non-existent because opportunities come by us every day – we just have to learn to recognize and embrace them. For all its ups and downs, the first decade of the new millennium I think was pretty great.

I am reminded of an old movie from the 80s called Parenthood. In the movie, the old grandmother talks about a roller coaster and a merry-go-round at a carnival. She says how the roller coaster was frightening and exhilarating all at the same time, with all the ups and downs and the incredible speed at which it runs. She then talks about the merry-go-round and how some prefer it to the roller coaster because it’s closer to the ground, and it feels safer. She then shares how she prefers the roller coaster because the merry-go-round just goes around and around, never getting anywhere. Such is life, in my personal opinion.

I think the last decade, and in particular the last year, had to happen in order for us to really appreciate all the wonderful things in life. You cannot know love without knowing loss. You cannot know true success without knowing what it feels like to fail. You cannot appreciate good friendships without knowing what bad ones look like. We must take the bad with the good to understand everything that life has to offer. And so, I feel thankful for 2009, 2008, 2007, and so forth because of all the amazing learning opportunities I’ve had and how enriched I feel my life is because of them.

I think the perfect ending to 2009 and the ideal beginning to 2010 can be described in the words of Jason Mraz‘s song, Life Is Wonderful. Because it truly is. The good moments as well as the bad moments shape each of our individual life experiences and make us into who we are. By learning from each one, we make the choice to turn the good into bad, or the bad into good. The only time we fail is when we fail to dust ourselves off and keep making progress.

Happy 2010 to you – may your year be Wonderful.

“It takes a thought to make a word
And it takes some words to make an action
And it takes some work to make it work
It takes some good to make it hurt
It takes some bad for satisfaction.” ~Jason Mraz

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R08q2wzGpzk]

What does this have to do with the disappearance of the traditional employee? Last week, Paul Hebert wrote a great post on Fistful of Talent asking the corporate world to consider employee attraction and retention practices if the anchors of employee benefits, which include healthcare, were not in place to entice them to come on board. As well, earlier in the week my colleague Dave Mendoza pointed out an article from the Wall Street Journal that talked about the implications in the workforce of the healthcare bill in its current form, should it pass through Senate. (update: as of Christmas eve the Senate gathered enough votes to pass this bill)

Whether we want to admit it or not, healthcare is a huge issue today. And it’s going to affect more parts of our lives than just how we’re able (or not able) to obtain coverage. Most believe we need healthcare reform. Some think what got rushed through Senate will take care of that. Others don’t, and would like to slow down and consider some other viable options. While this is not the time or place for discussion of your position on this, I think we can all agree that whatever comes out of this situation is seriously going to affect many parts of our lives outside of our health. Including our employment situations.

Having read both of the above linked articles, and taking into consideration what I’ve learned over the years on the inside of HR and recruiting practices, I came up with this prediction:

Over the course of 2010 we will see a decline in direct-hire employees and a rise in both contractors and entrepreneurs in the workforce.

Let me just say that I am by no means an economic or social expert. The things I’ve considered in taking my stance on this prediction are simply from observing my community, my industry, and people in general. I could be completely off-base, or I could be spot on. I am simply one person with an opinion and a thought I’d like to share, with a few personal observations to back up why I think the way I do. I appreciate you respecting my thoughts in this and taking the time to read about them, even if you disagree with them.

So, why am I predicting this? Here are a couple of observations:

• With the astronomically rising cost of healthcare coverage for employees (mind you, this has been going on for years and I fully recognize that it did not start with the onset of the government wanting to take over healthcare, but I certainly don’t feel it will be alleviated by the proposed bill either), companies are less and less inclined to offer this benefit to employees. Thus, a reasonable alternative is to hire contractors, putting the financial and benefit burden off of themselves and onto the contractor’s shoulders.
• Necessity is the mother of invention. With the number of people unemployed or underemployed still in double-digits, it makes for a better environment for creativity in creating income, thus encouraging individuals to start a business and be self-employed.

This could be a fantastic thing. I think for some people, self-employment is the way to go. It’s not for everyone, but for those who are not averse to taking a risk, the reward can be great.

But it’s not guaranteed… and there are things to consider that companies eliminating offering benefits could have an impact on when it comes to employment, and ultimately, retirement:

• With companies being less and less inclined to either offer healthcare benefits (and consequently 401K and retirement), or being more inclined to hire contractors so as not to shoulder the burden, this will force people to have to be proactive in seeking out their own healthcare and investment opportunities. From personal experience, I know that purchasing healthcare independently is quite expensive, and that cost will only continue to rise. I’ve read that as much as 21% of one’s income would go to nationalized healthcare, should it be instituted. *again, I’m not an economic expert, this is just what I’ve read and heard from those who live in countries with nationalized healthcare, like my friend’s mother who was a nurse in the British NHS for 40+ years – she would know!*
• According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, our rate of savings over the past decade is pitiful, averaging near 3%. For the average household which makes about $40,000 per year, that’s a pathetic savings of $1200 yearly. In all reality, most Americans save nothing at all when you count credit card debt, car payments, and home mortgages. So obviously our rate of savings leaves a lot to be desired already. Being forced to purchase government-mandated healthcare coverage because our employer simply can’t foot the bill any longer could essentially wipe out the ability for people to continue saving even at a meager 3% rate.

Ripple effects:

• For both employer and the individual:
  • What is a company’s incentive to hiring direct when they have to pay such astronomical costs for benefits for their employees? I believe companies will start to hire more contractors; then they won’t have to shell out for the benefits. Could be a good thing, as it would encourage more entrepreneurialism, which ultimately leads to the creation of more jobs.
• For the individual:
  • As a result of this, contractors will end up paying out-of-pocket for health insurance (expensive), & there will no longer be ‘auto’ savings in the form of 401Ks or retirement plans – through the company, at least. Making those decisions will be left up to the individual. Again, this could be a good or a bad thing, depending on the level of personal responsibility of that individual. But as seen in the above example of personal savings over the last 10 years, it’s not a likely scenario for many.
• For the employer:
  • An increase in recruitment and hiring costs. Employees are more likely to be loyal to a company than contractors. While contractors don’t carry the cost of insurance and 401K matching, it’s an expensive process to constantly hire new and renew existing contractors. It gets even more expensive if you’re going through a 3rd party contract provider, because not only are you covering the contractor’s rates, but the escalated rate of the provider in order for them to cover their operating costs.

Distant future ripple effects:

• With the decline in savings in the US, as the X and Y generations reach retirement age, there will be even more of an increased demand for someone else to foot the bill, unless we get a grip today on taking personal responsibility for our futures.
• I’m all for entrepreneurialism – if you feel called to be self-employed I totally support that! Just make sure you prepare for your future. The great thing about being self-employed is that you rely completely on your own efforts. The downside of being self-employed is that you rely completely on your own efforts. There’s no one there to blame but yourself if retirement time comes around and you didn’t plan ahead enough.

My recommendations for this 2010 prediction:

• Individuals: Be personally responsible. Start saving today. If you don’t believe you can, find a way. I’m sure there are things in your budget you can cut back on. Do you really need that daily Starbucks latte, or 5000+ TV channels?
• Companies: continue to offer benefits and have a leg up on your competition for talent. As other companies drop benefits like a bad habit, a company can use this to their advantage by continuing to offer them as value-adds for new hires. You’ll attract more, and loyal, talent if you offer something that your competitors no longer can.
• Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, or it will cease to do so. Companies aren’t perfect, but employees aren’t either. Remember that the next time you’re grumbling about the popcorn tower your company gave you for a holiday gift as you’re stealing office supplies. The fact that many companies DO currently offer benefits is a privilege, NOT A RIGHT (please do not confuse the two). Yeah there are some companies out there that do shady business or don’t treat their employees well. If you work for a company like that, you have the option to leave. No one is hand-cuffing you to that desk, regardless of what you may think. (by the way, if your response to this is “but I can’t leave; I’ll lose my benefits!” – I suggest you re-read the bolded text that started this bullet point…)

Be THANKFUL for what you do have. If you currently work – you are much better off than 17% of this country as of September this year. Be careful, and think about the things you ask for; consider all of the consequences, short- and long-term. The long-term ripple effect might overcast the short-term benefit.

Disclaimer: I anticipate many varying viewpoints on government-controlled healthcare as related to this post. I don’t feel this post, or this blog, is the correct venue for that discussion, however, you have a comment to make about the rise in contractor / entrepreneur status as compared to employee status, feel free to do so! If you’re insistent upon sharing your opinion on healthcare, you are more than welcome to email me directly and I’ll be happy to engage in a civilized conversation. Thank you for respecting my space and I look forward to an engaging exchange!

Ever go to someone at your company to ask for help, only to have them respond, without even looking up at you, with “That’s not my job”? Or called customer service to get resolution on an issue, only to be told “I don’t do that” and not even be forwarded to the right person or at least provided with another number to call?

This attitude of “not my problem!” is out of control today, in my opinion. Sure, you might not have the answer, but with networking being all the rage these days, isn’t it possible that you know someone whose job it actually IS? So, instead of saying “That’s not my job”, how about responding with “I don’t know, but let me see if I know someone who does!”

Customer service isn’t a department in your company – it’s a job that belongs to all of us. And that ESPECIALLY includes internal customer service. To jump on the buzzword bandwagon here, nothing speaks louder about employment brand than how we work to help each other out on the inside. Employees of the company can be your biggest allies – or your worst nightmare – for building a positive employment brand.

I’m not saying that you should let people use you – because there will always be those individuals who will try to pawn their work off on you all the time. Make sure you establish a SLA (service level agreement) with your teammates and colleagues so there is an official procedure for getting things done. But if someone asks you for help, don’t just leave them hanging if it’s outside of your scope. See if you can find someone to help them. Even if the issue doesn’t get resolved, you’ve still painted a positive picture by putting forth the effort. Besides, it takes maybe a minute or two to redirect someone. Can you spare 1/10th of a percent of your day to make a good impression? I sure hope you’re not that busy!

“To succeed on Twitter, I’d bet that companies need do no more than ask those questions–and then hire that person to tweet about anything but brand awareness and product news. Twitter is so popular because it’s so personal and so direct; give one person the keys to your brand’s castle, and they’ll go out and connect. But don’t try to drag the whole board-room table.”

I disagree with this, and I wanted to respond to this post here on my blog in hopes of bringing more attention to the post and soliciting more feedback on this issue.

I have to wonder if individual user accounts who tweet on behalf of these companies were taken into consideration in Weber Shandwick’s study, or if the only Twitter accounts that were considered were officially endorsed accounts, created by the companies themselves. I for one know that many companies have employees who represent them, on a rather official basis, but they aren’t ‘branded’ as a company account because the companies realize the need for personalization of their Twitter presence.

Furthermore, each company is going to have a different purpose for using Twitter. Some perhaps don’t need/want to engage there. Anyone who understands marketing and social media strategy knows that the shoe doesn’t fit everyone in the same way. I saw that the Weber Shandwick study discusses that briefly.

As to the original question of this post, I don’t think a dedicated “tweeter” could/should be a full-time job at this point. It should be part of many people’s jobs, not just one person. The idea of having one dedicate person reeks of the antiquated “spokesperson” concept, and if you take a look at the way business is done today, there is never just “one voice” of a company any more, especially not within the walls of social media.

I think it’s better to ask several people, who understand your company (i.e. NOT a brand-new intern), to participate in some degree. This doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t, in my opinion) rest solely with one internal team or individual. It should be a collaborative effort – after all, if the purpose of a company being on Twitter is to engage, shouldn’t the entire company be represented, not just one person or group of individuals which has decided that they ‘own’ the company’s social media presence? (a whole other issue itself…)

How about you – what do you think about this? Should companies hire a dedicated tweeter or team of people whose sole function is to tweet (and I’m sure engage on other social media)? Leave your thoughts in a comment below.

When you look at an iceberg, you’re seeing only a small portion of the whole iceberg above the water. In fact, it’s estimated that as much as 80-90% of an iceberg is below the surface of the water. You never see 80-90% of the iceberg. Success is much the same. When you look at someone who has achieved it, you’re only seeing a small portion of what’s behind it. You don’t see humble beginnings, taking chances and failing, bankruptcies, or wrong choices. So it’s easy to attribute someone’s success to “luck” or some other ridiculous excuse as to why they’re there and you’re not.

Luck happens when opportunity meets preparedness. Success is found traveling a narrow, difficult, and rarely traversed road. For this reason alone, not many people achieve true success. In the Declaration of Independence, we are guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What we are NOT guaranteed is happiness itself. If you choose to pursue it, you have the opportunity and the freedom to do so. But it does NOT mean that you’ll necessarily find it. I think a lot of people today feel like they have a right to happiness. But if it were handed to you without having to work for it, you would neither appreciate it nor place appropriate value on it. That’s why success and happiness must be worked for.

We look at others who are deemed successful – people like Bill Gates, Anne Mulcahy (former CEO of Xerox), Warren Buffet, Vera Wang, and others, and see what we consider finished products, people who’ve amassed incredible wealth and success in their careers. What we so often do not see are the years and years of learning, hardship, trial and error, and failure, which got these people to where they’re at. And what many so often sadly do is judge, and even resent, the success these people have achieved simply because they’ve achieved it, saying things like “They ought to be giving more to charity” or “It’s just wrong for someone to make that much money”.

Give me a freakin’ break. Take off your robe and put down your gavel and take a look in the mirror instead.

The only reason you say that is because it’s not YOU. If YOU were in that position of success, you would applaud the success of others instead of resenting it. The people who wag their fingers in the face of successful people and tell them how ‘selfish’ they are, how they aren’t ‘doing their part’  to give back to society, or that it’s a sin for someone to have so much, are probably not doing a whole lot themselves. The reason I say this is that every successful person I’ve ever met in my life knows how hard it is to work toward and reach goals, and they respect those who’ve set and achieved goals and found personal success. They don’t sit around coveting what others have or declaring that it’s not deserved; they go out and get it for themselves.

I’ll get really transparent here. The fact of the matter is that I’ve been at the low end of the totem pole. I’ve been in situations where I literally had $6 to my name, and that had to last me through the end of the month and had to put gas in my car to get to work and food on my plate. I’ve been in the situation where I racked up a large amount of credit card debt from making poor choices. I had academic scholarships to pay for my college tuition, but I had to work a full-time job all through school to pay for room and board because my mother had no income for the entire first year I was in school due to a serious work injury and Worker’s Comp’s refusal to handle the situation (another topic for another time). I’ve had to work two jobs, 16 hours a day, 6 days a week to save enough to move out on my own. I’ve had to couch-surf at my brother’s place because I couldn’t afford to rent my own apartment for two months after I moved to Cincinnati. And I am grateful for every single one of these difficult situations in my life because it made me appreciate reaching my goals that much more. I rose above my situations and found my own success. I’m not done yet, but I’m pretty damned proud of where I’ve gotten to today.

As a result, I am someone who believes that achievement, not entitlement, should be rewarded. This ‘Robin Hood’ mentality that so many have today I think is misguided. People who have taken steps to better their lifestyle and are currently in a place where they are seeing the fruits of their labor should not be penalized (like being taxed a third of their income) for doing so. None of us is guaranteed happiness. We’re guaranteed the right to pursue it. Some choose to pursue it, others don’t. And those who choose to pursue it are all at different points in their pursuit. Some are at the beginning and still struggling, but they have hope. Others have achieved some goals and should be allowed to enjoy what they’ve accomplished. I dislike when people take a look at, and then choose to criticize, an end product and don’t ever take into consideration the time and heartache that went into achieving that success. We all have to start somewhere.

The quote at the bottom of my email signature says ‘Remember where you came from, and always reach back.’ I have the honor and privilege of giving back from my own abundance to some wonderful causes that encourage and uplift people to help them get through tough times and achieve success again in their lives. I am inspired by people who struggle, and fail, but who get back up and make things work. I’ve worked very hard to get where I am and I will not apologize for what I have, nor will I be made to feel guilty for it either.

In my honest opinion, those who complain about how unfair it is for some people to achieve and be rewarded for that achievement while others struggle don’t have any aspirations of getting any further than where they are today and are just looking for someone to blame for their lack of drive. You cannot look at another’s success and judge them based only on what you see. Behind that success inevitably is a story of struggle, and a person who appreciates the hard work it took to get where they’re at, as well as a person who generally wants to assist others in finding similar success.

If you’re currently in that place where you’re struggling – keep moving forward. You’re going to fail sometimes, but you must get back up and continue. When you achieve your goals, the reward we be that much sweeter. And look to those who’ve achieved success not with resentment or jealousy, but as a source of inspiration. After all, they were once where you are.

Several years ago, my brother shared a phrase with me that has stuck in my mind, and I’ve used it several times to describe some rather crass behavior that I, and I am sure you, have observed online since this whole social media thing really started becoming popular:

On Thursday of last week, I asked a simple question via LinkedIn Answers, inquiring about the Facebook app use of college students. I initially only received 2 responses, one of which was incredibly patronizing from a guy I’ll call Bruce:

“Have you tried GOOGLE?… Are you aware that this is LINKEDIN, a professional website with a totally different target market than that of FB?”

Gee thanks there buddy. I appreciate the condescending tone.

1. I am well aware of the platform in which I am presenting this question. It’s an online network, like Facebook. My assumption was that some of the folks who use LinkedIn just might also use Facebook. Anyone else agree with this theory?
2. If Mr. Bruce had bothered to look at my profile, he’d have noticed that I’ve got a little experience doing research, so yeah I’ve heard of that thing called “Google”. One thing I’ve learned through my experience is that to get the best research, you have to use several different sources. And – sometimes the best information is gathered from end users, NOT the company pushing the product… i.e. the college students I was targeting with my question.

My guess is that if I had asked this question in person, Brucey here would not have used that kind of implied pompous tone in his response. But because he’s sitting there behind his computer screen, he feels comfortable puffing out his chest and responding with this air of arrogance that unfortunately seems to be a common occurrence these days. He’s got some virtual balls. Anyone else noticing this? People saying things online that they’d absolutely never say to someone’s face? What’s up with that?

My mother taught me a lesson when I was a little girl: Treat others as you’d want them to treat you. I think that’s in the Bible in some form somewhere, as well If someone’s asking a question, try to play nice in the sandbox and don’t respond with a jerky, snarky response. Or don’t respond at all.

My thoughts on this topic are:

• If you wouldn’t say it to their face, don’t send it in an email, post it in a forum, or text it to their phone.
• Pick up the phone once in awhile to have a real conversation instead of texting.
• Remember that just because you’re not in front of them doesn’t give you license to be a complete jerk.

Sidenote: if your LinkedIn profile is written in 3rd person, you might be a narcissist.

So for full disclosure, I did send a private response to ol’ Brucey (though posting it here I guess doesn’t really make it private anymore now does it!) thanking him for his advice. Don’t worry; if I ever have the pleasure of meeting him in person, I’d have no problem saying this to him:

“Thank you for that helpful advice and kind tone, Bruce. I guess I shouldn’t have assumed that those who are connected in some degree with me, a professional researcher, here on LinkedIn (an online network), would also be users of Facebook (also an online network) and might therefore be able to offer up a useful response. Silly me!”

A lot of you have seen this – the case of the Monroe College student who is suing – yes SUING – the college because she hasn’t found a job yet. It’s August, and the girl graduated in April.

Come ON….

What has this world come to? Why are we suing educational institutions for not getting us a job? It’s not their responsibility to find us a job – college is supposed to prepare us for entry into what many refer to as the “real world”, which means we have to take off our diapers and do things for ourselves. I’ve NEVER heard of a college that promises employment – ESPECIALLY these days. They don’t even promise an education – know why? Because it is up to YOU to go to your classes and learn something. Professors in college are not going to hold your hand and baby you. At the beginning of the semester, they’ll give you a syllabus, tell you when your assignments are due, and you’ll be expected to put that to memory and be responsible for getting your stuff done. At least, that’s how I remember it…

My first two semesters in college were rough – and I started as a sophomore because I had so many credits coming out of high school! I think my cumulative GPA my first two semesters was something around 2.9. This is because I had to make some serious adjustments to 1) keeping track of when my assignments were due, and 2) making sure I had a good balance of school, work, and fun. Sometimes the fun was way out of balance, which is what happens to a lot of students in the first year. The difference is between those who learn to be responsible, and those who whine and complain that ‘teacher didn’t tell me when this or that was due’, and blame everyone else for their lack of ability to manage a calendar.

I had an academic scholarship to the University of Florida, but to keep it that meant I had to maintain a 3.0 GPA. As a result, following the end of my 2nd semester I was in danger of losing my scholarship. But instead of whining and complaining, I figured out what needed to be done in order for me to keep my scholarship. I buckled down, studied more, became diligent in managing my schedule, and by the time I graduated (in 3 1/2 years), I had a 3.53 cumulative GPA, which mean I graduated with honors. And by the way, I did this while working at least 30 hours a week at the Olive Garden my junior and senior years.

I graduated in December of 2000. Guess when I got my first “real job”: August of 2001. 8 months after graduating – imagine that! In the meantime, since I couldn’t afford to live on my own, I had to move back in with my mom, something I never wanted to do. So, to change my own situation (learning point there) I worked 2 jobs to save up enough money so I could move out. I worked during the day as a lifeguard and water safety instructor, and after that job was over, I went to wait tables 5 days a week. I did this for 8 months until I had enough to move out and enough for covering my living expenses for a couple of months until I could find another job. Which I did – paying $7/hour working in sales at a fitness club. I hated this job, even though it was utilizing my education (Exercise and Sports Sciences), so I ended up going back to waiting tables for….another 10 months. Only after that did I got my first job working in recruiting, and the rest is history. So if you really want to get down to it, it took me 18 months to find my career. And it wasn’t even related to what I had studied in college.

So when I hear stories like this, a girl who is suing her college because she hasn’t found a job it hasn’t found her a job in 3 months, it makes me want to go insane! 3 months??? Try 18, or longer in some cases! And I’d really be interested in how much time this young lady has invested in her own job search, or if she’s leaned back and expected other people to do all of the work for her.

Life is not fair. This may sound harsh, but once you learn that lesson, you’ll get along much better in life. Take the following items as words of advice from the voice of experience:

• The days of going to school, getting a degree, and that guaranteeing you a good job are over. You must learn how to network in today’s world – it’s probably going to be the most important skill you can learn to be successful at any endeavor you pursue. I believe this is a skill that should be taught in a mandatory course in college – or better yet, something taught at the high school level.
• People are not going to hold your hand your whole life. You have to take responsibility for yourself. The best place to learn this is in college, because you will be chewed up and spit out in the corporate world with this mindset.
• People will be willing to help you, but only if you’re helping yourself in the meantime. Do not expect other people to do your heavy lifting for you.
• You must learn to find balance in your life – party too hard in college, your education will suffer. Study too much, and you’ll make yourself crazy (and the others around you too). Well-balanced individuals often find great success because they know when it’s time to get down to business, but they also know how to kick back and relax.
• Most importantly, make and maintain a good name for yourself. Think about this – what employer do you think is going to pursue this girl now, after they have seen this news splashed across the headlines? Whether she realizes it or not, she just made her situation that much worse because the perception is now that she has an entitlement complex. I don’t know if this assumption is the actual case, but that is the perception of most people who hear this story at this point.

Students, your reputation is one of the few things you can control in your life. Take extreme care in maintaining a good one. Suing your college for not finding you a job will severely hurt your reputation and your chances of being hired anywhere. Companies are looking for individuals who can handle the hiccups that occur in life in stride, not people who throw themselves on the ground and have a hissy fit when things aren’t always peaches and cream. Listen – bad things happen to everyone – what separates the successful people from the unsuccessful people is the ability to deal with life’s issues maturely, realizing that the tough times are learning opportunities, and what makes us stronger in the long run.

Best wishes to you as you are earning your education, and please let me know if I can help you in your job search (no guarantees, of course! )

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlCLuIwuVgQ&feature=related]

This is funny, until this kind of mentality crosses over into use of social media. Lots of folks think that attending a webinar automatically certifies them with “social media expert” status. Umm… not quite It takes a little more than attending one webinar or one conference to “get it”. Don’t think that automatically qualifies you to start producing your own training material. You have to live it, experience it, interact with others in it, and most importantly, FAIL at it.

Consider doctors – they’re going to go through hundreds and hundreds of practice procedures in medical school and mess up (sometimes fatally) along the way. But this is the only way they’ll learn how NOT to do things right, and thus become good at their craft. Why should this be any different?

Don’t assume that by taking a webinar here and there that you all of a sudden know what you’re doing. It takes time and effort, trial and error, and learning from making mistakes to be truly excellent.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should…”

I have used this quote in so many situations and it always makes people stop and think. And I’ll say it here too, in the case of using social media for business – just because you can use social media, does that mean you should? Just because there are tools available for you to promote a job, or a brand, or a product or service, is that reason, and right, for you to be doing so?

When teams jump head-first into social media because all the rest of the world looks at it with googly-eyes, they are only thinking about the COULD. By holding back, listening, observing, doing due diligence and making sure everyone involved is equipped for success, they are then thinking more about the SHOULD. So consider these things:

• Anyone CAN start a blog. But should YOU?
• Anyone CAN set up a Facebook Fan page. But should YOUR company?
• Anyone CAN tweet on behalf of their business. But are you ready to give up that much official control?
• Anyone CAN decide to implement mobile marketing. But is your audience going to be receptive to it?

The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Practice some patience, do your homework, and find out if it’s right for you, your team, and your company first before pressing forward. Otherwise you run the risk of ruining your reputation or your brand image. Look before you leap!