The First Annual Capitals Convention

I went to the First Annual Capitals Convention expecting like a Comic Con atmosphere, just with Caps fans.  There were a lot of people and I didn’t what to expect since this was the first one and only the Blackhawks and Cubs fans know about this, but from the looks of it…we might another one next year, and then the next, and more.  Here are my observations from the Convention:

• I had to take the Metro and Metrobus and it wasn’t that bad.  It took one hour from the Vienna Metro Station to Branch Avenue and 15 minutes from Branch Ave. to the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center.  I was in the bus with the Caps Spirit, which I find it pretty cool.
• This is my first time going to National Harbor and it was the nicest places I’ve been to.  It had the great shops and restaurants and a terrific landscape.  Although, they have a restaurant called “Ketchup>’ Do you want to attract customers with that name?
• Gary Bettman walked by when I was in line. I want to punch his face there.
• Some guy who was behind me said the Exhibit Hall was huge and seeing nothing like it.  Ummm…ever been to the Washington Convention Center?
• I just realize: Bettman + Crysby + Yanni = 666.  That’s why the Pens won the Stanley Cup last year.
• I have a terrible slap shot, but a decent wrist shot if I have the stamina, I might be good.  A wrist shot would look easy, but it’s not.  I’m am still sore from all the slap and wrist shots.
• Why is Bettman so content of keeping a team in Phoenix?  Here’s what I believe: It’s fine to have hockey teams in the Sun Belt, but be smart about it.  Phoenix, although have their own arena, does not have a fan base to help the team. There are success stories like L.A., Carolina, and Dallas, but I also think Nashville and Atlanta either need to be banished or relocate since their fan base is so small.  I’ve heard about Portland, Hamilton, Ontario, and Kansas City as suitors.  Why not Milwaukee (for Winter Classic purposes).
• Bettman also said he doesn’t care who wins the Stanley Cup or the matchups.  Really?
• If there was one thing I was worried about the convention, it was the breakout sessions, but they were the highlights of the organization, although I would like an un-conference, since that’s the new buzzword is conventions.
• Don Fischman gave a great talk about the NHL Salary Cap, but Don, your Powerpoint slides were an utter piece of crap.  Don’t put a thousand words in one slide.  Take some presentation zen.
• I stepped out on the Cap-ology session and seeing a little of “Covering the Caps” with all the Caps broadcasters and apparently missed out on a great panel, though I caught little of it on the video screen at another room.
• What made the breakout sessions wonderful was how open and transparent the panelists (broadcasters, front office, players, others).
• Prices of food were reasonable since the burgers and hot dogs were big, but $4 for a can of soda? Must be the Leonsis-Snyder pact agreement that at least one item must be overpriced.  Also, no recycling bins?
• The Talent Evaluators was my favorite session (since I’m a recruiter, scouting intrigues me).  One of the more eye-popping things they said was that they’re more focus on the Southern area since the teens in the 90s were into roller/inline hockey.  I didn’t believe it until I found this article from the New England Hockey Journal.
• From the looks of it, Alex Giroux is the Byron Leftwich of hockey.
• Ted Leonsis is everywhere, literally
• My favorite part of the breakout sessions: A little girl asked the players what song they sing in the shower?  Mike Knuble responded, “I’m listening to Lady GaGa lately.”
• I was disappointed that I didn’t get autographs from Rod Langway (Asian-American) and Karl Alzner (we share the same birthday).
• Michal Neuvirth’s only words, “I have girlfriend back home,” and “that’s it” and the ladies swoon to him like Liz Clarke swoons to Springsteen or Jeanne McManus swoons to Tom Shales.  By the way, who swoons to Tom Shales?  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Neuvy looks like an 11-year-old.
• I actually touch Alex Ovechkin.
• Great to see Chasta, Teka, Kelly, Alaina and Erika again, but didn’t see Caps Girl.  This season, I will go around the horn and meet every Caps fan on Twitter face to face.

Overall, the First Caps Convention ran better than I expected and I consider this a success.  Next year though, I believe the Caps organization will move the convention to the Washington Convention Center.  The Gaylord Convention Center acted as an experiment and there was a huge crowd.  Afterwards, there was great buzz about the Convention from fans through WOM and Twitter.  Gaylord might be a great place, but there’s a reason the Caps only gave out 5,000 tickets.  Now, imagine they gave out 20,000 in a bigger place and the amenities are much better (except the DC Convention center does not have a pineapple fountain in front of the building).  This is a start of a new tradition.

Photos from the Capitals Convention

Sadly, My Birthday is Next Week

Next week, it will be my 26th Birthday or as others call, “One Year Closer to Death.”  I would never do a birthday post since, to me, sounds condescending, until I discover Facebook has a birthday wish to donate to a charity/organization.  I love the idea so much, I want to start a new tradition that on my birthday, I want people to donate to my favorite charities.  Here are the five charities:

1. American Special Hockey Association – I chose the ASHA as one of two primary sponsors is because the Capitals Convention is two days after my birthday and one week before the NHL season starts and I have transition myself to a huge puckhead.  I really love the ASHA because they help the disadvantage how to play the game of hockey and how hockey builds strong character among those who have a disability.  Here’s the Causes link to donate.

1A. The Hockey Foundation – I met Adam Sherlip and other fellow DC hockey fans at a tweetup last summer and I came with two impressions:  1) when you wear an original Brooklyn Americans shirt, you know a lot about hockey and 2) his knowledge and love hockey cannot be match.  Sherlip goes to places like China and India and teach people the game of hockey and give them the resources to play.  Sherlip is showing that hockey is truly a global sport.

2. Miriam’s Kitchen – They were the main sponsor for the DC Twestival and a great organization to help the homeless.  They provide free, high quality meals to the homeless and they deserve it.  Also, in 2010, Miriam’s Kitchen will have a dinner program; an additional bonus for the homeless.  I’m glad the Twestival organizers select Miriam’s Kitchen.

3. American Hair Loss Association – The AHLA is there for the sole purpose that I want to grow a beard.  I actually look like a sexy beast when I have a beard.  Sadly, my beard was a little better than Sidney Crysby.  I want the donations to help me grow a beard in the next few years.

4. National Wildlife Federation – If there was one organization that had a profound affect on me, it was the NWF.  I had some (but not reasonable) interest in wildlife and the environment, but when I first met Danielle and Kristin, and later on, Michael and Patricia, I started to change my lifestyle.  I started taking less time in the shower, unplug outlets, and took part in Earth Hour (which Todd Kmiec keeps reminding me the hour I missed the greatest college basketball game…that year in Villanova-Pittsburgh).  The NWF also gave me an opportunity to help make a difference in other cities like in Pittsburgh, where I sponsored a tree and officially call it, “The Alexander Ovechkin Tree.”  The NWF was also helpful for any Animal Revolution news since Tony Kornheiser’s radio show was absent.  Speaking of the Animal Revolution…

5. DC College Access Program – It is a great program helping DC kids going to college.  It is also the main charity for Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon.  You can donate through their site or go buy the Mr. Tony merchandise through 609design.com.  All sales go to DC CAP.  Wear your Mr. Tony for a great cause.

So when you say Happy Birthday (or Happy Spirit Journey Formation), remember to donate to these great organizations.  If you truly want to impress me on my birthday, donate any charity $56 since it is my hockey number…really:

Of note: All the organizations are not clients of Tran Recruiting and have no influence with the selection.

If I Was Running A Company…The Application Process

I headed back to the office for a consultancy gig of a non-profit for my own recruiting firm to do some administration stuff as well as help on the staffing, which this organization has huge changes coming up in the fiscal year.  One of my main responsibilities is posting jobs and implement my social recruiting skills.  I have posted on Twitter (as you see in the right side, I do it multiple times to see if people can see and then apply), and on Linkedin Groups.  I get a lot visitors from Twitter, but some action.  The Linkedin Groups have been very good based on quality responses I get from my Linkedin mailbox.  This is where the honeymoon ends.

In those emails, people wrote that they’re interested for the job.  I follow up saying that’s great, try to apply on the organization’s website.  If you send an email saying you’re interested in the position, what you want the recruiter to do with that email?  Recruiters won’t help you take shortcuts. Earn it by filling out a form.  It’s a lot of hard work, but I think the job seeker can handle this.

The other issue I have from the emails is some of the people who did or did not apply have ask me to send their resumes to the hiring manager and put it at the front of the line.  You know what you doing job seekers?  You’re asking for payola.  It is telling me that you’re desperate and have no confidence or patience on your job search.  If you want to be in the from of the line:

• Go to networking events
• Have a portfolio of your best work
• Share your blog or Twitter page
• Apply in confidence
• Ask politely for help

The process should be that easy for job seekers, but sadly this behavior is contagious like the swine flu.  Just ask  Ask A Manager, I Hate HR, and myself.  My theory of why people are behaving this way is the job market is small and the only way job seekers can get an advantage is to “distract” the recruiter and hiring manager and keep their focus on them.  If you want a job that badly, act like an adult by filling out the form, wait like everyone else and when it’s your turn, do something.  If you’re lucky, the employer can give you a lollipop.

Twestival Local – DC

Last week, I went to the Twestival Local in Washington DC to support Miriam’s Kitchen.  I love Twestival back in February and met a lot of great people.  This Twestival doesn’t have the surprise factor.  It was a reunion of some sort since I have met most of the people from previous tweetups.  I would like to thank Peter LaMotte and his team and Miriam’s Kitchen for the whole Twestival Local event and the money they raise should help out the for meals for the homeless.  I felt Twestival should be held every month for a different charity so people can attend more of these events to kick back and give money to a great cause.

The only people I met for the first time were Aram from George Mason (and his 500 aliases on Twitter) and Michael Sola of the National Wildlife Federation.  I wish there were more Fairfax people came at the event as promised (it was on the Amiando roster), but did not see any additional Fairfaxians (except Sara and Aram).

There was one problem about Twestival Local at the Midtown Loft I had issue with: loud music.  The music was so loud, I literally had to scream and lost my voice that night.  Now, I wouldn’t blame that on the Twestival organizers, but this has been an occurring theme that when I go to a social event like a tweetup or a fantasy football draft, the music had to be loud.  I was talking to Danielle and Kristen of the NWF and we were talking that the Twestival event last February had music, but it wasn’t as loud and everyone had a great time and wonder why the Twestival Local, and other social events at bars, put loud music.

I did a search and found two articles for why bars play loud music: U.S. News and StlToday.  Both show when you pop the loud music, people drink faster and order more alcohol.  If this study is true, you understand why music is played that loud in bars and night clubs.  To me, does that defeat the purpose of interacting with other tweeters?  In top of that, the NFL Thursday Night Opener was playing during the Twestival, but there was no sound since the music was blasting through the room.  This was  a great way to bond with other tweeps, but a missed opportunity.

Overall, I did have fun at the Twestival Local and it was great meeting others I met the past year, but I think the organizers need to realize they need to set up different Twestival events: one for the social/networking scene and the other for people to have fun.  The Twestival will only get bigger and bigger, which is great, but it must be done right to handle different audiences.

If I Was Running A Company…Pop Culture HR Award #5

So you already know that the next recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award is a woman.  Thank you for the suggestions.  I review every woman suggested and every time I checked, this person popped up every time.  I was trying to find a reason not to select her, but could not.  Therefore, the fifth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award is…

Mary Tyler Moore

Looking at her career, Mary’s story parallels what the modern working woman are achieving.  She had to struggle with unique roles such as an elf dancer for commercials as a teenager, until Carl Reiner discover her and ask her to be the character wife of Dick Van Dyke.  She was in her 20s and became a popular figure with her looks, fashion and comedic timing.  Her experience under Reiner and Van Dyke help thrust to her most famous role.

As Mary Richards, Moore created the first independent working woman in television who was a career driven woman, who is single.  The character at the time was bold and refreshing and gave a show an edge of how would an independent woman reacts to certain situations.  You know the show was great when you make Ed Asner’s character funny when the character is gruff and dramatic (hence Lou Grant being a dramatic series).  The show was in the top 25 for six of the seven seasons (the last season was the only season out of the top 25) and being the pioneer of working women at work and entertainment.

After the Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, Moore tried many different things and the results are mixed.  She starred in Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett.  Although some people thought this could ruin Mary’s career as people were familiar with her in a comedic role, the movie critics and audience agreed Mary was great in the role and was nominated for Best Actress.  In the 1980s, Mary wanted to make a comeback to TV in her own variety show and sitcom, but both failed.  In the 90s, as she became older, she revealed her problems with alcohol and being diabetic.  Currently, she’s the International Chairman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International and an animal rights activist.

If it was not for her, we would not know what the working woman would look like today.  Without Moore, would every woman have a secretary job, be a trophy wife, earn little to no income today?  Gladly, we wouldn’t know the answer because of her.  To Mary, she was a prophet, hence the statue in Minneapolis below.

Congrats Mary Tyler Moore on being the fifth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award and everyone is going to make it after all!

If I Was Running A Company…The Jack (or Jill) Of All Trades

In my previous HR post, I mention organizations and companies need to have a divide and conquer strategy to maximize their revenue.  That is the employers biggest adjustment to today’s market.  For current and potential employees: expanding their skill set.

Up and coming workers (interns and entry-level employees) come in to learn more about the industry and decide if they want to stick with their career path.  There will be some who already know what they want to do, but most prefer working for a company because of their history and work culture and have no clue what they want to do.  It brought to my attention what companies need to do: just have interns and office coordinators and don’t put labels on them early.

The young workers are different in this generation because Gen Y are naive but energetic and they can handle multiple areas (i.e. business development and literature, media and accounting, etc.).  The person has a lot of stuff to carry on their minds and they might burnout if not done properly.  What should employers do with all this potential? Have them do it all.

No, the person should not do all the jobs simultaneously, but the person should have one week to explore the different departments and decide where they want to go.  Employers must be like parents and see what the person does best and the person tells their employer what job makes them comfortable.  Employers must be open minded and give the up and coming workers options so they don’t get stuck in a box.

The only problem is what if there are many people who want to go to one department?  That is why labels are thrown out so everyone would try each department.  The up and coming employees are there to learn about how the company functions and be understudies.  It is also a great learning experience for up and coming workers on how each department functions because one way or another, you have to face each department in your career.

After it’s all said and done, if the person wants to stay but does not know about their role, put them in a office coordinator/manager role.  The office coordinator/manager is an equivalent to a utility player in baseball or an all-purpose player in football.  The person has all the talent but it will take a an x amount of time to see where exactly they want to head at.

This is an all-win, no lose situation for both the employer and employee.  For the employer, they mold an up and comer and can promote their workplace culture through references and word of mouth.  For the employee, they get their feet wet and have vast knowledge of how each division works, which will be valuable down the line in their careers.

There will be superstars, there will be role players, and there will be your headcases in your organization.  However, it all starts at the bottom with your up and coming workers and how will employers build them up to be future superstars and special role players.  It’s alright to be good at one thing, but it’s better to know what everything is going on.