A Night of Legends

The name of the title refers to an event ESPN980 holds called Lunch with a Legend.  One of the lunches they conducted was  ”legendary Redskins broadcaster” Larry Michael.  EXCUSE ME?!!!  Anyway…

Last Wednesday seemed serendipitous.  I knew for months that January 27, 2010 will be big: I got Caps tickets against the Ducks for $15 each on StubHub and Shauna Moerke’s announcement that she was heading to  DC on a secret mission, which had a domino effect of the events to come.  I knew the night was going to be great…but I had no idea the day was going to be THAT great.

#ConnectHR

After a long day of HR and Recruiting consulting (and beyond), I wanted to go early to the #ConnectHR event since I had “other bidness” to attend that night.  Amazingly, I was not the first person to come in to the event.  The event immediately became packed of HR/Recruiting tweeters;  bloggers;  members of SHRM;  HRA-NCA;  visitors as far from Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Boston, even Portland, Oregon; and others.   Imagine the event as you’re stuck in a Metro train (subway for non-DC area residents) stuffed with congenial people having a conversation and saying “excuse me” a lot.  It was the cavalcade of stars that I could have list a few superstars, but it needed a link since it was that special of who attended.  Since it was crowded, it was hard to navigate to network and I didn’t get to speak to everyone on the list, but for the most part, it was great connecting to people who came all over the country just to network with other HR professionals in DC.  For that, I like to thank SHRM, SmartBrief, Monster, and Recruitingblogs.com for handling the event.

The networking was the main objective of #connecthr, but there were three bonuses that night:

1. Everyone was taller than Mike Lupica.
2. I won a gift bag from Monster.  I was number 27…the same number as Washington Capital Defenceman Karl Alzner…who also shares a birthday with me.  By the way, my schwag had a Flip Camera, gift card, beanie cap, and others.
3. Before I left, China Gorman mention she uses my name as an example of a dedicated HR/Recruiting professional since I “crashed” the SHRM Leadership Conference last November and also my blog posts on HR and Recruiting.  I wanted to be sarcastic, but that was the nicest thing someone has done for me and the only thing I can say is Thank You.

#ConnectHR didn’t had many down moments, but:

1. I won a Monster Snuggie.  Let me be clear, I like Monster and Eric Winegardner since he gives Monster a human element to the company.  I just don’t like the Snuggie. I believe when you buy a Snuggie, some cult gets rich.  To be fair, my mother loves the Snuggie, so Eric and Monster made my mother happy, but since I had to carry the Snuggie all night, my Q rating dropped that night.
2. The event needed more Matt Bradley

Which leads to:

The Capitals and #Caps108

For two weeks, I announce that I had one ticket available for the Ducks-Capitals game, but there were no takers.  So sad because the missed a chance to get free wings since the Caps scored 5 goals in a 5-1 win over the Ducks.  In addition, they missed out on meeting Krafty at RocktheRed.net at a carving sandwich stand and another terrific #Caps108 tweetup.  Chasta and Caps Girl explain perfectly what #Caps108 is for.  If you’re a Caps fan and want to meet with other Caps fans/tweeters/media/jack of all trades, come to outside section 108 to chat and say hello.  I’ll be at the next #Caps108 next Friday against the Atlanta Thrashers to 1) root for a Caps victory, 2) convince Ilya Kovalchuk to come to Washington, and 3) bring the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference back to Washington DC from Atlanta, again.

What made the game (and the night) uniquely special was in the third period, during the last Kiss Cam segment, there was a marriage proposal.  I found that poetic that night since it was symbolic for that night.  to put a cherry on top, I finally met one of my Twitter friends, Addison (who also shares a birthday with me), at the Vienna Metro Station when both of us were heading home (he was going back to Arlington, I was heading back to Fairfax.)

***

In my mind, what could have been a Utopian Day was to my connect HR/Recruiters friends, Caps fans, Tony Kornheiser’s littles, the NPR Summer Class of 2005, and my friends and family all meet and network, although that might take 5-10 years for the right event .  That night made me think that 2010 will have a Mr. Tracy Experience* and hopefully this leads to bigger and better things.  I guess the stars and planets align on January 27, 2010 for mine and hopefully yours as well.

Oh, and Obama did his State of the Union Speech thingy.

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Photos courtesy of Clearedjobs.Net

Below: Picture of me with the Capstronaut

*definition: I get pampered with love with all expenses paid trips and lodging to go to events outside of DC.  I will pay for my food and drinks

#ConnectHR in DC

Tomorrow,

After one and half years of following them on Twitter and been stuck in DC (area) all those times, some of the HR Twitter Stars are coming to DC for a networking event of epic proportions (sort of).  SmartBrief, SHRM, and Recruitingblogs.com are sponsoring the networking event and I can’t wait to finally see most of the Tweeters for the first time face to face to see who’s actually taller than Mike Lupica, albeit for only an hour (people coming on Wednesday will realize why I have to leave early).

I hope you come by from car, plane, ferry, horse (but not a Segway)  to #ConnectHR in DC and rest assured, without a shadow of a doubt that Washington, DC, the area with 5 area codes is the Best HR City (thank goodness its not trademark yet for the other city , although San Francisco is dominating the charts for HR cities)

Event link: http://hrconnectdc.eventbrite.com/

If I Was Running A Company…Pop Culture HR Award #8

For the next recipient, this person resembles what HR should do in the first half of 2010…The Candidate Pipeline.  Although the person has recently passed away, the person has left a legacy for future co-workers the person helped shaped.  I give to you the eight recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award:

GEORGE MICHAEL

Let me say first that I have met George Michael in person.  If you watch the George Michael Sports Machine and seen the local news casts in DC, you know he is loud and brass.  That is what you get when you meet him off camera.  Also, you also get a perfectionist whose tone is only for the faint of heart.

The last part makes what George Michael a broadcasting legend.  Yes, George wanted to be notice, but he wanted to maximize your potential and bring out the best out of you.  George realize he couldn’t outwit Glenn Brenner, who was the sports anchor for Channel 9 in DC until he passed away in 1991, so he asked NBC to get satellites to get footage from other areas no other local area newscast showed.  This leads to the groundbreaking George Michael Sports Machine, which was a first of its kind to show highlights from all over the U.S.  Although the set look cheesy and the highlights zoomed to see the Sports Machine logo, the show (and himself) help influence a generation in broadcasting.

For The Sports Machine, it indirectly made ESPN to what it is today.  George was a very eclectic guy and loves the main sports like football, baseball, and basketball.  However, with the Sports Machine, he made niche sports like hockey, NASCAR, Pro Wrestling, and rodeo into the sports fans’ conscience.  ESPN took that model to buy up the coverages of leagues to show it on their networks.  The Sports Machine helped made ESPN, but on the flip side, it started its downfall.

For George Michael, he had a keen eye for talent.  George wanted people to have personality and say anything on their mind, including telling him he was a homer.  With George’s unique vision of talent, he discovered a variety of people from Rick “Doc” Walker, Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, Lindsay Czarniak, John Riggins, David DuPree, David Aldridge, and Sonny Jurgensen (albeit he started on Channel 9).

Imagine a world without George Michael: there would be no ESPN (although it could be said George and Glenn spawned ESPN); no Tony Kornheiser Show; no Pardon the Interruption; no quick debates; no TV deals from hockey, pro wrestling, NASCAR, and PBR; and no best local newscast in the United States with the NBC4 crew of Jim Vance, Doreen Gentzler, and Bob Ryan.

Here’s what candidate pipelines do: setup an organization to continue success for an uncertain amount of time.  George Michael created a pipeline that is lasting a generation and still continuing.  If you see an anchor trying to make a witty comment or hear a panel yelling at your TV or the many highlights, think about who started it all…George.

If I Was Running A Company…Direction

My company has done consulting work for an international development organization for about 5 months.  I was there to help out on their staffing initially, but the HR department left halfway through my term, so I was doing HR and recruiting work.  After a couple of weeks of discussion of what the organization wants in HR, I posted a couple of HR positions for the organization.  I have gotten a lot of applicants for both positions and most of them qualify for the positions.  That’s great and all, but here is one problem I see on their resumes:  Where are they heading?

I met with multiple job seekers throughout the year.  I always ask job seekers what organizations or industries they want to work for.  Almost everyone I asked say, “I’m looking for a [name your division] [title] and they’re all the same across the board.”

I’ll say this once and put this somewhere:

NOT EVERY JOB IS THE SAME FOR ANY COMPANY!!!

If you expect an HR Director is open and meet the requirements, it will be easy to get an interview.  Not so fast, my friend.  Although you have great credentials, why did you apply for this position where on your resumé, you have no experience or expertise in the industry?  If I do not see an answer, the resumé is moving to the archives.

There are many ways for applicants getting through past the recruiter and to the next round:

• The resume is consistent of what industry and/or job you want to get.  If your working career has been in one or two sectors, keep applying to those positions within the industry.
• Versatility towards your working career.  Although you worked at different jobs, maybe those different paths could lead to a position that you want.
• If you know someone in the organization and really like (not just like) the workplace. It is good to have inside information.
• Keywords to stand out to the recruiter.
• An example of your passion/interest (blog, vlogs, pictures, etc.) and link it to your resumé.  If you love turkeys, show us why you love turkeys.  I see Butterball is looking for turkeyheads.

The point here is don’t apply to any job that matches your qualifications;  have a strategy, make up your top ten list of organizations/industries you want to work for, do the company and people research, and follow through.  Do not give a generic resume, give a recruiter a purpose to move you to the hiring manager pile.  From there…be prepared and good luck.

Of note:  For FTC purposes, I have no affiliation of Butterball and I am not getting special treatment from them, although if they do, I hope they make me a salsalito turkey.  Those are delicious.

If I Was Running A Company…Cover Letters

There is debate if it is necessary to have cover letters.  Here’s the breakdown:

• Recruiters look for information of your background.
• Hiring Managers look for style and substance.

Is it important to have a cover letter?  Yes, but the cover letter starts in the second round when the Hiring Manager receives it from HR/Recruiting department.  So when writing a cover letter, focus on the hiring manager, not the recruiter (unless the hiring manager is the recruiter).