At the time, I hadn’t used my laptop’s webcam yet, and I definitely don’t plan to for Chat Roulette anytime soon either, yikes! So first things first, I gave my webcam and microphone a quick test. Downloaded Skype, created an account and was on a video call in less than five minutes.

Skype-to-Skype calls/video calls are free (there are low cost calling plans too) and you’re able to dial up regular “old-fashioned” telephones with it – Skype is not just a computer to computer thing. There’s a whole bunch of useful features that you can explore for both personal and professional use including the ability to create an online number with voice mail, IM your contacts, conference in others, share files while on a call and add it to your mobile device.

Skype is now even being integrated into TV sets. On peak hours there are 20 million of us Skyping away. In Q3 2009, Skype users made 27.7 billion minutes of calls (over a third were video calls) and a growing number of those minutes were spent conducting job interviews.

This piece from Time offered up a great overview of how recruiters are using Skype to interview. From the good: Saving time, money and carbon footprints. To the bad: A candidate’s barking dog cutting an interview short. To the ugly: A college student with a very messy dorm room quite visible in the background.

Considering the bad and the ugly possibilities that come with conducting video calls for job interviews, it is no surprise that companies such as 360JobInterview are now helping candidates get a leg up on the technology. One of their key services: One-on-one interview and career coaching sessions from HR professionals via Skype.

Skype also breaks it down to these three tips which provide solid advice for both the job seeker and the recruiter about video call interviews:

Smile and Focus – I know the first few times I used a webcam, my eyes were directed more so at the other person on the screen and not the camera. Don’t do that. Try to remember to maintain eye contact with your webcam and for sure, keep smiling.

Choose your Colors Wisely – What Not to Wear: I have to agree with the team at Skype – avoid brights and patterns that can distract.

Lighting and Background Check – You certainly don’t have to create a movie set for a video call, but give some consideration to lighting and your backdrop – besides your wardrobe, you don’t want any other distractions.

With 521 million Skype user accounts and growing, will it be lights, camera, action for more job interviews? Recruiters, what do you think about using Skype for screening candidates and conducting interviews? Have you already done so? Tell us about it. Plus, it almost goes without saying, if you want to give Skype a practice run, or have more questions, drop me a line here or at blog@alstin.com.

Alstin’s President, Mike Schluth, had one of the hottest tickets in town. And it didn’t have anything to do with baseball.

It is rare when a regular Joe or regular Jane is in the same room with the President of the United States. But there I found myself on Monday, March 8, 2010 just a few steps away from Barack Obama as he addressed a throng of about two thousand people at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA.

Regardless of how you vote, to stand front and center a mere five people back from the leader of the free world can be categorized as the experience of a lifetime.

Three days prior, I was in a morning meeting of the Board of Trustees when the big news of the President’s visit became known to the 35 or so people then in attendance. The buzz was prolific even though President Obama’s proposed visit to promote his health care reform initiative was not absolutely certain at the time. We were told that Arcadia was considered mainly because there were only two entrances to the property from the roadways and because they had successfully demonstrated proper security measures for a visit by Al Gore back in 2000. As a Trustee, I would be able to secure admission to the event. However, we were told that seating would need to be on a first come, first served basis. The VIP seating at the athletic center were reserved mostly for White House stipulated guests and a few politicos such as Governor Rendell, Mayor Nutter and the like.

“No problem on this end,” I thought to myself, “I’m just happy to be able to be in attendance. I’ll get there early for the President’s eleven o’clock address. Say, maybe I will even get to rub elbows with him.” You can imagine my elation at 6:30 a.m. that morning as I motored from my home in Doylestown down Route 309 toward Glenside. With my golden ticket clutched firmly in hand, I arrived at the University just past seven, a full two hours before the doors were to open at nine a.m. “Most of the people in attendance will be students and they already stood in line for hours on Saturday to secure their space,” I mused. “Therefore,” I reasoned, “I should be one of the first in line with two hours to spare.” That notion was dispelled the moment I drove onto the campus. Even at that early hour, there were already a couple of hundred people in line. I knew that if I positioned myself at the end of the line as it was, I would still have a prime place to view and listen to what Obama had to say. However, with my Arcadia Trustee badge secured to my suit jacket, I ambled toward the front. I don’t believe it is correct to pull rank and I make a habit not to do that to people, but YO!, this was the chance of a lifetime for me to be up close and somewhat personal with the most powerful person on Earth.

“Hey kids,” I said as I gingerly stepped past sleeping bags and blankets, “I see that some of you have been here all night. Must have been chilly. Hey, do any of you want to know who took home any of the Oscars that were awarded last evening?” The sleepy eyes of the students lit right up and I was instantaneously welcomed into their conversations.

The temperature was in the low 30’s that morning as we waited patiently for the doors to open. Secret Service and other White House representatives, local police and firefighters were in abundance as one would expect. (I learned later that the Secret Service had been at Arcadia 24/7 during the previous four days and they went as far as to take every single fixture apart in the Athletic Center in order to protect the President.)

Finally, 9:00 arrived and we were allowed inside. I had the option to sit in a great spot in the bleachers off to the side, but I (along with every student I entered with) chose to stand in front of the podium – a mere 20 feet away from where the speech was scheduled to be delivered at 11:00. Other than being a bit of a strain on these old gams of mine, the wait was quite enjoyable. The atmosphere throughout the gym was near frenetic in a good sort of way. Then, at about 10:45, cell phones were ordered muted and an Arcadia student ascended the stage to speak at the same microphone that would soon be used by the President. He asked everyone to bow their heads as he offered an opening prayer. Then I, along with all those who chose to participate (which was most everyone), recited the Pledge of Allegiance. We stood tall and full of pride as four wonderfully talented students sang The Star Spangled Banner a cappella. My goose bumps had goose bumps!

At long last, the Presidential caravan arrived and the time was almost at hand. President Obama walked on stage at 11:10 to a thunderous ovation. And after he acknowledged the other politicians present, he ditched his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves and got down to business. No matter one’s political persuasion or no matter what side of the fence one is on regarding health care reform, you could not help but be impressed with this man’s captivating persona as he delivered his speech. Make no mistake about it, Barack Obama’s stage presence and his ability to speak fluently, effortlessly and casually is something to behold. “That’s the most fiery I’ve seen him since the early campaign,” said U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who flew with Obama on Air Force One. “When I was listening to him, I wished that he had given that in the State of the Union!”

The students, who numbered more than 1,800 of the approximately 2,000 people present, cheered President Obama repeatedly. One of their loudest and wildest cheers came as Obama said that part of his proposed bill calls for offspring to be able to remain on their parents’ health insurance policies up to age 26. Stating that his bill has been derived from the aspects put forth by both Republicans and Democrats, Obama said: “If not now, when? When you’re in Washington, folks respond to every issue, every decision, every debate, no matter how important it is, with the same question,” he said. “What does this mean for the next election? What does it mean for your poll numbers? Is this good for the Democrats or good for the Republicans?” Furthermore, the President concluded, members of Congress need to spend “a little less time worried about their jobs and more time worried about your jobs. The United States Congress owes the American people a final, up-or-down vote on health care. It’s time to make a decision. The time for talk is over.”

 Less talk. More action. (And hopefully, more hiring.) That’s the ticket.

I enjoyed Jay’s “Social Media Scattershot” term that helps define what many companies and organizations are doing right now…utilizing ALL of the social tools without real thought into strategy and goals, not to mention the ability of measuring results. I’d agree that social media can be a very inefficient use of time and if you’re not asking the integral and ‘up front’ questions about implementing social media (such as “Why are we doing this?” or “What is the business-level outcome?”) you’re doomed from the outset.

So, I’m asking myself, “Why do people want to engage with Alstin? Or, with any organization for that matter?” And, once you answer that question you’ll know how to build your strategy. (For Alstin it would be multi-pronged effort: engage current clients to participate in new services, engage prospective clients to become new clients, and help brand the “Alstin” name as the premier employer marketing communications agency—easy to do right?).

I believe that the notion of a blog as a central spot or “hub” is an excellent analogy with a variety of social media “spokes” driving visitors, traffic, etc. to the hub (ie. Facebook Fan Page, Twitter channel, YouTube, etc.). And, I really enjoyed the analysis of why a blog is superior in the social media space because it passes all of these four questions:

Four Characteristics of a Good Social Media Hub:

1. Is it Controllable?
2. Is it Measurable?
3. Is it Sociable?
4. Is it Searchable?

My other take aways from the webinar include:

• “Search and Sociability are tied together like peanut butter and jelly.” I love this analogy!!! So much of Alstin’s blog traffic comes from Google and a large percentage is 1^st time visitors and we’re constantly seeking new ways to make our blog more ‘search friendly.’  And, we’ve had a number of new prospects contact us as a direct result of a blog post.
• It’s not about volume (ie. Number of Facebook Fans, Twitter followers, etc.) engagement is about depth.
• Be sure to evaluate your business-level outcome…and be careful how deep you jump in the pool.
• Compendium offers some great tools (which I’ll be investigating more) that would assist in the ‘multi-author’ blog process with a ‘gentle’ approval process and ‘SEO keyword strength-meter.’ These type of tools are an absolute must if you’re overseeing a blog(s) that have multiple authors, etc. It’s the humanization of social media that makes or breaks its success. So, having ‘real people’ who are the experts in doing/solving/selling what your goals are makes a huge difference in the voice you’re sending out there.
• Companies that blog have 55% more traffic to their web site than those who don’t.
• Blog Measurability: pick the right metrics! If you are focusing on building a community with repeat visitors and comments, use those areas to analyze. If you’re blogging for business—to create an awareness of your company, look at total visits, % of new visits, visits from search. If you’re blogging for e-Commerce, look at average length of stay, pages per visit, referrals to other sites (like your corporate site).

“Blog Measurability” brings me to my final thought for today…Alstin (@AnnetteAtAlstin) recently published our first “contest” blog post to engage new and returning blog visitors. Some stats that we’re all proud of (big kudos goes to Annette!!):

• 28 comments to the ‘photo pix’
• Traffic doubled on March 4th and March 5th
• 76% of blog visitors entering the blog on our contest page
• 90% of the visitors to the contest page went on to view other pages of our blog

Cost: Zilch. (Well, ok a $50 Starbucks card)

But it goes to show you, engagement, interaction and the humanization business in today’s online world is only going to continue to increase—so thanks Jay, Chris and Debbie for all of your valuable insights!

In February US companies cut the fewest jobs in two years according to a private report from ADP and a positive Labor Department report. Jobless claims are falling and productivity is surging, and The Conference Board, which monitors online advertised job openings, reports a “positive sign of a turnaround in employer labor demand.” All of which point to a coming time when job seekers will have their choice of jobs-and companies–they want to work for. So it’s imperative to begin (or enhance) your dialogue with applicants in order to cultivate a relationship that lands you “A” talent.

No longer are applicants content with the bare minimum of an employment site. They demand a user experience that is interesting, informative and easy to navigate. The first order of business is to act like a candidate and take a good, hard look at what your site is delivering. Does it engage applicants in a visually appealing manner or does it just have a link to a mission statement, a list of benefits, and job openings? Consider a dynamic video that positions your company as a vibrant employer that values its workers. Deliver job-specific mini-sites or videos that take an applicant through a “day in the life” of a current employee, spotlighting a department, its achievements, staff and technology, and showing typical career progression. Consider FAQs, message boards, chats, blogs and other means of communication. Beef up your social media presence and make sure you have functioning backward and forward links. And don’t forget about that initial email: make it interesting, visually appealing and offer the opportunity for two-way communication. Also consider re-targeting those who visit your site (retargeting is the act of delivering specific advertising to those who have landed on your site and are now surfing the web somewhere else, either right away or maybe even weeks and months down the road.)

The time has come to cultivate applicants with relationship-based recruiting. You don’t have to fear the numbers–technology can help. Top talent will love it and you’ll be positioned as an innovative employer everyone will be clamoring to join.

 Here’s hoping you find this video funny, but not in any way an accurate portrayal of your career!

Undercover Boss

Thanks to the PunkRockHR blog (where I first spotted this clip) for leading me to the hilarity I just shared with you. Saturday Night Live is officially DVR worthy.

“Paws” to write a caption for this photo (more points if it’s recruitment/HR related) and if we deem yours the best, you’ll WIN a $50 gift card to Starbucks.

Caffeine junkies unite – bring us your best.

Update: Congrats to Tonya Sanchez for her winning entry, selected on Tuesday, March 9th. A “Picture This” contest will be back to the blog in April, so keep coming back for more.

First, let’s get the big question out of the way: Isn’t this approach just creating more spam? We’re an information and technology driven society. People opt-in (and have the ability to opt-out) to receive these messages – messages that are proven highly effective.

Effectiveness: An Ad Effectiveness Survey commissioned by Forbes Media in 2009 revealed that email and e-newsletter marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO.

Reduced Cost: We are always looking for ways to reduce costs, aren’t we? Most email blasts are considerably less expensive than direct mail – no postage, no printing. (Plus, it’s Green!: No postage, no printing = a paperless solution.) According to the Direct Marketing Association, advertisers are likely to spend $700 million on email marketing campaigns in 2010. That number jumps to a projected $45.5 billion for traditional direct mail efforts in 2010. (Makes you wonder, is there more “spam” in your mail box, or your in-box?)

Ability to Measure: When building a strategy on budget the ability to measure ROI becomes essential. Stats on open rates, click thrus and applies are made relatively easy with an electronic approach. This is valuable data that can be further used to refine your message and approach.

Highly Targeted & Personalized: Email blasts are an excellent way to target both active and passive job seekers in very specific skill sets and geographies. Plus, there may be an opportunity to personalize the message with the subscriber’s name – you can increase click-thru rates tremendously this way!

I know from experience that email marketing works. Want to learn more about how an eblast may be thie right solution to fill your next “hard-to-fill”? Drop me a line here, or send an email to: blog@alstin.com.

“Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter) according to the “second” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis”

Wow, awesome, super, start hiring people, recovery is here! Errrrt! Not so fast. While this should be taken as positive economic news on it’s face, I am afraid to be a Debbie Downer,  but reality checks are my speciality. Inside the numbers, the revised estimate from 5.7% to 5.9% comes from gross private domestic investment which indicates that businesses are leading the recovery and the change in private inventories which showed the biggest upward revision to make up for 3.9% of the 5.9% GDP growth. Nerdy economists (the original Debbie Downers) however are not impressed with this revision as a sign of economic health rather a belief that recovery is sure to come…but not here yet. So, I guess that is the good news. The bummer of the 4Q GDP is that personal consumption is weak which, given the high unemployment and underemployment rate, is understandable as people are just unable to spend money – both paper and plastic.

Consumer spending accounts for a large part of GDP – almost 70% – so we need that to rise or else growth in the next couple quarters will go down. However, we cannot go into additional debt for consumption sake. Cases in point: Consumer debt: $13.5 trilly, Non-financial business sector debt: $11 trilly, Financial sector business debt : $16 trilly, State & gov’t local debt: $2.3 trilly, federal debt – not including future entitlements: $7.5 trilly (”Trilly” is my cute word for “trillion” as in trillions of dollars, eases the pain. ) Net exports increased from 1.9% to 2.3% – Hooray! But imports were revised up from 1.4% to 2% – Boooo! While I am happy to see the GDP revised upward we have a long way to go. Baby steps people.

For much of the Mid-Atlantic, this has been a historic winter. We’ve already crushed the snowfall record for one year and we still have a bit more of February and all of March to go. While I am definitely a warm weather person, (I promise I will never again complain about the heat) I actually do like snow days: the kids off from school, sledding, a roaring fire all day, meals in the crockpot, etc. But enough already with this winter! That one two punch in early February (in my area we got 27″ one day and 17″ just a few days later) really knocked the wind out of my sails. My snow shovel is still leaning against my front door and I give it a dirty look each time I pass by.

Of course, this has led to many wisely postponed meetings (I think I’m up to 6 that have been delayed or canceled) so this edition will be a bit shorter!

Mt. Holly, NJ: At the February meeting of Tri-State HRMA, the speaker was none other than Gerry Crispin, one of the most respected names in the recruitment industry. Gerry’s topic? “Engage Them or Enrage Them: You Have A Choice: Designing Corporate Staffing Pages to Enhance Your Candidates’ Experience…or Not.” So great to see that our agency’s philosophy matched so well with Gerry’s. As recruiters, we spend so much time, money and energy driving people to the career portion of our website, but what happens once they get there? Can they find the information they need? Are they engaged? Are you selling yourself positively as an employer? How is the application process? At Alstin, we have designed several services around optimizing and measuring the candidate experience on your career site, including one of our most popular and affordable products, webglass.

Elk Ridge, MD: A potential heavy snowfall held off so the monthly MAHCR (Maryland Area Healthcare Recruiters) could go on. As I’ve said before, this is a really great group and this meeting featured a wonderful presentation by past president Nick Piazza on certain portions of the recruiter’s handbook. I certainly learned a lot, and I think even seasoned recruiters received a lot of great info from Nick’s presentation.

Philadelphia, PA: Back after a winter break with PAAHCR, the Philadelphia Area Association of Healthcare Recruiters. We met in the beautiful JeffStat training room at Jefferson University Hospital. Our speaker was Joe Stubblebine, founder of JobCircle and longtime friend of Alstin. Joe spoke on Social Networking for healthcare recruiting, and his presentation was full of good information and tips for using social media to recruit healthcare workers. Of special interest was the surveys that JobCircle had done on how (and if) recruiters are using social media to recruit.

Until next time, see you on the road!

First up, labor writer and American University grad student, LaToya Egwuekwe, created this animated graphic which shows the progression of unemployment levels across the U.S. from January 2007 – about one year prior to the start of “The Great Recession” – to January 2010.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words right? Well, I can sum this one up with one. Ugly.

Egwuekwe plans to update the graphic each month. Hopefully we will start to see a more sun shiny yellow breaking up the purple cloud of unemployment blanketing the country in the months to come.

That’s what the Obama administration is hoping for too. Here’s their visual take on the state of things:

Regarding the graphic, the Obama administration also noted the following:

“One year in, the evidence is clear – and growing by the day – that the Recovery Act is working to cushion the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and lay a new foundation for economic growth.

• According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Recovery Act is already responsible for as many as 2.4 million jobs through the end of 2009
• As a result, job losses are a fraction of what they were a year ago, before the Recovery Act began” 

Talk to anyone in HR and fellow Americans that are unemployed (and OK, most Republicans) and you might not get such a rosy picture quite yet.

An increase in temporary workers, the first glimmer that companies are thinking of hiring, is another stat that I’ve been hoping to see for some time now. Last month’s stats delivered. The labor market showed an increase of more than 50,000 temporary workers in January 2010.

There are signs of growth in other sectors and markets too. And a hefty Job Stimulus bill may help small businesses make much needed hires. Let’s hope that the next pictures we paint (in 2010, or maybe not till 2011 and – gulp – into 2012) can be be summed up with some other words: It’s finally happening, we’ve turned the corner.

Techcrunch described Prezi as “just plain awesome. It’s entirely Flash-based app that lets you break away from the slide-by-slide approach of most presentations. Instead, it allows you to create non-linear presentations where you can zoom in and out of a visual map containing words, links, images, videos, etc.” (If you want to read the rest of the review, click here.)

So, I’ll be building my two Prezi’s today, you’ll see the results in my next week’s blog post – I’m using their canvas, zoom, zebra, frames, rotation and storyline tools. Prezi’s can be viewed in a web browser, freestanding or embedded within a blog for presentation/sharing purposes. Stay tuned for my next Tuesday blog with my two Prezi’s!! I can’t wait! I love learning new tools! Seriously. I do.

If you’ve had experience or have developed Prezi’s for your own needs, feel free to share them! Comment and post your links.

And, here’s a link to some cool Prezi’s that others have created. http://prezi.com/showcase/

When it comes to the use of metrics in tracking recruiting effectiveness, I’ve found that there’s a key to success – use your tools and use them consistently! Many companies are putting forth efforts and resources to capture data, but if these tools are being utilized only part of the time, accurate measurements are not possible, and will undermine the results. Incredibly valuable information to encourage improvements, metrics are worthless unless the results have the real potential to incite positive changes in recruiting and sourcing habits.

If you decide to implement a means to measure the response of your print ads, web ads, email blasts, landing pages, SEO tools, etc., it is imperative that this tool be utilized in every application.

In reality, I know that as recruiters this approach may not always seem ideal. I have seen recruiters change the contact mechanism for response in a recruiting ad or posting for a select position based on the urgency to fill the opening, the type of candidates they are targeting, or the ease of response retrieval. But the truth of it is, what used to work years ago, doesn’t cut it anymore especially when your overall investment and goal is to gather good metrics!

The purpose of the development of the many approaches to building metrics, is to answer the demands of organizations for proof of the overall success of HR’s recruiting efforts and what can be done better – more quickly, more efficiently, more cost effectively. However, if tracking methods are only used once in a while, when the head honchos ask for recommendations during budget evaluation time – how will you be able to truly identify what you can capitalize on, and what you need to do different?

In the current state of our economy, there is no doubt in my mind that organizations cannot afford spending to track costs for skewed evidence and base their budgets on ambivalent reporting. Take my word for it, if you heed this advice to properly make use of these valuable tracking tools, the metrics will help you determine:

• What was the success of your recruitment sources?
• Which sources provided the most candidates?
• Where did the more qualified candidates come from?
• Which sources provided the least qualified candidates?

I think we can all agree that conducting an evaluation of your recruiting costs with solid metrics can provide you with the information needed to support change and improvements for sourcing and hiring processes and for reducing costs. The bottom line: Don’t sabotage your efforts. Maintain consistent use of your measurement tools and you will have the most accurate metrics at your disposal.

Having trouble figuring out the best solution for gathering metrics for your organization? Need an assessment of your applicant tracking systems’s capabilities? Send me an email – blog@alstin.com - I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you!

Is this the breakthrough newspapers have been waiting for? Are we about to usher in a new phase of digital journalism? Remarkably, the answer to both questions might be yes!

I’ve always thought that the survival of newspapers would come not from new technology, but from an industry-wide movement toward charging for content. My premise is that newspapers offer undeniable value, value that (before 10 years ago) we never thought twice about paying for.

Well, it looks like technology in the form of the iPad might usher in that switch to charging for online content. Because of its design, the iPad may revive the type of reading we know from print–multiple articles on one “page,” a better ability to “skim” the newspaper, different size fonts, layouts, etc. Of course, we’ll have to see wait and see what The New York Times and other newspapers’ apps look like and how they function, but the buzz is definitely there.

Of course, that potential change from charging for content, not charging and then asking readers to go back and pay again won’t be easy. The newspapers will have to weigh the possibility of losing readers and advertisers vs. the potential increased revenue. The stakes for this one are high, and I’ll certainly be watching to see what the introduction of the iPad means to the newspaper industry.

Privacy concerns aside, as Jen noted, another big question is – will we flock to yet another social media tool? With new technology coming at us in rapid fire, the way I look at is if it’s genuinely useful (and easy to use!) people will.

This month I thought it was about time that I added to the flock of 5 million plus users who find Delicious, a social bookmarking web service that’s powered by Yahoo!, very useful.

My bookmarks were starting to get a little out of control. Twitter will do that to you. Every time I stumbled upon (that might be another post!) a great link, I’d click “Bookmark this Page” in my Firefox browser and well, those bookmarks have really added up.

Do I eventually go back to each and every bookmark I make? Find my bookmarks again with ease? Delete old bookmarks that have no relevance? Do I even remember half the stuff I bookmark? Ummm, that’s a negative.

So Delicious, a free service that’s been around since 2005, seemed right up my alley. Here are a few of the main reasons:

Access – Between work and home, I’m likely to use a PC, two laptops and my iPhone to go online during any given day. I’ll now have access to my favorite links no matter how I log on. Plus if I want to limit the access to some of my bookmarks to the general public, all I have to do is check off the “Do Not Share” option and that keeps them private.

It Really is Easy – It’s easy to register and get up and running. You can also quickly import your current bookmarks with a couple of clicks. Me? I’m starting with a clean slate for the time being. I followed the instructions and added a Delicious Toolbar to my browser. Now all I have to do is click the Tag button when I come across something I like and viola, I’ve added it to my account.

Organization – As my list of bookmarks grew to an unwieldy level, the ability to tag my bookmarks with key words of my own making and combinations is a great feature. Plus, I can add notes about why I bookmarked the link in the first place. Also a great feature for when memory, alas, fails.

To Do List – My wheels are always turning. I’m forever inspired by what I experience, see and do each day. When I come across something that I think is good for me, someone I know, my clients, for Alstin while browsing the web I can create tagged bookmarks that I can (and will!) go back to that won’t get lost in the mix.

Sharing – Delicious provides me with an ideal way to share information with anyone, particularly clients. Rather than sending (cut, paste, cut, paste …) a long list of posts/articles that someone I know should check out for any given reason, I can now send one link that has all of my tagged bookmarks on the subject grouped together. (Recruiters, if you regularly send links to prospective candidates about your organization, good press, etc. this is a great one-stop/one click tool!)

Subscribe, Discover & Network – Another great way to take advantage of RSS feeds, you can subscribe to specific tags and users that interest you. Want to discover the hottest topics on the site and/or the most popular links for specific tags? Yep, you can do that too. Plus, and this is where the social part of the service comes into play, when you add a bookmark you can see other Delicious members who decided to bookmark the same link. So in addition to connecting with those you happen to know that are also using Delicious, this nice feature can also help you connect and share with people interested in the same subjects by adding them to your network.

As it stands now, after an hour tops on the site, I only have a handful of untagged bookmarks in my Delicious account, but realizing its potential I already know is not going to take me very long. Anything that helps me stay better organized, speed up research and connect with great people all while being incredibly intuitive to use (Who likes having to use an instruction manual to master something that’s supposed to make your life easier, right?!) is worth flocking to.

Highlights:

* Do you guru? Since most of Alstin’s clients are Human Resources professionals, we’re curious to see if you like http://http://www.careeronestop.org/jobseekertools/as much as the respondents did.

* Eyeing up your boss’ office? Human Capital Institute  offers those interested in the Talent Management arena a “think tank” of free webcasts and alternative educational programs and certifications to upgrade HR skill sets in the Talent Acquisition, Management and Leadership competencies.

* An out-of-office escort is a lousy way to end a relationship. Monster Evolutions offers outplacement services for Employers and Employees with one goal: getting former workers rehired into prosperous new positions or new careers.

* What the military lacks in website naming creativity, it makes up for in preparedness. Current members of the armed forces and veterans can check out www.military.com to get connected to all the benefits of services, great stories of military life or missions, and career and educational opportunities.

* Giddyup! Job seekers nationwide may want to look beyond the usual sites to www.careerstallion.com

* And, last but not least, for the ex-offender nearest and dearest to your heart, there are three (!) sites recommended by the DOL. One, The Next Step/WOTC Solutions is a program that provides services to both offenders and businesses by preparing offenders for the workplace while assisting businesses with a $2,400 tax credit to help hire ex-offenders.

Those are just a few parts of the Challenge that caught my eye (along with the slightly incongruous photo of three co-workers huddled together at work while surfing for new jobs). Dig in and reap the rewards of a government project that was much more worthwhile than the one that studied cow emissions. From resume writing sites to those that help students looking for grant money and retirees who want back in the game, there’s something for just about everyone at www.careeronestop.org (click on Job Seeker Tools at the top of the page).

* Gary Zukowski, founder of TweetMyJOBS noted one alarming problem with the Challenge: “First, there’s no validation of the votes. A person or company can cast unlimited votes with ficticious names and email addresses and dramatically skew the results,” says Zukowski. “For example, we were able to vote using a non-working email with the name ‘Barack Obama.’ Five days later the name ‘Barack Obama’ was still listed under ‘user activity’—a fact that should raise red flags. In addition to no validation on the votes, there is nothing preventing people in other countries from participating. The outcome could be determined by people who are not even citizens of the United States.”

Ah well, you can’t blame a government agency for trying!

Turns out there was a lot of ‘buzz’ over the weekend with the ‘auto-follow’ feature which is now disabled (when originally launched, Buzz automatically would have ‘followed’ my most frequently emailed or chatted contacts in Gmail – something I definitely wouldn’t want made public!!)

As I was looking at it yesterday, I was thinking, “What’s the big deal?” Yeah, sure, I use Google Reader daily (hourly, more like it) to stay on top of all the news that interests me (or stuff I find funny – btw I’ve been following *%$# My Dad Says waaaaayyy before he got that sitcom deal – he’s still funny as *%$#). And, sure I’ve use Google Docs to share work projects, I literally can’t live without Google Maps and I’ve had my Gmail account for a while now…but, what’s all the Buzz?

The interface seems pretty basic and right now I have two followers (one I don’t even know??) and I searched and am following four people (a.ka. random friends). Buzz didn’t recommend anyone to follow like Google stated it would, but I don’t really keep my Gmail contacts up-to-date. So far…little activity…little “buzz” on my end, but it’s only been about twelve hours since I started poking around, so I’m not bashing the Buzz. Just trying to figure out (like many of you) another tool in my social media arsenal. What I’ve researched and learned is boiled down to:

• Buzz links all the people who use Gmail (which is at 176 millions users according to comScore‑so there’s a built-in audience already)
• Google stated there has been over 9 million posts and comments in its first 56 hours of launching
• There have been over 200 mobile check-ins per minute (that’s nearly 300,000 mobile check-ins per day).

Speaking of mobile…so Buzz is available on the iPhone and Droid 2.0 (rolling out to other Mdevices shortly) – and what can you do with that?

• You can look up who is buzzing ‘nearby’ and share info about where you are/what you’re doing (ie. “I’m at Philly Cupcake!!!” My friend’s ‘buzz’ to me: “Oh grab me a strawberry shortcake one!!” (Ed Note: If you’re in Philly and haven’t had the deliciousness of Philly Cupcake, you’re seriously missing out on one of life’s great pleasures…but, I digress.)
• You can post Buzz tagged items with your location so that people know where you frequent and why.
• Keep up with who you’re following (and who is following you) through the mobile Buzz interface.
• Comment or ‘like’ other people’s Buzz.
• There’s a Buzz layer on Google Maps so you can view what’s going on in a glance.
• Read Buzz about places you’re interested in.
• Click the Buzz icon on the top of the Google navigation bar to open up the posting box.
• Say ‘post buzz’ to your iPhone (still not sure what this accomplishes).

Areas I see that are of concern to me (and lots of others):

• Privacy (big concept within all the social media sharing technology) – of course Google is already responding to many concerns and is making ‘private’ and ‘public’ features already. Time will tell (and I’m talking social media time = minutes vs. days) with this area. See BusinessWeek article.
• Getting people to use another social media tool. (Although I tend to agree that since it’s interwoven with Gmail, people are going to test it out, especially us technerds…early adopters.)

Areas I see as huge potential for advertising initiatives:

• Gmail advertising is already so prevalent it only makes sense that “buzz” advertising would take off.
• Since it’s an open platform, I’m expecting a tidal wave of new apps being developed.
• I really like Ben Parr’s idea of an ad revenue share for Buzz apps and its own app store to monetize this platform would be a win-win.

Only two things I’m wondering right now…is it “buzz” or “Buzz?” And is Todd Jackson getting any sleep? Poor guy. I don’t think this past weekends’ buzz was what he’d anticipated. Stay positive, Todd! Everything new always needs tweaking!

Tweeting Shoes

“ . tap . tap . . . . . . tap . . tap tap .” And so goes an example of a tweet from a pair of Rambler sneakers made by Popkalab that tweets as you as you walk. Yes. A pair of sneakers designed to tweet every…step…you…take. A sensor in the shoes detects when the wearer is walking…. along with the amount of pressure in their steps. But don’t worry, Popkalab is not serious about this product. It is more of a statement they want to make on the “massive amount of useless information that is spread…” by “posting literally every step you take in real life.” Maybe someone at Popkalab was getting tweets on the number of times a friend was taking the garbage out and decided to act.

However, Dvice.com comes back with this statement on the shoes, “You see, these things are meant to be some sort of commentary on Twitter and how dumb it is. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so dumb if you didn’t flood it with crap like Tweeting shoes! Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Whatever your opinion is, it definitely makes you stop and think. And maybe send a tweet.

Acne Treatment. Yes, there is an app for that.

If tweeting shoes do not fascinate you, maybe an iPhone app that may treat acne will. A dermatologist claims his $1.99 AcneApp could cure acne…and even treat wrinkles while users are talking on their iPhone. Dr. Greg Pearson developed this treatment to use a 420-nanometer blue light (which has antibacterial properties) and 550-nanometer red light (which is anti-inflammatory) to help a user’s complexion. He told The New York Times that the treatment would have to go through more extensive clinical study before he can “quantify its efficacy” but the concept fascinates him.

Reviews on iTunes have ranged from “just dumb” to “After three days of using this product my acne is almost completely gone!”

Bottom Line

No matter what the tech concept, it can be tough to determine what is a flash-in-the-pan and what may be a cutting edge idea that will change the lives of future generations…or even just be really really cool. Regardless, there is never a dull moment in Technology Land!

We’ve all had similar experiences. While personal tastes largely determine our likes and dislikes, expectations can also play a tremendous role in our reactions and responses. The implications for branding, and especially for employment branding, are far-reaching. The disappointment of a brand underperforming is likely to result in a more negative response than a brand fulfilling even low expectations. The trick with branding is promising something that you can actually deliver.

As Walter Landor, the oft-quoted father of branding, said “Simply put, a brand is a promise . . . ” If your brand doesn’t match what you deliver, you’re breaking that implied promise.

When we work with a client to help shape their employment brand, we’re looking to discover their UVP – or Unique Value Proposition. What makes them special? What can they offer that no one else can? If we are successful, the employment brand we develop will accurately reflect the environment, culture, and opportunities that they offer. This doesn’t just result in more appealing and effective ads – although that’s a nice byproduct. More importantly, it results in better suited hires. The candidates that they attract are the individuals who are actually looking for what they have to offer. It’s a win win. An employment brand isn’t about inflating who you are as an employer, it’s about accurately reflecting it. And that’s a promise you can keep.

Happily, we all live and learn!

When Washington D.C. had to essentially shut down from the last big East Coast storm, the stats were staggering- $100 million in lost productivity and opportunity costs per day.

With Philly also experiencing the economic impact of record-breaking snow this season, we’ve learned first-hand here at Alstin that having remote access to work is a great advantage for remaining productive – at least as productive as you can be between the shoveling, sledding, snowman making and cocoa drinking.

Cicso found that providing the ability to telecommute for their employees increased productivity, work-life flexibility and overall job satisfaction. Telecommuting also generated about $277 million in annual savings for the company – a nice contrast to that $100 million D.C. lost in one day due to all that snow.

If you’ve been affected by the snow, were you able to telecommute? Do you wish you were able to?

Alstin has debated the telecommuting option and while we’ve found that it may not be ideal for each and every work day, on mega-snowy days like these, it is (almost) as good as owning a snowblower.

Of course, two of the biggest players in our industry are Monster and CareerBuilder, and both ran new spots during the Super Bowl.

The ads are below. Judge for yourself who you think took home the trophy. Or better yet, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Were they worth the money? Which one did you find funnier? More memorable? Does either ad change your opinion about the advertiser?

As readers of my blogs know, I’m a big fan of great fiction (click here to read my link to my favorite novels of 2009). Certainly, one of the seminal novels of this century has been J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, first published in 1951. While popularity and critical acclaim of the novel seem to rise and fall with each generation, it’s generally regarded as a true masterwork and an American original. J.D. Salinger died last week at the age of 91.

Like many young readers, I first came across The Catcher in the Rye in high school. On the surface, I didn’t have a lot in common with Holden Caulfield, but at the time I, like many of the novel’s teenage readers, felt it was the first book that was truly about us. I know the novel’s theme is sometimes reduced to as “teen angst”–but I think there’s much more there, from Holden’s sardonic view of the world and adults, his desire to protect innocence, and his feelings of despair and detachment.

As famous as he was for The Catcher in the Rye and other works (including Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction), Salinger was even more renown for his desire to hide from the world.

Salinger said that he loved everything about writing but hated everything about publishing. He retreated to his home outside Cornish, NH where he was barely seen for half a century, shunning the attention so many people today would kill for.

While I can be as nosy and voyeuristic as the next guy, I always found this obsession with Salinger’s private life distasteful. Through the years, so many people in the media, as well as his fans, have found it necessary to question or ignore his simple, basic request to be left alone. It must seem even stranger to us today, as we live in an age where people will do literally anything (including humiliating themselves) to get noticed and “famous.” Reality TV, Facebook, YouTube: what would Salinger have made of all this? My feeling is that our obsession with penetrating Salinger’s privacy says more about us than it does about him.

In 1988 Ian Hamilton tried to write a biography of Salinger that would include previously unpublished letters. Salinger sued, and the quasi-book that remained after the whole mess is In Search of J.D.Salinger. It’s really a book about failing to write a book, and I think that overall, it’s a disappointment. I can’t imagine anyone reading it without thinking, “Just let the poor guy alone already.” Not much is revealed about Salinger we didn’t already know, including the old salacious rumors that had been circulating for decades, many of which don’t seem credible. Ironically, I read an interview in Time with Hamilton (who seems like a nice enough guy), and even he seemed strongly reluctant about exposing someone who just wanted to be left in peace.

So now Salinger is gone, but the obvious questions remain: Did he leave us scores of unpublished work stashed away somewhere? Did he write multiple novels, edit them to perfection and then burn them? Will we see in an upcoming New Yorker (where Salinger published nearly all his stories–including the classics “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “For Esme–with Love and Squalor”) a new work by Salinger?

Maybe we will, but I doubt it, and I think once the tributes, rumors and remembrances die down, we won’t hear much more about J.D. Salinger, except through the short but remarkable body of work he left us–which is probably the way he would have wanted it.

Your iPod begs to differ.

From cell-phones to cars, disposable razors to televisions, cameras to coffee-grinders, good design is making its mark. It’s not that your music sounds better coming from an iPod instead of an iRiver or SanDisk, but that an aesthetic and tactile experience ends up making the usage of the device all that more pleasurable. People like that, and if Apple’s stock is any indication, people are willing to pay for that.

Graphic design works the same way. When you have an idea or design that brings it all together, creating something both clever and memorable, the attitude towards the design is transferred to the client. You make that jump from “Hey, that Volkswagen ad was great” to “Volkswagen’s pretty cool for making such a clever ad”. Sure, Volkswagen’s still got to make the sale with the car, but they got you in the door. That’s half (and a necessary half) of the battle right there.

The choice is yours to make. Put the time and money into crafting an image that will attract the best of people, people that actually want to be with you, or toss a worm on your line and see what bites.

What do you think? - j

And, as Alstin is developing an app of our own (coming soon to the App Store!), I started to wonder—there must be a huge demand for developers to create customized apps? I’ve talked with vendors and web sites about rolling out apps of their own in addition to providing customized app creation services for clients. And I was curious about the market, statistics and the potential revenue stream I could create for this type of product.

And, I discovered, I’m not alone. App stores have had more than $4.2 billion in revenue last year, according to Gartner Inc., which tracks information technology worldwide. Analysts expect that to increase to $29.5 billion by 2013. (And, no there aren’t any typos in that sentence—$29.5 billion!).

As mobile technology continues to advance (and become more accessible and less expensive) and innovations like the Apple iPad (a 10-in touch screen computer sized somewhere between a laptop and an iPhone) are created, you can be sure that this will help generate the demand and interest for more apps. From a Feb 1^st, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer article, “A bonanza for app developers.” (written by Carolyn Davis) she quotes Lisa Allen, a board director for Mobile Monday Mid-Atlantic,  the local chapter of a global group that aims to foster education and networking among the mobile-development crowd. “Today’s mobile phones are as powerful as many desktop PCs—more so, if you consider that they’re also location-aware and have a built-in billing and payment system…We’re seeing people run their entire lives, even their entire businesses, from their mobile phone.”

Apple announced in January that billion apps had been downloaded from its App Store from among more than 100,000 titles in categories such as games, business, new, sports and health. Blackberry App World has 4,000 titles and Google’s Android Market has 20,000.

From a recruiting, hiring, retention and online application perspective apps really have unlimited potential for opening up the communication process. Making it more direct, more efficient, more targeted, more everything. (Can you tell I’m really liking mobile technology??) Create an app so potential applicants can download employment-focused videos or podcasts interviewing a Hiring Manager. Or, create your app with the functionality to enable job seekers viewing your jobs (through your own app or through a job board/job aggregator site app) to easily download their resume and apply right from their mobile device. Or, develop an app function to stay in touch with prior applicants, send out newsfeeds about your company, update them on the hiring process—the ideas really are limitless. Does your company have multiple retail locations? Imagine being able to identify a smart phone user with your app and send them targeted career opportunities based upon where they are standing! Develop app for internal purposes and marketing…perhaps an “HR Welcome App” to stay in touch with recently on-boarded candidates (remind them to fill out specific forms, reiterate the rewards for your existing employee referral program) or create a retention-focused app to update employees of awards earned, milestone achievements or other positive news. And, one thing I love about apps is the metrics and measurability they provide—love my numbers!

So, when someone asks you, “Do you have an app for that?” You can say, “Yes! There’s an app for that!”

As VP of Client Development for Alstin, I (happily) find myself on the road a lot, talking to clients, prospects, people in the media, etc.–and I attend numerous industry functions each month. On Alstin’s blog, I’ll let you know where I am and what I’m hearing in the wonderful world of recruiting.

So we’ve said goodbye to 2009–actually most of us have said, “Good riddance!” While exciting tools and technology continued to emerge and we did some of our best work ever, 2009 was, for the most part, a lousy year for recruitment departments as well as those that serve the human resources industry. Many great workers lost their jobs, highly qualified and motivated people couldn’t find jobs, economic uncertainty hovered like a black cloud–things were tough all over. I for one was happy to turn the calendar over, and while I don’t think anyone is calling for a return to a robust job market anytime soon, we really are starting to see some signs of life–and growth. In the meantime, hang in there and please let me know if there’s any way the Alstin team can help you with your recruitment communications challenges in 2010.

Ok, back on the road!

Princeton, NJ: As always, so many good friends and clients at the New Jersey Association of HealthCare Recruiters. Jessica Cohen from the New Jersey Hospital Association was the speaker and the topic couldn’t have been more relevant: healthcare reform. Jessica really helped me make sense of some of the more complex (and contentious) issues; her handout included several key policy points, and then for each point she included the House Reform Bill position, the Senate Reform Bill position and finally, the position of the American Hospital Association.

West Chester, PA: Visiting a wonderful, long-time client to update them on all things Alstin. Certainly one of the most important services we provide is educating clients on trends, new tools and the best practices happening in recruiting today. Still, the best moments for me in client and prospects meetings happen when I’m simply listening and learning about an organization’s goals and challenges, and how I can help. All in all, great client, great meeting and hopefully more great work to come.

My Desk, Philadelphia, PA: While I love getting on the road and meeting people, there are times when the distance is too great or the time frame too short. Talking with a prospect based in New York via conference call, I was joined by Mike Tedesco and Jen Hitchens-Greenfield, and we had a great opportunity to get more information on the project so we could deliver a strong proposal.

Newark, Delaware: Into the great state of Delaware for an exciting strategy meeting with one of our most forward-thinking clients. Such a pleasure to work with such an intelligent group that’s so passionate and enthusiastic about trying to provide the best experience for their employees. We have a lot of work to do, but this type of employment branding and client collaboration will be a labor of love.

Until next time, see you on the road!

Inquiring HR minds (and job seekers) want to know! So how in the world do they go about finding out?

A great way to get started is to set up Google Reader to gather RSS subscriptions from some of the free media monitoring sites that are out there. Before your eyes glaze over from fear that this post is going to start getting “too technical” for you, don’t worry. You are likely halfway there if you’ve got a Gmail account.

Once you set up a free account with Google, you’ll be able to experience all the joys of Google Reader – a place to aggregate and organize all of your search results in one spot. It’s really as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Go to a free media monitoring site of your choosing.
2. Enter your search terms.
3. Click on the RSS feed icon to subscribe to a continuous feed of the search results.

That’s it. Once you click that RSS button your search agent is set.

The list of free media monitoring tools is a long one and new options are cropping up all the time. So if you are already playing around with these to keep on top of things, please share your favorites. Here are just a few that I think are worth checking out:

Social Mention is one of the best. They live up to their word: “It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including: Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google etc,” Another plus, in addition to delivering real-time results, Social Mention also provides a social ranking score on strength, sentiment, passion and reach with each and every search. Already familiar with Google Alerts? Social Mention can also send Social Mention Alerts right to your email.

Twitter Search’s shpeil: “See what’s happening – right now.” Simply put, this tool is a great way to isolate tweets based on keywords.

Google Blog Search focuses only on the blogosphere. Use it to “find out what people are saying on any subject of your choice” through an index that is continually updated on blogs written not just in English, but many other languages too.

Technorati, BackType and BoardTracker are a few more for you to check out.

The reputation that precedes an organization can make or break their pipeline to top talent. While these tools may be at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to analyzing your brand’s rep (your competitor’s, industry trends, etc…), when you listen you are sure to learn.

What I didn’t expect was just how much I am enjoying my volunteer work. Yes, volunteering doesn’t come with a paycheck, but it provides a tremendous amount of satisfaction and fulfillment. I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity and am so glad I volunteered to do it.

Matching work that you enjoy to an organization that needs help is always a win-win and often provides inspiration to others.

Share with us your experiences performing volunteer work, and/or opportunities that may exist within your organization

Just two short years ago Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sat down with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington to talk about FB’s privacy policies and controls – controls Zuckerberg describes as integral to the core of Facebook. “That’s the vector around which Facebook operates.” Information was only intended to be visible to your Facebook friends. That was then.

Is he now singing a much different tune? This is Zuckerberg now: The Age of Privacy is Over.

 Zuckerberg is quoted as saying: “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.”

Has it really? Openly sharing personal information is the new social norm? Sigh.

My reluctance to personally jump into the wonderful world of social networking has been well documented here and around Alstin’s office. I feel lots of pressure to follow the herd, break down and get me a Facebook page so I too can brand myself through status updates. Maybe I could start doing all this under a fake name? Resurrect Lisa Licketto from Runnemede, NJ – my first fake ID. If it weren’t for that darn privacy thing…

Personal information is sacred to many of us. And I for one really hope the age of privacy isn’t over.

The article is, as usual, insightful and filled with great ideas. However, the news when it comes to recruiting and candidates isn’t good. This is what really caught my attention:

How did recruiting fare over the decade? Did things get better for recruiters and candidates?

The decade began with the hope, maybe even the expectation among most recruiters, that the Internet would change things profoundly. Many of the writers and experts on recruiting predicted that candidates would be better served, that workloads would be more manageable, and that costs would go down.

As it turned out, neither the average cost per hire nor the average time to present a qualified candidate has changed much despite the introduction of all the tools that the Internet made possible. Applicant tracking systems were supposed to make it easier to keep track of candidates, present better candidates, as well as for a recruiter to qualify them. Yet, good candidates are rare and hiring managers complain regularly about seeing candidates who do not measure up to their expectations. Recruiters still can’t find good candidates, even when they have stored resumes or contact data in the multitude of systems that have been created to make this easy. Communication — now so easy with email and CRM — is as bad as always. Candidates are complaining more than ever of being neglected, and most remain in the dark about their status.

While these findings are indeed disappointing, I bet not many people in HR are surprised by the results. Certainly we have wonderful tools that never existed before–tools that were supposed to not just make recruiters more efficient and effective, but improve the candidate experience, lower cost per hire and allow HR people more time to focus on their employees. Nearly all HR people I work with are intelligent, savvy, motivated and very, very good at what they do. Of course, there are many noted success stories but, for the most part, these expected improvements just did not happen. Where did we go wrong?

As I’ve said before, I do think we make the mistake of overestimating the power of technology and new tools, especially if we think it can fix systemic problems in already flawed processes. While a totally overloaded recruiter will certainly benefit in some ways from a great sourcing or tracking tool, he/she probably still won’t have the time to get full utilization out of the tool, not to mention fix outdated job reqs, analyze how to make their onboarding process better, develop stronger relationships with hiring managers, etc.

Kevin Wheeler says the best recruiters share three characteristics: (1)a deep knowledge of the industry they are recruiting for; (2)ability to build relationships with the right people; and (3)ability to practice the skills of good salesmanship. If you believe that to be true (and I do), you see that while technology can certainly help with those three traits, they can never be the real solution.

I think we’re also experiencing some of the consequences of the flip side of technology–or that old adage, “With new solutions come new problems.” For example, it’s so easy for an applicant to apply now vs. twenty years ago–when you had to print out a resume and cover letter and mail it to the HR Dept. Sure the candidate isn’t remotely qualified for that position, but if it only takes him two clicks to apply and he’s desperate for employment, why not? Combine that with the huge job losses at the end of this decade, and we see an absolute flooding of resumes into ATSs, job boards and other sourcing tools. This inundation not only increases the burden on recruiters, it also raises the likelihood that a great applicant’s resume will never see the light of day.

What do you think? How can we get better?

 ”What is a pixel?”

In simplest terms, it’s the most basic unit of color or value in an image. When you blow an image up on screen, pixels are usually defined as squares. Though you can’t see it from viewing distance, your display, whether an LCD or old-fashioned tube, only has three colors–red, green, and blue. They’re arranged together in groupings of three, one of each color. With LCDs, which have a specific pixel-count, each pixel is defined by one of these blocks of three. The most common type of color image is called 24 bit, meaning that each of the three colors has an 8 bit span of color value (8×3=24). 8 bits = 256 steps, from completely dark to fully bright. With each color having 256 steps, a single pixel, made of 3 colors, has 256 x 256 x 256 color variations (16.8 MILLION!).

When I said “fully bright”, I didn’t mean all the way to white. I mean that the sub-pixel element goes from off (black) to a bright red, bright green, or bright blue. The white you see on the screen is all three of these colors in their brightest state. Grab a magnifying glass or loupe and take a look!

This is RGB color, the way that light-projecting devices show color. Even if you’re working in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) for print, it’s being displayed via RGB on your display. Conversely, if you print out an RGB photo in color, it will be converted to CMYK on the paper.

An image that occupies the CMYK color space has pixels that are defined by FOUR colors, each having 256 values, so you’d think you’d get a wider range of colors this way, but it’s just not so. I’ll leave those worries to the designers. The rest of you note that every snowy shot you take this winter with your digital camera is blasting the red, green and blue sub-pixels. Just stay away from the snow that’s only made up of the red and green subs (that’s YELLOW!).   - j

If you’re not familiar with this particular social media saga, Tim Levad, a Cisco employee, tweeted back: “Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

Connor Reily, aka Cisco Fatty, tweeted herself out of an opportunity and in the aftermath admitted, “I should have been a little more careful … I certainly learned the hard way.”

I’m sure we could all attest to the fact that some of life’s best lessons come to us the hard way, even when it seems that common sense should have saved us.

What can we do to make sure that our current employees, some of our favorite “tweeps” out there, don’t make similar missteps on the web for all to see? Start by creating a set of social media guidelines.

There’s a treasure trove of examples over at SocialMediaGovernance, an online database of social media policies. I also recommend that you check out the set of social media guidelines Intel has created (and continues to evolve as social media does) for their employees. Why?

• It’s concise
• It’s conversational
• It connects back to the company’s code of conduct
• It’s full of common sense advice including: “If it gives you pause, pause.”

The extra second you (the employee and the person) spend to proofread, debate, analyze – really think about what you are putting out there for all to see – is so, so worth it. Heed Intel’s wise words!

James Lipton (and his beard) seem to know what I am talking about. His advice to teens – “Before you text, give it a ponder.” –  in a series of PSAs for LG, is really a universal message:

Do you work for an organization that’s created a social media policy? Share with us some of the key guidelines that you’re glad are there. If you are thinking about creating one, what guidelines do you view as essential?

According to the Mayo Clinic’s web site, “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) starts in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.” That sure sounds like the 2009 economy (“jobless recovery”) to me. (Sounds like some people I know as well…but that’s a different blog post all together.) The Mayo Clinic also goes on to recommend that SAD isn’t just the case of the “winter blues” and that treatment (in various forms) can help you keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year. Well, I’m all for that—right 2010 economy?

I’m seeing blips on my radar of recovery. My colleagues are seeing blips as well. But, I’m not detecting the colossal tidal changes I’d like to be seeing. I know, I know it’s only three weeks into January but, come on! I was chuckling back in early December at posts and articles like GL Hoffman’s Jobs Summit comments.

But now, I’m wanting some of these recommendations to come to life.

Our 2010 economy needs some serious therapy. I work for a small business, heck I even had my own little web design business for a few years, and as I’m sure all of you know—it’s tough out there. Even if the calendar is saying 2010, I’m still feeling 2009. Except for executives at large banking institutions (don’t get me started on that one), margins are still thin, profits and losses are still being monitored daily down to dollars and cents and the budget restrictions aren’t loosening up quickly enough.

I think the 2010 economy needs a serious ‘therapy plan’ to get out of this SAD funk. Just off the top of my head, I’m envisioning the following:

• Create a “Re-investment Plan” of every single bonus dollar a banking executive would receive in 2010 directly lent to small businesses across the US at zero percent interest for the first three years. I think that would help loosen up some budgets and increase spending and ultimately hiring.
• Create tax incentives for companies that create new jobs. If we can push through and market the “Cash for Clunkers” program—why can’t we launch and market a “Job Recovery Tax Break” to promote job growth? We’re all doing way more with WAY less—if an employer could see the value of rehiring talent because the advantages out weigh the risks, don’t you think they’d take that chance?
• Create tax incentives for entrepreneurs to start their own business (and hire people to work). Have we lost sight of our roots and forgotten that the entrepreneurial spirit is what has made the United States so successful?
• Provide funds for state and local governments to assist unemployed workers to find employment. I’ve never seen my local library so busy and so overwhelmed!
• Remember the New Deal government public works program in the 30s? Maybe we should take a closer look and morph its basic concepts into solutions that makes sense for the 2010 economy? Perhaps, invigorating and investing in green technology?

Are you seeing any signs of the elusive ‘2010 recovery?’ Supposedly it’s going to surface in the spring/summer…

For now, I’m thinking of spring—warm, sunny days with lots of green. It’s already staying lighter later…a daily sign I see for good things to come—one extra minute or two at a time.

I work with HR professionals everyday, assisting them with their daily recruitment goals. I often hear the urgency in their “I’m swamped” voice, or “I need a vacation” tone. So when I saw this blog title -  Want a new job? Stop being so nice. Seriously. I hate it.  - I had to check it out.

 As I read on, I discovered Sarah White, author of the Imsocorporate.com blog, and her feelings about a special breed of the annoying jobseeker. She goes on to reach out to fellow recruiters for confirmation and to let her readers know the three top things that will classify you as too creepy to consider working with. It was a quick rant but a viable one all the same. Those who commented seemed to take it pretty well. After a good laugh, I became interested to know what my clients would blog about regarding their encounters with eager jobseekers…especially now, in this current state of unemployment.

So little jobs…too many jobseekers!

In a sense, my job is to help you put out the bait, cast a net, and catch and hook those prime candidates for your open positions. It’s then your job to reel ‘em in. So, with this new age of social media, I think it’s sometimes helpful to give a personal voice of guidance to help the process along – and save you from having to throw too many back!

What’s your take on this? Please share your comments with me. These could be quite helpful – and funny.  (We’ve heard some dooseys in the past, so don’t be bashful.)

 I WANT TO KNOW…..

What are your gripes about the sourcing/interviewing processes?

With all this new technology, do you feel like you’re being stalked or like you’re stalking others?

What do you want candidates that are looking for a position with your company to know?

What are your top tips to win you over in an interview?

Most of us industry vets (myself included) looked at the rise of social media with an interested, cautious and sometimes skeptical eye. However, it didn’t take much brain power to realize that no matter what your preconceived ideas were (not to mention how some people misuse it in staggeringly annoying ways), social media is an undeniably robust, immediate and effective tool for delivering your message and interacting with your target audience. If you stop and think what sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have done and how they have connected people in just the last few years, it’s no wonder they’ve soared in popularity.

The downside? From a business perspective, I think some people got carried away in thinking that social media–or any communication tool or technology for that matter–could be a panacea for business processes or relationships that are already broken. Certainly, no web 2.0 tool is going to replace face-to-face communication or real interpersonal skills. Furthermore, if your recruiting function fails miserably when it comes to delivering a positive candidate experience, a nice Facebook page won’t fix that. If you work in an organization that doesn’t recognize its employees as the company’s most valuable asset, clever Tweets won’t magically make everything all right.

Speaking of Twitter, I must admit that while I was excited by LinkedIn and Facebook, I really thought I would hit the wall at Twitter. My first exposure of Twitter was from dopey celebrities giving us near constant updates on the minutiae of their lives. Then regular people began tweeting in the same way, and it was as if your most annoying Facebook friends–the ones notorious for their nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness updates–had found a way to take that annoyance level up a notch–and hammer you constantly about how sleepy they are or important proclamations like: Today is laundry day!

Then I started using Twitter as a business application and I saw things in a whole new light. Not only do I tweet myself and follow many of my co-workers (Jen Hitchens-Greenfield and Annette DeHaven) and industry gurus, I am also the person who tweets for Alstin. Like many Twitterers, I’m still learning–thankfully I have some real pros at Alstin to help me–but my experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive. In just the last year, we’ve cultivated great leads using Twitter, reconnected with former customers we’ve lost touch with and found new prospects. I’ve seen clients tweet out new openings at their organizations and, at Alstin, we also use Twitter as an effective way to get our message out–whether it’s updates on our services, information about our blogs and newsletters, etc.

Finally, by using Twitter to follow people in HR, recruiting, advertising and other industries (twellow is a great resource to find people to follow), I’ve read a ton of articles and discovered resources I simply wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Will Twitter still be around in 2 years? Maybe not. LinkedIn has already incorporated tweets into their interface–maybe soon tweets will be a function of a larger social media tool that will be more of a one-stop shop. If you’re an HR pro and want more information on recruiting in the Twittersphere, don’t miss Jen’s blog on Recruiting in the Twittersphere. Got some more questions? Let us know here on the blog, or send an email to blog@alstin.com.

That’s where our government comes in.

In an effort to educate more job seekers about the array of online job search tools available to them, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has launched a “Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge.” Offering businesses and other organizations the chance to showcase their products, the challenge uses crowd-sourcing technology to inform job seekers about online career resources. Phase 2 (RECOMMEND TOOLS) is just coming to an end, with Phase 3 (RESULTS) coming in February.

The free Tools being identified for jobseekers are sorted and being evaluated in the following categories:

· General job boards, listing sites and aggregators

· Niche job boards

· Career tools such as ladders and transition tools

· Web-based career exploration sites

· Social media sites specializing in job searches or job postings

· Other job matching and career advancement tools

Though the current list of contenders has a few familiar names — aftercollege, craigslist, careerbuilder, linkedin are obviously there — I was pleasantly surprised not only by the mix of national and regional players, but strategies to help those who are looking for a job find a better plan (see Lazone Grays Jr.’s “Self-employment as a Pathway Out of Poverty”). I really like www.careerrealism.com from an editorial standpoint (their tagline? “Because EVERY Job Is Temporary.”) and think our tri-state area could use a www.Door64.com of our own.

I started to lose track of time checking out some of the tools entered in the Challenge and wondering about the tools who also voted for some of the sites. It seems as if some states/industries are represented better than others (or got the word about the contest out more quickly to constituents than others?), but overall, I’ve found the Challenge a great way to get up to speed quickly on a variety of known, relatively unheard-of, and up-and-coming tools and ideas.

I’ll definitely be checking back at the end of the month for Phase 3: Communicating Results. The DOL/ETA will publish the top tools in each category, with the goal of helping workforce system leaders decide which tools to make available through One-Stop Career Centers, state job banks, and other on-line resources.

Here’s hoping the Challenge not only helps someone you know and loved to work with, but gets the organizations helping people find or market jobs back on track as well.

We sure have been hearing a lot about how 2010 may be a year marked by massive talent turnover caused by a disconnect between workers and their employers.

Which leads me to the many eloquent points made by Conan in his letter to the network in an attempt to connect his passion for his job to broken promises and ultimately his decision to not participate in a 12:05 broadcast of The Tonight Show:

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future … But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

From Conan’s perspective, could NBC be more disconnected to him? What about the disconnect to his fans? Is Leno the only one happy with this decision? (My guess, considering his recent stand-up routine, is that he isn’t entirely either.)

I also felt the sting when Conan went on to say he and his crew just want to do a great show “for a company that values our work.” When the latest stats point to a staggering 79% of workers likely to seek jobs elsewhere this year, and the high profile nature of the Conan debable over at NBC, what can we learn from all this? (Besides a great example of how to respectfully disagree with the boss.)

I don’t think any organization wants to be known as the company that cries wolf – lots of promises/no delivery. Hard business decisions that negatively impact top talent can have far reaching impact, but it is always a balancing act.

It’s your turn now: Can you relate to what happened with Conan? How do you best perform a balancing act when making tough decisions?

Web 3.0 – The Semantic Web

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, credited with inventing the World Wide Web, predicts the Internet will soon have the ability to understand services and information without any human direction and will be able to connect  machine information with human information. Can you imagine our computers having the ability to read websites and comprehend that information almost as good as a person can? Some people predict Web 3.0 will equate to more 3-D (such as Secondlife.com) where people can go to a destination without physically leaving their living room.

I believe a big change in Internet technology will come sooner than later, probably within the next year or two. My guess is that the software developers and computer geeks who have been laid off during this recession have not been spending their time at home watching infomercials! They are planning, looking ahead to the future and hoping to get there before everyone else.

My prediction? When the dust settles on the economy we will begin to see what they have been tinkering away on.  What are your predications for Web 3.0? More importantly, what do you hope to see?

An April 2009 survey by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reveals that one third (32%) of Americans has used a “cell phone or Smartphone to access the Internet for emailing, instant-messaging, or information-seeking.” This number is up by 73% from a previous study done 16 months prior. 46% of those in the more recent survey explained that mobile access is important to them for getting information on the go.

This has some major implications for employer branding and how campaigns should be executed.

InfoWorld recently examined recruitment efforts by Convergys when they decided to use text messaging and social networks to target the Millennial generation for call center jobs.

AT&T recently established a Jobs Application on the iPhone to allow one-step mobile access to www.att.jobs career portal. This enables them to keep in touch with job applicants on events, openings and company information in real-time. This portal was already accessed by thousands of job seekers each month. By making this application available on the iPhone, AT&T now can interface with more applicants with greater ease.

As job searching from mobile devices becomes more commonplace, this means your company may have to develop a mobile web site in addition to the regular website. Furthermore, in order for mobile web sites to have top rankings on Google’s mobile search, Google gives the following tips:

• Create a mobile sitemap and submit it to Google so Google knows it exists. This can be done using Google Webmaster Tools, just like with a regular sitemap.

• To make sure Googlebot-Mobile can access your site, allow any User-agent to access it. ”You should also be aware that Google may change its User-agent information at any time without notice, so it is not recommended that you check if the User-agent exactly matches ‘Googlebot-Mobile’ (which is the string used at present),” says Jun Mukai, a software engineer on Google’s mobile search team. “Instead, check whether the User-agent header contains the string ‘Googlebot-Mobile’. You can also use DNS Lookups to verify Googlebot.”

• Check that your mobile-friendly URLs’ DTD (Doc Type Definition) declaration is in an appropriate mobile format such as XHTML Mobile or Compact HTML. If you run both a regular site and a mobile version of it, there is a possibility that the wrong version will show up in the wrong search results.

By the looks of this blog, you might think we over here at Alstin eat, breathe and sleep all that is recruitment and retention. Every so often we’ll stray from the HR talk and bring you more on some of our favorite things, places and activities that also populate our daily lives.

I love great fiction. My tastes fall more on the literary, non-commercial (my wife would say snobby) side; or what is normally called trade fiction. As we start the New Year, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite novels of 2009.

Obviously, there were a lot of great novels published this year I just couldn’t get to (that pesky combination of work and family really get in the way). My apologies to Anne Tyler, Philip Roth, Paul Auster, Lorrie Moore, Dave Eggers and other great writers who wrote widely-praised novels in 2009–I’ll get to you in 2010. By the way, I’m no pseudo-literary critic; I judge novels not by deep themes, pretty prose, socio-economic impact or any other lofty criteria, but by how well the author tells a good story. Looking over this list, I noticed that all of these works are very accessible and entertaining. I’ll aspire to get back to my pretentious ways in 2010! Here were some of my favorites from 2009:

Once a Runner, John Parker

A cult classic from 1978 that was republished in 2009, and universally considered to be the best book ever written about running. The novel once had the (not entirely desirable) distinction of being the most requested out-of-print book. The descriptions of the life of a competitive runner have never been matched. Intense, well-written and serious inspiration to those looking to get their sneakers laced up for 2010.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

So much has been written about this novel, I’m not sure I can add anything original except a glowing endorsement from a guy who doesn’t normally read mystery novels. Originally published in the late Larsson’s native Sweden in 2005, this book deserved all the attention it received. Once you get the myriad of characters sorted out in your head (this is the opposite of a 1-2-3 whodunnit) you’ll fly through this novel as the disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and punky researcher Lisbeth Salander negotiate twists and turns to get to the bottom of an old Vanger family mystery.

That Old Cape Feeling, Richard Russo

Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors, and even a mediocre effort from him is still better than reading just about anyone else. This is certainly not his best work–that title probably goes to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Empire Falls, Nobody’s Fool (which was made into a great film with Paul Newman) or in my opinion, one of the funniest, wisest and most underrated novels ever written, Straight Man (if you haven’t read Straight Man, stop what you’re doing now and go buy it). Still, reading That Old Cape Magic you’ll find yourself in the hands of an American master. I know some people had issues with the large amounts of exposition and flashback-style narrative, but the sadness and tenderness of Jack Griffin’s story and Russo’s incredible writing makes it more than worth the trip.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Jeff Kinney

Laugh if you want, but the fourth book in Kinney’s Wimpy Kid Series is a big home run. Without 2 daughters nearly the same age as the hilarious protagonist Greg Heffley, I would never have picked this book up–and that would have been my loss. So many children’s books are written as if children aren’t just younger, but some type of stupid sub-species, and books aimed toward them are usually filled with groaningly predictable plot twists, cloying dialogue and a contrived, patronizing ending. Kinney gets it right. This is a very fast, very funny (even for adults) story with laugh-out-loud simple drawings that capture tween angst and awkwardness perfectly.

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, Lydia Davis

Known as a “writer’s writer,” Lydia Davis creates very powerful, very brief short stories. Many in this collection are less than a page long, and some are just a paragraph. This collection includes her stories from her noted debut Break It Down in 1986 to the 2007 National Book Award nominee Varieties of Disturbance.

When Love Was Clean Underwear, Susan Barr-Toman

Full disclosure: Susan is a friend, but trust me, that doesn’t make her debut novel any less of a winner. Pick up Susan’s book, and you’ll meet a great character, Lucy Pescitelli, a South Philly virgin and part-time funeral worker saddled with a mother so overbearing she forces Lucy to help her commit suicide. What Barr-Toman does so well here is bring a lot of heart to Lucy’s story, and she captures the flavors of her South Philly neighborhood without resorting to the usual cliches and stereotypes. A solid, really strong first novel.

Juliet, Naked, Nick Hornby

Probably the most entertaining novel I read this year and a must for anyone who’s a “serious” music fan. I’m always envious of people who have never read Nick Hornby, because his writing is so wonderful and accessible. Hornby has no writerly pretensions; he’s just a great storyteller and his novels are funny, quick and (I think) surprisingly reflective about modern society. Hornby is also a very tactile writer; he creates vivid scenes in such simple language–which may be why so many of his novels have translated well to film (High Fidelity with John Cusack, About a Boy with Hugh Grant, Fever Pitch and he wrote the screenplay for this year’s super well-reviewed An Education). He is also a noted music critic.

In Juliet, Naked, we learn about Tucker Crowe, a Dylanesque rock star who disappears suddenly from public life after releasing his eighties masterpiece, Juliet. His fans, unabashed music snobs, refuse to let him go, and so Tucker remains vibrant on the Internet where his devotees exchange old pictures, swap bootleg tapes, trade “Tucker is working on a new album” rumors and endlessly analyze his song lyrics. Like many of Hornby’s novels Juliet, Naked exists on two levels: there is a great story, comedy and romance, but I think there’s a lot going on underneath here–like how the Internet has connected (and disconnected) us, the trappings of celebrity and what happens when we can’t separate an artist from his/her art.

Coraline, Neil Gaiman

I’ve been a fan of Gaiman for a long time. He can do anything–great adult novels (Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Stardust) children’s books (The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish) and comics (The Sandman series, one of the most critically acclaimed comics of the last 40 years). You may be familiar with the movie (which was also great), but this quasi-kids’ graphic novel illustrated by P. Craig Russell pulls no punches. I read this to my nine-year-old in one day–and she had some problems sleeping that night, so note to parents: The graphic novel is much darker and creepier than the film version.

Generosity: An Enchantment, Richard Powers

Probably the most literary novel on my list, but a pleasure to read. Richard Powers is known for combining science and humanism into his novels. Here he asks the question: Does the happiness gene exist? What would the pharmaceutical and science community do with it should they be able to isolate and market it? Is this the logical next step for our medicated society and does this path of “genetic enhancement” we’re all going down signal the end to what it really means to be human? Russell Stone is a creative non-fiction teacher with a student who seems to have hyperthymia, a very rare trait that manifests itself in a near-constant state of euphoria. I won’t spoil any more of the plot, but in addition to being an exceptional novel that really makes you think, I believe this is the first novel I’ve read that successfully incorporates the effect of the Internet, TV and social media on our daily lives.

Okay, where did I get it wrong. Which novels did you read that didn’t make it on my list?

5.) Fit Builder – If you have an iPhone and you are at all interested in fitness and exercise, get this app. At $9.99 (for the standard version) it’s on the pricier end, but it comes with content that makes it more than worth it. I log on to Fit Builder to select from more than 200 iPump workouts. Depending upon my goals, I can select from programs like “Upper Body Stretch,” “Quick Cardio Blast,” “Soccer Conditioning” and many, many more. Once I’ve selected a workout, I scroll through photos and instructions for each exercise in the workout, using the on-screen timer to keep me on pace. If I have a question on how the exercise is performed, there’s a video provided to show me proper form. There are also tracking tools and interesting ways to share your routines. This is a highly motivational fitness app that is fun to use. Seriously, you need this app.

 4.) Wine Ratings – For the umpteenth time, I’m trying to learn more about wine this year. While this will require plenty of tastings on my part and a good, solid “Guide to Wine” book, this app is a great supplement to my, ahem, thirst for knowledge. I can search from a database of more than a million wines by numerous variables, including price, grape, and region. I can also save and rate my own favorites for future reference. In the short time that I’ve had this app, it has come in mighty handy while perusing restaurant wine lists and while making wine selections at the store. With this app in hand, this just might be the year. 

3.) Deepak Chopra’s Stress Free – Who doesn’t want more tools to handle the stresses in their life? Deepak Chopra’s Stress Free is a handy app to keep you grounded. It takes you through a series of steps to reduce your stresses. It also offers videos on things like yoga, meditation, music, and other pointers to reduce stress. Some of it is admittedly simplistic, but it does serve as a useful reminder that our hyped up “fight or flight” response was probably better suited to the wild than it is to the conference room.

 2.) Camena – While we’re on the subject of stress reduction, nothing relaxes me more than singing along to my favorite songs. Conversely, nothing embarrasses my kids’ more than me belting out the wrong lyrics. Enter Camena. This app displays the lyrics to the song you’re playing on your iPod. Very handy. Now I can sing along at the top of my lungs without embarrassing anyone. Right? 

10.) Mouthoff - All self-improvement aside, this one is just for fun. Tap the app, select from a series of hilarious cartoon mouths, hold your iPhone up to your mouth to speak, and watch the hilarity ensue. Trust me. It’s funny.

 The iPhone has proven to be a true game changer. And apps like these can legitimately add to your quality of life. Here’s hoping that 2010 brings all of us iPhone users lots more to love in the coming year. (And maybe even a Tablet to change the rules even more. Here’s hoping.)

Get some feedback on the behavioral economics of your workforce – the cognitive, emotional and social dynamics that drive the people behind your company. I can guarantee that for anyone in HR it will be a worthwhile effort. It can lead to a greater understanding of the whole and real discoveries on better ways to do business, collaborate, share ideas, lead a team … the list of pros really could go on and on. Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, sums up the how and why of this approach to leadership rather nicely:

It’s about understanding and managing ideas and talent — and states of mind. That’s where the new leadership breakthroughs will be. Leaders who can quantify states of mind and make decisions about their constituencies based on that information are the ones who will lead the world.

Right on Clifton! In my mind there’s no doubt that gaining a better understanding of employees’ states of mind will ultimately provide a true  state of the union.

So when I saw a preview for a new reality TV show that’s set to air on CBS this Super Bowl Sunday – stay with me here, reality TV is not my thing either – I thought back on Clifton’s words which continue to ring true.

The show is called Undercover Boss. CBS’s official spin on the show reads:

Each week a different executive will leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company. While working alongside their employees, they will see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organization and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad while discovering the unsung heroes who make their company run.

The preview tells me that this show just might be worth a watch (at least for the first episode) … and that I continue to be easily verklepmt:

In the end Larry O’Donnell, President and COO of Waste Management, found a “whole new appreciation” for his employees and that he planned to change the way he went about doing his own job. That’s a good thing. Coffee cans are meant to store coffee and later on, maybe some loose change.

Be inspired by how your team makes things work at work and in their daily lives. I can guarantee that you will likely marvel at the discoveries.

Well, they each allow a user to find job openings and offer sponsored pay per click campaigns for employers, but job aggregators and job search engines have an advantage – only job openings and nothing else come back in the search results.

Indeed now boasts 16 million unique views and over 300 million page views per month and LinkUp is quickly expanding its user base with currently over 3 million job views and 700,000 page views.

Search engines base their results (what pops up once you’ve entered what you’re searching for) on website content, keywords and structure. Search results are free and based upon formulas created by the search engine. With most people viewing the first several links to obtain the information they need, paid locations called sponsored links can help ensure that your job doesn’t get lost in the mix.

The pay per click (PPC) locations for these sponsored links appear at the top and to the right of search results. As an advertiser you will only pay when a user clicks on the link to your job opening.

Benefits of Pay-Per-Click advertising include:

· Budget Control – Spend as little or as much as you want, you can set a limit of how much to spend per day

· Flexibility – Change budget, keywords, try new landing pages

· Pay for Performance – You only pay when someone clicks on the link

· Measurable Results – How many clicks? You will always know!

· Access Social Networks – Target passive candidates based on their profile

· Behavioral Targeting – Access those truly passive candidates based on online interactions

There are searches conducted — millions of them, actually – every second. It’s a search for information, entertainment, news, and of course: jobs.

The last couple of years have made a major impact on many lives, especially in one’s outlook on the future of their career and financial stability. Many companies have suffered through numerous cut backs and the loss of valuable staff, leaving those who are left with double the workload, less hours and pay, fewer benefits and incentives, and the loss of their fellow employees, all while dealing with the uncertainty of maintaining their own position. The sequence of events that surround recurring layoffs cause feelings of insecurity and a decline in morale.

The effects of the current economic climate has clearly changed the atmosphere “around the water cooler”. The latest surveys are showing a large number of professionals who plan to leave their current company once hiring rebounds. Their top reasons for moving on vary from better compensation and benefits to dissatisfaction with potential career development.

I have friends that have gone back to school for a graduate degree to facilitate advancement in their careers, and are now experiencing feelings of despair in positions where they are not being used at their full potential and are not seeing the results of years of hard work. These hard times cause employees to reevaluate their plans, and reminds them to take steps toward new experiences.

The “lucky to have a job” period will be slowly drawing to a close as the new year rings in. The start of 2010 has resolutions raring to go – and the jobless are not the only ones on the market.

Now is the time to reinforce the value of your company. As the job market slowly begins to increase, you must be prepared to keep your best employees in play while hiring starts to pick up.

Are you listening to the concerns and ideas of your employees and taking them under consideration during this difficult economic time? Are your employees recognized and compensated monetarily for outstanding performance? If your answers are “no”, I recommend checking out this post on What People Want From Work by Susan Heathfield.

People like to know that they have room for career movement and advancement. No opportunity to progress within the company is a deal-breaker for many. Enhance the skills and expertise of your employees and the marketability of your company by providing cross-training and education for career and personal growth through training programs, challenging assignments and more.

And finally, it is important that you:

· Staff adequately so people don’t wear themselves out.

· Communicate the goals, new/additional roles and responsibilities of the remaining people in the company (including management) so that everyone knows what is expected of them and are aware that everyone is doing their part for the success of the company.

Remember that your employees are the fuel that keeps your business going.

I found the article written by Hope Yen on December 16^th in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

• Americans sent more than 110 billion text messages last December, double the number in the last month of 2007, as the short hand communication becomes a popular alternative to cell-phone calls.
• The nation’s 270 million cell-phone subscribers each sent an average of 407 text messages in December 2008, according to government statistics released yesterday by the Census Bureau. That’s more than double the 188 messages sent by the average cell subcriber in Deceber 2007.

“We are seeing a clear trend of huge increases in text messaging, “ said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at the Pew Internet and American Life Project. “If teens are a leader for America, then we are moving to a text-based communication system. For them, there is less interest in talking.”

Her research found that the average teen now sends more than 2,000 text messages per month. About two-thirds of all teens use text messaging, mostly because of its simplicity as well as the privacy of being able to communicate without being overheard.

Lenhart predicted that texting would keep growing as parents begin using it as an easy way to reach their children.

At the same time, the average length of a cell-phone call declined last year to 2.3 minutes. That’s the shortest chat time since the 1990s, before mobile devices and cheap calling plans became widely available to everyday consumers.  The peak talk time came in 2004, when a a caller on average chatted for 3.05 minutes.

All of these stats remind me of a skit that Robin Williams does in his latest (HBO) comedy special “Weapons of Self Destruction” where he talks about Twitter ‘going down’ and everyone was freaking out about what to do with their thumbs!??! And he spoofs on a Dad re-introducing himself to his child, “Hi! I’m Dad!” LOL!

So, the bottom line: we’re evolving into a society where texting someone is more ‘efficient’ than calling them—leaving a voice mail or actually ‘connecting’ is becoming pointless.

Since when has communication been all about efficiency? Is it really that hard to push a few buttons on your phone to retrieve a voice mail? Is it really that hard to make a connection via cell towers and wireless technology? What’s wrong with talking ‘face to face?’ and rambling on about a story and reminiscing about the past and laughing out loud – for REAL. Well…a lot I guess. I’ve been there. Done that. Case in point: my mom calls, I ‘ignore it’ (this capability is another blog post all together that relates specifically to dating and the calamities of being single in today’s world, but I digress…). My mom leaves a voicemail. Instead of listening to it, I just text her…’what’s up? Just chking in…” and so the text ‘dialogue’ begins and the voice mail gets deleted.

So, what’s my point? Texting is the new communication vehicle. How does this affect how I work and how I interact with my clients and projects? So far, not too much. However, it will (eventually) change how employers engage and connect with potential applicants. And, I’m sure I’ll be exchanging text messages vs. emails with clients very soon…2010?

So, for now…ttyl cu n 2010

The Holiday season is overwhelming upon us. And, with the holidays, I’ve been seeing a lot of familiar holiday cartoon classics and specials on TV which makes me nostalgic for the ‘old days.’ Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman and the The Year Without a Santa Claus always make me smile!

So I felt for my blog post today, it would be appropriate for a “rerun” of my own…so here’s a link to Alstin’s December iOnline publication which features my original blog post on the Social Recruiting Summit in NYC – my take aways and social recruiting dashboard ideas (still working on this project).

December iOnline 2009

Enjoy your time off and the holidays! Next week, I’ll be taking on “Texting & recruiting = gr8!”