HR Maven

I am blessed in many ways, one in particular is my job for the last eight years, working at an amazing college, Calvin College. I have enjoyed a terrific career, love my profession and have been able to integrate many things in my current job. With the exception of immigration. But you knew that.

Equally, I have enjoyed working with my peeps at @JobAngels. Really, Mark Stelzner, Mark Cummata and Charee Klimek are uh-mazing.

Phil de Haan, our director of communications and marketing @calvincollege, did a wonderful piece about JobAngels, and me. I feel slightly awkward about broadcasting such a story because well, it just feels weird. But JobAngels deserves the credit and so does such a wonderful institution along with the education and opportunities it provides to all its students. It's a privilege to work there.

You can read the story here.

We had a couple of marathon interviewing days this week. I love interviewing. For a number of good reasons but mostly it is because I find people so interesting. How people ended up here, or there or wherever ... doing what they are doing, living, experience, interests - the whole gamut. Now, admittedly, there have been the interviews that well -it's an hour of my life that I will never get back - but fortunately for me those are few and far between.

Many times our interviews become wonderful and funny - an exchange of ideas, skills and abilities, needs and desires from the candidate and my employer. Even when we don't hire an individual for a position, I have ended up with staying in touch with many of them well, just because. Because they are neat. Because they have fabulous ability but not the right match for me but could be for others. Because I love to network and connect. That because.

We have a lot of the standard interviewing fare. But hand's down, my favorite question is, tell me about yourself. No parameters. No specifics. Some of the more concrete candidates (and those who don't live so well in the ambiguous world) want clarification. Others ask questions about the question. This question brings forth interesting and enlightening information about the person the candidate is. What they think is important to share. Sometimes it's standard and stoic. Other times it's fascinating and intriguing. Like the professional football player. The former Ms State (I won't give it away). A farmer. World traveler.

An exercise that I encourage people interviewing is to think about this question and practice answering it. There are of course the standard work-related questions that people need too but this is a great question to to formulate your story. I have always wondered what it would be like to hear people answer with what they REALLY wanted to say....not just work stuff but who they are outside the office walls. This would make it much more fun.

So my professional response.
Bachelor's degree, master's degree, professional certification, blah, blah.
Experience in - employment, immigration, compensation, yada, yada.
Strengths, weaknesses...blah, blah, yada, yada.
References, professional presentations, etc, etc.
Boring, yawn. Yes I can do the job.

And my less-than-professional response.
I take others seriously but not myself.
I am really funny. Just ask me and I will tell you.
I have traveled all over the world. I prefer places with indoor plumbing.
I am flypaper for freaks. People will tell me anything even when I am just trying to buy milk.
I gave a home to a dog that had been abandoned. I think you should too.
If you put on a blinker, I will gladly let you in.
If I find your wallet full of cash, you will get it all back.
I am the person you can call at 2am.
I share my stuff but hoard my time.
I listen. But this can always be improved.
I am sometimes impatient. You need to keep up.
I will tell you the truth.
If you don't like the Red Wings, I won't work with you. Really. Ambivalence I can handle.
And for those of you who remember this bumper sticker genre, I would rather be taking pictures.

I know, I know - its about the job. The skills. The abilities. The education. The understanding how people have behaved in previous positions that predict future behavior. But really, which is the better interview? And how would you answer?

I had yet another person email me asking me to 'justify' Twitter. Here is what I wrote.

Dear 'friend':

Don't use Twitter. Just don't. It's irrelevant, dull, a time waster, resource hog and overall just plain useless. Here are several things you can't do on Twitter.

You can't connect with terrific people from all over the world, from all walks of life. My Twitterstream is an anomaly. HR people, wonderful people in dog rescue, amazing photographers and some cool friends in Australia, Canada, Germany and the UK. Pure happenstance. This won't happen to you. Don't bother.

You can't connect with amazing people in your field, people who want to network and share, collaborate and partner, talk and write. You won't learn anything about your profession from other practitioners. You probably know everything about your field already. No need here.

I am sure that you have too many friends. No need to make any more.

You don't need help, and probably don't want to extend a hand to another. So things like Steve Boese (@sbjet) hosting a Blog Talk radio HR Happy Hour would be a waste. And so would the amazing work of JobAngels and the thousands of people who are helping and being helped find work because of Twitter, useless.

It's all waste so don't even try. In fact, I would encourage you stay off of Twitter. Keeps the network faster for us.

Steve Boese wrote a fabulous blog on his first job and all the hilarity that went along with learning a new job and new culture. I read this post several times and with each read, still laugh outloud. That blog sparked conversation among my circle of friends and colleagues and we reflected on our 'first jobs' and some of the lessons learned.

My first job was with a low end fast food restaurant. I was 15 1/2 and that was the best I could at the time. I lasted only a few weeks. Partially because I kept spilling liquids on guests. Mostly because I hated the work and and the manager(s). They would call me in and then have me wait to punch in, so they wouldn't have to pay me. When I complained, they didn't need me anymore.

I worked in a local dry cleaner through high school and most of college. It was such interesting work. I met the best (and sometimes) worst people. I found fascinating things in pockets - sex toys, money, drugs, and jewelry. I found $900 in a person's pocket and called them to return it. It was money belonging to grandparents who were taking their grand kids to Disney World. I found a bag of jewelry in a local jeweler's clothes and called his wife to return the jewelry. In return, they insisted on giving me my choice of bracelet. It didn't occur to me to ever keep the jewelry or the money.

I found 5 large viles of cocaine in a person's pocket. (I can't imagine how much it was worth). Not being a person who used drugs, I flushed it down the toilet. When the owner sheepishly asked if anything had been found in his pockets, I said yes indeed - the contents got flushed but would you like the holders back? He face went pale and he left. I don't think he ever came back to our store.

One event that has stayed with me started with pulling a class ring from a man's suit pocket. He was a younger man, probably at his first job too. I tried all week to contact him about the ring and couldn't reach him. I happened to be working when he arrived to pick it up and said to him - oh I have been trying to reach you all week - I found your class ring. I picked it up from the storage bin and handed it to him . His hands shook as he opened the envelope. And the reaction from him I could not have predicted in a million years. In front of a lobby full of people and all the staff, he started to cry. Not a quiet, personal cry but sobbing, gasping cry. Everyone froze as he told me his story. It went something like this - he was the first in his family to go college and the first to graduate. During his time away at college, his parents died. He older sister kept encouraging him to finish, and while raising her own children, helped him too. The class ring was her gift to him when he graduated. He wouldn't leave until I would accept something from him - I wouldn't take money so we compromised on a donation to a veteran's group.

I will never forget that day.

In the end I think I learned more from the events surrounding the job than the actual work itself. Many of my early jobs weren't very glamorous or sexy. But in reflecting on the events, I realize how much they shaped me into who I am today. Some jobs aren't exciting, terribly by all accounts but they are all meaningful. Seek out that meaning.

Today instead of writing about my work, I seek your words and wisdom. I have a good friend who is the manager of a local shop, a shop that provides services and products. She has been there well over 10 years, with the last two in a management position.

The issues.

1. She has a new boss, let's name her Gail, who spends her time telling everyone that she is the boss. The type of leadership Gail provides is a fix-it-yourself kind of management, sort of a 'don't-bother - me - with - your -problems' approach. Gail is brand new to leadership herself and it shows. No time to dialogue or provide help and resources. Not great leadership, management or mentorship. More of a you-do-it-because-I say-so director. And Gail is the golden employee, a real favorite with the owners, super at managing up, a condescending jerk managing down.

2. There is no centralized management or HR department. My friend is on her own.

3. She recently received her first performance evaluation ever in all her years at work. The review was a surprise, they didn't tell her it was coming. Gail and the VP of the area arrived at the business, sat down and read her the review. It was negative, critical and full of erroneous information. The critiques included poor leadership (the irony), poor management and disorganization. The information was collected (best guess) from one employee who has been a long term, chronic malcontent. None of her other 15+ employees were asked for feedback. None of her clients were asked for input. (An aside -nor is SHE asked for input on Gail's performance).

4. She was never asked to write any kind of self evaluation in preparation for the review. They never asked her for her input on how she was doing.

She is the kind of person who desperately wants to learn and grow. She solicits and welcomes honest critique from her staff so she can be a better manager and support. I have not personally known anyone so open to feedback and coaching as my friend. That is what makes this so complex for me. And her.

While she weighs options, I am helping her with a refute, so at the least she can counter some of the claims and get them in writing. Leaving is an option but not an ideal option. As you relax this long weekend, I would appreciate your thoughts on what to include in her counter letter. Her goals are to not burn any bridges or be disrespectful. She is much nicer than I am, just so you know. Thanks all.