Timing and the Muffin Top

Have you ever noticed how so many things in life are attributed to timing?  You're at a cocktail party and someone says something, you think of the perfect retort but deliver it about a minute too late.  Said retort falls flat.  Bad timing.  You're rushing into the store and there's a family crossing the road like a duck and incumbent ducklings, trailing slowly and meanderingly along.  You wait.  When you get into the parking lot, you open your car door and there's a $20 bill on the ground.  No one else is near and it's all yours.  Good timing. 

I was reflecting on the apparent randomness of timing this morning as I was confronted with both good and bad examples of timing. 

Good timing:  Babysitting for a friend's daughter last night, we went on a walk to the store.  The day had been hot and humid, with clouds looming but not looking particularly threatening.  Chatting happily about High School Musical and Hannah Montana, Ella and I were approximately three storefronts away from the grocery store when the sky opened up and started pouring down monsoon-style rain.  Not having brought my umbrella, we huddled together under a storefront.  Although we were unsuccessful in staying entirely dry, we traded "we're all in this together" looks with other walkers who were similarly seeking shelter from the onslaught.  I laughed at the awesomeness of the cloudburst and while Ella did not entirely share my enthusiasm, I managed to convince her to run with me through the rain into the store just three doors down.  Once out of the rain Ella's disposition improved, and we hunted for the items that we needed and kept an eye on the sky to see if conditions had improved for our walk home.  We emerged to thoroughly soaked streets and a storm which had burnt itself out while we were inside. 

Walking leisurely home, we had just gotten inside and set about our banana bread making duties when the rain returned with a vengeance and we were able to watch the downpour from the comfort of my cozy kitchen.  Good timing.

Bad timing:  I enrolled in a five week intensive course on Quantitative Statistics while working 30 hours a week and taking on an additional contract for the exact same period as the statistics course.  This happened right before Thanksgiving week and extended to four days before Christmas.  Between my course work, regular working hours and extra contract work, this five-times-per-week gym frequenter had to completely forego regular workouts in order to successfully meet my other obligations.  Did I mention it was Christmas time?  Or the fact that I have been known to stress eat?  So roll on December and halfway through January and I still haven't gotten back into my regular workout routine.  But I HAVE noticed a bit of a muffin top when putting on some of my work pants.  Stressful coursework, day-to-day management duties, extra contract work, no time for the gym, and all of this occurring during the most highly calorically-concentrated months of the year.  Bad timing.

The good timing story I'll always be able to smile about.  The bad timing result will be methodically dealt with as I've come to realize the cumulative effect of a lot of different events.  There are some things in life that you don't have control over and circumstances can dictate priorities at times.  But getting a handle on exigent circumstances and taking control in order to correct an unintended result, and doing so with good grace and good humor, will make all the difference.

Voiceless

After battling (and losing) a bout with a late-winter 24 hour flu bug, I woke up to find that I had completely lost my voice.  Although I physically felt a little better, my voice was absolutely gone.  Since the previous night had been spent in rather uncomfortable positions near my commode, I’d gotten no sleep, had some hydrating to catch up on, and wasn’t 100% sure that my contagious stage had passed, I elected to stay home from work.  The following morning I woke up feeling pretty good – thought I’d say a little something to see if my voice box was working.  Nothing.

Feeling relatively chipper and now 100% positive that my contagious stage was over, although voiceless, I went in to work.  As I went about my morning, the phone rang.  Instinctively I reached over to pick it up and had the receiver out of the cradle before I remembered that I could not speak.  Not wanting to hang up on the caller, I desperately tried to croak a greeting out into the phone and heard the rather surprised caller hesitantly identify themselves.  Whispering my explanation, we both saw the humor in the situation and carried on our conversation during email.

As the day wore on, however, I found this situation to be less and less amusing.  I felt the constraint of not being able to speak.  It seems that you never want to talk to someone as urgently as you do when it’s absolutely impossible for you to do so.  The phone would ring with someone needing to speak with me and all I could do was stare at it and watch helplessly as the call flipped over to voice mail.  Out in the world, people would hold a door open for me and I’d go to say “thank you” only to have nothingness escape my lips.  Exchanging niceties with people became impossible and I felt that I’d lost my capacity for participating in polite society.

Your voice is something that you just take for granted.  You wake up in the morning, you greet people, you go to work, you talk on the phone, you sing in the car, you greet other people.  Speaking is effortless and natural.  Your voice affords you the opportunity to self-express, earn a living, state your opinion, amuse others, comfort people.  And when that ability’s taken away, no matter how briefly, you feel quite ...  helpless.  

In this same way, being laid off or made redundant can give you the same kind of adrift feeling.  You wake up every day and go to work.  It’s an extension of yourself and through it, you accomplish your goals, provide for your family, and (hopefully) find some sort of fulfillment.  Your job isn’t your everything, but it is symbolic of many things.  Once that’s taken away from you, you’re thrown off balance.  

Clearly losing your job ranks higher on the stress scale than losing your voice.  But the unexpected nature of both things ends up with the same result: frustration, impatience, and isolation.  And just as I heard countless recipes for the perfect recipe to bring my voice back to me, there are numerous ways to occupy yourself after a turfing.  

#1:          Partner up.  Connect  with specialists in your industry, whether they’re recruiters, outplacement centers, or well-connected colleagues.  Don’t be afraid to let people know that you’re looking.  There is no shame in looking for a new career opportunity.  The more you network, the better your chances. 

#2:          Focus.  It’s easy to allow distractions to get in the way of our productivity.  If you’re going on line to research job opportunities, set yourself a goal of a certain amount of time and don’t allow yourself do any surfing until you’ve met that goal.  Set a time limit on the amount of surfing that you will do and stick to it.  Same thing for re-writing your resume or crafting new cover letters.  These tasks can seem tedious and monotonous, but it’s crucial that you focus carefully on each task in order to accomplish your goals.

#3:          Stay positive.  You are doubtless going to have your moment of anger and resentment at the position you’re in.  Feeling that way is normal – but don’t allow yourself to get stuck there.  Even when you’re not feeling positive, act positively.  Negativity isn’t going to help you get to your goals and will make your situation worse.  Don’t feel like putting on your positive hat?  Do it anyway.

#4:          Follow through.  Every single job advertisement that you respond to, every person who responds to you, every networking event you attend – follow up by phone, email, whichever mode is appropriate.  It’s good manners, it’s good business etiquette, and because it’s not expected, people remember those who go to the trouble to do so.

#5:          Have patience.  It may take some time to get yourself into a new position.  It will happen.  Yes, it can take some time and it will definitely have its tense moments.  But having a plan and methodically working through it until you find yourself in your new position will pay off in the long run.

#6:          Help others.  There inevitably will be others in the same boat that you’re in, and sharing leads, resume advice and an understanding ear will benefit everybody.

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might, Have This Wish I Wish Tonight

Over the years I’ve heard arguments and rebuttals for the two most prevalent forms of recruiting contracts – retained or contingent. Some candidates have told me they will only work with a retained firm since they feel they get better results with them. Others have told me that contingent recruiters are more motivated to make a placement so they prefer to work with them.

Companies who retain recruiters are also split on the advantages and disadvantages of working with retained v. contingent recruiters. Equally polarized are the recruiters who work the two different sides, and for very valid reasons.

No matter how you pay the recruiting fee, in 1/3 increments or in one lump sum at the successful conclusion of the search, we are talking about a substantial dollar figure for which high quality service may be fairly expected. Having worked for both contingent and retained search firms, there is one truth which I have found to be inalienable: the service you receive is only as good as the cooperation you offer.

Clearly, the art of customer service requires training and cultivation but being a good client is equally important to the quality and ease of results obtained.

My Good Client wish list:

Clear, responsive communication. You’ve asked us to partner with you in identifying that ideal candidate who possesses the skills and experience to help your company achieve its goals. This is going to require clear and timely feedback from you so that we can be sure we are identifying the types of candidates you would like to choose from.

Reasonable expectations regarding deadlines. We are going to work our very hardest to deliver excellent results to you as quickly as possible, but realistic expectations on your part go a long way to allowing us to really dig into the job and uncover those exceptional candidates without keeping a constant eye on the calendar.

Supply us with the information that we require in order to understand the scope of the opportunity and do our job. There’s not much I can add to that – if we don’t have all of the information, we can’t live up to our obligations. This leads to frustration for everybody and nobody wants that.

Be appreciative by saying thank you and paying on-time or early. A little appreciation can go a long way. Early payment puts you just that little bit ahead of other obligations and moves you to the top of our list when prioritizing our day.

And lastly, please do give us honest, constructive criticism as well as praise. We thrive on this as it helps us to constantly improve the way in which we serve you.

Helping us helps you and when you’re happy, we’re happy.

What Not To Post - The Frightening Truths Your Friends Are Too Afraid To Tell You

Once upon a time there was a runaway hit television show on BBC named "What Not To Wear".  For those of you who are not familiar with the premise of this show, it involves a very no-nonsense and somewhat confrontational approach to unsuspecting individuals whose family members and friends have nominated them to be subjects of the show.  Trinny and Susannah take a hard look at the clothes that people wear and proceed to list all of the fashion sins they are committing.  People expect their friends and family to give them honest feedback about how they look, what they wear, and the way they present themselves.

Here's the truth:  Friends lie.  Family members lie.

Either that or they have told you the truth but you're too hard-headed to accept it.

Regardless - what we're left with is people who make horrendous fashion choices that we're all forced to look at each and every day of our lives.  I was extremely tempted to join a facebook group the other day that was entitled "There is a weight limit on the privilege to wear skinny jeans".  Someone HAS to live with the poor girl who was pictured as the poster child for that group - and yet still the girl ventured out into public looking like an ice cream scoop delicately balanced on a sugar cone.

The same holds true for social networking.  If you are on facebook, myspace, etc. AND you are looking for a job, take a good long look at the content you've included in your social networking presence.  Companies are finding your sites and comparing what you've written there with what you have written on your resume.  If you list that you've an avid outdoorsperson on your resume because you want to come across as someone who embraces challenges and is creative in the face of danger, then don't list that you're a homebody on your facebook page.  And vice versa.

And yes, you may have the most snuggly wuggly puddin-toast of a partner but do you REALLY want your potential employer's first impression of you to be that of Champion Baby Talker?

Your friends won't tell you this, your family won't tell you this, and the Hiring Managers won't tell you this.  So take it from Nancy The Recruiter.  Before you embark on a serious job hunt - take a long and objective look at your social networking information and be sure that everything's consistent.

The Jumper - Success Through Repetition

At the gym I go to there's a particularly dedicated young man who is a competitive basketball player. How do I know this? I know this because I observed this guy strapping on some extremely ungainly shoes and jumping up and down off of a static wooden box for 30 minute stretches. These shoes are extraordinary - they give you a 6" lift on the ball of your foot but no heel equivalent, so you can't stand back. The result is that you are strengthening your calf muscles and are on your toes for the entire exercise. My calves started crying just watching him.

One day I saw "The Jumper" on the street. I politely stopped him, introduced myself and asked him why he wore those shoes and engaged in that exercise every day? He explained to me that he is a competitive basketball player and that the exercises were supposed to help him to jump higher. So I asked the obvious question: Does it work? Have you noticed a significant increase in your jumping ability? Is all the pain and sacrifice worth it? The quiet answer came: yes. The Jumper humbly informed me that he is the highest jumper on his team.

Having achieved his goal, you would think that maybe The Jumper could relax a little; perhaps explore some other techniques that would maintain his jumping prowess. But no! Continuing to work out with a broad variety of weights, The Jumper sticks to his daily regimen of strapping on the shoes and engages in the mind numbing and muscle-screaming task of his systematic feet alternating pattern, jumping on the block, jumping off the block. For at least thirty minutes. Taking a rest, then jumping some more.

The Jumper is a good reminder to me that excellence is achieved through hard work and determination. He doesn't jump the highest on his team because it comes naturally to him. He has attained that distinction through past hard work and continuing dedicated effort. It's sometimes easy to look at someone successful and think that maybe they just got all the right breaks, had the right connections, etc. The Jumper's story symbolizes to me that with our own effort, we can make things happen for ourselves. It's a lesson that I need to learn over and over again.

Laying Off Is Hard To Do - The Importance of Preserving Dignity

Remember that old Neil Sedaka song, "Breaking up is hard to do?" Well here in New Zealand, "Laying Off Is Hard To Do". The laws surrounding hiring/firing/laying off workers are such that in order to comply, companies must go through a number of steps that are similar to union requirements in the United States. I won't get into boring specifics, but in my own particular situation - the entire New Zealand office of a particular company was being closed. In order to be in proper legal compliance, the unfortunate closure was handled in a way that I would deem to be less than ideal but hit all of the legal boxes. It was a very enlightening experience that I would not like to be part of again; and it was a lesson on how NOT to perform the unpleasant duties of laying off/closing down an entire company location.

The first step in New Zealand for a layoff/closure is that your boss sits you down and speaks to you about why they feel that your job is no longer required. They then give you the opportunity to rebut what they've stated in an effort to save your job. This in and of itself doesn't sound too unreasonable but let's face it - once you're in that room having that type of unpleasant conversation, things are pretty much over. The blush is off the rose, the writing is on the wall - you get the picture. The end is nigh.

I have been told that it is at this stage that some employers/employees actually do come up with solutions, i.e. being transferred to another department, etc. So maybe in a few cases it works.

But when you're laying off an entire country location, you haven't come in to the conversation without considerable thought, research, and resolve. You are not going to change your mind - but the law requires you to state that if employees can demonstrate how their "careful and extensive research is wrong", they will reconsider the closure.

This is the crux of my complaint with this process. In an already difficult situation, you are taking individuals who are now extremely vulnerable and asking them to put time and effort into having to scramble around for solutions and broach them to bosses who already have their minds made up. If there were truly a possibility that input would change the end result - it'd be a different story. It may be a legal requirement, but the end result is a bit of a sham that makes the employer look dishonest and puts the soon-to-be-unemployed in the very undignified position of having to beg for their jobs.

In New Zealand they have a saying: "She'll be right mate." In my experience, this was mostly true. The majority of the employees had been with the company for a long while, had good contracts that were being honored by the company which included severance pay, etc., and the bulk of the employees had secured new jobs before the end dates delivered by the company had arrived.

Preserving the dignity of others should always be a priority; when approaching firing actions, it should be even moreso. This New Zealand example demonstrates that a well-intentioned law can be less than ideal when it has real-world application. But looking beyond location and legalities, it demonstrates the importance of conducting your corporate business with transparency, honesty, and respect.

A New Chapter

After twelve years working at the boutique firm The Creative Network, the downturn in the economy forced them to let me go. Studying abroad currently, I am quite vulnerable to any changes in my financial situation and this development hit me hard. I have found new employment at a global investment firm that suits my hours and my studies - the environment is great and the people are very nice. I can sincerely say that I enjoy the work and it's perfect for my situation - but I can now count myself in the ranks of the "underemployed". I have a job - and for that I am happy and thankful.

Given as how this is a recruiting blog, I will no longer be making updates until (and if ever) I get back into recruiting. When/if my situation changes, I'll be sure to get on here and let everybody know. I'm sure you'll be waiting with baited breath. ;)

Good luck all, may things turn around in the economy sooner than predicted...

Out Of Your Paradigm And Into The Fire (not recruiting related)

Have you ever stopped in the middle of something and asked yourself, "What the heck am I doing? Why am I doing it this way? Whose crazy idea was this anyway?" I have. I am. Jumping outside of my usual day-to-day paradigm I'm challenging myself in a myriad of ways. I have achieved some successes and have suffered some failures. And my time outside of my comfort zone is only just beginning!

When you first step outside of your paradigm, you are constantly challenged by everything that's new. Pride, fear of failure and humility are your constant companions. Spurring yourself along by sheer determination, you press on. Faced with new challenges you will yourself to continue. Feeling that something is "beneath" you, you suck it up and realize that nothing is beneath you. You press on. Humbling yourself, you ask for help, learn from people you thought you could teach a thing or two to, and you realize that in this life, we are all afraid of failure. Conquering the pride that keeps us isolated, you appreciate the grace with which your requests are met. When your requests aren't met gracefully, you are thankful that you had the wherewithall to reach out and ask because you still learned something. A little lesson in humility goes a long way.

Still - you learn things about yourself that are often in stark contrast with the idea that you previously had of yourself. You gaze into that mirror of self-realization and you do not like what you see. You wonder who you really are. You look at where you are in life and you try to peer down the road into the future and ask yourself what you are supposed to be doing now.

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." I've grown up hearing that saying, that platitude, that catch phrase that gets bantied about to basically tell people to grow up, get over it, make the best of things. Life is hard and we are all going to be in constant contact with lemons whether we like it or not. The real choice is not whether or not you are going to make lemonade, but whether you have enough internal resources to make that lemonade sweet.

And for me, that remains to be seen.

Walking the Line Between "Contact" and "CyberStalking" in This New Age of Social Networking

In today's ever-evolving world of email, blackberries, iphones, twitter, ning, facebook, myspace, linkedin and a plethora of other social networking mediums, it's important to understand that although there is a lot of information readily available about people, there are still lines over which we must not cross when expanding our social networks.

I attended an all-day session of the Recruiting Roadshow that was held in Portland and sponsored by Adidas. One of the key ideas that was explored, explained, and expounded on was the idea of social networking: what it is, where it's grown from, how it will continue to morph, and some new technologies that are just around the corner in the evolutionary process. One thing that surprised me was the number of people who either didn't understand social networking, understood it but weren't interested in getting involved, or were so genuinely technologically clueless that they were completely unable to utilize social networking sites.

As with any new technology, there are risks in the social networking arena. The risk of putting yourself out there and being rejected, the risk of everybody knowing that you're a complete newbie and taking on a condescending tone, and last but certainly not least, the risk of trampling over the loose and largely unwritten rules surrounding social mediums and becoming the Creepy Creeperton Cyberstalker.

So here are a few pointers from Nancy The Recruiter to help you to avoid becoming The Creepster:

1) Set up a professional profile and use an appropriate photograph. Some may wonder if a photograph is necessary at all. True, some linkedin profiles do not have photographs and that seems to be acceptable. But a facebook or myspace profile that doesn't have a photograph is Creepy. The picture you use doesn't have to be a close-up, although a head-and-shoulders picture is best. If you're not comfortable with that, the picture could be a of a mountain you climbed or your favorite vacation destination. If you decide to include a full body shot, please be sure that you are fully clothed and that the picture doesn't involve alcohol or illegal substances. The purpose of the photograph is simply to show a little bit of your personality, to give a face to a name, and to make yourself approachable; you are one human reaching out another human.

2) Monitor all comments, wall-to-wall postings, etc., that are on your pages, and be sure to check out "tagged" photos of yourself that are posted on the profile pages of others. It is extremely irritating to be contacted by someone and, before approving their request, you check out their page only to find a a bunch of spamming comments OR an empty profile that tells you NOTHING about this person is or why they would want to connect with you. The profile was basically set up and parked; the contacter takes no pride in their page and makes no effort to keep it updated and spam-free. This makes you wonder who this person is, why they're contacting you, and basically causes them to lose credibility. Additionally, finding this type of page would be like handing a dirty crinkled-up business card to a business prospect, or sending someone an invitation to your party with coffee stains on it. Your profile does not have to be super-pimped, but it should have a clean lay-out, be easy to read, have just enough information for someone to get an idea of your personality, and be free from spam or rude/crude comments.

3) Once you have made an attempt to be "linked-in" with someone or have sent a request to become facebook or myspace friends, sit back and wait. Do not make repeated requests. If you are not approved, A) do not take this personally, B) do not send an email berating/bullying this person about their decision, and C) do not make repeated attempts to add this person to your networking circle.

4) I don't care who you are, what you look like, or how pithy you think you are, social networking invitations should be polite, brief, and respectful. This is not the time to try out your new pick-up lines or make an attempt at humor that will fall flat in the eyes of the reader.

Those are enough rules to get you going safely. We may not be face-to-face with the people in our network (or prospective networks), but the rules of common decency and courtesy still apply. When in doubt, DON'T DO IT, or say it, or invite again or POST IT. And avoid, at all costs, doing anything that would earn you the Creepy Creeperton CyberStalker title.

OLD DOG - New Tricks

As the marketplace and economy continue at their snail's pace, it's a challenge to engage in "income-producing activities" (my favorite work term). Playing "catcher" to candidates and selectively choosing job orders is not the way the game's going to be played out right now. And therefore, it's time for this old dog to learn some new tricks.

Searching... I will continue to hone my internet search string capabilities and run searches for candidates whom we particularly place, even if there is nothing going on in that realm right now. WHEN the market picks back up, and it will, the relationships that I build with people now will benefit us all in the future.

Social Networks... Really dig into the meat and potatoes of social networking, researching the search functionality and determining which are worth investing time/effort into and which are going to end up being time-consuming endeavors with no ROI (and time is money/investment).

Communication techniques... Speak to people on the phone, email them or text, according to their preference. Deliberately set out plan to stay in contact with my loyal companies and candidates, as well as companies/candidates who may not always be the first to leap into my mind. I need to remain diligent about promptly returning every phone call and replying to every email.

Furlough... Although not on a full furlough from my company, I am not working the hours I used to. Therefore, the time that I do have at work must be ordered and used to its best advantage. Positioning the business for success when things turn around is my priority - we've been around for almost 20 years and we will be around at least another 20 more!

This time of re-invention is really stressful, but can be extremely valuable as well. This old dog is ready to learn some new tricks. Have any tips/tricks you'd like to share with me? Comment below and let me know!

Persevere - Providing Good Customer Service Even When It's Outside Your Purview

Establishing a new telephone account the other day, I noted that there was going to be monetary credit if I simply logged on to the cell phone company's home page and filled out a simple survey. Obviously I am going to take full advantage of such an offer, so I dutifully went online, filled out the survey, clicked their "submit" button and then checked my account balance. No credit. "Okay," I thought, "maybe it takes 24 hours for their system to credit the account. I'll check tomorrow."

Tomorrow arrived, checked account, no credit. I thought perhaps something had gone afoul with my submission so I went back into the form, changed around a few answers, clicked submit again, got the "Success!" page again, checked my balance again, was not credited the promised money - AGAIN.

Waited another 24 hours, checked my account page, found the credit had still not been applied, and went back to the brick and mortar store where I'd made the purchase and requested their assistance. I was informed that the sales clerk could not help me in any way since they did not handle the customer service part of that business. The business which she had happily marketed and sold to me only a few days before.

I asked her what her advice would be for me to resolve this situation. Her answer?

Persevere.

"Persevere? How exactly am I to persevere?"

"Persevere in filling out the form until you see the credit."

This incorrect answer to my problem brought home the simple lesson of choosing your words carefully when addressing customers, candidates, clients, etc. Especially in difficult times, an incorrect word can come across as callous or condescending and can earn you the rancor of a network that you've carefully developed through the years. Obviously, people can have an off day and there is a certain amount of grace that must be afforded when dealing in any business transaction. Having a solid "go-to" cadre of clear and empathetic business vocabulary can help you avoid these slip-ups and care must be taken to cultivate these and implement them into our daily work lives.

Because take it from me, when you relate a problem that you're having to a customer service person and you hear their advice: PERSEVERE you may do it, but you won't be happy about it.

Self-Talk, Skills That Can Get Us Through Tough Times

I recently had a bit of a health emergency that had me experiencing severe abdominal pain. I’m fine now, but the pain was severe enough and lasted long enough that I ended up in an emergency room in southern California along with gun shot and stabbing victims, hit-upside-the-head-with-a-bat victims, and drunk/belligerent passed-out-on-the-street-and-hit-my-head victims. Then there was me. And the poor man next to me who'd had a heart attack. Oh and the girl who severely sprained her ankle on her way to use the bathroom. But I digress.

When the pain first began I implemented some coping mechanisms that I've developed over the years. Sip water slowly, gently walk around the room, take deep breaths, will the pain away.

I'm sure that I'm not alone in this: when I am in pain I just want it to stop. I want it to stop fast. And when it doesn't stop fast and I wonder if it will ever stop, another emotion starts to creep in.

Panic.

Not panic like running around screaming and pulling my hair out, but the first stage of panic which is negative self-talk. "Why do I have this pain? Is it going to get worse? Can I get help? Will it never go away? What is happening? Oh it just got worse, why can't it just stop? Am I going to die? Why, why, why?" These thoughts started to hurtle through my mind like a runaway train; I started breathing too quickly, my mind was racing and every medical horror story that I'd ever heard about was recalling itself to my brain in a most unhelpful way.

So I employed another coping mechanism that I learned through two natural childbirths and life experience: Slow everything down. Think about my breathing - slow that down. Get a grip on my racing thoughts - slow those down. Think about all of the muscles in my body - they are tense; make them relax. Once I’d slowed down my body processes and gotten my muscles a bit more relaxed, I took control of my thoughts. I made mental notes of the pain, when it started, how it progressed, if anything helped it, how much worse has it gotten. I controlled my breathing, inhaling and exhaling slowly. I reined in my thoughts and made sure that they were not negative. I made a plan: will seek medical attention if the symptoms don't lessen or go away completely in X amount of minutes.

Panic and negative thoughts creep in as pain escalates.

Re-employ coping mechanism to keep control over my mind and body, and help myself.

Once my situation abated, I debriefed myself on what happened, how I reacted to it, how I could improve, what was helpful, what wasn't, etc. What I realized is that the skills that I'd employed to deal with my pain are exactly what is necessary right now in the marketplace for both job seekers and employers. It is a scary time but we have to take care not to panic or overreact. Consider your options, deliberately plan a course, and constantly monitor the self-talk that you engage in.

Negative thoughts and negative feelings are normal when you are scared, but giving in to those thoughts is not helpful. You may do well for a while and then slip back into the negativity; catch yourself and start over again. Realistic, thoughtful planning and doing what needs to be done to get through this time is what is called for. And let’s help each other get through this bumpy year.

Three Decidedly Un-Christmaslike Observations

There are times in your life when you have a dawning of realization, a flash of insight - as though a veil of ignorance is parted and you see the naked truth for what it is. Sometimes these little nuggets of meaningfulness will impact you for the rest of your life. Other times, they are simple life truths that you will incorporate into your knowledge bank and draw on these items almost daily as you negotiate the twisty turny phenomenon that we call living. And then there are the moments of enlightenment that are honest and truthful and add absolutely nothing to your life whatsoever and that does not detract from the utter purity of the revelation.

Observation #1: A foolproof way to know when a delivery man or pick-up person is going to arrive at your location is to leave that location for one or two or five minutes. At that EXACT time, almost as though conjured up by magic, the delivery man or pick-up person will knock upon your door and, finding you absent, will leave a nasty note along with a "the next delivery time/pick-up appointment is two weeks from now at 11:35 p.m." note for you. Excellent.

Truth #2: People can really be stupid. Now, this truth is one of those that is absolutely insightful and true, but also disturbing at the same time. When I was out of my office for that brief five minutes mentioned above getting lunch at Chipotle that is one block away from my office (http://www.chipotle.com), I was walking quickly to the restaurant's exit door with my luscious fajita burrito and I noticed a family of about six people sitting at a table. They were chatting to each other, eating, and watching their 3 year old child/grandson put the long plastic cord from the shutters around his neck and swing from it. YES - the window blind cords that can cause tragedy and heartbreak for families, that type of window cord. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and was leaning his weight down on the cord. While his family watched. Not saying anything to him. No reprimands, no diversion tactics, no removal of the cord or placing it where he couldn't reach it. Nothing. And it drove home the point to me that, Yes, Nancy, There Really Are Stupid People In The World.

Observation #2: The modem and router at your office will work absolutely flawlessly until that one day when it causes great difficulty to reach said modem / router in order to reset them. You can VPN from home all you want without any issues UNTIL there is no one available close to the office to reset the modem and you are iced in and a 20 minute drive from the office. And your bosses are out of town at a crucial corporate planning meeting and must have access to the computer via the now non-functioning VPN connection. And you have candidates interviewing the next day that you absolutely must speak with in order to be sure that they are all prepped and ready to go. Then and only then will the router and modem need to be manually reset.

Any Observations or Truths that anybody else has learned recently? I'd love to hear 'em...

Cricket Cricket... Taking Advantage of the Deafening Silence

It's quiet right now... deafeningly quiet. It used to be that the office was abuzz with murmured telephone conversations, the "hold" buttons on the phone lighted up and twinkling, reminding us that more than one person had called us at once and were waiting patiently to speak with us. Now we are making calls out and receiving calls in, but it seems as though they are less fruitful. And less frequent. I actually jumped in my chair a little bit when the phone rang in here about an hour ago.

Always a challenging recruiting month for our industry, this December is hauntingly silent. Things are happening but at a snail's pace, and I'm a little concerned for our placement pipeline...

Still - we have been through downturns before and we know that we will get through this one as well. So in the meantime, we are flexing our internet search muscles, calling candidates and clients whom we haven't heard from in a while, and revamping our website.

I am a creature of habit - I tend to look at things and get really comfortable with the way they are. Reviewing our web site and applying a fresh eye towards its revamp can be a little difficult for me but somehow I managed to rack up about three pages of "revisions" to send off to our webmaster. These changes should make us bigger, faster, stronger.

We are also looking at adding company facebook, myspace and twitter pages to our site. This will be my job - to flesh out these ideas and decide if they are worth the time and trouble; does anyone else's professional site have their social networking sites linked out directly from the main corporate site? Is it worth the time?

Are you interested in hearing about the varied musical tastes that we recruiters have here at The Creative Network? Would you like to know my favorite color? Or should it be strictly business, like telling everyone about my favorite brand of highlighter, the strange sense of calm that a full Post-It holder seems to bring me, or my complete inability to keep my "in" box empty?

Capitalizing on this downtime to be sure that we're on the cutting edge of Recruiting/Web 2.0 is my way of taking lemons and making a lemon drop, er, lemonaid. Yea, that's it. Lemonaid. Let me know how you all are keeping busy!

Un-Spun - Just When I Thought I Was Getting The Hang Of It...

I am probably the last person on Planet Earth to actually take a Spin class. When my health club started offering the class about six weeks ago I was hesitant to sign up - I've seen spin classes on TV, on the movies. They all entail some insanely fit instructor with a bullwhip and a megaphone screaming at their students to push, dig deep, DON'T YOU GIVE UP ON ME NOW, etc., etc. It intimidated me! I have enough scary voices in my head without opening myself up to another "motivational" screamer.

One day, however, I showed up at the gym and my favorite machines were being utilized! People - from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., either of the two different cardio machines that I use should ALWAYS be available for me, okay? Clearly SOME people didn't get the message, and one of the trainers asked me if I was going to the spin class; in a moment of frustration and weakness, I said yes, grabbed myself an "entry card" and ventured into the unknown world of Spin.

Turns out - spinning is awesome! You control the amount of tension you have on your bike, you control your pace; as the instructors say "This is your ride, you control it." After realizing what a nice change of pace this was, how many calories you can burn, and how excellent it is for your body, I've made it part of my regular workout routine. I went from being a complete novice to feeling pretty comfortable in the class in just a few weeks.

And just when I thought I was getting good, just when I thought I was getting the hang of things, BAM. In comes Stacy. I'd taken classes from Stacy before - she was a somewhat "easy" instructor. Until today. Today was the day that she decided we should all ride "out of the saddle" - STANDING UP - with moderate tension/resistance on the bike - for THREE MINUTES. Three minutes people. Usually you are out of the saddle for 30 or 40 seconds at a time, recover for 30 or 40 seconds, then back out of the saddle for another 30 or so seconds. As the tune "Who Let The Dogs Out" pounded in the background, I determined that I was going to push myself and stay out of the saddle for the entire length of that three minute song. No way was I sitting down until Stacy told me three minutes were up. So I pushed... and I pushed... My thighs were screaming at me, "Sit down, you idiot, what's going on out there?" My brain was telling me, "Ow. This hurts - what's the point? Go ahead, sit down early, your thighs are not going to make it." But my little Fitness Voice was telling me to hang in there, push through this, of course you can make it, you're almost at the end, do not stop now. DO NOT STOP NOW.

I didn't stop. I focused. I focused on my RPM counter (tells you how fast you're going), I focused on the tempo of the song, the push and pull of my legs, the voice of the instructor encouraging us to hang in there. I determined that there was no way that I was going to stop going until the song was over. I knew that physically I could do it; this challenge would be won or lost in my brain.

I won. I stayed out of the saddle and, although winded, I actually felt pretty good afterward.

The recent downturn in the economy and the slowdown in jobs, hiring, feedback, along with the increasing phone calls from excellent people who've been laid off, reminds me of the mental determination that we need to get us through so many difficult patches in life. This one is no exception. As recruiters, we are in a unique position to help both businesses AND people to reach their goals. When businesses aren't hiring and candidates aren't working, it can be frustrating. This frustration can sap you of your motivation unless you are FOCUSED on your end goal. Clearly, your end goal is to keep your own job and to feed your own family. But part and parcel of that goal is to remain a vital link to your client companies in their search to build and grow their business. You cannot accomplish that without fostering your relationship with your candidates, keeping up with their work situation, understanding their strengths, their goals, and maintaining your integrity and honesty, treating your candidates with dignity, and staying on track even when times are tough.

Dig deep everyone. Research companies who may be struggling now but will have an upturn in a quarter or two. Stay current with your candidates - update your database, research new candidates, expand your network for recruiting partners, candidates, and clients.

Just when you think you have the hang of things, it gets tough. Really tough. While these circumstances are out of our control, it is up to us how we respond when confronted with these challenges. You can either focus and push through this, or you can decide that you can't continue. This battle will be won and lost in your head. Let's be on the winning side of this. DIG DEEP. Let's dig deep together. See you on the other side...

Get Out The Vote - Get Your Free Goodies - Get The Political Rhetoric Off Your Web Site!

If you haven't already voted today, get your tuchus out there and pull a lever. Here in Washington State, we vote by mail and my voting was done weeks ago. I am really looking forward to all of the political signs, commercials, sign-wavers, et al. to go away like magic tonight... Poof! No more multi-colored signs lighting up street corners like so many gawdy-colored flowers.

Additionally - if you vote, you are able to cash in on lots of free "goodies" from different companies. Starbucks and Krispy Kreme are just two companies offering incentives for participation in the voting process. I enjoyed my Starbucks regular coffee this morning...

Last but not least (yes, this is a short blog today), if you are a candidate, get the political rhetoric off your web site and don't put it on there ever again! One website that I visited to view samples of a candidates' work had this delightful bit of commentary: "If you're voting for _____________, I'm thrilled. If you're not, I think you must be clueless, crazy, or functionally evil." Charming. Made me want to pick the phone right up and speak to this candidate who must himself be clueless, crazy AND functionally evil to put that type of tasteless and insulting rhetoric on the web site he uses to market himself to companies.

Have a great rest of the week my friends!

Give Me An E! E! Give Me a T! T! Give Me An, I - Ah, that'll take too long. E-T-I-Q-U-E-T-T-E - Learn It, Love It, Live It

While awaiting the departure of a delayed flight recently, my travel companion and I decided to pass the time by having some liquid refreshment in one of the restaurants in the main terminal. During our conversation, I happened to glance at the table to my right. At this table there were two middle-aged women who looked to be in no hurry, having lunch and chatting pleasantly. This scene is neither unique nor that interesting, and I doubt that I would have paid them much notice except for the fact that when one of the women took a bite of her sandwich, an appalling scene ensued.

Imagine me, enjoying a a drink and conversation with my friend. Suddenly, I am confronted with an open-mouthed, food-swirling, lip-snapping atrocity such as I have never seen before in a woman of that age. Now seriously - I have lived through the teen-age years with my daughters and I have seen some horrendous table manners in some of their friends. Elbows on the table, arms folded on the table, leaning over their food, noisy chewing, not even an attempt to keep their mouths closed while eating, gulping their drinks, talking with their mouths FULL, etc. They seem to learn a little as they grow older that this is socially unacceptable, and I watched most of them evolve from a complete lack of manners to being presentable enough to have over for dinner at holiday time.

But this woman was breaking the land speed record for disrespectful eating! And the recruiter in me couldn't help thinking, "Geez, I hope she never goes on an interview that involves food." I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her friend sitting directly across from her. That woman almost required a bib just to keep the food particles from her friends' mouth from getting on her clothes all the way across the table!

This scene begs the question: How much effort have we put forth in preparing our candidates for job interviews that involve food? Does it even cross our mind that the stellar candidate we have pre-qualified and presented to our clients may come across as The Missing Link when eating? Does the candidate think that if they're invited to a lunch interview that they will actually get to eat their lunch? That they should order a salad? That they should order lobster? How about spaghetti or eating Chinese food with chop sticks?

Candidate interviews that involve food can be a veritable mine field of obstacles! I thought I'd share a few tips that I go over with my candidates before their meeting.

Be polite to EVERYBODY you meet; the hostess, the waiter, people in the restroom. You don't know who's watching your behavior and a snide remark or slamming the door (even unintentionally) in someone's face will not impress anybody.

Follow basic food etiquette rules. In case you don't know what they are, I will share with you: Do not eat with your elbows on the table, chew with your mouth closed, and do not speak with a mouth full of food. Put your napkin on your lap as soon as anything goes into your mouth (bread from the bread basket, etc.). Sip your water, do not gulp it. And rather than blow on your soup, allow it to cool naturally.

Order something that is easy to cut into bite-sized pieces and is not overly chewy. Do not order anything that you have to de-shell, peel, or otherwise handle excessively. Do not order anything that can be difficult to eat gracefully, like spaghetti, or that can easily splatter or fall apart while eating, like tacos.

You've got your napkin on your lap, use it often! It can be unpleasant to talk to someone with ranch dressing lips or mustard on their chin. And it's a little hard to take them seriously as well.

Do not order any type of food that gets easily caught in your teeth. If there is food caught in your teeth, do NOT remove it until you are in the restroom! Don't even think about trying to dig said food out of your teeth while at the table, I don't care how uncomfortable it is.

Skip the alcohol, even if everybody else is drinking it. Same goes for dessert.

Remember to make eye contact and look at your interviewer! Do not allow your food to be a distraction by staring at it, or playing with it - pushing it around the plate, etc.

And if the unthinkable happens - you know, you are cutting your steak and your knife slips and your bite-sized chunk of meat ends up across the table in the interviewer's lap - keep your cool. Stay poised, apologize, take precautions that it doesn't happen again, and get back to your conversation. This type of real-life situation says a lot about you as a person - don't let it say the wrong thing.

There! Now my candidate is all ready for their lunch or dinner interview. I expect to hear an excellent report back and move to the next step of brokering an offer of employment.

And it all comes down to good food etiquette!

Banished!! A Few Words That Should Be Eradicated From Resumes... and Society In General

Are there any words in the English language that bother you simply for the way they sound as they roll off your tongue? The positioning of your lips as you pronounce the word? Am I the only one irritated by this type of thing?

Take, for example, the word "pudding." Although I don't think that the word pudding (or the DESSERT pudding) should be eradicated, it certainly is a strange word to say. You just have to watch the person's mouth who says the word..... "pu... dding". Odd.

Or the word "supposedly". The word supposedly in and of itself is not a bad word, but since 98.75% of the population incorrectly pronounce the word as "supposably", the word is offensive and should therefore be banished until such a time that it is pronounced and utilized properly.

In the recruiting world, the one word that should absolutely be tarred and feathered, blown out of a cannon, given its walking papers - you get the picture, is "SEASONED".

Seasoned. Why don't you just write "around since the earth cooled", "older than dirt," or "guaranteed generational clash of work style/ethics". Whether or not this is true, this is the picture that using that word engenders!

Why, for the love of humanity, WHY???

Here's some advice from Nancy - find your resume, search it for the word "seasoned". If that word is in there, delete it. Banish it. Replace it with a word that expresses a positive mental image, something that inspires confidence. This may require that you completely restructure your "summary" paragraph since many people lead off with "seasoned executive" phrase, but it is necessary!

Go on now, check your resume out and make necessary corrections. Nancy is waiting...

Recruiter, Counselor, Confidant

As recruiters, we work with companies when they are on the verge of change. Most of the time, they are either ramping up for growth, replacing someone who's left, replacing someone who's currently in the position, or are adding a new division and they need to staff up. Either way - a job order from a company signifies change, growth, and new opportunity.

It goes without saying that the candidates with whom we work are at the cusp of change in their lives as well. They are either happy but looking to grow their career, or they see some bad financial writing on the wall of their company, or perhaps they've already been RIF'd, looking to relocate back to a certain area of the country, or left their last employer for a variety of reasons. Aside from the candidate who is looking for career growth, most of the candidates we work with are feeling a bit vulnerable and nervous, scared even, about their present situation, their future, and their ability to advance their interests while bringing home the bacon.

Recruiters approach their relationship with their candidates in many ways. For a lot of recruiters, there is no "relationship". The candidate is a commodity and you are simply marketing a commodity to a company. If there is no possibility that you can place the candidate now, you may not even get back to them with a personal response. You may not pick up the phone and actually speak to the candidate. You realize the candidate is a thinking/feeling person but that is not your concern; your concern is filling a job and getting paid, then moving on to the next job.

After 12 years in the business, it is still my practice to develop good rapport with my candidates. Can I help all of my candidates? No. Can I place all of the candidates who contact me? Certainly not. But by always remembering that there is an actual person on the other end of the phone or behind that email I just read, and that this person is quite possibly going through one of the most stressful times of their life, I reach inside to find the compassion and decency to listen, explain, direct, guide and comfort candidates when necessary.

You have to be mindful of your time and not allow yourself to get sucked into a candidates' personal life or be drawn into a candidates' black hole of conversation from which there appears to be no way out! It doesn't take that much time, however, to listen to someone, reassure them about something, explain a little bit more, and perhaps provide a bit of encouragement no matter how bleak the horizon appears to be. To me, that is simple human decency. The business side pay-off is that candidates remember you and the time that you took with them. They refer their friends and business associates to you and are very willing to network with you when you ask them. So not only do you get to do the "right" thing, but you also get to expand your candidate and networking base.

Recruiters may learn this lesson with the downturn in the economy; WE are now the ones worried about our jobs. I would encourage you to not forget that feeling of vulnerability; bring it to mind whenever you are approached by a candidate who is unsure about their situation, or was just let go from their job. We should never forget the Art of Being Human while we practice our Art of Recruiting.

Work It, Woooorrrrkkkkkk It!

Have you ever noticed that there are some people who know how to "work" every situation they are in? They always get right to the front of the line, get the best tables at restaurants, find the perfect power suit within ten minutes of walking into a clothing store, and step off gravity-defying roller coasters with nary a hair out of place.

I've observed these people; I am not ONE of them. If I have a choice of two lines at the grocery store, both of them approximately equal in terms of the amount of people and items per cart, I will inevitably get in the line that takes an interminably long time to get to the checker. I will be in the line where every item is disputed for sale price, another item has a rip in the bag, and oh there's an egg that is cracked. Let's replace the entire box. You'll find me at the store - eyes glazed over - in a line that moves ahead at a snail's pace, while all of the other lines go at lightning speed.

Except last weekend. Last weekend I found myself at Disneyland - well, in Anaheim, CA, in Disneyland Territory - babysitting my six week old nephew (see previous blog entries about impending birth and subsequent entries) while my sister took her 5 year old son to Disneyland. My ability to "work" this situation wasn't due to any type of luck makeover on my part, however. It was only due to the fact that everybody at the hotel was at Disneyland or California Adventure.

If you've ever stayed at a hotel where business people are thick on the ground then you will appreciate how difficult it is to steal a few minutes at the hotel's business center computers to check your email. Imagine my joy when I realized that I was the only business person at the hotel who wanted to check their email frequently AND everybody else in the hotel was at DISNEYLAND! Oh if I could have seen that little three fingered mouse I would have kissed him and thanked him on the spot. I practically had the entire hotel to myself all day as my nephew ate, slept, ate some more, slept a bit longer... I was bouncing between the business center, the pool to read, and the fitness center with my baby nephew in tow, either in the baby sling on my shoulder or in his stroller. My office was forwarding business calls to me and I was able to actually stay abreast and close some deals while doing my sister a very large favor.

So although I wouldn't say that my "work it" quotient has gone up appreciably, for one Sunday/Monday stretch in Anaheim, I was the Work It Queen, and I loved it.