In 1500 words or less, each post will give you something you can use TODAY to build yourself, your people and your organization whether your organization is a "for-profit" or a "not-for-profit."
With the coming of spring (finally) many students are starting to look for summer jobs and many organizations are looking to hire. Hiring students benefits both the student and employer; the learning curve can be steep on both sides, but it is worth the effort today and tomorrow.
I have heard anywhere from 70 to 80% of jobs are never publicly posted. When asked, many small and medium-sized organizations say most of their job vacancies are filled through “word of mouth.” Why then, […]
Finding a new job can be one of the most difficult things you will do in your life, for most of us it will happen several times. Fortunately, there is help available and many of the sources will not cost you anything but a little time and effort.
This post is a brief guide to interviews and there is much you can do to stand out.
Have you ever considered how biased our hiring practices are toward people who do not experience barriers to employment. How difficult it is for people who are from outside the “colonial bubble” most of us never even notice?
When you start to see and think about those barriers you can see the intrinsic discrimination that happens every day.
When you or your organization goes looking for new people, what do you see? Do you see everyone who could meet or exceed your requirements? Do you include people from different backgrounds, ethnicity, cultures, people who experience barriers to employment. Hiring people is about seeing people without bias, misconceptions; it is about seeing the humanity behind the cover letter or resume.
I was involved in Human Resources for most of may career, I made mistakes; but with help I learned some lessons that might help you and your team.
I have been here. Painfully unaware that I was teetering on the precipice. I was lucky, I had good mentors, I had key people who took a chance and told me what I needed to do and gave me the space to change. It wasn’t always smooth but I listened, I learned, and I became better.
As managers and supervisors, we will all eventually find ourselves in this position; how we react determines if we can step back or if we will plunge into the abyss.
What follows is what I was taught, what I learned, and what I continue to use. I hope it helps you.
Organizations experience major and minor ailments just like people do. Many are the result of external pressures; however, some like “Meeting Narcolepsy” are internally generated. Left undiagnosed and/or untreated these ailments can limit growth, cause decline, and even cause the organization to “die.”
This past week I attended a meeting where some people were lamenting that their new hires didn’t have a good work ethic and they seemed not to know how to function. Their comments inspired this post because “work ethic” is a learned skill and knowing what and how “to work” is also something that organizations should teach rather than assume.
Finding a job or reinventing yourself after leaving a job can be one of the most difficult situations we face in life. Help is available in virtually every region. There is also a focus, a series of steps, something similar to Abraham Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs, that can help achieve your goals.
This post is a little longer than normal, but it is worth the extra few minutes. Please use it, share it, and please add your suggestions to help people who are struggling.
Your people are your greatest resource.
Facilitating great meetings will encourage them, teach them, provide them with opportunities and the tools they need. You need to listen to them, inspire them, and train them. Running good meetings is a “learned” skill that few of us every master completely. Done well, your meetings will create the conditions for growth and efficiencies, regardless of the type of organization you are part of.
This is a place to begin.