BlogHer - recruiting - Comments

Fascinating and spot on!

ninepoems — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:57:55 -0600

I was born in 79, so I'm right on the edge, but there is a huge difference between my view of the world and that of my sister who was born in 88. Our parents just raised us completely differently. Something happened in our society that shifted parenting. In the mid-to-late 80s I was free to roam around the neighborhood, go on bike adventures that stretched miles from home, come home from school one day and tell my mom I was spending the night at a friend's house on the weekend and they would never think twice. My sister did not share this experience. She was really protected as a child. I'm not even certain she knows how to ride a bike. Play dates were arranged and everything was scheduled. My parents took care of everything for her, while I pretty much took care of myself. I think it became really bad form to not hover over your children.

I work at large public university. When I meet with the Admissions office, they now tell stories about how a lot of the latest applicants don't fill out their own application, but how their parents do. That's so crazy to me!

I employee students to assist me in my work. Every new student I hire was born later and later, and their attitude is different. Not bad, but just different. Certain things like using MySpace or Facebook at work is like a right to them. They feel really strongly about being connected technologically at all times. They grow impatient when the network is down or they can't complete a task due to some problem. They are hard and fast workers and haven't seemed to grasp the notion of "under promise and over deliver." It becomes more interesting each year.

Anyway, I thought what you said about Gen X'ers being translators was spot on. That's exactly how I feel. Caught somewhere in between the generations.

Rochelle | Nine*Poems Blog | Twitter

Interesting

TracieB — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:28:56 -0600

I find this post really interesting. I am a Millenial who was born in 1981, so I'm an "older" Millenial. I know my parents have always been very hands on in my life. Always. My first job at 16 I got the job because my mom worked in the place. I had no prior work experience, and they didn't hire anyone under 18. I think I was the first employee who ever worked there who was under 18. Anyway, sometimes I worked side by side with my mom, and all the coworkers kept a close eye on me as "supervision" when my mom wasn't there to keep tabs on me. Really, it was sweet. I was "mothered" not only by her, but by her friends that worked there also. My dad was super involved when it came to when and who I dated, etc, at a young age, and in helping me research information about colleges. He also always made sure my cars were in working order. They didn't spoil me in terms of money, because we weren't a rich family by any means, but my sister and I both were really looked after in several ways.

I'm 27 now, and am married. My mom still advises me concerning marriage, my future education plans, career, and relational issues. My dad too is involved. My husband was born in 1974 and is 34. His dad is involved, and he is the same age as my parents, but there is a slightly different relationship generationally. I think that is really interesting to see. I think it is partly because my husband is a child of the seventies rather than the eighties. I can see a difference. My husband sometimes thinks my parents are too involved with me in terms of certain things, and he doesn't understand my sister living at their home right now since she has graduated college already (it's temporary). But he does appreciate that they regard him also as a son (just as his side of the family regards me as a daughter), and my mom is just as likely to give him advice (if he wants it... she respects him if he doesn't, also) or tell him to put on a warm sweater when he goes out, as she is my sister Jennifer or myself.

I think in terms of work, my parents always encouraged me to find what was right for me. It doesn't have to look like everyone else's path. My mom especially said to pursue what really interested me, and to keep in mind that any company or organization I might work for is not concerned for employees; it is first and foremost concerned for the bottom line, so to find what is truly good for me rather than one that is money, money, money focused. I work with teenagers today in a residential treatment center, serving their needs. I'm not paid for a "product" I produce. I want to become a teacher and am going to be going back to college for a master's soon. This is five years after my graduation with a B.A. in English and almost a B.A. in History (two classes shy). Things have definitely not taken a traditional path in my life, and I got married in the midst of all of this, two and a half years ago. We haven't started a family yet, and that may be a few years down the road. We haven't decided yet. Nothing has been conventional. I've held all sorts of jobs and in several areas. It doesn't look like it would have had I been in any other generation. And I have been responsible and smart concerning choices I've made. I do want to become a teacher, to make a difference in children's lives. It's not as much about the paycheck as it is about making a difference, in my mind. Once I have kids with my husband, I may choose to be a stay at home mom, at least until they are all school age. So my career may be on hold once I have kids anyway. At any rate, I plan on being surrounded by kids, whether in a school environment or at home. :)

I think it spans all industries

hrwench — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:19:33 -0500

I'm in human resources and a recruiter tried this tactic on me for an HR job. I mean, come on! We both work in "the industry" and she still fed me the lines? Crazytown! I wrote about the experience here.

Jenn Barnes

Blog: HR Wench

Twitter: hrwench

oh, this made me laugh!

kazari — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:05:53 -0500

I have HAD this conversation! Followed by several other frustrating conversations with the same guy. He had my CV already, but wouldn't give me the details of the job, other than to say they needed my sort of experience. Couldn't tell me the employer, the sort of systems I'd be expected to work on, or what my role would be (tech support? database administration? data analysis? app customisation? it was THAT BROAD)

this is what happens when recruiters try to recruit technical staff without any understanding of the technology.

I laughed, said I couldn't consider changing jobs for less than $x. He kept calling back, with precious little detail, but a higher number each time. eventually the number was high enough that i went to talk to the people. and at that point, all became clear. But that recruiter was the most frustrating adult i've ever had to deal with.

Liz, thanks for your comment

hrwench — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:49:57 -0500

In my experience, any recruiter or hiring manager worth their salt is not going to let an applicant tracking system trump "eye-balling" a resume for a creative position. If they do? It's their loss. ;)

Jenn Barnes

Blog: HR Wench

Twitter: hrwench

online job search

Liz Rizzo — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:33:20 -0500

In 2008 though, I worry about the electronic systems many companies use when you apply online. Surely they could be automatically excluding all resumes without the specific degrees they prefer and therefore never even seeing hers?

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Good time to

Virginia DeBolt — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:21:12 -0500

hang up the phone, Yep.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

very helpful

S Rottenberg — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:20:11 -0600

This is helpful when thinking about hiring someone for work - and is a good reminder for me thinking about hiring a new nanny. When I started this search, I had assumed that I was looking for a lot of the same qualities as my previous nanny, who I loved. But I hadn't figured out which of those qualities were most important. Instead of going into a search with a picture of the ultimate end goal in my head, I would have done much better entering the search with my mind as a blank slate for all but the most critical characteristics.

Great Post

abswyg — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:23:42 -0600

Jory, I'm so glad you referenced the zig-zag career at the end. There are many dynamic women that left the workforce to raise families that will eventually opt to get back in the game. It's critical that managers look beyond the traditional career ladders on resumes or they'll likely miss some tremendous talent.

Amy@UWM
Up With Moms

A good rule for life, period!

Kalyn Denny — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:58:59 -0600

Drop all assumptions is such a good rule for so many situations! Great post.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Re: Really?

bobafifi — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 06:45:19 -0500

Whatever floats your boat (I'd rather eat a carrot than a Big-Mac).

-Bob
bobafifi.com
usedviolins.com
fluteplayer.net

Really?

Jory Des Jardins — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 23:44:33 -0500

He's just too cool for me.

Jory Des Jardins
BlogHer
Personal Blog Pause

you tube recruiting

Maria Niles — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:46:20 -0500

I thought your post was going to be about Diddy's search for an assistant with applications only accepted via youtube :)

Great analysis of MTB!

Kleenex® Let It Out Blog
Beyond Help

Re: What Diddy has taught me about recruiting

bobafifi — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:16:20 -0500

Hi Jory,

Aside from all the 'bling' he has, I just don't get the appeal for Diddy or his 'music.' I've seen some of his MTV show but confess to not having the interest to sit through more than a few minutes of it. Frankly when it comes to music, I'd much rather see the youth of the world following the example of the likes of eleven year old George Li than Diddy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSMJ1gGOzhU

On another note, you mentioned several times in your opening remarks at BlogHer07 about people being photographed and how "everybody was press." I thought you might be interested to know about the sticker that scrambles the wearer's image when photographed:
http://www.blogher.com/hide-your-identity-sticker

-Bob
bobafifi.com
usedviolins.com
fluteplayer.net