Kettlebell Love

What were you doing 100 Years Ago? February 9, 2010

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A stumper, huh?

Or, which organizations can you think of that have been around for 100 years? A few companies come to mind, but very few.

How about the Boy Scouts of America? Yup, 100 years old!

BTW, I posted this link, as opposed to the BSA link because the author has tightly focused on the few things that Boy Scouting all is about. True 100 years later!

Job Ads Redux February 9, 2010

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Job ads, can't live with them, can't live without them...

Most job ads seem to be written to bore the reader to death. Or, to scare the applicant away from applying. It's too bad because they are an amazing place to start making your company a better place.

The challenge is in finding a job ad that really nails it, to use as an example.

Try this one: Looking for a LAMP God. When you read this, what comes through to you? Why wouldn't you want the person this attracts (after you sift through the no-fits)?

Caveats: I do not know who wrote this, I do not know the firm PhotoRocket, nor do I knowingly know anyone who works for this firm. And, since this is posted on Craigslist, it's going to be going away soon, so look at it NOW!

Job Ads Redux February 9, 2010

Posted by hardly Recruiting Process Digg! this story. , add a comment

Job ads, can't live with them, can't live without them...

Most job ads seem to be written to bore the reader to death. Or, to scare the applicant away from applying. It's too bad because they are an amazing place to start making your company a better place.

The challenge is in finding a job ad that really nails it, to use as an example.

Try this one: Looking for a LAMP God. When you read this, what comes through to you? Why wouldn't you want the person this attracts (after you sift through the no-fits)?

Can you tell just by looking at it? February 7, 2010

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How do yo know that a software program, or a website, or an iPhone app has a bad UI?

When there are explanations to help guide you through the interface.

The latest example: Facebook's explanation, "Welcome to our new, simplified home page."

This change reminds me of a Grocery Store reset. You know, when the contents of a store's shelves are all re-arranged to "make it easier on you, the shopper", when actually they are just trying to make you confused, upset your usual shopping patterns, and in the process, get you to pay attention to products you don't normally look at.

I posit that Facebook is changing their focus away from the people with the accounts to the companies that will pay them to be in Facebook.

And what kinds of apps or features will we see in Facebook? More games, certainly. And... recruiting tools.Which means you should be paying more attention to what you post if you care about your career (and you should be doing this anyway, given that any recruiter worth their salt checks you on social networking sites before giving you serious consideration).

re: Good Enough February 5, 2010

Posted by hardly Recruiting Process Digg! this story. , add a comment Kris Dunn has a very intriguing post for all you hiring manager company execs out there, The Concept of "Good Enough" and Your Talent Strategy: Who's the Customer?

If you've ever waffled regarding a hiring choice between several candidates because of your perceptions of how long you think they'll stick in a job (no, I'm not talking about you, but you have a friend...), then go read this now!

Movies February 3, 2010

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Last night, I was hunting down family movies on Netflix, and guess which movie is on the most popular list in my suburban enclave?

The Grapes of Wrath, starring Henry Fonda, ca 1940.

Next week will be "The Seventh Seal" because that's how we roll in the 'burbs...

Movies February 3, 2010

Posted by hardly Other Digg! this story. , add a comment

Last night, I was hunting down family movies on Netflix, and guess which movie is on the most popular list in my suburban enclave?

The Grapes of Wrath, starring Henry Fonda, ca 1940.

Next week will be "The Seventh Seal" because that's how we roll in the 'burbs...

Stupid Human Tricks: Ageism February 1, 2010

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There's this guy I know, he's a programmer. We'll call him John. He learned Java shortly after Sun released Java 2 that was his 3rd or so major programming language he learned (he's added a few more since). He's the kind of programmer who takes the compiler's bugs in stride, works around them, and then goes back and updates his code once the bug is fixed.

(For those of you who consider yourself non-technical, why would you think that software to create software is any different that your Web browser, your PC's operating system, your word processor?)

Anyway, John is good. He has written all kinds of different commercial software. Developer tools, games, and hard computer-science type stuff that requires research, clear thought, and tight coding.

John also happens to be looking for a job at the moment. He has been sending out his resume for the past four months, and nary a nibble.

Why no nibbles, when this programmer is clearly worth his salt?

John says, "It's Ageism". "The hiring managers are all in their thirties, and are biased against an older programmer, and are afraid that I'll be asking for too much money, that I won't put in the hours, and that I won't get their business model."

I look at his resume. I ask him, "If you are looking for Programming jobs, why are you saying all this stuff about leadership?"

"Oh, that's because I think I add more value as a Lead or a Manager."

"And what about this stuff you wrote regarding architecting systems?"

"I'm good at architecting systems. I like architecting systems. It shows I bring more to the table than a regular developer."

I say, "Well, your problem isn't ageism on the part of the Hiring Manager. Your problem is that you are not writing your resume to the job requirements, and the Hiring Manager does not see you as a Sr. Developer. They see you as a Lead, a Manager, an Architect. They aren't looking for one of those, they are looking for a Sr. Developer."

Your resume has about 15 seconds to convince the hiring manager to call you for an interview. ANYTHING that you put on that resume that is other than the job requirements becomes a bump for the hiring manager to trip over.

Besides, how can it be ageism when they haven't even met John?

Here's what I recommended to John:

Write three resumes, each one targeted to a different role you want to do (Sr. Developer, Architect, Manager).
Be the hiring manager. Ask yourself, 'What are the three top problems I'm trying to solve in hiring for this role?" Answer those in your resume. Since John has the experience, he also knows what the hiring manager is looking for. Because if he didn't he wouldn't be worth his salt.
Stop thinking about ageism as the problem. It's like riding a bike, the bike is going to go where you look. If you look over the side of the rail you are riding across the river, you are going into the river. Replace that that thought with what you think the hiring manager is trying to solve, what do they want?

Caveat: Ageism does exist (but John is not an it-thing actress in LA, trust me!). But don't let the small percentage of time it does happen define the prism through which you view the entire world.