Oliver Bell, Inc. to Sponsor Winter Meeting of the Texas Labor and Employee Relations Consortium on February 16, 2012. Meeting Hosted by CenterPoint Energy in Houston.

IMG_0813, originally uploaded by Voice of HR.Visiting the Voice of HR booth to send out the attendee list for the #MonsterSocial tweetup. photo by @lruettimann

Image by h.koppdelaney via FlickrHuman Race Horses has a new home!You were probably directed here via a google search. Our entire content has been moved, although many older articles can still be found here. Thanks for visiting here, check out the new site over at The Human Race Horses BlogEffective August 8, 2009, the location for the Human Race Horses blog can be found at a new URL location.Please click here to be directed to our new location. Related articles by ZemantaDo You Know Your Mountains? (blisstree.com)Would you like to be well? (rawlivingfoods.typepad.com)TB-007: Metal detecting robot (makezine.com)

The Carnival of HR: an anthology of workplace advicePosted using ShareThis

The Carnival of HR: an anthology of workplace advicePosted using ShareThis

Thoughts from Training Time: Carnival of HR comes to town

I found this fascinating quote today:I was with the conservatives on this issue.  I didn’t want us to bail out the banks. But we did, because we thought the system would collapse if we didn’t. OK. So we put off the collapse for two years, but–my fellow Americans — while you are all worrying about death panels and tax-supported abortions, don’t take your eye off the world around you. Multi-task if you can.Francinehardaway, Francine Hardaway’s Blog, Aug 2009You should read the whole article.

An update to the wildly popular slide deck "What the fuck is Social Media?". This is an update one year after the original from July 2009. Enjoy!What the F**K is Social Media: One Year LaterView more documents from Jacquelyn Corbett cyr.Related articles by ZemantaSocial media monitoring and Pharma (pharmastrategyblog.com)What the F**k Is Social Media? Here's an Answer (mashable.com)Twilight Birthday Party Invitation (blisstree.com)

Describe yourself in 3 words Image source: Zebrabites.com Sum up yourself and your skills in three words. This strategy can be very useful in preparing yourself for upcoming job interviews. Colin Beveridge, a UK management adviser suggests that doing so can be a powerful exercise in critical self-evaluation.Beveridge suggests that before heading into a job interview, you should take the necessary time and come up with a short three word description of what exactly it is that you do in your work life.So perhaps we should substitute a new interview question: please describe what you do in three words….....incredibly valuable for the reflective insights and communicative skills that a properly considered answer will reveal. Here are some examples of good 3 word self evaluations.Help people think (Beveridge)Make information useful (Mine)Honestly Simplify BusinessI think differentlyNanotech information conduitEvaluate, Encourage, & ExecuteWhat would your three word summary look like?Related articles by ZemantaNo Jobs In Sight and Unemployment Checks Running Out. Mr. President, Help Us! (crooksandliars.com)Not-So Good News for Journalism Students (usnews.com)Leverage (2.01) The Beantown Bailout Job (popsyndicate.com)

Image by ASurroca via FlickrA guest post from Shameka Jiles, a student at RIT in the the class of Steve Boese. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} I recently shadowed a manager of a company that I will leave unknown. While with him I sat in on a coaching where I question was his approach effective, would like to know your opinion. The employee was fairly new to the position and handled a request from a guest to hold a television that was on sale for two days only for 72 hours. Policy of the company is only a 24 hour hold is allowed and only for regular priced items. The employee told the guest she could put the TV on hold and the guest left to only come back 3 days later and the TV being gone. During the coaching there was a lot of the use “why” “why did you do it”? “Why did you think it was policy”? I felt like asking these questions was not going to get to the bottom line because obviously the employee did not know these answers. In my opinion the better way to approach the coaching would be to advice the employee of the policy and make sure she understood for the future. What do you guys think? HR peeps, share your thoughts with Steve B.'s student. What should this manager have done to improve the coaching? Related articles by ZemantaWhat To Choose When Caught Between A Plamsa And LCD TV (techburgh.com)Toshiba's Stainless Style 720p HDTV redefines kitchenware (engadget.com)LG's THX-certified LH90 LCD HDTVs now shipping in US (engadget.com)Hide Your HDTV in Style (lifehacker.com)

The following coaching may be true.Names have been omitted to protect the guilty!My manager didn't like the fact that I made an announcement over the PA. He told me that the next time I use the PA system like that, he will shove the receiver so far up my ass rear end that the next person who calls in will be talking to the ham sandwich that I had for lunch.He knows how to make a point!Photo sourceRelated articles by ZemantaA Big Sandwich of Wrong (pomgirl.blogspot.com)Chicago store clerk foils armed robbery (cnn.com)"Out of curiousity, checking to see where Althouse was blogwise last August 3rd." (althouse.blogspot.com)

What's a tweetup and why would you want to be at the HR Florida tweetup? Twitter meetups, or Tweetups as they’re commonly called, are the best way to extend your conenctions on twitter into real life networking. They are also a great way to see how twitter works if you are suffering from "tweetaphobia"!Why? Because you are able to gather with online friends, meet new contacts to enhance your career, and have a few drinks. What self-respecting HR person wouldn't want to do that?So whether you are currently tweeting or not, c'mon out to the HR Florida Tuesday Tweetup.Here is the Attendee List so far!Mark Addington Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Melyssa Bernstein Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Barry Brown Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Joyce Chastain Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Carrie Cherveny Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mark Christensen Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Traci Deveai Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Traci Deveau Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kris Dunn Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Stephen Geraghty-Harrison Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lori Goldmsmith Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Deborah Herman Tickets Ordered: 2 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------jessica lee Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Michael Long Tickets Ordered: 2 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Carol McDaniel Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Carolyn Moore Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Elizabeth Panza Tickets Ordered: 2 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Laura Rhoad Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mary Richards Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Laurie Ruettimann Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mike Temkin Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Christina Tierney Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Michael VanDervort Tickets Ordered: 1 HR Florida Tweetup Ticket -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cartoon source: here

Image by dutchamsterdam.nl via FlickrThere is a lot of discussion going about the relative merits of legalizing marijuana in the United States. The implications of such a decision are far reaching, even into the workplace. Hiring practices for many US employers would be affected. Legal rights versus company policy would be tested. It makes for some interesting potential issues.One side argues that doing so would save billions of tax dollars that have been spent in the the war on drugs and provide a new tax revenue stream of federal and state taxes once pot was regulated. San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a bill to the legislature that would legalize marijuana and regulate and tax its sale much the same as we do alcohol and cigarettes.The other side argues that to do so would result in the ruination of the United States of America. Bill O'Reilly recently rebutted pro-legalization talk on his show by discussing the practices of the "Most liberal country in Europe", the Netherlands claiming that the laws on drugs and legalized prostitution have made Amsterdam a "cesspool of corruption".Now a citizen of Amsterdam has used YouTube to push back on O'Reilly's claim.Most people know that the Fox channel isn't the most objective news source on American TV. But in a pretty recent broadcast Amsterdam is so falsely portrayed as a city of crime, drugs and anarchy, that I had to show the facts.Check out the video, and then leave your thoughts on how the legalization of marijuana might impact the workplace in the United States and the HR profession. I'd be really curious to hear comments from Dutch HR professionals on what issues they face, if any!Related articles by ZemantaIs Marijuana the Answer to California's Budget Woes? (time.com)Marijuana Legalization: Help for California Budget Woes? (time.com)The iPhone: Helping you find medical marijuana since 2009 (mobilecrunch.com)When Taxpayers Welcome Taxes (freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com)$1.2 Billion Worth of Pot Seized in California (manolith.com)California Considering Legalizing and Taxing Marijuana to Solve Budget Woes (shoppingblog.com)

So much for leadership, family values and thick skin!Todd and Sarah Palin to divorceSarah Palin on "hurt feelings" from Dennis Zaki on Vimeo.Shared via AddThis

Recruiting FoulsThis was originally posted on Cruiter Talk, a great blog written by Ryan Leary.Recruiting is a not exactly a sport. Some candidates seem to think it is a game.Not to oversimplify a highly valuable skill, but one of the basic keys to the recruiting process is knowing traits you are looking for in a candidate. Some recruiters seem to have been born with a deeply ingrained innate talent for identifying great candidates. Others depend on measurement tools and background checks to help them ferret out the weaker links. Personally I have a list of traits that I look for that act as my first set of indicators.InnovationEthicalCreativeCommunicatorLeadershipAnd then there are those times when someone makes an impression that just sort of hits you like an elbow to the jaw. Sometimes this is a good impression, and that will set me scrambling to get an offer letter ready on the spot. Most of the time it is more like the kind of elbows that get thrown in basketball or hockey games. These are the kind of elbows that make referees call fouls in NBA. When I see these kind of recruiting fouls, I send my candidate directly for the showers. Here are a few examples of these types of recruiting fouls that I have run into,a s well as the traits they failed to demonstrate.ConvictionIn year one of my HR career, my immediate supervisor came to me and asked me how I felt about hiring someone with a criminal background. My response was unenthusiastic. After some vociferous discussion just six months into my stint at this company, I came away with instructions to hire a certain candidate that had cleaned up his act while in prison and just needed an opportunity. I reluctantly complied and started this guy a week later. In the interview, he admitted to a number of past behavior problems that culminated in his going to prison for theft. He worked 3 hours before walking off the job without notice. He actually scaled a fence behind the facility to get away without coming past security, leaving behind a slightly worn pair of safety shoes he had purchased from our payroll office by signing up for payroll deduction that morning.He called me back two days later to tell me he was ready to return to work. Ref's call on this one: Banned for lifeCommitmentI was trying to fill an hourly operator position that required a fairly high level of technical skill and was having no luck. But then Kelly walked in the door with an unsolicited resume, fitting all of the background requirements, skills AND he was available immediately. I jumped through hoops on the spot: pulling together an interview team, getting a physical and drug test done, and extending the offer that afternoon. He passed the tests and reported for orientation. We put him into SAP, ordered uniforms, and took care of everything I needed done for him to start the following Monday. This was especially important since I was traveling. Monday comes, and Kelly is a know show, no call. Frick! But it gets better. Two weeks later, I get a call from a temporary staffing agency raving about this great candidate they found for my still open position. I get excited until they start with the resume. Me: "Is this dude named Kelly?" Them: ??? Me: Foul! Banned for life!CreativityWhile working in Michigan, a candidate visits my office several times looking for a job. I keep telling him we don't have any openings. He finally comes in one day when there is the potential for openings, but our company policy is that all job referrals must come through the Michigan Department of Unemployment referrals. I explain that he should go down there and talk to them. He leaves. He returns the next day wearing a t-shirt that has a very vulgar message on it and hands me an envelope. Confused, I open the envelope and see ten $20 dollar bills. His question: "Will that get me past that referral thing?" Me: Foul! Banned for life!Same company, same time, different dude. Me: "We don't currently have any openings." Him: "If you promise to hire me, I'll tell you the name of a guy who is stealing from your warehouse. That should make an opening, right?" Me: sputter, ummm, Foul! AssertiveSeveral months after an acquisition, the decision is made to remove a very senior employee from a key position. I meet with her and her manager, offer her severance and send her on her way, seemingly okay with the events. The manager and I then meet with her only subordinate, explaining to her that we hope she will stay on and that we are planning to come up with a salary enhancement and promotion once we resolved some organizational reporting issues. I confirm that I will get back to her the next day. She nods pleasantly and we go our separate ways. I leave the building and begin my two and one half hour drive home, participating in a conference call during the drive. Call ends about 50 miles down the road and I hang up, getting a voice mail message. I dial voice mail and get this something like this: "Hi, this is the person you just told you would be giving a raise and a promotion to. Today is Tuesday, we run payroll on Thursday. Unless I have an employment contract by tomorrow paying me X and guaranteeing X and X, I am not going to run payroll this week. " Me: &T*&%*&^!!! (screeching brakes and a rapid u-turn) Dialing CFO: If I fire the entire payroll department here today, can we pay these folks Thursday? Him: *&&^*^$#!!!! (yes! i hope....do it)Ref's call: Clean out your locker, you have been given your unconditional release! (I actually said something like "pack your Sh*t and get out. You are fired for insubordination!") Related articles by ZemantaLikability: Do You Have The Stuff? (punkrockhr.com)Interviewing? Look for quick thinking, not 'right answers' (entrepreneur.venturebeat.com)We're Firing! Then, 'We're Hiring!' (gawker.com)The ABCs of interviews (and the DEFs) (entrepreneur.venturebeat.com)

Image by Renegade98 via FlickrWorkforce is reporting a change in top leadership at the new General Motors. According to at least one analyst, the fact that GM appointed a non-HR professional to head the function is a good move for GM.Possibly not so hot for the HR profession? What do you think?General Motors head of human resources and longtime executive Katy Barclay is stepping down, the automaker said Thursday, July 30. She will be replaced by Mary Barra, a top executive with an engineering background who worked closely with former GM chief executive Rick Wagoner.“She is one of the same senior leaders who is responsible for the destruction of the company,” said Rob Kleinbaum, managing director of auto industry consulting firm Rak & Co. “She is responsible for it and should be accountable for it.”The retirement of Barclay, 53, who has been vice president of global human resources since 1998, was seen as long overdue. According to a 2005 article published in Automotive News (a sister publication of Workforce Management), Barclay said her first automotive job was as a human resources professional at GM in 1978.” Appointing an engineer with no HR experience as the department’s head suggests the company is looking to infuse it with a greater sense of the manufacturing principles of continual improvement and operational efficiency.“It’s a positive sign they want to make deep changes in HR and don’t want to draw from the HR community,” Kleinbaum said.Related articles by ZemantaFormer GM exec gets $8.5M (seattletimes.nwsource.com)GM CEO Who Drove Them To Bankruptcy Gets $10 Million Retirement (oliverwillis.com)Accolo's John Younger Speaks about Life as an Entrepreneur (prweb.com)Will G.M.'s Story Have a Hero? (nytimes.com)

Image by kodama (home) via FlickrJobs 101: How to conduct a job search for older workersThis article started life as a comment on a blog. I then posted "7 tips for 50+ workers" on my blog earlier today and got a great reaction along with a number of additional ideas. With the additional tips and suggestions, here are 15 great ideas to help older workers conduct a successful searchMy thanks to Angela Rao-Brown, Angela Rosario, and Maurene Kaplan Grey for their additional contributions.I spoke recently with a client who had sent out over 750 resumes in a year and received only 4 responses. I was aghast astonished by this, and by his resilient reply. That’s better than some other people my age that I know, so I must be doing something right!As we continued the conversation I made a number of suggestions for him to consider as part of his on-going job search. Here is the plan we cam up with, along with a number of other suggestions that were crowdsourced from my blog readers.Utilize non-traditional search tools. I recommended a number of job aggregators and local boards outside the big 3 - Indeed, SimplyHired, workforce50, Linkup, jobshouts, etc.Network in non-traditional groups (tech, social media) to break challenge age perceptionsConsider other opportunities – contract, consulting, – look for work places like elance, Guru, Sologig, odesk, and others. Consider teaching at colleges or on-line at schools like Webster or the University of PHX.Get over the idea that you have to work in a certain business sector. Stretch boundaries. Consider non-profit, etcIncrease your geographic reach. Consider New Orleans, for example. Relocate if necessary, and if possible. You can always move back where you left down the road if you want toIncrease your voice wherever possible, with relevance. people will see it. It might help, and certainly can’t hurt!Spend time on new things just for you. Be assertive about your job search, but don’t let it consume you.Be sure to post your job search on locations like LinkedIn and Facebook so your extended network is aware, but don't be annoying or appear desperate.Open your mind. Be receptive to any opportunity, and don't let preconcieved notions turn you off to any potential opportunity.Consider reading HR blogs for job advice. You can find over numerous bloggers and contacts by visiting just two sites, HR Alltop and HRM Today.Join (or start) an "accountability" group--3 or 4 people who meet once a week and hold each other accountable for job-search commitments.Volunteer. The United Way, for example, can place you in a position that requires your skills. Broadens your network.Seek a "hold-me-over" job before you need to dip into your savings. It can be a one-day-a- week job in retail. An evening job bartendering.Seek opportunities to get out of your comfort zone.Build a personal brand. See the slideshare presentation Me 2.0 by Maurene Grey. Posted using ShareThis

Lately I have been paying attention to people my age (over 50) who are unemployed. (including those who don't dye their gray hair!)I recently spoke with one person who had sent out over 750 resumes in a year and received 4 responses.I went OMG!His response: "That’s better than some other people my age that I know, so I must be doing something right!"We also discussed some other ideas for him to pursue as part of this mass resume mailing campaign.Here is the plan we came up with.Network in non-traditional groups (tech, social media) to break challenge age perceptionsUtilize non-traditional search tools. I recommended a number of job aggregators and local boards outside the big 3 - Indeed, SimplyHired, workforce50, Linkup, jobshouts, etc.Consider other opportunities – contract, consulting, – look for work places like elance, Guru, Sologig, odesk, and others. Consider teaching at colleges or on-line at schools like Webster or the University of PHX.Get over the idea that you have to work in a certain business sector. Stretch boundaries. Consider non-profit, etcIncrease your geographic reach. Consider New Orleans, for example. Relocate if necessary, and if possible. You can always move back where you left down the road if you want toIncrease your voice wherever possible, with relevance. people will see it. It might help, and certainly can’t hurt!Spend time on new things just for you. Be assertive about your job search, but don’t let it consume you.Photo source: http://AARP.org

Image via WikipediaMonster.com and Just for Men (the hair coloring guys) have come out with a web site and career guide aimed at men over forty. Ordinarily, I would not write an article about something that is at least partially a specialized advertisement. In this case, the aligned offering has relevance to workplace topics.There are many males over the age of forty who are either actively engaged in a job search, or who are suffering concern about their job security. Monster and Just for Men are giving away an e-book called "The Guy's Guide to Reenergizing Your Career".Even though the campaign clearly plays to fears of ageism and loss of job, some of the content is worthwhile. They also generously provide coupons for you to save money if you buy into the idea that you need to change the color of your hair in order to hold gainful employment.This is all part of a broad multi-media campaign. I heard about this web site via an ad that played on the most popular sports talk radio program in Tampa during afternoon drive time. Yesterday, I saw a television ad in which a daughter gives her father a box of Just for Men as he laments over his upcoming interview. Later, he comes home, hair darker, confident that he got the job. He gets a hug from his loving daughter.Looking past all that, here are some of the topics you will find in the career guide.Beat the "Over 40" barriersthe 40+ career reinvention checklistLook the part: How old do you look?Show your experience the right wayI'm overqualified!Get rid of negative thoughtsWhy smart guys get stuck in rutsMotto for interviews: be preparedFight job search ageismSearch tactics for seasoned workersLessons from past recessionsStrategies to leverage experienceDealing with differences at workNote: This is not a paid post or paid product placement. The information is shared for those who may find it useful or bizarre or alarming. No gray hairs were intentionally dyed or harmed in the writing of this post.

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeJon Ingham recently posted an article on the HR Zone in which he discussed the increasing use of social media tools among Hr Practitioners. He speculates that perhaps HR practitioners, at least in the U.S. are nearing a tipping point on their use of the social web as a business tool.Web 2.0 and social networking tools are being increasingly well used by HR practitioners working in recruitment, and to a lesser extent, in learning and development. This trend is also being felt on the conference circuit, see for example the high level of tweeting (posts on Twitter) taking place at last week’s social media in recruitment conference. However, it still doesn’t yet feel like something that’s mainstream for many generalists. The first sign that this may be about to change was recently provided at the SHRM annual conference in New Orleans, where a very high level of blogging and tweeting suggested that US-based HR practitioners at least have substantially increased their involvement in social media over the last year.I wish this were true, but I think HR still has a long way to go.Over the past two years,I have attended as many geek shows and "unconferences" as I have HR conferences. Given that a portion of my business is to live blog HR conferences, it is very important to understand how events outside of HR get discussed and reported on. It is especially important to observe it first hand. These "unconferences" - with their goofy name and informal agenda are run very professionally. Many times their delivery exceeds anything I saw at the SHRM conference in New Orleans.I want to be very clear. This is in no way intended to be a knock on SHRM or the event in New Orleans. They did great things with social media there this year. As noted by Jon, a lot was going on. They took questions for the opening keynote speaker, Jack Welch from Twitter. China Gorman, SHRM COO was tweeting all over the conference. The blogging panel was awesome. Many of the individual speakers talked about how the social web is impacting our profession. There was a panel of many of my blogging peers, and it was live streamed. One of the first times SHRM has ever live broadcast anything from their national conference.It was great to be there and to be a part of it.But there is a lot that SHRM and any other HR group doing a conference, even if it is just a day long conference could learn from my friends at some of these geeks shows. These things would enhance the conference experience and provided added benefits for attendees and those unable to attend.Use streaming video to share the conference experience. At BlogOrlando 2008, all major sessions were shared via uStream. BlogOrlando3 was a day long event taking place in September 2008 that was thrown together in a few weeks that you could attend for free - the purest expression of an unconference. There were a number of sponsors, and a lot of volunteers who contributed based on their relationship with Josh Hallett, the organizer. It was still amazing and is a compelling case study.Here is a video from the uStream archive that I think you will find interesting. The speaker is Jake McKee talking about "How Lego caught the Cluetrain". Note this added benefit from video. I am able to grab this from a conference archive, watch it now - asynchronously - AND share it with you, my gentle reader!. I wish I could do the same thing with Sharlyn Lauby and her top notch presentation on planning from New Orleans!Use multimedia during your conference to share informationAt IZEAfest 2008, speakers were introduced via a rotating PowerPoint slide deck in a way that includes their photo, their web address, and their twitter name! Makes it very easy to look them up on Google, follow them on Twitter and pick them out in a crowd. There were also screens showing what people were saying via the twitter stream coming in live from the conference and from the video followers out in cyberspace. These can be seen by everyone, including the audience and the speakers - making the virtual audience an active part of the live event!I will be attending IZEAfest 2009 in October. It will be held at Seaworld in Orlando, Florida. You should seriously think about attending if you want to learn more about how these events can benefit you as an HR professional.The first 30 seconds or so of this video depicts the setup I am referencing if you want to see what it looks like.Communicating like this promotes outreach and inclusionYou build audience. You build brand. You spread your message. You reach people you wouldn't otherwise reach.You are building community! For HR people, this would mean that we could communicate across industries, geographic barriers, company lines, and occupational niches. For bloggers, you can add to your knowledge from people you might never otherwise encounter.So planners of HR conferences can:reach out to a bigger audiencemaking a lasting impression with themleave a permanent knowledge base behind rather than a fleeting conference experienceincrease the personalized feel of the conference presenters and participantsbroaden the conference experience through additional participationexpose conference attendees to the value of social web based experiencedbuild lasting community connectionscreate asynchronous attendance opportunitiesWe saw some of this recently from the Social Recruiting Conference that was held at the Googleplex. I have high hopes for the developing HRevolution: the 2009 HR Blogger experience unconference currently being developed by Ben Eubanks and Trish Mcfarland. (not the HRevolution in Europe) Here is hoping we see more!I'd love to accompany someone from SHRM National to one of these conferences.Let me know how I can help!Bonus: Learn from Social Web Subject Matter Experts for free!Here are a couple of great opportunities. Two hours of free training from top blogger Merlin Mann who runs an entropic web empire speaking here about creating smart blogs for smart bloggers and another from very controversial vlogger Loren Feldman of 1938 Media speaking about video blogging..

My reach won't be as big as that of my buddy Kris Dunn on helping this guy find a job, but when it comes to a job search, the more the merrier!One of the top minds in HR blogging has just come onto the market. He comes with a few conditional strings, but man...gotta be a place out there quickly for a guy this smart. I am talking about Lance Haun aka Your HR Guy...now for hire. What exactly is he looking for? I'll let him tell you in his own words:Good news for all you folks looking for an awesome, social media savvy HR pro: Lance Haun is now offering his services full time at a competitive hourly, salary and/or contract rate.What am I looking for?HR/Talent opportunities in the Portland, Oregon metro area or a telecommuting/remote type opportunity (my wife loves her job). Anything involving blogging/social media would be a big plus. Continuing my involvement with this blog is a necessity. HR vendor space? Other opportunities that fit my skill set? Let’s talk. Do I find it a little humorous that this happened right after I posted about this? A little bit. I also appreciate David Perry sending me a review copy of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Seekers 2.0 a couple of weeks ago. Who knew I would have such a keen interest in reviewing the book so quickly?You can reach Lance via email at lance@yourhrguy.com. I suggest you do so quiickly before he gets snapped up!

Why did Amazon want to buy Zappos?For a lot of reasons, but one of the most compelling: the Zappos culture.Amazon has its own unique approach, but isn't afraid to reach out and bring in something new and potentially enriching. Seth Godin nails it when he says Amazon bought Zappos to gain:What you buy when you spend that kind of money is what mattersnow. And what matters is:A corporate culture that's not the same (and where greatpeople choose to work) A tight relationship with customers that give youpermission to talk with themA business model that's remarkable and worthtalking aboutA story that spreadsLeadership These things are available to organizations of every size. If you want themand choose to work for them. Or buy them in this case.Which company would you buy if you could pick a company culture to blend with your own?A couple of mine (besides Zappos) would be Whole Foods, the "old" Starbucks, and a small company in Florida called IZEA.