HR Wench And Boobs

Did you read the title of this post? Really?

I'm having fun right now and it might not be healthy in a long-term kind of way. When Jenn reads this post, she will either hate me forever and a day or uncontrollably roll on the floor and - between spasms of giggles - shout "what an idiot, I'm laughing so hard every fiber in my body hurts when I even try to breathe. I will never ever again eat Swiss chocolate!"

Okay, now that I wrote this flamboyant introduction, it's actually not half as wild as you might have expected.

I went to my RSS reader, checked out Wenchie's new post about staying positive while looking for a job (it's a great post, you really should check it out), thought I might add some smart-ass comment so I opened a new tab to her blog page, read the existing comments, clicked on Kerry's link and read the boob post. It's a funny post. If you work in HR, you know that it might happen. And if you work in HR long enough, you know it will happen to you eventually.

Tip: google "career change now, and-I-mean-RIGHT-NOW!"

Oh phooey, I still need to post a smart-ass comment on Wenchie's blog...
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Link: In Defense Of HR Professionals

I'm certainly the first to admit that there are a lot of numskulls working in HR (like everywhere else). When asked about my career choice I often reply that I certainly wouldn't work in HR if I had a choice. And everybody who ever shared an office with me heard me groan that I should have learned an honest profession when I was young.

Fact is that I love working in HR. Last week a manager said that it was obvious that I felt comfortable working in HR. I think I'll buy this man a beer.

Here's what Bob Sutton wrote on his blog:

HR people often get more abuse than they deserve because they are so often put in a position where no one notices them when they do something right, but they get blamed out of proportion when things go wrong.

If you're an HR Pro, do yourself a favor and go read it.
If you think all HR departments all over the world are populated exclusively by idiots, go read it and have some pity ;-)
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ARSE Used Over 180'000 Times

The ARSE (Asshole Rating Self-Exam), based on Bob Sutton's book "The No Asshole Rule" was used more than 180'000 times.

Don't be an ass, go do the ARSE now.
It only takes 5 minutes. If you did it before, find out if your score changed.

Today my score was 3 (0 to 5 points: "you don't sound like a certified asshole, unless you are fooling yourself"). In March 2008 my score was 4. I had just quit a job that I loved very much but I badly needed a change. In December 2007 I scored 5 ("borderline certified asshole") and was looking for a new job.

Conclusion: The ARSE may not be scientifically valid, but it's certainly interesting.
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The Interwebs - And Why Sometimes I'm Too Enthusiastic

It's almost scary how much I love the Interwebs. And sometimes I can even go a bit overboard with my enthusiasm.

Jenn Barnes published a post on HRM Today called 10 Reasons Why HR Professionals Should Blog (hint to recruiters: she's currently looking for a job!).

So I started happily commenting on 5 of the 10 points and hit the "add comment" button. Afterwards I realized that my comment was almost as long as the original post and felt that this was a really rude thing to do. Luckily the HRM Today engine (hosted on Ning) lets you delete comments.

On the other hand I really liked what I had written, so here it is, so to speak within my own four virtual walls.

________________________________
Comments on the 10 Reasons Why HR Professionals Should Blog

1.It's fun
Yeah, you betcha. I'm definitely having a blast with this whole online stuff including my blog!

2. It's a great conversation starter
Nope, my techie friends are usually not interested in HR and many of my HR buddies think the Interwebs are for crazies and don't have time to read these blog thingies. Seriously, most times I mention my blog during a conversation the topic changes within 20 seconds or less.
And then people wonder why I spend so much time with my HR blogger friends on Twitter and HRM Today ;-)

6. You participate in talking about the profession instead of hearing about the profession from others (especially those pesky "experts").
It's true, exchanging ideas with and learning from like-minded people from all over the world is amazing.
And the funny thing is that some of them are actually "experts", but in this situation they're just another blogger who talks to you instead of at you.

8. Sometimes you have fans - and they are adorable and sometimes even "star struck" when they meet you in person. Really!
Star struck? Not yet. But I'm realizing that some truly awesome people are reading my blog. Some leave comments, others tell me through email or Twitter. Some are complete strangers who impress me with their insights or just because they're friendly and supportive. Others are bloggers I truly admire and I would never have expected them to notice what I write.

10. You learn more about yourself, the profession and technology than you ever thought possible.
This is so true! When blogging I reveal my point of view on certain things and everybody in the world with an Internet connection can potentially read it. This forces me to think very hard about certain things. It's amazing how much I learned and the matrix (as in Gibson, not the movie) is a major reason why my passion for HR is still growing and growing.
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Less Cheese, More Meat!

Are there still people who pretend that the Interwebs aren't any good for generating and sharing ideas?

Mark's article at HC3 Take Control Of Your Job And Your Success reminded me of an idea I had for a t-shirt. I also mentioned his article as an inspiration for my post Give Them What They Want. Mark then shared in the comments one of the reasons why he's in charge of HR for a multinational corporation:

I jumped to doing all the things in HR most just dream about when I figured out "its not all about me"...I am with you on this one, less cheese, more meat!!! [..]

By the way, "It's not about you" is the 3rd career lesson in Dan Pink's book Johnny Bunko.

And as today's grand finale, here's a terrible picture of my great idea:



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HR Carnival: I'm Finally In!

The newest Carnival of HR is up at Guerilla HR and this time I finally contributed something. Patrick Williams even gave Employees Are A Necessary Evil the award for most shocking post title ;-)


Short commercial break:
Jon Ingham from the Strategic HCM blog and another Carnival of HR participant, will hold a webinar on 11 September 2008 about The Evolution Continues: Trends in Digital HR (free registration here).

Jon is based in the UK, wrote a book and you can follow him on Twitter.


And finally, a little walk down memory lane:

• I mentioned the Carnival of HR in November 2007 and it was hosted by... Patrick Williams at Guerilla HR! Follow the link to find out what I once (allegedly) said about working in HR.
• I also mentioned another Carnival of HR that same month and disclosed what I wanted to do when I grew up. Now I feel ready to contribute.

The next Carnival of HR will be released 17 September 2008 at Sharp Brains. The full schedule can be found at the Evil HR Lady's.
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The Interwebs Are A Village (Shameless Self-Promotion)

Now this is just too cool: While reviewing Dan Pink's book Johnny Bunko I mentioned the red stapler. Believe it or not, it seems that I was the first one to pick up on this Office Space reference and Dan mentioned it on his blog!

He also called me "a blogging HR Guru".
This man's got a great sense of humor ;-)

Be sure to check out Dan's blog!
And for the Obama fans, here's a post showing how the principles from the book apply to Obama.

Other things that are just too awesome not to mention here:

• Dan Pink commented on my blog
  
• Wally Bock recommended one of my posts
• Frank Roche also recommended one of my posts
• Bob Sutton commented on my blog

Now I really need to post a review of Why Work Sucks. And maybe, who knows, the two nice ladies might even mention it ;-)

This is my little trophy gallery so far.
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Alltop Thinks I'm Kind Of A Big Deal

I'm featured on Alltop HR!
And I'm allowed to display their badge on my blog!
This is awesome!

In case you didn't hear about Alltop
It's basically a homepage with lots of links to blogs. Like a blog directory.

Guy Kawasaki
But since Guy Kawasaki is involved, everything about Alltop is pretty exciting. Guy is a venture capitalist, author, used to work for Apple and so on. He's also the one who put Bob Sutton's ARSE (Asshole Rating Self-Exam) online which I used for my ARSE Challenge.

Neenz
Neenz is Alltop's gatekeeper. Convince her that you should be listed and she will add you. She's also got a great sense of humor. For example, she said that they would be honored if I added their badge to my blog. I mean, the reason I wanted to be featured in the first place was to display the "confirmation that I kick ass" badge ;-)

Okay, but what is Alltop again?
Alltop is described as a digital magazine rack of the Internet. Choose from around 180 categories and you will be presented with the top blogs on this topic. You can then hover over the title of a post to read the first sentences and click to visit the blog.

Oh yes, did I mention that Neenz is an incredibly nice gal?
(hint: check the Alltop badges)
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Link: PowerPoint Ain't Killing People...

I remembered this awesome presentation about presentations while twittering.

61 slides, can be viewed in less than 5 minutes and you need to be a whole truckload of fries short of a happy meal not to get the message.

Lots of people are killing each other with bad presentations. NOW.

[via Lifehacker]

TechTip: Who Is Getting Your Credit Card Information?

When sending credit card or other sensitive information through your browser, phishing is a serious problem. Maybe your browser is showing "https://www.mybank.com" in the address bar, but somebody else is getting the information.

This can be avoided very easily by just remembering to click somewhere. No degree in IT or installation of additional programs needed.

First, make sure that https is used (see the URL in the address bar), then check who owns the SSL certificate. Lets take for example https://mail.google.com.

Firefox
Click the grey lock on the right of the web address and it should say:

"mail.google.com verified by Thawte Consulting".

Internet Explorer
Click the yellow lock on the right of the web address and select "view certificate". It should say:

"issued to: mail.google.com, issued by: Thawte SGC CA".

If it says "issued to criminals who want to steal your money", then something's wrong.

(Inspired by Bruce Schneier recommending to check SSL certificates in his article Man-In-The-Middle Attacks (15 July 2008). He uses the recent hostage liberation in Columbia to explain how a MITM attack works.)
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Link: Why Maternity Leave Can Be Bad For Your Career

Here's an excellent post called Maternity Leave Bad For Career.

Sonia mentions a new maternity law in the UK, explains why it doesn't help and thinks about better ways to handle maternity / paternity leaves.

Thanks Fleur for the link, you're still the best ;-)
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ROWE: Some Like It, Others Not So Much

My friendly little duel with Our HR Guy Lance prompted some reactions.

Laurie, ever the ray of sunshine, is simply bored with ROWE and doesn't like the acronym. But she enjoys our back and forth.

Comments to Lance's post had links to some interesting articles:

• Scott Semple at Semplicity thinks that the book sucks. He's actually completely trashing both the book and Cali & Jody, but what he says is definitely worth thinking about.
• Mark Stelzner at Inflexion Point posted one article about ROWE in April 2007 and one about Alternative Work Schedules mentioning ROWE last May.

ROWE is new, controversial and crazy. So it's only natural that people react strongly to it. ROWE will be dead the day we stop talking about it, so keep on talking!
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YourHRGuy.com: Why HR Won't Support ROWE

Lance Haun at YourHRGuy.com wrote in reply to my recent post where I complained that HR Bloggers were ignoring the new ROWE book.

He explains why ROWE probably won't be supported by HR Professionals and explains at the same time why ROWE makes sense.

I'm wondering...
...if my dream comes true and ROWE becomes a huge success, will it happen thanks to open-minded and forward-thinking (non-HR) managers?
...and will HR be left behind because we missed the train... again?

Now go read Lance's post if you know what's good for you ;-)
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ISAT: Free Online Test

J.T. O'Donnell from Career Insights offers her online ISAT (Interaction Style Assessment Test) for free.

I love tests that take less than 10 minutes to complete and with explanations that can be understood without using a dictionary.

Don't forget to mention your interaction style in the comments!

Me, I'm a Contemplator. Although I don't like that one of the typical areas for a Contemplator is Accounting, I can't really argue with the results ;-)
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Blogger HR Wench Liveblogging from BlogHer08

HR Wench is using Twitter to liveblog from the blogger convention BlogHer08.

And who said HR professionals were too old-fashioned to use current technologies in an innovative way?

Wenchie, we're all so proud of you ;-)
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Link: Packing Heat

How to deal with annoying employees (or job applicants) politely but firmly? A nice after hours party? Why HR professionals shouldn't pack heat?

I just read this excellent post called Iron at Waiter Rant.

The owner sits next to me, places the holstered gun near my right elbow, and extends his glass.

“What caliber is that thing?” I ask, pouring out three fingers of grain alcohol.

“It’s a forty-five.”

“Well,” I say. “That’s one way to keep the staff in line.”

“Work wonders with the vendors too.”

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Link: There's No Bubble

Funny video claiming that there's no bubble in technology!

It even comes with its own song and since one line says "won't you blog about this song?", well, here it is.


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Links: Twitter Special

Old stuff (more than one week old), but I still like it...

Linux
I couldn't agree more with Maren Hogan's comment. It ain't making much sense, it's just totes fun. And she also mentions in her post how much she loves Twitter.

Adobe Air is available for Linux? Do I think that is cool?? Yes. Do I understand WHY that is cool? Not really.

(Fun Tech Edition, Big O Recruiting)


Feature Creep
Tips to make sure that all the tools and systems we use continue to be useful instead of just stealing our time, including Twitter.

Cell phones, email, IM, iPhones, Crackberry’s, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace… suddenly we’ve got a bunch of digital accounts that are stealing our focus.

(Life Coding: 9 Ways To Fight Feature Creep In Our Lives, Zen Habits)


Twitter Cartoon
Just brilliant!
(Twitter Abstinence Syndrome, Geek And Poke)
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Link: Dilbert And Email Guerrilla Techniques

In today's Dilbert strip Wally uses Email Guerrilla Technique #2.

Recommended links:

• Dilbert page with daily comic strips (free email subscription available)
  
• Dilbert blog by Scott Adams

And since Dilbert strips are only online for 1 month, here's the text for posterity:

Pointy-Haired Boss: Wally, do you have the capital cost estimates I asked for last week?
Wally: No. I always ask you to clarify what you need. You say you'll get back to me but you never do.
PHB: Maybe I could clarify it now.
Wally: That would ruin my system.

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Links: Everything Sucks

Links to articles that didn't suck, and one personal thing that's great.

Why HR Sucks
I've read this post at least 5 times already and I'm still thinking about it. It was also recommended by Wally Bock in his Midweek Look At The Business Blogs.

HR works for the execs and BOD. If they say don't spend your time on this, spend your time on that and we can't convince them otherwise why is it "HR's fault" for sucking?

(Great, Another 33 Page Report On How We Suck, HR Wench)


Why Presentations Suck
Rowan Manahan from Fortify Your Oasis started a new series about presentations. Here's the first sentence of the article and it's just the beginning:

I have been observing, delivering and training people in presentation techniques for over 20 years now and my considered, professional, opinion on the subject is this:

MOST PRESENTATIONS SUUUUUUUUCK!

Presentation Masterclass - Part 1: Introduction, Rowan Manahan on lifehack.org)


Why Work Sucks
I already mentioned that I won one of ten advanced copies of the book "Why Work Sucks" and it was in the mail yesterday. I know, I should stop bragging, but it's just too cool. I'm only halfway through the book but believe me, it's great and challenging stuff!

I'm not supposed to quote from the "advance uncorrected proofs", but somewhere Cali & Jody promise that under a certain condition...

[..] we'll eat our book.

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