How are you doing?

 

So, I get asked often, “How are you doing?” It’s a loaded question and one I have a standard answer for. I say, “We have good days and bad.” 

Grief is complicated. It’s made for some very awkward moments with our candidates and clients.  It’s also made for some amazing moments of kindness and offers of prayers.  So, we are doing the best we can. Our days can be sad, awkward, bittersweet, happy and sometimes joyous. 

Some people ask how they can help? My answer to that, “Support our businesses.”  Hire us for recruiting, - we’re really good at it! Call me when you need new clothes and I’ll do a pop-up shop at your house or an online fashion show! Hire my son for his mowing service – he’s such a hard worker.  Keeping us busy and productive is one of our corner stones to getting through our grief.

Faith, Hope, Work and Family.

Have a great three-day weekend with your family!

East Coast for Ankenbrandt

We did it! After talking for so many years about moving we made the jump. SoCal is a great place but we’ve been hankering for a change and new digs. Scott and I relocated and now Ankenbrandt has both West Coast and East Coast offices.  Dave and Deanna are still in West while Scott and I have settled down in the East  -- where we are lucky enough to still enjoy West Coast sunsets! We continue to recruit out of CA but we are more easily available to our East Coast clients. We’ll pop into CA as needed but right now we are enjoying laying down new roots in Florida.

Our Kids at Work

We are a family run company so sometimes our kids end up at the office. For instance my son after hitting a few balls walked over from the local golf course near our office. He is now practicing putting into a cup down the hallway. He was supposed to be reading but the hallway is just too perfect for putting.  Having them be able to come in occasionally is convenient but other days it’s hugely distracting.  It’s a balance of fun vs. productivity.  Good thing I got most of what I need done because the fun is out weighing productivity. 

The office psychiatrist is IN

Dave is always telling people who he’s talking to on the phone that we have an office psychiatrist.  So here he is, Oso the West Highland Terrier.  He’s a rescue and an amazing dog. (Ok I am a bit biased.)

I brought him one day just for fun. Oso is smart, the next day he was waiting in the garage for me to leave for work and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Now, he waits by the door for me to “go to work”. If I don’t bring him in, all I hear all day long is, “Why didn’t you bring in Oso.” Or “Where’s Oso.”  Oso has met many clients and sits in on meetings and interviews in the board room. It’s a bit unconventional but it works for us and he’s a happy easy going psychiatrist of a dog. 

What to Wear?

The questions we get a lot is: what do I wear to my interview?  Companies run the gambit from super casual, shorts and t-shirts (surf companies) to formality in full blown suits, ties and spit polished shoes (investment firms/private equity) to jeans and hardhats on construction sites. It can be confusing and hugely annoying to try to figure it out but, it’s all about knowing your audience. Here are a few tips on how to find out what to wear - 

• Check their website to get a feel for their formality or lack of formality.
• If you are working with a recruiter, ask them for clarification. We always ask our clients what their dress code is.
• Check their Facebook and LinkedIn pages to see what people are wearing.
• If it’s an athletic/sportswear company, professional casual is usually best. If you’re going to a bank, CPA firm, or investment firm get the suit, polish your shoes, and get a haircut. 
• If you are still not sure what to wear do a “drive by” in the morning, at lunch, or after work to check out what the people are wearing as they go to and from work.
• If you are still not sure, the best bet is a suit. If you are too formal, it’s easy to take the jacket off and tone it down a bit. 

I already sent it.

I had two people in two days’ time ask me for help with their job searches after they’d sent their resume to a company. They wanted me to call the company directly to pitch them because they didn’t get a response from sending in their resume. This happens often, the black-hole of resumes - no response from emailing a resume. It goes into a virtual pile of paperless resumes. 

Sadly, I can’t help. Once you send a resume you are considered a "prior" by human resources. This means that I basically have no claim to your resume anymore as my candidate; you become the company's. Occasionally, if they are a client we’ve been working with for years and if they’ve over looked you, they are fine with us presenting you. However, if we don’t have that relationship and you are in their system – they don’t want to talk to me let alone pay a commission.

Recruiters work for our clients. As much as we try here at TAG to help every candidate possible (the person applying for the job) we can’t. Our client, the company, their needs come first. We find and fill what they need. It’s one of the rough edges of recruiting. I’d love to start a candidate coaching/teaching division one of these days so we can help out people a bit more, but Dave prefers to stay focused on recruiting – which is fine. He’s still here working daily so we try to stick to what works for him.  

So, we recruit and work to find the proper candidates for our clients. If you do need help on your own, this blog is a good place to start! 

Cringe worthy pictures on LinkedIn

Ugh – what is happening to LinkedIn? Lately when I go on it, I cringe, waiting for whatever tasteless picture pops up in my feed. Being a recruiter, I am connected to a lot of people, professional people, but, I’m starting to worry about some of these "professional" people.

Last week the first picture that popped up was an XX, a larger guy with without a shirt. Right after that, a cow jumping on a trampoline and then a silly math problem to answer. Today, it was a dead dog – I saw that horrible image twice, then a girl in a bikini and the final straw that sent me complaining to customer service was a girl in a top that was showing her nipples. Really, is that image okay at work?  If that was put up in the break room would that be acceptable? Maybe at a bra or lingerie company, but not at most professional establishments.  

There is a lack of professionalism happening on LinkedIn. Getting a point across can still be tasteful and professional. I don’t want a bloody, dead dog picture to interrupt my day at work. I see enough bikini clad gals and topless guys at the beach when we go surfing. Can we please keep it a bit more professional? I wonder what will be up there next? 

Merry Christmas

For the first time in a long time I’m ready for it – I think, OK, I hope.  It is the middle of the month and the interior and exterior of our house is decorated.  The tree is up and decorated with a ridiculous amount of ornaments just like my Great Grandma Veary’s tree.  Her tree was the most decorated tree I’ve ever seen – it had so many ornaments on it you couldn’t tell it was fake!   Our Christmas cards are done – addressed, stamped and mailed! Thanks to my husband, most of the gifts are ordered and being delivered. I’ve even started wrapping the presents.   This year I actually feel in control of the madness and I’m not so stressed.  I have even planned to make cookies with the boys this weekend.  Cookies from scratch!   I have a sense of calm this year and which has led to organized holiday fun. It’s a good feeling, a Christmas feeling and I’m going to roll with it!


Merry Christmas!

The Old People vs. The Millennials

I’ve been writing a lot about Millennials lately because there is a significant problem between the over 55er’s and the Millennials according to most of my clients. The over 55er’s think the Millennials are flaky, don’t want to work for a boss, want extra special benefits - matching 401K,4 weeks’ vacation, lunch daily, flex time etc.  They want a lot but don’t want to work for it – they want it NOW.  The Millennials think the 55er’s are old, slow, don’t understand new technology, don’t get social media, they are not flexible, they don’t give them freedom to learn and grow quickly. (I’m just basing my opinion here on all the complaints I have been hearing for months now from both sides.)  

Oddly, I fall somewhere in-between – I’m not over 55 and I work with a lot of the Millennials. I understand where the Millennials are coming from – we all want a great job with great benefits and flextime. I also understand the 55er’s – they just want you to work and not complain. They made it thought the recession/depression and don’t understand why you need more –you have a job darn it and we still need to make a profit!  

Is there a happy medium between pleasing your employees with amazing benefits and still making profit?  I’m sure there is for larger corporations but for smaller entrepreneurial companies it seems to pose a problem.  Most of my smaller under 200MM clients can’t provide the same benefits as a large corporation. Maybe we need to start looking at corporate environments that fit most of your requirements instead of all of your requirements? Maybe a bit of flexibility from both parties the old and the new will make it easier to meet in the middle? 

Shut Up About Free Lunch

I have had the exact same conversation at least a hundred times now. Millennials want a lot - 

-they want more vacation time

-they want matched 401ks

-they want open communication

-they want free thinking 

-they want 'horizontal atmospheres', whatever that means

-they want a homey atmosphere at work

-they want 'work-life-balance'

*All within work week that's less than 40 hours

I have always said that work in moderation is the best kind of work. Pick something you love and try to make a living at it. I tell our intern that she may be at a desk for the next forty years so she might as well be comfortable with it. But these kids are asking for too much. They want the benefits of being retired without ever having to really work for any of it. 

All of the benefits can be achieved, but not without hard work. Disclosure. The word 'millennial' seems to have become more synonymous with lazy and less associated with the year in which someone was born. Which was of course the original intention. If you are numerically a millennial, you may not be one in attitude. There's a difference. 

Now go find something you love and make some money at it!