In the Moment

OK so I'm sitting at home the other day trying to schedule a working lunch meeting with my three year old kid on my lap. I scheduled an overnight meeting - 24 hours. Task master that I can be, that was ridiculous! Very funny though. Good thing my business partner knew me well enough to laugh. So, my work is creeping into home and vice versa. Why am I talking about this?

I just read a hilarious article from Chris Erskine called "The Tricks of 6". It's all about how 6 year olds are in the moment. To quote his article, "All hat and no horse.", but in the moment, I think more people need to be in the moment. So when I'm at home I need to pay attention to the 3 year old on my lap - put down the computer Heidi -- and when I'm at work I need to only check Face Book - OK, maybe twice a day? Let's all try to occasionally quit multi-tasking and be in the moment. We might actually get a bit more done.

Stop Paying for Bad Resumes

Please quit paying thousands of dollars for bad resumes!

We have had too many people coming to us with a bad resume they have paid thousands of dollars for. It's frustrating and infuriating to see good people taken on a cheap ride. Most of these people are unemployed and I think are having their fears preyed on.

If you need resume tips, go through this blog. I have lots of resume writing tips here 
(Resume Writing Tips). If you are totally stuck, phone us, and we’ll help. Don’t spend your mortgage, car payment, or a month of groceries on a bad resume.

Bad Attitudes Don't Sell

Recently we've had a few candidates come in to meet with us with such doom and gloom attitudes. Maybe they are letting down their guard with their old recruiter friends but seriously, bad attitudes don’t sell.

No matter how awful your day, week, year has been, most people prefer their potential employees – leaders of their company -- to have a positive outlook. I’m not saying you can’t gripe every now and then. Life would not be fun without a few sarcastic comments, like the old saying goes, “If you've got something nasty to say come sit by me.” 

But in an interview, please keep the snarky attitude to yourself.

Adding to Your Team

Create an accurate and detailed job description. The number one difficult thing about a search is when the hiring manager has no idea what they want. If you don’t quite know what you need ask around, talk to your employees. They typically know exactly what you need and what you don’t need. Open up those lines of communication.

Think about the intangibles -- the person’s personality. Develop and idea of who would work best on your team. If you have too many introverts who never speak up, maybe you find yourself an extrovert. Make sure you round out your team.

Use your network to find your ideal candidate. Yes, email all your friends and ask who they know. If that doesn’t work then call us. We’ll start using our network.

Conduct an in-depth interview. Make sure you get all your questions answered. Going off the cuff works when you interview all the time (like us) but if you don’t interview often make sure you cover the essentials. Over here we start out new recruiters with an interview cheat sheet. Bring your interview cheat sheet into the interview in case you forget what you need to ask.

Background checks tell all. Make sure you run one on the final candidate. We’ve a had lots of skeletons come out of the closet with a detailed background check.

I'm a Recruiter, Not a Computer

We keep on receiving what we call “marketing resumes". What is a marketing resume? It’s a shortened version of a candidate’s history that is written for a computer -- just in case they are scanned and never get seen by human eyes. The resumes usually look good, they give some information but they are not what a recruiter wants. Keep in mind they are useful and have a purpose but send those marketing resumes to the databases and large companies who want them. I am not a computer, I’m a recruiter! I do not scan for key words. When I recruit someone I actually read their resume. So, when you are approached by a recruiter and asked for a resume please, please send us a real “old fashioned” resume.

Now, don’t go dig out granny’s typewriter. We expect them to arrive in an acceptable format like Word. I still like them to look good and read well. I also like a chronological resumes with things like titles, dates of employment in chronological order, what you did there, where you went to school, your address, phone and email. We do not want a mishmash of information that I have to figure out and piece together. I already have to dig through your background. For example - and keeping in mind I’ve been watching Jurassic Park too much due to my 3 year olds obsession with dinos – picture a paleontologist digging up fossils. They don’t need anyone else dumping layers of dirt on top of what they already need to dig up. They aren't bringing in the dump truck full of dirt to spill all over the bones so they can spend more time in the dirt. Think minimal digging, keep it simple.

So help us out – send a solid, well written, looking good resume. Keep your marketing resume for the job boards, networking events and throwing it at some huge corporation’s computer to scan. Send me (the human) the readable resume, the one my client wants to see. When we recruit you, we really do want you to get the job!

The Multi-Tasking Mommy

I am attempting to refine my multi-tasking/organization skills because....

School started! The mommy in me has had to get extra crazy disciplined and refine my multi-tasking and organization skills. It’s amazing how much I can get done, not always as quickly as I wish, but I get it done. A few things that have helped me out:

Plan the family dinners. If you have a weekly plan it makes each night easier. Plus, it makes shopping easier.

Pack lunch ahead of time and lay down the law. What I mean by that - If the kid doesn’t tell you what he wants when you’ve given two choices - he gets what you give him – no exceptions, no substitutions. What is the old saying, “You get what you get, don’t put up a fit.”

Homework must be done soon after school – before football! Get it over with.

Highlight each family member’s schedule on the main calendar in different colors. It helps everyone know who is doing what and where they are headed to next.

Return all important email, calls and mail immediately. The more you put it off the more it seems to stack up.

Delete all unimportant emails and voicemails immediately. Don’t let your in-box clog up. This includes mail – throw out everything you don’t need and sort it before you get into the house – i.e. sort it into the trash bin. Keep the bills (although you should be on-line by now with all that) and invites.

Whew – then relax for a few minutes before you need to GET BACK TO WORK!

Catching Up

Whew – I’ve been swamped streamlining TAG’s social networking efforts as well as recruiting. On top of that, I’ve been out and about going to networking events and to add to my chaos, at home, we just started football season. Football is a huge commitment and I’m trying to figure out how to get through the season. I think my biggest issue the last few weeks is figuring out the logistics for practice each night. It’s all about feeding the dudes healthy food, not fast food – I’ve gone way too organic for that! I might actually start blogging about the football food issue and posting all that recipe madness on another blog.

So, to wrap it all up, I’m up on Twitter now - you can find me at Splitworld. I’m sending out our most current jobs and anything else I think is helpful. The company should be up this week Tweeting any new jobs and/or some of Dave’s short rants.

A huge thank you to Andrew Bermudez at Lee & Associates for his insights into these social networking sites. We’ve always had a great network here at TAG and now it’s getting even better.

The Next Level

Taking it to the next level.

Ever meet someone who takes everything to the next level but not in a good way? This person is the worry wart, the pessimist, the “what if?”, and “what scenarios should we play out – just in case” person.

Why go there? Why not assume the positive will happen, that things will go well? The disagreement was just that, don’t escalate it. Your health will be restored, don’t go to a bad place or think too extreme. The kids will behave, they are good kids. Let’s just focus on the positive and assume that everyone, most of the time, means well.

I realize life is not always rosy but if we have faith that most people are acting in good faith and with goodwill I bet things will get easier for everyone. So you. grumpy person, quit picking fights, quit worrying, quit thinking it’s all bad. Try to focus on the good, assume people are good and take it to a good level! We need a bit more positive attitude out there these days!

More Advice from Gramps

So, Gramps and I have been chatting again and he sent me another gem -

Working Smarter
Most of us employed in the many small business enterprises that constitute the backbone of this nation are obsessed with the idea that hard work and long hours are the secret to success. Most of us get that idea from the fact that those we know who are already successful tell us that is how they did it. We have a tendency to follow suit simply because we hear so much about role models and setting examples. The truth of the matter is that this is only part of the reason for success. It is a most important part and critical to the outcome, however this is only a step in the right direction when you analyze the action for its basic premise. All you’ve done so far is to implement the old stand-by procedure nomenclature: net-working – or – thinking inside the box. The real secret to success is not in working harder or longer, it is in working smarter.

Yeah, easy for you to say but just how do you do that? You do it by working the old fashioned way, and that is: by working harder and longer – but by making sure you do not do the same old things that put you into this slump you are now in. Isn’t that smarter? Of course it is. How do you do that?

Here is the idea:Get out the information on your last success and read it.

What is the one thing that tells you why you made the sale?

Can you see when things were beginning to jell for you?Can you see what that special acceleration was?

• Something you said?
• Something you did?
• Some product you introduced that enhanced the deal?
• Some unexplored perk that needed clarification?

Can you also see where you could have made a bigger success of the deal if you had altered some words, taken some words out – or –? These are hints – or clues -- for future successes, are they not?

By now you should be thinking again and ready for the next phase:

Plan a new success story using what you have just taught your brain to do using your present client as your chief character. Once you start this process and see how successful it is, you will never stop and you will be so rich you can afford your own health insurance plan and forget Obama’s. In the meantime, remember the key duty in a salesman’s repertoire. Contact your client daily or more often making sure he knows you are there to serve and don’t forget to ask how their family is. Remember: contact, contact, contact!

If you are interested in Gramps writing you can find him at www.josephconover.com

Gramps view of The Great Depression

My 92 year old Grandfather sent this letter to Dave, my Dad. Dave forwarded it to me I wanted to share my Grandfathers experience with the Great Depression. This is his response to a email my father sent him about the economy. Thanks Gramps for allowing me to share your thoughts. I think this is a powerful message about how lucky we really are today. ----

Hi Dave,

I am not trying to be a wise guy, Dave. I am one of the few left alive who can honestly say they went through the GREAT DEPRESSION OF 1929. I was 12- 13 years old when the Great Depression hit. I can remember when the NY brokers were jumping out the windows. There wasn't ANY money. The whole world was poor.


The crime rate dropped to zero --- there was nothing to steal or fight about. We had a steady stream of bums and hobos at our door and my mother fed each and every one some kind of a sandwich. Even a mash potato sandwich was appreciated.

I wore the same pair of pants all the time I went through high school. My dad was lucky to be demoted only and held onto his job with a 1/2 cut in pay. Mother finally found a job sewing pajama bottoms for an army contractor who owned a sweat shop sewing factory. She worked 5 1/2 days a week and made $5.00. Dad was making $19 a week laboring in a factory.
I was a big help I had a paper route that started out paying me $0.50 a week after a year I had managed to get another route and with two routes I was making $1.75 a week. It was like heaven. 

I could not play sports in high school because I had to carry my paper route at that time each day. In my senior year, I took a chance and quit my paper route job so I could play football. I was the star player. After graduation, I did whatever job I could. Worked for nothing some places just to learn how to do the job, hardware store, grocery store, farm work, etc. Best job I had was filling bags with mothball flakes at $0.16 an hour. The job lasted a week when the plant blew up. I was lucky to be laid off that day but that ended that job.

When I was 18 I whezzled a job in a factory by lying about what I could do. I got a job emptying coal cars for $0.34 and hour. Boy was I riding high. I asked for your mother-in-law's hand in marriage. Didn't get it till two more years passed. Finally the WWII came and we all got money working in defense plants. Things were tough. I think the world will have to go through it all again just as me and my associates and peers did. Obama is a fluke. He ain't never gonna be able or have the brains to do more. Them's my words. Hope I didn't spoil your day but with the right adjustments I think you can do as some did who had businesses already established. Bite the bullet; hang on and save your money. 

 Dad.

Networking at an Event

Here is a great article about networking from the TAG archives. I have some great old articles from TAGBits hanging around in our files!

Networking At An Event
Body language -- Don’t fold your hands in front of you. Keep your hands at your sides so when you’re ready to meet someone you can extend your hand quickly.

Ops? Where’s my card? Business cards -- carry lots of them and keep them in an easily accessible pocket. Like your left pocket. Shake with your right hand pass the business card with your left hand.

Keep your name tag on the right side of your body so when you shake hands it’s visible. If you’re eating and networking put your food in your left hand.

The obvious – the handshake. Have an effective handshake. Don’t give a “bone-crusher" handshake – ouch - and why bother shaking hands if you’re a "limp fish." If you don’t have a good handshake find a good friend and practice.

Bored with all the chit chat? Remember always listen with interest even if it is boring. Be polite. The person you’re speaking with may not be your next client but could be your next great lead.

Building --- Remember networking is about building relationships and building takes time. Follow up with the people you’ve talked with – but please, not with one of those typical after the conference “form” letters or emails! Maybe catch them on LinkedIn and being a dialoge after the networking event.

Filling the Silence with Chatter

In these times of texting, instant messaging, reality TV, basically information/media everywhere we forget to stop talking and stop texting, just be quiet. Quit filling the silence with chatter. It’s OK to take a moment to think, it’s OK not to disclose all of your quirks, it’s OK not to friend someone on Facebook. Here are a few interviewin/networking tips in this age of sharing too much information:

• During an interview answer the questions asked with a direct, honest and concise response.
• Don’t volunteer excess information. If you have a tendency to talk a lot, focus on keeping your mouth shut in between your concise answers. Actually listen to the question, focus on what the interviewer is saying.
• Don’t Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace people you’ve just met. In this instantaneous age not everyone is your friend. “Open networking” is collecting people. It’s OK to be an open networker, but collect quality not quantity. Take a bit more time to get to know the people you are networking with. It’s about relationships, not how many “friends” you have.
• Think before you speak, email, text, etc. Don’t give a knee jerk response when conducting business - you might regret it.
• Don’t use texting jargon when speaking or writing. Always use proper English during an interview and any correspondence during the process.
  
  

Basic Resume Writing

• Do not write in 3rd person. Remember how we all learned that rule in High School? Stick with this basic grammar rule.
• Keep your detailed job descriptions to the last 10 years. After that, just list the company names, your title and dates of employment. Or if you prefer, you can do a one page resume with just the last 10 years.
• A two page resume is plenty of information about you. There is a reason why companies conduct interviews – to get to know more about you.
• If you list your Facebook/LinkedIn/MySpace, etc. addresses make sure what is on that site is appropriate for your future employer to view.
• Put your home address, email address, phone and cell on your resume.
• Keep your resume format simple and do not use Times Roman type face. It’s a great type face but everyone uses it. You want to look a bit different from everyone else. Once you've picked a type face use just one. You can bold, italicize, increase the font size in places but keep it all the same type face. Keep it simple.
• Make sure each page of your resume has a footer with your name, email address and phone number on it. Recruiters and HR people have occasionally been known to lose the first page of a resume and it’s usually the “perfect candidates” resume. Yes, oops, we occasionally have bad days.
• Always explain what industry your company is in.
• If you had 5 different titles under one employer put the employer, your current title and the total dates of employment at the top. Below the company name, preferably indented, break out the titles and the dates of each of your jobs.
• If you are comfortable listing some of your personal interests put something fun and true, for example - I’m a member of the Surf Rider Foundation, I’m a 20 year member of whatever sorority you belonged to, I coach football. It gives us, the interviewer, something different to talk to you about besides all the rank and file information. But keep in mind, if your interests are unusual, like you eat only bugs, please, keep that to yourself.
• Finally – no embellishments of your work record. List your accomplishments but do not indulge in any creative fictional accounts of your success.

Home Address?

No home addresses on resumes?

When you send your resume to a recruiter please put your full home address the resume. There is a trend currently to omit the address. What’s up, why the secrecy? Let me tell you why we need the address -

• To mail (yes, using the US Postal service) you a letter when you’ve changed your email address for the 10th time and we cannot reach you.
• To mail you a letter when your cell/home/work number has changed.
• To note what your commute would be. How many of you would go from downtown San Diego to downtown LA on a daily basis? We need your address information. Some of our candidates won’t even go past the El Toro Y. (Me, I don’t go outside my 5 mile radius except for a client or a vacation -- we all have our limits.)

Bottom line even with all the new tech out there we sometimes need to go back to basics and mail you a letter. So, please put your address back on your resume. Thanks.

Just Do It

Whew – I have been thinking about this for weeks now and it’s time to put pen to paper.

Shut up and just do it.

Please quit telling me how you are going to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise, or cut back on whatever bad thing you are doing right now. It’s time to just do it – go for it. Don’t wait until after Memorial Day to start that new diet, to walk a few blocks or put out the cigarette -- start NOW.

I read a great article in Oprah’s January edition of her magazine called Escape your Rat Race by Martha Beck. This article was all about making changes, even little ones, to make your life better. I highly recommend everyone getting a copy of the article. So, anyhow here goes my version: Think before you take another bite of that cookie, think, before you decide not to go to the gym, think, before you buy another pack of cigarettes or do anything else “naughty” THINK. Think about the positive choice and quit doing the thing you don’t want to do. Get it? THINK and then go with the good and with the change. In the end the good thing will make you feel better.

So, if you can’t just do it then please quit telling me what you are going to do but, sadly -- never do. I’m getting cranky listening to all endless chatter about all you’re planning on doing. 
ACTIONS do speak louder than WORDS. Think action and quit being so wordy. 

JUST DO IT.

Elevator Pitch

Today I interviewed a HR Director, Robert S. – he’s looking for a job if anyone needs a good HR Director. We started talking about all the ways we network - LinkedIn, Facebook, seminars at outplacement firms, alumni networks, and all the various groups affiliated with LinkedIn, like OCEAN. I just joined OCEAN so I had no opinion on it – yet. We talked about likes and dislikes of networking and the one thing he said he really missed is the elevator pitch.

I had to ask – elevator pitch? An analogy for -- “elevator pitch” -- it’s the 30 seconds you have in an elevator to pitch the Vice President you just happened to run into. It’s your commercial, your 15 minutes of fame in the world of finding a new job or getting a better job. So, Bob (we were on not so formal terms by now) gave me his pitch. It was a good one.

We all need a good “elevator pitch”. You need it for your Facebook page, LinkedIn page, for the 30 seconds standing in front of the networking group. Yes, even in this email/texting/instant messaging age we still sometimes have to talk to people. You need a stutter-free pitch that demonstrates who we are quickly without too much fluff. Have you refined your elevator pitch lately? Work on it and get it down pat, it’s a good thing to have.

From the BullPen, Knakal & Crumply

Thank you, Robert Knakal of Knakal StreetWise and Charlie Crumpley of the LA Business Journal. You two speak truth. The Medias constant incessant whining about our bad economy needed a rebuttal. All we hear and see on the TV, the net, newspapers and on the radio is how the US is tanking, how horrible things have become, and oh my goodness -- they are going to get worse. What Knakal and Crumply point out is that we are nowhere close to the Great Depression. We currently have a National unemployment rate of 7.6% not 25% as it was in the Great Depression. We do not have mortgage rates of 18% like in the 1980’s. We are not at 11% inflation rate as we were in the 1970’s.

We acknowledge that people have lost jobs (check my blog post “Playground Layoffs”) but overall, a lot of Americans are working and they can pay their bills. We have faith that American ingenuity, hard work, courage and pure genius (we have some brilliant Americans!) will get us out of this down turn. So again, thank you Robert Knakal and Charlie Crumpley for speaking positively and stating FACTS. We do not need to see, hear or read about anymore “complete economic breakdowns”. Hey CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc. we challenge you to stop preaching fear and start reporting with hope and faith in the American people. How about trying in a headline, “The U.S. has over a 90% employment rate” or maybe that won’t sell? Aha…..


You can find Robert Knakal at http://www.knakalstreetwise.com and Charlie Crumpley at the Los Angeles Business Journal http://labj.com . His article was in the Feb. 23rd OC Journal issue on the back page – the Viewpoint section. In my opinion. it should have been on the front page. But I guess good news is not news.

Technology Appreciation

Yikes - yesterday my email inbox was corrupted, a few weeks ago we lost power, and a month ago I lost my cell phone. What a mess! Daily life can be very difficult when technology doesn’t work, gets lost, or has no power. The last few weeks my technology mishaps have made me change things up and learn a few lessons.

My corrupted inbox. How do you communicate with candidates, clients, friends, your kid’s teacher without email? I had the internet so, Facebook, helps with the friends. LinkedIn helps with the clients and candidates but the people in-between. The in-between people, the people who have sent me an email with a resume attached? I couldn't get to you. Lesson #1 – have patience with your IT guy and pick up the phone and talk to people they can always fax over a resume.

My lost cell phone. A few weeks ago I lost my cell phone and never found it. Within hours I was amazed at how much I actually use it and missed it – especially to text! Without my cell I lost a lot of my contacts. I had never put them into my computer. Ah – Lesson #2 back up your phone contacts, you just might need them. And now that I’ve lost my contacts in Outlook - back that up too.

The lights were out. A few weeks ago a Mylar balloon hit a power line and took out power in parts of Costa Mesa. I got home just as it was getting dark. We needed candles – lots of candles. We had a gas stove so we could cook but it was tough to see anything once it got dark – including the food we were eating. Trying to work from home that night was impossible because my battery on my old Dell computer only lasts for 30 min. and our cell phones – when there is no power to recharge your battery you conserve it. Lesson #3 – be better prepared for a emergency. We need more candles, a battery back up, water - the refrig filtered water doesn’t work when the power is out – and more fun easy to see games to play with the kids. When the last time you double checked your earthquake/emergency kit? Oh and Lesson #4 don’t buy Mylar balloons – they are bad for the environment and the electricity lines!

Now off I go to sort through all my emails. Yeah TAG’s IT guy!!! Thanks for fixing my computer. I truly appreciate when all my tech stuff works.

The Butterfly vs. The Mule

As always, I am trying to find ways to work with Dave. (Those of you who are new to my blog should know that Dave is my father and I work for him.) So, when I get frustrated, I often times email my friend, Kate, who has worked here and has known Dave for 20 years. Kate is funny with her advice and usually hits the problem dead-on with some hilarious analogy. As usual, she came through for me.

To set up the scene -- I've been trying to get Dave into this century. For example - getting him to use LinkedIn - remembering his password is an issue, using his cell phone besides when he’s in his car – it works at lunch too, and just changing a little bit - Dave just a little bit, please. Basically, the same old fight we've been having every year.

So as a company, we are moving out of a sole focus in the Real Estate industry and into other areas. I’m trying to drag him along but he’s kicking and screaming. So I emailed Kate and this is the response I got, “There is definitely work out there, you just have to be flexible, able to adjust on the fly and go after it. Uhhhh...well....that didn't really describe Dave at all these days, now did it? Sounds like the start of your first online blog argument with dear ol' dad! The butterfly vs. the mule! He can't actually kick you, but man he ain't goin' anywhere. He can carry a lot and you can see at the 20,000 foot level.”

So there we go. She summed it up. I’m running around at 20,000 ft. looking forward, moving forward and he’s still hanging out at the barn kickin’ and braying. Maybe we can get our mule working with the butterfly – any ideas?

Playground Layoffs

It’s hit the playground --- being laid off.

I’ve been approached on the kindergarten playground at drop off about being laid off from work and what to do. It’s hitting too close to home now so I think it’s time for my --- “What to do when your laid off" speech. It’s pretty basic but it seems like people always try to complicate things.

1. First don’t panic. Give yourself 24 to 48 hours to take it all in.

2. Start a notebook with ideas and write down all your career ideas. Sometimes the craziest ideas start you in a new direction that works. Be creative and think out of the box.

3. Go over your resume in detail if you have one. If not start writing one. (If you have not written a resume in a long time I’ll have another blurb for you to read later on how to get started.) Clean the resume up and email it to some of your friends to proof. Do not send it to any companies until you have gone over it several times. It’s hard to take a candidate seriously who has silly typos in their resume. People send resume with some major typos in them.

4. Tell everyone you are looking – yes everyone. The postman’s sister could be the CEO of a company so start talking. (I hope you postal people have a good sense of humor about my last posting about going postal on Dave. It was supposed to be funny! I actually think my postman, Tran is the best. The only time our mail gets messed up is when he doesn't deliver it! OK enough about the postal service.)

5. Revive whatever network you have. Pick up the phone and call people. In this world of email and texting, it’s nice to get a phone call. Join LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace etc. and start networking on line. If you’re uncomfortable with doing that check it out – it works.

6. Get your references together and let them know someone maybe calling. Also ask them who they know and if they would forward your resume. They are part of your network. Do not include your references with your resume give them only if you are asked to preferably AFTER you have interviewed. Be careful, some recruiters will ask for your references to get other names for their databases. Protect your references.

7. Speaking of recruiters send your resume to at least three. If you are willing to move send the resume to three in the areas you’ll move to.

8. Dust off your best suit, press your shirts, polish your shoes and get ready to interview. Remember very little perfume and don’t try to break your interviewers hand with your handshake.

Good luck.

Ground Hog Day

All right, we all love Dave, or we love to hate Dave, it’s all the same to me. Here at the office though, I’m about ready to go postal on Dave.

You know the movie Ground Hog Day? We’ll that is what goes on here at TAG. Dave is constantly saying the same shtick over, and over, and over again, “Have you gotten your check from the Messiah? The Messiah has arrived, there is supposed to be a chicken in every pot, a bail out check, check in the mail, any check". Ugh, it might be funny to you all but we hear it daily, hourly, minute by excruciating minute.

Hey Dave – we have a suggestion for you – change your story daily! We all are quick to get bored these days. You know us, this instant gratification generation – instant email, texting, streaming media. Can you come up to date just a bit and maybe change your story daily? We don’t need hourly just daily. It would be a huge break to our ears. This Ground Hog Day stuff has got to go.

Thanks Dave.

Collections Anyone?

Oh my goodness, when is it OK to do business with a company and then not pay your bill? It’s not! We have a few clients who refuse to pay their bills. The candidates are happily working at your firm but we have not been paid for our service.

Un-paying clients, what you are doing is unethical and it’s putting un-do stress on our firm - PAY YOUR BILL. Seriously, is this what you want to teach your employees? Take what you want – you don’t have to pay for it? Why not open up the company supply closet and let them take all the supplies home? The kids need a new computer – take it off the administrative assistant’s desk, your wife needs a new home copier – take that too. Believe it or not, you are what you do and people will take notice.

You signed our contract, we provided a service, now PAY YOUR BILL!

1996 Economy - From the Bullpen

Wow! I was looking through some of our old marketing letters and found a letter from 1996. Here is how it starts:

“I have some good news and some not-so-good news.

Let’s get the not so good news out of the way first. Times are tough, really hard. The National economy is sputtering, Orange County has not see times this tough in years. But on to the good news! Out of these tough times come truly outstanding opportunities. One such opportunity is the chance to avail yourself of top flight executive talent. “

It’s amazing that just 12 years ago we were in the same situation as now. I remember graduating from college 1992. (Ok that is more like 16 years and now I can’t believe I’ve been working here for that long.) All of my peers took jobs working for minimum wage. I ended up working for Dave (my Dad) because I figured earning a commission was better than working for minimum wage. (I was right!)

So, looking back at 1996 and our company history I now know even with our current “sputtering economy” we will pull through and be OK. To quote the old man (that’s my Dad), “Just keep your nose to the grind stone and stay focused on our client’s needs.” Maybe we all need to take a look back and realize that the economy cycles and this is all part of its cycle – this too shall pass.

And on a really happy note – Merry Christmas and may you all have a prosperous New Year! Welcome 2009!!!

- H

Why a Splitworld

Welcome to my Blog!

I'm Heidi McLeod and I work at The Ankenbrandt Group for Dave, he's my Dad - but more of that later. I decided to call the blog Splitworld after chatting with Deanna, one of our recruiters, over lunch about my fun and crazy kids. Both the boys like to "potty talk". I was commenting how hilarious they are even though I have to act like it's not funny, more like a huge sin, and how the little girls don’t potty talk like the boys. What a difference gender makes. The difference between boys and girls is huge and the difference between the executives we work with and my kids at home is even greater.

So, my world is split between the hilarious potty talking 2 and 5 year olds at home, to the savvy and smart executives negotiating their way through corporate America. Sometimes they are a lot alike and sometimes not so much.This blog will focus on 
work but with the occasional side note about my very funny little dudes.

 – H .