Tuesday Observations

Here are some things I have picked up in my reading yesterday and today:

• In the private sector you will never find the the word "permanent" attached to a job. Or at least you should not. But in the Federal government they send out job announcements that declare the status of every job, even part-time jobs, as permanent. Nice work if you can get it.
• The Federal government is trying to make the hiring process more streamlined. Good for them. However, they are still not, for the most part, hiring within the recommended 80 day time frame. Some how I think that 80 day time frame does not compare well with the private sector.
• Having read alot of material on generational differences I have decided you cannot apply those generalities to individuals. They are too broad. I know hardworking, smart, creative, flexible and productive people in all current generations. In the same vein I know dumb, stale, change-resistant, non-productive, lazy and dishonest people in all generations. So I try to be careful with my generalities.
• Generalists, regardless of profession, have a better chance of advancement than specialists. Research has shown that generalists, people who do alot of stuff very well, are more likely to be CEOs. Perhaps that works for CHROs as well.
• Communication skills are important, you get graded on them. And you need to work on improving them all the time. Even President Obama, who was initially lauded for his speeches, has now become the object of parody due to his overuse of the teleprompter and his speech cadance.
• Even HR people were making big money in the finanical market place. A former HR leader is suing because she did not make her accustomed to compensation of $700,000 after the meltdown, even though she agreed to take less.
• The job market seems to be improving in HR. I have seen alot more activity, more jobs listed and more people getting jobs than I have seen in the past two years. So if you are still unemployed, chin up, you may see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Well that is a bried set of observations for today. If you are curious about any of these topics leave me a comment and I will give you the reference.