Mentors and Meeting Face to Face: Writer's Block Leads to a Great Find

All morning I was struggling with a topic for a blog. I thought of a couple outlandish, like "Treat Your Employees Like Puerto Rican Races Horses: Perform or Die" and then I realized that had been done, it is called the GE Way. So I went looking for inspiration by reading other blogs. It did not take long. I read Penelope Trunk's post today, in The Brazen Careerist, about finding a mentor entitled "How I Found My Favorite Mentor". Some very sage advice. This includes a link to a previous post on a 7-Step Plan to Find a Mentor which I thought was excellent.

Much of the advice she gives in these posts also applies to the process of networking. And keeping in touch with clients and customers. And employees and bosses. It is all about people skills. One of her lines in particular points this out: "...meeting in person makes the relationship feel qualitatively deeper by virtue of the fact that you get that whole other layer of nonverbal communication." (BTW, reading the comments section is almost as instructive as reading the post itself.)

I have a few email "mentors" who I have never met in person. As a result of reading Penelope's blog post I am going to make an effort to meet some of these people.

Everyone in HR should have several mentors (learned that from reading above) and should make an effort to meet them in person. Give it a try. If you have mentors add to the discussion and tell us how you found them and how you keep them.

I also think that recruiters should make an effort to meet candidates in person. I know in my recruiting past this often changed my impression of people, for good and bad. And I know that getting a candidate in front of the hiring manager often worked to their benefit as well. So recruiters chime in, what has your experience been?

Dealing With Job Seekers: YOUR Employees Looking for Work

Penelope Trunk, of the Brazen Careerist, offered job hunting advice to her readers. The title of her blog is How to Job Hunt From Your Current Job. In her blog she lists the following tips:

1. Don't Feel Guilty
2. Schedule Interviews at the beginning or end of the day (or lunch)
3. Don't dress up for interviews if you can help it
4. Don't do phone interviews from your cube

Her justification for point 1 is that everyone does it. You just can't do it during the day from home. Plus, everyone knows that the person that works is the more desirable candidate. The Internet makes it easy to do, so why not. She does say, "Get your work done well at your current job no matter what. You owe that to your employer. Beyond that, your time is yours and job hunt if you want."

She recommends "personal" time for the interviews and not raising suspicions with your current employer by not dressing for the interview and not doing any phone interviews while at work. One other piece of advice she gives is "So you don’t need to be sneaky beyond what is ethically comfortable, but you don’t need to beg the question either." (My emphasis)

Having been a corporate HR manager and recruiter I have conflicting feelings about her advice. And I wonder if other HR managers do as well. I don't really want my employees to spend their time at work looking for a different job. I want them doing my work. And they are using my equipment to do their job search. Yet at the same time I may contact people during the day who are candidates for positions with my company. And I want them to come interview with me during the working day, because I don't want to work at night to interview. (Though I have done both phone interviews and face-to-face at night.)

If I find someone is looking for work, because they have Internet searches that show up, or emails that indicate they are interviewing, do I speed their job search up by letting them go? Or do I start a "recovery effort" by trying to convince them to stay. Do I put blocks on my system of all the major job sites? Do I investigate an employee whose productivity has fallen? Do I look for patterns in Internet activity of certain company searches? But, at the same time, accept resumes and inquiries from people during work hours knowing full well they are "cheating" their current employer?

Leave some comments and tell me how you handle this situation? Is it a conflict for you as well?

By they way is "sneaky beyond what is ethically comfortable" an oxymoron?

A Future View of Work: A Generational Perspective

I like to read "futurism" stuff. Penelope Trunk, at the Brazen Careerist, provides a "future" look work. I found it very interesting, especially given the Gen Y view of how work may change. I happen to think many of these will predictions will come to be. The one I think will be most difficult will be "everyone becoming a consultant." I think labor and employment law will be a big roadblock, as well as the influence of unions. The idea of working for yourself is great until you need a steady paycheck, holidays, overtime, vacations, etc. and no one is providing these to you. As a consultant, you don't work, you don't get paid. Most people can't handle that and would cry "foul" if suddenly employers started treating them that way.

Anyway, read her predictions and tell me (and her) your opinions. I encourage you to leave a comment here.