2016 goals

This time of year you'll hear people discussing their goals for the new year. I thought my coworker had some great ones on the shirt she wore today. And, yes, I asked her if I could take this picture.

Oops, they did it again

I wrote recently about a local university that was in the news for yet another financial scandal. Last week the same school made the news again. This time it's for posting an ad for an assistant professor of physics stating the school is looking for it to be filled by "an African American, Hispanic American, or a Native American Indian." Not surprisingly, the ad, which has been removed from the school's website, has created quite a backlash. What I want to know is what is going on at that school? The place seems to be running off the rails.

I know what happened

Last week it was disclosed that one of our local universities is in the midst of what seems to be an every 6 months occurrence- an investigation into alleged financial improprieties. This time it's risen to a level that has gotten the FBI involved. Good times.

One of the people under investigation is a former employee. Two things I read about him caught my HR eye. 1. The university will not disclose why he's no longer there. 2. They won't say whether he quit or got fired. Pick me, pick me, because I know what happened. He got fired. Easy peasy. If he had resigned, there would be no problem saying that. However, due to risk management issues, companies will rarely say someone got fired. A few jobs ago all people who got canned were said to have resigned. It became known internally as "got resigned".

And there is your HR insight for today.

What I'm thankful for today

Today I am so thankful for our completely unseasonable weather. It was in the 70s today, and it is supposed to the same tomorrow. To give you an idea of how atypical this is, we are supposed to set records both days. I looked, and we are only about 10 degrees below Tampa, FL. It's not often in December that you can wear sandals and have your windows open. What an excellent early Christmas present.

What not to do at your next job interview

Yesterday we were doing interviews for an entry level position at my organization. One of the candidates had done a decent interview until he told a story at the end about stealing a little kid's bike. Was there any redeeming value in the story at all? No.  Needless to say, he's not getting the job. The next time you are at a job interview, don't tell your potential employer about your acts of theft. It's generally not going to increase your odds of being hired.

What I'm Thankful For Today

When I put gas in my car today, I paid under $2/gallon. Oh my. I don't know how long it's been since I did that. I am very thankful.

It's a small world

I've been at my new job for 8 days, and I've already run across people I know in a few ways. Last week one of the hiring managers at an interview was someone I went to church with over 20 years ago. His name was on the schedule, but it's not an uncommon first or last name. I had wondered if it was him, but I thought the odds were against it. As soon as he walked in the interview room, he said "Do you know who I am?" I said I did indeed.

This week I've been reviewing resumes for some of our open positions. I've found one for an HR person I know and another person who recently got fired by one of my former employers. Most interesting to me is the resume for someone who is now the HR person at a company where I interviewed this summer. During the interview I knew that it was not the job for me. Apparently this person has decided it's not for her either. She's been there since July and is trying to get out.

It is indeed a small world after all.

Baked spaghetti

Yesterday I got the idea to make baked spaghetti this weekend. I'd never done that before, but it sounded delicious. I did some recipe research, and it looked quite easy. Today I gave it a try. Here's the finished product:

As soon as this came out of the oven, I thought "Why haven't I ever made this before?". And it tastes every bit as good as it looks.

I didn't follow a recipe per se. All I did was:

1. Cook pasta until almost done. I used the time labeled "al dente" on the box as I normally like mine more done that that.
2. Drain pasta
3. Add pasta & sauce to oven safe bowl, mix together. Top with pepperoni, mozzarella, and fresh grated parmesan.
4. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted, roughly 10 minutes.

I used half a box of pasta which made 4 individual bowl servings. For a 1 pound box of pasta, what I read online suggested using a 9x13 pan.  I will definitely be making this again.

Quote of the week

"People ask me sometimes, When- when do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is, when there are nine."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice

What a wasted opportunity

My current job has a SIMPLE IRA plan (moving to a 401(k) next year). It offers a 1:1 match on the 1st 3%, immediate vesting, and you can participate after 90 days. The funds stink (5% sales load!), but the money market option has no fee.

We have over 100 employees, probably around 125. Today I found out how many participate in the plan- 25. I was saddened. Do I think it's because they know the funds stink? As my coworker used to say about me, "Only you read that stuff".  Maybe they are all stuffing money in their personal IRAs instead, but I doubt it. What a wasted opportunity. 

The perfect way to end your vacation

Yesterday I experienced the perfect way to end a great vacation- a call offering me a job that features a substantial pay increase!

As many of you know, two months ago yesterday I started a new job. It offered a major salary increase above my previous job, my own private office, casual dress, and no more working with the public. I am very glad I took it. The improvement from my previous job was tremendous.

Four weeks ago I got a really strong feeling that I needed to update my resume to reflect my new position. I have learned to listen when I get ideas like that, even when I don't know why I get the feeling. So, I updated my resume. The next week, I found out why I needed to do that. I got a call from a job I had applied to in July, before I took my new job. When I spoke to the HR person, I broke a cardinal HR rule- I asked about the pay range straight off. Yes, normally you shouldn't do that, but I already have a job, and I was not going to waste my time interviewing for anything that wasn't an improvement. Let's just say that once she gave me the range, I was very interested. They were also willing to work with my schedule and interview me after work since I don't have any time off yet. I sent them my updated resume that night, I interviewed the next week, then I had a 2nd interview last week on the 1 afternoon I was in town between vacations (yes, I know I lead a hard life at times).

After reviewing the offer and some negotiations (that's what real HR types do), I accepted today, and my start date is Nov. 2. I broke another HR rule and gave notice to my current employer yesterday before I accepted the new one. I know it stinks for them to have to start searching again, but my boss took it really well.

So, do I regret taking the job I am leaving in 2 weeks? Absolutely not. It was definitely the right thing for me to do at the time. Would I have guessed I'd be there such a short time? No, but even though I am a plotter/planner at heart, I know life is not always what you expect it will be. Sometimes there are some very pleasant surprises that come your way.

Divine timing is a thing

Three weeks ago this Thursday was a fabulous afternoon. I met a friend after work, and we took a stroll on a major local pedestrian trail. After that, we had pizza on the patio of a local restaurant on the river. It was a perfect night for alfresco dining.

On the way home, I ran into a neighbor I hadn't seen in a long time a block from my house and got caught up on his life. When I got home I did a quick e-mail check, and I had an e-mail about a job I applied for months ago. The person couldn't reach me by phone because I disconnected my home phone last month. I called her to leave a message that I was interested, and lo and behold, she was still at work! The job would pay a large increase over what I make now. We scheduled the interview for the next week.

God has such impeccable timing. For all these things to work out like they did was definitely his handiwork in action. God is good, and it was a truly great evening.

200K day

My Tracker hit 200,000 miles on the way home this afternoon. I bought it with about 175,000 miles 4 years ago. It's been a good purchase.

If you're going to be shady, at least be smart

Today I went to look for some information in some HR folders, and the entire drawer of folders was empty. I asked the head HR person if she knew where they were, and she said they are now being kept in her office. I was very glad to hear this, as I was not pleased with the previous setup. All the HR files were kept in the common file room. They had their own cabinets, but they weren't secured. The room was open all day, and anyone could go in. I noticed this day one and thought it was a bad idea. HR files are a treasure trove of information for an identity thief. Thankfully my record never even made it to the file room. The head HR person has only been there a few weeks longer than I have, and she's been working on this for a while.

What's really great is what led to everything being moved so suddenly- one of our employees "allegedly" got into his own personnel file. I asked, and this person is not authorized to access any HR files. He then took his noncompete agreement, erased his signature (this person is apparently known for using erasable ink all the time), and put the form back in his folder. My first question to the HR person is probably the one you are thinking in your head right now - "why didn't he just shred the form?". She said "I know, right?" She said when you hold the form up to the light you can see the imprint of where the person signed it. I'm not sure how, but the owner of the company found out about this stunt, and as you might guess he was not pleased. I have not ID'd the culprit, but the HR person thought I would guess because the person's fondness for erasable ink is common knowledge.  I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

The life lesson here: If you're going to be shady, at least be smart.

An interesting business opportuntity

I was looking at some federal contracting opportunities today at work, and this one caught my eye. As soon as I saw the word "goat", I had to check it out. Goats as lawn care and fire mitigation- you have to love it.

This is a sign you have an unhealthy risk pool

I recently received my COBRA paperwork from my previous employer. The COBRA rate for my high deductible ($2.5K) plan is $532/month! I looked on the exchange, and I can buy a comparable plan for around $200/month. The COBRA administrative fee is only 2%, so that tells me my former employer has either an extremely unhealthy risk pool or is the world's worst negotiator. My employer 2 jobs ago had a Cadillac plan, and their COBRA was less than my most recent employer's.

On a related note, the health insurance for my new job starts on day 91. My current coverage is good until mid-Sept. I bought a 2 month short term policy for under $100 total on ehealthinsurance.com.

Favorite line from the employee handbook at my new job

If leggings are worn please insure that your top/blouse is long enough to cover your rear end.

I laughed out loud when I read it.

This makes no sense

Saturday I mailed something to Florida, a destination over 12 hours away. It arrived on Monday, a transit time of 1 day. I was impressed.

Friday I mailed something to a city 30 minutes away. It didn't arrive until today, a 3 day transit time. I was not impressed.

This situation makes no sense.

Same song, different band

This morning 5 salespeople got fired at my company. It seems "Another One Bites the Dust" is popular in many workplaces.

My new exercise routine

My last job had a gym in the room next door to our office. It was so convenient to use when it was too hot, cold, or rainy to walk outside. My new job doesn't have this, but it has something that's going to be equally useful to my health. We are located on the top floor of a 5 story building, so there are lots of stairs available for use. I've committed to myself that I will take them up once per day and down every time. I generally leave the building twice a day to get outside for a break, so that's 3 downs per day. That is no big deal. But up! The first day was shall we say a bit humbling. I envision really upping my cardio function and leg muscles in the upcoming weeks and months.

Job search update

After negotiation and careful consideration, last Monday I accepted one of the two jobs I was offered, and I declined the other. My background check was completed the next day. I immediately called my present employer and gave notice. My last day at this job is Tuesday of next week, and I start my new job the next day. 

Friday of last week I got a call from the employer with whom I interviewed on Monday. They wanted me to take a personality assessment and complete information for a background screen. I told them that unfortunately I had already accepted another position. On Tuesday of this week I got an interview request for another position to which I have applied. I thanked them for their interest and declined the interview.

It is crazy that it works this way. I've been seriously job searching for over a year with very little results. Now, jobs are practically falling out of the sky. I told my coworker that if I'd been offered any of these jobs by itself, I would have taken it. This is not an usual phenomenon as I have seen it with my job seeking customers at work more than once. It is definitely nice to be wanted. I am very much looking forward to starting my new job in 5 days.

 

Begging to get fired

A person who works in our building got fired recently. When I got the scoop on why, I determined he was begging to be fired by his actions.

Here's what happened:

He was scheduled to attend a 2 day training in a city 2 hours away. He took a company vehicle and went, and he cashed his per diem check. The problem? The training was cancelled well in advance. So where was he for those two days, and what was he doing? Working towards being unemployed apparently.

"Something shiny" syndrome

I was discussing personal types with someone recently. She mentioned one particular type displaying "something shiny" syndrome. These individuals flit from idea to idea rather than finishing A and then going to B.

I have observed this in a friend of mine. In the past two months he has told me he was going to:

- Start Physical Therapy school this fall (a 6 year program)
- Move to California next summer
- Take a 96 hour real estate class starting next month
- Move to Florida instead of California. No time frame mentioned

It is very interesting (and a little exhausting) for me to see this in action as it is so different from my plotter/planner MO.

And it was good

I got two job offers today. Having to pick from two good options is a wonderful problem to have.

Disruption can actually be blessing in disguise

Thursday I was scheduled to have an interview after work (yea, an opportunity to leave my job!). I got a call at work about 10 that morning tell me that due to a scheduling conflict on their end we'd have to reschedule. The next day that worked for both of our schedules was Tuesday. I was not pleased. First, that will impact how quickly the candidacy process moves. Even more upsetting, it disrupted my plans. I had done all my prep work the night before, worn my interview attire to work, and driven the vehicle with functioning a/c to avoid being a literal hot mess when I arrived at the interview. This was all for naught now. But what can you do? The silver lining was I now had time in my schedule for a swim after work. I took advantage of that, and it was great.

Things got even better when I arrived home. I had a message from another company to which I had applied recently, and they wanted to set up an interview. Later that night while doing some research about this company and position, I checked my e-mail right before I went to bed. That is something I very rarely ever do. Well, would you believe I had an e-mail from a third company wanting to set up an interview? Not only that, it's a position about which I am really excited.

I got in touch with both companies on Friday. I now have three interviews for Tuesday- one at 8:30 AM, one at lunch, and one after work. In addition to feeling pretty in demand, logistically it works great. It is only 1 day that I'll need to dress up in interview clothes, remember to bring my GPS, and compile my interview folder with resumes, reference lists, and interview questions.

I was not happy to have my plans for Thursday disrupted, but I see now that it was completely a blessing it disguise. Life is like that a lot isn't it?

Crepes anyone?

When I ran across this recipe, I knew I would have to try it. While I despise pancakes, I adore waffles and crepes. Yes, I know it's the exact same batter, but I think it has something to do with the texture of the finished products.

Today I gave the recipe a whirl.

Oh my goodness, why have I never made these before? It was so easy and so delicious. I topped them with Nutella and whipped cream.

Yum. I have a feeling this recipe will be prepared frequently.

Thank you for a/c

Dear God,

Thank you for giving someone the marvelous idea to invent a/c along with the requisite skill to carry out said concept. I don't know how people did it when it was this hot back in the days before a/c. They were either

A. tougher
B. completely miserable

or more likely,
C. all of the above

That sort of defeats the purpose

Monday I was asked for a password to sign into my e-mail at work. That was odd as that's never happened to me before, and I've not been given a password for it. Well, I found out there is a password for it- all staff have the same password. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a password? 

 

New cubicle decoration

I saw this on LinkedIn this week.

It's now part of my cube decor. I have a feeling I will be tempted to point to it while dealing with some of our customers.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Sauce

This recipe combines two of my favorite foods- shrimp and mango. I hadn't made it in a while, so yesterday I prepared it for lunch.

Doesn't it make you happy just looking at that? I served it over couscous, and it was fabulous. In addition to being tasty, the shrimp, coconut, and mango bring to mind a being on the beach somewhere tropical. Nothing wrong with that either.

The season of friendship

In my life I have had different occasions where I felt there was a theme of my life at that time. For example, when I left my last job it was the season of rest. I was worn out emotionally from the crazy that was that place. Currently I believe I am in the season of friendship, and that is very nice.

In the last couple of weeks I've
- had lunch with a friend I had seen in 6-7 years
- gotten back in touch with someone I hadn't heard from in probably a year
- met up with another friend I only get to see a few times/year

I am very fortunate to have great people in my life, and the opportunity to spend time with them.

Toasted coconut and chocolate chips scones

As you may recall, I have a bit of an obsession with scones. It's all my friend Jen's fault. She lived in London for a while, and when I went to see her I became hooked on these bits of British deliciousness. This weekend I tried a new scone recipe that appeared in the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens- Toasted coconut and chocolate chip scones. The finished product appears below.

They taste every bit as good as they look. The recipe can be found by googling. I can't post it as it requires you to log in to view. Definitely a great addition to my weekend breakfast.

What a contrast

This weekend I had dinner with friends. All six of us have valid passports and have been to multiple countries. I was struck by what a contrast this is to the customers I see at work. Many of them are loathe to cross the bridge less than 5 miles from my office that connects our area to the large metropolitan city in the neighboring state.

Life is about priorities

There was recently a large apartment fire in a nearby city that displaced people from 48 units. Thankfully no one was seriously injured. One of the things struck me after the fact was the lack of renters insurance among the tenants. Of the 48 apartments, 1 person had rental insurance. I was floored. Renters insurance is dirt cheap. Mine is less than $15/month. I asked a few people- how many of those renters had cable? Probably more than 1. If you can afford cable, a luxury (yes, it is), then you can afford renters insurance, a necessity.

I shouldn't be so surprised. I have to document customer budgets for some of our programs at work, and most renters don't have renter's insurance. I had one this week as a matter of fact. I told him in an unofficial capacity he needs to get it. My upstairs neighbors don't have it either that last time I checked. Again, they were counseled to obtain it posthaste. Even one of my siblings didn't have it when she first got her own place. However, one of her siblings ratted her out to my mom. Once Mom was on the case, rental insurance was promptly secured.

Life is about priorities. For most of us there will also be more wants than money. We need to cover our needs first though. Being burned out of your apartment would be horrible. It would add insult to injury to have no insurance to replace your belongings because you'd spent the money on "fun" instead.

Deal of the week

Last week there was a $5 coupon in the newspaper for the brand of contact solution I prefer. It was also on sale for $8.99 at Rite Aid. I received 2 copies of that particular coupon insert, so Monday I purchased 2 bottles. On my receipt were 2 $3 coupons for the same item. I knew from experience that you can stack these coupons with the manufacturer ones from the paper. It was time to find some more coupons! I got one from the newspaper at work, and my mom gave me one from her newspaper. Thanks Mom!

Saturday it was back to Rite Aid with all my coupons in hand. With tax I paid $3.24 for 2 bottles. That was an amazing deal. But it got even better when I got home and looked at my receipt. It seems there was also a promotion on the product- buy $20 worth, get 400 Plenti points. This represents $4 off my next Rite Aid purchase of $4 or more. The $20 is based off the sale price before coupons. So essentially I got paid $0.76 to buy the last two bottles. That is my kind of deal.

Homemade granola

Saturday I made a skillet cookie for Mother's Day. Since the oven was already hot, I figured it'd be a good time to try another recipe I'd been wanting to make. People magazine recently showcased a homemade granola that sounded tasty, so I whipped it together. As often occurs when I bake, I made some substitutions based on what I had on hand and my personal taste preferences. Here is the final result:

It's great in served with yogurt for breakfast. Unfortunately I can't find the recipe online, but I'll be happy to e-mail it to you if you'd like.

Job searching is in the air

Are you familiar with the song "Love is in the air"? Well, I am officially changing it to "Job searching is in the air." All of the below have happened in the last week.

1. Current coworker #1's husband went on his first job interview in 10 years. He's finally tired of being paid about 1/2 market rate for his skill set and is putting himself out there to find a new job.

2. Current coworker #2 has a job interview this week.

3. Previous coworker from last job is in what appears to be final round consideration for a job with a fantastic well known company. They've already done background and references checks, and she had a lunch meeting with manager this week. I'm very excited for her.

4. On a personal note, I've had three responses to jobs to which I've applied.

Yes, indeed, job searching is in the air!

Basic math is apparently not so basic

Yesterday I helped a customer print her paystubs. Once she had the hard copies, she needed further help. The paystubs didn't have her rate of pay. I told her how to calculate it using one week as an example- take her total pay ($260) and then divide it by the number of hours she worked ($26). I was amazed that I had to tell her how to figure it. But it gets better. She could not do this in her head! I told her I could look at it and tell her the answer. She asked what it was, so I told her- $10/hour. We then looked at her 2 other most recent paystubs. It turns out she's been underpaid $1/hour for 2 of the last 3 weeks. I had to do the math on those weeks as well.

Repeat after me "Math is your friend."

Basic math is apparently not so basic.

New work phrase- Do a Frozen

We have started using a new phrase at work- "Do a frozen". Because sometimes,  you really need to "Let it go".

Be wary the advice you receive

Recently Ask A Manager posted an article about government career centers. This was of course of interest to me since I work at such a place.We shall say she was not overly complimentary of them.  Here is what I posted to the comment section

I work at one of these now. Alison is right. You can get a lot of bad advice. I have 10+ years of HR experience from the private sector, and I am horrified by some of the advice I’ve heard other staff give. Why does this happen? A few observations:

1. The pay here is ridiculously low, so you’re not likely to attract/retain high quality talent. 2. Most staff don’t have an HR or management background, so they have no practical experience on which to base their recommendations. It would be like me trying to tell you how to do surgery. It’s not going to end well. 3. We have many long term staff who haven’t job searched themselves in ages. They simply don’t have recent relevant job searching experience.

Of course, we do have some staff who can give you good advice. In addition to myself, I have another coworker who was in HR for years, and another who did a lot of hiring at her recent job. Like advice you get from anyone on any topic, you want to evaluate the credibility of the source. Ask people how long they’ve been in this job, what their background is, etc. If the suggestions don’t jive with other reputable sources, don’t implement them. It’s a shame you have to do this, but it is what it is.

And yes, I miss the private sector. I hope to be back in it soon. 

More work technology woes- update

Today we had an update to our work e-mail woes. We can now send e-mails again. However, we can no longer receive them.

From scratch thin crust pizzas

About a month ago People magazine had this recipe for a homemade thin crust pizza dough. It uses my friend the Kitchen Aid mixer, so no worry about kneading dough. I also had some cake flour on hand from another baking project, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I made it yesterday. Behold one of the 4 finished creations:

It was very simple to create, and very tasty. This recipe went in the "to be made again" file.

More work technology woes

I have two e-mail addresses at work. One is run by the state, another is run by the regional office of my division. Yes, it's crazy. Last Thursday we noticed that messages we sent from our regional accounts were not going through. By some trial and error, we discovered we could receive messages in that account, but we can't send. Over a week later, it's still the same. I asked a member of management for an update this Thursday, but basically all I got was "there's a problem with the server." Oh, really? Of course, since we are government, there is no urgency at all to get it fixed. A real business would have been all over this as soon as it happened. Another story of your tax dollars (not) at work.

Easter Baked Treats

For Easter I decided to try two new recipes.

The first was Yellow Cake with Salted Chocolate Ganache. Yellow cake with chocolate icing is my favorite, and as soon as I saw the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, I was in. The result?

It was delicious! I made only 1 change to the recipe. Based on advice from my baking consultant (aka my mom), I used 2/3 semisweet and 1/3 milk chocolate instead of the dark. As usual, Mom was right.

Speaking of Mom, I was at her house last weekend when I came across a recipe for cranberry biscuits in Joanne Fluke's latest Hannah Swenson novel. I asked Mom if she thought they'd be good for Easter, and she thought they would.

The family consensus was this recipe is definitely a keeper!

I'd like to mention a special thanks to my former coworker's chickens. They provided the farm fresh eggs that helped my treats be so delicious.Keep up the good work ladies!

15 True Tales of Job Interview Embarrassment

I had to share this post from the Evil HR is Lady. There is some true entertainment value contained therein.

What I've learned at work so far this week

Work can teach you many things, and often the most interesting ones are those that have nothing to do with your job. Here is mine for this week- Did you know the IRS can put a hold on professional licenses? We had a customer tell us yesterday that she was trying to get a pharmacy tech license. It was taking forever, so she called to find out why. She owes back taxes for 2002, and she is no longer in compliance with her payment plan. So, the IRS has put a block on her application.

Life lesson: Don't mess with the IRS. Why did Al Capone go to jail? Tax evasion. The IRS is in it to win it.

Someone who's been where you are

Sometimes you speak with people, and you can tell they are familiar with the situation you are describing. Recently I was answering a caller's general questions about filing for unemployment. I stressed with him, as I do with many customers, that it is a long process between filing and payment, usually 3-6 weeks. What he told me next showed he understood exactly what I was saying.

"I worked for government. There was 1 speed- super slow. Things got done when they got done."

Yes, he's definitely been where I am.

Go big if they want you to leave home- Update

The customer whose ex-boyfriend offered her $2k to move out of his house should have taken him up on that offer. She came by the office last week upset because he's moved in his daughter, the daughter's boyfriend, and their huge dog. The huge dog kept her up all night with his barking. I wanted to tell her- he wants you out, and this is the next step in his plan. The customer has been working full time for 2 months and has no expenses other than food, car insurance, and gas. How much money has she saved? $0. I don't see this situation ending well for her, and she has no one to blame but herself. Reality can be a tough kick in the tush sometimes.

Garfield is not a special character in this sense

Today a customer was having trouble creating a password for the state unemployment website that met the system requirements. I reviewed them with her.

Passwords must contain:
- At least 8 characters
- A minimum of one of each of the following

• Upper case letter
• Lower case letter
• Number
• Special character 

She then wrote out what she wanted to use "Garfield1963". I told her that wouldn't work since it lacked a special character. She looked at me in complete seriousness and said "Garfield is a special character".

My next job is so not going to feature working with the public.

Another great day at work

Last week our area got our 2nd major snow storm in two weeks. It started falling late Wednesday and lasted until the next morning.  Our office was of course open. The building in which we are housed was closed, also no surprise. My coworker and I both made it in. We had several calls throughout the day asking if we were open. How many customers actually came? 1.

It was simply a glorious day. I had packed an activity bag the night before in anticipation of such an event. It contained a DVD, my e-reader, a real book, a coloring book, colored pencils, and a word search book. I didn't even get to all of these, but I like to be prepared. Best day at this job ever.

Go big if they want you to leave home

My coworker has been working with a customer I'll call Jennifer. Jennifer had not worked for at least 4 years. She met a guy online, and he told her "Move in with me and I'll take care of you". She did, and he did, for a while. Now, shockingly, he's tired of the situation. They are no longer romantically involved (his decision, not hers), and he's been been doing less and less to support her. Thankfully, she has taken some positive steps. She got her HSE (high school equivalency) and has been working for over two months. She still has not moved out, and my coworker and I are shocked that he hasn't given her the boot. According to the customer, he has met with a lawyer. He's let her live with him long enough that he'll probably have to go through a legal eviction. Last week she said he offered her $2k to move out. Yes, he willing to pay her to leave, and that's a generous amount. You know what she said?  "I need $4k." He apparently has not responded. I always say "You have not because you ask not." I've created a new version of this saying based on her "Go big if they want you to leave home."

That certainly helps the budget

I was looking through my expenses for February the other day, and I was shocked when I saw what I'd spent on gas- $36.66. Yes, that it. That represents 2 fill ups in my daily driver. I can't remember the last time the number was that low. In addition, I will be getting an expense check for $7.92 in mileage for a work meeting. The means my actual amount for the month is under $30. That is certainly good news for my budget.

The cobbler’s children have no shoes

Tuesday I had a meeting with a customer. When we scheduled the meeting I told him to bring I-9 documentation. I discussed some examples, and he said he would bring the appropriate items.  What does he bring me? A driver's license and a military ID, both list B items. I told him that, and he said "it will work since I have two right?". I said "No, you must have one each from lists B & C or one from list A." What does this guy do for a living? HR. I-9 documentation is an HR 101 type of item.

As soon as he left, my coworker said "The HR guy doesn't bring appropriate I-9 documents." It was exactly what I was going to say. I am not impressed with his HR knowledge. This is a classic example of the cobbler's children having no shoes.

Thank you 2013 self

Dear 2013 Self,

I know it was very expensive to repair your 4x4 vehicle when the clutch went out. Thank you very much for carefully considering your options, then sucking it up and forking over the money. If you hadn't done that, it would have meant using 2 days of PTO this week with our 5" snow. Your other vehicle, the rear wheel drive, high horsepower, low clearance sports car, doesn't like this type of weather at all. Thanks so much for making the right decision. It was well worth the money.

Sincerely,

Present self   

Be prepared

Dear Area Residents:

As you may have noticed, we got some snow this week. Yes, I heard it is the most snow in 8 years, but 5-8" is not that unusual for us. You acted like the world was ending. The grocery store shelves were stripped nearly bare. There has been no school for 3 days.The story is consuming local media. What do I want to tell you at this point? It is winter. This happens. Suck it up.

People have been griping that many area businesses haven't closed. I have zero sympathy. I work for the state. We basically don't close. Our office has been open normal time every day. My previous employer took the same view. We are grown-ups. This is not school. There aren't snow days unless you want to use your PTO to have them.

I am amazed at how ill prepared people are for what is basically normal winter weather. I saw several people out in the snow in tennis shoes. I mentioned the run on the grocery store. Do people keep no food at their house? Any time much snow is predicted, there is the obligatory news story of people rushing the hardware store to buy shovels, etc. To save yourself some drama, here are some basic preparedness things you can do.

1. Keep some food in your house

This seems like common sense, but from what I see, apparently not everyone does this. You should be able to eat for at least a week off what you have on hand. It can be expensive to build your stock. Instead of doing it all at once, buy a couple of extra items when they are on sale and build them over time. Try to maintain a minimum stock of essentials so that are never forced to go to the grocery right before a storm.

2. Have the appropriate gear

You need items that will enable you to deal with the elements- snow boots, waterproof gloves, long underwear, hat, scarf, etc. For your car- a small shovel & scraper at a minimum. 

3. Plan for commuting accordingly

If you refuse to drive in the snow, make sure you reserve some PTO. Not going to work is a choice. If you are nervous driving in snow, find a nice big empty parking lot and do some practicing.  When the snow hits, leave early, drive slowly, keep an eye on the vehicles ahead of you to help anticipate issues, and keep as much distance between you and other cars as possible.

Would I rather be on the beach in Hawaii right how? You bet! But since we're not, let's take the appropriate steps to weather the storm as best we can. Preparation is key.

Happy Valentine's Day

I decided I wanted to make a cast iron skillet chocolate chip cookie to take to work for Valentine's Day this week. I looked around on the internet, and this one from Martha Stewart's website looked good. I added my own tweak of red M&M's in honor of the holiday.

And how did it taste? Martha did not steer me wrong. It was very well received by my coworkers with multiple requests for the recipe. I loved it too. This is an easy, tasty treat to whip up for the special someone(s) in your life. Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.

That took some nerve

This morning a customer asked our receptionist to see me. He said another customer had recommended me as someone who would be helpful with his job search. When I met with him, I was incredulous to find that the person who told him to come see me was his wife. I and other staff members had indeed put in lots of hours trying to help her find a job. However, as soon as she got the offer she went off the grid. She would no longer return my phone calls. We are required to get documentation when customers start work, and then the next quarter we have to ascertain if they are still working. Since she wouldn't communicate with me, I had to get the information from the employer. Thus, this customer has been on my bad list for some time. To think she then had the nerve to recommend her husband come see me for assistance!

Thankfully I was able to treat him professionally and not say "Your wife has some nerve. She refused to cooperate after all the hours of help we gave her, and now she's sending you to us for assistance? You are tainted with guilt by association." I didn't say it, but I wanted to.

Garden Veggie Shrimp

I ran across a recipe for garden veggie shrimp in the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens and thought it sounded delicious. I am unable to post a link to it as you have to sign to view it, but a Google search will lead to it on the magazine's page or on Pinterest. I made it yesterday for lunch. I did a few modifications to reflect my taste such as not using carrots. It was easy to prepare, and it looked beautiful when done.

It had a nice flavor as well. I ate leftovers tonight for dinner,and it tasted even better since the flavors had longer to co-mingle. Definitely a 2 thumbs up recommendation.

Some days I love my job

This is not my forever job, but it does have its moments. Yesterday was filled with them. When I arrived at 8 I quickly discovered that we had no internet or phones. However, the wifi was working great. :) This situation lasted until 3:30 when all the phones and internet finally came back up. It was delightful. All we could tell customers was "try back later". I read two magazines and a large portion of a book on my IPod. Some days I really do love my job.

Quote of the week

I e-mailed a former HR colleague about the HR workload management strategy I recently came across. She responded with her thoughts about it, then followed-up with the comment below which I have quoted exactly as written:

"Also, CRAZY IS NOT DEAD. IT IS ALIVE AND BREEDING!"

I have a feeling there must be some interesting stuff going on at my former employer.

A genius way to manage workflow

For the past several weeks I've been trying to confirm employment for a customer. The customer is not cooperating, so I have to contact the employer. I've tried calling and e-mailing, and no one would respond. Finally I asked someone else in my organization for help. Some research was done, and the only way that company verifies is by mail. Yep, old school USPS. I immediately knew exactly why they did this- it cuts the number of these have to do to practically none. Most places aren't going to bother trying to get info by mail. HR strategy in action! 

As Scrooge McDuck would say "Work smarter, not harder."

It's like this person knows me

A recent article on AskAManager.com focused on working with others when you don't necessarily agree with them. I'm sure you've never had to do that right? My favorite quote was this:

Task-focused people can get the job done whether they like another person or not. 

Oh yes, so this. Anyone who knows me well will tell you I am definitely a task oriented individual. I am all about the checklist. Dealing with humans when it's required to complete items on the list- not my favorite thing. One day at my previous job my team was meeting about something when I commented "I am not a team player." My boss, who'd worked with me for over 10 years at that point, seemed shocked by this. My coworker said "She is not a team player, but she can work well in a team." That's it in a nutshell. When I read the above comment in the article, it was like the author had met me.

When 1/4" is all the stands between you and employment- Update

The customer called me Monday afternoon from his truck at his new job. He started that morning.

The Different Worlds We Inhabit

Some of my friends (husband and wife) have an annual get together the day after Thanksgiving. At the end of the evening, these friends, another friend, and I were in the kitchen talking. While standing there I was struck by how different we are from the people with whom I deal at my job each day. Everyone in the room was employed, had at least some college, and is well traveled. Your friends and family tend to be like you, and I worked with a similar demographic in my last job, even though we had lots of blue collar positions.

Coming to this job has been a huge culture shock, and it’s not just me. I’ve talked to the coworkers in my office and another person who works in this building, and they feel the same way. I tell them it’s like I’m dropped off in a foreign country each morning when I come to work. For example, we had 4 people Monday who came to the office and didn’t have photo ID with them. Now, how did they most likely get here? They drove. Before working here I had never met anyone who didn’t have a high school diploma or GED. I am amazed how many people we see who don’t. Our office does wage printouts that show how much customers have earned in the last several years.  They are used for energy assistance and other various programs. I see many people who have earned little to nothing for several years. Granted, I know this is a nonrepresentative sample of the population, but I’m still amazed at how many there are. And the resumes we see. The description the staff uses most often with each other is “train wreck”. Also, many people seem to have never been taught or figured out that “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”. It’s definitely been eye opening.

I am very fortunate that my trip to the foreign country only lasts while I’m at work. I’m extremely happy to get back in my car at the end of the day and transport myself back to my home country.