Things that make you think

Last week I read "Twelve Months" by Steven Manchester. The premise of the book is a man is diagnosed with cancer and given 12 months to live. It follows his efforts to live a full life to the end while also doing things he long wanted to do, but never had.

While there was definitely a sad overtone, it was a book I enjoyed. After reading it, a thought  crossed my mind- my dad was only 10 years older than I am when he died. This hit me like a ton of bricks. When you're a kid, 10 years seems like a such a long time. And ten years is a long time, especially if you are waiting for something. However, in some ways, it seems so short. My own dad has been gone for 13 years. As my mom said on the anniversary of his death last year, that doesn't seem possible. But when you look back, so much has happened since then.

I'm not planning to die in 10 years. Based on my family health history, I likely have many more years than that. But, my dad didn't plan on dying when he did either. My takeaway is to be more mindful of each day and every interaction in my life. We each only get one life to live, and none of us knows the our expiration date.

Always remember who holds the leverage

One of my family members has given her current employer a very long notice of her intention to leave her job. Her goal was to help successfully transition her role to someone else. Not only has her employer not done anything to facilitate this transfer, she was also treated really poorly by her boss this week over something that isn't even her job. Now, we should always treat people well. However, her boss has totally missed something beyond that- my relative holds all the leverage in this situation. She is the one who's leaving of her own volition. She no longer needs the employer. She can leave any time, and I wouldn't blame her if she decides to go now rather than on her original departure date. She has no reason at all to put up with this.

This reminded me of a similar situation when I left a previous job. At some point during my two week notice period, a member of management said something crazy to me. I literally laughed in the person's face. I don't think that was the reaction the person expected. Why? This person failed to recognize that the typical employee/employer balance of power had undergone a seismic shift. I had all the power. The company had none. This interaction was at least partly behind my decision that I would only answer specific questions about my role before I departed. I'd been at that job over 10 years, and as frequently happens, I was the only one who did it, and all the information about it was in my head. I could have provided a lot of insight before I left, but after the way I was treated, there was no way I was volunteering anything.

When you are trying to get someone to do something, you should always remember who holds the leverage. You then need to frame your approach accordingly. If you hold the leverage, you should be polite, but you can be a bit more demanding. If don't hold the leverage, you need to try to sell the person on the idea. If you try demanding in this instance, not getting what you want may be the least of your problems. You may be get a harsh reminder of who holds the power in the situation along with some very unpleasant repercussions.

Employees are crazy everywhere

People do dumb things at work all the time. The title of today's exhibit makes that obvious:

Kentucky State Police: GM employees arrested after racing new Corvettes in Bowling Green

Some of the highlights from the article include:
- new C8 model Corvettes
- 120 mph clocked speeds
- "detected an odor of alcohol"

I shared this article with my HR team, and they found it highly amusing. The best quote was from our HR Director: "It's always something... But this one is easy."

This week in HR

Humans are interesting creatures. So far this week, we have had 3 shining examples at work.

Human #1
Did a good job answering questions in her interview. Wore a sweater, nice pants, and boots. The only problem- you could see through her loose-knit sweater to her underlying undergarment. FYI, it was black. This is not a good interview look.

Human #2
Showed up for new hire interview on Monday. Was a no call no show yesterday and today. Messages were left for him and his emergency contact with no response. He was fired today for job abandonment.

Human #3
Dropped the f-bomb not once but twice during his interview. Cried during the interview- as in was literally wiping away tears. The questions we asked were in no way tearjerkers, and none of the other candidates we interviewed for this role had this reaction. After the candidate left, two of the interview team members stated the candidate smelled of alcohol.

Three great stories, and it's only Wednesday. As I told my team today, I'm excited to see what Thursday and Friday will bring.

Cussers, Criers, and Hostage Takers

You may be wondering how the things in this title go together. They are all people I've interviewed in the last two weeks

Cussers
I've had not one but two people who used profanity during interviews during this time. We do strive for a relaxed atmosphere, but we aren't that relaxed. In both cases it was mentioned by the hiring team, and not in a positive manner. We currently have a 17 year old high school student working in our HR department for the summer. We mentioned to her about not using profanity in interviews. She said "I thought that was common sense." You would hope, but sadly it's not.

Criers
We had a candidate tear up when we asked a very innocuous interview question. I've never had that happen before. It was bizarre.

Hostage Takers
My coworker gets credit for this title. I'd asked her not too long ago how an interview went, and she told me she had been held hostage by a candidate who talked way too much. I also had two of those in two weeks. Let me share what one of our managers said quite some time ago said after he experienced a hostage taker: "When everyone in the room has put down their pens and pushed back from the table, it's time to stop talking." Oh how I wish everyone would follow this advice.

So, the take away from post? Don't cuss, cry, or take everyone hostage with your talking during your next interview.

The official shirt of HR people everywhere

I recently saw a customer in Wal-mart who had on a shirt that read:

"I used to be a people person. Then people ruined it." I told the lady wearing it that I loved her shirt, and I added that I work in HR. She got it.

I told my HR coworkers about it. My boss wanted to buy one, and another coworker asked where the woman had purchased it. Alas, I don't know. But if SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) wants to make a few bucks, do I have an idea for them.

You know you work in HR when....

You know you work in HR when you have this conversation with your boss:

Boss: "Have you drafted a response to crazo yet?"
Me: "Which one?"

Yes, welcome to my world.