..., most of the time.

Comfort. Some things in life are more comfortable than others. It can be a bit disconcerting to receive a phone call from a client who expected more from your relationship or be summoned to your superior’s office to hear the dreaded words, “I don’t like anything you have suggested.” Or how about that time when you submitted your resignation and your supervisor looked at you as if to say, “How can you leave me on this sinking ship?”  Been there, regrettably, done that.  We all have to face uncomfortable situations in our work lives.

Human Resource Professionals and Recruiters tend to meet those moments more often than other professionals. The Sign-Off: telling a candidate they aren’t getting invited to the show. The Collection: having to call a client, former or otherwise, to ask for the final installment for a placement you made two, three, or four months ago. The Lost Friend: when a hiring manager comes to you with a confidential recruitment that will replace a friend of yours within the company, and you have to keep it confidential. The HR Function: having to address hirings, firings, lay-offs, complaints, sexual harassment issues, evaluation time, changes in policy, promotions, non-promotions, and demotions.

Understand that Life in HR is not always easy. As a matter of fact, it often is not. And finding your comfort level, as an HR Professional, Corporate Recruiter or Third-Party Recruiter can be a challenge. Some of us are cut out to make cold calls, some of us are not. Some are cut out to stand in an Exhibitor’s Booth all day, some are not. Some of us are cut out to attend conferences and sit in session upon session for two days straight, some are not. Some of us are cut out to tweet about anything and everything, some are not. Some of us are cut out to bring the right placement to the table, in a timely manner – some are not.

The zone to be in is the one that feels right, the one that runs smoothly and efficiently. However, should that zone become too stagnant or too easy, we risk the opportunity for development and growth, for learning new skills, or challenging our own understandings of the job, any job. Finding the right combination of further excelling at what we are already good and getting better at what is necessary but uncomfortable is a formidable task. Formidable, but not impossible.

Cats are good at running away from discomfort. They dart through halls or along fences and under cars, in an effort to dodge everything and anything that isn’t for their own benefit. Dogs will endure an incredible amount of discomfort to simply to please their owners, to get a pat on the head or a treat. Somewhere in between lies another animal, the HR Professional or Recruiter. Knowing that sometimes discomfort comes with the gig, but also a great deal of satisfaction is part of their makeup.

 Gloria Steinem said, “The only thing I can’t stand is discomfort.”

Somehow, I think avoidance and complacency trump discomfort.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four, happily engaged to Tom, residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a daily contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Independence VS. Dependence

I love George Carlin.  Posting a quote by him always makes me happy, because he says the things we think but usually don’t have the guts to say.  Given the current tumultuous state of the Republican US presidential primary and the vehemence with which many are speaking concerning the presidential election slated for this November, I find this particular quote most fitting.

“I do this real moron thing, it’s called thinking, and I’m not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions.” ~George Carlin

Not following herd thinking or mob mentality has always been a stubborn trait of mine. I like to challenge ideals and believe in the virtue of rational thought and reasonable talk.  Usually severely lacking in a political or religious environment.

Freedom from Dependence on or Control by another person, organization, and state equals Independence. So, how many of us have gained independence over the last couple years, did you became free of the control by an organization? or person? It might be an interesting study to see how many are now working under their own banner / slate or have changed jobs or have simply changed outlooks…

A baby is completely dependent upon its mother and father or guardian for care and nourishment. Without the care a parental figure provides, a human baby would die. No ifs, ands, or buts. As simple as that. We learn the basics, those survival skills, over a lifetime. Hopefully, we become proficient at it. And to another end, not very many of us are born with an innate business sense, to understand perfectly the steps toward business success or financial freedom. Yes, it is unfortunate, but true.

So, how can we grow into being business professionals? Well, we can go to school or we can watch our parents, a school, in itself.  We can go to work when we are young and be lucky enough to find ourselves under the tutelage of a master businessman or we struggle along, learning what works and what not to do as we go. We can eventually move up the ranks, learning through personal trial and error or careful observation.  How we apply what we have learned and gained through those teachers will determine the kind of business professional we become.

Not all of us are cut out to be independent, as a matter of fact, most are not.  Having to fend for oneself: preparing for the hunt, the actual hunt, the kill, the dicing up of the kill, and then the distribution through and to the proper channels may be a little daunting for the majority.  Having a chief that direct the hunt may make it an easier go but then direction must be followed and, of course, not all “professionals” are cut out to take direction.

Figuring out where you belong in the circle doesn’t need to be difficult.  But it shouldn’t be taken lightly either nor decided upon haphazardly. Independence versus Dependence. Weigh the options.  Be realistic.  Know when to say when.  Know when to pull the plug or the trigger.  But recognize that good things do not come to those who wait.

Good things come to those who get out there and take them.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Worth Saving?

Last summer, I sat in my beach chair, flanked by my two daughters and enjoyed the Sunday afternoon sun as we watched our surfers. The day had started off a bit foggy but the midday heat soon erased the memory of our cooler morning. The sounds of children delighted squealing and mothers’ seagull-like beckoning filled the air as beachgoers surrounded us. We were relaxed and taking note of the unique variety of people that had converged upon our chosen space.

Right in front of us, a young family had gathered, like us, to take advantage of a beautiful seaside afternoon. They sat much closer to the water than we. A father, a mother, a little boy and an even littler girl were all dressed for a day in the park, not necessarily for water play. Nonetheless, they proceeded with their afternoon activities, most importantly building sandcastles. The father intently filled buckets with wet sand and turned them gently to build the larger perimeter. The mother kept the boy at bay, foiling his numerous attempts to squash the father’s efforts. The little girl ran back and forth, filling her bucket with water and dumping it in front of her father. It was a concerted family attempt to create a sand village, a place of imagination and sunshine. And it was delightful to watch.

The tide was on the rise. Our beach was long and flat, so any rising was dually noted immediately. Shortly after the majority of the sand village had been built, a wall of water seemed to come out of nowhere. We watched it, as if in slow motion, make its way to the village. The small family saw it too. The mother grabbed both kids arms and the father threw himself down lengthwise in front of their sand art and, using his body, virtually stopped the flow of destructive water, protecting and saving the village. That is, until a few minutes later, when the next wall made its attack. We applauded his effort and commented on the valiance.

They had built only a temporary work of art, to be sure, but desire to save it was incredibly strong. It was, indeed, sad to see when the last tower was finally washed away. How often do we put too much effort into a project destined to fail and not enough into the tried and true? We see so many around us: colleagues, family members, friends, and even our competition get caught up in the new and shiny objects offered by the latest and greatest technology or the quickest-growing social media plaything.

Some of these distractions may end up being a worthwhile pursuit, but most are just a temporary endeavor – a sandcastle, the latest time investment that crosses our paths. Being able to decipher and discern in which to invest time and effort can become a full-time job in and of itself. And it isn’t easy. Should I learn more about social gaming and how it might benefit our business? Should I join Google+, building my community and network, investing time and effort in a new arena, again? Should I demo this product? Should I get in on the beta testing for that one? We each have to decide for ourselves which sand castles to build and which to save.  Well-place your valiance. The rewards will surprise you.

 
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Removing the Wedge

When I was twenty-seven years old, my parents divorced. It was a difficult time, I thought my parents would always be together. But change happens, it is the one constant. And with that change came many others. I doubted myself and my own marriage. I questioned who I was and underneath it all, I found reasons to be unforgiving. I’m not saying it was a bad thing, for in actuality – like so much in life, it was a lesson. A lesson in reality, a step away from the shining castle, and a step toward understanding truth.

And though I was not a child, as an adult I should have been more sympathetic, I was not. The hurt inside usually overpowered any rational thought or action that might have led me through the healing process. I was able to eventually let go of the pain but it was a process that required me to consistently open my mind. Ultimately, my father’s untimely death sealed my belief that rational thought, reasonable conversation, and respect is a must.

Just before my father died, he had been sick but we did not think his illness was fatal, I simply thought it was a chest cold that was left untreated for too long. My mother took my dad in, she gave him a place to live and cared for him while he was recovering. Forgiveness. My mom, along with my brother and sister who both lived close by, helped my father find an apartment near them all and when he seemed well enough, they helped him move in. A week after he moved, he was gone. Timely? Yes. Too soon? Also yes.

Approaching life with a chip on one’s shoulder or a constant cloud of indignation does not ease the pain of heart break or loss. In fact, it actually widens the wedge that divides. Learning to forgive is not an easy task. But what I have found is that, similar to smiling your way to happiness, wanting to forgive – saying you forgive, will eventually lead to that accomplishment. Acceptance of hurt and the desire to let it go are part of the process. There is, of course, a place for forgiveness. And not only in family relations or friendships, but in business, as well.

When you are invested in what you do or the people with whom you work, there is always the chance you will be hurt. Sometimes in business, the almighty dollar does come first and a company’s best and brightest do not. Following my departure from a job and organization that I dearly loved, it was tempting to stay detached in my next assignment. A nine to five, easy-going position with no investment was certainly alluring. But in the end, my need to dive in and fully commit overpowered my need to self-protect. But it couldn’t be done without forgiving the past and letting it go. Rational thought won.
 
And in the end, so did I.

**Removing the Wedge was written in November of 2010 as I contemplated the anniversary of my father’s death…
 
 
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the North American Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.

A New Revolution

A world that finds distress necessary seems to be emerging. I don’t really understand it, but it seems to be true even as we recognize the need to ease distress, solve an issue, change a course, innovation and provoking thoughts or actions occur. Provocation has, on more than one occasion, driven home the need to rethink or transform. It is a continual itch that needs to be scratched, a bottomless hole that needs to be filled, and an oft-asked question begging to be answered.

More than a mild irritation that is easily soothed by calming words or Neosporin, revolution comes along when what is currently in place is no longer working or relevant. Thomas Jefferson said, “Every generation needs a new revolution.”  So, what revolution have we, this current generation of business?

The perpetual swell of technology and the speed with which we communicate have initiated a whole new way to master human resources, to create partnerships and create continuing biz opportunities. When I first entered the corporate world, the fax machine was invaluable and snail mail was the preferred way of sharing important information. Email quickly took over and increased the tempo to our favorite song.

IM, Social Networks, Twitter, Gamification, and Location Tech continue to evolve the face of sourcing, marketing, presenting, negotiating, and selecting. Thank goodness. Think of how different our lives might be without the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google. Especially in the wake of recent economic changes. Evolution, actual revolution was imminent, continues to be imminent.  It will not slow down – it may even increase. Are you ready?

Relationship-building will become even more imperative as we enter the next evolution.

Anyone can tweet – where is their face?
Anyone can join a social network and add a hundred new contacts in a day – where is the handshake?
Anyone can find the perfect match for the perfect job online – where is the voice and personal engagement?

Don’t be anyone.

Be the someone whose voice is recognized.
Be the someone whose client knows you look good in red or that you like deep dish pizza.
Be the someone who knows the value of engagement.

Be someone.

Every generation needs a new revolution…

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.