I don’t normally write about political issues here at Blogging4Jobs.  I am, however, intrigued by the Oklahoma Governor’s race because of social media.  I thought it would be an interesting comparison to look at the candidates side by side and evaluating them using some basic social media indicators.

Earlier this weekend, Jari Askins sent me a direct message on Twitter reminding me to vote, and I wondered how the candidates are using the popular social media channels–Twitter, Facebook Like Pages, and Youtube as part of their election bid. Mary Fallin is the other candidate running for Oklahoma governor.

Have you been influenced in your decision to vote or in the voting process because of social media? Are there things the candidates could have done better, more of, or less? Leave a comment below and let it be known.  I will continue to track the social media mentions and will be evaluating the use of the #okgov hash tag.  Elections happen on Tuesday so don’t forget to get out and vote.

Earlier this week I had a revelation.  People read what I write and listen to what I have to say.   It’s funny because I don’t often think about the people who read this blog and don’t leave a comment or contact me directly.  Apparently, my thoughts and ideas influence others and not just those within the human resource profession. This has always been my goal but when you are punching keys behind a monitor or speaking in front of a large crowd at an event, it might not feel that way.

Regardless of our blog traffic, our twitter followers, or the number of friends of family members we talk to and interact with everyday, the reality is that our words and actions are being evaluated and watched by others.  People we conversate both good and bad process the information and our auctions many different ways.  That’s a huge amount of responsibility when you consider the impact your own words or auctions can have on influencing others.

This understanding of impact is described as emotional intelligence and was a session at the Southwest Regional Human Resource Conference this past week.  While I wasn’t able to attend the presentation, the tweets from Steve Boese and others got me thinking.  (Steve’s article,  HR Southwest – Do I have to talk about my feelings? )

Are we living our lives with emotional intelligence?  Do you have the ability to manage your relationships with others so that you can live your intentions and values?

But more importantly, what if your values or beliefs are not shared with or by others?  Does this make you a bad person to someone of little worth or value?  And if so, what gives a person the right to determine this?  If your values or belief system, doesn’t align with another, do basic human qualities like respect and dignity no longer apply?

Last week you may have read about a talented, young man age 19 from Norman, Oklahoma, who committed suicide several days after attending a very heated and ugly discussion regarding the city recognizing October as GLBT (Gays, Lesbian, Bi, Trans-gender) month.  He sat in a room full of adults and influencers of children, their family, and the community making statements and comments without consequence. Their words and conversations influencing others and shaping the reality and perception of those that sat in the city council meeting room.

And those in attendance included my cousin, Zach Harrington, the talented, young gay man age 19 from Norman, Oklahoma who committed suicide a week ago today.

I’m not here to debate religion, politics, or public policy with this post.  I’m here to make you aware about the importance of values and emotional intelligence.  Reminding yourself that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and that there is no possible way to judge others without having walked a mile in their shoes.  Our family is grieving a young man who was struggling to understand and learn who he was and find his place in this world.  His battle really no different than our own.

For the last five years since moving to Oklahoma, I have volunteered and worked with an organization called HeartLine that seeks to provide suicide awareness, prevention training, and 24 hour assistance for family members, friends, and persons throughout Oklahoma.  I’ve donated hours, money, sweat and tears to an organization that seeks to help people like my cousin before it’s too late.

Take accountability for your actions and know that you are influencing people more than you can imagine.  Consider living your life with emotional intelligence.

Photo Credit CEO and Norman Transcript.

As someone who’s been a blogger for four years, I can talk about the amazing benefits personally and professionally.  Blogging is a great way to go beyond 140 characters and share with your readers more about you.  And after being part of the Gotta Love Chevy OK Program, I realized I wanted to bring awareness to this powerful group of people (thousands of us) who live all across the state of Oklahoma.

And after talking with other Oklahoma bloggers who I admire, I thought it would be a great to coordinate a week in Oklahoma to recognize the bloggers from all over the state.  This week will be to network with other bloggers and share best practices and lessons learned along the way.  More information about when and how the week is coming soon.  And if you’d like to be the first to learn about the big announcement and who I am partnering with, please complete the information form (below).  And if you prefer, you are welcome to email me at blogging4jobs@gmail.com.  Please include your first name and last name, your email, and blog or website address.

I will add your name to the distribution list to receive updates BEFORE the announcement hits the internet.

Photo Credit DailyNugget.

Four and a half years ago, I was new in town looking for a job and opportunities to network and build experience.  A phone call inquiring about volunteer opportunities led me to HeartLine.  HeartLine is an non-profit that services the entire state of Oklahoma doing a lot of different and valuable services including suicide prevention and awareness training, 211, and their 1-800 CareLine.

• HeartLine€™s 2-1-1 service provides Central Oklahomans 24/7 access to information on any type of health or human service, and this easy-to-remember telephone number is the best first place to call to get help, or give help.

• HeartLine€™s CareLine Call Specialists are available 24-hours a day, every day of the year, offering compassionate listening, crisis intervention and suicide prevention. 848-2273 (CARE)serves Central Oklahoma.

• HeartLine€™s Suicide Awareness and Prevention Programs target two separate populations – one that serves youth and one that helps the elderly:

• HeartLine’s Problem Gambling Helpline is the result of a partnership with the Oklahoma Association for Problem & Compulsive Gambling.  The 1-800-522-4700 Problem Gambling Helpline provides problem gamblers and family of problem gamblers throughout the state of Oklahoma information about treatment and hope for overcoming their addiction.

Every year HeartLine’s fundraising event is the Festival of Hope Gala, and this year’s event is Friday, August 13, 2010, at the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum in Oklahoma City, OK.  In addition to recognizing some amazing folks including Tom & Lisa Price, Santa’s Cause, and Larry Hawkins, they host an annual silent and live auction to benefit their organization.  This year is special for me because I am the Auction Chair.  We have a number of amazing trips, weekend get-a-ways, and auction items that will appeal to each and every attendee.  One in particular that I am very excited about is a Hermes Birkin Bag and Wallet combination valued at more than $10,000.  It is the single largest auction donation item in the history of HeartLine and was donated by a very special friend of mine, Ties to Tattoos„¢ author, Sherri Elliott-Yeary.  (Thanks, Sherri!)

The Birkin will be part of the live auction and you are certainly invited to get in on the Birkin bidding auction.  Tickets to the Festival of Hope are still available on HeartLine’s website for $125 a person or $1,000 a table.  Feel free to give me a call (405.912.4885) directly or email (blogging4jobs@gmail.com) if you have any questions about the event.  Xceptional HR is sponsoring our own table as well as live tweeting and streaming the event.  Be sure to follow the Twitter hash tag, #hope as well as @HeartLine for real time insights and information into the Festival of Hope.

Hope to see you there.

Is our economy recovering?

I’d like to think yes, but after viewing the most recent December Job Report, I’m not quite so sure.  In the United States we had 85,000 new people file for unemployment benefits this last month.  My concern for the economy and our reported recovery is three fold.

November and December are historically the most profitable months for retail companies who look for consumers to spend their hard earned money in the form of presents and gifts during the holidays.  Retailers historically hire millions of temporary workers to serve as cashiers, sales clerks, and inventory personnel to help with the increased foot traffic and sales during the holidays, and still our job loss report released January 8th was 85,000 with more than 15 million Americans still out of work.

Looking back at job loss numbers for December 2008 and 2007 were very different with December 2008 at 524,000 and unemployment remaining at 10% for a second straight month.  While at the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.7 million and the unemployment rate was 5.0%.

But even if retails companies might be hiring (they were down 10%) but unemployed eligible workers also weren’t buying.  Take the average middle class worker who makes $50,000 salary a year. If they reside in Oklahoma, the average weekly unemployment benefit is $392 which equates to an hourly rate of $9.80 an hour for a 40 hour work week.  This amount is well-above the average cashier’s hourly wage in my experience. If the only companies who are hiring are temporary holiday positions, I’d much rather save the cost of day care, gas, and work dress clothes and wait out the recession collecting my meager unemployment benefits.

Companies also historically lessen their financial obligations in the form of human capital not only at the end of quarter (which happens to be December for many) but also at the fiscal year end which for many companies and businesses was December 31st.  Interestingly enough most retail companies fiscal year end is Februar28th and for government is June 30th.

State budgets are being cut.  Sales tax revenues are less than expected.  Government hiring is slowing.  In Oklahoma, the state that I call home, just announced a 10% cut in spending for 2010.  Not exactly the ideal situation for an economic recovery.

On the flip side, temporary and contract hiring is expected to increase this year.  Companies are not yet ready to commit to hiring and re-hiring staff until they see some measurable growth in their market.  Even if a company has the funds and means to hire and grow, they are reluctant to do so instead opting to employ a “dry powder theory.”  By hiring temporary and contract workers, they can keep their investments liquid eliminating overhead costs like benefits, social security, and other government taxes and expenses associated with human capital management.  Personally, the dry powder theory sounds more like dating without the marriage commitment.

…In Part II of “It’s a Dry Powder Job Market” I’ll discuss tactics for employees, candidates, and the unemployed to consider and employ in the Dry Power Job Market.

Photo Credits Phil’s Stock World & InvestorCentric