President of Child-Rearing

Today a colleague stopped by my office to say her goodbyes as today was her last day at the company.  She has resigned from her sales job after 5 years to be a stay-at-home mom.  "How cool and how lucky you are" I beamed.  I immediately thought of all the crazy reports I've heard on poor conditions and carelessness at day care providers and I can see why my colleague would not want to leave their newborn with strangers.

While I was a little jealous, (not sure why, I don't have any kids yet) I wondered how many stay-at-home moms are out there and what they do everyday.  Well, I did find that the U.S. Census Bureau reported 5 million stay-at-home moms in 2010.  That's quite a bit, but it didn't mention what exactly stay-at-home moms do all day.  I don't have any close friends or family members who chose to give up working outside the home to stay at home with their kids; but when I hurriedly venture to Target on my lunch break, I always envy those mid-day shopping moms who get to leisurely peruse the aisles and comparison shop in peace.  Is that what my "stay-at-home mom to be colleague" will do?  But what else?  Feed, change and play with the baby or toddler can only take up a couple hours; housework all day, every day, I don't think so.  Well, maybe these SAHMs are using the time to start schooling their kids, so that they can be super-genius kids who are overly prepared for Pre-Kindergarten.  Or, maybe the majority of that 5 million is really running some sort of home-based business.  So technically they are working moms...

Whatever it is SAHMs do, good for you and more power to ya!  Who knows, I one day may start a Power Apron blog and I will at least know for sure what a SAHM does then!

Getting your foot in the door

Recently, I have been asked to assist with interviewing and selecting an HR intern to join our department for a couple months. I would have to say, I haven't interviewed someone since I replaced my old position last summer after my promotion, and then before that was back in my recruitment days as a full time recruiter. So, being asked to interrogate a hopeful job seeker put me back in my old stomping grounds. While I used to LOVE recruiting, I have acquired so many new skills, I can hardly stand the interview process anymore. Tell me about a time when you did this, elaborate on a time you did that...the art of getting to the bottom of someone's ability and potential now only leave me flustered. This coming from a previous die-hard recruiter is really disheartening, because I do believe that recruiting is a great skill to have personally and professionally.

What drove me to fluster is the dilemma my colleague and I have, experience or not - that is the question every time a recruiter or hiring manager has an opening and begins the interview process. If you ever hire someone for anything, housekeeper, nanny, administrative assistant for your own entrepreneur venture, or an HR intern, you will run into a crossroad - experience or none. Because candidates come in all experience levels, background of knowledge and personality, if you are lucky enough to narrow your pool down to 2 or 3 great people the dilemma begins. Luckily, our dilemma came to an end late this afternoon when one of the top two candidates decided to pull out of the selection pool, leaving us with our hire. Pheww....so glad it worked out like that!  It was going to be a very hard decision otherwise.

If you are hiring keep in mind:

- Do you need this person to hit the ground running OR is the job easy to pick up with some training

- Will the job at hand be challenging enough for the experienced or will they get bored overtime

- Reflect on how did you get your experience - someone gave you a chance, right?

If you are trying to gain experience:

- Do research on the job skill, take classes, webinars, seminar to familiarize yourself with the discipline, so that while you don't have the practical experience you will have the familiarity with the concepts and subject matter

- Prepare for the interview, like you are preparing for an exam; research and study the company and the position. Also - be prepared to discuss experiences that are similar or comparable to the job or internship you are seeking to get

- Don't give up, you will find someone, some company who will want to and is eager to welcome a newbie, give them a chance and help them get their foot in the door

As weird as it may sound, today, it dawned on me that the women's bathroom at my workplace periodically smells like fruity pebbles cereal.  And... I have not had Fruity Pebbles since I was a kid!  It really is a mood booster - I have to say.  It makes me think of psychedelic colors and tie dye and daisies. It is really weird. Then I start to think - what is it - is it the automatic air freshener that mists out on its timed schedule or is it the cleaning supplies our janitor uses, someones lotion or hairspray, I truly don't know - its a mystery.

Now it doesn't smell like that always - I don't have to go there. But another smell I recognize is jheri curl activator. What is that???  Maybe someone has a jheri curl here at work that I have not noticed. I don't know - but these thoughts led me to give out some workplace restroom etiquette tips.

Why?  You will most likely see the same people in the restroom, seeing that we are at work for anywhere from 8 to 10 hours a day.  Working in a office setting where you see the same people all the time, it turns into your home away from home.  Any woman who has lived with a male, remembers toilet seats being left up - I do thanks to my brother. So if you care about being a good customer of your office restroom keep reading:

• Wash your hands.  You would be surprised how many women I have witnessed leaving the stall and fleeing the bathroom.  That is not only wrong, but a hygienic risk.  Working in a area with LOTS of people = GERMS!  So, having touched files, pens, shaking hands of people you just met and to then not wash your hands..... YUCK!
• Leave the stall clean for others (you know what I mean) and not smelly. Someone in my department actually has an air freshener canister she takes to the bathroom with her. What class!
• If its a co-ed bathroom, make it gender neutral - not too frilly not to masculine. Ladies keep your personal items placed in covered receptacles or in cabinets.
• Don't use other people's products without permission.  In our restroom we have a cabinet where people store toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairspray, lotion, etc.  Me personally I have a problem with my personal items being out of my sight or personal space, but others don't.  So, if you start to feel like you need brush your teeth or need a feminine product, stop by CVS or Walgreens and stock up on your own items.  Now if the item belongs to your work bff and you have an understanding where you share things fine.  Really, you shouldn't be using the stuff of people you don't really know anyway.

If everyone would just follow these couple of tips the world of work should be not only be hygienically sound, but also a good patron of work restrooms. 

Jackpot - I quit!

Most people fantasize about winning the lottery and then quitting their jobs.  But, not just quitting, actually exiting the company in a fashion that includes flipping off your boss, turning desks, throwing files in the trash and pimp walking out of the building with your deuces in the air, like Chris Brown.  Well, maybe that's not everybody, but I have ran across some people who say that is exactly what they would do if they hit the mega millions.

Now, what would I do...hmmm...I know for sure I would not quit my job immediately.  I could see myself working for at least 6 more months after the win (and collection of funds of course) until I figure out what my next move would be.  Invest in a franchise, purchase investment property, I don't know but a plan would have be to made!  I probably wouldn't even want people to know I won, except for my mortgage company, because I would definitely be paying off my house!

One million dollars is not what it used to be and I've read that even millionaires are pinching their pennies.  So if you hit the power ball think twice before you utter those two words - "I quit". Today I ran across an article on Money.msn.com which highlights a couple (who has decided to remain anonymous - smart, right)who won the lottery and kept their 9 to 5 jobs.  Click on the link below and find out why they decided to keep working.

http://money.msn.com/saving-money/article.aspx?post=4173ee56-bbae-4e90-abae-79c9a2be2a60&gt1=33026

New Office Shorthand

Is it me or is this text message language creeping into the work world?  I find myself reading work emails in MS Outlook that contain LOL, OMG, LMAO or LMBO and even WTF.  I have not seen SMH yet (which by the way, I just learned what this meant not too long ago).

Not sure if I am more disturbed that my 62 year old boss is using those acronyms OR that they are being used in the workplace all together. Talk about merging worlds. There used to be work clothes and after work or weekend clothes, work voice and the after 5 o' clock voice, and now here I thought there was such a thing as work communication and terminology (which I blogged about years ago) and outside work lingo, but it looks like the inside and outside worlds have collided.  I must admit, I am guilty of no longer having work clothes, instead I have clothes I wear to work. I do draw the line with my minis, hot pants and skinny jeans - hey I do have ethics.  But, I do sashay into the office in my 4 1/2 inch leopard print pumps or python sling backs here and there aiming for my Carrie Bradshaw Sex in the City look. (I still love her to this day and watch the reruns on E!)

I digress - WTF why have we accepted these abbreviations as work appropriate.  I barely understand the abbreviations when my girls text them to me.  When I see colleagues doing this it makes me LOL, but not in a good way, I then SMH!  :o) Oh, but these smiley faces are used quite often.  I personally think these are okay.  :o)  But hey, a smiley face is universal - right?!

If you are like me and need a little help - here you go.
LOL - Laugh out loud
OMG - Oh my gosh/God
WTF - What the...
SMH - Shaking my head/shake my head
LMBO/LMAO - laugh my butt or ...off