Are we falling or flying … and will we ever know?

Life, the universe, technology, project management, and why change management is so incredibly hard.

Posts Tagged ‘hiring manager’

Hulu-baloo, Part 2.

October 21st, 2009

I seem to be thinking mostly in images these days, when not thinking in terms of databases…

thinkoutsidethebox

25 Yards From The Goal Line.

September 8th, 2009

Henry David Thoreau wrote “Things do not change, we change.”

I think that is partly right. We are all part of one dynamic, interdependent system; when any one component within the system experiences a change, that change will potentially impact other components, or even the system as a whole.

Most of the time, I think change is good, especially when I initiate it.

At the beginning, change is exciting and full of optimism, great opportunity and hope.

After the goal is reached, there’s a sense of relief – you did it; and the sense of achievement is combined with a more realistic but still optimistic vision of opportunity, and the ability to more clearly see what is down the road.

For me, the biggest challenges during times of change occur while I’m somewhere between 70 and 90% through the process; I’ve completed most of the milestones, but have not resolved the last few problems keeping me from the finish line and not yet sure how to make that happen.

For those times, I keep a framed copy of my favorite Hugh Macleod cartoon:

“I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

- Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Yet Another “Unique” Job Opportunities for Those in the Market …

July 23rd, 2009

This one was posted to a Project Management group on linkedin.com; and while it may be legal to specify the candidate’s gender in India for this type of role, it definitely does not meet US employment law standards, or most people’s standards for good taste ;-):

Life Sciences Graduates Hyderabad India based (Ladies) please contact

A Pharmaceutical organization based in Hyderabad India requires lady customer relations coordinator.Life sceinces graduates preferably with MBA Marketing qualifications please contact.

Scapegoat Wanted, Part II

July 15th, 2009

Several weeks ago I blogged about some of the more… interesting… employment opportunities making the rounds within Seattle.

Not surprisingly, at least one of them is still open… or, should I say, RE-OPENED.

Two friends were contacted right around the time of my original post, but by two different agencies trying to staff that same job; one actually interviewed with the hiring manager for that role; their summary of that experience sparked my original post.

Today, another agency contacted my friend about that same job, which now has a few new requirements.

Enjoy:

A competing agency filled that contract senior project manager position on June 1st; their new employee hired for that role started June 29th.

Today the agency who filled that job called me today and asked me if I’d be willing to start a job, oh…tomorrow?

I asked what the positon was…they began to rattle off something all too familiar: Must be very proficiant with SharePoint, must know Excel and know how to use lookup formulas. They need someone immediately.

But – this time the project manager must be less of a leader and be more of a team player. And the contract was demoted to PM2 instead of PM3.

Hmm. After subtracting the federal holiday Friday, July 3 – that contract Senior PM survived either 11 or 12 days with that team. Based on the original job posting – I think they earned a gold medal for sticking it out that long.

I’m sure the next update will be equally entertaining, if not more so. The already late project is now three weeks further behind; it’s a safe bet that hiring manager and team are more pleasant and flexible than ever.

Stay tuned…. :)

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” – Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)

The Revolving Door Out…

May 15th, 2009

There’s something about this time of year that heralds change for me – I’m in the midst of preparing to take the PMP certification exam, with the end result being I don’t have any extra time – or the mental energy – to blog; but I’ll be back blogging starting June 9.

Perhaps it’s a good thing karma is not instant – eventual karma is ok, too, and deserves to be celebrated when it occurs; and some happened this week.

“It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.” – Douglas Adams

Related Content:

“We’re all mad here.”

I’ve often wondered how companies succeed when so much inside seems to be broken. If we’re lucky, work only consumes 10 or so hours a day, 5 days a week – but if you work in technology, frequently it consumes a lot more time, even if it’s only mental bandwidth and …

Ego, Redux

If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. – Friedrich Nietzsche No men are oftener wrong than those that can least bear to be so. – Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is a demand in these days for men who can make wrong appear right. – …

Help Wanted: Zookeeper with a Good Attitude.

Most job postings are dry. Really dry. And – they usually include “must haves” which require skills and/or experience with everything but being able to both plumb AND re-enamel a kitchen sink. As one hiring manager/Art Director I spoke with last week said – if any candidate ever met his team’s expectations, there …

Life on Mars

I’m a fan of the US version of the TV show “Life on Mars,” and look forward this weekend to watching the original British production. In the meantime, I’m still laughing over two lines from tonight’s show – “One Brady short of a Bunch;” and ”Maybe you spend enough time with a crazy …

Often I Learn the Most from People Who are Clueless.

Yesterday, my friend Sherry and I were “out and about,” enjoying a relatively warm, dry, and sunny late November day in Seattle. Sherry is a woman of many talents; in a past life was a Specialized Ed teacher. Eventually our day included a discussion of how those students who most needed help to learn were often …

Tags: hiring manager, mental energy, time of year, redux, friedrich nietzsche

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Help Wanted: Zookeeper with a Good Attitude.

January 20th, 2009

Most job postings are dry. Really dry. And – they usually include “must haves” which require skills and/or experience with everything but being able to both plumb AND re-enamel a kitchen sink.

As one hiring manager/Art Director I spoke with last week said – if any candidate ever met his team’s expectations, there wouldn’t be enough money in the budget to hire that person, and buy them a Lamborghini on hire – or whatever their dream car would be.

So – it’s very refreshing when employers successfully include humor in their job postings. Today’s chuckle is compliments of Independent Brewers United, who yesterday posted an HR Generalist (Zookeeper!) job on the Seattle Craigslist site.

Besides the job title, I really enjoyed the FINE PRINT at the bottom of the posting:

The Fine Print: We are an equal-opportunity employer offering competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package to qualified employees. IBU does not employ sentient beings from alternative dimensions or people with bad attitudes.

I can think of a large number of companies who would benefit from following IBU’s hiring practices; I’d name names, but that would conflict with my disclaimer, and besides – I’m sure you can, as well … :)

In any case …. Ask not for whom the beer tolls. It tolls for thee.