Jon & Kate + Eight = Case Study for Your Discontented Employees
The other night I saw the infamous Kate Gosselin (who, lets face it, is only in her position because she OD'd on infertility meds and popped out 8 kids) say that her goal in life is to be the voice of a Disney Character. So shocked by what she’d just said, I paused my Tivo, rolled my eyes, threw my arms in the air and shouted, “will this woman ever be happy with what she has?” Five years ago she would have wished for enough money to support her family, TLC gave her that. Three years ago she wanted a career in public speaking, TLC gave her that. Now she wants

Dear John...You Suck! Rejection Letter Do's and Don'ts
An interesting thing happened to me this past week. I got a rejection letter for a job I sent my resume to.  Now, I already know what you're thinking: "Wait, Tim, You! It can't be, how could anyone reject YOU!" - I know! Really!?! But, that's not my point of this post - my point is, I didn't even remember sending my resume to this organization.  Come to find out, this large health system in the southern part of the United States had a VP of HR position open up about a year and half ago.  At that time I was working for a major hospital system and I'm sure I saw that opening and said "Hey, I can do that." Plus, being born, raised and spending

Buck Up! It's Your Job to Make the Hard & Risky Reject Calls. Chicken, Don't Hide Behind Your Ba
OK- So, we’re talking talent management right?  HR pros all know that rejecting applicants is recruiting 101. But what happens when your reject tap dances on the back of a bad background check.  OK-still 101, but I have to question, how many of you pick up the phone and actually talk to a rejected applicant. Really.  Really-really? Most will say not often because they don’t have to.  Many others will say never because legally it’s too risky.  I say it’s because you are chicken.  Uh-huh. As Morrissey once said …stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before…

What Afghanistan Reminds Us About Recruiting - Get Out to the Front Lines
Innovation and technological advantage are highly sought after in the Recruiting and Talent Acquisition world, aka "The Recruitosphere."  Press releases about new products, daily webinars, product launches at tradeshows, articles among our industry's wider read networks, blog posts... and frankly, the majority of the Recruitosphere's Twitter stream revolves around these topics.  You might say it's somewhat of a reinforcing loop. News and chatter begets more news and chatter.This thirst for technological advantage doesn't only exist in the Recruitosphere (or the B2B wo

FOT Mailbag: Lowballing on Job Offers - Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should.
We get mail at FOT! And you guys are facing some challenging issues out there. Here's a recent question from our mail bag that I liked and wanted to share - Does anyone have thoughts about what to do when a candidate asks for a significantly lower salary requirement than you budgeted for? Do you just give them the lower amount out of hand? I have a candidate that I think is a good fit, but she low-balled herself, which makes me think a couple of things... times are tough, so she'll do whatever it takes, or she doesn't value her skill set (which is an undermining behavior)... or, does it mean she's maybe not as bright as I thought?