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This week, there's not one, but two HR conferences five minutes from my house. It's my shortest conference commute ever. Not that I needed convincing to attend the kick-off of #SHRMTalent on Sunday, Talent Tomorrow (T2)--the agenda was full of rockstars and DICE gave us all free wifi. There's someth

I first wrote about using Pinterest in evolutionary, yet small ways--like a visual bio. Then, I joined Jessica Read at Evviva Brands to co-author Pinterest Your Brand where we provided a brand's introduction to Pinterest. We even followed it up with a fun Twitter chat. Now we're on to Part II: Creat

My better half runs a start-up here in DC, so our dinner conversations revolve around what's new, what's growing and what's innovative. So when he first started talking about Study Hall, my ears perked up. With all my years in the corporate world, we always struggled with innovation. In large, conse

I recently wrote about using Pinterest in evolutionary, yet small ways--like a visual bio. We know imagery is big news, but it's more than news, it's a shift in business content. To document this thinking, I joined Jessica Read at Evviva Brands to co-author a new post: Pinterest Your Brand. If your

Today, my former team at Marriott International won "Best Employer Brand" at the Recruiting Excellence Awards--part of ERE Expo. (Congrats team!) The awards are a great way to keep tabs on what's happening in talent acquisition and recruiting and what might work for you. It's conference season after

We've got some great stuff cooking over at Evviva Brands on Pinterest. Perhaps a recipe you hadn't thought of when using the  popular social networking site. If you've been living under a rock, or convinced that you're too manly to learn what Pinterest actually is, it's an online pinboard that allow

Thanks to the fantastic David Gee, there's a great write-up over on Staffing Talk about my presentation at the Minnesota Recruiters' Conference. Give it a read, and, if you were there share some feedback in the comments too.  I should also take the time for a shout out to Paul DeBettignies who organ

Every time I have a conversation with someone new about employer brand, it usually results in raised eyebrows and a reaction of "oh, I hadn't thought about it that way." It's not rocket science, but it is a way of thinking that's often lost on my HR colleagues because, well, we work in HR.  And we s

Wait, what? Don't recruit on social media? But I thought you were a social recruiting advocate? Yes, yes I am. I'm also an advocate of advancing the way we think and report out about recruiting in conjunction with advances in the field. Last week the fab @Jason_DFW shared an interesting infographic

A company's brand is only as good as its perception in the market. And the same goes for an employer brand. This week my former employer, Marriott International, moved up to #57 on Fortune's Best Places to Work (#1 in companies with more than 65,000 employees). And Sainsbury's, a UK grocery store, p

I'm back on HRExaminer this week. It's education, performance, frogs, Long John Silver's and taking a long-lens look all in one post. Jackpot, right? In all seriousness, the best thinking often comes well outside my area of expertise. In this case, it's a special education, middle school science tea

I could and should be looking ahead and making resolutions for 2012. But before I do, I’m looking back. And for good reason. I’m about to return back to my entrepreneurial roots as a talent strategy and brand consultant.  Like any brand shift, it happened slowly and evolved over time as I thought ab

Dear Sender, Thanks for your email. I am out of the office until January 3. That's right. I work so hard and am so important to this company that I haven't taken any vacation this year. So now it's December 22 and I have four weeks to use. Since I work 24/7,  taking the next 13 days is like taking f

If you know me, you know that I love (American) football season. I grew up in Philadelphia where I think the hospitals do something to newborns to make them like football.  I did my undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech and it just made my fan status rise. There's nothing like jumping up and down t

People love a good list.  In HR, we’re obsessed with them. I prefer the kind of list I can check off. But everyone wants to be on top of a good list. But how do we actually use them? I didn't want to do a scathing review of the methodology behind them (though like most, I have my own opinions).  I’m

I joined the Social Media Plus conference today to share my take on social recruiting.  As I told the audience, I think most organizations are doing it all wrong. We're not taking advantage of the social in social. Being social, and having an effective social recruiting strategy isn't just about bei

When you're job searching it pays to be creative in the right ways. And trade show or conference networking can be one of them. You may have never thought to consider industry trade shows as an important part of your networking strategy but think again.  Check out my tips on trade show networking in

I had a great discussion over dinner last night with some friends about the "place." The one place that makes you feel most at home--the place that is the core of who you are. For one it was Prague, because that's where she fell in love. For another it was Vienna because that's where he was born and

I love speaking at conferences--mostly because it means a free pass. And I get to hear some super fab people and really listen and learn. Take MediaBistro's Career Circus earlier this year.  Before and after my musings, there were stars like Richard Cho from Facebook, Saul Colt from FreshBooks and L

If all I watched was Top Chef, The Millionaire Matchmaker and Inside the Actors Studio, I'd be a happy couch potato. And, I'd only need the "Bravo Channel" package from Comcast. From a channel that brands itself as every show being the next big thing (and then delivering) comes the brand of Jerry Le

“Why do people want to work with you?”  “I have significant experience in these types of projects and demonstrated evidence of execution from start to finish.” “Great, now why do people want to work with you?” So went the conversation I had with a branding client recently looking to build a personal

Class is in session at the University of Sumser where the Dean is opposed to idea that there is a quick fix to everything. If you’ve taken a class here before, you know that staunch opinion and firm beliefs always make an appearance. But there’s always an interesting discussion in the works. Next we

I'm back at it again on HRExaminer, this time with the fabulous Lars Schmidt, director of talent acquisition for NPR.  Lars and I were talking about how hard it is to be in-house with companies while so many consultants, headhunters and others look inward and wonder "why can't they do more" and "the