Nancy Ford's Blog (31)

What Not To Post - The Frightening Truths Your Friends Are Too Afraid To Tell You

Once upon a time there was a runaway hit television show on BBC named "What Not To Wear". For those of you who are not familiar with the premise of this show, it involves a very no-nonsense and somewhat confrontational approach to unsuspecting individuals whose family members and friends have nominated them to be subjects of the show. Trinny and Susannah take a hard look at the clothes that people wear and proceed to list all of the fashion sins they are committing. People expect their friends… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on April 8, 2010 at 5:19pm — No Comments

Jumping - Success Through Repetition

At the gym I go to there's a particularly dedicated young man who is a

competitive basketball player. How do I know this? I know this because

I observed this guy strapping on some extremely ungainly shoes and

jumping up and down off of a static wooden box for 30 minute stretches.

These shoes are extraordinary - they give you a 6" lift on the ball of

your foot but no heel equivalent, so you can't stand back. The result

is that you are strengthening your calf muscles… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on March 3, 2010 at 7:58pm — No Comments

Laying Off Is Hard To Do - The Importance of Preserving Dignity

Remember that old Neil Sedaka song, "Breaking up is hard to do?" Well here in New Zealand, "Laying Off Is Hard To Do". The laws surrounding hiring/firing/laying off workers are such that in order to comply, companies must go through a number of steps that are similar to union requirements in the United States. I won't get into boring specifics, but in my own particular situation - the entire New Zealand office of a particular company was being closed. In order to be in proper legal compliance,… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on January 20, 2010 at 11:02pm — No Comments

A New Chapter

After twelve years working at the boutique firm The Creative Network, the downturn in the economy forced them to let me go. Studying abroad currently, I am quite vulnerable to any changes in my financial situation and this development hit me hard. I have found new employment at a global investment firm that suits my hours and my studies - the environment is great and the people are very nice. I can sincerely say that I enjoy the work and it's… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on May 15, 2009 at 5:15pm — 3 Comments

Our Of Your Paradigm and Into The Fire (**not recruiting related)

Have you ever stopped in the middle of something and asked yourself, "What the heck am I doing? Why am I doing it this way? Whose crazy idea was this anyway?" I have. I am. Jumping outside of my usual day-to-day paradigm I'm challenging myself in a myriad of ways. I have achieved some successes and have suffered some failures. And my time outside of my comfort zone is only just beginning!

When you first step outside of your paradigm, you are constantly challenged by everything that's… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on April 6, 2009 at 3:57pm — 1 Comment

Walking the Line Between "Contact" and "CyberStalking" in This New Age of Social Networking

In today's ever-evolving world of email, blackberries, iphones, twitter, ning, facebook, myspace, linkedin and a plethora of other social networking mediums, it's important to understand that although there is a lot of information readily available about people, there are still lines over which we must not cross when expanding our social networks.

I attended an all-day session of the Recruiting Roadshow that was held in Portland and sponsored by Adidas. One of the key ideas that was… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on March 11, 2009 at 8:46pm — 1 Comment

OLD DOG - New Tricks

As the marketplace and economy continue at their snail's pace, it's a challenge to engage in "income-producing activities" (my favorite work term). Playing "catcher" to candidates and selectively choosing job orders is not the way the game's going to be played out right now. And therefore, it's time for this old dog to learn some new tricks.

Searching... I will continue to hone my internet search string capabilities and run searches for candidates whom we particularly place, even if… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on March 4, 2009 at 3:58pm — No Comments

Persevere - Providing Good Customer Service Even When It's Outside Your Purview

Establishing a new telephone account the other day, I noted that there was going to be monetary credit if I simply logged on to the cell phone company's home page and filled out a simple survey. Obviously I am going to take full advantage of such an offer, so I dutifully went online, filled out the survey, clicked their "submit" button and then checked my account balance. No credit. "Okay," I thought, "maybe it takes 24 hours for their system to credit the account. I'll check… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on February 26, 2009 at 3:03pm — No Comments

Self-Talk, Skills That Can Get Us Through Tough Times

I recently had a bit of a health emergency that had me experiencing severe abdominal pain. I’m fine now, but the pain was severe enough and lasted long enough that I ended up in an emergency room in southern California along with gun shot and stabbing victims, hit-upside-the-head-with-a-bat victims, and drunk/belligerent passed-out-on-the-street-and-hit-my-head victims. Then there was me. And the poor man next to me who'd had a heart attack. Oh and the girl who severely sprained her ankle on… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on February 3, 2009 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

Three Decidedly Un-Christmaslike Observations

There are times in your life when you have a dawning of realization, a flash of insight - as though a veil of ignorance is parted and you see the naked truth for what it is. Sometimes these little nuggets of meaningfulness will impact you for the rest of your life. Other times, they are simple life truths that you will incorporate into your knowledge bank and draw on these items almost daily as you negotiate the twisty turny phenomenon that we call living. And then there are the moments of… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on December 18, 2008 at 11:30am — No Comments

Cricket Cricket... Taking Advantage of the Deafening Silence

It's quiet right now... deafeningly quiet. It used to be that the office was abuzz with murmured telephone conversations, the "hold" buttons on the phone lighted up and twinkling, reminding us that more than one person had called us at once and were waiting patiently to speak with us. Now we are making calls out and receiving calls in, but it seems as though they are less fruitful. And less frequent. I actually jumped in my chair a little bit when the phone rang in here about an hour… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on December 3, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Un-Spun - Just When I Thought I Was Getting The Hang Of It...

I am probably the last person on Planet Earth to actually take a Spin class. When my health club started offering the class about six weeks ago I was hesitant to sign up - I've seen spin classes on TV, on the movies. They all entail some insanely fit instructor with a bullwhip and a megaphone screaming at their students to push, dig deep, DON'T YOU GIVE UP ON ME NOW, etc., etc. It intimidated me! I have enough scary voices in my head without opening myself up to another "motivational"… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on November 14, 2008 at 11:06am — 2 Comments

Get Out The Vote - Get Your Free Goodies - Get The Political Rhetoric Off Your Web Site!

If you haven't already voted today, get your tuchus out there and pull a lever. Here in Washington State, we vote by mail and my voting was done weeks ago. I am really looking forward to all of the political signs, commercials, sign-wavers, et al. to go away like magic tonight... Poof! No more multi-colored signs lighting up street corners like so many gawdy-colored flowers.

Additionally - if you vote, you are able to cash in on lots of free "goodies" from different companies.… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on November 4, 2008 at 1:42pm — No Comments

Give Me An E! E! Give Me a T! T! Give Me An, I - Ah, that'll take too long. E-T-I-Q-U-E-T-T-E - Learn It, Love It, Live It

While awaiting the departure of a delayed flight recently, my travel companion and I decided to pass the time by having some liquid refreshment in one of the restaurants in the main terminal. During our conversation, I happened to glance at the table to my right. At this table there were two middle-aged women who looked to be in no hurry, having lunch and chatting pleasantly. This scene is neither unique nor that interesting, and I doubt that I would have paid them much notice except for the… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on October 27, 2008 at 7:27pm — 3 Comments

Banished!! A Few Words That Should Be Eradicated From Resumes... and Society In General

Are there any words in the English language that bother you simply for the way they sound as they roll off your tongue? The positioning of your lips as you pronounce the word? Am I the only one irritated by this type of thing?

Take, for example, the word "pudding." Although I don't think that the word pudding (or the DESSERT pudding) should be eradicated, it certainly is a strange word to say. You just have to watch the person's mouth who says the word..... "pu... dding".… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on October 17, 2008 at 3:03pm — 1 Comment

Recruiter - Counselor - Confidant

As recruiters, we work with companies when they are on the verge of change. Most of the time, they are either ramping up for growth, replacing someone who's left, replacing someone who's currently in the position, or are adding a new division and they need to staff up. Either way - a job order from a company signifies change, growth, and new opportunity.

It goes without saying that the candidates with whom we work are at the cusp of change in their lives as well. They are either… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on October 9, 2008 at 11:08am — No Comments

Work It, Woooooooorrrrrrkkkkkkkk It!

Have you ever noticed that there are some people who know how to "work" every situation they are in? They always get right to the front of the line, get the best tables at restaurants, find the perfect power suit within ten minutes of walking into a clothing store, and step off gravity-defying roller coasters with nary a hair out of place.

I've observed these people; I am not ONE of them. If I have a choice of two lines at the grocery store, both of them approximately equal in terms… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on October 1, 2008 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Tips to Working With A Recruiter: Trust Me - I'm An Expert; Filed under category "Insider Tips"

Reviewing my introduction on blogspot.com, I noticed that I promised "insider tips, tricks, etc." as an ongoing part of my blog. Reviewing past entries, I noticed a lack of tips and/or tricks. Thinking I'd better rectify this situation before my devoted readers stage a revolt, please consider the following "Insider Tips" when utilizing a recruiter to assist you in your job search.

TIPS TO WORKING WITH A RECRUITER:

#1: Be truthful. Seriously. We do not want to walk down the… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on September 23, 2008 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Beeeeep Beeeeep Beeeep Beeeeep... or Detecting Tonal Differences in Searches

They say there are two seasons in Washington state: Rainy season and Construction season. Although I have heard that slogan used for other areas in the country, it is particularly true in The State of Liquid Sunshine.

Driving home from work, I found myself approaching a construction site. Noting the neon orange signs, traffic cones, and large portable reader board lit up with orange lights asking me to merge left, I dutifully signaled, cleared, and proceeded to change lanes. Now I… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on September 16, 2008 at 12:27pm — No Comments

Getting A Little Testy

You: Company

Me: Recruiter

Common Objective: Find X, Y, Z candidate

I know you, your company, your product line, and your growth objectives. We've done business together for a long time; I don't want to overstate things, but we "know" things about each other. So when you entrust a key corporate position to me to fill, I appreciate it and you know I'm going to work my tail feathers off to get you the best candidate we can possibly find.

Dutifully, I… Continue

Added by Nancy Ford on September 10, 2008 at 11:32pm — No Comments