Steve Levy's Blog (261)

Happy Easter

Added by Steve Levy on April 12, 2009 at 10:02am — 1 Comment

When I read this, I kept going back to Rayanne's threads; then it hit me why all the negative threads about ethics and recruiting have bothered me so.

One thing I have never done in any of the recruiting ethics threads is pontificate about my personal opinion - others have cornered the market here. Integrity is a personal issue not one that others should be castigating about given someone's point of… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on April 11, 2009 at 9:30am — 1 Comment

Twitter is oh so yesterday

Added by Steve Levy on April 6, 2009 at 7:00pm — 5 Comments

Recruiting begins at 50

Last week, I turned 50. The number means very little to me; to my parents it’s a sign that either they've lived too long or God has larger plans for them.

That wasn't me writing that last sentence; it was my Jewish mother - the one who still reads the obituaries on Sunday just to gasp at the ones who died of an obscure disease so she can tell my Dad, "See Charlie? You make fun of me but people die of those things." Of course, this is the same woman who once told me that her… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on April 5, 2009 at 9:30pm — 7 Comments

Two-Way Street: Interviewing your boss-to-be

Bill and Richard over at their Contented Cows blog write about being choosy about your next boss. Ask your potential manager some pointed questions then be prepared to drill down into their answers:

* What’s your proudest moment thus far as a manager? Listen carefully for “I answers” as opposed to “we answers.” Is this person a narcissist (a legend in their own mind), or someone who… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on April 4, 2009 at 3:09pm — 1 Comment

Broken English: The reason behind the Binghamton shooter

People had made fun of Wong due to his difficulty speaking English, leading him to feel "degraded," his loved ones told police.

Wong was recruited to his present job - the one he was laid off from this past November; I wonder if the recruiter was aware that existing employees were prone to teasing other employees about their language skills?

Read the news out of Binghamton here

Added by Steve Levy on April 4, 2009 at 1:36pm — 6 Comments

Help, I need an interview suit!!

What happens when you have an interview...but not an interview suit (CNN video).

Added by Steve Levy on April 4, 2009 at 9:19am — No Comments

Preferring dead fish to fresh flowers

There's a story of a woman who sold fish all her life and knew nothing else. One summer day, she was invited to the queen's palace to help prepare a royal festival. When she was shown to her room, she found it filled with fragrant flowers. How disgusting, she complained. Please take me back and let me sleep near my pile of fish.

She choose the stench of fish over the sweet fragrance of flowers because of habit and familiarity. It's the choice of picking the devil you… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on April 1, 2009 at 4:29pm — No Comments

Oh the irony of the EEOC

I am positively shell-shocked having just read that the EEOC willfully violated the FLSA.

The agency's practice of offering compensatory time off to its employees rather than overtime pay amounted to "forced volunteering" and was a knowing violation of the law, according to the ruling.

Nothing quite like… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on April 1, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments

The end of employment contracts

Who would have figured that the employment contracts that have been written about ad naseum in the recruiting blog spaces would now be under attack? It's time to raid, raid, raid!!!!

Added by Steve Levy on March 31, 2009 at 7:04am — 3 Comments

When your governor really doesn't want a robust state economy

Some knucklehead from another state with one of country's worst economic situations posted a Linkedin status that they supported Gov. Patterson's plan to raise New York state income tax rates on AGI income above $300,000 for joint filers and $200,000 for single filers. If only this person understood business instead of despising people who are successful!

The new plan by an inferior governor is sure to… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 30, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Penetrating interview questions

From somewhere on the Internet, I saw these questions; I think they hold potential:

Which of the "Facts of Life" girls are you most like?

If you were a deodorant, would you be a roll-on, stick, or spray?

Do you prefer Emanuel Lewis or Gary Coleman?

Would you rather have ebola or smallpox?

Would you rather have bamboo shoved under your nails, Chinese water torture, or your ankles chewed off by a pack of wild dogs?

If you were a… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 27, 2009 at 10:39am — 9 Comments

How New York is killing the economy

In their infinite wisdom, the MTA of New York voted to affirm a doomsday plan and budget that will significantly increase commuting costs around the metro New York area - just another obstacle that recruiters in the area need to address.

This is another brilliant plan by overpaid bureaucrats that once again fails to address the need to re-engineer thousands of processes in favor of 25% fare hikes. I guess… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 25, 2009 at 12:45pm — No Comments

Dear AIG: I Quit!

If you're not a link clicker, at least click this one and read the letter from Jake DeSantis to Edward Liddy, CEO of AIG.

With the global recession pressing down on every aspect of our lives, it has become painfully obvious that most recruiters and hiring managers have very little skill in selecting people based upon leadership needs or potential.

Perhaps the solution is to select solely on the ability… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 25, 2009 at 7:17am — 1 Comment

Three questions all candidates should ask

Toni Bowers writes a nice one here about three questions that should be asked during an interview...

1. What can you tell me about the people I’ll be working with?

2. How do you approach problem solving?

3. What do you see as the ultimate goal of your department or team?

I'm not set on the second question; the first should distinguish between professional and personal and the second really… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 20, 2009 at 7:54am — No Comments

Amity's gettin' married and has to sell (or rent) in NYC

RBC has to be more than blog posts and pithy discussions; along with more jobs to fill, eventually relocation comes to mind. And the reason for this post.

One of the fine recruiters here at the Tuttle Agency is preparing to tie to knot - knot, not noose; as such, her renovated 1 BDR in mint condition at...

5 Tudor City Place - 8th Floor Apartment (41st St. & 1st Ave.)…

Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 17, 2009 at 2:22pm — No Comments

Bert and Ernie go to the unemployment line

You know it's bad when our beloved Sesame Street stalwarts are tossed out to the streets. Yes, Bert and Ernie have been given their pink slips.

When icons are impacted, it is no longer an issue of whether one political party is wrong or right.

Added by Steve Levy on March 12, 2009 at 9:21pm — 2 Comments

UAW cuts hourly rate to minimum wage!

You'll believe anything!

But they did agree in negotiations with Ford to reduce it to $55 per hour with benefits.

This reminds me of a few months back when lots of Lehman Brothers software developers hit the streets and really believed they were worth the $200K+ base they were earning; when sussed out, it was clear that skill-wise they might be worthy of $100K here in NYC.

For so long the… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 11, 2009 at 4:04pm — 11 Comments

Waterboarding techniques in recruiting?

"While other forms of intelligence-gathering have benefited from research and technological advances — intelligence officers can intercept telephone and Internet communications or use satellite images to find people — interrogation has suffered from a lack of innovation. And our military lacks an elite unit of highly trained interrogators to call upon when high-level people in terrorist organizations are captured. Too often, the questioning is left to whoever is closest at… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on March 11, 2009 at 1:15pm — No Comments