Wags and Gap doing Route 66

Thursday, May 1, 2014-the first day of our trip, which was to Chicago, goes very smoothly. The traffic was pretty light the entire trip until we hit Lake Shore Drive then it became bumper to bumper and added another hour to our drive. We finally arrived at Tom and Carol Radloff’s home (Carol is Bill Taylor’s sister) just in time to enjoy some Chicago deep dish pizza! We had great conversation and a lot of laughs. Tom and Carol could not have been better hosts!

Friday, May 2, 2014-day two is actually the real beginning to our trip as Route 66 begins at Lakeshore and Adams. The marker was very obscure and we literally found it by accident. We then had breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s which is not far from the start of R66. It is a famous breakfast eatery and the Mayor of Chicago was in there as well with his body guards.
On our way to St. Louis we stopped in Springfield, Illinois, to visit Lincoln’s tomb. That was absolutely incredible! We then stopped at the Cozy Dog Drive In, which is also in Springfield. This is where the original corn dog was invented. There were many other stops along the way, too numerous to include in this blog.

Saturday, May 3, 2014-we left from St. Louis to head to Miami, Oklahoma. Right outside Cuba, Missouri, is the worlds largest rocking chair. It was at least 4 stories tall! On our way to Miami we went through one of the towns hit by the recent tornados. The devastation was terrible. The town right next to where we are staying is called Commerce, Oklahoma, and it is Mickey Mantles hometown. There is a statue of him right outside his high school baseball field. Truly this trip gives you a close up view of Americana and the people we have met have been outstanding!

Sunday, May 4, 2014-we left Miami, Oklahoma, our final destination being Clinton, Oklahoma. We saw the Will Rogers Memorial/Museum sitting on top of a hill overlooking the city of Claremore, Oklahoma. There was a statue of Will in front of his tomb, along with most of his family. For those of you who have not heard of Will Rogers go on line and you will discover what an amazing person he was! The museum was loaded with a collection of his belongings as well as tributes from famous people all over the world. Moving on from there on Route 66 we came to the town of Foyil, Ok, where we saw giant sculptures of Indian Totem Poles. The tallest was over 90 feet! We then passed through Tulsa and then Oklahoma, City, and drove by the capital building which was magnificent. In Yukon, Oklahoma, we stopped at Danny’s and had the best BBQ sandwich we could have had. Our waitress, was telling us her sophomore class had only 23 people in it.

Monday, May 5, 2014-we drove into Texas this morning and saw miles of beautiful prairie land and enormous cattle ranches. In Groom,Texas, we passed a leaning water tower (a la the Leaning tower of Pisa) and a 200 foot stainless steel cross. In Amarillo, Texas, we passed Cadillac Ranch where there were10 Classic Cadillacs with there noses buried in the dirt. Among the people admiring the buried cars were two Chinese guys who were bicycling to Chicago. The highlight of the day was stopping in Vega, Texas, at a bar called the Boot Hill Saloon and Grill. If you are ever in Vega (population 800) stop off and have a drink with the beautiful proprietor, RORI! We are going to be spending tonight in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014-continuing our drive through the beautiful State of New Mexico we drove into the capital of NM, Santa Fe. The capital grounds were beautiful! NM calls itself the land of enchantment and indeed it was. This part of the trip is the half way point of Route 66 between Chicago and LA. In western NM there our a series of ancient lava flows thousands of years old. Inspiration Point, which is in El Morro National Park, is part of a series of sandstone cliffs that are over 200 feet high. There are inscriptions on the walls of the cliffs dating back to the early Spanish explorers in 1606. We then crossed the Continental Divide our our way to Gallup, New Mexico.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014-we crossed the state line into Arizona and drove to the famous Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. Words cannot describe the shear beauty and power of Mother Naure at work on this 28 mile ride through this national park. In Holbrook, Arizona, we drove by a famous Rt 66 landmark called the Wigwam Motor Court where the rooms are concrete wigwams! We drove to Winslow, AZ, made famous by the Eagles song and then went to the famous La Posada Hotel, where Presidents and movie stars would stay including the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and Clark Gable. We took a slight detour off of Rt 66 to spend the evening with Wag’s daughter,Megan.
We enjoyed lots of Margaritas and Mexican food with Meggie and her good friend Tara.

Thursday, May 8, 2014 -we left Phoenix heading west to California. The longest uninterrupted stretch of Route 66. We were able to see part of the Grand Canyon and went through a number of small towns including Oatman, AZ. This was a former gold mining town and when we drove through we were stopped by a dozen wild burros right in the center of town.
We pulled over and parked the car and read a Historical Marker, which explained the origins of the burros. They were used in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s to carry water in the mines to the miners. When the gold ran out the miners moved on and they left the burros behind. To this day the burros and their ancestors have been a permanent fixture in the town. The highlight of the visit was when Wags got head butted by one of the burros!
We then crossed the Colorado River into California and proceeded across the Mojave Desert to Victorville, California.

Friday, May 9, 2014-on the final leg of the Wags/Gap Route 66 trip! We pass over the San Andreas Fault, which separates two mountain ranges, the San Bernardino and the San Gabriel. As we entered Los Angeles, we went through a number of famous communities. Such as Pasadena, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills. We finally arrived at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Ocean Avenue, which marks the end of Route 66. There is a small building at the ending, which houses the Route 66 Association. They took our picture and gave us a certificate indicating that we had made the entire Chicago to Santa Monica journey.

This marks the last edition of the blog. Wags and I have had a remarkable experience. We have traveled the back roads of America and have seen the beauty of this great country. As many of the incredible sights we saw Wags and I agree it was the people we met along the way that truly highlighted our trip. One other thing, we want to thank our spouses and our co-workers for being so supportive of this trip and I could not begin to express my gratitude to my traveling partner Tom Wagner. He did practically all the planning and was a remarkable navigator, but more than anything he is just an outstanding human being.

Contingent Search or Retained? Which is best?

As recruiters, we are often asked if we work on a contingent basis or retained?  It is a question we get from candidates and employers.  There are merits to both types of services.

Simply, a contingent search is when the recruiting firm is paid once a candidate they have presented is hired.  Typically, a retained search is done on an exclusive basis and the recruiting firm is paid up front, usually over a period of ninety days.  They are paid whether or not a candidate is hired. 

Often when an employer is interested in the speed of the process they will go the contingent route.  They want to see candidates as quickly as possible.  The very nature of the contingent recruiter is to get a search done quickly so they can be compensated. 

When speed is not as important and process is, that is when employers typically choose to do a search on a retained basis.

From a candidate’s perspective, either one can be effective in their job search.  More often than not, the retained search process is used at more senior levels.  However, I have seen in some instances, where contingent has been used for higher level jobs.  Again, it depends on what the employer is looking for in terms of the process. 

In the end, for candidates or employers, which service is best, depends on your expectations.

 

Let’s put the meaning of the word “commitment” back into our lives

Let’s face it, we have a national epidemic in our professional and personal lives. What is the epidemic I am referring to?  We are NOT living up to our commitments!  The dictionary defines commitment as “a pledge to do something” or “the state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to an idea or course of action.” 

In our business… commitment is everything. I have learned over the years there are circumstances beyond our control that prevent us from living up to our commitments, however, I am refering to those instances where we do have control and choose not to.

The examples of this general “lack of commitment” are so numerous, that if put on paper, it would fill a football stadium.  So I will mention just a few:

1.  Telling someone you will call them and you don’t.  By the way, this includes people who receive calls and should return your call, but don’t.

2.  Instead of talking to a person about a problem, you choose to avoid them.

3.  Telling someone you are going to do one thing, but do the exact opposite.

4.  Getting mad at the person who you made the commitment to because they reminded you about your failure to follow through.

The responsibility falls not only on the person who failed to follow through, but the other individual involved  as well. You need to stand up and in as positive a manner possible let the person know that it is not acceptable.  By not saying anything makes us just as guilty for allowing it to be tolerated.

We can do it. Let’s get the word “commitment” back into our lives.

Technology and Manners

I am fully supportive of the technology revolution and am doing my best, although not very well, to keep up.  Mobile phones have become a staple and the technology continues to expand at an exponetial rate.  Unfortunately, we have become so attached to our phones that it has impacted our manners. 

I cannot remember the last meeting I attended where someone, at some point, did not use their phone.  Depending on the size of the meeting there maybe more people using their phone than those who are not.  It is understandable that there are exceptions to every rule, however, what has happended to the rule that when someone is speaking you give them your undivided attention. 

Recently, I was at a business event and was with one of my colleagues.  Prior to the meeting we were in the hallway about to go in when someone we both knew came up to us.  We were exchanging pleasantries and listening to a story that this person wanted to tell us.  In the midddle of the story, my associate, took out their cell phone and started to  check their emails and texts.  I know this affected the person telling the story as her eye contact switched fully to me. 

Technology is wonderful, but it does not need to be at the expense of good manners.

Know Your Resume

I have a friend, who is a Senior Vice President, for a major pharmaceutical company.  We were both attending a conference in New York City and decided to meet for drinks afterwards.  During the course of our conversation he told me that he had recently interviewed a candidate for a senior level position on his team.  This person had tweny years of experience and an impressive resume of accomplishments with some highly reputable companies.

My friend proceeded to interview the candidate by asking him questions from his resume.  Something interesting happend… the candidate could not specifically speak to some of the accomplishments and experiences he had listed.  In other words, he had forgotten some of the content of his own resume. He told my friend that he had written the resume several months ago and had not reviewed it. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job. 

The lesson to be learned here is that you should review  your resume before a pending interview. Anticipate likely questions that might arise and how you will respond to them.

Internal interviews are no different than external interviews

I received a call recently from an individual who had posted for an internal postion at his current company and was meeting with the department head the next day. He wants to know if there is anything he should do in preparation for his interview. Since he knows the department head he doesn’t feel the need to do much preparation as he is a long-term employee and is well known in the company.

My counsel to him is to treat this interview as if he were coming in from the outside. You should never assume that because you are an internal candidate that people already know what you bring to the table. Do your research and know as much about the company as you can. Take the job description and your most recent evaluation and see where your strengths and experieinces are aligned with the job spec’s. Talk about recent accomplisments that are relevant to the position. Make sure that you have discussed with your current supervisor your intention to post for another position and that you ask for their blessing and support.

Whether or not you get the position how you conduct yourself will affect future consideration.

Managing the Recruiter Relationship

There are many ways to find a job and one of the most effective is establishing relationships with recruiters.  The mistake job seekers make is that many of them only work with recruiters when they are in the job market.  In all successful business relationships there is always a good balance of give and take. 

 The smart job seekers have a “list of recruiters” who they have cultivated over the years and that they stay in touch with on a routine basis. The obvious reason is that recruiters working on a search are going to call people they are most familiar with first.  However, that is not the only reason.  The most successful recruiters have great insight into what is going on in the market place.  For example, they know about new products and services, growth companies, and companies having problems, often before most poeple are aware of them. 

So the next time a recruiter calls, be SMART, they may be someone to add to your “list”.

Job Searching? The key is Accountability

Looking for a job in many respects is like a full time job.  If you are currently employed, then allotting time to do your search becomes more challenging.  Under these circumstances, some job seekers will do it in the morning prior to their work day or perhaps at lunch time and for many they will work on their search in the evening.  Then there are those who will do this during their work day which I would discourage.  Your current employer is paying you to do a job for them and you should act accordingly.  In the case of those who are not employed then your day should start like any other business day.  You get up and GO to work!  In this case, your full time job is finding a job! 

 What ever your circumstances may be, holding yourself accountable during the job search process will be important.  What do I mean by “holding yourself accountable”?  It means, you have a plan, which has a time line associated with it and deliverables you are responsible  for EVERY WEEK.  What might some of these deliverables be?  Perhpas it might be updating or creating your network of people you can communicate with about your employment circumstances.   It could be building a target list of companies that interest you and then setting time aside to do the research on those companies.  You will want to develop a resume or update it.  Then getting those resumes out to companies and doing the requisite follow up phone calls will be important.  If you don’t have a relationship with a recruiter then get recommendations from people.  Recruiters can go a long ways in assisting job seekers to find that “right position”.  

At the end of every week, you need to set time aside to evaluate your progress.  How many resumes did you send out?  How many lunches did you have with someone in your network?  How many companies did you do research?  Putting together strategies for impending interviews?  Talked with your recruiter(s)?  This is the moment of truth.  Am I holding myself accountable?  Each week am I doing what I need to be doing to get “that job”.

 

Believe in yourself and hold your self accountable, there are opportunities out there and you just have to make sure you are doing all you can to get in front of them. 

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.