Instead of taking this day to reflect on the Inauguration and the eminent change facing us, how oh-so different everything is going to be, and every other overstated bit of hopeful drivel with which the internet is still a-buzzing, I'd like to muse on my relationship with the outgoing president.…
Today I am celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States. I know that most of you already think of Obama's inauguration as old news, even though it only happened a few short hours ago. Nonetheless, I am still celebrating and I'm proudly linking to a…
Yes, our new Potus has, for the first time in an address by a President, explicitly included in his description of America that faction among us who don't have imaginary friends. Hemant Mehta commented on this, but I saw it live via satellite and felt included. My fellow curly-headed 47 year old with a foreigner for a father took the oath of office, and included me. Not by name, but by my most often ignored demographic categories. In the name of Fair and Balanced, the name of Jesus was also uttered for the first time during an inaugural ceremony during a painfully theistic invocation. Many in the VIP section crowd appeared uncomfortable with it. Ted Kennedy, brother of the first Irish-American and/or Catholic president, was there to see it. Then he was taken to the hospital. Four former presidents dating back to the election of 1976 were there. And I forego naming the other 2,000,000 or so present at the moment. The scene was so overwhelming that the President Elect (a seasoned and elegant public speaker) briefly fumbled during the oath. Quite a day!
One might say that this year we have an inordinately appropriate pair of largely ignored January holidays. Today is Martin Luther King day, and tomorrow Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president. This morning PZ Myers posted excerpts from Kings Letters from a Birminagham Jail, plus links to…
I am a recruiter, or if you prefer, a headhunter. As I joke on my Linkedin profile, I don't get too wrapped up in titles. I find and deliver specific talent to companies. In essence, I sell people to other people to pay my mortgage. While I make an important distinction between finding people jobs and finding talent for companies (disclosure: the companies pay my fees), I think a recruiter's unique perspective can inform and assist folks looking for new opportunities. When people ask me what I do for work, I joke that I gamble for a living, but it is closer to the truth to say I constantly search for ways to maximize the odds of my own success, and so should every job seeker. Searches I take on are often contingency searches, which means I only get paid when I present the winning candidate and the company successfully hires them,so I am careful where I spend my time. This is one of the first things I want to share with folks looking for a job: The person you contact matters, the way you make contact matters, and your presentation matters. Lots of layoffs are taking place, and the first reaction is often panic, fear, and gloom. One might feel like wallpapering every available surface with a resume and cover letter, but honestly that isn't going to help.