Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Employee as the "Person of the Year"

This time of year, we all see various publications announcing; person of the year, best places to work for the year, car of the year, book of the year, and record/entertainer of the year. The list goes on and on. I would like to honor and nominate the employee as the person of the year. An honorable mention would go to HR. This intersection of people and HR is a noteworthy combination. Why, because they are both linked at the hip. The economic downturn has affected both in such a way that it will forever change the dynamics of this pair. Employees have been decimated during this long downturn and HR was on the front line of this assault. Employees will never be the same as well as human resources. The employees that were laid off and the ones that are left have both lost faith, trust and the link between their organizations have been broken. Countless number of people have lost jobs, had careers stalled and their lives upended. This has affected a group that is often referred to as the “greatest asset” in an organization.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Networking Plays a Critical Role in Your Job Search

This week, I was a guest blogger at Pongo Resume

Today's post is written by Ron Thomas, a human resources professional with more than 15 years of experience, including roles with Martha Stewart Living and IBM. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Workforce Management, Chief Learning Officer magazine and Crain's New York Business. Recently, he was named to the HR Hall of Fame by HR Network of New York. Ron's blog, StrategyFocusedHR, focuses on human resources from a strategic perspective.

I attended a conference years ago in which the presenter gave me an "Aha! moment" during a discussion about careers: "You are no bigger in your field than your Rolodex." (Or, for today's younger workers, your connections and followers.) I have never forgotten that statement.