Erin Passons's Blog, page 13

HBO To Air New Episodes of The Cosby Show!

King Kaya (New Poem)

Rainbow-loom maker, dollar bill taker,
Mass producer of pastry crumbs,

Keep your arms at your side
When the dock workers salute.

Groove on past the corner where happy foot soldiers
Play cards en masse, and when the Colonel asks,
Show him your library card and your twenty-three
Pairs of tangled shoe laces.

And when the Third Reich approves of
Your genetic mutations,
Tell them nevermind.
You won't sing their campfire songs.

Then move along.

Draw a line in the sand.
Draw a path to a star.
Shine so bright the sun spits jealousy rays so insane
Clouds ripple with waves of crimson rage.

Be the reason old women turn to each other on that day and ask,
"Did you see that?"

Once you've dug deep and found that
Your strength runs deeper
Than you could ever imagine,
Use it to build the strength in others.
Remember: might is nothing without right.
Think of the endless, headless ghosts
Haunting London's tower who share your eye color.

Think of your father's people, too,
Who also know a thing or two about slaughter —
Just ask an Armenian cab driver.

What I'm saying is, son—
Be powerful, but not in a harmful way.

Because you are powerful. Yes, you are.
You are wonderful and brave.

Doesn't matter you have yet to meet
A chore you couldn't delay,
And you haven't found the one thing
That makes your heart race, the one thing
You wish could do
And nothing else forever and ever,
And if you could,
You would change the spelling of the one thing
With the letters of your name and repeat the name
Over and over until someone (probably your sister)
Threatens your life unless you stop saying it.

Nevermind sometimes it seems you're just doodling along,
Doodling in class, doodling during the movie,
Doodling in the air when your eyes are asleep,
Doodling with your eyes when your hands are empty.

Those doodles are simply signs of things to come,
And signs are what help us find our way.

What I'm saying is, son —
You can do anything.

Think of your sister,
Of whom you adore, adored by all,
A girl who sheds tears for dogs of deserters
And collects friends like human flowers.
Our little flower. A nine-times-out-of-ten angel.
Except when, in a snap, she reshapes
Into a flower-shaped dagger.
Laughter into stabbing motions,
She calls her farts silent killers,
Sinks sailors with her siren tongue,
Sucks lingering regret from her fingertips, grins and
Admits, "I'm saving one for later," and
Points to the bones by her ballet flats.

Don't let her flatten you.
Don't let anyone flatten you.
Be better than that.
You're not the cause of someone's bad day.
You're not the remedy either.

And when your sister reemerges back into
Her flower-shape, loved by all,
Adored by all, Princess of Song,
Don't let her shiny nickel kindness
Make you feel like a million bucks.
Don't let it make you feel like a penny either.

What I'm saying is, son —
You come from a long line of kings,
And you are the King of your own self-worth,
And you are worth everything.

…and when I say that you come from a long line of kings,
I don't mean the Plantagenet leaves on our family tree,

But the King you call grandfather,
The one in Mississippi,
Who arranges weekly meetings
To welcome the Rainbow Men into his congregation,
Men who some men in his generation
Would never welcome,
The King who rubs his wife's feet in front of the TV
And wonders what in the world he'd do without her,
Who calls his daughters three times
For every one time they call back,
If for no other reason than to repeat
The same three words his girls
Have heard since the King first wept
Beside ribbons sewn in pink.

…and when I say you come from a long line of kings,
I don't mean the Hun warriors
Who pillaged and plundered,

Conquered and enslaved,
The great lords of horses and blood and war
Who craved victory above all things.

But the King you call grandfather,
The one in Izmir, a king
Whose mere presence claims victory
Over the storms raging
In the hearts of everyone around him.
The King who needs very little
And asks for even less,
Who spends his afternoons
With watercolors of sailboats and wisteria gardens.
The King who hums so prettily
Painting the shape of water
That wild felines curl their bones
Against the brick of his balcony
And forget their thirst,
And morning is a chance to be born again.

What I'm saying is, son —
Nobility is not inherited.
It lives inside a person's character,
And I want everything for you.

I want you to be King.

So you're the second child,
So you're the youngest child,
So you lose your mother at sleep,
So you lose your father regularly to a monitor screen,
So your shoes were untied the day they handed out sunscreen,
So you were misfitted in other people's hand-me-down expectations from day one,
And since that day, you've tried to keep up, and it never feels like enough,
So you've been given everything but what you want the most,

So you're a messy child, an unruly child, a natural disaster —

My love, you are my disaster,
And you are the most beautiful disaster I've ever known.
And every time I ask about your day, I'm really asking for your forgiveness.

Don't let life's peasant days and common ways steal away your crown.

What I'm saying is, son —
You are everything.

-Erin Passons, 5-13-2015

See Erin on the TV SET @ 5:00 Saturday, April 11th - Channel 6 "The Job Lady"

My friends, a few things:I'll be appearing on the Austin Channel 6 show "The Job Lady" at 5:00 on Saturday, April 11th. Get your VCRs ready!Because I'll be on the TV, I've been cleansing for the last seven days. Not only am I non-whale size anymore, but my skin is freakin' excellent. (See picture above!) Yes, I know it's narcissistic to post a photo but it's my blog IcandowhatIwant. Anyway I feel great. I totally recommend this cleanse - it's amazing how much energy I have. Email or post a comment with your favorite WWII book that is based in Russia or the Ukraine. Or tell me your favorite Ukrainian or Russian author. I'm struggling with my next book.  Thanks!Erin

You'll Never Interview In This Town Again - New Poster

...."Because Hiring Managers Think The Applicant Smells Bad...."

A new email from a second recruiter who worked for a company that "finds people jobs." ;P

Good Morning Erin,

I hope your Monday is off to a great start...
The above sentence is what I would typically start off with when sourcing a candidate, but it's not what I really want to say. I like to cut the bullshit out, but I'm learning to be more mindful. I really want to beg this person to at least be interested in the opportunity I have, and snag them to want to come work for my company, even though they will ultimately decline them in the end anyway.

Okay, down to the juicy stuff and my purpose. My dear friend <NAME WITHHELD> reached out and introduced me to your blog and your book. Great Stuff!

If you really want some validation, I can corroborate with her that everything she says is true...Ha! If you could only see our Gchat conversation right now. We’ve gone from talking about your experience to creating a book. Here's what we have so far...

Title: "Sure, I don't have a vast knowledge of talent acquisition/recruiting/ etc...this job has 10 names btw but the shit doesn't change either way"

Chapter 1: Rejection
Sample content: Want rejection? Apply at <COMPANY NAME> (Murphy's Law)

Chapter 2: Resumes
Sample content: Who cares, it all depends on who reads them anyway, just add verbiage from the job description. If you’re interviewing someone born before 1985, add a cover letter - if not... don't.

Chapter 3: Shit hiring Managers Say
Sample content: I had a hiring manager tell me a candidate was boring... great, declined!

I know, I know, getting off topic but we are having fun planning our future as closet complaining recruiters. Anyway, I did read bits of your book (Amazon) and it brings laughter to me in time of need. Recruiting is a thankless job and we are seen as the problem when we can't create magic - not the illusion kind, but the mythical kind. Why can't we hire twelve people in three months, they ask? Hmm, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the 80 + people you declined... all of which smelled weird btw, according to hiring managers, not recruiters. Recruiters actually hope for the best. It's a counter-productive style, Recruiters see potential and will call candidates in. Hiring managers will call candidates out...for ANYTHING.

Like my friend, I did get into recruiting because I love making connections with people and helping them build their careers. I know making a career choice is difficult and frustrating at times. I get so much excitement and joy from seeing the people I hire grow and prosper. I don't mind fighting for my candidates. I mean, after all, I have built a relationship with them. After working at <COMPANY NAME>, I can't image that the company that "helps people get jobs" has the most difficulty getting people jobs at their OWN company (Seriously, have you seen how many jobs they have open?). Now I'm working at a different company... because <COMPANY NAME> pushed me out. Insult to injury: they interviewed someone to replace me while I was there in the office.
Well, thanks for keeping things real and I apologize for the way you were treated.

Have a great Monday and continued rest of your week! (genuinely)
<Name Withheld>

P.S. Now a days I feel that interviewing is similar the Steve's character on "Alexander And The Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" movie. Hope I got that right, mouth full, yes I have kids.

A Recruiter Checks In

Sometimes you get an email from someone, and it validates every minute you've burned trying to get the word out -

Hi Erin,

I just read your book, and I LOVED it. Thank you for putting it out there.

I recently left my role as Manager, Talent Acquisition at <COMPANY IN MY BOOK> because I witnessed, was responsible for, played along with, many things you refer to in your book. A lot of it has to do with Executive Management and lack of accountability AND being in a role (me) with all of the responsibility of hitting headcount, but none of the decision-making capabilities of how to get there.

I also have lot of guilt with regards to the interview process, ageism, having a complete disregard for all things pertaining to a candidate, etc...

The reason I got into Recruiting was to make a difference in someone's life, and up until 1 year ago, I did. But since last February, it was churn and burn candidates, until we got those purple squirrels the Hiring Managers wanted. Spoiler alert: we never found them, and were reprimanded for not finding said squirrels. So I left for a better company.

Quit Your Job and Save the World

Another email from an interesting fan who wishes to remain anonymous:

"By the way, check out Jonathan Mead, who runs a couple of websites and programs devoted to helping others quit their jobs and create their own businesses doing work that they are passionate about.

He got into the corporate world, worked in it for a couple of years, and realized that he had absolutely no desire to dance to their tune. He and his wife made a plan to hone their finances, figured out how much of a money cushion they felt comfortable with, and within a year, he had created his own business and transitioned out of the corporate world.

His websites are:

paidtoexist.com
trailblazerjourney.com

If you check out his stuff and get on his mailing list, I think you'll see what I'm talking about: well-educated people, many of whom are in their twenties, who already know what they don't want to participate in and who want to create something that is not just different, but better. What I really love about what I'm seeing on the Internet with people who are espousing this approach--and I am not talking about get-rich-quick schemers--is that so many of them are white males--the people who corporations traditionally counted on to keep perpetuating their traditional model. And now, all these young, frequently well-educated, and very smart white guys are saying: Nope, not for me, I'm outta here.

So, basically, the people that have been groomed all their lives to obediently take their places and hold up an aging, out-of-date, and sometimes dehumanizing model of business are opting out. What does this mean? Eventually, the corporations that don't change for the better will die because the best, smartest people (both female and male) will be unwilling to work for them. And maybe that's a good thing.

If we go back to high-tech, the other thing that we have to remember is that, even if what the young software and hardware engineers want to do requires capital, they can, potentially, crowdsource that money. So, even if there does not happen to be an angel investor or venture capital firm involved, they can get the money that they need another way. This generation is not going to let the "good old boys' network" stop them from succeeding.

Heck, not long ago, I read a story about a young man who started his own successful, profitable software company when he was eleven years old. When I read it, he was 16 and his parents and other adults were trying to convince him that he should bother with college.

Here's a link to a story about a successful, twenty-one year old CEO who started his first company when he was 12:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/11/02/seth.priebatsch.scvngr/index.html

Seriously, people like this are who IBM and Oracle and GE, and so on, should be concerned about making them irrelevant.

Another trend? Companies that operate on the Internet using a completely virtual model, where sometimes there is an employer-employee relationship and sometimes it is independent business-to-independent business collaboration. The Internet/World Wide Web enables this, but guess who inspired young people's willingness to just go for it (besides open-source software development, a hobby taken up, by the way, by many programmers who wanted to work on more inspiring projects)? I believe it is the fact that so many people in their teens, twenties, and early thirties have grown up watching a business culture in the U.S. that makes it clear that very few employers view their employees as more than a temporary convenience. I think the young people today are very pragmatic and feel that, if they are merely a temporary convenience to an employer, then why not go out and start a business doing what they really want to do?

The beautiful part of this is that all of these trends have the potential to completely recreate U.S business culture to be something that is more holistic, meaningful, and caring between human beings (focused on cultivating wonderful human relationships through business) instead of having a business culture that is so narrowly focused only on financial profit. Many of the young people already get this, and it goes way beyond just paying lip service to coughing up a few charity dollars each year. Another truth: these young people can smell it a mile away if a company is just pretending; if the people involved in "doing good" are only doing it for the company image or are truly authentic. Again, if management doesn't really mean what they are saying, these people (whether they already work there or are considering doing so) know it and will act accordingly.

By the way, if you want to read a great book about alternative economic development, check out Charles Eisenstein's book Sacred Economics at:

www.sacred-economics.com

At the top of the page there is a link that says Read Online. You can read the whole book there, in separate chapter files, or you can purchase it to get the whole book at once."

Austin Horoscopes

Just a Few Sidenotes On "You'll Never Interview in This Town Again..."

I released You'll Never Interview in This Town Again a week ago, and wow. The responses - both positive and negative - have been explosive. I've actually had to rope myself in from reading and replying to everyone's emails during the working day (otherwise I will have to interview in this town again).

A couple of quick notes:

Fellow Austin job hunters, your responses have been overwhelming. Thanks for sending in your stories. If you would like me to share them on my blog or in the next book edition, please say so in your email. If you would like to keep your name and the offending company anonymous, please say so. "Can  I tell you if I find an editorial issue in your book?" Of course you can! I'm not one of those detail-oriented psychopaths. I make mistakes, just like everyone else.A few (okay maybe more than a few) companies have contacted me. "Hmm, we don't see that you interviewed with us, but we were called out in your book..." That's because this book is not just my story. It's a lot of people's stories. If I didn't interview with you, that means you were called out in either this survey or this one. Furthermore, unhappy Austin employers,  I can't/won't give out my sources' names unless given permission. Lawyer boyfriend is strict on this.I don't hate Round Rock. I just hate driving there. Ta ta for now!

Business Culture is Ripe for Reinvention

One of the coolest aspects of writing and doing research for "You'll Never Interview In This Town Again" were the friends and acquaintances I've met along the way. I love this email I received from a reader, another tech writer here in Austin. In regards to the BS hipster startup scene in Austin, she had this to say:

Honestly, I sometimes think that the younger people are just responding to the load of you-know-what that corporate culture puts on everyone as it tries to make itself seem relevant to a younger generation of workers (let's get them a ping-pong table and a basketball hoop--yeah, yeah, that'll make them want to work here)--when, really, all they want is to do work that actually makes a difference to something besides just lining the pockets of the already wealthy (or relatively wealthy).
In my opinion, in the past some corporations liked to hire younger people not just because their salaries were lower but because they were too naive to know how things really worked and therefore easier to manipulate (at least, that was the perception). However, I think many younger people out there today see through a lot more than the people who are usually the execs want them to see.

What excites me is seeing the number of people in their twenties and thirties now who are focused on creating completely new business models that elevate the goal of making the world a better place just as much as the goal of making money. I think it has the potential to transform the entire economy in a good way. (Tom's Shoes is just one company with a visionary business model.)
I'm looking forward to seeing what the companies started by people who are thirty-two and younger right now will be like in five to ten years from now. The U.S. business culture is ripe for reinvention by people (of whatever age) who want to create a business culture that is truly new, better, and more collaborative rather than exploitative.
Also, your insight and no-B.S. attitude is exactly the kind of attitude that I think the more visionary companies will want.

What do you think? Agree or disagree?