You’re Fired: The Video

Here’s a novel way to fire someone.

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Communicator in the Dell

Dell Computer got into an internet pickle a week ago when they sent a cease-and-desist letter to a blogger who had published an insider’s look at Dell sales techniques. A blogstorm ensued, and it wasn’t in Dell’s favor. Guess what? Dell did the right thing.

You can read about the whole debacle here in a response from Dell. It’s worth reading in its entirety. They took responsibility. They talked in the first person. The response wasn’t written in legalese. There’s a communication lesson in that piece that applies inside companies as much as in criss communication: Be transparent. Truth wins over bluster every time.

We Are (Not) Family

Here’s the closing line on Penelope Trunk’s new piece in the The Huffington Post titled, Hold CEOs Accountable for Their Bad Parenting:

When you are looking for a company to work for, look at the CEO. If you find out he’s having sex with four different women, you don’t have to worry — he’s about to be fired. But if he works insane hours, you can bet that you will be expected to do the same, on some level. And my gosh, if he refers to you as his family, run!

“If he refers to you as family, run!” That’s a million-dollar piece of career advice. Penelope, the author of 2007’s must reads, The Brazen Careerist, is talking about CEOs who do nothing with their own families, work 100 hours a week, and sell their souls to the company store. A “family atmosphere” is one thing — that’s about being supportive. But she’s talking about a CEO thinking that the company’s employees are his “family,” as in he’s not calibrated and doesn’t have a real life.

Bob Sutton said that Penelope “nailed it: with this quote:

We have a double standard in our society: If you are poor and you abandon your kids, you are a bad parent. But if you are rich and you abandon them to run a company, you are profiled in Fortune magazine.

Wow. When we think about company culture it’s important to look to the top for clues. Penelope Trunk brought that into fine relief.

A Really Great Resume Cover Letter

You only get one chance to make a first impression. That goes double for the cover letter that you attach to your resume.

I’ve seen some bad ones, which is why I was intrigued by an article titled What Does a Good Cover Look Like? on Ask a Manager. It’s an example of a really great resume cover letter.

Wouldn’t it be cool to put a reference to this letter on your career site? Wouldn’t it be great to give candidates a cover letter roadmap? I’ll bet you recruiting managers out there have seen a lot of good ones — and a lot of bad ones. Why not show your potential employees what success looks like right off the bat? Sometimes your best candidates just don’t know how to write a knockout cover letter. You can help.