Looking for Some Obnoxious Hipster Scum
Now here’s how to really look for talent. This job posting for an administrative intern at Pitchfork Media is the way real people communicate:
Pitchfork Media is looking for some obnoxious hipster scum to beat up in the back alley of our New York City office. But more importantly, we’re seeking an administrative intern. (Seriously, no mustaches.) The ideal candidate will be available 10-15 hours a week and have prior administrative experience. It’d be pretty great if you also have some general office experience and familiarity with business applications (you know, like Microsoft Office). A good presence on the phone and strong writing skills are mandatory. Tasks include, but are not limited to, coordinating schedules, shredding watermarked promos, and assisting all departments with daily operations as needed. Qualified applicants must submit a resume and cover letter to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com. Deadline is Friday, February 1 at 6:00 p.m. EST.
That’s just brilliant writing of a job posting. And how do your job postings compare?
Understanding Action Learning
In a little departure from my normal reading, my book this week was Understanding Action Learning. Authors Judy O’Neil and Victoria Marsick write for L&D and OD people, but their applied research is pretty grounded:
As much as adult learners can absorb in the classroom, they can learn and retain much more on the job.
O’Neil and Marwick offer a 17-step process to implement Action Learning in organizations. The authors’ experience with a number of global companies is interesting, even if this kind of process-driven approach doesn’t appeal to me personally.
I like the idea that people in companies make ideas real. I like the idea that there’s there’s time for talking and there’s time for doing. I like the idea of Action Learning — it’s a little bit of the guild model, only in this case apprentice leaders learn from company leaders. What I’d look for, though, is how Action Learning moves from the schloopy language of OD folks into the real world. (I think it has with some of the Hoshin Kanri work from the TQM days.)
Understanding Action Learning
Authors: Judy O’Neil, Ed.D., Victoria J. Marsick, Ph.D.
Pub Date: 2007
ISBN: 0814473954
Just Communicate!
This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back again.
–Oscar Wilde
That quote from Oscar Wilde sums up a how a lot of editing happens with HR communication. I mean, seriously, there’s a point when you just have to let that baby go. Edit once, edit right, and get out of there. Communicating with people means creating a conversation. It’s not for the sake of a comma the kingdom was lost. Just communicate!
Business Slang: Socialize
Dogs can be socialized. Cats can usually be socialized. But what about a wild idea?
Is “socialize” even slang?
“Socialize” is a real word, right? I used to socialize. It means to hang out with your friends, doesn’t it? Since we had so much fun adding -wise to words over the past 50 or so years – think businesswise, costwise, and timewise – adding the near homonym -ize comes almost naturally. Scary. For that reason, it’s these -ize slang words that I find most insidious. We can test an idea. If we must -ize people, can we familiarize them with ideas?
Is socializing new?
We’ve been familiarizing people with ideas for decades. Those ideas have seen a lot of abuse. We’ve thrown them against the wall to see if they stick. We’ve tossed them in the pool to see if they make a splash. And, we’ve floated them in trial balloons. While we were doing all of that inside of companies, we socialized ideas on potential customers by releasing vaporware.
Why do we socialize, anyway?
We socialize to do things like (deep breath) gain team share. Huh? Yep… and I’m going to explain it with more generally accepted business slang. Gaining team share means forming a consensus, getting buy-in, or building ownership. Usually this is done by creating the illusion that the group being socialized actually helped hatch the idea. Basically, in business, socializing is the means to an end. We socialize to get to do what we want to do. In life, socializing is the end – it is what we want to do.
If I had to guess, someone thought gaining team share was sort of like gaining mind share, only with teams. Consumer product companies spend countless advertising dollars trying to gain mind share – awareness of their product. Someone adapted/slaughtered this concept and began to spend countless hours trying to gain team share – support from a team of people for an idea.
If you have any creative ways to socialize your ideas, run them up your office flagpole to see who salutes.
About Business Slang
Business Slang is a weekly feature on KnowHR. It runs every Monday.
In Business Slang, we’ll help you keep up with the latest slang to make the rounds in corporate meetings rooms. You have your favorites, too. Please send your HR and business slang suggestions to business [DOT] slang [AT] knowhr.com – we’ll feature some in an upcoming articles.
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Unless you’re this guy, who could afford 469,000 dollar meals at MickeyD’s. Because of a payroll mistake.
From the JT International News Wire comes a story called You Have to Work for Your Money! Author Tracey Coenen writes about someone who didn’t do the right thing:
Anthony accepted a job with telecommunications company Avaya Inc. in 2002. But he changed his mind and never went to work for the company. Yet a recordkeeping error meant that he started receiving regular payroll deposits into his bank account until the error was discovered in early 2007.
All told, he received about $469,000 from Avaya and never whispered a word of it to the company.
Amazing audacity. Stupidity, really. It does tell you that doing the right thing isn’t always top of mind. And it also tells us that HR Payroll has some room for improvement. I mean, seriously, $469,000 paid out over five years without anyone knowing? Please.
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