Category Archives: Follow Friday – Making Connections Online

The Circle of Twitter – Dissecting our Strategy!

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circleI’ve been thinking a lot about Twitter and how it’s being used and to see if we might need to dissect our strategy!

I had originally titled this post “Is Twitter nothing more than one big Circle-Jerk?” I thought I would change it to keep folks from swallowing their teeth!

But since I have your attention let’s take a look at one of the definitions for “Circle-Jerk”  from friendly Urban Dictionary -

Urban Dictionary- circlejerk

I’m a Twitter nut, but I’m wondering if we’re doing it wrong and not really taking a better approach.

For example, every Friday (and then some) we have the fabulous #FF (Follow Friday) sagas. This is where folks on Twitter will give virtual “shout outs” and “high fives” to followers and other Twitter nuts whom they love and appreciate and I think it’s all well and good. And nobody does that better and is more sincere about this when doing it then our good friend Steve Brown.

But there are always those that are sucking up – and I guess that’s okay – and they want you to keep the chain going, so to speak. Or perhaps we’re just following the footprints of others online.

Here’s the thing, Twitter can be a valuable tool in sharing and following great content, expanding your learning and gathering an online community but if we’re just shouting out nothing but thank you’s, #FF’s and not engaging or sharing great content – what are we there for? We have enough Spam!

Here’s a great (and funny) example of Twitter shouts by my friend Robert Caruso - that shows the absurdity of what we sometimes do on Twitter – and what it would sound like if we could actually hear what’s going on through The Twitters -

That video cracks me up cause that’s exactly what it would sound like if we were actually listening to someone read our Tweets.

Here’s a novel idea, how’s about we strategically share great content, make sure to acknowledge folks that help build our community, add value, engage with us – and not just click “Retweet” just to grab someone else’s attention, because everybody’s doing it, feeling obligated and to make it count! (Those last three words came to me by way of watching ‘The Titanic’ one too many times)

I can’t wait to hear your opinions on this subject and if/how we can improve our strategy………

Happy Tweeting!

#FF @CarolynMWalsh – Outstanding HR Leader in Transition

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Hello friends. Hope this Friday is being good to you. I’ve wanted to share this special #Follow Friday edition for a few weeks now and have finally gotten around to it.

I always love highlighting fellow Human Resource professionals whether they are TrenchHR folk, Consultants, or in transition and looking for that next opportunity to share their fabulous skills and knowledge. Today is no exception with one of favorites who not only lives 20 minutes from me, has a fabulous pedigree (I mean that with all due respect) but is also a friend.

Who is this famous person? I’m glad you asked.

Carolyn not only is a vital member of our local HR Roundtable but has become a part of our Discovering Social team helping Job Seekers in their job search strategy. She brings so many things to the table that make for such a complement to our team.

She tells us in her own words that she’s a strategic, versatile Human Resources Professional who has taken the road less traveled to HR and has acquired early management trainee rotations and management experience in Accounting and Operations.

She has a background in organization effectiveness and responsibilities for HR strategy, performance management, employee relations, compensation and benefits, recruiting and training. She has key insight into  integrating talent management processes to move business strategy forward, and on a tactical level consulting with leaders to bring those processes to life on a daily basis. She makes it happen, ya’ll.

When she steps away from the HR highway, you’ll find her conducting one on one coaching sessions at a local career center, consulting with nonprofits, or delivering job search training for Illinois Worknet clients.

Carolyn was also a key volunteer for Illinois SHRM this last year in that she helped me create the first ever mobile conference app, sharing countless hours of her time assisting me with not only the app, but anything else I needed her to do. She is always willing to help when asked. I appreciate that about her and she always does what she says she will do. Very thorough.

Her Specialties include:

HR Strategy & Planning, Talent Management, Organization Effectiveness, Change Management, Project Management, Employee Relations, Performance Management

Check out her certifications (I bow down)

Certified in MBTI, DISC, Strong, Firo-B and Rowe Career Assement Inventories; Course work toward Six Sigma Greenbelt and CCP

I don’t even know what some of those mean and yet I’m totally impressed :)

The bottom line

So here’s the thing. Carolyn is not only in transition at the present, but is expanding her brand on social media and YOU need to connect with her. Not only cause she’s one.smart.cookie. and a great person, but to see how you can help her with a possible career fit within your network for her next career move. I know you can do it – you are all so well connected and always willing to help a brother (sister) out.

So connect with her HERE > @CarolynMWalsh (the Twitters), LinkedIn.

Let’s give her a warm, online welcome. Shall we?

Photo Credit: BusinessBraggerBlog

#FollowFriday – HRRemix – Melissa Fairman

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I have been in the video room all week and I’m exhausted, to say the least! But it’s all good. I was able to interview some amazing folks like Craig Fisher, Crystal Miller, Sue Salach and my friend and HR Blogger Melissa Fairman.

Oh, and check out my latest venture on Spreecast where I’ve hosted some really cool interviews chatting up #ILSHRM12.

Here’s the interview:

Sweet Melissa

While on the Twitter one day, I noticed a post from my pal Chris Fields that said something to the tune of “#FF @HRRemix and make a girl feel special.” So, because I totally respect my friend’s opinion and anyone that he says to #FF usually makes sense. That’s the way connections are made.

After connecting with Melissa and digging around a little over at her blog, engaging with her on the Twitter and connecting on Facebook, I asked her if she would write a guest post for the Cafe and wrote this post “Networking for a Job: Virtual or IRL?” and we have remained connected ever since.

Background

Melissa has worked in HR for over five years either as a TMS analyst, a generalist, recruiting and HR project work;  just enough to make her dangerous! She currently works as a HR Generalist for a national company that sells and distributes insulation and other construction materials.

Oh, and she’s super smart and has an MBA with an HR concentration from Baldwin Wallace College and holds the PHRcertification from the HRCI institute.

Make this chick feel welcome and #FF. (Don’t forget to watch the video – you’ll find out a few more things I kept a secret)

Aloha, friends!

Connect with Melissa

Blog: HRRemix, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook

#FollowFriday – @ManageBetterNow – Inspiring and Leading us all to becoming better Managers

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Top of the Friday mornin’ to you guys! Where did this week go?

Today’s special #Follow Friday post highly recommends following @ManageBetterNow on Twitter and following over at the blog MangeBetterNow.com. Whether you are a manager, HR practitioner, Recruiter, Employee or Sanitation Engineer (Aka – Garbage Man), you can gain great insights into everyday work/life and business issues from their 20+ years of leadership and management experience.

They have only been on the Twitter for a little over six months and I’ve encouraged them to continue at it, because I’m a Twitterholic myself. I’m totally sold on it; how you can extend your reach, get your message out there and form great relationships.

About

Their goal at Manage Better Now is to change the world by making everyone a better manager (even if you are the manager of one) and say in their own words “We are all managers.  At the very least we manage ourselves.  We also manage the relationships and interactions that we have with other people every day.  Our goal is to make the content shared simple and easy to implement so that you can start to Manage Better Now.”

The idea that each one of us has the capacity to be a great manger, though we may not have been born with that gift, is what drives them while understanding that management skills are something that have to be cultivated.

Though their name does not appear anywhere on the website and preferring to remain anonymous for the time being, he does have a high profile job in a large corporation and pulls from those experiences and shares on the blog. I have gotten so much out of connecting and following him, and reading his posts.

I will say, he has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, an undergraduate degree in Political Science as well as an Officer in the Army. He has held management positions in public corporations, privately held companies, and non-profits and has provided training to hundreds of managers on topics such as time management, team building and skills for new managers. He has studied the art of management for over twenty years, for goodness sake.

Make the Connection, and have a super weekend! Oh, and thanks for stopping by the Cafe.

#FollowFriday – ChicagoHRCoach – Barb Buckner (Make the Connection)

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Aloha! I hope you all had a fantastic week. I’ve been on a much needed vacation and am still trying to adjust to the time difference. No, I didn’t go to some fancy place like Italy or Paris, just southern California. And just when you get used to being on the West Coast with their time difference and fast pace, it’s time to return to the Midwest and try to recover.

It was so much fun. No dogs to tend to, no responsibilities, someone to cook for me and mainly staying poolside. Oh, and eating! We can’t leave that out.

Back to Reality

Anywho, today I want to mention a fellow Chicagoan, Blogger and HR Practictioner, Barb Buckner.

Somewhere along The Twitter Barb and I connected some time ago and have tried to remain engaged. I wanted to highlight her over here on the Cafe on my Follow Friday series and perhaps one day we’ll be able to get her in on a video interview, but this will have to suffice for now.

About Barb

Sometimes, in our journey we start at point A and wind up at point B without it ever being in our original plan. I know several of my HR friends who never meant to wind up in this field but through some sort of craziness, wound up there nevertheless. It’s called evolving. Hopefully, we all are continuing to evolve.

That’s Barb’s story. When she started her career in sales she never thought she would end up focusing on human resources.  She always had a knack for listening and motivating even the most stubborn of people but it wasn’t until she helped start a company after a layoff that she felt she finally found her way.

Barb is a seasoned HR professional with over 13 years of experience across a wide variety of industries including: banking, retail, pharmaceuticals, professional services and real estate.  Her main strengths and focus have been on recruiting and employee relations with a specialized approach to both. Her in-depth experience recruiting as a HR Manager and as an Agency Recruiter have provided her with a unique insight into how sourcing occurs on both sides of the table.

She’s worked with start-ups, family-owned businesses, small businesses and nationwide corporations which have all been a part journey in providing her with the experience and expertise in which to help her share ideas and strategies with colleagues and job seekers looking to break into the HR arena.

Where to Find Her

She is currently HR Manager for Crowley’s Yacht Yard Lakeside, Chicago’s second largest marine retailer and writes on a majority of HR subjects over at ChicaogHRCoach. She is @barbbuckner over on The Twitter and you can find her over on LinkedIn as well.

Off the HR subject, she is passionate about PAWS Chicago.

Do yourself a favor, and connect with Barb. She’s sure to keep you fully engaged.

Hey, and have a super fun Memorial Day Weekend!

#IHRIMConf Wrap-Up, Travels with @SabrinaLBaker, and #FollowFriday

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So, as you can tell by all my posts this week, I’ve been attending the IHRIM HR Technology Conference and Expo in Chicago. I was asked to be a part of the social media press corp and blog LIVE from the conference. I was honored.

Sabrina Baker and I headed out at the crack of someone on Tuesday around 5:30 am to catch a train to the city (It’s about an hour and a half train ride). She and I always have a blast when we hang and try not to get into too much trouble, though I was wondering if we might – when we hopped on the silent train by mistake. That was hell for both of us.

We wanted to make sure we were there for the opening session with Jamie Notter who did an outstanding job as opening keynote. See my post HERE! The conference went on to of course add several break-out sessions in which my cohorts Sabrina Baker, Dwayne Lay and I all headed to so we could tweet, blog and share throughout our extended online presence. My first session was regarding Gamification at Work by Scott Randall of BrandGames and I had it marked on on my schedule on my mobile app. Read more about that HERE!

And while I’m at it may I say that the mobile conference app was the shizzle! (See pic above) In association with TripBuilder app designers – this app was easy to navigate, had amazing features such as notes that you could save in your session files and go back to at a later time, manage your way around the hotel, connect with other attendees, find your vendors in the exhibit hall and the whole shabang! I’m looking into finding out more about TripBuilder for Illinois SHRM State Conference. Easy is good. And when you mix easy with highly functional you have – #Winning.

We had a great time walking around to the exhibitors booths and had fun holding video interviews with a few of them. I also had the privilege of interviewing Marc Miller, the author of Heroic HR. Come on over to YOUTUBE and see those. Oh, and while you’re there – subscribe if you’d like!

Lastly, it’s always great when you can meet your online connections IRL (In Real Life) and take that relationship to another level as I was honored to do with my friend and Twitter connections Deb Maher, Narcisco, and Bonnie Clark, to name a few. These folks are simply superb. #FF (make sure you follow them)

All in all, it was a great conference and I’m glad I was able to be a part!

#Follow Friday – Buzz Rooney, LIVE and in Person!

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I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Buzz Rooney this week and talk a little about her “Coming Out” (so to speak), about her blog and her online journey, and about some really cool HR Conferences (including ILSHRM12). Check it out!

Connect with Buzz Rooney: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+

#Follow Friday – Video with Joan Ginsberg

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About Joan:

One of the most unique backgrounds  . . . in the HR sector  - That statement was made by Bill Boorman, a recruiter from London, England.

Armed with her Bachelor’s (with honor) degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University,  she began her professional life as a uniformed police officer in suburban Detroit.  Police officers necessarily acquire a lot of skills: negotiation, attention to details, multi-tasking, setting priorities, and complex problem solving.

Deciding that she could put those skills to better use, Joan left police work to attend law school (Detroit College of Law), and says she and law school were made for each other; she went on to graduate first in her class.

She learned that the practice of law wasn’t made for her, and she quickly abandoned legal practice to become a law professor.  Specializing in commercial law (the buying and selling of goods in the marketplace), she made academics her professional home for several years.

When my teaching contract expired, I jumped at an opportunity to become a manager at the meat processing facilityco-owned by her husband.  There was no human resources function at all when she started, so she decided to create one.  She learned and studied, ultimately becoming a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).  With HR, she felt as though she had truly found her calling.

Watch the video above and find out what new endeavors Joan is diving into these days.

Connect with her here:

Twitter, Facebook, Blog, LinkedIn, Google+ 

#Follow Friday – Meet John Jorgensen – IL SHRM Conference Director

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Who Is John Jorgensen?

John is not only a great friend, but is Human Resource professional extraordinaire – with twenty plus years experience and an advanced degree. He is a leader in the HR community, not only in Illinois, but nationally. He is currently Director of the Illinois State Council of SHRM’s annual conference and a member of the ISC Board of SHRM. He is also past president of two local SHRM chapters in the state.

John is prolific at coaching/mentoring, relationship skills at all levels and problem solving. His vast years of experience helping small to medium sized companies take their HR department to the next level in both strategic and tactical applications has allowed him to institute cost savings in both benefit and administrative capabilities.

Connect with John:

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Illinios SHRM Website

#Follow Friday – Kimberly Roden – Make the connection!

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Today’s #Follow Friday spotlight is with Kimberly Roden, (@Kimberly_Roden) with Sea Change Advisors. Most of you have connected with online and IRL but I’m stoked about sharing this interview with all of you. Make sure you connect with her and show her some love.

Where to find Kimberly:

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blog, Website