#6Things: Blergh, Eff and Whatever

I am trying you all. I really am. But this collection of links will not have your regularly scheduled amount of snark, braininess or general idealism. Because I am sad.

Okay here goes.

YOU CAN BE A VIRGIN AGAIN

Virgin wants pilots and that seems like a good gig, even if SIR Richard Branson did stand me up at the big LinkedIn shindig, even though I already TOLD my mom that I was going to interview him and got shoes and my hair did and everything. PS I just got the footage and I look like a witch, so welcome to my week. Anyway, apply. They spell program like “programme” which is clearly better. (Virgin)

COPING MECHANISMS

Got fights? I know it’s likely when the country is as divided as this, there will be dust-ups in the workplace. Here’s a handy guide on handling those, although I’m not sure acknowledging the stressor is the best move. I have been doing that all week and it doesn’t seem to be working. (OPEN)

USUALLY, THE INTERNET IS A CESSPOOL

Which is mean, but it is. Anyway, every time I pay my staff to take a webinar or buy a book, it’s always terrible. Except this free site that totally nails the buyer persona thing to the friggin WALL. I’ve written a LOT of personas in my life and this is by far the best guide to doing so. My personas for a completely unknown industry were long, incredibly useful and won us a serious fancy pants account. QUOTE: “I used to think buyer personas were sort of an esoteric exercise for branding, this is serious marketing knowledge.” I am going to buy all their things and promote this here. (Buyer Persona Institute)

DROPPING SOURCING KNOWLEDGE LIKE IT’S HOT

If you’re wondering how to keep your sourcing chops sweet, follow Dean Da Costa. I know I know, you already do. Here’s the latest video on Hiretual 2.0. Check it. (Twitter)

I KNOW I’M NOT AN ALPHA

But I know about a beta and it’s friggin RAD. We just started working with a really smart Canadian (we’re being very nice to them up there right about now) who trained an IBM Watson model to leverage recruitment and HR and it is spectacular. Karen is her name, killing your metrics (in a good way) is her game. We’re doing a big TADA on Tuesday but if you ask real nice, I’ll give you an intro! (Karen)

PEOPLE ARE HURTING

And some of those people are employees. I’ve heard stories and seen these happen in my office that are scary. Employers are struggling with a myriad of issues so if you have ideas, let us know. Right now, I’m thinking about a Grubhub approach and we all know how that turned out. How do you be proactive without alienating employees? (USAToday)

Maren Hogan

Maren Hogan is CEO of Red Branch and general Bad@$$

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Maren started Red Branch Media and, before she hired all the smiling faces you see below, she ran it on her own. In marketing for over 15 years, she has deep experience in strategic campaigns and a long-term, results-based operational approach.