human resources! career advice! cats! of course!

Stolen QOTD

By Laurie on June 23rd in Human Resources

This quote made me think of you: We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are

Happy Recess At Work Day

By Laurie on June 21st in Human Resources

In this case, Recess At Work Day is for suckers. Recess At Work Day – A Free Employee Morale Teambuilding Idea Thanks to the Freakonomics Blog for this one!

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Business Leaders Don't See HR as Key to People Strategies

By Laurie on June 21st in Human Resources

Thomas Otter asked me what I thought of this article: Business Leaders Don’t See HR as Key to People Strategies | workforce.com…… I’m not surprised by the findings, nor am I surprised to read that companies are asking for the development of a

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Chee-kah-go

By Laurie on June 20th in Human Resources

I drove into Chicago for the day to visit my sister. I managed to snap a picture of the skyline with my cell phone as I was sitting in traffic. It took me forevah to get home, tonight, and I’m a little cranky. Summer of Laurie = Summer of Traffic I was homesick for 3.4 [...]

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Wildlife

By Laurie on June 18th in Human Resources

I have a new ritual where I walk through the yard at dusk. Tonight, I discovered three things: Chipmunks can stand on their hind legs like Timon from The Lion King. Something puked in my yard. Can you tell me what this is? It just appeared out of nowhere. It’s yellow, it’s mushy, and it’s [...]

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Summer of Laurie: It's Tough

By Laurie on June 18th in Human Resources

Things I did, today: Updated Ask The Blondes. Read my brother’s blog. Went to the dry cleaners. Went to the bank. Went to Starbucks. Twice. Went to the post office. Went to the Goodwill and donated eleven pairs of shoes. Went to the local homeless shelter to donate food & toiletries. Most homeless shelters appreciate [...]

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What I Fear The Most

By Laurie on June 18th in Human Resources

Some people fear spiders and clowns. Other people fear failure and public speaking. I fear losing my health insurance. It’s not a big, left-wing conspiracy to say that America’s health insurance system is a failure. We place a huge burden on employers when we ask them to fund our health programs, and we sap the [...]

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Thoughts on Communicating in Corporate America

By Laurie on June 16th in Human Resources

Never assume good intent. Never use a real word when an acronym will do. Never say use when utilize will do. Hyphenated, compound words are very important to executives. Use them as often as possible. You can make the same point seven times and in seven different ways, but 50% of your audience will still [...]

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What is WARN?

By Laurie on June 15th in Human Resources

Dear Laurie: I heard a rumor that you are technically employed and being paid to do nothing. Is that true? How do I get that sweet job? Signed, Your Jealous Friend

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Showing Up

By Laurie on June 14th in Human Resources

As a global Human Resources generalist, I worked very odd hours in multiple locations. There were days when I was up at 4AM, flew to remote sites in the middle of nowhere, and flew home the very same day — getting to bed around midnight. There were other times when I spent the day in [...]

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Summer + Laurie = Spa Day

By Laurie on June 12th in Human Resources

Tomorrow’s blog post on communication may be delayed as I’m getting a full-body massage and then ending the session with 20 minutes of Shirodhara. (Another article here.) For reals, yo. This is what I am doing with my time. It’s tough being unemployed.

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Team Building Is For Suckers

By Laurie on June 12th in Human Resources

I’ve been fleshing out the outline for my management book. The working title is Team Building Is For Suckers. I told someone about the book and he asked, “It’s supposed to be funny, right?” Yes — but that question worries me. Wouldn’t you just hear about the title and rush out to the bookstore? Couldn’t [...]

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Props

By Laurie on June 11th in Human Resources

The first Monday of my unemployment was amazing. I’d like to thank my good friend, Rocky, for helping my husband to secure a quick consulting assignment in Rhode Island. Unemployment feels good, but it feels much better when the husband is earning money. I need to be kept in clover. I am living in a [...]

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