What do illegal interview questions, video training for managers, and required reading lists for employees have in common? They are all guest posts I’ve done in the past little while! Looks like I’m a little schizophrenic with the varying topics, but each post has its own merits.

These guest posts went live (fairly recently) elsewhere that you may have missed. Some of them might be a bit different flavor than the usual upstartHR offerings, so be sure to check them out! If you’re interested in seeing some of my previous escapades, click here for the Guest Post Blitz archive.

Here’s a new hire program I can get behind. Employees are required to read books as a way to introduce them to the culture and encourage them to keep professional development on their radar. Thanks to Matt at Monster Thinking for letting me share!

My friend JT at Careerealism shared this question with me and I just couldn’t pass it up. It sounded like an episode of Jerry Springer and the title is “Can I get fired for this?” The funny thing is I had to read the question ten times and diagram the situation so I could understand and respond.

Ever wondered if those interview questions about when you graduated school are actually legal? I hit on that in this post for Careerealism. (Hint: the question itself isn’t illegal, it’s what you do with it that counts).

This one’s so new it still has the bubble wrap on it. I ran into a snag when I was looking at developing a social recruiting plan for my employer. Apparently social recruiting doesn’t work for everyone. Would love some comments on this one.

Over on RocketHR I posted about creating and distributing video training for managers on an as-needed basis. Having trouble with conflict resolution? Send them the video with some tips and tricks to doing that better. Need some assistance with giving feedback to staff? There’s a video for that one, too.

And finally, I’ve had a lot of comments in person on this post about who is HR’s customer. Is it the employee? The manager? The job candidate? Senior leadership? The garbage man? Yeah, there are a lot of facets to consider and this one isn’t a simple question to answer.

I’m running a series on some of  the companies I’ve interacted with that I think are worth mentioning. It’s not exhaustive, but I’ve been meaning to share these things for a while now. With that, let’s roll…

CAREEREALISM

Who they are

CAREEREALISM is a company that was founded by the career coach J.T. O’Donnell. J.T. is a fantastic person who I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with, and I’ll never forget the first thing she said to me that showed me her true character. I asked her who the “head honcho” was at her company, and she replied with this great quote:

“I’m the founder… So, while I may be technically ‘in charge.’ the company is actually governed via the team’s efforts.”

I knew right away that she was going to be a great person to interact with. The company as a whole is made up of a small team of people working on their website and other programs.

What they do

So, they obviously have a website, but what else is there? Well, for a long time, there was a cool program called “TAP” where a few trusted people (somehow I weaseled my way onto that list) would give advice via Twitter on different career questions. Eventually that played itself out (after we ended up answering over 500 questions!), and they moved onto other way cooler programs like the CAREEREALISM Club.

This thing is amazing. There are hours and hours of videos, recorded webinars, and other resources to help job seekers find their dream career. Plus, the free eBooks, personalized career coaching, and interaction/support from other job seekers are nothing to laugh about. Every week there are live chats on the private network where you can ask questions, share war stories, and learn more about getting a job than you could ever use.

In short, check it out.

Why you need it

If the features above don’t sell it for you, let’s look at a few more. If you are looking for a job, there are so many things that you don’t know. It’s not like you spend your time finding out the best ways to apply for jobs or where to go for networking tips that are more than “here’s a resume/business card/something to throw in the trash.” The CAREEREALISM Club is described by J.T. as a “Career HMO.”

Another neat benefit is that it takes it further than just getting a job. It gives you help with what to do once you start the job like managing your boss, setting expectations, and making a great impression on your new coworkers.

If you are looking for the career resource to help you find and get that next job, then I highly recommend that you check out CAREEREALISM Club today.

Stay tuned, because I’ll be bringing you more recommended resources in the coming weeks!

I’m notorious for being unorganized, but I have several guest posts that went live (fairly recently) elsewhere that you may have missed. Some of them might be a bit different flavor than the usual UpstartHR offerings, so be sure to check them out!

Every once in a while I get the chance to write a little something for some of my friends. In an effort to repay their kindness, I share the links with you in case you’re interested in checking one out. If you’re interested in seeing some of my previous escapades, click here for the Guest Post Blitz archive.

As a sequel to my own Google Reader Tutorial, I shared a post with Mike Krupa of InfoBox telling about Continue Reading »

Note: this post is not encouraging anyone to spam a group of people. It’s only a recount of my own experience. If you spam your local HR pros, you could get booted from the SHRM chapter. Fair warning!

Back in the spring of 2009, I started looking for my first HR job. While I graduated college a year earlier than that, I had to work for my employer for a year since they paid for my final semester of college. I knew that it was time to step out of the small pond and jump into the world of HR with both feet. At that time, I was working with Andrew at Jobacle as a staff writer. In a fortunate coincidence, I had interviewed JT O’Donnell for a story on the Jobacle blog, and after a brief mention that I was job searching, we began to work together. JT is a great career coach, and her company, CAREEREALISM, is the place to go if you’re a job seeker looking for help.

Within a week, an entry level HR position with a local nonprofit opened up. I went for it. I wrote a cover letter, attached my resume, and sent it to their in-house recruiter. The only problem is that I knew that everyone else who applied for the job would do that exact same thing. I had to make it better. Continue Reading »