That’s a snazzy title if I do say so myself! Where did it come from? Well, I was reminiscing about crazy work stories with my coworker, and I then remembered that I’d never really told the story of how I set an ATM on fire while on the job. So… Here we go!

In the summer after I graduated high school, I wanted to get a job other than working for my parents as I had for several years. So I talked with a friend who was a branch manager at a local bank and she recommended me for the summer hire program. So for the first time in my life, I went to interview for a job.

Needless to say, I got the job. And strangely like my current profession, I was one of the only men to do the job of a bank teller. Anyway, I had been working at different banks in the area, rotating to a new one every other week. Finally I ended up at a location that I really liked. The other tellers were friendly and really enjoyed having me around.

A new opportunity

Every day around two o’clock, two tellers had to go out and restock the ATM. I was always running the drive thru, so I didn’t get to go out and see how the ATM worked. I was interested in learning, so I got one of them to let me swap and go out to observe.

The next day, I went out with the other teller. Don’t forget, I was just out of high school, so I was pumped about learning about how something cool like the ATM worked. As she opened the door inside the ATM and started counting the money, I couldn’t really see what she was doing. I walked around her to see the other side, but the door was in my way. So I pulled it open.

Big Oopsie

Apparently the door to the ATM was on some kind of half-hinge that disconnects when opened all the way. When I pulled it past a certain point, the solid steel door slipped off its hinges and fell to the floor, ripping out the cables that attached it to the ATM.

Smoke immediately started boiling out of the ATM and an incredibly loud alarm began blaring. Being lowly tellers, we had absolutely no idea how to fix the problem I had caused, so we both went back into the bank and called Diebold to come and fix their darn ATM.

I was the lucky sucker who got to go out and put the “Out of Order” sign on the ATM when the technician told us it would take a week to fix.

Anyone else have a horribly embarrassing or completely hilarious story to tell about one of their early jobs? I know I can’t be the only one!

How to set an ATM on fire is a post from: UpstartHR

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Fridays are turning into a sort of free for all. I often get requests about what l’m working on, and I also have a hard time keeping track of everything that’s going on around me, so I’ll share a few updates.

• My buddy Stephen Harrison’s blog “HRwhY?” has opened officially, and I hope you’re subscribed. You can expect good things from him.
• My pal Robin Schooling wrote a guest post on HR fishbowl in the #TrenchHR series.
• I now have (for your viewing pleasure) a random post generator. The formatting is wonky, but the content is still good.
• I also created a RocketHR page, because a lot of people don’t realize I also write a blog for my local SHRM chapter.
• Later today I will be working with my friend Erich to pitch WordPress as the new website platform for our chapter. It’s free, it’s infinitely customizable, and I’m willing to run it. That’s all I have to say.

Speaking of NASHRM, I helped them push another NASHRM (north Alaska chapter, to be exact) off of the front page of Google. A strangely satisfying victory.

• I got to email back and forth with another rising star on the HR blogging scene this week. Chris Frede of HR Buoy has been fun to work with. Check her out!
• I will soon be unveiling a new project to the public. Right now it’s in closed beta (codename: Rock Your Blog), and while things don’t always end up like we plan for them to, this thing is giving me some cool ideas.
• Another project in the works is called Rock Your Leadership. I have two interviews scheduled with topic experts in the coming week (half a dozen more to schedule), and I’ll be releasing more information on this in the near future.
• The RTPHR newsletter is going strong. I’m trying to figure out a solid update schedule for the list, but I think it’s going to help a lot of people with the HR certification exams.
• I’m a part of the inaugural NASHRM Mentor U., which is a SHRM chapter mentoring program. The first meeting was amazing.
• I’ve teamed up with a lot of cooler-than-me people to write a collaborative eBook. I can’t really share more just yet (though I’m dying to!). Sorry.
• Working on details for HRevolution. Yeah, baby.
• For those of you who are interested, the adoption process is seeing a bit of progress these days. We haven’t been picked just yet, but we have finished our home study and are waiting for the results to come back from the state.
• Are you ready for the free web course I’m setting up? You would be if it was called HR Ninja University (which it is)! Stay tuned.

Weird moment of this week? When our session leader at NASHRM Mentor U quoted my good friend Chris Ferdinandi. It was totally out of the blue (and definitely amazing).

• Oh, and today’s my lovely wife’s birthday. Last but certainly not least!

If you haven’t gathered it from the above list, I have a problem. The big thing is that I have more ideas than I do time to implement them. I need people to help with that. If you’re interested, just shoot me an email. We can partner up. You can just help me out for a load of credit. Or you can bring your own ideas to see if they’re better than mine (wouldn’t take much). Let’s connect!

Friday free for all is a post from: UpstartHR

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After all of the “end of 2009″ and “here comes 2010″ posts I’ve been reading, I realized I haven’t done my own! I checked my phone, and I have lots of jumbled ideas. Maybe I can straighten them out and have some smooth sailing into the new year. Let’s unpack, shall we? I’m just typing as fast as I can and will probably miss quite a few things.

Looking back at 2009

Created UpstartHR

I created UpstartHR and really got into writing online. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me, and I am thrilled to be a part of an amazing community.

Made LOTS of friends

I don’t have the space or time to mention all of the friends and acquaintances I’ve made this year. Andrew, April, Jim, Victorio, Trish, Steve B., Steve H., Rich, Lance, Chris F., Crystal, Joan, Margo, Mark, Paul, Michael, Kelly, Alicia, and Allen are just the tip of the iceberg. If I didn’t mention your name, please leave a comment below and hassle me for it. I promise it’s not on purpose.

HRevolution

Trish and I snagged (a lot of) help from Crystal and Steve and built an amazing HR unconference together. From a few simple tweets in June to a smashingly successful event in November, you’ve all made me thrilled about the next one!

Rock the PHR

I decided to help people studying for the PHR/SPHR exams by creating Rock the PHR study guide with a little help from April Dowling. It did well and was an amazing learning experience for me. The relaunch next week (January 4th @ 6pm Central) is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to welcome some new friends into the mix.

Venting HR Guy

It may not be big for all of you, but seeing Venting come back after a hiatus was nice, and now that he’s found a new job, it looks like we won’t be seeing him anymore. But that’s fine, since he’s finally out of the torturous clutches of his former employer.

Clue Wagon

Kerry is one of the funniest bloggers around, and I’m envious of her style. This week she posted her final post and is saying “goodbye” to the blog. She will be missed.

Looking forward to 2010

Relaunch

Like I said, the relaunch is going to rock.

New RSS distribution via HRM Today

In an effort to spread my message far and wide, I’ve joined HRM Today. Let’s see if the new owners can pull through for me.

New Kids

I laugh when I say that, because I’m still technically new, too. However, in the past few months, we’ve seen some great new blogs like tHRyving, HR Think Tank, RethinkHR, HRart,  and more. Keep it up, everyone! If you think you might like to start your own HR blog, hit me up. I’d love to help.

Assistant Webmaster for NASHRM

One of the “other” gigs I handle is working with my local HR chapter. I’ll be stepping up as an assistant webmaster in 2010, and I’m planning to bring the big guns. If you have a suggestion you’d like to see in a SHRM chapter, leave it in the comments. I’m taking all advice into consideration and trying to make this chapter the best. SHRM may or may not be awesome, but this local chapter sure can be.

Secret Project

I have a secret project running through January/February with some HR bloggers you all know and love. I hope to report back on it as soon as it’s through and I can get some feedback.

New products/services/partnerships

I’m always looking for partnership opportunities. If you have something you’d like to work with me on (publicly or privately), I’m interested in hearing it! I’m working on a leadership project and an HR ninja project at the moment, and I’ll be sure to let you all know when it’s ready to rock and roll.

That’s all I can scrape from my cranium at the moment. I know there are tons more things that I’ve missed. My final thought is that I’ve had a great year, and I can’t wait to share the upcoming year with each and every one of you. I hope you find my work valuable and uplifting. Thanks for being a part of this wild ride.

Looking back at 2009 and forward to 2010 is a post from: UpstartHR

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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.

How I used my local SHRM chapter membership to get a job

I had only been a NASHRM member for a little while, but I had seen the member directory before. On a hunch, I searched the database for the employer’s name. I got a hit! Two HR professionals at the company were NASHRM members. I did some background research and saw that one of them was a friend of a friend, so I made sure to ask for a personal recommendation, too. Using the information in the database, I sent a custom cover letter to both of them. I think it helped because:

• I was able to address it to them personally
• I mentioned my membership in NASHRM and showed that I was dedicated to making a career of HR
• With the information I found in Google about both of them, I was able to target their interests

Shortly thereafter, I received a call. Two interviews later and I was on the payroll. And the rest, my friends, is history. If I hadn’t been able to use the NASHRM database to connect with the hiring manager, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have got the job, but it certainly didn’t hurt! Has your local chapter helped  you with anything similar? Have you met someone who could help you find a job locally? I’d love to hear about it.

Want more info on SHRM chapters? Check out the SHRM Chapter Leadership Guide.

How I got immediate value from joining a SHRM chapter is a post from: UpstartHR

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I’m pretty good friends with Steve at HR Gumbo. We talked about this a good bit before we both posted. You might like to read his post on regulating holidays to make sure you get the “whole” story.

I’m definitely one of those people who gets angry when their company tells them how they can and cannot celebrate the approaching holiday. My last job was like that. My current one isn’t. I work in a radically different culture from a public institution. I’m in the far extreme side of the spectrum. The nonprofit organization that I work for is technically classified as a church, if that gives you any indication. But if someone brought in something representing another holiday, I can’t see us bashing their head in for it.

Christmas decorations rant

Yes, I used the C word. One of my friends recently forwarded a holiday decoration policy for his company that made me want to punch something. I celebrate Christmas along with most of the known world. It is a time for happiness, good cheer, and helping your fellow man. If you aren’t up to that challenge, go jump off a bridge (the 5-1/2 minute mark). I’m not throwing out my fun and happiness because you don’t want to celebrate. If I walk up to you and point blank wish you a “merry Christmas,” please don’t freak out. I’m trying to include you in this time of good cheer and friendship. It’s really no different from wishing you a good morning when it comes down to it. I could always just say “up yours,” but that doesn’t have the same ring to it, you know?

To answer Steve’s question, my organization is relaxed enough to let me have a 3-foot tree with garish, blinking lights. You better believe that sucker lights up my half of the building from 7am until 4pm. But like I mentioned earlier, it’s about the culture, really. And if we have anything, it’s oodles of culture.

What about you? Am I off my rocker, or is this something that annoys the crap out of you, too?

Photo by aussiegall.

Merry Freaking Christmas is a post from: UpstartHR

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Human resources is a vital function for an organization’s survival. With the proper tools, a good HR department can turn sticky problems around, increase revenues, and lead/challenge the organization to become better overall. The only problem?

Many organizations lack strong human resources leadership.

That fault may be intra-organization or intra-department. If the human resources staff has weak leadership, then there’s a good chance that HR within the entire organization is weak as well. If the organization has weak leadership, then there’s a good chance that they won’t give HR a chance to shine. Whatever the case, weakness like that can cripple an organization.

We All Know and Hate It

A few months back, in a fit of unsuppressed Twitter rage, I wrote a quick comment about how I was tired of HR people who dance around tough issues, avoid actions that would give them more credibility/responsibility, and generally are content to exist as spineless wimps. That comment gathered more retweets (in other words, people thought it was important enough to share with their own followers) than anything else I’ve ever said. That has to say something for the state of affairs out there with regard to human resources and leadership, right?

HR really needs both leaders and leadership. Within the profession as a whole, we have some amazing HR leaders pouring out our ears. But they can’t do your work for you. You have to step up and be a bold leader in your department and your organization.

5 Ways to be an HR leader

1. Take care of your people-Do you think your employees will look to you as a leader if they don’t think that you really care and want the best for them? (Hint: no!)
2. Look for ways to innovate-Find new ways to compensate your people. Switch up your recruiting strategy. Gather some metrics and do some forecasting. When people see you coming up with fresh, exciting ideas, they’ll naturally be more interested in listening to you at other times, too.
3. Stand your ground when it counts-When it really counts, and you are pressured to make a hard choice, you’re going to forever remember what you chose to do. Whether it’s an ethical question or one where your gut is telling you that something’s a bad idea, stand your ground. Leaders make the tough choices.
4. Finish what you start-Jason Davis says everything you need to know in his post “Leaders Finish.”
5. Subscribe for free updates and never stop learning!

Image by Hamed Saber.

5 Tips for Human Resources Leadership is a post from: UpstartHR

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I am always interested in finding out how people learn about me. But sometimes the information or avenue can be a bit… Um, weird? Yeah, that’s about the only way I can put it. Check out these 25 ways people found me via Google. If you’re one of them, I hope you found what you came for. And it looks like a lot of people ended up here looking for zombie info. Maybe you found that, too.

1. Can You Train a Zombie? I haven’t, but it doesn’t mean you can’t try. Just keep an eye on your brains.
2. why i didn’t pass the sphr exam Probably because you didn’t have an awesome study resource to help.
3. passing the gphr I got some search traffic on this one, but I sure as heck don’t know how to pass the GPHR. Anyone out there in the audience GPHR certified?
4. HR formulas I feel bad for the people who used that one. It takes you to a post with absolutely nothing useful in it. One of my earlier, funnier posts. I keep meaning to go back and fix that, but it slips my mind…
5. can sphr be passed without experience No, because you have to have experience to take the SPHR. It’s not the same with the PHR, but it will be in 2011.
6. creativity for hr professionals Creativity is what I have more than enough of. I can’t get that darn brain to shut off. Now if I only had the time to make it useful, things would be wildly different.
7. recruiting rock Hmmm… Is that a song? A recruiter for rocks? I can’t figure out that one!
8. 10 reasons why you’re a zombie All of them probably start with “because you were bitten, you idiot.”
9. computer is dying before upstart is ready Ummm. What?
10. dude you’re a zombie There’s really no way to break the news to them easy, you know?
11. culture comment funny Yeah! I have culture. I comment. I’m funny. What else do you need?
12. do you think hr should encourage education assistant Probably was supposed to be “education assistance.” I’m not sure. Encouraging education assistance means more out-of-pocket for the company, but it also makes for a more educated workforce. Anyone else want to chime in?
13. free education on hr You’re reading it right here, baby.
14. free phr novel read I’ve written an eBook, but it’s no novel. If someone has written a PHR novel, they should be shot.
15. funny hr videos I’ve seen a few here and there. This is one funny HR video that sticks out.
16. have finally been Why would you search this? And why would you find me? Weird.
17. how much pay will be for hr assistant say appropriate The pay will suck. You’ll do hard work. Get used to it.
18. how much do hr assistants make See #17.
19. how long should you study for phr exam A lot. The more the better. The free PHR guide has more info.
20. how long should i study for phr exam Probably the same as the guy who asked #19.
21. how to get entry level hr people Buy some. Or rent some. We’re cheap.
22. how to get entry level hr experience You find a job like I mentioned in #17 and you keep it up until you can do something more useful. Or you can be smarter and find somewhere to volunteer or intern. Just a little bit of experience makes a huge difference that early in the game.
23. HOW TO GET INTO HR You can study in school and progress to an HR job (like I did) or you can work in some other field and “fall into” HR, or you can get kidnapped and forced into an HR position against your will and they suck your brains out before you even know what happened. Good luck!
24. how do I know if I’m affected by a zombie Ask yourself if they are sucking on your brains. If the answer is “yes,” then you’re affected. If the answer is no, check your zombie handbook.
25. hr career i am entry level I am, too. What’s it to ya?

Hope you enjoyed the post. This was definitely a fun one. Look for the second half pretty soon. Make sure you’re getting free updates if you don’t want to miss it!

25 Ways People Found Me is a post from: UpstartHR

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