human resources! career advice! cats! of course!

F@%k It Friday: Vitamins

I recently started taking a calcium supplement because I am older and my eating is disordered, which is putting it lightly. I have to take this supplement two times/day — and I also take a vitamin for women who are awesome and still very relevant and somewhat fertile and tremendously pretty. I get that vitamin [...]

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Phone Blabber

By Laurie on May 3rd in Human Resources

A reader wants to know how she can tell a phone blabber to shut up. You’ve heard of a phone blabber, right? Someone who sits in her cube all day long and talks too much. My sciatic nerve is killing me. I’ve been trying out these new compression socks from CVS and they make my [...]

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Job Interview Fashion Advice: Don’t Smell

By Laurie on May 2nd in Human Resources

My thinking on interview fashion has shifted over the years. I used to believe that you should wear what you would normally wear to the office so that hiring managers could get a good sense of your style and personality. Then I thought — wait, that’s wrong, you should always dress better than the person who [...]

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Would You Go to Mexico?

By Laurie on May 1st in Human Resources

A very good friend of mine called and asked, “Would you to go Mexico, right now?” I said, “Are you offering to take me?” He said, “No, I’m taking a poll. Do you think it’s safe?” Thanks a lot. “Where in Mexico?” “Cancun.” Hm. Public relations officials will tell you that Mexico’s is safe for the most [...]

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Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People

By Laurie on April 30th in Human Resources

I’ve been super-busy and missed my OBGYN appointment in January. I called to reschedule my annual exam and my doctor is on maternity leave. What? Is that allowed? Fine, okay, whatever. I found another OBGYN and made an appointment. The new doctor is 42. How did it happen that I have a doctor who is [...]

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Monday Morning HR Humor: Larry Winget

By Laurie on April 30th in Human Resources

I’m off to NYC and Texas, this week, for HR-related conferences. While I’m away, let me introduce you to Larry Winget via Lance Haun. Your kids are your own fault. Here’s the other problem. You’re telling your little princess she is special. Let me help you with this. Not to me! “You can’t make employees [...]

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The Week Ahead

By Laurie on April 29th in Human Resources

Hello, everyone. May is such a busy month for me. I will be in NYC, Plano, Maine, San Francisco and London. Really. It’s fabulous travel sprinkled with visits from friends. I am really lucky, these days. I cannot complain about life except that I will miss my cats so much. Boo. How are you? What’s [...]

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Day Off

By Laurie on April 28th in Human Resources

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National Hairball Awareness Day

By Laurie on April 27th in Human Resources

Breaking news — today is National Hairball Awareness Day. Go check out Furminator’s page on Facebook for the skinny. And check out my awesome coverage of all things hairballs, Furminator and Conan. It’s amazing that I don’t have a reality television show. And for the record, hairballs suck! Here is a fact sheet to help [...]

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Help Me Find Complacency In My Career

By Laurie on April 26th in Human Resources

Lawyers advise bloggers not to publish email messages verbatim or advise readers directly because of the perceived liability. If my advice sucks, or if any harm befalls a reader, I don’t want to be held liable. SO THIS ENTIRE BLOG IS FICTION. There you go. But this letter is such a gem that I had [...]

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Resume Typos

By Laurie on April 25th in Human Resources

Everyone keeps asking me what I think about the fact that you have 6 seconds to make an impression on a recruiter or a headhunter. Of course I think it’s obnoxious. And I actually think that we need better HR technology — and better implementation of search protocols in existing cloud-based ATS and CRM programs [...]

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Gender, Hookers and The Secret Service

By Laurie on April 24th in Human Resources

I caught yesterday’s White House briefing where Jay Carney was asked, “The Secret Service is only 11% female. Do you think this scandal would have happened if there were more women in the agency?” I can see why people hate the media. Then I watched Carolyn Maloney say the same thing on Hardball. She’s a [...]

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Office Gossip

By Laurie on April 23rd in Human Resources

A reader writes that she is the victim of office gossip. In an unfortunate twist of fate, she gossiped about someone and was called out when someone gossiped about her gossiping. “What should I do?” Schwoo. Awkward. It’s one thing if people are gossiping about you and it’s a lie. It’s another thing if your [...]

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