How Headhunters May Help

I'm going to get off task a little bit here from my normal job search tip comment, as the view of "headhunters" has been on my mind for quite some time now. Are "headhunters" "gods"? Are they all pompous and arrogant? Do they hold the keys to your future job search success? Do they provide employers with valuable services? Some people think so. . . employers and job seekers alike.

Headhunters, aka "executive search consultants" or "executive recruiters" or "executive recruiting consultants" whatever terminology you want to use, can often be viewed as such, mainly by employers who hire the headhunter to fill a specific position. The "headhunter" maintains a certain mystique about themselves. Do they deserve that mystique? There are many employers who stand in awe at what a headhunter can accomplish when given a job spec or position to fill after they have tried for months to fill that same position. I have stood in awe at some of the impossible positions we have been asked to fill and have been successful in filling! There are job seekers who may be potential candidates who are afraid to approach any headhunter because they aren't really sure how that headhunter will react. They are put on a pedistal for everyone to admire.

On the flip side of that coin, there are job seekers who aren't afraid to approach a headhunter, but because they don't know what the role of the headhunter is, or, because when they think "headhunter" they think that individual or company can find them a job, they become disillusioned and angry toward the headhunter whom they think should be working on their behalf. For example, they'll look for a specific job role like physician jobs from a site like this: http://leapdoctor.com but headhunters might not specialize in that particular area. I just wanted to throw this idea out there. I have much more to say to finish this thought but that is for another day. I don't want to make this blog too long as I'm sure you have other things to do. But before I go, I'd be interested in knowing what you think about "headhunters"? Remember, whether your comments are positive or negative, keep the comments appropriate!

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Pontoon Boats Know Where to

As I was driving home from work today, I needed to find an alternate radio station, as my beloved go to station decided to shut down its AM signal at sunset, in accordance with FCC regulations. I remembered hearing something about the lefties having some new station/programming to combat the other side of talk radio, so I began working the tuner in search of the signal.

Eventually, I found it, and they were running through the day's headlines during an extended break from that time slot's program. The story I broke in on was of a newly-established wildlife refuge here in the state, the quote at the end of which went something like, "the glaciers did such marvelous work in this region 10,000 years ago, the least Minnesotans can do is to preserve it."

There was a brief station identification, followed by a block of ads, the first of which was a nature company, advertising how their products are great and green, and how you should use products to help out the environment. I think that's pretty smart advertising, it's almost like they knew exactly what would be talked about on the radio show. If I was selling boats, I would certainly want to appear on a radio station about boating and summer, immediately after they talk about the importance of owning a boat or being out on the water next summer.

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Blogs are like Books

Image via CrunchBase

During the early days of the internet, I found myself passing work time through a slow AOL connection and reading discussion groups and usenets. Why did I read these? Because the content on these were submitted by readers and were updated daily.

Fast forward to the introduction of the web in 1994.  Most web pages were static, once you read them that was it.  They were updated maybe once a month.  As the web evolved the news sites like Yahoo & MSN had daily updates.  But reading the news gets old and it’s not really that captivating.

Blogs can be like ongoing TV shows.  They can be the source of many hours of reading.  With the advent of blogs, we became exposed to literally millions of on-going real life stories posted by the everyday person. When reading these blogs, one gets caught in a life story. We get to read about what other people are doing as they do it.  Best of all, we can comment and make suggestions and actually make a difference. It’s like reality TV that interacts with you.

It’s no wonder that people are addicted to blogs. They have great un-edited content. They have new posts daily. You can interact directly with the author. And there is a blog for every subject in the world.

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When in Oklahoma, do as the Sooners do

I've never been a big fan of Big 12 football, but from a distance I've respected their craft and the devoted fandom. I really thought the loss of Nebraska to the Big 10 last year would have really hit the poor Sooner fans hard, as they have been one of the two chief rivals in Norman for the past decade along with the Texas Longhorns. Turns out, they're very good at redirecting their anger.

I caught a game last year while in Oklahoma, an early season throw away game against someone I can't even recall, and I got to ask a few fans about the rivalry, and it was almost unanimous amongst those rocking Sooners apparel (of which there were many).

They hate Texas. More than before.

So they've got that going for them...which is nice (channeling my inner Bill Murray on that one).

Now, for some QB motivation:

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, is highly considered as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He and quarterback Peyton Manning are compared to each other and are considered two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL today. Brady was a 6th round draft pick in the 2000 NFL draft. He came from Michigan, one of the top football colleges today. He was not expected to be as good as he is today. It’s quite ironic though how Tom, a 6th round draft pick and Peyton, a first round draft pick, are very similar in their stats and both come from very different backgrounds. Peyton of course came from a very advantageous background, having his father, a former NFL quarterback, as a mentor. Peyton was also the first pick of his draft class.

Two men. Different backgrounds. Similar stats.

It goes to show you that anyone can accomplish anything they put their mind to. There are a lot of underdogs in the NFL today. Who knows when the next Tom Brady or Tony Romo will come out of the shadows and get a chance to take what they were never given. Tony Romo wasn’t even drafted. In the end, it doesn’t matter where you came from, whether or not you were a first round draft pick. It just matters if you can play the game. If you have a passion to play the sport you are good at and you don’t give up, you will succeed.

You can look at any sport and you can see a true under dog story. The most common story today would be the 2007-2008 New York Giants football team. They won against all odds. You can win against all odds too. It just depends on how bad you want to achieve it.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45928872@N08/4224618540/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Thanks PepsiCo!

New snack food (Photo credit: Telstar Logistics)

It’s no big secret that major snack food companies are in hot water for their role in contributing to the childhood obesity problem. Now, this is fair in a sense, but it’s also extremely unfair too; it is not really all their fault…someone is buying these unhealthy snacks for the children.

At any rate, due to their being under fire, snack food companies are actually trying to do something about it. Now, they are offering low-fat, sugar-free varieties of their products, and even, as far as PepsiCo goes, building playgrounds for children.

I think this is awesome, because in truth, they are doing much more than the parents who are buying the junk are at this point. If there was a collaboration at work, parents and the companies both doing something, maybe we’d actually be getting somewhere; add onto that the children actually exercising, rather than playing video games and we’d really go far!

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Big Medical Breakthroughs

CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Photo credit: eesti)

Huge advancements have been made within modern human history, and many of them came in the medical arena. Within the past century, the world say many groundbreaking advancements in the medical world. It's exciting to imagine what the future holds for this century.

One of the most important accidents that ever happened, the potential of Penicillin was realized when  Sir Alexander Fleming at the St. Mary's Hospital in London noticed bacterium being dissolved by a bluish green mold. This discovery gave rise to many more antibiotics used today, and undoubtedly have saved millions of lives ever since.

CPR was actually invented in the 1950s by Dr. Peter Safar and has since been the most effective method to revive and/or save an unconscious person's life. Standing for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, it is widely taught in today's world to lifeguards to doctors.

The artificial heart was invented by Willem J. Kolff, a Dutch born medical researcher. Robert Jarvik helped him complete the design, which can beat over 100,000 times a day and sustain a person until they can find a suitable heart transplant. Artificial hearts were not the only rise in artificial equipment used in the medical world. Artificial knees, hips, spines, arms and legs have all made tremendous gains even within the past 50 years, with the help of the development of products like bone screws and phaco handpieces. These advances have also given way to a booming industry of orthopedic manufacturer companies.

Who knows what's in store for our future, but after looking at what's happened in the past, I'm quite optimistic!

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Steel builds a Nation

Barbed wire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even before the start of the industrial revolution, steel has played a major role in our country. It has been used countless times in warfare in the form of equipment and weapons, and was used to build structures and equipment that could not be supported by other materials such as brick or wood. Great examples include our modern railway systems and the transformation of wooden vessels into iron clad giants.

During the industrial revolution, the world experimented with different means and methods of creating steel. Many traditional methods included making cold drawn steel, which was high in strength but low in flexibility. With the technology and ability to heat substances to higher temperatures, manufacturers were able to make more flexibilte but high durability products that could be used to make barbed wire and other meaniful products through wire rod.

As technologies continue to develop, we continue to find new uses for a timeless material. The materials used in our cell phones and electronic devices often include small parts of steel that are crucial for the devices functionality.

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