Half dozen the other: Campus bubbles, passive-aggressive toddlers, and doing nothing
Six(ish) things I’ve found interesting this week What If We Got Adoption All Wrong? I don’t know a lot about adoption, but realized I’d unquestioningly swallowed the cultural narratives about it being an unmitigated good. This essay from Design Mom’s newsletter added nuance to how I view adoption and was a sobering reminder of how…
You’re probably doing too many interviews
Take a second to think about your company’s interview process. How many people does each candidate have to talk to? On how many occasions? Choosing how many interview rounds to hold for an open position can feel arbitrary if you don’t know where to start. You want to vet each candidate thoroughly, get input from…
Why “what’s your greatest weakness?” is a useless interview question
Even if you have a lot of experience hiring, it can be easy to underestimate how difficult it is to write good interview questions. It should take you a fair amount of time and effort if you want to make the most of each conversation. This entry will be the first in a series on…
Half dozen the other: Music, walks, and bungled office plans
Six(ish) things I’ve found interesting this week The Sociology of John Mayer’s Outfit Guidance I found this writer, W. David Marx, on Twitter this week. I love reading about the psychology and sociology of people’s consumption choices, and this piece is right up that alley. I’m a Short Afternoon Walk and You’re Putting Way Too…
What to do when a rejected candidate asks for feedback
Here’s part two of yesterday’s post, “How to turn someone down for a job when you’re the hiring manager.” So you’ve rejected a finalist for a job and they’ve asked for feedback. What do you say? This can be challenging for a few reasons, not the least of which that it puts you on the…
How to turn someone down for a job when you’re the hiring manager
Turning down candidates is one of the un-fun parts of being a hiring manager. It’s not enjoyable to disappoint people, and some people get testy or weepy or awkward when they’re disappointed. But I’m a firm believer in doing unsuccessful candidates the courtesy of closing the loop, especially once they reach a certain stage in…
6 common hiring manager mistakes
Hiring is a professional skill like any other. You might not be great at it if you’re new to it, and if you don’t do it very often, your ability can atrophy. And that’s fine! That’s why companies have talent acquisition teams. I’ve worked with a lot of hiring managers in my talent career and…
Half dozen the other: Back at it
Six(ish) things I’ve found interesting this week, back after a multi-year hiatus The Workplace Where It Was Normal for Colleagues to Bite Each Other Alison Green of Ask a Manager explains on Slate how working in a dysfunctional place can screw up your sense of “normal.” Yep, been there. Why You’re Not “Middle Class” from…
Why recruiters are vague when contacting you
I read a letter this week on Ask a Manager, one of my favorite career-advice blogs, and wanted to throw in my two cents. The topic was “Why Don’t Recruiters Send Me Any Information on the Jobs They’re Recruiting Me For?” I had to chuckle in recognition; I’ve seen a lot of this in my…
Hi again
It’s a bit hard to believe I’ve had this site for seven years. Not that I’ve exactly been active on it for much of that time, but here’s my attempt at resurrection. A few things have changed since my last introduction. I now live abroad and have been working in the talent/people world for about…
Half dozen the other: Kids, faces, and saving both
Six(ish) things I’ve enjoyed this week (-and-a-half-ish) Summer Listens #4 I’m loving this summer series from On the Media that digs up fun stories from the archives. This episode is a delightful history of the corporate anthem. (Don’t miss the ending!) The Children of Strangers An impressively empathetic portrait in last week’s New Yorker of…
Half dozen the other: Money, carpet, and Emily Gould
Six(ish) things I’ve enjoyed this week. Are you a gentrifier? A funny gutpunch of an interactive from Slate. Carpet is Mungers I leapt on this essay—which I found via Emily Gould’s great blog post, “Pregnancy is Mungers”—because 1. What is this Mungers? 2. I love Meghan Daum. 3. I’m like a moth to a flame…
Life is short. Don’t get outed by Gawker.
The latest rumpus to whip through the media, spawning dozens of think-pieces (like this one), is the hacking of Ashley Madison, a sort of alternative dating site whose slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair.” Hackers broke into the Canadian website two weeks ago and threatened to expose its 37 million users’ personal information.…
Hi there
Might as well dive in. I started this blog for a few reasons: To have a place to put some pieces I’ve been chipping away at (and motivation to finish and publish those pieces).To force myself to write more regularly.To be less terrible at and uncomfortable with self-promotion. I haven’t really found my beat yet,…
LEAH ANDERSON 