Before entering the recruiting profession, I had a bunch of ideas about what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Looking back, it’s kind of funny to think about all the different careers I thought I would dedicate to.

Here are some of the various options I considered before landing in recruiting:

• Inventor - My family environment as a child was very creative.  Dad loved to create contraptions to deal with common problems (gophers, speeding cars… this is a whole blog post unto itself).
• Police Officer - I applied and was hired to be a Police Officer after college.  I figured out pretty quickly that the structure of the job was too much for me – the lie detector test sure was fun!
• CIA Agent – This is a long story… but, I didn’t go this route.
• Military – I was about to finalize the process, while in college, to join the Marines as an Officer after graduation.  An administrative error on their part made the process complex and frustrating, so I declined.  I think the structure would have been tough.
• Professional Video Game Player – I’ve gamed since I first had access to computers.  In fact, while in college, I helped pay the bills by buying and selling virtual items from Everquest (a MMORPG) on EBay.  Virtual sword anyone?
• Cartoonist – I started to draw when I was little.  By the 4th grade, I started taking cartooning classes at the local community college in Oregon.  Drawing is still a release, just not a profession.
• Musician – When I moved to Argentina at 18, I started playing guitar… fell in love with music and, at one point, considered dedicating myself fully to the craft.
• Photographer – This was a Jr. High hobby that I still really enjoy!  When I was an exchange student to Guatemala at 16, a local photo shop sponsored my photography for the year – which totally helped on my teenager budget.
• Think Tank Member - Hard to explain, but I just thought it would be cool to sit in a room with a bunch of creative folks and come up with random ideas all day.

Yep!  Quite an eclectic mix of career choices.

Why Recruiting?

Recruiting kind of fell into my lap.  In fact, it was about two weeks after leaving the Police Academy in Arizona when I received a call from Randstad.  To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t really thought about Recruiting as a profession.

As it ended up, Recruiting was a great match for my wants, needs and desires at that point in my career.

• Financial Potential
• Helping Others
• Career Path
• Outgoing Co-Workers

It just kind of hit me – “Wow, this Recruiting thing is pretty cool… I can do this!”

The next 6 years were filled with professional adventures and lots of lessons.

Enter “Social”

Then, after launching my own business in 2008, I started to contemplate how social media could compliment my recruiting practice.  Instead of using all of these fancy tools as sourcing methods, why couldn’t we use these channels to share best practices, help candidates and perhaps improve the profession?  Made sense.

Early on in this process, Alicia Arenas and I headed up to Austin in order to spend a day at a Chris Brogan training.  By the time we left the event, I was dead set on embarking down this path.  Chris flung the doors open for both Alicia and I – it was quite a day!

For the next few months, I didn’t sleep much – 3-4 hours a night max!

I found myself rekindling dormant passions for photography, technology and creativity.  Simultaneously, I started learning about areas I had never previously explored… website development (WordPress, CSS, HTML, etc…), video, and social networking tools in all their various forms.

It was an exhilarating time filled with possibilities and new adventures.

What made it all that much more fulfilling was the community I started to encounter… people who had an equal level of passion for the topic.

Before I knew it, the tools had become the topic and different opportunities popped up everywhere.  Speaking, training, collaboration with amazing forward thinkers – just a crazy roller coaster ride!

I remember sitting at Disney Institute thinking, “How the hell did I get here?” and “Is this real?”

As the months progressed, I started to realize that I had somehow merged many of my childhood passions with the professional interests I pursued after college.  Creativity meets Recruiting.  Think Tanks, Photography, Design, Game-Like Social Engines – full circle.  Professionally, I had never felt so fulfilled.

So, blah, blah, blah, I feel happy… now to my point.

Merge Your Career

I’m not going to pretend that this journey has been seamless or easy – it hasn’t been.  It’s required more work than I’ve ever put on my plate at one time.  The good news is, I love it!  And, if that weren’t enough, I pay my bills performing work that unites my passions.  Creativity + Being Social + Travel + Talent Acquisition =

A few weeks ago, I watched a video from Gary Vaynerchuk that made me reflect on my path and what’s happened.  But, it also made me want to jump on a soapbox and yell “Amen!!!”  Gary shares his thoughts on merging your passions with your professional pursuits.  He did it, others are doing it and you (YES, YOU!) can venture down this road too!

So, here you go – check him out!  WARNING: Language in the video is not work-friendly… so, watch it away from the office.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Just think about it – hopefully do something about it.  Either way, imagine what’s possible and remain open to opportunities.  You never know!

Have you pursued your passions and made a career out of it?  How did it change your life?

Photo Credit, bgottsab

Time really does fly!  It seems like just yesterday I was driving through the Walt Disney World campus on my way to Disney Institute.  I must admit, it was an experience that I had really looked forward to.  As it ended up, I had every reason to be excited about the week ahead.

Expectations Meet Reality

The truth is… anything Disney comes with high expectations.  Let’s face it, when you are brought up on the enchantment and wonder that is “Disney,” most everything related to the organization will fuel a sense of over-the-top potential.  My state of mind at the time was surely on this track… and, in all fairness, perhaps altered my ability to objectively evaluate the course in the moment.  While I could understand the material and was absolutely taken by the experience as a whole, something in me kept waiting for a magic carpet ride or some crazy other-wordly experience…

Disney Institute is an amazing place to learn.  Between the environment, the instructors, the behind-the-scenes experiences and more… there is no doubt in my mind that DI serves as a very unique opportunity for those interested in expanding their professional filters.  With that said, it is a course designed for training, not frolicking around the parks like a 10 year old (or a childlike 30 year old) .  There is curriculum, you will be expected to focus and you will experience a magnitude of exercises related to the course.  As you might imagine, by the end of the week, participants are beat!

Why The “Digestion” Period?

I was invited to attend the “Business Excellence” series at DI.  The course, in a nutshell, was designed to give the participant a taste test of all the various intensive courses that DI has to offer.  While each segment of the course can serve as a standalone mini-training, the purpose is not to exhaust any particular topic.  With that said, if in going through course you find yourself highly intrigued by… let’s say Brand Loyalty, you may find it frustrating to move past that topic after just one day.  What I found was that my frustration tied directly to my desire for more… which, from my now “digested” perspective, is probably a great thing!

After the week-long adventure concluded, I put some thought around doing a wrap up post… but, ended up holding off.  Finally, after debating what to do next, I decided to sit on the information for a while before giving any final assessment.  The reasons for this have been threefold.

1. I had learned so much that I didn’t know where to start.
2. There were (and continue to be) a thousand things going on at once.
3. I wanted to see what central topics stuck with me months after the training ended.

So, there you have it… my reasons (excuses) for holding off.  Now for the meat and potatoes.

Disney Institute – Lasting Lessons from Business Excellence

As I expected, the concepts shared on branding, user experience and employment culture stuck with me the most.  For starters, these areas are of personal interest.  However, and even with my personal interests taken into account, I do believe that these three areas created some “Wow!” moments for the class.

So, I’m going to go all “Blogger” and list my lessons out here.  I will refrain from referring back to notes so that I can only relay that which stuck!

Branding

1. Branding happens at every stop along the way… if the customer can see/experience it, you have an opportunity to negatively/positively impact the perception on your organization.
2. Every company should embrace the concept of “On Stage” – Since the training and my newly embedded filters, I have become much more in tune with this!
3. People experience your brand… you should strive to understand what emotional impact you have on them when they encounter you and/or your company.
4. A brand takes work… and a lot of it!  Walt Disney didn’t just decide to make “Disney” one of the most well-recognized household names… it required a huge amount of dedication and commitment!

User Experience

1. There are primary and secondary users of your products… we must keep both in mind.  Each influences the other.
2. Thinking through the bottlenecks your clients may experience with your company can make a huge difference (think about how boring it can be to wait in a huge line for a ride… Disney works at making it fun!)
3. Consider the time that your company occupies in a person’s day… how does that impact their other relationships?  What can you do to improve that impact or, at least, make it enjoyable for all impacted parties?
4. Feedback, feedback, feedback!  Hope is not a strategy… we must ask our customers what they think and continuously implement and improve upon their suggestions… KEY!

Employment Culture

1. Disney makes it very easy for a potential employee to change their mind!  No use in hiring someone that either a) doesn’t truly want to be there OR b) has reservations about their future with your company.
2. The spirit and accountability of a workforce can be instilled in alternative ways.  Disney has a “way” of doing things… not just “rules and regulations” – Inspire the behaviors you seek from your team!
3. Make it easy for employees to do things the right “way” and they are much more likely to do them!
4. Give your employees something to be excited about by getting to the heart of what your company does.  People don’t just work for a paycheck… give them something more and they will respond!

What Would Walt Do?

I think back on my experience at Disney Institute with very positive feelings.

By the time the week was over I was exhausted and perhaps mentally overwhelmed.  However, now, almost 3 months later, I still find myself thinking about the training on a very regular basis.  Day-to-day business situations take on a whole different feel when analyzed from a Disney perspective.  It’s been both fun and enlightening to engage challenges with this new filter… and I look forward to more of it in the future!

To the kind people at Disney Institute, I sincerely appreciate the time, energy and resources you willingly gave during our stay with you.  You made it a magical experience and I’m very grateful for having been invited!

To the business people of the world who are looking to expand your training horizons… go check out what Disney Institute has to offer.  Whether for yourself, your team or your company as a whole, Disney Institute offers a wide array of courses to meet your individual needs.  I have a high level of confidence that they will not only meet, but exceed your expectations!

If you missed the fun while we were all going through the course, hop over to the Disney Institute page on my site to see photos, tweets and related blog posts!  Click Here!

It’s been an amazing past week!  Having my first experience at Walt Disney World and going through Disney Institute created more than a few ideas for posts.  In particular, I’m planning to dive deeper in the areas of branding process, user experience and perhaps the way in which Disney built their employee culture.  If you would like for me to discuss one particular aspect of their training, feel free to drop me a note or comment below.  I’d be happy to create the content around your curiosity.

Now it’s time to pack and get ready for another busy week.  I’m off to Chicago in the morning (in a few hours) for the very first Red Shoe Project TweetUp on Monday and to speak at a Skilled Recruiters Network event on Tuesday.  It promises to be a non-stop, red shoe wearing, Chi-Town extravaganza!

If you have yet to visit the new Red Shoe Project website, I encourage you to do so.  While it’s still in the works, your feedback is very helpful in creating a design that is both easy to use and visually appealing.  I appreciate your help!

http://redshoeproject.org

Any recommendations for where I should snap a Red Shoe Project photo in Chicago?  This will be my first time to spend more than 6 hours in the city and I’ve heard great things!

Company culture is a tricky topic.  Let’s face it; we don’t all have Cinderella, Belle and Mickey running around to help us establish that childlike emotional commitment to our brands like Disney does.  The ability to excite, innovate and entertain our future employees in the same powerful way would be amazing… but, that will never be the reality for most.

So, what can we do to create the same sort of passion and enthusiasm for our employment brands that I have found in one particular Intern at Disney Institute?

Katy Ray Sears lives and breathes Disney.  Shortly after arriving to Orlando we met Katy for the first time – polite, enthusiastic and absolutely crazy for Disney.  Katy is currently serving as an Intern for the Disney Institute.  Her technical role is the Group & Convention Public Relations Intern… but, in all reality… she is much more than that!  This “Intern” bleeds pixie dust!

When it comes to Disney, Katy is a true brand champion.  Not in a forced down your throat, you must eat and breathe Walt Disney kind of way – it’s more of a childlike wonderment that is very difficult to not get excited over.  It’s not in the words as much as the way that her eyes grow wide and sparkly anytime she speaks about the organization.  She is, in my opinion, the type of cast member (internal employee to Disney) that truly captures the spirit of the organization.

So, for fun, I asked this passionate Disney ambassador to give me her top ten list of things about Disney that stick out in her mind and why she chose them.

Katy Ray Sears’ Top Ten Favorite Things About Disney

1. Walt Disney – Because he shows that one person can change the world!
2. Main Street USA – It embodies the spirit of America, comfort and memories.
3. Peter Pan’s Flight – Where else can you fly over London in a Pirate Ship?
4. Princesses – They symbolize dreams that everyone has.
5. Carousel of Progress – Walt’s own idea from beginning to end…
6. Great Movie Ride – Ride through Hollywood’s greatest movie scenes and get right in the middle of the action!
7. Parades & Fireworks – Especially “Wishes”
8. Fantasmic – Greatest show ever!
9. The Kids – Walt Disney World gives them something to believe in, no matter their circumstances.
10. Cinderella’s Castle – It’s a real representation of dreams coming true!

Here is the actual note…

Katy Ray is a fantastic addition to the Disney team.  She will represent them well now and into the future with her amazing level of intensity for the organization and her commitment to delivering on Disney’s key standards for guest satisfaction.

Company culture and the way in which it flows through your employees’ veins is highly dependent on their abilities to emotional connect and verbally communicate what makes their company great!

Give your employees something to get excited about!  Develop stories and examples of your culture that they will eagerly want to share with their families, friends and everyone else they come into contact with.

Can you imagine what a group of Katy Rays would do for your organization?

Your business and Disney have something in common?  Any guesses?

You both provide a lasting “User Experience” every single time you interact with a client.

During our classes yesterday at Disney Institute, we spent a good amount of time pondering the impressions and overall experience that we provide to our clients.  While we waited in line to see the “Turtle Talk” demonstration, we were prompted to pay special attention to the environment around us.

How would it be for a child to be waiting in line?  How about a parent who has just spent a long day walking around the park in the hot sun?  What do they see, feel, think and react to while they are in the midst of a seemingly idle process?  Do they wait uncomfortably or have you thoroughly thought through your User Experience?

In many ways, Disney Institute provides students an opportunity to translate the successes and failures of a major organization into your own business.  While you may never be challenged with figuring out how to entertain hundreds of people while they wait in line to see Nemo… you are challenged to discover the various pieces of your business process that leave a lasting impact on your clients.  Have you thought about it?

User Experience in HR & Recruiting

Naturally, I translate these questions into the challenges that we face within HR and Recruiting.  I, by no means, have all the questions that we should be asking… nor do I know all the answers.  However, I do think that there are a few important pieces in the recruiting process that we should be keeping in mind.  Add to the list in the comment section if you have more ideas… I’d love to hear them!

Candidate Side

• What experience do candidates have when they don’t get hired by your company?  A cold decline letter?  Do they still like your company after you say no?
• What’s the experience like going through your hiring process?  Are your potential hires kept informed?  Do they sit in mental limbo?
• What happens between the time that a candidate finishes the interview process and a final decision is made?  Do you help calm their nerves or do you leave them sitting in a puddle of nervousness?

Client Side

• When you are having challenges identifying the “right” candidate for your hiring manager… how is the experience for them?
• How is the experience for your client when they first present a hiring request?  Do they feel that you understand their needs?
• What happens after a candidate is hired?  Do you follow up months later to find out how things are progressing?  Are you learning from that feedback?  Does it help you improve the next time around?

What else should we be thinking about?

You don’t have to be a multinational theme park and entertainment organization in order to concern yourself with how you make your clients feel.  It may not always be brought to your attention, but you can bet that your clients make judgements about how you do business every single time you come into contact with them.  What will our clients and candidates think once we have completed our engagement?

Surely we can all improve the “User Experience” that we execute on in our businesses.  One step at a time, we have the opportunity to create a little bit of magic for all of those we come into contact with.

How can recruiting be revolutionized?  How can we leave a lasting and positive impression on those we come into contact with?  What’s your take?

It’s going to be a very busy and exciting next few weeks!

During the week of August 16th – 22th, I will be attending Disney Institute in Orlando, FL to take an up close and personal look at their “Business Excellence” program.  This five-day program is packed with topics ranging from “Training and Career Management” to “Creating Engagement and Commitment.”  If that weren’t enough, a number of friends will be coming along for the journey.  Alicia Arenas, Mark Stelzner, Mike VanDervort and a few others who are in the confirmation process.

On the 17th of August, I will be sitting on a panel at HR Florida with an amazing crew of bloggers for “Blogging and HR: Can the Two Peacefully Coexist?” Kris Dunn, Jessica Lee, Laurie Ruettimann, Sharlyn Lauby and Mike VanDervort will all be a part of this exciting panel!

Back to Disney for class and then out the door again on August 19th for a session that I’ll be giving at HR Florida called “Twitter for HR & Recruiting”.  I’ve put together a packed session for the group about how to do everything from starting up with Twitter to how one goes about attracting a targeted candidate pool.  It ought to be fun!

Back to Disney for the remainder of the class and then home to San Antonio, TX the following Sunday.

On Monday the 24th, I leave for Chicago, IL to speak at the Skilled Recruiters Network event about Red Shoe Project.  RSP is a huge passion of mine and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to share more about the project.  Special thanks to Veronica Ludwig for making it happen!

So, why am I telling you all this?  There is a method to my madness, I promise.

At Disney, HR Florida and during the Skilled Recruiters Network event, I’m going to be blogging and live-tweeting (the act of sending out messages on Twitter while events are occurring… for the record).  That’s right… you may even see pictures of Mickey in real time!  So, if you have questions that you’d like me to be on the lookout for, let me know.  If you just want to see what kind of shenanigans I’m getting into, that’s okay as well!

My Twitter account can be found at http://twitter.com/theredrecruiter – Feel free to send me a message by starting your “Tweet” with @theredrecruiter.  I will get your message and do my best to respond to your questions.

So, what would you like to get out of my next few weeks?  I’m attaching the brochure for the Disney Institute program that we’ll be attending.  Lots of topics to ponder… that’s for sure!

Disney Institute – “Business Excellence”

Photo Credit, lrargerich

Since I started blogging, I have met some pretty awesome people!  Today was no exception.

A few weeks back, I was contacted by Disney to set up a meeting while at the SHRM conference.  I was pretty excited to meet with them.  I suppose that we all have that little kid inside somewhere – or, at least, I hope you still do!

Around noon today, I met up with Terry Brinkoetter and Stacey Thomson who are here at the conference chatting with HR pros about the Disney Institute.   We headed over to Emeril’s for a New Orleans style lunch – awesome food!  In fact, I may have more than experience to take away from New Orleans… this food is out of control awesome!

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t familiar with the work that Disney Institute performs.  I didn’t even know that it existed.  Pretty bad, I know… but, hey… it is what it is.  Luckily, I had Terry and Stacey to fill me in!  I can’t think of a better way to get up to speed quickly.

So, the short story is that Disney Institute has a variety of leadership and development courses for people to be a part of.   Drawing (no pun intended) from their years of experience developing a successful organization, they have assembled, what sounds like, a pretty impressive array of courses.

In the next few months, I’ll be heading over to Orlando to see for myself.  When that time comes, I’ll be sure to give you my feedback about the training and how it may have an impact on you.  Of course, I also made sure that I could “Live Tweet” from the training… I’ll be doing finger exercises until then to get conditioned

Who’s your favorite character?  I’m going with Tigger…