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Stephanie A. Lloyd

This is the first in a series of movies I’m creating on the joy of work.

I got bored with blogging, so this is my attempt at a little expression, creativity, and hopefully some entertainment value.

I would imagine that anyone whose ever interviewed for a job – or interviewed candidates for a job – will be able to relate on some level.

Above all…enjoy!

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Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

I ran my 8th half-marathon on Sunday in San Antonio, TX. (A half-marathon is 13.1 miles; a full is 26.2 miles.)

Previously I’d run the half in Atlanta on Thanksgiving Day 5 times, the Rock-n-Roll half in Virginia Beach once, and I ran the Country Music half-marathon in Nashville this past April.

Until now I’ve always said that the half in Atlanta is my favorite. Now, I just may have a new favorite.

San Antonio and the Rock-n-Roll series organizers did an OUTSTANDING job with this event. It was impeccably planned and organized; the course was perfect (read: flat), and we really lucked out with the weather. An unseasonable cold front came through San Antonio the day before the race bringing the temperature down to a perfect 47 degrees at the start line Sunday morning.

I ran this one as well as the one in Nashville with Todd. Todd inspired me to start running again nearly a year ago after a 3 year hiatus. We originally set a goal of running the half in Atlanta this coming Thanksgiving, but as soon as we  started running I knew I didn’t want to wait that long and we decided to train for the Country Music half in Nashville this past April.

So, within his first year of running and my first year back we’ll have completed three half-marathons. Not too bad, I’m thinking…

When I lost my first iPod and ordered another, I had the word fortitude engraved on the back.

Noun 1. fortitude- strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage

natural virtue – (scholasticism) one of the four virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) derived from nature
braveness, bravery, courage, courageousness – a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
guts, moxie, backbone, grit, gumption, sand – fortitude and determination; “he didn’t have the guts to try it”

Why?

Because whenever I’m running high mileage training runs or races, that’s the word that always comes to mind and keeps me going when the going gets tough.

It’s what I think of as I’m pushing my body to and past its limits; talking myself through continuing to move forward, putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how much it hurts.

Distance running is 90% mental.

The other 10% consists of physical abilities, and proper nutrition, training, and rest.

You can follow the perfect training plan, eat all the right things, and get plenty of rest…but if you don’t have the fortitude to push yourself through the times when your body is screaming NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE YOU MOTHER F*CKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at you, you won’t make it.

This applies to a lot of trials and tribulations throughout our lives, be it personal relationships or career-related challenges…and I do believe that running has made me stronger.

Over the past 11 years it’s helped me to keep my eye on the finish line – the bigger picture, the greater goal – and to see the nits and gnats that get in my way as nothing more than what they really are.

Nits and gnats.

They’re just the little curve balls that life inevitably throws our way once in a while.

They’re to be expected, absolutely; and they’re not ever anything we can’t handle.

Notice some of the adjectives for the word fortitude: bravery, courage, and my personal favorite: gumption.

We all have it…it’s inside of us.

It’s what allows us to push through the bumps along the way, and if we choose; to arrive at our goal with enough left in us for a strong finish.

That’s what running has taught me.

Do you run, or participate in another endurance sport? Or perhaps there’s something else in your life that requires another type of endurance and fortitude.

What pushes you through and keeps you going?

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I recently received an email from someone I don’t know who said he was interested in learning more about a firm I have a connection with.

Hi Stephanie,

[Recruiter name] at [confidential] suggested I contact you regarding my interest learning more about [your firm].  Feel free to reach out to me on linkedin.com.

Sincerely,

NAME WITHHELD

Annoyed that this person, who is asking me for help, did not even bother to take the time to:

  1. give me a reason as to why I would want to,
  2. provide me with ANY information about himself, or
  3. provide me with a direct link to his LinkedIn profile; rather, he expected me to hunt it down myself.

I was then further irritated when I took the initiative to find him on LinkedIn, only to discover that HIS PROFILE HAD BEEN REMOVED.

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

At first I thought I would write a snarky blog post about all of this (shocking, I know), but I decided instead to use it as an opportunity to help anyone who feels inclined to reach out to a recruiter (or ANYONE) and ask them for help.

  • Don’t make the person you want something from have to go and research to find out who you are. Introduce yourself right up front, and provide some background. Give them a reason to want to know a little more about you.

NOTE: This is especially true for LinkedIn invitations. One of my biggest pet peeves is the default LinkedIn invitation. It’s just rude.

  • Know something about the person you’re reaching out to and prove that by mentioning it in your introductory note.
  • [Genuine] compliments are even better.
  • Include DIRECT links to things you want people to see.
  • Be sure these links will present you in a professional light. For example I do not recommend providing a link to your MySpace page that has pictures of the keg party where you passed out in the bathroom all over it. Also if you provide a few links people will read what you want them to read about you rather than Googling you and finding your attrocious MySpace page.
  • Be interesting. Provide some insight or a brief, interesting story.
  • Be personable and friendly. Nobody wants to read a stodgy, stuffy anything.
  • Thank the recipient for their time and consideration. It’s polite.

If you want to see a shining example of someone who did it right, check out my previous blog post, Being interested in the human condition and being interested in you isn’t the same thing, babe.

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Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

Amendment One asks, “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to make Georgia more economically competitive by authorizing legislation to uphold reasonable competitive agreements?”

Some scintillating phrases in there…”economically competitive” and “reasonable competitive agreements” being amongst my favorites.

HA.

Any reasonable person is certainly going to want their home state to be more economically competitive, right? And certainly anyone in their right mind would want to uphold “reasonable” competitive agreements, right??

Hold the phone.

Let’s explore what all this legalese really means to you, your career, and your future. Jay Bookman, ajc.com writes, “Let’s look at what the amendment would actually do. The state constitution currently bars contracts “defeating or lessening competition.” Amendment One effectively strikes that free-enterprise language regarding one important area of law.

According to supporters, the change is needed to make it easier to use noncompete employment contracts. Once signed, such contracts bar workers who leave a job from immediately taking a position with a competing firm or starting a competitor of their own. Those who leave anyway must wait until the contract expires, often two years or longer.

From a company’s point of view, such contracts have several advantages. The most legitimate is that noncompete clauses keep critical employees from taking inside information and immediately using it against their previous employer.

Other impacts are less benign. Such contracts discourage the rise of new competitors within an industry, and they limit worker freedom. Workers know that if they quit or get fired, they won’t be able to work in their field until the noncompete contract expires.

Until now, our state constitution has made such agreements hard to enforce.”

He goes on to say, “Current state law — rendered void by its constitutional problems — at least gave some protection to workers who were fired for no fault of their own. That made sense: Getting fired or laid off is bad enough; getting laid off and told that by law you can’t get a new job in your career field for two or three years is really rubbing it in.

The new law contains no such safeguard.

The previous law also limited the geographic area in which a noncompete clause could be enforced, requiring employers to describe the area in writing. The new law contains no such restriction, meaning a noncompete contract could conceivably be enforced nationally.”

As I was writing this post I saw the following tweet appear in my Twitter stream:

@egrasing: Ironic:  if Amendment 1 passes, the only “jobs of tomorrow” you’ll be able to consider are going to be ones you don’t want.

My first thought?

“…and aren’t qualified for.”

For example.

If you have undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting, have been working as an accountant for the last XX years, are laid off, and because of your non-compete agreement are forbidden from seeeking employment in the accounting arena for the next two or three years, just what exactly are you going to do to earn a living? Is it really realistic to think that you could find employment at the same professional and compensation levels?

The chances are slim. VERY SLIM.

Unless you have simultaneously been pursuing an alternate career or hobby that can compensate you in the same fashion and provide you with similar benefits and standard-of-living…chances are, you’re screwed. And most people I know certainly do not fall in to that category.

Bookman goes on to present another element of this argument. “For some, those changes might be worthwhile if they bring jobs to Georgia. But research suggests the opposite.

The classic case study compares Massachusetts, which allows strict noncompete contracts, and California, which bars them. At one point, the two states boasted comparable high-tech industries, but California’s Silicon Valley quickly outgrew Boston’s Route 128.

Why? Well, California allowed workers to form new, more nimble companies, creating competition, while Massachusetts protected existing firms at the expense of innovation.

A 2009 study by the Harvard School of Business focused on Michigan, which in 1985 passed a law much like that now on the Georgia ballot. By tracking patents, the study found that job mobility for inventors in Michigan fell significantly once the law changed.

“States that continue to allow widespread use of such agreements as a way to protect established firms may instead be inadvertently creating a ‘brain drain’ of the very workers needed to create and build successful new firms,” the Harvard study warns.”

Please. Vote NO on Amendment One in Georgia.

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Don’t forget to use protection

October 8, 2010

Recently a blog post on tlnt.com by the fabulous Laurie Ruettimann caught my attention, “Don’t Facebook Me: Why You Shouldn’t Google During the Recruiting Process.” Laurie writes, “I don’t believe it is appropriate for Human Resources professionals to hop on Google, root around the Internet, and look for incriminating pictures and create reasons not to [...]

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10 reasons to start a blog

August 14, 2010

I am always amused by blogging about blogging but I’ve done it before and this post came to me when I was lying in bed wide awake at 3:00 a.m. I had just woken from a dream in which I was in a field being bombarded with large flying objects coming at me out of [...]

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Join us for the #ATLMix Summer 2010 tweetup! 06.17.10

June 5, 2010

Please join Miriam Salpeter + me for our summer tweetup on the fabulous patio at Pizzeria Venti in Buckhead! You can find details and registration here. Space is limited so be sure to sign up early. Hope to see you there! Scridb filter

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How do you protect your privacy online?

May 12, 2010

With all the talk about Facebook and privacy issues recently I started thinking about how I manage my personal privacy online, and I’m curious how others handle this as well. I would imagine that a lot of us are doing it differently. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a woman, but I do think [...]

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