HR BESTIES - BONUS BESTIES: Open To Work (Gobble Gobble)

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving! And lets talking about telling the world you are OPEN TO WORK using LinkedIn. From an HR Exec's POV -- A good thing? A bad thing? To learn more about the HR Besties, grab merch and reach out for partnerships, visit HRBesties.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, besties. And so we have come together today for a quick stand up meeting. We have to do an emergency huddle because we have a hot topic. Now, I don't even know what the hot topic is. Ashley and Jamie reached out to me. And so, Ashley, do you want to kick us off? What's the emergency? And I hope it's a real one, because last time you pulled us together to ban microwaving fish in the office, which we all agree with. We absolutely will do that. I'm allergic anyway. I hate carrying the EpiPen in my back pocket. So, Ashley, what's going on now from a Hot Topic perspective? Well, yeah, I think solving the fish in the microwave was helpful after I put the EpiPen in your ass. But Jamie, you learned not to do that anymore.

So whatever it takes. Now it's on the popcorn. So this week on LinkedIn, there was some conversation on LinkedIn, which you know, there's nothing like a riveting LinkedIn drama. But the drama was really around the idea of the open to work circle on LinkedIn. Oh, yes. And the drama was that a recruiter was coming out pretty hard or a couple of them saying, do not do that.

And one person was calling it the worst feature ever to exist on social media, which I think we could think of some others. But the question is, if you are open to work and on LinkedIn putting that circle, does that wreak of desperation as some recruiters are saying it does? First off, I'd like to say that I think the worst thing on social was when Facebook did the it's complicated status. Do you remember that? Everyone was using that, but it's like, is it really complicated or are you just like trying to be cute or whatnot?

Like you just want attention. Or you could have the poke. Do you remember the poke? Or the poke. Oh my God. The poke was like, I mean, it was like a,

that was like preparation to have kids for me of like, it's like, it was like the equivalent of like mommy, mommy, mommy. That's how guys flirted. Back and forth. Yeah. It's like the thanks, the reply all, mommy, mommy. That's how mom was about to talk back and forth. Yeah.

It's like the thanks, the reply all. The original reply all was the Facebook poke. It was so unnecessary. I block that. I block the poke. Oh, my God. Or, oh, I forgot this one. MySpace.

Do you remember when we raided our friends every day and then passive aggressively like switch their order when one of them pissed us off? Like, remember trying to keep up on that? I still do that today. It's just in the form of text, just to remind them where they stand in line with me. It's a good point. It's a good point. Or you'd have the music on MySpace. And it would be very jarring where it would pop up and it would be blasting at you. You totally get in trouble at work for having the speakers gone around. But oh my gosh. So now we've evolved right to the to the open to work to work on LinkedIn. Yeah, now we are open to work, open to work shaming.

And so what do we think, guys? I personally don't have an issue with it. And I don't think it reeks of desperation. Finding a job in in this time during this time in 2023 is so difficult. So many people have been laid off. I think if it's just a simple thing to add to your photo, I don't think it wreaks of desperation. And if it helps, just do it.

Fuck yeah. Yeah. I mean, don't we love that level of transparency? It's what we crave from employers. So when you have a candidate literally saying, hey, I'm available, doesn't that make the recruiter's job easier, the hiring manager's job easier? I mean, so to me, to say that that wreaks a desperation really comes from a place of privilege where obviously you have probably not been in that position of being laid off

or fired or, you know, whatever, restructured out of a job or, you know, you are just open to work because you took a break and who cares what that gap is in your resume, right? I talk about that a lot, you know? So to me, how is that desperate? I'm like, thank you for being honest, candid, open, vulnerable, you know, approachable, all of those things. That's what we want in candidates, right? I mean, if that's the culture you're shooting for. So if someone's saying that, it tells you the type of culture they work at. And so to me, that'd be a red flag. If someone is bitching about that, it's like, oh, I'm not going to work there. That's not a place for me where empathy doesn't matter.

Understanding doesn't matter. Because if you've been unemployed before, boy, you're desperate to eat and for shelter, right? Exactly. I mean, come on. I'm going to put this little thing on my profile picture that just says open to work and you're going to judge me and not... Yeah, you're going to shame me and not even maybe review my resume? Get out of here with that shit.

Aren't you trying to fill jobs? What the hell? Well, here's my issue with it. One, for a recruiter, and what they say in the article to give a deeper dive into what they're saying is two things. One, the most attractive candidates aren't looking for a job. So you got to go and hunt them. And those are the real attractive ones. And my thoughts on that are, okay, recruiter, have you seen this situation when you have a candidate, if you have someone that's open to work and that is like, they're getting ready, they're telling all of

their family and friends about this job, they're nervous, they're preparing, they care about it. You have someone that's not, and how do you know that they're not going to be using you for a counteroffer their current job? And so even as a recruiter, if you're not caring about other people, which I'm assuming by going public with shaming people for advertising their open status, you probably are very self-interested. Your self-interest should be to place a candidate that's going to accept the job and stay there and not accept it and then be like, just kidding. Now I got, you know, 20K more at my current employer. So it seems very short-sighted on the part of recruiters. But also on the flip side of that, I totally agree. This level of transparency. And when you're in that position, right now there's so many people,

and I've talked to people that have been laid off, and frequently they say, oh, I feel so embarrassed. And I say, give yourself the advice you would tell a friend. And would you ever tell a friend you should be embarrassed for losing your job, especially in the economy with the lab? And so that level of transparency and putting it out there, the one thing I'd have, because in our podcast, we do want it to be entertaining, which hopefully everyone agrees, but the learning part of it is the one thing I think candidates can do is when you have open to work and you do that post, some of those posts can go viral and you can see people on LinkedIn or platforms that have gotten jobs. But rather than saying, you know, this is it,

having the more general, think specifically about how you can be top of mind for somebody else and talking about your specific skill sets. This is it. So putting more information in that post where you talk about it. Embarrassment should be the complete opposite. There should be support. And so I was horrified to see these. I know. Isn't that the point? I mean, it's literally a networking platform, right?

I mean, that's what it sells itself as. I think sometimes it's for egos. We get some funny posts, right? And here's one. But absolutely, you know, I think, you know, another learning here, you know, from employers or if you're a hiring manager is to respect candidates and especially those in talent acquisition. I mean, 99%, right?

I mean, that's their bread and butter is working with candidates that are recruiters. So thankful for them. They do incredible work. That's like a 24-7, 365 type of job, right? Finding the right people for the right roles at the right time and we're grateful for them, you know? And so I think that approaching candidates with respect and dignity at all times, recognizing that people are different, right? So some people, they may not want to share that because how, for whatever reason and their experiences and how they were raised, who knows, right? But then you have folks that they want

that to be vulnerable and they really need that work. And so any way they can sell themselves, they're good. They're going to do it. And LinkedIn has that option. I think we respect that and appreciate the transparency, vulnerability, and approachability of those candidates, right? And definitely not shame them, shame them for putting a little circle around a profile pic. Oh my gosh. You know? Yeah. And they talked, they talked in the post about, oh, from a psychological standpoint, well then if you have that, they know that you're looking, so that's probably the only offer you're getting. So you're going to accept less pay. And the flip to that I have, and Jamie, I love your thought is, is, is again, we touched on this on a prior episode, is this issue of who should be talking about pay first.

And frequently, employers are asking the candidate, what's your paid range? But employers are the one with the knowledge and the market and ideally, which so many don't think about, they think of it's like the capture the fish, get that candidate. Well, then 10 months from now, they're leaving because you've underpaid them. And so if employers would have more of this long-term mindset, then they'd be less frustrated when they're like, oh, shoot, this person's leaving. Now we got to give them that counteroffer. And so if you think strategically and think, I'm going to have this person, this person is, they're out of a job.

They're going to be grateful. This is not the time to take advantage of people because that is something that will obviously come to fruition. But Jamie, thoughts about compensation in that aspect? Yeah. Y'all know my thoughts is I think that it should be one of the first questions you ask a candidate to make sure that you're not wasting not only their time, but your own time. Also, it should be on the job posting. Pay transparency. Yeah, pay transparency. Everywhere. Not where it's required. Don't go and pay your lawyer. Having been a lawyer, do not go and pay some first-year associate who's Googling all of these things. What states is it

required to have the pay transparency? Have it. Provide it everywhere so you're not bibbidi-bobbidi booing where you're providing that. And have that across the board and also have realistic and what that looks like to be at the different levels of ranges. And my friend, you will go viral for the right reasons. Exactly. Yeah. You won't have me blasting you on humorous resources for your zero to 250,000 for an HR generalist position. Which pause, Jamie hit a million followers on resources on her Instagram this morning. So we got to give that recognition to Jamie. But I'll tell y'all, without that pay transparency, I mean, that's where we get into equity issues down the line, compression issues

on comp, right? I mean, there's a lot of issues that come from the lack of pay transparency that unfortunately are hurting diverse populations in your workforce. You know what I mean? So the more you can be open, the better. One thing I'd like to add is that I feel like this mentality, just, you know, something that's popping in my mind as we talk, I feel like this mentality of shaming folks for being open to work is kind of like a traditionalist mentality. It's an old school mentality. It's a pre-COVID mentality when perhaps things were more stable in the workplace. Now it's like kind of anything goes, right? I mean, we're seeing just so much flux across all sorts of industries and you name

it. And, you know, to me, that's like, you know, a mentality from 20 years ago, you know what I mean? As opposed to people doing self-promotion in a thoughtful way and selling themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. Because if you can't dream it for yourself, no one's going to deliver it to you. So I don't think that that is the most shameful thing on LinkedIn. That's for damn sure. Let's be honest. The made-up stories are by far the cringiest and shameful. It is. I mean, there are some things you look at and you're like, oh, did ChatGP, at least

say ChatGPT wrote that for you, please. Oh, I know. Cringe, cringe. Oh, cringe. The made up stories about like their child, like today, my son listened to me speak in a meeting and then he came to me and he said, I want to circle back. Like, no,

he didn't. Oh my gosh. And then we cried together. Oh my God. Little Chucky did not say that. No, they didn't. Oh my gosh.

Well, I hope this was a thought provoking. I'm glad we could huddle up. It was an emergency. It was an emergency. It was an emergency. I'm glad we're huddle up. It was an emergency. It was an emergency. It was an emergency. I'm glad we're all in alignment. We're all in alignment. You know, there's some things we can circle back to, all of those fun things. But, you know, we do want to add that we are so thankful for this community of HR besties and work besties, especially here,

for this community of HR besties and work besties, especially here, you know, with Thanksgiving coming up. And so grateful for you all. Welcome any and all reviews, you know, shares, likes, follows, all of that. That certainly helps us promote this podcast and keep it going. We would love to, you know, join you in your workplace if you'd like to invite us or future

conferences, right? So you are always welcome to reach out because we'd love to roadshow this thing and meet you all in person. But again, gobble, gobble. How lame and cringy was that? I'm going to put a LinkedIn post on it. I did that. So when I worked in corporate sales 20 years ago, and I cold called chief financial officers, which is a story for another day. But the number one email we would send, people send these stupid things. The number one email people would send is,

the subject line was gobble gobble. And the open rates for that were crazy. So all my salespeople listen to this, that are not in the hr space send that out or hr people if you have open enrollment people won't won't open your shit about open enrollment they'll wait till till it's done and then and then come begging right that's the name of the episode and people will come and that will be the open rate well don't be surprised when this episode is called Stand Up Meaning Gobble Gobble. People will open. And listen, but I will say I have a quick comment leave if we're permitted. Oh, yes. I'm so sorry. Questions or comments to close us out.

Mine I will say is as Thanksgiving approaches in the US, two things to be mindful of. One is your colleagues. If you have them not in the US, they can feel very US centric and they're like, everyone's off. And they're like, no, I'm not, I'm working. So one thing that can be helpful is to talk to your global colleagues and understand some of their local traditions. Like what's boxing day in the UK to expand some of that knowledge and make people feel it's not Mike Tyson day. But have some of your global colleagues talk about their local country tradition. So it's not so US centcentric. But the two is if you are in the US and there's some time off, a half day on Wednesday, off Friday, whatever it is, make sure people know. Because the best time to tell people what the expectations are around the holidays was in your 2023 holiday calendar. The second best time is immediately after you listen

to this podcast. Awesome. Well, I already gave my comments, you know, on gratitude, right, of our listeners. We're so appreciative. And also sledding myself to attend a conference. But Jamie, I think, don't you have some exciting news? Not a question, but a comment on a potential day, a special day that is now recognized in the United States and hopefully globally. Yeah. So as you guys know, we launched on October 18th. And we said that that was National Work Besties Day. Well, I applied and that day has been a fruit. I applied and that day has been a fruit. And so here moving forward, October 18th will be known as National Work Besties Day. Oh my gosh. How exciting is that? Holiday. HR loves a good holiday. Don't we? I know. We do. A pinata. We're going to have a lot of things.

A pinata? A lot of things. I love it. Nothing like a stick in the workplace. That's amazing. Jamie, we love the intuition. But yes, I agree with Lee. If you think we're fun in your ears, imagine if we're in front of you and all getting together. So we'd love to be coming in person to some of these events.

We have some coming on tap for 2024. So we're very excited. I'm excited. Road show. But yes, we should do something to celebrate National Work Besties Day next October 18th. I'm just ideating. But how fun would that be? Oh, my God. It's cringy corporate speak right there.

I know. Kudos. I can't help myself. Oh, my God. 20 years in corporate. God help me. But Jamie, kudos to you. We have a holiday. Can you freaking believe it? Like we literally have a holiday. So now I'm going to frame that all employers, uh, to give us that day off. Yeah. Well, and, and, and speaking of holiday, if you, so listen, if you're not on our email, let's go to HR besties and you can get on our weekly email because this is an email you'll actually enjoy to receive, but you will get information about our upcoming video holiday party event that you can join where we'll be giving some of HR Besties favorite things. So, ooh, a teaser. I know. I love that teaser. Well, I appreciate y'all and your questions or comments and we

appreciate all of you all. Again, if you are in the US, happy Thanksgiving and thank you so much for joining. Bye. Gobble, gobble. Gobble, gobble.