Tesar-Reynes

It is a beautiful Friday here in Chicago. The temperature reads 80 degrees and the sun shines bright. Not a single cloud hangs over the city. I think I’ll head to the beach after I get this post out.

So, in celebration of good spirits, here’s the latest viral video craze. The Today Show featured this video of a wedding party dancing to Chris Brown’s Forever earlier this week, and it’s reached over 12 million hits already. (Thanks to my friend Sarah Bonkowski for tweeting this earlier in the week.)

Now that’s how you celebrate starting a new life with someone! How happy was that bride when she came out into the aisle? Amazing!

It’s a time of transitions for me. I’ve lived with my good friend Jeramiah …

I was talking to a good friend of mine in the banking regulation business. We were smiling over the fact that the Dow had broken 9,000. We were even talking about the possibility of “the boys taking a hiking trip in the Rockies”. I was pretty stoked about some good news. But then I am by nature, an optimist.

After a refreshing positive pause, we started talking about the crunch that is about to appear in commercial real estate. We wondered aloud about whether it would have much effect on the recovery. We decided it would have some, but “not too much”.

I was still in an okay mode until he talked about the fact that, since the banks are not lending the money like they should, and …

How do you handle stressful workplace situations where your own ethics come into question?

Recently, some friends and I discussed a very uncomfortable and unfortunate workplace incident over e-mail. One of us works as a financial advisor at a mid-sized office. He received word that 6 of his coworkers had been fudging numbers just to meet minimum productivity levels. They were found out and most likely will be fired.

I won’t get into the details of the situation, as I’d like to respect my friend’s privacy and the privacy of his firm. I think all of us encounter similar temptations in the workplace and can relate to similar circumstances. The extra pressure to perform can drive some to disillusionment. It may be tempting to fool yourself that you’re acting within moral grounds in the name of your position or family.

Another friend spoke …

I was asked a really strange question the other day. Do I prefer to receive an unsolicited resume from a candidate I don’t know by snail mail or by e-mail. My response was simple: e-mail. She laughed and said that is a pretty black and white response.

My answer was definitely yes. There is very little I can do with a paper copy of a resume other than to request an electronic one. The perception, at least with me, is that if someone sends me a hard copy they’re not very much up on the world and don’t have an electronic one. It sort of creates a bad first impression.

On more than one occasion, a candidate has brought up to me their concern about giving personal information on corporate websites. They have felt, whether it is true or not, that they were asked to give permission to the company to investigate private information before they’d even had an interview. They felt uncomfortable answering questions about things like traffic violations and health care. This also included the release of their Social Security number.

In this age, I believe that these people have a perfect right to be concerned. When I asked them whether the corporate site promised to protect their information, none could recall such.

I honestly don’t know whether very many corporate sites do this but if it’s a perception then it’s a partial reality. If it is a reality then I can flat guarantee that certain companies …

If you’re unemployed like me, you might find yourself wondering what the next step in your career should be. I sure am.

Sometimes, it helps to get your thoughts down on paper. Tony and I are huge advocates of journal writing, especially the type of writing where you just write with no purpose. Interesting thoughts come out when you let your subconscious mind roam freely.

The other night, I made a huge pot of coffee and started writing. My journal entry started with a simple question – Who Am I?

I wrote about how two years ago, I had one role. I was a student. That responsibility came with a simple goal: Get A’s in all my classes. I did well, scoring a decent GPA. I hit the books during the …

Yesterday at the grocery store, I accidentally bumped my cart into a 50-year old looking lady in the checkout line. Rudely, she pushed my cart back into my midsection. A sharp pain ran through my waist as the lady shot a look back at me saying, “How dare you!”

I apologized, then looked down at my cart to survey my purchase. Eggs, steak, salmon, chicken, bread. “Hope it all adds up to $40,” I thought.

An angry voice appeared out of nowhere in my head. “Well, if this stupid baby-boomer in front of me hadn’t screwed up the economy, maybe I’d have the grocery budget to afford some milk!”

I laughed to myself and chalked up my rage to frustrations I share with this years graduating class. On Sunday, the front page of the …

In a recent meeting, where I was the keynote speaker, an individual asked me “Why don’t you guys get back to me?” She was frustrated by the fact that recruiters had called her on assignments, presented her to clients, and then there was no follow-up. She said that this had happened to her on multiple occasions in the last year.

My response was that many a client in the last year had started a search and then ended it by leaving things up in the air. We have had more than one retained search, where the client has paid front money and then just clammed up after a couple of months, and the search was never filled. It sort of just faded away. In other cases, the client would make no decision on a …

It’s a strange time for college graduates. Those who just finished school should be ecstatic that step of their lives is over. Instead, I run into former classmates and hear two reoccurring themes. One, they can’t find work. Two, it’s beginning to affect their self-esteem.

If you’re one of these people, then you may find yourself shooting for an internship rather than an account executive position. My six-month internship with Carolyn Grisko & Associates, for example, just ended last week.

Unfortunately, the timing was not right for me to translate that internship into a full-time position. Others are luckier. A good associate of mine has interned at Ketchum for a year and will soon be hired on. There’s still hope for those of you seeking …