16. October 2020

Music that helps us to survive home office

The Corona Pandemic brings many challenges for all of us. One of these challenges is that we all of a sudden have to adjust to having to work from home to a large extent.

We suddenly have to deal with the issues of how to stay in touch with our team, how to structure our day at home and how to make remote meetings productive.

Music has helped me a lot in overcoming these challenges. After talking with others, I quickly realized that this is a great topic for a blog article. Many thanks to Annie, Sebastian and Gero for their contribution to this post!

Sergej Zimpel, Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at Scout24 AG, Co-Founder of Purple Squirrel Society

Reconstruction Site by The Weakerthans

Usually I find the worship of persons not only highly problematic but also quite annoying. But I have to make a big exception with John K. Samson, the singer of the Weakerthans.

John writes lyrics that are not only insanely poetic but also tell wonderful stories that make you smile and burst into tears at the same time. “Reconstruction Site” is a good start to discover his music. Give “Plea from a cat named virtute” a listen, in which a cat tries to motivate its owner to do something with his life.

You Must Believe in Spring by Bill Evans

A few years ago I started learning to play the piano. I am still a dramatically bad pianist but playing the piano has given me a whole new approach to jazz and classical music.

My absolute favorite jazz pianist is Bill Evans. And the album “You Must Believe in Spring” is probably my favorite album of his.

The album has a pretty depressing background, because Bill Evans wrote the album after the suicide of his wife and his brother. Nevertheless, the title of the album always gives me some hope, especially in times of Corona crises.

Violence, Violence by Ceremony

“Violence, Violence” is the perfect album for those moments that every recruiter probably knows only too well: The perfect candidate has cancelled shortly before signing the contract or the interviewer wants to postpone the interview for the hundredth time. I mean those moments when you just want to scream out for a moment.

Well, this album is the perfect background music to do this.

20 songs in a little more than 20 minutes, which can be summarized with the line “Pack your fists full of hate, take a swing at the world”. After these 20 minutes of catharsis you feel at ease again and can continue your work.

The English Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach/Glenn Gould

Do you also know those moments when everything just seems too complex and overwhelming?When neither the world nor the Excel spreadsheet in front of your eyes seem to have any logic?

I have found the perfect treatment for these moments: Sebastian Bach.

Bach’s music has such a wonderful logic and structure, that a few minutes of this music will magically order your thoughts and everything will suddenly seem completely logical again.

The pianist on this recording, Glenn Gould, is quite a strange character, and anyone interested in extraordinary people should definitely watch the documentary “Genius within” about him.

“The English Suites” is one of my favorite pieces of Bach but actually everyone should lock themselves in their apartment for a few days (or weeks) to listen to the whole catalog of his music.

Talking Songs for Walking by Lungfish

Lungfish is one of those bands that manages to write insanely brilliant songs with relatively simple riffs that have an almost hypnotic character.

Even if you would count Lungfish as well as Ceremony (see above) to the genre of Hardcore Punk, their music is completely different. If you like punk music, but Ceremony is a bit too fast and aggressive for you, Lungfish is the perfect band for you.

Gero Hesse, Managing Director Territory Embrace, Blogger and Podcaster, saatkorn

This is a fun, but very difficult task: to suggest 5 albums that help me personally during the corona crisis. Actually, it’s way difficult to focus on just 5 albums. But here we go:

Donovan Frankenreiter by Donovan Frankenreiter

The first album by ex surf pro gone singer/songwriter Donovan Frankenreiter is (at least in my ears) a master piece with 13 mellow varied songs that immediately bring me back to sea, sun, sand and surfing. Helps in these times. Especially, when every day in home office is very similar to the day before or after. And if you need some salt water in your hair but can’t travel this is the second best option. Sometimes I just need to catch some surf/sea memories. And Donovan brings it all – just check out „It don’t matter“, „Butterfly“ or „Heading home“ and you know what I mean.

Seaside Highlife by The Beautiful Girls

To me, this is Donovan Frankenreiter on dope. Not so mellow, but still and very clearly surf music. Actually it’s the first Greatest Hits by The Beautiful Girls from Australia. TBG mastermind Matt McHugh delivers a very diversified set of indie/pop/ska/punk/rock songs inspired by the beach life. Stuff to dream, relax, rock and party to. I just dig it. Perfect soundtrack for a Friday evening gin on the terrace after a week full of webinars, zoom meetings and teamscalls…

Eat em and Smile by David Lee Roth

By far the best Van Halen record Van Halen never recorded. Good time Rock and Roll the best way it can be delivered. After a very successful career with…Van Halen, frontman David Lee Roth started his solo career with this classic album in 1985. And since then, this is my absolute summer heavy rock album. But it is (of course) far more than just your typical hair metal stuff: the band is top notch, with guitar wizard Steve Vai, bass monster Billy Sheehan and super drummer Gregg Bissonette. And the songs vary between Van Halen-esque stuff such as „Big Trouble“, Frank Sinatra style „That’s life“ and pure Rock’n Roll „I’m easy“ or pure metal like „Shyboy“. And on top of this you have the crazy personality and witty sense of humour of the man himself, David Lee Roth…honestly: when I feel this Corona-depression (I guess everyone feels from time to time) I listen to this album and I feel energized, positive and easy again. Don’t take life too seriously – that’s the message here!

Kill em all by Metallica

Well, but if the above does not work and I feel aggressive and need something to get over this fucking pandemic feeling, the debut of Bay Area’s Finest (or their second album„Ride the Lightning“ or their third „Master of Puppets“) helps out and delivers the goods. Relentless riffs, aggressive drums and lyrics, a very young band clearly on its way to make no prisoners and write history (and rightfully, become the #1 Heavy Metal superstars with + 110 million album sales worldwide as of today). „Seek & Destroy“ is the motto here. And Metallica doesn’t disappoint if you wanna get rid of your daily dose of Covid19 aggression. 😉

Ordinary Man by Ozzy Osbourne

What can I say…I am a big, BIG Black Sabbath and Ozzy fan. The music of my youth (and – funny enough, the music to my grown up life as well). To my very big surprise, the latest album „Ordinary Man“, is a return to form for the madman. Great songs, superb musicianship and the typical melody lines you only find on Ozzy albums. Way better than everything he did since 1991’s „Ozzmosis“. Since „Ordinary Man“ came out late February 2020, this was my home office soundtrack during the beginning of the Corona situation. If you wanna check it out, listen to the beautiful title ballad (with Elton John) and to my album highlight „Scary little green men“. Rock on!

Sebastian Ristic, Independent HR Consultant

Music plays a major role to me in actively manipulating my mood since my teenage years. I was one of the millions of teenagers that found an anchor in music and a medium to express, reflect and understand my emotions especially alongside personal crisis. Music helped me to grow and still helps me through this current situation. Here are my personal top 5.

A Beautiful Lie 30 Seconds to Mars

It was love at first sight when I casually was exploring new songs and bands. I was in my early to mid twenties, a geeky student and I just got my first guitar. This alternative rock sound marked a whole period of my early grown up days. Also their next album “This Is War” nearly made it to my list here, but it started with this album. Powerful and sometimes melancholic alternative rock. I particularly love to listen to it when I am driving alone and sing (or scream…) as loud as possible with Jared.

Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons

Because… Hell yeah! A close friend of mine whom I was used to jam with every Wednesday introduced me to this band and their unmistakable sound when this album came out. To me this album perfectly combined this typical Irish Pub spirit with powerful rock music. We were laughing, singing and didn’t deny one or two cool pints 😉 Love these memories and I feel closer to my dear friends listening to this album.

Shatter Me by Lindsey Sterling

I try to regularly work out and I was searching for pure and honest instrumental music that carries positive energy and has the right rhythm for endurance sports a couple of years ago. I prefer classical over modern electronic music which seemed to be a narrow niche. Lindsey filled this gap to me and still serves me for a full hour on the treadmill or crosstrainer. On top, it’s a bit geeky like I am 😉

The Metal Opera I + II by Avantasia

Did I already mention that I am a geek? Those who know me know about my passion for medieval fantasy. From the Lord of the Rings over Dungeons and Dragons to World Of Warcraft… I simply spend a lot of time with fantasy. It helped me to escape the harsh reality and pause my constantly spinning thoughts. So it’s not surprising that I felt in love with symphonic Power Metal. It’s packed with epic hymnes, instrumental compositions and the right amount of medieval feeling. A perfect escape still in today’s circumstances.

In the Lonely Hour by Sam Smith

This is surely the most sensitive album within my list. Sam’s music is emotional pop that reflects his very personal journey. To me this is pure and honest Pop at it’s finest. Aren’t we all struggling with anxieties from time to time and don’t feel like we are being heard? I have loved his voice and the art behind his music since the very first time I heard him on the radio. I was blessed to see him on his world tour in Berlin in 2018. I was amazed by the warmth and love he spread! His music reminds me of how important it is to take care about your inner emotions and not to put on a mask just because the world wants you to be something different.

Annie Li, Associate Talent Partner at ACELR8

Lianne La Havas by Lianne La Havas

On top of being a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Lianne La Havas has one of the most beautiful and soothing voices. Her other album Blood is also incredible. I’m usually not one for slow songs but Lianne La Havas changed my mind.

Djesse Vol. 3 by Jacob Collier

Jacob Collier is a musical genius and his songs are always unique and playful. His music sounds like talent having fun. The Djesse albums are currently a trilogy with Volume 1 one that came out in 2018 and Volume 2 in 2019.

SuperGood by Duckwrth

Duckwrth is one of my favorite rappers and this album feels like summer. I really like that he sings about his own identity and embracing the diverse identities of others as well. This album has a few songs that are full of power and energy, and also some on the quieter side.

FORTHEWORLD by Rae Khalil

Neo soul rapper with an amazing flow, Rae’s new to the game. Her first single came out in 2018 and became recognized from Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow, a reality competition series with guest judge Snoop Dogg. This album sounds like a ray of sunshine.

Broke with Expensive Taste by Azealia Banks

Honestly my favorite music of hers are all EPs from 2018 onwards but this album is also super fun; great for when you are stuck at home and want to have a spontaneous dance session all by yourself! An absolute mood-booster!

25. June 2020

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20 books every recruiter should read

I spend most of my money on music, espresso and books. It is very difficult for me to walk past a bookstore and once I am in the store it is even harder for me not to buy anything. This lack of self-control probably explains the various piles of books that are spread all over my apartment.

Books have not only shaped me as a person, but also have a great influence on how I understand my work as a recruiter.

So it was somehow obvious that sooner or later I would also write a blog article about books. And since that alone isn’t that much fun, I wrote some friends from the recruiting scene and asked them about their reading recommendations for recruiters.

Interestingly, I don’t seem to be the only person who thinks that the most important books for recruiters are not HR books. Enjoy this reading list with books about baseball, data analytics and some really well written dystopian novels!

You also want to recommend a book to me? Add me on goodreads!

Annika Pies, Founder TALENTS Personalmarketing Agency

Let my People go surfing by Yvon Chouinard

At TALENTS we try to get our clients to become great employers and fill the talent pipeline through employer branding, instead of filling every position through many costly job advertisements or headhunters.

Patagonia is one of those companies where talent is queuing up to apply.

“Let My People Go Surfing” is the story of a man, who put good deeds and great adventures at the heart of his business life – a book that will deeply impress entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Yvon Chouinard is a legendary mountain climber, businessman, environmentalist and founder of Patagonia, Inc.

As environmental and social factors become more and more important to people, and especially to the younger generations, I believe it is also the job of the recruiters, to shake up the management.

Start with why by Simon Sinek

As a recruiter you have the task to sell the company and the job. The most important question is: Why should I take the job?

When you hire people who believe in the same thing and have the same vision, they don’t just work for their salary, they put blood, sweat and tears into the job and give their very best.

If you haven’t seen the famous ted talk yet, now is the time. 🙂

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The book is a real secret weapon. Don’t you know this situation: you are in contact with dream candidate and just have to convince him? With this book you probably will.

The book is already from 1936, but the advice of Dale Carnegie is more relevant than ever and helpful in many life situations.

For me, the book was full of aha-moments and helped me to get a deeper understanding of human relationships and people act how they, do.

I was immediately able to implement a few things successfully. It is easy to read and many of his tips are so simple, if you would just apply them all. Because as it is always the case, it takes time to internalize things.

Marcel Rütten, Head of Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding at The Berner Group

Fünfunddreißig by Rolf Dobelli

The protagonist of this novel, Gehrer, is the same age as I am – 35 – and supposedly has everything you could possibly want: A Harvard graduate, happily married, a position as head of marketing and lives in Zurich. But his (still young) age makes him think. He is not in midlife crisis, but he is beginning to think about what he wants from life and what possibilities his personality gives him. It is the self-reflection of a man spoiled by success. In a poetic way he is looking for alternatives for his life.

Digitalisierung im Recruiting by Tim Verhoeven

There have been times when we have dealt with the question in recruiting whether applicants can be expected to switch from postal applications to digital application forms. Fortunately, those times are long gone and we are now confronted with completely different issues and buzzwords like recruiting analytics, artificial intelligence, algorithms and bots. The editorial work combines all these topics and brings together a large number of well-known recruiting and HR marketing experts in the German-speaking world. The selection of authors already reads like half of the Who-is-Who of the German HR blogger scene and makes me recommend the book without reservation.

Hip Hop Raised Me by DJ Semtex

HR marketing should be close to the candidates and use the relevant topics to communicate their positioning. It seems that many brands have a defensive relationship to a genre that moves many people in our country: Hip Hop. The genre is often smiled at and in the eyes of many decision-makers is considered anti-social, and hardly any company has been brave enough to deal with the growing genre in talent acquisition. But companies have to understand that more and more people will grow up with this culture. So there is a lot of potential in this genre if you want to awaken it. If you want to understand the origin of Hip Hop and what makes the magic of this genre, you should definitely read this book.

Eva Stock, Head of Business Relations at Jobufo

Power – Verena Güntner

The title of this book really tells it all. The story is about power and abuse at the same time. Not unnecessarily brutal nor violently but in a lot of ways disturbing for its readers, as the story unfolds itself quite weird and slowly. The book raises questions about your own upbringing – if you grew up in a small town or village in Germany, you will be left with a strange gut feeling at some points along the story. It also raises bigger questions. For instance: What is a society worth without its children? How much does our upbringing affect our decisions? Are children way smarter and stronger than we want to acknowledge as adults – who are already fed up on life?
The language is clear and precise and yet there is a lot of mystic attached to the whole story. I really enjoyed diving into the characters and sceneries. I guess it is not for everyone but you should give it a try.

GRM – Sibylle Berg

If you are German speaking and on Twitter – go follow Sibylle! She is a smart and witty person. Everything about GRM is remarkable. The subtitle is “Brainfuck.” and that’s what you get.

GRM is a dystopian piece on our society, technology and future. The narrative is (like Verena Güntners book) based around a group of children and young adults. They are forced to live in a world where there seems to be nothing worth living for. Except for those who have money, because with money comes power. And since wealth is reserved for the adults, not for the young, there is a lost and exploited generation.
The story is so post-brexit that it is hard to swallow a lot of times and it makes you think a lot about your own viewpoints. Especially if you are working for a Tech company, you will have to ask yourself: What is the purpose of my product and my work?

The writing is somehow raw and explicit yet delicate enough to leave things to your imagination – which makes it even more brutal to read sometimes. If you are ready to broaden your view and to get out of your comfort zone: Go for GRM by Sibylle Berg!

EXIT Racism – Tupoka Ogette

I am listening to this at the moment and I am not finished yet. EXIT Racism is available as audiobook on several streaming platforms. It gives you insights into and a room to explore your own biases and internalised racism. Even if you consider yourself as “woke”, you can still dive deeper into your blind spots as well as into the history of racism and european colonialism. Most Germans (including myself) didn’t learn or hear much about German colonialism in school.
So be ready to find yourself in uncomfortable places and to be confronted with a lot of painful or “annoying” questions tackling your white privilege and view on the world. So if you want to do more than posting a black tile and a hashtag to your instagram wall: Listening to this audiobook will be a good start!

Matthias Schmeisser, Director of Talent Acquisition at Scout24 Group

Storytelling with data by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Data and of course Talent Analytics becomes more popular these days. How many times have you heard from Talent Acquisition professionals, we need to be more data-driven. Now, what makes this book different in comparison to other books about data? Cole challenges you on your story telling approach and invites you to take a new perspective to think like a designer by learning about the core design principles. Her book is full of best practices to become familiar with all the different ways of data visualization. A Must Read for everyone who gains value by making smarter decisions in the future.

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Note: This is the only book recommend by two people, I guess you should really read it 🙂

This book was first published in 1937. And I promise you this, you will learn a lot. Why is it a must read for recruiter? One of the underestimated fields in Talent Acquisition is stakeholder management. How much can you influence hiring managers, (potential) candidates, and people around you? If you ever want to succeed (in Talent Acquisition) you need to understand how to make people to like you, win people to your way of thinking and change people without arousing resentment. One fact that is still not common knowledge, successful professional are 15 percent about technical skills and 85 percent about personality and ability to lead people. Think about that when talking about your assessment standards in your current hiring process.

Design to Grow by David Butler & Linda Tischler

You probably heard about agility. I still remember my time at Zalando, we embraced the term radical agility. What is interesting most fast-pacing, scaling and hyper-growth organisations use the term agility as part of their success story. What you don’t hear that often is design as a concept to enable scale and agility. David & Linda showcase on the example of Coca-Cola how you translate design principles into lasting value. If you want to master change management, read it.

What Works by Iris Bohnet

Gender Equality by Design sounds super powerful and equips you with some answers around your current D&I challenges in your organization. The goal of the book is to offer good designs to you; designs that make it easier for our biased minds to get things right. Part Two and Four stood out to me about how to design talent management and diversity. If your hiring decisions are biased, you have unstructured interviews and the business is still writing your job ads, you need to read this book. Iris provides a lot of research and good stories for you to start turning things around by applying behavioral design.

Jessica Leiman, Senior Talent Partner at SYPartners

The Game by Ken Dryden

In this hockey player’s memoir- which might seem like an odd choice- Dryden focuses on his decision to leave a successful career in the National Hockey League…for the legal profession. Full of heart and interesting perspective, this book is a warm reminder of just how tough it can be to steer your life in a new direction.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

One of the best novels I have ever read. Period. In this very chaotic world, the need for distraction has never been so high. The Goldfinch takes its reader through years of adventure, wonder, and sadness as it tells the story of Theo Decker. Theo’s mother is killed in an accident he survives in his youth; the tragedy and ensuing secrets kept create a story (and a reckoning) that will endear you deeply to Theo and his heart.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

A book about the love that can be found- and remembered- in a book. Young Alma decides to track down the man who wrote the book her mother spends her time translating, in an effort to solve the mystery of her loneliness. A touching story and a great reminder that humanity has its moments.

Sergej Zimpel, Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at Scout24 Group

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

A dystopian vision of the automation of work but from a 50ies perspective. This book feels incredibly modern and relevant, in a time when many people (including recruiters) are worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence soon. As every (good) recruiter should have a good understanding not only of technologies but also on the impact of technologies on our society, I consider this an extremely important book for everyone!

Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Malone Scott

“Radical Candor” is actually a book that deals with the topic of communication for managers. So why is it relevant for us as recruiters? In my experience, the communication model presented by Kim Scott, which propagates both great openness and a close relationship with employees, can be applied very well to communication with our stakeholders.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

At first glance, the title sounds like the title of one of those typical cringe-fest “business books” that I detest so much. But this book is much more than a a business book. Robert Cialdini is professor emeritus of psychology and this book was even part of the reading for my final exams. However, the book is written very vividly and is easy to understand even without studying psychology. Cialdini uses studies and entertaining examples to show how easy we all can get influenced. This knowledge has helped me a lot in many meetings, but also in many contract negotiations with candidates.

The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business by Erin Meyer

This book was a recommendation from a hiring manager of mine. At first I was rather critical of the book, because I was convinced that in today’s globalized world it is more about individual differences of personalities and less about cultural differences. This book changed my view on this topic. Today I have understood that we have to take into account both personal and cultural differences in communication to guarantee successful cooperation. If you enjoy working in an international and multicultural environment as much as I do, this book will open many interesting perspectives for you.

Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces by Karen Catlin

Diversity and inclusion are for me among the most important and urgent issues of our time. But at the same time I know that my very privileged perspective as a white, cis-hetero man is severely restricted to this topic. This book was all the more valuable for me because it shows in a very pragmatic and practical way how we can be better allies for less privileged people at our workplace. As recruiters we are in an important position where we should be a central driver of positive change. This book has helped me to understand what I personally can do to fulfill this role.

26. June 2018

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HR messed you up, kid

I like my job. I like it so much, that I spend time on HR topics in my spare time. But let’s face it: Our job has a huge impact on our personality and changes the perception of the world around us. When I saw the video to the song “Punk Rock messed you up, kid” by the band Swain I thought “Ha, HR messed me up” and the idea to this article was born. But can you really bring together Punk Rock and HR? Luckily I got some help from Kasia, Eva and Marcel.

Kasia Borowicz, Sourcing & Social Recruiting Trainer, www.kmborowicz.com

Most of the people I’d call my friends are either recruiters or somehow connected to the industry.
Whenever I meet someone who isn’t perfectly happy with their job, I immediately start thinking about what would make them happier and how I can help them do that.
I seem to be the go-to person for job searching help in my extended family even though I myself was pretty bad at it
Anything and everything can inspire me to blog about recruiting, from everyday situations to my favorite sci-fi books
I can almost never completely detach from social media – I’ve learned to make myself available at all times so it can make me feel anxious if I’m not!
I’ve learned to enjoy networking and meeting new people even though I’m naturally extremely shy. At some events, I’ll still just sit in a corner checking out my Twitter account…
I firmly believe everyone deserves to be in a job they like and I’ll encourage people (including strangers) to go out and find it
After a few years in the industry, I finally learned to give myself the space to pursue other passions than simply recruiting and instead of just giving others advice on work-life balance I’m following that advice too!

Sergej Zimpel, Senior Recruiter @ ProSiebenSat1 Media SE, dinosaurswilldie.blog

When I meet someone new, my first question usually is “What is your job?” – and sometimes I even conduct a full job interview after that. At parties.
I realized that networking can be fun.
I understood that BarCamps are not a convention for barkeepers
Recruiters are weird. Most of them in a good way.
People are more complex than I thought. Good software engineers are not antisocial basement dwellers and good sales professionals don’t act like sly car salesmen.
Everyone has a great passion and great stories to tell.
Every single company is looking for Javascript Developers (Are you a Javascript Developer? Drop me a message!).
I became pretty good at finding people on the internet. Some people think that’s creepy.
Recruiter memes are a thing

Marcel Rütten, HR Manager @ Kindernothilfe e. V., HR4Good.com

When I started in HR, I used to think that you have to be a legal eagle to succeed. That‘s nonsense. Today I would say it should be a mix of psychologist and IT specialist. And organizational developer. And financial controller. And marketing manager. And salesmen. And…
Ties are out! I think they were never really trendy, but their time is over now. Finally.
Most of the time I spend on social media, I use for my HR network and not for my family and friends. Is that normal?
Blogging, lecturing and networking takes time. Much time. But you get back so much love for it. Sometimes.
Each time, interviewing people who have a high intrinsic motivation warms my heart anew.
I love numbers and statistics when making decisions. Many people say that they rely on their gut feeling. If my gut wants to tell me something, I’ll quickly find a toilet.
Algorithms have nothing to do with Armageddon. IF THIS had happened, THEN I would have missed doomsday.
HR is sometimes so egocentric and only deals with herself, but I still love H(E)R!

Eva Stock, Teamlead HR @ Trust Agents, HRisnotacrime.com

Most of the people I meet nowadays I meet at networking events. I spend more time at networking events than with my friends. Not cool!
I guess my colleagues are way more aware of my life than my mom is. Sorry, guys!
I really love to guess what people are doing for a living. And I am getting better and better at this. Creepy!
When I sit in a café or a bar and casually overhear someone talking in bullshit-bingo-manner about their jobs or companies, I can’t help to listen and comment on this. Yes, that’s annoying!
I never thought I could wrestle down my inner sloth and put so much effort into my job. Even in my free-time, why?!?! I always felt pity for „that kind of people.“ Well…look at me now.
I can easily keep up conversations with anyone. Even if I don’t have the slightest interest in keeping the conversation going. OMG – I became a hypocrite.

I hate this game and will call my mom right away! Thanks for nothing, Sergej!

4. June 2018

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Interviews with Jedi Masters – Dr. Thymian Bussemer

In October 2017 I visited a workshop from the Bundesverband der Personalmanager with a focus on HR strategy. The speaker Dr. Thymian Bussemer gave such an awesome and passionate workshop on the HR strategy at Volkswagen, that I knew right away: I need an interview with him! A couple of weeks later I asked him if he wants to be a part of the “Jedi Masters” interview series and he agreed!

What were your career plans when you were a kid?

Actually, I cannot remember. I had too many different ideas. But as a teenager, I wanted to become a journalist and even did a vocational training as an editor.

What made you decide to work in HR?

It happened by accident. In the mid-2000s I was working with the Social Democratic Party. At this time, Volkswagen was searching for a professional in the field of labor relations, with a focus on the unions. Thus, I started in HR but for the first few years, I was more involved with politics than with HR itself.

And what is your job now?

I am heading Volkswagen’s HR strategy. In addition, I am responsible for the field of social sustainability.

What are the major changes that HR has undergone since the beginning of your career?

The major impact factor for our profession is certainly the digitalization. HR is drifting away from administration and turns more and more into a strategic and analytical function.

Do you think that HR is still a good career to choose? Why?

I would say it’s as good as any other. You need to like your job. That’s all.

What personality traits make a great HR professional?

I do not like to overemphasize that personality thing. HR professionals should like working with people, must be honest and shall have interest in the overall strategic position of their respective companies.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

You will never succeed if you have no allies.

Some people think that almost all HR tasks will be automated in a couple of years. Do you agree or do you think that HR will still be important in the future?

HR has a great future. To the degree to which human resources become more precious, adequate treatment of these resources will be key for success. The only question is if HR professionals will be able to deliver in this field. If not, other business functions will simply take over those tasks.

What do you think is the most overrated HR trend?

Probably it’s the never-ending generation discussion around Millennials, Gen Y and so on. Every three years a new trend emerges. The real changes are not so dramatic.

Who is your personal (HR) role model?

I have been working with so different CHRO’s like Thomas Sattelberger at Deutsche Telekom and Horst Neumann at Volkswagen. They all had an impact on me.

What do you do better than people starting out in HR today? What do they do better than you?

As Willy Brandt, my real role model, once stated: ”Nothing comes by itself. And little is permanent. Therefore, remember your power and the fact that each time wants its own answers and you have to be on top of them if you want to do good.”

20. April 2018

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Interviews with Jedi Masters – Gerry Crispin

When I started to plan the “Jedi Masters” interview series I asked my network for people highly experienced people in the HR field.

One person got named again and again was: Gerry Crispin. They called him: “One of the members of the three musketeers”, they called him “highly intelligent”. It was pretty obvious that I had to interview this guy!

What were your career plans when you were a kid?

As a kid, I thought long and hard about joining the military like my father and, even thought of being a priest. Two, most opposite, solutions. Puberty cured me of the latter and Vietnam the former.

What made you decide to work in HR?

I was graduating in 1969 as a BE (Bachelor of Engineering) and I had opportunities to work as a Paint Engineer at Ford Motor in Detroit and as a Sales Engineer at Trane in Lacrosse Wisconsin (and a dozen other similar jobs). In the midst of those not-so-exciting possibilities I was approached by the head of the graduate program for I/O Psychology who had been following my undergraduate efforts as an activist and he painted a totally different picture of a future where the performance of people in collaborative environments could be understood using systems and psyche theory. Sounded a hell of a lot better than mixing chemicals or selling air conditioners and six years later I was a very happy loose cannon among the HR folks at Johnson & Johnson.

And what is your job now?

My exit from J&J after a decade led to a short series of gigs in contract recruiting and executive search and another decade as a GM for a Recruitment Advertising company during the heyday of print and its transition to digital/virtual. I wrote 8 books around that time, consulted and formed CareerXroads (CXR) 22 years ago. Our mission is to nurture a community of world-class Talent Acquisition leaders. We have 110 employer members and about 1000 active TA professionals from those employers participating globally in CXR in 2018.

What are the major changes that HR has undergone since the beginning of your career?

From my perspective as an HR partner at J&J in 1975, it has devolved to obsolescence in most firms. When I was in HR, evidence was an essential component of every conversation and the VP HR was typically a high potential Marketing or Manufacturing VP who had been ‘moved’ to HR for a year to round out his/her background before being promoted as the President of a J&J Company. I don’t need to detail what a model like that might mean in terms of influence and accountability. On the other hand, we were at the beginnings of our understanding of unconscious bias and its negative effect on engagement at work as well as diminishing the pool of exceptionally qualified candidates. HR Technology, of course, was primitive to the extreme but in some instances was fairer in its approach as perceived by candidates than some of the practices in play today.

Do you think that HR is still a good career to choose? Why?

Yes, but only if the focus is on the evidence, the business and a solid understanding of the systems, strategies and processes that make for best practices in engagement and competitive practices in work and hiring.

What personality traits make a great HR professional?

Grit/Guts…a willingness to step up to the long-term implications of short-term profit over the lives and careers of the people who are working to achieve success for the firm. There can be no employer success at the expense of the people who help achieve it. HR serves as the steward and curator of a culture that works for every employee, not just the vested C-level.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

2 Things. 1. Choose every morning whether this is going to be a good day or not. Choose how much room you have to allow for a bad day. If it’s not a bad day, then just how good this one will be is totally up to you. Every day for me is a great day….since I have room for only 1 more bad day. 2. Assess your job in the context of your career. Your career in the context of your life. And live your life in each moment.

Some people think that almost all HR tasks will be automated in a couple of years. Do you agree or do you think that HR will still be important in the future?

If transactions are HR then HR will need to go the way of the dinosaurs. There are lots of tasks I welcome being automated. That frees up an ability to execute on programs and challenges that will certainly change the game.

What do you think is the most overrated HR trend?

Wasting time trying to define AI. The only thing worth any effort is the discussion over the outcome desired.

Who is your personal (HR) role model?

Preston Edwards Sr. founded the Black Collegian Magazine in the 1970’s, published and printed it in his backyard in New Orleans and drove and dropped off copies at college career services departments throughout the US. He’s made a difference…1 X 1.

What do you do better than people starting out in HR today? What do they do better than you?

I’ve never stopped being a student. I aspire to world-class status at learning by observing, questioning, being curious and challenging data to understand its worth. Everyone working in HR/TA does it better than me.

19. January 2018

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End of a Year – Jan Kirchner

Jan is the founder and managing director of the company Wollmilchsau, Speaker and Blogger. He lives in Hamburg/Germany.

What movie title best describes 2017 for you?

HurlyBurly (not the plot though).

Your person of the year?

I never thought about that. These two scientists work towards a solution to the problem of microplastics, so they seem to be worthy of the title.

Your favorite album from 2017?

AnnenMayKantereit & Freunde (Live in Berlin)

What are you most proud of this year?

Mastering my first storm experience with a broken sail as a newbie-skipper with a newbie crew.

What HR tool or trend disappointed you the most in 2017?

Chatbots were overhyped and seriously bored me.

What disappointed me and still does is the fact that 55% of major German companies still don´t offer a mobile application process.

And what tool or trend really did live up to the hype?

None really. I did see many attempts to move on in all areas of the digitalization of HR but most companies are still in an early phase of the transformation.

Your favorite HR blog in 2017?

I enjoyed the new voices like team-hr.de, hrisnotacrime.com and last but not least dinosaurswilldie.blog

And the best HR event this year?

My personal highlights were the HR BarCamp and the Sourcing Summit which were both crowded with great people and reflect the potential of what HR has to offer for the business.

Which GIF best describes your vision of HR 20 years from now?

If HR professionals manage to let go of administration and hand it over to automation and self-service, it will become proficient as organization and people developer, cultural influencer, talent marketer and sales unit aka recruiter:

If they fail with that

What should HR professionals do differently next year?

Learn from disciplines like marketing, sales and IT, embrace technology, implement hr analytics and, if helpful for the benefit of HR advancement, pick more fights inside your organization. No one ever achieved anything without pissing some people off ;-).

What will be the “next big thing” in Recruiting?

Regarding tools: programmatic job advertising software like our Jobspreader (Of course I have to mention it, but I really believe in it as well)

Regarding the HR community: seizing the challenges of digitalisation and changes on the labour market to shape our organizations to the better for people and profit and finally conquer a seat at the decision makers table.

12. January 2018

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End of a Year – Sebastian Dietrich

Sebastian is Freelance HR Manager, Consultant and Blogger

What movie title best describes 2017 for you?

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Because you have to grab life by the horns and make the best of it. The only way to not go crazy in this world is being crazily optimistic about the future – and staying true to yourself.

Your person of the year?

Everyone who is holding racists, sexists, bigots accountable.

Your favorite album from 2017?

I haven’t bought an album in ages. But the soundtrack to Netflix’s Stranger Things took me on a trip back to the nice part of the 80s.

What are you most proud of this year?

Too many small things to mention separately. I’d like to believe to have helped a lot of people in my organization do an even better job and be happier about it than they would have without me.

What HR tool or trend disappointment you the most in 2017?

I don’t put much hope in tools or trends but I really hope the whole Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment things fails miserably. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and first try to get more human intelligence into HR.

And what tool or trend really did live up to the hype?

The power of agile methodologies really has impressed me.

Your favorite HR blog in 2017?

Sneaky question, but I’m not going to fall for it! Obviously, my own blog is my favorite – but there is more inspirational sources out there than I could list. You should read my blog about it 😉

And the best HR event this year?

I really enjoy DisruptHR Berlin. A very concise and tight format where a few presentations basically just provides conversation starters for the networking part afterwards. No hour-long cases and details but ideas how to do things differently. Very refreshing between all the slideshow events.

Which GIF best describes your vision of HR 20 years from now?

I have no idea what HR looks like even next year. But I’d hope we’re getting to HR being awesome and helpful

What should HR professionals do differently next year?

Leave your office, take your computer and sit with the people who earn your salary. You’ll learn more about your organization than in any meeting, slideshow, or report.

What will be the “next big thing” in Recruiting?

People talking to people. Once AI and AR and whatnot have freed up recruiters’ time, they’ll be able to go back to basic and speak to candidates, get to know them and their skills and decide whether it’s a match or not. Crazy idea, right?

5. January 2018

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End of a Year – Christoph Athanas

Christoph is Founder and Managing Director of meta HR, Blogger, Speaker and organizer (together with Jannis) of the (in)famous HR BarCamps in Berlin and Vienna.

What movie title best describes 2017 for you?

Transformers. It makes sense in various ways: On the one hand it stands for the allover mega-trend transformation we see in HR as in nearly all other functions. On the other hand we at meta HR mastered a lot of changes, e.g. new projects, customers and people…

Your person of the year?

Donald Trump, because he´s the perfect contrary indicator for behavior, leadership and anything else 😉

Your favorite album from 2017?

Concerning music I´m a rather nostalgic person. Therefore, Duke Ellingtons “Life at Newport” made its comeback in 2017 into my earphones.

What are you most proud of this year?

How well my four years old daughter developed. And my company meta HR got a new record this year for turnover and revenue.

What HR tool or trend disappointed you the most in 2017?

Stepstones Good&Co-Tool. It pretends to be an easy-going app for matching based on a high-end level of psychological know how, but in reality, there is nothing scientific and proven and a briefer view brings a kind of voodoo to the surface.

And what tool or trend really did live up to the hype?

One trend that shows a consistent development is an around mobile recruitment. Of cause, we haven´t seen the final stage of this so far. But more and more mobile career-websites are showing up, as well as more mobile-ready job ads were published and more mobile recruitment apps are available.

Your favorite HR blog in 2017?

Of cause the meta HR Blog – what should I say 😉

And the best HR event this year?

HR BarCamp in Berlin and HR BarCamp in Vienna.

Which GIF best describes your vision of HR 20 years from now?

No GIF can describe that. Probably we can´t imagine how HR will look like in 20 years from now. We can´t be sure if it is even going to exist…

What should HR professionals do differently next year?

Go more for Analytics and put their candidate really into the center of attention.

What will be the “next big thing” in Recruiting?

Going for the quality of hire with different methods and tools in combination with performance measurement and analytics.

29. December 2017

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End of a Year – Balazs Paroczay

Balazs is Vice President of Global Sourcing at Cielo Talent and public speaker. He lives in Budapest/Hungary.

What movie title best describes 2017 for you?

…

Your person of the year?

That’s me… LOL but yeah, seriously… my stake in 2017 was to fully re-create myself, finalize the build of the #OldMeNewMe and I believe I have achieved this goal… put me to the front of The Times… 🙂

Your favorite album from 2017?

Dunno, I have almost zero connection to albums or so… but wait! Kesha… her turn back… was that this year? Quite accidentally I know about her and I love her…

What are you most proud of this year?

That I finally understood that one can really achieve everything in his/her life… the only limitation we have is coming from a lack of imagination (or we are not bold enough)… it is an awful cliche to say that you need to pursue your dreams, however, if you have any dreams… if you have already articulated your dreams… if there is a scenario in your mind that you would really love to see coming into life, well, work for that! make that happen! real important things will (or at least can) happen in life… fake dreams, not-so-important wishes though will never come into realization – that’s also important to understand

What HR tool or trend disappointed you the most in 2017?

I am getting a little bored by those shouting evangelists who don’t do anything else than repeating the buzzwords of the today’s trends. Bots, chatbots, AI, machine learning and so… sure, we all know these trends… and then what?

And what tool or trend really did live up to the hype?

I am most amazed this year by the brilliant work of Adam Godson, who is the Global VP of Technology at Cielo. Adam is the exact opposite of those shouting evangelists… he is making intelligent technology happen in today’s recruiting. Adam has built recruiting tech systems that automate big portions of recruiting, built automated self-service solutions, automated searches and so on… extremely inspiring!

Your favorite HR blog in 2017?

Nope – I cannot name a favorite.

And the best HR event this year?

I think EVOLVE Summit in Brno was pretty remarkable. Also the Social Recruiting Days in Berlin had a good vibe. Both of these events are on the way to look for a new set-up of education and entertainment. I think they are really trying to recreate, rethink and refine the recruiting event industry.

Which GIF best describes your vision of HR 20 years from now?

Sergej, it is 7AM for me in Brookfield, WI… I cannot really think about any GIF at this moment… LOL

What should HR professionals do differently next year?

We are on a progress curve… and that’s not even a linear line but an exponentially growing development… most things that we hear about nowadays will make reality in the soon future… we need to adapt our thinking and behaviour to a rapidly changing environment. Join uncomfortable professional discussions, read books that give a hard time to understand, get familiar with softwares and other digital solutions that are difficult to apply… stretch your technical and technological capabilities!

What will be the “next big thing” in Recruiting?

Nothing new… but data and technology will come more and more into realization… those who always struggle with numbers or with numerical reasoning will have a hard time in our industry… time is up to be only a “human” professional…

22. December 2017

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End of a Year – Eva Stock

Eva is a Senior HR Manager at Trust Agents in Berlin and writes for her HR blog HRisnotaCrime.

What movie title best describes 2017 for you?

Speed

Your person of the year?

My Mum. She helped my Dad through a tough time and never forgot to take care of herself as well. She is the best and now also knows how to use a smartphone properly (to send gifs)! She‘s 72 and she‘s a great example on how you don‘t need a degree to be a smart and thoughtful person with the right set of values.

Your favorite album from 2017?

Tough one. Electronic-wise: Bonobo – Migration, Indie-wise: The National – Sleep Well Beast

Bonobo is super good for working or driving to a bar to see friends, because it brings you down in a certain way (so you can wind up in that bar again ;). Second one, because they‘re my favourite band for about 10 years now.

What are you most proud of this year?

That I managed the struggle of adjusting myself to a wholly different company culture than I knew before.

I worked in corporate structures for over 5 years in an expert-HR-role before I called it quits and started in an agency. Level up on speed, leading a team, developing an organization in – what felt to me – light-speed. I would lie if I‘d say, that I wouldn‘t have had a tiny mental breakdown from time to time because of high expectations I put on myself.

But giving up was not an option, since this is what I was working for all those years: Having an impact, working closely together with people and management while being able to be my true self at work. When people told me that I do make a difference and that some things changed for the better since I joined — that made me proud.

What HR tool or trend disappointment you the most in 2017?

What really feels disappointing to me is, that everyone forces HR into a KPI-driven role but we only get the most disappointing tools. When it comes to HR admin, most of the tools still suck.

There are endless discussions in HR-communities about the best tool: There is none that doesn‘t contain a load of bugs – mostly when it comes to it’s reporting functions. Bad reporting means that you‘re falling back to Excel again. Which is what you wanted to get rid off and why you purchased the tool in the first place.

And what tool or trend really did live up to the hype?

Funny thing: People Analytics. Everybody wants it and everybody needs it. Making the right decisions at the right time, this is what I want.

Analytics is a wide field. This is what it makes it that important: Engagement, churn, cultural fit, development… I am so keen on understanding what has the most impact on keeping people happy and healthy within my company. And data can help me on keeping track of certain developments. There are a lot of new tools right now. AI is doing it’s thing, soon. We will see if this trend is becoming an HR theory – there‘s a lot of potential.

Your favorite HR blog in 2017?

German only, sorry: innenhui.de – it is an entertaining and smart blog. Dagmar seems to be a funny person. To me, she seems tough and proud while not making a big deal out of being a working mom and successful in her job. I have only met her once in person, but we kind of have the same sense of humor, I assume. Also, she draws the doodles for her blog herself which I think is supercool.

And the best HR event this year?

For me..so far…I think it was a meetup hosted by clanbeat, that took place during NOAH conference. I expected a bit of input about giving good 1on1 feedback and the usual sales-part for their product.

What I got instead were 4 super intense hours in giving and receiving feedback with exercises, I never thought would be possible between strangers.

When was the last time you really listened 4 Minutes to an unknown person and being forced to keep quiet while the other tells you about some super-personal experiences?! It was just awesome and I had some magical moments there. The power of really listening and absorbing what was said, is huge. I was even able to comfort a person without saying anything.

I know this somehow sounds like a crazy story from a cult but i think it is just a great example on how small events and meetups can get a great dynamic and spirit when the right people are coming together. It doesn‘t always have to be the big shiny event.

Which GIF best describes your vision of HR 20 years from now?

What should HR professionals do differently next year?

Talk to people more often, also outside of work. I love meeting new people and how hearing their stories broadens my own view or giving me other perspectives. I would say, that I do have a strong mindset, which is good to challenge from time to time. Otherwise, I get too self-comfortable.

What will be the “next big thing” in Recruiting?

Prematching from candidate-perspective. It is not the company anymore, deciding on who is a fit and who isn’t. It will be the candidateitself, who will deciding if he or she is keen on working in a specific company. I think, there will be more transparency when it comes to job roles, salary and company culture. This will hopefully lead to more diversity in company culture. Not all candidates are happy with working from home or from cafés or on limited contracts. The ‘startup-hype’ is kind of over. People are unique and I hope, this will be embraced by future recruiting processes.