2012 February

Metrics: The Key to Product Optimization

Matt Smith on February 29, 2012

Great product people understand their users in a qualitative way — what their motivations are, what they use your product for, and what issues they have with your product. It’s a core part of being a product owner, particularly when you are looking to build something new. But when you are looking to optimize your site experience, you also need product metrics.

Qualitative research tells you “why,” but product metrics tell you “what.” It’s metrics that help product owners make decisions and, even more important, understand if those decisions were ultimately right or wrong. Read More →

THG @SXSW: Unleash All Your Creative Potential — On Deadline

Todd Henry on February 29, 2012

In the days leading up to SXSW Interactive, we’ve been looking at the Hired Guns and Hired Guns pals who will be there. Up today: author and consultant Todd Henry:

Book Reading and Discussion
Friday, March 9, 4:00
Presenter: Todd Henry

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Founder of The Accidental Creative, author of The Accidental Creative, arms dealer for the creative revolution.

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
I’m as or more excited about meeting tons of sharp, visionary people at SXSW than I am about speaking! But anytime I get the chance to share how creatives can unleash that final 20% of their creative potential, I’m there. I’m excited to share the insights from my research and book. Read More →

Headed to Austin for SXSW?

Allison Hemming on February 28, 2012

Howdy Guns,

Are you heading down to Austin for SXSWi? If so, let us know! We’ll be getting together for some informal networking over that weekend, March 10-11, and we’d love to connect.

Just email us and tell us what day you’re getting there and what day you’re leaving, and your name and Twitter handle. We have a Twitter list set up for all the Guns — we’ll add you to it so that we can find each other on the fly. Last year I was able to find great panels based on the tweets of other Guns.

See you in the Lone Star State!

Give Them a Speech They Won’t Forget, Tomorrow at The Hired Guns Academy

The Hired Guns on February 28, 2012

Tomorrow, Wed., February 29, the presentation expert Joel Schwartzberg will teach his Hired Guns Academy class on how to Nail That Keynote: Adding Strength to Your Professional Talks, Appearances, and Job Interviews.

As a frequent coach for competitive public-speaking teams as well as individuals and groups of all sorts, Joel knows what it takes to get a message heard — loud and clear. In this three-hour class, he’ll give you what you need to know to craft presentations that stick, including the best way to use visual aids, some easy tricks to get rid of the jitters, and a clear explanation of why the words on the page are only one part of what makes speeches memorable.

To find our more about Joel and his approach, check out a few of his recent posts:

There are still a few spaces left for his class this Wednesday, but don’t wait too long — space is limited. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Poll Results: Where’s the Job Market Headed?

The Hired Guns on February 27, 2012

As you can see below, those of you answering our poll about the job market are mostly an optimistic lot — but only in the most cautious of ways. More than 88% of you think the job market’s headed for better days, but that includes the 62% of you who see the improvement being part of a “long, slow slog.”

Here’s hoping that the economic news for the rest of 2012 continues going onward and upward….

Dessert at Breakfast May Help You Lose the Weight

Brooke Alpert on February 24, 2012

Dessert for breakfast? Who’s in? A March 2012 study published in the international research journal Steroids emphasizes that meal timing and what you eat for breakfast (including, in some cases, cake and cookies) can be the key to losing weight and keeping it off.

The study was done on almost 200 subjects, who were split into two groups. The main difference between the two groups was their breakfast. One group had a 300-calorie, low-carbohydrate breakfast, and the other group had a high-carb, protein-enriched breakfast of 600 calories, which included a choice of dessert: chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream, chocolate mousse, or donuts. The results made some headlines: the group that had the bigger breakfast with the dessert lost more weight and kept it off longer than the non-dessert group. But don’t reach for that donut yet. Read More →

Public Speaking: 10 Secrets Every Panelist Must Learn Before Hitting the Stage

Joel Schwartzberg on February 23, 2012

Being on a conference panel is like your first day at a new school: to succeed, you need to play nice, stay focused, know what you’re talking about, and dress sharp. The dressing sharp part is on you. For the rest, here’s how to be ready:

1. Prepare Your Points.

Don’t go in cold. Prepare 2–3 points in advance that relate to your expertise and the mission of the conference or event. Think about how you can help this audience. What do you know that they should too? If you can, mention these points in advance to the moderator –- he or she can help you make them. Also be prepared with stats, examples, or outcomes that illustrate your points. If you know a great and related joke, bring it, but don’t force the funny. Read More →

LinkedIn’s Recruiting Revenues May Soon Eclipse Monster’s

The Hired Guns on February 23, 2012

It’s been a banner year so far for LinkedIn, with its stock up an amazing 46% since January 1 — a big jump in its revenue accounts for much of this new sexiness to investors.

For the Forbes contributor Josh Bersin, though, the “real story” is the fact that LinkedIn is now the “fastest growing public provider of corporate recruiting solutions.” So if there’s anyone out there who still thinks that LinkedIn is just a more-boring Facebook for suits, it’s time to get with the program. Read More →

Bullet Points: Embrace the Fail

The Hired Guns on February 22, 2012

Should we be trying to learn from freshly shut-down companies the same way we try to learn from shiny new startups? [Washington Post]
It’s “practically a religion” in lots and lots of offices, but does brainstorming even work? [The New Yorker]
Leonardo da Vinci, failure. [Boxes and Arrows]
Social media has had lots of successes, but that doesn’t mean that any of them came without spending real money. Writing in Inc., Hollis Thomases tallies up social marketing’s likely costs, using everyone’s favorite viral, that Old Spice guy, as an example.
Why is the talent pool in IT, entertainment, and management so shallow, and why are the wages so high? Maybe it’s not that the raw talent’s so rare — it’s that it’s just really, really hard to identify it, and to train it once you do. [Marginal Revolution]

THG @SXSW: Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You

Jim Hopkinson on February 21, 2012

In preparation for next month’s SXSW Interactive, we’re profiling the Hired Guns who will be presenting. Up for today is Jim Hopkinson, the Salary Tutor, who will cover something very near and dear to our heart — getting paid what you deserve.

Salary Tutor: Become a Salary Negotiation Rockstar
Saturday, March 10, 12:30
Presenter: Jim Hopkinson

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
I’m an author, speaker, and teacher on the subjects of new media, branding, and career development. Runner, sports fan, geek, city-dweller.

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
I’ve attended SXSW the last three years, and have thrived off of the energy, the people, and learning about “what’s next.” I wanted the chance to give back to others. Since I love to speak and had something to talk about this year, I applied and got accepted. Read More →

Why Modern Marketers Need to Do More Than Just “Love Data”

Tom Burg on February 21, 2012

As I wrote in a a post last year, we’ve entered the era of using data to tell stories. Natalie Zmuda’s article in last week’s Ad Age, “When CMOs Learn to Love Data, They’ll Be VIPs in the C-Suite,” did a good job of explaining the other side of the data coin –- using data to inform and power marketing programs. Marketers haven’t been lacking for data; instead, the issue has been about how to contextualize the information and how to separate the truly important from the irrelevant. Read More →

What Marketers Love About AdWords on YouTube

Jacqueline Dooley on February 16, 2012

The post below, by the Internet marketer Jacqueline Dooley, previously appeared on her blog, Search. Click. Find.

Last October, Google announced the introduction of TrueView Video ads on its agency blog. This is a format that shows ads in-stream in a YouTube video. The ads are skippable, and advertisers pay on a cost-per-view basis.

FUN STAT: “TrueView in-stream now delivers more than 18 years of video each day for advertisers.” So it’s kind of like an Orwellian nightmare, but in a good way!

Why am I blogging about this now, a good five months later? Well, because the fanfare around TrueView video advertising wasn’t really rolled out with a bang. In fact, it seemed to be just the first step in the YouTube/Adwords migration, because on December 1, 2011, YouTube’s “Promoted Videos” were renamed as “TrueView in-search” and “TrueView in-display” ads. And here’s the thing… that is BIG news! Read More →

Bullet Points: Keeping Counteroffers Off the Table

The Hired Guns on February 16, 2012

Everyone in HR knows that between “67% and 80% of those employees who accept a counteroffer leave in the next 6 months.” But that doesn’t mean these sometimes desperate-seeming tactics aren’t also super-common. Here’s what recruiters need to do to counter those counteroffers effectively. [Recruiting Blogs]
If This Isn’t How You Recruit, You’re Doing It Wrong. [Inc.]
“So, I’m sitting here wondering why all these talent/HR Pros have jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon? I keep waiting for the great HR blog posts on how Pinterest is the next evolution of Performance Management, or how you can use the Pinterest platform to recruit top talent. And I wait… You see, Pinterest has nothing to offer HR or Talent Pros,” says Fistful of Talent’s Tim Sackett. Some great comments.
Italy is coming to terms with a time when it will no longer be usual for workers to hold the same job until they retire. “The problem is actually getting a job, not being fired from one,” says an under-30 spokesman for the National Youth Council, a lobbying group.

THG @SXSW: Revealing Design’s True Power

Jeff Gothelf on February 15, 2012

We have a bumper crop of Hired Guns presenting their ideas at next month’s SXSW Interactive. Over the next few weeks we’ll be profiling them, so that you can get a taste of their ideas — whether or not you’ll be making it to Austin yourself. Today’s selection, Jeff Gothelf, will also be cochairing next week’s AgileUX New York City conference.

Demystifying Design:
Fewer Secrets, Greater Impact
Sunday, March 11, 5:00
Presenter: Jeff Gothelf

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Interaction designer, author of upcoming book on Lean UX (O’Reilly, June 2012), founding partner at Proof.

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
SXSW offers an international audience of creatives and technologists with whom conversations about the web, design and technology are always interesting and diverse — plus it’s one hell of a party. Read More →

Bullet Points: The End of “More Is More”?

The Hired Guns on February 14, 2012

Hired Guns blogger Jeff Gothelf is cochairing the AgileUX NYC conference, to be held Saturday, 25 February — a few tickets are still available….
The neighbors are a little unsure about the new house that Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, is building. (It’s 40% bigger than Zuckerberg’s, but the Wall Street Journal opines that by “billionaire standards, [her] mansion is nothing special”).
Speaking of Facebook, it’s using you. [NYT]
Stanford University’s online “Introduction to AI” course attracted 160,000 students from more than 190 countries, with a median age of around 30. And about 23,000 of them finished the course. [The Guardian]
Have we reached the end of more-is-more when it comes to online content? Felix Salmon writes that “If we have reached that point — and I hope that we have — it’s a function of the way that the world of the web is moving from search to social.”
Valentines for the curve-loving economic wonk in your life. [Freakonomics]

THG @SXSW: Using an “Army of Interns” to Kick Your Business into High Gear

Larry Smith on February 13, 2012

Marshalling Your Army of Interns
Tuesday, March 13, 3:30
Presenter: Larry Smith

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Mine is just six words: “Tell your story, that’s my story.”

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
I’ve learned so much in the years I’ve gone to SXSW, and I’m thrilled to offer any knowledge I can back. This year I’m leading a “Core Conversation.” It will be a nice change of pace: rather than doing a panel or fancy presentation where I’m the “expert,” I’ll be leading a discussion in a room of very smart people sharing tips and experiences together. Read More →

Bullet Points: Oracle’s Play for Taleo

The Hired Guns on February 9, 2012

In a deal worth nearly $2 billion, Oracle intends to buy Taleo, which makes cloud-based “Talent Management” software used by HR departments in 5,000 companies worldwide. The purchase is seen as a move against SAP, which recently bought a Taleo competitor.
The bad first impressions that new employees get during onboarding may linger for a long, long time. [Ere.net]
Helicopter parents are keeping a close eye on their little darlings’ entry into the workplace. But how are companies supposed to deal with it? One consultant goes deep: “You don’t want to block the energy of the parent…. It’s like jujitsu. You just want to channel it in a certain direction.”
In what’s starting to feel a lot like the first dot-com bubble, there are simply not enough great programmers to satisfy Bay Area startups: “Top programmers are like a race car,” says one developer. “Once you get them you don’t want to lose them and you want to get as many as you can.” That’s caused headaches for the talent agency GitHire, which is a startup itself.

Freelancers: How Do You Make Sure You Get Paid?

Allison Hemming on February 9, 2012

Earlier this week we asked you to familiarize yourself with the Freelancer Payment Protection Act and the Freelancers Union’s petition in support of it.

We ended up getting some great comments about it, and also got a whole lotta Twitter love. It seemed as if just about all of you had a story about getting stiffed as a freelancer — unfortunately, it almost goes with the territory. On the plus side, you’ve also given us some great ideas about how to avoid ever getting stiffed again, from basics about knowing your client to more advanced methods involving loan documents and copyright law (more on those later).

We’re not done yet, though — we also want ideas from The Hired Guns community-at-large. After all, it’s a pretty sure bet that all of us are going to spend some time in the free agent seat if we haven’t already. So let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter:

What tactics do you use to make sure you get paid for the work you do as a freelancer?

Please take a minute to post your best-kept secret for how to get paid by a client who’s holding back the Benjamins and keeping you from putting food on the table. We’ll review the results and post a story that features the very best ideas!

The Hired Guns Poll: Where’s the Job Market Headed?

The Hired Guns on February 9, 2012

This past couple of weeks have brought some hopeful signs for the economy. Last month, the U.S. gained 243,000 jobs. The unemployment rate is now “only” 8.3% — the lowest it’s been in three years, and that doesn’t seem like a fluke — it’s the fifth straight month of decline. In fact, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s first-quarter Survey of Professional Forecasters predicts that the economy will add an average of 144,100 jobs a month in 2012.

We’ve been here before — in fact, in the first quarter of last year it seemed as if the economic wind was at our backs, but it didn’t pan out. We’re wondering whether or not you think this one’s different. It’s worth noting that the rate of “long-term unemployed” (those unemployed for over 27 weeks) did not change, and that the worse and worse economic news from Europe isn’t likely to encourage much hiring.

With all this uncertainly, we wanted to turn to you, to see what you think the job market will do in the next 6-9 months. Pull out your crystal ball…

Poll not showing up? You can take it here.

[Image: Pablo Alvarado/Flickr]

Bullet Points: “I am a lousy copywriter, but I am a good editor.”

The Hired Guns on February 8, 2012

Letters of Note reprints a key letter from advertising legend David Ogilvy. “I am terrified of producing a lousy advertisement. This causes me to throw away the first 20 attempts.”
30 Tumblrs to Remembr [Time]
8 Outdated Gadgets You Must Toss [Inc.]
Money.com rounds up 25 companies that each have at least 700 openings and talks with their recruiters to find out what qualities they want to see in candidates.
In the rigorously bro culture of today’s Silicon Valley, patterned socks are a major fashion statement. [NYT]

What You Need to Know About the Freelancer Payment Protection Act

The Hired Guns on February 6, 2012

If you’re a freelancer and you don’t get paid, just about your only recourse (after the phone calls and emails and maybe even in-person visits) is small claims court — a time-consuming, frustrating place.

Our pals at the Freelancers Union hope to change that with the Freelancer Payment Protection Act, which would extend to independent contractors in New York State the protections and rights that those on salary already get from the Department of Labor.

The law, which passed New York assembly last June, still needs the state Senate’s approval and governor’s signature. If it passes, it will be the first such law in the U.S. Read More →

When to Bring the Funny — And When to Leave It at Home

Joel Schwartzberg on February 3, 2012

President Obama got panned last week for a very pan-worthy joke about spilled milk he made during his State of the Union address. Should he have gone there? Should you go there? I often get asked if people should use humor in their speeches and presentations.

Frankly, it’s like me asking my wife if I should whip up a soufflé for our next dinner — or like Mitt Romney asking if he should sing at his next campaign stop. The answer is simple: do it if you can; absolutely not if you cannot. Read More →

Bullet Points: What Makes Good Companies Tick?

The Hired Guns on February 2, 2012

What makes a company a good place to work? It’s not the free quinoa at lunch. The Vault takes a stab at answering for real.
Hiring’s up, but it still lags behind the numbers from January 2011. [SHRM]
A graffiti artist is one of the more unlikely stockholders standing to become much, much more wealthy because of Facebook’s IPO. [NYT]
Flexing his mentorship muscles, the former CEO of Tyco, Dennis Kozlowski, has been encouraging his fellow inmate, the hip-hop star Ja Rule. to go back to school. [Business Insider]
This five-year-old has some idea of what lots of logos stand for, but McDonald’s, Apple, and GE lead the pack in recognizability:

[from the Next Web. See also: The Top 15 Brands on Twitter]

Asking “Can’t We Just … ?” Won’t Get You What You Need from the Digital Team

Lisa Schneider on February 1, 2012

I hear the phrase “Can’t we just . . . ” around the office a lot. Actually, I should correct that. I used to hear that phrase a lot.

Now I have a Post-it on my computer with those words in a circle with a line through it, and I’ve pointed to it enough times that I hear it less often.

Here’s what used to happen when people said that: I’d take a deep breath. Downward glance to compose myself. Pause-filling smile. Another pause filler, maybe sip my tea, or save my doc, or anything to buy a few more seconds to still my beating heart. Read More →

Gunsworthy

The Hired Guns Blog

Topics

Authors

Archive