Seven Survival Strategies for Job Seekers

The current job market is unlike anything in the past. AI has corrupted the application process. Fake companies, fake jobs, fake recruiters are everywhere. Applicants are being hunted by data brokers’ AI bots who seek only to steal their intellectual property, their voice, image, and likeness. ATS systems are discriminating en masse. And, companies are doubling down on 1990’s hiring practices and RTO mandates making the pool of talent increasingly smaller.

Capital and Labor are at a stand-off, and I do think that companies are going to blink. Here’s seven ways you can help move the blink along and maintain your privacy and sanity:

Don’t Apply to Companies that Use Workday

If you’re Black, Asian, Disabled, Female, have a weird name, have more than 10 years experience, are over 45 or have a gap of any kind in your employment history, you are kicked out immediately from Workday’s ATS. No one will ever see your application. Worse, not only are you kicked out from that company, it’s becoming clear that any company using Workday (See: Class action suit Mobley v. Workday) will reject your application — they’re all using the same Saas.

Do company’s know this is happening? Yes, yes they do. It allows them to discriminate en masse rather than 1:1. (wink-wink) That’s exactly who they are, that’s their culture, that’s their values….don’t work for them….

NEVER Talk to an AI Bot

I’ve written on this extensively. NEVER allow your interview to be recorded by these LLMs….If you’ve received an “invitation” to interview with a Bot, or to take an AI assessment hit delete. If your interviewer is recording you, end the interview.

The potential for damage to you, your career and your reputation via these LLMs is HUGE. You turn over your words, image, voice, experience, education to an AI data broker. It’s parsed, scraped “evaluated” and that AI slop follows you around FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

You have NO access to the recording or data or findings. No ability to delete it, no ability to challenge the findings, no insight into the algorithm being used to “evaluate” you. You have NO RIGHTS. You don’t know with whom or for what purposes your voice, words, and likeness is shared.

If there even is a job there (and most of the time there is NOT as many of these AI Interview jobs are fake) the AI bot is designed to lure unsuspecting applicants into their data trap by making them believe they’ve actually been shortlisted for a real job, when in fact, there’s no job at all. They’re scraping people for IP to use for LLM training.

Given recent developments in the Workday case, and the Stanford study, as well as legislation that has been passed in Colorado, Illinois, New York, I fully expect that AI interviews and assessments will be illegal, and if not illegal, their use will be killed by company’s legal department and data governance team.

Don’t Do Projects, Don’t Write Essays, NEVER Provide Videos

People asking for unpaid shit are looking for ideas (very common in marketing/social media/creative positions), or they’re just too lazy to evaluate talent themselves, so they tell the applicants to make notes and do all the work for them. In either case, you’re getting a lazy, shitty employer…

Have your own on-line portfolio – blog, GitHub, YouTube, even your FB.

Be aware that all your good ideas, all your great answers are fed into an LLM, and then provided to another candidate who is cheaper or off-shore, or a nepo hire. Corruption is rampant in TA. Don’t think people are above stealing interview answers from you for their deep fakes. They’re not.

Don’t Apply to Jobs without Salary Posted

I used to feel like, WTF, I’ll throw my resume in the ring even if it’s not posted. I’ve changed my mind.

Not only is the application process exhausting, but 100% of the time you’ll get a call offering you the position at a pay rate that is so ridiculously under market that you could not afford to pay your rent and commute to their (100% on-site) location five days a week.

Oh, BTW, it’s a contract job with no benefits…they “forgot” to post that, too…

Don’t Apply to Reposts, Repeated Posts, or Jobs More than 2 Weeks Old

Ghost jobs are everywhere. It’s estimated that approximately 30% of all job posts are fake.

If you see a job “reposted” don’t bother to apply. It just means the lazy recruiter didn’t pull down the ad. If you see jobs you’ve applied to re-posted, don’t bother, either. It’s likely a ghost job or the company is window shopping (to keep current employees “on their toes” or the hiring manager gets off on unicorn hunting).

Finally, anything that’s more than two weeks old is just too old, and they already have people in the pipeline.

Don’t Do Business on What’sApp

This should seem obvious, but anyone who contacts you via text or wants to pull you into What’s App is a scammer. Never, ever download anything to your phone or computer either…

Don’t Be Afraid to End the Interview

I’ve talked to sooooooo many people who found themselves in horrible interviews behind closed doors with some rude, disrespectful ass who is clearly using you for his narcissistic supply or using you to “check the box” for HR’s requirement to interview outside talent or a “minority.”

When I ask “Why didn’t you cut it short and leave?” there’s inevitably a silence, and then a reluctant admission that it never really occurred to them that they COULD leave!! Worse, they were afraid to leave because the interviewer (!) might think they’re rude! This is how f-d up our culture is when it comes to work….

Ending an interview is a little like cutting short a bad date. It’s a last resort, but you should not hesitate to end an interview if you’re being ignored, disrespected, or if someone is asking you personal and inappropriate questions.

You end the interview like this…

(Inappropriate question | Interviewer rude/dismissive | Interviewer distracted)

Pause – 5 sec…long enough for them to notice the pause.

“I’m troubled that …

~ this line of questioning feels personal and invasive.”

~ you seem distracted and unprepared.”

~ your tone is aggressive and argumentative.”

Note: Do NOT engage in an argument, do not elaborate, do not plead your case, do NOT complain about how much time/effort you put into prepping for this, and they’re not even listening. Don’t argue. Any argument will get you nowhere.

Any interviewer behaving like this tells you everything you need to know. You’re NOT getting this job – you were NEVER going to get the job. Even before you showed up, you were NOT getting the job! And, this is a TERRIBLE job!!!

If you get pushback like “Well, it seems like YOU’RE not prepared to discuss YOUR background”…. or an “I’m sorry YOU feel that way….” or a ” I’m not doing that, I’m just asking about YOUR………” Do NOT respond to the DARVO deflection.

Finish with:

“I’m going to pass on this opportunity, and respectfully end this call.”

Then hang up!

Circle back with (HR/Agency/Recruiter) to provide feedback if you feel appropriate. Otherwise, it’s a bad date. Red Pill Entitlement is rampant in corporate America these days…. Move on…

Here’s the Sad Reality

None of these things has anything to do with YOU – personally. The fact that this stuff effects you personally is annoying AF, but it’s important to remember that you are not the cause of any of these dysfunctional and illegal behaviors, nor do you deserve them.

We are in late-stage capitalism. MANY companies are putting on a brave face, but they ARE dying…

Inside these dying companies are the people who are interviewing you and those people are scared and in deep stages of denial. They’re scared of losing their jobs. They’re scared of hiring anyone who is better or cheaper. They’re scared they cannot compete in the current job market (which is why they’re petrified of losing their job). They’re scared of confronting a spouse with their job loss. They’re scared of losing their homes. They’re scared…..

Scared people act out.

The climate of fear in corporate America is being stoked by AI FOMO propaganda. Even in big tech companies, once thought to be the country’s most financially healthy sector, the undercurrent of fear is palpable. The top line is declining; CapEx cannot be obtained from outside sources; Cutting labor is the only strategy they know to keep the company “profitable” and the venture capitalist vultures from eating them alive.

Exercise hyper-vigilance before you jump into another job. It’s OK to say no….

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July 8, 2026 0

Recruiters: Clean Up After Yourselves!!!

The world is full of tips and tricks for the job seeker. No shortage of self-proclaimed coaches, HR Professionals, and any number of “leaders” who’ve got something to say about the way applicants need to change, mold, and brand themselves. But, when it comes to recruiters (outside of the ubiquitous complaints about ghosting), there’s not much out there. Let me change that…

If your goal is to attract top tier talent to your organization, note the following behaviors:

You Don’t Pull Your Posts

Pink Pill Alert: Not pulling your posts is akin to leaving your dishes in the sink because someone else will (eventually) put them into the dishwasher or wash them for you. How’s that helping your marriage?

The constant complaints by recruiters of how many applications they received, how difficult it is to review them all, how they must have AI/ATS systems to help them, how their world is full of woe. A lot of this could be avoided if your JD was posted and pulled quickly. “No Longer Accepting Applications” is an option USE IT!!

I advise everyone not to apply to “reposts,” and not to apply to anything more than three (3) days old. If you’re leaving your posts up longer than that, you are doing a disservice to job applicants AND yourself.

You Lie about Hybrid/Remote

Please stop lying!! Stop posting the role as remote “for visibility.” Stop posting the role as remote, but you need to live within 30 miles of Philly. Stop posting the role as remote, but “you might have to come in a few days a week as needed.” Stop posting the role as hybrid when you need to be on-site Monday-Thursday. Just stop!

Lying about on-site time has become commonplace. Why: Because people who are employed in either on-site, hybrid or remote roles are seeking remote-only work. Everyone knows that if you can support remote workers, you’re going to have more and better-quality talent from which to choose. If you want someone on-site, you’re going to have fewer options. And, if the role could be hybrid or remote, know the person you hire will be short term, even if they live fairly close.

The days of employees subsidizing their employers’ “culture” with commuting costs and travel time is ending. If someone is seeking a remote role, s/he will find one. On-site will ALWAYS be a temporary option for high-end talent.

You Post State Information at the Bottom of the JD

“This job is available to applicants located in the following states: NY, NJ and CT… ” is at the very bottom of the JD, but you posted the JD as remote USA, ya know, for “visibility” and didn’t bother to move that requirement to the top of the post.

Only thing worse is finding this at the end of a JD is finding it at the end of a Workday application!! Ugh!

Your Parsing Is Horrific

There’s no shortage of companies that offer parsing services, but you’ve chosen the cheap, shitty option, or better yet, your “leader” decided to save the cost, and he had Dinesh write a few parsing scripts (I mean, how hard could it be?). As a result, your resume parsing sucks, and your “leadership” thinks that filling out a form is the “first test” for your principal architect applicants. Second test: Ask them to breakfast and see if they pepper their eggs before tasting them.

SMH. Sadly, these dinosaurs still exist…

On the bright side, MANY companies have gotten better with their on-line application. I see customized Workday instances to remove form fields. Greenhouse is a breath of fresh air. And everyone loves of good Easy Apply.

Your application process tells me a LOT about you – bad parsing (bad UI), tells me that your living room and dining room is dirty. As an technologist, I know that the back of the house is even worse. I will exit out of these applications, and I encourage others to do so as well. Nothing good is coming from cheap and shitty companies like this.

You’re Too Lazy to Customize the Post with Salary

I mean, lazy is lazy. It’s all about you! So, you either leave salary out (even though you’re required by law in the majority of states to post it), or you put your 30% under market salary at the very bottom of the JD because you’re sure your JD will be sooooo compelling, we’ll forget about the shitty pay and apply anyway???

Don’t tell me that you pay differently for different markets. That’s why you post a RANGE. I routinely see comments from applicants who say that absolutely will not waste their time applying to jobs that don’t post a range. I’m inclined to agree…

You Lie about Compensation

This is very, very common. Posted range 100-140K. When you pull up the corporate site to apply, the JD clearly states Salary Range 75-110K DOE. Stop, stop, STOP!!!!

You Bury the REAL Requirement

Must speak Mandarin. Top Secret Clearance. Only able to hire in seven states. Must be available for after-hours phone calls. Must have some specific, microscopic domain experience (very popular in public sector posts), ex: ” Five years experience supervising the reproductive cycles of green slider frogs….” All buried at the bottom, when it should be the first line or in the title…

The specific domain experience is usually listed as “preferred” but it’s a clear tell that they have an internal candidate identified, and are only interviewing because they’re required to do so. While recruiters can’t do much about this (except please spare anyone who is already employed), for applicants, I advise not to waste time applying to these custom JDs that were clearly tailored to an internal applicant.

You Expect Essays, Videos, and Love Letters

I’ve grown weary of lazy Mean Girl recruiters who expect applicants to provide them essays and love letters. Ya know, so they can “make the funnel stickier” or “separate signal from noise.” These are the same recruiters who are just too busy to read my resume, haven’t looked at my website, haven’t looked at my blog, my book, my white papers, my reels, or my publications. But, I’m going to write an essay for you about my last team’s Agile transformation, the roadblocks, challenges I encountered, and how I was able to overcome them and drive the team and project to a successful outcome.

F-off.

Even more entitled, are those who request you provide them a MP3 video explaining “Why Should You Hire Me?” Short format, of course, and try to be original and compelling.

Stop trying to make “Fetch” happen….You are NOT special! For applicants, there’s absolutely nothing to be gained by participating in these recruiter auditions. Be assured that your intellect is funneled into an LLM. Your words, thoughts, image are shared with “partners.” You have zero rights to the data, cannot delete it, and any good ideas you have WILL be given to another (cheaper, younger, better looking, or off-shore) candidate.

Recruiters Aren’t the Problem; They’re at the Door

Recruiters aren’t the problem in the Talent Acquisition (TA) process, but they are standing at the front door of the club deciding whether or not you are good looking enough to get in. Unfortunately, many don’t fully understand their actions negatively effect the supply chain, and are shocked to see that people are simply skipping the audition and hitting the sports bar down the street for the $5 buck wine and beer specials.

If you’re guilty of any of the above behaviors, reconsider if your actions are helping or hindering the flow of talent into your organization. It’s not about what’s easiest for you – it’s about finding the best and brightest for your organization.

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July 1, 2026 0

AI Leadership Assessments – They’re Finally Here!

As more and more corporations find success using AI assessment tools and virtual assistants for talent acquisition, it’s only natural to want to leverage this success throughout the organization. AI Assessments are innovating the way we evaluate job applicants as potential employees. But, what about the employees you already have?

If companies are going to meet the challenges of our new AI age, they need to right-size, and nowhere is that more important than in the executive and leadership ranks. Too many companies are still relying on legacy processes, like individual opinion, when it comes to determining which skills stay, and which need to go. Talent decisions are too important to leave to individuals; they are prone to self-interest, bias or favoritism. This is where our AI Leadership Assessment helps you to separate signal from noise…

As companies move away from large scale lay-offs, rolling layoffs become the norm, our AI Leadership assessment tool provide a consistent, impartial, low-stress way to evaluate your organization’s leaders. AI doesn’t replace humans, rather, it leverages the power of AI to allow you to make better decisions. Our tools produce an easy-to-use stack rank of your current leadership team, which helps to inform decisions about which underperforming executives should be cut.

How it Works

After taking our on-line game-a-fide assessment, each leader participates in an 30-minute interview with our virtual AI evaluator. Here they have the opportunity to create a video to highlight their skills and accomplishments. Those data are processed by our non-biased algorithms, combined with internal HR records, and a social media score to determine a Leadership Competency range. Once calculated, the range and stack ranking of all resources is available to CEOs and BODs via our proprietary dashboard.

These data are highly secure, and the results of these assessments are never shared with the employee. This makes it impossible for them to challenge the findings or claim bias or discrimination as too often happens when humans are involved in these evaluations.

AI assessment tools are being used in 90% of Fortune 500 companies to help identify skills and culture fit.

Too many organizations are struggling with the toxic culture created by their current leadership teams. Too often, a “few bad apples” are the root cause of these toxic environments. These individuals often result in EEOC claims, class action lawsuits, and costly turnover for many companies. Our AI leadership assessment identifies potential bad actors with clear, unbiased evaluations based on proven scientific methods and practices. You can feel confident about your decision to eliminate and consolidate your executive ranks without harming the corporate culture you worked so hard to create.

Its finally here!! AI screening and assessment that takes the risk out of corporate layoffs! Contact me for a demo.

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June 14, 2026 0

Four Ways Your Hiring Manager is Killing Your Company

Ask any recruiter what the issue is in Talent Acquisition, and they’re not going to say a lack of qualified applicants.

The issue is the “hiring manager.”

Who is the hiring manager? Generally it’s some mid white guy who doesn’t have the authority to pick up the tab for the pizza party without prior auth, but for some reason, the company has giving him carte blanche to 1) represent your company and brand to prospective talent with zero training, oversight, for feedback and 2) spend hundreds of thousands of company dollars to hire talent for your organization with zero training, oversight, or feedback.

If your hiring managers utter any of these statements, fire ’em…….

“We can’t find anyone with the skill (combo) we need…”

Clear sign of a red-pill bro who feels deserving of talent that he cannot afford or, worse, talent that simply doesn’t exist.

In tech, it’s the principal architect/project manager combo, closely followed by the architect/Biz Dev combo, or the developer/SE combo. In other words, you want two (or more roles) for one, but can only pay for one at 30% below market.

Truth: I’m 5’6, 30 lbs overweight, and have a credit score of 615, but I’m going to keep insisting I can pull a supermodel rather than face reality that some girls are simply out of my league….

#redpillcorp #alphadog #unicornhunter #notlonelyenough

“I need someone who can get along with <well-known PITA>

Clear sign of a manager who will NOT manage (which calls into question why TF they’re even there).

I see this scenario repeated again and again and again and again and again…… Talent, integrity, and hard work are irrelevant. The only skill being sought is low self- esteem, aka, the ability to put up with an irrational, abusive bully.

Yeah, so this is the third <decentperson> who’s quit in the last 6 months, but you don’t have time to replace the real problem (plus, you’d have to do ALL the work to replace him, and then you’d have to admit to YOUR boss that you fd-up this hire, so that’s a hard No..)

Easiest solution for lazy managers: Find someone with so little self-respect, or so little cash in their bank account that they’ll take this shit job and be abused for rent, food, and health insurance. (Hint: Look for single mothers, or men with young families. They’re the most easily exploited.) After we hire that sucker, it’ll get about six months-to-a-year of peace before the complaints start again. But, whateverrrrr – at least it’s not MY problem….

#doormatsonly #sychophants

“We don’t need someone that Senior”

The greatest annoyance of every single recruiter out there. They bring in great people, only to get push back from a 32 year old crony hiring manager with nepo-baby credentials.

An organization that values sycophants more than innovators is headed down the road to perdition.

Quick way to tell if your mid-hiring manager is gate keeping. Pull the LinkedIns of your last six hires. If none of them possess a single credential that is better or deeper than the hiring manager, you know gatekeeping is a problem. For him, compliance is more important than competence. For you, be assured that competence isn’t always compliant…

#BankruptcyCameOuttaNowhere #fearbasedleadership

“We need someone who will do what they’re told….”

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this statement uttered behind closed doors. Usually it’s about confident women (“They seem difficult to manage.”) or young men (“They seem a bit cocky, and have their own ideas.”)

These comments surface in HR discussions where there’s been issues and complaints about the current hiring manager. These companies are constantly dealing with lawsuits, worker complaints, and have a long history of PIPing out strong performer for calling out organizational issues, compliance issues or just outshining the master.

If you’re hearing your hiring manager kick out competence, it’s time to find someone who can manage talent.

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Your job isn’t going to be replaced by AI, your job is going to be replaced by someone who can hire and manage a team. If you’re struggling to find talent (and you’re 100% sure it’s not a compensation or RTO ), replace your hiring manager with an unbiased, cross-functional hiring team. You’ll be stunned by how quickly things turn around…

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May 5, 2026 0

Job Applicants: Do NOT Permit Yourself to Be Recorded!

My recent LinkedIn post cautioned applicants to NOT permit themselves to be recorded during interviews. The post drew the expected responses (80%=Yes, I agree, it’s a gross invasion of privacy, I’m not feeding an LLM, and 20% = Dance little monkey! You WILL do whatever the “company” tells you. That’s what I did, and that’s what I expect everyone to do, you’re just spoiled :).

(I’ll let you guess at the demographic breakdown of these responses).

Consider the following:

You are a hiring manager, and you are meeting a job applicant IRL. Perhaps at your office, maybe at a coffee shop or other public place. You sit down, introduce yourself, and then the applicant pulls out a tri-pod, sets up the camera phone, and says, “I hope you don’t mind if I record this…..”

What would you say?

I’m sure you would be shocked by the audacity.

You might respond with something like, “Ohh, err, I’m not comfortable with that….” or even “I don’t consent to being recorded,” to which the applicant responds…

“Ohhh, this is my policy to record all interviews. It’s used for training purposes. This is very common now. And, it’s really for YOUR benefit. In this way, I can focus on you, and our discussion, and not on taking notes! Plus, I’ll be able to review your questions and answers later, at my leisure, and I’ll be able to share the video with my advisors, so that we can all better understand the role, you, and your company.”

Would you shrug, agree, and continue? I don’t think so…..

Stop asking job applicants for one-way video interviews. Stop recording them. Stop bullying them into surrendering their words, image, and ideas for the privilege of applying for a job, stop shaming people for wanting to protect their privacy, and their IP from being consumed by an LLM, and stop pretending that your company isn’t complicit in this surreptitious LLM training when you’re insisting on recordings and “personality assessments.”

If you found yourself offended by the audacity of an applicant taping you and your interview, and the idea that the video would be circulated, distributed, and stored without your knowledge and consent, be assured the applicant feels EXACTLY the same way!

If you’re serious about bringing talent into your organization, this is NOT the way to do it!

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February 18, 2026 0

How to Spot a Fake Job

They’re everywhere, and their purpose is to collect your Personal Information (PI) and and Intellectual Property (IP).

Here’s how to tell:

I Have to Accept your Cookies

Being able to opt-out of cookies is a legal requirement, but like most legal things these days is ignored because there’s no one actually enforcing civil law (happy to collect a list of these sites for any interested attorney).

You Ask for PI, like SSI or DOB to Apply

Amazing to me how many people simply offer this up. Note: If you feel you just cannot say no to the webpage, for God’s sake, please input some phoney numbers!

Essay Questions

Clearly data scraping. Nope.

Bots and More Bots

Oh, they “prefer” to be called “Virtual Recruiting Assistants.” IDGAF what the Bot prefers! I’m not permitting my voice to be recorded by some “spam” number that comes into my phone. Click.

Same Bat-Job, Same Bat-Time

If you’re looking at the boards, you can clearly see the same “companies” advertising the same BS jobs every day. You know these jobs: general JD, above average salary, need immediately. Fake, Fake, Fake.

Reposted

Don’t bother…

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February 13, 2026 0

Things I Hope NOT to See on LinkedIn in 2026

My yearly update of things I hope LinkedIn users will resolve NOT to do in 2026:

Bitching about Ghosting

“Don’t call us, we’ll call you…” has been around since the 1900s. Ghosting isn’t going away no matter how many annoyed applicants end their posts with “do better.”

#livinginthepast #boomerbitching

“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but….” Intros

IDK who started this intro line, but I’d like to hunt him/her down and explain what a target demographic is. If you don’t know who needs to hear this, WTF are you doing a vid for???

#makemehurl #annoyedAF

What the Applicant is Doing Wrong (In your Interview)

No shortage of people offering BS advise on how to lie your way into a job you cannot do. Two things are problematic with these 20-something sages. 1) The wanna be “influencer” content is trite-GPT-drivel everyone’s heard 1000X. (The “twist” is the mid-screen boob shot.) And, 2) Few talk about the outrageous behavior of hiring managers, and how employers are killing their reputation and brand with bad hiring practices.

#noonewantstoworkanymore

“Fear” Adverts from “Career” Coaches and Outplacement Firms

Similar to the above, the only thing more obnoxious than a 28-year-old wanna-be influencer touting her three years of insight and experience on how to navigate today’s “incredibly challenging” job market is a 32-year old bro touting his superior networking skills. (Daddy and/or your frat bro hooking you up with a gig isn’t the flex you think it is.)

#nepobaby #cronycapitalism

Laid-Off Sycophants

Laid off? Been there. What I completely do NOT get is the need to post some sappy eulogy for a company that doesn’t GAF about you. All this BS about how proud you are, all your great loves and losses, and how you’re “ready for your new chapter”?? Gag…

These types of posts tell me that waaayyy too many people see their job as their #1 relationship, and #1 purpose in life. I’m sorry to inform you: Employment is transactional. Like buying bananas at CostCo, or a beer at the bar. Six months from now, they’re not going to remember your name….

To further illustrate the ridiculousness of these jerk-tear posts, consider the following: Would you post on social media how much you loved your ex-spouse, how you’ll treasure the great times together, and now that you’ve been kicked to the curb, you’re ready for “your next chapter”?!?! No, no you wouldn’t. Why: Coz it’s f-n WEIRD!!! That’s why!

#lookingforloveinallthewrongplaces

Employed Sycophants

Your off-site was productive? Great. You’ve got a new CEO? Congrat’s. Your BFF was promoted? Nice. LinkedIn doesn’t need another obsequious corporate sycophant tearfully proclaiming how they “couldn’t be more proud to be associated with such an outstanding group of individuals.”

Unless your ass-kissing is one of your KPIs, spare us.

#embarrassed4U

CEOs, Recruiters, Founders, et al “humble brags”

You’re fully remote? Good for you! You hired someone who had a 2-year gap in his/her resume? I’m sure they were eminently qualified. You hired a fresher/woman/minority/disabled individual who didn’t have the perfect resume, but you…with your tremendous leadership and magnanimous character … saw their potential?

Stop sniffing for public praise and accolades for the most basic levels of decency.

#needy

Open to Work Banner

Si o No? Stop talking about it!

#NoOneCares

Age Discrimination

You’re a white, Anglo-Saxon male, over 50, and now, for the first time in your ENTIRE life, you’re finding that you’re not the preferred demographic? WOW, what must that feel like!?! Tell me more about how unfair corporate life is! Twenty-five years in tech, I’m sure I don’t know what it feels like to be marginalized, dismissed, or passed over in favor of some crony C-Student bro or a cheap H1b…

PS: Maybe it isn’t your age? Maybe the field has leveled and you’re just “entitled”? Try working “twice as hard,” for half as much. You know, like the rest of us…

#whiner #equalityisoppression

WFH v. RTO

If you don’t want to work on site, don’t. If you want to go into an office, go. Stop trying to convert the heathens. You’re as likely to convince a MAGA supporter that tariffs are inflationary.

#snore

“Behold” my Achievement

Unless you just won the Nobel Prize, no one is interested in your Udemy, Coursera or company-training certs. Add them to your profile and move on with your life.

Your Wedding, Your Kids, Your Holidays

#facebook

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December 29, 2025 0

It’s Time to Remove “Hiring Managers” from the Hiring Process

The recruitment and hiring process is broken. Ask any applicant, any recruiter, and any company looking for talent. If you asked any one of those folks what the major problem was in the talent acquisition process, they all would quickly agree: “hiring managers.”

The only reason a hiring (or direct) manager is even involved in the modern hiring process is because “that’s the way it’s always been.” Well, times have changed, the nature of business has changed, and the way we hire needs to change, too.

Hiring managers need to be removed from the hiring process. Here’s why:

Hiring Managers Hire for Themselves, Not the Company

Back in the day, the HR representative actually had a say in who was hired for the company. The idea was that HR was partnered with the long-term strategic view of the company’s needs, and they had developed a “resource strategy” to enable the company to achieve those goals. HR was also there to protect the company from cronies and unqualified nephews.

Ask anyone in HR today, and they’ll tell you that might be what’s on Earnings Call PowerPoint slide, but in reality, HR is there for paperwork. The “hiring manager” is all powerful, and he will hire whomever he wants. And, if he can’t hire who he wants, he’ll just leave the job open, or rewrite the JD/SOW to exclude everyone except exactly who he wants to hire.

That’s how the game is played. Don’t hate the player….

Hiring Managers Tolerate and Foster Other Bad Managers

I’ve lost count of the number of interview prep sessions I’ve sat in on where the core competency of the applicant needed to be his ability to “Put up with <FirstName>’s shit….” I’d submit that is not a business case to spend $150K per year, plus benefits. Has anyone considered that we might get rid of <FirstName> and her shit….??

Hiring Managers Do NOT Hire “Threats”

If you have more education, credentials, and experience than the hiring manager, you can pretty much write off getting that gig. It’s not you, it’s them. They don’t want to hire someone “overqualified.” In other words: Don’t outshine the master….

Only in corporate America does this overqualified BS make any sense. Could you imagine saying, “Yeah, we passed on that neurosurgeon because he came from a top tier school, has multiple awards, and has been in practice for 20 years. I don’t need someone so overqualified cutting open my skull.”

Hiring Managers have ZERO Expertise in Hiring

There are three things we don’t have in this world: Bad Lovers. Bad Drivers. And, bad judges of character.

I’ve asked interviewers and hiring managers over the years if the company provided any guidelines or training on hiring (maybe a checklist, but not much more). I also ask how they prepared to on-board talent. Did they take any classes, webinars, read a book, blog, watch any videos on interviewing and recruitment? This is waved off with a “Naah, I’m a r-e-a-l-l-y good judge of character….” (Says the twice divorced, estranged-from-his-three-children manager with the 2.8 Glassdoor rating :/) Yeah, that’s the man who should be representing your brand and interviewing all prospective analysts….

Hiring Managers are TERRIBLE Brand Ambassadors

According to a recently LinkedIn Poll, approximately 64% of all job applicants have encountered rude, distracted, or disrespectful hiring managers during their job interviews.

I’ve been around long enough to know that one person in a global enterprise might not represent the entire culture; however, you can see why talented people walk away from a rude, distracted, disrespectful hiring manager thinking, “<CompanyName>! What a bunch of aholes!”

Worse, people are likely to retell their interview horror story to friends and family; Maybe even post about it on Glassdoor or Reddit or LinkedIn or X.

Hiring Managers aren’t-thinking about how their behavior and interactions with prospective talent might be damaging the company’s reputation and brand. CEOs need to start thinking about it…

Rude hiring managers are looking for fear, trembling, and complacency, and as long as they’re permitted to interview and hire unsupervised, they will continue to churn and burn through talent. Glassdoor ratings tumble, followed by the fake reviews posted by Finsta employees, and before you know it, everyone in the industry knows it’s a shit place to work, and the investors can’t understand why you can’t make your deadlines and can’t close on talent.

If you are hiring, you need to remember this: YOU represent the brand, the company, the culture. Every interaction, every touchpoint is a chance to build or damage your brand. In many cases, YOU are the only person that applicant will ever meet from that company. S/he will walk away from that interview with an impression of the company that is inextricably intertwined with their impression of YOU.

If CEOs, BODs and executives knew how hiring managers were KILLING their company’s reputation and brand, they’d end the practice of 1:1 hiring manager interviews immediately.

Hiring Managers Have Little/No Knowledge about the Job Itself

This is not as uncommon as you might think….

Consider the idea of the hiring manager is a hold-over from the by-gone manufacturing and trade-based economy. In this context, a shop steward or tradesman had a certain knowledge, expertise, and could evaluate the skill of the applicant’s expertise. That’s just not the case in corporate and service industries.

It’s not uncommon to encounter hiring managers who know nothing about the work I’m going to do, nor any of the projects I’ll be working on, nor little about the team or client. I’ve lost count of the number of hiring managers I’ve asked specific questions to about the work, tools, team, budget, and they cannot answer a single one!!

No one who is serious about his career is going to accept a job when his boss cannot tell him a single thing about the work! (That’s provided the hiring manager has even given you time to ask about the work. For some, your questions are superfluous because your buy-in is simply not required.)

Candidates consistently complain of long interview cycles, and “culture” fit interviews with people who know nothing about interviewing, the work, the group, or the project — it’s a waste of everyone’s time. If you cannot speak to the work, the tools, the projects or the goals, you shouldn’t be interviewing anyone.

Hiring Managers are Easily Bribed, Kickbacks are Not Uncommon

The potential for abuse is greatest with 3P managed service providers. In these situations, we have mid-level managers, many of whom don’t have the authority to pick up the tab for lunch without prior approval, “supervising” hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in CapEx 3P consultants and vendors. The entire structure is a recipe for corruption. No wonder so many companies see a marked decline in quality and customer satisfaction when managed service providers take over.

Consulting companies sell bodies; they need to keep that T&M SOW funded, that H1b employed, and that project in their pipeline. Engagement managers are going to do whatever it takes to seal the deal. Hookers, drugs, off-the-radar personal “assistants.” I’ve seen hiring managers dump their entire workload on to 3P contractor (unbeknownst to their managers). This allows them to spend more time on important things: Like travel with their mistresses…

How to Fix It – Implement a Hiring Committee

Yep, I said it. A hiring manager puts in a request to Central Casting, and it’s fulfilled. That person meets both the requirements, and the company’s needs. Now, m-a-n-a-g-e them….

The hiring team model is popular in organizations serious about talent. Hiring committees are used at Amazon, IBM, and a myriad of other organizations, big and small. Why? It protects the company from bad hires, nepotism, and cronies. It ensures a transparent and quality recruitment process. It protects the company’s reputation and brand and ensures the company is well represented in all external touchpoints.

BTW, managers aren’t just stuck with whomever is given to them; they have the ability to ask for a change or request termination. But, you can’t cherry pick resources, hire someone you want to have a beer with, or abuse your H1b contractors. Your turnover is tracked, quantified, and duly noted. As it should be…..

Eliminate 1:1 Interviews

If you don’t feel like you can get behind a committee, you should prohibit any 1:1 interviews until the Hiring Manager is fully trained and vetted. That means you actually need to have an interview training policy. In all cases, hiring managers should never be left on their own to interview prospective staff without the supervision of an HR professional.

The idea that anyone at any time can represent themselves as an agent of the company to external resources and vendors with absolutely zero oversight or feedback is absurd! The only reason this ridiculousness has gone on for as long as it has is because “that’s the way it’s always been….”

Send the Rejected Candidates a Survey

Interesting how hiring managers are only people in a company protected from “feedback.” That needs to change. If you really want to know what your recruitment process is like, hire a third-party to send any candidate who interviewed, but was rejected, a “Candidate Survey.”

I’d recommend the following questions (Strongly Disagree <-> Strongly Agree)

The interviewers were prepared and engaged.
I had adequate time to present my skills and experience.
I understood the job’s responsibilities, goals, and how my work fit into the department/organization.
The interviewer(s) represented the company and brand in a professional and positive manner.
The recruiter/interviewers communicated with me throughout the entire recruitment process.
My time was respected.
I left with a positive view of the company, brand, and culture.
The on-line application process was user friendly.
I would consider other employment opportunities at the company.
I would recommend my friends or other associates to seek employment at the company.

Stop wasting your IT talent with stupid pop-ups in the middle of an on-line app, and annoying notifications asking me to evaluate your application’s web page! I’m not your QA ! Log on, parse some resumes, and do it yourself! Better yet, Mr. Hiring Manager, Executive VP, CEO, and HR director — log into your application site and (try to) apply. That’ll tell you everything you need to know about the application experience.

The fact that organizations have zero feedback or metrics on the interview experience speaks to the issue.

Final Thoughts…

Companies spend millions of dollars on marketing and branding. They host sales conferences, publish brand guidelines, train and supervise sales staff during client interactions, and monitor external correspondence all to ensure that the company is on point, on message, and being represented in the best possible light.

However, these same companies allow anyone to interview. What is overlooked in this external touchpoint is the irreparable damage that “hiring managers” can do to a company’s image, brand, and reputation.

Many CEOs and BODs and would be stunned at the damage done to their company’s reputation as a result of a poor hiring process.

When you interview prospective talent, YOU are the company. Your manners, your questions, your professionalism ….they represent the company and its culture. Your culture IS your brand; and, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

If you see your company in this essay, make changes while you still can. Once your reputation is gone, you’re not going to get it back.

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March 23, 2025 1

The Real Reason Men Want You Back in the Office: They’re Lonely

The demand we all return to the office (so we can all hang out together) seems to come from predominantly men. Why?

They all admit that working at home has not effected the ability of employees to complete their tasks and achieve their goals. Without productivity metrics (something greatly loved pre-Covid) to bolster their argument, these executives are forced to rely upon qualitative and anecdotal reasonings. This is when you’ll hear your c-level overlord wax nostalgic for their pre-Covid Corporate Camelot, how awesome it was, and how this beautiful, perfect culture needs to be proselytize and, if that doesn’t work, brutally enforced.

Corporate culture is a pyramid. There are a few people at the top – literally – on those upper floors, in those big offices with the windows. If you’re really important, the “corner” office with multiple windows. Where are the people holding up the base and sides of the pyramid? Downstairs, in a cube, with the rest of the subjects to be ruled.

I’ve spent 30 years working in some of the biggest corporations at the highest levels, and it has not escaped my attention – nor the attention of labor — that corporate culture is little more than a relic of the Edwardian era. Instead of Dukes, Duchess, Prince and Princesses, we now have Executive VPs, Directors of <stuff>, and assorted lords and ladies of the court who are swept up in the largess of executive coattails.

I’m not down on corporate fat-cats. Being one is kind of sweet. And, what a killer job! What you say goes! No arguments, no need to compromise. Corporate executives are literally surrounded by the fear and trembling of compliant subordinates. When the boss says jump, people jump! Ya know where that doesn’t happen? Every place else on Earth!

There’s a lot to unpack in the WFH debate. Let’s start with the basics:

Men are Lonely.

Men are lonely. They have few friends. They have no women friends. That “culture” they’re bemoaning? It’s an office where they can shoot the shit with the boyz and go to lunch with the gurls. The words “comradery” and “collaboration,” soo important, are thrown into the mix. What that really means is they miss hangin’ with their buddies, and what men really miss is the company of women – women who understand their work, women who laugh at their jokes, women who aren’t their wives. In short: They miss having friends.

Why don’t men have friends? There’s a lot of reasons, but the primary one is that men don’t have friends unless their wives approve of them. This is probably the worst thing about being in a relationship if you’re a guy. Suddenly, every single person in your life must have the nod of your SO. If she doesn’t like ’em, you’re not going to be friends anymore. Female friends? Forget that – they’re toast.

Men aren’t permitted to have female friends unless she’s his sister, and then only with your woman’s approval!

I work in tech. Not surprisingly most of the people I work with are men. My SO works in HR. The majority of his colleagues are women. Should I demand that my man never socialize with his work colleagues? Lunch with the girls? Nope – He should sit in his cube, alone. Happy hour? Not unless I’m there to supervise and approve. What about my work buddies? Am I permitted to have a few beers with the guys after work? What about travel? Should I pass on dinner, and stay in my room and read?

The f-d upness of relationships, love, friendships is a topic for another article, but I think we can all agree that men, in general, lead kind of lonely lives. That needs to change, but making me drive 45-minutes to an office (on my time and dime) so you can feel good about yourself isn’t the way to do it.

Men Derive Their Status from Work.

Our culture associates the value of a man with the job he has. It’s not right, but it is. At work, you’re the VP of this or the director of that. Those titles convey a rank, status. You’re treated with some respect, reverence because of your title. You know where highly-paid and highly-respected C-level men don’t derive status and respect? Having dinner with their 14-year old.

Sheryl Sandberg wants us to lean in, take a seat at the table, and, ultimately sit at the head of the table. Here’s the thing: In the virtual world, there’s no table. Bob Iger is just a little square — like everyone else. In fact, if you’re not talking on your vid, you might not even be on screen. How’s everyone supposed to know that they should be focused on you when you’re not sitting in the power-position at the table, and they’re not in your corner office with your big desk and that killer view of the skyline?

Video calls don’t convey status. You’re a little square – like everyone else.

This is where I see the generation gap the most. Those men who are young in their careers, and guys with young families are not “office-centric,” certainly not in the way men were back in the day. But, if you’re one of those Boomers and Gen Xers whose defined your life and persona by the status you derive from your job, it’s not likely you’re going to give up the trappings of a culture that sees you as a Grand Duke. And I don’t blame you one bit! Doesn’t everyone want be be surrounded by the adoring and obedient?

I Hate My Spouse (and/or Kids)

I think it’s safe to say that there are lots of people who aren’t exactly living the marriage dream. Their attraction to their spouse left years ago. Staying together for the children? Yep. Leading separate lives. You betcha! Grinding it out until <something happens>. Absolutely. What’s a few more years? You’ve been doing it this long, and you’re at work most of the time, right? Except now you’re not…

You can’t avoid your family and its responsibilities when you’re working from home.

When you go to an office, you have a safe place to hang. Getting in early, and staying late is the easiest way to avoid your spouse. If you make a decent amount of cash, there can be travel with your adoring and obedient friends, and team happy hours and dinners where you get to hang with the boyz, pick up the check, and be “the man.” Housework, errands, child care, shopping – so droll! You have people for that! And, besides, you’re at work! You can’t be responsible for honey-do’s if you’re never home. Even better, if you work all the time, you have a solid reason not to do anything but sleep and play video games when you are home. Nirvana.

Final Thoughts….

There’s no doubt that old-school-old-boys want “workers” to return to the office. Why? To support their “culture” – a culture where (mostly white) dudes are happily at the top of the ladder. It’s nice up there. They have windows, and lots of natural light….

It doesn’t matter what your title is; When you’re home, there’s no reason you can’t start the dishwasher …

Lowly cubical dwellers also know that despite the #Elon, #BobIger #JamieDimon edicts and hoopla, demands all workers return to the office are largely ignored by the executive ranks, and riddled with exceptions for other groups and individuals. Executives never really worked in the office anyway. Many travel, work from home whenever they feel like it and, for the most part, they come and go as they please. What bosses do like is to being surrounded by their buddies and loyal subjects when the DO decide to come in. And, what they really don’t like is that the freedom to come and go – the freedom that was conferred upon them by their status and rank – has been inadvertently (and many feel undeservedly) bestowed upon their subjects!

The move away from the office and into virtual work is yet another example of precipitous decline of the white male empire. That decline has been facilitated by Internet and VPN technology, and it is continuing with the slow but steady elimination of the symbols of corporate hierarchy and status: The corner office, the assistant, the private conference room, the preferred parking, the jet. These have been replaced with an avatar and a disembodied voice, which forces everyone to focus on what is said and done – not the rank, title, height, weight, clothing, desk or any other distraction.

May be it’s not such a bad thing.

February 1, 2023 0

W2? 1099? C2C?

One of the questions I get asked most often from those considering contract work is whether to work as a W2 contractor or should they consider 1099, or incorporate so they can bill corp-to-corp (C2C). The answer is – it depends – and it mostly depends on you.

If you are going to contract long term, or you have a particular expertise that you sell, eventually you will move from working as a W2 Contract Employee to being Independent / Incorporated – in other words: A vendor. These are not mutually exclusive, BTW. When you’re a vendor that means that you could be billing on a 1099 basis or you could be incorporated and use your corporation to bill the agent or client corp-to-corp (C2C).

When you choose to bill as an independent vendor that means you are viewed as a business, which is a separate legal entity, and completely different from being an employee. When you’re independent, you have all the privileges and responsibilities of a business owner.

“Responsibilities” is the key word here: If you choose either 1099 or C2C, you will take home a lot more money than you would as a W2 Employee. But if you are not prepared to handle the responsibilities (and risks) of being self-employed, mo’ money mo’ problems.

Whether you are a sole proprietor, in a partnership, or a principal of a corporation, if you are deriving “Schedule C” income, you are responsible for obtaining business licenses, paying business taxes, keeping accurate records, maintaining general liability, and other types of insurance. If you’re working as a vendor, you may need to purchase and maintain your own tools, equipment, prepare your own contracts, invoices, and track your payables and receivables. Some clients will provide you a 1099 form for taxes; some do not. Sometimes they’re accurate; sometimes not. Regardless, you are responsible for an audit trail of your gross receipts and expenses, maintaining bank records, and insuring you adhere to all applicable laws. If there is a discrepancy, you need to be prepared to prove everything.

When you are independent or incorporated, you are a vendor. Instead of a job description, you have a statement of work (SOW). The SOW details what you are to accomplish for the client, a time frame for doing so, and what are the payment and acceptance criteria. SOWs can be very general or very specific. There’s no “standard” SOW. Its specificity varies by the complexity of the project and your relationship with the client.

When you are a vendor, the client cannot dictate the manner and means by which you complete your work. So, if you wanted to assembly your PB&J in a different order in your kitchen that is your prerogative. The client can only accept or reject the work.

Most importantly, if you are billing as independent or incorporated, you do NOT have the same legal protections as you would if you were a W2 contract-employee. You are a vendor, just like the Crystal Geyser guy. If the customer decides to go with Sparkletts, Crystal Geyser doesn’t file for unemployment. If the delivery truck gets stolen, Crystal Geyser doesn’t ask the customer to buy them a new one. Similarly, like the Crystal Geyser vendor, you also have an implied warranty with your service. If something goes wrong, your service is defective, you drop your Pepsi on someone’s laptop, it’s not a “My bad!” you are financially liable for that expense. If your work is on the critical path of a project, be sure to talk to an insurance agent and your client to ensure you have the coverage you need. If you own things – like a house – and want to keep it, you’ll need to incorporate.

You want to run a business? Make big bucks? We live in a litigious society. Don’t take chances.

Unlike W2 workers, your client will want to pay you every 30 days just like they pay all their other bills. But, what if your client doesn’t pay you in 30 days? What if they pay you in 45 days or 60 days? Or not at all? How long will you keep working without being paid? A week? A month? Two months? How will you collect if they don’t pay? (A big concern in today’s “virtual” world.) What if they claim your work is defective, and they refuse to pay? Similarly, who pays for your travel expenses? Are you putting them on your own credit card and waiting for client to reimburse? What if they don’t reimburse you or take months to do so? I’ve worked in big corporate offices my entire life: You’d be amazed how many rich companies don’t pay their bills on time.

If you suffer from people pleasing, can’t say no, can’t write a contract, could never see yourself suing someone, or all this sounds just too unpleasant for you, don’t waste time billing as an independent or incorporated contractor. I’ve listened to lots of stories (mostly from women I’m sorry to say) who thought they could handle this kind of relationship, and ended up being taken advantage of by someone who was really, really going to pay them as soon as <somecrisis> passed.

There’s a certain amount of cold, hard, capitalism required when you truly work for yourself. I can assure you that no one is more unpleasant than someone who owes you money. You can’t put up with excuses. Other people’s bills and emergencies and sick kids are NOT your problem. Always track your hours and tasks; always keep copies of your work. Be prepared to withhold work until you are paid for it. Be prepared to walk off the job if you’re not paid on time, and be prepared to sue.

If you have a tough time sticking up for yourself, can’t handle people’s anger, or you’re afraid of being “mean,” being a vendor is absolutely not for you.

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Excerpted from: The Temp Job: A Survival Guide for the Contingent Worker. Copyright 2021. Pierce/Wharton Research, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this post shall be reproduced without permission. info@piercewharton.com.

August 4, 2021 0