I have 47,000 followers on LinkedIn. Only some of them are bots and scammers. You may not want 47k people following you on LinkedIn, but you probably want more engagement on your posts. I’m holding a training session through HRLearns where I will teach you how to amplify your presence on LinkedIn. Whether you want to gain followers, network successfully, or spark meaningful conversations in the comments on your posts, this training session will help you be more successful on LinkedIn. I’m looking forward to seeing you there: Register for Building Your LinkedIn Presence The post LinkedIn Maste ..read more

I’m so excited to announce the launching of my newest website and newest business: HRLearns! The website just went live this week, so pop over and take a look! This is a joint venture with Victoria Purser of Conquer-HR. You may know Victoria from her Boot Camps where she preps you for HRCI and SHRM exams. Victoria and I saw a gap in the market–quality training by experts at reasonable prices. Look, we know your CFO allocates $3.97 per year for HR training, so often, these things have to come out of your own pocket. But it’s necessary to keep up to date and keep at the top of your game. And wh ..read more

Several years ago, I met with a startup founder. His new software evaluated body language and then reported whether a person was honest, enthusiastic, bored, or whatever. I asked, “How do you account for cultural differences?” “There are no cultural differences in facial expressions!” he said. “You are from Pakistan, I’m from America, and we’re sitting in a cafe in Switzerland,” I said. Do you really think the body language of all three cultures is the same?” And that doesn’t even begin to touch on neurodiversity. He insisted they were no problems. I declined to work with him, and his company ..read more

If you want to know what HR has been doing this week, it’s been talking with people about the end of noncompete agreements under the new proposed FTC ban. On the one hand, CEOs (who generally have noncompetes themselves) panic that their employees will be free to cross the street and work for their competitors, and on the other hand, employees rejoicing because they will be able to cross the street and work for the company’s competitors. Both sides need to take a deep breath. This is not a done deal. In fact, employment attorney David Miklas said, “As an FYI, I am changing nothing ..read more

If you’ve relied on noncompete agreements to protect your business and your business secrets, you’re in for a bit of a bumpy ride: The Federal Trade Commission just voted to ban noncompete agreements for all workers. This ban not only looks forward, preventing employers and employees from entering into new agreements, but invalidates current noncompetes for everyone but senior executives (defined as people earning “more than $151,164 annually who are in a ‘policy-making position.'”) Here’s what you need to know. No new noncompetes As soon as this goes into effe ..read more

Sometimes, the universe hands you the perfect thing that you need at the moment. Sometimes, it hands you the worst possible thing. Regardless, you can’t give up. You have to keep going. Improv is all about “yes, anding” whatever life throws at you instead of sitting down and crying. (Although, to be fair, crying is allowed in improv. Crying is allowed in real life. You can cry as you move forward.) When life hands you the right thing Last night, in my beginning improv class, we played one of my favorite games. For this one, the audience (or, in our case, the class members) wrote down three or ..read more

Humans of Talent Acquisition, would it help you to know how to: Get even the most avoidant hiring manager onto a call/meeting Demonstrate your AI-proof skills and value within the first 5 minutes Skillfully glean information from your hiring manager––something AI will never be able to do!––so you know who they need to hire, not want to hire. Gain their respect and commitment so the entire hiring process saves them (& you) time, money, and hassle Katrina Collier, author of The Robot-Proof Recruiter and the upcoming Reboot Hiring will present a webinar that will help you be a better ..read more

Shopify recently rolled out an extremely … interesting … compensation policy. Basically, the company will now limit pay raises to employees who amass the most points within a competitive ranking system. Those with higher point scores get raises. And others? Well, they’re out of luck, with not even a small raise. It sounds horrifying, and, indeed the consultancy CTOL Digital says, “While intended to drive performance, it pits colleagues against each other for pay raises, potentially eroding teamwork. In the short term, this may lead to decreased coo ..read more

When I was a teenager, my mother told me I should become a senator. Why? Because of this lovely little thing called the “filibuster,” where you could just keep talking forever and stop all Senate business until you either passed out, a la Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, or the rest of the Senate gives up and gives you what you want. Apparently, I liked to talk, and I had a lot to say – some of it ridiculous (well, in high school, most of it). But now, I think I’m a bit more educated than I was <cough> 30 <cough> years ago, with a couple of degrees (in political science, of course) an ..read more

  Suzanne Lucas, known as the Evil HR Lady, has a distinctive writing style characterized by clarity, directness, and a touch of humor. She addresses complex human resources issues in a manner that is accessible to both HR professionals and general readers. Lucas is known for demystifying the often bureaucratic and jargon-laden field of HR with straightforward, no-nonsense advice. Her style typically includes: Practicality: Suzanne focuses on giving practical, actionable advice that readers can apply directly to their workplace situations. This approach helps make her advice very relata ..read more