I’m quoting Bill Murray from Scrooged in case that was a bit too vague a reference. We’re in a good sourcing window right now, a window in which we have success every year (from now until Dec. 17 or so, then it shuts down until after Jan. 1). However, I received an email from a gentleman responding to one of our ads. His email: sexysalesguy@domain.com Good grief.
Continue ReadingMy Vote For Dumbest Headline
Honestly, you can source check me by clicking here. This headline is running on the Pioneer Press website today – Black Friday – the biggest shopping day of the year: Shoppers are shopping today, sources say Apparently the headline writers have today off as well.
Continue ReadingTestosterone Humor
If you are stuck working today, I have something that may make you laugh. I found this site quite entertaining and have to give Stanley credit for a humorous advertising campaign: http://www.stanleyfubar.com/ I chose the toilet first and the rabbit second, if that says anything about me.
Continue ReadingBlack Friday Stats
Today is the biggest shopping day of the year and Maritz Research has some of the stats to define the day: A recent Maritz® Poll found that one-third of respondents (37 percent) plan to shop on the day after Thanksgiving. In last year’s poll, a similar number (34 percent) said they would shop on Black Friday. In addition, those who plan to shop on Black Friday say they will spend more overall on their holiday purchases – $790 compared to $637 for all shoppers combined. Black Friday also has generational implications with the majority of Gen Y respondents (59 percent), as well as a significant portion of Gen X (46… Read More
Continue ReadingDirty Jobs Compensation
It is a week to be thankful for many things – especially if you don’t have a “Dirty Job.” No, not that type of dirty. Dirty as in the Mike Rowe series on Discovery Channel. MSN.com has a story today titled They’re Dirty Jobs, But They Gotta Get Done. A sampling of the jobs and their average pay: Butcher Leaving work in blood-stained clothes would be a serious HR issue in many offices, but the practice is nothing unusual for a butcher, whose grisly work involves cutting and washing the innards of slaughtered animals to create sides of beef, steaks, sausage and ribs in slaughterhouses and meat-packing establishments. This job… Read More
Continue ReadingStarbucks Statistics
As a complete coffee addict, I found these statistics about Starbucks remarkable: Starbucks’s closest competitor in the coffeehouse market, Caribou Coffee, is just one-twenty-fifth its size. Every 10 weeks, Starbucks opens as many stores as the total number of Caribou outlets. Starbucks has had 14 straight years with at least 5% same-store sales growth. Contrary to popular opinion, Starbucks increases sales at rival nearby coffeehouses. For example, when it blitzed Omaha with six stores, coffee sales at local joints went up as much as 25%, and more new ones opened shop. According to Starbucks, the company pays more for insurance for its employees ($200 million) than it does for coffee… Read More
Continue ReadingBlogging Like Shakespeare
Allow me to indulge myself – I just read a fun, short post from Inc.com titled Spam, Where Art Thou? The author has some highly entertaining metaphors (and similes) in the post regarding her company’s new high-octane spam filter: This new filter, by contrast, is very efficient; cleansing my inbox of undesirables and dumping them all in spam ghetto, from whence I receive reports several times a week. Occasionally I find something like my CEO’s note has become accidentally trapped, and I release it like a dolphin from tuna nets. Generally, though, I just scan the subject lines. The sheer volume of coarse come-ons, unleavened by less-provocative missives from friends… Read More
Continue ReadingJurassic Marketing
I was listening to the radio this morning when I heard an ad for a company that mentioned their website. This company doesn’t sell anything over the web – this was simply a corporate website. Here is what caught my ear in the ad: “Our website is available 24×7.” We are not professional marketers here at Select Metrix, but I’m not sure that is a strong value proposition. In case it is, I am here to proudly announce that The Hire Sense is available 24×7.
Continue ReadingMy Shortest Phone Screen Ever
I am sourcing for a mid-level account executive for a complex, custom manufactured product for businesses. I had one candidate contact me via voicemail who stated that he has decades of experience in this market. Ok. So I called him back late in the afternoon to go through a phone screen. First off, he didn’t remember me. After I explained who I was, he remembered the company. Next, I told him, “I was hoping to take a few minutes of your…” He interrupted me at that point to say he only had 5 minutes to talk since he had to get to Dominos to deliver pizzas.
Continue ReadingI Don’t Think He Got The Job
This story is from Forbes.com – Seven Deadly Interview Sins: David Hoffman (CEO) recalls taking a candidate out for dinner for the final interview. The candidate impressed the hiring committee throughout several rounds of interviews and he was their choice to become a senior consultant…This informal meeting was the final hurdle. The candidate drank so much scotch that Hoffman had to call an ambulance and the candidate was taken by stretcher to the hospital where he was treated for alcohol poisoning. “You think I’m embellishing but I’m not,” says Hoffman. I shouldn’t laugh but I keep thinking of the CEO having to call an ambulance at the restaurant.
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