Jon Samsel

Recently, I had the good fortune of interviewing Chris Martin, managing director of the technology recruiting firm, BeAboveIt, LLC. He had some compelling insights and advice to share with prospective job candidates. Here is an excerpt from our conversation:

Q: How did you get started in recruiting and how long have you been doing this type of work?

A: I started in IT recruiting back in 2000, so this is my ninth year in the business.

Q: What type of work did you do before recruiting?

A: I played professional minor league baseball for 10 years with the Tampa Bay and Montreal Expos organizations. I played shortstop. The one thing I noticed as I transitioned from playing baseball to working in the ‘real world’ is how easy it was for me to handle the ups and downs of a normal work day. I remember noticing how upset people could get over the smallest things that happened to them on a daily basis. The one thing you have to do in professional sports is stay on an even keel; you can’t get too low and you can’t get too high.

Q: Can you describe what you do on a typical day?

A: Most of the day is on the phone, on the phone, on the phone! Calling clients (companies) and candidates and letting them know we are here to help them bridge the gap between the opportunities that are out there.

Q: I assume a recruiter needs to stay well connected. Any networking insights or best practices you can share that might help business professionals looking to improve in this area?

A: Recruiting is a relationship based business. Especially in tough times like today, it’s important to stay connected with people and let them know what you’re doing and how you can help. As a recruiter/staffing specialist, we can be the eyes and ears of the job market for you.

Job seekers can benefit from online social networking. I sometimes use LinkedIn.com to find candidates because I feel LinkedIn has a more professional approach than other social networking sites. There are a couple others out there though, such as Jigsaw, Plaxo, etc. Online social networking is important because it helps keep your contacts fresh and you tend to stay in touch with what’s really going on in the market.

Q: What are three traits that a successful recruiting company must have?

A: First thing that comes to mind when I hear that question is integrity. No matter how successful you become as an agency, you can’t let the dollar come before doing business the right way; which is a big reason why I started BeAboveIt Services.

Secondly, an agency needs to have experienced recruiters and account managers that have a good understanding of their client’s business units. I see and hear a lot of companies getting slammed with resumes from agencies and the candidate’s background & skills aren’t even close to what the company needs. As an agency, you really need to take the time to make sure the candidates can do the job AND do the job the way the company wants it done.

This leads to the third trait a recruiting firm must establish and that’s TRUST! If you do your job the right way, there’s nothing better than getting a call from hiring managers who have specific needs and they know you are going to find them the resources they need. Their job and reputation are on the line when they call you, thus delivering solid candidates is a must!

Q: What type of employment positions do you focus on—and why this niche?

A: BeAboveIt Services focuses on the IT industry (information technology) specifically. We handle positions from Helpdesk up to CTO level. Since the ‘dotcom’ era back in 2000, we have learned how to implement and use technology in better ways; technology will always be apart of successful business.

Q: What are some recent positions you have filled?

A: We find solutions for Fortune 1000 companies here in Southern California . We can handle contact/consulting positions, contract-to-hire, and direct hire placements. We recently placed a Systems Administrator (SharePoint Consultant) with a major international law firm; a Project Manager in a major entertainment studio, and QA/Business Analyst with a smaller media firm.

Q: How do recruiters make money?

A: This process varies from agency to agency. Some firms pay their recruiters a small salary with a commission structure. Some firms pay their recruiters on a draw vs. commission structure. More specifically, when direct hire placements (I use direct hire instead of permanent; no job is permanent, right?) are made, recruiters usually get a percentage of the fee paid to the agency. Likewise for consulting/contracting positions, recruiters get a set percentage of the gross margin made per hour.

Q: Can you give me an example of a job candidate you landing a job for that was especially meaningful to you?

A: I have been in this business for almost 10 years, that’s a lot of placements. But there was a recent placement that happened that was rewarding. The candidate interviewed with a company and the company really liked him and they wanted to move forward. The candidate was a Canadian citizen and was on a TN Visa. Just as they were finalizing the deal, the company put this position on hold as they were an international company and opening some offices in the Middle East. 5 months went by! The candidate would check in from time to time to see if there was any movement, the company wanted to still move forward but their hands were tied. The candidate called me and said if nothing happens in the next 4 to 6 weeks, I’m going to have to move back to Canada. I was really discouraged because I knew he really wanted to work there and the company did too. Finally, in the last hour, I got a call from the client asking if the candidate was still interested and available. Obviously he was and he started there 3 weeks ago and loves it! When things happen like that, it makes this job worth every penny.

Q: Do you have any recommendations for information technology job candidates looking to increase their chances of getting hired?

A: There are number of factors to increase your chances of employment. Composing a good resume, knowing what to say in an interview, etc. We help all our candidates throughout this process.

Contact Information

Chris Martin
Managing Director
BeAboveIt LLC
phone: 310-779-1417
fax: 310-284-8371
email: chris@beaboveit.com

Let’s Make a Deal - The social network for venture investors. DealHorizon.com is new, but it’s yet another intriguing web concept from Aussy, John Sharp (CEO of Authentium.com, creators of Safe Central, an amazing end-to-end secure web browsing solution).

Live Video - Flixwagon provides a network for the live broadcasting of video feeds. Whenever I am on this site, I find myself refreshing my homepage every few minutes. There is something exciting about not knowing what’s going to steam across my laptop screen next.

Percentage Calculator - A simple site where you can calculate percentages and percentage increases. I use this all the time.

Spin Your Own - Make your own discs. Yeah, physcial CD’s are a dying medium, but there’s still nothing like burning a fresh disc packed with mp3’s favs and sharing it with friends.

SEO Tool - A nice SEO tool for seeing how well your website is doing in four key areas: 1) Inbound links (especially .edu and .gov links), 2) Number of indexed pages, 3) Site age (via Wayback machine), 4) DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory listing.

Need a Rhyme? - A rhyming dictionary every writer should have in their bag of bookmarks.

Free Translation - What’s not to like about Babel Fish, a quick and easy tool that translates online text and web page language into over 30 languages?

The Future of Search? - Ms. Dewey is an experimental Microsoft video search engine launched in 2006 with a touch of humor that plays prerecorded clips of Janina Gavankar, an actress who entertains you with her witty commentary based on your searches.

Poem Power - Selected poetry of e.e.cummings, a modern American poetry icon. Need I say more?

Do-It-Yourself Videos - A fun video search site. I especially like Revver’s how to section. So many magic trick reveals and Photoshop how-to’s. Sweet.

I believe writers write because they feel they have something they need to say to the world. The act of writing is not a skill that can easily be mastered, but the urge to share something relevant with other human beings lies within each of us.

Before you quit your day job to join the thousands of other penniless scribes scratching their way through life, you may want to ask yourself of couple of important questions that will help put your ‘urge to write’ into context:

1. What are you hoping to achieve? Fame? Earn extra money? Use the book as a stepping stone towards a new career?

2. Do you possess the basis skills required to write and pitch a manuscript? If you’re a little rusty, you may want to consider reading up on the craft and taking a writing course at your local college. Writing and submitting articles to magazines, or launching your own blog is another way to practice the art of writing.

3. Have you done your research? Are there already several books on the market on this subject? If so, it might be hard to convince a publisher why they should get behind yet another book on the subject. However, it could also mean that this is a popular topic with an audience of potential book buyers. You’ll need to convince the publisher why your book’s take on the subject warrants a publishing deal of its own.

4. Do you like working solo the majority of the time? Freelancing can be pretty lonely. It’s not a lifestyle for everyone.

5. Do you have the time to write? If you quit your job to write full-time, how will you pay your bills? If you plan on writing in the evening while keeping your day job, you may have less energy than you need to make it to the finish line.

6. Have you consulted with your family about your newfound passion to write? Might be a good idea to discuss your writing desires with them in advance — as you will likely need their support to be successful.

7. Can you take criticism and rejection? If not, you might want to quickly develop thick skin, as writing, editing, pitching, and promoting your manuscript will inevitably mean you will receive feedback you don’t like, want, or agree with.

A funny thing happened to me the other day while conducting a vanity search on Flickr.com. I typed in my name, Jon Samsel. A single result appeared—‘Writing Display’ by Pesky Library.

What the…

I clicked on the photo. Upon careful inspection I saw that it was a table display showcasing an array of books supporting the different styles of writing. The display was located in the Carl A. Pescosolido Library, which is said to be the academic core of The Governor’s Academy—the oldest boarding school in America, located near Boston.

What do ya know…

I perused the book titles in the photo:

• Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing by Patricia T. O’Connor
• The Pen Commandments: A Guide for the Beginning Writer by Steven Frank
• First Paragraphs: Inspired Openings for Writers and Readers by Donald Newlove
• From Reader to Writer: Teaching Writing Through Classic Children’s Books by Sarah Ellis
• True Notebooks by Mark Salzman
• Write Where You Are: How to Use Writing to Make Sense of Your Life by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg Ph.D.
• The Writer’s Mentor: A Guide to Putting Passion on Paper by Cathleen Rountree
• Free-Lancer and Staff Writer: Newspaper Features and Magazine Articles by William L. Rivers
• On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
• Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
• Crafting a Life in Essay, Story, Poem by Donald M. Murray
• Shoptalk: Learning to Write with Writers by Donald M. Murray
• Writing in Flow: Keys to Enhanced Creativity by Susan K. Perry Ph.D.
• Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose
• Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process by Peter Elbow
• How to Write and Sell Historical Fiction by Persia Woolley
• Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir by William Zinsser, ed.
• The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier: How to Solve the Mysteries of Weak Writing by Bonnie Trenga
• Writing Personal Essays: How to Shape Your Life Experiences for the Page by Sheila Bender
• Getting the Words Right: 39 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Theodore A. Rees Cheney
• Interactive Writer’s Handbook by Jon Samsel and Darryl Wimberley
• The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspiration for Writing by Monica Wood

A flitter of excitement gripped me suddenly—what esteemed company to be included in!

It’s amazing to me that a group of high school aged kids have access to a library stocked with such a variety of writing manuscripts. That got me thinking about The Governor’s Academy. Why hadn’t I heard of it before? What was its story?

According to the school’s website, the academy was established in 1763 as Dumm’r Charity School through a bequest from Massachusetts Bay Lieutenant Governor William Dummer. It was later renamed Governor Dummer Academy and the school provided educational opportunities during the Colonial times. The school has often been referred to as the foundation for the preparatory school tradition in America.

Many famous people have been entwined with The Governor’s Academy over the years. Booker T. Washington Jr. was a member of the school’s football team; John Quincy Adams once served as secretary to the Board of Trustees; Paul Revere fashioned the first seal for the school; Captain Edward Preble, commander of the USS Constitution and a hero of the War of 1812, attended the academy.

Then there is the library. Constructed in 1997, the Carl A. Pescosolido Library is couched between two historic brick buildings. The Pesky Library (as it’s commonly known) includes more than 20,000 square feet of study and research space, a 30,000-volume collection, 175 dataports and wireless access, hundreds of periodicals, and an unrestrained, light-filled research areas and team study rooms.

In summary, I guess you could say my vanity search morphed into a odd sort of historical, hypertext spelunking adventure. Yes, it started out as a story about me but it grew into a story about us—chronicling the narrative of a book display, a book co-authored by me, a modern library, a prestigious boarding school and a historic compendium of times gone by. Hopefully you will agree it was a tale worth sharing.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Neumann, a member of the Capital Campaign Committee for Hope Gardens, a charitable ministry of Union Rescue Mission. Amy is also a National Account Executive at Yahoo!

Q: Tell me about the original vision and values of Union Rescue Mission’s founder Lyman Stewart.

A: Lyman Stewart was the original founder of Union Rescue Mission, located in Los Angeles’ Skid Row.  He also started Union Oil and Biola University.  He was an oil wildcatter, and a committed Christian. In 1891, Lyman wanted to rescue people who were at a crossroads in life, spiritually, and help direct them to a new life. Union Rescue Mission has become one of this country’s most recognized and successful charities.

Q: And what is Hope Gardens Family Center?

A: Union Rescue Mission launched Hope Gardens Family Center in 2007 on over 70-acres of land in Sylmar, California. Hope Gardens is a transitional living facility designed for approximately 170 women and children to get away from the perils of Skid Row. Through a comprehensive program, women and families can progress from homelessness toward independent living in 12-36 months. At the end of the program, the goal is for heads of families to have a stable income and be moved into a home of their own, where they will have the opportunity to successfully manage a household.

Q: What community needs are you trying to fulfill?

A: Union Rescue Mission’s goal is to embrace the urban poor with compassion.  We are committed to rescuing people from having to live and fend for themselves on the city streets.  Hope Gardens Family Center was specifically designed to help women and children. Our overall dream is to play a part as a provider and collaborator to make sure that no human beings are left living on the streets.

Q: What challenges do you face today?

A: With the financial market shake-up, the high price of gasoline, food costs rising—all pose unique fundraising challenges. Union Rescue Mission is trying to grow its operations by 30% in order to meet the high costs of operating everything we oversee—so it’s a struggle.

Our resources are limited, but the need for our services is growing day by day. Sadly, the fastest-growing segment of homelessness in the country is women, children and families.

Many people don’t know the scope and gravity of homelessness in Los Angeles. Various census reports and organizations quote the overall number of homeless people, including women, children, and families, at between 80,000 to 90,000—by far the largest number in the United States. Having moved to Los Angeles from a small city in Ohio with a population of only 28,000 people, I found that it staggering and incomprehensible that their were so many displaced people living in the city of angels. And unfortunately, the current economy is probably going to push these numbers higher.

Q: How is your organization utilizing the Internet to assist your charity?

A: The Internet holds a lot of promise in creating more awareness and generating more donations. It’s the sheer power of numbers– even $1 donated per person adds up quickly and with such a vast reach as the internet has—many charities are seeing effective gains in their fundraising by utilizing the Internet.

We have a solid website that focuses on telling our story, raising funds, and informing the public of our cause. Our 2008 goal for URM.org is to raise $1 million. We have produced a few emotional videos and are using them to tell our story on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Myspace, among other places. We are working on a new book and a documentary on the launch of Hope Gardens Family Center.

One of the best ways to help raise awareness is to stay in the news by taking on bold new initiatives, which Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission, is wonderful at doing. And anytime writers, marketing professionals or public relations professionals can add a story to their site, blog, newsletter, or email distribution list, it helps. And we love short films posted on YouTube…the more the better!

As a simple thing anyone can do for free to help their favorite charity is to add a signature line at the bottom of their personal email. Something like, Find out how you can help homeless women and kids change their lives! Go to: www.hopegardens.org.

Q: Tell me about your volunteers.

A: Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens have about 18,000 volunteers who put in about 45,000 hours per year, or about 3 hours a visit. I recently spoke to Union Rescue Mission’s Andy Bales, and he suggested some simple ways to help:

“Volunteers can help with special events, tutor in our learning centers, mentor individuals and families, provide special activities to our guests, assist with our Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops, help in our kitchen and serve food to our guests, deliver cold water on the streets during extremely hot days, put together special events in their homes to raise needed resources, and use their talents to help the Mission in a variety of ways.”

Q: What does volunteering mean to you?

A: When I moved here almost 12 years ago, I could not believe how many homeless people there were. Skid Row was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was hard to fathom how there could be so many people in such dire situations, especially since Los Angeles is bless with so many wealthy businesspeople and celebrities. Only in LA will you see a homeless man on the corner and a Ferrari at the stoplight. How tragic.

Then I became involved with Union Rescue Mission—and some of the things I’ve had the honor to be part of have been life-changing. Working with Hope Gardens and getting to know the mothers enrolled in the program gave charity involvement a human face. Most mothers feared for their children. Many were or had been employed with two or more jobs already, when one “final straw” financial burden came up—such as their rent increasing by $100. A large number of these women were victims of domestic violence.  They were so happy and excited when we helped them land a new job that paid them enough to make ends meet. Knowing we actually change people’s lives brings tears to my eyes.

Now, when I go up to Hope Gardens, which is located on a large, wooded campus well away from Skid Row, it makes me smile to see how happy and peaceful the kids are, and how relieved their mothers seem to be.  Many families have already graduated from the transitional programs and are again living autonomously.

Q: Does Andy Bales have any personal stories of hope he’d like to share?

A: He does!  I posed the question to Andy and his response is below:

“We met Irvin on the street during a recent water walk. We handed him a cold bottle of water. He had been on the streets, using crack cocaine for seven years. Irvin was one of those poor souls who had given up on life. He could not even stand up on his own two feet. We called for emergency help for Irvin, as we thought he might be close to dying.

A couple of days later Irvin came into our guest services unit, received help, and made a decision to join our intensive training program for a year. Today Irvin is strong, sober, and has completed our training program. He’s now fully employed as our electrician. He believes like we do, that as long as someone is breathing, there is hope.”

Q: Any parting thoughts?

A: In the past year or so I’ve focused more on working with individuals and companies on ways to help them get more involved with Hope Gardens and Union Rescue Mission.  There’s an amazing amount of interest in helping, which is fantastic.  And there are so many opportunities to help, from sponsorships, volunteering time, donating goods, teaching classes, and even planning or attending holiday events and playing with the kids.

One of the easiest things anyone can do, though, is just smile and say “Have a good day” next time you see a homeless person. One of the things I’ve heard a lot over the years is that the worst part of being on the street is people ignoring you– acting like you’re not even there. Many people have said a smile was worth more than giving them a handful of change because it makes them feel human again. And everyone can afford to give that.

If you are open to making a tax deductible donation, we’d welcome your kindness. Click on the DONATE NOW button below to get started. Thank you!

Developing a bug list can be a great way to uncover unmet needs that you may want to solve in your organization. Not only does it help document known issues, but the process of creating a bug list can also serve as a release valve for frustrated employees. Think of a bug list as a modern day suggestion box that’s a bit more open and interactive than the time-honored approach.

Ready to give it a try?

Spend a few minutes jotting down “things that bug you” in your daily work life. What annoys you? What could be fixed if people only knew it were a problem? How might productivity be boosted if a particular issue were revolved?

Here are a few ideas to get you started. These are some thing bugging me right now:

• Our e-commerce department takes too long to update website content
• We have to follow a cumbersome legal process to get content approved
• Visit to lead ratios on landing pages need improvement
• There is too much chatter and lollygaging around the copy machine

Now that you have your short list of bugs, it’s time to do some solution sketching to come up with ways to eliminate the bugs from your life. This type of brainstorming session may not solve all of the bugs on your list, but they will most certainly stimulate healthy debate (and possibly identify a few good solutions) if your team is asked to participate in a debugging session.

So what are you waiting for?  Click the image below to see a larger solution sketch template I created for some things that are bugging me right now.

I asked author James Halperin for his thoughts about reader comments like those found on Amazon.com for his best-selling novel, The Truth Machine. How does he deal with feedback? How does it impact him as a novelist?

Reader comments on Amazon range from deep praise to extreme distaste. Halperin says:

“In retrospect, through the sieve of time, I have come to the conclusion that they are both right. A lot of it has to do whether readers like the central idea or hate it. The political and scientific ideas I explore in this book will cause a reaction–one way or another, which I think is a plus for the book. Even if you hate my ideas, at least the book made you think.

The truth is, my opinions–especially political opinions–are constantly evolving.

Some things I wrote about in The Truth Machine have been misinterpreted. For example, people think that I’m pro Swift and Sure death penalty. Give me a break! Swift and Sure is a pragmatic solution to a problem (in our society) that defies pragmatic solutions. The concept was presented as a choice among evils.

As far as the writing style, the dialogue is quite wooden because, frankly, I didn’t know how to write back then! It was my first work of fiction and the characters were somewhat one-dimensional. However, I note with some pride that in spite of this, I somehow managed to create a simple, compelling story that strikes a chord with a lot of people. A very cinematic story.

So far, I’ve read every piece of email that has ever been sent to me and responded to every person who has read one of my books. I get e-mail from people who have read The Truth Machine 30 times. I get e-mail from parents who tell me that their kids were slackers who weren’t interested in anything–until they read The Truth Machine and started studying because they wanted to be like Pete Armstrong (the book’s lead character) and change the world. I’m still shocked to get feedback like that, and it makes me feel great.”

We are all creative beings. Yet, for most of us, our creative juices do not flow easily from brush to canvas, mouse to screen, or from thought to written word.

Our creative abilities are much like the muscles of an athlete. With regular use, muscles become stretched and toned. When not exercised regularly, they become flabby and weak. Similarly, when we are in touch with our creative talents and put them to use on a daily basis, our creativity flourishes. This is the challenge facing artists everywhere; discovering the creativity within and putting those talents to use.

What Makes You Tick?

As unique human beings, each of us brings to the creative table something fresh, new, and invigorating. We bring our memories, prejudices, habits, joys, sorrows, strengths, and weaknesses––the core elements that make us who we are. But who are we really? What is our agenda? What inspires us? What is our emotional make up? What makes us tick?

Deep introspection helps us flush out our personal wants, needs, desires, and shortcomings––the driving force behind our very being.

Clues which can help us unlock our own personal dramas are all around us––in our movies, theater performances, novels––even the interpersonal soap operas which unfold around the water cooler at the office.

James L. Halperin’s best-selling novel, The Truth Machine, provides us with a fine example of a character facing a powerful inner struggle. Randall Peterson Armstrong is the protagonist. He’s rich and famous, possesses a near perfect photographic memory, and runs the world’s most powerful corporation. Yet he is flawed––just like you and me. He is tormented by the death of his younger brother, Leonard. And, he hides a terrible secret that could have a profound impact on the “new world social order.” Randall’s outward appearance rarely betrays his innermost secrets, wants, and needs. But when Randall comes face to face with what makes him tick––when his inner demons collide with his outer persona––Randall must redefine his goals and aspirations so that they mirror his “reborn” self. It is in this period of “rediscovery” that readers uncover (along with Randall), exactly what makes him tick. This visceral bond between reader and protagonist is perhaps what so endears us to fictional characters we love. This is the power of deep introspection and self discovery.

So what makes you tick? You might want to start down the road of personal self discovery by asking yourself:

1. Are my current life goals superficial or are they deep and meaningful?
2. Are my dreams and aspirations attainable or purposely out-of-reach?
3. Am I proud of who I am and where I am going?