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In this episode, two headhunters discuss recruiting.

During 1998, Victoria James and Dan Smolen both entered the executive recruiting field. After 20 years, Dan moved on to future of work thought-leadership and podcasting, However, Victoria still enjoys a great run in placing executive-level candidates.

Victoria is the founder and president of Victoria James Executive Search.

Her company is a nationally recognized recruitment firm that places top marketing and sales executives across the U.S. Victoria relies on finely tuned consultative sales skill to draw top candidates into great executive roles.

In this episode, Victoria describes:

• Being a successful female executive in a male-dominated culture. Starts at 2:10
• The events that led to her surprising headhunting career-pivot. Starts at 5:28
• The critical importance of well-written candidate résumés. Starts at 16:44
• How technology, and LinkedIn, have transformed headhunting. Starts at 21:46
• The success that she enjoys in working from home. Starts at 23:34

On knowing when to leave a job, Victoria says:

“Sometimes, you just [meet up with someone and] don’t hit it off, no matter what you do or how good you are. That’s a signal for most people to start thinking about another environment.”

When these two headhunters discuss recruiting, listeners can discover valuable insight that they can use to find and do meaningful work.

About our guest:

Victoria James earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bloomfield College and an MBA from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. She and her company are based in South Kent, Connecticut.

EPISODE DATE: November 27, 2020

Social Media:

– Facebook

– LinkedIn

– Twitter

– Victoria James Executive Search Website

– Featured Blog Post: Tackling the Work from Home Dilemma (Again)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:01 — 50.8MB)

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One thing is clear: localism shapes the future of work.

This week, we re-visit our 2018 interview with Doug Ross and Morley Winograd. They are, with Mike Hais, the co-authors of the book Healing American Democracy: Going Local.

When Joe Biden becomes President on January 20, 2021, he will engage with a deeply divided government. Meantime, real governing power is “going local” by moving to our nation’s city councils and county boards.

And besides, local lawmakers, not the president nor Congress, will scale our nation’s economy and drive the future of work.

In this episode, Doug and Morley discuss how localism shapes the future of work. They:

• Explain why so many Americans have lost faith in our current top-down form of American Democracy. Starts at 4:47
• Define their concept of “constitutional localism” and describe how it would operate and provide benefit. Starts at 7:05
• Illustrate how “turning scale upside down” to create and staff smaller numbers of new jobs—dozens versus thousands—would help local communities thrive. Starts at 20:01
• Identify how localism can become the linchpin for success in creating more meaningful work opportunities. Starts at 23:47

Furthermore, as localism shapes the future of work, Morley says:

“People aren’t trying to create the next Budweiser. [They are trying to create] the next IPA that they can sell in the local bar and to drive a nice little employment world that is self-contained and capable of hiring and keeping people at work in their community.”

About our guests:

Doug Ross and Morley Winograd are nationally known and respected political practitioners who cross solid data and wishful thinking to paint a hopeful portrait of America based on the idea of constitutional localism.

Doug was a state senator from Michigan and a U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. Morley is a Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School Center on Communication and Leadership Policy. He was a Michigan state political party chair and White House Senior Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore. Along with their co-author Mike Hais, they’ve written six books between them.

EPISODE DATE: November 20, 2020

Social media:

– Healing America: Going Local Website

– Mike and Morley Website

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Let’s ditch the monthly unemployment report.

On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden assumes the U.S. Presidency. But, right now, Mr. Biden focuses time and energy on forming task forces to mitigate the spread of COVID. He will also put in place the supply chain necessary to deliver a vaccine to some 330 million Americans.

COVID will consume the new president’s early days and months in office. But, the economic pain of American workers also factors. Already, President-elect Biden’s transition team is thinking about how to get people who want to work, and who need to work, back on the job.

For over 100 years, the U.S. government published monthly stats on unemployment. That report must update to one that factors the health and wellness of all workers, especially underemployed ones.

Important considerations:

• As of October 2020, 11 million full-time American workers remain unemployed. That’s down from the high water mark of Spring 2020 (23 million workers);
• That 11 million-member cohort does not include self-employed contract talent, gig workers, part-time employees, or under-employed people;
• Payscale.com’s survey indicates that 46 percent of American workers say that they are under-employed. That’s 71 million people!

Not all workers seek full-time employment. So, when we ditch the monthly unemployment report, we better reflect the changes in how American workers seek and do work.

Benefit Portability would help all workers.

The Biden Administration should allow American workers to take their hard earned benefits with them. Benefit Portability would enable them to port their 401k investments and other things from job to job, and over their lifetimes. Currently, when someone leaves a full-time job, their retirement assets cash-out. And it often becomes the responsibility of the worker to manage those assets parked in an IRA. Often, that doesn’t work out well.

First things first: let’s ditch the monthly unemployment report, to tell a truer story of the health and well-being of American workers.

EPISODE DATE: October 13, 2020

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:14 — 48.4MB)

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Subject-matter expert Edythe Richards explains the connection between Emotional Intelligence and Hybrid Work. 

Emotional intelligence or EQ helps people to be aware of, control, and express their emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

As the pandemic continues into a tenth month, nearly 8 out of every 10 full-time workers have shifted to remote or hybrid work settings. EQ helps them to seek a clear understanding of others who also work in separate locations.

In this episode, Edythe discusses:

• Her insights about the dramatic shift to remote and hybrid work. Starts at 2:17
• The special challenges faced by her clients experiencing workplace transitions. Starts at 6:10
• How people who use Zoom for work can benefit from EQ. Starts at 8:17
• Employing EQ while working remotely to achieve emotional presence. Starts at 16:52

Edythe explains how Emotional Intelligence and Hybrid Work relate to our current stress-packed reality:

“[There is an] EQ element called stress tolerance, which is essentially our ability, and tendency, to manage stressful situations. For many of us, our stress levels are going to be amplified during this time.”

About our guest:

Edythe Richards received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware and a Masters of Arts degree in Counseling from Seton Hall University. Her nationally recognized career counseling consultancy, A Top Career, is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

EPISODE DATE: November 6, 2020

Social media:

– Website

– Myers Briggs Question Corner Podcast

– LinkedIn Page