An open letter to the hospital a block away from my house: thanks so much for instituting that wonderful "no smoking on hospital grounds" policy. It's a really nice PR soundbite you can put in all your marketing materials.
But let me tell you this: while you are all sitting smugly in your offices, enjoying the fresh air and the self-righteousness of your actions, we homeowners who surround your glorious institution now have to constantly pick up cigarette butts off of our front laws. Why? Because that's where your nicotine-stained doctors and nurses saunter when they have to have that cancer stick fix.
I feel most sorry for the few houses that sit directly adjacent to the property line. Their sidewalks and lawns are packed full of butts. It's a lovely site. Almost as lovely as when a pack of your vaulted medical personnel stand around in a tight pack and slowly kill themselves, then cavalierly flick their butts onto someone else's property. Truly altruistic.
Butt out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Hiring People for all the Wrong Reasons.
We have a job opening at our company...weird, I know. But since we laid off about a dozen people in late January, we've had a few others leave on their own, and now we are a bit short handed.
It's for a lower level media relations position...we'd like someone who is energetic, aggressive, media savvy--they're going to be spending a lot of time crafting angles and making fevered pitch calls and emails to get coverage for our clients. But we also need someone who understands the role of social media in public relations.
The resumes we are getting are incredible. People with 25+ years of experience, who have been the top dog at newspapers and charitable foundations and ad agencies are now applying for this job...the king of job they had back in the 80s, most likely. Let's face it, they need the health insurance and a regular paycheck. It's a humbling experience for them and a gratitude-inducing one for us...we are awfully glad to be on the hiring end if this is what it's come to.
The problem? Wanting to hire a ridiculously overqualified person for cheap...and that's not a good thing. Let's face it, the minute the economy perks up, that guy or gal is out of here. Or wanting to be promoted, or paid a boatload more money. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it means all of this effort was a waste.
It's just awfully hard to say no to these people.
It's for a lower level media relations position...we'd like someone who is energetic, aggressive, media savvy--they're going to be spending a lot of time crafting angles and making fevered pitch calls and emails to get coverage for our clients. But we also need someone who understands the role of social media in public relations.
The resumes we are getting are incredible. People with 25+ years of experience, who have been the top dog at newspapers and charitable foundations and ad agencies are now applying for this job...the king of job they had back in the 80s, most likely. Let's face it, they need the health insurance and a regular paycheck. It's a humbling experience for them and a gratitude-inducing one for us...we are awfully glad to be on the hiring end if this is what it's come to.
The problem? Wanting to hire a ridiculously overqualified person for cheap...and that's not a good thing. Let's face it, the minute the economy perks up, that guy or gal is out of here. Or wanting to be promoted, or paid a boatload more money. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it means all of this effort was a waste.
It's just awfully hard to say no to these people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
