Shauna Moerke is…

I found myself over the weekend, in between unpacking and attempting to get the overshare badge on Foursquare (Me? Overshare? Never!), reflecting on my stint being unemployed. As this had been the longest I had ever been unemployed, and hopefully it will never be that long again, a lot of craziness went down and I thought I might share some of that with you. Here are some of the silly, funny, and crazy things that happened. They say it’s important to find humor in things, which fortunately has never been a problem for me. So, for your amusement, here are some of my Tales from Unemployment!

- After the HR manager waxed poetic during our in person interview about how much the candidate experience meant to their company, they proceeded to string me along for another month before I got a canned rejection from their applicant tracking system. Can you say ironic?
- At an interview I was so surprised to be asked what the Fair Labor Standards Act was that for a few seconds I actually forgot what it was. This question was swiftly followed by what is the current minimum wage. Cause, you know, my PHR certification and Master’s degree was not good enough for them, they had to test me themselves.
- After receiving an offer for a contract position I asked a few questions before I would accept the role. The recruiter stated he would check with his boss and get back to me. I never heard from them again.
- There was the recruiter who never seemed to get my messages, voice mail and email, about setting up a phone screen. But she got them for everything else. We never did end up talking. Entirely my fault I’m sure.
- There was the staffing agency that spent 20 minutes telling me how wrong I was for a position only to end the call by letting me know they would be sending my resume in for the role right away.

Have some crazy stories yourself that you want to share? Hit me up in the comments so we can all have a good chuckle together!

I’ve been swamped at work, I had to run errands, my teacher, mom, cat won’t let me, it wouldn’t really work even if I tried, that jerk Trevor at work is totally holding you back, and so on and so forth. Excuses. I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately and how they get in the way. Excuses keep you from your goals, give you something to blame, and keep you from being the responsible adult I guess we are all supposed to be. Stupid society and its “rules”, “social norms” and “laws”. See! There I go blaming society. Excuses are too easy to use and yet ultimately unsatisfying, both for the person using them and the people on the receiving end of them. I mean, just because you have someone or something to “blame” for your inaction does that actually excuse or forgive it? I don’t think so. Forgiveness comes from the people you inconvenience or hurt, and even from yourself, but it most certainly doesn’t come from having a convenient scapegoat.

Not to say there aren’t legitimate reasons out there, but those aren’t really excuses are they? Excuses are ways to shift responsibility to something outside yourself, not a reflection of a real problem outside your control. Not making it to work because a blizzard shuts down the roads isn’t an excuse, it’s a reason. The trick is knowing when you are legitimately being held back by a reason or when you are holding yourself back with an excuse. Because reasons can be overcome but excuses, they never really go away as long as you keep making them. Just like Trevor, that jerk. He’s everywhere.

Note: This post in no way reflects my own laziness around updating, or lack of updating my blog. Not that I’ve been lazy… Uh… Damn that Trevor, he is totally holding me back!

Another HR Happy Hour is in the can and dude, we are up to Episode 55!! 55 shows down and we are only getting better! The latest show was no exception. You see, we had a mystery guest on the HR Happy Hour and it was up to you, yes you, to guess who it was! The pre-show guessing got quite wild and silly, and Steve even had to put up a post on who was NOT the mystery guest. Intrigued? Want to know who it was? Well, you are just going to have to check out the show below to find out! And no checking out the #HRHappyHour back channel on twitter first either! That’s like reading the last few pages of a mystery novel to learn who the bad guy is! You don’t want to spoil the surprise do you?

So, yeah, I’m moving to Birmingham, AL. In like, three weeks. Surprise!!

That’s right, the minion is soon going to be causing trouble in the ‘Ham and I couldn’t be more excited! You see, the absolute best #BFF in the world, April, recommended me for a great HR job opportunity at her company and in doing so has secured herself and them one hell of a new henchman. It is a contract position but if I’ve learned anything, a lot can happen in 6 months. So to all you local companies down there, I’ve got my eyes on you (and I’m watching you Atlanta employers out of the corner of my eye too!). Gee, I better pack or something. And for all my Minnesota peeps out there, I’ll probably be doing some kind of fun event in the next couple of weeks in case you want to see me before I head on down.

Ah, yet more evidence that us minions are full of crazy surprises and need to be watched at all times. It’s when you take your eyes off of us that the real trouble begins. So in the words of my favorite Doctor from my favorite Dr. Who episode: “Don’t blink.”

… alternatively this post could be titled “I swear I don’t have a problem”.

One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is to check my phone. I don’t even think about it anymore, I’m doing it practically before my eyes are fully open. I have near instant access to email (from multiple accounts) and texts. If I’m in the car driving and get a call, I’ll probably answer it. As I walk into Starbucks the phone is already in my hand so that I can check into Foursquare. Hell, part of this post was composed on my phone while in line this morning at Starbucks. I’m almost always logged into Google Talk on my phone, even when I’m at home and next to my computer. Let’s be honest, Google might as well own my soul for all that I rely on their products: Google Search, Email, Reader, Calendar, Analytics, Documents, Alerts, and Blogger just to name a few and practically all of them accessible from my phone. If I’m bored, I can access games, news, blogs, and even stream music and video. I’m so into Twitter I speak in #hashtags. I maintain multiple blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and, my newest addition, LinkedIn groups. While I would never be on my phone in certain places, like movie theaters, I’m still using it right up to the last minute and back on it the first second I can. And I hate to admit it, but even when out with family or friends I’m still checking my phone frequently. And I could go on. I’m what you could call “Uber Connected”. And it’s so easy too!

Scared? Think I’m a little nuts? The Husband even joked that I might be addicted. At least I think he was joking. Are you convinced that in no way is this behavior normal? Eh, I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Even if the majority of people aren’t as connected as me, it’s not by that much of a majority and it’s shrinking every day. Cheaper, smaller, and more capable computers and smart phones plus better access to the internet is creating a new “normal”. For example, back in 1998 I got my first cell phone. It wasn’t much (no texting even!) but I remember thinking how cool it was that people could get a hold of me when I wasn’t home. Flash forward 12 years, my phone is practically surgically attached and I don’t even have a landline anymore. My phone is now one of the main ways I stay connected to and interact with the outside world. What does this all mean? It means the old rules no longer apply cause baby, the future is now! Even planes have WiFi these days. This means that the way we live, work and perceive the world around us must change too. I’m not advocating jumping on every new technological bandwagon that comes along or letting technology serve as a cheap substitute for tangible human interaction. However, dismissing the changes that are happening every day all around you out of fear and complacency will only serve to stifle your development as a person or a company. There is no “normal” anymore because “normal” just changes too fast.