To me the sunrise symbolizes a new beginning. The header to my blog is a photograph I snapped of the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean from a hotel room in Cronulla, NSW Australia. It was quite inspiring to watch each morning as the sun gave birth to a new day by burning off the lazy haze left over from the night before.
Actually the term “beginning†means only a moment in time. What happens next may not follow the planned course or have the expected outcome. The gift of another sunrise each day gives us encouragement, optimism and hope. Benjamin Franklin used these sentiments when he referenced the sunrise design carved into the chair used by George Washington in the 1779 Federal Convention in Philadelphia, commenting that it was a rising, not a setting sun.

This is the rebirth of my blog. Previous incarnations died painlessly because of a lack of any purpose on my part that was greater than everything else in my busy life. But this is a new day. I have been encouraged to write again by several mentors, associates, family members and friends, but the real reason is that there are things that are important to me, my passions, which I feel obligated to say out loud. The purpose of this blog will be to comment on debates on critical topics in my field and hopefully add something meaningful from time to time.
My field? Human resources or whatever it will be called tomorrow. Studying for the SPHR certification exam pointed out to me that some topics come more easily than others…a clue! It is true that if you live long enough you are bound to learn something. I have worked in all areas of HR during my career, but when I wake up in the morning I am thinking like a recruiter. If I feel the urge, any topic in this domain is fair game, but my sourcing and staffing experiences will probably dominate. This leads to another passion of mine which is as a candidate advocate. I refuse to subscribe to the notion that applicants for a job are just meat to feed to the grinder for profit. In the raging debate about the “candidate experience,†I tend to support the view that people want to be treated fairly, don’t know what they don’t know, and need to be educated about the other side of the interview desk.
In November, 2009 at the Socialrecruiting Summit in New York, John Sumser asked the room about one of his main concerns, “Everybody follow a bunch of blogs? Anybody learn anything from them recently? Yeah, it’s mostly a bunch of crap†(http://socialrecruitingsummit.com/2009fall/post-event/johnsumser_masterburnett/). Few but John could say this and get away with it to a room full of bloggers. So following his advice, I’m attempting to add something that is relatively crapless. The relative crapiness of my blog posts will be moderated by your comments and suggestions, which are not only allowed they are necessary. I suspect that my views will not be shared by all and I encourage that dialog. Hopefully, I will make a difference somehow and I know that I will learn from you.
Good to see this blog up and running again! Wishing you success with all of your “adventures.” Let me know if you ever need any encouragement, and I’ll be there for you….with a cattle prod if necessary!
I know I can always count on you, Jennie. Thanks for the kind words and for keeping me “honest.” I won’t let the blog die this time…promise.
Tom, great post. You make a difference every week in your commitment to HireFriday and HFChat. Thank you for being such an amazing steward leader. Now that you are one of the top 15 influencers, reviving your website is a great idea. Why did you pick leute.com?
Thanks, Margo. I appreciate all your support and encouragement more than you know. And since you asked, the word “Leute” is the German word for “people.” When I entered the world of HR Consulting 15 years ago, I bought the domain name leute.com and have kept it going ever since. How time flies when you are having fun.
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