On the Slaughter of Children

These words are my tears. When you read them, your tongue may taste the salt of your own tears. They are not tears of joy. They are the tears wrought from the shrieks of terror of children everywhere, and they will echo desperately for as long as humans walk the earth. Do you hear the echo, or do you tune it out? Does it infringe on your pursuit of happiness? I am told that happiness comes from within, but one would have to be deaf to the dehumanizing clamor all around or as hardened as the slaughterer of children to not feel on the inside in these times something that bears no resemblance to happiness. I know you know about which I speak. It is this realization that humanity is by nature capable of reducing itself to the level of insects. It is no different than when you were a child and one among you (perhaps you) decimated a school of ants. It was so amusing at the time, and yet now it feels completely different. The only consolation that I see in it is that it was done for one reason: to inflict pain. And to feel pain is to feel.

5 Questions for World Traveler Valerie Conners

Valerie Conners quit her job as an Editorial Producer of Digital Media for The Colbert Report to start a life of Location Independence with her fiancé. I asked her 5 questions.

1. When you and your boyfriend (now fiancé) quit your good jobs in New York City to travel the world and create new lives for yourselves, did you have a set budget in mind that was in line with your savings at that time? 

We did work out a budget for ourselves based on our estimated monthly earnings, which took into consideration what we would put aside for taxes and savings, as well as fixed monthly costs - like rent, phone bills, car insurance, health insurance, etc. We then could come up with a budget for things like entertainment and dining out.

2. Since leaving your jobs and lives in New York City, have you ever felt insecure financially or otherwise about your choice to leave the rat race? 

We both have savings, which helps me feel more secure, but there is always a concern that if a contract ends or freelance project comes to a close without being replaced that there could be financial insecurity. That said, these are the risks any freelancer or independent consultant takes, whether you're location independent or not. 

3. Have you had health insurance since embarking on your travels? 

We do - we both pay independently for health insurance.

4. Do you intend to sustain the rambling lifestyle if you decide to have children? 

That is most definitely TBD. 

5. What is the best advice that you could give somebody who has an interest in attempting to lead a lifestyle of extensive travel? 

I would say to take a deep breath, and do it, even if they're scared. Location independence is certainly a scary prospect with its fair share of unknowns and challenges, but I think a lot of the things that people think are insurmountable (things like what to do with a house or furniture) actually have workable solutions. And the pay-off of having this lifestyle has been extraordinary.

5 Questions for LVMH Recruiter Liraz Isaac

1. How significant is social media to you as a recruiter?

Social Media is increasingly becoming an essential tool for recruiting. Not only does it give us a platform on which we can announce our searches thereby increasing potential candidate outreach, but it can also provide us with further insight into our existing candidates as well as access to sourcing passive candidates. The amount of exposure we can potentially give and receive is vast. This makes Social Media management a standard in my daily essential tasks. 

2. What advice can you give current job seekers that will help them accelerate entry into a position?

Know yourself and the position you want! Every day, at least one job seeker contacts me with their resume asking if I have any positions available that I think would match their background. It's always nice to try to make a connection and I commend the effort. However, this is not the strongest strategy in comparison to other messages I receive from people who took the time to research our site and found a job they love and then email me their resume with a compelling explanation as to why they would be the perfect fit for the role they chose.  This type of job seeker is more interesting for me to pursue because right away they exemplify strong qualities like thoughtfulness, motivation, and passion. If you don't know what you want in your next step, I would suggest consulting with a career counselor. Agency recruiters may also be a great way to explore opportunities if you have a good background and are flexible with positions and industries. Referrals are also a fantastic way to accelerate your process.  In this industry we value potential candidates who come highly recommended to us from trusted sources. So don't be afraid to leverage your network and make strong contacts to help you in your job search! 

 3. How has recruitment changed in the past 5 years?

Recruitment is very much Social Media-driven now than it ever before. I use LinkedIn, FaceBook (facebook.com/lvmhcareers), and even Twitter for recruiting purposes. I could not say that five years ago! 

 4. Should companies be concerned with high turnover rates?

From a business perspective, absolutely. High turnover is generally not great as it would then involve dedicating time, money, and effort into recruitment, onboarding, training, etc -- not to mention losing employees that are already familiar with the respective company's brand, processes, culture, etc. On the flip side, retention can also be costly as it may involve investing in employees through further training and development in order to keep them engaged and motivated. Being business and quality minded, I certainly would prefer the latter. I am proud to say that within my current role, the vast majority of my requisitions are newly created positions and very few are due to turnover. This, to me, is very exciting and speaks highly of the company!! 

5. What makes millennials in the workforce unique?

Millennails are born with technological knowledge that most non-Millennials were not blessed with.  They seem to multitask more easily within different applications and expect fast results. They don't check their voicemails much so it's better to email them.

My First Contact With Madonna (cont.)

So what did I do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I stood there like a deer in headlights as the pre-school director rambled on and Madonna played on her Blackberry. Then it was over, and we started to file out – Madonna first of course. As my wife, daughter and I walked away from the school, I noticed Madonna and child and nanny getting into their black Escalade. Their driver was double parked in front, and he was holding open the back door for them. I caught one last glance of the pop star getting into the vehicle, and then they were whisked away. 

When we had walked a safe distance away from the school and the other parents, I whispered under my breath to my wife, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I think I am,” she said.

“You saw the blond woman in sunglasses who was with the little black girl?” I asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“I think that was Madonna.”

“Oh my God. That’s what I was thinking too!”

“That was definitely Madonna. It had to be her. She adopted a couple of African kids. Remember? It was all over the news.”

“Our daughter is in the same class with Madonna’s kid?”

“Looks like it,”

“Do you think anyone else noticed?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “She didn’t speak to anyone the whole time, and no one spoke to her. Why didn’t you go up to her and introduce yourself?”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Why should I? She probably gets hassled all the time. She’s probably glad no one came up to her.”

“Yeah, it’s probably better we didn’t do anything.”

“We don’t want to embarrass ourselves or our daughter,” I said.

“We did the right thing. You really think that was her, huh?”

“Yup.”

My First Contact With Madonna

I remember the day I first learned that Madonna Louise Ciccone and I have something in common. It was my daughter’s first day of pre-school at Le Petit Paradis, her new French-English bilingual school in Manhattan. The year was 2009, and we (my wife and daughter and I) had just moved to New York City from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

My wife and I both accompanied our 3-year-old daughter on her first day of school to the tiny schoolroom on 3^rd Avenue between 92^nd and 93^rd Street after walking her over from our little 1-bedroom on 78^th Street at York Avenue. Previously, the retail space at which the school was situated might have been a Chinese takeout or a deli. It was that small. After the parents filed in with their kids, the place was packed, standing room only, and there we were all of us just staring at our shoes or primping our children. It was awkward for everyone I imagine, and then it just transcended awkward and became surreally uncomfortable.

After everyone had staked out a spot in the room, a final parent, a woman, entered the room with a little girl and another woman (who turned out to be a nanny/assistant). The woman/parent had fake blond hair and was wearing sunglasses that she never removed. The mother was a white woman. The child with her was a cute little black girl dressed in her school uniform.  The mother was dressed very unassumingly in black pants that were a little too long so that she had walked on the hems, which were now frayed by her steps. Her top was equally unremarkable, and I don’t even remember what it was now, maybe a sweatshirt. Nonetheless, I knew who this sloppy lady incognito was. I felt it somehow even before I could confirm it with the facts. It was none other than the American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, diva. It was fucking Madonna!

I felt my heart rate increase, not because I’m a big Madonna fan, but just because I was in the same tiny room with Madonna. She was now just a few feet away, and she was playing with her Blackberry as the director of the school started to talk about the upcoming year. The director might was as well have been speaking Chinese (which I do not speak). There was too much activity going on in my brain to focus on the official minutes of my daughter’s first day of school in New York City. Was this an opportunity I wondered? Was I to introduce myself? Did other people know it was Madonna? If they did, no one was letting on. Even my wife who was standing right next to me wasn’t letting on. Maybe I was delusional? The best thing to do was to keep cool and to not look over too much. Is looking over at someone every 20 seconds too much? Was I letting on that I knew? Were the others idiots or just not impressed? So many questions.

to be continued ...