TheLadders.com Class Action Lawsuit

Painting Turds Gold

Court Okays Suit Against Job Board for "$100k+ jobs" 

On March 12, 2014, NY District Judge John G. Koeltl ruled to deny TheLadders.com's motion to dismiss deceptive practices and breach of contract suit filed by consumer class action attorneys Bursor & Fisher a year ago.

The case alleges that the premium job search website:

• Scraped job postings without employers' knowledge or consent and misrepresented them as $100k+ jobs
• Didn't screen opportunities for to ensure all jobs were indeed $100k+ jobs
• Some of the opportunities listed either didn't exist or misrepresented income potential
• Offered "expert résumé critique" that simply triggered a form letter sales pitch for paid résumé re-writing services

According to recruitment blog Ask The Headhunter, one plaintiff claimed "a resume 'expert' at TheLadders produced a scathing critique of his resume — which he had previously paid TheLadders to write for him."

Plaintiffs were paid subscribers for premium access to TheLadders.com.

Check out that Headhunter blog for more info and to view a copy of the court's most recent ruling.

Thanks to Joel Cheesman for bringing this to our attention.

Monster.com: Bad April Fool's Prank or Bad Quality Control?

Sexperience Wanted

This posting was sent to me this morning. I laughed.

"Previous Sexperience in the Staffing Industry a plus." If this was intentional, Astrix Technology Group, then I take back my laughter. Here's the link if you want to see how long it takes for Monster to correct the mistake* after I notify customer service about the typo --> Account Executive, Schaumburg. When contacted for comment, a representative for Astrix Technology said that their "administrative staff is probably already aware [of the issue]." As of this writing, the job ad has been up for a week.

Another funny job-board goof

This posting reminds me of this one time when I found, years ago when I worked at CareerBuilder, a job posting for pool cleaners. Apparently the ad was scraped from a partner newspaper listing with a title longer than the job board's character limit for the title section. So, the advertisement went live on about 1400 websites saying something like "Growing Company Seeks Customer-Facing Poo." I was in the middle of a web-conference showing a prospective customer what a job-seeker would see if there weren't any relevant listings for their query, assuming that the keyword "poo" would be a guaranteed zero results search. That, and the word tends to lighten the mood during a long product demo.
Although it is embarrassing to uncover a quality control issue while live with a prospect, it allowed me to demonstrate another value in working with one of our experienced account managers, while illustrating the agility with which we work interdepartmentally and across company borders to make changes (right after taking a screenshot to giggle with coworkers about later).

So please, anytime you use self-service advertising, like job boards, directories, AdWords, even blogs, take the time to have someone proofread your copy before going live. It is also strongly recommended that you pull up your ad in a few different browsers and through other sites that may aggregate your content as soon as it launches. Remember, your words and images reflect your brand.

Don't Rely on AI

For this same reason, it is not advised to rely on non-human tools to do proofreading for you. I'm sure there are plenty of instances of auto-correct or Swype helping you put your foot in your mouth. For another example, here's what happens when you use Google Translate to convert the lyrics of the most popular i-Tunes download of the winter from English to Chinese to Portuguese and back to English:

Now, joined the club as "how? I have a big rooster!" explains

No, I just pump the thrift store to buy some dog feces

The ice edge is so damn cold

"Mother, this is a ghost white ass cold"

Roll the sandwich led Hella deep

Rosa, but my crocodile shoes using, these are green

Phi at the girl next to me, a mink leopard

Maybe should have been washed, smells of R. Kelly board

(Pissssss..)

But, Mom, this is 99 cents!

Damn, Coppin, wash it, Bout 'to get some praise

These others were walking in moccasins

Bummy and lame, sex, I'm flossing and stunting

I save my money, I'm hella happy, this is a business, [expletive removed]

I am your grandfather's style, I'm the style of his grandfather

Not true, ask your grandfather, I can have it I spend less? (Thank you!)

Velvet overalls and some slippers

The poop brown leather jacket, I found that mining

They have a broken keyboard, I bought a broken keyboard

I bought a UFO blankets, and then I bought a plate of knee

Hello, hello, my ace, my gentle

John Wayne has nothing on my game edge, hell no

I might need some wings to keep them fresh and sale of these

Movement toe: "Ah, he has a velcro"

That being said... 

Humor in job postings can be a great way to better target candidates for cultural fit and a certain level of intelligence. Here are a couple that I found fun.

A different kind of poo job:

A while back, I came across an ad for a Flash Designer (must have been a while ago... Does anyone even develop solely in Flash anymore?) that listed the following Job Requirements:
  > The ability to design, program and animate every aspect of a website.
  > Need a can-do, will-do attitude for every project.
  > Enjoys being shot in the head with a bazooka.
  > Can work as part of a collaborative team - willing to change creative direction at any time.
  > Is not afraid of chemical warfare. Or shaving cream.
  > Salary DOE.

Another oldie (Does Blockbuster even have stores anymore?):

Your turn!

Share your funny or strange job postings or stories below!
- - -- --- ----- --------

* (update: 4/1/13) When I called Monster to report the mistake, I was promptly transferred to Employer Customer Service... Well, I mean after being on hold with poorly rendered elevator music and abnormally loud Monster advertisements for social-media integration products, world-wide exposure, diversity/inclusion products, and BI reports for just shy of nine minutes. The friendly and bright "Kimberly" took my call and was able to pull up the post, identify the typo,take down my email address, and ask if there was anything else for which she may be able to help, all within a few short minutes. Although she was unable to correct the "big mistake" herself, the ad had been edited within twenty minutes of hanging up. I kept hitting refresh after the conversation, so I know that it was at least 15 minutes. That's actually a pretty good turnaround time, right?

Creativity Inside the Box

 

I was just in Kenosha this weekend for my buddy’s fortieth birthday. Kenosha, in addition to being the nearest city to those lovable characters of That 70’s Show, is the birthplace of Orson Welles. There I stumbled across this quote of his:
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.

Wait, what? I thought freedom and "thinking outside the box" were the keys to creativity. Orson, you crazy fat man, what in Grover’s Mill are you talking about?

After giving it some thought, with both sides of my brain firing, this actually makes a lot of sense. Humans aren’t wired to operate without some boundaries that allow us to focus our creative energy appropriately… and, as I’ve grown to realize in my years, total freedom is a myth.

Here are a couple of ideas that can help you unleash your creative potential:

Understand Your Limitations

To be truly free, it is necessary to have some structure – and even more importantly, to understand those limitations. Great music relies on rhythm and meter, great paintings on the size and texture canvas (and frame), great speeches on the knowledge and energy of the audience, etc. To be truly creative is to embrace, not only the restrictions of your media and tools, but your mistakes and weaknesses as well.

Half the time when men think they are talking business, they are wasting time.

                                                                                                -- E. W. Howe

To nurture your rhythm and feel the meter is to provide the lucidity and purpose to engage your problems locked-and-loaded. Many people end up wasting time with sub-par or ineffective work because they simply didn't take the time to understand the limitations of the project or articulate the goal beforehand.

Who are the stakeholders? What is the desired outcome? What steps need to be taken for approval? What tools are available? What are the deadlines? Where will the work appear? Why am I doing this? It is only after these types of questions are answered that you should start to work on the How.

 

You Are What You Eat

The old mantra of CRM implementers and data analysts, "Garbage in, garbage out," is also an important factor for creativity. What you consume is exceedingly important in how effective you are at problem-solving and creating. Of course, I could take a minute to address what you physically consume, as this will certainly make a difference in your production and outcomes... but no. I'm talking about what your mind consumes. As with the food you eat, the first step is to be conscious of what you are taking in.

Here are a few other enemies of creativity that should be avoided at all costs:

• Reruns
• Unnecessary Complexity
• Fear
• Unlucky/unsuccessful people
• Assumptions
• Boredom
• Unattainable expectations

...and a few things we should actively seek out:

• Relevance (what can this seemingly unrelated thing tell me about my problem/project?)
• Published works of the leaders in your industry
• Time-sensitive opportunities
• Information about things you are passionate about
• Recent innovative products or concepts
• The classics

Change Things Up

So, now that you're limiting your 'junk food' and focusing on healthier consumption, it's important to note that, while broccoli is super good for you, if you go and eat nothing but broccoli for a couple weeks, you'll probably end up green-face-first in a ditch on the side of the road. Please note that, for most people, some junk can be okay –even beneficial – in moderation.

Getting stuck creatively is often a product of the pattern of seeking the warm embrace of comfort. Stretch yourself and resist the temptation of seeking the security of your comfort zone. Keeping your mind active and purposefully interrupting your usual patterns can do wonders for stretching your ability to solve problems and grow the pool from which you draw insight. Here are a few things that I urge you to do at least once a week to boost your creativity:

• Start a conversation with a random stranger
• Go to an event outside of your comfort zone (i.e. attend a religious service that you don't subscribe to, see a lecture of someone you don't agree with, go to a club that plays music you don't usually listen to)
• Be a mentor
• Learn a new game
• Take a different route to work
• Brush your teeth with the wrong hand
• Read aloud with exagerrated emotion and/or a silly accent

 

What Do You Think?

 

Another awesome way to get the creative juices flowing is to post a comment below.

11 Sales Quotes that You Probably Haven't Heard Before

So, because I wasn't able to find them on any of the big quotation search sites, I've decided to provide a home online for the following 11 sales quotes you probably haven't heard yet:



Theory is very helpful in business, but only when the business has already been settled.
  -- Italo Svevo

Nothing is as irritating as the fellow that chats pleasantly while he's over-charging you.
  -- Kin Hubbard

You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give it to them. By the time you build it, they'll want something new.
  -- Steve Jobs

Half the time when men think they are talking business, they are wasting time.
  -- E. W. Howe

Clarity trumps persuasion.
  -- Dr. Flint McGlaughlin

Knowledge without courage is sterile.
  -- Baltasar Gracian

Nothing is free anymore to sell itself or give itself away.
  -- Jean Giraudoux

Bring the best of your authentic self to every opportunity.
  -- John Jantsch

When a man is discontented with himself, it has one advantage, however, that it puts him into an excellent frame of mind for making a bargain.
  -- Laurence Sterne

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
  -- Sam Walton

Good bargains empty pockets.
  -- German proverb



Please share any other obscure quotes about sales and/or marketing below.

Twitter Tracking You Across Internet: What may this mean to you?

In case you missed it Twitter sent out an email last night announcing some updates (new languages, new mobile app, etc.), and then...
"In addition, we've made a number of updates to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Here are some of the main changes to our Privacy Policy, with links for more information:
We've provided more details about the information we collect and how we use it to deliver our services and to improve Twitter. One example: our new tailored suggestions feature, which is based on your recent visits to websites that integrate Twitter buttons or widgets, is an experiment that we're beginning to roll out to some users in a number of countries. Learn more here. We've noted the many ways you can set your preferences to limit, modify or remove the information we collect. For example, we now support the Do Not Track (DNT) browser setting, which stops the collection of information used for tailored suggestions. We've clarified the limited circumstances in which your information may be shared with others (for example, when you've given us permission to do so, or when the data itself is not private or personal). Importantly, our privacy policy is not intended to limit your rights to object to a third party's request for your information.
In our Terms of Service, we've clarified how your relationship with Twitter works and made a number of small changes and formatting improvements, such as new headings for easy reference and updated descriptions of our services.
Take a moment to read our new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and thanks for using Twitter."
Further reading in the new privacy policy: “We may tailor content for you based on your visits to third-party websites that integrate Twitter buttons or widgets… While we have the widget data, we may use it to tailor content for you, such as suggestions for people to follow on Twitter. Tailored content is stored with only your browser cookie ID and is separated from other Widget Data such as page-visit information.”
If you chose the DNT option, it may take 17 days to remove the data from some of the Widgets.
I have a feeling that this announcement will cause a bit of a stir. Stay tuned as I read this over and share my thoughts on how this will effect Twitter users and advertisers - I just wanted to get this posted right away for my buddy Chris, who deleted his email without reading it.

 UPDATE (7/1/2012): You can now test this new feature in the US via your settings. Let me know what you think.