As this is the first in what I hope to be a weekly series I thought; Why not find a new blogger?
Cindy Elizabeth Janovitz (blog | twitter) is an HR professional working for Ecolab for the past three years. She’s active in the community through corporate sponsored charity events as well as personal charitable activities. Also, she’s bilingual (Spanish). She loves talking about her profession and hopes to be able to give tips from her experience for job seekers and other HR professionals.
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What was going through your mind the day you setup your blog?
I have been working in the HR industry for almost three years now and I felt it was time to take it to the next level and share my knowledge and learn from those around me. I wanted to create a blog to talk about Human Resources along with my other passions – organizational culture.
Did you post the first day?
I wanted my first post (post is gone now 11/2010) to be very strategic. At the time, I had just finished up three days of intense inclusion training at work and in my first post I talk about this and how a great way to gain trust from an audience or anyone around us is to help them understand who we are. I tried to convey a little bit about who I am in my first post.
What topics and events inspire you to write?
My number one topic that inspires me is recruiting – and more than that, the candidate experience. I also love writing about my involvement in the organizational culture shift going on across many organizations, including my own and lastly, my involvement in the community.
What types of community involvement activities do you participate in?
Since college, I have been involved in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk each year. I raise money that goes right to the AHA. I also participated in the Big Brother’s Big Sister’s of the Twin Cities “Bowling for Kids’ Sake†for the first time last year. I am really looking forward to it again! I am currently an e-Mentor to a wonderful 8th grader in St. Paul. In March I am going to Volunteer Orientation for the Red Cross. I am hoping to get involved with their multicultural program and use my Spanish skills to give back to the community.
Are those involvements outside of your employer?
The Heart Walk, Bowling for Kids’ Sake and e-Mentor are all through work. So, I am hoping to get involved with the Red Cross in order to expand myself outside of work as it relates to volunteering and giving back.
What won’t you write about and why?
I will never write about myself in a personal manner. This will be hard because I am an open book, but I want this blog to be seen as an addendum to my resume and if I am not going to write about what I do on the weekends on my resume, then I won’t do so in my blog, either.
Your blog is fairly new, what are your plans?
I hope to keep this going! I want to each post to have a take-away. Whether it is resume writing tips (my latest post), making those who read aware of what goes on in the HR industry or what I am doing beyond my work each day to develop myself and those around me. Being young in my career, I am excited to see my blog grow with me.
You wrote about “Wear Red Day†and being a co-chair. How did you find out about E3 and what benefits does the organization bring to the workplace?
E3 is a large affinity group at Ecolab.  The main focus is helping women develop in the workplace. The mission is to provide a resource for female Ecolab associates that encourages personal and career fulfillment through individual mentoring, focused skill set training, community involvement and group camaraderie.
I found out about this organization through my boss when I started, but the cool thing about it is that it is everywhere! It is a very successful organization and it is proof that women are absolutely capable to bringing change to an organization. I am the Co-Chair of the Community Outreach Committee. We planned the Wear Red Day on February 5 to raise awareness around women’s heart health. We also do a mentoring program with Humboldt High School in St. Paul, we do clothing drives and many other activities! It has been a very amazing way to give back to the community.
As far as benefits to the workplace; it is proof that if you give women the opportunity to move a mountain, they WILL. It has helped me realize how rewarding being a Gen Y woman in the workplace is right now. For a long time, women did not have a true place in the workplace and now we do, and it’s great to see executive level support for an organization that encourages development of women in such a large and successful organization.
One of your posts is about candidate experience. How did the later posts by a local recruiter about “Undercover Job Seeker†fit into what you were trying to convey?
Paul DeBettignies hit it on the nose. Recruiting departments are not realizing what the candidate experience is OR, if there roadblocks outside of their control, they are not communicating it back. There are a lot of things out of our control – positions are canceled, put on hold, etc. but we don’t take the time to protect the brands of our companies and consider the perspective of the candidate. So many times, when I meet new hires, they always say, “The recruiting process took so long.†If we are honest and true with our candidates, they would be more understanding.
What ways do you use your interactions online for post ideas?
A lot of times I’ll read a tweet that sparks something, or an article someone posts might have a piece that ignites something in me. That’s why I love social media. Everyone is building on each other and creating a hyperspace of opinions, feelings, and truths around what is going on in the world. It’s really cool to be a part of this movement.
On Twitter, what gets you interested in following and more importantly having a conversation with someone?
A large percentage of those I follow are in the HR field. I am always trying to expand my knowledge base and learn. I am a sponge that way, so I love reading the articles and blogs people post as it relates to HR. I would say just about anything entices me to have a conversation with someone. If they have something to say and I am interested in, I will more than likely respond if I have something to say. There are a lot of amazing people on Twitter who have so many wonderful things to contribute to the Twitterverse: whether it is HR, music, art, healthy eating, information about technology and the list goes on. It’s been a great place so far for me to learn about so many things in one place. But to truly answer your question: If someone says something that triggers an interest in me, I’ll probably reply back or DM them.
What are some other blogs that you read?
Girl Meets Geek
MN Headhunter
HR Minion
Obviously I love your blog, but is it considered brown nosing to list yours?Dez: No, it’s not
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Thank you for reading this week’s Blogversation on IamDez.com and thank you to Cindy for humoring me.
–dez
Tuesday Blogversation is a weekly series on iamdez.com featuring bloggers of all kinds from the Twin Cities (Minneapolis / Saint Paul) area. If you’d like to be considered for an interview please send mail to dez [at] iamdez [dot] com or get ahold of me on twitter.