| Shake That Brain!® Solutions
Volume 3, Issue 3 |
| Shake
That Brain! Volume 3, Issue 3 IN THIS ISSUE: 1. MAKE
EVERYTHING AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE We recently posted a PART-TIME job offering via computer by filling out online forms with two universities. University A had a simple, user friendly interface; University F was a time-consuming nightmare that required we respond to more than a dozen questions of dubious necessity, including: How diverse is your workforce? ("One of us is taller than
the other.") Finally, to complete our "Company Profile" we were asked to provide an electronic image of our logo. Apart from the fact that our logo already appears on our website, why does ANYONE need to review our logo? Is "Shake That Brain!" being interviewed for design work? But wait, there's more: The online form notes "EPS file preferred." Since we didn't have an EPS file I sent a jpeg instead -- which immediately got bounced because, it turns out, an EPS file is not "preferred" it's required. After a brief, frustrating moment of "Now what do I do!?" I made a bold, executive decision: I went to Google Images, found an EPS file of a flower and sent it along. Moments later, I got the good news: "Company Profile Completed." Receiving no further instructions, I returned to the Employment Services homepage and, after some searching, found a link that read: "Create Non-OCR job posting," leading me to wonder: Are we OCR, non-OCR, and what does OCR stand for anyway??? The fun and games continued for 35 frustrating minutes. What lessons can we learn from the above? 1. Make everything as SIMPLE as possible, especially if you're trying to help your students get jobs. 2. Turn a NEGATIVE (my experience with University F) into a POSITIVE (grist for this newsletter). 3. Don't think for a moment that the above experience is an isolated case of OCA (Overly Complicated & Annoying). Here's what I hear each time I call my voice mail service to collect my messages: "Welcome to XYZ Unified Communications. You have __ voice mail messages. First message. Message. From (123) 456-7890. Message: [Actual message plays here - finally!]" QUESTION: PS: If you just have to know, OCR stands for On Campus Recruiting, as in "Sal's Pizza Shop will be conducting OCR interviews for a delivery person on Friday.) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ To
learn MORE about how to create WINNING SOLUTIONS -- or just plain avoid BAD SOLUTIONS
-- read the book, "SHAKE THAT BRAIN!" ("Author Joel Saltzman is
crazy like a fox." -- Chicago Tribune)
Permission is hereby granted to reprint the above article free
of charge. Adapted from Joel Saltzman's most recent book, "SHAKE THAT BRAIN! – How To Create Winning Solutions and Have FUN While You're At It!" (Wiley Publishers, 2006). Visit: www.shakethatbrain.com ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This
newsletter has been brought to you by Joel Saltzman. TO SUBSCRIBE: If this newsletter
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