It informs, motivates, and generally helps us do things better. Monday’s blog explored advice from the most fundamental source imaginable… Parents!

Typically advice from parents is about hygiene, savings, and not riding motorcycles. You know — annoying advice!

My parents are no exception, hence my sad lack of motorcycle skills. But they have both been working in HR for over 30 years, so they know a thing or two about recruiting. Which means they are an awesome, but unconventional, source of wisdom when it comes to all things HR. This almost makes up for the motorcycle. Almost!

Todays links are all about advice and lessons from places we wouldn’t usually think to look. Like surfers.

Yup. Surfers. What, you ask, do surfers have to do with business? Well, other than motivating us to finish up early so we can hit the beach. Not much. Oh, except maybe how to put an end to procrastination, learn to except failure, and generally get more stuff done in a day. Okay, I take it back, that’s a lot!

Next up: cartoons. I’ll admit it, I’ve learned quite a bit from cartoons over the years. How to fight crime, look good in tights, and the importance of masks… But for most normal humans they are not a staple source of advice. These HR-themed cartoons presented by the Harvard Business blog may change your mind. They are a great little reminder of stuff we already know, but tend to forget. I’m especially fond of the first one, which reminds us not to get carried away by fancy titles and qualifications when recruiting. What matters is finding the right candidate for the position. It is also hilarious!

One of the biggest hurdles we face when it comes to getting our jobs done is energy. No employer wants to be so tired that they forget to post new job openings on their Facebook Career Page, forget a candidate’s name, or worse, fall asleep mid-interview! Embarrassing. If this sounds too familiar, then maybe it’s time to seek the advice of a nutritionist. According to Inc. Magazine, the food we eat can make us more productive and energetic. Here’s a list of foods you should snack on to boost productivity. All of them look super tasty too, except maybe flax seeds… but hey, chocolate made number seven!

This last link is my favorite. Yes, it even beat out the article advising higher consumption of dark chocolate (though I am currently munching on cacao nibs!) This blog post is about how you can learn to be successful on the internet by watching Family Guy. You heard me, Family Guy! Even better, it recommends taking a cue from an episode of Family Guy referencing Star Wars. Nerd-heaven.

So there you have it. Go surfing, read the funny pages, eat more chocolate, and watch Family Guy. Not only will your life be more awesome, but you’ll up your productivity and garner internet success!

I’m calling it Parental HR SmackDown 2013 (#psmack2013)

Yup, my parents flew all the way out to Holland, stayed with us in our tiny loft apartment, and (very kindly) answered all of my questions about recruiting. They also ate a lot of cheese, walked the canals, and enjoyed Belgian beers.

.. but back to the recruiting.

Why would I choose to devote any of this precious family-time to talking shop? Well, you can only say so much about canals and cheese before you need to shake things up. And, even more importantly, my parents have over 60 years of HR experience combined. They are certified HR nerds.

When it comes to finding great candidates, coming up with effective interview questions, drafting contracts, and pretty much anything to do with HR, my parents know their stuff. Since covering all of these themes in a single blog post would be crazy, let’s focus on a topic that gets my parents pretty fired up.

Wait for it…..

Job posts!

Told you they were nerds.

So without further adieu: How to write a job post that will make your my parents proud!

Rule #1
Make a list

We’re going to start with the most important thing you can do, according to both of my parents: Write down what you picture your ideal candidate to be. Make a list of what qualities you are looking for, what your deal breakers are, and what level of education you want them to have.

“You would not believe how many times I’ve been brought in to consult, asked what skills and qualities I need to screen for, and been told by clients that they’ll know it when they see it”

Said my pops, obviously rather frustrated.

“You will not know it when you see it!”

Starting a hiring campaign before you know exactly what you are looking for wastes time. In order to write job posts that will attract the type of candidates you want to hire, you need to know who those candidates are.

Smack… Down!

Rule #2
Tailor your posts to your desired audience

Seeing as you already know what you are looking for in a candidate, now all you have to do is figure out what they want from you.

According to my mother, the best way cut down on resumes from the non-ideal candidates and to attract the ideal ones, is to highlight the right aspects of your company culture and of the position on offer.

For example, studies show that young professionals now rate flexible hours over salary in order of importance when it comes to accepting a position. So, if you offer flexible hours, make a point of saying that in your job post. If you are trying to hire more women, point to your awesome daycare program. If you’re looking to hire young hourly workers, talking retirement plans isn’t going to peak a lot of interest; Job perks (like staff meals) will.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have a specific management philosophy, strong company values, or cultivate a specific kind of company culture, make sure you address it in your job posts. Doing so will attract candidates that are the right fit for your company, which is hugely important when it comes to retention.

Rule #3
Include salient details, but don’t forget the basics

Daycare, flexible work hours, vacation plan, lifestyle perks, and other positive things you offer candidates should be included in your job posts, but so should the less exciting stuff.

Salary, location, hours, education requirements, a specific description of basic duties, if uniforms are required, and any other pertinent information should be disclosed.

Even if you aren’t offering the best wages out there, you should still include salary in your post. People are actually much more likely to respond to job posts that disclose salary, even if that salary isn’t the highest on offer.

Even more importantly, being upfront and clear about the basic requirements you need candidates to meet cuts down on time spent interviewing people who are not a good fit. Which means cutting down on how much you spend on hiring consultants… like my dad. He’s retired now, so it’s safe to print that!

Rule #4
Call them to action!

When posting jobs on Facebook, end with a strong call to action. This last rule is entirely my own. It’s a little more recruiting 2.0, but my parents vetted it, so I feel safe including it.

The best way to get Facebook users to do what you what them to do? Tell them to do it. If you want people (other than your parents) to engage with the content you post on Facebook, you need to include call to actions in your posts.

For example:

We’re looking for a talented graphic designer, who has hands-on experience in the field of app development, and enjoys a fast-paced and challenging work environment.

Does this sound like you? If so, apply now!

And there we have it. If you want to attract candidates, keep hiring costs down, and earn the respect of my parents, just follow those 4 simple rules.

Have any tips on writing more effective job posts? Tell us in the comments!

(See what I just did there?!)

Time for barbecuing in the park, colorful tulips and fresh-starts.

A fresh-start can mean a lot of things, from finally throwing away the moldy pesto that's been hanging out in the back of your fridge, to starting a new job, to the beginning of True Blood season 4!

But for those of us interested in social recruiting, a fresh-start means rethinking social media strategy, freshening up our Facebook employer branding, and True Blood season 4! I mean it, there's a lot to be learned about branding and HR from those vampires. You try branding a group best know for their pasty skin, scary fangs, and thirst for blood. Not easy!

Well, here are a few links to help you keep your employer brand fresh and your social recruiting springy:

Do you read Copy Blogger? If not, you really ought to check it out. Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, I'm willing to bet you still spend a fair amount of time writing. Even if it's only job descriptions, contracts and emails, you're still writing. Copy Blogger is one of the best resources to make your writing more effective. And, if your emails, contracts and job descriptions are more effective, then by default, YOU are more effective at your job.

Lorelle VanFossen writes the series “Blog Exercises”, featured on Copy Blogger. In the series she provides simple exercises to improve your writing. Technically, the articles are aimed at bloggers, but I've been applying them to content marketing, Twitter, and email with great success. Oh, and her writing is a delight to read, in part, due to her fantastic use of George Carlin quotes!

For those out there who prefer to learn by example, Tim Ferris recently interviewed 5 online businesses that gross over $250, 000+ per month. Tim may not be everyone's cup of coffee, but if there's one thing he knows, it's how to model success. Much of the information gleaned from his case studies is pertinent to Facebook branding and can also be applied to social recruiting.

Speaking of case studies… If you haven't checked out how Gordon Food Service is using Facebook to recruit for their family-run business, or how The Phoenix Group is creating a strong Facebook Employer Brand for the entire province of Saskatchewan, get on it! Both case studies provide great advice and examples of successful social recruiting and employer branding.

LinkedIn is a crucial part of social recruiting success. One of our very favorite bloggers, and social media guru extraordinaire, Stacy Donovan Zapar shares 6 tips to help you spring clean your LinkedIn profile.

If you really want to stay fresh, not just at work, but in life, apparently all you really need is sleep. Encouraging employees and employers to get proper sleep raises productivity, slashes healthcare costs, and boosts moral. What's not to love?!

We saved the best for last! A hot tip from yours truly, exciting huh?

Update your profile pic

With the magic of smart phones, there's no excuse not to have a stunning picture with which to represent yourself. Stand in front of a white wall, where there's natural light and have a friend snap your picture. If you want to get fancy, use a filter app (I like Instagram's “Rise” filter, as it hides how pale I am). Your profile pic is your online introduction. Make it work for you, not against you.

If that didn't convince you to show your lovely face then maybe this article will!

Happy Link Love Wednesday everyone

Moms are pretty great. They teach you things, give great hugs, and keep the human species from going extinct. And moms spend way too much time tidying up toys, diapers and sneakers randomly dumped around the house by their oblivious offspring.

That's probably why spring is not just about Mother's Day brunch, but also about serious cleaning. And sadly, now that we are all grown up, we have to stay tidy all on our own. But, if you're looking for a way to do some serious spring-cleaning without touching a mop, pail, or toilet, then look no further.

Your social networks can always use a little sprucing up, so follow our handy guide to spring-cleaning your employer branding on Facebook. No rubber gloves required!

Start using Facebook Lists

Now. Seriously.

If you use Facebook for recruiting, branding, or marketing, eventually your potential hires, colleagues, and customers will start to reach out to you via your personal Facebook account. This can be tricky, especially if you are like me and enjoy posting a lot of rap videos and MMA knockouts on your timeline. I don't want to offend anyone, but I also need to show my pals how amazing Uriah Hall's roundhouse kick is! That's where Facebook Lists come into play.

FB Lists let you select exactly who sees what content you post, so you can appear squeaky-clean to colleagues, while still sharing cool, but potentially offensive, stuff with your close friends. For a detailed description of how to use Facebook Lists, I highly recommend this article by Jennifer Baker.

Freshen up your posts

It's easy to fall into a bit of a social media rut. Sharing nothing but Seth Godin quotes and cat pictures, no matter how amazing, does eventually get old. Make sure you post a variety of valuable content on your Facebook Employer Page. Intersperse job posts with brand updates, images, and informative links. Using an RSS aggregator like Feedly makes finding great content much easier and a bookmarking app like Pocket helps you save links to content for future posting.

Keep your content relevant, short, sweet and varied by posting valuable advice, links you have actually read and vetted, attractive images, and relevant updates.

This Infographic gives 18 specific tips for making your Facebook posts sweeter. It's also super cute. Win win!

Yes, use that big data, but don't forget to …

Experiment

Why is Facebook always testing out new, occasionally weird icons, page layouts and call-to-actions? Because experimentation is the only way to find out if something works.

Sure, we can theorize as much as we like about Facebook best practices, but the only way to know for sure is to try things out.

If your cat pictures haven't been getting any Likes, try a Ryan Gosling meme. If you post mostly case-studies, try throwing in the occasional inspirational quote. The internet loves inspirational quotes!

Your employer brand will benefit from a little experimentation.

This article shares some solid advice about getting into customers' heads. Just replace the word 'customer' with 'candidate' and it transforms into a killer social recruiting piece! Magic.

Think back

If you haven't used it in the last three months, throw it away. I apply that rule when cleaning out my cupboards, closet, and fridge (maybe three weeks is better rule-of-thumb for the fridge… eeew.) It works for your Facebook content as well.

If you've been posting three times a day for the past three months and only your morning and evening posts are getting any attention, maybe it's time to ditch the afternoon post.

To improve your social strategy, it's important to understand what works for your employer brand, and what doesn't, by studying your previous successes and failures. Any good Facebook Recruiting app will supply you detailed metrics.

Keep things under control

If you want to keep your future social network spring-cleaning to a minimum, staying up to date on the never-ending stream of changes that Facebook makes is mandatory.

It's a daunting task, yes, but it is doable! My personal favorite way to keep tabs on Facebook news is to use Feedly to follow InsideFacebook, AllFacebook and TechCrunch's #Facebook.

I also follow Failbook, but this is sheerly to boost moral. Check out this blog post for even more ways to stay on top of the latest innovations from Facebook.

Let technology do it for you

Using a smart Facebook recruiting app can give your employer brand a clean sweep. Branding your Career Page with custom colors, embeding recruitment videos, and provided easy to use metrics should be part of any premium app, so it's an easy, affordable way to improve your Facebook Recruiting and employer branding.

We Hope these tips help freshen up your Facebook efforts and that your Mother's Day included waffles!

Last week we wrote about great ways to improve your Facebook Talent Community by being more like Ryan Gosling, who is basically the epitome of awesome.

This week, we’ll share some links to our favorite Ryan Gosling memes!

Just kidding — that would be silly for a recruiting-themed blog to do. Instead, we’re going to share the link to this incredible new app that allows you to “Snoopify” pictures of yourself! I mean, really the only thing that could make your LinkedIn profile better is if you were wearing a rasta hat, giant gold chain, and dope shades. Obviously!

Oh, and here are some other links that will make your social recruiting more awesome. They are just icing — Snoopify is recruiting gold.

Being famous on Twitter, if you’re not a hot young starlet or stand-up comedian, is hard! The Cynical Girls gives us regular folks 6 tips to get us there.

What could be better than 6 tips. 7 tips of course! Improve your social media engagement. Tip number one: “Highlight current employees on your company Facebook Page” sounds awfully wonderfully familiar.

Maybe perfect isn’t so awesome. Check out Seth Godin’s musings on how your best is kind of boring, and definitely not your most creative.

Quote of the week:

“Move mountains for them. All of them. You move all the mountains for all of them.”

It’s from a stellar article on how to be awesome at HR. Despite what the hyperbolic quote implies, this article has some of the most practical/fantastically blunt advice for HR I’ve ever come across. Awesome.

Corporate culture. It’s so important when it comes to recruiting great talent. Here are six ways to ensure your corporate culture is awesome. Other than the fact that the author doesn’t make buying a foosball table tip number one, this article is pretty darn great.

Happy Snoopifying! And trust me, foosball = key to better corporate culture.

Things get even trickier when networking online. Sure, you can skip the hair brushing and eye contact, but you still have to engage people. And without the assistance of intonation, facial expressions, and firm handshakes, this can be difficult to say the least. Without these physical signs of congeniality, it’s easy to become a bit robotic with our online interactions.

Since Facebook recruiting is all about engaging potential candidates via the internet, what is an employer to do when trying to build a Facebook Talent Community?

Let’s bring it back to Ryan, or the Gos as we like to call him. He is pretty much the most beloved actor in Hollywood today, by both men and women. Sure he’s good looking, but come on, there are many more modelesque male actors out there (looking at you Channing Tatum!). He’s talented, but he’s no Johnny Depp. And yes, he’s funny in interviews, but a comedy genius he is not.

So what makes him so appealing? (Other than the fact that he is Canadian). It’s his humanness. The Gos is basically the male version of the girl next door. He’s nice, kind of goofy, handsome, but not too perfect, and is willing to make fun of himself. He is the opposite of a robot.

How exactly does that apply to building a Facebook Talent Community?

Simple.

Be a Ryan Gosling. Don’t be a robot.

With that in mind, here are some tips to make your talent community more awesome:

1 – Know your audience

You can’t please everyone. Ryan will never appeal to my dad, so why would he even try? He wouldn’t. Nor should you. My dad is retired.

Posting super-generic content in an attempt to appeal to everyone comes off as robotic. If your main hiring focus is for construction positions, then focus on appealing to construction workers. Find out what kind of content your target audience likes, how best to interact with them, and what kind of language they respond to. A great way to accomplish this is by asking current employees their opinion and even getting them to spend a little time on your company Page.

2 – Build on what you’ve got

No, I’m not going to reference Ryan’s biceps (okay, mentally maybe). Instead I’m going to take us all the way back to 1997 when the Gos was just a scrawny teen with a mushroom-cut. He played a girl-chasing nerd on Breaker High. Not exactly a role to brag about, but he built his career up from that terrible, terrible show to star in respectable movies like Lars and the Real Girl (my favorite Gosling endeavor).

For Facebook recruiting, having a base to build upon is really helpful. If you have a Company Page, even if you haven’t been using it to grow your employer brand, it’s a fantastic starting point.

Some companies start new Pages just for hiring. This means losing the Likes and community you’ve already established. With a quality Facebook recruiting app, you can capitalize on what you’ve already built by adding a Career Page to your pre-existing Company Page. This means you don’t have to start from scratch, and lets you grow your company brand alongside your employer brand, with all of the content you post.

3 – Flaunt what you’ve got

Unlike most Canadians (see Kids in the Hall), Ryan does not have perfect comedic timing. So what did he do when he was cast as a lead in a blockbuster comedy? He did the best he could with the dialogue, and then took his shirt off. A lot. His abs made up for anything he was lacking in comedic chops. Even straight men were impressed. Be like the Gos: Don’t hide your shortcomings — distract from them with your strengths.

Maybe you don’t have the best comedic timing either, and that’s cool. Instead of trying to be funny, just be super friendly and helpful. If you don’t have slick products to showcase, post images of company BBQs. Share the things your company does well, the knowledge that you’re proud of, and remember, everyone likes a good BBQ!

4 – Diversify

From trashy teen TV, to dramatic lead, to real life super-hero (seriously — he saved a lady from being hit by a car, for real). The Gos has tried it all, and so should you!

Take risks with your social strategy. Try posting a range of content, interacting more, maybe less, or just differently. Perhaps your candidate pool doesn’t respond to a lot of business-related links, but they freaking love Dilbert cartoons. Maybe they really like it when you reach out and chat them up, but then again maybe they don’t. You won’t know until you try.

To keep track of what works and what doesn’t, make only one big change to your recruiting strategy at a time, and pay attention to how your talent community responds. Even better, use an awesome Facebook recruiting app to track your metrics — just sayin’.

That’s all for now. May all of your recruiting be fruitful. Oh, and if by some slim chance you are Ryan Gosling, my contact info appears at the top-right of this blog post.

Alright, so it’s not exactly an age-old question, but it’s certainly a good one.

Making your Facebook page engaging is a top priority for social recruiting. That’s why we spend so much time on this blog writing about Facebook best practices, but words can only help so much. Which is why sometimes you simply need to consult an Infographic.

This picture’s definitely worth a thousand words:

Blueprint For The Perfect Facebook Post (an Infographic from Salesforce blog)

So I love and value three things over anything else:

• My iPad
• Hip coffee shops
• Instagram

I also spend an inordinate amount of time taking photos of my coffee with said iPad to post on Instagram. Don’t judge me — choosing a filter that makes my image look cool-for-school is how I justify my arts “education”!

Okay, now before this turns into a gen-Y bashing session, let’s talk about something us gen-Yers love that is actually super useful. Some might even say makes the world a better place.

Podcasts.

If you are not yet on the podcast train, get on now! There’s no better way to get a free education. Seriously, you can get a free education. Check out iTunes University. This podcast from Cornell is life-changing, and Harvard shares business lectures. Bet you never thought you could get a Harvard education via your iPhone!

Getting your info from (reliable) podcasts is more efficient than from journals and newspapers, as you can listen to them while doing other things. You can listen to then while commuting, cooking, and exercising (although I still think for the weight room, you can’t beat rap).

Recently Suzanne Lucas, The Evil HR Lady herself, interviewed Steve Montako of the Boss Show. Don’t let the title fool you, the show isn’t just from the employer-perspective. It cover tons of different topics related to HR like productivity, working from home, and job interview screw-ups. The shows are nice and short and the two hosts have an obvious rapport. It’s no This American Life, but out of all of the HR podcasts I’ve heard so far, the Boss Show is hands down the most enjoyable.

Another popular HR podcast is the CYA report put out by Fistful of Talent. I’ll be honest and say it’s not my favorite. But, having worked for several years as a college radio jockey, I’m quite picky. I urge you to check it out for yourselves.

My personal favorite business-related podcast is Planet Money. They always manage to be engaging, even when covering ridiculous topics. Their explanation of the Motza Economy is fantastic, although I still think the best episode is the one on lard.

As far as non-business / non-HR Podcasts go, RadioLab is Amazing. I have actually cried while listening to episodes of RadioLab on the Subway, and was too captivated by the storytelling to even care.

Do you listen to podcasts? If so please, please, please share them in the comments.

It’s Queen’s Day, or Koninginnendag in Dutch. To an outsider, Queen’s Day sounds like any other boring statutory holiday. Well, at least to this Canadian it did. But, here in Utrecht, it is anything but.

The Dutch are completely, utterly, head-over-heels in love with their queen. The royal colour orange is featured in every window display. Dutch men wear orange pants, Dutch women wear orange dresses, and Dutch kids wear orange everything! Orange flags hang like canopies over the parks, there’s a party on every block, a flea market on every street, and people everywhere sharing bright orange pastries.

The Dutch know how to do a party.

They also seem to really understand community. How to build it, how to keep it strong, and how to enjoy its many benefits.

We’ve been focused a lot on community lately at Jobcast.

It is in part because we believe social recruiting is all about engaging with one’s online community, but also because we’re working on some cool additions to our Facebook recruiting app!

Our last two posts have sought to give our readers some practical tips to grow their social networks and Facebook communities. Today we’re going to look at every recruiter and employer’s most important type of community:

The Talent Community

A talent community is different from a talent pool, in that it’s not just a spreadsheet filled with data on potential candidates. It is in fact, a type of network created by employers and recruiters for the purpose of improving their talent pipeline (here’s a definition of a talent pipeline — sorry for all the jargon!).

This network usually consists of potential hires, current employees, former employees, and past applicants. This group forms a community that can engage with each other to give referrals, stay up to date on job opportunities, and simply share information related to their profession, all via social networks. Cool eh?

Facebook is the perfect place to foster a talent community. Its very nature encourages engagement, and you (hopefully) already have a strong employer brand presence on Facebook. Maybe (ideally!) you even have a branded Facebook Career Page with listed jobs.

Now, before we get too excited, keep in mind that unless you are hiring chocolate-tasters, potential candidates are unlikely to spend a great deal of time engaging with your talent community. If you are not offering immediate employment, active candidates will probably be more inclined to spend their time looking at specific job postings. Passive candidates will, as always, be more inclined to spend their time on Facebook Liking pictures of kittens in fancy dress.

Okay, so that’s the cons out of the way!

Let’s look at why Facebook talent communities are awesome:

Easy to join

People are busy. And aren’t we all sick of filling out online forms? That’s a huge part of why only 10% of people who visit career sites fill out applications. To join your Facebook talent community, all they have to do is Like your Career Page. ‘Nuff said.

Encourages a Good Fit

The key to a successful talent community is your current employees. Get them on board, engaging with your Facebook Page, and they will be a testament to your company culture. The way they interact, and what they post, gives potential hires insight into what your company culture is like. And vice-versa.

Encourages Referrals

Your current employees are always an asset when it comes to referrals. Facebook talent communities make it even easier for them to recommend their peers to you. It also creates a place where you can actively ask for referrals and get real-time answers. There’s also the potential to crowdsource referrals by finding connections between potential candidates and current employers or peers.

You Can Snoop (a little, don’t get creepy!)

Unlike with spreadsheets, you can engage with potential hires who are part of your talent community. You can ask them questions, either as a group or selectively, to get to know what kind of talent is out there. Try asking candidates what they think constitutes a positive work environment, or what they look for in an employer.

That’s a whole lot of pros! Oh, and not to mention that positive interactions on your Facebook Page help to strengthen your employer brand. If you still need convincing about the awesomeness of talent communities, check out this article by Lou Adler.

I’d stay around and try to convince you more, but I have a queen to celebrate, and my face won’t paint itself orange.

Although we like to say that rules are meant to be broken, for the most part, they’re not. The rules are there to keep us safe from speeding cars, bad grammar, and to prevent us from alienating those around us.

In general, the rules are there to keep us from becoming unpopular, well-spoken, and out of the hospital, but they do occasionally warrant a little stretching. Maybe even the occasional breaking… And sometimes, it turns out, those rules are just plain wrong and it’s time to re-examine why they became rules to begin with!

This week’s links have a little something for the goody two-shoes, for the rebels, and also for those of us that fall squarely in the middle.

Of course it’s best to lead with your most controversial content. Such as, this list of productivity boosters that go against everything that general wisdom would advise. Buffer explains how we can improve productivity through procrastination, saying no and just plain giving up. The rebel in you can rejoice and be more productive, which means more time drag-racing and shopping for leather jackets. Awesome!

After waaaay too many social media gurus wrongly declaring the death of job boards, it has become pretty taboo to challenge their importance for recruiting. It may be time to break that rule though, as it looks like the popularity of job boards is starting to wain. You should probably start using the Jobcast app to recruit with Facebook, just sayin’!

This next link speaks to those of us lodged firmly in the middle. More specifically, to those of us who like a good dirty joke, but only if it’s both hilarious and appropriate. It discusses K-Mart’s viral commercial and how, despite being attention-grabbing, it wasn’t a great move as far as their branding goes. It also makes the case that humour in HR is pretty risky business and should be used with caution!

Lastly, here’s a gift for those of us who love rules, rules, and more rules! New rule number one, never cross your arms again, never! This Ted Talk breaks down the rules of powerful body language and how to make it work for you.

Oh, and I simply can’t resist. Here are some important “rules” thought up by comedian Paul Rust… His New No-Nos are so funny, you’ll bust a gut. A gut is not a rule, so feel free to bust it.