This thing seems to be taking a back seat to posting photos. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. But something interesting: in the 'stats' part of the control panel for the danandleah.com site, there's a table of the most frequent google searches that bring the world's web surfers to our doorstep.

Among the top ten: "babies swearing" and "swearing babies." Now, I know why those strings find us. What I don't understand is what exactly people are looking for when they type those phrases into google. But I do hope they find it.

Very sorry. After maybe upping my readership from 4 to 6 with the photo-a-day format, I am slipping. Yesterday, the Marathon. Today, technical failures. It's very upsetting.

Watching the Boston Marathon, an event covered around the world but mostly run on two-lane roads, always makes me want to run another marathon. I was glad not to be involved yesterday, though, when it hit 82 degrees soon after the starting gun went off. We were waiting for a friend to come by at Mile 23. She was not a competitor, but was instead running with a friend from Mile 16 to Mile 23, before passing her off to another supporter. But the friend contracted bronchitis. She was told, of course, to not run a marathon. But run she did. Five miles. Then she went to the first aid tent, where she was told, of course, to drop out of the marathon. But she decided to walk the rest of the way.

Six hours later, she pulled up to Mile 23. We were long since interested in the people straggling by. At that point, seven hours since the start, the organizers had taken down the traffic barricades, mile markers, clocks - for all we know, even the finish line. Cheering sort of felt like mocking. After all, our go-to line had been, "You're almost there!" Three miles is in view of the end to someone running a normal pace. But for someone who takes seven hours to go 23 miles, three miles means over an hour of walking to go. In traffic. Without any sort of fanfare at the end.

We gathered up our friend and went home, where I immediately went running and made plans to get in better shape. I wonder if there are stats on how many running shoes are sold on the Tuesday after Marathon Monday. On my run, I passed the South Korean National Marathon Team, which had been staying in a local church and was at that point sitting in the dark and stretching on the lawn. See, that's nice.

This letter from yet another job seeker is unbelievable. Sorry to be going on so much about interviewing, but you meet the most fascinating people. Really, it's a strange system. You have about 3 conversations max before you either have to say you're going to be willing to spend all day, every day with this person or send them on their way.

We were probably on our way to sending this guy the "no thanks" letter anyhow and were just waiting to see how some other interviews went. Sometimes the applicant makes your decision for you. Read on. My favorite part is when we get unfavorably compared to Dennis Koslowski.

April 8, 2004



Dear XXX



Since several weeks have passed without any response from you, I can only
assume that you have selected another person as your VP for Business
Development. I have no complaint with that because you certainly have an
obligation to choose the person you think best fits the position.

I am dismayed, however, at your total lack of communication with me. I
drove nearly 300 miles and spent my time and money to accommodate your
schedule and geographic needs. Other candidates probably did the same. It
is an unconscionably rude and shortsighted practice to ignore me now and
pretend there is no need for further communication.

In my long business career, I have interviewed countless individuals for
various positions, and I have always showed them the courtesy of a personal
response, even if they were not to be hired. Timely, follow-up is not only
a good PR practice, it is a recognition that individuals can become very
emotionally invested in the job search and interview process and, as human
beings, have a need to know the outcome of their efforts.

Years ago I wrote to Dennis Koslowski, the CEO of Tyco, about possible
employment with that company. Although he did not have openings at the
time, he was one of a select few who wrote me a prompt, courteous and
encouraging reply. Despite his current legal problems and the serious
charges against him, that experience causes me to maintain a degree of
respect and compassion for him because I suspect he was a very good manager
of people. Perhaps you and your team should take a lesson. While you're at
it, why don't you ask yourself how you would feel if you were treated in the
same way.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX

Well, we didn't hire the people who yammered on about data, and we didn't hire anyone who wanted to give back. But we like who we got. One person asked about the salary in the first interview, then told us she didn't think - no matter how she looked at her budget - that she could survive on $100K a year, because she had a mortgage and some school loans. Funny, I have a mortgage and some school loans (well, they're Leah's, but still - it was the same school this person was talking about). She was not hired. Maybe I'll ask for a 300 percent raise.

Also, I've decided that trying - trying - to post a picture every day will give me the structure I need to keep this even mildly interesting. Please let me know if you like it. And that means all four of you.

We've been interviewing people to work at Lighthouse Academies. Academic and business-ey people. After a few rounds of interviews, I have a few things that I would like to never hear again:

- "Dan, that's a really good question."

- "I think basing decisions on data is so important."

- "My worst quality? Hmmmm....I suppose you could say that I'm a perfectionist. I'm really hard on myself."

- "Do I have any questions? Yes, actually. What's the salary?"

- "Well, after I finished Harvard Business School and then worked as a strategic consultant for 10 years, I really thought I'd like to give something back. And I'm looking forward to, you know, a more reasonable schedule and lifestyle."

Some advice:
- Don't ask the salary until the second date, please.
- Don't imply that you assume that this job will be easier because we're paying you less than McKinsey did. It makes us feel like suckers.
- Perfection is not a negative quality just because you got beaten up for it when you were little. Here's a better answer: "I'm sort of full of myself."