Family Influencers, Screen Share Fails, and the Workplace Situations You Can’t Make Up

Did you ever find yourself giggling at the absurdity of a spam email just when you needed a break from the chaos of life's juggling act? Warren and Cee Cee did, and they're here to share those lighthearted moments amidst the everyday hustle of work, school, and personal errands. They kick things off with reflections on improvements since their last episode. Listen as they recount relatable stories of home maintenance mishaps and the unexpected productivity that comes with bad weather, reminding us all that laughter can be the best tool for managing a busy week.

We then shift gears to the magical world of internships, with a spotlight on Disney's meticulous application process. Ever wondered how to nail an interview for one of the world's most coveted intern programs? Warren's son embarked on this journey, and we've got the inside scoop! From dodging the embarrassment of revealing personal browser bookmarks during a screen share to mastering Disney's 13-page interview guide, filled with STAR method tips, this episode is packed with golden nuggets for young hopefuls chasing their career dreams.

And just when you thought that was all, we take a whimsical turn into the realm of robots and unionizing AI, pondering a world where machines demand personal days. Plus, there's a special teaser for our upcoming discussion on Diversity Day from The Office rewatch. Throughout, we share everyday tales of kindness—from empathetic agents at Southwest Airlines to the flexibility of employers during bad weather. So, tune in for humor, insights, and a few "WTF" moments, as we help you navigate the unpredictable world of HR.

Transcript

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HR Podcast

Announcer 0:02

Had you actually read the email, you would know that the podcast you are about to listen to could contain explicit language and offensive content. These HR experts' views are not representative of their past, present or future employers. If you have ever heard my manager is unfair to me. I need you to reset my HR portal password, or Can I write up my employee for crying too much? Welcome to our little safe zone.

Warren 0:50

Welcome to JDHR, the podcast by two HR professionals who want to help you get through the workday by saying everything you're thinking, but say it out loud. I'm Warren.

Cee Cee 0:59

I'm Cece.

Warren 1:01

So, yeah, our last episode ran incredibly long, but the audio is better Not great, but better. This episode will be able to make it even better.

Cee Cee 1:12

I blame the old fashioned, I was just on it.

Warren 1:18

We need to do it more often. Encourage it, encourage it. So yeah, it was really good. We're not going that long today, y'all, I promise. I actually only have like one or two things on my agenda for this, so yay. But before we get too far along, I want to thank our original jaded hr rock star hallie, michael and bill, our other patreon supporters. You too can support us on patreon, follow the the show links. Yay, get that out of the way, but we're really proud to have some supporters on Patreon. I was thinking just the other day I've been getting a hell of a lot of solicitations from these companies that haven't listened to JTHR, wanting to promote their persons on the speaking bureau or whatever tour or whatever, and like, oh, this person has a PhD and can bring this to your case. Okay, yeah, you haven't listened to us. You know that if you'd listened to one episode, you'd know that's not what we're about.

Cee Cee 2:13

We're not your target demographic.

Warren 2:15

Yeah, we're not going to. We're not going to fit that too well, but I haven't gotten one in a long time, but I would get these just god-awful type of solicitations. Would you advertise our product? Non-name, brand personal body trimmers and uh, uh, uh, medicines and things like that?

Warren 2:33

like no, no, no see that makes you shit your pants yeah, lose 20 pounds tomorrow, uh, but, uh, I haven't gotten any of those along. Not that I'm complaining that I haven't gotten any of those along. Not that I'm complaining, but I haven't gotten any of those in a long time.

Warren 2:48

Nice, yeah. So yeah, it's been a busy week for me and yeah, between work and school and personal, but I'm looking forward to recording this. We talked about maybe postponing it, but I'm like no, I got to do it today because nothing else is going to fit before we have to publish my schedule. But yeah, but I survived two whole weeks at home all by myself and I didn't burn down the house. I didn't starve to death. Actually, the house is in better condition. I did some touch-up painting from little dings and dents that happened when we moved in almost a year ago and did some other little things around the house. It was a crappy three-day weekend and I ended up doing chores.

Cee Cee 3:30

I kind of enjoy those weekends once in a while when it's just like the weather is either extremely cold or just crappy and you just get stuff done around the house. I don't mind.

Warren 3:40

Yeah, I got a lot done and I thought I did one thing, but this morning it was our refrigerator. You have this French refrigerator doors where you can open the left one. It has a little flap and it doesn't always catch. I thought I fixed it yesterday and then this morning I go and open the refrigerator and it did not. So that might be for the upcoming weekend, if we make it out alive after, depending on which station. 40 inches of snow in northeastern North Carolina, what? No, that's crazy. It's legitimate apps and things like that are putting us somewhere between 18 and 24 inches the next two days and, yeah, it's going to be hecked by.

Warren 4:25

We'll say they're out there treating the roads in mass right now, and I saw some plow trucks lined up. I'm like, okay, they're planning ahead and things like that, so maybe it won't be so bad I need to there's a weather guy here in ohio.

Cee Cee 4:39

He's just like. I'm trying to look it up really quick. This is going to kill me. Southwest Ohio weather freak. He's just this amateur meteorologist and he's right more often than the news. So I follow a dude in Ohio.

Warren 4:59

I don't have any of those local things. Gosh, what was the weather app I used to have? I took it off, but it would just say it's fucking hot as balls oh yeah, it was called like wtf weather, I think it would.

Warren 5:12

Just, I loved it. I ended up taking it off for whatever reason, but I was like it's hot as balls, don't go outside, you'll die, yep. So I guess on to the wonderful world that is HR. First, to follow up on our last episode no new executive orders, but no further guidance either on anything. I've been doing some webinars, and it's just sort of everybody holds, still, holds, still like okay, well, that was my plan all along, but, yeah, no further word. But I will say that that episode got a lot of downloads. It seemed to be, even though it was an hour long, and 70 percent of people listened all the way to the end. So, thank you if you. You people made it to at least 95. I think when they get, though, and the final goodbyes or whatever, as people click next on their little podcast player, they don't need to hear us say the ending. So yeah, so if y'all like that type of stuff, let us know. We can do more of that.

Cee Cee 6:08

What's going on? We can just hide under our desks and eat our hair together. It's fine.

Warren 6:12

We don't know what's happening.

Warren 6:15

We really don't. It's crazy. Out there, I don't have any hair left to eat. It's been gone. That's what happened to it. I'll use that as an excuse. Let's see.

Warren 6:30

Well, one of the main things I had was and the story I read wasn't related to HR, it was about the vocal minority and the silent majority and it wasn't even politics. It was more like family politics versus Republican Democrat type stuff, but using those terms. But some of the things it said in this it was a dumb article. I think it was BuzzFeed or something, one of those places that you hate to go. So, but one of the things this article was talking about was how you have like an aunt or somebody like that who is a know-it-all and puts out these ideas, regardless how right or wrong they are, and tries to put it out as the gospel of the world that they live in.

Warren 7:22

Essentially and I was sort of pertaining that to an influencer so that aunt would be like a social media influencer who's putting out garbage that we were tired of hearing, like quiet quitting and like the rage, resignations and all these wonderful terms that we've had to put up with the last couple of years. I don't think a lot of people. Well, I should go back. I don't want to believe.

Warren 7:47

A lot of people think that this is the norm, but you do have that very small group of people that are super highly influenceable and they think, oh, I need to rage quit, or I need to do this, or this is what's happening to me, whether all this ghosting stuff on the internet people, companies are ghosting you, applicants are ghosting you, and things like that. So I just sort of I took it that the vocal minority are these influencers and the silent majority are the rest of the family is like, okay, yeah, go ahead and have another drink, aunt Susie, we know what's going on here and you can say what you're going to say. We're just whatever, but a few of them, oh, yeah, yeah, that's, that's absolutely right. Anyways, that's that's what I was I took away from the article that like said, I don't know how I ended up down that rabbit hole in the first place to to get there. So, yeah, I just I just can't think people are that dumb and gullible as like we see on social media.

Cee Cee 8:45

Yeah, they are no Like what it is. It's the same stuff we've seen over the past few decades. We're just putting a snazzy new label on it and then people get like you know it's all in the marketing, so people buy into it.

Warren 9:01

Quiet quitting.

Cee Cee 9:02

Yeah, the marketing is everything it's bad to it. Quiet quitting marketing is that it's? It's the same shit that's been going on in the past, or at least in similar economic times, where you kind of see these patterns, but now we just market it so it looks cute on a hashtag yes, that's, that's it.

Warren 9:20

Cute on a hashtag? That's that's exactly what, because it's all soundbites and it's all like. I have several news aggregators and part of the things I aggregate is HR news and I see all these things that come from. One thing that's irritating me is I go through these. Now I mentioned BuzzFeed. Everybody knows they're just god awful, just got awful.

Warren 9:47

It's somebody with maybe barely a high school education that found something and wants to write 250 words on something stupid they saw on social media and have no clue what they're talking about most of the time. But there's companies like I'll call them out Forbes and Inc and some other companies that used to do really good work and now I'm saying you're just doing this clickbaity stuff. That's style over substance and if that's the way you want to take it, it's like is I? Before I click on things, generally speaking, I look at the source and if it's not a source, I want to read it from, and a lot of times I'll even block if it keeps coming up as something, for whatever reason. I still haven't blocked buzzFeed, but I see these sources and I know what I'm getting into as soon as I see it.

Warren 10:28

But, anyway, that was my little thing that happened to me this week.

Cee Cee 10:34

I feel like BuzzFeed is the current day National Enquirer, like it's the stuff you read while you're in the bathroom or waiting in a waiting room. Like that's what BuzzFeed is, and I just feel like it's kind of a guilty pleasure. You know what you're getting. Yeah.

Warren 10:51

And if you are gullible enough to think that anything they say has any validity. Oh, and I'm an HR professional with 27 years of experience and I say this is the secret If an article starts with a HR professional of 25 years says whatever, that instantly says 99.9% chance. I'm not clicking unless it's just pure morbid curiosity. And when I click it I say I know what I'm getting into and I accept my punishment for doing it.

Warren 11:22

But yeah, I got the secret, and the secret that's going to get you a job interview with Google tomorrow. I got the offer tomorrow. That's one rabbit hole. I went down, but you had a little story to share as well.

Cee Cee 11:39

Oh my gosh. Okay. So I giggle because we're coming up on that time of year where we're going to have a little pop and turnover because people like to stick around, didn't wait for their bonus to come, and then they peace out. And I was on a call the other day and someone who was presenting on the call was sharing their screen and as they were sharing their screen, they closed the window and continued the conversation. However, they forgot that they were still sharing their screen. They closed the window and continued the conversation. However, they forgot that they were still sharing their screen and, unbeknownst to them, they shared their most recent documents, which happened to be their resume, which it said right under there thank you, windows 10. Like this individual has been edit was editing it earlier this morning, to which I was like, oh my gosh, there's people on this call. Like this person's manager was on the call, by the way, but I was like I need a texter, but I don't know people. It was just not paying attention. Beware when you share your screen. Just a friendly PSA.

Warren 12:51

Yeah, and I told you and I'm not going to name the university involved in this, but it went viral, on my algorithm at least. Apparently, a university professor was sharing his screen if it's Canvas, blackboard, whatever they Moodle, whatever they use on it, and you can see all their tabs that they have open. So they have these university type tabs, and then one of the tabs they had open in the background was Pornhub.

Cee Cee 13:18

It's like, yeah, that that's a fail oh my gosh, you absolutely take a screenshot, by the way. That is the correct course of action in that situation screenshot and share.

Warren 13:30

Yes.

Disney Internship Interview Preparation

Cee Cee 13:31

I always laugh when people put like their personal bookmarks on their browser and when they share their screen you can kind of see, like what it is they do when they're not working, especially if you're broadcasting to an entire like audience or you're sharing your screen for you know the whole organization Like why are you putting that on there? Why are you putting such divisive things on there? Why can't you just be a little savvy about what you're putting out there?

Warren 14:01

And sometimes I think people do some of these stupid things sort of on purpose for attention. I don't know if the Pornhub would be something on purpose for attention. I don't know if the porn hub would be something you do for attention.

Cee Cee 14:13

I don't think. I don't think that. I think this person just made a mistake.

Warren 14:19

Oh, man. So yeah, it's, it's crazy, um, but oh, another thing I wanted to share and I don't know if I talked to. I don't think we talked about it on the last episodes. We were all down the DE executive order rabbit hole. I've been speaking for months about my son and his search for an internship. Oh, yeah.

Warren 14:39

And one company, I'll just say Disney. He applied. So he applied on Wednesday, january 29th for a position on Disney and they only had it up online for five days and it went down. You go to LinkedIn. It says no longer available, closed X many days ago, and things like that, and you go to their website. It's not there period anymore. But he applied on the 29th and then on Friday, the 31st he got a questionnaire to answer and he filled that and turned that in immediately. And then, leon February 7th, he got an unmanned video interview where they tell you what the question is. Give you 30 seconds to compose yourself, get it, come up with an answer. Then it records you making your answer. We had one of those interviews.

Cee Cee 15:27

I have a pinball.

Warren 15:30

Yeah, they're interesting. But he had that on the 7th and then, like on the 12th, they sent him an email following up with him and saying, basically, we're going to do a real human I forget what they call it online interview with you using Zoom or whatever the tool is that they use. They sent him this 13-page interview guide from Disney what to expect and what to think about and things like that and I was like wow. I read through it. The only thing that I would say is the links on the PDF they sent him did not work and I found it, the document title. I Googled it and I found it on Disney's website itself and still the links didn't work, because it talked about it had an FAQ section you could go, but it was still really cool, really well done. The interview guide told them about behavioral interview questions and how they want them answered, and it was just like they're giving you a roadmap not to fail the interview.

Announcer 16:31

I love it.

Warren 16:33

I did too. I thought it was really the end of February and early March, and they gave them a whole time frame of everything, all the steps from here. I was like this is they've been on the ball. Oh, and they even told you to start following the people on LinkedIn. So he followed the recruiter who he's been in contact with not directly, just only via email, and we cyber stalked the head of the department that this position would be working on. But it tells you everybody has a LinkedIn profile, Please research them and all this other stuff. I was really impressed, especially for a entry-level position, helping a college kid with not much experience get through, be ready for the interview.

Cee Cee 17:18

First of all, I wonder if this is the same thing stuff that they provide like higher level roles, or if this is just part of their like internship it's geared more toward entry level. Yeah, yeah, like I'm thinking that that's just cool. I think that's such a good service to put people who are doing that entry-level role they don't people don't know. This is awesome, that they're basically giving you the roadmap to success and I.

Warren 17:46

I downloaded a bunch of behavioral-based interview questions and I started quizzing my son. And they even give you, they want you to use the STAR method I think that's what it's called to answer the questions. Yeah, and so I quizzed him in some of the most common entry-level interview questions for behavioral interview questions and I would help them work through going through the STAR method and I said let's get five or 10 of these down so that you know if the question's not exactly the same, you can manipulate it into how it's going to be close enough, because you don't have any real in-depth experience that they can drive into. But I said if they ask you about school stuff, you've got that, that's what you're doing. So I'm looking forward to hearing how the interview stage goes for him. But I can only imagine he's moved pretty far along because to apply do the questionnaire I'm sure everybody submitted a resume, got a questionnaire and the questionnaire weeded some people out.

Warren 18:42

That little video interview weeded some people out. So I got a feeling that there's not a long list. But oh, and they said you must. They'd say must. It was like super highly encouraged to have questions to ask your interviewees. So we thought of about 10 questions and he's like why do we need 10? I said they may answer some of these questions during the course of the interview and you're not going to ask the question that they just answered. It looks like you're not paying attention. You're not ready.

Warren 19:08

So, I said just have it on your piece of paper and if they say something that we came up with just during the course of the conversation, scratch through it and move on to the next slide. Between he and I, we came up with some really unique questions. I told him you don't want to Google this, you don't want to chat GBT questions, ask interviewers. You're going to get something really stupid that the interviewers heard a billion times and they don't want to hear it again. So I said let's use our minds and come up with some questions of our own. And yeah, I think we came up with a nice list. So I'm really excited. Hopefully this will go well. This will be a dream for him.

Warren 19:53

I think I've mentioned before he's obsessed with roller coasters and theme parks and to work at one. For, oh, this is a six-month internship too, it's not just a summer internship. So, yeah, we're hopeful, but we're still applying. We're still chugging along and discussing it every day. I'm probably overly involved. I don't want to be a helicopter parent or something like that, but I think he does get the gist that I've been in HR and I've recruited. I've spent many years. When he was very young, I was a college recruiter and I did this and worked with it. So I think he can appreciate my help. At least he's pretending, at least to me, that he appreciates my help.

Cee Cee 20:23

Oh, that's everything.

Warren 20:24

Yeah, so yeah, that's what's going on in our little neck of the world, other than we're. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier because of our technical difficulties, but depending on which app and weather station you watch, we're going to get at least 10 inches of snow in the next couple of days, maybe two to three feet, nobody knows. There's someone on Facebook that posted something. I don't know if it's real or not. Of course it's Facebook, so it's got to be real. But someone was calling for 40 inches of snow here and I'm like geez, louise, it's crazy.

Common Sense in Challenging Situations

Cee Cee 20:58

And if you are an employer, don't make your people come to work.

Warren 21:03

Yeah, yeah, my boss sent out an email saying it's not supposed to start till midday tomorrow. And she sent out an email just don't come to work and be safe and take your computers home. And yada, yada, yada. And when I was leaving tonight I told her yeah, it was like I'll see you when I see you, because I'm not coming tomorrow. I'm probably not coming Thursday. Friday is up in the air, depending on everything, how things look. But yeah, she's like, yeah, just if you can make it on Friday, make it. She's like I'm not expecting you Thursday either. She knows I have an hour and a half one-way commute and she was really cool about that. Oh, story Not related to HR at all.

Warren 22:05

She was actually scheduled to come in tomorrow, but I know the airport's going to be closed down here in the South. They don't prepare everything. So on Sunday I called the airline and I got a customer service agent. Well, first I tried to make the change online myself, but they wanted like a $400 change fee and I said look, there's a winter storm coming and I think this will make it easier for you. You have to deal with one less person on Wednesday and we don't have any headaches. And the customer service person was sticking to the book and said, well, we can't, unless there's a winter storm warning in effect. We won't make those changes without the fee. And I was like, oh okay, well, I figured Sunday or no Monday. That was Sunday.

Warren 22:54

Monday I called again, got a different customer service agent and she started going down the same list oh, I see there's not a winter storm warning in effect for the destination yet, so we can't do anything. I said, oh really, I don't want her to be stuck in Baltimore, for who knows how long is that's where her layout is. It would have flown her from Utah to Baltimore, no problem, but getting from Baltimore home would have been the problem and she'd be stuck there. And I said I really would like to see if there's anything that can be done. And she said hold on one sec. And so she Googled the weather for Norfolk, virginia, and she goes oh my God, and it was saying like 18 inches of snow on Wednesday. She goes oh no, I'm changing this. No fees.

Warren 23:31

And it just took. Someone did OK, there's no winter storm advisory, which the policy probably says is two people said it to make the change without a fee. But this lady, she took it on herself to Google the weather for Norfolk, virginia, and it says 18 inches of snow on Wednesday. She goes oh no, oh no, I'm changing this for you and I mean it made us very happy. Obviously it didn't take anything off of her nose and we're happy to continue. It's Southwest Airlines. I'll say if I do book generally, I like booking with them. You have your Frontier and your Spirit, the discount airlines, but by the time you pay the baggage fees and this and that and the other thing.

Warren 24:12

it comes out the same day. Trap you with that low oh, fly to Utah for $99. Well, oh, but each bag is $50. And they charge you for carry-ons too $25 for carry-ons With Southwest, you get two checked bags. Anyways, that's my little unpaid advertisement. But if you want to pay us Southwest I will gladly take your money. But of our little experience I was just thinking that's the type of employee I want to have as the second plane. You know the first one. Yeah, they were doing their job, they were following the procedure. But it took the second lady. Just, she said, oh, hold on two seconds. She Googled the weather and said, oh, no, we're changing this.

Cee Cee 24:49

Yeah.

Warren 24:50

And now they have one less person to put up in a hotel in Baltimore tomorrow or wherever it is.

Cee Cee 24:56

Listen, I'm all for a solid, but today's flight was an adventure of its own. Yeah, exactly, I'm glad she's back home safe.

Announcer 25:03

Yeah, yeah.

Cee Cee 25:03

I can appreciate a standard operating procedure, but I also appreciate that layered with some common sense of the situation, exactly, You're not always going to be able to bend the rules, but I'm not asking for anything special.

Warren 25:21

The change fee when I went online to try and do it myself was like $400. Yeah, the change fee when I went online to try and do it myself was like $400 a change. I was like I've spent enough money recently that I don't want to take on a $400 change fee. But yeah, shout out, it was a good experience. They made it happen. Unfortunately, Today, when she did fly back today was my daughter's day off. They had some plans to go out to this that the other day, shopping essentially but they didn't get to do that. So, anyways, they had two weeks together, still Nice. So, yeah, Anything else fun going on in your village?

Cee Cee 25:56

No, you know, we ended performance management just to begin it all over again. So that's where we are right now, with work, that goal setting happening. But other than that, life's quiet. This is a week where nobody is sick, which is magical. My voice is still cracking. I had strep.

Cee Cee 26:15

Oh, I don't think we talked, I had the best birthday of my life, because I got strep throat on my 40th birthday. So I had like we had these plans we were going to go out, we were going to meet friends for dinner, we were going to go to a bar, the baby was going to stay at my parents house, like all this stuff. And like the Thursday before I'm like, oh, I'm sick. And then I went to the doctor and he's like you got strep. I don't ever get strep throat.

Cee Cee 26:51

My strep throat was worse than COVID that I got a few weeks earlier.

Warren 26:53

Yeah Well, you've knocked all the illnesses out for 2025 already.

Cee Cee 26:57

I don't know man, Tuberculosis is out there and measles is out there, so hey, there's still a chance. Oh gosh, it's okay, I've been vaccinated yeah yeah.

Warren 27:10

No, and the bird flu. Don't forget the bird flu. I could always get the bird flu. There are $9 eggs in some places. They're saying I haven't bought eggs but $9 a dozen for eggs.

Cee Cee 27:23

So eggs are kind of a big thing in our house, like we eat eggs almost every morning. The baby's eating and I guess that's our luxury now is egg I don't know you might go get eggs or starbucks honestly, it's probably this. Actually, I think the eggs are more expensive uh, well, I mentioned the snow.

Warren 27:47

I did make the mistake. I told my wife I'd go to the grocery store and pick up some things. I told her I'd do it Monday while I was out and about, as I did run a couple errands Monday and I forgot to get them. So I went to the grocery store today, the day before snowstorm, and I got what I needed and it was a zoo. It was an absolute zoo there and I was just like if I, and then, like two of the self checkout registers didn't work, they only had two cashiers working with lines out the union everywhere. That was not. That is not a good thing.

Cee Cee 28:24

Honestly, could you imagine managing that situation, like people call out you're understaffed, machines are down and everyone's in there for milk and bread, that is a nightmare situation that I don't wish on anyone.

Warren 28:40

No, no, I do not either. I think that most of the people in the store were behaving themselves. I was getting a little grumpy at the lines. I was thinking, if you don't have that many cashiers, you have lines and you don't have all your self-checkouts working, you should get like 5% off for each self-checkout. That's not either working or open. Don't get me started on Walmart, my least favorite place on earth, when they have 30 self-checkout registers and only six of them are open and they don't care. Just yeah, we don't have the staff. You don't have staff for self-checkout. Anyways, that's my loathe for Walmart

Robots Unionizing & Office Diversity

Warren 29:18

as a whole. Different story.

Cee Cee 29:18

Well wait, I thought the robots were supposed to take the jobs.

Warren 29:22

Yeah, yeah. Why don't they please take those jobs?

Announcer 29:27

The robots are calling out this is where we are. Ai has totally come full circle.

Cee Cee 29:30

There we go. Oh yeah, the robots have become sentient and they're having an emotional day and they need to take a personal they're unionizing, they're sick outing, uh.

Warren 29:43

So yeah, we'll land the plane right there. Please join us next week for our very special Diversity Day episode of our rewatch of the Office. So it's going to be a lot of fun. So be sure to check it out, share, give us any ideas you have for other shows to make an HR tie into. So, with all that wonderful, the fun stuff said, I want to thank Andrew Coppa, the voice artist, for the introduction and the intro. Outro music is the underscore, orchestra with the song the Devil, the Devil, and, as always, I'm Warren.

Cee Cee 30:19

I'm Cece.

Warren 30:21

And we're here helping you survive HR one. What the fuck moment at a time.

Announcer 30:37

Yeah.