Author Archives: lorifranze

The Interview Process: An overlooked opportunity to create a great brand experience!

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

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I have gone on a lot of interviews in the 10+ years I have been in the workforce so this post has been a decade in the making! As a candidate I think you will agree that while you are looking for a new role there is some sacrifice in your time to interview and also prepare for that interview. Additionally, the company looking to hire has a position to fill that makes the process mutually beneficial. Now with both parties in this processes looking to gain and making the sacrifice of time why do so many individuals (on both sides) fail to follow-up with a thank-you note and update?

While this post is not focused on the candidate I will provide the recommendation that if you interview with a company and A) want the role; B) don’t want to come off as rude, send a thank you email at a minimum. A hand written note will really WOW them!

Back to the hiring organization… I am running out of fingers counting how many times I myself (or having heard the same story from friends) have spent 2+ hours meeting people in companies (in addition to the time I took researching), sharing my experience with them only to get no follow up to my emails or voicemails. Now I am not looking for a pat on the back or a ticker-tape parade but just a simple reply to my note that says that it was nice to meet me and thanks me for my time.  I likely had to re-arrange my schedule and/ or take some time off … I just want the acknowledgement in a simple ‘thanks’.

The absence of a reply does impact the way I see a brand.  As a consumer I might not purchase your product next time I am perusing the shelves and as a marketer I might be in the position some day to hire your company.  Not to say I will hold a grudge but I am sure I will remember the time when I sent a thank you note for your time or called to follow up on how I did and what the next steps may be and got nothing but silence.

My experience over the years has made me extra sensitive to when I myself have been recruiting or when someone asks me for a little bit of help… hopefully not too sensitive… What do you think?

 

A unique dining experience in the Tremblant Village

10 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in Pleasure, Ski, Travel

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This is the third and likely last post on Tremblant as I reminisce about the great weekend. (I sadly don’t have time time ski this weekend and with the temperatures in Ontario I don’t think there will be snow next weekend)

La Savoie

Our one night in the village we decided to try something we haven’t had before and settled on La Savoie – a fondue restaurant.  What is better than a pot of metled cheese! One warning – you must book a reservation and there are two sittings 5:30 and 8:30 (or at least that is all that was available when I called!)

Filet Mignon waiting for a bath in red wine

It is a quaint nordic themed restaurant and great for larger groups since you need two people per fondue type.  We settled on a red wine one with filet mignon but got the melted cheese appetizer to satisfy my need for melted cheese! Some of the tables order the platter that actually gets you a wheel of cheese suspended over a heat source; you shave off soft, warm chunks of cheese.

Our meal was delish! As was the merlot. (sadly we can’t get this Australian bottle of Pfeiffer at the LCBO or even the SAQ) I will likely be back to this restaurant with a larger group to try more of the menu.

Melted cheese!

(I was not compensated for this post, it is just a recount of my wonderful dinner in Tremblant!)

Skiing at Tremblant makes up for a strange ON ski season

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Pleasure, Ski, Travel

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If you live in Ontario and are a skier, you are probably like me and feeling like winter ripped you off! I even have a pair of new skis for this season. This past weekend I took my first trip to Tremblant and I fell in love.

Stunning scenery & great skiing

We stayed two nights outside the village and one night in the village and while they were very different experiences, both were wonderful!

Outside the village we stayed at Chateau Beauvallon which was comfortable and elegant. Our room had two bathrooms and a small kitchen.  We took their shuttle to the mountain during the day and sat in the outdoor hot tub apres ski.  I would recommend this place to everyone, even at regular price.  I, of course, had a Team Buy voucher.

In the village we stayed at Homewood Suites which was less elegant but right in the village.  The village is busy so you have to want to be in the middle of things; for us it was a nice contrast from the first two nights. You can literally walk out the door and over to the lift.

This video (that I was asked to watch as part of a survey) Take me to the top, sums up most of my weekend! I definitely plan to return next year for a longer stay.

(I was not subsidized in any way by Mont Tremblant, Homewood Suites or Chateau Beauvallon – although I wouldn’t turn down a free night or lift ticket! – the above post is simply me sharing the details of my weekend!)

A trip to the Scandinave Spa Tremblant – Does this qualify me as a polar bear?

03 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in Pleasure, Ski, Travel

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First stop on a weekend in Tremblant is the Scandinave Spa! Booked for massages we went early to take some time in the waters. For those of you who haven’t done this type of spa, you alternate between:

  • Heat
  • Cold
  • Relaxation

Winter Oasis

This was my first trip to this type of spa in the winter and at night so it takes some getting used to; walking around in your bathing suit and flip flops in the snow! The landscaping and design is just wonderful. You can hear waterfalls and smell wood burning. It is very tranquil (especially since there is to be no talking – yes, that is hard for me, we had a few whispered conversations while in the hot pools).

Now part of this process, that has tremendous health benefits is the dip in the cold pool and in addition to cold pools this location has the river. You can actually head down for a dip in the river.

It is as cold as it looks!

I will always try something once!  It is cold… everything went numb and tingled… everything! I went in the river twice in the process before heading in for a massage and would encourage anyone at the Tremblant Scandinave to give it a try!

(I should mention that I have not been compensated by the Scandinave Spa Tremblant and that this post is just chronicling my trip to the mountain)

Shocking treatment of rescued animals in Thailand

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Advice & Recommendations, Travel

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Feeding time

Several years ago I travelled to Thailand and while there spent a day at the Elephant Nature Park. This park houses several dozen elephants that have been injured in their work in the logging industry in Thailand. Some have broken hips, others are blind – while there we fed the elephants, bathed them and learned their stories. (Check out Elephant Nature Park and the stories of their elephants – especially Jokia) The experience was like nothing I had ever had before.  Despite the horrors happening now I do need to tell you that the Thai people (most of them) are beautiful, loving people.

Last night I learned, through my Twitter feed, that the the ENP had been raided by the Department of Natural Parks (DNP) and Lek, the woman behind this amazing cause, was threatened with jail time. As I followed links throughout several sites I learned that the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) was also raided. While ENP did not loose any animals, WFFT had many confiscated. As the DNP went throughout the park, they did so with disregard for the animals health and safety. This video (let me warn you that it is traumatic for anyone who is an animal lover) upset me to tears and kept me up last night. It is of a poor macaque that was knocked unconscious during his capture being shoved in a cage without any medical care.

I wish I could do more to help the animals over in Thailand but the first thing I know I could do was share their story and ask that you sign the petition that will ultimately go to the King in hopes of stopping the raids by the DNP.  In addition to signing the petition, please share this story in hopes that these animals that had already suffered in their lives are left alone, along with the great people who have worked so hard to save them and keep them happy and healthy.

Is work-life balance a myth?

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in About me

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I have to admit that I have never been good at ‘taking a break’ or ‘down time’ but I am going to try it this upcoming weekend when I head to Tremblant skiing. I have been challenged to not answer emails and voicemails … (I have to admit that I am feeling anxious as I type this) I can hear the people that know me placing bets against me as the odds are not in my favour!

Examples as to why the odds are stacked against me:

  • In Mexico last February I approved my team’s timecards and answered email on the WIFI in the hotel lobby with a cocktail at my side (remember how relaxing vacations were before WIFI?
  • In October I worked on a social media proposal in between a visit to the Ben & Jerry’s factory and driving through the Vermont countryside looking at fall foliage

Now that I am self-employed I find it even harder to turn ‘it’ off when I am scheduled to be away on vacation.  Don’t get me wrong – I love what I do and wouldn’t change a thing but maybe you have some tips for me on how to balance work and life?

Hopefully, I make it through the weekend… It is a long drive to Tremblant… A drive on which I could maybe answer an email or two, update a spreadsheet, draft a brief…

 

The Self Image Ups & Downs of a Former Competitive Fitness Model

24 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Health & Fitness

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What feels like many, many years ago I trained to compete in fitness model competitions.  My friends always felt like they walked in to alternate universe when they came to my competitions. Hundreds of fakely tanned (not just a few visits under the lamps, I’m talkin three coats of Pro-Tan), hairless, muscular men and women chomping

First competition – came in 12 out of 40

on chicken and yams and likely not drinking much water. On the women of course there was the nails and make-up. It was always a surreal feeling when you have made it to the day of the ‘show’.

I competed three times and I have to tell you that when you are on that stage you forget about:

  • spending 3 hours a day in the gym,
  • watching everything that goes in your mouth,
  • spending an hour a week sorting supplements

But as great as that moment is on the stage and how great you feel and look as you get stronger no-one really prepares your for the ‘post’ show

Came in 3rd place in my 2nd competition; friend Angela came in first

when you have to give yourself a bit of a rest and you relax on just how strict you are in watching what you are eating.  Of course the real pros, the girls on the cover of Oxygen magazine know what to do and how to do it, so that they don’t balloon after a show.

Now I don’t have a single regret! I have made  friends that I will have forever and learned how to eat and train properly but there are days where I struggle with how I look (and I have been told I look pretty good right now).  Always think back to having a tighter tummy and svelte arms. I now enjoy eating anything I want and having a drink once in awhile.  Some friends even tell me that I am now more fun! What does that mean? That I wasn’t fun when:

  • I carried all my food for the day around in a cooler,
  • had to schedule socializing around my cardio,
  • had a vicious mood swing from being so hungry I wanted to gnaw my arm off

I will likely do more posts about those competitive days and love answering questions about how I trained and ate, etc. And I would love to hear about what you people out there are doing to stay fit and healthy… Let me know!

@alungstory … so inspiring… Are you an organ donor?

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Just finished watching Hélène Campbell’s video clip from here appearance via Skype on Ellen Degeneres (if you haven’t seen it click here; the video made me tear up).  She is an amazing young woman who while waiting for a lung transplant has made it her personal crusade to build awareness around the issue of organ donation. She brilliantly used social media to raise awareness to her cause and tweeted Justin Beiber asking him to help her with this cause. With his help she has been able to increase the number of new donors by over 1,000.

Are you a donor? Sign up here (Ontario only)

Read Hélène’s blog and donate to her directly here