On this episode of Podcasting Smarter, Jen is joined by Jon Thurmond. Jon is the co-host of the HR Social Hour Podcast where he and fellow HR-pro Wendy Dailey talk to other HR professionals about connecting, giving back, and building your network. Jon is also a co-host on the long-running Star Joes Podcast which is a show dedicated to Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and everything in between.

 

Jon's Podcasting Confession: Jon failed to hit record on his fourth episode with a great guest. Luckily his guest was happy to record again, and improve on his first podcast interview. 

 

Jon's Podcasting Smarter Tips: 

Before he hit record for the first time, Jon and Wendy hopped on Skype and practiced so they could work on their timing and be confident that their podcast was professional sounding from the beginning 

Jon knew there were a lot of HR podcasts out there already so he know it was important to find a hook. He and Wendy chose to concentrate on humanizing their industry and building community. 

The HR Social Hour Podcast came about after Jon created a weekly Twitter Chat, #HRSocialHour in order to connect with other HR professionals that like him, were not able to attend SHRM, a large, annual HR conference. That twitter chat was so successful, that it inspired the idea for a complementary podcast. 

Podcasters may want to consider starting their own Twitter Chats as a way to connect with their audience. Be sure to advertise the date/time, and attach a hashtag to it. Jon uses the tool, Wakelet, to capture the content from his Twitter chats. 

Jon has benefitted professionally from his podcast. He even got invited to be part if the Blog Squad for this year's SHRM Conference in Chicago. This gave him the opportunity to connect with respected leaders in his industry. 

His biggest piece of advice is to do our homework. It is easy to start a podcast, but difficult to keep it going unless you prepare by organizing your time, planning your content, and committing to being consistent. 

 

Jon's Hypothetical Podcast About His Life: "The Professional B.S. Podcast"

 

Jon's Fantasy Podcaster: Hal Needham

 

Check our the HR Social Hour Podcast on Podbean, iTunes, and Stitcher! Follow HR Social Hour on Facebook, and you can find Jon on Twitter too!  You can also listen to Star Joes Podcast in all the places as well! :) 

Remember, you can join Jon and Wendy the 4th Sunday of each month at 7 PM Eastern for the #HRSocialHour chat on Twitter!  See how they do it, and consider starting your own!