RecruiterGuy - A Day In The Life of A Recruiting Strategist

Postling Along...

2010-04-14T07:57:00.001-07:00

So I've been watching the likes of Postling, Yiid and Onlywire since I started using Ping.fm quite some time ago. The beauty of being able to easily manage multiple social media profiles via a single site or tool is always appealing - especially if you've multiple platforms or very segmented audiences that you're addressing.

Truth be told, I'd signed up for Postling some time ago and ended up letting it fall off my radar until a friend and colleague asked if I'd seen it. Since his opinion and thoughtstream is one that I respect and he felt it was worth mentioning, I felt it most definatly warranted me putting it through a test run. Hey, I like to think I know a smart person when I see one!

So throughout the remainder of April I'll be posting here and there through the Postling tool. At present I have it set up to push blog posts through Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, Tublr and Squarespace. I've also set it up to ping my Facebook and Twitter accounts with status updates. Handy? You bet. Effective? We'll see.

One of the other things I'm interested in toying with a bit is the tracking features that Postling offers. From the "Dashboard" I'll have a look at my most recently published comments and posts as well as the ability to filter just comments shot back at me. But the item that I'm really interested in is the Bit.ly tracking integration.

So far my only complaint about Postling is the lack of ease found in searching out topics within the community and that I haven't seen a mobile app come out just yet. But hey, I'm betting they're working on it.

I'll pump these posts through manually to my blog as a Drupal CMS platform seems to be the only integration so far. What will also follow will be a more detailed review when I'm done playing.

Additionally I'll likely hit Onlywire in the same fashion in May for anyone interested. For now though, I'm simply Postling along one update at a time.

Postling Along...

2010-04-14T07:54:00.001-07:00

I'll pump these posts through manually to my blog as a Drupal CMS platform seems to be the only integration so far. What will also follow will be a more detailed review when I'm done playing.

Additionally I'll likely hit Onlywire in the same fashion in May for anyone interested. For now though, I'm simply Postling along one update at a time.

Mobile Marketing | Social Recruiting Summit 2009 #socialrecruiting

2009-06-17T12:08:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation - my presentation and partnership with Michael Marlatt about mobile marketing and recruitment at the Google hosted Social Recruiting Summit 2009

Mobile Marketing | Social Recruiting Summit 2009 #socialrecruiting

View more Microsoft Word documents from Chris Hoyt.

Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

2008-09-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

The day has arrived where Google has announced what some of us have been -hoping- suspecting was on the horizon... It's move into the browser business. While I'm a fan of FireFox and am enjoying watching what AT&T will do with Pogo, I'm intrigued by this announcement and what it might mean for internet users everywhere. Welcome to the browser game it's newest player, Chrome.

Get the rest of this blog entry over at http://blog.recruiterguy.net.
Get the official Google Blog release here:
Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

2008-06-04T11:56:00.001-07:00

On the phone with friend from Toronto - I miss Canada a bit, I think.

Where is RecruiterGuy?

2008-03-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you have messaged me asking where updates are... Just so ya' know - RecruiterGuy posts are primarily made here: www.RecruiterGuy.net

Thanks!

Nothing is Permanent Except Change...

2008-02-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite quotes about change comes from Heraclitus who said, "Nothing is permanent except change." (of course don't get me started on why he's one of my favorites.) The scenarios that this famous quote can be applied to are, of course, limitless. So I'll do my best to stay focused in regards to my point.

I'm a fan of change. To be completely honest I've had more than one occasion where I'll have a project (both personal and professional) only half completed but will already have in my back pocket a lengthy list of what needs to happen in it's 3rd revision. Is this productive? I'm not sure - but it's certainly not boring. How do I combat this in arenas where I have unwaivering timelines? I simply make it a point to surround myself with people that balance my racing mind and hunger for updates with strong detail driven minds and an almost OCD'ish drive to complete things.

About a month ago I got a wild itch to begin a new blogging project that, to be honest, wasn't even completely laid out in my head. What you now see over at www.recruiterguy.net is the 'in progress' result. I've changed direction (surprise!) a few times but feel that it's at least got enough meat to throw up and play with while live. Some folks that I've spoken to felt that I should have waited to publish the site until it was 100% complete. I thought about this for a few days and decided against it - what if one of you dear readers posts or submits and idea that comes to you while seeing something on here that is in development... It would have gone otherwise without mention and we certainly can't have that. Then again, there is always the notion that a living blog such as this will never be 100% complete. Officially, anyhow.

So simply speaking to my new blogging/networking toy - I'm working on it. And as with anything else I touch, feedback is always welcome. Here is a list of just a few things I've incorporated over the last few days - keep in mind, these items may not be here in a week...

Audio feeds for all blog entries (working toward W3 on this)
Ties with various social network identities
Strong Google Tools Integration
Dynamic blogrolling
Wikipedia Integration
Photoblogging component

I know these don't seem like much in bullets like that - but I've a specific direction I'm heading and these were vital to get set up first. Sure I'm obsessive with change - but I do have some ideas that have to be mapped out, ya' know.

How to have a great blog?

2008-02-11T06:05:00.000-08:00

Over the last few weeks I've had some questions (both online and in person) about blogging. Questions that were simply related to how to get a blog off the ground or to get some readership generated.

Let's be clear before I go any further, though... I'm in round 3 of my blogging experience that has been going pretty strong since 2001. I've changed domains and topics and interests and even online names. In fact, of all the blogging I've done, this is the first round where I share my real name and location, etc. (an interesting challenge might be to see who can find me under my old nics...)

So if you know me in person, you know that I've been blogging long before I became the unofficial official RecruiterGuy. Either way - to answer a few questions that I've been asked recently about blogging I thought I'd just share some wisdom from Bob Walsh.

Be Thankful
When you find that someone has referred to one
of your posts and start seeing traffic from that link, drop them a thank you email.
Be Interested
Show an interest in the people who are writing about your blog.
Be Respectful
Give credit when someone else's post sparks your creativity.
Be Helpful
If you see a wanton typo or broken link on a post, drop the
blogger a short friendly email pointing it out...Don't trash those who made mistakes on your blog - we all live in glass houses.
Be Organized
It's easy to lsoe contact with people in the blogosphere.
Make the effor tto keep their contact informatino handy and to keep in touch with them.

Bob maintains some interesting blogging and authored a great book, "clear blogging" that has tons of great info for beginner bloggers and certainly isn't short on quick and easy lessons on how to get started blogging.

Of course, I'm always working on a few of these pointers myself as I collect my own content from around the blogosphere and reorganize it here but... you get the idea.
Thanks for the great addition to anyone's library, Bob!

One Ring To Connect Them All...

2008-02-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

Well it's no secret that I'm in love with social networking. It's definately no secret that I'm so addicted to the social networks and blogosphers that even my dogs have their own 'myspace-ish' page over at Dogster. (which incidentally led to Sci-Fi's new "relationship")

A friends list on any social network can be a powerful tool or a powerful waste of time depending on how it's managed. Let's look at two quick examples; MySpace and LinkedIn. Now granted these are very different social spheres but I'm keeping it simple. (I'm still only on my 2nd cup of coffee!)

On MySpace we see that the majority of people networking there are networking for personal enjoyment. Yes, there are many marketing aspects to many of the people posting there, but the large majority of the people on MySpace are 'myspacing' because it's all about personal time.
So the friend requests fly quick and accumulate and stack up and become pages and pages of faces on each persons profile. You'll even find contests to see who can have the most friends.
Of course there isn't anything wrong with this, it is 'social' networking, and it's supposed to be fun.

Then we take a look at LinkedIn and we see a different type of networking. We see a site that revolves around your career and what you're willing to share about your resume. Once again we know that there are the exceptions to the rule here but it's easy to see how this network is different by the lack of neon backgrounds and dancing animations or blaring music on every page load. (not that there is anything wrong with seeing 400 dancing squirrels singing about peanut butter and jelly as a background of a webpage - you know who you are.)

What happens when we start treating our social network sites that are created for a niche as though they all are the same network? What happens to the credibility of our LinkedIn network when we suddenly add our 400 MySpace friends? Does LinkedIn lose it's effectiveness or does it's power become extended?

I use many different blogs and network sites - and I recognize that each is created with a particular niche in mind. My LinkedIn network, for instance, is closely guarded. If I've 100 connections it's because I've met them all or am following them closely online or in the news and hope to meet with them or network with them in the future. So someone I've not heard of won't get an acceptance to me if it's generic by request and I don't recognize them.

Fast forward to a future 5 years from now where everyone has adopted 'power invites' for network sites. Perhaps a single social networking site will exist that lets us 'tag' or 'catagorize' our contacts so that we can quickly send messages along the lines of IM's to our professional circle and a 'poke' to our college buddies or even an 'announcement' about hot tickets on sale to the local garage band. Maybe each page is completely customized on both the account owner (what they show - giang background images, strobing music videos, etc.) and the visitor (what they care to see - no loud music, no customized format)
Interesting idea.... and I'm certainly undecided on if I think it's a good direction. But the pros and cons are most definately debatable.

Until then I'm left to wonder how those 'power invites' are working out for people - unless they're just using them for one-way communication or self promotion and have missed the definition of 'networking' I'm challenged to understand the benefit.
It's downright soul-less, IMHO.

Google Fan? Straight Up...

2008-02-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

I received a few emails this week from blog readers asking where my old blog went... the one that was color coded like Google (gosh, was it?)... the one that had the Google language links... the one that even linked to a few Google maps.

The answer to that question is easy - I've been working on a new one. It will be ready soon and will have a neat surprise for those of you that surf a few of the different channels I'm always on.

But the other question in most of those (I say "most" - there were only 7) was WHY I'm so in love with Google. Okay.... I'll answer this by asking - Who isn't?

Alas, I know this isn't really an answer. So let me enlighten my friends with why I love Google so much.
So here are a few reasons that just pop into my head because I use them mainly for work nearly every single day. Yes, I said EVERY.

Razor Sharp search technology
Whether it's simply searches you're conducting or something much more complex, Google does it. Everyone knows about AND, OR, INCLUDE and EXCLUDE. But very few are aware of DATE:, FILETYPE:, INFO, and one of my favorites, SITE:
Example: site:www.recruiterguy.net will return results only from www.recruiterguy.net
Example: filetype:doc will bring back results that are in MS Word format.
Example: date:3 will bring back results that are dated within the previous 3 months.
All very useful to a recruiter, eh?
Power Searching for Images (face recognition!)
What a great way to find elusive Album Art for downloaded music! Uh... I mean... what a great way to find album art... uhm... nevermind.
Blog Searches
Quickly search the entire blogosphere for information based on the keywords you enter. Looking for that blog by that crazy cat, RecruiterGuy, but can't remember where it was on the www? Just do a quick search via Google blogsearch to get a whole list of where he's hanging out.
Traveler Searches
Sure, I know how to check the weather to help me decide if I need to bring my golf clubs on a lengthy recruiting trip but... did you know I can also check my flight status and get departure times and any issues that could be causing delay?
The Maps!
Oh... the maps. This feature alone is it's own post... nay, it's own page. I've just found a creative new way to track my running using the maps. An example of RecruiterGuy's Google Maps.
GoogleTalk
Another great communication tool from Google. I average about 4 conversations a week from job seekers or recruiters looking to join our team. (and my daughter sends me quick updates when I'm on the road.)
NewsGroups
Sure, usenet paved the way back in the late 70's but Google's tweaking the future. Of course, truth be told - Usenet postings from the early 80's can be found archived in the Google Groups. Showing off? Yeah, probably a little.
Picasa
Image editing made super simple. Even upon installation this great little app scans your entire computer for all images - and makes them available with just a few clicks for edits and uploads to an entire online album that, yes, it also starts and hosts for you.
Did I mention that it makes movies from your images?
Blogger
Okay - yeah, it's just an easy blogging tool that is really user friendly. But as mentioned just above - Picasa effortlessly transfers images straight to your blog.
Analytics
In depth tracking tool for multiple sites. You need only stick in some quick html before the [/body] tag of your templates and off you go. Of course, it's still got a little ways to go as it's not so friendly with MySpace and other social sites... but it'll get there, I think.

I could literally go on and on and on... but I'll spare you. Google is literally something that I, as a recruiter, use every single day. I can't imagine having to work through a day without being able to quickly map a location, get directions, source a resume, or search the blogs and newsgroups over morning coffee.

Strong... Recruiter Strong.

2008-01-29T04:28:00.000-08:00

I don't know how else to describe it. I'm running on very little sleep because I've got so much going through my head at night that my brain just won't rest. But I'm not tired.
I'd venture to say that I got about 3 hours of sleep last night... with a combined 9 hours over the weekend - but I'm not dragging.

I'm excited about this years recruiting.
I'm excited about this years recruiting team!
I'm very excited about all of the great things we're able to do this year in terms of reaching out and touching job seekers directly as opposed to just waiting for job seekers to find us.

My team is almost full as I've just made my final decision on who will fill our California Recruiting slot and am working on the final details for our Detroit Recruiting opening.

The best part about being short staffed? (okay, really the ONLY good part...) It's making the offer to fill it.
Most of us that love Recruiting usually love Recruiting for several different reasons. I don't know any Recruiters that love what they do for any single reason. But I also don't know any Recruiter that doesn't absolutely love the part of their job when a person is visually or audibly excited when we extend a job offer.

There's nothing like being part of a forward thinking Recruiting team in a forward thinking company. It's exciting to add to a person to that team that is as hungry and motivated as the other members.

So today... I'm Recruiter Strong.
100mph - and missing nothing... except maybe some coffee.

Hiring Event -> COMPLETE!

2008-01-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

We've just finished the AT&T Hiring Event here in El Paso for the Senior Consultant Sales Jobs and are pleased to announced that we were able to conduct nearly 50 job interviews on the spot with interested and prescreen qualified El Paso job seekers!

One of the best parts about being a recruiter for AT&T is getting to go into the field and meet the people that apply for our jobs at www.att.jobs. Getting to shake their hands and talk to them, see a smiling face, and answer questions in person - all great fun!Of course, conducting job interviews is also one of my favorite things... but it takes a back seat to the job offers. Nothing is better than offering someone a job after they've gone through the sometimes strenuous hiring process.

This is one recruiter that loves field work... almost as much as the 'e' side of his job.
Mucho thanks to everyone that came out today and for all of the "Hey RecruiterGuy" emails I've received this week. I'm here in El Paso for the remainder of the weekend and then I'm off to Oakland, CA to interview some people to fill a position on my team.
Will RecruiterGuy go to Mexico tomorrow?... Hmmmm.... only pictures will tell.

RecruiterGuy Checking In!

2008-01-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Just a quick blog to say that we're on day 3 of our AT&T Recruiting Road trip and still in El Paso looking for Senior Consultants to interview at Saturday's big event. We'll be out at the 1575 Resler location and hoping to see lots of people that are interested in joining the teams in our fast-paced call center.

I've taken quite a few pictures since we've been on the road and am working to get them all updated. I'm using the BlackBerry to snap them all so some are obviously going to be much better than others. Of course, I've found that using the blackberry to quickly upload them to my Facebook page is infinitely easier than using Picassa. Either that or I just haven't figured out how to take full advantage of Picassa yet.

We've just wrapped up a terrific meeting with the team at the Fort Bliss offices where soldiers and military families go to look for work in the El Paso area. It was terrific to see that they had flyers of our AT&T Hiring Event posted in their office and that they were getting some attention from those going by.

Being a veteran myself, it's always great to find myself partnering with military organizations. I'm really looking forward to our turnout tomorrow and hoping that I see some referrals from our Fort Bliss relationship.

Just waiting to fly...

2008-01-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Sitting at gate B7 in Detroit...
I'm surprised with the amount of work I've managed to get completed today - of course, this includes the job offer that is to be extended in the morning. That's right... the competition was stiff - but the job has been filled.

Pending acceptance, I've managed to finally fill the Detroit Recruiter position - hey, don't laugh, the competition was tough! I'm excited about what this means to our team as we've some terrific opportunities around the country and this additional resource will help us communicate them to everyone.

The plane has just pulled in to the gate and to be honest, this RecruiterGuy is pretty beat. I'll have some work to catch up with on the flight home as well as a minimum 3 mile run I promised a very good friend of mine today when I get back.

RecruiterGuy, signing off after a productive day on the road!

Dinner with RecruiterGuy...

2008-01-13T19:03:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, the glamour of recruiting. :-)

So I'm sitting here in my office (at home) catching up on weekend emails and deciding how to organize the blogs and social network efforts for the next two weeks - and I notice the dinner that I 'plonked' down in front of myself...

It would seem that I got so wrapped up in answering quick inquiries about job locations, duties, and of course the spots I've available on my team, that I forgot to grab a bite to eat. Now those of you that know me, know that this is NOT my usual motes operandi. I'm big on quality of life and keeping personal life and health up front.

Now normally I wouldn't have thought twice about the following - but over the course of the last 30 days or so, I've had a number of people tell me that my job sounds like something that most would kill for. That my work and the recruiters on my team get to be involved in so many different markets and projects and travel and and and and... that ANYONE would kill for the job.

Okay, this is flattering - and does fall in line with that romantic idea that most have of 'recruiting'.. but it should be clear that while there are the occasional perks and fun locations to go to... most nights are no more exciting than a bowl of Chicken Spaghetti and a domestic beer.
So as I closed out a few emails and got ready to get some nourishment into my body, I got a chuckle out of what lay in front of me - so yeah, I took a snapshot of it....

Love my job? Absolutely!
Passionate about it? Of course! Why else would I be checking emails and working calls to 5 different states and potential job seekers between Girl Scout Cookie Sales and Honey-do's throughout my Sunday?

Glamorous? Nope.
Awesome? Yep.
For everyone? Ha!

New Year... New Recruiter?

2008-01-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

RecruiterGuy here... I thought long and hard about what my first blog post of the year would be. I thought long and hard about what direction I would take with blogging and micro-blogging and audio-blogging and yes - even video blogging this year.

And I said to myself, "RecruiterGuy," (that's what I call myself) "Don't kick off your New Year blogging with a long and verbose promise about how you'll blog this year. Don't simply post all the job titles that you'll be hiring for, all the locations that you'll be working in, and the usual verbiage about the benefits and competitive wages. Nay, RecruiterGuy," (still talking to myself here, right?)

"Keep it real this year. Post, dear self, about what everyone else is dreading.. denying.. even neglecting. Post about your resolutions for 2008!"

So here they are... RecruiterGuy's professional and personal New Year resolutions for 2008.

RECRUITERGUY'S RESOLUTIONS

Every Sunday - Call a different friend or family member, just to talk. (when you run out - just cycle through the list... or go make new friends to bug each 7th day of the week.)
Treat my body as well as I treat my classic sports car. Example: Better fuel in equals better performance.
Perform 150 weight/strength training sessions and 150 cardio/misc. sessions by end of year.
Make an attempt to speak my wife's primary and secondary love language every day.
Have a minimum of 52 "Game Nights" with my daughters.
Take my guitar playing seriously.
Take FULL advantage of Google and MS Office and Blackberry software to simplify and organize my life.
Get my music library in tip-top shape.
Blog once a day.

Okay - so for better or worse, there they are. I've been thinking about them for a few months, err.. weeks.... okay! I just gave them some serious thought last night! GEEZ!
Regardless - these are goals that I think are attainable. These are items that over the last year I made enough comments to myself about that they stood out enough in my 11:45pm note scribbling frenzy to get some resolutions documented. (Because if you make them AFTER 12am on 1/1 they don't count, right?)

So here we go. Into 2008. I am RecruiterGuy 2.0!

Your Resume and the Fruit Fly

2007-04-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

From time to time I'll speak to groups about how to work on their resume. Lord knows I've seen enough to recognize a good one - at least in format, right? ;) Here are some of my quick tips on how to keep your resume in tip-top shape:

The Attention Span of a Fruit Fly
You typically only have 10-20 seconds of a Recruiter or Hiring Managers time.
It's not fair - but it's true.

Keep it short and sweet - customize that resume if you know what job you're trying to be considered for. Translation: Don't give a generic resume that doesn't focus on your incredible accomplishments as a Rocket Scientist to the folks at NASA.

Diversity & Organizations
If it's nothing else it's a buzzword!
"Job seekers should pride themselves in sharing information about their diverse affiliations and community involvement with potential employers. Sharing this information helps to demonstrate leadership and a commitment to the communities in which they live," Granville says, DiversityInc.com.

Get Current and have options for your electronic resumes â€“ At least in your format!
MS Word, .TXT, even HTML = Go
PDF = No-Go

Everyone Likes an Action Movie!
Both employers and search engines scan documents for key words and phrases that describe a candidate's skills and abilities. Don't worry about repetition as long as it is not gratuitous. Start sentences or bullets with words such as founded, designed, organized, completed, implemented, created or built.

Your Honor, I have proof!
To move your career to the next level, your resume should read like an argument with supportive evidence. "I am good at X because I have experience in Y and Z."

Kill the fluff
Kill items that don't identify the direct impact you made for the company.
"References available upon request." Can go away - we all know you have them and if we want them, we'll simply ask you

Wait! There is hope!!

2007-03-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Okay - this must be why we do it.

AWESOME job fair held at a small community college just outside of the same metroplex where Job-Fair-of-Lacklusterness was held earlier in the week. We had people lined up and waiting for our team with great questions and what seemed to be an honest interest in getting onboard as quickly as possible.

And let's talk about the appearance of the job seekers today...
I could count the pairs of sneakers I saw on one hand. We spoke to professionally dressed students as well as local adults (it was open to the public) that had come in during their lunch hour. Each person that approached the booth was polite, articulate, and patient. Most notable - no one ran by the booth and tried to swipe a handful of giveaways without anyone noticing... at least that I noticed. :)

In addition, it wasn't just the job seekers at this event that impressed me. What was really a hit was the level of networking that took place by the employers that were present. I swear, it felt like it was a room full of Recruiters rather than some folks in the office that drew the short stick and were told to sit at a table all day at the local CC.

Refreshing indeed.

Another Lack-luster Job Fair...

2007-03-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Why do we do it? Why do we (recruiters and staffing professionals) continue to drag our collateral, tablecloths, job fair booths, and pamphlets or flyers to job fairs?

I suppose it's because we hope that they'll start to make a comeback. I guess we think that if we stick it out, those BabyBoomers that are getting ready to plummet from the workforce will hit the fairs in search of new work as they enjoy their retirement checks or scramble to make up for lost income they didn't think they'd miss.

NEWSFLASH: The trend continues. General job fairs just aren't generating the leads that they used to.

Yesterday's job fair was one that I have attended in the past in numerous cities around the country over the years. Sadly, this event was in a large metroplex area but generated no more than 150 job seekers that were just cruisin' on through. The media had been saturated, the markets and niches all touched - yet the trend of less response each go around seems to continue.

Note to self: Get more active in virtual job fairs.
Note to job seekers: Get more active in virtual job fairs so RecruiterGuy can find you.

Team Builder or People Watcher?

2007-03-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

What a week!

I've had meetings to help arrange for recruiting assistance for local hiring from teams all over the country. With some open house events coming up in just a few weeks, I'm usually pretty excited when I've the opportunity to pull teams together that don't usually get to see one another.

Is it because it's just good to see those team members from time to time? Well, yeah - we've some terrific people on our teams. But that's not the main reason.
Is it because I'm just excited to help people accrue enough frequent reward miles to send their entire extended family to Disneyland at the end of the year? Nah, not really - but that's always nice.
Could it be the amazing relationship that is formed at the fun happy hours afterwards? Hmmm... okay - no, but that's definitely right up there.

I'll tell you what it is (because I know you're just dying to know!) I really enjoy pulling different teams together and experiencing the interaction and the differences.

Of course, this goes much deeper than the differences in personalities, local cultures, and processes and practices - I always enjoy watching staffing people and recruiters interact with job seekers that are from a different part of the world or country. There is an interesting buzz when you've company representatives from California, Illinois, and Connecticut all talking to job seekers from South Texas. They dynamic, while subtle, is always interesting. The job seeker's reactions to strong Eastern or Northern accents, the interviewer's adjustment to completely different speech patterns or speeds, etc.
Again - subtle. But interesting and fun to be engaged in.

So rapidly approaches the next big event to get some large scale hiring done. Next week is all about preparing media and getting the word out - of course, that's always fun too.

Web2.0 - Web3.0 - Web3.doh!

2007-03-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well in case you've been living in a cave, Web2.0 (at least the version numbering of the Internet) began about 2 years ago. I'm not too sure about the person taking the fame of numbering the Internet, but it has obviously caught on - and is advancing.

While we've seen one of my favorite-to-read guys Seth Godin announce that he has already envisioned Web4.x where we sacrifice 90% of our privacy for a completely plugged-in, interactive and networked existance - I'm not ready to bite just yet. His vision of the future of the Internet truly puts the "web" in www.

Don't get me wrong, however. I see tons of value in a job seeker doing a career search online and instantly knowing which of his personal contacts have already worked or interviewed for said employer. A quick PM or e-mail and you've got some skinny on that company or vague job posting that otherwise could have cost you valuable time in updating your resume or a day at work to go interview.
But at what cost? Privacy be damned?

Online networking tools continue to thrive and show value - especially in the world of recruiting. While I'm still toying with the clumsy, cluttered, and awkward interface of the virtual reality program Second Life (when I've nothing else to do - which reminds me, if you've seen Second Life, you've GOT to check out First Life) I still find greater nuggets of recruiting goodness in LinkedIn. Of course, I'm not the type of recruiter that is adding anyone that simply sends a request.

My LinkedIn profile and network is sacred and not just an extended contact list for me. I think smart use of LinkedIn and similar networks is a strong step forward to Web3.0. And in my humble opinion - those in a race to simply add everyone to their network that a LinkedIn toolbar suggests or that are looking to simply have the largest network to spam (yeah, I said it) are just steering us toward a WebX.doh.

THAT's What I'm Talkin' About!

2007-03-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

Whenever I place an ad in a paper, I try and make sure that it's going to be easy to understand in whatever market or niche I'm publishing.Â If I'm running an ad for bilingual jobs, I might place my ad in both English and Spanish.Â If I'm looking for strictly Polish speaking workers I may put media in place within the Polish community that is just presented in Polish.

Why should my blog be any different?Â So in an effort to broaden my scope a little bit (and just to see if I could get it working) I've taken advantage of yet another great tool that Google provides - language translation.
You'll see the new addition on the right of the blog and find that it will not only translate the content of the page you are viewing but will continue to translate for you as you navigate throughout and the site and beyond.Â Not that you'd want to leave this blog anyhow, right?

Right?

Job Fairs... Still Worth It?

2007-03-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

I remember back in the day when I would go to a job fair and gladly write the check or hand over the credit card and not even flinch at the 4 digit sum I was paying.Â Of course, this was because I knew I was going to run in to many, if not tons, of people that came actually looking for work.

You know the type - dressed in a suit (and on the rare occasion they weren't it was because they raced from their current job to get there) with a fresh resume in hand.Â Current contact information on the resume included more than one number to reach them and if it had an email address it wan't one that revealed something a little to personal about them. (WhipsAndChips@ and ThickIndaBooty@ are still two of my personal favorites to have come across my desk in the last 5 years.)

I recently attended a few major job fairs hosted by some pretty major career boards.Â One or two may have even been monsterous while a few others were career builders for those on the hunt for employment....
Most were in different markets from one another and at each I was searching for various ranges of skills and experience - so this isn't an isolated issue.

Sadly, one thing was a simple guarantee at each event.Â In my humble opinion I'm just not getting the "bang for my buck" that I used to.
Now I'm not saying that I expect everyone to show up in a suit nowadays, but something other than worn out sneakers and a wrinkled t-shirt might tell me you're serious.Â Heck, if you've been hit by a wrinkle grenade on your way to the event, would it be so hard to clean up a bit?

And don't get me wrong - there are still job seekers out there that are taking the fairs and expos seriously, but they seem to be the minority.

While at an event in Chicago less than a week ago I found that there was a wonderful caliber of candidate on average, but just didn't have the volume of job seekers I'd have liked to have seen for the dollars I paid.

I think I'm leaning toward the growing opinion that some of the companies throwing the career fairs are just a little to proud of thier name and just a little to used to recruiters paying whatever is asked and not thinking twice.Â I just don't see the justification in some of the larger job boards out there charging upwards of $3,000 for a 6 foot table and then maybe getting 500 heads to walk through.

This year (and man, it's been a busy one so far!) is the year of niche events and my own orchestration of events, I think.Â And though I said I was giving it some hard consideration last year, barring any exceptions, I truly think I'm done with the larger generic job fairs where I'm paying more than $2 per potential job seeker.

I want my "bang for my buck" back!Â

My Office Is Bugged!!

2007-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm on the phone with a peer in the industry and we're talking about finding people who will have passion about their work and passion about their company.Â This, of course, launched us into a debate about which is more important and - if at all - which creates or encourages the other.

I'm of the belief that when someone that is passionate about what they do is matched with a company that is passioniate about supporting it's people that the end result is a driven employee that is passionate about thier company.Â Now granted there are lots of other issues here to look at in the larger scope of "passion" for people and company, but darned if a quick search for others opinions didn't find this recent post that is almost exactly part of my conversation with my peer...

Kathy Sierra said:
People ask me, "How can I get our employees to be passionate about the company?" Wrong question. Passion for our employer, manager, current job? Irrelevant. Passion for our profession and the kind of work we do? Crucial. If I own company FOO, I don't need employees with a passion for FOO. I want those with a passion for the work they're doing. The company should behave just like a good user interface -- support people in doing what they're trying to do, and stay the hell out of their way. Applying the employer-as-UI model, the best company is one in which the employees are so engaged in their work that the company fades into the background.

When Does Your Interview Start?

2007-02-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

I've just returned from a whirlwind tour around the country this week in an effort to do just about everything a recruiter is supposed to do.Â Today is, of course, the day that I get all of my paperwork and expenses in order from said trip.Â Included in my "administrative catch-up" today is to get a blog entry done.Â (JT - you reading this?Â Your emails reminding me that I haven't blogged are not without notice.)Â :)

So on my trip I was lucky enough to encounter many interesting people.Â And as happens on any typical trip as a recruiter - we meet those that we'd love to hire, and those that we wish we'd never seen.Â Today, dear readers - I address those that we wish we'd never seen.

I must wonder if job seekers realize when their job interview actually begins?Â Do they know that when they're speaking with a recruiter or representative of a company that the 'interview process' has actually already begun?

Last week Joe Blow walked up to me as I was speaking to potential candidates and asked me some questions about a new job title I'm recruiting for.Â His first mistake - he was interrupting me while I was addressing another job seeker.

Now because the particular title Joe is interested in is within the Customer Service arena, I've taken particular notice of his interpersonal skills displayed thus far.
To follow his interruption, Joe continues to tell me what a great candidate he is for the job and would like to know just how far back the background checks might go and what exactly we are looking for when we conduct them.

When I give Joe the standard response to background check questions and assure him that not everyone is removed from consideration because of something on their record, he continues to pressure me to see how far back the check might go.

"It's a standard background check, sir.Â I'm really not at liberty to speak in much detail about the amount of time it pulls from your history, but I can assure you that anything received is looked at on a case-by-case basis and you're not simply dismissed."
I tried to then steer the question toward his qualifications and interest in the job at hand.
"You can't legally check too far back, can you?" he asks.

"I'm not aware of a limitation in regard to the length of time that can be addressed" I respond, "but we can talk about any concerns you may have with any thing that does result from the check."

"You don't have a clue, do you?" Joe says. "You don't even know at all, I'll bet."

"I assure you," I reply, "I'm aware of the process and procedures that we use to conduct our background checks."

At this point, Joe has become a bit aggressive and hands me his resume and decides to move into his self-promoting sales pitch of what a wonderful fit he'd be for this customer facing job he's interested in.Â He says that he knows he's a bit rushed today but that he'll be great for the interview.

I hope he's not waiting by the phone - in my mind, his interview is complete.

Found Jim's Dog...

2007-01-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Oh, btw...

Found Jim's Dog a few weeks ago.. in under 20 minutes.Â Ain't that grand?
(Hey, my blog = my bragging rights, heheh.)

The McDonaldization of Job Seeking...

2006-12-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Fast, fast, fast. Get it to go. Don't waste time going in, just hit the drive-thru. Well anyone that has ever watched Lethal Weapon 2 knows what happens to you at the drive-thru (ref: Joe Pesci's rant when his order is wrong - google it.)

As a result of this blog, I'm receiving resumes that are simply forwarded to me and are unsolicited. Now make no mistake - I don't mind that at all, in fact it's a wonderful thing. What I'm taking issue with today is the manner in which some of them are sent.

If you are taking the time to send a resume to a recruiter, for Pete's sake (whoever Pete is) take a moment to write a greeting or a few introductory sentences. I received something very similar to the following this morning:

Dear Hiring Manager:

Professional with 15+ years expert experience. Thorough knowledge of all federal, state and local laws affecting related issues. Gifted with strong business development background. Possess excellent skills, with the ability to work well under pressure while building strong relationships. Excellent inter-personal and communication skills. Highly motivated, with the strong sense of urgency required in the field. Other experience includes:
â€¢ Developing strategies.
â€¢ Experience with 3rd party vendors.
etc. etc. etc.

Granted, I've stripped out the specifics but honestly - this is the very first thing in the email. Let's be clear, though... It's not the generic, "Dear Hiring Manager" that screams SPAMMED resume that puts me off. It's the fact that this 'salutation' is the only glimmer of "strong communication" skills that everyone's resume touts.

Has "strong communication" just become a buzzword? Would it have been so hard to include a simple introduction or even some complete sentences?
Folks, it's not rocket science. And I understand that some people are just out there trying to get that resume to as many recruiters and hiring managers as possible. But for the love of all things employment - use some communication skills.

Don't treat me like a drive-thru recruiter. I have feelings. I'm a person too, ya' know.
So be warned - you treat me like a drive-thru, you'll get the drive-thru treatment, which in this case is the deletion of your unsolicited resume before I even crack it open.

GI Jobs Facelift

2006-11-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

As a veteran, I'm particularly fond of sites like G.I. Jobs and Military.com when I'm surfing around the Internet and/or recruiting. I find the forums and news posts to be a wonderful resource and networking item - especially when looking for old buddies I served with.

I'm glad to announce that G.I. Jobs has recently undergone a facelift. Some of the highlights are as follows:

Complete front-end redesign

Blogs

Forums

Searchable career, education and franchise bank

New weekly e-newsletter format

Motivational videos

Quizzes, Polls, Comics

Slick? Oh yeah. Check out some of the blogs found on their site:
Career Coach
Boots to Suits
Spouse Jobs
G.I. Resume

Everybody loves a 'quickie'.

2006-11-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Whether or not your somebody that is looking for a few hours of work each day that is flexible enough to work around your study schedule or just an employer that needs 300 flyers passed out in the local shopping mall this weekend - it would seem that there is a service made just for you.

This new service from those crazy kids across the pond focuses on selling 'slivers of time' to employers by letting people register on their site and dictate when they're available to work, where they're available to work, and exactly how long they're available to work. In the world where drive-thru windows in America are being outsourced to phone centers in India, I've got to say that this doesn't surprise me. In fact, the only thing that surprises me is that I didn't think of this first.

The primary audience that this will appeal to (from the job seeker side) would seem to be those willing to work on the lower end of the wage scale. While there seems to be a flipside for those in specialized fields, most tasks would be quite administrative or strictly low/no skilled labor. Should that stop those that are just looking for a few extra bucks each week? Nah.

James Dennis
Registered	No. of bookings to date	No. of hours to date	Market level
13 Mar 2006	47	221	5

Outsourcing The Drive-Through?

2006-11-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

Found on a Restaurant Blog...
The employee taking orders at the drive-through of your favorite fast-food restaurant may have been a little distant lately.

That's because several fast-food chains are testing whether it is more efficient to have remote workers, sometimes thousands of miles away, handle taking drive-through orders and in-restaurant employees concentrate on making food and other tasks, the Boston Globe reports.

In an effort for faster service and more accurate orders, the chains are establishing their own call centers to take drive-through orders at some of their restaurants. Some Wendy's restaurants, including one in Burbank, California, use a call center in New Hampshire for drive-through orders.

One recent customer of the Burbank restaurant tells the newspaper that he had no idea that the person from whom he ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and soda was 3,000 miles away.

"I had absolutely no idea I was talking to someone in New Hampshire," Jairo Moncada tells the newspaper. "Our order was ready at the window. It was really quick."

By creating multiple drive-through lanes at the restaurants and using call centers to take orders, the restaurants can increase the number of customers served per hour, according to the newspaper.

One expert predicts that the practice will become widespread, the newspaper reports.

"Everyone is looking at these call centers," says Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of food-services strategies at WD Partners in Columbus, Ohio. "You can move orders faster, increase the average check by selling them extras--'Would you like fries with that?'--and improve order accuracy. It will become the norm in the next 5 to 10 years."

Obviously, speed and accuracy are especially important in the drive-through business. Wendy's average time for drive-through service was 135.1 seconds in 2006, according to a report by QSR magazine. The company was second best behind Checkers (125.5 seconds) in the magazine's speed ranking of drive-through restaurants.

Wendy's tells the newspaper that it expects orders to be completed in less than 90 seconds at restaurants using call centers.

No Resume Required...

2006-09-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy few days as I go through resumes and the submissions of Online job seekers. I've only a few moments before I call it a day and thought I'd share my top tip of the week for you job seekers out there that are hitting the job boards.

When you see a job you're interested in and smack that "Apply Now" button that tells us on the 'other side' that you'd like to be considered for the position... Please realize that we occasionally need more to go on that just your phone number. I know it seems silly that we would ask for a resume when trying to see if you'd be a good fit for the job but humor us, will you? More than once this week I've seen that wonderful resume option filled in with "Ask me," or "Haven't made one yet," or my personal favorite, "Will fax if needed."

IF needed? Honestly... I suppose recruiters are supposed to be psychic and know if someone is a good candidate based on the email address provided (don't even get me started on those) or the phone number given. Heck... who needs a resume anyhow?

I don't know why I'd need a resume from Moe with an email address of down4ndirty@blahblah.com who says he'll just fax it or bring it by if I need it - I certainly don't need to see any work history to know he'd be a fit for ANY job I've got, right?

Seth says, "No more interviews!" (sorta')

2006-09-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Always a favorite blog to stop in on at least once a week is Seth's Blog. Public speaker, well known agent of change and author of the most popular ebook ever written, Seth lays it out the way only Seth can.

Seth said:
There are no one-on-one-sit-in-my-office-and-let's-talk interviews. Boom, you just saved 7 hours per interview. Instead, spend those seven hours actually doing the work. Put the person on a team and have a brainstorming session, or design a widget or make some espressos together. If you want to hire a copywriter, do some copywriting. Send back some edits and see how they're received.

It's admittedly an interesting concept, but realistic? Probably not for many companies or for very many titles. The message that hits home to me is in his point of keeping interviews relevant to the job the candidate is interviewing for.

If he/she is being interviewed for a job where they will have no customer interaction are the interview questions appropriate? Is the interviewer asking questions about how well they handled a customer service issue in the past or are they asking specific information in regards to the construction of relevant widgets?

Whether or not I agree... Seth's Blog is always worth checking out.

Diversity - Culture...

2006-09-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Focusing on Diversity (Sept '06) - Culture:
An issue that I am constantly putting under my own super-powerful self evaluating microscope is the efforts I put forth in regards to my diversity recruiting and networking.
Am I taking in to account the different cultures in my targeted and anticipated areas of need? Do I ensure that my postings and advertisements and agendas don't exclude any particular audiences?

For example... There was an opening earlier this year for a somewhat entry level bilingual (English-Polish) title. Just running an ad, attending a job fair, and posting on job boards /might/ have been sufficient to fill the job.
Instead, we went to our client and asked for a representative of their group that was bilingual and from the Polish communities we'd be visiting. This was a huge hit (based on unsolicited comments) with the job seekers we encountered.

I had another title to fill this year that was not bilingual, however - I opted to post an advertisement in a few bilingual magazines and newspapers. The ad itself was in English, while the publications were in Spanish. The message this sent was that I wasn't forgetting that cultures have their own identity - and when looking for "passive" candidates I don't want to preclude those that may prefer to read newspapers or visit websites that cater to their preferred language or lifestyle.

What "culture" are you primarily recruiting from? Are you doing it on purpose or out of habit?Â Could you be losing out on a terrific hire or addition to your company because you only ran an ad in the "biggest" and "best read" newspaper in the city?
Are you checking the readership demographics of your regularly run media efforts?

I've a counterpart at another company that was concerned that he was only providing a very limited demographic to his client. He stated that after pulling his ad from the large metro paper and (for the same cost) running it in a few smaller localized publications he found a noticeable difference in the diversity within his candidate pool.

Years of recruiting has shown me that job seekers look for signs that an employer will be committed to them, and for something that they can believe in and be motivated about before they'll commit themselves or their loyalty to the employer. (And as recruiters we know that loyalty is a rapidly fading commodity, right?) Showing that you appreciate or acknowledge those cultural differences in your recruiting efforts is a terrific first step in showing them your company/client values.

Does recruiting in bilingual ads and hitting specific communities show job seekers that you are aware of different cultural identities? Yeah, but I'd say it's the tip of the iceberg.
If you're not already, get involved with your local Chamber of Commerce groups. Ask about diversity issues on the taskforces, committees, and boards you're currently on. Ensure that you're using niche boards and communities (as I believe they're making a comeback!) for recruiting again.

"IM" Firing You?

2006-09-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- RadioShack Corp. notified about 400 workers by e-mail that they were being dismissed immediately as part of planned job cuts.

Employees at the Fort Worth headquarters got messages Tuesday morning saying: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."

Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. She said employees were invited to ask questions before Tuesday's notification on a company intranet site.

Derrick D'Souza, a management professor at the University of North Texas, said he had never heard of such a large number of terminated employees being notified electronically. He said it could be seen as dehumanizing to employees.

"If I put myself in their shoes, I'd say, 'Didn't they have a few minutes to tell me?'" D'Souza said.

Laid-off workers got one to three weeks pay for each year of service, up to 16 weeks for hourly employees and 36 weeks for those with base bay of at least $90,000, the company said.

Source: Associated Press

Umm.... I'm pretty speechless on this one. Layoffs are hard enough on the employees - I can't imagine how anyone came around to making the decision that doing it via email would be a good idea. :(

I've roped off some time later today to dig a little and find out what type of positions were laid off and to contact RadioShack to see if they're providing any assistance with employees that have been affected. Perhaps I'll get lucky and be able to help place some of them in titles I've got available in that area of the country.

This was something I did with another large company a few years back and it was a nice little success story. The transition was smooth for those we were able to pick up, and those that we could not appreciated our efforts to help.

Feng Shui on my Job Board?

2006-08-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

My back is a bit sore today, although not from monkeying around with the kids or anything I did in the gym yesterday. I had to hang a picture for my wife.

Imagine, if you will, I've one foot on the edge of the fireplace and one toe on the coffee table while using both hands and my cat-like agility to keep from falling while holding the 80lbs picture frame.

"Left, sweetie," she says. "More left.... uh huh... up a bit. Now right. Left. Down some... oh over just a bit."

All the while I could swear I was seeing a devilish grin on her face while I'm sweating bullets and doing my impression of a contortionist acrobat. But you see - it's important to her that it's perfect, and all of her OCD issues aside - the perfect placement of the pictures, furniture, and living room accessories are important to her when she entertains. Her goal is that she creates the perfect environment for her invited guests.

This of course takes me back to job postings and recruiting. (what doesn't, right?)
I've had recent conversations with my peers in the industry about how to help sift through the hundreds of job seekers that just don't meet the minimum requirements of jobs they are applying for. So I have to ask them - "How's your feng shui?"

Usually it turns out that they've a job posted that is nothing more than a generic job description - some bullets (if not a bland paragraph) about typical job duties, hours, and perhaps the location of the job.

"Get specific." I tell them.
Get as specific as your client/hiring manager will let you. Get as specific to location and hours and the actual day to day doings of the job as possible. Just listing a few bullets about a job isn't going to convey to them how they might be doing code 8 hours a day or dealing with frustrated customers 50% of their workday.

"Screen them out." I tell them.
If you have the ability to ask prescreen questions then I'd encourage you to do so. Frankly, I'm not sure how any mid-sized company in a metro area or market with an unemployment rate of over 4% could get by without prescreen questions.

Even the most simple of prescreen questions can reduce the amount of unqualified candidates you'll need to go through. For instance... let's say you've a job that requires a commercial drivers license - you've stated this in the job description so go ahead and add it to your prescreen questions.
It has always amazed me how many people literally fly through a job description, not really reading through it only to smack on the "Apply" button. A prescreen question with specifics as to the type of drivers license they have or don't have (and mentioning that a check /could/ be done to validate the answer) goes a long way in cleaning up your list of top candidates.

So is my living room tweaked to feng shui perfection for guests? My wife says that she decorates our house so that it's comfortable for our friends and family - and she does seem to be constantly on the receiving side of compliments to that effect.
How about your job postings? Are you "decorating" them as invitations with the perfect "guest" in mind? Step back and take a look at those jobs where you're getting too many job seekers and not enough candidates. You may need to get out the feng shui whiffle bat and start swinging wide. Then again, maybe you just need to adjust a little to left... or up... or down...

Eating Right Is Healthy...

2006-08-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Okay... So one day I looked down and realized that I had an extra 10lbs that I needed to shed (no, really... just 10... I swear!) What used to be a stomach with a six-pack had started to, over the years, get more of a party ball look. So in an effort to ward off this sign of aging I purchased a book called "the Abs Diet" that is written by the EIC of Men's Health.

As I'm flipping through the book a revelation (note that I didn't say a 'new' revelation) hits me.

"If I eat healthy and get regular exercise then I'll be healthier and am less likely to pack on unwanted pounds!!"

Okay - this isn't new news to most of us and while the book has some other terrific information in it - this was ultimately the main message. A message that I already knew but apparently needed a $15 reminder to put into motion. [side note: the book is a great addition to any fitness library]

So to all of you veteran recruiters I submit the following to you... In addition to staying current and up to date with the new recruiting trends and tools, are you occasionally reminding yourself to head back to the basics for a "reminder" of what is at the core of our craft?

Recruiting is an art and a science - and what scientific artist couldn't use a good refresher every once in a while?

Four Ways to Improve Recruiting - Kevin Wheeler @ ERE.net

Behavioral Interviewing for Dummies - Anthony J. @ Recruiting.com

Recruiters Network Resources

ZoomInfo Webinar Archives

Welcome to RecruiterGuy!

2006-08-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

I am RecruiterGuy and this is a redirect to my full blog that can be found at www.recruiterguy.net.

With that said, here are some quick blurbs about me and RecruiterGuy .net…

What is RecruiterGuy .net for?
The goal of this Blog is to continue to develop my knowledge of Recruiting and my personal network of industry and professional peers and job seekers throughout the world. I’ll more than likely post here very much the same way that I would converse in person - you may find shorthand, abbreviations, wandering topics, heated debate, and proof that there are times when a fruit fly might have more of an attention span that I have.

What’s with the Purple Squirrel?
Anyone that has been in recruiting for any amount of time has been asked to find the purple squirrel. It’s that perfect candidate that has 5 certifications, 10 years of industry specific experience, speaks 3 languages, is willing to relocate to the Antarctic with 24hrs notice (w/o relo), and will work for minimum wage.
The elusive “perfect candidate” that clients everywhere seem to think are pounding down our doors for a job.

The header of the site will no doubt change along with my many moods of the year but that purple squirrel will always be around here somewhere… After all - they’re everywhere, right?

How long have you been blogging?
In one fashion or another I’ve been blogging for nearly 10 years. I manage a small community of blogs for kicks and enjoy customizing blog layouts for friends and family.

Is the Internet really a series of tubes?
Yes. Um… No. Er…. Next question please.

How long have you been recruiting?
I’ve been a recruiter in one fashion or another for over 12 years. With the emergence of Internet recruiting some years ago I fell in love with recruiting all over again. Of course, don’t get me wrong - I don’t think it’s ALL about Internet Recruiting - but a healthy balance with a realization of how powerful a tool the Internet can be in the recruiting toolbox is a necessity in today’s markets.

Who is your current employer?
Since this is my personal blog and not affiliated in any way, shape, fashion, or form with my employer, I won’t be sharing this outright. (you read my disclaimer, right?) I’m sure if you hang around long enough and chat me up, you’ll find it’s easy enough to figure out.

Determination Pays Off

2006-08-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today I had a job seeker in my candidate pool that seemed to be a PERFECT match for one of my available (and VERY hard to fill) titles. For the sake of this quick story, we're gonna' just call him "Al."

Sadly, Al's resume didn't reflect a current phone number. So every time I attempted to call him I got everyones favorite recording telling me that the number was no longer in service. Of course, the only reason I kept calling it was on the off chance that it would be reconnected or one of those nifty little "new number" recordings would suddenly play. No luck, of course.

A week goes by and I'm still having a heck of a time filling this position and I can't get over how perfect Al would be for this job. So I dig up Al's resume and take a look at it again. While I was just staring blankly at his name and address I decided that if this guy was still interested... then THIS was the guy I needed to find.

I pulled up the WhitePages in my browser and looked up Al by his name and address. The number was the same dc'd number I had on his resume. When looking at similar addresses in the listings shown I noticed that the numbers were a bit strange. So I pulled up Google Maps to get an aerial view - I love that satellite hybrid feature!
It looked like Al lived (since I didn't even know if he was still there) in a VERY small apartment complex that consisted of 3-4 buildings and that was in a VERY small town. I opened up a new tab in my browser and headed over the the YellowPages site where I tried to look for an apartment complex on that street in that town. No Luck.

On the off chance that they might have an idea of how to contact that complex I called an Apartment Locater service. Unfortunately the complex was privately owned and was not in any of the Apartment Locator's databases. Not to be deterred, I asked for a listing in the closest apartment complex in that area.

Smiling and dialing I reached a woman at a neighboring commercial complex that knew how to reach the smaller and privately owned apartment complex. She was nice enough to give me the telephone number and moments later I was talking to the owner!

Argh - yet another hurdle. The owner did not have Al's new number and wasn't sure he even remembered him. He did, however, head to the neighboring apartment and asked (he volunteered - I didn't push for him to do so) if they knew where Al had moved to or where he might be.

The neighbor had no idea but did know the number to Al's mother - go figure - small town, right? The neighbor gave me the mother's cell number and I gave her a call. The call I had with Al's mom made my week - but seemed to make her year.

Al was still desperately looking for work and his mom was delighted that I was searching for him. His specialized skills are not in high demand but are paid for quite nicely when hired (think programmers of an obsolete programming language.) Al's mom said that if he were to get the job, it could really save their lives.
Now I don't know how much of that was exaggeration on her part, but hearing her out of breath and 1/2 singing her responses to me made me feel that she was pretty genuine. I was speaking with Al 10 minutes later.
Al comes in for an interview next week. I can't wait to meet him.

Social Networking...

2006-08-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

Anyone here mess around with Friendster? It's reportedly getting only 200 or so fewer U.S. visitors than MySpace putting it in the top 40 of social networks that are Online today.

Well news broke yesterday that said Friendster Inc. received $10 million in order to expand it's social networking services overseas in order to 'maintain' it's site. The goal, per President Kent Lindstrom, is to head the company toward its original vision of building real world friendships over the virtual ones that other social networks provide.

This got me to thinking about some of the other "social networking" sites and the surfing and experimenting that I'd done on a few. And while some seemed to head quickly toward the likes of a virtual dating service with some semblance of actual "networking" I've only found real value in LinkedIn thus far and while I've heard speculation of recruiters using MySpace and BlackPlanet and the like for recruiting tools... I haven't heard any real success stories.

I've an account on Friendster... but the dating and pyramid sales spam caused me to do a quick Escape and Evade maneuver in the hopes to find a more productive networking tool. Of course this was early in it's development... perhaps it's worth another look.

ERN Says Leaders Should Blog

2006-08-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've been checking out John Sumser's stuff at Electronic Recruiting News for what seems like forever and would even recommend signing up for the Bugler. Of course just last night I had the pleasure of coming across something that gave me one of those moments when I thwack myself on the forehead and exclaim, "Why didn't I post that first?!"

I managed to catch up on some of my reading last night and found Sumser's latest in a series he's doing where he mentions why leaders should be blogging and lays out 10 reasons for Recruiting Blogs. They are most definitely worth listing here:

To more deeply engage the marketplace in a conversation.

To demonstrate the way that your organization practices flatness

To educate your customers about your work, products and services

To give prospective customers, partners and employees a real sense of what you are like

To have a ready built PR response mechanism

To engage your competitors on a field that you can control

To show how your team actually accomplishes things

To create a communications platform that is more substantial than marketing slogans

To create a force that pulls people towards your business (attraction)

To develop a richer vein of search engine visibility.

Head over and check out the rest of the article here. (Who knew that IBM had 300+ bloggers?)

Monster.com Book Is A Win

2006-08-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to attend a Monster.com conference not too long ago. I say "fortunate" because those cats really know what they are doing when they throw a little gig like that together.

The two day conference was (for any veterans) a nice refresher in regards to how you would use the Monster.com site and it's tools. Some quick once-overs to the great new OFCCP compliance and streaming media features that are quickly emerging on many employment sites were a couple of topics worth noting and that I'd have liked to spend more time on.

The reason for my post today, however, is to compliment them on one of the sweet little freebies I received. Sure, I liked the hat and the coffee cup (which I may have begged a bit for) and the squishy Trump character - but hands down, I have to say that the book I walked out of there with was the best.

Monster Careers: How to Land the Job of Your Life has some pretty great information for both job seekers and recruiters alike. Nothing says it better than the quickie on Amazon:

Monster founder Jeff Taylor, with former editor-in-chief Doug Hardy, has written an upbeat, inspirational, and indispensable guide to getting the job you want in the new world of work. Rich with real-world advice from recruiters, career counselors, human resource professionals, and successful Monster members who share their job- hunting expertise, Monster Careers provides a step-by-step plan for carrying out a super- charged job search from exploring new career options to writing job-winning resumes and cover letters, to mastering the interview and negotiating a job offer. A practical and passionate guide for any stage of your career, whether you're a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, Monster Careers is poised to become the uncontested job search authority.

For what it's worth - I've already loaned this book out twice with nothing but rave reviews from both the fellow recruiter and job seeker alike.

Bottom line: Get the book - For only $13 (today) it's a terrific addition to any library.

Got Skills?

2006-07-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Communication skills are important. There just isn't any way around it. If you're in a customer facing job you need strong verbal communication skills. If you're in a job where you're behind a desk and deal with any type of correspondence then you need strong written communication skills. Of course, perhaps I'm just throwing the word "strong" out there because I consider it a given that you're looking to succeed.

A recent survey of CFOs found that 75% said that verbal, written and interpersonal skills are more valuable now for accounting and finance jobs than just 5 years ago. The real kick in the pants, however, was that only 37% of those same CFOs said that their organizations provided any type of training in those areas!

YEOWCH! Am I the only one that can see the disconnect here? I hope not!
Now I'm of the belief that the majority of the time we'll get out of what we put in to our employees in terms of development. I believe that providing self development courses that help to expand on an employee skill set is an investment in a company's talent pool and helps to create a sense of loyalty with that employee.

Do you have self development courses or resources available at your organization? What are your thoughts on retention and development as it retains to an in-house talent pool? You're not waiting on such a project to develop where you are in order to continue your professional growth, are you?
More on that survey:

"Employees with an eye toward advancement shouldn't wait for their companies to provide soft-skills training" Messmer said. "Identifying a mentor, taking courses in business writing and public speaking, and volunteering for team leadership roles are excellent ways to become a more effective communicator."

You are a reflection of your company

2006-07-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Like it or not, you're a reflection of your company nearly 24 hours a day.
Imagine this... You're sitting in your favorite after-work hangout talking to your buddies about a customer you had the 'pleasure' of working with that day. You go on and on about how the customer was just too stupid to understand what you were telling them and that you're amazed they were smart enough to even dial the phone.

You brag about how you've been in the customer service industry for over 10 years and that you run into people like that all day.

Of course, in your hurry to get out of the office on that particularly 'trying' day, you neglected to remove your office badge. So as you've been cutting up and making fun of a customer there have been several of your company's customers sitting quietly and listening from across the way - not to mention the recruiter that was at the next table and was looking for someone with 10 years in the customer service industry to fill a local job with full bene's and at 10% more than what you make now.

Okay - it's a bit of an exageration. But think about it.
Don't let the fact that you're out of the office and in a different environment get the best of you. Recruiters are ALWAYS working (in theory at least) and customers are ALWAYS around... somewhere.

At the least.... take off your badge before your comical rants.

Is blogging for a job, 'jogging'?

2006-07-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

If blogging for a job were considered 'jogging' I'd like to think I could get the same cardio workout I did on this morning's run!
Alright - just another example that I'm a tad on the crazy side today but does reference a nice find on the web that scores points for the arguement that blogging is great for recruiting.
Check out the cute blog with the HYOOOOGH name, Why Provo Labs Wants To Hire Carolynn Duncan and you might find some merit to her new CEO's comments about her:

She instantly won us over with her creativity and courage. She will be helping Phil get in front of dozens of executives at large companies, including Fortune 500 companies, as he takes Provo Labs Consulting (our web 2.0 consultancy and development company) on the road, so we need a smart communicator with a creative streak who can help Phil open doors wherever he goes. Welcome aboard, Carolynn!Â

Nice one, Carolynn!