Two of my last three days were spent traveling. Dragging luggage around from airport to airport and navigating my way through public transportation in Washington, D.C. was draining. Extremely draining, but I must say my time there was well-spent. I was able to pick a few brains that know their stuff and participate in recruitDC - "the unconference for recruiters by recruiters." It was an intense time of jamming as much information in as humanly possible.

Sessions led by Gerry Crispin of CareerXroads and other major Human Resource and Recruiting Leaders in the DC area were filled with not only details but seemingly endless rallies of questions. There really wasn't enough time and you were left wanting more. It was an exceptionally well put together event and kudos must go out to the recruitDC team. I was thrilled to have been able to participate and be a small part of the day.

Not too long ago, John Sumser had a personal crusade called Recruiting Roadshow. I loved reading about each event, watching videos, viewing pictures, and being completely entranced by what he was able to coordinate at each destination / locale. I remember John saying how interesting it was that each community he visited faced different challenges based on their location and industries in that particular area. This is so true as I am still reeling from what I learned at recruitDC of what these area recruiters and HR professionals must be mindful.

It is wrong to believe that we all face the same battles. Yes, there are similarities and yes, we are exposed, ever increasingly more, to the various trials we each confront. The exposition presented via the internet through blogs and online communications, as well as conferences like recruitDC, bring us closer to the heart of what we do and the understanding, acceptance, and tolerance of each other.

The days of being threatened by each other are over.  It is time to unite, share best practices and visions of the future of our industry. An interesting comment made during the last panel session at recruitDC, 21st Century Recruiting: Addressing YOUR Recruiting Challenges, went something like this: Being a recruiter has not been a profession for very long and recruiters need to step up and represent the profession in a better light. How? By being professional.