Search Results - Understand

Topic: Meet Eric Raynard, Bay Area to Giverny: All Texture - Bringing Art's Abstract to Recruitment's Form: focus the limelight on those activist members who make RecruitingBlogs tick, it is a pleasure to introduce Eric Raynard. He has more than 20 years of experience in client - directed, project - managed search services. His practice focuses primarily on technical and operations positions with sports and recreation equipment companies. During the course of his career, Eric placed successfully with IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Wrigley, Applied Materials, and other world-class organizations from Boston, MA, to Portland, OR, and from Sarasota, FL, to San Diego, CA. He continues to improve and refine his skills. He was previously with the BridgeGate Group from September '89 - March '96 where his practice migrated from individual contributor to Director and Vice President level. Eric helped perfect the ten - step search process; wrote marketing materials; and conducted training classes in recruiting techniques. Named Team Leader in June '94, he built a four person Technical and Operations Group. Q & A with Eric Raynard Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Eric: I have been married to Susanne for 28 years -- which is almost half my life, We live in the Sunset District of San Francisco. We can see the Pacific Ocean from the second floor deck of our home. We have two sons. Max is 24 and Jack is 21. They both live in San Francisco. From our home, I can jog up into Golden Gate Park, out to the ocean and back to the house in a five mile loop. It’s a great way to start the day. Growing up in Chicago, I visited the Art Institute frequently. I was particularly drawn to the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet. As a small boy, I made a pledge to myself that if the opportunity ever came my way, I would go to France to see where these masters created their works. Through a fortuitous set of circumstances, and the generosity of a dear friend, I have been able to visit France for two weeks in ’07 and two weeks in ’08. We spent time in the last three towns where Vincent lived and visited Monet’s estate at Giverny as well as the museums in Paris which display their works including the Musée d’Orsay, Musée de L’Orangerie and the Musée Marmottan. I read a number of books on the artists before and after the trips. There’s a very interesting contrast between the anti-social Van Gogh, who died at 37, and the gregarious Monet, who lived into his 80’s and donated major works to the nation of France. Needless to say, I have become quite a buff and can explain the differences between Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” (this painting is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was created from memory while he was housed at the asylum in St. Remy in 1889) and “Starry Night Over The Rhone” (done in ‘plein air’ in Arles in 1888 and houses in the d’Orsay). Okay, I see your eyes are glazing over. I’ll stop now [Laughs]. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Eric: I have been in recruiting for more than twenty years. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Eric: I started way back in ’88 at a firm called Sales World. It was a contingency firm filling sales positions which has subsequently gone out of business. It was, for the most part, a great way to get training in the field of recruitment. There were methods and metrics for everything. Each recruiter was assigned a “desk.” For a while, I worked “packaging” and came to know every purveyor of corrugated containers in the San Francisco Bay Area. In other words, they encouraged industry specialization. They also taught candidate and client control. The Sales World style might have been a bit old fashioned … maybe a bit “used care sales” in tone. But the concepts behind the style (like consistency of effort) were extremely valid. Then I was recruited to a much higher end firm, The BridgeGate Group, in ’89 when it was the largest privately owned search firm in the state of California. I worked in the San Francisco office. We had the entire 37th floor of the Transamerica Pyramid. It was a pretty posh location. It was interesting working in the Financial District, wearing wool suits and silk neck ties every day. I was in the office when the earth quake hit in ’89. At The BridgeGate Group, the focus was on providing real search services for client companies. My practice migrated from contingency to retained. There was a lot of cross training going on there. We taught each other how to finesse certain situations and how to “thought lead” the client companies to make a decision. The entire style was much more subtle and sophisticated than Sales World. About ’93 or so, I was promoted to Team Leader in charge of a small group in the functional area of Manufacturing and Operations. That played to my interest in how things are made. My group placed people with Applied Materials, Johnson & Johnson and Wrigley, among many others. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Eric: In ’95, a colleague passed a lead to me. She was placing software people with IBM and they needed a Purchasing Manager for the Boulder, Colorado, facility. That was where they were doing software duplication, manual printing and kitting for internal and external consumption. Remember, this was before internet speeds made downloading software easy, cheap and quick. I went to meet the prospective client wearing a blue suit, white shirt and red power tie … the iconic IBM uniform of the time. The client was wearing a sport shirt and slacks. We hit it off. He selected me for the assignment. Then I initiated the search. I did significant telephone recruiting, went to the Boulder area, interviewed several candidates and went to the IBM facility to make a report. We found a terrific candidate at Coor’s Beer who was subsequently hired. After a while I realized that I had successfully placed with one of the “brass nameplate” companies and the people from that company never cared about the wool suit or the posh office or collegial rapport of the firm. It was my own ability to understand the position skills needed and the interpersonal chemistry desired -- plus the basic diligence to do the recruiting work and give them enough choices to make them happy. Shortly thereafter, I left the BridgeGate, where I was surrendering half my fees for the office space and training and award trips and hung out my own shingle. I’ve been operating independently since March of ’96. Six Degrees: Tell us about your compay, Jackson Maxwell Raynard Eric: I am a Vice President at Jackson Maxwell Raynard, a boutique recruitment firm headquartered in San Francisco. We specialize in technical and operations positions with companies making sports and recreation equipment. Most are “back of the house” positions. We work from individual contributor level up to Vice President and have placed with such identifiable brands as Samsonite, Victorinox, Precor, CamelBak, Yakima, JanSport, Spyder and Schwinn. Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? Eric: About four months ago, I got calls from four people who had been laid off - all before lunch! It got me thinking. I should provide information for candidates to help them with my client companies, such as interview preparation, including what kinds of questions to expect and how to answer those questions. That type of coaching could be of value to people who are between careers or looking to upgrade their positions. Simultaneously, I started blogging. There are simple, discreet lessons one learns in the recruiting field. Like how to answer the dreaded money question or how to research a company before going in for the interview. I am at the place where I want to share that knowledge, either in a one on one coaching session or in the broader context of a web posting. So today I have broadened my service offering to include all forms of career coaching. Six Degrees: Aside from simply the generic term “Networking” what specific efforts have you made on your own behalf, or on behalf of colleagues to broaden your opportunities. Eric: I have about 12,000 records in my database. That probably represents more than 9.000 separate individuals. So that’s where my networking starts. Additionally, I am a frequent user of LinkedIn and belong 13 groups including Linked: HR, Outdoor Sporting Goods Connection and World Cycling Industry. Six Degrees: Given your own Trial and Error experiences as a Networker, what advice do you have for your peers on what NOT to do? Eric: The written word is different than the spoken word. Without tone of voice, it’s very easy to misinterpret things. Be careful what you write because it can be interpreted in a number of different ways. Use language that’s family friendly. If you are expressing an opinion or point of view, I recommend you do so in a gentle fashion. It’s amazing to me, when you follow the strings of comments, that a simple question like “Are Human Resource professionals liberal or conservative?” can elicit such strong back and forth debate. Seems like some people have just too much time on their hands. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Eric: No question about it, this economy has reduced the amount of hiring and, therefore, the amount of ongoing retained search work available. Prospective clients have invited me to participate on a contingency basis and, at least for now, I’ve resisted the temptation because it feels like going backward. I have all this experience and talent to bring to an assignment … and I can provide a more comprehensive service if I conduct a comprehensive search. So my next career goal is to return to “those thrilling days of yesteryear “ -- when retained search was at least a strategic option for urgent, critical hires. In my heart of hearts, I believe there’s a lot of pent up demand for a quality service geared to hiring quality people in key contributing rolls and I think (and hope) the tide will turn before 2010. I guess that’s the stubbornly optimistic part of me. It’s important to communicate the value proposition of search. Even in a down economy. Because the economy won’t be down forever and the less expensive, less customer friendly options (like internet postings and contingency search) will diminish in usage because there is very little value added in those ways. …; Added by Dave Mendoza at 3:53am on September 28, 2009

Blog Post: QUIET QUITTING

Added by Mandy Fard - CPRW, CMRW at 10:52pm on December 2, 2022

Blog Post: Navigating Virtual Recruiting during Turbulent Times - Tips & Best Practices.: COVID-19 has made fully-remote teams and virtual recruiting become the new normal. Despite hurting the job market and presenting an unprecedented challenge for recruiters, the pandemic also speeds…; Added by Rakuna at 10:18am on October 27, 2021

Topic: Meet Mark Berger, Sourcing Guru, Adjunct Faculty at JobMachine: Invite Mark! An $800 fee in 1979 bought a lifetime of confidence to share with others .... Meet our friend and fellow RecruitingBlogs.com enthusiast, Mark E. Berger. Since 1979 he has been a driving force within the staffing community and his accomplishments have been widely recognized. "Mark has been one of my longest standing heroes and influencers in the business of sourcing. His quiet and humble demeanor exudes an unmatched confidence, while at the same time makes him extremely approachable. From when we first virtually “met” before the turn of the millennium, I have remained a loyal and devoted fan of his work. I can offer no stronger endorsement than the fact that I trust him completely and strive to find more ways in which we can do business together regularly.” December 31, 2007" Shally Steckerl, Chief CyberSleuth & Founder, JobMachine, Inc, (JobMachine.net) I should preface my featured article by letting our audience know that Mark and I are fellow travelers within the sourcing community and that we share mutual admiration of our colleagues Shally Steckerl and Glenn Gutmacher. That said, Mark established himself long ago and independently with his SwatRecriting Techniques - so good that it caught the eye of JobMachine and has since joined us as an Adjunct Faculty member since September 2008. In his role as Adjunct Faculty, Mark conducts online workshops for Swat Recruiting and JobMachine customers, covering many of the topics in the JobMachine curriculum. His specialties inclued demonstrating how to maximize searches on Google, Windows Live and LinkedIn, advanced techniques for finding resumes online, and specialized search engine syntax such as the site: command, intitle: and inurl:. Mark has been in recruiting and staffing since 1979. He is currently the proprietor of Swat Recruiting (www.swatrecruiting.com), a firm supporting the technology needs of the recruiting and staffing industry. He has been heavily involved in Internet recruiting ever since there was such a thing and has become an expert on recruiting and sourcing products and services available to the recruiting industry. Mark started utilizing the Internet for candidate sourcing back in the early 1990s by first running classified ads on the text versions or AOL and Compuserve. Then he was an early user of some of the very first online resume databases including Career Mosaic, Headhunter.net, and Online Career Center. In the latter part of the 90s Mark learned advanced techniques to source passive candidates from the Internet using the search engines, primarily utilizing Alta Vista and Northern Lights in the beginning and is now an advanced user of today's popular search engines including Google, Live, and Yahoo. Mark also has a high level of expertise in recruiter databases (ATS’s), including how these products add to the bottom line. Mark has authored the Internet Recruiting column appearing monthly in The Fordyce Letter since 1998 and is a frequent contributor to other recruiting industry publications. He is also an often requested speaker at many local, regional, and national recruiting industry events. Mark is also on the board of directors for the Mid-America Association of Personnel Services Q&A with Mark Berger Six Degrees: Tell us about your home world Mark. Mark: To date, my personal life has been fairly private. I am a simple man with simple needs and tastes that leads a fairly uncomplicated yet enjoyable life. I am lucky to have a great job that I love, get to travel fairly regularly, a wonderful family including three great school-aged kids that I am very close with. In whatever free time I do have I enjoy going to yard sales and estate sales, usually on the weekends. You just never know what treasure you will stumble on next. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Mark: I started in the early days of IT recruiting, 9/17/79. Back then it was nothing more than recruiting COBOL and Assembler programmers on IBM, Honeywell, Univac, and Burroughs “mainframes”. There was a little Fortran on DEC/PDP’s as well. How things have changed… I was at it pretty much full time for many years, close to 28 or so, until I went into recruiter technology training full time back in 2006. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Mark: I wish my story could be more dramatic but back in the late 1970s nobody even knew what a “recruiter” was. Most of the time people thought I worked for the military. I remember being doing some shopping one day and bumped into a friend I had worked with in a prior job. He just happened to mention I should come and interview with his boss, who was looking to hire a couple of people. I agreed and although I had no idea what I was walking into nor the impact it would have on the rest of my life, I was offered and accepted the job. After my initial 60 minute training session my boss had me make out a bunch of index cards (pre-computer/pre-database) with all the company names I could find, then started to call those companies to solicit job orders. I made my first placement in my third week…and the rest is history. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Mark: Probably that first placement, back in 1979. In this new job of mine, not knowing what I was doing, I did wonder if I was cut out for the task. That first placement, I think for an $800 fee, gave me the confidence I needed to go forward and turn this job into the career that it has been for me. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Mark: In my early days, I never had a mentor. I was always jealous of those recruiters who worked for the very few other recruiting companies at the time that actually had big billers on staff to learn from. The company I worked for didn’t really have anyone like that. I always used to tell people back then that the reason I knew what to do at any given time was because I had done it wrong in the past and was able to learn from my mistakes. Later in my career, I’d have to say Paul Hawkinson, long-time editor and publisher of the venerable Fordyce Letter, nurtured my early role as his Internet Recruiting columnist, starting in 1998. His early vision that an Internet column in his newsletter is only one indication of his broadminded outlook on this industry. These days, if I had to pick a mentor it would be Shally, whom I have known for many, many years. Before his name because a household word in our industry. I saw his JobMachine grow from a small, part-time endeavor to become a national influence in the recruitment/sourcing industry. Every time I listen to him speak, I learn something new. Six Degrees: Tell us about your staffing industry contributions, Mark: Mark: Currently, I am owner of Swat Recruiting (www.swatrecruiting.com). I actually started Swat many years ago but never really had the time to do what I wanted to do with it. In late 2005 I made the decision to change the focus of my career from placements to training, and have never been happier. Although I do miss the placements from time to time, I feel very fulfilled and actually love my job now. Swat is involved in all types of recruiter technology. Anything computer, Internet, software related. We try and assist recruiting organizations integrate technology into their work environment. There are so many choices out there it is overwhelming for some. Swat Recruiting offers many training sessions, mainly on sourcing passive candidates on the Internet, and most have been very well received by the recruiting community. We also work on marketing plans from time to time with recruiting industry vendors, and have a small ATS consulting practice. Six Degrees: What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Mark: Well…I don’t know about companies, but I do have a few “heroes” I suppose. A couple I already mentioned. Paul Hawkinson, who just received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the most recent NAPS conference, has always been someone I have looked up to, and I am very privileged to have been able to get to know him in my ten-year association with him prior to his retirement. Shally Steckerl is another already mentioned. This man is a true visionary in our chosen field and one that is well-respected throughout. It is my honor and pleasure to be as closely associated with him as I am. Donato Diorio is another. This man is a tireless supporter of our industry, and now only develops some of the finest recruitment software via his Broadlook company, he is also very knowledgeable about the inner workings of our industry. I have had the pleasure of knowing him since the early days of Broadlook. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Mark: Lucky for me…the prevailing industry trend is locating passive candidate resources on the Internet, my specialty. As far as this aspect of the recruiting industry has come, I feel like in many ways we are still in its infancy. I think over the next few years networking for candidates will become more and more an accepted way to get those elusive A+ candidates as the pricey resume databases will become less influential. Six Degrees: I know you have been active on the speaking circuit over the years, Mark can you elaborate on where our colleagues can have an opportunity to see you in action? Mark: One thing I really enjoy about my career as an industry trainer is that I do get to travel from time to time for public speaking engagements. I have been to Fordyce Forum, the National Association of Personnel Services national conference, MRI, Top Echelon, and IPA regionals. I have also had the pleasure of working with these groups and others including Kennedy Information, NPA, ASA, and many state and local recruiter associations to get the word out about this technology. For many years I have been a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) and a Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR). I am also very proud to say I am not an Adjunct Faculty member at JobMachine.net and will be participating on a regular basis in the Webinar Series and be a regular blog contributor. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Mark: My career goals are simple. Not only to learn as much as I can about recruiter technology…to stay abreast of everything new and exciting, but to be able to teach what I learn to others, so they can make effective use of these new trends to make more hires or placements. PART II: “HOW DOES MARK DO IT?” Six Degrees: What recruitment software tools do you use in your day to day recruitment activities & do they translate effectively within all of the different countries where you recruit? Mark: In my role as the Internet Recruiting columnist for the Fordyce Letter and industry technology trainer I maintain relations with surely the vast majority of the recruiting industry vendors, ATS, Data/Resume Capture, Contact Databases, etc. People often ask me for my recommendations or favorites, and although I do have them I always encourage people to make their selection based on their own needs, not what I happen to like. Six Degrees: What tools did you first encounter early in your recruitment career? Mark: When I first started in the business back in 1979, we used index cards to sort our companies/clients and hard copy resumes for our candidates. This was way before computers, much less the Internet. This was even before fax machines as we had to make copies of resumes and actually mail them (yes, USPS…with a stamp) to our clients. We had file drawers with folders and tabs for different programming languages and/or job titles and/or hardware. Our job was made much more difficult by the fact that if a person had more than one skill, you either had to make a duplicate copy of his resume and file it in a second folder, or, more often forget that he or she was there. We had to rely a lot more on our memories that we do today. Those were the reasons I was a very early proponent of automation/computerization in the recruiting office in the 1980s, as soon as the PC came onto the market. Then in the early nineties, we tried running classified ads for programmers on the text versions of America Online and Compuserve. Snagged a few here and there. The middle nineties brought the early iterations of resume databases including Headhunter.net, Career Mosaic, Online Career Center, etc. All those have since been gobbled up by today’s big services. Then, in the latter part of the nineties, the term “passive candidate” was first coined, and we learned how to use Internet search engines, back then mainly AltaVista and NorthernLights, to search for resumes. Since then it has been a learning process and then a teaching process the last few years. Six Degrees: How do you personally expect to facilitate change within our industry, and/or at your place of work? If you started that process, outline the problem, your solutions, and the vision. Mark: The problem, if there is one, depends on the audience. If you talk about HR, this is a group of people not typically trained in sales. You can teach them all about sourcing techniques but once they have sourced a few candidates, they may be unsure as to how to make the connection, how to lure that resource into the fold. The solution here is to give that audience a simple, yet reliable way to make contact and get their foot in the door. Most big companies have this problem licked by dedicating teams of people, however, many smaller and medium sized organizations do not have the financial resources or manpower to do this. They have to be more creative. If you look at the third-party group, the problem differs a bit. This is a group that is typically highly skilled in sales, however, lack the patience and/or inclination to follow a thorough sourcing process. This needs to be taken into account when presenting to this group. They need some very easy ways to perform this task. Six Degrees: “Best practice” you are most proud of developing (now or in the past) in your recruiting career? Mark: Probably preaching a process-oriented approach to sourcing. Technique is one thing. You can get techniques from the Google help pages, but it is only when those techniques are integrated with a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach can one expect to say they have done a thorough job of sourcing their next applicant. So many I talk to run one string in one search engine, grab a few resources and call it a day. Little do they know how much they are leaving on the table for those more thorough competitors. Six Degrees: Considering all of the frustrations you have experienced in your career as a recruiter, -- what inspires you as you continue in your career? Mark: One thing that helps is to try hard not to become frustrated. What goes up goes down but conversely, what goes down goes up. There are always good times and bad times in any business. Ride the wave either way it goes and be in it for the long haul. Six Degrees: What one thing do you ideally hope to accomplish in 2009? Mark: Next year, one of my professional goals is for my training to become more appealing to an international audience. I have had a couple classes to Australians, Asians, and the English. I want to do more of that. I also want to expand my training to include more of the network available to recruiters. There are so many now it is hard for one to know the good from the great. Six Degrees: Anything you want to plug? Mark: Check the JobMachine.net calendar regularly for my webinars. Better yet, sign up to be on the mailing list so you won’t miss the announcements. Six Degrees: How Are You Going To Change The Recruitment Industry? Mark: Simple…learn more…teach more. Listen to Mark in action this Thursday: Free Webinar, Register HERE for "Turbocharged Passive Candidate Sourcing: Best of Telephone, Google & Online Database Research Techniques" with Co-Presenter, Sheila Greco RECOMMENDATIONS “I highly recommend anyone to work with Mark. I've trained with him a couple times. He had a wonderful rapport with trainees at all levels. He is always very responsive to questions, feedback, or simple explanations to my issues. His ability to connect with superiors, clients, vendors, and subordinates is what sets Mark apart from other trainers; he had the balance of truly listening and then approaching issues with candid yet insightful knowledge. Mark has excellent written and verbal communication skills, is extremely organized, reliable and a whiz with any sourcing technology. I have emailed him questions and despite her busy schedule he gets back to me immediately and always with a very positive attitude. I recommend Mark without reservation."” May 27, 2008 Teresa Bustamante PHR, CPC, Research Analyst, Avery Dennison “Mark's down-to-earth writing and seminar teaching style is easy to follow and his strategies are simple to execute. Mark really cares about helping his colleagues and client/students become more efficient and more effective recruiters.” November 25, 2008 Top qualities: Expert, Good Value, High Integrity Ronald Siegel “I had the good fortune of attending Mark's Linked-In webinar. Up until this point, I hadn't done much with Linked-In. However, Mark taught many options one could investigate to help in sourcing passive candidates. While I'm just starting out using Linked-In, I'm hopeful that it will be a big help in my building a solid network & provide another alternative to traditional sourcing.” November 3, 2008 Michael Klass, Search Consultant, Joan Leslie Search Group was with another company when working with Mark E. at Swat Recruiting “I have taken 2 courses from Mark and look forward to taking more. He knows his stuff and is a great teacher.” October 30, 2008 Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Good Value Bill Zajac PE hired Mark E. as a Business Consultant in 2008, and hired Mark E. more than once “Mark is truly an expert in the area of recruiting technology analysis. He breaks down the process to even the most minute detail, and is quick to understand the impact technology has on the recruiting process. While I may not always agree with what Mark has to say, I certainly respect his viewpoint, and it makes for great conversation. Thanks for your commitment to our industry, Mark.” August 19, 2008 Mike Tischer, Channel Manager and Sr. Sales Representative, Broadlook Technologies was with another company when working with Mark E. at Swat Recruiting “I have worked with Mark on a number of Kennedy Information sponsored seminars. He is a joy to work with because he is a true professional who updates his content on a regular basis and has a great ability to reach his audience. Post report analysis prove that he is popular talent. I look forward to working with Mark in the future.” August 15, 2008 Hillary Kyle Holian, Associate Producer, Kennedy Information, Career Management Alliance, IOMA “I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Mark Berger for several years. Mr. Berger is a top notch recruiter and an expert in the application of technology to the recruitment process. He provides a much needed resource to the staffing and recruiting industries through his training programs and leadership. Mark is also a tireless supporter and board member of the Mid America Association of Personnel and Staffing Services. His input and insights have had a tremendous impact on both that organization but also on the many members of that organization.” June 18, 2008 Roger Aistrup, General Manager, Allan James Associates LLC “I've taken 2 classes from Mark and find his work to be very meaningful and thorough on the subject. He not only has a pleasant manner, you can tell he enjoys what he does. He is extremely knowledgeable and detailed in his presentations and materials. I highly recommend his classes!” March 21, 2008.. Top qualities: Expert, Good Value, Creative Marney Reed “WAPS invited Mark Berger to speak to our local membership on February 20th 2008. Mark came prepared to engage our membership on finding passive candidates on the internet. WAPS emphatically endorses Mark Berger for any seminars or webinars in your area. Mark knows his subject very well and the content of his presentations enabled our members to take several ideas and suggestions back to our desk. Mark is very patient and was willing to answer any question our membership had. Also, Mark is very much open to continue answering questions if our members are struggling with one of his techniques. WAPS is happy to endorse Mark Berger for your passive candidate recruiting needs on the internet. February 21, 2008, Terry Rohde, CPC, Engineering Recruiter, DES LLC “From Day 1, Mark has demonstrated his tremendous knowledge of the universe in which he works --- the recruiting and sourcing world. His experience and keen assessment capabilities make him one of the best sources for guidance, especially when it comes to the myriad of tools and methods available on the market today. He is a true professional, and a pleasure to work with!” February 11, 2008 Anne Scofield, Vice President, Business Development, SGA “Mark E. Berger has a very influential and charismatic personality and his online seminars have been a great help for me to do things better that I do every day. I am very impressed with his abilities and grasp of the subject within his domain and I would strongly recommend Mark E. Berger to everyone.” January 11, 2008 Asif Akhtar Nizami, Technical Recruiter, FSD Solutions “Mark has written several articles on my blog (jimstroud.com) and worked with me on multiple projects. I respect his expertise in online recruiting and appreciate the value he brings to the industry.” January 11, 2008 Top qualities: Personable, Expert, Good Value Jim Stroud is a Social Media Development Manager “I have had the pleasure of working with Mark on numerous occasions. He has a comprehensive understanding of the keys to successful recruiting. Mark's clients clearly benefit from his experience and knowledge of the recruiting industry. I enjoy working with the clients he refers because they are focused, informed, and have a clear understanding of why technology is critical to their success.” November 13, 2007 Tammy Wirths, Account Executive, Sendouts was with another company when working with Mark E. at Swat Recruiting “I was introduced to Mark through a management seminar that our owner went to. He showed us all ways to gain access to information that is otherwise not for public eyes-- invaluable in our business! I think it is wonderful that he shares his technical knowledge with those of us who are less savvy in those areas.” November 13, 2007 Denise Gabbard, Search Consultant, GRN Brookpark was with another company when working with Mark E. at Swat Recruiting “In the volatile recruiting software industry, many customers are confused by all the choices & need help to assess their requirements and understand vendor options in a crowded market. I refer people who need assistance to Mark with confidence that he can provide unbiased, professional, and valuable guidance throughout the software evaluation process.” September 21, 2007 Sylvia Dahlby, Chief Executive Instigator, SmartSearch Online “Mark is a consumate professional who is a very knowledgable recruiter, honest and forthright. Then as an owner of Berger-Nowlin, you were fair to all that worked for you, supported and tried to assist the team in anyway you could. It is a natural progression that Mark is in recruiter training. All new and struggling recruiters would only benefit and improve their success by working with Mark.” June 11, 2008 Kevin Fox, Site/Project Manager, Unisys / Berger Nowlin, Inc. “Mark is a kind, capable and caring business owner and manager. I worked directly for Mark and have always respected him and his many abilities. Mark's AIRS knowledge and certification gave him some skills very few recruiters or business owners have. He has always been willing to mentor/train others to be more productive and to lead by example. I would gladly work for Mark again in the future.” March 5, 2008 Jane Bullington, recruiter, berger nowlin “I have known Mark for pretty close to thirty years . Mark has truly made the leap from running a desk to running a company and finally to becoming the "go to guy" for the latest web techniques. The many years Mark has spent on the desk has given him a keen insight as to what recruiters are looking for in tools to make their job mre efficient. I look forward to reading Mark's comments and opinions in the Fordyce Letter as I know they are always right on and I highly recommend attending one of Marks webinars or in person sessions .” November 2, 2008 Ron Sunshine, Owner, ron sunshine associates…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 1:10am on December 8, 2008

Topic: Meet Russ Moon, Sourcing Samurai: "Warrior in the War for Talent": eries please click here. “In the war for talent, characterizing recruiters as 'warriors' may be an apt metaphor but, it is still a metaphor. Russ Moon on the other hand is the real deal. He drives for excellence in his profession and, the intensity with which he hones his skills to produce outstanding staffing results has few peers. In the war for talent, I want to have Russ leading the campaign on my side.” Gerry Crispin "Tenacious and determined in his drive to succeed Russ applies his vast intellect and deep energy resources into efficiently solving problems. His curiosity, a natural born willingness to learn, propels him into the ranks of Master CyberSleuths while his propensity to share his knowledge makes him a trusted friend.” Shally Steckerl “Russ has channeled ex-military diligence into recruiting & quickly moved into the elite levels by networking with the recruiting research/sourcing industry's leaders & putting in the time to learn & incorporating best practices into his daily work. It's paying off in his results & those in his circle benefit from his sharing of fast-growing expertise in all aspects of full life-cycle recruiting.” Glenn Gutmacher • Russ Moon • Sourcing Consultant, Talent Find LLC • Richmond VA • RecruitingBlogs Profile • Linkedin • Facebook • Twitter • Website • Blog • Office: 804-643-8604 • Mobile: 804-402-2364 • Email If I were to be limited to a single sentence to describe Russ Moon - the professional, I would preface that he is a "seasoned, world-class, internet researcher possessing both an MBA and technically advanced sourcing skills." To be more verbose and genuine to his daily mission however, Russ is indeed a leading Sourcing Consultant for Fortune 500 companies; delivering his own brand of specialized content development and delivery for sourcing training programs. Market Research, Social Media - Analysis and strategic direction, Training - Recruiting and Sourcing, Sourcing Scorecards, Sourcing Programs, Job Board Training, Work Aid development, and Hiring Demographics. Russ, however, is a man of many titles and distinguishing characteristics. Let's start with the ones we tend to be less familar with: One the top, highest ranked cadets of the prestigious military academy, The Citadel; graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. Recipient of the Renee Clark Memorial Scholarship Awardee, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (2 Citations), and President's Advisory Committee. A First Lieutenant and US Military Veteran of the United States Army and a Disabled Veteran with a Service Connected Disability. Russ earned his Senior Parachutist Wings (Jumpmaster), Air Assault Wings and Honduran Airborne Wings until he broke his ankle in three places jumping an experimental parachute. A renown Sourcing Tool Beta Tester; i.e., Broadlook Technologies, Zoominfo, Jigsaw, CareerBuilder, PureDiscovery, AutoSearch. Earned every AIRS Certification offered ACIR,CIR,CDR and the CSSR (Certified Social Sourcing Recruiter) The only non-employee Broadlook Technologies Black Belt A SourceCon veteran, Russ will be co-facilitating a unique Firefox lab March 15, 2pm in San Diego as part of SourceCon 2010. We will be sharing the best of best “add-ons” to maximize your browsing productivity and experience. This unique format will deliver real time results as well as an opportunities for attendees and blog supporters to continue their sharing via a select community to be announced at the conference. Post a suggested add-on at my blog and secure your invite. Gerry Crispin said it best, "In the war for talent, characterizing recruiters as 'warriors' may be an apt metaphor but, it is still a metaphor." Russ Moon is indeed a warrior, and for those who know him well his intensity is characterized interchangeably with "ferocity." He is the man whose booming voice laughs with the most savage wind instrument, he is the friend who calls out your name reminding you owe him a hug and does so with pronounced loyalty to the physical effects of a "Bear Hug." Breathe in deeply, my friends, as his stride breaks new ground - Russ Moon has brought UFC to the staffing world. It is an event to see him, to work with him, to share with him. In all things, the term warrior is more apt with a hyphen; he is the consummate warrior poet. A man with deeply held passions to each of his loves in life, be it his wife, his profession, his friendships, and to the world he calls his oyster. It is an open world, where knowledge is the battle cry. In all things, I am glad to call him a friend, an "inner circle" friend - and a colleague. It is an honor today to introduce one of our own, Russ Moon. Q& A with Russ Moon Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world, Russ. Russ: Married 2.5 years to Diane Sinnatamby Moon,MD Internal Medicine/Infectious Disease. I was in the middle of my MBA taking an advanced marketing class and thought “Why am I not using my internet skills to help identify my life partner? Why can’t I use some of this knowledge I am learning to help myself be happier in life? So I used my skills of research on Match.com and found Diane in less than 4 hours. After about 35 e-mails in which she asked me about everything from my family history to what I eat each day, she finally felt comfortable sharing her phone number. She was enroute to a medical meeting and I met her in the lobby of her hotel. I knew prior to meeting her that we had already learned a great deal about each other, but when I saw her I was pleasantly surprised to find as a bonus she was really attractive! I walked over and introduced myself, she suggested we go find somewhere quiet where we could sit down and talk …then reached out and held my hand. I literally almost cried. About a month later she said she thought I was “The One” and I felt the same way but was afraid to say the words because I didn’t want to frighten her or for her to think I was some type of weirdo. We decided to date another year and if our feelings were the same we would revisit those words. One year went by and our feelings for each other greatly deepened, we were engaged and now have been married 2.5 years. She had just taken an assignment about 1.5 hours from me to work in a medically under served area for three years to earn her green card so it was tough making that work, but I think it strengthened us in hindsight. We are very close, she is literally my best friend and I could not ask for a better partner. Never thought I would have wound up with someone like her but it just went to show that you can’t plan everything and it is important to recognize opportunity when it is staring you in the face. I have enjoyed learning about the Asian culture and Sri Lanka in particular. We have many common interest but the cultural and professional differences provide for a great deal of diverse viewpoints and experiences. As for hobbies, I have several I am passionate about: Kettlebells – I discovered them January of 2009, have immersed myself in learning more, lost 25 (lost the weight then gained some muscle) pounds in the process while dramatically increasing my strength and endurance. Largemouth Bass Fishing – I am on a “safari” to catch a VA State Citation size largemouth bass. Guitar – two Fender Stratocasters that I enjoy playing for myself - just like the way they sound. Biking – Love to ride my bike, just upgraded a year ago to a nice Lemond road bike and love it. Reading – I rotate several books and read them simultaneously. Something people might not associate with me. I sent two Bibles to my sister who just finished 6 months in Africa on a mission to give to people she trained to speak English so they can help carry on the work. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Russ: 9 years directly with other jobs where hiring was a big part of my role Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Russ My start in recruiting was involuntary. I was serving as a Pharmaceutical District Sales Manager in Chicago and used zip code data to develop 12 new territories to generate more business from my assigned area. The VP of Sales smiled, signed off on my data after the Sales Information guy said “These numbers check out and would support additional reps.” Then the VP looked at me and said “Russ I want you to personally go select these people.” Total panic, but I would up making some strong choices including several diversity hires and a couple “mavericks”. We wound up ranked #2 in the nation for sales the next year in essentially a new district which was pretty significant. I later landed a role managing brokers serving the mass, grocery and general merchandise markets and recruited my broker team to sell our general merchandise line. Most of the reps had been with the owner a long time and were content to just cash their monthly commission checks without hunting for new business. So I called all the key accounts I wanted to sell and simply asked “Who is the best broker who calls on you for general merchandise?” Once the same name came up a couple times I then recruited them to join our team selling our product lines. My next job was a formal recruiting role where I led 4 business units serving the Power Generation industry on a global scope. We increased contract billings 356% in the first 6 months and I began to realize I liked recruiting and was good at it. Later I moved over into the sourcing side during my MBA because I didn’t think I could be on the phone at night with candidates and have enough time to study for my homework. So I learned Sourcing, realized that suited me even better and just kept honing my craft through intensive training, mentoring and increasing demanding practical experience. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Russ I had a period about 6 years ago when I was very heavily engaged in both attending professional training sessions while simultaneously receiving mentoring from multiple sourcing thought leaders. The impact of that condensed learning and the subsequent impact on my career progression embedded “continuous learning” as a mantra. When I started to see what was possible it changed my mental outlook on sourcing and talent acquisition forever. Happy to say I am repeating that cycle again right now, on an even more intensified level. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Russ There is no one person, my philosophy has been to scan the talent horizon and lean towards gleaning the most desirable attributes from a diverse group of talent acquisitions professionals. My end goal being to become an amalgamation of those attributes which then constitute my unique offering. A Retired Sergeant Major I met while at The Citadel, taught me to “Take the best from each person you meet, leave the rest, move on to grow and evolve.” It was truly sage advice. If I were to name someone specifically, Shally Steckerl (thinks big, pursues knowledge), Eric Jaquith (leverages technology, generates more speed than anyone I have personally observed), Glenn Gutmacher (Ivy League IQ scientifically explores and knows the logic behind what he is pursuing, Tim O’Connor, (willing to try new things and put himself out there ), John Turnberg (genius, another expert at leveraging tools and techniques), Rithesh Nair (fire, ready , aim a first adapter who jumps out there and discovers things well prior to the masses..knows how to couple sourcing and the recruiting pieces exceptionally well. Suzy Tonini – (deeply respect her, knows what she speaks about willing to step outside her comfort zone and does so on a regular basis. On the consulting side Gerry and Mark from CareerXRoads have consistently provided practical, actionable and candid feedback. I have had the opportunity to work on a couple projects with Dr. John Sullivan and deeply respect his intellect and ability to break down complex topics to the molecular level. Kevin Wheeler is someone I am getting to know better who I am impressed with and would like to learn more from. Phil Hendrickson at Starbucks, Kim Warne at GE....I tend to gravitate to people with ample intelligence who are leaders...that seems to be the common thread. I know this implicitly they all leave pieces of their DNA with me with every e-mail, phone call or personal visit and I would not be who I am without people like them in my professional sociosphere. Six Degrees: Tell us about your present professional endeavors: Russ: I just wrapped up three years at Wachovia as the lead internet researcher supporting all lines of business on a national scope. I am offering my services as a sourcer/consultant for short term gigs of (2-12wks) working remotely from my dedicated work studio located in the downtown of Richmond, Virginia outside my home known to my inner circle as ”The Hive”. Loads of computers, more tools than the Batcave I have everything I need to do some serious ”digging” and all those tools come with me at no extra charge. So you get me, the tools and someone who knows how to use them. Hence the Sourcing Samurai, theme to my shortly forthcoming podcast radio show, which I encourage people to tune into. Nothing like it out there, its going to break new ground and reveal learnings not previously available to the general public or for that matter to most anyone. My guests who have been exposed to the concept are stoked about it and the select ground of Senior Talent Acquisition leaders I have test marketed the concept with have said ”I want this like not just for me but for my entire recruiting organization.” No joke....and those comments literally took my breath away. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Russ Recruiting operations at Microsoft, Starbucks, and Dell are innovators, however, I am sure there are many others I am not intimately aware of. No one person can have a monopoly on information so no slight intended to the people out there bringing their best, these are just top of the mind groups I am aware of at the moment. Six Degrees: (B) In what aspects are they superior? Russ: They all share the common attribute of ‘common sense oriented’ sourcing model that is delivering valued product to their business groups. Microsoft – They “get it” and have amassed a solid team of people who can actually execute the strategy. “Get it” – my definition is they are consciously competent, they know what they are attempting to achieve and they have a solid common sense measurable process to track their progress towards the goals…all while innovating. Starbucks – forward thinking, aggressive, understand workforce planning. Dell – I have been following Kim Rutledge and her team for some time -- they deliver. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Russ: Social Media – not everyone has adopted, so much untapped potential, room for massive growth and utility. No secret the space has exploded and is continueing to explode. Where there is chaos (massive change) there is also opportunity. Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry: Russ: Yes. I intend to increase the frequency of my visibility in the future. In the last two years I have served in various capacities throughout the speaker circuit, including each of the following: Fall 2007 SourceCon Panel – “Internet vs Phone Sourcing” Spring 2008 Electronic Recruiting Exchange Expo – “Cultivating Your Organic Research Team” Fall 2008 Kennedy Recruiting Expo Panel – “Where the Corporate Sourcing Function is Headed: Expert Views from the Trenches” Spring 2009 CareerXRoads – Atlanta Colloquium – Diversity Sourcing Spring 2009 Kennedy Recruiting - “Becoming a Strategic Partner in Your Organization, Workforce Planning” I had made a mistake of spending too many long weeks head down at the desk churning the work out and not mingling enough to keep my name out there appropriately, to physically cultivate time with my ”inner circle” to feel the vibe....that was feedback from a mentor which I took to heart and I am correcting that error with vigor  Six Degrees: Aside from simply the generic term “Networking” what specific efforts have you made on your own behalf, or on behalf of colleagues to broaden your opportunities. Are there specific groups, both online and in-person that have proved fruitful in extending your personal brand and job seeking prospects? Russ: • ERE Expo is a winner, plug into the events you will have amply opportunity to learn just about anything you wish. • Kennedy – the after hours dinners are great to start building real relationships • CareerXRoads – you learn at the colloquium, but the relationships and the ability to pick up the phone and get near instant response from global talent acquisition superstars…still wows me. • My personal circle – humbling myself and saying “help teach me” has gone a long way • My webpage, homepage, blog and upcoming radio show. • Keeping my inner circle informed of my proposed marketing efforts and being open to collaborating with them to leverage their expertise. Realizing that where they know more it is wise to listen to the expert and it shows them the proper respect. • Perioidically ...try not to lose your breath laughing here but I recognize to those who really know me I constitute free entertainment...but pick that phone up even briefly to let people know you are thinking about them, ask them how you can help them, what’s changed since you last spoke etc....it doesn’t have to be a marathon conversation but I am rediscovering how fruitful it is to connect more frequently albeit more briefly. Six Degrees: Given your own Trial and Error experiences as a Networker, what advice do you have for your peers on what NOT to do? Russ: Networking for me has been about a consistent nurturing of relationships. To – Do’s: Find ways to add value to your network, be organized, do what you say you will do Not to Do’s: Our sense of urgency is not necessarily your networks, take that into account. Don’t overdraw your account balance (ie. Taking way more than you give back.) Don’t quit, just keep trying to grow your network and determine who you really want to share your personal journey with. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Russ: My next career goal is working as a consultant where I can leverage my ability to take in information, diagnose root causes and then develop/implement solutions. I want my clients to know they can count on me to deliver, to be knowledgeable and candid, to attempt to be the calm place they can anchor to know that in 2010 I am already on a pace that will allow me to reinvent myself to become more authentic, more informed, more productive and a better partner. One they will want to seek out. The technical, physical and mental program I am embarking on is the most strenuous one I have ever attempted and I am very interested to see what the lump of clay I am starting with this year will look like in 3,6,9 months. Not to mention what that person is going to be able to do...exciting. I have publically and privately committed myself to bringing my very best and believe my very best will be something I can be proud of. As humans we will never be perfect, I will never know it all, but I can tell you this I am going to really move my own needle in 2010 and the people I am drawing to me are seeing the front end of this program and the results already....did I say that I was excited about that ?  (1) Sourcing: To start putting to the test a host of new techniques that I am really excited about. Thrilled to be in a situation that will support my leveraging all this technical learning mode in a situation where I can bring more of those learnings to bear to add value. (2) Teaching: Seeking some opportunities to teach others as I travel the path, teaching is sharing, sharing is learning. What do I need to get there ? People who: 1. “Get it” – The people who understand the dynamics of talent acquisition and sourcing, what is realistically involved in achieving their objectives. For those who are playing catch up and that is not a criticism I myself am playing catch up in a couple areas, having the self-esteem and personal security to be able to say “I want/need to learn more, I know I don’t know, but I need you to help me.” People who do what they say they will do. Playing catch up is easier said than done, it can be intimidating or humbling to have to candidly say to someone “I don’t know but I want to learn.” I have felt that feeling and it is a tough mechanism to overcome, but it is truly empowering when you do. Given the number of times I have been in that position in the last two to three weeks I can say from my experience it becomes easier and certainly is empowering. 2. Senior Talent Acquisition leaders - it all starts at the top. So important for them to stay up to date even though the demands on their time are at all time peaks because ultimately they lead and to lead effectively you need to have enough personal understanding to weigh all your viable alternatives. Difficult to overestimate how important that is. 3. Reading a book now called “Lean Six Sigma for Service”- it is all about reviewing the processes to eliminate waste while delivering the value. Zeroing in on what truly adds value, how to identify the value and how to eliminate “waste” (non-value added activities) 4. Establish budgets which reflect their objectives with established leaders in their fields, be it talent attraction, sourcing, etc. to establish the appropriate scale and productivity level worthy of the task. Employing someone like myself, and fellow colleagues who share these objectives to attain their goals are a natural next step in the process. I see savvy leaders engaging someone like myself to reverse mentor them on sourcing, to privately share with them what they need to know to continue to lead from the front. I take my work very seriously, myself not so much, but those who know me know I guard my personal brand closely and do whatever it takes to get the work done.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 2:47pm on January 3, 2010

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