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Blog Post: How we increased traction by 10X - The story of Simplicity & Scalability

As we embarked upon 2018, we would like to take a moment to reflect on our journey in 2017.

In the beginning of 2017, we essentially aimed at making our 'Technical…

Added by Bangabdi Roy Chowdhury at 1:23am on February 1, 2018

Blog Post: Are Job Postings Worth Money?

I saw an ad recently for one of those major…

Added by Joel McLean at 11:34am on August 26, 2015

Topic: Meet Pat Cronin, Vice President of Volt Professional Search: nd regular visitor to RBC was kind enough to introduce me to one of Volt’s senior executives. Pat Cronin has been in the Staffing Industry for 20 + years in various roles. His career began as a Recruiter. Pat was ranked 5th out of 300 + recruiters. After many successes was moved into management of a large group of Recruiters. He relocated and joined Volt Services Group as a Sales Representative where he was awarded "Rookie of the Year." Very quickly Pat was promoted to Manager and then Area Manager. He relocated and took a position as Regional Director for another large staffing firm. Pat returned to Volt in the role of Professional Placement Program Manager. He supports offices throughout the United States in their Professional Placement endeavors. The areas of expertise in which his division recruits are Life Sciences, Information Technology, Engineering, Technical, Accounting/Finance and Administrative. His current title is Vice President Volt Professional Placement. Pat is also a Six Sigma Black Belt. Q& A with PAT CRONIN Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. PAT CRONIN: My domestic Partner, Brian Barnes, and I have been together for 7 years. Brian is a Deacon in the Episcopal Church and has his own bodywork therapy business focusing on Myofascial Release techniques. We met in San Francisco while I was on a business trip visiting from Seattle. After a year of commuting back and forth, we purchased a traditional San Francisco Victorian home in the heart of the city. Truth be told, Cooper, our dog, and Cecil, our cat run our home. They just allow us to reside with them. While in college I became a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certified Scuba Diving Instructor and taught classes to many friends and Fraternity Brothers. Scuba Diving was a large part of my childhood as my father was President of U.S. Divers Corp and founded PADI. Rather than following in his very accomplished footsteps, I decided to make a name for my self on my own and stumbled into Recruiting. Years later, I did re-engage with PADI…I sit on the Board of Directors. When I first moved to the Bay Area, I volunteered as a Chaplain at San Francisco General Hospital. It was incredibly rewarding yet emotionally draining at times. I would work all week and then on Friday nights would spend 4 – 6 hours in the emergency room helping the marginalized population of San Francisco. Nothing could have prepared me for the trauma victims I would encounter in this setting. Most people were grateful to have the company of a Chaplain during such a stressful time in their life. You get to see human nature at its “rawest” when people are in crises. I do remember one rather humorous situation….a woman came in for a minor treatment. I came into her room and said…”Hi my name is Pat. I am a Chaplain here at SFGH.” The poor woman immediately panicked and said…”A Chaplain, why do I need a Chaplain? I only cut my foot. Do you know something I don’t know? Am I going to die?” I laughed and reassured her that no, she would be just fine. People react very differently when they are scared and facing an emergency. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry PAT CRONIN: I started in the recruiting business in 1985. (I hate saying that because it makes me sound so old. I was right out of college…..honest! ) Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? PAT CRONIN: I got into this industry by chance as many of us do. I had a friend who worked for a staffing firm. She told me about her job and I thought it sounded interesting. I also had an ulterior motive. I thought it would be a great place to find a “real” job. My thought was to look at all the positions that came into the office and if and when I found something that sounded more interesting, I would pursue that career. I know it sounds a little corny, but even after 23 years nothing is more fascinating that the search industry. In my years in the staffing industry, I have worked both Contract Staffing/Temp side and Search. The first 5 years of my career, I worked a desk in Southern California. In 1992, I moved to Portland OR and came to work for Volt. I was an outside sales rep for the temporary division. It was so different from the search side. I learned about account development and how to work in a fast transactional environment. I was “Rookie of the Year” and was promoted to Branch and then Area Manager. During my time in Portland, I was able to develop an on-site managed program for a large Bank. I left Volt for a short period and took a position as a Regional Director of another very large staffing firm. With in two weeks I knew I had made a gigantic mistake. While I was gone, two of the Senior Vice Presidents at Volt decided they wanted to develop a Professional Search strategy for the company. I returned to Volt in the role of Professional Placement Program Manager. I began collaborating with the incredibly talented people through out Volt to creating all the tools, infrastructure, policies and procedures, training and development, which helped Volt enter the Professional Search segment. In 2002, Volt was the first Staffing Firm to fully embrace Six Sigma and I entered the Black Belt training program. In 2005 I was certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Shortly after that I was promoted to Director of Professional Search. Using Six Sigma tools, we ran a Six Sigma project to determine how we could increase our market share in Professional Search. I am currently the Vice President of Volt Professional Search. The group of Professional Search Recruiters I work with each focus on niche specific positions nationally and are separated into distinct Search Groups (We are looking for talented Professional Search Recruiters and Search Managers. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself….We are hiring! We have more client requests than we can handle!) http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=1446058&trk=tab_pro Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting PAT CRONIN: In the beginning, I was horrible. My idea of a telemarketing call was…”Hi, This is Pat Cronin from XXX Company. I am just calling to see if there are any positions I can help you with?” Or, “I just interviewed someone who would be perfect for your position!” I was so green! I honestly could not understand why I was not getting any business. Finally, after a few months, my boss said she did not think I was right for the business. She gave me a final warning. I had one month to produce twice as much as I had ever produced, or I was going to be let go! I remember saying to her….” I am not leaving here. You’ll see, I am going to pull this off.” That was when my career really began. I had nothing but sheer determination. I did not know how I was going to do it, but I was going to succeed. I asked everyone in my office for help. I listened to the best, mimicked them and did everything I could think of to produce the numbers I had to produce in order to keep my job. I loved this business and I would not accept any other result than success. That was the toughest month of my career. There were times where is looked impossible. However, I was determined. It is amazing what power there is in “commitment.” The last day of that month, I made a placement that pushed me right over the goal. I did it! That month taught me more about myself than anything I learned in college. Determination is what makes people succeed. Sounds so simple, but when you really, really “get” that, any thing is possible. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? PAT CRONIN: I have had many mentors. The first was Wendy Hall. She hired me and helped me personally grow into a business professional. The team of people I worked with back in 1985 all contributed to my success as well. Margie McKay and Christina Harris, both Senior Vice Presidents at Volt gave me the opportunity to create a phenomenal career in Professional Search at Volt. Six Degrees: Tell us about your executive responsibilities at Volt, Pat: PAT CRONIN: My role is Vice President of Volt Professional Search. I am responsible for Professional Search for Volt Technical Resources throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is an exciting time at Volt Professional Search. We are developing even more robust and comprehensive infrastructures, which will allow us to elevate our delivery model and break out of the industry norms. We want our attention to remain on the customer and candidate experience while producing respectful financial gains. " align="left" border="2" /"> We have done extensive market research, analyzed business trends and emerging markets and utilized Six Sigma statistical business models to identify the best combination of process and talent. All over North America, we are expanding our investment in the most critical aspect of our business….our people. We are re-branding, re-evaluating and re-inventing every aspect of our current model. Our goal is to emerge as a World Class Executive Search organization. We have our Professional Search Recruiters focused on the following “Niche” business segments. o IT – Professional, Managers, PMs o IT – Programmers/Developers o IT – Networking/Systems/IT Support o Engineering – Mechanical o Engineering – Electronic o Engineering – “Other” o Life Sciences o ERP o Technical Sales/Consulting…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 12:06am on August 4, 2008

Topic: Meet Jacki Leonard, Regional Manager - Workforce Solutions: rt if in addition to volunteering,) –New Hope village –offering services to people with disabilities, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer • Office/Cell Number; 415-613-5863 • Personal Email – jacksf@live.com Jacki Leonard is a strategic leadership professional with a focus on defining and implementing business strategies that surpass expectations. Expert in mentoring, coaching and developing teams to achieve their ultimate potential and exceed company goals. Hands-on approach to business development, working with account managers to develop strong client relationships and ensure value is being added. Strong business managment experience with focus on budget/P&L and corporate goals. Her specialties include Team leadership, Critical Thinking Skills, Training & Development, Managed Service Programs, Recruiting Strategy Development & Execution, Strong Client Relationships, Business Development, P&L Management Q&A with Jacki Leonard Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. I have the great fortune of living in one of the most amazing cities in the world, San Francisco. I relocated her 14 years ago from Seattle, Washington, another great city. I live in a cottage in the heart of the city and enjoy all the friends and family who come to visit (although, I do wish I had a bigger house ). My cat, Riley, spends most of hers day sunning herself on the deck –that is, when we have sun. This city offers a great balance for me – it is very fast paced, lots of hustle and bustle but there are also many great things to do outside –like Golden Gate park –one of my favorite things to do on the week-ends…take a long walk in GG park –either to the museums or to the ocean. I’d have to say my greatest interest and one of the reasons I work so hard, is to be able to travel. I’ve been privileged with visiting much of Europe but some of my favorite places are; Prague, Moscow, Stockholm, Paris, Copenhagen, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. I can’t think of a prettier place than the Amalfi Coast! Who knows where my next adventures will take me, but be assured –they’ll be some place amazing. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? JACKI: I’ve been in the staffing industry for 19 years (for those of you doing the math, I started when I was 12 ) Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? JACKI:Funny story how I began my career in this industry. I had just moved to Seattle and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for work. I registered with Adia (now Adecco) and they sent me on a one week receptionist position for a shipping company. I had come from the restaurant business prior and was running at about a hundred miles an hour, so sitting at a desk waiting for the phone to ring was really painful. After my 1 week gig there I registered with Volt. They immediately offered me a temp job in-house to do some project work; one thing turned into the next and before you knew it, I was hired as a recruiter assistant. I quickly progressed up the later and was promoted to recruiter after 2 months. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? JACKI: That’s a tough one. I can’t think of a single event but I did learn early on that building your network and staying in touch with people is a key part of your success. I can’t tell you how many times a past candidate has turned up as a potential client someplace…and I was always thankful that I had treated them with respect. Also, there are so many great tools available to recruiters today but none better than referrals (in my opinion)…so, keeping those relationships going is huge! Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? JACKI: I’d have to say I have a couple of mentors. Margie McKay was the Senior Vice President that I worked under for the last 14 years of my career. She was incredibly innovative, took risks and was willing to give those that she trusted and believed in, chances. Margie taught me that a good leader/manager is someone who has developed a strong team around them. She focused on ensuring that our recruiting practices were solid – we did what we said we would do. We provided exceptional service to our clients and our candidates….you treat everyone with respect. It’s a basic concept but one that I think is often forgotten. My other mentor would be Debbie Crandall. She was my manager for 2 years at Volt and is now the CEO of Parker Staffing in Seattle, WA. Debbie is a very astute business woman. She is driven, motivated and passionate about what she does. She had a big influence on me as she pushed me to get out of my comfort zone –try new things, be creative and take risks. I am a much stronger and better recruiter, sales person having worked with both Debbie and Margie. Six Degrees: Tell us about your job JACKI: Most recently I worked as a Regional Manager for Volt Workforce Solutions in the Bay Area. I was responsible for the development and profitability of 6 branch offices and 3 on-site managed programs by setting strategic priorities, driving sales/service expectations, designing recruiting strategies and coaching/developing staff. Our area of specialty was; Administrative, Sales/Marketing, HR, Acct/Finance, Customer Service, Assembly/production. I also was responsible for a team of Professional Search Recruiters who focused on Technical, IT, HR, Sales/Mktg and Acct/Finance. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? (A) There are so many companies out there that continue to excel at recruiting; it is hard to just identify one or two. I think the best one’s continue to progress, use new tools and technology and don’t rest on their laurels. I would have to say that Microsoft and Google continue to be creative in their approach. (B) In what aspects are they superior? JACKI:Creativity, thinking outside the norm and continuing to see the value in proactively building their pipeline. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? JACKI: Social media by far! We have entered a new era in the way we do business, communicate, look for work, network etc…..It is moving and changing so quickly. It is fun to see companies embracing this approach and jumping on the bandwagon to attract top talent via the various outlets. Another area that I see continually growing is the use of videos in the hiring process, whether as part of the resume presentation (video introduction) or as a cost and time savings approach for initial interviews. Budgets are extremely tight now and will continue to be…even when things improve, which they will, I believe companies will still be conservative in many areas –and travel costs will most likely be one of them. The use of video technology will continue to be an efficient way of not only interviewing their candidates but building and keeping their pipeline warm for future needs. Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry. JACKI: Over the years I’ve been involved with various networking group and associations –such as SHRM, NCHRA, CSP, and SF chamber of commerce – all very good associations. Additionally, I try to attend as many business conferences as possible to network and learn from the experts. Most recently I attended the Professional Business Women’s Conference in San Francisco. This event was kicked off by Peter Lencioni –who wrote the management books – ‘5 Dysfunctions of a Team’, ‘Death by Meeting', He was a really great speaker with amazing insight and passion for what he does. This event had had more HR/Recruiting professionals speaking than I’ve seen in the past. It was great to get the corporate perspective on how they are using social media to attract talent and how they are handling the downturn in the economy. They are all doing more with less…which has been the theme for the past 9+ months. But everyone was very optimistic and preparing for a healthier 2010. Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? JACKI: The industry I was in has been hit quite hard…staffing companies are typically the first to feel the recession coming on and the first to see its recovery. There have been quite a few reductions in force, which many companies needed to do in order to stay financial stable and strategic in their approach. 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. JACKI: I’ve been using LinkedIn a lot lately to connect with other professionals throughout the area. I’ve found most people are extremely receptive and willing to help and provide information when they can. I think reaching out to as many people within the type of work your are looking to get into is one of the best resources out there. 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? JACKI: Be careful not to ask for a ‘favor’ or help right off the bat. People don’t know you yet….they need to see/know ‘what’s in it for them’ too…..networking takes patience and persistence Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? JACKI: My ideal position would be to get into the Corporate side of the business. Work as a Staffing Manager, Talent Acquisition Manager within a mid-large company. I know my background and experience in the staffing industry will transition quite nicely.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 10:18pm on August 2, 2009

Topic: Meet Barbara Ling, RiseTrends - "I'm In The Make Things Simple Business": eries please click here. • Barbara Ling, Author of RiseTrends, “All Around Deity of Internet Smart Moves” in addition to Trainer, Dog Trainer, Karate bundle of ferocity • Location: Monmouth, NJ • RecruitingBlogs Profile • Linkedin • Facebook • Twitter • Company Website • Personal Blog • Community Volunteering: Unofficial photographer for dojo/high school band • Personal Causes: Animal Rescue • Office Number: I don’t do phones – I do skype. Barbara.ling • Personal Email Barbara Ling is a "Deity of Internet Smart Moves" She has been both an Entrepreneur and Internet recruiting pioneer since 1997. She was one of the original Master Trainers of demystifying online recruiting. She has since extended that concept to teaching individuals how to become an authority in their niche (Income Fitness). Barbara is an author of over 25 books and ebooks on entrepreneuring, Internet recruiting, marketing and business. She was spotlighted by Microsoft Corporation as the Small Business of the Month. *Over-delivering is her trademark!* She offers free resources like those found at her Virtual Coach Income Fitness Community at http://www.virtual-coach.com/forums/forums.php Q & A with Barbara Ling Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. BARBARA I’ve been married now for 16 years to the most wonderful man on the face of the planet, and have plethora of kids that range from the ages of 13-going-on-18 down to 6. Additionally, the Ling Clan hosts 2 mooses (okay, moose-sized doggies) and 12 Twitter Budgies – you can read more at http://www.squidoo.com/barbaraling . If you were to consider one key word to describe my family, it would be “character-building.” I always view any problems encountered in life as misunderstood opportunities that are craving to teach us something, and instill that view in my family as well. Six Degrees: What do you do for personal fulfillment BARBARA Gosh, where to start? During my venerable lifespan, I’ve dabbled and/or mastered: • Stained glass design • Telephone insulator collection • Computer hacking/security • Dog training • Teaching kids to read • Playing the trumpet • Hustling kids in video games (okay, that was in college ) • Karate • Twitter Budgie Mastering • Video making and parakeet humor -- among other things! When I was 14 years old, I was a professional comedy dog trainer and visited many nursing homes and hospitals across NJ. My doggie back then was a German Shepherd/Collie mutt, and we specialized in bringing smiles to people who otherwise led a very depressing life indeed. And would you believe, I’m one belt away from earning my black belt in Gojuryu karate? It’s true – right after the Virginia Tech Massacre, I realized that while I might have taught my children everything about academics, their education was sorely lacking in street smarts/get-out-of-the-way abilities etc. So I signed up my entire family for karate and we’ve been progressing together ever since. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? BARBARA Teaching/training-wise, since 1997, when I started generating high SEO for local recruiters, Recruiters Online and teaching recruiters how to find quality resumes for free on the Internet. Prior to that, however, I also dealt with recruiters on the other end (as I was a consultant to Bell Labs and AT&T after taking the buyout package in 1995). Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? BARBARA It was a stark and dormy knight. I started as a recruiter back in 1997 (prior to teaching) when a local NJ recruiting company asked me to help them quality local techie folk for places like AT&T and Bell Labs. I quickly realized that I far more enjoyed the thrill of the hunt rather than using a (gasp!) phone to talk with candidates, so I started focusing my skills in the training/SEO area entirely. The owner of this particular company was good friends with my husband, and he had heard that I was a wizard with Unix and security. At that time, he was LOOKING for people with my skills, and asked just how I would go about finding them. The rest, as one would say, is a most magnificent history lesson indeed. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? BARBARA Achieving an 8-fold increase in the SEO visibility of Recruiters Online at http://www.recruitersonline.com . You have to remember, I started building webpages back when Mosaic was released (ie, Netscape Version 1.0). Here’s a fun fact – did you know that back then, if an image was included in a webpage that DIDN’T exist, the browser would STOP loading until you acknowledged this horrible omission? It made for humongous, long-loading pages back then, I’ll tell you that. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? BARBARA But of course – Bill Vick, the undisputed sage of everything recruiting online. Bob Larson has also been inspirational to me too. I remember first meeting Bill back in 1998 – he was visiting NJ for the NJ Staffing association meeting. A dynamically brilliant guy, he ended up securing my services for providing SEO to Recruiters Online. Funny thing too – the next year, I was speaking at that convention. I will never will forget that. Six Degrees: Tell us about the “Barbara Ling” engine – tell us what those pistons are churning out on a daily basis! BARBARA Nowadays, I’m a powerhouse of one (count ‘em, one!) and focus on teaching people how to use the Internet to their best advantage (recruiters, business folk, career peoples, etc.). I am responsible for everything regarding my brand – writing my products, designing the copy, setting up the websites, generating the high SEO, supporting my customers, and the like. This is one of the reasons why I’m always up and about at 3am; it’s the best time to simply get things done WITHOUT having to deal with a passel of kids, 12 chirping Twitter Budgies and 2 mooses to boot. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? BARBARA Maureen Sharib, Jim Stroud and Shally. (B) In what aspects are they superior? BARBARA Maureen embraces the phone (something I can NEVER do). Jim is a master at podcasting and getting the word out… and Shally, well, he’s SHALLY. And when you’ve said that, you’ve said it all. Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry: BARBARA LING I offer help via my blog and forums at http://www.virtual-coach.com/forums/forums.php I’ll also lend a hand when colleagues ask for assistance regarding their web design or how to find candidates online. Nowadays, I’ve broadened my focus to embrace the small business niche as a whole. I’ve learned that no matter in WHAT business you might have online…..some things will never change (the need for quality customer care, how to design an effective website, where to go for help online, etc.). Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? BARBARA For me, it generally hasn’t – people STILL want to be profitable online. But! For my recruiting customers - I’ve noticed quite the shift indeed. Many recruiters have abandoned the field in hopes of finding more profitable venues and are more open to different lines of work. The big-billers, of course, know how to weather the storm, but for others…the field was rapidly depleted of the individuals who weren’t in it for the long haul. Unemployment has become rampant, and yet at the same time, individuals are even more leery about where they spend what they still have. Thus, even recruiters who tried becoming job coaches instead found difficulty in employment as well. 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. BARBARA I’ve been branding both my name and my sites now on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms quite prominently. I use resources like Ping.fm and Social Oomph to get the word out. Not only that – because forums are great communities, I started my own at http://www.virtual-coach.com/forums/forums.php . To do that, I had to teach myself how to run the entire exciting thingee – that was character-building in the extreme! But I always say, “Fear is the main thing that prevents success” And I refuse to let such a damaging emotion sideline my efforts. Now, back when I was heavily involved in teaching recruiters, I would frequent sites like http://www.ere.net and the various Ning groups as well. I find those resources to be stellar in assisting recruiters to maximize their bottom line; http://www.recruitingblogs.com and http://magicmethod.ning.com are two excellent current-day resources too. 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? BARBARA Got a couple of years? Here are some of the top tips I can offer: • Do NOT spam your blog for SEO. • Do NOT promote your C++ job opportunities to hard-core sys admins (I still get offers for that!) • Do NOT write anything that you’d be ashamed your children found out • Do NOT be arrogant online, but DO be confident • NEVER apologize for your own personal greatness • Do NOT EVER talk bad about your competitors. Compare and contrast instead. • Showcase WHY you’re the recruiter of choice – walk the walk you talk. Remember, it’s NOT enough for you to just make the placement. Theoretically, ANYONE can “make a placement”…but that’s a single, short-term goal indeed! You want the candidate to RECOMMEND you to THEIR friends as well. If you choose to get known for your superior customer service (read – you SOLVE potential candidate issues instead of treating them like a commission check), your reputation will spread like wildfire in a GOOD way; the candidates will do your marketing for you! Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? BARBARA I’m shooting for Empress of the Galaxy but will be willing to accept “All Around Deity of Internet Smart Moves” , in other words, the ultimate AADISM. I plan on becoming THE authority of choice when it comes to maximizing one’s business profits online. Recruiting, after all, is a customer service adventure – it should be hands on from the beginning to the end. And the Internet allows anyone to showcase themselves as THE recruiter of choice; it’s simply a matter of taking advantage of what’s out there an seamlessly adding it to your business online.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 3:32am on December 14, 2009

Blog Post: What Recruiters Can Learn From Outplacement - A Conversation with Orville Pierson - Former SVP - Program Design Lee Hecht Harrison

The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search - The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company - by Orville Pierson Highly Effective Networking

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Added by Mike Rasmussen at 12:23pm on December 19, 2013

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Topic: Meet Thomas F.X. Licari, Corporate Recruiter, And Activist Founder of The Illinois Recruiters Association: link Facebook Profile - MySpace Profile Blog Site Plaxo Resume: http://TFXL.emurse.com Meet our friend, Thomas Licari, RBC Community enthusiast, founder of his own activist local staffing organization, corporate recruiter and family man. Thomas is a Human Capital Management Professional with 15 years of experience working with fortune 500’s, the U.S. government and startup’s companies providing cutting edge talent acquisition strategies. He specializes in recruitment, retention, compensation, global strategic sourcing, OFCCP regulations, and training/development. Overall, he is primarily Client-focused with strong relationship building and strategic planning skills and particular strengths in the broad areas of Recruitment Optimization, Recruiting Technology Expertise, and Executive Recruitment Specialist. I have communicated over the years with Thomas but had a chance to finally meet him one-on-one while he sat next to Jason Davis interviewing live on a webcam at ONREC last September. Thomas did not disappoint, he has a keen sense of humor, the kind where his answers to some of JD's questions would have caused a fountain of soft drinks to burst out from noses had they been privy to his candor and wit. (If you were there, you would attest to the accuracy of my statement!) Thomas has that rare tenacity of not merely being a follower, but a leader in his own right, who cares deeply about the quality of topics and events of the Illinois Recruiters Association he founded, and has been active in referring his own membership to the RBC community. Q&A With Thomas Licari Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Thomas: I married my beloved dream girl Kelly Sue August 19th 2005. We rented a private house with its own beach “McKenna” on the island of Maui, HI. We had a huge party with all our family, friends and the giant sea turtles that came to witness our nuptials. We have two kids a girl 2 1/2 years; Alexandria Soleil Licari and a son 6 months old; Dallas Hawk Licari Thomas: My hobbies include but are not limited to: playing the guitar, rocking the mic, geeking out on the computer, watching way to much TV, making up loving nicknames to call my wifey, singing the Dora the explorer theme song to make my daughter smile, becoming mental over the play of my Dallas Cowboys, FYI, some day my daughter will buy the Cowboys for me as a gift, boxing, and teaching my son Hawk how to throw a perfect punch at six months of age Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Thomas: I have been a Human Capital Management Professional for 15 years and still love it! I must be sick in the head. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Thomas: I became a recruiter by mistake. I graduated college with my 1st degree in Criminal Justice with an eye on becoming a FBI agent. After obtaining my degree I started the testing process for state and federal law enforcement positions. The problem was that I needed a job now so I could eat, and the testing process takes months to achieve a result. So I put together a resume, you all know the kind of resume I mean, as a recruiter I am sure you’ve read thousands of them. The kind that says you did all these wonderful things, but is a really big stretch. I sent my resume for a COO position to a very success female owned temp to perm agency and was called in for an interview. So I dressed up in my only suit and when in with high hopes knowing full well that I was totally 100% not qualified for the position. I met with the president of the company her name was Hallean. She got me in that interview chair and went for my throat for the start. I was too dumb to recognize that she was messing with me. At the end of the interview Hallean offer me a job as a Jr. recruiter. I was totally excited to have a job as it meant that I could eat something other than ramen noodles. I had no idea what a recruiter even did, but you can be assured Hallean taught me in her own very direct way. I think about her sometimes and would love to show her what I became or in other words what she helped create. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Thomas: I was very young in my recruiting life and still wasn’t sure that I wanted it to be my career. I worked for a small technology firm as a recruiter and was given a great deal of authority when it came to the hiring process. Remembering the lessons that Hallean taught me about understanding the “resume stretch” I implemented it into my selection process when choosing talent to interview. I quickly became the top producing recruiting at the small tech firm. After a few months of working there one of my recruits sent me a card all about how I changed his life by giving him a job. I sat in my chair reading the card and suddenly realized that I in a small way could affect change. I fell in love with recruiting right then and there. Come to think about it, I think I still have that card, I should dig it out to show my son and daughter one day when they are older. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Thomas: Short answer my Pop! I wanted to prove to him that I could be the best recruiter. You see he wasn’t sold on the fact that I turned down offers to go into law enforcement at the time. So when I decided that I would continue my career as a recruiter I made up my mind that I would succeed at it. The second person would be Scott A. Spear currently the co-founder and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Acquity Group. I worked for Scott at Modern Business Technology when he founded the company. Scott always had a way that I can’t explain fully around the hiring process. When I recruited for him he always had a great eye for talent and a different approach for judging all candidates. It wasn’t behavioral, skills, or matrix driven I think you’d call it instinct. Anyway I told you I couldn’t explain it. He had the uncanny ability build structure where there was chaos. He is a good guy look him up & connect with him http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/2a7/755. The third person would be Tim Simmons the guy is just unbelievable at dealing with people. You’d just have to see him work to know what I mean. He is a top notch people person and I tell him often that he should write a how to book http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/189/958 Six Degrees: Tell us about your job, Thomas Thomas: I can description my current roles in two ways; I am the president and founder of the Illinois Recruiters Association and a professional consultant. As the president and founder of the Illinois Recruiters Association my responsibilities are providing strategic direction, building membership, constructing the organizations web channel, virtual marketing and participating in speaking events. The size of the Illinois Recruiters Association is a moving target because we grow larger every day. We currently have over 2500 active members with a national newsletter that reaches over 10,000. As a professional consultant in area of Human Capital Management. I have 15 years of experience working with fortune 500’s, the U.S. government and startup’s companies providing cutting edge talent acquisition strategies. I have proven abilities in recruiting, retention, compensation, global strategic sourcing, OFCCP regulations, and training/development. I am Client-focused with strong relationship building and strategic planning skills. Other key areas I might be able to help you with include: Recruitment Optimization, Recruiting Technology Expert, Successful Instructor, Networking leader, Team/Project Leader, Executive Recruitment Specialist. If you need help feel free to give me a call if I don’t have time to assist I’ll refer you to someone that can. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Thomas: I admire the following: Doug Berg the founder and chief innovation officer of Jobs2Web because of his vision. Shally Steckerl from JobMachine, because the guy is just that crazy good, also I believe in what RD Whitney is doing with Onrec. (B) In what aspects are they superior? Thomas: Doug Berg all you need to do is visit www.jobs2web.com. To understand why I dig Doug is visit http://www.jobs2web.com/what-we-do/attract-talent/ read the page and you’ll get it I promise. Shally is best in class as a recruiting technology strategist, he is always willing to help people, and constantly comes up with new great ideas, he seems to drive the industry. RD Whitney I’ve gotten to know personally/professionally and he really goes all out to build strong virtual marketing channels for all his exhibitors at the OnRec shows. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Thomas: Government bail outs, the down economy, global recession. The WHY just bums me out when I think about it. Hiring slows down to a snail’s pace and my fellow recruiters starve. To all my fellow recruiters out there reading this keep your head up things will get better. If you are looking for a new job email me and I’ll try and help. Six Degrees: Tell us about speaking events, awards, publications, where you have you represented your company: Thomas: The event I’d really like to focus on is the January 28, 2009 Training Seminar & Networking Event. I am invited an expert panel of Web 2.0 recruiting strategists to discuss Topic: “Web 2.0 Recruiting & the Latest Trends”. If you are going to be in Illinois 01/28/09 come check out this event. For more information visit www.illinoisrecruiters.org My events can easily be found with a simple Google search or visiting http://www.illinoisrecruiters.org/calendar/calendar.htm. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Thomas: My next career goal is to build the largest professional recruiters network in the industry, which include educational/networking events. All I need to accomplish this is more time. Recommendations “Thomas is able to build relationships with Hiring Managers quickly, thereby, jump starting searches with accurate information. Thomas is creative in his sourcing approach and keen on networking to find the right people at the right time for the right job. He is a great team player and a delight to work with!” November 12, 2007 Mary Claire Ryan, Dir. of Global Exec. Search and Diverstiy Staffing, Abbott Laboratories “Thomas is a knowledgeable recruiter and an expert 'networker' who works tirelessly for the Illinois Recruiters Association. He has arranged and promoted a number of very useful educational and networking programs for local recruiters to hone their skills and enhance their professional networks. I have known Thomas for a number of years and all of my interactions with him have been positive and productive.” October 24, 2008 Marianne Murphy-Orland, Executive Recruiter & Training Specialist, Electro-Motive Diesel “I have had the opportunity to attend several Illinois Recruiter Association meetings that have been hosted by Tom. He does an excellent job in providing relevant information to his audience; things we can use right now. I definitely look forward to interfacing with him in the future.” April 22, 2008 Mike Madura, Manager Recruiting, KPMG “I had the opportunity to see Tom "work his mojo" at the Illinois Recruiters Association's meeting. He provided an excellent presentation and was able to talk with a diverse set of recruiters in the room. He was able to explain it so that it made sense to all levels and was able to get into some advanced topics without losing the room. Based on his presentation I could see clearly why he has been such a successful recruiter. I would highly recommend Tom for speaking and recruiting engagements.” April 17, 2008. Top qualities: Expert, High Integrity, Creative Scott McCance…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 3:34am on January 12, 2009

Topic: Meet Carol Mahoney, Live & Leaping From Yahoo! to Talent Acquisition On Demand: ortant, and sometimes lonely job. I know because I’ve had the job more than a few times in my career." "Central to an organization’s talent acquisition success is: an engaged executive and management team; a creative, competent and accountable recruiting organization; and a relentless focus on the candidate as the customer." "A good 85% of recruiters hate a structured process imposed on them. If your tool also imposes a process, the likelihood of universal adoption is low. You can beat them mercilessly but they will evade you at every turn. It’s not always “user error” or poor configuration decisions that make a tool bad. Sometimes the tool is slow; or the search capability is uneven; or it simply does not work." Carol Valenti Mahoney Consultant, Talent Acquisition On Demand A division of Live and Leap, Inc. Phone: 650-799-9431 • RecruitingBlogs Profile • Linkedin • Twitter • Facebook • Business Website: "Professional TA"; F5 and Live And Leap • Personal Blog: http://www.liveandleap.com/blog Carol Mahoney has always been an early adopter. In 2010 we find the vernacular passe' but in the 1990's she co-founded "Guerrilla Recruiting” tactics, a hands-on workshop geared at helping high-growth companies compete. She was one of the first to recognize the significance "e-cruiting," and was innovative in recognizing the value of hiring sourcers to use the internet to produce passive candidates. What makes Carol unique however is how she treats people. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Yahoo! campus on two separate occasions, and I was immediately aware that a special culture had been fostered under her leadership. A Margarita machine, balloons, and schwag galore were within my peripheral vision and employees were ... happy. It was downright festive as it was hectic; a bee hive swarm of activity with a common vision. When you walk the halls with her, take an elevator - it's never quiet, the pulse of the organization followed Carol and it was contagious. It was the only campus I have ever walked into where you had the pervasive feeling this staffing organization was a family not simply a team. Talking to her, you have the sense that she is one of the most elite of subject matter experts in her field, and yet she has a familiar, approachable air around her that is filled with a bellowing laugh. To make the point sink in, when I first visited Yahoo! my ears had popped on the plane upon landing and I could barely hear a thing. It was her laughter catching fire within the cubicles assembled throughout her floor that resonated that this was the place to be. It was obvious that her recruiting org had enlisted enthusiastically on behalf of her War for Talent. She was the boisterous thinker overseeing the battle plans in all things. Today, Carol Mahoney is the leading the way with "Live and Leap, Inc." The company, founded in June 2009, is comprised of two separate ventures: F5, Forums for Females Focused on a Fabulous Future; and a consulting arm dedicated to providing on-demand Talent Acquisition capability and support for high-tech companies – most recently Juniper Networks. Prior to founding Live and Leap, Carol was Vice-President of Talent Acquisition at Yahoo, Inc., where she built a formidable global talent acquisition machine that produced thousands of high-profile hires to fuel Yahoo’s hyper-growth. In her 20 year HR career, Carol has held a variety of leadership and consulting roles for high-technology companies including Intuit Inc., Apple Computer, Synopsys Inc., Digital Equipment Corporation, and Advanced Micro Devices. Carol graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Q&A with Carol Valenti Mahoney Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world, Carol. CAROL: I’ve been married to Frank for 22 years. We have a 21 year old son, Douglas, and a beloved labradoodle, Luke. I live on the ocean in Pacific Grove, CA and I enjoy the gorgeous seaside as much as I can. I walk along the trail daily and often take the laptop down to the bench across the street to bring the concept of “working at home” to another level. I’m absolutely passionate about using my energy, connections and sense of humor to inspire women to create a “fulfilling, fabulous future”. To that end I produce a blog and have sponsored 2 forums for females. Six Degrees: How did you get started in the recruitment industry? CAROL: A hiring freeze at AMD took me away from my dream – a marcom job. The dream job that went “on-hold” gave way to an interim job as recruiter. I never looked back. I loved the recruiting game and quickly found that I loved to manage recruiting and HR. I was one of the youngest Recruiting Managers when I put the management career on hold to spend more time with my one and only son! The result was that I began contract recruiting – a job I thought would allow me to balance my role as mom more easily than a corporate manager role. The rest is history. I re-entered the work world as head of TA at Synopsys and continued along that path (with one notable detour – more later) until I left Yahoo! last year as Vice-President of Talent Acquisition. The exception? A brief detour in charge of Recruiting Operations with ProQuest (now Duran HCP) that also included developing and delivering Guerrilla Recruiting™ in partnership with at Gardner Consulting. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? CAROL: The biggest impact to my recruitment management career came in 1999 when the rolodex gave way to what, at the time, I dubbed “e-cruiting” I knew that sourcing would never be the same and had to trick my employer into hiring sourcers who would use the internet to produce candidates. It was a resounding success and today I’m blown away by the frontiers yet-to-be conquered, as social networking bulldozes onto the recruiting scene. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? CAROL: I have many mentors – mostly women – who have taught me about great leadership. I believe at the heart of any great organization, are great leaders. This applies to talent acquisition organizations as well. So I continually strive to hone my management skills, my strategic mind and my ability to connect with others in the pursuit of a meaningful, successful career. Mentors include: Cheryl Van, ex-VP of Talent at Yahoo! – she taught me that engaging your heart is as important as engaging your head. Great leadership means bringing the whole woman to work – and that means bringing compassion and respect too! Every night she walked the halls to encourage people to go home – work-life balance actually meant something to her. Libby Sartain, ex-Chief People Officer, Yahoo! – the woman laughs louder than I do…a feat I thought was impossible! She taught me that a successful woman doesn’t need to button up so tight that she doesn’t even recognize herself. Libby allowed her personality to color her leadership and she was best when she was unadulterated and un-cut! Sherry Whiteley, SVP of HR at Intuit – some of us suspected that she was a fortune teller on the side. She had an uncanny “gut” and her intuition complimented her intellect allowing her to achieve near-miracles on a frequent basis. I thought my intuition was something to keep quite about, even embarrassing, until I met Sherry. Now I wish it was as honed as hers. Six Degrees: Tell us about your current projects. CAROL: While I’m currently a one-person show, I intend to grow this year. I am president, the number one consultant, the bookkeeper and web master. Offerings Include: • For larger companies or ones with an established TA function: o Assemble, deploy and manage outsourced SWAT team (recruiters, sourcers, program owners, etc.) to address specialized or unplanned recruiting needs. o Best Year Yet™ for Talent Acquisition: Partner with Talent Acquisition head to customize and facilitate a team-building and goal setting process that will ensure maximum performance of team. (I did this for 2 years and I am a huge proponent of the process!) o Deftly manage key projects or initiatives that have no internal owner (e.g. branding campaign, social networking strategy, systems deployment, etc.). • For smaller companies or those without a TA function: o Assess and recommend TA Strategy and Plan based on needs of company vs. TA capability. Implement plan if required. o Interim recruiting leader - temporary, part-time and outsourced. o Apply expertise and network to identify and select talent acquisition contractors, employees, vendors. o RPO: Staff and manage outsourced teams of recruiting resources. Efficient and compliant. Six Degrees: What speaking events, awards, publications, have you been featured to represent your company? CAROL: I’ve had a number of speaking events in the last few years for organizations like Kennedy, SHRM, AustralAsian Talent Conference, HRTC, and many more. When I headed at Yahoo! my branding efforts yielded several webby’s – for our careers site and our branding campaigns. In addition, under my reign, Yahoo’s revamped career site won best career site through ERE. Six Degrees: Tell us about Your new venture, Carol CAROL: I founded Live and Leap, Inc. in June, 2009. It is the umbrella company for two separate consulting ventures: Talent Acquisition On Demand – a Talent Acquisition management solutions company; and F5 (Forums for Females Focused on a Fabulous Future) – a venture dedicated to providing tools, inspiration and support to women compelled to transform their lives. Today, I’m focused on getting the word out about my Talent Acquisition practice – what I’m doing and why. Six Degrees: What is Your Company’s Value Proposition? CAROL: I love leading Talent Acquisition. But instead of working “inside” running one organization at a time, I’m interested in broadening my reach and leveraging my extensive Talent Acquisition management background, experience and access to talented recruiting resources to benefit a host of organizations in a variety of industries. My solution offerings, though varied, are designed to help the leader in any organization who says, “the buck stops with me to ensure that talent acquisition efforts at my company result in producing the knowledge workers required to create marketplace advantage.” It’s a tough, important, and sometimes lonely job. I know because I’ve had the job more than a few times in my career. When I was VP of Talent Acquisition at Yahoo, I often looked for consultants with recruiting expertise and management savvy to augment my leadership team during peak activity periods. While recruiting and talent experts were available in the consulting marketplace, I found that Talent Acquisition Management consultants and experts were in short supply. I’m a talent acquisition management veteran who has "been there and done that". I have the perfect background to help clients bridge TA management gaps through consulting, tools and coaching. Six Degrees: What is the pricing structure for your services/products? CAROL: Pricing will vary depending on the assignment. In general, I plan to offer my services on a retained basis for less than 1/3 of the cost of a contract recruiter. Six Degrees: Do you blog? CAROL: Right now I do a blog for F5 – focused on supporting women in transformation. I plan to start a TA blog on management as soon as I have a little more fodder. “Watching Carol Mahoney in action was like seeing the leader at the World Series of recruiting. For nearly six years Carol successfully orchestrated the recruiting efforts that resulted in the hiring of thousands of exceptionally talented employees worldwide. The largest increase in Yahoo!’s history. Carol raised the standards and wrote the book on how to create a successful world class recruiting team (is the booking coming soon, Carol?). Without missing a beat she built & motivated a talented staffing team of over 250 people, she created a award winning career portal, nearly eliminated the use of outside agencies and she effectively brought executive recruiting inside. Her legacy included leading effective marketing campaigns over several years (& won numerous awards), and spiking the employee referrals to an all time high. No wonder that Carol is in demand on the speaker circuit and not just because of her superior reputation as a brilliant & innovative recruiting visionary but because she is also a rousing story teller with fabulous sense of humor. I would the welcome the opportunity to work for her again.” Noelle Tardieu, Recruiter for Talent Acquisition, Yahoo! “I have worked with and for Carol Mahoney for nearly 10 years and two companies. At Yahoo! Carol built a small and poorly organized staffing organization of 35 to nearly 250 at one point. Carol has an amazing strategic ability coupled with operational rigor to develop a high performing and (multiple) award winning organization. She brings humor, candor and an amazing ability to not only see the big picture but pull the right talent into the right jobs to achieve amazing results. I say today, what I've said before, "I'd work for Carol anywhere."” Stephanie Prout, Sr. Manager, Talent Acquisition Programs, Yahoo!…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 5:21pm on January 24, 2010