Search Results - occasions

Blog Post: An innovators guide to recruiting successfully

If recruitment is getting harder how do you…

Added by Jane Paine at 7:38am on February 19, 2016

Blog Post: The definitive guide to job interviews in the financial sector: 1. Introduction

Our…; Added by Richard England at 4:03am on January 7, 2019

Blog Post: Top 14 Game-Changing Recruiting Platforms You Should Know as a Recruiter: Technology has revolutionized the recruitment process. Now you need to integrate advanced software solutions to attract and retain mobile- and tech-first talents. There are lots of great…; Added by Ngan Pham at 1:02am on May 18, 2021

Blog Post: Job Fair: The Ultimate Guideline for Employers: Technological progression makes people argue that doing things online is better and job fairs should be no exception. Both recruiters and job seekers can join with a computer set at home, a…; Added by Ngan Pham at 10:28pm on April 7, 2021

Blog Post: Job Fair: The Ultimate Guideline for Employers: Technological progression makes people argue that doing things online is better and job fairs should be no exception. Both recruiters and job seekers can join with a computer set at home, a…; Added by Ngan Pham at 6:25am on April 25, 2022

Blog Post: Airline Pilot Recruitment and Interviews

Airline Pilot Interviews

By Jason Robinson

Globally, airline pilot recruitment this year is expected to be tight with large numbers of qualified pilots competing for the limited…

Added by Flight Deck at 10:51pm on December 31, 2014

Blog Post: How to deliver quality headhunts that WILL win more business: Added by Rhys Jones at 5:37am on June 12, 2023

Blog Post: Leadership or management – what’s more important to a growing recruitment business?: Leadership is the ‘in…; Added by Rhys Jones at 10:00am on March 7, 2023

Topic: How to deliver quality headhunts that WILL win more business.: earch technique they can only aspire to understand one day, or those who think a few direct approach calls producing a handful of candidates will suffice. In my opinion both are wrong. Conducting a headhunt does take application and an ability to see things through, however the skills required aren’t that far away from contingent recruitment. However making a few calls producing a handful of candidates is not a headhunt, and certainly will not result in loyal clients who will call you with their next senior appointment. The ways the headhunting businesses I’ve built conduct their assignments are to excel in two very key areas. Fill the position with the very best possible candidate available Do it in a way the client feels they’ve had real value for money and come back for more! What is a genuine headhunt? My definition of a genuine headhunt is where you as a recruiter identify all the professionals possible who fit the criteria of the person specification for the headhunt you’re retained on, and make direct approaches to every single one possible (and that’s not an Inmail on LinkedIn!) If your headhunt assignment is a “generalist” headhunt i.e. not sector specific, this is one heck of a task. But even for a market specific role this means not only the clients sector but also any allied sectors where someone might exist with the skills that match your job brief. This means being very, very thorough and delivering real quality, which is the big differentiator. For the purposes of this blog I’m going to deal only with sector specific searches, because these are the most common and the type I get asked about the most. The generalist headhunt is for another blog. Also for this blog, I’ll keep it focused on how to deliver a headhunt, not sell one (again this is another blog). However, I will touch on some aspects of search delivery you will use to sell to your client, so if you want to learn to sell search read on, this blog might help. The mind-set for first class headhunt assignment delivery. The vast majority of recruiters are brought up to believe getting a candidate placed is the most important thing, not necessarily getting the best candidate for your client. Just fill it fast, get paid, and spend your commission! Yes this can make you a big biller in contingent recruiting, but it does mean you’ll always have to do new business as you won’t get as many repeat, loyal clients as you need. My ethos has always been quality, quality, quality. This ethos delivers clients who value you and return that with loyalty, your positive reputation spreads, and hey presto you spend virtually all of your recruitment day just filling assignments with clients ringing you every time they want a new hire. This is how I became such a big biller, and was reflected in the culture of the recruitment businesses I built. I also feel recruiting with quality as the main driver is a far more enjoyable and rewarding way to work. This is also why I think I found moving to headhunting so easy; I had the right mindset. If your client is going to give you a third of the fee up front and pay you a 50% higher rate than you get for your success only work, believe me they will expect quality. This is not just the quality of candidates you put forward, but the whole process needs to be so much better than your usual candidate search. So if you’re the sort to see tasks through to the end and/ or don’t have a resourcer to do it for you, then you may struggle with the delivery aspect. There’s no room for “that’ll do” in true search delivery. Sorry if this has put you off, but this is a blog to help you complete searches in a way that I have experienced will generate regular repeat business from your client, not hit and run recruitment. Where to start. During the sales process you should have sold to your client that you will not only show them the list of target companies you will headhunt from, but also a report to show who you have identified and what their responses were to your approach. This is important in the sales pitch because it reassures the client that they will be able to see what they get for their money. It also transforms your intangible “trust me” to that of substance. Showing your client the source company list is great for both sides. This allows the client to remove any companies that a) they don’t respect and so wouldn’t take someone from, b) have too good a relationship with to headhunt from and c) any group companies you may have unwittingly included! This saves you wasted time, plus it reassures the client on the work you’ll be doing on their search. The latter is extremely helpful for two reasons: - a) Your client is far more likely to leave you alone to get on with the headhunt rather than asking for constant updates. b) Your client is far more likely to take someone from your shortlist, secure in the knowledge there are no other places as a recruiter you could’ve looked. This second reason is key; having the millstone round your neck of a client who has paid you a retainer but expects you to do the search again because they’re not satisfied with your shortlist is no fun at all. So you need to do all you can to get your client to see the shortlist you present as the very best they could possibly get, with no doubt there may be more out there. Word of caution. Before you show your client the list of target companies, here’s a clever little safe guard. Compile your list, then name gather on that list of companies BEFORE you show the list of companies to the client. “But I thought them seeing the list first saved me time?” you ask. Yes, but it could also leave you open to looking like you don’t know your market, plus a search report list with lots of companies with no names identified to headhunt. Your list of source companies should cover every single company out there that could contain your placement/candidate. To put this list together, in addition to your sector knowledge, you will have to use Internet research to cover all bases. In doing this you are open to old or misleading information e.g. businesses that have gone bump or changed their name, one-man bands and businesses that purport to be in the sector you’re targeting but in reality it’s only a tiny part of what they do. If you do your name gathering and research before you give your list to your client, you have a far higher chance of eliminating these businesses out. It also means you’re only presenting companies you can actually gather names from. Some companies you may come up against a brick wall in identifying who in that business can do your role, or there being no one in the company who undertakes that role. So finding this out first, and taking these companies off your list removes those conspicuous gaps with no name next to any companies on your report. Lastly, you can be picking up market info during this process. So when you give your client the list, if they ask any challenging questions on your market knowledge you’re more likely to have the smart answers ready! It’s also good practice to go through the list with your client and probe for any candidates known to them in these companies they wouldn’t take, any they’ve already spoken to, and importantly any they know of that they rate. Again, another way of saving yourself time. You can also be quite smart in dropping a few names into the conversation you’ve picked up at the name gathering stage and look even more well connected! To present your list to your client, ask that they add or omit any businesses from the list and “sign it off”. Getting them to sign off or OK the list means they are semi committed to your list as the only place you need to conduct your search, leading them to be far more likely to simply choose from your candidates shorltist, safe in the knowledge you’ve looked everywhere. ###################################### Name gathering Otherwise known as mining for candidates, but regardless of what you call it, it’s compiling your target list of people to approach. How to name gather well is a key subject and will be influenced on the type of role you are headhunting on and the sector. It could also be another blog as it is a skill in itself. But for as much as illustrative purposes I’ll touch on a few techniques to get those names. Call the company This is where I prefer my recruiters to start. It’s too easy to rely on LinkedIn, often this info is old, candidates use poetic license to describe their role, and wont allow you to be thorough. Lazy recruiters rely too heavily on LinkedIn and you can’t be lazy if you want to deliver a quality headhunt. So start with ringing the company and using whatever story you think best to get the info of the name of person or people that cover the role you’re headhunting on. You may want to pretend to be a potential client, trade association or discipline association. Simply be creative to gather the name(s) you need. Depending on the role, I’d suggest you find out who else is in the surrounding roles in case they also fit your spec. LinkedIn Yes still use LinkedIn, it is an amazing tool. You can check out the profiles of “people similar” and “people also viewed” to those you’ve identified on the phone that could also be right for your job. Google Playing around with search terms, look for job titles in the sector, discipline directories, and trade directories. Again depending on the role, there could be some smart search string to use here. Also boolean searching … Some of the good database systems will allow you to Boolean search through their interface, and there are also other tools that conduct long tail Boolean string searches from a variety of sources all in one place, a good example is Source Hub. To x-ray search LinkedIn yourself directly via Google (particularly useful at the moment if you don’t have some of the higher level LinkedIn subscriptions to access full profiles of 3rd degree connections). Use the below command followed by any additional search phrases such as job title, skill or location, separated by the syntax operators (), “”, AND, OR. ((site:www.linkedin.com AND (inurl:linkedin.com/pub/ OR inurl:linkedin.com/in/)) AND -dir) ********************************** Do you show the client the populated target list? You can show your client the list of names identified before you make your calls, however if it’s a new client I’d probably hold back. The reasons for this is, on the odd rare occasion it can lead to reminding your client of someone they “know”, commenting they’re already in conversation with the prospect when in fact its someone they know is right for the job and they’re kicking themselves for not tapping them up before retaining you! Also as it’s the first time they’ve used you for a headhunt, they may read your list thoroughly and spot some mistakes you’ve made in the name gathering or some of your web research maybe out of date and which will undermine their confidence in you. One you’ve conducted one or more searches for your client I would suggest showing them the list, by then you should have built trust and respect so the above shouldn’t apply. How to make the headhunt call. Since the advent of LinkedIn, it’s handy to have it open on the target candidates profile for every call. This way when you do get into a conversation with the target candidate you can drop in details of their career to sound like you’ve really done your research, so inflating their ego plus gaining respect for your work. It can also help if they aren’t interested, to use the follow up referral question “I understand you used to work at ABC company who there in your opinion would be best suited to this role”. How to make your approach call. We all know most candidates complain about “recruiters pestering me all the time” so this can bring on the PPI call syndrome i.e. they just fob you off without even listening to the fantastic new employment opportunity you’re offering them . The pre pitch intro should at the very least get past this ever increasing PPI call syndrome, plus it may not actually be convenient for your target to concentrate on what you’re saying so if you pile into your pitch you could lose a great candidate who’ll just fob you off. The pre pitch intro is your greeting and opening hook of what the call is about, before you sell the opportunity to your target candidate. As an example, below is a standard intro I have passed on to some of the headhunters I had in my businesses to use as a starting point. The reason I say starting point is, I do recommend measuring the ratio of success of call-to -interest in your pre pitch intro, then altering your pitch, measuring again, and over time honing a pitch that has the best call to interest ratio for you and your sector. “Good morning/ afternoon Mr. /Mrs. X or Christian name (your sector will generally prefer one of Christian name or Mr. /Mrs. so you choose) we’ve not spoken before my name is Joe Bloggs, I’m a specialist headhunter for the ABC sector. I’ve found specialist headhunter gets the attention more than recruiter. “The reason why I’m calling you is I’ve been retained by one of my key clients.” Keeps the senior headhunter style going. “to search for the very best person possible (optional insert of generic role e.g. in the Design arena) for a role that’s pivotal to the growth of their business.” This bit may need some finessing depending on your role but make sure you pump up your need to find the best talent, and a phrase that ups the importance of the role in your clients business. “You’ve been recommended to me as being highly regarded in this area.” People love to think someone else is saying good things about them hence the recommended and the phrase highly regarded. “and I wanted to speak with you about this role, is now a good time to speak?” As you want to speak with them about this role even if they’re not interested in the role themselves, hopefully you’ll have pumped up their ego and your headhunter status enough they’ll still be happy to talk more to you, which may lead to a referral, them as a future candidate or even better a future client. This might need to be adapted depending on the role but it’s a very good starting point. Try using this against your usual intro and measure the ratio of success, adapt and find the best one for you. Do you initially leave a voice mail? I prefer not to so I would suggest you try a few times, and leave no message . But this can’t go on forever, so you will eventually have to leave a message. I’d also vary between calling from a landline, mobile and even a second mobile number. If your office number is withheld a lot of people now won’t take anonymous calls to avoid the dreaded telesales of PPI, plus if you have alternate numbers you can use you won’t look like a stalker! To increase the chances of a return call, I try the vanity card again; “Hi Christian name (Mr. or Mrs. will sound like sales call) you’ve been recommended to me can you call me back on” and leave a mobile number. They won’t always call back but this isn’t a bad way to increase your chances through intrigue. The second blog in this series of two covers: The headhunt call to get the highest interest to call ratio How to interview the candidate in a way that creates business and gives you plenty for your interview notes How to present your client with the shortlist in a way they see huge value and commit to interviewing all your shortlist And finally how to add the real value to ensure your clients come back to you every time for more. - Written by Davidson Gray Managing Director Rhys Jones. Rhys’ experience has come from progressing from a big billing contingent recruiter to a successful headhunter and onto building two Headhunting firms. Rhys sold out of those businesses in 2014 to focus on working with recruitment start ups with every one to date being a success.…; Added by Rhys Jones at 6:38am on March 18, 2016

Topic: Meet Beth Havens, A Corporate Recruiter with a Physics Degree & Love Ancient Architecture: ue. Personal Causes: Saving Edith Wharton’s Home in the Hamptons, it’s a very unique bit of history Office/Cell Number: 805-212-0612 Personal Email: msbhavens1@yahoo.com *** Beth is Available for New Opportunities Beth Havens has been a Full Cycle Contract Technical Recruiter with more than 12 years exempt recruitment experience in high-volume, high profile technical and scientific fields. Beth takes pride in her expertise in areas such as risk reduction, ability to work independently or in teams, vendor negotiation, collecting and defining business requirements, executing strategic searches, workforce planning, strong flexibility to adjust to demanding environments with attention to details and deadlines. Q&A with Beth Havens Six Degrees: Tell us about your home world Beth Beth I am an empty nester with a busy year ahead of me! My youngest Daughter Graduates from the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, on the 9th of May. (Yes that is the week after the Kentucky Derby, for you horse racing fans out there) My Oldest Daughter is getting Married in August, and finishes her Masters at USC in December (her BA is from UCLA, she has a fine sense of humor) otherwise it is just me and the critters at home these days! Have Dog will travel! Hobbies! Oh my! Aside from the obvious hobbies of gardening and hiking, I am known to write poetry, I have a book on lulu dot com that I put together for the friends and family who complained, “Toads Pond”. I’m known to hang out with the Society for Creative Anachronism on occasion. I enjoy medieval engineering, heraldry, textile hobbies and other interesting tidbits to be found within that group. I love ancient architecture. I’m far more likely to be found in the museum or the garden than on the beach. I’m terribly unsocial in my private life for a recruiter. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Beth I started recruiting in 1995. My BS is in Physics and Computer Science and finding a job in that market was a bit tough, when I stumbled across a recruiter who thought I’d make a good recruiter. I think a good many recruiters stumbled into the industry via odd roads. I had the pleasure of working for an IT staffing company called XXCAL for a good many years before I went into contract recruiting. Since then I have been doing contract and freelance recruiting. Generally I get called for one of two things, either hard to find Scientific, Engineering, IT or Technical people, OR oddly enough, hard to work with hiring managers. I have worked with both very large companies like Citibank, and Sony electronics, and small companies(less than 100 employees), like Xencor. I find either can be great opportunities as long as there are interesting requirements to work on. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Beth Full Cycle Contract Technical Recruiter with more than 12 years exempt recruitment experience in high-volume, high profile technical and scientific fields. I am dedicated and work to give a high level of professionalism. My abilities include strong written and verbal communication, risk reduction, ability to work independently or in teams, vendor negotiation, collecting and defining business requirements, executing strategic searches, workforce planning, strong flexibility to adjust to demanding environments with attention to details and deadlines. Most recently, Beth serviced at Sony Electronics, Inc. through Integrity Placements, performing full cycle recruiting, mainly for ISSA, Legal, Marketing and Controller groups. Recruiting mainly SAP manufacturing and finance project lead and management for ISSA. Participating in research and development for a strong print ad campaign, as well as searching for and developing stronger presence in recruiting online in niche arena’s for specific job functions, mainly seeking Project experience for large ERP projects. Helped to re-create the in house staffing function at Sony. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Beth Transitioning from Agency Staffing to Contract Recruiting - it allowed me to really do the parts of recruiting I like best! Working directly with hiring managers to fill needs, and working on finding the candidates to fill those needs, while not having to do the part I dislike which is hunting for prospective opportunities. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Beth I have to say the person I learned the most about recruiting and business in general from, was Marv Hoffman. Marv not only provided a great deal of recruiting training, but encouraged his recruiting teams to participate in groups that they could learn more from. For instance while working with XXCAL I belonged to several users groups that were great souring pools. (NT users group and a VB Testing group for example) We attended recruiting conferences and Marv had his own training sessions as well. It would have been hard to spend any length of time in that group and NOT learn a great deal. Six Degrees: Tell us about your position, (responsibilities, size of your staffing organization) : Beth Currently I am doing freelance work, taking on requirements from staffing firms who need a bit of help, and doing splits while seeking that next contracting opportunity! Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Beth I am hoping the Trend in new Energy Development and Deployment will have a great boost in my future opportunities, as I’ve been keenly interested in alternate energy sources since I was a teen. Be it thermal heating systems, Wind turbines, solar (recently read a great white paper from MIT on some solar energy changes that would radically alter the amount of energy you are ABLE to use from solar cells) or even passive energy creation or conservation. (for instance if you don’t lose as much heat from a home, you don’t need to create as much, etc.) But then I’m always interested in engineering and architecture, so this shouldn’t’ be too big a shock for those who’ve been reading along. I am a geek by nature, and no! That is not a negative statement! Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry: (Do you attend conferences? Which ones? List/detail speaking events, awards, publications, where you have you represented your company) Beth I have attended conferences in the past, SHRM, ERE and many conferences that were directly related to my recruiting needs, Like the Optical Electronic Industry conferences, or Computer conferences which were related to industries I was recruiting for. My personal favorite is the OPIE. I have to admit, I have a couple Schott glasses from the Schott glass company. That has to be one of the best give aways ever. Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? Has it effected your job or that of your fellow team members within the organization - If so, to what extent? (If you have been laid off, tell us about the experience, when it happened) Beth My last contract ended at the end of January in 2008. I was very surprised that I didn’t have several opportunities in the wings when it ended, but still, I didn’t think I’d be working freelance as long as I have. I had remarked to some friends in 2007 that some banking transactions I’d had reason to observe worried me as to the state of several banks stability. I really hate to be right some days. It seems to me that the media began paying attention to the recession in Late 2008, but that the recession itself began early 2007. I began seeing a great deal more recruiters looking for work peaking in the winter months of 2008 and finally starting to subside in about March of this year. Of course in times like this, Good Sales Staff are worth their weight in gold, but they aren’t automatically created from thin air, so both staffing agencies and corporate business have found themselves going through sales staff and training at a rather intense rate (good training is far too under rated and under utilized in my opinion) while other business find themselves holding their collective breath, so to speak waiting to see what is happening on the world stage, or even failing in the interim. We will recover, economies do, sometimes more slowly than others, but we will recover. Now, where we will all be at the other end of that recovery, that is the question! I admit to having some Thoughts about the viability of changing direction, but to what purpose? Important questions these! I think one of the best indications that the bleeding of the economy is slowing down is that there are more advertisements for recruiters and a big slowdown in the number of NEWLY unemployed recruiters. If there are Jobs, there will be a need for recruiters, so it is, I think, the number one job listing to look for in a recovering economy. Interestingly there seem to be a great deal more ads for the east coast than west coast coming up on my searches. That too may be an indication of what we need to watch in the coming year. Are other economies recovering faster than the California economy? And which industries are recovering fastest. Which seem to be failing completely? I enjoy searching through this information on a regular basis lately. Also I would expect some staffing agencies to do really well when the economy begins to heal because when applicants are abundant, what manager wants to wade through hundreds of resumes to find a few gems? So the pick up in Agency hiring is to me another indication that the recession is beginning to ease just a bit. I am looking forward to a happier year! 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? Beth You know that is a great question! I have joined a few interesting groups in an effort to get more visibility. I joined the “Ruthie List” and “Carecruit” (California recruiting) groups. I also started receiving other industry communications that I thought might be useful for finding companies that might need my services. I found a few browsers that have been uniquely helpful. Indeed.com is a site that lets you see jobs on several boards and even private company sites at once. Which also just brings to light several possible companies that might be useful. 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? Be specific Beth I should advise against sharing too much personal information, there really is (and I believe, should be!) a difference between your personal and public life. Other than that, be interested in others as much as you are interested in promoting your own needs, because if you don’t listen to others, you will miss opportunities for yourself! (or maybe even an opportunity for a friend) Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Beth There are a couple things I’d like to do. One objective is to work with a small company helping build a solid team from the ground up. Possibly working that effort into an operations Lead position later on. Another thing that I’d be interested in doing is leading a recruiting team for a large company. Either objective is highly dependent upon opportunity. I have my eyes open for just such an occurrence! “HOW DOES BETH IT?” Six Degrees: How many applicants at your present employer do you estimate are hired from your corporate website as compared to how many are hired through referrals? Beth When corporate recruiting, it has been my experience that the overwhelming vast majority of the hiring was the result of sourcing efforts on my part, which included, corporate advertising, searching internal and external databases and networking. I found that a good candidate was just as likely to be found by anyone of these methods as the other, which is why I employ all these methods. . Six Degrees: What is the source of your "LOWEST COST OF HIRES" - (least amount of invested resources for the easiest hires, regardless of quality) at your present employer? Beth Without doubt the lowest cost per hire I have found has been with previously known candidates, or internal transfers. An internal transfer does not always mean another opening. One of the things smart companies do, is to review the personnel they have to let go from One team, for the likelihood they can fill openings in another group. The cost savings can be tremendous there. Six Degrees: What talent niche groups do you target and are these particular talent areas specialized under your review? Beth I generally focus on hard to find IT, Engineering or Scientific candidates, though I’ve been asked to fill legal openings as well. While at Sony my main focus was in hiring High level SAP management and design level candidates and Law candidates. While at Amgen it was chemists and other high level R&D scientists, at Citibank embedded Unix developers, and Oracle programmers. If it is a complex opportunity, I may be the recruiter you need. 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? Beth I have probably used just about every ATS system out there, at one time or another, having an ATS is invaluable, which one you have is certainly up to you or your company, my favorite is Bond. The one I’ve used most is Taleo. Secondly I think one should have access to posting on Some job boards, one doesn’t necessarily need every board out there, but one universal board, and a few niche boards that fit your company needs really do make networking easier. Not to mention advertise your company and give you more opportunities to network. And contact with niche groups that support whatever activity you most need in your hiring, be it MBA groups or some users group that services a particular type of prospective candidate, these can be invaluable. My brain, is also known to be a fairly useful tool, though I don’t claim to share all its contents. Six Degrees: What tools (technology or old school file folder, for example) did you first encounter early in your recruitment career? Beth I came into recruiting when databases and search engines were already in use. And being a geek I really don’t think I would have gotten into it otherwise. If I file it, it isn’t likely to be seen again for years. I file things that Might be useful sometime, not things I use on a regular basis. That is why databases are so useful, its filing for things you plan on using regularly. I also think I drove my first bosses crazy because I hired more candidates on email than I ever called, and that drove the metrics crazy. But then a lot of the candidates I deal with don’t like(and occasionally don’t answer) the phone. Six Degrees: How did your expectations of being a recruiter compare to the actual, first time you got on the phone or in the cubicle? In your opinion, how do people's assumptions about our vocation differ from reality? Beth I didn’t have any idea of what to expect when I first started recruiting, since it wasn’t anything I ever imagined I’d be doing! So no expectations to live up to or crush. I think the biggest assumption people have about recruiting is that it in any way is an HR function. Recruiting is a management function, and is diabolically opposed to HR. the sole function of HR is to protect a companies assets. This means if you have someone in HR doing your recruiting, they often will not show resumes to hiring managers that they think are a pain to HR. a recruiter puts the position and the hiring managers needs before HR preferences. Recruiting assumes the responsibilities of a hiring manager to detail, advertise and find suitable candidates for an opening. Some of the odd HR jobs recruiters take on in order to fulfill that duty, are for our own convenience, to get the job done. They aren’t a recruiting function per se’. The most foolish thing any business can do in my opinion, is to put recruiting under the auspices of HR. If they aren’t under their own separate heading altogether, then they should be under operations. Six Degrees: Worst mistake, biggest goof, lousiest practice you thought would fly but didn’t…and how that was a learning experience? Beth I will have to hold a contest to see. Though possibly the one I thought the silliest was parking in boss’ favorite (though unmarked) parking place when I went for an interview. 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. Beth I think that the best way to make any industry better is to do your best at what you do. Lead by example and change will occur naturally. Well it’s a theory anyway. Six Degrees: “Best practice” you are most proud of developing (now or in the past) in your recruiting career? Beth The best recruiting practice is to stick to process. Six Degrees: What are some of the frustrating aspects/obstacles to your day to day as a staffing professional and in general? Beth I think the biggest obstacle to recruiting, are hiring managers whose personal hiring goals clash with their companies hiring goals. They most often take up the most time. This time waster is followed closely by un-necessary meetings. 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? Beth I’m happiest when working on an interesting opportunity. Finding that one odd placement no one else can find. Six Degrees: What one thing do you ideally hope to accomplish in 2009? (OR) Six Degrees: What one thing do you find most ideal given the opportunity to develop/ implementing/ invent professionally that has yet to be done. Beth Actually I’d like to see an MRP (manufacturing resource planner) that is similar to a job board for investors and communities to use to help manufacturing stay strong. The idea being that resources, inventors and investors really need a place to network to make opportunity happen. The thought comes out of my recruiting experience. Six Degrees: Anything you want to plug? Beth Only the hole in the economic dyke…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 2:54am on May 18, 2009