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Topic: Meet Jason Leonard – Managing Director, Talent Maze: – Managing Director, Talent Maze Jason Leonard serves as Managing Director, Talent Maze. Prior to TalentMaze, Jason developed a distinguished corporate career. He served as Director, Staffing at Citigroup for over three years leading the Recruiting function for Citi's Consumer Lending businesses (mortgage, auto financing, educational lending & home equity) consisting of 16,000+ active employees and hiring 3,000+ new employees per year. Jason nntegrated the Staffing function for five disparate business units into one unified Recruiting team consisting of 45 staffing professionals. He reduced external search firm usage from 84 to 23 vendors and moved from a legacy job board methodology by cultivating a variety of non-traditional sourcing tactics. He earned the 2007 Citi Presidents Club award recipient and was a 2006 Citi Quality Excellence award recipient. Jason was also a Director, Talent Acquisition at Mosaic, a privately owned, direct customer sales / marketing / merchandising / training / data collection solutions provider at the retail level with 13,000+ employees serving global, world class brands such as Microsoft, American Express, Wal-Mart, Nike, AT&T, Best Buy, Disney, HP & Reebok. In addition, he has served as a Director, Recruiting at Caseta Technologies and Director, Recruiting at Spherion (dba Resulte Universal). Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Jason: I have been with my beautiful wife Michelle 5+ years, married 3. We have a beautiful 20 month old daughter named Maya. She’s at that age where everything is two speeds – stop and run. Seriously, she is an absolutely wonderful child and has been a God send. Michelle and I love her very much. Six Degrees: Tell me something others may not know about you. Jason: My father was actually killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. My father was a Secret Service Agent and they were housed in the federal building that was bombed. That single event truly has shaped the rest of my life. To this day I miss my father tremendously and will always have a void in my life without him here. On a more positive note I not only played football growing up (and am an avid fan at all levels), for a few years I coached little league football. I did not have any kids at the time, but I truly have a love for the game and wanted to give back in some way. I’m still trying to figure out how I can convince my daughter to play football when she gets older. Give me time… I was actually a semi-finalist for the very first season of Survivor. Needless to say I did not make the final cut, but I was absolutely intrigued by the concept and am a diehard competitor at heart. I wanted on that show so bad I could taste it. Ironically, everyone I told about Survivor before it came out thought it was one of the dumbest ideas for a TV show they have ever heard. I guess history has proven who had the better foresight on that one, eh? Between helping to run a startup, handling a 20 month old and keeping my wife and myself sane, I can’t really say I have time for hobbies or interests. Back in the days before parenthood and entrepreneurship I would have said traveling, sports and wine tasting. I have always been a big football fan (I have both played and coached over the years) and have been a Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma Sooners (my alma matter) fan since childhood. I can’t say I get to watch a complete game anymore, but I do love football season. Six Degrees: How many years were you a practicing recruiter? Jason: I started in recruiting May, 1998, so I just had my 10 year anniversary this past Spring. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Jason: I started as a Recruiter for a boutique headhunting firm called Resulte Universal. (They have since been acquired by Spherion.) I spent about 6 months on the candidate’s side when the owners deduced I needed to be on the client side. I flipped to account management, eventually management and on to a Director role over permanent services before I left the agency side. After 3+ years on the external side I flipped to the corporate side and went to work for Mosaic as their Director of Talent Acquisition. Four years later I left (via a headhunter) to join Citigroup as their Director of Staffing. I stayed with Citi for 3 years before leaving to join Talent Maze. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Jason: I would have to say simply getting into the industry. I was in sales and sales management for 8 years before I moved into the recruiting profession. What intrigued me about recruiting was the uniqueness of a model where I had to sell both sides of the equation (the candidate on the company and the company on the candidate). Once I tried it, I was hooked. I’ve been a member of the community ever since. Six Degrees: Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Jason: Interestingly enough, I do not. I have met some really visionary and enlightening leaders / managers / recruiters over the years, but none I would single out as a large contributor. I prefer to glean a little something from every candidate / recruiter / boss / peer / partner / client I interact with and leave each encounter with at last one good take away. I would describe my mentorship as an amalgamation of a thousand people and ten thousand interactions. Six Degrees: Tell us about your position at Talent Maze: Jason: I am the Managing Director for Talent Maze. They have brought me on board to help provide the strategic vision and tactical implementation of the company’s goals. Talent Maze is a startup changing the way hiring companies leverage external search firms and the business model is evolving rapidly. I relish the opportunity and believe my unique set of experiences on both the external agency and internal corporate sides of recruiting have well prepared me for this opportunity. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Jason: I have been a big fan of LinkedIn and Recruiting Blogs for quite a while now. I was an early adopter of both (I seem to recall being in the first 100 people to sign up for Recruiting Blogs and I have been using LinkedIn since 2005) and feel each is helping to crystallize a critical slice of the recruiting space. Six Degrees: (B) In what aspects are they superior? Jason: I am sure most of your readers are familiar with both companies, so I won’t go into the value adds they provide. Their contributions to our industry are clear. I will say I think what has set each of them apart for their competitors is the way by which they have both effectively delivered on their underlying model and continue to refine their product in ways that bring additional value to their users. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Jason: Especially since I most recently came from the Financial Services industry, I think the current financial meltdown is going to have long last effects on not only those of us in the recruiting space, but all consumers / employees in general. Unfortunately, I believe the financial mess is going to get worse before it gets better and we will end up with another busted bubble a la the Internet bust of 2000 / 2001. The good news is these “cleansing” events are a great time for superstars to differentiate themselves as it typically culls out those individuals who shouldn’t be in our industry. As they say, the strong survive and get stronger. Six Degrees: Have you been involved in speaking events, awards, publications, where you have you represented your company: Jason: I have been a speaker at Taleo World, Kennedy Information, and EMA and in the Spring I will be speaking at SHRM’s Annual Staffing Conference. I have won quite a few internal awards at Citigroup, Mosaic and Resulte / Spherion, but not industry recognized awards as yet. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Jason: In my opinion, I am living it. After spending 7+ years on the corporate side of recruiting I was really looking for a game changing, entrepreneurial opportunity. I think Talent Maze is every bit of that and then some. I relish the opportunity and truly believe our business model will fundamentally change the way our industry operates. I look forward to what the next five years bring.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 7:33am on October 6, 2008

Topic: Meet Steve Rath, Mickey Mantle of Contract Recruiters, Proud Braves Fan of Square Pants: ave along with some of my other paintings of Pete Rose, Jim Rice, Ali/Frazier, and Rocky." RecruitingBlogs Linkedin Profile Twitter Facebook Website Phone: (770) 803-0444 Email Steve Rath is a Microsoft staffing consultant alumni with over 20 years of diverse experience aligning talent strategies with business strategies. He is an experienced talent acquisition consultant and trainer. Steve has worked with companies of all sizes in the retail, financial services, manufacturing, software, and Internet sectors, offering unique talent acquisition and training strategies with a Client Service focus. His particular expertise is in recruitment strategy design, recruitment process optimization, recruiting/sourcing, and applicant tracking software implementation. Steve has a bachelor of arts degree in Computer Science with a focus on Personnel Management. Steve Rath is a noteworthy feature for me on a personal basis. Knowing him honors two cornerstone aspects of a life well lived for me. (1) Did you ever meet someone that within 24 hours you know you made a life long friend? One of significance? To be distinguished in your personal and professional pursuits is an accomplishment. In Steve, I firmly believed then and have since reflected that I was fortunate to have been at the right place and at the right time introduced by the right person. (2) Do you have a mentor, a brethen of sorts who consistently introduces you to people of significance? Someone who sees a connection potential amongst individuals beyond the sharing of stats and 'how to's' that often represent professional environments and has you break bread with them? To have such a friend who contributes actively to your circle of established friendships is likewise a professional/personal milestone. I have one. You may know him - his name in our industry is akin to the names "Cher" and "Prince." He had me sit next to Steve Rath. I am grateful on several levels to have two such friends who make me a better human. That warm smile upon reflection is what Steve Rath produces in so many conversations. He is the type of person you tell your proudest moments - not for the sake of braggacio, but because you know as he listens he identifies with what it means to you and he wa ts you to succeed just as you wish for the Steve in your life. It's not even necessarily a reaction tied to trade news. It can just as easily be about your kid's spelling bee or the day you planted a new tree in your garden. You may hesitate to share it, Who wants to be perceived as having odd pleasures? But Steve will smile and tell you, "That's great I remember how excited you were when you saw it on the lot." Steve is someone I can tell that to. This is the Steve I know. Steve is also that person you tell the embarrassing tales to, and he can often win the game no one should wisely desire to win. My one named friend is the model of that friend aacrchetype, now Steve is a fellow tribe member. The ego is two doors to the left, we can just sit here and mind our own time. We often do and we do it in the splendor of one another's company. Today let me stand up and genuflect as I present an opportunity to meet my friend and colleague, Steve Rath. Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Steve: Originally from NY state, I graduated college in 1985 from State University of New York - Potsdam with a degree in Computer Science (and a minor in Personnel Management). I spent my first 12 years as a developer/programmer. I moved from Poughkeepsie, NY in the late 80’s to Raleigh, NC and then to my final destination, Atlanta, GA in 1990. I like to think I was one of the reasons why the Atlanta Braves started their incredible Division winning streak after I moved to Atlanta! It was in Atlanta where I meet my wonderful wife Marjorie with her intoxicating southern charm. We will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary this September 2009. She keeps me both focused and grounded and she’s my biggest fan. I have three wonderful boys – Nicholas Dominick (12), Anthony Stephen (3), and Charles John (1). I stay quite active as a result of my two youngest and have become quite the Spongebob Squarepants fan. Growing up I bled baseball. I couldn’t get enough of it. I played it as an 8 year old and in college as a walk on at Florida Institute of Technology (FL Tech). My dream was to play professional baseball. Of course my favorite team was the NY Yankees – Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Dave Winfield, and Phil Rizzuto (as an announcer). Those were the days. I was also an avid Chess player and #1 seat on my High School Chess Club. One of the only students to have lettered in Baseball, Soccer, and Chess! Today I’m a huge Hockey fan. I enjoy following the Atlanta Thrashers as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins. We go to as many games as we can as a family as we thoroughly enjoy the overall experience. One of my favorite hobbies is art. I used to draw my sport hero’s as a kid – sketches, pen and ink, and acrylic paintings. One of my most cherished art pieces is a drawing I did of Mickey Mantle of the NY Yankees. Mickey signed my work back in the late 70’s. I framed it and currently have it proudly displayed in my man cave along with some of my other paintings of Pete Rose, Jim Rice, Ali/Frazier, and Rocky. Six Degrees: How many years have you been the the staffing industry? Steve: I’ve been in the recruiting/staffing industry since 1997 and recruiting 100% since 2002, so 7 years. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Steve: Upon graduating from SUNY-Potsdam I started my career in the software industry as a developer working primarily as a contractor to various IBM facilities in the East Coast. I had very technical jobs during that time which required much of my time with my eyes glued to the terminal (yes we had terminals – no PC’s or workstations or Laptops!). I found that I started enjoying my interactions with people more than with computers and took interest in a possible career change. In 1997 I had the opportunity to change careers and enter the staffing agency world - placing people like myself to work with clients in Atlanta, GA. I started my staffing agency career with a company called Carson Associates (now part of Spherion). It was with Carson Associates where I cut my teeth on the Sales/Account management/Recruiting side of the business. I was responsible for managing the Atlanta based Coca Cola Account as we were one of several vendors working exclusively with KO at the time. It wasn’t long after Carson Associates sold to a publicly traded company (Norrell) that I joined MATRIX Resources as a Sales Representative responsible for opening new business. After several years with MATRIX (2 President Clubs and performer of the month), I joined Comprehensive Computer Consulting, Inc. (CCCi), an established Atlanta staffing agency founded in the 70’s. In 2004 I took my knowledge of the staffing agency world and applied them directly to my clients as a corporate recruiter/staffing consultant. What has made me successful in my career as a Recruiter/Staffing consultant in the IT industry has been my unique combination of my technical background as a Developer interlaced with my knowledge and skill of a recruiter. I have always maintained an edge over my recruiting colleagues in my dealings with hiring managers and candidates. Understanding the needs of a hiring manager has allowed me to translate that need into viable candidates. Also understanding the needs of candidates and establishing a bond of trust, has helped me maintain relationships beyond the current requirement and create a future referral base. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Steve: Probably the single event which had the most impact on my recruiting career would have to be the transition from the technical industry to the staffing agency industry back in 1997. The transition from developing to staffing was one of the toughest times I can remember. I recall thinking many times during that transition – where is the project plan to account for my time!! Six Degrees: Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? I have had several mentors or influencers over the years as I traveled this long and winding recruiting road. There is one in particular who has greatly influenced my approach to the staffing industry to which I attribute my overall outlook and successes. She actually mentored me during my initial years in the staffing industry. She inspired me with her work ethics and her honest approach with people. She was never quick to judge and displayed the utmost in patience. She knew how to deal with people and operated solely on trust and integrity. Her actions always spoke louder than her words and her knowledge and passion exemplified her dedication to our industry and aspirations to positively influence others around her. Six Degrees:Tell us about your latest contract recruitment efforts Steve: Well Dave, this is an interesting question as I’ve been engaged on many staffing projects over the past few years. I’ve taken projects where I’ve simply sourced (Microsoft), as well as projects where I’ve consulted with staffing departments of small to mid-sized organizations (Manhattan Associates, Hanna Strategies, RightNow.com) and functioned as a full life cycle recruiter (Home Depot and Genesis10). I am currently working on an engagement with RightNow Technologies. The are a small to midsized global company focused on creating CRM software. I was hired to evaluate their staffing process and recommend enhancements, best practices, optimize recruiting strategy, and sourcing techniques. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Steve: This is a difficult question to answer as the ebb and flow of recruiters add to and take away from a successfully operated recruiting department. The team and its leadership typically account for a successful operation. I know most all operations I have been involved with have operational issues to contend with and ultimately it’s the leadership which provides the direction and compliance. (B) In what aspects are they superior? Steve: The aspects which make one companies’ recruiting operation superior over the other is a solid foundation of sound processes put in place. Processes that account for both the hiring manager experience as well as the applicant experience. Personal accountability and the support of executive level to ensure compliance must exist to some degree. Bottom line is the superior recruiting operation sends a clear and consistent message both internal and external of its company. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Steve: Well, besides the fact that our economy has severely affected the overall health of our recruiting industry I’d have to say technology wise the explosion of Web 2.0/social networking has positively impacted my work. Why? Finding and reaching out to talent has reached a new level for recruiters. While traditional methods of networking have always had there place, creating virtual business and social networks have made it easier to connect taking advantage of economies of scale. With the explosion of blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, recruiters now have access to a resource pool larger than anyone could have ever imagined. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Steve: My next career goal is to take my consulting to the next level. Continue assisting small to midsized staffing organizations realize their potentials – building best practices, staffing optimization, sourcing strategies, branding, best practices for applicant tracking utilization. While I have enjoyed the tactical side of recruiting and staffing, I’m enjoying the strategic side of building stronger organizations. To get there is to continue building my resume. My business currently relies on referrals and recommendations. As I continue to build my reputation and my network, I believe my business will also continue to grow. Recommendations For Steve “I have known Steve since 2002. Steve is extremely professional and trustworthly. Steve truly cares about his clients and always wants to make sure they are not only happy with his services but that he does everything possible to ensure they are given the best service. Steve has a wonderful personality. Steve is very smart and a quick learner. When you meet Steve you will be able to tell right away, like I did, how much he cares about people.” November 30, 2008 Susan Van Dyke, IGT “We brought-in Steve to take the lead in staffing for our IS, SAP, and Thin Client Engineering groups... he did just that. Steve immediately took the reigns thus allowing for the Staffing Organization to flex with the growing needs (strategic and tactical) of the company. Steve met and exceeded the expectations of all our groups (including the SAP department, in which IGT heavily utilizes SAP apps and modules). Steve truly understands Staffing and how to effectively manage the groups with whom he works.” September 26, 2008 Cory Burk, Program Manager - University Relations, IGT “It was indeed my pleasure to have Mr Rath working with our team. He has an excellent understanding of the technical recruiting world. The groups he helped us support at Microsoft (through sourcing) are some of the more difficult teams to please. His understanding of the roles, technologies and his sheer ‘stick-to-it” style was a BIG PLUS for us. He was on point for helping us find some KEY HIRES for critical projects. I am hopeful that our paths will cross again!” August 2, 2008 Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Creative Angela McLaughlin “Steve is an excellent recruiter who helped me source for numerous positions while he worked for Microsoft. His expert advice and all his dedication throughout the recruitment process were paramount. His support and understanding of the recruiting process as well as the technology space makes Steve an outstanding asset for any company.” June 17, 2008 Doug Kester, Technical Recruiter, Microsoft “I am very impressed by the speed and responsiveness with which Steve and his team have responded to my queries and concerns. This is very difficult to do when working with such high-value clients as Steve does, which certainly send to him hundreds (thousands?) of requests daily. He is a real responsiveness star, and a role model for recruiters everywhere.” May 15, 2008. Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, On Time Bernard Hayes, PMP, The Home Depot “I had the privilege of working with Steve in Home Depot's Supply Chain group. His passion to attract right talent to the group and more importantly, post-recruitment follow-through is amazing! Steve is one of the most sincere HR recruiters that I have seen.” December 8, 2007 Vijay Sankararaman, Sr.Manager, Supply Chain Technology, The Home Depot “I have had the pleasure of working with Steve now for several months. He is by far one of the most ethically, hard working recruiters that I have worked with. Steve is a dedicated worker and always seeks to do the right thing. He is also a great resource of information and always willing to do what is best for the customer! I have enjoyed working with Steve because you don't have to second guess or wonder if he will meet your expecations.” July 5, 2007 “Steve started with Manhattan Associates as a Contractor and eventually moved into the Manager role. Our team rallied around him at all times. Steve has a strong recruiting foundation and understanding of recruiting. His skills, knowledge and experiences allowed the rest of the team to focus on our recruiting and know we were headed in the right direction. Steve is a solid asset to any Talent Acquisition team.” April 21, 2009 Greg Freed, Senior Technical Recruiter, Manhattan Associates “Steve was a pleasure to work with and is one of the best recruiters that I have ever had the privilege getting to know. Steve consistently follows up on candidates finding the best fit and is willing to listen to exactly the type of person that I am looking for. He is open and honest and a great communicator. Steve also has tons of industry knowledge and seems to be connected everywhere. He really made a huge impact on the Corporate HR recruiting team. He brought in the right people and was able to motivate his associates getting things done. If you are looking for a recruiter then I would highly recommend utilizing Steve’s talent. He is one of the BEST!” May 15, 2008 Lyndon Kolb, Strategic Account Management - Hardware, Manhattan Associates “Steve Rath is an effective, results-oriented manager who works well with all levels of the organization. He ensures that his direct reports have what they need to be successful in their roles. He gives a great deal of feedback and manages his recruiters' workloads well. He is very easy to work for and work with.” January 18, 2007 Barbara Marks, Corporate Recruiter, Manhattan Associates “Steve invited me to come aboard with Manhattan Associates as a contract recruiter. The 3-month engagement was extended twice to seven months. We worked beautifully together because Steve was even-tempered, steady, always encouraging and kind to candidates and colleagues, even in the midst of learning his new role as Recruiting Manager, implementing a new enterprise applicant tracking system, and enduring increasing governmental recruiting regulations. He really does a great job of helping others move along gently, no matter the pressure on him. We were friends before I went there. We are even better friends now!” January 18, 2007 Saron Sarkisian “I worked with Steve to help find several people to expand my Siebel and SAP teams. Steve went out of his way to find high quality people and to do them quickly and efficently. He was exacting in his screening and his can-do attitude made working with Steve a pleasure. He was creative in his searches and problem solving, while meeting all deadlines. I would recommend Steve and would certainly enjoy working with him again.” December 3, 2007 Stephan Cavarra, IT Application Dev Mrg, Hanna Strategies, LLC. “Steve is an excellent hire for anyone looking for a top notch recruiter. He has the ability to hone in on what the needs are and drive to filling the needs in a quick and efficient manner. Steve and I worked together for a while and once he understood what I wanted he was a bulldog. Great catch for any company looking to grow their talent base in all aspects.” November 30, 2007 Annant Patel, Manager - Supply Chain, The Home Depot…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 12:36am on June 15, 2009

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Blog Post: The Candidate Experience – Part 2: People Interacting with People

(Reposted from Make HR Happen 5/30/2012

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Added by Tom Bolt at 9:11pm on May 30, 2012

Topic: Meet Susan (Kang) Nam, As Rare as a Pink Olive: ing and recruiting industry via utilizing social media, focused on exploring various industries. She is currently working for her sister's boutique, Pink Olive Inc. She is currently serving as a member of board of directors - a VP role at Harvard Club of Andover Inc. She is also actively participating in both on/off sites committees (i.e. Binghamton Planning Committee among other fundraising charity organizations) Previously, Susan held recruiting role at Harvard University. She holds a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and further explored and pursued graduate studies at University of Rhode Island (for Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology), Columbia University - Teacher's college, Brown University extension programs, Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education master of education courses, Harvard business courses and programs affiliates via extension. Both her senior thesis and masters thesis studies were in the areas of behavioral medicine and leadership. In the future, she hopes to extend herself in Asia (specifically in Korea and Japan) and to further promote open talent development outreach through utilizing various social media platforms along with emphasis on building positive personal/professional brand in corporate organizations. Q&A with Susan (Kang) Nam Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Susan: We reside in north of Boston for the past 10 years. My husband KJ (Kyung Jun Nam) is a design engineer and most of his extended family resides in South Korea and majority of his family members are educators. We have a very active social life as we love to spend our summers in either Cape (deep fishing) or Florida (of course, Walt Disney world ventures) and during winter months at Killington Vermont and various locations in NH to ski. Our family life revolves around many travels to NJ and NYC as my extended family resides there. My second sister Jenna's passion is in missionary outreach via Arab world missions and she has recently come back from a long extended trip from countries in Europe and Morocco lending her efforts to spread the word of gospel. My youngest sister Grace is the owner of 2 boutiques "Pink Olive boutique" in east village, NYC & Park Slope Brooklyn. We value each other greatly ~ and yes.. we do have our "moments" :) but love each other with all our hearts. As for Education ~ all of us sisters attended colleges for our undergraduate education in NY (me - SUNY at Binghamton, Jenna - NYU, Grace - Cornell) and we are quite different in so many ways and yet the same despite our various talents and interests. Prior to living & studying in the east coast, we grew up residing in Seoul Korea, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Northern California (San Jose & Cupertino). As the eldest daughter in the family my priority for anything in life goes out to being there for my family - both immediate and extended - as I strongly feel responsible to make sure all of their needs are met in a timely manner. My parents are consistently my primary role models as they continue to live to their fullest despite their recent health scare / obstacles. They continue to impact and shape my life. My dad, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Engineering, former mechanical engineer, entrepreneur and sales executive traveled worldwide prior to his retirement. My mom, graduated from Ewha Womans University with a degree in Korean literature, a stay home mom for us 3 girls and recently finished her Ph.D. in Theology and now an associate pastor at Flushing, Queens NY. My other extended family resides in Korea, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong and various states across the US. My background is somewhat unique as I continue to seek out my heritage and aspire to learn new information about my family. We value and honor family, faith, education, personal relationships and community. I talk about Education and Faith quite a bit because we value it probably more than anything else. Our daughter Katie is 7 years old and we hope to continue her languages in Korean & French. and yes.. we do have pets (our daughter's fish family - Aqua plus, Raymond, Gabriella and Hello Kitty) ;) My passion lies in classical piano as I have been playing this instrument since age 4. My other interests are providing nonprofit organizations with their fundraising efforts (in education, charity, esp. for missionaries and cancer research - esp in colon, prostate and breast cancer). I do admire creative people.. especially designers, entrepreneurs, and passionate individuals who work hard every single day to balance their lives. Currently volunteering via various club positions via my Alma maters and other non-profit networking organizations. I admire edgy, passionate, idealistic professionals who work hard to achieve their dreams. Lastly, I do have other various interests in so many however one I can say for sure ~ I aspire to race cars one day (not sure what my parents would say about this ;) Six Degrees: How many years have you been a recruiter? Susan: I am a newbie and continue to learn and exploring the industry as of this summer/fall of 2008. My last full time recruiting related position was 7 years ago. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Susan: I started out in the Harvard Central HR recruiting team at Harvard Employment office 7 years ago. I was working as a technical editing staff support for the Harvard Economics Department at the time after I left NYC (with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Institutional Consulting Group at the World Trade Center). I met the Director of HR via taking her HR course at Harvard and soon after the position became available so I applied for the position and honored to join the team. The Central recruiting team's duties included consulting with rest of the Harvard University recruiting community providing recruiting related information. My niche was in internet recruiting where I dealt with vendors, consulted with advertising executives, and Harvard recruiters to provide cost-effective recruiting strategies for Harvard schools. I was able to write up a grant proposal to cater to their requests, comments to provide additional funds prior to leaving the University to raise my child. I was also very excited about contributing to the diversity outreach by working along with TEAM Harvard organizations (i.e. NAAAP). In the past 7 years, I did have the opportunity to explore few options however I have not had the opportunity to seek out my interest in recruiting as a career until summer of 2008 for various personal/family reasons. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Susan: I would have to say when I first met the recruiter at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. His positive & proactive attitude inspired me greatly and it helped me to refocus and started to explore the "idea" of recruiting full time - back in '98. Six Degrees: Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Susan: Yes so far I would have to say my role model has been Polly Price, previously Chief HR Officer at Harvard University. I first connected with her after reading a Harvard Gazette article on Diversity at Harvard. I was quite taken away with her approaches, her immediate attention to personal connection and integrity. I aspire her not for her accomplishments only but her character is remarkable and I truly honor what she has to say (both personally and professionally). I seek out for other mentors as I continue to explore the recruiting industry. I would have to say Kevin Wheeler - interested in his international recruiting outreach & cultural difference information via ERE and sourcing strategists (so many out there however look forward to learning more about Shally Steckerl, and community builders, movers and shakers - I have to say Jason Davis. I am humbled by their leadership, ideas and vision on the industry. Six Degrees: Tell us about your job: Susan: I support my sister Grace's boutique - Pink Olive boutique - for various responsibilities but most importantly value her talent, her ability to expand her passion in unique products, vendor selection and talent development. I will help her out with whatever she needs. That goes 100% as well with my other sister Jenna's ventures in missionary support. Six Degrees: What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Susan: For sure, Lockheed Strategic Sourcing Team information via Bill Murphy. I look forward to hearing more of their successes. I met Bill Murphy virtually via Jason Davis's Ning site - Recruitingblogs.com. Six Degrees: In what aspects are Lockheed’s Strategic Sourcing Team superior? Susan: Organization, Missions, Practicality & strategic sourcing focused approach. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Susan: I believe Social Media will have a very strong role in changing the recruiting industry as a whole. Also, along with the present state of Economy - very disturbing and yet I do believe there is lot to be done to transformed the world and anticipate a strong impact on recruiting industry near future(will elaborate as I continue to explore). Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Susan: My next career goal is to extend myself to the world of sourcing and recruiting in a corporate setting - still exploring at this time. What do I need to do to get there? Well, I will continue to explore options, obtain further training and most importantly network and establishing a personal relationship using various social media tools, gadgets and platforms. I find it extremely helpful, not only valuable but also a great way to build the relationship to get to the next course in my career.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 2:39am on September 29, 2008

Blog Post: Interview Scheduling Tips to Nail International Planning: For most people, having a job usually consists of traveling to the office to perform your daily tasks. However, as technology develops, the office is no longer the…; Added by Ngan Pham at 2:04am on June 18, 2021

Topic: Meet Geoff Webb, Hewitt Associates Sourcer & Toronto Community Activist: fferin Grove Park and volunteer within the parks and communities movements in Toronto. • Office/Cell Number (O) 416-530-4271 (C) 647-226-9322 • Email Geoff Webb has over 10 years of experience with Recruitment and Resource Management with some of the top consulting companies in Canada and the United States --- "Geoff is Canada's Most Connected Recruiter". In addition to his sourcing expertise, Geoff specialties include: Recruitment, Resource Management, Training and Coaching, Career Transition, Health Services and Privacy. Q&A with Geoff Webb Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Geoff: I live in Toronto with Michelle (we’ve been together now for over a decade), we have two daughters Inanna is six years old and Dara is two years old, we currently take care of three cats, a cockatoo (named Cookie) and a dog, wow, we really have too many pets. Not only am I a Master Sourcer, but I’ve been involved in Canadian politics for over 20 years, in that time I have worked for two Prime Ministers, one Premiere and a number of Members of Parliament. As well, I was once held by the Secret Service at the White House (it wasn’t my fault I swear). I was there on a school trip, a friend threatened to burn down the building, I got taken in for standing beside him (such an idiot). I am currently very involved with the Parks and Communities movement in Toronto, where we try to focus communities around urban park spaces. If you want to see a great model for an urban park check out www.dufferinpark.ca - we rock. When we’re not volunteering I like to spend time with my two little girls, we hang out a lot with friends in the parks, but also like to go rock climbing, we are all avid rock climbers (so if you know of any good rock, I’ll climb it). Currently my eldest daughter and myself are trying to figure out if it’s possible to build a zipline in our backyard Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Geoff: started out in recruiting at Parachute Community employment centre in 1989, so I have been in the staffing industry for wow, for 20 years now. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Geoff: Funny story actually. I didn’t want to be a recruiter. At first I went to theatre school and aspired to a career as a Stage Manager. I’ve always had an artistic side of me, however, after about three years of Theatre School I decided that I really couldn’t stand actors and that might get in the way of a career. So I went to work for my friend Tim McVegh who ran a community employment centre (Parachute, named after “What Color is your Parachute”). My job there was to assist underemployed youth in the Regent Park area of Toronto to get on-the-job skills training through a Government of Ontario program called Futures. That got me hooked so I worked my way through school and got my certification in Human Resource Management. When I did the course I thought that I wanted to be in Training and Development, but during my coop I ended up working for Canadian Tire as a Staffing Assistant. Now this is where it got really interesting, growing up my father was a professor of cognitive science at UofT and so we had a lot of computers around the house. I got the job at Canadian Tire because they were implementing a new ATS called Restrack Hire (which eventually became Taleo) and I understood both the HR world and the technology world, and Canadian Tire was the first company in Canada to implement the system. My role was to work as a Jr. BA on the implementation. Through that process I became very interested in Recruiting and started to assist on some of the Campus recruitment initiatives. And that’s how I got started in Recruiting. Since then I have mainly focused on Technology hiring because I have a love of Talent Acquisition and Technology. After Canadian Tire I worked briefly for a year with a Technology agency called Ian Martin IT, until the VP and a good buddy Craig told me that he didn’t “want to hold me back from something better” (no Craig Silverman it wasn’t you but I love that line). I then spent the next few years working for Computer Task Group on the IBM account as an RPO recruiter, this gave me the opportunity to manage recruiters as well as move my young family to Vancouver for a year…since then Vancouver has been our second home. It also gave me the opportunity to meet some really great American recruiters and learn the phrase “that dog won’t hunt”. After deciding to return to Toronto I worked for Xwave, Cognicase and then CGI (where I briefly delved into the world of Resource Management). After leaving CGI in 2002 I started to really become interested in the Candidate Generation or Sourcing side of the business. So I started my own company and with the help of my friends at Head2Head worked for companies such as T4G, Microsoft and Tucows (thanks guys). I then did a pure sourcing gig at Intuit for two years where I had the great pleasure of working with some of the best sourcers in North America under Traci Wicks (who btw rocks). I also got to attend the first Sourcecon and really started to delve into my community of peers. I am currently working with Hewitt Associates on the Central Sourcing team, again, I am very lucky to work with such a dedicated and smart bunch of folks under the inspired leadership of Chris Gould and Cynthia Wehrenberg. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Geoff: I can remember the day when the sourcing world really opened up for me, during my stint at Microsoft Canada I sourced and recruited for the Enterprise Services team. Let me say that it was a challenging assignment, as you had to find people that not only excelled technically but also were prepared to go on the road 80% of the time. We were using all the usual channels at the time, however, one day I was having lunch with a couple of the folks who were Technical Evangelists, and they were talking about the Microsoft Developer contests that were going on. It sounded both interesting and a lot of fun, so I inquired further about, well, what the heck they were. At the end of the conversation I was dumbfounded to find out that we already knew most of the best talent out there through the contests, but no one had thought to connect the contests to Talent Acquisition, and that’s when it struck me, everything can be about recruiting. You just need the proper recruiting ecosystem in your company. That’s when sourcing became really interesting for me, the more creative the approach the more exciting I get about it…and over the years I’ve done some crazy things, set up hotdog stands across the road from competitors, rode the elevators looking for contacts, crashed conferences to meet with developers. But I’d have to say that was a defining moment for me. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Geoff: you know I can’t say that I have any one mentor, however I have to give props to some folks for really opening my eyes to the sourcing world and community based recruiting. A big prop has to go out to my friend and mentor Traci Wicks at Intuit, Traci really taught me two valuable lessons 1.) that online communities are great but always need to be supported by direct human connection and 2.) your sourcing strategy no matter how complex should always answer the question “how am I going to move this person from a prospect to a hire”. I will forever carry those lessons with me. As well, Leslie O’Connor gave me the opportunity to connect with so many people that share a common passion for sourcing through the Sourcecon venue. I owe many of my relationships with my fellow sourcers to Leslie. Speaking of community builders I would be remiss in not giving a shout out to my fellow Torontonian Jason Davis, Recruitingblogs has been a great place not only to connect to the recruiting world but also to see how vibrant online communities can be created and maintained. Also huge shout out to all those sourcers and recruiters that I connect with regularly to share ideas…unfortunately to numerous to all name here. Six Degrees: Tell us about your position at Hewitt: Geoff: Currently I am a Sourcer on the Central Sourcing team at Hewitt Associates, I work on a team of seven sourcers under the direction of Cynthia Wehrenberg, besides my everyday sourcing duties of finding the best and brightest of the HRO world I also work on researching and evaluating new sourcing tools and technologies and then showcasing those technologies to the team. Further I am involved with the team building out the Hewitt social media strategy (with my good friend the brilliant Michael Marlatt), an opportunity that I am very excited about. I am extremely proud to be working on a sourcing team that has come so far so fast, in six months we’ve really become a force to be reckoned with in the Sourcing world, I would put us up against any sourcing team out there today, yeah, I mean you - bring it. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Geoff: Wow, so many, however, if I had to pick the top three I have always admired the work that Marvin Smith has been doing over at Microsoft, building Talent Communities that are true self sustaining and self propagating. I also really enjoy the work being done by Chris Hoyt and Amybeth Hale over at AT&T around the integration of their social recruiting elements, and last but not least I am a huge Josh Khan fan, he’s both a cool and very smart guy and understands that not every tool is made for every job. (B) In what aspects are they superior? Geoff: you know in all these cases including Hewitt, I am highlighting companies that are daring to be different, to push the boundaries of traditional Talent Acquisition, to really delve into social recruiting, daring to make mistakes and learn from them. I have a lot of respect for any company that puts themselves out there and is prepared to make some big OOPS. Another very important lesson that I learned at Intuit was if you aren’t making mistakes then you’re probably not innovating. In all my favorite companies I see a lot of innovation in our space. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Geoff: Hmmm, let ‘s see, Job Boards, yeah, they’re going to replace Third Party Recruiters…wait, wrong decade. No, seriously for me it’s got to be two things, 1.) the emergence of social media, and when I say that I don’t just mean Facebook, Linkined, Twitter, I am thinking beyond that with Diigo and Del.i.cious and other social bookmarking sites like Stumbleupon, I am talking about blogs, widgets, anything that can tell me more about you as a person other than your resume and can allow me to connect with you as a person more fully and 2.) (this is me Faith Popcorning a bit here), the fact that the future of Sourcing will be less about resumes and more about the content, I as a Sourcer I will be more interested in what you demonstrably know than what you have written on your resume. Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry: Geoff: Granted I haven’t been a huge conference attendee (probably that long trek across the border), however, I have religiously attended both Sourcecon conferences and have attended Recruitfest and RNG here in Toronto. I look forward to the day when Canada can say that we are in the Talent Acquisition conference game, I hope that day will come soon. Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? Geoff: I have been very lucky not to be a member of the unemployed up to this point during the recession. However, I know many of my fellow recruiters and sourcers that were downsized during the recession. To try to combat some of the effects of the recession in Toronto we started a monthly meetup of recruiters, hoping that the direct connections that we make will entice folks to help each other seek clients, new gigs, contracts, whatever they need. 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. Geoff: Well, let’s see, the last time I was looking for work I started a Facebook group and called it “Help Geoff Webb Find a Job” and invited all my “friends” to the group, I would then keep them updated about my job search status, I also run a number of social networks for Canadian Recruiters and have invited my Linkedin friends to a Ning group called “Friends of Geoff Webb Worldwide”. I help to run the Sourcecon Ning site and I am a regular contributor to Recruitingblogs.com. I also have one of the largest Facebook networks of recruiters on Facebook - all these media allow me to stay in touch with my community and share information with them. As I stated above I am also the organizer of the Toronto Recruiter Meetup and I am often called upon by community groups in Toronto to set up their online social media. I would start my own radio show, but Animal has that covered. 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? Geoff: Don’t ignore people, and be your authentic self. The best way to tick people off is ask them for something and then ignore them when they come calling to you. I try my best to answer every wall post, every Linkedin inquiry, every Tweet that I get, otherwise, I’m just another avatar out there. As well, do “pay it forward”, helping someone today can often become an opportunity of tomorrow. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Geoff: I’m torn there…on one hand I would like to be the Talent Community Manager, and work within social media to grow and enrich Talent Hubs or Communities by providing interesting and rich content but also introducing an element of the human touch, I don’t have it all figured out yet, but I’m learning. I could also see myself as the Product Manager for the next killer recruitment app out there, again, not there yet, but I’m learning. Industry Recommendations for Geoff Webb “Geoff and I worked together at Intuit, as Senior Recruiters, and then he moved into the Candidate Generation Team. He is passionate about building recruitment pipelines, creating sourcing strategies, training peers in technology tools that increase their ability to effectively use the newest and latest & greatest tools and, last but definitely not least creating new social networks. Geoff is an Excellent Sourcer, with many tools at his disposal and full of ideas, strategies and networks. He brings alot of tools and ideas to the Table and can help a Recruitment Team and the related Business Groups find a good solution to enable them to Hire the right people and talent!” October 17, 2007 Linda MacNeil, Senior Recruiter, Intuit Canada Inc. “Geoff strives to always look at new innovations in sourcing from a technology perspective. If there is something new out there he is the expert. Geoff also is a GREAT trainer and is committed to training new sourcers so they become successful! When brainstorming with Geoff there are no obstacles always solutions. Thank you Geoff for being such a committed innovator in sourcing.” August 13, 2007 Top qualities: Personable, Expert, Creative Traci (TWicks) Wicks “Geoff managed a heavy recruitment load, and was successful in establishing a user group for Java programmers. He always knows about the latest technology and sourcing strategies, effectively determines technical competence among candidates,, and managed the hiring relationships with ease. He is a pleasure to work with and is willing to share ideas and best practices.” September 10, 2007 Janette Richards, Recruitment Consultant, Intuit, Inc.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 8:03am on July 6, 2009

Blog Post: RPOld School

Recruitment Process Outsourcing. This phrase burst onto the…

Added by Doug Douglas at 4:08pm on December 14, 2013

Blog Post: Contingent Search - Still A Very Flawed Industry: No big news here. I often write simply to crystallize thoughts, so much so in…; Added by Skip Graham at 2:23pm on July 18, 2016

Topic: Meet Gino Conti, RecruitingBlogs Activist, "Who said Corporate Meant Boring?": • Email Read Gino's Blog Post Archives: • "Maybe those brainless single-celled blobs have it right after all..." • "Dignity in Downsizing" • "I won't blame them for their ignorance" • "Exit Interviews" • "The more I do my job the more I like it" ABOUT GINO CONTI We continue with our series on Activists within the RecruitingBlogs.com Community. This week we feature Gino Conti, an Employment Specialist at Nissan North America in Detroit, Michigan. Gino is an experienced, full cycle recruiter aligned with Nissan's major OEMS, Tier suppliers, and non-automotive companies nationally with a focus on the Midwest market and in Canada. He has developed his staffing industry niche almost entirely within the automotive industry on behalf of a wide array of functions ranging from business to technical. Currently, Gino is responsible for NTCNA for engineering, but also in support functions such as purchasing and communications within Nissan. Q&A with Gino Conti Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Gino: Outside of work I surround myself with friends and family in most of my free time. I occasionally like the solitude of a good book, but most of the time I’m spending time with my two younger brothers or old friends that have stayed close since high school and college. I try to keep as busy as possible since I don’t like being bored. Outside of working full time I am also going to school full time for my MBA, training for a half marathon this fall (and hopefully a full in the spring), and fill any remaining time with reading, writing, and the very rare guilty pleasure of some video gaming to just zone out. I am still trying to find the time to get out and go skydiving again, as this is the first summer in a while that I haven’t been out. I have been involved in a variety of charities, and I have often said if I hit the lottery I would love to replace the time I spend at my day job now with volunteer time. I have worked with Adopt-a-family, area soup kitchens, and try to donate any gently used possessions to Purple Heart or Salvation Army instead of relegating them to the trash bin. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Gino: Recruiting is the only thing I’ve done since I graduated college in 2005. The first three years were spent working for a TPR, and I am now in a corporate role, so my duties blend into HR a little more now, but the main focus has always been recruiting. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Gino: I’ve spent just over 4 years in the recruiting seat doing mostly technical staffing. My initial responsibility was to recruit engineers for the automotive OEMs and suppliers in Southeast Michigan so despite a complete business-based education my focus was almost entirely engineering recruiting. Since coming onboard at Nissan my recruiting efforts have been more varied and I have branched into finance, purchasing, and sales and marketing. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Gino: The fist webinar I attended that was presented by Shally. I had been using LinkedIn for a short while at that point, but was not nearly as proficient as I wanted to be. After his webinar it was like I was a changed man in terms of recruiting – it truly opened my eyes to the creativity and open-mindedness required to really be an effective sourcer and recruiter. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Gino: There are a couple of people who come to mind, but one who is head and shoulders above the rest. Ian Caullay was a Senior Recruiter whose desk was adjacent to mine when I was first hired out of college. I knew precious little about recruiting (absolutely nothing to be honest) and he was more than happy to help. I remember trying to strategically plan my phone time to be opposite of his so I could listen to how he talked with candidates, asked probing question after probing question, closed them down on the opportunity and the salary, and built a tremendous rapport with each one. Although it was important to tweak his approach to fit my personality, the majority of my recruiting persona was influenced by Ian. Six Degrees: Tell us about your position at Nissan Gino: As a corporate recruiter for Nissan I am tied into several difference areas of the company. My role includes doing my own sourcing and recruiting, but also requires that I take a teaching/coaching role with managers in order to create job descriptions and conduct interviews. I also work very closely with HR and Talent Management to ensure that we are developing high potential employees and maintain a good range of diversity in our employee base. The recruiting team itself is relatively small, being only 6 people for the US and Canada, but overall HR and Talent Management is a much larger entity. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Gino: I really like some of the things being done at Nike, Google, Deloitte, and Microsoft to name a few, and what Adidas did to revamp their career page was quite an ambitious and impressive undertaking as well. (B) In what aspects are they superior? Gino: Despite the fact that most of the aforementioned companies have such strong brand recognition that they probably have candidates practically banging down their doors, they still remain progressive and active in recruiting. I love the idea of having viral job ads, a more interactive career page, and conducting webcasts to inform potential applicants what the company is truly about. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Gino: Although social media is not necessarily the newest thing around, this is the area in which my role will change the most. The recent push has been to avoid costs whenever and wherever possible, and as such the reigns have been loosened a little bit to utilize sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and potentially even YouTube in order to reach out to candidates instead of paying the big fees required to search on sites like CareerBuilder or Monster. I could not be happier to have this be the case, and am glad we’re not allowing ourselves to get too far behind! Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry: Gino: Unfortunately travel has been a bit tough to justify lately, so conference attendance is not something I’ve had the luxury to do, but I hope to make it out to some in the near future. Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? Gino: Unfortunately I was not able to fully elude the recession myself, but thankfully it did not have me down and out for too long! The TPR I was working for previously had 90% of their eggs in the automotive basket, specifically with GM and Chrysler. Once those two companies started cutting contract employees left and right I saw the writing on the wall and tried to make a move before it was too late. I started getting some bites, but the losses got so great that the board could not wait any longer to take action and the layoffs began. Thankfully when my time came I already had some irons in the fire and my period of unemployment only lasted a few weeks instead of months, but it was terrifying and nerve-wracking all the same. Despite being gainfully employed, the recession has continued to affect my role. Budget is tighter than ever before, managers are pickier than they used to be, and candidates are typically a bit more persistent with requests for feedback. I can’t say that I blame anybody for taking the actions they have, but it has certainly required a slight adjustment to normal process! 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. Gino: Instead of going strictly with online networking via groups on LinkedIn or the like, our recruiting team has made efforts to get our internal subject matter experts involved. We have been working much more closely with the hiring managers and top talent within our own four walls to go after known high performers within the industry. Six Degrees: Given your own Trial and Error experiences as a Networker, what advice do you have for your peers on what NOT to do? Gino: Although it has brought me some success in the past, I’m still not a huge fan of the true cold-call. I know there are some folks that have made a living out of it, but blindly calling into a company has not seemed to be the most productive, nor has it been well-received. While I have been able to connect with some great candidates by cold-calling, I found that most people were either upset to be contacted at work, or were too worried about getting caught to give me the time of day. Essentially I feel for the time sensitivity I need to keep in mind for my projects I need to do something with a lower failure rate than the cold call. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Gino: I have a couple of different ambitions within my profession. One option is to continue to learn and grow in recruiting in order to lead the recruiting team for Nissan, or branch out into one of our related organizations within HR or Talent Management and create a stronger connection and synergy with the recruitment team to make recruiting a more strategic part of the organization. Part of this goal is continuing to educate myself (thus the MBA), excel in my current role, and continue to stay abreast of what is cutting edge in order to move my team closer to becoming a world-class recruiting function.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 9:17pm on October 4, 2009