Justin McMillin's Posts - RecruitingBlogs2024-03-29T06:36:27ZJustin McMillinhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JustinMcMillinhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1526963844?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=00r7aknsgw453&xn_auth=noYet another self-created tool because we don't have the budget...tag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-03-15:502551:BlogPost:11609362011-03-15T22:08:03.000ZJustin McMillinhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JustinMcMillin
<p>DOE is cutting right and left as they prepare for the worst. This means I'm left to fend for myself. This means no CRM besides what our watered down version of Kenexa can provide. In order to keep ahead of all of the outside emails I get on a regular basis (20+ daily) I decided to find a <em>free</em> solution. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thus, my simple Zoho form was created: …</p>
<p>DOE is cutting right and left as they prepare for the worst. This means I'm left to fend for myself. This means no CRM besides what our watered down version of Kenexa can provide. In order to keep ahead of all of the outside emails I get on a regular basis (20+ daily) I decided to find a <em>free</em> solution. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thus, my simple Zoho form was created: <a href="http://creator.zoho.com/justin.mcmillin/sample/">http://creator.zoho.com/justin.mcmillin/sample/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>What does it do? Well let me tell you! </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Automatic email generation in order to connect potential candidates (or those coming in from consortiums, ect) to my talent gateway, relevant information, facebook and twitter! Seems simple right? I understand some people get to use their nifty CRM tools, Constant Contact, and such... but when you're in the wild, you have to fend for yourself. So Zoho Creator offers an ability to come up with my own creative solutions. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Features: </strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li>Customized rich text field - URL masking, bolding, lists! Wow!</li>
<li>Personalized greeting</li>
<li>No more BCC'ing the masses or using up valuable space on the email server</li>
<li>Email "reply-to" Zoho admin ID - in this case a company email alias that I created</li>
<li>Message log - I can track who I've contacted and keep email addresses for future recall through a customized report view</li>
</ul>
<p>Fun stuff. </p>Seeking simple and FREE toolstag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-02-01:502551:BlogPost:11303192011-02-01T17:41:00.000ZJustin McMillinhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JustinMcMillin
<p>I'm in a budget crunch environment at work - yes, I recruit/source for the federal government. Needless to say, money that we would ordinarily use for tools is being soaked up to pad our offer/promotion funding - (signing bonus, relocation, ect). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So what I need... I'm decent with boolean searches without any tools. But I do need a simple, SIMPLE CRM/database that is compliant. I'm losing track of all of the incoming resumes and materials. We have Sharepoint, but I'm not sure…</p>
<p>I'm in a budget crunch environment at work - yes, I recruit/source for the federal government. Needless to say, money that we would ordinarily use for tools is being soaked up to pad our offer/promotion funding - (signing bonus, relocation, ect). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So what I need... I'm decent with boolean searches without any tools. But I do need a simple, SIMPLE CRM/database that is compliant. I'm losing track of all of the incoming resumes and materials. We have Sharepoint, but I'm not sure I want to utilize it in this way. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ideas? </p>LinkedIn Concepttag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-01-22:502551:BlogPost:11269492011-01-22T01:32:40.000ZJustin McMillinhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JustinMcMillin
<p>I'll give kudos where kudos are due. LinkedIn <em>was</em> a pretty nifty idea. It negated all the Myspace and Facebook triviality and packaged up something that resembled an interactive resume. Not bad. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Recruiters gone wild! People just giving out content that is usually discovered by means of an internet scouring fest? Jockpot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well... now LinkedIn is trying to play jackpot. They invited us into their site, pampered us a little, spoiled us a bit. Little did…</p>
<p>I'll give kudos where kudos are due. LinkedIn <em>was</em> a pretty nifty idea. It negated all the Myspace and Facebook triviality and packaged up something that resembled an interactive resume. Not bad. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Recruiters gone wild! People just giving out content that is usually discovered by means of an internet scouring fest? Jockpot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well... now LinkedIn is trying to play jackpot. They invited us into their site, pampered us a little, spoiled us a bit. Little did we know that the love and devotion that we thought was a mutually shared aspect of our relationship with LinkedIn was actually a plot to lure and snare. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>LinkedIn is expensive for us small(er) timers affiliated with organizations with total employment under 2000. However, we still need the best and brightest. I mean these solar panels aren't going to become 90% efficient on their own after all. Back to the drawing board.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My manager won't budge on LinkedIn Recruiter, Talent, or Premium accounts for me or my team. I can't say I blame her considering the cost. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Talent Basic: $49.55/month </p>
<p>- Value add: Might as well throw a dart at the phonebook.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Talent Pro: $499.95/month</p>
<p>- Value add: Getting better, but I need more juice to find my peeps.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Recruiter: "Learn More"</p>
<p>- Value add: The Porche of LinkedIn memberships. But it will cost our team as much as a Porche.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back in 2008 I could say, "at least my potential candidates don't have to pay to be a part of this service, so there is no worry about anyone ever being detoured away."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>...2010: Not the reality anymore. End user, job seeker, business talent- LinkedIn is trying to push services on them! This is not RIGHT! And I hear LinkedIn is going public, which can only mean one thing...</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>QUARTERLY PROFITS | DIVIDENDS | SHAREHOLDERS</b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">And the end of our fun with LinkedIn as we know it. :*(</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">So I asked anyone who reads this - what is a concept similar to LinkedIn, but cooler, jazzier, and CHEAP? What could we do together to build it? What do we need, want, not already see out there? What can we create that is a) useful and b) will teach LinkedIn a valuable lesson? </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I own the URLs, lease the web services, and have the motivation... now I just need the concept to complete itself. I want to create something that's better and more efficient for recruiters and sourcers. I want to develop a business model that is fair and support the requirements of the site. This talent sourcing, business networking, and talent acquisition tool with huge ROI has to be built... soon. I'm losing my mind here.</p>My response to Ad/Marketing/PR firms social media greedtag:recruitingblogs.com,2010-12-11:502551:BlogPost:11169652010-12-11T01:00:00.000ZJustin McMillinhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JustinMcMillin
I recently read a blog on Recruiting Blogs. While well written, I think we need to keep the social media picture in perspective as recruiters/sources as well as organizations with a need for social media. It's not a difficult medium to use/learn. Therefore, why are people so impressed with what advertising, marketing, and/or public relations firms are offering?<br />
<br />
To preface, check out the original blog post:Never Slash A Social Media Program Too Soon (…
I recently read a blog on Recruiting Blogs. While well written, I think we need to keep the social media picture in perspective as recruiters/sources as well as organizations with a need for social media. It's not a difficult medium to use/learn. Therefore, why are people so impressed with what advertising, marketing, and/or public relations firms are offering?<br />
<br />
To preface, check out the original blog post:Never Slash A Social Media Program Too Soon (<a href="http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/never-slash-a-social-media">http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/never-slash-a-social-media</a>)<br />
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Then read my reply.<br />
Warning: Not as well organized and thought out. I was in the heat of the moment.<br />
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I would like to see how "green" Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn's servers' electricity supply is. Talk about a major paradox- Cooling, power, transmission of mass amounts of data. It's making me sweat thinking about it.<br />
<br />
Marketing, advertising and PR firms sell social media in a way that's almost unethical. I think about what it takes to truly go "viral" with a campaign... and it's not 140 character to a following of 15,000- 15% or less of whom actually stay current with any one format of social media.<br />
<br />
I would like to know what the appropriate metrics are for social media and how we go about determining those. Does a $130,000 (actual quote) allocation of budget to subscribe to LinkedIn's feature set for recruiters/sourcing pay off in the end and how do we determine that? How many hires does it take? Say everyone who is hired based on a lead/source from LinkedIn is measured from a referral bonus standpoint - LinkedIn would need to provide 26 critical hires ($5k referral each), 43 senior hires ($3k referral each), 86 mid hires ($1.5k referral each, 173 entry/service hires ($750 referral each), or any combination of that.<br />
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Will LinkedIn provide those kinds of numbers just to break even? No. Will they make the life span of a requisition shorter - maybe, but not even a small percentage of the time.<br />
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Twitter is free. One hour a day, three days a week using Tweetdeck (free) or Sprout Social ($9/month) could provide one-two weeks of tweeting for any organization utilizing scheduled reoccurring tweet options. Those platforms also work with Facebook groups and profiles, and LinkedIn profiles (hopefully groups soon too). Soooo, you tell me... should marketing, advertising, and/or PR firms have their hands in the social media cookie jar? My answer is no way.LinkedIn is bragging again - Feature on Advertising Agetag:recruitingblogs.com,2010-12-07:502551:BlogPost:11159372010-12-07T02:00:00.000ZJustin McMillinhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JustinMcMillin
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">I recently came across a link that was shared to me via the LinkedIn "Network Activity" feed- sound much like news feed? The link directed me to Advertising Age's online article, "<a href="http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=147475">Why LinkedIn Is the Social Network That Will Never Die</a>." I'll want to share some exerts from…</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">I recently came across a link that was shared to me via the LinkedIn "Network Activity" feed- sound much like news feed? The link directed me to Advertising Age's online article, "<a href="http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=147475">Why LinkedIn Is the Social Network That Will Never Die</a>." I'll want to share some exerts from the article as well as my feedback and response. Hopefully someone will agree with me.</span></div>
<blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><br/></div>
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<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Ok- so it's growing. This is a good thing. However, where is the information about how many users login day-to-day and/or utilize LinkedIn to its potential. My guess would be somewhere in the ballpark of less than 1,000,000.</span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br/></span></font></div>
<blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">"Another feature recently launched is "Company Pages," extremely similar to Facebook Pages. Companies have jumped on the feature like a starving hyena on the fresh carcass of an elephant. Just in one week, more than 40,000 companies signed up, since now marketers can use the page to promote new products and ...yes, engage with their customers. Kodak said the feature is relatively new for it, but hopes to expand on its capabilities. "We have been able to add more information about us and our products/services," said Brian Nizinsky, online marketing manager at Kodak. "This gives our audience more ways to interact with us and that should only increase as the LinkedIn user base starts using those features more.""</span></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br/></span></font></div>
</blockquote>
<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Company pages were a great add for LinkedIn, although I'd like to assert that LinkedIn should have been first to implement this feature- given its very purpose for existence. Slow or now, it still launched the company sites. However...</span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br/></span></font></div>
<div><ul>
<li><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Missing administrative functions? How come I can change my company's operating status to "Out of Business" in three clicks all because I'm listed as an employee?</span></font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Shouldn't someone have to register this company using a company approved email address? Ie, @kodak.com. I'd be more inclined to suggest the LinkedIn should impose even more strick measures to ensure that company pages are authentic. <br/><br/></span></font></li>
<li><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Free jobs tabs in groups, but only available to company pages with (costly) upgrade? Shame! Our jobs are the bread and butter for your very existence, LinkedIn. <br/><br/></span></font></li>
<li><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#666666" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Features, features, features. Facebook allows company pages to add links, discussions, discussion groups, images, video, and more for free. You don't even want to know what LinkedIn is charging for similar features.</span></font></li>
</ul>
</div>
<blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><div><div><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">"Revenue comes from three sources -- advertising, premium subscriptions and corporate recruiting. Mr. Weiner said the streams are fairly even. Even though as recently as 2009 -- when the company was raising its last round of funding -- Mr. Weiner was comfortable saying to various publications that LinkedIn's revenue was close to $100 million per year, he is no longer providing revenue numbers. To some, this could only mean one thing: an IPO."</span></p>
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</blockquote>
<div><div><div>Ok. Understandable. LinkedIn has to make money to exist. It's simple economics-but what concerns me is how far LinkedIn has gone to impose higher fees and subscriptions in a short period of time, but the fees imposed on end users who actually want to use the site to its potential. It almost seems that the revenue source (users/employers) are being targeted at a rate that is unsustainable- the increases plus new fees are not keeping pace with implementation of new features. Talent sourcing is becoming increasingly difficult as well- what am I going to do with someone's first name anyway?</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>At the end of the day, LinkedIn is still one of the most valuable tools around for both the employer and end user/job seeker. However, I hope that it doesn't oversell itself too soon. LinkedIn is purposely restricting how much information we're allowed to share with one another for the purpose of revenue generation- so in that sense that article is dead on when it states that LinkedIn is not a social media platform (anymore).</div>
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<div>Original article can be found at: <a href="http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=147475">http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=147475</a></div>
<div>(AdvertisingAge "Why LinkedIn Is the Social Network That Will Never Die"</div>