It’s been a while since my last post. It would appear a new job and the birth of a 2nd child can be rather draining on ones time. Who would have guessed?

It hasn’t been all inductions and nappies though. No siree.

The last few weeks has seen me putting into practice the theory I’ve been prattling on about over recent months regarding social recruitment… And I’m loving…

Like they often do with unemployed candidates, employers tend to automatically eliminate any candidates deemed to be overqualified. Employers assume that overqualified candidates will not be satisfied and, as a result, will not stick around long.  

But according to a recent Business News…

In the first half of this year, hiring demand for Recruiters was growing – a promising sign that employers planned to do more hiring. However, over the past several months, the volume of job ads for Recruiting professionals has declined significantly. In October, demand dropped again with about 4,700 new job ads posted online for Recruiters, 10% less than in September and down 9% versus one year ago.

Volume of Online Job Ads for Recruiters…

Another week, another ‘job boards are dying’ blog post. If I had a dollar for every post like this, I’d be a (moderately) rich man. Truly.

I try to avoid the ‘job boards are dying’ discussion because (a) it’s a flamer’s game (not unlike arguing with those who disbelieve climate change), and (b) those of us in the biz know it…

So, you open up your email and find this waiting for you…

LinkedIn

Norman Timbuktu has indicated you are a fellow group member of The Recruiter Network - #1 Group for Recruiters

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.



- Norman Timbuktu

Hmmmmm… There it is right there…. Should I accept?  I’ll quickly check his profile… Ok, he’s a Masters Graduate (Computer Applications) from…

Whenever I'm having one of those down days when I start feeling a bit despondent, be it that I can't find the right candidate for an important position, or that a star candidate has been turned down in favour of someone else, or just that stress starts creeping in, I have a little something that always manages to make me smile.

I phone my placements.

There is nothing better than checking in with placements and hearing how much they are enjoying their new…

It’s been a busy season for us as we’ve engaged with several new clients and experienced a growth in business from our existing clients. I’ve always felt that the busier we are the more productive and efficient we become. But now I’m sitting in my office, with Long Way Round playing in the background for the 100th time, thinking about feedback we’ve been receiving from some of our clients. The feedback has been positive but some of the side effects have had negative…

When I first talk to a recruiter who is looking for a new job, I will always ask them 3 questions.

The answers separate the good recruiters from the average. They tell me whether a person takes their recruitment career seriously or are just hopping from one job to the next .They indicate whether a person is really committed to securing a new role or just dipping their toe in the water. They also highlight if someone is not telling the whole truth and has maybe…

Learn the difference between right and wrong. Respect your elders. Say “please and “thank you.” Work hard and be honest. Don’t give up and always try your best. Play nicely with others and learn how to share.

These are all lessons we teach our children so they will be prepared to be contributing members of society and generally good adults. Another opportunity to prepare your kids that is often overlooked is how to enter and successfully navigate through their…

While gratitude for current circumstances and successes is prudent, being satisfied is incredibly dangerous for business professionals. Satisfaction becomes a trap that keeps you cemented to your doorstep and allows your competitors to grab more market share. I asked a recent workshop participant, who was resistant to ideas for enhancing her business, if she was satisfied with her current business model and she replied, “Yes!” When asked if she was also satisfied with her results, she…

Video interview or video resume?  Live or streaming? Record at home or in a studio?  Free or paid?  Video technology is everywhere and its growing fast!  Every candidate and recruiting professional needs a strategy to meet this ideological shift.  TalentRooster is hosting an educational webinar to help those interested understand the opportunity that video technology offers. It's free and if you're interested, please join us! …

Thought for the Day: If you are going to have a twitter account for your recruiting I suggest you follow Google's lead.

Check out https://twitter.com/#!/googlejobs

Entitled "Life at Google" their twitter account is a living, breathing, active communication tool for their recruitment strategy. They link to job openings but they also COMMUNICATE WITH CANDIDATES! Something many…

1. Build talent pipelines and recruitment strategies to key business groups

Business units love to engage and buy-in to recruitment strategies that are tied to their groups and units vs. the whole company where job requirements and competencies can get watered down to meet all requirements.  Sourcing and recruiting to fill a specific pipeline for…

As the markets in Asia Pacific continue to grow at rates from 6 – 23.5% (in the case of SG’s 1^st Quarter 2011!) the ‘…

Is Twitter experiencing Facebook envy? Or, do they just want to be creepy? Google is doing something really cool with their image search and that's a good thing for social recruiting. Plus, Jim Stroud shares the love. Download the show notes for all the links to the stories covered in this video and more!…

Human Resources - What a confusing appellation!

As an HR professional, I frequently feel that HR, as a profession and as a business function, has become extraordinarily complex. If we are an HR professional we are confronted with:

- Treating people as a resource and being called "offensive" or are considered "callus".

- Treating people as individuals, we run the risk of discriminatory outcomes.

- We know people are not objects yet we seek to be objective in…

Many executives who are in meetings all day feel that when they go on an interview, they can “wing it” and successfully ad lib.  This is very dangerous.  Interview settings increase the tension, and you may not always be at your best when “on the spot.”

If you enjoy movies or theater, and you’ve seen an actor really embody a role, really own the character,…

It all started with the military heritage of my family.

On June 16, 1942 the New Mexico Albuquerque Journal had a front page article with photos entitled "GIVE FIVE SONS TO THEIR COUNTRY".  The photos are those of my grandparents, on my mother's side, and their five sons (my uncles-THE CHAVEZ BROTHERS) in military uniform, all in the service (Army and…

From my recruiting experience, sometimes its challenging to remember ALL the candidates you have met during the week. Relying on my photographic memory is not enough anymore. How do you keep track of your candidates, what techniques are/have used to keep a mental picture of the person? Do you think its ethical to take a picture of a candidate for the sole purpose of  'jogging your memory'? I have mixed feelings about this issue, what do you think?