How many times have you posted a resume to a job that you thought was perfect for you? I know I have quite a few times. You get that little sense of satisfaction and walk around with a smile the entire day because you are certain that they will consider you. As the week progresses a timeline of emotions ensues:

 

 

What could have…

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Browsing Twitter recently I came across a pretty senior level role for a prominent UK organisation. Nothing unusual there. But, upon reading through the job advertisement it soon became apparent that no thought whatsoever had gone into its make-up. Indeed, this job post was over 200 lines long and consisted purely of dull cut and pasted content taken straight from a job description.

I decided to ask the advertiser why, as a leading light in their field, they saw fit to post such a…

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I know - very original title on the Friday before MLK day, but at least I’m current! Usually I try to write about something that touches me or inspires me that is related to recruiting. This week, ESPN did a story on Dr. King and how “whites and blacks” agree and disagree on various race issues in sports. I tried to find it on youtube to post it here for you and was unsuccessful. I get the feeling, knowing ESPN, that they’ll show it again so hopefully you get an opportunity to see the…

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It’s not a new saying, but whenever it’s used now everyone instantly agrees, it should be a resourcing mantra, particularly in tougher times.

As recruiters we spend most of our time looking for people with a skillset, with a historical CV that ticks the boxes that clients want.

It’s changing.

Job description tick lists are no good, because you will rarely find the people who tick every box, and if you do there is no guarantee that they will succeed.

Past…

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When I was in transition, I spoke with plenty of recruiters. Most of them had a job description in hand and would look for a mirror image of that job description on a resume. It was easy to see that if there was one bullet on the job description that wasn't listed on the resume, the conversation stopped. I want to know why recruiters treat intelligent people like they're incapable of learning? Learning is ongoing for professional people and let's face it, the Internet provides an amazing… Continue

Okay.  So this particular topic has been itching to get out and it has been driving me nuts.  Quite frankly, I just can't stand it when I hear people being referred to as Resources, Capital, or anything other than a Human.  Does that not bother anyone in staffing.  I mean come on now.  We are looking for people to fill a project or two, or a long term career interest, and a marriage of two happy customers in a business relationship.  We aren't talking about a piece of equipment here…

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Seems there are some people absolutely dead set against splits.  Others owe their success to incorporating them as a key part of their business.

 

I for one am a strong advocate of working with other recruiters.  In fact I consider my network of trusted split partners to be quite an advantage over my competitors.

What do you think? 

“Great minds think alike.” We’ve all heard this phrase before.  It typically warrants saying when someone has an idea that you were already thinking about.  “Great minds think alike, huh Kirk?”  Think about that for a moment.  If all great minds thought alike, where would we be?  If… Continue

 was re -reading the fabulous book “ The Leadership Challenge” by Kouzes and Posner. Found it accidentally when I was clearing our basement! It was written some time ago.…

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I am not sure one exists.  I do know that there is a shortage of female C level executives.  We recently hosted an IFRS update luncheon for CFOs and sent an invitation to every CFO of a publicly traded company in the Boston area and I only came up with 1 female CFO out of 70. 

Is it a “glass ceiling” or something else?

I believe it is something else or maybe a combination of these 2 observations...

1)  Women…

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The time has come.  It will be a year unlike any I have seen in my life to date.  So full of hope, so full of promise, and with an incredible amount of opportunity.  This picture shows one of my favorite places in San Jose.  Belgatos Park.  It is here on a hill before you reach a San Jose Mountain known as Mt. Umuhnum, you can turn around, and find the beauty that propels…

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Finding experienced staffing and recruiting talent continues to be a common challenge across the globe. Many organizations report that even when you can find experienced people, they are often disappointed with the quality of these individuals.



As a result, more and more companies are looking outside of our industry when hiring additional personnel. Which job types make for the best hires? Through our research and interviews with firms around the world, the following ten candidates… Continue

This is less of a Blog and more of a question or request for advice.

I'm 5 years in the business, recently promoted to Director (manage several recruiters), my production has gone up every year and 2010 was my personal best at over 560K (#1 in company) in direct hire contingent fees. I'm staring at my board with 0's across it and I cannot find the motivation/fire to do it again.

 

I have read through several blogs on the site and there seems to be little conversation on…

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Predictions are a dime a dozen – and if you’re lucky, no one goes back at the end of the year to see how accurate your…

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I read a blog post and the content got me thinking about the recruitment industry and how much of it appears to be very short term in its outlook. I don't mean to generalise and I know there a lot of good agencies who don' t take this approach, but a lot…

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Have you been to an amusement park recently?  Once you get past the overcrowded parking lots, stand in line for tickets, (just to stand in line more once inside), and finally get to the roller coaster where people of all…

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