Featured Blog Posts – April 2009 Archive (23)

Welcome to the Recruitment Content War

On #talentnet they raised the issue that since everything on Twitter is public, there's no way for a recruiter to gain any sort of competitive advantage.

Take LinkedIn or a job board, for example. On LinkedIn, you pay to get access to everyone's profiles, otherwise your network is limited to who you know. On a job board, you pay extra to get your job posting at the top of the search results, or… Continue

Added by ryanchartrand on April 30, 2009 at 6:30pm — 7 Comments

Recruiting Whore

I was talking with a recruiter friend of mine that I often do splits with. We were of course talking about the tough times we are going through right now. We then got into "It is so bad, I have resorted to...." and we were on the phone laughing until tears were rolling down my face. Misery does love company.

I was telling the story of how I had taken this very poor paying recruiting job in a foreign country, just to keep busy, and to see if I could recruit in a foreign country from… Continue

Added by Sherry Junker on April 30, 2009 at 3:59pm — 4 Comments

Top 10 Things to Leave OFF of Your Resume

Last week I asked this question on Twitter and LinkedIn, "What should job seekers leave OFF of their resume?" As of this writing, this question has generated 44 responses from recruiting, career, HR, and resume professionals and hiring managers. The…

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Added by Craig Fisher on April 29, 2009 at 8:18pm — 2 Comments

Why should I pay a fee with all those ad responses?

We hear a lot about the high availability of talent. Is that really true? While you probably know someone who happened to be in the wrong industry and they got caught in massive downsizing, they are the exception. The government reported that the unemployment rate among college educated workers over the age of 25 in only 4.3%, or we are practically at full employment.

Former GE CEO Jack Welch said that an organization has:

• A players – top 20% who can be 8 times more… Continue

Added by Pat on April 28, 2009 at 3:25pm — No Comments

From "Good to Great": How a roadside epiphany is transforming this Executive Recruiter

The word “should” implies responsibility. It connotes demand, and that's just not the case. Life has a rhythm, it ebbs and flows. My failures haven't been failures so to speak, I just haven't been as good as I needed to be. I may not have specific control over my situation, but I have a choice about how I view it.

If I continue to do things the way I've always done them, I am not going to generate as much revenue this year as I did in 2007… Continue

Added by Christopher McCann on April 28, 2009 at 10:30am — 7 Comments

The "Counter (offer)" Punch

You have just dropped the bombshell news on your boss that you are leaving. After they pick themselves up off the floor, there will usually be one of three reactions:

Congratulations, good for you!
Traitor! Pack your stuff and get out (or work through your notice and endure my constant looks of contempt)
Sorry to hear that, is there anything we can do to keep you…

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Added by Bill Meirs on April 28, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Leaders who SHARE and CARE

In a world filled with CEOs who pilfer their company's coffins for their personal interests, there are a few like Leonard Abess Jr., CEO of City National Bank of Florida whose recent action embodies the concept of ultimate leadership. When a Spanish bank bought into 83% of Leonard's bank recently, Leonard and his executives made a pile of dough like most executives do during a successful financial transaction. However, the similarities with most executives stop right there. Leonard shared over… Continue

Added by sundar vanchinathan on April 27, 2009 at 5:47pm — 1 Comment

Lather Rinse Repeat.... As Needed???

Can I just say I’ve never understood rinsing and repeating? It seems to me that if the product can’t get the job done the first time, rather than lathering, rinsing, and then doing it all over again – the ideal would be to buy a higher quality product. No?

One thing about the current state of things is that I’m noticing a lot of repeating the same behavior and hoping for a different outcome (Ie. Using $1 shampoo and hoping for flowing shiny hair). Clients are shunning… Continue

Added by Kelly Moeller on April 24, 2009 at 9:59am — 1 Comment

It's time to take 'social recruiting' to the next level

As I was writing up a 'social media recruiting guide' for a client today, I had one of my many epiphanies:

We are finally to the point where social media can become REALLY powerful for recruitment.

Now you might be thinking, "Golly, it's been pretty powerful already hasn't it?" Yes, you just thought "Golly."

Yes and no. Yes, it's done wonders to help recruiters find talent and to help companies brand themselves as the ultimate employers of… Continue

Added by ryanchartrand on April 23, 2009 at 3:11pm — 1 Comment

Stay Up! Or how Kanye's ego has saved this Executive Recruiter

According to the Urban Dictionary, "stay up" originates in the graffiti subculture. The phrase refers to the hope that one's tag, throw up, piece, or burner will "stay up" and not be buffed. Of course, in the song of the same title, Kanye may have been alluding to something else.

How cool would it be if life cruised along with no problems, no upsets, no drama? The reality is that these things happen. I haven't run across anyone immune to… Continue

Added by Christopher McCann on April 22, 2009 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

The Essence of Ethics

Late at night...no one around for miles - and yet you stop at the red light and wait. Why? You stop because it's the ethical thing to do. We trust each other to stop, whether or not anyone is watching. You could say that trust is the outcome of ethical behavior.

It's difficult to define, exactly, what ethical behavior is; and it's impossible to measure. But we can sense when ethics are present in an individual or a company culture - and especially we sense it when they're not.… Continue

Added by Kathleen Quinn Votaw on April 20, 2009 at 9:27pm — No Comments

Creating Value versus Recruiting Greed

Like in most sectors of the economy recruiters are sometimes subject to greed in their desire to make a quick buck (placement) and run, having little or no consideration for the impact of their actions on the life of the candidate or the success of the client company. Of course, the majority of recruiters do not fall into this category and we generally got into this field to make money and not become saints. Well, maybe not all of us.

Recruiters at quasi-ethical or unethical firms… Continue

Added by Michael Sullivan on April 20, 2009 at 8:05pm — No Comments

The Client Side - Building Strong Client Relationships. How do you do it?

Last week I touched on the subject of building a strong client base and how it is definitely, without question, a relationship thing. Over the course of the week a couple of conversations brought to mind the need to extend the subject to how it is done. Building strong relationships is a process. For me, it's a long term process, but I realize that there are all sorts of perspectives on how to go about this, what traits and what actions contribute to successfully building strong relationships… Continue

Added by Todd Kmiec on April 17, 2009 at 12:06pm — No Comments

Einstein as an Executive Recruiter

A classic definition of insanity is attributed to Albert Einstein. It was also attributed to Ben Franklin, and the author Rita Mae Brown. I'm paraphrasing, but odds are you've heard it before. The classic definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.

In a market like this, it's easy to attribute a lack of results to the economy. No matter how many "Positive Mental Attitude" pills (metaphorically… Continue

Added by Christopher McCann on April 14, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Combating Fee Reduction Requests in Life Science / Healthcare

“We are only working with agencies who are agreeable to our new reduced fee requirements. I am sure that you can appreciate it, with the economy and all.” “Actually we have so many resumes right now, unless you are willing to reduce your fee, we just can’t justify working with you.” Does this sound familiar? If so, listen with a discerning ear. Lessons of 2001 indicate that often this stance is a façade. There are other vertical’s where this is not true but in the life sciences and healthcare… Continue

Added by Kendall Messner on April 14, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Layoffs not Needed

I am not sure how many articles I have read over the past months talking about the greed of the CEO and executive leadership even amongst the constant layoffs that our nation is experiencing. In my reading of some of the other blogs, there was a discussion surrounding if there was a suitable alternative to layoffs. I gave some thoughts however did not have a real practical or example of a company that has implemented cost cutting in the face of layoffs to reverse the trend. One has… Continue

Added by Jason Monastra on April 13, 2009 at 3:49pm — No Comments

Recruiters World Articles: Capturing the Curious

Recruiters World Special Reports

Let's face it, with the U.S. unemployment rate forecasted to reach 10%, everyone is tuned into the job market. Even hot sectors, like nursing and pharmacy, are not immune. Today, the most content candidate is curious — curious about opportunities, curious about compensation, curious about culture, perqs, and benefits. Traditionally, the "curious" learned about your company through passive methods: advertising, networking, training, tradeshows.… Continue

Added by Sharon on April 13, 2009 at 6:47am — No Comments

Happy Easter

Added by Steve Levy on April 12, 2009 at 10:02am — 1 Comment

The Siege.

One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is from Jerry Maguire. Rod Tidwell, Jerry’s client, is telling him about the Kwan. Basically it equates to everything. Rod says, “I want the Kwan.” And Jerry answers him with “I am out here for you. You don’t know what it’s like to be ME out here for YOU. It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, ok?” Jerry, you speak to me, man. This is my life – the life of an HR Director.

Employees want the Kwan,… Continue

Added by Ragan Kellams on April 10, 2009 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

Social Recruiting...all Twitters is not a Glitter.

After I participated in the@animal http://cli.gs/DBSPy9 Radio Show I became more introspective about how I use Social Media as a Social Recruiting tool. What do I use SM for? How do I integrate SM with Full Life Cycle Recruiting? How do I use SM to source new Client Partners and new Human Capital Partners? I am defining SM as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Blogs. I am sure there are more, but for… Continue

Added by Dave Graziano on April 8, 2009 at 3:30am — 8 Comments