Steve Levy's Blog – December 2008 Archive (26)

Mo's Sweet Sixteen

Okay, so she's not 16 (perhaps a multiple but as one who is also a multiple of 16...plus - I can say these things) but it's still her birthday. Who?

Amy Beth may be a Princess (fine, a Goddess) but Happy Birthday to the real Queen of Sourcing.

Are you one? Are you two? Are you... Whew, I'm tired already!

Added by Steve Levy on December 30, 2008 at 7:35am — 2 Comments

Dave Mendoza's Christmas Boogie Dance

Yes, El Dave can dance...sort of.

Added by Steve Levy on December 29, 2008 at 9:44pm — No Comments

Stopping recruiting now makes no sense at all - a TV metaphor

ABC, NBC and Fox all drawing around a million viewers less each night than they did last season. CBS is the one network that has improved from last season, up 1% in viewership.

Among the 18-to-49-year-old audience sought by advertisers, there are also declines. Both ABC and Fox are down 14%, while NBC is down 9% and CBS is down 3%.

Yet advertisers are still plowing money into… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 29, 2008 at 7:05pm — No Comments

Another banking CEO's legacy

We hope to do to this industry what Wal-Mart did to theirs, Starbucks did to theirs, Costco did to theirs and Lowe’s-Home Depot did to their industry. And I think if we’ve done our job, five years from now you’re not going to call us a bank.

That's right, Kerry K. Killinger, former CEO of Washington Mutual - they'll think of you as a F-A-I-L-U-R-E.

How about a few other big-box ideas?

Cardio Depot - In aisle one we have bypasses; aisle… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 28, 2008 at 9:11am — No Comments

Scrimping through this recession

The best Web sites to help you scrimp through the recession...this isn't geared towards recruiters but can help anyone who is concerned and wants some sagacious advice on living better.

Added by Steve Levy on December 26, 2008 at 1:19pm — No Comments

Recruiting...the CIA way

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

"Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 26, 2008 at 11:36am — 4 Comments

Whats the "it" gift for RBC 2009?

I love my Slouch hat but with people making fun of it, I'm becoming a bit gun shy about wearing it in public. In the past, JD and I have talked about mugs and bumper stickers and these might work well but I know there is something out there to really tug on the purse strings of RBC members and hopefully serve as seed money for the community's philanthropic efforts for 2009.

Then I read about… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 26, 2008 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

College recruiting just got more interesting

I love this site; however, I have my doubts that Steven Rothberg wouldn't cringe about some of the content.

Added by Steve Levy on December 26, 2008 at 9:00am — No Comments

General Tso to go - Recruiting abroad...in the US

Now, in a reverse miniature brain drain, Chinese financial institutions are taking advantage of the downturn and focusing on the newly unemployed to diversify and upgrade their own staffs.

“We’re looking very hard right now for experienced, senior-level talent who have knowledge of China. For our junior-level positions, we continue to recruit from our local Chinese talent… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 26, 2008 at 7:23am — No Comments

Stimulating the economy and employment

Recruiting is far more than closing a job order that fills someone's ego and wallet; it is more than getting that hiring manager off your back. Recruiters are in a unique space that should enable them to experience and mold their services based upon the political, economic, social and technological issues, challenges, products and services of the day. Should because so many still recruit to fill an order and neglect the lower iceberg of factors impact their craft.

These days,… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 24, 2008 at 11:59am — 3 Comments

What makes me a Smart Recruiter

1. Blah
2. Blah, blah
3. Blah, blah, blah
4. Blah, blah, blah, blah
5. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah

Hey, the winner will be picked from a hat and not by a recruiting roundtable of bloggers with a dictionary and thesaurus at their sides.

Who's smart now???

Happy Holidays to all!

Added by Steve Levy on December 24, 2008 at 8:30am — 9 Comments

Being a Servant-Leader in recruiting

Robert Greenleaf, former Director of Management Research at AT&T, noted that:

The servant-leader is servant first...It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.

In recruiting, and I've noticed that this occurs both on the… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 22, 2008 at 10:42pm — 2 Comments

Even Toyota is losing money

It's not just American automakers who are feeling pain; Toyota announced its first operating loss in 70 years, 150 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31. Overall, Toyota expects to report a net profit 50 billion yen ($560 million).

It's not just the UAW as many believe...

Added by Steve Levy on December 22, 2008 at 2:53pm — 3 Comments

Liposuction and resume databases

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them.

"The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel--and I have more fat than I can use. Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly but they get to take part in saving the Earth."

This plastic surgeon is… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 22, 2008 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

Da Sourceranos - writtin by Levy and Sharib

What da effin heck is goin on heeah? The coffee that Tony Sourcerano’s just sipped misted heavily across his 27-inch LCD computer screen as the Glock symbol he used as a mouse pointer helped scroll the Flash scheme that talked of a recruiting challenge at RecruitFest2009.

Hey Bella, what is dis? A friggen professional conference or an ad for da ASPCA? What’s next – find dis guy Jason’s freakin’ squatted earls? Fuhgedaboudit!

Tony shook his head and… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 20, 2008 at 9:04am — 1 Comment

The SEC and Bernie Madoff

Unless you've been spending all your time on the RBC chat, you've heard of Bernard Madoff. One number should remind you - $50 Billion.

Here's a letter (PDF) submitted to the SEC on November 7, 2005 by Harry Markopolos (who once worked for a rival of Madoff). Markopolos knew something was fishy with Madoff but… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 18, 2008 at 8:31am — 6 Comments

The Twelve Days of The RecruitFest - A Holiday Song

Remember - you have to sing it aloud to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

If I missed you and you want to be in the song, let me know - I may write another one to a different song.

On the First day of the RecruitFest

John Sumser gave to me

A readable version of the ERNIE

On the Second day of the RecruitFest

Ol’ Slouchie gave to me

Two squatted tech URLs

And a readable version of… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 17, 2008 at 7:13am — 22 Comments

Mob mentality on RBC

Let me be upfront - I think Joy Caldwell is very gracious to post a need for virtual recruiters. In this economy, sharing is caring. But I do have some questions...

Why would anyone want to hire unsuccessful recruiting professionals?

I wonder how many of the posters actually checked out the… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 17, 2008 at 6:23am — 6 Comments

Impressive company names on resumes

Had a discussion this morning with a friend about the names of companies on a resume, specifically technical resumes. He took the viewpoint that having a known name on a resume is a career plus; my view is that this can only be determined knowing who is reading the resume.

Recruiters, I believe, latch on to high profile names like GE, Pepsi, or JP Morgan that appear on resumes and immediately develop a positive value assessment of the person irrespective of the content and… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 16, 2008 at 12:46pm — 4 Comments

Siemens is just fine

By now some of have heard that Siemens has been fined $1.34 Billion to settle cases of global bribery. Yet Siemens somehow was able to avoid both a guilty plea or a conviction for bribery, enabling the company to maintain its status as a "responsible contractor" with the United States Defense Logistics Agency. As a "responsible contractor", Siemens is able to bid for public procurement contracts in the… Continue

Added by Steve Levy on December 15, 2008 at 8:58pm — 1 Comment