A great marriage between the computer and the phone

This blog will be short, since this is a topic most already know much about. However, might I'm simply adding my side of it, in saying that I'm not the most technically savvy individual, as ironic as it seems. You see, my major was concentrated on broadcast communications, production to be exact, therefore I was required to keep up with the latest gadgets and graphic-design knowledge.

Then I left that industry back in 2001, and concentrated on recruiting and HR ever since and thus enhancing my skills in working with people. My technical skills led me far in terms of getting around the computer very quickly. But then the social networking took off, and once phones got smaller and laptops became netbooks and I'll bet there's probably something better than Bluetooth out there. Compared to my broadcast days, I am now lost as to what's now hip. I have to actually rely on my teenage neighbors.

When I started out in HR/recruiting, I was taught to build the relationship: push the stupid buttons on the phone, as Steve Finkel said. I'm glad I got a good foundation at the beginning, for if the computer were to fail, I would still have the ability to recruit using my ability to communicate well. That being said, having the technology is nice, too!

Comment by Maureen Sharib on January 28, 2010 at 9:05am: Would like to hear more about your communication skills.

Comment by Paul Bailey on January 28, 2010 at 9:29am: It will be interesting to see how the future of recruiting is going to change over the next 5-10 years. The question that technology really brings up is which technology will your "teenage neighbors" want you to use to communicate with them when they are looking for a job. Will it be phone, email, text, facebook or all the above. I don't see many young people talking on the phone but they sure text, email and facebook a lot with their friends. Will Recruiters and Hiring managers be any different?

Comment by Lalaine Tate Whitefield on February 1, 2010 at 7:51am: Sure thing, Maureen. After two really good internships (one with a TV station in Hagerstown, MD and one with Comcast), I worked as production assistant at a radio station in Frederick, MD; did that for two years. While working there (since it was part-time) I worked at the Hagerstown TV station for the morning show and also helped a videography company on the weekends, mostly for weddings, and did that for two years. Then I got a full-time job as a layout/copy editor for a weekly community newspaper; this was a great experience because I got the chance to keep in touch with my graphic-design passionate side. It was probably a year after that, that I started thinking about swtiching my talents to the recruiting field, and at the time, I wanted to recruit for my industry. I slowly transitioned into the HR/admin field and got a chance to work with HR department of an engineering & production company, and although the company was not heavily hiring at the time, I was still able to soak up the environment.