Digging Into Recruitingblogs.com v1.4

May is traditionally a slow month for Recruiting communities. Actual Recruiting and the avalanche of trade shows get in the way of hobnobbing with peers. It's no surprise that the longer more thoughtful postings are a little on the light side right now.

That means it's a great time to stand out and make a name for yourself. One of the real tricks in the development of a reputation in an online community is a sense of timing. Jumping into the fray when everyone else is piling on is one thing. Sticking your head up and making some noise when it's quiet is far more effective.

Being a little bit controversial is equally smart. Although the world doesn't need another "shock jock", there's something to be learned from talk radio. Being just noisy enough and just "out there" enough are the keys to building a base in this neighborhood. Take a look at the way things are growing. Hard work and an edge.

This week's picks include a person, a party, two sections and some useful insight.

Introducing Eric Shannon, long time CEO of LatPro.
The Recruiting Party Upstairs in Las Vegas Here's a good reason to be at the Kennedy Conference next week. Brought to you by Slouch and Arbita
Do you know about Local Meetups. Besides the Recruiting Roadshow, there are lots of events for Recruiters....Phoenix, NYC, Illinois. There are also 25 Events in the events section.
The Recruiting Rants section is a home for interesting stories.Back-Door Reference Checks...has some useful info.
Relationship Recruiting Blogger Kristin Gissaro reviews the use of social media for recruiting.

As I've mentioned, if you see something that merits the spotlight, please let me know.

Comment by Amitai Givertz on May 9, 2008 at 7:19am: John, to your point:

May is traditionally a slow month for Recruiting communities...the avalanche of trade shows get in the way of hobnobbing with peers.
Some will remember there was a time not too long ago when trade shows were considered to be the focal point for many "recruitment communities," and if not for hobnobbing with your peers, then for what?

Other than the obvious parade of vendors, could it be that the well-oiled machinary that is serviced at industry trade shows could not continue to function without the assembly of a hobnobbing elite and the greasing of palms?

Just a thought, not too contraversial I hope.

Comment by Bill Vick on May 9, 2008 at 10:20am: An interesting observation by Ami on how trade shows and evolving and even with all of the cascade of social media and relationship building tools nothing takes the place of a face to face with somebody. I forget where the quote comes from but somebody far wiser than me said "I'd rather spend five minutes with the author than five hours with the book" I feel the same way about virtual friends vs a cup of coffee. Love hobnobbing with my peers! :)

Comment by Amitai Givertz on May 9, 2008 at 10:42am: Bill, you are absolutley correct.

There's also another saying I know: "Small fish rise to small bait."

I guess I'm just a small fish, took John's "Being a little bit controversial is equally smart' bait.

Comment by Dave Opton on May 9, 2008 at 5:36pm: I know this is preaching to the choir, but what the heck, it's Friday:

As the tools of cyberspace have continued to evolve, I think that many felt that eventually all jobs would ultimately be filled intravenously at night while the rest of us were trying to catch up with everything we hadn't seen on TiVo. Any and every successful business and person I know got that way by building relationships based on mutual trust, and to that end, I agree with Dr. Vick. There is no substitute for F2F.