Digging Into RecruitingBlogs.com V2.14 5 Recent Things

Digging Into RecruitingBlogs.com V 2.14 5 Recent Things

I have fun at my job. Recently, I've been writing about some things that I think are particularly interesting. The sustained downturn is causing innovation in recruiting to explode. I've been looking closely at trends and examples.

I have a weird perspective on the 'future'. I think it's already here and we are in the process of trying to uncover it. The best descriptions of what's actually going on sound like science fiction. Our biggest challenge is always trying to see what is right in front of us.

So, my work involves trying to understand the things we are experiencing in a larger context. Some times I get it really right, sometimes I get it wrong. I get it right more often.

Overall, the idea is to deliver these views to readers who want to have their beliefs challenged. It's boring stuff for someone who wants a pure tactical input. You'll hardly ever see me write a piece called "How to..." You can get that other places.

The Twitter Revolution I, II and III
Twitter isn't what you think it is. The service lays the groundwork for a semantic search engine. The more stuff that gets input, the greater the demand for intelligent search. The Twitter folks have proven an interesting point: collaboration is best facilitated by less functionality rather than more.
Just Work
A job is the only asset that doesn't devalue. There's an emerging movement that takes a different view of work. Instead of the 00s emphasis on position and title, this view is more 19th century. A good job is worth having, engagement passion or not.
Job Boards Revisited I, II and III
Rumors of the impending death of the job boards are highly exaggerated. With a small bit of adaptation (see Jobvite), they have 30 or 40 years of good life left in them. In the downturn, the number of job boards continues to grow.
Consolidate and Fragment
Over the coming months and years, we’re going to see a lot of creative destruction. Tons of social networks will get formed and abandoned. Ning resemble a huge shanty-town from some perspectives. Lots of starts rotting on the vines. The early web was just like this
Novotus 1 and Novotus 2
Mike Mayeux is doing something different. It's a little unfair to call his project an RPO but that's the current nomenclature. The enterprise wraps basic recruiting services into functional modules and then sells with a guarantee. It's revolutionary like one of those jets that works best at speed.

I'm on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Friendfeed. Catch up with me.

I'm leading an Intensive workshop called Recruiting Strategy in a Down Economy: Identifying What's to Come in the Upturn at the Kennedy Recruiting Conference in Las Vegas on May 19.

I'm leading an Intensive workshop called Recruiting Strategy in a Down Economy: Identifying What's to Come in the Upturn at the Kennedy Recruiting Conference in Las Vegas on May 19.

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on April 10, 2009 at 5:30am

So jobs are really assets? I think you're really ON to something John! As this understanding takes hold, do you think employees will change a passive investment (about their jobs) mindset to an active one? Hmmm...maybe the recent discussions around charging folks to find jobs merit some further look?

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on April 10, 2009 at 8:19am

What's It Like Where You Work?
YouTube Video here. Interesting.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Levy on April 10, 2009 at 9:49am

Summy, the more my beliefs change the more they eventually loop back to something I knew 20-30 years ago. Same with recruiting.

Twitter: As recruiters we cringe at the way so many communicate. We discuss and blog and present about how the GenXYZs of the world can't spell because of the brevity of the instant messaging era in which they were educated. Educators don't educate anymore for fear of hurting someone's psyche so bad habits are essentially reinforced. Twitter is simply another IM platform that reinforces the things we've taken exception to in the past. Even worse, it's like watching Seinfeld - much ado about nothing. Lovely.

Just work: I like how you phrased it John (well, I always like how you phrase things) - "A good job is worth having, engagement passion or not." But without engagement or passion, a job is simply a commodity, albeit one that doesn't necessarily have a spoilage date on the carton. The problem here is that engagement and passion are words that show up in management books and perhaps one or two MBA courses but never at the Board or shareholder level. How about ROP - Return on Passion?

Job Boards Revisited: First off, job boards are there for the masses - the masses of people and the masses of recruiters who view job search and recruiting processes as highly mechanistic. For them, there must be an outlet and job boards are ideal. Double the time Jon. I agree with you - Jobvite's use of social networking is novel. But here's my concern: I'm opining that most people build their social networks for personal use to stay in touch and toss around invitations to obscure causes (easy FaceBook, I'm just pulling your leg) or to track birthdays (one of many reasons I really like Plaxo). But I have a nagging feeling that JobVite's recruiting solution is fleeting - a potential backlash from those with well-oiled social networks as a result of recruiter overload (yes, I recognize that its an opt-in service). There are other concerns but I won't write the word Jobster...

Consolidate and Fragment. I'm sure you've written about this before - wasn't it 1998 or so back on the BERT channel? Without VC funding, growth of new social networks will take place as a result of functionality communicated virally rather than a via a heavy marketing thrust - thank goodness! As recruiters, many of us are on the edge (or over the edge in some cases) and will move on the next big thing in a New York minute - and people will blindly follow some of these recruiters like lemmings, and create a new buzz. Networks like our current favorites are transitory eventually being replaced by the next big thing, and the next, and the next. Incremental functionality aside, don't they all do the same thing?

Novotus 1and 2: "The enterprise wraps basic recruiting services into functional modules and then sells with a guarantee." There are so many organizations who offer the same or similar functionality; isn't this what recruiting services are supposed to do? But most aren't Friends of Sumser...

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Permalink Reply by John Sumser on April 10, 2009 at 11:24am

Wow.

Passion is a decision I make or don't make. The company can create a conducive environment, but the passion is my responsibility. It's not a character trait. And, if I'm doing a great job, what exactly does how I feel about it have to do with anything? If I'm doing a crummy job, how I feel about that doesn't really matter. The problem with passion is that it doesn't really have anything to do with performance.

JobVite's Solution is a transient, I agree. But, that kind of experimentation is how you move the ball forward. Most job hunters and employers think job boards work. They'll continue to think so. It's one arrow in a quiver and an easy solution for 20% of the overall problem. Lots of growth and revenue left there.

Networks. Steve is absolutely right. Community, like RBC, will be constant but there is a faddish quality to the formation and consolidation process. They all do the same thing. It would be interesting to have a conversation about the direction of the fads. That is, is it just new colors for the same old blue jeans or are we headed sopmewhere new?

Novotus My sense is that they are different. They guarantee to fill every req they get and are delivering on the promise. I think that's unusual. Am I wrong? I don't think my perception is related to the fact that I know them. I work pretty hard to distinguish between performance and friendship.

Jobs as Assets. The longer the downturn persists, the higher the value of the asset. The old adages about education as investment in your career will be returning a la Levy's "the future is really the past". Certainly job holders need to invest in their careers. That includes having an 'agent'. Raises will increasingly come from movement through the industry rather than within the organization.

I really appreciate the thought that went into the responses so far.

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Permalink Reply by Veronica A on April 12, 2009 at 8:45pm

I always enjoy reading your blogs, they are always very interesting and educational.

But, I think that I disagree with your comment about passion/engagement. It's hard because you write so well I kind of always want to agree but after thinking back and forth on it - I'm pretty sure I disagree. (lol)

My father worked his whole life with the value that a good job (and honest salary) is more important than passion, engagement and even the 'joy' of work. Then, the motor city fell into shambles.

This value led people to accept their job simply because "working for the autos is good/honest work" - now the industry is falling apart and many of these people have few other skillsets. It's generations of people just doing good work that now are left with very little or even nothing.

Life should and is more than just a good job. There needs to be passion, innovation, and joy in work. My dad always loved to cook but in his opinion (and his fathers, and his grandfathers) being a chef just didn't cut it in terms of 'good work' but the passion/energy/innovation he shows in the kitchen makes me think he could have been a great chef or atleast a fat, happy little restaurant owner with the best burgers in town...

I think that people should find work that excites them, that they have a passion for because at the end of the day you should enjoy your life and your lifes work. You shouldn't just do it because its 'good work.'

Not to mention, un-engaged, impassionate employees can lead to a companies slow and painful demise. There is a return on investment in terms of engaging employees. I know thats a very textbook sounding line but its one of the few I really truly believe.

Thank you for your great post though. :-)