I know a number of people are going to disagree with me on this but read on and then tell me what you think.
LinkedIn is a professional networking site.
Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the rest are social networking sites.
Sure LinkedIn has some of the features of other sites like:
Continue reading "LinkedIn Is Not A Social Networking Site" »
UPDATED:
- Check out Jim Durbin’s blog post Peter Weddle Owes A Lot Of People Apologies
OK, before I go on a rant a few disclaimers:
Wednesday Peter Weddle posted The Great SCAM in Recruiting on his WorkStrong blog. I had copied and pasted his post below but took it out. Read his post, see my reply below:
Continue reading "A Rebuttal To Peter Weddle And His Blog Post The Great SCAM in Recruiting" »
This will be one of the shortest blog posts I have had and mostly so I can vent and get this topic out of my head.
I learned this lesson in the last recession, regardless of the economy always return a phone call.
Job seekers are (rightly so) complaining that recruiters and HR folks are not getting back to them.
Recruiters are (rightly so) complaining that they are getting too many calls and cannot handle the volume.
It’s the way these things go but rewind to 18 months ago when the above was reversed.
Job Seekers were getting phone calls from recruiters and feeling annoyed and intruded upon.
Recruiters were upset their calls were not being returned. “How rude...” some Recruiters were saying.
Folks, remember these times and remember how frustrating it can be.
You get what you give.
OK, so that comment may seem a bit odd to make but for some reason this logic has not been found by many of my colleagues.
Many in my industry say that Social Media is ineffective, a time waster, a distraction and that more people can be found by the phone.
To that I say BS.
I have always had more of a farming or relationship based model of recruiting so Social Media is easy for me to grasp. Participate, share information, make friends, introduce friends, talk about news, etc is easy for me. That and I think in an industry where we work with people as intensely as we do this makes sense.
But some say “prove to me it works” or “how many placements have you made from Social Media”. I love that last question particularly in this economy.
The question should be “As best you can figure out, how much of your revenue comes from Social Media and related activities” I can answer that easily, around 35%.
I have an issue and no doubt my readers/followers know I openly like to talk about them.
And if I do not get things out of my head at an early stage they rattle around my head, get louder and louder. Then I blow up. This time it is a bunch of small things that have set me off.
Today’s issue is this:
Be very, very careful who you listen to.
I am so very frustrated with some of the Bull Shit advice I see some people giving out. Seems that in these “tough” economic times you can’t walk (or Internet surf) without bumping into one.
Current Bull Shit advice:
Job Seekers
Recruiters
Friends, here is my point for calling these things out. Many people have an agenda. They are selling something, trying to protect their turf, or trying to be thought of or establish themselves as “experts” and/or “gurus”.
My perspective is not to push Social Media or LinkedIn as the next best thing or the “Silver Bullet” but as an additional tool to what a job seeker or recruiter is doing. It can work for most people depending on the location, industry and skill set.
This is not to take the place of networking, job boards, email, phone calls, etc.
For those who have heard me do a presentation or webinar you always here me say you need multiple tools to get the job done. A roofer needs more than a hammer. When fishing, it makes sense to go where the fish are versus sitting where everyone else is doing the same thing and waiting for them to come by.
You may think my rant is BS. That’s fair. Leave a comment, send me an email or do a post of your own calling me out. But be careful, this is just the tip of the iceberg of my rant...
Tomorrow (March, 24th 2009 from 10 AM to 3 PM) Monster.com will be hosting a free job fair.
The event will held at the (click this link for a map) Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
I have been in touch with a few of my Minnesota Recruiters friends and hear that on the employer side of things the event is full with 30+ companies and a few on a waiting list.
Let me repeat that, a waiting list for a job fair.
Some of the companies:
I am not aware for what skills sets the above or other companies are hiring for.
If you are wondering if you should attend I would say yes. This is a good opportunity to make contacts at companies and if they are not hiring your skill set now create a relationship so you can contact them (or they contact you) the coming weeks and months.
For more information (or if you are in another city) click Monster Brings Keep America Working Tour
On January 7, 2009 Recruiting Animal gave his The Recruiting Animal Award Winners 2008 on his radio show.
I was awarded “Recruitosphere Nice Guy”:
Now for those not in the recruiting industry you may wonder what is a Recruiting Animal and why do you care.
The Recruiting Animal is a popular guy, a Recruiter, has the Recruiting Animal blog, and his own radio show The Recruiting Animal. That’s pretty good for anyone let alone an animal.
While the shows are not always very serious (this is not your suit and tie show) the content that is shared and the people who contribute (most days) are.
So to be mentioned with the folks he gave awards to is in all seriousness, very cool for me. When you go to his page you will see those listed is very much a “who’s who” of the recruiter’s who are online, who give back to the community, who teach and train.
It also means a lot to be known as a “Nice Guy” and this proves nice guys do not finish last.
Oh and I should say that if you are wondering more about his show you can click one of the following links to 2008 shows I was featured on.
Minnesota Headhunter, Your Buddy in Bad Times (October 29, 2008)
The Minnesota Headhunter (January 16, 2008)
I know for a few of my non recruiter friends the immediate response will be, “There is such a thing as a smart recruiter?”
Yes friends with all sarcasm put aside there are. In fact most are smart and good at what they do but like most industries a small percentage can ruin it for the group at large.
Jason Davis is running a “contest” at RecruitingBlogs.com called “Are You a Smart Recruiter?” The site is nearing 15,000 members and at each milestone Jason does a contest of sort. You can find out more by clicking Are You a Smart Recruiter?
The contest is sponsored by the folks at SmartRecruiters, an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) provider.
So far 35+ recruiters have participated and you can read the entries by clicking What makes me a Smart Recruiter.
What follows is my entry:
I am not so convinced I am a smart recruiter because 75% of what I know has come from trial and error and 25% from listening to what others do and then make it work for me in the way I do things. Maybe the combined knowledge of messing things up and listening to smart folks makes me a smart recruiter.
Here are five reasons for my success:
- Short memory and avoiding the roller coaster. In football they say the best cornerback’s have a short memory. What they mean is whether you gave up a touchdown, got an interception or usually something in between you have to forget what just happened and think about the next play. The common analogy is riding the roller coaster. It is hard to see this business clearly when your emotions are all over the place. Keeping the highs and lows not so extreme has served me well.
- I ask a lot of questions but the most important part is to listen and take good notes. I do this with almost every conversation I have. I will ask a candidate five different ways what the salary requirements are, same with the client on what is most important to them. A recruiter needs to know what really motivates both parties in order for a placement to benefit both the candidate and client.
- Do right by the client and the candidate. We are asking clients to trust our evaluation of talent and the marketplace and based on our information will invest lots of time, energy, salary, benefits and our fees. We ask candidates to pursue opportunities with our clients that will have an impact on their career paths and financial security for their families. I know if I do right by them my business, financial security and family will be well.
- I use a variety of tools without which my career as a one man band of a search firm likely would have ended years ago. Among them: phone, email, blog, social media, newsletters, RSS feeds, sponsoring events, speaking before groups, referral networks, talent pipelines, SEO and creating interesting and optimized job ads. Not every tool is right for every search but because of the niche and location I am in the previous in some combination always works well.
- #1 reason: Most days I like most people and most days most people like me.
Congratulations to Jason Davis as RecruitingBlogs.com nears 15,000 members and many thanks to Jerome Ternynck and the team at SmartRecruiters for sponsoring this.
Best Wishes in ’09.
Paul
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap
From: the medical sales recruiter
Part of every sales manager’s job is to add to the team. Hire new talent. You think you know what you’re looking for: that “spark,” that intangible “it” factor, that “something about this candidate” that tells your intuition that this is the one. You do look at resumes and previous sales figures (if they have them), but you also look for personality, drive, determination, and people skills. Not exactly an exact science, is it? There’s lots of room for error. So how do you combat that uncertainty? You use assessment tools.
Using behavior or personality assessment tests on candidates in the hiring process can be one of the most useful tools in a hiring manager’s box. In competitive arenas like medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, medical supplies sales, medical equipment sales, biotechnology sales, pharmaceutical sales, DNA products sales, cellular/molecular products sales, hospital equipment sales, or medical device sales, knowing the traits that make a successful salesperson will give you critical information to add to the resume and the interview so that you can make the best hire possible.
Some of the more common tests include DiSC, Caliper, and OPQ.
DISC is the classic test. It provides a behavioral profile across 4 primary dimensions: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It’s not a specific skills test, but it does describe behavior patterns and styles.
Caliper works with you and your company to create an ideal profile of your top performers. Their assessments measure for personality characteristics, individual motivations, likely behaviors and potential for success in a specific job.
OPQ (Occupational Personality Questionnaire) measures persuasiveness, teamwork, independence, relationship building, planning, attention to detail, conscientiousness, tolerance to stress, results orientation, leadership style, motivation and energy.
One important tip for managers: administer these tests on your current sales force first. You know what qualities and traits have proven the most successful for your company, so you can use these results as a benchmark to measure new candidates against.
On the high end, assessments can run between $300 - $400. For this, you get actual recommendations with very comprehensive and specific information. For a little more work on your part, you can get assessments for as little as $50. But, for basic cash, you get basic information–personality traits, qualities, etc.–and you do your own interpretations. All of these tests can be done online.
At PHC Consulting, we think assessment tests are so important, we use them for every employee that we hire ourselves. We encourage our client companies to use them, as well.
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
Steven Rothberg of CollegeRecruiter.com is doing a free webinar this Thursday (Sept 25, 2008) from 1 pm – 2 pm (CT):
Best Practices for Using Cell Phone Text Messaging to Recruit College Students (Click the link to sign up)
This is Steven’s second free webinar. “How to Use Facebook for Recruiting” was a big success and had 500+ recruiters on the call.
Click How Employers Can & Should Use Facebook for Recruiting - Webinar Blog Coverage to see some notes Nicole Bodem took on the event
I will be attendance for this second webinar, literally.
Steven’s office is in a suburb of Minneapolis and I am going to watch how his team does the webinar. I have a couple of projects that I have been thinking about and doing webinars may be a part. Getting a behind the scenes perspective will be good for me and I appreciate their willingness to let me in.
Now I just need to remind myself not to make faces at him while he is doing it.
