#HireFriday: Update

I am so happy to see the work that is going on around me. Recruiters are busy again. Jobseekers are more hopeful. I am more hopeful. And I am busy with new projects and new customers (yay!).

In the midst of all this, I took a few minutes a couple of weeks ago to participate in the #hirefriday Twitter movement. I offered to meet with a jobseeker who wants to relocate to the Seattle area. It is my mission in life to know every recruiter in Seattle, so I'm certain I can help.

We met in person at my favorite counter-culture coffee shop. He wore a suit and tie. The first thing I told him was to ditch the tie. We don't do ties in Seattle. (I know -- conventional wisdom is that you should dress up for interviews. You should. But in Seattle dressing up means looking like a Banana Republic mannequin. Ties scream amateur.) Then he told me about his skills and his experience, which were impressive. He has worked for large, complex organizations. He has worked in Asia. He speaks four languages. He returned to school to get his MBA.

Somebody, somewhere, told him to downplay his experience. Since he was an unknown, he would have a hard time getting into prestigious Seattle companies, so he should try to get his foot in the door in a coordinator or junior analyst role.

Bullsh*t.

I told him to rework his resume. Highlight his expertise. Being conversant in Mandarin and being fluent may be different, but his obvious facility for language and understanding cultures makes him an asset to companies. He has skills that 99.9% of the other applicants don't have. I told him to stop going to job fairs and increase his LinkedIn network by 400%. I told him to target companies, and then target jobs within those companies and that together, we would get him in.

I can do this, because I don't have a fancy corporate recruiting job. I can advocate for one candidate. It feels good.

Sharks, be warned. I have a referral for you.

#HireFriday: Starting a Movement

You're out there. You know who you are.

You feel guilty.

Because your recruiting process sucks.

Your company -- you -- treat jobseekers and candidates poorly.

You are a recruiter. An HR Manager. An ATS or job board vendor.

A handful of good folks on Twitter have started a grass roots movement. It's called #HireFriday. The idea is that on Fridays, the recruiting community takes action to help jobseekers.

You (like me) might be tempted to simply post an open job with the hashtag #HireFriday on Twitter. But we're asking more of you.

We're asking that you connect with an individual jobseeker and point that person in the right direction. You can do this on Twitter, or on Facebook or LinkedIn. Maybe there is a candidate languishing in your inbox or ATS. On #HireFriday, take action to help a person with their job search. Deliver the bad news, if you must, but tell your candidates where they stand. Remove expired job postings from your website. Offer resume coaching. Share a helpful article. Find Margo Rose on Twitter or her blog -- she has plenty of ideas. She is the brainchild.

Over the past few weeks, I have talked to jobseekers about using social media. And while they're all very interested in how to pimp out a LinkedIn profile, or connect on Twitter, they're more interested in why they're treated so poorly. Hundreds of resumes submitted and not one response. Silence after interviews. Filled positions still accepting resumes. Job boards that sell their contact info to spammers and marginal third-party services.

They're angry.

It's not all our fault. The interwebs delivered way more candidates than we could handle. One recruiter with 35 reqs and 20 hiring managers isn't unusual. But we own fixing the problem.

Let's start small. #HireFriday

30-Day Twitter Challenge (Twitter for Newbies)

New to Twitter? Lurking for a while, but still don't get it?

Is Twitter for you? Maybe. Maybe not. It takes a bit of time to understand the usefulness of Twitter.
We'll send you one action item a day for 30 days. At the end of our journey, you will be Twitter-literate.
Then, you decide if Twitter is for you!

Sign up for the 30-Day Twitter Challenge.

The 30-Day Challenge starts May 24!

Thanks, Indiana

Northwest Indiana SHRM Keynote

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I'd like to thank the great team at the Northwest Indiana SHRM chapter for the invitation to deliver a keynote at their annual meeting. I talked about the history and future of talent acquisition. The videos didn't work -- a bummer, because they were great videos. If you get a chance, check them out. Some of my favorite examples of employer branding.

A special thank you goes to Sharron Hillman, the VP of Programs, an incredibly gracious and welcoming new friend! She made sure that I got there and back in one piece.

I met some wonderful folks doing cool things. I learned that many organizations are still afraid of social media. I learned that many HR practitioners also wear recruiting hats (I wrongly assumed that all HR organizations had spun off their recruiting organizations. Many haven't. I live in a bubble.) I also learned that I am winging it, without a strategy. So I will spend the rest of the day deep diving into strategy.

Of course, being on the road brings adventure. Turns out that I arrived right in the middle of the Kitchen and Bath trade show, and there were no rental cars to be found, unless you were willing to rent from a guy with a "mobile office" and pick up a pretty filthy wreck at the McDonald's near the airport. For some unexplained reason, he was being followed by the cops. Um, OK. Turned out just fine. The guy was a small business owner, having his best week ever. I'm happy I was his customer. I hope the cops didn't catch him.

Become the Mayor of Recruiting

Something I Love More than Twitter!

Hello to all of my Shark, Talent Acquisition, Sourcing, Recruiting, Headhunting, and Staffing Friends! Heading to Sourcecon/ERE in San Diego? Then let's make sure we connect. Send me a shout out if you're going. Let's have coffee/glass of wine/dinner. Hell, I'll even get up early for breakfast! Stop by our booth (107) for a Tweetajob demo or to win a fabulous prize. Try to take me down at the #erepoker charity poker tournament. But don't leave San Diego without saying hello, at least! This may surprise you, but I love face-to-face conversations even more than Twitter!

Webinar Slides: Wooing Passive Candidates on Twitter

Wooing Passive Candidates on Twitter

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