My first visit to London in 2010 was a packed experience.  Great conversation, learning and networking all made for a memorable event.  The first TruLondon adventure came at a time when my life was changing at about the same pace as the perspectives on social recruiting.  Warp speed!

At that time, the topics/tracks were heavily focused on what I would consider to be theory.  The majority of us, all buzzing with the thrill of endless possibilities, felt compelled to share our grandiose ideas and explore the seemingly endless new theories on how all this “social media stuff” would impact our profession.

Observing track leaders squirm and get defensive when questions of proof or hard metrics arose became a bit uncomfortable.  From an enthusiast’s perspective, I felt bad when I witnessed these situations.  However, it was also apparent that we needed to do a better job of focusing on results instead of shiny objects.

Enthusiasm can serve as the spark that ignites the innovation fire – fueling conversation and creative exchanges.  However, as advocates, speakers and bloggers within the social recruiting arena, I feel that we owe our audiences a certain level of humility and candidness around how effective tools can be.  Just because it’s cool doesn’t mean it’s useful.

TruLondon helped define a trajectory for what I would pursue in the year that followed.  The conflict I observed led me to pursue clearer definition around the topics I was interested in.  In my mind, it was no longer acceptable to evangelize “social” approaches unless we intended to narrow in on business applicability, success factors and… wait for it… ROI.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone.

Over the next year, each new conference seemed to increasingly focus more and more on the hard data.

In June of 2010, I attended the Jobs2Web user conference in Minneapolis, MN.  I had the great honor of meeting Marvin Smith from Microsoft who truly inspired me through his approach, demeanor and candid take on practicality within our realm.  Doug Berg, Chief Recruiting Geek at Jobs2Web, opened a number of doors into how I could be pressing forward in order to further define progress.

Additional conversations with Ryan Estis, Brett Minchington and Heather Polivka outside the conference cemented my desire to dig deeper and gain clarity.  All in all, some pretty awesome contributors to learn from and I feel privileged to have met them when I did.

My first large public speaking opportunity after this shift came at the ERE.net Social Recruiting Conference at the Microsoft Headquarters in Seattle.  After some long discussions with David Manaster on the topic, it seemed like the perfect venue for launching into this new line of thinking.  In September of 2010, I delivered a presentation entitled Authentic Employment Branding.  By that point, I finally had enough metrics and examples to show progress.  Favorable site visit patterns, involvement from employees, examples of tools we had used and a number of success stories.

No one had all the answers at Social Recruiting and it made for an excellent conference.  Speculation wasn’t the expectation and it seemed that a healthy level of accountability within our realm was being established.

My “conference life” slowed down quite a bit with the arrival of Sophie.  Kelly and I focused on being parents.  It’s been an amazing journey!

The time away was very positive for me personally and professionally.  It allowed me to focus and develop out ideas that I had wanted to dedicate time to.  Kelly and I both moved away from producing content and instead experienced the consumption angle.  You can learn a lot when you’re just listening and observing.  With the litmus test of proof and applicability in mind, it was quite interesting to see how everyone approaches thought leadership within the realm.  In some cases, I was pleasantly surprised.  In others, I clearly got the sense that snake charming is a new hobby within our space.

Fast-forward to TruLondon 3 this past week in London.

I arrived to London at 6:00 AM on Wednesday.  The hotel wouldn’t let me check in, so there was a bit of a coffee intervention.  At about 9:00 AM, the Master Sessions part of the conference started up in the basement of the City Hotel.

From the get-go, it just felt like this was going to be good.  The best way to describe what I sensed at that moment was candid accountability.  Matt Alder gave us an overview of the Employment Branding evolution through his personal experience.  It was funny and quite interesting.  My second confirmation that this was going to be good was when he invited a panel up to discuss the topic.  The debate was heated and questions weren’t candy coated.  There were disagreements, waving hands and all sorts of great questions.  Loved it!

As the day progressed, again and again I saw the same thing happening.  People were engaged on a different level – they wanted real answers and none of the previous year’s speculation.  In the off cases when unfounded assertions were made, the audience reacted with push back.  I presented on Culture Branding at about 3:00 PM.

The after hours socializing carried this same level of intense debate and discovery.  As I looked around our hotel bar, it was obvious that the conversations weren’t about to stop at the end of sessions. (In picture: Jacco Valkenburg and Arie Ball)

Day 2 of TruLondon (Day 1 of the Unconference) brought about even more debate and conversation.  Again, it carried all the way into the evening.  With a UK Recruiter sponsored social gathering and some social lubricant flowing, the networking was intense.

It’s been said plenty in the past, but one of the greatest benefits of attending these events is getting to know the fellow attendees.  The relationships inevitably turn into future opportunities for collaboration. (In image: Sarah White, Meghan Biro, Maren Hogan and Craig Fisher)

On Day 3, I spent time in tracks ranging from Cloud Computing to Facebook Ad Strategies… even one on Twitter Assassins by Bill Boorman.  All in all, another great day with some intriguing conversations.

It’s quite refreshing to see that TruLondon evolved so much in a year.  I’ll admit, I was a bit concerned that I would be walking into another speculation-fest and that possibility wasn’t very appealing.

Bill Boorman brought together an amazing group of contributors from across the globe.  With his endless energy, he managed to orchestrate an event that delivered on its promises and pulled in one of the most talented groups of people I’ve had the privilege of spending time with.  China Gorman even went so far as giving him a new title.

Excellent job Bill!

Also, special thanks to everyone who so freely engaged in conversation!

Now for my top 5 favorite memories from #TruLondon 3

1.     The moment Glen Cathey realized that there was actually a crack house in the neighborhood.  He suddenly became a member of the paparazzi and it was hilarious!  Here is a picture I titled “Stairway to Crack Heaven” – I shot it from my room.

2.     When Craig Fisher and I got in an all out debate about SEO in front of Arie Ball during a cab ride.  Apparently she thought we were seriously at ends over it until Craig informed her that we do that all the time.

3.     Taking the Tube for the first time and visiting Texas Embassy Cantina with Maren Hogan.  Thanks for making sure I didn’t stay in the hotel all day Maren!

4.     Having breakfast with Bill Boorman the morning after the conference ended.  I think I fell in love with English Breakfasts and it was great to reflect on the conference experience with Bill.

And, last but certainly not least…

5.     When Kelly called in on Facetime with Sophie.  I got to introduce Sophie to most everyone and, of course, see my beautiful wife   Thank you Kelly!

So, that’s the story.  Great year for TruLondon and rumor has it there is another one coming in September.  Perhaps it’s time to check on flights to London…

Any great memories from the trip?  Any key takeaways worth sharing?

Here are some additional pictures from the trip!

London Eye

London Eye and Carousel

Craig Fisher and Maren Hogan

As I was having my car treated to a long overdue car wash today, I was reminded about a golden rule of recruiting – always be doing it.

The friendly gatekeeper to the tunnel of car cleanliness greeted me with a smile, took my order and embarked in some idle chit chat while I waited.  By the time I had finished the cycle he was waiting around the other side of the building near where the drying and vacuuming extravaganza takes place.  The chit chat continued.

Come to find out, he is only 3 weeks away from starting a new journey in his life.  At 25, he decided to enlist in the Army and serve our country.  With a daughter and wife at home, I have to imagine that he took the decision seriously… he seemed very committed.

He explained all about the enlistment process, the ups and downs that he expected to go through, the hopeful adventures that this new-found path would lead him down – it was quite fun to hear the enthusiasm in his voice.

But, then came the part that really caught my attention.

After explaining all of the selling points of his new career, he asked me if I had ever considered joining the military.  I answered truthfully that I had.  He then asked if I had a college degree… again I answered that I did.

He proceeded to ask me to give the military some consideration and assured me that it would be a great career and an excellent way to serve my country.

As I walked towards my car and processed what had just happened, it dawned on me.  He was trying to recruit me.

Now, I’m not going to be signing up for the military due to this encounter… but, I felt like there was a lesson somewhere in this encounter.

When I was little, my Mom always told me, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”  What she was trying to teach me was that unless I was willing to ask for what I wanted, there was a very low likelihood of me ever getting it.  As an adult looking back, there was, and continues to be, much truth in this lesson.

Just as with goals, ambitions and everything else that we hope to achieve, recruiting has a very similar approach to it.  If you don’t ask, you don’t get… if you don’t ask the potential recruit to consider your organization, they probably won’t.  Engage in conversation, show the value of being a part of the team and ask them to take it into consideration.

Who knows… under the right circumstances, I may have said “Sure!” – at least he asked.

Beyond experiencing a recruiting moment on a Sunday afternoon at the car wash, this interaction also gave me mental fodder in terms of how recruiters are preparing all employees to go out and find the next generation of talent for our organizations.  Do all of your employees have a 60 second pitch?  Would they know how to share the great aspects of working within your organization?  What can we do to help deploy an army of recruiters?

To the soon-to-be Army recruit and the many others that are serving our country, I thank you!  Keep up the great work and know that we’re humbled by your sacrifice.

I had the distinct pleasure of attending a user conference last week in beautiful Minneapolis, MN.  Jobs2Web, a rapidly expanding recruitment technology firm out of Minneapolis, hosted a user conference for their various clients to exchange ideas, attend thought-provoking sessions and, of course, experience networking at it’s best over great food and drinks.

If you have yet to hear about Jobs2Web, I would recommend you check out their website and/or watch the promotional video.  It’s direct, to the point and will surely leave you thinking, “That makes sense!”

In fact, after having spent the past two years travelling, brainstorming and looking far and wide for the most progressive recruitment technologies, I can say for sure that Jobs2Web has made a fan out of me.  They are the real deal and, simply put, THEY GET IT!

How Jobs2Web Will Change Recruiting

To everyone I’ve spoken with about the product and the many more I will speak with in the future; it’s my firm belief that Jobs2Web will change the way we recruit.  With a very simple shift in the way we have always gathered candidate information, they are enabling their clients to build talent communities and engage through the use of social recruiting tools – something we have all been starving for!

In the past, the approach was as follows:

1. Establish job openings
2. Promote jobs through various channels
3. Have candidates go through the ATS application process
4. Pre-screen and interview candidates
5. Hire the best suitable candidate for the role

What Jobs2Web has done is, in essence, add a valuable step to the process and enable recruitment groups to capture data for both active and non-active members of the overall talent population.

The basic Jobs2Web process looks as follows:

1. Establish job openings
2. Promote jobs through various channels
3. Greet candidates with a short business card that they fill out
4. Have candidates go through the ATS application process
5. Pre-screen and interview candidates
6. Hire the best suitable candidate for the role

I know, I know… it doesn’t seem all that different.  But, it’s what they’ve done with the business card that makes all the difference in the world.

You see, Jobs2Web has created more than a business card that candidates fill out before proceeding with the recruitment process.  They have created an entire system around that information that allows recruiters to interact and measure results of the web traffic that visits their site.

Instead of simply hoping for candidates to make it through the process, the business card allows for recruitment organizations to capture the very basic data necessary to continue dialogue with talent of interest… and, used correctly, develop of a community.

Why Does This Matter?

Well, if you have spent much time reviewing your career site metrics, I’m sure you have already found out that many candidates apply for jobs during peak normal business hours.  In the metrics I review on a normal basis, I can clearly see that the majority of candidates visit the career site between 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM from Monday through Wednesday.

While there is traffic on the other days of the week, it’s pretty obvious that parties of interest are out cruising for jobs during the workday.

So, what happens when they get interrupted?  Do you still have a chance to capture their information and follow up with them?  Probably not.

Jobs2Web, through the very simply insertion of a business card early on, captures the data necessary to continue the dialogue.

From the point of information collection forward, the candidate enters the normal process.

Building a Talent Community

What happens with this valuable information next is what makes Jobs2Web powerful!

While the business card is one way for candidates to enter the talent community, Jobs2Web has made it easy, with a variety of widgets for your career site and social media outlets, to allow talent to join your community and to be kept abreast of opportunities of interest.

Instead of spending money on job postings again and again to attract similar groups of people to your career site, the Jobs2Web technology enables recruiters to interact directly with the people who have been previously interested in opportunities.

The power of this method was affirmed by a number of clients during the conference – clients including Microsoft, Lifetime Fitness and HCR ManorCare, among others.  One client reported that their talent community had grown to 350,000 people over the course of two years.  Their recruitment advertising spend dropped by 50% and their number of applicants had increased by tens of thousands… per month!  Pretty powerful testimonial!

Analytics That Transform

Beyond being a smart way of going to market with your recruitment spend, Jobs2Web offers insight into how your advertising dollars are being spent.  Imagine being able to put a dollar figure behind every candidate recruited.  Do you know how much you spend on recruiting candidates?  Do you know what your exact ROI is from every source?  Wouldn’t you like to?

A number of clients reported a change in their abilities to negotiate rates with job boards, job fairs and other recruitment sourcing avenues.  Yes, you may be receiving clicks from job boards, but do you know how many of those candidates are converting to hires?  Shouldn’t you?

The analytics dashboard that Jobs2Web offers is pretty amazing.  From how many of your job related pages are ranking on Google to exactly where ALL of your traffic is coming from.  A Recruiting Manager, armed with a tool like this, will be able to measure, respond and spend with powerful data to back them up.  Gone are the days of “Post and Pray.”  Welcome the era of intelligent social recruiting!

In Conclusion

While this may have seemed like a long affiliate post for Jobs2Web, I assure you, it’s not.  I’m simply impressed.  For the first time in a while, I find myself sitting back saying “Wow! – This makes total sense!”  “Why didn’t something like this come out years ago?!?”

There are some great technologies out there for recruiting.  I’m sure many of them provide value to the recruiting process in some way.  However, Jobs2Web is, by far, the most progressive, intelligent and exciting technology I have seen for recruiting in a long time!  It very well could change the way we approach social recruiting, community building and recruitment advertising spend – that’s a lot of impact.

I’ve just barely scraped the surface of what Jobs2Web is capable of.  Seriously, check out their website and see what they have to offer.  Or don’t… this would be a great secret to keep!

Special thanks to Jobs2Web for the invitation to their conference!  You guys and gals are doing amazing work!  Keep it up!

In the coming weeks, I will cover some of the interesting presentations and topics that were covered at the conference.  Beyond the innovation that Jobs2Web has to offer, there was an amazing amount of brainstorming going on – all good stuff!

A while back, I had the opportunity to hand feed Ostriches.  It’s quite an experience and I’d recommend you try it… as least once.

One thing I learned about feeding them was that an Ostrich knows what it wants and it’ll go for it – sometimes nipping at your fingers in the process.  Naturally, if one took too strong of an approach, I would move on to the next.  Little did the Ostrich know, I had a whole bucket full of food hidden away.  With a gentler approach, they would have received my whole stash.

Fast forward to tonight as I scrolled aimlessly through Facebook, I noticed the following from Boolean Black Belt (Glen Cathey):

“#LinkedIn – active vs. passive candidates? I’m telling you, based on laws of statistics alone, % passive is same as any other source.”

At first, it kind of bothered me.  I mean, “passive” is where it’s at, right?  Isn’t that what all of the top search firms get paid the big bucks to do?  Further, isn’t this the pool of hidden talent that every company is after?  How could it be the same size?

Then I stopped and pondered his quote for a moment.  Could there really be as many active as passive candidates in the market?

Wasn’t this whole social media recruiting thing giving us an edge in connecting with audiences (namely the elusive “passive” grouping) that weren’t easily accessible in the past?

Then something occurred to me.  Perhaps, as recruiters, we have been ignoring the majority.

Candidate Groups

There are three groups of candidates in my mind… active, passive and non-active.

The “Active” group is pretty easy to define.  This is the group of candidates who remain active in the pursuit of career opportunities.  They apply for job openings, they are networking for a new position, and/or they stay in constant contact with their recruiter of choice.  In a nutshell, they’re ready to make a move and they actively participate in that process.

The “Passive” group is a bit trickier.  To me, this group consists of the people who are open to opportunities, but aren’t investing time and energy into the pursuit of a new role.  Should the right position come along, or the right convincing recruiter, they may consider a move.  However, for the most part, this group is happy at work, performing well and not out trolling the job boards for a new place to call Office.

Finally, we have the “Non-Active” group.  These are the individuals who think they are performing well, are living a good enough life that they don’t even want to consider transition AND they don’t have time to deal with recruiters.  They are content in their routines and/or happy with their current status.  These are the people who will come to us when they are good and ready and no sooner than that.

To expand on the “Non-Active” definition a bit more, this would represent the largest grouping of talent.  Following along with Boolean Black Belt’s logic;  if as of May of 2010 we have over a  9% unemployment rate in the U.S. (Active job seekers… at least, I hope so) and the Passive pool is the same size (9%), then the Non-Active group would represent over 80% of the talent pool.

Before you challenge me to a duel on the statistics, let’s say that the “Passive” group is much larger… how about 30%?

Even then, we are left with a Non-Active grouping of over 60% of the working population.

Branding Picks Up Where Recruiting Ends

As my career has shifted more towards the direction of employment branding, something has become very apparent to me.  For all of the efforts that the recruiting profession pours into hiring the Active and Passive pools of talent, we don’t often consider our largest potential group of candidates.

Some may say that Social Recruiting (aka Social Media, Social Networking, Social Rambling… etc…) has been the tool used for this type of engagement with the general population of Non-Actives.  While I agree to a certain extent, I would also argue that we’ve been actively utilizing the tools to connect with people who are open to opportunities (i.e. Passives).

I don’t blame us – in fact, I totally get it.  It’s easier to quantify the results when we consider currently attainable objectives.  If I put in X amount of hours into Y activities, I can quantify the results with Z figure.

I’ve done these kinds of calculations myself… in fact, I’ve written about ROI in Social Recruiting before.

Social Recruiting Balance

How can we utilize Social Recruiting effectively in balancing our active recruiting efforts (better defined by BBB as active and passive sourcing efforts) with our long-term Non-Active recruiting efforts?  After all, likelihood says that the Non-Actives will eventually look for a new position… it’s our job to be there first, right?

Is it simply a matter of framing the target and setting the long-term goals?

With our current technology, connecting with this audience is very attainable – we meet them where they live and play (online).  So, how do we speculate and measure the effectiveness of the energy and dollars we invest today in results that we are not likely to see for years?

I could contemplate this all night long, but I’d love to see what you think.  The pool exists, the tools exists, the long-term value exists…

Why The Ostrich?

That finger nipping, overly eager and somewhat scary looking Ostrich, had no idea of the food supply he gave up because of his aggression.  All of his focus was on the here and the now… and, as a result, it cost him something much greater.

Are we giving up our treasure chest of a talent pool by remaining so tactical?  How can we find balance and brand for the future?

P.S.  Glen Cathey (Boolean Black Belt) is a fantastic contributor in the online recruiting space.  This post was not intended to counter his comment or thoughts on the topic… he just caused some ideas to bounce around in my head.  Thanks Glen!

* Thanks to Vincent Kan for catching my late night spelling errors!

Sarah White - @imsosarah at SxSW

It’s a conference like few others – big, bold and full of talented individuals all interested in similar topics.

Today was my first day at SxSW Interactive here in Austin, TX.

Last year at this time, I was attending Chris Brogan‘s training called Inbound Marketing Boot Camp with Alicia Arenas.

It marked an important point in my learning curve around the use of social media as a tool for community building.  Chris, as always, shared some golden nuggets that stuck with me as I developed my own approach to getting involved in the online social recruiting niche.

It’s amazing how much can change in a year!  In fact, between personal and professional changes, I would be hard pressed to even list them all out.

So, fast forward and here I am at SxSW.

This year, I am attending as a Racker and we have taken a different approach with the conference.  We have enlisted a number of members from the Recruiting Team to be a part of the events and chat with talented folks attending the conference.  I wrote a post about it on the Racker Talent site, but here is the list of Recruiters in attendance should anyone want to say hello to them on Twitter or while you are at SxSW.

Roxanne Molina – Recruiter

Twitter Name: @roxymolina

Oren David – Technical Recruiter

Twitter Name: @odavid1

Scott McCamish – Recruiter

Twitter Name: @scottmccam

Taryn Little – Recruiter

Twitter Name: @tarynLIL

Paul Norman – Director of Recruiting

Twitter Name: @pmnorman

Michael Long – Global Talent Scout

Twitter Name: @theredrecruiter

If you like to meet passionate people, I recommend finding one of the team members!

Tomorrow I will be headed to a few sessions in the morning before going back to the Rackspace booth.  It’s really crazy to see all of these high-tech and social media related companies all in one spot – it’s like virtual world come to life… even though I know that to be true already, it’s just different in person.

On Monday night, we are having a great big Rackspace party at Maggie Mae’s starting at 8:00 PM.  Word is that we will be raffling off two Gibson guitars among other exciting party features.  Be sure to stop by if you get a chance!

So… for those of you who couldn’t make it this year – is there anything that you want me to learn about, blog about or bring back from SxSW?  If so, drop a comment and I’ll do my best to find you the answer!

Back to non-virtual Twitter land!

It’s time for TruLondon!

I’ve never been to London, or Europe for that matter, and I’m really excited!

The very amiable Bill Boorman is hosting the second TruLondon conference this coming week and it’s sure to be an exciting and informative event.

With speakers from all over the U.S. and Europe, the topics span from best practices in HR to the cutting edge of social media recruiting – topics I’m mildly interested in!

If that weren’t enough, on the 18th there is a Tweet Up planned that is rumored to have a red shoe spin to it.  The #truCurrytweetup is taking place the first night of the event and will surely be a great way to meet the various track leaders and help a worthy cause in the process.

Even if you aren’t attending TruLondon, I would encourage you to stop by to be a part of the festivities!  As a small piece of advice, I’d recommend establishing a Twitter account before arriving.

Beyond TruLondon, this week will also have me visiting the Rackspace facility in the UK.  Having spent the past five months working at Rackspace on a variety of initiatives, I’m very excited to meet the UK team in person!  A number of the UK-based Rackers will be joining me for the conference and engaging in the topics presented.

I don’t know what to expect from this upcoming week, but I’m sure it will provide more than a few experiences worthy of blogging about.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  If you have anything that you would like me to check in to while in London, be sure to leave a note below.  I’ll be (hopefully) throwing up a photo stream soon for everyone to follow along with.  The pictures will probably vary from the conference to various shots around London… I’m feeling adventurous!

Anything you recommend for me to see while in London?

Photo Credit, Dimitry B

“The good news is – you’re fired. The bad news is – you’ve got, all of you’ve got just one week to regain your jobs starting with tonight.” – Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross

Wouldn’t that be a fun and interesting way to start off your work week!?!

What if, starting today, you had one week to make it or break it?

Would you buckle under the pressure, or could you make it work?

Working on the agency-side of recruiting for most of my career, I learned very quickly that pressure was something to get comfortable with.

Did I always enjoy the pressure?  Nope.  Did it make me plan and prepare more for the times when I would need to perform under pressure?  HELL YES!!!

The concept of ABC – “Always Be Closing“ – was something that a past boss introduced me to.

While he loved to give the Alec Baldwin speech (language) in jest… the message he was trying to convey was that in order to perform when things got tough, we would have to develop a recruitment strategy that we could deploy at any given moment.

That strategy, in my practice and as he taught, was “Always Be Recruiting”.

Always Be Recruiting

Recruiting, in many scenarios, offers us the ability to plan relationships for the future.  While it sometimes seems easier (and cheaper) to maintain a reactive stance – we run a much higher amount of risk by not having built our pipelines in advance.

The tendency to take the reactive route is further reinforced by high unemployment markets because it’s so easy to gather interested candidates.  Post ad, review candidates, interview potentials, hire… wash, rinse, repeat.  Sound familiar?

The problems start when the market turns the corner.  Suddenly, that endless pool of candidates starts to dwindle and they begin to get picky with which jobs they express interest in.  We sit back confused and start to evaluate our methods… “What the heck is going on?”

To amplify our concerns, turnover starts to occur internally… Why?  Well, probably because we went about hiring a number of highly qualified individuals in the down season and paid them less than they were worth – that was dumb!  Lesson learned (probably not) but, lesson learned

So then… this leads me to “Always Be Recruiting”

Your biggest opportunity in recruiting comes when you don’t need the people that you are going to hire in the future.  No, I’m not suggesting that you purchase a crystal ball to figure out your talent needs… but, I am suggesting that you consider potential needs for the future.

Think of it like a matrix…

If you would normally hire X, Y and Z skill sets – have you developed a bench of talent that you can pull on when hiring season ramps back up?  Are you continuing to recruit even though you don’t need the people right now?

Here is an example of what my old boss had his offices do:

1. Define the top 6 skill sets that the team would target.
2. Figure out where those pools of talent exist (Job Boards, Social Networking Sites, Forums, Etc…).
3. Develop a grouping of at least 6 deep on each one of your 6 skill sets… 6 x 6 = 36 Active Candidates
4. Constantly stay in touch with those 36 people (Emails, Calls, Newsletters, Etc…)

How ABR Changes Your Approach

You may have just finished reading this and are saying to yourself, “Of course, that’s easy… and common sense.”  I hope you are.

Fact of the matter is, most recruiters never take the time to stay disciplined with this sort of pattern.  While the agency side of recruiting (especially staffing) demands preparedness on short notice, I’ve rarely seen this approach taken on the corporate end of things.

Staying on top of your skill sets and in touch with potential hires for your organization can decrease your time-to-fill, improve the quality of hire and save you money on your car insurance (okay, not the last one – unless of course you are less stressed out due to the new process and drive your vehicle with fewer emotional distractions… in which case, yes, it could save you money in the long run).

Think about it and consider starting out by choosing 1-2 skill sets.  Can you build an available pool of talent that you can connect with on very short notice?

Can you build interest in your organization based on the future… not just the present?

Given a week… “just one week”… could you pull off the impossible recruiting request?  Just think about it…

Photo Credit 1 – Site

Photo Credit 2 – williac

I recently received an email from a recruiter who is just getting started out with the joys of social media.

One piece of the email went like this:

“… I feel and know I am lacking in the knowledge of social network recruiting.  I have been getting up to speed with a number of blogs, but am intrigued about what some people are writing about Twitter.  I have not explored this option yet.”

Further:

“Honestly, I would love to get some training, but I am just starting back into this and am concerned about start up costs, which is why I have been scouring the internet looking for information.”

Jumping Into Social Media As A Recruiter

There is no way, shape or form that I could provide a comprehensive list of what to study/research if you are just getting started in this realm.  But, I think that there are a few good things to review if you are considering this route.

Here is my response to the recruiter:

“Sounds like you have a vision for what you’d like to do next!  That’s great!

Over the past year, I’ve been engaged in speaking and training around the topic of social media in recruiting, HR and employment branding.  My sources for learning have ranged from studying like a mad-man to making mistakes along the way.

One source you may find useful is Mashable.  Check out this resource section on Twitter specifically:

http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

As social media applies to our specific business, it’s still a work in progress.  In fact, ROI conversations are now becoming central to the topic.

The other activity I would recommend for your learning process is to attend a conference by Chris Brogan – he knows his stuff!  Here is a link to the conferences that he puts on… It will be a ton of information, but well worth it!

http://inboundmarketingsummit.com/

You may want to consider following his blog too!

http://chrisbrogan.com

In terms of an approach, I would start by creating a blog where you want to share information about your skill set focus – become a thought leader on the topic and produce helpful posts for your potential candidates.  To experiment with blogging, you can always get a free site at http://wordpress.com – just to get familiar with how things work.  Eventually, and especially for your business, you will want to develop a self-hosted site.

From there, you build a presence online (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube) that compliments your material… All the while making sure that you maintain your authentic voice.  Be yourself and have fun!

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

Looking forward,
Michael Long
The Red Recruiter”

We Should Make A List!

This question and the answer I provided makes me feel like we should create a list for recruiters who are just getting started.  And NOT a paid list… just a general reference section designed for recruiters who need a hand.

With the thousands of resources available, it must be incredibly confusing for someone just getting started.

Sounds like a project to add to the list!

What other sources would you recommend for recruiters who are just getting started?

What’s your favorite tool thus far?

Photo Credit, Erik Charlton

At the age of 9, I realized that if I purchased a large bag of gum (100 pieces) for $5.00, I could sell the entire bag at school at a rate of $.25 per piece OR $25.00 per bag.  Kids would find me and purchase the gum right before my classes – perhaps an hour of work a week.  I liked my little gum business until the principal shut me down.

Last week, I moderated an online Twitter conversation (made possible through the use of a hashtag) called Talent Net (#TNL for those of you on Twitter!) thanks to an invite from Craig Fisher.

The conversation was geared towards 2010 being the year to start tracking your social media ROI.  Specifically, to explore what measurements, tools, techniques and methods recruiters (both corporate and agency) are using to figure out whether their social media time and resources are garnishing any financial benefits.

It’s important to know that I did not intend to provide the answers to these larger questions… the intent was to simply moderate a conversation.

Within a few minutes of starting, it became obvious that the group was waiting for all of the answers and that no one had the complete picture.

To make matters more complex, it seemed as if there was a true lack of consensus around what we (as recruiters) should aim to achieve… engagement, applicants, hires, clients – What matters most?

Measuring Social Media Effectiveness

To measure the results of our activity, we must start with what we are attempting to accomplish.  For every department, firm or independent, this metric/goal may vary.

Here are some potential goals for recruiters:

• Increase # of Applicants
• Increase # of Hires
• Improve Employment Brand
• Improve Candidate Experience
• Increase # of Clients
• Identify Hard To Find Candidates

What else would you add?

For every desired goal, we must establish a measure that will fairly represent success or failure in accomplishing said goal.  We must also account for the time spent or monetary investment towards the goal.

Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Goal:  Increase # of Applicants

Method:  Twitter

Investment:  5 hours per week

Tracking Tool:  Referral Source Field in Application

Desired Result:  More than one qualified applicant per week

If the dedicated recruiter earns $30 per hour, you have a weekly investment of $150.  Therefore, any result with less than $150 in return would prove less than desirable.

However, if your average cost per applicant acquisition is greater than $150 per person and your recruiter manages to engage more than one person per week, you are making a smart investment – well, at least until the next great thing comes along!

Any opportunity cost should also be taken into account… if you want to get really specific – if you know it, add it to the equation.

Another example…

Goal:  Identify Hard To Find Candidates

Method:  Facebook

Investment:  $50 Weekly Facebook Social Ad Campaign & 2 Recruiter Hours a Week ($5,720 per year)

Tracking Tool:  Referral Source Field in Application

Desired Result:  Reduce Recruitment Outsourcing by 3 Hires a Year (i.e. $45,000 in fees)

If over the course of the year, you can accomplish identifying three targeted hires by only investing $2,600 on a recruiting focused Facebook Social Ad and $3,120 of the Recruiter’s time… you are doing well!

Of course, if the recruiter can accomplish this faster and cheaper using another method, that would also have to be considered – hopefully you’re tracking it.

The possibilities for measurement here are endless… again, it all depends on what you want to accomplish and what tools/resources you are going to dedicate to the project.

Benchmarks have to be established before any comprehensive understanding can be reached.

Resources On Measuring ROI In Social Media

My opinion on this topic is just one of many… so, I’ve decided to gather a few of the posts that I encountered.  Opinions range quite a bit!

The Maturation of Social Media ROI – Brian Solis

Social Media Recruiting Paying Off at Crowe Horwath – John Zappe

4 Ways to Measure ROI + Metrics of Social Media Recruiting… – by Jessica Lee

Trying to measure the ROI of social media is stupid – Stephanie Lloyd

Measuring Social Media Marketing – by Chris Brogan

Measuring the ROI of Social Networking as a Recruitment Tool – by Sean Hennessy

How to Measure Social Media ROI for Business – Aaron Uhrmacher

The goal of understanding and/or exploring this topic has everything to do with creating a relevant dialogue around the topic.

We, as a group, have plenty to learn – consider how fast Social Media changes… I doubt we even have the ability to stay up to speed with these changes without our collective and collaborative understanding.

It seems as though our key metrics in recruiting have remained fairly consistent, but our tools have and will continue to change quickly.  We have to adjust and adapt.

What do you think we should be measuring?

Do you think the measurements have changed or just the tools?

How do you measure success in recruiting with social media?

Photo Credit, AMagill

I read a post on Seth Godin’s blog today that really struck a chord.  Perhaps because the advice so closely aligns with my own philosophy – perhaps because it was short… either way, it’s great and you should take a look!

“The difference between hiring and recruiting”

Essentially, the point is made that hiring is more of a call for applicants.  People find your posting, they apply, you interview… eventually hire.

Recruiting, on the other hand, is about attracting a person to a role based on how great the position is.  Creating a need in the candidate that can only be filled once the person takes the necessary step of applying and, hopefully, is hired.

I guess the question I’m left with is “How?”.

Creating A Job That Attracts

I’m not a job description expert by any means… but, I have learned a few things about recruiting a person based on their emotional  and logical responses to a role.

If I had to sit down and write a job description to accomplish this task, I would probably consider some of the following.

1. Description Vs. Painting – Are you just listing the duties of the role OR are you painting a picture?  Think about what makes this position amazing for the ideal target candidate.  If it doesn’t inspire at least AWE on a scale of A to AWESOME, you might want to reconsider your description before chucking it out to the world.  Take a few more minutes at least.
2. Emotion Vs. Logic – People consider changing their jobs for many reasons.  However, most of these reasons fall into either logical or emotional categories – some both.  While financial gain may be a logical reason, the ability to send ones children to a better daycare is, more than likely, emotional.  Look at the offered job as a job seeker.  Why would you consider it?  Why not?  Does it excite you?  If not… why would it excite your target?  Does the position give the candidate logical reasons to consider?  What do you want them to tell their spouse before risking it all on this new role?  Think about it.
3. Aim For A Smile – Humor has a way of creating a positive emotional connection with the things around us.  Consider including some humor in your job description before posting it.  “We are the leader in X, Y and Z… and, oh yeah, we have some pretty amazing fresh coffee in the break room!”  A smile creates an emotion, an emotion creates a feeling, a feeling creates a connection.  If you establish a connection with the person you are recruiting, it’s much more likely that you will have both candid and meaningful conversations with them.
4. Keep It Short – I know what you are thinking… “Job seekers will want to know all the details before applying for a job.”  I disagree.  Treat the description as a marketing campaign.  Would you want to learn more based on what you read?  Would you tell a friend about the position based on how interesting it is?  If so, you are on the right track.  Keep it short, simple and as enticing as possible.  In an age of ADD, let Twitter‘s 140 character limit inspire you!  Less is more (as long as it’s meaningful!).

I like what Seth had to say on the topic because it promotes the necessary delineation in recruiting.  If we fail to see that the two acts (hiring vs. recruiting) are essentially different, we will fail to ultimately attract the variety necessary to make a solid hiring decision.  Don’t you want the best possible person for the role?  Would 10 more minutes of thought behind the position be worth attracting a better suited candidate?

What have you done to spice up your job descriptions before shotgunning them across the internet?  Any best practices?

Have you seen a company that has pulled this off well?  If so, share what you’ve found!

Photo Credit, drcorneilus