Job Search and Bad Traffic

Smart recruiters don't put all of their job-search brains into one basket.

Neither should smart-jobseekers.

Great Big Hairy Recruiting Brain

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to get picked by Jason Davis (RecruitingBlogs.com) to be on a panel at the Kennedy Info Recruiting Conference. The topic: blogging. The night before the conference started I sat at a table and shared a meal with Jason, John Sumser, Steve Rothberg, and Jim Durbin.

Truth be known, I felt a bit like the cabin-boy listening in on the conversation in the Captain's quarters. Not that anybody made me feel like the cabin-boy...on the contrary, if you've had the privilege of sharing a meal with any of these sailors, you know just how gracious they are.

Although I'd been interacting with and reading Sumser's thoughts for some time, I'd never met him. I just knew he was smart - that he oftentimes aggravated recruiters who are easily provoked - and that I wasn't deep enough to grasp the gist of his articles in one, fell swoop. John made me slow down. In a world of quick-fixes and fast talkers, Sumser's thoughts required that I down-shift and begin the process of "thinking" anew.

Now, introductions, food and drinks aside, fast-forward to the end of the meal. Our plates are cleared and we've gradually worked our way around the table turning the world of recruiting on its ear (at least I thought so). Prior to the meal, I would have summed up John Sumser in two words: Recruiting Brain. But as I sipped the after-dinner coffee I decided to add three additional words: Great Big Hairy (as in Great Big Hairy Recruiting Brain).

The latter description has nothing to do with John being a big, hairy beast. Although, you must admit, he's got a pretty cool head of hair. Rather, it has more to do with the fact that my respect for John's involvement within the recruiting community exploded after meeting him in person.

Yep, he's one sharp cat. He's also amazingly gracious, inclusive, and genuinely concerned with the health of the recruiting community (more so than most recruiters who are actually doing the job of recruiting each day). And the questions...holy smokes! John keeps us real by asking questions. Questions aren't easy. They make us squirm - sweat - THINK. And that's all good. Because that's what helps us grow. If we are open to it.

In the pure joy of the moment, I love giving an unscripted high-five to a teammate whose only thought is, "We did it! Great job!" It's very clear - it's not about them; their focus is on the team, and they derive pleasure in knowing they've done something to further the team's cause.

That's how I feel about Sumser. In a world where 'personal branding' efforts have taken on a life of their own, it feels good to acknowledge a teammate who continues (over the long haul) doing his part to prod us on - encourage us in the fight - ask the hard questions (without the expectation of pay-back or retweet).

If you don't believe me, just read his latest post.

That's right. He's a Great Big Hairy Recruiting Brain.

There, I said it.

Meet Brett Kopf: College Student | Jobsearch Brain

I met Brett Kopf today. On Twitter. Kopf is a senior at Michigan State and like many college students, he has a LinkedIn profile, a social network (that he created), and a blog.

What's different about Brett Kopf is that he's currently a Digital Media Intern @ MSU, and smart enough to have a Twitter account that he uses to connect with people like...me. No, not dorks, recruiters.

Brett piqued my interest so we exchanged a few tweets. I asked how he was approaching his job search in light of the recession and constant bad news about jobs for pending grads.

Brett's response: (reading from the bottom up)

That's good jobsearch advice - straight from the college student's mouth.

It's great to have a strong network. Brett and his peers certainly have a much stronger support network than most of us in our 40's. Brett, however, creatively sets himself apart by seeking out and connecting with the community of recruiters (generational diffs aside) currently engaged in the world of social media.

Smart move, Brett. We might have 20+ years of grey hair separating us, but we both certainly dig technology and know that tools like Twitter allow us to make connections with people (geography aside) that otherwise might be impossible.

My hat's off to Brett Kopf (jobsearchbrain). Reach out and connect with him on Twitter @BrettKopf while he's still in job-search mode.

I've got a hunch he's about to make a great hire post-MSU.

Recruiting Brains StayUp!

I've never met Christopher McCann. But I read his post called StayingUp! and I like him already. And while we might not share the same taste in music : ), we do share the same ideology when it comes to recruiting: attitude is everything.

If you don't think so, do a quick comparison of the most successful recruiters you know. My bet is that the majority have a killer attitude (as in, they get knocked down but they don't stay down). They claw their way back up in spite of what's going on around them. And they keep at it - keep at it - keep at it (David Perry's a perfect example and my constant source of encouragement).

McCann seems to be cut from the same cloth. And anybody that's been in this business (with the same company) as long as he has, is doing something right. In fact, he just might be a recruitingbrain.

You decide - check out his 10 ideas for Staying Up! that's posted on his blog (CMCSource).

You just might call him a recruitingbrain.

Kevin Donlin and David Perry - RecruitingBrains

With their Wall Street Journal interview behind them, Kevin Donlin probes David Perry with questions like, "Should job hunters rent billboards?"

While this video is just a short look at their take on some issues, these guys are doing more to help job hunters than most recruiters I know.

Yep, they are recruitingbrains.

Watch their video, HERE.

Kelly Dingee - RecruitingBrain

recruitingintelligence is easy to find at Fistful of Talent - today I spotted some low-flying intel via Kelly Dingee, Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS.

Kelly's article, Build It and They Will Come: TwitterJobSearch, ponders the question: "Is TwitterJobSearch the new "IT" site?"

While not everything that's "free" is worth the trouble, I'm siding with Kelly - "maybe." And my maybe is based on the fact that, as a recruiter, you've got the ability to post your jobs for free and have them indexed by TwitterJobSearch (and it really is simple).

This pic is tough to read, but it show you how simple it is to tweet your job and have it show up on TwitterJobSearch:


Just tweet your job - keep it to less than 120 characters (save room for retweets), include key information and a link to the job posting. Pretty simple.

Kelly's main question is this: "Does TwitterJobSearch have the attention of JobSeekers?"

I'd have to say "no." The been a lot of twitter talk lately, but the average person is still pretty Twueless (that's "clueless about twitter") not to mention the fact that there's even a lot of recruiters who had no idea that TJS existed. If that's the case, then TJS is probably behind the curve in terms of what they are doing to drive jobseekers to their site.

However, I think the recent stat's that allude to Twitter's metoric growth will help take care of some of that. I mean, wow, they are all over the stinkin' internet. Check out the results on Google with just a simple search on the word "Twitter:" 324 million results. How 'bout a quick search on "twitter" using Google's "news" tab: 57k (and that's just for the last hour!). For cryin' out loud, there's an article posted less than 1 hour ago about a car wash that's embracing Twitter! Say what?!

Thanks Kelly, for pointing the recruiting community to TJS! Now, if enough recruiters will ask the same questions, maybe the good folks at TwitterJobSearch will not only keep up the good work, but also tell us what they are doing to drive the attention of the jobseeker!

Why Should I Hire You?

Ok job seekers, Chris Russell has a little experiment for you. As some of you know he runs the career advice internet station http://JobRadio.fm.

Chris invites job seekers who are unemployed to "pitch" themselves to potential employers. He will then publish selected pitches on the station and through his podcast feed. Its your chance to stand out in a crowded job market.

Here's how it works

1. Come up with a 1 minute pitch for yourself. It should start with "My name is......I'm looking for a job as....You should hire me because...."

2. Call the JobRadio comment line at (206) 888-9910 and leave us the message in a voicemail.

Speak clearly and be creative!

You only have 1 minute to record it. If you mess up, call again.

At the end of the week he will publish the audio.

My DailyMugShot

It seems vain (and I suppose it is), but it's really kind of fun.

Daily Mugshot

Telonu (as in, tell-on-u)

Telonu (Tell-on-u) is the latest site dedicated to the task of truth, justice, and the American way (a little love the the Superman fans).

A victim of recent layoffs? Love your company? Hate your company? Telonu lets you "Rave, Rant, Rate" your company, your school, and all the people in between.

You can post as "anonymous" or with a nickname - your choice.

I've already searched a a few companies and haven't found much info (it seems people are being nice in the recession). Will it last?

It's Fun Being Five on Friday

Personal Information Alert

This post and attached picture have nothing to do with hi-tech, wireless, or Twitter (yeah, believe it).

I just thought the picture was too cute to pass up.

So...what is it?

A work of art? Kind of.

Sunglasses? Sure.

Or, it could be what's left of my 5-year old's Blueberry Bagel topped with Peanut Butter & Honey. Oh, baby.

Yep, there's nothing like the imagination and fun of being five.