On Talent

Let's Hope for Democratic Process

I just read a very interesting article posted today by Campbell Brown on MSNBC about the Iraqui elections on Sunday. She has been over there, living with the people, and interviewing them. Her perspective is more direct than I will ever get, but is food for thought. The entire success of the elections at this point hinges 1) on the courage of the polling workers--will they show up to run the elections and 2) same courage for the people. Cars will not be allowed on the streets so people will have to walk to the polls. They are close, but people are afraid.

My own sentiments have me pulling for them to buck up. Not necessarily for Iraqui freedom, although I firmly believe that would be wonderful for the Iraqui's after so many years of tyranny from the Hussains. But more so for my strong support of our troops who have been over there paving the way for this event. Godspeed to them and the Iraqui people. May it be as peaceful as it can be.

People Not Paper

So here is my first big rant. As the market clamours to get more efficient at handling "paper" (resumes, requisitions, and applications), we've lost touch with the fact that candidates are people. This is the recruiting version of daddy's Oldsmobile--a lot of us seem to think that great candidates are lined up outside and we are in total control of the process. How can we expect to become strategic recruiters and hire more effective talent if we're only worried about how to be more efficient.

Yes there are lots of candidates for some jobs. Yes we have to be efficient in dealing with the high volume. Yes we have to be compliant. Enough! Do all that stuff and still figure out a way to create an amazing and humane experience for the candidate!

You know you have to stay in front of top talent. Keep them interested and engaged. But who has the time – or the creativity – to do it right?

So what can you do -- now? Dare to be amazing!

Get creative. Recruit for tomorrow today. Find top talent when they’re not even looking for a new job. Know who has those hard-to-find skills. Continuously build relationships – they’re people, not just requisitions. Find savvy ways to keep the dialogue going. The more touch points, the more you learn about your ideal candidates. Then use that knowledge to keep the conversation sharp and relevant. Make it impossible for them to not have you on their top of their list.

Be amazing! If you’re not, just point them to your competition. That’s where they’ll end up anyway.

Party Like It's 1984

In read a recent Kevin Wheeler article earlier this month in ER Daily with some interest. As you can tell I'm a little behind inmy reading! Kevin nibbles around the edges of a topic that I believe spans much further than workforce planning--we are all recruiting like its 1984 again.

Wake up and smell the cofee! The dynamics of business have changed requiring all of us to look for a new kind of agile talent. Guess what? That agile talent does not have the mentality of job seeking. They are looking for an amazing and engaging project or company. The candidate has access to so much information about the company just by Googling it that they know more than the people they are interviewing with. Meanwhile most corporate sourcing and recruiting practices would make you think that candidates are lining up at the door dying to work for their companies forever. THAT HAS TO CHANGE in order to hire the top talent everybody keeps talking about.

I will be expanding on what I think that means in subsequent posts--stay tuned. Meantime, let me know what you think --I'd love to hear.