Fistful of Talent

A Common Sense Social Media Policy...

Social Media...Social Sourcing...Social Networking...Social Recruiting....buzz phrases of the moment, no?  I'm enmeshed in this genre, like it or not.  When I hopped on Twitter a bit more than a year ago, I was looking at it strictly from my sourcing point of view, that everyone on it had a profile.  And where there are profiles there are potential candidates.  So I work that.  

But now my thoughts turn to "best practices".  Who's got 'em, who doesn't.  Many times when I discuss social media, social recruiting, branding yourself as an "employer of choice", people get it.  And they rush in with Facebook and Twitter accounts, updating like crazy, but they don't put in place a social media policy.  Much less a Twitter policy.  

And that's important.  Your employees need to be reminded of your company's expectations of representation.  What's appropriate and what's not.  It's your corporate image, you need to be mindful.  Your employees need to be mindful.  It's not that "big brother" is watching.  It's that "big brother" has a reasonable expectation of your behavior if you are online and representing the company..  And many companies have come out with policies, some of them basic and some like the WallStreetJournal's, are a tad more detailed.

My favorite social media policy I saw?  It's actually a multi-purpose statement right here from the Earl Gilmore Rule Book courtesy of the blog Uninstalled....Short, sweet and full of common sense.

 

 

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

Kelly Dingee's New Favorite Sourcing Tool... LeapFish

I am typically not a huge fan of metasearch engines in my sourcing life.  I feel they have their purpose and when working on a research project do quite often employ one to make sure I'm not missing any amazing information from other sources.  But, still, I almost regularly prefer to just go to Yahoo or Google to run searches.

Until I met LeapFish.

You know I love speed from this blog.  You can't spend 40+ hours a week online and not wish for the internet to move faster, so I try to optimize my tools as much as possible.  LeapFish is in beta release and optimized to work with Google Chrome.  Their tag line "Just Type It" is true.  Type anything.  General Search.  Boolean Power String.  XRay.  As you type, the site doesn't just give you options, it starts to produce results, in real time.  With a quick click you can switch your search engine results from Google to Yahoo to Live and see how your top ten varies which additional candidates you need to pursue. The focus at LeapFish is not just indexing the web, but aggregating it.  Definitely review their press releases since the site's launch in November 2008 for more information on their progression.

For the sake of experimentation, I built these quick searches to take LeapFish through its paces.  First, a PowerSearch.  Knowing that MSN doesn't respond well to the command "inurl" I only used "intitle":

intitle:resume sap "project manager"

Many, many, many results come back quickly and by adding on a few additional key words, I can tweak this search to produce results more in line with my current needs:

intitle:resume sap "project manager" "washington, d.c." -jobs -sample

And, of course, we have to run my favorite type of search string, an XRay.  Try this:

site:linkedin.com CCRN

Flip from Google to Yahoo to MSN to see the variety in your results.  LeapFish's clean display allows you to view many at once.  You can search the web, images, blogs and more from this interface and leverage all of your boolean to get some of the best and quickest results ever.

 

Give it a spin.  You won't be disappointed...

 

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

Build It and They Will Come (Kevin Costner/Field of Dreams): Twitterjobsearch

On a weekly, sometimes even daily basis, we have our "IT" site on Twitter.  Recruiters saw this phenomena really kick off with JobAngels at the end of January.  An idea spawned on Twitter by Mark Stelzner evolved into an organization with social media presence on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.  JobAngels has been covered by multiple news outlets, including the LA Times and CNN and has an incredible viral presence.  Maybe because the message was appealing.  Maybe because it's free. Maybe because the people behind the scenes had invested enough time in social media, in a fun sort of learning the ropes kind of way, to know how to really let this site shine in the spotlight.

So is TwitterJobSearch the new "IT" site?  Some might think so.  The editor here at Fistful needed someone to check it out and I dutifully volunteered. Definitely getting the right person for the job - I am a TwitAddict and am always game to check out a free service that helps shoot jobs out to jobseekers.  So let's talk about Twitterjobsearch - my initial impressions? It's an aggregator, scanning Twitter for job posts.  But it appears to be more than that if you dig further into the site, they'll actually load your jobs, for free onto TwitterJobSearch.  Check this link here. Oddly enough, this tidbit of information isn't quickly noticed on the TwitterJobSearch site, but I found it weeding through their Twitter homepage.

Is it worth pursuing?  Maybe.  It's free.  And what recruiter isn't trying to save on their advertising budget these days?  TwitterJobSearch has accrued 30,000 plus jobs, which is great.  And they've organized the site so that seekers can come in and create a search or browse by group.  I would love to know the thoughts of HR job seekers and if they can find their category.

But here's my real question...does TwitterJobSearch have the attention of JobSeekers?  Where are they promoting their site?  Have they initiated a cross platform social media campaign to draw in users from other sites?  Where's the word getting out to the average job seeker, not just the social media junkies?   Posting for free is great, but if no one is looking at our jobs, what good will it do?  I am a huge advocate of a multi-prong strategy when filling requisitions, and I think the same thought process applies here. These are the same types of questions I've asked job boards in the past, when they've called and wanted me to sign into job posting/resume search agreements.  How are you getting the jobseekers there?  It's valid and recruiters need to know.  

I'm going to give some equal time here, many more are running onto this Field of Dreams.  There are several sites jumping into this fray of job push services.  You can also consider @jobshouts, @greatplacejobs @twithire @microjobs and @tweetmyjobs.  Did you get a hire using any of the services mentioned?  Let us know and let 'em shine.

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

April Fools! The Carnival of HR...

Here it is April Fool's Day and FistfulofTalent is the happy host to the Carnival of HR.  We asked our Fool worthy bloggers to submit posts in keeping with the day, you be the judge if they met the bar set for them. 

    

Let's start off with the HR Capitalist, Fistful's very own Kris Dunn, he says don't be a fool with your boss as you integrate Twitter into your professional life via 5 Times to Use Twitter While Your Manager is Talking Without Losing Your Job.

Michael Haberman of HR Observations contemplates the foolishness of companies that are reducing the ranks of telecommuters, or even worse the telecommuters giving up this much needed benefit for fear of being invisible.  Both are fools for that line of thinking, especially the employers. Check out Telecommuting: Diminishing due to Job Cuts

Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand is up next with "When Was The Last Time...." - a post questioning our self involved thought and processes and questioning how foolish we might be to not be really present in our world.

Wayne Turmel of View from the Middle sends along an engaging piece on Remote Teams and the new virtual reality, some rules for the project management road when virtual teams are involved. 

I4CP gives us a solid submission from Michael Ghros- make sure you're company doesn't become the fool - and read As Crime Rises in a Poor Economy, Is It Rising in Your Organization as Well? 

And if it's not employers or employees that are the fools today, maybe it's the "shoot first ask questions later" media.  According to Ryan Johnson of WorldAtWork, the media jumped on what they thought was an executive pay issue at the USPS without asking a few simple questions first, check out The US Postmaster General Makes How Much?

Nina Simosko of Nina Nets It Out encourages all of us to be less self involved - so we don't appear the fool- and Pay It Forward - because you never know when you'll need a helping hand.

Foolish potential employees - what are they thinking?  Peggy Andrews of The Career Encouragement Blog takes us through the story of Sue, a promising final candidate for a Director of Sales that lost out because of interview behavior. Job Search Rule #34 Remember Who's In Charge of The Interview.

More Foolish Behavior in the Office? Bill Strahan of Human Markets submits My Favorite Song about Bad Behavior At Work for your consideration.

Gautam Ghosh on Human Resources takes on the classic, if but foolish and in some cases stereotypical,  HR vs Accounting argument in HR and Finance not "us vs. them".  Who's the fool here? The Professor? or the Assembled CFO's?

Jon Ingham of The Strategic HCM Blogspot wants us to put all our foolishness aside and focus more on engaging our Human Capital.  Visit with him on Engagement and Human Capital.  

Susan Heathfield points a finger at more foolish managers with Punished By Recognition.  In this case recognizing, or not recognizing, valued employees.  If you can't get their names right, what's the point? 

Frank Mulligan of Talent in China takes HR to task for foolishly asking for more in "Too Many Choices for HR".  

Chris Young and the Maximize Possibility Blog wants to know Should Companies Retain Skilled Employees and Managers? With organizations scrambling to save cash, many are wondering if it is worth the added expense to retain their top performers in these lean times.  This post examines the strategic importance of keeping top performers under your roof.

The Only Reference That Really Matters; courtesy of Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership by Dan examines the importance of maintaining a good relationship with your most important references - your current and former managers.

TalentedApps throws its hat into the ring with Career Development for Fools and Foolers by Amy Wilson.  It's a story of vision, execution and relationship building that catapulted a career from obscurity to success.  Fashion Tips are provided as well.

Skipping levels?  Key Intermediate positions are glossed over in hyper accelerated careers creating problems for organizations.  Prasad Kurian of Simplicity at the Other Side of Complexity wants us to consider Career Development and "Sublimation".

Talent Junction's Gireesh Sharma suggest Employee Appraisal Scores Can Be Deceptive and it's important now more than ever to demand quality.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership says that every decision you make in tough times has an emotional impact that lasts far beyond the moment. Every one is a moment of truth. That goes double for the way you treat people. Read it now Moments of Truth.

Taleo's Alice Snell puts in her 2 cents on the re-emerging Finance vs HR argument pursued earlier by Gautam Ghosh.  See why it's great that Talent Makes Headlines - and she appeals to the finance fools with some stats too.

My own humble submission? Don't be a fool for Social Media - make sure you draw your line in the sand with your personal social media policy.....

Thanks for joining us - All the best - Kelly

Maximizing Your Recruiting Time Online With Google Reader...

I spend a lot of time online.  At least 40 hours per week and that's probably a low estimate.  I spend so much time online I intentionally have an archaic cell phone so I am unable to surf when I'm outside the house.  When I go on vacation, the laptops and the crappy cell phones are forbidden, and it's almost like detox for the first 24 hours.

But, when I am online, I try to maximize my time, whether I'm researching or sourcing.  And you should too.  I would love to skip around and stop here and there and read and try out new strings and more, but focus is key to getting our jobs done and not falling down the proverbial rabbit hole.  So, I am a big advocate of using a Reader.  I'm partial to Google  And I've written about this a bit before here.

Once you get your Reader started, you need to organize it, just don't slap your blogs, strings and more into it.  Take the time to set up some folders.  Mine are set up to cover general business blogs, recruiting, hr, sourcing, search strings, tweet feeds and more.  When I add blogs or Google Alerts, I file them right away so everything's tidy and ready to go.  Most of my folder titles are self-explanatory, but let me talk about a couple.  I do have search strings in my Reader.  There are sourcing jobs in my career that have been particularly challenging, and I still have those strings that "worked" and I check 'em out every once in a while.   Some may be wondering what my "tweet feeds" are.  I create these feeds with the help of search.twitter.com, for some of my prolific Twitter friends.  This way I can check their tweets out whenever and, with a quick scan, see if there's great articles I missed them tweeting about that I need to follow up on.

With my Reader set up this way, I can make time every day to check on all my topics or, what I usually do is focus in on a particular area, scan the article titles and move on from there.  If I were someone with limited funds and time in the recruiting arena, I would definitely set up a Reader and make use of Google Alerts to track my search strings - it would give me back a nice chunk of time in each day to explore other sourcing strategies or better yet, focus on additional projects.

Need suggestions on blogs to read regularly? I think that's a separate article, or catch me on the Tweet Side and I'll share some with you.

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

Personal Social Media Policy - Drawing a Virtual Line In The Sand...

This post has been inspired by @TheSourceress (aka Katharine Robinson of Ecosearch).  I've been Tweet Friends with Katharine for several months now and find so much of what she does in recruiting and sourcing AND social media to really be, shall we say, "spot on".  She got my attention last week with her personal Social Networking Policy.

We should all have one.  You have to draw your "line in the sand", because as much as I enjoy my work friends, they don't need to know all the nitty gritty details of the trials and triumphs my family and friends experience.  Unless you're really interested in supporting non-profit community theater - then we can talk.  There are a few that get the "Mom" stuff that is a constant in my life.  So, while certainly I want to be findable and build a network, there needs to be some common sense employed.  And frankly, my non-work friends have been quite vocal that they really don't need to see my @sourcerkelly feed from Twitter on Facebook. So here's my own personal policy:

--LinkedIn (Plaxo, Xing, Naymz, you get the idea) - I connect with virtually everyone (because even neighbors and the swimming teacher need jobs!) but I tend to not include my email on my profile.  If you're in recruiting, you should be able to figure it out just by taking a closer look at the AIRS Sourcing Report.  I'm not big on spam and took my email out months ago when I realized it wa being pulled and used for that purpose.

--Twitter (& Plurk) - I am very open to contact on Twitter, but know that I use it for information gathering and exchange.  It's my virtual watercooler.  So, if you aren't doing one or the other on a variety of topics I enjoy like research, recruiting, hr, accounting, engineering, military, diversity, social media, etc., AND you're just telling that you drank bug juice, I might not follow you.  If you're a recruiting professional and you don't provide a bit of info about yourself, I might not follow you.  Why?  Because Twitter is an excellent place to network! If I can't get a feel for who you are, why would we connect?  And this is important - if you only go by your first name, have no followers but follow thousands, I most definitely will block you.  

--Facebook - I do have a line in the sand here that's pretty definitive.  I know Facebook is a great place to find people.  I show people how to do it all the time.  It's amazing what we draw out of it for our clients and the potential the site has.  But, for me, here's where I need to "know" you. Either we're tight with our work, have built a solid relationship through other online media, are friends or related.  Just hitting me up because we're in the DC Metro area or the HR Profession isn't going to cut it.  

The concept of a personal Social Media Policy is important to keep in mind as you source.  We know there's this fountain of people active in these environments and are tempted to dig in with abandon.  But be conscious that they may have their own unwritten Social Media Policy. It's in your best interest to figure out how to contact them and establish rapport so as not to freak them out or invade their virtual space!

Twitter As A Second Language...

I had the delightful experience of getting to speak to the Staffing Alliance of Maryland Employers (aka ProjectSAME) in mid-February.  I've taken in some of their programs many times over the last 15 years that I've been involved in HR in the Montgomery County corridor- it's a great group.  Never overlook the local groups - especially here in D.C., we had attendees from all kinds of companies, and I have to admit I even got a chill knowing the NSA was present.  (That is so cool...)

We chatted social media - one of my favorite things in the world to talk about - and one of my favorite moments of the day was when I started in on Twitter.  Over the years as a sourcer, I have had moments when I'm describing what I do, or how to source, and I've seen non-sourcing counterparts literally have their eyes roll back in their heads because it was just too much info at once.  I have always figured it was some kind of karma for the number of times I did the same with the engineering managers I use to work with.

But, as I'm talking about Twitter and stressing how it can be used to build brand, peer community, talent community, and of course to find people, I realize my group is looking at me funny.  And no, I didn't spill anything and I wore my smart blue shirt as one of my Tweeple suggested.  At first I thought it was because I had said something about getting all of your information across in 140 characters.  But I started to realize I was using words like Tweet, Twittered, Tweeple, Follow, DM, "@ replies" and more, and that's what threw everyone!  After being enmeshed in Twitterville for more than a year, I did have a second language!

So if you're new to Twitter and need to get the lingo, I thought I'd track down some links for you.  Mashable is one of my favorite sites for keeping up on social media, not just Twitter.  Back in November, 2008, they created a nice list of Twitter specific terms that you can quickly view here.  Mashable also references Twittonary, another great site that allows you to type in any Twitter related site or scan their subsections to get apprised of all the various terms related to Twitter.  And, bonus, you can follow Twittonary on Twitter!

Want to get even further into Twitter? Check out this FanWiki. And remember, the next time you're chatting up a twitter newbie (aka "twebie"), give them reference materials, they're going to need a whole new language for the land of tweets.

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

Good Ways to Help Me Help You... Whether You're a Candidate or a Recruiter...

Am I channeling Jerry Maguire this morning? Maybe.  I find people.  Predominantly I find them via their online information.  I find people for job openings and reverse the process and find jobs for people. Really, that's what I do in a nutshell- "I Find".  Fabulous if information is organized into a resume or profile, but I am absolutely ecstatic to have less information and dig out More from the world wide web.

I like to suggest to people to find themselves online. Kooky?  Not so much.  First of all, if you're in recruiting, you need to put yourself out there.  Name, Email, Profiles, Resumes, links to business and alumni associations and more.  You want fellow recruiters, employers and candidates to know where you are.  Don't know where you are online or even where to begin?  Googlng is fine, no problem with that. But please, go use Pipl.com. 

I've been using Pipl (it's pronounced "people") since 2007 when AIRS first introduced me to it.  Need a second opinion? Go here.  This past week, I ran all my work contact information and user names through Pipl as well as my personal info, and was astounded by the results!  It's thorough and it also lets me know if I have any holes on-line that need to be filled.

This same logic goes for the job seeker.  Can your future employer find you?  Keep in mind, employers are cutting back, trimming job board access as well as trimming manpower.  You may have to upload your resume on more than one site.  It sucks, it's time consuming.  And if you're going to do that, go to Gmail and create a free account to manage your job search and/or networking.  Because you will get spam - you know it, I know it.  It's one of job seekers' biggest frustrations, don't believe me?  Check out some of the comments on this poll.

You do need to take the time to build profiles on LinkedIn, Naymz, Plaxo, etc. If you're really on the job hunt, make them public profiles.  Many employers don't pay to use LI's recruiter module, they use free techniques like XRay to find people on the site.  You also need to decide if you're going to post your work information on MySpace and Facebook, because employers can definitely find you here, and a lot of what they find depends on what you're willing to share.  And if you have inappropriate stuff, now might be a good time to clean it up and detag yourself from those party photos.  And lastly, go create your resume on-line and hyperlink it everywhere - and I do mean everywhere - your employers, your associations, schools, interests, on-line profiles, everywhere.  Because we'll find you.  More people are going back to old school Boolean to find people on line as costs get trimmed.

Not sure where to begin? Well ask already! Please - as I said from the outset - help me help you!

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

Indiana Jones is My Sourcing Hero....Because He K.I.S.S....

I think I was 10 when I saw the first - the original - Indiana Jones movie.  My favorite scene is when Indy is backed into a corner, truly on a precipice with nothing behind him, and all he's got is his usual accessory (think bull whip) and his moxie to figure out how to fight the bad guy.  You know and I know that he can take that bull whip and knock the guy out with what, three? four? Maybe five well placed cracks? But what does my hero do? Cuts to the chase, pulls out his back-up revolver and takes the bad guy out with one shot.

I had a sourcing moment like that this week.  I am one of those firm believers that you can find virtually anything online with a few quick keystrokes.  I am also open to all questions from readers of the newsletter I put out for AIRS because they make me think. And thinking is good.  But over-thinking anything can be bad.  I have one reader whom I've chatted a lot with in the new year on various topics, but she was really at wits end trying to locate a current number for an organization she was interested in digging into for candidates.  Every time she located a new number online, her crew would start calling in and the number was no longer valid. This is not an unusual situation.  You need to think about what and where companies/candidates would update their information first.  

So, she emails me....what to do? Well, I open up Google Maps, pinpoint the location of the company and, like my recruiter friend, I get a number, and it's no good.  What now? On this particular day, I am wickedly busy on the work front.  I want to figure this out, but I really don't want to spend an hour on it. So, I have my Indy moment, pick up the phone and call information.  Spit out location, company name and bam! I get a current phone number - call and verify, and we are done.  

It was a reminder to me, when in doubt, keep it simple!

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...

2008 - The Year of Sourcing In Review...

2008 has been a bang-up year for me.  Many of you know a year ago I made the jump from a contract sourcing role in the defense industry to working for my current employer, and a couple of months later, I hopped into the blogging world with Fistful of Talent.  My sourcing has gone to a different level - that's for sure!  My day job has been a super intense boot camp for sourcing and admittedly, 95% of the services and sources I use now are free, or have nominal (say less than $20) monthly fees attached.  

One of my big take-aways from year one? Know your Boolean. Know it cold.  If you want to become a Boolean Blackbelt - you have to practice and you have to be patient.  Penelope Trunk's advice during a recession?  Get educated.  And once you're educated and understand the strings that will make your life easier - get organized.  If you have not created some kind of RSS/Reader account, make it your New Year's Resolution.  

I've also learned to leverage technology and take advantage of new products and services online.  Yes, I roll my eyes when another "networking site" comes out, but as sourcing and recruiting professionals,  we know one site doesn't contain all our potential candidates, and you truly need a smorgasbord of sources to get your job done - so check that site out. Just don't spam me with invites while you do.   I still consider LinkedIn the "big daddy", though I have also found, depending on the project I'm working on, some sites fit my needs better.  Be conscious of that and think about your demographic as you source.  And even more importantly, look at every site and determine if it can be a source.  XRay can become your BFF too!

If you're a die-hard IE fan, this next year may be the one for you to tap into Google Chrome - its speed is amazing.  And even though out of beta, it still has kinks to work out, I think it will.  So, be patient, and read up on it.  There are plenty of advanced Chrome users out there ready to help.  And while new high quality search engines seem to be few and far between, Viewzi continues to update and tweak its site and gives us so many fantastic ways to view information online.  Are all useful from a business sourcing standpoint, maybe not, but it definitely leaves us with many options. 

This probably goes without saying, but 2008 has been a HUGE year for networking.  I use Twitter to find people (this goes back to knowing Boolean cold), but I also use it as my virtual watercooler.  I love it that we have to get our point across in 140 characters or less.  Makes you think and choose your words carefully.  But more importantly, it lets you connect.  And I've enjoyed chatting with all of you, especially the FOT gang.  There is not a better team of bloggers to write and exchange ideas with, and for that gift in 2008, I'm extremely grateful.

And with that, I wish you all a very Happy Holiday and all the best in 2009! 

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS. Prior to joining AIRS, her experience includes sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine...