Fistful of Talent

Who Are You Hiring in 2010? Thinking About Diversity in Another Way.

I surf recruiter job postings all the time.  It's become a habit, not because I'm looking for a job, but because I load them into a LinkedIn group I moderate, and I have been known to tweet a few that catch my eye.  

Last week, one with the typical keywords I search for had some interesting physical requirements. Let me share them with you - and keep in mind, before you read below, this was for a Recruiter...

Damn. That's tough.  I have a friend who is color blind.  And I suppose it'd be helpful for him to have full vision ability, but I don't think it deters him from his job, and he use to be a third party recruiter.  And don't get me going on the rest of it, because I could....but it did make me very excited about a new campaign that's coming out this week from ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com.

Check out the campaign here. It has created a message that is quite snappy and highlights that all workplaces accommodate difference.  The point of it all? That hiring for diversity is a benefit to companies of all sizes, and in particular, you should be hiring the disabled. Why? Well, of course, we know everyone has been impacted by the recession. But according to Barbara Otto, the Executive Director of the national organization Health & Disability Advocates, the disabled have been disproportionately impacted by the recession, and their employment numbers are rising faster than those of the general public.

Another item worth viewing on the ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com campaign site are Five Myths and the Real Facts for Employers. It conquers and eliminates myths like "Providing accommodations for people with disabilities is expensive" and "The ADA forces employers to hire unqualified individuals with disabilities". And if you need stats for building your business case? This site has plenty of them. Explore it to see all the information offered up. And as you're thinking about branding in 2010, and I know you are, we certainly see all over the place how it's paramount to have a Social Recruiting strategy in play. It's becoming more and more important to attract talent to you. Excellent! I want you to do that. But I want you to be able to offer something up when they get there, especially if you want to be known as a diversity employer of choice. Seriously consider your Diversity Branding strategy in 2010 and getting your company affiliated with a campaign like ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com.  Be the company that attracts a diverse pool of talent.

Ms. Otto has an amazing thought when you think of hiring the disabled, and I want to leave you with this, especially if you're pooh-poohing diversity recruitment branding...

If you need workers that think outside the box, hire those that live outside the box every single day.  

That's powerful. And real. 

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a professional stalker Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS/A RightThing Company. 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...

Lessons Learned from One Sourcer in 2009...

2009 for me has been about bringing my "A" game - every day.  Every single day.  Nothing is ever the same, especially in the arena of internet sourcing and recruiting.  It's an exceptionally fluid medium, and in the Social Media arena, sites can change on a dime.  I think that's why I've developed a love for training, because live courses that accommodate the fluidity of this medium can show Recruiting professionals how to problem solve.

I could sit here and revisit with you all the challenges we faced in 2009.  But I'm not going to.  We lived it and are coming out the otherside.  I'm extremely hopeful and excited for 2010.  But as I think about the year gone by, here are some of my lessons that I think have made me a better professional:

There are no guru's.  I loved it when I attended TWTRCON and there were literally the icons of social media and PR sitting on a panel and vowing they were not guru's - that we're all learning about this medium together. And each of us has a different perspective and analysis. We're all bringing something to the table.  So for me - the phrase "guru" is rather passe, and well, "last decade".....especially in the land of internet sourcing and recruiting.  

Be Humble.  Every once in a while, I get a bit cocky and think I know it all.  Fortunately, I work in a company with people as experienced, if not more so, in recruiting and search.  I've learned to learn from them, they make me better for it.  And I totally own when I've made a bad call. They have made me a much better sourcer and trainer, and I have to thank them for that.

It's not a hack if you're sourcing outside the firewall.  I heard one of our trainers say this during the past year and I love it.  Be real about what you do.  Much of the classic search techniques are extracting the information you need from publicly indexed pages.  

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone - Move The Damn Cheese.  I own that the bulk of my recruiting experience is in Telecom and Engineering.  In some ways, that can be an easy ride when sourcing online. But, I am happy to take on tasks that are outside my usual knowledge base.  I learned more in 2009 about sourcing for professionals in Mining, or Biotech experts with Monoclonal Antibody experience, than I ever thought possible.  Set yourself up to be successful no matter the industry with a good strategy and toolkit.  

Test Your Limits.  I am an introvert.  Classically so. Public speaking is huge for me, but I've found if I'm speaking about my company, sourcing, recruiting, or social media, that I don't care how big the group is.  I love talking to other HR professionals about solving their recruiting issues and tactics they can try.  Having a love for that gets me over the insane panic of speaking to large groups.  And if we're going to thank someone for getting me over this hump, it's @BobCorlett, the man behind ProjectSAME.

Social Recruiting is more than building a Facebook Fan Page.  I mean that in a nice way.  You should have a strategy to source and brand using Social Media.  Keeping the whole Find and Attract mojo working.  And you should certainly diversify beyond Facebook.  If you're still trying to convince your HR higher ups to embrace Social Media as an asset to your recruiting strategy, show them this. (Thanks @lisarosendahl and @mikevandervort)

Social Media is not the quick fix on your sourcing strategy.  I am a firm believer in multiple components to augment your sourcing and recruiting plan.  Job postings, with the right job board for your needs, are important.  Employee Referral programs are key. Sourcing is paramount.  Multiple sites, resources, career fairs, college recruiting, diversity initiatives, etc., are all part of the ingredients that help you bake the ultimate recruiting cookie.

I love the cloud.  I do. I feel like I should do a YouTube video for Google.  Their many features have made my professional life bliss because of their accessibility and recruiting usability. I am a working mom with 3 active children. So I work everywhere, laptop in tow. Google helps me do it.  And a Passport Drive, because let's face it, you need a portable back-up.

Carpe Diem.  When opportunities arise to meet people you've networked with online, take it!  I was so happy to have the opportunity to meet some tweeps in DC like @jessica_lee, @therecruiterguy, @sodexocareers, @lifeatmcgladrey and @lruettimann.  I will make the commute in if you're in town, because having a live conversation over a 140 character trade-off is invaluable.  I really enjoyed the #socialrecruiting summit, not just from the great speakers point of view, but because I got to meet so many clients face-to-face and have off line chats about social sourcing.

Thanks so much for all the value YOU have brought to my 2009 and to all the people who made me excited to do what I do in such a challenging year. As for 2010, all I can say is...Game ON! 

Editor's Note - Kelly Dingee is a professional stalker Technical Writer/Sourcing Researcher for AIRS/A RightThing Company. 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...

Interviewing for a Sourcer? Screening for those Mad Sourcing Skilzz...

A few weeks back, I was contacted via my Google Profile by Chris Kelley, a Recruiting Manager with SOURCEFire.  SOURCEFire is local to Maryland, and at the time in need of a contract sourcing professional.  I was happy to help Chris push the opening to my network, and used Twitter to do so (because c'mon, I wanted him to land a sourcer who was savvy about social media!).

Within minutes, Chris had several viable candidates and started setting up phone interviews.  But here's a   couple of questions.....just what do you ask a Sourcer?  And do you give them a test?

Well these seem like very pertinent questions as we watch more and more jobs go out there for recruiters and sourcing professionals, many stipulating specific training or experience. The questions will definitely vary depending on the size of the company and the scope of the duties.  But here's a sample of some I'd ask if I were the Recruiting Manager:

• Describe to me how you process a Job Order Intake, i.e., when the requisition first lands on your desk, what do you look for?  

• If the job order is fairly nondescript, how do you proceed?

• Walk me through the broad overview of your sourcing strategy, what do you typically incorporate?

• We have no budget for any additional fancy software beyond our current ATS, at least not until the second half of 2010, how will you keep yourself organized?  Will you be able to easily share information with our team?

• Keeping in mind we have no budget, and limited dollars we do want to push towards job postings, tell me how you would build search strings to find people....

• I've heard that some social media sites are not flush with diverse candidates, how would you still use social media to find the diverse talent we need?

Now, if the Recruiting Manager has a sourcing background, or an AIRS Trainer in their back pocket, I would certainly recommend going into further discussion about sourcing technique.  I'd ask questions about using RSS Feeds, the importance of looking for more than resumes and steps to take to locate candidate contact information when all they have is a username.  I'd have to get into a discussion about XRay and FlipSearch.  And yes, I would test anyone coming in saying they can source.  Taking a class in 2000 and not practicing technique for 9 years doesn't make you a "Sourcing God".  So I would gladly pull out one of my current job openings and say, who can you find? Let me see who you can get in 15 minutes.  And certainly provide a laptop with the basics, or encourage them to bring their own.

 

Sounds like pressure? It's not.  Any sourcer worth their salt has had someone want them to produce candidates instantly.  This will give you a good opportunity to see what they can do, if they can produce anything and then dig into the why and how of the very quick process they went through.  You'll also see if they're worth the dollar they're commanding and if they can walk the walk and talk the talk.  Questions? Talk to me @sourcerkelly.

 

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...

Making the Case for MySpace...As a Sourcing Tool...

All the recruiting world is aTwitter these days, and Facebook research is also a major part of the sourcing game.  In fact, it is probably one of the best times ever to find candidates frugally.  While Facebook has volume with more than 200 million members, Twitter's not quite there yet.  And then there's MySpace.  Has MySpace evolved into the ugly step child of social networking? I have literally had people cringe when I bring this site up in class, not as much as they do when I want to talk about video resumes, but there's usually some type of visceral reaction.

I understand.  I do.  I spend a ridiculous amount of time online and have spent weeks wading through the muck on MySpace.  But, to be quite honest, unless someone's on the site doing something vile or illegal or morally repugnant, I'm going to see if I can use them to fill a req.  So I search the site through it's own interface, and it's loaded with groups.  And some of these groups you won't find anywhere else, yet.  And XRaying?  That's my favorite technique to quickly capture the talent I need, especially when I'm focusing in on a particular geographic area.  Do I find out more than I need to know with MySpace?  Perhaps.  I've gotten very good, due to the sheer volume of profiles I look at online, at focusing on my purpose.  Who am I trying to find?  Where do they live?  Okay, no resume referenced , let me pop that name into Google for a PeerSearch to see if I can glean any more info.

Is MySpace a site to pass up for sourcing? No....it's not number one anymore in volume of members ala Facebook.  But its members do come online, and they do stay, they're watching videos.  Per Nielsen Online, MySpace is the social networking market leader when it comes to video streams with more than 116 million.  That's important.  I know as HR and recruiting professionals, at first it doesn't seem so, but it's true and makes MySpace relevant...because MySpace members are regularly visiting the site and staying on there, and updating their profiles.

And bottom line, to me, like all sites holding profiles, MySpace is a source.  It's a repository.  Not a way of life, just a place online where, for free, I can sift out some talent.

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...

4 Ways to Get Your Candidate Sourcing Mojo Going - Even If You Have No Time...

Is it just me or has time become even more of a precious commodity today? I don't know about you, but I want to do it all.  I've been like this for years...trying to cram in the work stuff, the home stuff, the volunteer stuff!  Many professionals, particularly recruiters, are now faced with doing all their regular work and taking on additional tasks, like sourcing.  And they struggle with the limited time they have, to be the best they can be.  A lot of people aren't aware that I got into sourcing when I was pregnant with my second daughter. I had an amazing boss who offered me a job opportunity that literally redefined me professionally and enabled me to really balance my home and work life.  

I am the working mom that has had a two-year old sit next to me while I practiced my sourcing and she played on her computer, back 10 years ago when Elmo was the rage.  My youngest daughter, now 6, has grown up on Webkinz.  I also have been so passionate about my practice, so much so that I have been caught sourcing in the very wee hours of the morning.

I have said many times that I think now is one of the best times ever to be a recruiter, and in particular, to source.  Let's talk about ways you can get your sourcing mojo going, so that it becomes something you want to do and improve upon - every single day:

--First - get some training.  We all need training, and everyone goes to something to refresh and recharge.  Some go to conferences, some come to full day classes.  If you can't attend in person, attend online.  Typically the first thing I hear from people is that they don't have any time to do all the work they have and they definitely don't have time for training. Make time.  Request the budget dollars.  Invest in you and in your company's future.  Ever hear that saying, "If you aren't the lead dog, the view never changes"?  Well, do you want to be the lead dog or chasing your competition's throw away candidates?  Definitely choose training that allows for practice time; I can hook you up with a company that does just that. If your Trainer offers to help after class, take them up on it!  Follow up on your action items, run your search strings and strategies by them.  Get as much feedback as you can.  Also look for Alumni of the same training, particularly in groups on LinkedIn.  You'll find more people just like you, and quite often pretty passionate about sourcing as well.  Connect.  Ask Questions.  All of that expands your sourcing knowledge.

--Second - set aside some practice time.  Not alot, just 15 minutes every morning, if you're feeling generous, go for 30.  Book it in Outlook and give yourself a mission.  Maybe it's to see how many different keywords you can generate for one of your requisitions.  Or build an extremely detailed competitor list leveraging the related: command at Google and digging into Google Finance for even more reference information.  Or maybe it's creating a bunch of search strings in a Google Document to use the next day, during your next sessioin.  Kick it up each week.  Push yourself to think and act swiftly with the knowledge you have and test out new techniques and resources.  Stretch yourself, if you always use Google, try Exalead or even better, bring a Metasearch Engine into the mix to see comparisons between top search sites.  Read the "about" section of your favorite search engine, take a leap and click on the "more" button.  If you always use Internet Explorer as your browser, try Chrome or Firefox.  And follow one of my personal practice rules, use a company or person in your examples whom you know really well.  Why do that?  Because I want to find fabulous people like those employed at the company I know really well.  And while you're doing all this practice, make note of what works and what is absolute crap.  And remember, if a technique isn't working, touch base with a cube mate, mentor or trainer to bounce it around and fix it.

--Third - find people who are passionate about sourcing to connect with - they're on LinkedIn, they have Google Profiles, you'll probably be able to track them down on FriendFeed or Twitter too.  Look within your industry.  If you're in the hospitality industry, consider keeping tabs on Sodexo, they set the bar pretty high.  Do some research, meet some of their team.  Will they share all of their secrets of sourcing?  Maybe not, but you'll have at least set yourself a new bar and work hard towards being the lead dog.  When you do find these people, make sure you leverage Google Reader and dump all your RSS feeds in there to catch up on what your personal crew of thought learders have been doing, ideally check in on it at least once a week.  And in tandem with finding people, find resources, free ones like this, that will keep you on your toes.

--Fourth - Years and years ago when I was in Bridezilla mode, my mother sat me down and said, "you are NOT the first person to get married."  And I will now tell you, you are not the first sourcer ever.  If you think you know it all, then get humble because you don't.  No one does.  I absolutely refuse to own the moniker "guru".  I continuously refer to myself as a student because I am surrounded by some amazing people who everyday blow me away with their out of the box sourcing and recruiting thinking.  

There are many Recruiting and Sourcing professionals who are really passionate about what they do, have worked hard to become more well versed, and are more than willing to talk with anyone looking for new ideas on how to source.  They are always reading, always looking for new techniques and more importantly, have more resources online that house the people they need to find.  When you think you know it all, that there's no more new territory to cover, it's time to take a long hard look at all that you do to source and where the gaps are, what sources haven't you made hires from?  What is missing?  Make a list and dig into it, leave no stone unturned.

Got questions? Need help?  Want ideas of who to add to your Reader? I'll put it out there - I'm just an email away.

 

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...

Paying It Forward...Bringing the "Moms" Back to the Workplace...

I have a soft spot for getting "Mom" back into the workplace.  My oldest daughter is entering high school and if it weren't for some incredible bosses and one person in my network that always thinks of me when he has a fabulous sourcing opportunity, I am certain it would've been challenging to find a job that meshed with my family life.  But what if I were on the hunt today?  This is a regular discussion with the moms in my world, whether I see them at the bus stop or at dance class.  This recent article from WSJ is spot on its assessment that Moms work not only through their former co-worker networks but also via their neighborhood networks to find that stepping stone back into the work world.

Two sites are on my radar for my "Moms" that are job hunting this fall.  I plan on recommending MomCorps and HomeBy3.com. Keep in mind, before I recommend any site I want to be able to have the Moms actually see jobs, and not be inundated with MLM opportunities.  These two sites do a great job of delivering the goods.  If I were a Mom hitting this site, I wouldn't stop by simply searching jobs at these sites, I would also create alerts on some of the aggregator sites and big job boards, as well as locally focused sites, all of which will greatly increase each Moms job search reach.  MomCorps is an incredibly accessible site and forward thinking in having a Twitter account for its CEO as well as a Facebook group. HomeBy3.com has a great deal right now, free job postings for employers, and if they can reach the Moms online with some creative marketing (hint ** try Facebook), HomeBy3.com could be extremely successful.  If I were an employer trying to diversify my workforce, I would definitely consider adding these two sites to my roster of resources.

There are other sites online just for Moms too, and employers should consider investing some time searching sites like the social network CafeMom.com.  A quick XRay of the profiles on there with job titles or professionally related keywords can yield some great candidates.  (Here's a quickie to get you started, try site:cafemom.com "research scientist" ).  Will you get a complete resume? No.  But it's another way to dig into that Mom demographic.  Note to Moms on the hunt, make sure you mention "what you do" on every social site you're on.  Recruiters look everywhere these days!

Moms should also jump into the fray of LinkedInGroups.  Even if you're the mom who's opted to stay-at-home for a bit, you can - and should - be on LinkedIn, especially if you're considering rejoining the workforce.  WomenForHire is one group with great potential for moms returning to work.  Don't stop there, search the groups on LinkedIn for "Mom" and you'll find many more, including MomsExtraordinaire, a group dedicated to working Moms.

And never forget going local.  Connect virtually and face-to-face with your local network.  And get your elevator speech ready - some great advice on that here.  Work on these two items now. You'll be amazed at the connections you develop and the reach you will have in your job search.

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...

Sourcing Disappears? I Think Not...

Sourcing disappearing as pitched by Workforce Recruiting? How naive would that be!  Sourcing is an integral part of a recruiter's life, it always has been, whether you're corporate or third party.  How we do it, and the tools we use, have evolved over time, and for some it's an intrinsic and effortless part of who they are.  Certainly companies can be very passive in their recruiting and just hope by posting a job the right candidate will land in their Applicant Tracking System.  But a Recruiter that can source will put together a strategy to find that person, not just wait for them to magically appear.  In fact, a really good recruiter probably already has a few options that you could tap into before you even post a job.  And quite frankly, waiting for the right candidate is a liability.  It costs your company.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with job postings.  I like them, they're a part of any recruiting plan.  Employee Referral Programs are an excellent tool as well.  But, if a critical element to your hiring is to increase diversity in your candidate pool, sourcing has to come into play.  You can't post to a big board and cross your fingers that 25% of your respondents will be Hispanic.  You have to investigate and research the potential resources that attract these professionals and become a prominent force there. You need to know how to research schools that have degree programs related to your needs and strong diversity populations. Even if you don't want new grads, all those programs have alumni.

You also need to know how to incorporate Boolean search into your sourcing process so you're not passive, but actively locating the diverse talent you need.  I would argue that perhaps today there are no longer passive or active candidates, but passive or active recruiters.  An active recruiter is going to post the job, but also search for the candidate, too, because the right candidate could be resting in their LinkedIn network, a Google Profile, or a roster from SHPE (Society of Professional Engineers).

But you don't have time.  Your department has been decimated by the downturn and you have triple the work.  Believe me, I get that.  You need training.  And I'm not kidding, while you're busy saying you're too busy to take a day to go get trained, your competitors are getting trained.  And training can be more than understanding the basics of Boolean or how to "tweet".  Training, at least for recruiting and sourcing professionals, must focus on combining tools and resources so you can find the right people for your jobs - tools like creating Custom Search Engines to save you time and using targeted resources.  Tools like iGoogle to create a virtual recruiting desktop filled with resources to organize and streamline your sourcing time online.  Training should challenge what you know and give you more knowledge, tools and resources to become an active sourcing force who can not only find talent, but attract it as well.  And you need to ask for more, and question how the sourcing tools and techniques you are introduced to will benefit you.

So, after training, there's no more whining.  Whining that you don't have enough diverse candidates when your population reflects they should be available, because that's your problem.  You have to own it and fix it.  Posting a job ad just gets a segment of the job market. And that segment happened to catch your job when it was "fresh".  Even job postings need strategy.  Posting to the big boards obviously gets you a high volume of applicants.  But if you need diverse engineers, why wouldn't you make sure you had a strategy that covered sites like NSBE, AISES, SHPE, SWE and more?  Post there and their regional chapters too. But excavate information out of the sites as well.  And you could also FlipSearch all of these sites for links to social networks, professional networks and more online destinations to find groupings of these potential candidates.

How do I know all of this?  I've been sourcing for more than 10 years.  I've worked full life cycle recruiting as well.  I know now is the absolute best time to find candidates in an economically responsible manner. I know with the right training to shore up your staff's shortcomings, you can create recruiting rockstars who don't source all day, can source for any position, any industry and yet not spend more than an hour or so doing it.  There are so many resources for recruiters it boggles my mind that anyone would suggest that sourcing is to be eliminated, especially if they're telling me at the same time that they're not getting the candidates they need.  

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...

You're So Vain - Or at Least You Shoud Be...

Were you one of those dedicated personal branding gurus who made sure they stayed up on June 12th to get your Facebook vanity user name?  How did you name yourself? Real name? Catchy moniker? Me? Well I went for the real name.  But that goes back to how I interact on Facebook, more so with friends and fam and a few business pros that I feel comfortable sharing the personal me with.

I had several peers stay up or awake early to attempt to secure their choice user name.  Some missed their window of opportunity, but some totally got the name they wanted.  I had no problem getting my user name, let's face it, there aren't that many Kelly Dingee's around.  But, while that's a great feat and all, what concerned me more was when could I get a vanity user name for my company's Facebook Fan Page.  That's important.  First of all I want it before anyone squats on it.  That is beyond annoying. Second, I wanted to be consistent across the social media we have profiles on.  And third, if I can shorten the url and rid it of the random numbers, that'd be great too.  A whole lot cleaner when I mention the link online.  And ultimately, I want our company to be as easily findable as possible by our current and future clients as well as our current and potential employees.

But it wasn't as easy as I thought.  When I checked out the user name option for Fan Pages, I found out two things.  One, user names for Fan Pages were being rolled out to pages with 1000 members or more, at least if you were trying to do this around June 12th.  But with a little patience, you would wait until June 18th to claim your name.  We weren't quite to the 1000 fans with our Fan Page so we opted to wait.  But I got it.  And now, on at least 3 of the the top social media sites, we are consistently named and easy to find.

But what about you?  June 28th has come and gone.  As I visit corporate fan pages, I see so many that are not taking advantage of this unique opportunity to easily brand their company on the site that has over 200 million members worldwide.  So go now, get yours.  And start making your company transparent across all networks you decide to join.

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...

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...