StlRecruiting

Facebook For Recruiters: Updated Live Webinar

Kennedy Information is having me host a live Facebook recruiting webinar this Thursday at 12:00 CST.  Those who know me and have been through my training before know this is something to add to your schedule - we cover strategy, sourcing, marketing, branding and integration unlike any other trainer out there.

My background in social media and the fact that I run a desk makes a difference in my training.  I'm you.

So check it out, sign up, and join us for the new, new Facebook training

Facebook is the hottest social network out there, with user demographics spanning generations and regions. It’s a gold mine for recruiters; but for different reasons than you might think.

For recruiters, the real value of Facebook is in its messaging and referral capabilities. This time-saving interactive seminar will highlight the different ways to use Facebook to communicate with and hire top candidates.

Join us on June 25th and find out about:

• Real-world strategies for setting realistic expectations with candidates
• Tactics that leverage your current talent pool to help you find, and connect with, new prospects
• Effective communication approaches that yield higher response rates to initial contact
• Powerful marketing and branding techniques to attract top candidates and support your employment brand
• An overview for managers as to when using Facebook is appropriate for employees

Can’t make June 25th? Register now to receive access to the full recorded event following its conclusion and listen to it at your leisure from anywhere with web access!

A Great Value Set up the interactive seminar in a conference room and pay one low fee for as many attendees as you wish.

Registration includes the link to the online event; a PowerPoint presentation a 15-minute Q&A session; and email access to the speaker before, during and after the event.

Public Relations/Social Media Position (InHouse)

I'm Looking for a St Louis based in-house Public Relations top performer with a heavy dose of working with technology or technical services, who understands how to use social media in tandem with traditional PR.

Harder than it sounds, but easier than it looks, this is a permanent placement with a hot company in downtown St Louis. You have to have PR experience, but you have to pass my social media test also.

Salary is in the 50k range.

Expectations are that you will create press - both online and in trade and newspapers. Constant work - it's a lot more than PR Newswire or press releases to your industry contacts. But it's a sweet job with a sweet company.

Here are the basics

• Ability to network and interface with trade and local press (local as in every city)
• Events and Trade Shows
• Managing online presence (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, networks)
• Online monitoring
• Press contacts
• Content and copywriting press releases and social media releases
• Integration of public relations and social media job duties
• Results oriented policies and attention to detail (and you're judged in large part by the employment process).

The Company.

• One of the most respected in its field
• Heavy technology focus
• Top Notch Customer Service
• Revenues grew five fold last year.
• One of the best bosses you'll ever have, if you're a hard worker and an entrepreneur (and there's no chance of him being a bad boss, because you wouldn't last long if you're not a hard worker).

If you're interested, contact @smheadhunter.  You should know how to do that.

Stupid Hiring Tricks

Anne from AdSaint had the misfortune to overhear a potential employer discussing her upcoming job interview.  With names changed to protect the guilty, let's just say this is one great blogpost, and a working to shall we say, jackass employers?

I'm not kidding.  Read the whole thing, but here's a snippet.

Man Z: "I did. She is on Linkedin, but all her information wasn't made public. I heard from "D" that he met her once before and said she was cute and outgoing. So, she made the initial cut."

Man X: "Cute and outgoing? Great, did you think to ask him, is she actually smart? "D" for all we know, could have just wanted her number. We don't need another pair of 't!t$' selling a product. If I wanted that, I could call a modeling  agency and fill that order real quick. You remember the crap we had to deal with with "J". Nice gal, not too smart."

Man Z: "G didn't really say. I did ask him age range and some stuff like that though."

Man X: "Oh really, like what?"

Man Z: "Well, I wanted to know how old she is, and he said he thinks in her 20's. He couldn't tell if she was older or younger. He also said she didn't have a ring on her finger. Which is a good and bad thing."

Man X: "How so?"

Man Z: " Well bad in that in those years, women want to get married and have a family and I would rather not carry the slack from that crap. That really bit my ass having to deal with 'J" and then not knowing if she planned to come back or not and then leave us hanging cause she had her meals bought and paid for. Good in that she is single and some of the accounts are men and you and I both know what sells."

[More Laughter]

Here's the scoop.  Let's say Anne was a bit more vindictive, and decided to pull out her Flipcam and record these two bozos.  Considering that 1), they just admitted to age and sex discrimination, and 2) This is a juicy story that the media would love to pick up to trumpet how all men are still pigs and this goes on daily, the footage would go around the world in minutes. Luckily for them, Anne is more interested in getting a job than they exposing two adolescents hoping for a good bonus and a vacation.

Don't read too much into the story, but do be aware - the world is watching.  These two checked up on her LinkedIn profile, but failed to catch that she was an AdSaint writer, and they probably never thought they were being checked up on as well.

Hiring is different these days.  The world is watching.  

Interview Prep

One of the most important aspects of getting clients to hire your candidate is interview prep.  Once you've found the right person, it's important you train them, prep them, and counsel them to avoid offer-killing mistakes.  My biggest one is a simple question.

What is the job as the recruiter has explained it to you.  Here are some Answers.

1) Well, from what little I know about it... FAIL
2) It's um, well, it's a a (job title), doing (job title as a verb).  FAIL
3) He's explained it well.  This is a short, concise description of the position).  Is that correct?  WINNER!

Why is this important?  If the candidate doesn't know the job, how can they possibly interview for it?  if the know the position, but can't explain it easily, then they aren't taking the interview seriously, and they probably are as sloppy when they are doing the job.  If they say, "from what little I know about it," they're making the recruiter look unprofessional, which if you're a candidate presented by a recruiter, do you really want to make the recruiter out as some idiot who doesn't even tell you much about the job?

A second common mistake is talking about where the recruiter found you.

1) I put my name up on Monster, and got a bunch of calls.  FAIL
2) I called her because I was just laid off, and she had something she said would fit. FAIL
3) You know, she never really told me?  She called me and quizzed me, then had me come in and we talked through the position.  WINNER!

Every client who uses a recruiter wants to know they're special.  Talking about how they found you is a huge mistake, because 1) you don't actually know what the recruiter went through to find you or how they checked up on you, and 2) Why would you devalue your candidacy by making the recruiter out to be a job board jockey or someone who "lucked" into a placement?

Now certainly there is some self-serving advice in there. As a recruiter, I want you saying nice things about me.  But as in all advice, the intent is the same - to get you the job.  It's all about you. I'm perfectly willing to throw myself under the bus during the negotiation stage or if you make an error in the interview.  That only works if you have already reinforced that the recruiter you're working with is the world's best.  So take your time and actually listen when your recruiter gives you advice.  We're experts - not at your job, but at interviewing. 

They're Just Not That Into You

MiddleAgedManager: So the interview went well from their end, and it seems you've passed their test, so now it's just a matter of securing the offer. 
YoungerSister: You think they'll call me today?
MAM: That depends.
YS: Depends on what? What else do they need?
MAM: They don't need anything else from you, but they may have to work through their own processes.
YS: That doesn't make sense.  Did they not like me?
MAM: It seems they liked you quite a bit, actually.
YS: Am I not qualified? Too expensive?
MAM: You're very qualified - the salary range is correct, and the truth is  you can do the job they need, but that's not all there is to getting hired.
YS: What else could there be?
MAM: Hiring is harder then you realize.  Managers are putting their jobs on the line every time they hire, and some like to let a decision simmer, like beans in a pot, before making that decision.
YS: Beans in a pot.
MAM: Bad analogy.  How about, it's like dating, and no matter how good you look on paper, it doesn't count unless they're into you.
YS: So the interview, the preparation, the reference checks, more interviews - they mean nothing.  it's just their gut feeling.
MAM: This actually works to your advantage.  If someone doesn't make an offer immediately, you know they aren't that into you, which should affect your decision to accept the offer.  Most people drag their feet when looking for a job because it scares them.  They are afraid of rejection.  So when they get an interview, they freeze up and don't do anything else until that decision is made. Unfortunately, if they don't get the offer, they're home at night on a Friday at 10:00, sad that no one called, but also dreading what happens if they get the 1:00 drunk call.
YS: So employers that wait to long are like booty calls?
MAM: More often than they admit.  They're looking for something that doesn't exisst - a candidate who will transform their business with no hassle, and do it for pennies.  It's a function of how we interview.  Rather than focus on what problem we want to solve, we look for some idealized version of what an employee might be.  What that means is when we have the right person in front of us, we balk at hiring them.  And when we do follow up, both the candidate and the hiring manager know the match wasn't perfect, which starts the employee-employer relationships off on the wrong foot. 
YS: So how long until I know?
MAM: 24 hours for first contact, three days before the offer, unless that first contact clearly lays out what's next.
YS: So what do I do?  I really like this job and company.
MAM: You never stop looking until you've accepted an offer. If they want you, they'll call.  If they don't...
YS: They're just not that into me.

Peter Weddle Owes A Lot Of People Apologies

Peter Weddle takes a swipe at recruiter trainers who dare to teach social media yesterday at his Workstrong column.  Actually it's more than a swipe - he calls it a recruiting SCAM.  Now I'm not sure what exactly would cause someone to post SCAM in capital letters, especially on a blog (which is social media), but Peter's intention is clear - he's calling social media trainers out as snake oil salesman.

I've never met Peter, and hold no grudge against him.  I do know he's a big name in the industry, and am the first to say that there are a lot of people in the social media world who jumped on the bandwagon.  Some have proven themselves, some haven't, but the methods for social media recruiting work, both for the candidate, and for the recruiter.  So what compelled Peter to say it's a SCAM?

I would like to note that he doesn't call anyone out by name.  He instead lumps everyone involved as part of the SCAM, which would include names like Shally Steckerl, Glenn Gutmacher, Kennedy Information, Hireability, ERE, Mark Berger, Jason Alba, Jim Stroud, Paul DeBettignies, Michael Marlatt, and me, the Social Media Headhunter.  In one small column, he calls us all frauds.  His proof is a series of surveys taken on the expectations of job-seekers, which he then confuses with the hunting approach of recruiters.  I'm not sure how training recruiters to use social media sites to find candidates translates to candidate expectations, but Peter doesn't bother to make that clear.

Now I posted a comment on his site, but it has yet to be approved.  We'll see what he says, but let me show you the most egregious passages of his column.

"There is a great SCAM being perpetrated in the recruiting profession today. Call it “social capabilities ahead of the market.”"

  "Successful recruiting depends upon our ability to tap the talent market efficiently, and social media sites can’t do that because most people use them in a different context. These sites are popular because they are viewed as helpful in finding a date and keeping up with friends, but not, at this point at least, in connecting with employers and recruiters. In other words, the social market has not yet become a talent market … and no amount of expert hyperbole will change that fact."

He's wrong about that. His second statement doesn't take into account LinkedIn, Plaxo, or even of the successful uses of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace by recruiters.  It ignores the possibility of setting expectations with candidates (which is what I train on).  Jobseekers are on these sites.  It's a great place to reach them.  It's no different than striking up a conversation with a person at a Starbucks, and then converting them into a candidate when you find out they are the right fit. They didn't go to Starbucks to get recruited, but they don't mind if you approach them correctly (They also don't have their resume posted to their chest at Starbucks, unlike on social networks). 

The basis of his statements are two non-scientific surveys - one by a entry-level and job intern site called AfterCollege, and the other from his own respondents.  The first problem is selection bias in these sample populations.  The populations on AfterCollege (no links provided) and at Weddle's site are a tiny subset of the job-seeking population who are looking for help in their job search.  How can people who haven't been successful finding a job be expected to think of social media as a way to solve that problem? They can't.  To make it worse, Weddle makes the mistake of thinking Millennials are social media experts in job seeking, which is impossible as they aren't experts in job-seeking.  The second is methodology, as questions in online surveys are suspect data points (people tend to pick the first answer).  How were the questions asked?  Was there a control group?  How does this group compare against others in surveys?  

I can cherry pick sample data as well.  Jeremiah Owyang, a researcher for Forrester, compiled a survey from his respondents on job-seeking strategies.  The number one result was increase social networking.  It's a bad sample, because it's a group of people heavily involved in social media, but it has more validity than Weddle's survey examples.  Heavy users of social media report that the best way to find a job is to use more social media.  This would suggest that if you put the time and effort into social media, it can help you find a job.  It doesn't say that with hard data points, but it's at least as valid as the survey Peter uses.  You don't find us claiming his Career portal is a scam.  If I did a survey of my readers, and only 1% of them said they planned to buy Peter's book, does that mean his book is worthless?  Of course not.  It could mean that the other 99% need to buy his book to be better prepared.

This lack of scientific data doesn't stop Weddle from twice calling all social media training a SCAM.  It's unconscionable, and we all deserve an apology.  That someone so widely read and so widely admired would descend to character assassination of people he doesn't know is a shame.  That he writes such a column when the very people he attacks are linkedon his website is even worse.  This column might have been hastily written, but it's no excuse.

The beauty of social media is if you're willing to apologize, you can, and you'll be forgiven.  He needs to apologize.  This could have been an decent discussion topic on the best uses of time, or most effective uses of time.  Instead, it's a hit job, from a leading industry voice.

Peter should remember that newspapers said the same things about blogs not too long ago.  Instead of calling us scammers, perhaps he ought to try to learn what we know that he hasn't yet grasped.     

Interactive Project Manager for Major Brand in St Louis

I have a year long contract position for an interactive project manager with agency and online marketing experience. This is a number two position to a director of ecommerce (one of the best around, and I'll vouch for that), who needs to be focused on the strategic and political work inside the company. She needs someone who can serve as her right hand, helping to integrate this company's online and traditional marketing.

Before you read any further, you're going to have to integrate SilverPop, and you're going to have to have a passing fancy with Omniture. Other duties include approving copy and creative, building internal slide decks, calendar and meeting organization, and research.

Here's what I really need. I need someone who can take direction and make things work. I need a fixer.  I need someone with a perfect attention to detail who understands their real job is to make the life of their boss easier.  You're the hands.  You'll have to know when you can sign off on something, and when you need to go to your boss for approval.  You'll have to walk the fine line between keeping her notified of progress, without wasting her time with useless email.  You'll have to build networks inside the company and with vendors so you can be smart, knowledgeable and useful.

It's a fantastic opportunity to take what you know and reach the next level. Your career path is to replace your boss one day.  You heard me right.  This job will transition permanent when headcount allows, but for now it's a contract position.  Don't be fooled. You're W-2 with benefits, and seriously, you're working with someone who gets online marketing.

You'll need:
Agency Experience (working for or working with)
Corporate experience (working for or working with)
Silverpop integration
Omniture familiarity
Web Analytics, SEO, PPC, Branding - you know, Digital experience
Event marketing

Strangely enough, you need absolutely no social media experience for this position.  It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't help.  You won't be involved much in the social media piece for this company in the near future.

You can contact me at socialmediaheadhunter.com or the email address to the top right for a discreet confidential chat.  The Salary is 60K+, and this is a contract position.  If you send me a pdf resume, I probably won't read it. 

The World's Worst Job

The following is a true story.  It takes place between the hour of 9:30 and10:30 on May 6th.

Wife:  Can you pass me the salt?
Jim:  I'm sorry, you've used up your ration of salt until next payday.
Wife: I'm not a Roman Soldier, please pass me the salt.
Jim: (passing the salt), Do you know what must be the world's worst job?  Working in a salt mine.  You're sweaty, it's sticky, salt is in your eyes...
Mother-in-Law:  And think about if you cut yourself!
Jim: Boy, that would sting.  Ouch!
Wife: Still, there are advantages to working in a salt mine.
Jim:  Free salt?
Wife: That, and no Giant Slug attacks
Jim: That's true.  In a salt mine, you would be free of Giant Slug attacks.  That's what I love about you - you're a silver lining kind of gal.

The Importance Of Data Entry To A Happy Workforce

I learned staffing the hard way.  After a week of training, I was set in front of a computer with a stack of paper resumes and told to call through, entering information and looking for cablers at $8 an hour so we could charge $13-$15.  My first two months was spent calling people who just graduated with an MCSE and convincing them that a job cabling, while not glamorous, was a good start for the industry.

At the time, my background in cold-calling was very helpful.  I was used to making 125 calls a day, so 60 was a welcome relief, and I was offering people a job, not selling them a product over the phone.  As we entered names into the computer, the job got easier.  We had Personic's EZAccess, which functioned more like an Access database, and less like an ATS, but it was fast, easy, and I was able to track my progress easier than my old way of pencil and a notepad.

Over the years, I used a variety of systems at different employers - none matched the ease of Personic, and my personal call volume dropped each time I changed calls as I got further from pure calling.  At my final job, the system was so bad, I went back to the pencil and paper, using Outlook to track numbers each day - giving me the numbers I needed to add a hire a week from January 21, 2005, to October 15th 2005, when I left on a honeymoon cruise.

In the last half of that year, a new directive came down to add all of our activity to the new applicant tracking system.  The system was slow, had about 10 clicks for every action, and the only way I could get it done was to stay 2 hours after work and enter that data.  That experience didn't make me want to quit, but it did get me to thinking about better uses of my time, which three months later would culminate in me leaving to start my own company.

I bring this up because a similar story was told to me a couple of weeks ago, from a top producer at a different kind of firm.  Their new CRM was difficult to use, and while it didn't make the person want to quit, it did put a seed into their mind that a company that needed you to do busywork might not be the best place for your talents.

I wonder how many times this happens.  Executives purchase a piece of software, and institute training based on what they want entered, and not based on what their top producers need to make more money.  Is your CRM/ATS/DataEntry system built for you, or is it built for efficiency?  Today, I use Sendouts and SugarCRM, but really I use my iPhone, Outlook, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.  I look at my paper trail, and wonder if I could ever adapt to another internal system, but then I look at my productivity, and it's the highest it's ever been.

Something to think about.

Christina Tedesco Joins Creatives On Call

Christine Tedesco, who sounds like a female version of me, has joined Creatives on Call, an agency specializing in marketing and digital and all that.

AdSaint has a cool write-up on it, and I for one plan to give her a call.  A marketing, recruiting, small business owning St Louisan!  Someone needs an interview!