Hire Strategies Blog

Seth Godin Tribes - I perservered!

I wrote a post the other day Seth Godin Tribes adds fuel to the fire as I had found the book a little tiresome.  I get the point (of Tribes) and like it but just felt that the delivery of the message was a bit too much of a preach to one's disciples.  I had read a review that pretty much said the same but still bought the book as I did want to get my own view - which was OK in the end.

Then, Seth (or someone assuming his e-mail address) reached out to me (humouring this US term) by e-mail with their response as below:

"sorry you didn't like my book, PeterI

guess many people who made it a bit further felt otherwise (fortunately for me). I hope I do better next time."

So, impressed that Seth cared I tried again and went beyond page 15.  The message is still the same, Tribes make sense but the style is IMHO a bit over the top.  Not that I am that important but Seth Godin does not need to preach; we get the point, hear the message and take an action.

But, by Seth making more effort than should/could/would be expected he has shown that HE cares.  Maybe that has a greater impact than the words in his book or the style he chose to deliver it.  And that is what the book is really about. 

Not what you say, or how you say it; but what you DO.

I think Seth has already done better; I will hopefully learn the same!

Is removing your name from a CV the death of the CV rather than the death of discrimination?

Is the name removal legislation suggested by Lynne Featherstone the final nail in the coffin for the CV or is @andyheadworth just courting controversy for some additional traffic to his blog?  Or are the CIPD and REC actually supporting a good idea and some/most are just missing the point entirely?

Seth Godin Tribes adds fuel to the fire

I have read a few of Seth Godin's books and enjoyed them all but found his latest book Tribes to be a great addition to my wood burning fire.  I have to say that I got bored by page 15, flicked through looking for inspiration and found none and admitted defeat.

Maybe this is an example of how a 'guru' becomes a 'gnu' and loses his way amongst his own self-importance.  The book read like some kind of 'rally to rebel' against I'm not sure what.  Maybe Godin fell off his soapbox at page 15 and hit his head?  Maybe that's why he will not take comments on his blog?

Maybe that's why I'm not a guru - I'm just missing something.  Let's hope his next book is better.  The point of the post?  I'm rebelling and happy to be wrong so in Godin's opinion being a leader - I think not.

Don't be a slave to technology - 10 tips to turn the ATS tables

The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is designed to make your life easier not harder!  I often see an ATS implementations that do not deliver on this promise.

1. Don't assume the way it works is the way it has to work.
2. If the screen layout is wrong change it.
3. Too many steps or too rigid - remove some.
4. Re-visit your process but ON PAPER then get the system to match it.
5. Make sure you know what every function does.
6. Become a system expert and get better at your job.
7. Don't take NO for an answer - keep asking WHY until you understand.
8. Don't always blame the ATS vendor - until you are sure you should!
9. The ATS cannot do everything, don't expect it to.
10. Consider alternative systems outside the ATS - not everything has to be joined up and free stuff can be of great value - sometimes.

And finally, remember who the customer is.  ATS vendors vary in their attitude to customer support so if you are being looked after, make the most of it.  And if you're not, frying pan to fire is not always the best option in the long term.

Systems take effort but unless you know what you want, need and can do, no system will ever be able to deliver.  Responsibility for great recruiting starts in the mirror.

Help wanted for Twitter Workshop - London June 25 2009

I am running the above event and thought it may (hopefully) be a good idea to get some additional support on the day from people who are on Twitter and would find it both fun and interesting to be part of the event rather than solely be a delegate.  Hence this post!

I won't be paying you to help out but will be offering a free place (worth £495) and lunch for anyone that wants to be involved with the day.  May suit some corporate recruiters who would prefer to get there early to help set-up and save £495 of their recruiting budget?!

If you are interested send me a DM only.  No other methods open for 'applications'.  Any questions please @petergold99 only to share answers.

Cheeky I know but if you don't ask!

The mother of all Talent Wars is less than a year away

Although the green shoots are pretty weak and we may have a while to go before we start to see some real recovery, when we do, and every employer that is hibernating wakes up, they will have zero talent pool.  Their FD/CFO better find a big agency budget pretty quick before the only people left are those that don't want to work; and even if they did turn up that's no guarantee they will actually do some work!

Outsource your twitter profile. Should you? Would you? Could you?

OK so it sounds like a real bad thing to do for some but some of it can be outsourced.

1. Initial set-up, particularly automated accounts such as job feeds.
2. Fully automated accounts such as job or PR feeds.
3. Day-to-day message filtering of keywords.
4. Search and follow target audience e.g. retail buyers.
5. Profile monitoring e.g. DM's and RT's.

Of course there are more areas that can be outsourced but the principle is that it can be.  But what about the bits you should not?

Twitter is about the conversation and anything over a few hundred followers and you lose the conversation.  Maybe that is why Seth Godin does not allow comments on his blog - he can't engage with his audience so why pretend.  But for any corporate recruiters who have a niche recruiting area, let someone else 'deal with the admin' so you can have some decent conversations.  Focus on your unique ability and don't try to be everything to everyone.

Recruitment agencies ain't going nowhere

Even though they may be hurting right now, recruitment agencies are here to stay so best hunker down and get used to it.  And they'll even be doubling their fees quite soon.

Direct resourcing teams are going to take the easier, direct hires and why not but when they do go to their agency with a really hard to fill vacancy they better have a decent budget; because if they don't someone else will.  The smart agencies will be keeping great candidates warm in anticipation of the upturn ready for every opportunity.  The candidate will be more inclined to work with an agency that has bothered to stay in touch.

Delusional?  Maybe.  But then again, maybe not.  We shall see.

Jeremiah Owyang lashes out again

Looks like Bad Cop is shouting his mouth off again with his latest post Firing Your Clients – Even During a Recession. 

I find it amazing that after his last guff Expect changes at Mzinga he waits such a short time before lobbing out another grenade into the market place.

I agree that some clients may not be that great to work with or indeed profitable but if this is the case surely you make a business decision and deal with it. 

I think that for Jeremiah to 'incite violence' like this is beyond his remit yet again.  A lot of Forrester clients are big brands as are his readers and to quote him:

".....many of my readers are from large brands. Hope this wakes some folks up."

Hopefully someone at Forrester will wake up Jeremiah.  Not sure he will listen. Come on Jeremiah, wake up and smell the coffee as you say in America!

This must be REALLY hurting the job boards!

And it's only the tip of the iceberg.