Just in Time: “’An inventory strategy companies employ to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving goods only as they are needed…’ –Investopedia As a recruiter, I tend to be pulled into various recruiting projects based upon client needs. This is fine. What is not fine is when I am called in at the last... [full article »]

I really should go to bed because I have to get up very early tomorrow (by 10:00 a.m.) but my head is still spinning from my day-long attendance at the AOEP 2011 Recruiters Best Practices Summit. My thanks to Lou Gaglini and Dan Kilgore for putting up with me. First things first: all sessions were... [full article »]

The Dark Side of the Moon’s themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time … –Wikipedia To be critical of social media, in any and all formats, sentences the writer to one of three modalities: You are a geezer You do not get it You are in the way of progress Wrong on all counts.... [full article »]

I don’t want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs. –Samuel Goldwynn I just finished looking at a position profile for a job with a pharmaceutical company. The laundry list of bulleted requirements for this position is 22 — and I can assure... [full article »]

The primary factor in a successful attack is speed. –Lord Mountbattan Jason Warner has been thinking a lot about speed lately. Since reading his terrific article, so have I. If we indeed might be at the beginning stages of a frenzy that relates to hiring, then speed will quickly go from a luxury to a... [full article »]

“We would like to live as we once did but history will not permit it.” –John F Kennedy I was instantly impressed by the tone. By the anger and edgy urban feel. The tag line gave me shivers as the Super Bowl’s “Imported From Detroit” spot knocked me out — an up front, in your... [full article »]

“To see the right and not do it is cowardice.” –Author Unknown A recent article by John Zappe entitled Should We Be Telling the Unemployed Not to Apply? was excellent. Furthermore, judging by the varied, contentious, and well-thought-out comments, John’s work clearly struck a nerve with a cross section of ERE readership, this writer included.... [full article »]

Recruiting is clearly not for everyone. Its demands can be extraordinary and its customers unrealistic. Its candidates not entirely truthful and its reward often just the self-satisfied glow of a job well done. By its very nature, recruiting often creates a sense of contrast and contradiction. Hiring managers want the perfect candidate for the lowest... [full article »]

I don’t need to fight To prove I’m right I don’t need to be forgiven. –Baba O’Riley “Why is this taking so long” is one of my favorite hiring manager questions. The best answer is to not have it asked in the first place. Sadly, it makes the recruiter have to justify their existence with... [full article »]

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to. –Parker The world is so full of a number of things, I am sure we should all be happy as kings; and you know how happy kings are. –Thurber I am not sure of why, but... [full article »]

“It’s a really unique situation where you have someone who is at a crossroads personally and professionally.” — Elliot Wilson If living and working in this economy of disappearing jobs, tiny budgets, and little recruiting is getting a bit old, then perhaps you have arrived at your own personal crossroads. This metaphorical location is the... [full article »]

DETROIT — General Motors Corporation Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House. –Comcast.net Finance I always liked Rick Wagoner. He is the quintessential Boy Scout. Probably makes a great neighbor and a wonderful friend, so I take no glee in his departure. On the other hand,... [full article »]

“I don’t have to tell you that things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody is out of work or scared of losing their job…banks are going bust.” –Peter Finch, “Network” Can you hear that sound? It is the groaning reverberation of a deep and protracted recession. It is the sound... [full article »]

“Happiness is an emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense joy.”“Wikipedia. Do you have problems keeping your internal clients happy? Do you arrive at work first thing in the morning dreading e-mails and phone messages from certain hiring managers? Do you ever have the urge to chase some of... [full article »]

Do you know my friend MJ? You should, because that will almost certainly be you someday. But more on that depressing reality later. Let’s start with MJ’s reality first. He is 45, brilliant, accomplished, and well-spoken. He is politically savvy, knows the right things to say in all situations, and even looks the role of... [full article »]

I believe that business processes of major importance should move toward excellence. Simply stated: from bad to good to better to best. I don’t think that is asking too much of something as important as recruiting. However, I have concerns about whether this is actually happening. Allow me to illustrate three disturbing examples in this... [full article »]

Please allow me to take a quick breather from my writing so I might ask you a question: Isn’t it time you wrote an article? Surely you must be tired of my face by now, perhaps even what I have to say and how I say it. (Just wait until you see my new pic;... [full article »]

“You know what they say: ‘Innovation is the one thing that we have to focus on; it’s innovate or die.’ And I don’t believe that. I think there is something really wrong with this huge notion that everything is innovation.” – Alf Rehn, Ph.D., Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Royal Institute of Technology [full article »]

Interviewing candidates and gauging their fit for a culture and position is one of the most indispensable tasks a recruiter performs. The more a recruiter knows about a candidate, the better equipped they are to add value to the hiring process. That’s why getting to know the candidate and understand what they are looking for,... [full article »]

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws…Just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced... [full article »]