Social networking is hot; at a recent event over 300 recruiters showed up to hear the experience of a company best known for making urinal cakes. It’s not easy to do — getting hires through social networking, that is (I can’t comment about the cakes). Some of the challenges were discussed in a previous article, but... [full article »]

Social networking is all the rage in recruiting these days. Hearing or reading about some of the claims being made — that soon sourcing will become extinct as social networks begin to interact, for example, or that we are close to finding the “ultimate solution” as some would have us believe — one could be... [full article »]

The recession we’re in will have long-run consequences for employment and consequently recruiting. The world is about to see the biggest increase in unemployment in decades. The World Bank and the IMF predict that global trade will contract at the fastest rate since 1930 and global economic output will drop for the first time since... [full article »]

The recently passed “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” aka the stimulus bill, includes a provision that restricts companies receiving federal bailout funds from hiring immigrant workers on H-1B visas. This provision was added by senators Charles Grassley, from Iowa, and Bernie Sanders, from Vermont. Considering that engineers, scientists, and immigrants with advanced degrees... [full article »]

Many employers are eager to tap the potential of social networks as sources of talent. The potential is huge, and facing difficult economic conditions, these can be a cheap source. But it’s easier said than done. Some employers have put up their own corporate pages on Facebook. But this accomplishes nothing more than to prove... [full article »]

Sun-Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher who authored The Art of War, had a saying, “Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree.” It means that there are circumstances in which one must sacrifice short-term objectives in order to gain the long-term goal. He was writing about military strategy in the seventh century B.C., but... [full article »]

In 1605 Joseph Jacobs wrote a story titled Dick Whittington’s Cat, about a boy who’s told about the great city of London where the streets are paved with gold. Eagerly he sets out, only to find that while London has a lot of opportunity, it isn’t quite the promised land he was told it was... [full article »]

I just returned from the Future of Talent conference put on by Kevin Wheeler. This is a truly exceptional experience for those lucky enough to attend. The quality of content and discussions would be hard to duplicate. Having heard and talked about where talent management might be in the foreseeable future, it was logical to... [full article »]

The Australian Parliament recently eased immigration laws with a goal of attracting more high-skilled labor. This was in recognition of the fact that given past and future decreasing birth rates coupled with increasing demand for skills will make skilled labor the quintessential scarce resource for the next fifty years. In this hemisphere Congress wisely spent... [full article »]

For most recruiters the make or break moment comes at the end of the process, when it’s time to negotiate the offer. A successful negotiation means that the process concludes with a hire, and the recruiter rides off into the sunset. But a successful negotiation doesn’t mean coming out on top with a low-ball offer that... [full article »]

There is a major shortage of talent. Critically needed foreign workers cannot make their way here because temporary work visas are snapped up on the first day they become available. If you were thinking this is about high-tech workers, you would be wrong. This is about fashion models. What few people know (and maybe even fewer... [full article »]

On the last day of the ERE Spring Expo, over drinks in the Sheraton San Diego lobby, someone mentioned that we’re a few years away from a time when everyone will have access to all the candidates who exist. This is not a stretch by any means. Subscriptions to the major boards and sites like Zoom... [full article »]

We may be in the midst of a recession with increasing unemployment and fewer jobs, but that’s not likely to have much long-term effect on shortages of talent. We’ve all read about the aging of the population and other demographic factors. The likely effect of these on availability of talent has been extensively written about. But... [full article »]

Innovations in recruiting have been occurring for over several millennia. I recently wrote about some in an earlier article about the Roman army. The Romans were by no means alone. Other societies (the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Chinese) also contributed to the developing recruiting practices, some of which are still with us today. These practices... [full article »]

The election this year is considered a watershed event in American politics. We have, at this time, three individuals who have a good shot at becoming president. While there are plenty of reports on who will best serve what groups’ needs, it would be instructive to look at who would be of most benefit to... [full article »]

There are lots of jobs to fill; not enough candidates, and many are poorly qualified; arcane laws around hiring; and fierce competition for talent. Sound familiar? You could be a recruiter for the Roman army in the 4th century B.C. In the collections of the British Museum, there is a decree signed by Julius Caesar in... [full article »]

As practiced today, diversity is chiefly about improving the ratios of gender and race among applicants and hires. In a recent article, I discussed that while this may appear to be a worthwhile goal, the evidence from multiple studies demonstrates that this limited view of diversity is actually counterproductive. Instead of delivering any significant business... [full article »]

Marvin Smith, project manager for Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division, co-wrote this article. Diversity is a subject of great importance to recruiters. Most organizations have some stated diversity goals. Larger employers have director-level positions and even entire departments devoted to the goal of increasing diversity. Corporations are estimated to spend over $8 billion annually on diversity... [full article »]

When it comes to talent, you and your company have your own ideas about identifying the most valuable employees. That’s the way it should be, since your company’s need for talent depends on its strategy and circumstances. So it stands to reason that your company is in the best position to decide what talent is... [full article »]

For anything to have value it needs to be measurable. In fact, in scientific circles it’s an article of faith that if you can’t measure something, it doesn’t exist. So the time it takes an electron to orbit an atom is precisely known in yoctoseconds (one quadrillionth of a second). We’re a little short of that... [full article »]