I just set up my Plaxo account to sync with my LinkedIn account.

 

 

1. I now get a notification every time one of my LinkedIn contacts changes his job or contact information on LinkedIn.
2. I can now see who is logged onto their IM account if they have a Yahoo email address or IM account.
3. All my LinkedIn contacts are now sync'd with into my Outlook contacts through Plaxo.
4. I can now send unlimited "eCards" and other mailing campaigns out to all my LinkedIn contacts outside the restrictions that may exist on LinkedIn.
5. I can easily access all my LinkedIn contacts from my mobile phone via the Plaxo  mobile access feature.

 

Ben Gotkin and I made it through our presentation at the WTPF Talent ROAR event in the fabulous Gannett building yesterday. Ben has already covered the days events on his blog, but I have posted the presentation on my DCRecruiter.com web site for anyone that wanted to catch it a second time.

 

To see the slides go to: www.dcrecruiters.com/events.htm and click on the "Talent ROAR - Recruiting Technology 2.0 PowerPoint Presentation" link.

 

Ben included a link to all the picture he took at the event, but I've added a few below as well.

 

 

 

 

Ben Gotkin and I met this morning for our final walk through of the Recruiting Technology 2.0 presentation we'll be giving at the Talent ROAR (Recruitment, Orientation, Assimilation and Retention) event being hosted by WTPF in Washington, DC next Thursday, Sept. 21st.

 

Ben and I will be one of two breakout sessions following a keynote presentation by Lou Adler. Talk about a hard act to follow...

 

If you have not registered to attend, there are a few seats left (25 as of 9/14) and it will only set you back $225.00 for the full day.

 

DETAILS

 

OVERVIEW
On Thursday, September 21, 2006, WTPF—The
Business Forum for HR Professionals will host a full-day educational event entitled, “Talent ROAR: Recruitment, Orientation, Assimilation & Retention,” which will focus on the value of employee retention, talent management and
attracting and recruiting new employees. Speakers will share best practices and effective strategies for building a recruitment brand,
improving employee performance, creating reward and recognition programs and improving employee retention rates.

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
LOU ADLER
Best-selling author of “Hire With Your Head:
Using POWER Hiring to Build Great Teams” will discuss the hiring landscape and what a good hiring/recruiting process/department should look like. Attendees will also learn how to win the war for talent by ensuring that hiring managers
are on the same page and that those managers are utilizing the best tools and techniques available. All attendees will receive The Adler Group’s 10-Factor Candidate Assessment template and Mr. Adler’s Performance-based Interviewing Guide which may be used throughout the interview process to identify top talent.

 

AFTERNOON SPEAKER
MAX BROWN
"The Carrot Culture: Everything You Need to
Know About Recognition"
In a dynamic, humorous and powerful presentation, corporate recognition speaker Max Brown shows business leaders how to create powerful, bonding recognition experiences and present
case studies of effective recognition from some of North America's finest companies.

 

EVENT SCHEDULE
7:30 a.m. Registration & Continental
Breakfast (Exhibits Open)

 

8:30 a.m. Welcome Remarks

 

8:45 a.m. Keynote Presentation
“Performance-based Hiring”
Lou Adler of Adler Concepts

 

10:15 a.m. Coffee Break (Exhibits Open)

 

10:30 a.m. Educational Session A
(Select 1 of 2)

 

11:15 a.m. Break (Exhibits Open)

 

11:30 a.m. Educational Session B
(Select 1 of 2)

 

12:15 p.m. Lunch (Exhibits Open)

1:30 p.m. Educational Session C
(Select 1 of 2)

 

2:15 p.m. Break (Exhibits Open)

 

2:30 p.m. Education Session D
(Select 1 of 2)

 

3:15 p.m. Coffee Break (Exhibits Open)

 

3:30 p.m. Postnote Speaker
“The Carrot Culture: Everything You
Need to Know About Recognition”
Max Brown of O.C. Tanner

 

4:45 p.m. Closing Remarks

Just in case there are DC Area Recruiters that read this blog and don't subscribe to the DC Metro Area group here on ERE, you should know there will be another Happy Hour tonight in Tyson's Corner.

 

If you're a recruiter in the DC Metro area please join us for drinks and casual conversation after work today at:

 

I'll see you there.

 

Scott Kahle

 

 I recently had a friend in the business ask me how it is that every time we talk recruiting; I introduce a new product or solution that's just hit, or is just about to hit, the market. His point was this:

 

"Rather than testing out every new product to hit the market, why not wait 6 months to see if it takes off and then use the product once it's tested and proven?"

 

My friend (let’s call him Mike) makes a good point, but I'll counter with the following thought:

 

As an early adopter of new recruiting products, I often get the chance to talk with the creator/inovator directly about the vision they have for thier product and explore what problem they hope it will solve. From that conversation two things happen that I like.

1. I get to think about the problem in a way I may not have considered before.
2. I have an opportunity to influence the features and functionality of the product while it's still in the development stages.

Most of the product I try out don't find a permanent place in my recruiting tool kit. However, for the ones that do make my job easier in the long run it's great to have a relationship with the creator that reaches back to the launch of the product.

 

Plus, I'm a gadget guy and I love to play with the latest toys...

 

 

 

I have received several emails from recruiters who have tried Recruit'n and most were not impressed with the results. To add insult to injury, it appears that the site was hacked recently causing the Recruit'n team to reload the site.

 

Personally, I was disappointed to find that the resumes I received had been simply ripped of job boards like Monster and Hotjobs. Both boards I have access to myself. Since souces of resumes get paid regardless of the quality of the resume, there isn't any incentive for a sourcer to consider the quality of the match before sending a resume over. While it's possible that some of the registered sourcers could be really good, I'm not convinced that they would submit truly great candidates when any resume at all will get them the same pay out.

 

Like many of these sites, it's going to take time for the site to become effective (if ever). For now, I doubt anyone is going to get great results from the site.

 

If anyone out there has had a positive experience please post your results here.

 

Late in the summer of 2005 I wrote a few blog entries on a new job board called Market 10 (a.k.a. mkt10). At the time I was fairly critical of the site and their strategy to match candidates to jobs without letting employers search resumes or candidates search job postings. Instead, Market10 would match candidates to jobs based on the skills a candidate claimed on their profile and the skills listed on the job posting. When a strong match exists the candidate and employer a notified and given the opportunity to show mutual interest. If both are interested then the share contact information. At the time I complained that it was far too difficult to create a profile or posting and that there were not enough skills available to capture all jobs or candidate strengths.

 

Market10 just sent out emails asking candidates to update their profiles. When a candidate logs on they are asked to upload a resume and add content to their profile that expands on the skills they have listed. It appears that market 10, or their customers, have determined that skills alone are not enough to match candidates with positions. While the skills matching remains the cornerstone of the site, Market10 is now adding more traditional data collection around the skills. This way, once the site matches a candidate and a job, there will be more candidate information available to the employer.

 

 

There is a new recruiting site called recruitn.com that has just launched and could have an interesting way for recruiters to receive leads from sourcers looking to make a few extra bucks. I've just started using the site today and will have to report back once I see if I get a sense of how much value really exists.

 

For now, all I can tell you is that I've posted a job description that any approved sourcers can submit resume to. If I choose to accept the candidates that they submit, I'll pay them $5 (or what ever bounty I offer for resumes). It's then up to me to contact the candidates and recruit them myself.

 

If you want to have a look you can visit the site at www.recruitn.com.