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Recruiting
[Remember one of the first castle scenes from Monty Python and The Holy Grail? It's one of the inspirations for this post - watch it especially 1:57 in]
A recruiter who could care less what their quarry thinks about them? This brand of headhunter exists? You betcha!
Scott McKearney and Wojciech Zielinski, Moderators Manager for LinkedPHPers, the largest group of its kind on LinkedIn, are rip-roaring mad (as mad as a developer can get which when considering the Wikileaks supporters is pretty darn angry and vituperative): They’re deleting recruiters from the Group because these people simply won’t listen to their requests to post jobs in the Jobs section rather than directly in the Discussions.
Here’s the title of the Discussion thread that’s getting:
WARNING RECRUITERS-DELETE, AND BLOCK IN FORCE
IF I FIND THAT YOU HAVE POSTED A JOB IN THE DISCUSSION SECTION YOU WILL BE DELETED AND BLOCKED FROM REJOINING THE GROUP. ASK THE FIVE I JUST DID THIS TO THIS MORNING.
See how mad they are? All caps. Makes me shiver.
One member is referring to recruiters posting in the discussion as “the plague” – that’s both funny and telling.
These people are serious: “Just a short info for people that still does not believe that me or Scott are really removing people that does not follow the rules – on the Blocked list we already have 163 members and counting…” And correct in their actions – there’s a Job section, can Linkedin make posting jobs to group any easier?
One recruiter even posted back:
“Sorry people, I post my jobs via ShareThis. There is no option for the jobs section. Ban me you want. I’ll continue to post my jobs to my PHP group at [deleted] – Join there if you wish. Have a nice day.”
Pretty stubborn and arrogant.
This recruiter is pretty much saying, “Well, if I can’t play here, I’ll just take my ball elsewhere. Nanny, nanny, poo-poo.” I say find a different app or for a group such as this one with a significant user base, post by hand for which I have to say, “why bite the hand that feeds you?”
Recruiters need to learn to respect the wishes of the people who might end up being candidates; saying FU isn’t the best way to win friends and influence people.
And we wonder where the negative feelings towards recruiters come from?
Like this:
Karla Porter posted something great on Facebook this morning about what 2.0 Hippies think about – and it sparked in me an Ayn Rand inspiration about recruiting. I will write a new Recruiting Manifesto that shames people who aspire to be influential over everything else and admonishes hiring managers who disdain the consultative services yet produce job descriptions that don’t represent the real problems to be solved and who report recruiters to their bosses when we don’t genuflect in the air they breathe…in short time.
But first we need to find a common place of worship…a #RecruitingCommune. I’m thinking a 10 to 11 PM time slot; you tell me.
It’s time to return to our hippie roots…peace, love and recruiting.
Hispanics have their LatPro; Asians can learn “…to survive and succeed in America’s workplace” (thx); and the incredible Moss family has HBCUconnect. But where do white people go? I don’t see any “White” job boards or sites that build communities among historically white colleges and universities: Yes, I know that all colleges and universities are historically white but even the University of Mississippi is now integrated, right?
How’s this for marketing – we’ll advertise WhitePro on WET…White Entertainment Television!
Imagine how this might cause a few PC sphincters to clench up tighter than someone who has just sucked on one dozen lemons!
If you know me, you recognize that I’m trying to push a few buttons; if you don’t know me, I’ve been a vocal proponent of diversity recruiting for nearly 25 years. Yet we tolerate websites, entertainment venues, lyrics, and even recruiting initiatives that are inherently divisive as a result of their names and/or labels.
There has to be a better way.
I’ve blogged about this topic before on ERE and as a ghost writer on a former client’s blog (which caused something like a 1000% spike – albeit temporary – in the blog’s traffic). Given all the pablum-like advice on cover letters these days – folks, there’s something wrong when a one-page resume is accompanied by a one-page cover letter – it is worth reposting this one specific letter in response to a Linus sysadmin opportunity…
I’ve been bouncing boxes for Uncle Sam 2.5 years now in some of the most god-awful places on earth. I’ve racked servers during indirect fire, maintained contact with a bird while our vehicle was shot up, mastered the finer art of the many uses of duct tape and how it applies to IT in a warzone.
I’ve put up racks in Namibian provinces while cheetahs and jackals watched me from 100 yards away, I’ve even chased an ostrich who tried to steal my CAT5 from the box. I’ve worked on military projects where the dotmil PM/leadership had a more difficult time making decisions than my wife. I’ve danced in the Red Zone with Iraqi locals after a support call to a Forward Operating Base.
I’ve mastered the chemistry of the ‘essential caffeine stack’ and I debunked the myth that if you untie your belly button, your butt will fall off (it won’t!). I’ve been shot at, shot up, blown up, broken and put back together again; from Baghdad to Namibia and from Sudan to Djibouti. I strongly feel that I have the skillset, experience and thick skin to take on the world of IT in the greatest city on earth.
This was so unique that I was dialing this person’s phone number the moment I finished reading. It was so compelling that I would have called him even if his resume experience and skills didn’t match the needs of the position.
Will your cover letter – keep in mind that most of us might not even read it unless your resume gives us a reason to do so – get my fingers to dial your number?
If you’re brave enough and want some feedback, post your cover letter here; I’m sure I won’t be the only person chiming in.
The only part of an interview where I hold my breath is the part that follows, Do you have any questions for me?
My expectations have always been low because all job search experts are using the same playbook to answer this one (although questions likes these renew my faith in the intelligent jobseeker) and the answers are almost always of Mad Libs quality.
- Could you explain the company’s organizational structure? A house of cards…
- What attracted you to working for this organization? They hired me…
- From all I can see, I’d really like to work here, and I believe I can add considerable value to the company. What’s the next step in the selection process? You need to define value…
- How do my skills compare with those of the other candidates you have interviewed? You asked me the same questions…
- How are executives addressed by their subordinates? Your eminence…
At this point in the interview, most candidates simply want to exhale – rather than pull away from the field. Bad move. You need to separate yourself even more before the interview is over. In crew parlance, it’s time for a power ten…
I realize that for many the business and the balance sheet are foreign lands but I assure you that when people I interview come prepared to talk the industry, competitors, barriers, and opportunities, my job becomes more exciting. I mean it – when we can talk about business rather than a job, it is enriching for all.
The use of standard questions and approaches to interviews – and to a large degree the approach to job search in general – is predicated on the business environment remaining static. Hardly. 2009 and I suspect the next few years as well, will see a very different business landscape, one in which the status quo will become caught in time like a mosquito in amber. The actual problems people will be tasked with solving will directly relate to identifying growth opportunities that will trump weakened or less focused competitors. The key is for you to know as best as possible the answers to these questions; to the extent that the hiring manager doesn’t know these is indicative of how well the company may perform. Just as in real life caveat emptor…
- What companies are gaining and losing market share and how are you positioning yourself to address opportunities?
- Which company is bundling products and services in new ways?
- Which companies are creating buzz that has made you take notice?
- Which companies are viewed as marginal players and how have you positioned yourself to seek and destroy? Is it you?
- Are you increasing your R&D budget? Is this increase customer driven or is it to play catch-up?
- What innovative new products and services are you planning to bring to market over the next 18 months?
You have to finish strong. You had me at hello is lovely for movies but I’m assessing our entire time together.
Please – just don’t ask me to describe benefits on the initial interview. If this is the best you can do, then keep sending out emails addressed to “Dear Sir or Madam”…
HRMargo calls me Yoda…I just don’t get it.
“Hello, this is Jerry…”
Yes, Rayanne is way hotter in person… Andy Gregory far taller, the Glamour Queen far glitzier, Ryan Leary more of a guru, and it is far easier to make Chris Havrilla snort. Marie Journey is far sassier and Maha Akiki’s husband could easily earn more money as a recruiter than whatever he’s doing now (just a hunch). To add to these personalities, Rich DeMatteo regaled us with the story about how CornOnTheJob came to be as well as variations of its name…there is no way I’m offering a link to explain this.
Most of all, TruUSA offered more keys to doors of insightfulness than had been expected.
The unconference concept requires you to leave your expectations at the door – you won’t hear about how a “world class employer” with a well-established, well-respected brand and a large recruiting budget develops its talent pipelines (to these people, try working at the places I enjoy – ones with a minimal or negative brand and a very small recruiting budget).
It also requires that you leave your ego behind; at an unconference, you’re rubbing elbows with very successful and confident recruiters, sourcers, and vendors, so much so that it forces even gurus to question their methods and listen to how others solve recruiting issues. If you allow yourself to proportionally use your two ears and one mouth, magic will happen.
Perspectives are the big take homes; perspectives about how social media creates firestorms, how GenY’s and Boomers have considerably more in common, how universities and colleges need to questions how they teach careership. Large group discussions are taken to animated small groups to one-on-ones. The beauty of the unstructured format is that more people interact; if you like the term crowdsourcing, then all participants are equally Queens and Drones functioning to build and grow the community.
Personally, the best part of the smaller unconference is meeting people in person, many of whom I’ve known only from their 3/4” X 3/4“ picture. Give me live-and-in-person over 140 any day of the week. I will reach out to everyone who attended TruUSA – and I’ll use the phone – and I’m certain that not only will I be a better recruiter for it, but I’ll also be a far better person too.
Simply put, I can’t thank the participants – you’ll all receive calls from me, sponsors (BizWerks, Pinstripe, ShakeYourJob, GetAClue, redmos, broadbean, JSTN), and TruChampions, Bill, Geoff, and Maha enough.
Finally, I know I told Kevin Grossman but did I tell you about the backup singers and dancers??
Apparently a few GenY’ers are…
Last evening, I was fortunate to participate in Rich DeMatteo‘s CornOnTheJob #jobhuntchat. Nice group of young, misguided jobseekers who believe that the rules of job hunting as ordained by their career services departments are written in stone.
Q3 as written by the Chief Corn Jobber was “How do I stand out at a job fair (college or experienced) when hundreds of other seekers R there too?”
My response was:
By being better than your competitors
To which someone wrote:
“By being better than your competitors” unlikely you’ll be in a group of people significantly less qualified
To which I responded with (okay, perhaps with one or two hairs standing on end):
with 15+ yrs of entry level recruiting I can assert that while those looking may not see differences, we do
Then added:
differences can range from posture 2 language 2 eye contact 2 smiling 2 body odor, etc; many ways to stand out
To which my dueling Twitter partner (just for those few sweet moments) offered:
but it is good to hear from the other side that the differences are noticeable!
So I called this person this morning. Didn’t receive a call back but I did receive 2 DMs after which I believe I was deemed worthy of being blocked:
(1) Hi Steve. Received your VM. Wanted to let you know, I felt phone contact was inappropriate since we had yet to connect on twitter (cont)
(2) I wanted to share my discomfort with you so that in the future you might consider it when connecting w/new people. Thanks.
Whoa!!! So you have to be connected before you take a phone call? I suppose I could call this one person an outlier but I’m more concerned that a new social media etiquette has emerged that bypasses human contact until a threshold of tweets is surpassed.
Naturally I was compelled to call Ryan Leary, that social media guru in residence in Philly, and ask him what he thought.
He laughed in a way that could only mean, “Foolish young jobseeker.” I felt better and will continue to call when followed and invited.
Yet I wonder – stalking references aside – why someone would turn down a call from a recruiter, preferring to build a Twitter relationship first. Thoughts?
