Multitasking: The Key to Success
Sally's day at the office: "I get in early before anyone else, grab a latte, and write a quick post for our recruiting blog. At the same time, I check email and notice that three new candidates have sent in resumes. I also notice that two managers have opened new jobs, and I need to discuss those with them.
By 10, I have set up appointments with both managers for the end of the day. I have also scanned the resumes and have decided to telephone-screen one of them. I called and left a message.
What If the Economy Does Slow Down?
It seems like every few years we go into one those cyclical slowdown periods when the economy takes a dive or executives think it might and recruiting slows. Sometimes there's a total hiring freeze, once in a while it's just a hold on certain positions, and frequently recruiters are just asked to slow down.
In my conversations with recruiters around the country, most are still scrambling to find enough candidates and things are good.
No Women at Apple's Top?
On October 16, Silicon Valley's San Jose Mercury News reported that Silicon Valley ranks last in promoting women to senior-level positions. In fact, only 9% of companies in Santa Clara County, which is home to Silicon Valley, have promoted a woman to a top position.
Books and Blogs
Quite often, recruiters ask me to recommend today's best books and blogs. I've compiled some links to blogs that are a bit out of the recruiting mainstream and are not written by recruiters. These blogs provide you with a slightly different view of things and often from a wider perspective as well.
Out of the hundreds of books that are published every month, only a very few make my list. I try to recommend books that I will refer back to and that carry a message that isn't faddish.
Practicing Ethics in Times of Change
Habit and tradition are useful in many ways. They make it much easier to know what to do and they subconsciously steer us along paths that have worked in the past but may not work so well anymore.
Recruiters, perhaps more than some other professionals, seem to be married to traditional practices.
Being Different Attracts
Differentiating your organization from others in the eye of the candidate is becoming our challenge as recruiters. It is increasingly difficult to recruit solely on the basis of salary or benefits or even on the merits of a particular job.
Are You Going Blind?
Getting things done is essential to both business and recruiting success. The popularity of books like Execution by Larry Bossidy has raised the idea of achieving goals and acting decisively to godlike levels. But, Americans have always been particularly good at accomplishing things, even though they frequently aren't sure why they are doing it. We often seem to act as if we are blind to the longer-term reason for what we do.