Recruiting In 3D
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Busted: I Have Resume Bias

Ah, college. It’s where so many of those “this one time..” stories start, unless you attend a screen-shot-2016-09-01-at-10-33-10-amlot of open bar HR conference happy hours, of course. College is the place where you start to learn your story – personally and professionally. You being to refine those dreams and realize that maybe you don’t want to be a doctor or lawyer after all.

Upon graduation, 5 or more years later for most kids, you’re responsible for telling that story. For translating all of your learning and “work experience,” or lack thereof, into a cohesive and coherent resume. Of course, up to this point – you’ve never been taught to write a resume in the first place so your resume advice comes from an array of sources: family, friends, the Internet, of course. But many colleges also offer another resource, your college career center.

The first resume advice many of us get from an actual human is from that college career counselor. They’re supposed to be experts on careers, after all, and at the low price of $0 (if you ignore the tens of thousands you’ve already paid for college), they’re worth it.

I can almost hear the recruiters cringing now, especially those of us who have looked at a thousand resumes with the same formatting. The same mistakes. In general, we have a bit of mistrust towards these guys, often 20 plus year tenured veterans of the career counseling department. Our hesitance is valid considering they haven’t actually applied for a job since faxing in your resume was a thing at most companies. Read More

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 Posted on September 23, 2016 by

 Bizarre But True, candidate relations, Recruiting, Recruiting Life, Resumes, Uncategorized

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Sin City: Hacking Candidate Conferences


Under normal circumstances, I would not find myself within several hundred miles of Lasvegas Vegas at the beginning of August. I guess I’m a creature of habit and prefer Sin City at the start of the NCAA Tournament. That, and 110 degrees being OK because it is a “dry heat” is about as rewarding as being a member of the “clean plate club” as a kid. At the end of the day, you still ate that food, and 110 is still 110.

When I was invited by my friend and colleague Kathleen Smith (CMO of ClearedJobs.net) to come out and cover the BSides Las Vegas (BSides) security conference, I was happy to take it on. After all, I’ve hired security people before and I’m admittedly a little curious to know how they do what they do. That curiosity is just good recruiting behavior.

But I did have some reservations. I knew I’d be in way over my head with this crowd. I was sure they’d KNOW I was a recruiter. I’d be tossed out like a busted 13-side dice at a D&D marathon. And then for good measure, they’d hack the hell out of me.

I’ve never been so happy to be wrong before.

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 Posted on August 26, 2016 by

 candidate relations, Job Hunting, Mentoring, Recruiting Life, Resumes

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Mining For Gold: Turning The Resume Upside Down

When you are in Talent Acquisition, there are few certainties in your world. Job descriptions will change at the 11th hour, and budgets will be slashed, and candidates will change their minds with the frequency of  strobe light. But one thing has remained the same through all the hiring (r)evolutions in the last decade or so – the resume.goldrush

It may have changed in its look and feel, or the method of delivery to you the recruiter, but it still contains the core basic information as it always has. From the resume, one is able to tell where the candidate went to school, what they have accomplished professionally, and a few other odds and ends needed to assess if there is a baseline fit for a role. Depending on the candidate, you may also have additional sections to glean information about the candidate. They usually fall under a banner of “volunteer experience”, “hobbies”, or something similar. And this section, for all its brevity, it’s where the gold can be buried. Read More

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 Posted on June 27, 2016 by

 Bizarre But True, candidate relations, Recruiting, Recruiting Life, Resumes, The Hiring Process, Uncategorized

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What Corporate Recruiters Really Want From A Staffing Agency

Let me be really clear here to start this post off: I’m not hating on staffing agencies. In fact, far from it. I actually grew up on the agency side; I cut my teeth there. I made my bones there. And I clearly have watched Goodfellas like a hundred times too many. I’m grateful for my external recruitment experience and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

That may come as a tremendous surprise to most of you, but as a technical recruiter working in-house, I get a lot of calls from agency recruiters. Like, a lot. And they suck.

Allow us to take a moment, to mourn for those whose heads just exploded from shock.

I want to give something back to the staffing agency world where I grew up. This is a “let me help me help you….help me” type of mini-festo. Read More

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 Posted on December 18, 2014 by

 Agencies, Bizarre But True, Can't Fix Stupid, Recruiting, Recruiting Life, Resumes, Uncategorized

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Back to the Basics: Pure and Simple Candidate Sourcing Tips

Sourcing can be a tricky thing. It’s both an art and a science, and can be defined differently by almost anyone who practices it. It’s not always glamorous, and rarely sees the spotlight. And each practitioner has a methodology that works for them.

The words Back to Basics written on a clear glass wall by a man

It often appears intimidating to those not familiar with things like the deep web, and can also be seen as cumbersome and time-consuming to the untrained eye. Those of usfamiliar with the practice often wonder if we’re missing out on something – a new hot tool or a shiny new object. But the question begs to be asked – particularly for new sourcers – Is sourcing all about Boolean strings, cold calling and the hottest new tool to come out of the valley? Is there more we can be doing to pay attention to other areas of sourcing that we do on a normal basis? Read More

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 Posted on December 15, 2014 by

 LinkedIn, Recruiting, Resumes, Sourcing, The Hiring Process, Uncategorized

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Recruiting In 3D

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