The Recruiting Animal

Measuring Peformance For Supply Chain Planning

If you want to plan the human resources needed to execute a project, you have to know what people can normally do. How do you find out? By measuring performance.

First you decide what you are going to measure (speed, quality, customer satisfaction). Then, by comparing the records of various workers, you figure out what experience and personalities the good workers have.

Then you create a list (a taxonomy) of the required experience and personal qualities and use it to guide your recruiting and selection.

Also, once you know what kind of performance is reasonable to expect, you can record your ongoing performance measurements on software that automatically lets you know when it drops below that expected level.

Source: Kevin Wheeler, ERE. See also: What Is A Talent Supply Chain

Beware of Headhunters

Says Eileen Levitt

Headhunters are sales people trained to get what THEY want, quickly.
There are a lot of headhunters but not a lot of good ones.
Some headhunters are not honest.
Some don't care about their candidates and clients.
So you've got to know how to tell the good from the bad.

Losers Create Gap For Winners

Should you job hunt during the holiday season?

Losers use the lead up to the Christmas and New Year holidays as an excuse to stop job hunting and hang out at the local bar.

In doing so, they create a lull in the offices of companies you would like to approach. Take advantage of this opening and pursue your goals full speed ahead during the pre-holiday weeks while others take a besotted vacation.

St Jimmy has the details here. But not everybody likes his post.

Blog Bash Over Job-Hunting

Johnny Hollon and St Jimmy duke it out over posting.

You may think I'm dead wrong, but your response is remarkably simplistic and narrow... Other than the spelling of my name, did you get anything right from my post? I hope your work as a recruiter was more successful than your accuracy as a blogger.
-- John Hollon

I’m just working with what you gave me. I'll leave it to the readers to decide if my analysis of your column was accurate. I wrote it, because all too often job-seekers get terrible advice from columnists. Taking a break on your job search because some people give up over the holidays is bad advice.

Should recruiters not work at lunchtime because people are focused on eating? Should we not work after 4:00 p.m. because managers are thinking of picking up their kids?

That's what average recruiters do. Great recruiters, and highly motivated job-seekers, don't let what average people do determine their success.
-- Jimmy Durbin

See also: Losers Create Gap For Winners

Note: If you guys want to have it out on The Recruiting Animal Show, let me know.

Social Network Freebie Requests

I've been getting a number of emails like this lately.

Dear Sir,

Hope this mail will find you in good health and spirit. We are connected in Facebook network. Since you are an experienced and resourceful recruiter, I take this opportunity to seek your advice.

Please check my Resume-CV, scrutinize and tell me what you don't like in it? I need your suggestions to improve the same. Advice me what to be deleted and what to be added or modified for betterment. My updated Resume-CV is attached for your kind review. ...

Animal Show Wed Noon EST

Call in and Listening info here

GUEST: JASON ALBA

TOPIC: HIS BOOK about LinkedIn

AT 12:30: TALKSOURCING. Featuring Maureen Sharib, The Dominatrix of Telephone Sourcing and the star of her video Pam Simon.

Animal Show Wed NOON Eastern Time

Guests:

Noon: Geoff Webb, contract recruiter,
tells us about his job hunt

12:30: The Telephone Sourcing Show,
Call in with your sourcing questions
Featuring Maureen Sharib & Pam Simon

Call in & Listening info here

Advice for candidates and recruiters

Al Suntag, an HR dude says:

Clients should use local search firms because it's important to be able meet the recruiter you are dealing with to build trust. You've got to be able to look him in the eye.

Recruiters should meet candidates and get to know them personally and professionally before sending them out to interviews.

They should prepare candidates for panel interviews. And teach the client to use a matrix to compare the candidates against each other. (Each row is a candidate and each column is a key skill).

Search firms should avoid cliches. They imply used-car style insincerity and, so, erode trust.

None of us make a career out of interviewing so a candidate should practice his interview skills when before she goes to an interview. She should evaluate her strengths and weaknesses in advance and prepare concise and direct answers to standard questions. Candidates should also do independent research into the industry and company before the meeting.

Reference: The Patty Goodwin Show

Is Your Blog A Time Bomb?

Or will private content be passe?

When you make a presentation to a hiring manager you want to be in control of that presentation.

But you can't control access to your blog. So should you restrict its content to material you would be happy to produce in a job interview?

(You know what I'm talking about: those pictures of you in your bikini or getting drunk with your friends).

Allan Hoffman, Monster's Tech Jobs Expert, speaks to ReputationDefender, Your HR Guy and others about this information-age concern.

Included is a reference to a great title by Ryan Healy: Raunchy Old Photos Will Be Part of the Revolution. I have to agree.

CareerTV.com

Bloggers, Kimmy Small, a Marketing Consultant for CareerTV.com wants you to interview her COO or CEO about how they are "changing the future of the job search / recruiting space".

CareerTV was started by Lars Henrik Friis-Molin. He's got a short non-English profile on Wikipedia. (He's not the guy who played for the Vancouver Canucks).