Name Generation & Sourcing At The Airport

As I write this I am sitting in Philadelphia International Airport traveling back from a client visit in Philadelphia.  Just a few short minutes ago, while going through the very long security line, I did some sourcing using a proven methodology I have talked about many times in presentations and past writings.  The modern day terminology for it is "dipping".  Old schoolers might refer to it as just plain eavesdropping.  I call it being aware of your surroundings and paying attention.  What a novel concept huh?  In fact, after I typed this entire post I did a quick Google search using "eavesdropping recruiting" and lo' and behold my good friend Steve Levy from The Recruiting Edge popped up.  Seems Steve penned an article for Kennedy's Recruiting Trends back in December of 2006 on this technique.

Anyway, here is what happened and how I came to have 6 full names (first and last) of human resource talent from a well recognized firm along with their email format and, in one amazing stroke of luck, the cell phone number for one of  this firms senior level HR professionals.

Directly in front of me in the security line were two people who, based on the details of their discussion, worked in the technology department or telecommunications group of said company.  One of them had a computer bag with the company logo and name on it and their colleague had the same logo and name blazoned above the pocket of their shirt.  There was no mistaking who they worked for.

As they discussed various technology issues in their company they progressed to discussing the cell phone, Blackberry and Treo usage of the HR team at their company.  On they ranted about various issues and challenges with each persons equipment and needs all the while using full names and some times titles.  During the discussion they discussed email formatting and the many ways in which they redirect email that might flow into the server with a typo in the name.  Then, much to my surprise and glee, they even discussed the actual cell phone number (including area code) of the senior level HR professional on the team. 

I have no idea if any of these 6 individuals is any good.   You can be certain they are all getting calls today and tomorrow so that I can find out.  At the very least I will establish some rapport, let them know I am available to them if their current career situation should come under duress, they aren't promoted as quickly as they should be, if they would like competitive intelligence or if they would like to explore opportunities that might be better then the one they are in today.  The lessons in this real experience are numerous but here are four that popped into my brain while I was standing in the security line:

1. Be careful of what you are talking about and where you are saying it.  I have story after story of times I have experienced similar events and generated names, prospects, candidates and in many cases - actual hires due to the careless speaking of those around me.
2. If you are a corporate business leader, HR Leader or in a position to influence decision making in your company you should be sure to educate your team member population about the dangers of discussing work in a public place.  Direct them to this blog as an example of just one possible implication of being careless with the tongue.   
3. If you are a recruiter you should ALWAYS be aware of what is being said and going on around you everywhere you go.  Believe it or not these conversations happen all the time and the amount of information you can gather can be enormous. 
4. Think about another way to utilize "dipping".  Hang out in places where your companies competitors and talent hang out and you will be amazed at what you will learn and the names, titles and information you can gather just by listening.

Those of us who grew up in recruiting BI (Before Internet) are very aware of this "Dipping" technique.  In the day and age when recruiting was truly an art and networking was still about relationships and not collecting the most number of names on your LinkedIn profile, recruiters understood the value of getting information everywhere.  "Dipping" was a common and effective tool in the pre-Internet recruiters arsenal.  It is not conventional and it is not easy but it does work. 

I am curious to know how many others have similar stories and experiences with collecting information such as business intelligence or recruiting intelligence just by listening to conversations that occur within earshot.