Bearing Fruit Consulting

The Usual Suspects...& Prospects & Candidates

In blog post after blog post I have used three terms that, to some, might seem to be interchangeable.  If you read recruiting articles, blogs and tweets you will see each of these three terms thrown around and utilized with little regard for what they actually mean. 

The terms are suspect, prospect and candidate. 

The latter two are the most often used,  most often confused, most often transposed and the most loosely bantered about.  Looking back over my past posts, both here and in other forums, I may even be guilty of using these terms far too loosely.  Honestly, I think it is lazy of us (those in the recruiting space) to continue to use these terms so interchangeably.  That is especially true of prospect and candidate.  Suspects, prospects and candidiates are not the same and therefore should not be treated the same during the recruiting process.  Continuing to use these terms interchangeably is likely a reflection of a common recruiting mistake - applying the same technique and recruiting process to everyone being recruited. 

Fail! 

Let's define what each of these terms mean.  Once we define them maybe we can talk about building relational recruiting strategies for each as they journey through the recruiting process. 

Say Anything But Be Authentic Like Lloyd

Maybe I didn't really know you. Maybe you were just a mirage. Maybe the world is full of food and sex and spectacle and we're all just hurling towards an apocalypse, in which case it's not your fault... ~ Lloyd Dobler

One of my favorite movies of all time is Say Anything and Lloyd Dobler, played by my favorite actor John Cusack, is my movie character hero.  Why?  Well there are many reasons but I love Lloyd because he is so transparent, honest and authentic.  He didn't hold back and he said what he meant.  That is just Lloyd.  Very few films have ever tried to be as smart, genuine, funny and authentic as Say Anything.  If you haven't seen it you really need to check it out.  It is genius!

There has been a lot of chatter in the recruiting and social media blogosphere on what it means to be authentic and have authenticity which got me thinking about Lloyd Dobler again.  With the explosion of social media it can often be a difficult chore to decide who you follow, put your trust into and whether or not those people behind the social media curtain really are who they appear to be.  If they aren't who they appear to be does that impact or change how valuable or important what they say and do is to you? 

The other day on recruitingblogs.com Maren Hogan organized a free for all discussion on authenticity and whether or not authenticity is even important.  It was lively and entertaining but I am not sure there was much consensus at the end of the day.  That is perfectly fine by the way as the mere "beating up" of ideas on this topic was well worth the investment of my time and I am sure the others who participated would agree. 

I don't claim to have this nailed down and I certainly don't believe I am completely firm yet on what it is to be authentic or demonstrate authenticity.  That doesn't even take into account the issue of whether or not authenticity is important.  That disclaimer aside I decided to offer some of my thoughts, which are still congealing, on this topic.

There Is Nothing Automatic About CRM or TRM

Four Tactics To Make Autoresponders (feel) More Human

The other day on Twitter a quick discussion occurred between me and Todd Mintz (@toddmintz) an SEO, Social Media and Marketing guy in Beaverton, Oregon.  Todd tweeted the following:

@toddmintz Job candidate yells at me for spamming him...the spam was the autoresponder message asking him to make sure to send in his resume.

Nothing about this candidates response surprised me given the result of our recently published survey results on What Prospects and Candidates Think About Recruiting Calls and the soon to be published follow up on what they think about the Recruiting Engagement. 

The autoresponder tactic is theoretically a good idea.  The objective is to help save the recruiter and the recruiting team time and effort while making them more efficient.  The autoresponder should allow candidates to get responses more quickly and efficiently as they reach certain milestones in the recruitment process or if information is lacking or incomplete. 

The false hope of autoresponders, and how they are often sold by the ATS community, is that they are providing some level of CRM or TRM.  Now I won't get into why Candidate Relationship Management shouldn't be your goal nor how the ATS products are terriblesince I have thoroughly examined both in the recent past.  There is nothing relational or Talent Relationship Management focused about autoresponders as they are executed and positioned out of the box with ATS products.

Autoresponders are cold, disingenuous, boring and transactional.  Prospects and candidates hate them almost as bad as falling into the long established black hole of no response that has tarnished recruiting teams and ATS products seemingly forever.  These autoresponders are dreaded by candidates because by their nature, wording and delivery autoresponders put into writing what candidates have always felt about their value to recruiters and recruiting teams.  That is, they feel like they are just a number or another resume/application adrift in a sea of others who are also getting either no response or the dreaded autoresponder.  

The warm and fuzzy HR types out there have even gone so far as to name their autoresponders something that makes them seem more relational or more human.  I have heard everything from TARA (Talent Acquisition & Recruiting Autoresponder) to SARA (Strategic Auto Response Application).  Most often female names are used and if anyone has a clue as to why this is true please let me know.  As if giving this autoresponder monstrosity a human name will cause the unsuspecting candidate to suddenly feel L.O.V.E.D. 

Ridiculous!

The Four Tactics We Recommend Are After The Jump

Research Goddess Invokes Jurrassic Park Analogy For Social Media

Amybeth Hale, affectionately and accurately named the Research Goddess, is a leader in social networking/social media and is adept at leveraging both for the purpose of sourcing talent.  A relative newbie to the sourcing and recruiting game, she started in 2002, she is an important voice and evangelist in our space.  I like her so much I have her on my blog roll over there on the right.  Not to mention she is from Ohio, my home state, so I am showing a little Buckeye love.

I wanted to point you to her post today on whether or not you should be using social media, blogging etc. as part of your sourcing and recruiting strategy.  She uses the quote from the Michael Crichton film Jurassic Park (one of my all time faves) where Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcom questions the idea of cloning dinosaur embryo's with frog DNA to create living dino's - "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think about if they should..."

Amybeth drives the analogy point home with this set of MONEY statements:

• Anyone CAN start a blog. But should YOU?
• Anyone CAN set up a Facebook Fan page. But should YOUR company?
• Anyone CAN tweet on behalf of their business. But are you ready to give up that much official control?
• Anyone CAN decide to implement mobile marketing. But is your audience going to be receptive to it?

The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Practice some patience, do your homework, and find out if it’s right for you, your team, and your company first before pressing forward. Otherwise you run the risk of ruining your reputation or your brand image. Look before you leap!

I work with many clients who, the moment I arrive on site, start talking to me about how they need a social media strategy, need a preence on Twitter, need a Facebook page etc. etc. etc.  It like herding cats to get them to slow down and stop talking Buzzspeak and think about what they are saying. 

Amybeth sums up what I feel and think on this topic.  Sheer brilliance from my fellow Buckeye!  Go read her entire piece over on her site...

Oh, and before I forget, here one of my favorite clips from the movie Jurassic Park. 

Recruiting Is Not For You...Or Is It?

Recruiting is a great profession.  I would say it is a calling.  I say this because YOU rarely find recruiting.  Most often it is RECRUITING that finds you. 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?  Me, I wanted to President of the United States.  Good thing for all of us that didn't happen.  I can promise you this; you probably didn't want to be a recruiter when you grew up. 

Little kids don't grow up wanting to be recruiters.  They don't call their friends and invite them over for a nice game of "Headhunter", "Sourcing" or "Let's Hire Someone Today". 

This is a calling that seeks YOU out. 

It is not for the faint of heart and it's not a place to tread water until something better comes along.  It is also not a place to start your "HR Career", though sadly many do just that.  Many companies throw gas on this misinformation fire by making recruiting the entry level position to human resources when exactly the opposite should be true.  HR roles should be the entry level roles to recruiting. 

So many start recruiting and try it and so many fail to succeed.  It is the Ironman Triathlon of careers. 

Recruiting provides unsurpassed and unlimited opportunity for anyone who is prepared to commit themselves.  This is especially true in third party recruiting. 

In this "opportunity" lies the great trapping of recruiting.  It lures in the uncommitted with promises of large fee's, excitement and adventure; the thrill of the hunt. 

It teases you into "giving it a try".   "I love to work with people so I decided to be a recruiter" are words like nails on a chalkboard to seasoned recruiters. 

Those drawn to this craft without a firm grasp of real commitment, without knowledge of the ups and downs, close their eyes and visualize success as though it has already happened.   

But guess what?  Your degree doesn't matter.  Your profession doesn't matter.  Your title doesn't matter.  Your specific industry or position specific expertise doesn't matter.  Who you know doesn't matter.  What you have read doesn't matter.  Your qualifications and test scores don't matter.  Your resume doesn't matter.  How much money you have made doesn't matter.  None of these will be of help to you in the recruiting world.

What matters is you - how committed are you?  How hard will you work?  Will you focus on recruiting activity development (being RAD as I call it) or just focus on activity?

Only YOU can help YOU.  It is YOU. 

This is what levels the playing field.  This is what separates those that DO and those that DON'T; those that win and those that lose in recruiting. 

It all comes down to YOU. 

How hard are YOU willing to work?  How often will YOU pick yourself help when you fall or make a mistake?  How much perseverance do YOU have?  How thick is YOUR skin?  How willing are YOU to learn and try new things?  How much time will YOU invest in being RAD?  How do YOU value meaningful relationships?   How many times will YOU pick up the phone to build those relationships?  This  list goes on for a while as you can well imagine.

Because it is about you, the individual, so many fail.  So many come here and leave; so many have recruiting on their resume with a date in the past.  They come, they fight and they fail.  They fail because there are no excuses to be made when it is you.  You can't pass the buck, there is no one left to blame, entitlement is out the window and old man accountability is in your face.  You don't eat, pay bills or live unless you perform. 

Do you love it or do you fear it? 

Maybe a little of both? 

It should be a little of both if you are honest with yourself. 

It is YOU!

Lipstick On Pig Over At Carnival of HR

Just wanted to point everyone over to the latest Carnival of HR hosted by Inflexion Advisors.  The Lipstick On A Pig post defining the key differences between Talent Acquisition and Recruiting is included in the carnival.

Some others I like and you should read (taken right from The Carnival):

• For smaller (and less politically correct) bacon, Chris Ferdinandi of Renegade HR instructs you to, “Use your employees as guinea pigs“. Please note that no animals were actually harmed during the application of the Guinea Pig Method.
• Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR follows a shoulder-tapping bar encounter with, “Social Media, Recruiting & Millennials“. This reminds me of our young tightrope walkers who constantly updated their Facebook status (may they rest in peace).
• Michael Haberman of Omega HR Solutions asks, “Want to Learn How to Sell HR to Your CEO?” Boy do I! The last thing sold to my CEO came with it’s own Wolf Boy.

Go there and read up...there are a bunch of other really smart and interesting posts but these were the few I wanted to highlight. 

Make it a great day! 

He's Back - Jeff Hunter and Talentism

One of the real thinkers and minds in the recruiting space appears to be back at his blog Talentism.  Jeff Hunter is really one of the greats in the recruiting and talent game and if you aren't already back on his bandwagon and all over his feed you need to be. 

One of my favorite blog posts of all time is a Jeff Hunter classic called Recruiting BS - And How To Get Rid Of It.  Jeff and I agree on many different topics related to talent, acquisition of talent and management of talent so I guess that is why I like him so much.

Read him!  Follow him!  Soak it up!

A Really Goode Job - Great Recruiting In Wine Country

I love it when you can combine several of your passions simultaneously.  This is one of those times when I get to combine my love of recruiting and my passion for wine. 

On several occasions in my recruiting life as a recruiter, recruiting leader and now consultant I have recommended the contest or competition recruiting strategy.  Essentially the idea is to have a wide open contest or competition to determine the best candidate for a particular job.  Sort of an Apprentice (though I can't stand Donald Trump) meets Survivor meets Amazing Race.  This works really well when trying to hire sales professionals or sales leaders but really it can work for ANY job.  There is no substitute for real world measurable results when evaluating talent for a position.  

The folks over at Murphy Goode Winery in Sonoma County clearly get it and are doing  just that.  Honestly this is recruiting brilliance! 

They are having a contest where they are offering "A Really Goode Job" to the winner.  They are looking for a social media whiz to tell the story of Murphy-Goode, their winesand the lifestyle of Sonoma County Wine Country. 

I have never tasted any Murphy-Goode wines so I can't speak to the quality of the product but I am thinking I need to give them a go soon.  Heck, maybe the "Goode" people at Murphy-Goode will send me some bottles to try out and review - are you listening Murphy-Goode?  Shameless I know, but wine is involved so it can't hurt to ask. 

Sorry to have gone off on that tangent.  So Murphy-Goode is asking interested prospects to submit a video that is a maximum 60 seconds in length.  You are limited only by your creativity and normal boundaries of decency so it really is a competition to find the person who can get it done for the winery.  They will then narrow down the competitive field of candidates to 50.  It seems they will be making that announcement 4 days from this writing. After that they will have an interview and selection process.

The official corporate type title is "Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent" but after looking at what the role entails and the culture of Murphy-Goode the title is far too stuffy to be reflective of the role and the winery.  This is a really awesome gig for anyone who knows how to use web 2.0, social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc.) and loves wine.  You can read the overview and more information here (including the FAQ'S) but here are some of the "Goodes" (get it, Goodes? - Ha!) taken directly from the website: 

Let's Be Direct About Direct Sourcing

Over the last two days I connected with 6 long time friends and former colleagues in corporate recruiting.  A few of them have been clients and a few others are professionals in the corporate recruiting space that I routinely chat with about various issues, challenges, strategies and tactics.  Pretty much these are open discussion sessions where I learn a ton from each of them and I like to think they learn a little from me as well. 

Often these conversations turn to various topics related to recruiting metrics and how an organization evaluates the success, results and impact of recruiting.  I really need to do a series of posts on that.  Anyway, one topic related to metrics that came up continually is how Source Of Hire (SOH) is tracked and what constitutes Direct Sourcing. 

To define it in simple terms, Direct Sourcing is using third party recruiting tactics internally within a corporate environment.  Essentially it is going after candidates who have not applied or might not apply to your company unless contacted and compelled by a relevent opportunity via phone, email (though I think email is bad form when contacting passive candidates) and other forms of communication by a recruiter in your organization. 

In many cases these 6 companies included contacting prospects whose resumes were found in various job board and niche board databases to which these companies subscribe.  I completely reject the notion that this is Direct Sourcing. 

Michael Specht On The Value of Social Media in Recruiting

In case you have managed to avoid and miss the great debate brewing in recruiter wonderland Michael Specht offers a fairly quick, lucid and common sense entry into the discussion.  Michael is from Australia which, by way of making one of my favorite wines (Penfolds Grange), makes him totally alright in my book

I digress. 

Here are the basics.

Peter Weddle, someone I respect tremendously in this business, said that the proliferation of social media as a recruiting tool is nothing but a SCAM.  This sent some of the social media recruiting advocates into a bit of a defensive mode (and in my humble opinion they make some excellent points).

Go read all of this to get the context but I really appreciate how strong Michael Specht's thoughts were on this raging debate.  Here is the money quote from Michael:

I have said it before and will continue to say it social media does have a place within your recruiting strategy but it is NOT a recruitment strategy on its own! The key is to understand where the talent hangs out online and then develop a strategy to engage with them on their terms.