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  • You Inspired TJNTIY.com (They're Just Not That Into You)

    by on May 23, 2009

    On May 19th, I posted a simple question on LinkedIn, "What have job candidates done or said that blew their chances of getting hired?" and was amazed by the answers. To excerpt a few:

    • "My favorite is one guy who went through a round of interviews, passing everything with flying colors, but I sensed something and decided to take him out of the office for coffee to get him away from the formal interview process. Within 20 minutes he began to explained his theory on how the world was being controlled by aliens and then proceeded to point a few ...

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    candidates hired interview not hired stories they're just not that into you tjntiy
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  • How Have Candidates Gotten You to Respond?

    by on April 20, 2009
    If you are involved in talent acquisition or recruitment, chances are good that you've seen a tremendous increase in emails and calls from recently downsized candidates in search of their next jobs.  Chances are also good that you are hearing from so many candidates in need, you could not possibly respond to them all.  But you do respond to some candidates.  And so I wonder -- what prompts you to reach out? It is something the candidate has expressed that somehow set him/her apart from the growing crowd?
     
    I recently had a 2-hour long conversation with a recently downsized ...

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  • There must be a better way!

    by on Sept. 19, 2008
    "There must be a better way!"
     
    It's a thought that requent crosses the minds of most recruiting and HR professionals on the corporate sides they struggle to fill the openings that loom before them.
     
    "There must be a better way!"
     
    Certainly, sifting through resumes isn't the better way.  Job boards simply opened the spigot.  No, its more like it opened the fire hydrant and our job is to drink from a fire hose.  There are so few . . .so very few qualified people who apply.  Don't applicants ever READ job descriptions?  There are so many . . .too many . . .resumes ...

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  • Good Question! newsletter for corporate recruiters

    by on June 4, 2008
    Do you have a search that's got you stumped?  Are you finding too many candidates, too few contenders? Too many searches, too little time? Do you need to find a more affordable way to fill your openings? Do you have a search that is simply taking to long? Or a position a search firm has been unable to filled? 

    Ask any search-related question and we'll get you the answer.

    Good Question! is a complimentary Q&A newsletter to which recruiters on the corporate side can subscribe.  It's our way of giving back,getting to know you, and ...

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  • Candidate Pipeline Advantage Whitepaper

    by on June 2, 2008
    Ever since the founding of my company more than a decade ago, I've evangelized the use of candidate pipelines.  In my gut, I knew that focusing on research and sourcing (the execution engine of search that identifies and develops candidates) was the way to drive results and improve search performance. 

    We recently published a whitepaper detailing the actual effectiveness of pipelines, which can be deployed to fill a single opening or a range of openings at virtually any level from senior level executive through experienced individual contributor.
     
    I knew our pipelines powered by human capital intelligence were good, but ...

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  • How to increase your ROI for job security

    by on Feb. 25, 2008
    Recruiting is a cyclical business subject to the vagaries of the economy. I've seen scores of corporate recruiters laid off at in recent months . . .
     
    If you are one of those still standing, in addition to updating your resume and teeing up your next opportunity, you may want to consider taking proactive steps to increase your ROI at your current company.
     
    One suggestion I have is for you to walk over to whomever is in charge of your company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practice -- it often goes by different names like "sustainability" or "compliance and ethics" or "environmemtal responsibility ...

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  • Leveraging the Buzz in Your Search Practice

    by on Jan. 31, 2008
    Much has been written about social networks. But check out The Anatomy of Buzz, a book by Emanuel Rosen.  If social networks provide the infrastructure, the buzz is the energy that flows over it.  Buzz has become increasing important  in this day and age when we have too many advertising messages, emails, text messages, voicemails with which to contend.  No one has the time to research every new product and service.  Instead, most of us rely on a friend or an associate to recommend a product or to mention it.  Get enough mentions, and you've got a buzz going ...

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  • Pick One: Specialization Versus Off-Limits

    by on Jan. 29, 2008
    As a buyer of executive search, which would you prefer: a search firm that knows your industry like the back of its hand or one that is devoted to serving you and you alone?
     
    In its early years, the consulting firm Bain & Company would only work with one client per industry to avoid potential conflicts of interest. 
     
    I wonder whether a contrarian, anti-specialization approach might actually resonate with some VPs of Talent Acquisition.  I realize this flies in the face of experts who recommend that firms such as mine specialize in order to lure business away from the major retained ...

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  • Skinny B#*!ch Recruiting- We Are What We Recruit

    by on Jan. 14, 2008
    My daughter, all of 14, brought home a New York Times best seller the other day entitled,--I kid you not -- "Skinny Bitch:  A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!"  The book is so hot that the authors immediately wrote a follow-on cookbook entitled Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, which, when the feminist in me is done being enraged, I find pretty funny.
     
    So what does this have to do with recruiting? Everything.  (Stay with me for a moment.) SB pretty much is a vegan rant that, for a number ...

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  • A New Category: A New Kind of Search Firm

    by on Jan. 11, 2008
    Search firms basically come in two flavors: retained or contingency. They are distinguished by how they are paid, not by how they conduct search, even though they do conduct search differently. Retained is generally aimed at the executive level and is a highly consultative process. Contingency firms are highly transactional. They must make rapid placements and move on.
     
    Where do research firms fit in this picture? In fact, when I say "research firm", what's the first phrase that springs to mind?
     
    Is it "name gen"?
     
    Generally, research firms have been relegated to playing a supporting role in search.  That ...

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  • Let's get connected on Plaxo Premium - the next killer app

    by on Jan. 8, 2008
    I want to extend my earlier invitation to get connected in Y2008 to include joining my personal network on Plaxo Premium to enjoy the benefits of what is shaping up to be an amazing upgrade of Plaxo. Their premium social networking sight offers social networking with contact information. 

    I never really got excited before about using Plaxo.  A lot of people were put off by "Plaxo SPAM" aimed at  keeping  contact information up-to-date. But with the added benefit of business networking with keeping contact info current with being allowed to form groups . . .they've found what appears to be the ...

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  • Let's get connected on ERE.net and LinkedIn

    by on Jan. 4, 2008

    Happy New Year, my friends! Let us resolve in Y2008 to get connected on ERE.net and on LinkedIn. 
     
    I look forward to becoming better acquainted!


    Sincerely,

    Krista Bradford, Founder & Principal, The Good Search

     
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  • Sir Cybersleuth: Shally Steckerl

    by on Nov. 30, 2007

    Today, I want to take a moment to honor the work of Sir Cybersleuth, Shally Steckerl. Nearly a decade ago, I learned through a client at Intel that Shally was busy reinventing sourcing as we know it at Cisco.

    Re-invention = innovation.

    Since then, Shally has gone on to source for Google, for Microsoft, and now for the World . One of the things that impresses me the most about Shally is that he tracks and leverages the myriad and constant incremental changes on the Internet to stay out in front on the leading edge of Internet sourcing. 
     
    Check out his blog ...

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  • The King of String: Glenn Gutmacher

    by on Nov. 16, 2007
    Today, I am honoring the work of the King of String Glenn Gutmacher. I've attended a number of his presentations (and co-presented with him in Boston) and have always come away humbled by the intricacy and depth of his search strings.
     
    Why should you care? Well, if you take a moment to sit at the feet of Glenn (which you do by visiting his blog or taking his course )you will find candidates you would not have been able to find otherwise. And then you, too, can assume your rightful place in the Court of String.
     
    I head a ...

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  • If I Only Had a Brain: Human Capital Intelligence in Search

    by on Nov. 16, 2007
    When was the last time you saw The Wizard of Oz and hummed along with that catchy tune "If I Only Had a Brain"?  Clearly, there are moments when we all could use more brain-age . . .But what is seriously in need of a brain transplant is the search process in general.
     
    Most recruiters think of research in a highly transactional, cookie cutter kind of way. ("Just give me names.") That is such a wasted opportunity. At The Good Search (a retained search and retained research firm) we're total geeks when it comes to research. We embed it into virtually ...

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  • Intelligent Search - Favorite Tools & Methods?

    by on Nov. 9, 2007
    At The Good Search, we evangelize powering every search engagement with Human Capital Intelligence (research on sterioids). HCI is about connecting the dots in addition to collecting them . . .so that we get to the right candidate faster/better.
     
    And so this morning, as I sip my cup of 'jo, I thought I'd open it up to the ERE community-at-large to ask about your favorite recruitment research strategies and tools. 
     
    This morning, I am but a Student and you, my friend, are Master.
     
    Warm regards,
    Krista
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  • Doin' the Sourcer Mash

    by on Sept. 10, 2007
    If knowlege is sourcing power, then a Mashup is the easiest way to supercharge your sourcing. Mashups are an exciting genre of interactive Web applications that retrieve content from external data sources and combine that data to better inform your recruiting practice. They are so Web 2.0  . . .
     
    Mapping Mashups
    One of the first mashups to become popular is ChicagoCrime.org Web site, which is a mapping mashup. The Web site mashes crime data from the Chicago Police Department's online database with cartography from Google Maps. Any data set that contains location is a candidate for a Mapping Mashup ...

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  • Mashups: A taste of what's to come at SourceCon1

    by on Sept. 5, 2007
    Mashups are web pages that pull data from several data sources using things like APIs.  Essentially, the power in mashups is that you can learn things you wouldn't have otherwise by combining data . . .for instance, Fortune reports on the best places to work, but have you ever seen where those places are? Or have you checked out a map of the most liveable states?  Both are great links to send prospective candidates if you happen to work for one of the employers on the list or are located in one of the states . . .
     
    Mashup allow you to transform anecdotal ...

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  • Finding Heaven in the Search from Hell

    by on Aug. 14, 2007
    We've all been there.  A search that refuses to be filled.  The hiring manager is cranky and wants resumes, lots of them.  But already you've gone through dozens, scores, even hundreds of CVs and nada.  It's the kind of situation that makes you want to pack up your toys and go home.
     
    Well, take a deep breath. In fact, take a few.  (Staying calm is imperative.) If it gets personal, which it might, just step out of the way of the incoming barbs and let them blow past.  Irritability comes from the pain the client finds himself ...

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  • The "Bradford" Ultimatum

    by on Aug. 4, 2007
    I just watched the Bourne Ultimatum (highly recommended if you're into action films). The movie brought back memories of my former life as a crusading reporter, and that, my friends,  made me stop and think about the value of drawing on life experience outside the bounds of our official recruiting careers.  I'd be interested in hearing from readers about what life experience informs your gut, your instincts, and your prowess in the human capital arena.  
     
    As a journalist, I've been shot at and tear-gassed and learned to "duck and cover" in high heels, which now occassionally comes ...

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