January 2007 - Posts

• collaborating to hire

  For my first “real” post over here on the HotSpot, I figured I should tell you a little bit about what makes me tick.  What you’ll soon learn about me is that I have strong convictions and I’m not afraid (mostly) to say what I think.  And when it comes to the recruiting business, one of my mantras is:  “Recruiting is every employee’s job.”  It sounds easy and reasonable on the surface, but few companies live by this mantra.   You’ll often hear software engineers complain that their recruiters aren’t providing them with enough good candidates.  And you’ll hear recruiters complain that their “clients” (the engineers and such) aren’t being responsive enough during the process.  Employees – whether you a recruiter, hiring manager (the person who has the open position available in their group), interviewer, or innocent bystander – have to work together to attract the best of the best to their company.    And there is no magic bullet to recruiting.  No single tactic – cold calling, networking, advertising, etc – works every time.  It’s a collaborate effort involving an ongoing strategy, and to really make it work, you’ve got to incorporate recruiting into every part of your job.  These days, joining a company is really about adopting a lifestyle.  Work is not just “work” anymore.  And you can’t rely on just one person in your company to represent that lifestyle.  (Zoe provided a great example of recruiting collaboration in yesterday’s post.)   So what you’ll read here from me won’t just be targeted towards recruiters (although I hope recruiters read, learn, and certainly share!).  This is also about empowering other employees to bring the best of the best into your company … without even consciously realizing it at times.   And maybe I’ll bring “sexy back” to recruiting … just a bit maybe? :)   Anyway, we’ve got lots of topics in mind to write about ... but if you have any burning questions or problems ... or just recruiting gripes you want to share, just let us know!   gretchen Posted Jan 31 2007, 03:30 PM by gretchen with no comments Filed under: candidate search

• Recruiters: Have Your Hiring Managers Contact Candidates First

  I have heard many software engineers in the industry complain that corporate and third party recruiters don’t know how to “talk the talk” when it comes to recruiting software professionals.  It's a turn off to receive a call from someone that doesn't understand your industry or what technical skills you have to offer.  One potential answer proposed by Dr. John Sullivan over at ERE is that initial contact shouldn’t take place by a recruiter, but by the hiring manager.  And in some instances, I agree.   In cases where you have a highly sought after professional or someone that you've identified as a potential hot addition to your company, you'll want to put your best foot forward when making that first impression.  Sometimes the difficulty is knowing when to rely on your hiring managers for help and this is where a trusted relationship between recruiters (of any ilk) and hiring authorities becomes key.  If you have any doubt about the technology skills you are recruiting for or know in advance that a potential candidate is prone to loath recruiter interactions, don't hesitate to bring in the manager to make that first call.   And for all the hiring managers out there, as you are identifying your lists of top technical talent (or recruiters are doing this for you), sit down and review the list with your staffing professional.  There may be candidates you wish to contact directly first and then put in touch with the recruiter for the "close".    I think the lesson here is in developing valued partnerships between hiring managers and recruiters.  There doesn't necessarily have to be a black and white delineation in responsibilities when it comes to hiring great people.  In fact, building a strategy around knowing when, how and who should make that initial contact could be your best bet in winning over your next hire.   And welcome to the Employer HotSpot!  As Gretchen said, I'm looking forward to having great conversations about attracting, hiring and interviewing talent! Cheers, Zoe Posted Jan 30 2007, 09:33 AM by zoe with no comments Filed under: candidate search

• Welcome to the JobBurner Employer HotSpot

  Hi there!  I'm Gretchen, and welcome to the JobBurner Employer HotSpot, JobBurner's blog to help technical recruiters, hiring managers, interviewers ... and anyone who cares about hiring great technical talent ... find, attract, and evaluate the right people for the right jobs.  Recruiting is every employee's job, and we'll help you determine what you need to know to get the job done right.   For those of you who don't already know me, I've worked in the technical recruiting industry for several years, and I've been blogging about job and candidate searches for 3 years ... first with Microsoft’s JobsBlog and still with the The JobSyntax Blog.  Zoe Goldring, whom I've been blogging with since the beginning, will also post here occasionally.  Personally, I'm really excited to have the opportunity to write a blog about finding great talent, and we hope you will see this as the ultimate HotSpot for technical hiring news you can use.    We'll have more to come, but if you have any hot questions or topics you’d like us to write about, let us know by leaving a comment!  Also, be sure to check out the JobBurner CampFire for equally juicy job search tips and news as well as the JobBurner Forums where you can discuss amongst yourselves. :) gretchen Posted Jan 29 2007, 08:00 AM by gretchen with no comments