Recruiting and Technology: Session 2

As I tour the country and work with various recruiters and professional headhunters I can’t help but to chuckle at the complaints the modern recruiter (corporate, executive search, staffing and basement dwellers) all seem to have. My internet is too slow, CareerBuilder is down again, my wireless mouse is not working, and on and on. It was not that long ago when we had to fax or hand deliver resumes and you were lucky to get a company email to contact some hiring manager or job seeker.

Now, I have a flat screen TV in my office and can’t live without all the small technology toys to include the so aptly named crackberry! Well most of it I can live without and probably become an even more productive recruiter and member of society, except my multiple monitors! I remember the first time I heard about running dual monitors for recruiting. I had seen the concept for call centers and IT developers but never thought it would apply to me. I was wrong.

I was attending a Top Echelon conference and one of the main presenters was hosting a training session. He had two screens being projected and showed how to run their ATS tool on one screen and look at a candidate or job order on another. What? Yeah I said that and laughed it off but Tiffany who was with me said, “Pretty cool.” Ok, so maybe there was something we were missing here. So, we asked what does it take to set up dual monitors in our office.

The set up was very easy, and after a few years now I have assisted numerous recruiters and companies, with various laptop or desk top hardware configurations, transition into the multiple monitor mode. If you are paying attention I said multiple monitors as I have found out with my laptop and docking station that I can have three monitors, and have since found a great USB product that will allow me to run up to five (yes, not enough desk space).

So why multiple monitors? As I learned at that conference; efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. I am sure there are a number of other gains like cost savings on printing, speed to market, enhanced phone time, etc. But it is great to have the resume of the person you are talking with on one screen, your ATS on another and the job order or client website on the third. Not to mention, but hey I am the boss, facebook or Yahoo IM running to see who I might ping during the day.

All told, running a dual or multiple monitor configuration is not that big of an investment, even for an entire team of recruiters and researchers. The enhancements you gain far outweigh the time and cost to set this technology up. Plus, you seem smarter to the person on the other end of the phone when you can Google a word or phrase they mention and say, “oh yeah here is what you are talking about!”

To engage The Recruiting Guy to train or consult with your staff visit our services page or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com.

Chris Wellington “The Recruiting Guy”, President, The Wellington Group

I seem to be a magnet for publishers, direct mailing companies, aspiring writers and all in between…to include my neighbor’s mail at times! The flip side to this is that I AM a knowledge pack-rat. I have books upon books, magazines that have come and gone, brochures, conference binders, clipped WSJ articles and entire newspapers all which had some nugget of information or learning moments I could put into practice. So it’s no surprise to visit the mail box at 12:16 each day to find a new magazine.

This week I received a recruiting / staffing magazine, Employment Marketplace. Now forgive me as I may have received these in the past, but I had idle time on the exercise bike to flip through this 24 page (cover to cover) magazine and read each article. What follows are my thoughts on the magazine and some of the writers, one of which I think very highly of for many years now.

Apparently Employment Marketplace has been around for 26 years as their website quotes. The publication I received was Vol. 27 Issue 111, for what that might mean. To me it’s like a check number. “Mr. Wellington, what check number would you like to start with…2009?” Not being facetious but it’s very colorful, lots of pictures, MANY advertisements and oh-so very Thin. I think most of the publication is vendors, advertisers or people trying to sell their works through snippets or rushed articles.

It’s understandable in tough times to adjust and modify to survive, but most companies that survive make this morph with more service than pay, not true in this case. While I like some of Steve Finkel’s work, the Manager’s Corner piece was a tough read. What was the point, I never got there? Temp Track was even less understandable, although I did highlight a couple pieces in the last two paragraphs. Frank Risalvato’s sales call advice is sure to get you fired in reputable company.

It’s obvious this magazine is funded by NAPS and vendors for they had Frank Burtnett write a piece on NAPS National Conference. I have known Frank for years, think very highly of him, and assisted or initiated his support in dozens of people becoming NAPS certified at conferences or even in my offices. That said, he is the fly-in fly-out consultant there for certification and rarely seen during the remaining hours of any conference? I would like to see more on how to achieve and maintain certification and why that sets you apart as a true Professional from him. 

My favorite piece by far was Tuning out the Noise by Neil McNulty. I have no idea who Neil is but I will be watching for more of his work. This article was only one page but very precise and on message. So much so that I sent a copy to each member of my team, some of my peers and a couple clients for the accountability he wrote about transcends the recruitment industry.

It’s too bad the entire page of pictures on the NCASP and SCAPS annual conference were taken at the cocktail party or lunch verse the actual learning sessions as it would have been great to see the 3 people attending from The Wellington Group on the page verses the NCASP board.

In short, was worth the time to review and read verses my current book or CD. I did pick up a couple of pieces of information to use and put to memory. Will not be paying the $148 for the annual subscription to get a 24 page, self-indulged magazine 4 times and some on-line info.

As a professional headhunter paid to uncover names and talent my final question is…how did they get my current address?

Chris

Follow The Recruiting Guy on Twitter…@therecruitinguy.com

To hire The Recruiting Guy as a speaker or trainer visit The Recruiting Guy or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com. 

*Employment Marketplace and EMinfo can be found at www.eminfo.com.