Posted by: Gareth Jones in totaljobs.com, strategy, socialmedia, social recruiting, social networking, social media recruiting, social media in recruitment, recruitment technology, recruitment solutions, Recruitment, recruiting, online recruitment, on-line recruitment, On-line job hunting, monster, jobboard, job sites, job search, job boards, Job board, future, erecruitment, Engagement, Candidates, #trulondon on
28 Feb 11
I have been thinking a lot about job boards recently, as both a customer and a jobseeker. In these socially enabled times, it strikes me that the job board user experience should be something like this:
Jobs are displayed in easy on the eye tag clouds, instead of ordered lists we know are manipulated by the recruitment organisations who post them. Jobs are highlighted to me by other job seekers and I can rank them by most viewed, highest rated or user defined tags. It’s a visual experience, not a data driven one.
I can tag each job myself, just like I can currently tag the rest of my social life – my pictures, my bookmarks and so on – knowing that all my fellow jobseekers are doing the same. This rich user tagging is doing a way better job of delivering me relevant jobs than the job board search facility can.
What's more, I can connect with my social friends on the site, directly, along with other job seekers whom I don't know. Yet. The feature that flags the profiles of people who are also looking for a job in my specialism or area takes care of that.
It introduces me to others in the community who also happen to be looking for a job in the same area as me. We can swap notes, compare opportunities, give advice and extend our job-seeking network. And of course, make some life long friends along the way.
Posted by: Vincenzo Migliore in Websites, Twitter, TRU London, Recruitment, Networking, LinkedIn, Facebook, Engagement, Employer Brand, Candidates, Brand, #trulondon on
22 Mar 10
Let's be honest with each other for a moment. We all know that's easier said than done, sometimes you just have to keep quiet. Sometimes, you have to bite your lip. It's just easier that way.
But then where does that really get you? In the short term it can make sense, even make life easier, but the reality is, without honesty, in the long term we never really improve.
What if you could ask any question you like and get an honest answer? How much easier would that be when it came to making the right decisions?
If that were the case organisations could create even more authentic and transparent employer brands, based on honest employee feedback and opinions.
Recruiters could manage candidate expectations from the offset, delivering the right candidates for the right reasons.
Wow, less than 4 weeks to go and the Bill Boorman phenomena takes on its latest iteration with TruLondon II and TruSource 17-19 February.
Inspired by RecruitFest in Toronto last year, Bill has grasped the Unconference model with both hands and taken it into places and worlds unknown. We have all gratefully jumped on board, giving us a chance to share knowledge and learning with colleagues and strangers on a level playing field. 
No more are we seen as just 'talking heads', but as session Track Leaders. But. to me, even that is a misnomer. We are active participants, learning as much as we teach.
The only downside? I want to sit in on every session, itch to put in my $.02 with other leaders, learn from the delegates, ask them what they really want to see happen in recruitment and share in their triumphs as well as sympathise with their disappointments.
What will I be doing?
Talking about Job Boards 2020 with long time collaborator Keith Robinson and online marketing expert Simon Lewis.
Looking at the Cultural Clash of cross border recruitment (as a Yank abroad for over 30 years, I have experienced this first hand in many countries) with Brit Jon Ingham, American Laurie Reuttimann, Canadian Geoff Webb and Dee Allan from Singapore.
Discussing Bill Boorman's pet topic (one of many), Phoenix Recruiting with blogger and thinker extraordinaire, Andy Headworth.
Linking up with Shane McClusker to explore my own Talent Puddle principle; hoping to extend and question this concept.
Oh, and while this is going on, RCEURO will be there to conduct interviews, report on the action, broadcast online radio with our European Thought Leaders track and the Bill Boorman shows.
Come one, come all and enjoy a great three days. Click for Registration:
Posted by: TRU Events in TRU, #trulondon on
20 Jan 10
TRU Interviews – Jim Stroud
TRULondon II is just around the corner on February 18, 19. To help you get to know our exciting line up speakers better, we’re sending our event blogger Glenn Le Santo out to track them down. Here’s the first of a series of mini-interviews with the TruLondon characters; we start with with recruitment research expert Jim Stroud.
Glenn LeSanto: How did you come to be in the position you are in today? was it by design or chance?
Jim Stroud: It was purely by chance. My initial goal was to be a successful screenwriter / author, but that was not getting me anywhere at the time. I was considering marrying my college sweetheart and it was at her prompting that I should get a “real job” that I switched direction on my career.
The year was 1997 and I had only a passing fancy with the internet. At that point, a friend showed me how to navigate BBS (Bulletin Board Systems aka online forums) to find pictures of bikini clad models, so I thought that was the highlight of what the world wide web could offer. (Not impressed)
In my search for suitable employment, I stumbled across a job posting for an Internet Researcher. The verbiage basically said, “we are seeking people to surf the web all day.” Upon reading this and considering the number of bikini models that I could discover while ”working,” I thought it was a fairly attractive offer. The employer was MCI and the job quite literally changed my life. Using the Internet to find resumes and passive candidates was cutting edge in the states then and I was very fortunate to be on a team that was focused on pioneering that space.
Geoff Webb from Toronto, Radical Recruiter and session leader at TruLondon I in November has added to his many outlets with Tru Blogs , which should grow to include content from many of the proposed Tru events, including Tru London II in London in February and possible Tru North and Tru USA.
Spreading the gospel of Bill Boorman and many many thought leaders in all aspects of recruitment from around the world.
RCEuro.com is happy to be a sponsor of the London series and I am personally looking forward to travelling to North America (back near my roots of upstate NY, only 85 miles or so from Torornto) to share learning and knowledge with so many individuals I have met on Twitter and the various recruitment blogs.
Geoff has just posted a terrific wrap up video from TruLondon I, with original content, video from Andy and Sarah Headworth and stills from our onsite reporter, twitterer and all around good egg, Jill Elswick, which you can watch from the Audio/Video player on the home page.
Last week was the UK’s first recruitment unconference and it was certainly an interesting event. I was working the Social Media Track with @mattalder and@carveconsulting. Anyone who knows Matt and Paul will know how knowledgeable both are when it comes to social media; I cannot tell you how much I learned from them throughout the day!
Matt and Paul know all about using social media in business but me, I don’t know anything much about that really. I work in the construction industry and, as emaciated as the industry is, you don’t find that many candidates or clients from my little niche working the social networks. I use social media for me; my personal development and networking. I don’t know anything much about posting jobs, using boolean searches for finding candidates on LinkedIn, or monitoring my company’s brand because that’s not how I use it, so I didn’t feel as though I had an awful lot to contribute on that front. I’m more about personal branding and interaction, so I was a little sad that everyone was more interested in the corporate stuff. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised though really; these are tough times for recruiters and social media is a fairly new tool for a lot of people. Me, I’m a bit of a geek – I’ve been making friends and networking online since my mid-teens and the days of ICQ, IRC and forums.
Social media for personal use is something we all need to be aware of and work smarter at though. The benefits are endless but the two major ones are, in my opinion, personal development and networking.
Personal Development
We all have different work ethics, operate in different industries and have different training. Sharing our experiences and opinions, be it through blogs, tweets, emails or in person, is enlightening! We can learn something from everyone in our network and I think the unconference really highlighted that: There were all sorts of unique ways that companies and individuals were using social media, all sorts of tools that people were using to monitor their brand, and a variety of positive and negative experiences that people had had which we could all learn something from. I’m not going to list them all here; go to the next unconference in February and see for yourself! I didn’t get to visit any other tracks (apart from the secret track at the end!) but I still came away with a couple pages of notes, so I can only imagine what those who had a chance to move about learned!
Jim Stroud: It was purely by chance. My initial goal was to be a successful screenwriter / author, but that was not getting me anywhere at the time. I was considering marrying my college sweetheart and it was at her prompting that I should get a “real job” that I switched direction on my career.
