..., most of the time.

Comfort. Some things in life are more comfortable than others. It can be a bit disconcerting to receive a phone call from a client who expected more from your relationship or be summoned to your superior’s office to hear the dreaded words, “I don’t like anything you have suggested.” Or how about that time when you submitted your resignation and your supervisor looked at you as if to say, “How can you leave me on this sinking ship?”  Been there, regrettably, done that.  We all have to face uncomfortable situations in our work lives.

Human Resource Professionals and Recruiters tend to meet those moments more often than other professionals. The Sign-Off: telling a candidate they aren’t getting invited to the show. The Collection: having to call a client, former or otherwise, to ask for the final installment for a placement you made two, three, or four months ago. The Lost Friend: when a hiring manager comes to you with a confidential recruitment that will replace a friend of yours within the company, and you have to keep it confidential. The HR Function: having to address hirings, firings, lay-offs, complaints, sexual harassment issues, evaluation time, changes in policy, promotions, non-promotions, and demotions.

Understand that Life in HR is not always easy. As a matter of fact, it often is not. And finding your comfort level, as an HR Professional, Corporate Recruiter or Third-Party Recruiter can be a challenge. Some of us are cut out to make cold calls, some of us are not. Some are cut out to stand in an Exhibitor’s Booth all day, some are not. Some of us are cut out to attend conferences and sit in session upon session for two days straight, some are not. Some of us are cut out to tweet about anything and everything, some are not. Some of us are cut out to bring the right placement to the table, in a timely manner – some are not.

The zone to be in is the one that feels right, the one that runs smoothly and efficiently. However, should that zone become too stagnant or too easy, we risk the opportunity for development and growth, for learning new skills, or challenging our own understandings of the job, any job. Finding the right combination of further excelling at what we are already good and getting better at what is necessary but uncomfortable is a formidable task. Formidable, but not impossible.

Cats are good at running away from discomfort. They dart through halls or along fences and under cars, in an effort to dodge everything and anything that isn’t for their own benefit. Dogs will endure an incredible amount of discomfort to simply to please their owners, to get a pat on the head or a treat. Somewhere in between lies another animal, the HR Professional or Recruiter. Knowing that sometimes discomfort comes with the gig, but also a great deal of satisfaction is part of their makeup.

 Gloria Steinem said, “The only thing I can’t stand is discomfort.”

Somehow, I think avoidance and complacency trump discomfort.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four, happily engaged to Tom, residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a daily contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Your past is not...

I am waxing nostalgic. What is it about the past that keeps us in it? Or keeps us reverting to it or, sometimes, avoiding it? Do we value it as history and what we can learn from it or is it simply too difficult to let go? From reviewing a résumé to conducting professional reference interviews, we are often drawn to the past and what we can learn from it. There has been a consistent message over the last couple years, that your résumé is dead.

That’s right, I said it. So have many others.  Many people will be offended or want to tear my head off, but I am merely repeating what is already been said.  Again. As a matter of fact, back in 2007, Michael Fiore rang an early death knell with his white paper, “The Traditional Résumé is Dead…” I think I can hear a fugue playing in the background. Fiore states, “As the volume of résumés increases, the quality will not – this is, in my opinion, an inevitable result of human nature. With such a huge volume of incoming résumés and applicants, it will be virtually impossible for humans to physically sort through the number of résumés that will be received.” Oooo, was he foreseeing the future? He then goes on to praise applicant tracking systems. Of course, that was almost five years ago…, oops, there I go digressing to the past, again.

Think of how much technology has altered the state of business over the last five years. Do you use the same tools that you used five or ten years ago? I hope not. When was the last time you actually applied for a job through your own website or someone else’s? Have you tested the process to make sure it is clean, clear, and that an applicant isn’t getting worn out or feeling dejected by the process? How do you review a résumé? Are they a waste of time for you and do you rely more on the phone interview or first on-site? Do you follow the words on the paper, letting only those words guide your gut?

While the title may seem a recruiter revolt, Kristi Daeda concludes her article, Is the Résumé is Dead with, “Until more corporations, and their recruitment systems, embrace the social media revolution, the paper résumé is here to stay.” Well, more corporations are embracing social media.  And a challenge to Daeda’s statement is as simple as applying for a job online…, no paper involved there. Most organizations require a potential candidate to fill out an application online prior to even the first interview.
I once applied for a position that required I give my social security number and bank information before I even spoke to a representative or recruiter. I asked, “Excuse me, do you require all applicants to give this information before you even conduct an interview?”  The idiot manning the application process seemed surprised by my question and said, “Why yes…”  I walked out. Can you blame me? No one had even shook my hand and I barely received a hello before a clipboard was shoved across a messy desk to me. Sounds to me like a death, of sorts. But what is it, exactly, that has died?

I just want to make sure we are grieving the right loss.

“It’s never safe to be nostalgic about something until you’re absolutely certain there’s no chance of its coming back.”~Bill Vaughn

Are civility and manners ringing the same bells as the résumé?

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Candidate interface. Client interface. Knowing the goals of both is necessary and easily deemed tiresome. Not exactly the most exciting part of the job. Candidates and Clients: when you discover a lack of cohesion between the two, do you push on, hoping that particular deficiency goes away quietly into the dark? Sometimes the rug isn’t big enough under which to sweep unforeseen insufficiencies.

Finding the balance in a candidate where their areas of strength coincide with the needs of the Hiring Manager or Hiring Department/Organization can be tedious but that is part of the gig, right? Knowing needs and also deciphering the needs you don’t know can be difficult, but not impossible. The sometimes mind-numbing task of debriefing the Hiring Manager to ascertain every nuance of the job or team is, unfortunately, elemental to drive success in hiring.
Recruiting 001, coined by Jerry Albright, requires you, as the recruiter/staffing agent/HR professional/search consultant/talent acquisition specialist/personnel officer to discern this basic before you even start. How can you possibly identify a valid field of potential candidates if you don’t truly know the position and environment into which you are hiring?

In conducting professional reference interviews, do you ask the universal question, “What would you say John Smith’s strengths are?” And, of course, the converse follows, “If John Smith had an area that needed improvement, what would that be?” Discovering the weaknesses of a candidate can be a little more difficult than having a former supervisor extol the virtues of said candidate. Weakness is such a strong word and strength is so passé. And, ultimately, who is going to give the name of a professional reference who might, possibly, give a poor reference?

I love the deadly answer for both - “He is a perfectionist.” Of course, aren’t we all? It is even more precious when it comes from the candidate, himself. Discovery. Detective work. Sorcery. (sourcer-y) Magic. Archeology. Digging up the bones for the dog to chew on. Asking the right questions.
Not such a simple task but not that difficult either.

And for a little Eddie Izzard fun:  It is as simple as…, cake or death?

What do you get out of the ride?

Community. It seems to have been the talk of the town for a few years now.  And as of late, the “talent community” talk has quite a few excited but still others baffled that this concept could even subsist, let alone – money be made from it.  For those of us who have worked hard to build our own databases – NOT thought of as communities – it seems silly to consider a “quick money” utilization of the virtual handshake.  Oh sure, I am the first to advocate always getting something for yourself.  But should this be any different than what we have always done?  When I was a PTA President, I hung out with other concerned moms.  When I was very active in theater, I lingered backstage.  When I participated in a church, I spent the majority of my free time with others in that congregation.  We have always created our own communities, just not with dollar signs attached.  So, I guess my individual principles and ideals are challenged by this fairly new idea of a business: talent community.  And in this challenge, I will either learn or I will teach.

Some may disagree with me. There are those who will say that all should be wonderful and perfect in the sandbox. That all the toys should be shared and that no one should go home unhappy. Part of what makes a community tick and thrive is the differences that each of us brings to the table. Not everyone gets a trophy. Like cogs that work together to keep the machinery running, differences of opinion and challenging ideas are what drive innovation and changes of thought.

What a boring world it would be if each of us had the exact same principles and beliefs. If there weren’t arguments or issues that sometimes stand in the way, what kind of progress would we truly see? None. We would continue on, doing the same things, thinking the same thoughts, with no desire to learn more, for why should we?

The reasons we participate in a community are threefold. We simply want to be a part of it all – to keep the heartbeat going.  We want to be heard – to share our ideas and thoughts, to teach.  And we want to listen – to learn – to take away something from a discussion anything that makes our life or job easier or helps us to do it better. Sometimes we give, and sometimes we take. And that’s ok.  Problems arise when it is forgotten that conflict is good for a community. Sparks are needed to start an engine and keep it going. Static status, never changing, never learning – all lead to stunted growth. There is much to learn here, there is much to share. We each provide a different viewpoint, a different spark.

So, with this in mind, are those reasons considered and met by all who participate in talent communities?  Who gains the most from a talent community?  It really is just a pond where only a few fish get fed.  And such ponds do not exist for long.  We don’t need to rethink and rename community, we just need to face reality.  It’s a database.  It’s a rolodex.   It’s a list of names or organizations to draw from and meet your needs.  And occasionally, those names’ and organizations’ needs are met, as well.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization

Several years ago, I sat in front of the CEO of a small company that called itself a start-up for start-ups. I was new to this type of organization, a technology-based company, trying to get off the ground with little funding and big ideas. I had worked for the whole of my career, up until that point, in the dental and health care fields, so technology was a new and welcome twist.  Fred, the CEO, held a book in his hand, The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge, a book about learning organizations and systems’ thinking approach to business, and asked, “Have you read this book?” I looked blankly at the unfamiliar text in his hand and painfully thought, “Oewh… this job is not for me.” I then shook my head and answered truthfully, “Nope.” He said, “You will.”

That was a first step toward my further understanding of business – in general, start-ups, and, really, expanding my horizons beyond cold calling, sales, and recruitment.  I joined this young technology company as the Manager of Recruitment and Retention and I became educated rather quickly that my days of retained and calculated search and taking my sweet time to find the right fit were long over. I also learned an incredibly valuable lesson that has become embedded in my psyche and stays with me still today. I learned to be flexible and recognize that what always worked before may not work any longer. And that’s ok.  Better yet, you can teach an old dog a few new tricks.

I learned the art of executive recruitment from an old-school recruiter who demanded that 60 to 100 cold calls a day were the only way to get a job done and get the word out about a new position, and you had to suffer and suffer hard to garner a slate of only mildly acceptable and rarely perfect candidates. I wanted there to be a better and easier way. I wanted to just be able to go to the database we had built over the last several years and filter, filter, filter… but every new search brought a non-annotated 60-page Access search record dropped on my desk. Equipped with several thousand names and numbers, a pencil and pen, a telephone, came the order to, “Smile and dial.”

The different media available today has changed the face of recruitment.  Human Resources is no longer the organizational function in the basement. Recruiting is no longer the “wicked step child” of HR.  Social media has re-shaped how we interact with the people we do know, why wouldn’t it alter the way we interact with those we don’t?  Recently, the French company Atos eliminated internal email altogether and opted for Facebook messaging as the forum-of-choice for their internal communications.

There really is no such thing as a social media expert.  And I think we are still in the infancy stage of fully grasping its capability and impact. It’s been a crazy ride but I plan on holding on.  If I sat across from that same CEO today, I could say, “Yes, I have read that book.” But then I’d send a tweet stating, “But the system is bigger than ever before.”

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Recruiting to Retain

I have some worn-out luggage.  Actually, it’s baggage and it ain’t pretty.  I carry it with me always:  a sense of guilt attached to my actions and how they affect others. Maybe it comes from a strict and religious upbringing, maybe it just comes from an inordinate accountability that I feel, maybe I just feel responsible for the well being of everyone and everything I come in contact with, it’s my mommy complex. Whatever it is, I feel sorry whenever anyone around me fails or gets hurt.  Perhaps I think I could have done something about it, I could have prevented it from happening…

While guilt or fear can be used as a good thing, it can also be debilitating.

You may have heard before of my experiences as a Corporate Recruiter with a Technology Start-up Company, SUTI in Newport Beach. I loved this job.  I loved getting up for work every day and making my one- to two-hour commute, really I did. I would make phone calls or listen to audio books along the way but even if I just listened to music or nothing at all, by the time I arrived at my destination, I was pumped up and ready to work. I embraced the vision of this company and really believed we were destined for greatness and wealth.  Always a good thing to hope and dream for.

I was able to recruit fifty-four people in less than seven months to this organization. Their titles ranged from Vice President to Director to Manager to Chemist to Research Associate to Admin Assistant. Many different folks joined the company as a result of my efforts, my buy-in to the company vision, my ability to woo, my ability to recruit.

After eight months, hiring started to slow down even though the hiring projections were still 120 new hires within twelve months.  Job descriptions changed mid-recruitment, compensations dropped, start times were postponed, titles shifted, and there were a significant amount of closed-door meetings. I knew something was up almost instantly. It was like a cold chill ran across my desk and I could feel a freeze, the big chill, coming on. I knew my job was at risk and I struggled for a couple months with the decision whether I should leave or not.

How could I leave all the people I had so recently recruited? How could I not tell them what I suspected? You guessed it, massive guilt began to set in and a battle waged in my head and my heart ached consistently.  How could I choose to jump ship when it was like another yacht christening every time a new hire came on board? Painfully, I did finally make the sad decision to leave. Hiring all but ceased and one, two, then three and four Vice Presidents left shortly after I did; I had recruited two of them. Slowly, all the folks I had brought to the company either left on their own or were subjected to a series of layoffs within a year’s time.

I have even been guilty of feeling guilty. I am sure many of you can relate. Understanding that it was my ego that was causing me hang on to my guilt has helped me to let go of it. I think I feared that my former co-workers held me responsible.   “The guilty think all talk is of themselves.” -Chaucer

Like jealousy and hate, guilt is a useless emotion that brings very little good. Fear of guilt may drive us to make better decisions but clinging to it keeps you from letting go and reaching out for new and better opportunities. I am learning to let go, I think it might be a life-long process.  And I’m not going to feel guilty about it.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.