Ah, the Internet.
The ability to uncover anyone of any technical ability IF…you knew the secrets of Internet sourcing.

I came across one fascinating account over at ERE - Forgotten Fun. To wit:

I’d forgotten the fun of Internet search.

I had a job come in during January. The position was for a senior-level manager in the R&D software group of a major storage business. The customer told me in the specifications that the person we were looking for was “an uber-geek who has the capacity and the desire to talk business to customers.” Further clarification pointed out that most qualified candidates “have blogs, or they’re named on the Web because they are conference speakers, award winners, or as with ____, have a brief profile of their background.” They were also likely to have been awarded patents.

It was apparent we weren’t looking for the average software engineer; what we needed was someone with many (in the range of 20) years of experience and the ability to be a spokesperson for a company or, in the least, a product line. “Chief Technologist” was one of the titles they were allowed to carry.

An “evangelist” type. We haven’t seen that word much lately. The word “evangelist,” according to many online dictionaries, points to a religious perspective. According to Wikipedia, a “Technical Evangelist” is “a person whose job or role is to promote technologies. This may be, officially or unofficially, on behalf of a company or organization or on a personal basis; for instance, open source evangelism. An evangelist promotes the use of a particular product or technology through talks, articles, blogging, user demonstrations, recorded demonstrations, or the creation of sample projects. The word evangelism is taken from the context of religious evangelism because of the similar recruitment of converts and the spreading of the product information through the ideological or committed.”

I noticed that the definition included the word “blogging” and this reminded me, humorously, that five years ago that concept would probably not have been included. How things change. Recognizing that this was a job that would require a sizable amount of Internet research on the front end, I got to work over the weekend. The following is my experience….MORE….

It’s definitely an eyeopening experierence! If you’re in the employment market, do yourself a favor and check it out - Maureen is one of the top experts in this field.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - and if you need employment marketplace style, consider:

Have you heard of webisodes?
Episodes of, ahem, things, that preview on the Web?

Well, one coffee manufacturer, Tassimo, has taken the concept beyond mere mortal sanity and produce the utterly hilarious:

Who Hired Bob?

series. Here’s a snippet below:

This is sooooo corporate-humor it had me falling off my chair. Kudos to Tassimo for a brilliant idea!

And here’s some background of the concept:

…Hoping to generate awareness and interest in its Tassimo hot beverage system, Kraft has partnered with Ogilvy Entertainment to create a series of humorous, interactive “Webisodes” featuring actors from NewYork’s “The Upright Citizens Brigade” comedy troupe.

The videos focus on the goofy antics of an oddball named “Bob,” who is supposed to be a coffee addict and the type of guy who finds a thousand things to do at work besides doing work. The first two Webisodes in the “Who Hired Bob?” series are already on the site. Interactivity comes in the form of giving viewers the opportunity to pick different endings to the zany episodes. They’re also being asked to think about any “Bob-like” people at their own places of work and submit stories. The best stories will become new “Bobisodes.” …MORE…

Want some more information about Tassimo? Check out:

Anybody using a Tassimo or similiar beverage machine?

Okay, Tassimo Users…. Oh Terrry!!, (it’s a coffee machine) LOL

Tassimo machine…LOVE IT

What’s that, more reviews? Okay:

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - and of course, you can always get them at eBay:

You know, I really love marketing
and putting out words that become industry buzzwords.

Long long ago, back before the earth’s crust cooled, I was one of the original pioneers of Internet Recruiting. My book, The Internet Recruiting Edge, was the only 5 star resource reviewed at Inc Magazine; I was in the right place at the right time and taught thousands of individuals. It was quite the wild ride.

Back then, there was another company, AIRS. They also taught Internet recruiting but had the smarts to create buzzwords like “peeling back” and “flipping” and “x-raying” (Ah, hindsight is 2020, if only I knew that marketing trick back then!).

Well, AIRS is now being acquired! To wit:

… AIRS, the recruitment technology and training company that introduced “peeling back” “flipping” and “x-raying” to the recruiting lexicon, has been acquired by RPO servicer TheRightThing.

The deal was finalized last week and will be announced this morning.

Speaking with ERE in advance of the announcement the CEOs of the two companies were ebullient over the deal.

“We’re giddy about this,” Terry Terhark, CEO of TheRightThing declared early in the conversation, followed by AIRS CEO Chris Forman pronouncing the deal “A great thing for both companies.”

A pioneer in online sourcing, AIRS will continue as an independent brand; its headquarters staying in the 200-year-old barn in Wilder, VT. Terhark and Forman, whose new title will be president of AIRS, said there will no layoffs and, in fact, both are looking to increase the 62 person staff as TheRightThing begins to market the AIRS product line….

So. What will this mean for HR and the recruiting industry? I shall eagerly await and see. But as all of us trainers know, nowadays there are tons of free/cost-conscious resources online that teach Internet recruiting, such as

• Sourcers Unleashed
• CyberSleuthing
• Recruiting Online
• RISE Internet Recruiting eSeminars
• Free for Recruiters

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - Are you hiring?