tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77301961583767098792024-02-06T20:45:54.283-08:00Say Something DanIt is time for me to put up or shut up... I'm not that good at shutting up, so I'll try this. My view on life and Recruiting and how it all mixes togetherDanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-81439090310519398202011-05-19T06:58:00.001-07:002011-05-19T07:32:45.536-07:005 Lessons learnedSo.... I'm now ten months into this job with Peerlo now, time flies huh?<br /><br />It's been an interesting journey, it's been a fun journey, but I tell you what.... I feel like I've learned a lot, about a lot of things, even myself! So far some of the interesting discoveries have been<br /><br />1) I broke a promise to myself over the last couple of years. Almost 10 years ago I promised myself that I wouldn't out stay my welcome in a company again (after doing that) However, I think I stayed too long in my last role. Nothing against the company, this is a me thing. I got stuck in a rut, I saw the world through "What it could be" glasses as opposed to those indispensable "Reality glasses". I kept thinking things would change, that when common sense prevailed, my role would evolve. Bottom line: Pollyanna 0 Reality 1. I see it now, deep down I probably knew it then, but knowing it and doing something about it is a completely different thing.<br /><br />I can see now, how my mental stimulation has changed. Just check out my blogs (or lack thereof) of late. I used to write until all hours of the morning. I had to expire my mental energy before I could sleep... Now days, I can barely stay up passed 11 (OK I am getting old). I miss it as I really enjoy writing, but a lot of the time, once I get home, help my wife get the kids off to bed, I"m mentally stuffed.<br /><br />2) I was way too nice in my last role. Not saying I'm an out and out bastard now, however, in helping to build this business I've found some leads, nay potential clients, I've known for a while, try to take advantage of me. Assuming I'd take the bottom of the barrel deal being offered and be thankful. Nope... I'm all about mutual professional respect now. Don't want to respect me and what I do? Think you can do it better? Cheaper? Better value? By all means be my guest. My Brand, My Companies Brand won't be placed in a subservient position. To quote Patrick Swayze "Nobody puts Baby in the Corner"<br /><br />3) I don't have to wear a suit every day to the office to be a professional or to be productive! (I actually had it in my mind that I did, this was a tough paradigm to shake!)<br /><br />4) I respect myself and the industry I am in. Discussions I've been able to have with perspective clients, who are now real clients have been great for reaffirmation. Not that I am shy on self belief, however when your message has gotten old and stale and no-one really listens after you've been in a place for an eternity, it is heartening to rekindle the confidence in you do know your stuff. <br /><br />5) Work life balance is achievable without the guilt. I work in an environment where maturity is expected. Families are respected. You deliver, what you say you're going to deliver, when you say you're going to deliver it, and you can be anywhere, doing anything (within reason)<br /><br />It's interesting. How all my roles to date have led me to this role. How everything I've learned about Recruiting, business, respect and fun can be encapsulated in conversations I have daily with the owner of the business. They have been the building blocks to where I am now both personally and professionally. I'm really looking forward to stacking up more of these blocks and seeing where it will take us. I have grand plans, Peerlo has grand plans.... Watch this space the boy is growing up!DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-57451272080626304092011-02-09T00:51:00.000-08:002011-02-27T04:08:34.982-08:00Hmmmm Recruiting Dilemma.... or notWow... it's been a while since I've blogged on here. It's not that I haven't been writing, it's just that I've had some other outlets, which make the something's Dan says a little quiet.. not my normal style. October 2010 it tells me... oops<br /><br />So today it is... a quiet house, a busy mind and the need to write something has made this happen.<br /><br />I've been Recruiting for a number of years now... maybe too many, but I heard something the other day which I hadn't heard before. Basically I'm writing to see if anyone else has had this before.<br /><br />I had a new Recruiter pose a question to me, a moral question, which I've never thought about (and probably won't again). His moral dilemma stemmed from the idea or perception that we were stealing people from employers. We were without any remorse, calling employed people and talking to them about other jobs, putting the their current employers at risk. "don't you have a moral issue with that Dan?"<br /><br />Huh? My response was basically, I would feel bad if there was ever a day I walked into a work place, picked someone up, against their will, walked them out the door and took them to my clients site, tied them to the desk and collected a fee. Dog the Bounty hunter style!<br /><br />So I put myself in the Employers, Managers shoes. Nope still no issue! Good or bad, people come and go from your business, and you life for a mixed bag of reasons. Sure at times, I'll be pissed off, maybe disappointed (sometimes really really happy!) when people leave, but you know what... it's life. Now, if someone is enticed to leave, what does that really say? It says they weren't getting everything they needed in the first place. You weren't (as am employer) able or willing to give them what they needed in an employer, leaving them open to be enticed away by these canny Recruiters! So be it!<br /><br />I've seen companies specifically target people from set organisations, it happens daily across the world I promise. Most work places are full of people that have worked somewhere else, so I am still lost on the issue.<br /><br />Needless to say this person has now left the industry, but I'm wondering if I'm on my own here and not getting the issue? Help.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-22048835915002005632010-10-16T02:11:00.000-07:002010-10-20T06:13:53.480-07:00So, You've got a new job.... COOL... now what?Forgive me blog, for it has been quite a while since my last blog.<br /><br />Over a month! That is unheard of since I started writing this. I'm not even sure what I'm going to write about tonight, but Dan needs to say something.<br /><br />Life have been extremely hectic and I have been experiencing life as the new guy, for the first time in many years. Being this newbie, got me thinking. We write lots about finding a job, ie identifying the opening, approaching the company, cover letters v resumes, how to structure the resume, interviewing techniques etc etc etc. But the advice you read from the Recruitment experts or at least the blogoshpere that I read stops there. With the amount of people I've seen changing jobs in 2010 (for a variety of reasons), I've noticed very little information about how to approach the new job, first days, what to expect from yourself, what to expect from the company etc....<br /><br />So I thought I'd give it a go, albeit from a relatively high level.<br /><br />Here's some things you should think about when starting a new job...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Set realistic expectations for yourself, for your company and for your clients.</span><br /><br />I know you're excited, you're going to change the world! You're going to show these people a few things on how this is done. Targets? Smargets! You'll do the whole year's worth of work in the first quarter! Whoa cowboy (cowgirl), the game has changed a bit. All good things are built on strong foundations. Take the time to lay them (and let them dry) and then build steadily.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Be open to change and flexible in your outlook</span><br /><br />Sometimes things don't go to plan, things change in life and in business, be open to it, go with it and see where it takes you. Being too rigid will cause you issues.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Be calm, listen more than you talk</span><br /><br />No matter the research you've done, nothing compares to being there, "find" the culture yourself, or even better let it find you. Engage people and get to know your new environment well. Then you can be a proper ambassador for your new employer.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Keep smiling, and don't look back</span><br /><br />You'll have your good and bad days, that's supposed to happen. Remember you changed jobs for a reason. Maybe write those reasons down to remind you. Don't be tempted to see the world through the infamous "rose coloured glasses"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Take your breaks</span><br /><br />Get to know your surrounding environment, clear your head, reload and then go hard again. Coffee is for closers remember, earn it :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Don't forget to inform your network</span><br /><br />You have to keep these things up-to-date, you never know when it will come in handy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stop saying "we" when talking about your old company</span><br /><br />Enough said. But remember don't burn those bridges, you never know when those old connections will come in handy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Communicate honestly</span><br /><br />With your partner (if you have one) with your manager/employer and with yourself. Use them to keep you sane and on track.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Have Fun and enjoy yourself</span><br /><br />You spend the most of your waking hours at work, make it fun.<br /><br />I'd love to add some more tips to this, feel free to add comments to make this list useful to people<br /><br />I've been lucky since the change. But it hasn't been all smooth sailing, things deviated from my original plans when moving on, which required a paradigm (OK, OK cliche time) shift. But these shifts I think in the end, will make this relationship something strong and sustainable. The time is just flying past me, and being part of building something exciting, well that just rocks!DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-48687256562932365872010-09-02T06:54:00.000-07:002010-09-02T07:43:50.502-07:00Passion..... you gotta love itHi, my name's Dan, and I'm quickly becoming an addict for certain varieties of Reality TV shows. No, not the grab the spotlight, Big brother wankfests of the worlds. But the talent show ones. Maybe I'm getting softer as I'm getting older, but how can you watch people hunting and catching their dreams, their passions and not be moved by it. <br /><br />Sure there is the "look at me, look at me" contestants who just want their heads on TV, and yes, everyone in line will say that, that particular skill is their passion. BUT, those that seriously have that passion, those that can't do anything else, those that are working at their craft even when it isn't paying for them... now that is passion.<br /><br />I was lucky enough to go to a show the other night. I saw someone I've known for almost 20 years, <a href="http://www.garypinto.com/">Gary Pinto</a> someone my wife grew up with (and yes she even had a crush on this guy as a teenager, I am a dead man for writing that) launch his first solo album. It was an amazing night, firstly my wife and I don't get out a lot since bub number 3 came along, so a grown up night out together was a blessing, but then to see him on stage. It took me back in my mind to 1993, it was one of my now wife's and my first dates, we went (with a whole lot of her family and friends) to see Gary, his brother and 2 other best friends (CDB for those old enough to remember) perform at a local Dandenong pool. All of us fresh faced skinny 18 year olds or younger. And here we are 17 years later, and he is still following his passion and loving it. I felt humbled to witness it.<br /><br />It's an easy thing to say, you know, "yes, doing this is my passion" It is a widely over used term in my humble opinion. I'm not convinced that everyone can find their passion, their calling. It changes sometimes with circumstances, with time and with maturing. I know many people still searching for it. So it is so great to see people who obviously have found it, and see them persevere, through everything that life throws at them (as it does with everyone) and make things happen.<br /><br />However, it rarely happens on their own, in the majority of cases I've truly seen this there is a strong support network behind, no... around the individual. The families, friends, business associates, mentors, confidants, and just great people, these people share in the journey, share the pride in the success, but stay in the background.<br /><br />I may regret writing this later, but kids, Zach, Talia, Lexie, I'm saying this now, if/when you can find your passion, your calling, whether that be in the Arts, sports, academia, business, or just plain life, raising a family, your mum and I... well, we have your back. Know you have that support base, not just us, your parents, but our families, our friends, they'll all be there for you. We're packed now and ready for the journey.<br /><br />As a Recruiter, or someone who works in the field of employing people, we have a honoured role in sometimes making dreams come true. Have you ever hired a grad? It's their first every job, seen the look on their face? oh that's the good stuff. even better, ever been there when they have told their parents? Seen the tears of pride well in the parents eyes. Oh yeah.. gimme some of that everyday please. Have you ever hired someone, or placed someone who had been out of work for ages, seen their savings whittle down, seen their eyes when you tell them you have an offer for them? To see the pride restored, Oh I love that. Sometimes you get the other side, breaking them down a bit with relaying a rejection, yes I've also had parents ring me up begging almost on behalf of their kids (that does break your heart). Don't take this role lightly people, it has a real effect on lives.<br /><br />Not many people I know chose to get into Recruiting, and I've known hundreds who have gotten into Recruiting and couldn't wait to get out. I think Recruiting chooses you. You can see the ones who are in the industry, not just those who hold jobs in the industry, those that are IN the industry. You know who they are, when you talk to them, there is nothing in the world better than Recruiting, they live it, they breathe it, they talk about it out of office hours, and yes there are even silly ones, who blog, add content, join forums, run radio shows etc, all in their own time. I'm not convinced all this effort makes money for them, but they love it.<br /><br />I hope, if your reading this, you get to find and live your passion too. Please share with me if you are, I am getting soft in my middle age..DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-73240879752425351052010-08-15T06:20:00.000-07:002010-08-21T17:03:17.774-07:00Back to the dark side or my report from my first two weeks away from an in-house roleWow.... Just a quick check in to my first two week or so at Peerlo. To quote Usher... "OMGosh"<br /><br />Firstly everyone was so welcoming, this wasn't surprising, I'd known <a href="http://twitter.com/rigesyounan">Riges</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/koshaughnessy">Kelly</a> and had communicated with <a href="http://twitter.com/andreamitchell">Andrea</a> previously, so luckily enough it wasn't a huge culture shock.<br /><br />Well that was just the "hello's". Then the technology opened up... I mean toys, no.. sorry productivity tools. Dan has finally entered the current day technically. I am now armed with an iPhone4 a new iMac and access to a great Talent tool. Building on top of this is some of the more amazing Boolean strong I've seen, and some little tips have just made my mind spin. Although I thought I'd broken Google, when it stopped displaying my searches!<br /><br />I"m not shy in my abilities, but, wow, I'm not sure I thought I would be learning this much. It is very busy at the moment, so I have to catch on quickly (fingers crossed).<br /><br />I've struggled to get used to the not so corporate attire requirements, but I"m settling in well. That said, I suited up for the first two days, on the third I went a little more casual, and that day, everyone else was suited up. ahhhh a conspiracy I tells you.<br /><br />It's been interesting leaving the in-house world after so many years, the reaction I've received from people has definitely given me pause to think. Most of it has been positive, I've been lucky enough to work with some amazing people over the years and the support and encouragement I've receive is something I have been really thankful for. There was however one interesting email which gave me pause to think. The whole email was around the "fact" that apparently over the years I had been publicly mean to this one agency guy, and that now I've left DWS I should atone for my apparent sins. uuummmm OK, not. I don't publicly insult, undermine or insult anyone, never seen the point. More of a case of guilt by association I think. But oh well, I won't be joining your LinkedIn group anyways.<br /><br />I"m really interested to see how the market pans out. There is so much on, just focusing on the core needs is keeping me more than busy. I"m also really interested at the movement rate of the IT industry. Seriously a lot of the profiles I looked at (of which there were HEAPS) most had moved jobs in 2010, this astounded me. Well, we hypothesised that is would happen, and well, we were definitely right.<br /><br />Exploring the Social media scene in a more fuller way has really opened my eyes as to how things could and should be done. The strategy and focus behind it, sounds straight forward, common sense, but to actually work with people who live and breathe it, wow, just takes it up a whole other level. I spoke to a former colleague of mine who has stepped into a new role recently, about the use of Social media and sourcing in their organisation. She tole me that there was someone there who she called a guru in the area, and then added "like you". "Lots of room for improvement there then" I though<br /><br />That'll do me for now. Just checking in, in short, having fun, learning lots, now to make it really successful. The potential is there, I can see it, now to reach it.<br /><br />Giddy up explorers.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-14927773029040513722010-08-03T07:13:00.000-07:002010-08-04T19:23:42.315-07:00From Cradle to CotIt's been an interesting few days... sitting here in Limbo, a week without a worry. No job to worry about, to check in on, or wonder if they are going alright without you. Yes, there is a heap waiting in the new role, but that isn't feeling real yet.<br /><br />Gives you some time to think. And that my friends is a dangerous thing when it comes to my blog. For those who keep up with my ramblings here, you'll know I draw a lot of inspiration from my family, draw heaps of comparisons from daily stuff I get with kids and Recruitment. I have another for you :)<br /><br />My youngest daughter, Lexie, now just over 4 months old, graduated from her cradle to the cot in her own room overnight. It was a big step for her, and us. But a step which will be good for her and for us in the long run. More room to grow, opportunity to play with more toys, and get some personal freedom.<br /><br />When thinking about this, something hit me (and surprisingly it wasn't my wife :) love ya babe). There are similarities I am sharing with Lexie at the moment in my life. You could say I am moving from the cradle to the cot myself.<br /><br />From the safeness and security of a job I've had for 8 years. I've grown and developed in it. I knew my job, I could do it in my sleep, some people may say I sometimes did. (Well I did fall asleep for a second, in an interview ONCE, but that's a different blog post) And now I get the chance to grow, but still have that safety barrier around me. There will be new technology, techniques and toys to explore and learn. It'll be a big new world for me, lots to explore and try, yet I'll still have the security that I know this stuff, I know the people I'll be working with, and you know what? It's part of my natural evolution.... from Cradle to CotDanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-51654182661589948102010-07-30T04:04:00.000-07:002010-07-30T04:54:51.663-07:00Well, That's that thenIt is with mixed emotions that I announce today that I have, after 8 years, worked my last day with DWS.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gKxMzc6Rig4&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gKxMzc6Rig4&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />It has been an amazing period of my life, a period I will always look back at fondly and with pride. Much has changed at since I walked into the DWS doors 8 years ago. DWS has grown from 110 people, purely in Melbourne to now having over 550, across every major city in Australia. I too have changed, grown, professionally, I managed to manage a national function with people not only locally reporting to me, but people interstate too. I learned and implemented lots of initiatives, both successful and not so successful. And personally, in that last 8 years, each one of my 3 kids has been born.<br /><br />I'm thankful for the opportunities afforded me at DWS. I was given the freedom to try things, within reason, and I learned an amazing amount from the people around me.<br /><br />But after 8 years, things had run their natural course and it is time for something new.<br /><br />It is now time to see if I can walk the talk I have been evangelising for the last few years. This is something that really excites me. I am now formally embracing all aspects of the Talent Acquisition world with <a href="http://www.peerlo.com.au">Peerlo</a>, an innovative, free thinking organisation, with some amazing people. I am super excited about this and cannot wait until I can really get my teeth into this.<br /><br />As I step into this next chapter of my career, I'd like to thank DWS and all the amazing people I met in my time there. I've had some amazing times and I wish you all well in the future.<br /><br />So, I'm Dan from DWS no more. Keep watching this space world.... here I come!DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-58064270194155958662010-07-26T20:33:00.000-07:002010-07-28T20:41:10.368-07:00Working without the ball<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw2XH8ecBlOJFNm8RX_-gILKIjWsi_R82UkoTSCd0IrW7zZjY2hFdR72L4K7xTMpXlAXW2FMZ2-NkpbXguXLnFjslzp0yammfW3-5Pq-yN3_PcFQOeOcsTY8YYx_WUEq5lnf1kmVdXaw/s1600/ball.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw2XH8ecBlOJFNm8RX_-gILKIjWsi_R82UkoTSCd0IrW7zZjY2hFdR72L4K7xTMpXlAXW2FMZ2-NkpbXguXLnFjslzp0yammfW3-5Pq-yN3_PcFQOeOcsTY8YYx_WUEq5lnf1kmVdXaw/s400/ball.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499167889438126018" /></a><br />Wow, it's been a month since I last blogged. Amazing how time flies.<br /><br />Recently, watching the World Cup, I was inspired by something that was said from one of the commentators. He said something along the lines of "It's just as important to work hard when you don't have the ball as it does when you have it."<br /><br />I translated that to my world, and no, I'm not that sporty any more, although I kind of resemble the ball.<br /><br />What this said to me is that the right activity is king. You need to have activity. During the GFC (you know, those times that won't be discussed again) my team and I did not have much in the way of open requirements, our company was pretty full of people, and attrition was at an all time low. What does a Recruitment team do? We had no resumes coming in, we had no advertisements on any job boards. <br /><br />Well, we worked. We knew that we were either on the swing or the roundabout, and that things change. We also knew that the speed in which things change had traditionally caught us off guard and behind the eight ball, causing the business pain due to lack of people. We spoke to people, we put people through our process with the expectation being that when things turned around, we would call them straight away. In short we talent pooled, and we talent pooled hard. <br /><br />Talent pooling was a tough idea to sell to my team. There was resistance. In house Recruitment teams don't do that. "It's too agency" they said, "we're wasting people's time" they said, "It's not honest" they said. It's interesting, I rarely use the "because I said so" card at work. But I did for this. I explained that as long as we open and honest, explained to people what we were doing and why, that it would be fine, people would be fine with it, and if they weren't, then we move onto the next one.<br /><br />Begrudgingly, they went along with it. And I went into sell it to Management mode.<br /><br />Then after a while, the expected happened. Our market turned. <br /><br />Picture this. Here's me sitting quietly at my desk when the business (figuratively) ran up to my desk panting. "Dan, Dan, we need your help. The market has turned, we are in dire need of people. And guess what? We need them now, or yesterday if possible. Please fire up that Recruitment machine and get things happening please." I turned to my team, who produced a print out of all the people, and skillsets we had ready to sign, and asked "which ones do you want?" The smile and disbelief was priceless. And PROOF, that work done without the ball, pays off when you get it back, you'll simply be in a better position!DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-29739539908807466882010-06-24T05:00:00.000-07:002010-07-09T20:22:04.712-07:00Office politics, a brief survival guide<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVE6y7Qt8YLJ0nq16LEZ8zs0NGvpXFYTG5l8ScrU3zSGWIcPg2OyEPwLlo67vbpfth5rcWad-7zPSxEbdpene5VtLlSyB75k4saY8A13yR88C3k8tqRGYR6jZhrQmcVqaAx_RxItsRjY/s1600/target+on+back.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVE6y7Qt8YLJ0nq16LEZ8zs0NGvpXFYTG5l8ScrU3zSGWIcPg2OyEPwLlo67vbpfth5rcWad-7zPSxEbdpene5VtLlSyB75k4saY8A13yR88C3k8tqRGYR6jZhrQmcVqaAx_RxItsRjY/s400/target+on+back.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491855111545464418" /></a><br /><br /><em>(I started writing this post on 24th June 2010, I'm finding these things are taking me a little while now days)</em><br /><br />A great day for woman kind here in Australia. I know many women rejoicing in the fact that we have our first Female Prime Minister. A great achievement, and hopefully something that will inspire many generations to come. As a father of two beautiful daughters, I certainly hope so. I hope my daughters have the freedom and reality to dream to achieve as much as the want to achieve. Surely there are now cracks in that glass ceiling.<br /><br />However this post is not about that.<br /><br />I am not a political beast, I'm not a fanatic who will pore over the virtues of each election campaign, I'm not a passionate liberal or labor man, but I'm starting to understand the idea of office politics more and more.<br /><br />I am astounded that there are not courses at Universities or work readiness programmes to prepare people for this side of the work place. I remember when I first began my working life, I was shocked and kind of disappointed when I learned the reality of office life. It seemed like petty high school stuff, but maybe just maybe it is just pure human nature.<br /><br />You need to be aware of it in your professional life. Get that antennae honed, forewarned is forearmed as they say. If your spider sense is tingling... listen to it. I'm not saying to be paranoid, but it isn't paranoia if people are talking about you.<br /><br />The secret to survival is awareness and just being good at your job. Keep your house in order, be sure people know it is in order. Learn where the barbs are coming from and what is being said, that is the only way you can overcome things. To change views you need to know what they are first. Communication is the key, ask, hear, listen. Keep your chin up, and your head down.. (if that is possible) and keep on persevering, smiling and laughing.<br /><br />Know it isn't easy, know you're not on your own, it happens all over the world, and trust me when I say... this too shall pass.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-70887981731537605992010-06-05T07:56:00.000-07:002010-06-07T07:43:04.313-07:00Jobseekers, are you really available?Greg Savage wrote a blog post today about one of his pet peeves, people being late. Read it here. It's called <a href="http://gregsavage.com.au/2010/06/07/no-you-are-not-%E2%80%98running-late%E2%80%99-you-are-rude-and-selfish/">No, you are not 'running late', you are rude and selfish</a><br /><br /><br />This is my turn.. Jobseekers, hear this. Yes there is a skills shortage. Yes, your services are required. However, don't expect everyone (ie all employers) to bend over backwards for you. No one owes you a living!<br /><br />Here is a pet hate. If you are a job seeker, ie you are actively looking for a role, YOU need to be flexible if you want a job. I find nothing more frustrating than calling up an applicant, and only getting a "sorry I cannot make it in to meet you during business hours, when else can we do it?" What's up with that? You applied to me? Do you want a job or not? I am a lot more flexible when I am headhunting people, ie I am approaching people to join us.<br /><br />I understand it is difficult to find time to get out of the office to attend other interviews. However, it is your decision (most of the time) to be a job seeker, you need to invest. You have the responsibility to yourself to find ways to get to those meetings. It is a weird feeling, you can feel like you are cheating on your employer, but you have to do it. Everyone gets a lunch time right? Can you start early and leave early, or vice versa? Can you take an early minute? Or find another reason to be out of the office? My busiest times for interviewing are start of day, lunch time and pre home time. Come up with a way. If you are serious in looking for a job that is. If you are not, and won't make the time (don't tell me you can't I won't believe you) then don't waste my time by applying.<br /><br />Also, what is with the different attitude when dealing with the employer versus dealing with the Agency? Seriously what is the difference? Both will make decisions on your future with that company. I'd treat both with respect. Yet I am continuously surprised at people who deal with me differently, when they know I work for the "employer" instead of working for "an agency". It doesn't make any logical sense? Jobseekers.. head that warning... Recruiters make decisions, Recruiters deal with multiple clients, Recruiters have networks. Why not keep them onside? It can't hurt, can it?<br /><br />Vent over... ahhhh I feel better now.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-48674010950571952892010-05-26T23:06:00.001-07:002010-05-30T07:21:10.124-07:00"What about me". Recruiters: the forgotten victims of Resignations<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/whLCjP5L7QA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/whLCjP5L7QA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Hands up if you've ever been punched in the stomach?<br /><br />Hands up if you're a Recruiter who's had someone leave a job really quickly after joining, that you placed.<br /><br />Similar feeling right. The anger, the breathlessness, the nausea, the feeling of bewilderment and fear of further reprisals.<br /><br />It's a horrible feeling. A person you've nurtured through a process, handling expectations, scheduling meetings, consoling, encouraging, talking up to managers, negotiated salary and future growth. Someone you know will excel, someone who will fit into the team, a great cultural fit, a good technical fit, well, just a damn good fit. You're invested! You believe in this person, you believe in the company, you believe in their compatibility. And the BAM! In your inbox is that resignation letter, or you get that phone call "Sorry to bother you, but do you have time to catch up today?"<br /><br />You've made a mistake haven't you? You didn't qualify properly? You pushed too hard? You didn't push hard enough. There will be explanations that have to be made, inquisitions will be made, names will be called and frustrations will be vented. It will be the fault of the Recruiter in the eyes of the business, no matter how many stake holders were involved in the final decision.<br /><br />It sucks as far as feelings go. The polar opposite to when you make that phone call to that unknown candidate you found on LinkedIn or really special Boolean string, to gauge interest and eventually hire. Karma's an ill tempered friend, she'll get you coming and going.<br /><br />So Recruiters, before you pick up that phone, write that string, drop that email. Stop and think of the repercussions that call will have on your fellow Recruiters out there somewhere. Do you really want to cause them to go through this stomach punching purgatory?<br /><br />Then of course what you'll do is smile, maybe even giggle and do it none the less. It's the game isn't it. He who has the best talent wins! Game on :)DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-74839859257492442652010-05-23T06:47:00.000-07:002010-05-23T19:13:38.563-07:00Zombies and Recruiting<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jMKkCBOM7_4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jMKkCBOM7_4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />It's strange how a song you've heard thousands of times before, suddenly brings a meaning to you. I was peacefully sitting in my car today, kids at home, doing some errands in my own space and this song from The Zombies comes on the radio, "Shes not there". This song is 33 years old, I was 3 when it came out... and today it decided to speak to me. <br /><br />Maybe this is the theme song for all those Recruitment Managers out there, who have a team doing hiring for them, which they oversee. Mistakes happen, and inevitably it come back as your problem. Someone hired on attitude, on gut feel, there was just something about them. A corner was cut somewhere, and it comes back to haunt you. They leave after a short time.<br /><br />Or maybe it's the song that plays over as the sound track when you rely on Sourcers to find you people. You give them the company to source from, unfortunately a zero result comes back "no-one was interested" and lo and behold the very next week, you notice from your Linkedin "Follow this company" button that this impossible to find person, someone matching your need has either left that company or just joined them. You've missed that hire. Explain that to the CEO if you dare.<br /><br />What songs speak to you? Do they reflect your personal and/or business life.<br /><br />Kind of fun when it does.<br /><br /><strong>Lyrics</strong><br /><br />Well, no one told me about her<br />The way she lied<br />Well, no one told me about her<br />How many people cried<br /><br />But it's too late to say you're sorry<br />How would I know, why should I care?<br />Please don't bother trying to find her<br />She's not there<br /><br />Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked<br />The way she acts and the color of her hair<br />Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright<br />But she's not there<br /><br />Well, no one told me about her<br />What could I do?<br />Well, no one told me about her<br />Though they all knew<br /><br />But it's too late to say you're sorry<br />How would I know, why should I care?<br />Please don't bother trying to find her<br />She's not there<br /><br />Well, let me tell you about the way she looked<br />The way she acts and the color of her hair<br />Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright<br />But she's not there<br /><br />But it's too late to say you're sorry<br />How would I know, why should I care?<br />Please don't bother trying to find her<br />She's not there<br /><br />Well, let me tell you about the way she looked<br />The way she acts and the color of her hair<br />Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright<br />But she's not thereDanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-89048142156557534842010-05-11T05:26:00.000-07:002010-05-11T05:59:39.445-07:00Bad day? Boring job? Suck it up! Your customers will care less than I doDriving into the carpark outside of my office today, I noticed something that as an employer or manager would really annoy me. This carpark has "early bird" prices, you know, in before a certain time, out after another prescribed time, for a cheaper rate. However to validate for this you need to get another ticket from the attendant. Not sure if that is the right term, as the word "attendant" to me gives me the idea of attentiveness. This particular character has none of that. He has himself parked half way up the complex in a camping chair. He sits there with his paper and stack of tickets and leans forward on the chair to pass you the ticket. No "Good morning", no smile, the only acknowledglement of your presence is the fact that an arm shoots out with a ticket as you drive up.<br /><br />For some reason this annoys me. OK I get that it could be a boring, thankless job, but come on.... give a little bit man. It's got to the point that I have a little game now where I am trying to see how far I can stop from the guy to actually make him get up out of his chair. I have to say, he's good, I can see the chair almost falling over, but there is no way this guy is getting up.<br /><br />How does this reflect on his company? Is this the brand of the carpark? Does it say, "Come park with us, or don't I really don't give a crap!" What would his boss say? Would he/she care? I wonder what his KPI's would be. (yes I am a sad man)<br /><br />Even if you are having a bad day, bad week, you have the most boring job in the world, or you are over worked, under paid and under appreciated? Your company has had layoffs and you'r enervous about your future... Who cares? You customers won't and neither they should. When servicing customers your job is to , take their problems away, to add value to the relationship. Moping, griping, complaining doesn't cut it in any circumstances. So you've got a new baby, and are undergoing that age old child, sleep deprivation torture! SO WHAT? SUCK IT UP. REPRESENT (yourself and your company) You're not the first or the last. Complaining to strangers won't give you any advantages, if anything it'll make people avoid you in the future and that definitely isn't good for you.<br /><br />I would be shattered if my team showed that level of indifference? Customer Service is what get's people coming back. OK I keep going back, maybe it is my experiment to see if I can loosen the man from his chair, and the fact that it is cheaper than most others... but if something with a similar price opens up with some more care and perhaps a smile to greet me, would I move? damn straight.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-83506266313095556512010-05-02T06:53:00.001-07:002010-05-02T07:28:32.087-07:00There's no crying in Football! or should there be?I had a great day today. Did one of the things I love doing most of the world. I went to the MCG with my Dad and my son (and cousin and 90,000 of my best friends) to watch an AFL game. I just love it. The atmosphere, the food, the shouting, the passion, the raw combative power and nature of the game.<br /><br />I get pretty fired up at these games, I'm not my normal calm self, I kind of get involved. However I have had to calm/centre myself, now I have to be an example to my son. I do need to turn it down a few notches.<br /><br />I found myself conflicted today however. Let me paint you the scene. The team I (and my son) support got absolutely thumped. We put up a bit of a fight, but in the end, we weren't really good enough on the day. My son was shattered. It upset him greatly that we were losing, and tears started at an early stage.<br /><br />This surprised me a bit, he hadn't really done this before. My initial reaction was to calm him down. Remind him that losing happens, you have to take your turn and you need to be a good sport and that tears for not winning is not really acceptable. Then I thought a little more. Is this teaching him to accept losing? Should I be teaching this? It's good to hate losing and to be single focused in achieving what you want. There has to be some level of competitiveness in you to be successful, and an acceptance of losing, well.... is it acceptable?<br /><br />I was/am really conflicted. I've been told that to be more successful personally I need to be harder, (you're too nice) have a bit more mongrel in me. OK losing happens. Should I be teaching that you have to like it? You should swallow it, grit your teeth, learn from it and come back better next time. But not like it, isn't that accepting mediocrity?<br /><br />Maybe this makes me a bad person or parent. I do believe that as a kid it isn't if you win or lose, it's how you play the game that counts, especially when you are learning skills, sports or at school, but do I believe that as an adult?<br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t48brs4QRjY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t48brs4QRjY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-3584338643107205182010-04-30T05:25:00.000-07:002010-04-30T05:50:37.099-07:00Nothing wrong with the BasicsYou just need to do it. Nike has a point!<br /><br />Switch off your tweetdeck, log out of facebook, put those Recruiting blinkers on and just go for it. In football parlance... get your head down, put your bum up and just do.<br /><br />Read the cv's, get on the phone, organise interviews, meet people, get activity happening. Do the reference checks, get the appropriate sign off, give the offer, close the deal! Shhhhh don't tell anyone, but that's your job Mr Recruiter.<br /><br />Social Media, blogging, twitter, facebook, linkedIn, unless you are actively hiring people from here, be careful as to where you are spending your time. Do the things which have made you successful, and get things done. Yeah it's cool to play with all these other toys, to feel like you are cutting edge, just remember what you are paid to do.<br /><br />I've potentially been guilty of this in the past, however I just need to remember the fun bit of thia job... the signing, the hiring. Let's get back to the basics and make things happenDanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-48385818068748323162010-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:002010-04-27T07:27:55.651-07:006 year olds, Footy Fixtures and Follow Up!I've been lucky in my career at times. I've had some good people around me who have been generous and truthful with their advice. Some good, some bad, always thought provoking though.<br /><br />Some of that advice has been reinforced to be recently. The last 5 weeks or so, I have been helping out around the house, trying to stay out of the way of my lovely wife and our new baby. Wrangling the elder two kids away, and doing jobs around the house that, well, let's face it, I'm not well renowned for doing. I got to spend some precious time with the elder two children and was lucky enough to be able to view these two in a different light. I was able to watch them in their own element, without Mum and Dad, watch with own personalities shine on their own. And then of course be the white knight on the white horse, piking them up from school and Kinder. (That was my favourite job, closely follewed by dropping them off)<br /><br />The advice that came to mind over these weeks, was the importance of follow up, ie holding people (and yourself) accountable. My kids are stars at this. (and I have to say it got more paletable when I started viewing it as follow up and not just nagging)<br /><br />If you say something do it! If someone else says something, expect them to do it, but be prepared to ask the questions and ensure it gets done. In my early days I would just expect things to get done and would be disappointed when they weren't. I hadn't chased them up, because, well, they were grown ups, professionals, and they'd committed to doing it. It actually became an issue for me with my managers at times. I was actually stunned that I had to do this, thought I'd be seen as a nag, untrusting and just a general pain in the bum. But you know what... it got results. I stopped being afraid of asking the questions, and started to explain my expectations more and voice my disappointments if not met, or updated. It really helped. This helped not only in managing a team, but managing up, internally and externally, and with candidates and employees. If you're job hunting don't be afraid to call the recruiter, hiring manager or whoever owns the process if they aren't living up to their part of the bargain, they've committed to it, why not hold them to the expectations. It shows strength, interest (and gives a little guilt too)<br /><br />My son reignighted this ideal within me recently. The football fixture came out and he was super excited, he studied as only a almost 6 year old can, and then proceeded to try to corner me at bed time to talk about what games we were going to go to this year. I explained to him that whilst it was great that he was excited, this was not the time to go into this. And promised we would sit down the following day and go through it. Low and behold the first thing he said to me when he woke up the next day was "Dad, can we discuss this now?" Well, that also wasn't the time, I had meetings to go to an errands to run, which I had to explain to a disappointed little boy. Now, as soon as I got back in the door, many hours later, there was no "Hi Dad", just the question "Can we discuss it NOW please Daddy?" Now how could I resist that? I had promised after all, but if not for the follow up, it may have slipped down a priority list as we were always going to go to some games. I am so gla he did follow me up, we got a win/win out of it. He got to get involved in some decision making and got SUPER excited at the outcome, and well, I got to watch that.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-35311449484720298712010-04-24T05:43:00.000-07:002010-04-24T05:56:17.448-07:00Men of HR (oh deary no..... Dan!!!!!!!!!!) sorry Mum.Sounded harmless enough at the beginning. A little calendar, to raise money for some amazing causes. Haiti Relief and Orchid Cancer Appeal (Testicular Cancer).<br /><br />Brave souls in the HR/Recruitment world have bared all in an attempt to raise money. The flab and the fab are on display here all year around for your viewing pleasure right <a href="http://networkedblogs.com/3d16K">here....</a> They have bared so you will buy!<br /><br />Hats off (and everything else) to these brave gents, but to ensure you have a good year... you should potentially skip June all together!<br /><br /><blockquote><em><strong>They might not smile; they might be gruff<br />Their skin's like leather; they act real tough.<br />They'd like you to think they're media stars<br />But they're just a bunch of softies...<br />They're the Men of HR</strong></em></blockquote><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11162805&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11162805&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/11162805">The Men of HR</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1349220">Geoff Webb</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-61487454460909058422010-04-19T20:22:00.000-07:002010-04-19T20:31:28.827-07:00Dan on Social SofaThanks to Justin Hillier.<br /><br />Check out his website <a href="http://socialrecruiting360.com.au">www.socialrecruiting360.com.au</a><br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10764848&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10764848&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10764848">Social Sofa - Dan Nuroo DWS Advanced Business Systems</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2947168">Justin Hillier</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-43336608303494832042010-04-19T06:39:00.000-07:002010-04-19T07:09:15.443-07:00Burpman! and other views from hereWow, it feels liks a long time since I've done this... blog... seems like forever, but it's probably only a few weeks. Honestly it's been hard to find the time, when I've been immersed with my recently expanded family. I gotta tell you, it's been a blast. Seeing the strength of my wife, the growth of my elder 2 children, and watching our recent addition carve out her early place on this planet. Whilst this time has been absolutely precious, there are of course learnings which I think we can bring to our work life.<br /><br />The first one I need to write about, is something I had a little facebook joke with <a href="http://twitter.com/radicalrecruit">Geoff Webb</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/pauljacobs4real">Paul Jacobs </a>about my ability to make other humans burp. Geoff mentioned that it was a great Super Power to have.... and BURPMAN was born!<br /><br />This has been my calling for the last (almost month), called upon to make our new little human burp or just generally pass wind. It is more technical than a mere pull of the finger my friends, it is a genuine power, which I promise to use for good and not evil. I may have inherited it from my Dad, but he only uses it personally :) (sorry Dad) If you are not a parent, or don't know the joys of doing this, let me just say the pain of these poor babies if they cannot release wind after a feed is heartbreaking. <br /><br />What did this teach me in relation to the real world? INFLUENCING Skills.<br /><br />Lexie doesn't know she wants to burp, my actions and influence make this reaction inevitable. Is this not a key skill in Sales, Recruitment or Management in general?<br /><br />How does what you do get YOU the result you desire? Are you watching and listening in your environment to learn what will work and what won't? Are you sensitive to your clients and candidates, what they want, what they need? and can you find a path to make that happen for them and you? Can you influence the hiring manager to hire the best person for the role, that they just don't see? Can you continuously find the win/win situation, and navigate a course to find it? Can you get decisions made by others, which you manufactured, yet made it their idea to ensure it flies?<br /><br />No? ring the Belch Bell, Burpman can help.... <br /><br />These are skills you need in the workplace, any workplace.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-23263255149744920052010-03-26T02:45:00.000-07:002010-03-28T04:03:27.762-07:00Lexie Jean arrives... This is HUGE!It doesn't happen every day, and not everyone gets to experience it. As such I am feeling very blessed, humbled and honoured. It's not everyday you get to witness the birth of one of your kids.<br /><br />Two days ago on the 24th March 2010, I was lucky enough to do just that as Lexie Jean Nuroo made her way into this world just before 2pm. What an enterance it was. She came a couple of weeks ahead of schedule, but settled right into it, like she's been doing this all her life... ahem... ummm OK.. she has. Feeding, looking around, and all other body movements, made a weary Dad proud.<br /><br />What made this Dad amazingly proud was the efforts of his wife, Simone. Guys, if you haven't seen it before, women are amazingly resilient creatures. I can't imagine putting my body, mind and spirit through what my darling wife endured, with a smile on her facec and the only tears in her eyes were those of joy, when she finally got to hold Lexie.<br /><br />Now, whilst it's true, as a guy, you really aren't that involved in the whole process (OK potentialy a bit at the beginning). OK OK OK you're there for support, but trust me there is not much you do apart from getting in the way and feeling awkward. <br /><br />Your part comes post birth... Cutting the cord! that is huge. A little scarey, and then frustrating as the scissors don't do as good a job as you'd think, and you are cutting a part of your child. The rewards for this bit of effort of that are amazing. You get to hold your child, just you and her. I got over an hour just with her as they were getting my wife back to the room, my duty was to stay with my daughter and ensure that it was definitely her returned to her Mum. Can you imagine, having the first hour of someone's life, just with you. What an honour.. something I will never forget.<br /><br />I'd like to publically thank my wife for giving me such a wonderful family, not sure what else a man can ask for. A gorgeous wife, a mini me son, and two beautiful and darling daughters. The gifts which will last me a lifetime. I am truely blessed. THANK YOU SIM.<br /><br />I've probably written enough here, but this is an amazing time in my life and it's tough to stop.<br /><br />Welcome to the world Lexie Jean Nuroo, we love you lots and cannot wait to see what you will bring to this world.<br /><br />See photo's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=198667&id=595816753&ref=mf">here</a> They are apparently too large to attach too this mediumDanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-49654972447703992372010-03-20T04:11:00.000-07:002010-03-21T21:58:50.145-07:00Google Checks happen - Be AwareThis is going to be another of those posts popping up in the online Recruitment Community here in Australia. All was started with Riges Younan's post, followed up with some Twitter banter, then Jarrad Woods started a tinychat(ummm) chat and now posts are popping up all over the place. It's actually pretty cool, the debate is great, with some really great minds putting their 0.2 cents worth in. I thought I'd dilute the pool with some of mine.<br /><br />Hold on... quick recap. The debate was all about the use of Social Media in background checking candidates. Heated agreement and debate raged. <br /><br />I found myself swaying in the wind a bit during the debate, taking up the cause of one side, then the other, then finding myself on the fence. Hey, don't hate me, these people made some awesome points. You try keeping up with comments and opinion from people like <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jaredw78">Jarred Woods</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/justin_hillier">Justin Hillier</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/oshaughnessy">Kellie O'Shaughnessy</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aarondodd">Aaron Dodd,</a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/rigesyounan">Riges Younan</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mspecht">Michael Specht</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/thomasshaw">Thomas Shaw</a>, and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/pauljacobs4real">Paul Jacobs</a> and not getting swayed a few times.<br /><br />My side of the debate? Is probably pretty simplistic.<br /><br />Ethical or not... it will happen. How can you police it? What company will say "I didn't hire you because of that photo on Flikr, or that Facebook comment you made in January 2009"<br /><br />Turning it around a little I think Recruiters can and should stand at the forefront of awareness of this issue. We need to educate people to have ownership and control of their own image, especially when they are engaging in a Recruitment process. They need to be made aware that these kind of checks can and do happen (officially and unofficially) and they need to be prepared for them.<br /><br />Recruiters also need to make sure this issue is known internally too. Inform HR and the rest of the company.. and then of course train HR, Hiring Managers, Execs etc (or those not as savvy in the Social Media side of things) to look at relevance and not to jump at shadows. Just like "tone" in emails, you shouldn't try to read anything into it, a picture alone does not make a compelling argument, nor does a bold/brash statement on a forum. You need to dig deeper to find context.... Nothing worse than having to fight opinions taken from half the information... we've all been there.<br /><br />As inhouse Recruiters you want to have all the information available. Nothing worse than 20/20 hindsight clouding a decision which could have been avoided. How do you explain to your CEO that there is information out there that you didn't look at and could have saved you making a hiring mistake which ended up costing the company thousands! What do you say as a 3rd party Recruiter, when your client comes to you with a "Thanks for the candidate, he/she's great, however we found this on site.abc and don't think it shows a suitability to our culture. So we will pass" If you are not across this information how do you combat this?<br /><br />You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't use Social Media to locate or source people and then say bad form to use for anything else. You cannot police the line drawing, it's impossible. You need to be aware, and make your candidates aware of what is happening out there.<br /><br />Should these checks be done in secrecy? I think we all need a disclaimer saying that "by volunteering to enter our Recruitment process you are agreeing to the possibility that internet searches may be made about you." - But would that stop people from applying? (most likely)<br /><br />Education is the key. Recruiters take ownership of that. Then people/candidates etc take responsibility of your own profile (mark your Facebook, linkedin etc profile with the appropriate privacy settings if you are worried). Do your own search on yourself, ("googling" (or "yahooing", or "binging") yourself is not a bad thing to do) then if there is anything dodgy found, be able to discuss it. Seriously. It's not the fact that Big Brother is watching, it's the fact that everyone can be watching.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-38764133297640585882010-03-17T03:34:00.000-07:002010-03-18T06:41:35.537-07:00You Can't always get what you want.........<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_0jyKabLHVc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_0jyKabLHVc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />People ask "how do you get ideas to write all the time?".. Life does it, seriously, things pop up from nowhere and fester in your mind, and boom there is a blog post in the making. Whether it be good or bad... whatever, a post is there.<br /><br />This happened to me tonight, watching idol of all things. One of the contestants sang "You can't always get what you want". I love this song by the way, but it stirred something inside me.<br /><br />I was guest judging at an IT Graduation presentation day yesterday. I'm a sucker for this stuff and really enjoyed myself, even if I did sit through 8 presentations for 10-12 minutes each on the same topic. Essentially I had the same presentation 8 times. The fun thing was I was asked to be tough, harsh even to these guys. So hey, what was I to do? I was blunt, I was harsh, it was fun.<br /><br />One of the interesting things was afterwards, I had a couple of the 80 come up to me and ask for specific feedback for themselves. "sure" I say, "do you want me to be as blunt as I was in the broader feedback?" "Yes, sir". "Are you sure?" "Yes, sir, I love feedback"<br />"OK, let me get my notes".<br /><br />So I let this poor guy have both barrels. I told him his pitch wasn't team focussed, it was all about him and his product, I told him he looked the part but his suit pants were too long, and if he has a tie on do the top button up. I spoke about fiddling with his hands, not making eye contact etc etc etc. <br /><br />I felt for this guy. He was shattered. To his credit, he rallied himself and started arguing about my feedback. "Mate, ou asked for my honest feedback. this is it. If you take it, so be it, feel free to disreguard it, it's free. But dont argue with me, this is my opinion." He even argued with the shirt button comment, "well my shirt is too tight and it was a bit tight" I think he wasn't happy with my "well get a better shirt!".<br /><br />I'm guessing that whilst he may not have particularly liked what I said, but he will remember it.... and hopefully it'll help.<br /><br />You can't always get what you want! But you just might find, you get what you need...DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-85718297040735233092010-03-13T04:19:00.000-08:002010-03-13T04:46:05.393-08:00Seeing the world through their eyes<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUhfDpCHeZ0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUhfDpCHeZ0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Guess what I did today? Yes....! I went to see Dora the Explorer with my little girl. Damn it was fun. Not so much the show, but watching it through my daughter's eyes. I spent the majority of the first act watching my daughter's face. Her unbridled enthusiasm and joy, just warmed my heart and basically tatooed a smile on my face for the rest of the day.<br /><br />You have to do it... see the world through the eye's of a child, it's magnificent. The colours are brighter, the people are bigger, and life is that little bit simplier.<br /><br />Looking into things a little further, the same thing needs to be translated into Recruiting.<br /><br />Look at your ads, your process, our candidate care through the candidates eyes. The world may look different. If you're a third party Recruiter, look at the world through your client's eyes. Is what you're doing adding value to them or to you? Will sending that unsolicited email with a hail mary of a candidate enhance your reputation in their eyes? Will that cold call with "you got any jobs I can help with?" really help them out? Think about it... Before you call, email, tweet, IM, Inmail or whatever else it is you may do to your clients. Look at the world through their eyes...DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-39518615864260557952010-03-05T02:38:00.000-08:002010-03-05T02:52:55.095-08:00Dirty deeds done dirt cheap.<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p3lFmUDoBZs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p3lFmUDoBZs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />This came up on my ipod this week and from the week I've had, I really related. (plus it put me in a great mood to get me going for the day!) Putting it bluntly I've had to play the role of bastard a lot this week.<br /><br />As per an earlier post, I had to tell a couple of people they were dreaming in their expectations. I had to tell some contractors they weren't going to be renewed, I got a bit narky with some vendors and put some really tough deliverables on some other vendors. I told an agency Recruiter their pitch was ordinary and then gave some unsolicited (and by the sound of it unwanted advice). I've had to push back against the business, "politely" told a Regional Manager to "shut up and listen", and I've been called up and emailed by competitor CEO's or MD's to STOP approaching their staff. (I told them they should be flattered I think their staff are worthy of being approached, they should be more worried if I wasn't approaching) I did however avoid the "you've got bad breath" conversation our HR team had to have with someone.<br /><br />All in the week of an in-house Recruiter. It's what we do, it's part of the role of adding value to our company.<br /><br />That said the team achieved some amazing results (which made me smile a lot) of hiring some great people, across all states, finding some new rich veins of talent (which we have mined beautifully), and proving ourselves once again in terms of value, quality and volume of work we achieve to some of the Company Executive. Some of the reports and statistics we provided really blew some socks off.<br /><br />The Ying and Yang of the role. This is why I do it.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7730196158376709879.post-10872350565700313332010-02-28T05:16:00.000-08:002010-03-03T04:55:12.246-08:00When ambition outweighs abilityWe all know them, have seen them, snickered at them when they aren't looking. Hey, I'm sure we've all been that person.<br /><br />I had to sit in a review the other day and tell a guy that basically he wasn't as good as he thought he was. I didn't enjoy being the teller, and I'm sure he didn't enjoy being the hearer. But it's part of the gig.<br /><br />I sat down Saturday night and looked at the job I had ahead of myself. We are doing renovations at home (I know... long drawn out story, getting closer to the end day after day) and we'd bought some floating floorboards which I had bravely decided to lay. "It's easy" people told me.. "I laid my own, easy and it looks great". I was confident I could get it done. Here's the thing, I suck at being a handy man, two left thumbs if you will. I can carry things and hold things and dig stuff etc, but doing intricate stuff which will make a difference. Here I was about to undertake a project which will be seen/noticed every single day of our lives.<br /><br />I should have seen the warning signs. People close to me had asked me "Who's helping you?" I was insulted... After all I am a man... I can use power tools for good instead of evil.. I can build stuff..can't I?<br /><br />I'm not sure if this is just a guy thing, but asking for help on such things seems to take a bit of your manhood with it. But as that legend Harry Calahan says in Magnum Force.. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2JnCXvm_Qc">"A man's got to know his limitations"</a>.<br /><br />Luckily I survived the experience (so far) I swallowed my pride or quashed my personal ego and called my Father in Law, and he happily came over the help (Thanks Fred). We learned from each other (although truth be told I learned more from him...) and currently it is straight, looking pretty good, even if in the whole day we only achieve half of our iniital goal. I am pretty excited and proud. Will be even more so when it's finished.<br /><br />Could I have done it on my own? Very very doubtful. Have I learned from the experience, so as next time (heaven forbid) I'd be able to do it.. Damn straight. Am I greatful my nearest and dearest were "brave" enough to point this lack of ability out... begrudgingly yes.... Probaly saved me thousands.<br /><br />Same applies in Recruitment. Recruiters, have the strength to tell people "they're Dreaming". We need to tell people to "Focus your attention on jobs you will win and can do straight away. jobs you are going to look good for. ie if you are a sandwich artist at Subway, and your goal is to be a National Sales Manager for an IT firm, don't apply for that role yet.... work your way up to it. Plot a course and stick to it. Whilst you may think "it's worth a shot", trust me it isn't. Would you want to work for a company that would hire you as that without any experience?"<br /><br />I'm not saying give up on the dream. Just set a realistic and achievable course.DanNuroohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604099010798322640noreply@blogger.com0