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Check the daily headlines affecting your world.
Advanced Internet Recruiting Seminars(April 18, 1997): We're overwhelmed by the response to our Seminar Series. We've been deeply involved in the process of creating the presentation and separating the wheat from the chaff. If you're thinking about joining us at the seminars, they're filling fast. We've added a pointer to the hotels (including directions and a map) near the bottom of this page. (You gotta love the web for this kind of feature).
Hodes
(April 17, 1997): In yesterday's article, we drew the analogy between fishing and recruiting. As the labor shortage (rooted in demographics) expands over the next 15 years, skilled "fishermen" will increasingly be required to ferret out candidates. While some portions of the Web will certainly evolve to look more like broadcast television, the opposite trend will also remain in evidence.
At the root, the Web is about people communicating with each other. This notion, badly described as community (and horribly implemented as "chat rooms") provides a counter-balance to the big news "information distribution" services. It's very definite that large, high traffic websites will provide "commercial fishing" opportunities. The Web also provides fertile ground for the growth of small clusters of like minded people who share personal and/or professional interests. Fishing these tiny niches will be as important as the more commercial "bulk" operations.
Having advertisers offers us an interesting window into the operations of a range of players. We've been talking at length recently with the remarkable team at Bernard Hodes / Career Mosaic. As pioneers in this industry, they have a surprising grasp of the nature of the tiny niches and solid methods for fishing them.
We were somewhat surprised by their attitude about "other people's services". As Recruitment advertising specialists, the Hodes team is well versed in getting results for their clients. While we expected that their approach would have been "Career Mosaic"-centric, it turns out that long term success in the advertising placement business depends on full-spectrum service. The Hodes team has long term experience in using the web as a precision targeting recruitment vehicle.
To carry our fishing analogy to an extreme, we've begun to think of Hodes as a source of "fishing guides" or the guy in the bait shop who knows the locations of the great fishing holes.
Fishing
(April 16, 1997): Put all of your energy and concentration into making a device on the end of 75 feet of string behave like an insect. That's the essence of fishing (once you've found a spot to fish). Sometimes, they're biting, sometimes they're not.
Once the word gets out about a good "fishing hole", other fishermen move in and it's time to find another hole. When a huge number of fishermen fish the same spot repeatedly, the "hole" gets fished out. As the competition increases the quality of the lure and use of advanced techniques make the difference.
Simply sticking a line and bait into the water is a good way to have a relaxing afternoon. It's a lousy way to catch fish.
Commercial fishermen use higher quality equipment and fish in different places than "sport (or amateur)" fishermen.
It all depends on what you're fishing for and why. Different species require different bait. You can't catch lake trout in the Atlantic. Some of the things that are easiest to catch taste terrible.
The bottom line: To catch a fish, you need to think like a fish and behave like bait.
Odd CADfellows
(April 15, 1997):Every so often, we offer this space for a clearly articulated opinion from the trenches. Jerry Kreyling of CADstar International offers New Product CAD Designers....Who Needs Them?. The article clearly and succinctly describes a recurring tension in the relationship between HR Departments and High End Specialty Temp Firms. While company success depends on having the right people in place at the right time, the goal conflicts with the management driven pressure to reduce the rolls of vendors. The emphasis on fewer, more general relationships robs the HR Manager of the possibility of learning the technical ins and outs of a given set of project phases and requirements.
We liked Jerry's article particularly because it defines an arena that is amenable to a web solution above and beyond simple resume hunting and job posting. Integrating a stable of the right specialty suppliers ought to be on the web development agenda of any HR Department trying to solidly contribute to long term competitive flexibility. It's a problem whose solution offers a meaningful long term competitive discriminator.
The article clearly describes one side of the question. We'd be very interested in submissions that define the alternate perspective.
Virus Hoaxes
(April 14, 1997): Viruses represent a very real threat to the security of your business and the evolution of commerce on the Internet. We've had recent virus experiences with purchased mailing lists (an infected Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) and no longer open files attached to email unless we know the source. With our computers online all the time, Noton Anti-Virus (for the PCs) and Symantec Anti-Virus (for the Macs) get a constant workout. The best solution is to install anti-viral software and keep it updated. Most software vendors provide regularly downloadable monthly upgrades.
Recently, we've been on the receiving end of a spate of concerned warnings. Typically, the concerned correspondent will be forwarding on a piece of email describing a virus. In the body of the letter will be a copy of the original note suggesting the urgency of "getting the word out to as many people as possible" or making sure that "your staff knows about this one." Often, they concern email viruses.
With so many different email readers using so many different operating systems, the odds that an effective email virus could be generated are quite small. Before you react to one of these notices, be sure to notice whether the warning tells you about the operating system (Windows, Mac, Unix etc) that the virus will interact with. There are as many, if not more, virus hoaxes as there are actual viruses.
Good security means avoiding panic. Before you respond to a message about a virus, be sure to check out Virus Myths (which includes an alphabetical list of hoaxes and a good overview of the unnecessary hysteria surrounding the arena).
If you take one thing away from this short article, let it be this: Viruses are very real but the hysteria surrounding them is even more alarming. Before you take a preventive action, make sure you can confirm the information you act on. Please don't pass information about viruses on to your mailing lists without confirming that the info is true.
Advanced Internet Recruiting Seminars
(March 28, 1997): We're going to be delivering Seminars around the country in April and May. The schedule is:
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1997 Electronic Recruiting Index
(February 23, 1997): The 1997 Electronic Recruiting Index is a combination industry analysis, directory and hands-on guide for Navigating the transition into maturity as an Internet Recruiter. It includes:
- A comprehensive approach for designing and managing your web recruiting
- Detailed planning for placing online Employment ads
- A section written for managers of Internet Projects
- Pricing comparisons of 75 key Recruiting sites
- A detailed analysis of the Top 100 Websites
- A Directory of over 5800 Online Recruiters
- A solid look at the Recruiting Industry in 1996
- Forecasts and Trends for 1997and beyond
- The Impact of Demographics on Electronic Recruiting
- Motivations and Entry costs for the Various Market segments
- In the business and considering a change in strategy,
- Considering entering the business, or
- Trying to stay abreast of the changing landscape
See a detailed index of our past issues
The past 16 months of the Electronic Recruiting News
More Archives More Archives
Besides our industry analyses and newsletters, we help recruiters integrate this new technology into their operations. We've added a detailed description of IBN to the website. We'd love to help you.
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