Talent Mining – Unearthing Value in Human Capital Data

There are people in the HR/recruiting industry who believe that searching databases, the Internet, and social networking sites to source talent is relatively easy and that it can be automated through the use of technology. While those people are actually right (to an extent), I am happy to say that unfortunately for them, it’s not that simple. While anyone can manually write or automate basic searches and find … Read More

100+ Free Sourcing & Recruiting Tools, Guides, and Resources

  It’s been a LONG time coming, but I finally got around to updating my free sourcing & recruiting tools, guides and resources page where I now keep a current list of the best of my work all in one place for easy bookmarking and reference. You can find it here on my main page:     Additionally, I thought … Read More

The Current and Future State of Talent Sourcing

I had the distinct honor and privilege of serving as the conference chair of the biggest-ever SourceCon, held at the Georgia Aquarium in February. Part of my responsibility in that role involved kicking off the event, and I took the opportunity to touch upon my observations and opinions on the current state of sourcing, as well as what I believe will be the … Read More

Is Your ATS a Black Hole or a Diamond Mine?

Most companies and staffing organizations, ranging from executive search sole proprietorships to staffing agencies to Fortune 500 companies, have internal databases filled with rich and actionable information on thousands to literally tens of millions of applicants, candidates, and professionals. You would think that a private internal database of people that an organization has actively and passively, tactically and strategically collected over the years … Read More

What is Your Talent Sourcing ROI?

Anything worth doing is worth measuring, and sourcing isn’t exempt from this. If you want to know which method of sourcing has the highest ROI in terms of enabling a person to find more of the right people more quickly, then you’re in luck – because that’s what this post is about. Human capital data comes in many forms – … Read More

Talent Sourcing: Man vs. AI/Black Box Semantic Search

Back in March 2010, I had the distinct honor of delivering the keynote presentation at SourceCon on the topic of resume search and match solutions claiming to use artificial intelligence in comparison with people using their natural intelligence for talent discovery and identification. Now that nearly 2 years has passed, and given that in that time I’ve had even more hands-on … Read More

Why So Many People Stink at Searching

The trouble with search today is that people put too much trust in search engines – online, resume, social, or otherwise. I can certainly understand and appreciate why people and companies would want to try and create search engines and solutions that “do the work for you,” but unfortunately the “work” being referenced here is thinking. I read an article … Read More

Boolean Search Strings, Referrals and Source of Hire

I read an article on ERE about the other day titled “Love Writing Boolean Instead of Recruiting? Then Don’t Read This Post.” While I happen to be pretty good at and thoroughly enjoy writing Boolean queries for talent mining, I actually love the entire recruiting life cycle. Sourcing is a means to an end, not a means in and of … Read More

All Recruiting Sources Are NOT Created Equal

While there is much written on the subject of how to search the various talent sources available to recruiters and sourcers today, such as the Internet, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, ATS/CRM systems, etc., there does not seem to be much written about their ROI as sources of talent/human capital information. I believe that the value of any source of information is 50% based upon … Read More

The Future of Sourcing and Talent Identification

If you listen to certain people in the recruiting industry, you’d think that being able to leverage information systems for talent discovery and identification will be an obsolete skill for recruiters and that sourcers will have to find another profession in the near future. According to these folks, people with sourcing skills won’t be necessary because the future of sourcing … Read More

Beyond Boolean: Human Capital Information Retrieval

When I recently spoke at SourceCon in New York, I showed an example Boolean search string that could be used as a challenge or an evaluation of a person’s knowledge and ability. The search string looked something like this: (Director or “Project Manage*” or “Program Manage*” or PM*) w/250 xfirstword and (truck* or ship* or rail* or transport* or logistic* … Read More

Are You Fluent in the Language of Information Systems?

If you traveled to a foreign country where you don’t speak the local language, you would find yourself in a situation where there are questions you would want to ask people and things you’ll need to know, and nearly everyone you run into would be able to help you – but because you can’t articulate in a manner that the locals understand, they can’t assist you and provide you with what … Read More

Does LinkedIn Offer Recruiters Any Competitive Advantage?

When I spoke at the LinkedIn Talent Connect event last year, I dropped a big question on the 500+ audience: “What’s your informational and competitive advantage when you all have access to the same people?” Think about it. If you have a LinkedIn Recruiter account (over 55% of the Fortune 100 do!), you have access to view any and all … Read More

Sourcing is Not an Entry Level Function or Role

I recently listened to an interview with DeeDee Doke of Recruiter.co.uk in which she related to Amybeth Hale that the perception in the U.K. is that sourcing is an entry level career in the recruiting industry. Apparently, using information systems for talent discovery and identification is perceived by many as a junior role and skill across the pond. I’m saddened by … Read More

Data and Drive are Paramount in Sourcing and Recruiting

The other day I came across an insightful post on Fistful of Talent by Josh Letourneau in which he addresses the arms race that rages on in the talent acquisition universe – the never-ending attempt of people and companies to achieve some sort of technological advantage over the competition. Josh would rather have a recruiter “with the “will to fight,” in other … Read More

The Future of Recruiting: The More Things Change…

Now that we are on our way into exploring the new year, I’ve seen some articles on what’s coming next for the recruiting industry this year, and even as far out as 10 years from now. When I read one such article written by Kevin Wheeler, I was struck by his comment that although sourcing remains a topic he is interested in, … Read More

Lean Recruiting & Just-In-Time Talent Acquisition Part 4

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to read parts 1, 2, and 3 before reading this post. In Ben Franklin’s the Way to Wealth, he talks about the issues associated with carrying unnecessary inventory, “You call them goods; but, if you do not take care, they will prove evils to some of you…You expect they will be sold…but, … Read More

Human Capital Data Analysts – Sourcing Samurai

What’s The Sexiest Job in Recruiting? I recently read this excellent post on the Google blog written by Jonathan Rosenberg, SVP, Product Management at Google, and I was especially excited to read this: “Hal Varian likes to say that the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. After all, who would have guessed that computer engineers would be the cool … Read More