Wendy Weber on Executive Recruiting

Greg Savage, an Australian blogger, puts it bluntly: Recruiters, toughen the f*** up! in his piece about the challenges of executive recruiting. In his words:

o Recruiting is uniquely tough because it’s the only job that I know where what you are selling can turn around and say ‘no’.

o Recruiting is a killer because for us, it is all or nothing.

o Recruiting grinds you down because you do so much work you don’t get paid for.

Click here to read why…

Finally, Savage says “never forget that if you choose to be a recruiter, you have made a Faustian bargain. You have chosen a career fraught with pitfalls and sometimes it feels like a living hell, But do it right, and the fun and money we need for a great job is within our grasp, because being a recruiter can really rock too!”

Agreed. And that’s what keeps me in the game, day after day, year after year!

It’s difficult to read these words and not follow up by reading the essay, isn’t it?

Here is the piece, written by author Michael Ellsberg, for the Sunday New York Times: click here.

Here are the cliff notes:

Apple founder Steve Jobs…Microsoft founders Bill Gates & Paul Allen…Twitter founders Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams & Biz Stone…and Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg & Dustin Moskovitz…all are college dropouts.

Ellsberg posits that America has no problem producing professionals with degrees. But we do have a shortage of job creators…and the people who create jobs aren’t traditional professionals, but start-up entrepreneurs.

“In a detailed analysis, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that nearly all net job creation in America comes from start-up businesses, not small businesses per se.”

He goes on to say that if start-up activity is the true engine of job creation in America, one thing is clear: our current educational system is acting as the brakes.

Ellsberg finishes by saying, “I’d put my money on the kids who are dropping out of college to start new businesses. If we want to get out of the jobs mess we’re in, we should hope that more will follow in their footsteps.”

If my kids are reading this, I would like to finish on a personal note. With one of you in your sophomore year in private college, and one of you submitting your applications for acceptance in the fall of 2012, I will have a hard time watching you drop out of college “for the greater good”. Please get your degree first, and then make your mark on the world, ok?

Recruiters tend to look self-serving when we say that counter offers are a bad idea. But they are!

Interesting post by SeSee Munson, a recruiter with The Wilson Group (click here).

As an employee, I would look askance at an employer who claimed to value me, but only gave me a raise when his/her back was to the wall. As a recruiter, I would like to share some other thoughts about why counter offers are not a good idea:

Although money is a very powerful motivator, and the primary reason why most of us work, it is generally not the primary driver to explore employment with a new company. People explore their options for many reasons…and in many cases, it’s because of their boss. They may feel under appreciated. There may be a lack of trust, of communication, of relevant and timely feedback. None of this changes when money is provided as a solution to the problem.

Another reason employees move on is to spread one’s wings professionally, to take on a new challenge when their existing role has grown stale. This doesn’t change, either, when a counter offer is accepted.

When you give notice, you have demonstrated your lack of loyalty to your employer by the very fact of getting to the point of an offer with another company…a move which cannot be undone…and one which results in professional and a surprising amount of personal damage (yes, it hurts your boss’s feelings when you give notice). You have invested time (often, on your employer’s clock), and effort to convince yourself and your prospective new employer that the opening on their staff is more desirable and more appropriate for you at this point in your career, than the position you currently hold. During the course of describing your contributions with your current employer, you may have shared (even inadvertently) some company secrets. Your employer has cause to be concerned that you are receptive to new opportunities, and they do not want to continue to invest in an employee who has “a foot out the door.”

Here is my advice: If there is an issue that prevents you from reaching your fullest potential at your place of employment, have a candid conversation with your management. Let them know of the issue(s) that is preventing you from feeling as fulfilled as you would like. By making them aware of it, you are allowing them the opportunity to remedy the problem if that is possible. If it’s not possible, or if they are not receptive to your concerns, it is time to move on. And when I approach you with an extraordinary new career opportunity, be prepared to make that step into the next chapter of your career without looking back.

From Search Engine Watch, interesting piece on the characteristics of a good in-house SEO.

They are expected to be thought leaders, salesmen, collaborators, educators and synthesizers.

“Companies don’t want to hire someone who can get them top rankings or create some monthly reports – that is a given now.

Increasingly, in-house SEOs are required to be more analytical and ROI focused. This evolution of SEO clearly demands SEO’s to have a good left brain and right brain combination.”

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Interesting question posed by Nebo Agency, an interactive agency located in Atlanta: What is the most overhyped aspect of Interactive Marketing?

The answer that was given with the greatest frequency was QR Codes.