Behind the Buzz: Video Interviewing
Posted on October 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
I had to write a post on video interviewing, because somehow, this has become an integral part of HR Technology, and that’s the beat I pretty much cover. And I’ve been hearing for two years how my skepticism can be overcome, how I just don’t understand the technology behind video interviewing (really complicated) or some other boilerplate product marketing solution selling technique.
But I’ve seen dozens of demos at dozens of video interviewing vendors over the past couple of years, an astonishing number of competitors for a category that I categorically believe to be specious at best, hucksterism at worst, and fundamentally unnecessary to exist as an independent point solution (if at all).
Rethinking Candidate Experience
Posted on October 16, 2013 1 Comment
One of the most pervasive, and ubiquitous, topics permeating the recruitment and talent acquisition industry agendas is that of candidate experience, a focus reflected throughout the HR Technology Conference’s agenda and ancillary events, including the Third Annual Candidate Experience Awards.
The recipients of these awards, and the companies considered on the cutting edge of candidate experience, are without a doubt helping change perceptions and create best practices around this elusive yet extremely important issue, and these awards provide valuable validation – and recognition – for employers taking the time to get this critical recruiting competency right.
Millennials Drive Like This: The Why of Gen Y
Posted on October 14, 2013 4 Comments
What if I told you that a sketch comedian and a capitalist came together to basically invent an entire category of HR theory? That’s not a joke – that actually happened. Before the term Gen Y was first coined in Ad Age (1993), or Douglas Coupland first strung together the words “Generation X” (1991), William Strauss and Neil Howe got together and captured what probably was not a zeitgeist as much as a good old fashioned tent revival-style bid to part that fool and his money.
Strauss, you see, was at the time a member of the Capitol Steps, which is like the dinner theatre version of that “I’m Just a Bill” Schoolhouse rock video. And Howe? He was an economist for the Blackstone Group, which is to say, the ultimate Wall Street guy, a banker’s banker, credible, sure, profit hungry, well – that’s the entire point of private equity, and its sole agenda.
Thought Leadership for Lemmings
Posted on October 2, 2013 4 Comments
I’m fully aware what is about to follow is perhaps the most hypocritical thing I could ever write, save a column on healthy weight loss or an op-ed on the flaws of job hopping. But this industry of ours is fundamentally flawed, and the reason is simple: in a world where the barrier to entry is more or less a pulse, an entire category of “thought leaders” has emerged who, really, aren’t thinking about HR at all. Rather, their primary focus seems to be on creating problems which don’t actually exist and making them seem pressing enough to spend money on.
Sourcing for Dummies
Posted on October 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
If you really want to tell how good at sourcing someone really is, the first task to assign them should be to find a recent, relevant and comprehensive guide to sourcing-related terms and terminology.
That’s because, well, even in a discipline driven by esoteric buzzwords and omnipresent acronyms, there’s little understanding, or even consensus, as to what, exactly, the sourcing function even entails – and, consequently, how to define what’s often seen as the dark art of talent acquisition.