Cheaper than using recruitment consultants!

For all of you that are interested in social networking and how our business can benefit from it, have a read of this article on the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7501073.stm

The article is regarding a report from Gartner, stating that business aren't making the most of social networking sites...Also an interesting comment from CEO, Robert Phillips of Edelman, who use social networking for recruitment..."it was cheaper than using recruitment consultants and more beneficial at tracking down the right person."

Something to think about!

What is a JobBoard?

I think the term JobBoard has been lost over the years and is now causing some confusion… I would argue that a JobBoard is a business model, accounting for the likes of Monster, CareerBuilder, Seek etc.
They advertise jobs (as a third party) on behalf of clients, be they direct employers or staffing/recruitment agencies and have no involvement in the pay-rolling of perms or temps/flex-workers.
What most of us have on our websites are job listings that we are advertising on behalf of our clients. Most of the time we take a fee for finding a candidate and if a temp/flex-worker we then pay-role that candidate.

Rock Star Recruiters!

It's been a while, but work has been busy!
Anyway I'll try and resume normal service ASAP...but for now
I was recently introduced to Dave Mendoza (admittedly only by email!)...a legend in the Recruitment Blogosphere, and beyond, but it was little like being introduced to a celebrity.

Never before have recruitment specialists had celebrity status, even beyond the industry. I'm sure i will meet Dave and others like him in the flesh fairly soon...what will i do...will i struggle for words? will i break out into a sweat?
Hopefully none of the above, but it does make you wonder how far this will go...

Enough with the 'start-ups'!

Is it me but are we being bombarded on daily basis with latest 'start up' from 'The Bay area'.

Scribd, http://www.scribd.com/ is the YouTube for documents!!!!
Youtube i get and understand, but trawling through tons of useless documents, upload because someone has nothing better to do with them.
We not convert all this info into HTML and publish it on-line...oh yeah you already can at hundred of other site already....want my CV go to Linked in, whats the point of uploading a soft copy to Scribd?
Scribd does have one advantage that it converts all the docs (no matter what the format) so they can all be viewed and downloaded.

Yahoo the Brave!

Well done to Yahoo for saying 'No' and standing up against the Microsoft money machine...even if it is just to get a little more cash out of them

Bebo for sale...again!

TechCrunch are reporting that Google might be about to buy Bebo...

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/06/rumor-is-google-about-to-buy-bebo-for-1-billion-to-15-billion-or-will-it-be-myspace/

This wouldn't be the first time we have heard that someone wants to buy them, but if this is true it does show how quickly Google can respond to the threat from Mircohoo!

Searchability is key

Following on from my Blog about the perfect CV.
Susanna Boyd writes in her latest blog about creating the perfect CV.
http://www.recruitingbloggers.com/rbs/2008/02/speaking-out-ab.html

Searchability is key as is using Keywords

Notchup.com

Joel writes this interesting article on new start-up Notchup.com

http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/01/23/notchup/

Joel is right with the fact that we have seen these kinds of business make a big splash just to turn out to be made by a little stone! Jobster being a classic example in the US and Zubka in the UK
www.notchup.com

End of Yahoo?

With the end of Yahoo in sight, what does this mean for us using search advertising and Search in general?
A combination of Microsoft and Yahoo will have Google worried, as this new merger suddenly becomes a viable competitor. Something Google has never had in recent years. Though in my opinion neither Yahoo or Microsoft have a Search facility to match Google's.

However a competitor to Google AdWords is something that i would welcome. Anything to bring prices down.

Whatever happens the looser is Yahoo. Their pride will be in shreds at having to admit the Google simply does a better job and that’s the reason why they will become a subsidiary of Microsoft

How 'e' are you?

After last weeks Enhance Media Conference: The Year Ahead 2008, I thought I should do my bit and promote their How 'e' are you survey.
www.howeru.com

For a Website Manager i got a fairly disappointing 72...

The mobile web..is this the year?

We have all been told for the last 4 years or so that, 'This is the year of the mobile web'.
I have seen 2 presentations over the last week telling me that this actually is the year of the mobile web.
Mobile web is a tantalising prospect for the staffing industry. Companies like Zappy Media are making it quick, easy and relevant to build mobile sites, but do we actually need them.
The iPhone and other smartphones can render the 'real' web on your device...so i ask again, do we need a mobile web?

The perfect online CV

With the advent of parsing and matching software like Burning Glass, it seems it maybe easier to cheat the system.

we know meta tagging works great for websites at getting you top of the search engines, but CV databases work the same.

Would embedding a list of relevant (or non-relevant) tags in your CV help it to be found in a CV database search?

So why Think in Circles?

So you either got an email from or you have miraculously stumbled upon my blog. Either way 'Hi' and welcome.
For a few years i wanted to start my own blog and always wanted to call it Think in Circles, firstly it seemed like a cool title but secondly that it reflects my sometimes state of mind!
So hopefully this blog will help us all to think outside the Circle.

As I’m in the HR industry it seems relevant to have a HR slant on this blog...but if it does get to much, please let me know.
Happy blogging
JCW