In case you missed my appearance on WGN Radio on Saturday, January 14TH please go to my media center at http://www.strategicsearch.com/media.php then scroll down to “Radio Appearances.”

Also, please let me know if I can be of service with any of your recruiting or workplace consulting projects.

Did you catch my quotes in this week’s Crain’s Chicago Business? If not, please go to
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20111001/ISSUE02/310019996/push-is-on-to-protect-small-business-credit-card-customers
and view the last paragraph.

Many angel investors, venture capitalists and acquiring companies complete a lot of due diligence, especially on company financials, prior to an investment or acquisition. Unfortunately, few perform very thorough talent evaluations! They mistakenly underestimate the value of talent of the target company. Instead, I recommend taking an investigative approach to vetting talent.

For some thoughts, please go to my 9th and 10th Commandments Of Recruiting videos at http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ and click on 9th and 10th (below) to view the videos. Include four investigative checks: a) criminal records b) civil records (e.g. bankruptcies) c) educational verification and d) detailed reference checks. Also include scouring social media sites like Facebook and My Space for additional information on your prospects. Often times your candidates will provide hidden details that you cannot secure elsewhere! The caveat is past behavior (and missteps) is the greatest predictor of future performance. This can really help you separate the “wheat from the chaff“.

Many employers mistakenly feel that just because the employment rate is 9.1%, they do not need recruiting or consulting assistance. Nothing is further from the truth! Even if they have already identified, what they feel is the right candidate for an open position, I recommend taking an investigative approach to vetting that candidate.

For some ideas, please go to my 9th Commandment Of Recruiting video at http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ and click on 9th (below) to view the video. The caveat is some technical positions are becoming scarcer due to increased demand. As a result, I recommend becoming even more thorough in your interviewing process to separate the wheat from the chaff. Include four investigative checks: a) criminal records b) civil records (e.g. bankruptcies) c) educational verification and d) detailed reference checks. This is the case because past behavior is the greatest predictor of future performance. As a result, you need to dig deep to uncover hidden problems and find the best possible candidates for your needs.

I’m sorry you missed my Saturday, August 20th symposium on state-of-the-art recruiting techniques. Please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/62192465@N08/sets/72157627507762486/ to view some photos from this unique event.

Both keynote speakers, Nicole Bodem (Please go to http://www.hrsearchmarketing.com/ to learn more about Nicole) and Gordon Dymowski (Please go to http://www.gordondymowski.com/ to learn more about Mr. Gordon), shared a wealth of information about applying cutting-edge SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques to recruiting difficult-to-uncover talent.

Please let me know if you would like me to forward PDF’s of both speaker’s Power Point presentations.

Even with 9.1% unemployment, there is an increasing war for some specialized technical talent. Silicon Valley startups are battling established companies such as Walmart labs for scarce candidates including software engineers! Fortunately, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can provide the winning tactics.

Over the last two years I have researched applying SEO to recruiting in search of providing a differential recruiting advantage for my clients. In the process I have built up the largest SEO group in the Chicago area with over 530 members. (Please go to http://www.meetup.com/chicago-seo/ to learn more).

To spotlight my findings, I have arranged two experts for a special symposium on Saturday, August 20th starting at 10 a.m. at TechNexus at 200 S. Wacker including:
1. Nicole Bodem, Director of Search Marketing at Bernard Hodes. Please go to http://www.hrsearchmarketing.com/ learn more about Nicole.
2. Gordon Dymowski. A non-profit and cause-related SEO advocate for such clients as Harvard School of Public Health and The Salvation Army. Please go to http://www.gordondymowski.com/ to learn more about Mr. Dymowski.

What Is The Cost Of Hiring The Wrong Person? You don’t want to find out. Instead, I recommend taking an investigative approach to interviewing.

For some ideas, please go to my 9th Commandment Of Recruiting video. at http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ and click on 9th (below) to view the video. The caveat is some technical positions are becoming scarcer due to increased demand. As a result, I recommend becoming even more thorough in your interviewing process to separate the wheat from the chaff. Include four investigative checks: a) criminal records b) civil records (e.g. bankruptcies) c) educational verification and d) detailed reference checks. This is the case because past behavior is the greatest predictor of future performance. As a result, you need to dig deep to uncover hidden problems and find the best possible candidates for your needs.

I would like to invite you to an extraordinary event that can benefit you and your colleagues in several ways. On Saturday, August 20th starting at 10 a.m. I have arranged a special symposium showcasing two experts well versed in applying SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to job hunting and recruiting.

You may recall that I am an executive recruiter on the cutting-edge of applying state-of-the-art techniques like SEO to recruiting, including running the largest SEO group in the Chicago area with over 530 members. Please go to http://www.meetup.com/chicago-seo/ to learn more about our group and http://www.flickr.com/photos/62192465@N08/sets/72157626449504491/ to view some photos from one of our recent events.

The first segment, will target job seekers and be entitled, “I Want To Be Found: Using SEO to Enhance Your Job Search.”

Employers and recruiters are increasingly relying on online search as a way to uncover and attract qualified candidates. But how can job seekers ensure that they will be found? What SEO techniques can enhance one’s prospects? Expert Gordon Dymowski will discuss these topics and more including optimizing online channels to create a “communications hub” to make oneself a lot more “visible” during online searches, resulting in a higher frequency of contacts and more job interviews!

Mr. Dymowski has over ten years experience in non-profit/cause-related advocacy and marketing, building communities one cause at a time through a strategic, creative approach to social media (and other online channels) and interpersonal engagement, allowing non-profits and small businesses to outperform their competitors through engaging their constituency. His past employers include, Harvard School of Public Health, Salvation Army, the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, and Zocalo Group. Gordon continues to indulge his passion for community building, co-organizing the Chicago Net Tuesday group (which enables social benefit organizations to leverage the tools of the social web) and coordinating marketing efforts for the Chicago Red Cross’ Mission. He also blogs on a variety of subjects ranging from comics and popular culture to non-profits, and is a frequent contributor to the Chicago Now Job Stalker blog. Gordon has a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the Loyola Graduate School of Education. Please go to http://www.gordondymowski.com/ to learn more about Mr. Dymowski.

The second segment will be devoted to applying SEO to recruiting and is entitled, “Candidate Sourcing Makeover – SEO Style.”
Job seekers are changing the way they look for job opportunities, which means that employers need to change the way they locate good people. It’s not surprising that candidates use search engines to find jobs. Unfortunately, less than 2% of the time they’ll locate a targeted company’s career website and job postings. Attendees will learn: 1) why candidates are not currently finding their company’s career websites and job postings and 2) how to leverage SEO to make their organizations more “visible”, which will attract many more qualified candidates.

Leading this discussion, Nicole Bodem, Director of Search Marketing at Bernard Hodes, will be flying in from her offices in Minneapolis to speak to our group. Her areas of focus are SEO strategy, implementation and candidate traffic growth. Prior to joining Bernard Hodes, she held positions at Arbita, a recruitment-advertising agency as well as Jobs2web, where she was responsible for defining the SEO methodology used on their recruiting platform. She has lectured at many search industry events including Search Engine Strategies (SES). She also regularly leads webinars and writes about SEO as it relates to the recruiting space on her blog. Please go to http://www.hrsearchmarketing.com/ to learn more about Nicole.

The seminar will be hosted by TechNexus in their 15th floor conference room at 200 S. Wacker, Chicago, Illinois 60606, on Saturday, August 20th from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Please go to http://www.technexus.com/ to learn more about this unique venue.

Though this event is closed to my SEO group, seating is limited and RSVP is required, I would be happy to squeeze you into this unique event if you contact me directly.

Today’s unemployment rate of 9% came despite gains of 244,000 non-farm jobs in April. After falling 1% over the past 4 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a .2% jump to 9%. However, many sectors showed job gains including manufacturing (+29,000 jobs), health care (+37,000 jobs), leisure and hospitality (+46,000), retail (+57,000) and mining (+11,000). The culprit may be the throngs of unemployed workers who, had previously given up looking and were thus not counted by the BLS figures, have started to search for work again. As a result, companies, which have not considered hiring in almost two years, have started to aggressively recruit again!

Despite the jump to 9% I have noticed many of our clients starting to hire again. Unfortunately, many recently hired or promoted managers lack the recruiting acumen necessary to successfully complete an effective staffing assignment. As a result, many hiring mistakes will be made in the upcoming months. That is one reason for an enormous, recent spike in our consulting assignments to advise companies on their recruiting practices. One useful tool is our 12 Commandments of Recruiting. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ to view. These can be very helpful for novices to increase their recruiting efficiencies.

I have an idea for a seminar to benefit your company, your clients or portfolio companies. It would be based upon my 12 Commandments Of Recruiting. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ to view.

My more than 20 years experience and extensive research shows that most entrepreneurs lack adequate staffing acumen. As a result, they often make costly hiring blunders which can often jeopardize the health of their companies. My twelve tips can be very helpful. Furthermore, I have successfully taught them in similar seminars to my high-tech clients. If this sounds interesting, let’s meet and talk further about designing a custom seminar to benefit your company, clients or portfolio clients.