ResearchGoddess

First off, let me say that I think dating sucks.

Let me say it again, but with a slight different angle: dating today sucks. For those of you who are happily married, please stop saying to your single friends, “Some day, you’ll find ‘the right one!’” It pisses us off because we know you haven’t had to score a first date in so long that you probably don’t even remember what it’s like. Let me paint a picture for you:

In the school library, a girl is studying on a computer, when all of a sudden, a message pops up on her screen: “Would you like to talk?” Thinking that it’s a prankster friend, she sends back a note that she is studying, and to stop bugging her. Another message pops up on the screen, indicating a desire to talk. The girl asks who the person is who is sending the messages, and a head shot image comes up on the screen. She stands up, and she sees the boy sending the messages stand up also. They lock eyes, and the rest is history.

Okay, anyone who is a Molly Ringwald or an Andrew McCarthy fan knows that this is a scene from Pretty In Pink. Though, this may have fooled you because this is kind of what dating is like today. Except that it’s not 1985. Shoulder pads and floral patterns are not all the latest rage. And we do not waltz into prom to the sounds of OMD, gaze across the room to see our lost love, and end the story with an incredibly romantic kiss. Newsflash: dating today doesn’t work like that.

Continue reading “Sourcing and Dating: The Same Rules Apply” »

Recently, I had the privilege of talking with Russ Moon on his radio podcast show, The Sourcing Samurai. We chatted about sourcing (naturally) but we also talked about some related topics such as global economy, business communication, and continual education. And, of course, we talked about SourceCon NYC! I hope you enjoy it. Russ told me we’d be doing a follow-up talk in the near future which I’m looking forward to – thanks Russ!

Click here to go to The Sourcing Samurai and listen to the radio podcast…

SourceCon ended almost two weeks ago. I am just now getting around to putting my thoughts down in a post for my blog. That’s because I spent a good amount of time last week on the phone with many of you getting your thoughts from the conference and starting the planning process for the next SourceCon. (which will be in New York City on February 8-9, 2011!) As this was my very first SourceCon in the driver’s seat, it was a new and unique experience and I think some of the lessons I learned throughout the conference are worth sharing here.

I’ve always enjoyed attending our industry conferences. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed going to MRI events, the Web 2.0 Expo, SourceCon of course, and ERE events including the Expos and the Social Recruiting Summits. Now, I have the responsibility for organizing the speakers for three industry events each year – two SourceCon conferences as well as the Fordyce Forum. Continue reading “My Thoughts From #SourceCon” »

(reposted with permission from FordyceLetter.com)

The Washington Post recently ran an article discussing the cautious attitude with which businesses are still approaching hiring, even though profits appear to be on the upswing. According to the article, “Corporate profits are soaring. Companies are sitting on billions of dollars of cash. And still, they’ve yet to amp up hiring or make major investments — the missing ingredients for a strong economic recovery.”

Instead, it appears that companies are busy making up for the fixed assets they had to scrimp on last year and investing in things like new furniture, equipment, and so forth.

ABC News ran a similar story at the beginning of August. The Jobs Report that came out in July also showed a slow-down in hiring: in the private sector, employers produced just 71,000 new jobs in a country where 14.6 million people are looking for work. What’s going on? According to Wall Street Journal reporter Jon Hilsenrath, what’s happening here can be boiled down to one word: uncertainty.

I believe that what is going on can be explained by simply taking a look at how the human body handles stressful situations.   Continue reading “Hiring, the Economy, and the Human Body” »

I am now going into month #3 of working at ERE Media, Inc. as the Editor for The Fordyce Letter as well as SourceCon. This career move was a sharp right turn from the road I was previously on, but I’m finding that there are still a ton of similarities.

As an Internet researcher/soucer for eight years, some of my job functions included:

• Generating leads
• Industry/competitor research
• Assisting with employment branding initiatives
• Writing/blogging/sharing thoughts and ideas with candidates as well as colleagues
• Doing cross-department outreach for sourcing projects (getting marketing, PR, tech, etc. involved)
• Training recruiters and other sourcers on search tools and methods

One afternoon at the Fordyce Forum, just days after I officially joined ERE, I had a chance to sit down with David Manaster, my new boss, and Todd Raphael and Kate Bruener, two of my new co-workers, to discuss some of the things I would be responsible for in my new role. Some of the things we discussed included:

• Generating leads (finding authors for both websites by phone calls as well as internet search)
• Industry/competitor research (keeping up on the latest news and trends regarding recruiting and sourcing)
• Assisting with branding initiatives (using various on- and offline tools to reach target audiences and spread the word about our offerings)
• Writing/blogging/editing author articles (duh.)
• Getting other ERE employees involved in our efforts (all of our publications are truly team efforts – we help each other out all the time)
• Finding presenters for the Fordyce Forum and SourceCon to help bring relevant information on recruiting and sourcing topics to conference attendees (while I’m not doing the training, I’m tasked with finding the people who will)

So, I guess my job function hasn’t really changed all that much. Except that we’ve added in doing some phone work to find writers. And admittedly, I enjoy having conversations with people on the phone now. I know… I never thought I would admit to that either!

I’m not getting soft as a researcher. I’m just putting my skills to use in different ways and I am finding that I really love it!