1. THE FUTURE
OF RECRUITING
“The Good, Bad and The Downright Ugly”
Seattle Staffing Management Association (SMA)
Closing Keynote, September 2015

2. This Keynote has been rated…

3. Steve…
■ Apparently an Influencer in the Talent Attraction space
■ Has lots of scars from many years of recruiting
■ An engineer who crossed over to the dark side
■ A Founding Member of a movement to create a global
association for recruiting focusing on Best – NOT worst -
Practices

4. #THEPRESENT

5. The definition of a recruiter?
No, No, No, No, Maybe. Um…No, No, No, No, Yes!

6. Recruiting
today isn’t
pretty...

7. They’re
laughing at
us!

8. Collateral
damage
isn’t just
military
talk…

9. Why do we
refer to
recruiting as
everything
but
recruiting?

10. Why is
everyone
else but
recruiting
trying to
disrupt
recruiting?

11. Why do
many
continue to
push the
future of
recruiting
as one of
100%
automation?

12. “We hire
only the
best and the
brightest”

13. “We hire
only the
best and the
brightest but
we're
satisfied
with
average
recruiters.”

14. Death by
defaults…

15. Where
are
you?

16. The history
of recruiting
doesn’t
come from
recruiting…
George Boole:
“An Investigation of the Laws of
Thought, on Which Are
Founded the Mathematical
Theories of Logic and
Probabilities” (1854)

17. Personal
brand has
trumped
performance!
“Doah…I’m a
Rockstar,
Guru, Ninja
Recruiter!”

18. Pushmi-
pullyu
from the
inside
leads to
confusion
on the
outside…

19. We follow the masses…

20. #AIRECRUITING

21. “As a result of both technological developments
and integrating marketing techniques,
companies will move from their traditional
Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Customer
(Candidate) Relationship Management (CRM)
systems to fully integrated Recruitment
Marketing Platforms (RMP) in order to have a
continuous dialogue with their target audience”
http://blog.hrtecheurope.com/review-talent-acquisition-strategy-hiring-fundamentally-changing/

22. Would you
want a
computer
to choose
your
partner?

23. History of
Recruiting
Paul Meehl:
“Clinical vs. Statistical
Prediction: A Theoretical
Analysis and a Review of the
Evidence” (1954)
http://bit.ly/1O2ScXB
http://bit.ly/1JDzbVn

24. What’s driving the current
state of recruiting?
“Over half of CEOs say lack of talent
meant they either, cancelled, delayed
a strategic initiative, were unable to
pursue a market opportunity or
could not innovate effectively.”
https://www.pwc.com/mx/es/servicios-recursos-humanos/archivo/2015-02-delivering-results.pdf

25. #THECHALLENGE

26. We’ve strayed from our mission…
We’ve lowered the bar…
We’ve allowed others to dictate…

27. #TALENTBUBBLE

28. What will
happen when
people
decide they
no longer
want to leave
digital
crumbs for us
to find?
https://youtu.be/PU6sMOB9b-E

29. Recruiting is broken
Recruiting is broken
Recruiting is broken
Recruiting is broken
Recruiting is broken

30. OMG! Is
there a
message
any time
soon?

32. Reality…
■ Talent shortage? No way
■ Same old, same old engagement? You betcha
■ Recruiting talent shortage? Yep
■ Implicit bias in hiring? Every day

33. Tools don’t recruit, people do…

34. ReHumanizing
the Hiring
Process…
Where are the hugs?

35. We don’t build relationships with
passive candidates, talent, or
future employees – but with
people

36. We teach
best
practices by
giving
recruiters the
freedom of
discovery…

37. To coerce
a tree to
bloom you
have to
prune it…

38. The role of
TA leaders is
to mentor
recruiters to
be
courageous,
to take
chances, to
be human…

39. “It takes little talent to see clearly
what lies under one’s nose, a
good deal of it to know in which
direction to point that organ.”
~Wystan Auden

40. #SUPERENGAGEMENT

41. Emails and InMails
■ Subject: Curb Appeal
■ First Line: Simplicity
■ Self-deprecation: I know, I know
■ a/b/c: The Behavioral Contract
■ Company Marketing: We’re special
■ Buddah: You’re beautiful to me
■ How I found you/About me: Cool
■ What you can do next: Your move

42. Subject: Curb Appeal
■ Research your target group
■ Humor works…sometimes
■ Controversial issues? Use them!
■ Specific problem to be solved? Put it in there!
■ The power of the ellipse…

43. Subject: Examples
■ “node.js ISN'T cancer" (Google it in case you missed it)…
■ We have shaved heads, chin hair, and the same first name…
■ your NAME blog, cute pic of your son, and another annoying
recruiter email…
■ Our first Sales Engineer in Singapore – COMPANY is a
disruptive, open source SaaS video platform - needs to be
special…
■ More Traffic Means More Earnings for Steve....

44. First Line: Simplicity
■ Don’t go the “Pick me! Pick me!” route
■ If you can, make it short and sweet
■ Continue the pace of the Subject line
■ Have fun…
■ Use antiseptics on wounds – not for sourcing (no “I’m
sorry for…”)

45. First Line: Examples
■ Good morning from slushy New York City.
■ ...because as we expand into APAC, first impressions are
VERY important.
■ If you were thinking about taking your NAM skills
elsewhere, where might you go?

46. Self-deprecation: I know, I know
■ They know why you’re reaching out to them so you might
as well be in on the game
■ They’ve already trashed 117 crappy emails and InMauls
this week – so they’re really good at it

47. Self-deprecation: Example
■ Yes, I’m a recruiter – but quite a bit unlike the others who
aren’t well liked by the software dev community (although
I might be after this email). I came from engineering over
to – by chance - the dark side of recruiting and HR. While
there’s always a chance you’ll <Delete> this right away, I
hope to give you a reason not to…

48. a/b/c: The Behavioral Contract
■ I feel your pain, I get crappy InMauls too
■ Jump starting the relationship begins with
honesty and action

49. a/b/c: Example
■ So (a) I won’t contact you anymore unless you want me
to, (b) I’ll go away if you tell me to, and (c) I’ll help any
friend of yours who might have a need to change jobs or
find a job - even if they aren’t in software development.
Not all recruiters are {add your favorite curse word here}.

50. Marketing: We’re special
■ One line is “best” unless you really have a story to
tell that ties into why you’re contacting them
■ You know those novels about your company that
proceed the “meat” of your job description? Just
don’t. Please.
■ Be honest

51. Marketing: Example
■ Here’s the deal NAME: I work for COMPANY in
NYC; we’ve created a fully-automated, touchless
TV ad-buying platform that delivers highly-
targeted impressions (the TV ad market is $70
Billion annually – so much for the demise of TV).
We’re the only company doing this.

52. Marketing: Another Example
■ I'm not assuming anything about your happiness and
satisfaction at work but I am assuming that you might be
open to hearing about why Gartner places COMPANY in
the Magic Quadrant for its internally and externally facing
online video platforms (magic quadrant link).
As far as specifics, our platform is transforming the way
Educational institutions teach and interact; the way
Enterprises develop their employees and culture; and
how Media & Entertainment companies stream and
monetize content.

53. Buddah: You’re beautiful to me
■ Tell the person why they’re receiving your email
■ Be prepared to go into more detail when they respond

54. Buddah: Example
■ Our API Layer is heavy node.js. Since you’re one of its
500+ authors, I’m reaching out to you because others
who use node.js probably look up to you – and you
might know a few who might like what we’re doing here.

55. How I found you: Sourcing Cool
■ Demystifying the black hole
■ I know about you; let me tell you about me

56. How I found you: Sourcing Cool
■ Hope you don’t mind but I used this Boolean string in
Google to find your “home” page:
(inurl:~cv | intitle:~cv) java agile QA test automation
Selenium MySQL NY -send -jobs -job -apply -
writing (it looks for “resume” pages with SQA related
terms; also shows a good deal of junk so I was lucky
you came up on the first page)
■ In case you dislike recruiters, feel free to Google me
without () – (steve-levy recruiting), and see for yourself
that I'm not like "them.”

57. How I found you: Sourcing Cool
■ Then I read some of your Tweets and checked to see if
Googling “FIRST LAST” forum produced posts of yours
(you seem to like vaadin.com); I know it looks like
cyberstalking but in the recruiting world it’s called
“research”…

58. What you can do next: Your move
■ Power swap
■ It’s up to you…

59. What you can do next: Example
■ NAME, feel free to ping me if you need more info –
here's a blog post I wrote about the API and
Hadoop layers, relay this email on to those whom
you think might be interested (perhaps coming off
contract or pissed off that they’re not doing the
things they were promised in their current role), or
I suppose ignore me if this email creeped you out.

60. Subject: De acuerdo con Visual Networking Index de Cisco...
...in Mexico, IP video will be 85% of all IP traffic in 2018, up from 66% in 2013;
...total Internet video traffic (business and consumer combined) will be 82% of all
Internet traffic in 2018, up from 64% in 2013;
...Ultra HD Video-On-Demand will be 5.2% of IP VOD traffic in 2018, up from
0.0% in 2013 (353.3% CAGR).
I'm not assuming anything about your happiness at work but I am assuming that
as someone who seems to like technology, you might be interested in how the
exploding use of video has forever changed the structure and landscape of how
Educational institutions teach and interact; how Enterprises develop their
employees and culture; and how Media & Entertainment companies stream and
monetize content…
Full Example: An InMail that isn’t an InMaul

61. ..and how COMPANY’S open-source video platform is poised to be the
superhighway in Mexico on which the above growth travels. Por supuesto , el
crecimiento significa contratación - y en este momento , significa ingenieros de
ventas.
So I'd enjoy connecting with you here and answering your questions about
COMPANY and Mexico.
One more thing - if anyone you know needs career assistance, I'll help them any
way I can (I have a very large professional network). Even from New York.
Really.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you very much for reading
all the way to the end.
Full Example: An InMail that isn’t an InMaul

62. Subject: More Traffic Means More Earnings for NAME…
NAME-
If you were thinking about taking your NAM skills elsewhere, where might you go?
Link to article
Thoughts?
Full Example: Email outreach

63. Putting it all together…
■ This has to go down as the single best email I have ever
received from a recruiter! I would definitely like to know
more about the position. Do you have time to talk
tomorrow?
■ Nice! That is by far the best recruiter email I have ever
received.
■ It is very refreshing to see a "non" introductory email and
both COMPANY & you has tickled my fancy with regard to
where COMPANY sits now within the market and where it
wants to head.

64. #OCCUPYRECRUITING

65. “You begin saving the world by
saving one man at a time; all else
is grandiose romanticism or
politics”
~Charles Bulowski

66. Want an
interview?
You had
me at hello

67. If greatness is your goal…
■ Know the real job not the job description
■ Combine knowledge, data and judgment at every step
■ Treat every person the first time you interact with them as if
your life depends on a second date
■ Don't tolerate implicit bias – if you know it's wrong speak up
■ Recognize that there are no expendable people
■ If you say it mean it – don’t ever lie
■ For every person you burn, you will lose the chance to interact
with 10 of their best business associates

68. Final Bits of Advice
Beyond the Boolean and the Post
& Pray is someone like you and
you’re helping them make
important career choices.
Be human…

69. If we do not confront and coach
recruiters who send out the most
galactically stupid emails without
checking to see if there's any rhyme or
reason for a match, then we're just as
guilty as people who turned a blind eye
to homelessness and hunger.
Final Bits of Advice

70. If we do not do a better job at
engagement, at tapping into the
likes, dislikes Zeitgeist, cultural
differences and psyche of the
people we are reaching out to then
we’re no different than Nigerian
spammers.
Final Bits of Advice

71. ATAP
■ Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals
■ Established working committees: Governance; Funding/Financing;
Legal/Non-Profit Status; PR/Communications
■ Establishing 501(c)
■ Establishing formal structure/ governance
■ Identifying initial funding sources
■ Establishing of charter membership
■ Identifying Launch Date

72. ATAP
■ Informal conversations began in 2011
■ Regional Recruiting Group Roundtable: Discussions with local groups
leaders started in 2013
■ Articles written by Top Influencers in the industry starting in early 2015 in
support of this initiative
■ 5/2015: First call with 10 top corporate leaders and Industry influencers
■ 6/2015: Call with 8 Regional Recruiting Group leaders
■ 7-8/2015: Survey sent to 250+ individuals across the recruiting
ecosystem
■ 7-8/2015: Ad hoc conversations within the industry

73. ATAP
■ 2016: Committee recommendations to industry Review Board
■ 2016: Creation of a Legal Entity
■ 2016: Board of Director nominations
■ 2016: Executive Director selection
■ 2016: Marketing and Membership Drive
■ Targeting a Late 2016 Launch

74. Not TL;DR…
■ Zeller/Levy: http://bit.ly/1MCW3rS
■ Zeller: http://bit.ly/1iLQa23
■ Levy: http://bit.ly/1O2wjaM
■ Hoyt: http://bit.ly/1WyFZgd
■ Crispin: http://bit.ly/1Ll8MPo
■ Ruettimann: http://bit.ly/1FIwC9k

75. #QUESTIONTIME

76. LINKEDIN: WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/STEVENMLEVY
TWITTER: LEVYRECRUITS
BLOG: RECRUITINGINFERNO.COM
SKYPE: STEVELEVY
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