Meet Eric Gilson, Director of Sourcing and Operations - Avid Outdoorsman & Pickle Averse
Posted on January 7, 2009
Filed Under Interviews, Recruitingblogs.com | Leave a Comment
Our continuing features on the lives and professions of the ecosystem we call the staffing industry.
By Dave Mendoza, SixDegreesfromDave.com
Adjunct Faculty, JobMachine
Partner, RecruitingBlogs.com
* As First Published on RecruitingBlogs.com
Eric Gilson
Director of Sourcing and Operations
Bluespeed Technology, Inc.
Bend, Oregon
• RecruitingBlogs.com Profile
• Linkedin Profile
• FaceBook Profile
• BlueSpeed, Company Website
Office: 800-363-5734
Meet RecruitingBlogs.com Regular, Eric Gilson, an ACIR, Advanced Certified Internet Recruiter whose personal motto, “Helping the Fast eat the Slow since 2001″ caught my eye along with his insightful, daily chat contributions.
Eric directs all sourcing activities for Bluespeed Technology including industry research, cold-calls, power searches, job posting management and internal database management.
He oversees all operational functions for the firm including vendor evaluation and selection, training of new employees and “taking out the trash on Fridays.” His primary candidate focus is Lean Manufacturing of Qualified Professionals, and to that end, he is immersing himself further in his expertise area by seeking a Green Belt certification/Six Sigma.
RBC regulars may not be aware of this, but aside from being an avid outdoorsman, Eric was once an Executive Chef at Deschutes Brewery & Public Ale House for over 6 years (1994 – 2000). He managed a 25 member kitchen staff with over 2 Million dollars in annual sales. Never one to be second best, Eric was likewise recognized as Winner of the 1999 National Brewpub of the Year Award from Brewpub Magazine for quality of food and atmosphere. He organized the ‘Chef of the Sagebrush Classic’, one of the Northwest’s premier culinary and golf event featuring international celebrity chefs.
Basically you can come to Eric for his expertise on field dressing elk, cooking it, and targeting passive Lean Manufacturing candidates. We have ourselves a bona fide, one-stop machine in Eric Gilson.
Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world.
Eric: I live in what Business 2.0 claims to be one of the top 5 places to telecommute in the US, Bend, OR. My girlfriend and I share a home with one dog and 4 cats on the Westside of Bend. I have lived in the area since 1993 when I visited for what was supposed to be a 3 week vacation during summer break from the University of Minnesota. I never returned. I still have that unused return plane ticket somewhere.
I very much enjoy the outdoors. From Fly-Fishing to Archery Hunting, nothing makes me feel more alive than spending time in the Great Outdoors. I spent a year as a Fly-Fishing Guide on the Deschutes River. I would still be doing it if it had paid my bills!
Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry?
Eric: I started recruiting in early 2001, just as everything was starting to take a nosedive. I learned enough in those first 6 months of running my own recruiting desk that there had to be a better way. And with the slowing economy that 9-11 helped to exaggerate, we knew that we had better figure out a better way or we weren’t going to make it. So began the process of segmenting roles in the recruiting process.
Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter?
Eric: A colleague from a previous employer went to work for a small firm in Sun Valley. After seeing what type of person it takes to be a successful recruiter, he decided that he would start his own firm and hire a couple of people that he knew who could do this work. I was a Fly-Fishing guide at the time, and it fishing season was closed, so I gave it a shot.
That was 8 years ago, and I have only looked back once. (The Steelhead counts were very large in 2003) I now handle all of the Sourcing and Operational functions within Bluespeed, focusing my development in these key areas. I have worked across many different verticals and horizontals but am now very niched in IT and Management Consulting Firms. We are looking to help build the next Big 4.
Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career?
Eric: 2001! When things slowed, it was apparent that I had better become very good at my job or I wouldn’t have one in this industry.
Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after?
Eric: I have worked very closely with Kendall Messner of Bluespeed to develop Processes, Best Practices, and Customer Experiences that my mother is proud of.
Six Degrees: Tell us about your position, responsibilities, size of your staffing organization:
Eric: As the Director of Sourcing and Operations for Bluespeed Technology, I am responsible for:
• Candidate and/or Name Sourcing
• Industry Research
• Process Development
• Training
• Newsletter Creation
• Technical Operations
• Vendor Relations
• Development of Reports
• Taking out the trash
Six Degrees: (A) What other companies’ recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples?
Eric:
Kaye/Bassman
Krista Bradford - The Good Search
Rachelle Williams – APQC
Chris Murdoch – Yahoo, Inc.
(B) In what aspects are they superior?
Eric:
Kaye/Bassman – Implementation of the empowerment model. Creating sense of Ownership
Krista Bradford – Best Practices align so well with ours. We seem to have re-invented the same wheel.
Rachelle Williams – Because she is hot and likes Sushi.
Chris Murdoch – Great attitude on the business and work
Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why?
Eric: We are very diversified across many industries. I believe that the Healthcare arena will go through major changes due to the new Obama administration and suggest that everyone read Tom Daschle’s book, What We Can Do About the Health-care Crisis to get an idea of where that industry is going and how it will affect other industries. This isn’t just Hospitals. This will affect Payer, Providers and all of their vendors.
Six Degrees: What is the source of the “Most Hires” collected from at your present employer? (In terms of Quantity #)
Eric: Word of mouth. We like to play the 6 degrees from Kevin Bacon game.
Six Degrees: What is the source of your “LOWEST COST OF HIRES” - (least amount of invested resources for the easiest hires, regardless of quality) at your present employer?
Eric: Our lowest cost per hires involves professionals who come back to us based on experiences they or someone they know has had with Bluespeed Technology. Whether they are Hiring Mangers or Most Placeable Candidates, returning customers cost us very little.
Six Degrees: What talent niche groups do you target and are these particular talent areas specialized under your review?
Eric: Alumni of Big4 Consulting Firms
Six Degrees: What types of training in sourcing/recruitment are available to you and have you taken advantage of?
Eric: The amount of training available in this industry is astoundingly vast. I have completed AIRS Certified and Advanced Certified training. I spend 3-4 hours each week watching videos or attending Webinars from the likes of Scott Love, Shally Streckle, and others. Lately, I have been spending time on sites such as Recruitingblogs.com and MagicMethod.ning.com
Additionally, reading is key. I just finished the Encore Effect from Mark Sanborn and am now reading Jeffrey Gitomer’s Colorful Little Books. Next on the shelf is You Inc. by Harry Beckwith.
Six Degrees: What recruitment software tools do you use in your day to day recruitment activities & do they translate effectively within all of the different countries where you recruit?
Eric: I use Gopher from Blackdog Recruiting Software. It is an ATS that was designed and built by a recruiter. It has many compelling attributes including the ability to use it in an ASP environment. It is very customizable and integrates fully with my Outlook Application allowing it to automatically record and save all email correspondences as well ad build and manage email campaigns. It does acknowledge and Country Code, but it cannot translate from French, Spanish Chinese or Greek.
Six Degrees: What tools (technology or old school file folder, for example) did you first encounter early in your recruitment career?
ANSWER: Monster and the Telephone.
Six Degrees: How did your expectations of being a recruiter compare to the actual, first time you got on the phone or in the cubicle? In your opinion, how do people’s assumptions about our vocation differ from reality?
Eric: At first, I couldn’t believe that anyone would pay us for what we were doing. I had no idea how difficult this job was. The more I learned about the job, the more I realized WHY people would pay us. There are lots of people keeping tabs on the top performers in every industry. If you don’t have a couple of these individuals or firms working for you, then you’re losing to the competition. It was very comforting to realize that this job is very important and very deserving of every penny made while doing it properly.
Six Degrees: How do you personally expect to facilitate change within our industry, and/or at your place of work? If you started that process, outline the problem, your solutions, and the vision.
Eric: You are getting into some proprietary information here Dave. I’ll let you know after launch, but think ‘A-la-carte’…….
Six Degrees: “Best practice” you are most proud of developing (now or in the past) in your recruiting career?
Eric: The Triple Filtered Process of evaluating candidates prior to introducing them to our client. It allows each individual in the process to pay close attention to developing and using specific skills within our “Search and Employ Process”. Segmentation of duties.
Six Degrees: What are some of the frustrating aspects/obstacles to your day to day as a staffing professional and in general?
Eric: Untruthful Candidates and Untruthful Hiring Managers
Six Degrees: What are the most common themes of strategic and/or tactical mishaps involving past or present HR/Staffing org?
Eric: A general lack of understanding from Corporate America of the value Third Party Recruiters bring to the Hiring table.
Six Degrees: Considering all of the frustrations you have experienced in your career as a recruiter, — what inspires you as you continue in your career?
Eric: The challenge and pursuit of excellence gets me into the office everyday. There is always something to learn, someone to meet. This career offers many different paths of success and forces one to grow beyond their wildest dreams.
Six Degrees: What one thing do you ideally hope to accomplish in 2009?
Eric: In the coming year, I would like to build out a Sourcing Practice to provide Internet Sourcing Solutions that are tailored made for individual external clients. The Resume Machine!!!
Six Degrees: Anything you want to plug?
Eric: Visit our company website, www.bluespeed.net
Six Degrees: How Are You Going To Change The Recruitment Industry?
Eric: Educate Internal Hiring Teams on how to get the best out of their relationships with Third Party Recruiters.
Arbita is giving away JobMachine’s famous Advanced CheatSheet Sampler!
Posted on January 5, 2009
Filed Under Arbita, JobMachine Inc., Shally Steckerl, Sourcing Techniques | Leave a Comment
I got this friendly note from my friends at Arbita/JobMachine and I thought readers could likewise benefit!
Here it is, click and be merry!
“Attend a short phone presentation about Arbita’s newest offerings (OneWorld and ACES), and you will receive JobMachine’s famous Advanced CheatSheet Sampler (normally $19.97). The first 20 people to attend the presentation will also receive JobMachine’s newest product as a gift: the Advanced Blog Search CheatSheet (normally $19.97). Keep reading to find out how.
Dear Colleague:
November had the largest monthly job loss total since December 1974, adding to the flood of resumes that has overwhelmed recruiters all year. The explosion of job seekers has diluted the proportion of quality candidates making it even harder to match the right person to the right job. At the same time, the economic downturn has caused most recruiting departments to cut their budgets. We have spoken with thousands of recruiters this fall at events like HRTech, ERE, Kennedy and RCE, and they’re all saying the same thing: “Our goals are still aggressive - now we have to do more with less.” The most frequently mentioned challenges for recruiting departments include:
- The explosion in resumes has diluted the talent pool
- Internet sourcing is more time consuming as job seekers flock to social networks, build personal web sites and blog in greater numbers
- Recruitment budgets are getting smaller
- It is more difficult than ever to settle on the right mix of recruitment initiatives
Times have certainly changed. Have you adjusted your mix of recruitment initiatives to keep pace?
Arbita invites you to attend a short phone presentation about two new offerings: OneWorld and ACES (Arbita Consulting and Education Services). The presentation will take fewer than 30 minutes and will introduce you to recruitment marketing solutions that will help you reach your goals in any economic climate.
==> To schedule your presentation, please email oneworld@arbita.net.
During the presentation, we will walk you through solutions for:
- Developing your recruiters to source qualified candidates from multiple Internet sources, such as social networks
- Adjusting your recruitment marketing mix based on ROI and other recruitment analytics
- Leveraging Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to attract job seekers to your career web site
- Bolstering your employment brand to increase your appeal to the right candidates
- Streamlining your recruitment process to accelerate hiring cycles
In appreciation for your time, we are pleased to give you JobMachine’s famous Advanced CheatSheet Sampler (normally $19.97). If you didn’t already know, the Advanced CheatSheet Sampler is a compilation of CheatSheets that show you how to find resumes using Google and Live.com, find mailing list archives and association member lists, find people on Pronouns and make the most of LinkedIn, MySpace and JigSaw. They’re able to make you this offer due to a recent merger with JobMachine. Arbita OneWorld and ACES were made possible in large part by that merger.
The first 20 people to attend the presentation will also receive JobMachine’s newest product as a gift: the Advanced Blog Search CheatSheet (normally $19.97). Breakthrough tips for sourcing candidates from blogs are revealed in this exciting and exclusive CheatSheet not available anywhere else. Be among the first to apply JobMachine’s guaranteed methods for leveraging blogs.
Thank You,
The Arbita Team
P.S. To schedule your short briefing on Arbita OneWorld and ACES, please email oneworld@arbita.net. Arbita will email your complimentary CheatSheets immediately after your briefing.”
Meet Maha Akiki, RecruitingBlogs Social Butterfly
Posted on January 4, 2009
Filed Under Interviews, Recruitingblogs.com | Leave a Comment
BY Dave Mendoza, Adjunct Faculty, JobMachine
Partner, RecruitingBlogs.com
First Published on RecruitingBlogs.com
Maha Akiki
RecruitingBlogs Profile:
Linkedin profile:
Blog Posts
Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world.
Maha: My husband and I recently celebrated our ten year anniversary. We have two boys. Damian is 6 ½ and Aidan is almost 2 years old. Princy, the cat, has allowed me to share her space for the past 12 years.
Damian started first grade in September, and this is his third year attending a French school. He is already the star mathematician in his class, and is a very good reader. Aidan is on his way to becoming champion of “How to get what I want,” as all three of us spoil him rotten – except for Princy, she goes into hiding whenever he approaches.
We’re a multicultural household. I was born in Lebanon, lived in Greece for five years, in Southern California for two years, before settling in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where I met my husband who was born in Egypt.
Both of us had travelled a lot in our childhood, and extended that into our adult life. Even Aidan is shaping up to become a world traveler, having been to Greece at the age of 8 months. He will have difficulties catching up to his older brother though, who has already been to Greece (twice), Spain, Italy, and Jamaica – he can also claim being to Egypt and Lebanon when he was in mommy’s tummy.
Six Degrees: How many years as a recruiter?
Maha: I have been in recruitment for the past ten years, starting as a third party recruiter, and moving into the corporate recruitment world shortly after. I have been working as an Independent *Corporate* Recruiter for the past 6 years.
Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter?
Maha: I always knew I wanted to be a recruiter when I grew up. No, not really. With a BSc. in Psychology, and having completed my Masters coursework in Marriage, Therapy, and Child Therapy, at the University of La Verne (California), I had no knowledge of the existence of that species.
I came to Toronto 12 years ago, and had my first exposure to Agency Recruiters. I found myself more interested in what they did, as opposed to the job they were telling me about. I knew then, it was a career I needed to learn more about.
I started recruiting for the engineering industry, and did that both as an agency recruiter, as well as working for a Consulting Engineering company. I also worked in the Finance Industry, and later found my niche in the Life Sciences industry, whether be it pharma, biotech, lab equipment, or, currently, medical devices.
Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career?
Maha: I cannot think of one single event that strongly impacted my career in recruitment, or left a significant mark in my life as a recruiter. I believes it was a series of small *dents.* I, like many others, never had any formal training in recruitment. I was lucky, though, to have started around the same time the internet was becoming more “public.”
And in 1999, I discovered ERE (at the time when headhunter.net was free, and information on the internet was more free-flowing), and became an avid reader of each and every article, every forum - there were no blogs then -, and even had the opportunity to attend one of Barbara Ling’s seminars in 2000.
As more personalities emerged and forged a name for themselves in the world of recruitment, I followed them – okay stalked them. As more tools became available, I grabbed them (thank you Shally for the LinkedIn invite in 2004), and learnt how to use them.
As communities were built, I became part of them. And I read, and I studied, and I tried, and I failed, and I succeeded. And when I look back at my life, I can say that, ten years later, those small dents definitely left a big mark.
Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after?
Maha: I owe a lot of my on-the-job learning to Art Boyle, my boss at Canpro Executive Search. When I worked with him back in 2000-2001, he was the owner of an exclusively retainer agency. Art did not post his roles. He did not believe in job boards, or even in Newspaper ads. Cold calling and getting references were his tools. He taught me how to use those tools; and he taught me the power of forging relationships, not only with the hiring managers, but more importantly with the candidates. Whether you have placed them, or not, he believed, one day you will need that individual on the other side of the line; either to place in two, three years from now, when they have gained more experience, or to ask for a referral; or maybe, even, as a client.
Six Degrees: Tell us about your work
Maha: When I take on a contract, I am often a sole recruiter supporting the organization. As a corporate recruiter, I support all businesses in their recruitment needs, and manage vendors.
I am involved in all aspect of the recruitment process, from assessing and understanding the needs of a hiring manager, and how it relates to the company objectives; sourcing; screening; interviewing; feedback; reference checking; and negotiating and presenting the offer.
Six Degrees: (A) What other companies’ recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples?
Maha: Organizations in Ontario have a long way to go to become leaders in recruitment, and, unfortunately, I cannot think of a company which I can say stands out from the crowd.
Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why?
Maha: One cannot hide from the current situation and the economical downturn. Will it negatively impact my current consulting role? At this time, I don’t think so. While other companies are downsizing, we are still going strong, and looking at increasing the workforce by 50% within the next six months.
Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there?
Maha: To keep doing what I am doing. Keep learning, and improving. I enjoy working on a consultant basis, joining a new company, looking at how they view recruitment, showing them the value of recruitment, improving their process, and most importantly bringing new talent on board.
“I had the pleasure of working on the same team with Maha @ IDEXX and partnered with her on several occassions. Besides being a delight to work with, Maha brings a professionalism and wealth of experience to the table which is invaluable. I highly recommend Maha’s work and hope to partner with her in the future.” May 19, 2008
Ann-Marie Abbott, Contract Healthcare Recruiter, IDEXX Laboratories
“Maha is a well-rounded recruiter with experience in the corporate, staffing, and executive recruitment fields. She brought a wealth of strengths to our team including knowledge of the Canadian market, outstanding sourcing and research skills, creativity, technical savvy, and professionalism. She is a seasoned recruiter capable of learning quickly and tackling new challenges. It was a pleasure having Maha on my team. I counted on her expertise to launch a successful recruiting program across Canada.” May 14, 2008
Cydney Runions, Sr. Recruiter (Reference Labs Recruiting Manager), IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
“Maha is an exceptional Recruiter and team member. Though Maha and I had a long distance working relationship, we worked extremely well together. Maha is very detail oriented and has great work ethic. Maha always made herself available for questions and had excellent follow through. Maha was able to work through difficult situations by keeping a calm presence. She will be missed!” May 13, 2008
Jessica Warren, Employment Coordinator, IDEXX Laboratories
“Maha was a very responsive, knowledgeable & trusted member of HR who greatly facilitated my integration into Bayer.” March 12, 2008
Rahul Ghosh, Brand Manager, Bayer Inc.
“Maha is truly a professional in her field. She has a keen sense of urgency that I appreciate as a salesforce manager. Her expertise and ability to screen potential hires has enabled me to focus on what I need to do and mimimize my time interviewing poor candidates. It has been a pleasure working with Maha.” April 27, 2006
Ernie Chow, Corporate Recruiter, Amex
“Maha and I worked together at American Express, although our time was brief she showed extreme professionalism in her work.” February 27, 2006
Ted Pierni, Manager, Talent Acquisition, American Express
“It was a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with Maha at Amex. She is a professional, resourceful and dedicated Recruiter. She is a master at building relationships, sourcing candidates and ensuring that her clients’ needs are met. It was truly a pleasure working with and getting to know Maha.” February 23, 2006
Mariam Medina, Corporate Recruiter, Amex Canada Inc.
“I had the priviledge of working with Maha during her tenure with American Express. I found her to be a very positive, enthusastic and dedicated Recruiter. Maha’s ability to build relationships with her Business Leaders was evident in the feedback our department received with regards to her performance. As a colleague she was great to work with and with her great sense of humour, great fun.” February 20, 2006
James Britton, Corporate Recruiter, American Express
“It was a pleasure working with Maha at American Express. We were able to not only develop a professional relationship but a personal one as well. She is very knowledgeable in her field of recruiting, and will continue to keep in touch hoping our paths will cross again in the future.” February 19, 2006
Natasha Wakefield, Recruiter, American Express
“Maha is the epitome of today’s corporate recruiter: She’s highly resourceful; research oriented; technologically savvy; and adept at relationship building.” February 19, 2006
Nigel Peña, Human Resources Business Partner, Wyeth
“I highly recommend Maha for her exceptional ability to build networks which exponentially impact her ability to connect her clients with top caliber talents. Maha is a very talented and ethical person and her work was greatly appreciated at Wyeth.” April 3, 2006
Peivand Pirouzi, Ph.D., M.B.A., Professor / Corporate Trainer in Clinical Pharmacology, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
“I highly enjoyed working with Maha. She is a very solid hands on HR person who has a sense of urgency in booking interviews for talented candidates and as well, is fair when reviewing candidates’ backgrounds. It felt like a team working towards the same goal. February 13, 2006
Linda Boufford, Wyeth
“As a fellow ERE contributor with Maha I have observed first hand a sharp intelect and willingness to explore all options to get the job done.” December 22, 2004
Shally Steckerl
“I worked closely with Maha during a major pharmaceutical sales force expansion. A large project such as this can be a stressful time. However, Maha’s ability to prioritize and exceptional time management skills allowed the project to come to a successful conclusion. She was a pleasure to work with and she treated me - her supplier - as a full member of the team. A true professional!” December 22, 2004
Laird Holms, Recruitment Consultant/Recruitment Specialist, RBC
“I was impressed with Maha’s resourcefulness in finding passive candidates and her professionalism in dealing with all levels of staff.” February 25, 2006
Alexandra Small, Bilingual Recruiter, RBC Financial
“I have known Maha for about three years. She’s a pleasure to work with, knowledgable and extremely professional. What she did best was partnered with the business and clients. She will be an asset to any team she joins.” February 15, 2006
Ryan Lutchman
“I worked with Maha at RBC. Maha is a great person, she excels in everything she does. She is full of knowledge and always willing to share her information with others. Maha is a solid HR/Recruitment professional.” February 14, 2006
Cathy Taylor, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Ceridian
“Maha and I worked together on a hiring project for RBC Financial Group in 2002. Her dedication, expertise, and communication were invaluable as we faced high volumes and tight deadlines. She is a true teamplayer!” December 28, 2004
Tina Iantorno, Recruitment Consultant, RBC Financial Group
“Maha is one of the most professional and respectful recruiters I have ever worked with, offering a high degree of integrity, creativity in her candidate sourcing, a clear focus, and a calm and clear-headed approach to managing any challenge. Maha was a lead contributor to RBC’s critical recruitment initiatives.” December 22, 2004
Lisa Kruger, Recruitment & Retention Specialist, RBC Financial Group
Purple Squirrel Baffles Experts
Posted on December 31, 2008
Filed Under Default | Leave a Comment
London Telegraph
A purple squirrel which appeared at a school has baffled experts who are unable to explain its color.
Teachers and pupils at Meoncross School in Stubbington, Hants, were amazed when they saw the creature through the window during a lesson.
Since the squirrel, now nicknamed Pete, was first seen, it has become a regular fixture at the school but no one has been able to say whether the animal has fallen into purple paint, had a run-in with some purple dye, or whether there is another explanation.
Dr Mike Edwards, an English teacher, said: “I was sitting in my classroom and looked out the window and saw it sitting on the fence. I had to do a double take.
“Since then it’s been a bit of a regular at the school - everyone’s seen it.
“We thought it might have been paint or something but then when you look at it up close, it’s an all over coat, not in patches like you’d expect if it had been near some paint.
“Its fur actually looks purple all the way through. It’s an absolute mystery.”
Pupils, staff and parents have contacted vets and even e-mailed television nature expert Bill Oddie to see if an explanation could be found.
Lorraine Orridge, the school’s registrar, believes Pete’s coloured fur looks like a school uniform.
She said: “The squirrel has become a bit of a legend among staff and pupils at the school.
“He makes an appearance most days and we always look forward to seeing him.
“We don’t think he is a mutant squirrel but he may have had a mishap around the school.
(READ MORE)
Christmas Morning
Posted on December 30, 2008
Filed Under Family, WebVideo | Leave a Comment
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Siena Blue’s First Christmas Pagaent
Posted on December 28, 2008
Filed Under Family, WebVideo | 1 Comment
My Daughter, Siena Blue is the one in the white dress with Reindeer antlers, not singing or crying and trying to maintain her composure 
View my profile on RecruitingBlogs.com
Happy Holidays: Woodbelly - Livin For The City
Posted on December 27, 2008
Filed Under Family, WebVideo | Leave a Comment
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Happy Holidays: Good King Wenceslas - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre
Posted on December 26, 2008
Filed Under WebVideo | Leave a Comment
View my profile on RecruitingBlogs.com
Happy Holidays: 12 Days Of Christmas by Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets
Posted on December 25, 2008
Filed Under WebVideo | Leave a Comment
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Happy Holidays: Amazon’s Wishlist Tool Makes ‘ThankYou’ Easier & Good Business Sense
Posted on December 23, 2008
Filed Under Recruiting Trends, Social Networks | 1 Comment
By Dave Mendoza
Dave Mendoza’s Wish List
Shally Steckerl’s Wish List
I want to extend my special acknowledgment for the kind cards and gifts from readers of Six Degrees. A few examples: Dan Harris, my sourcing apprentice surprised me with a Wii Sport (my family loves it Dan!), Marni Sampir, an alumni of the SixDegrees Top Ten+ - was kind enough to send some Christmas Cookies with her company’s cool logo on them, and Erica Jayne Walsh from BountyJobs sent a cool gift basket. Ryan Philips gave me a book at Kennedy Expo, Susan Kang Nam sent a hardcover notebook and Heather Gardner always sends a thoughtful card or item without an occasion on mind, and Shally sent me a very cool Wii Jedi Light saber game complete with virtual sabers …
It becomes a challenge when you want to return the kindness, or initiate it on your own, however, not so much for me … Thanks To Shally Steckerl, I have the easiest way to show my appreciation to my clients, candidates, friends, and business leads with Amazon’s infinitely easy to use “Wish List”
On Amazon I can simply search for client wish lists myself and upon being located, identify their preferences in a direct,”What they think is Cool” way to make their day. You click, you add it to your cart, enter your card info and walaah! it goes out in two business days using Amazon Prime and I am set to make someone’s day and make in impact on our relationship. After all is said and done, Amazon Wish List even updates itself after a purchase is made so you won’t risk buying the same item again that the intended recipient already had marked. If someone beats you to the “Highest Priority” items, you simply move on down the list. In fact, you don’t have to limit your list reviews to business appreciation you can even seek out wedding gift registries, baby registries, or make one for your own family members, like I did for my toddler, Siena Blue, to make inquiries easy.
Bottom line - if you can’t find your Amazon Wish List for a particular client or candidate - encourage them to create one. Send them this post and tell them how easy it is! I myself called a few clients and friends and told them I noticed they didn’t have one featured. Be Ballsy, it’s 2009 almost, right?
Above all I don’t have to worry about risking my gift becoming a Re-Gifter like on that Seinfeld episode. I watcheda Fox Business feature and was amazed to learn that an average of 19 percent of gufts are “Re-Gifted” - and of those identified on average they are re-gifted as many as five times! With Amazon’s Wish List, I won’t have to worry about that, because each individual has done us all the favor of clicking items they themselves value and you have optimized the likelihood they will have one big smile on the delivery date. If you create an Amazon Wish list for yourself - you ideally want to list items with a wide range of low to high priced featured “Wishes”. One more thing that I love? You learn more about the person when you see that other side of them you never knew existed. I never would have known Shally was a big Science Fiction fan like I am had it not been for his wish list, for example. Touching people’s happy button’s is always a good thing. Ahhh, Technology is wonderful.
When you see an act of kindness, extend your heart as well as the one click tools available to make recognize it. I do when I can as often as I can and here at Six Degrees its about Giving Not Getting … so pass it forward and show someone their kindness, their friendship, their resume submittals that let to that big contingency fee - all mattered.
Whether you create your own Amazon Wish List or seek out others, in both directions you created a remarkably efficient tool. It’s one more example of Social Networking at work, but with an uncanny sense of precision I admire.
What are your Amazon Wish List Links? Don’t have one? Create one! What are your Client or Candidate Wish Lists? Ask and find out or encourage them to create one. So what if the gift arrives after the Holidays - thank you’s don’t have expiration dates right? Thank back on the kindness you received and click away.
It’s good business but above all its a good way of showing your own Humanity in the spirit of the season, right?
Happy Holidays. I am off to play with my new cool light sabers.
PS: Here are a few Wish Lists to avoid being an “Elaine”:
Dave Mendoza’s Wish List
Shally Steckerl’s Wish List
What’s your wish list?
To add items while you shop the site, use the “Add to Wish List button. You can click the button to add the item to your default Wish List, or click the down arrow to select which list to add to.
To get back to your Wish List later, use the “Your Lists” link at the top of the site.
To share your Wish List with other people, check out the options available by clicking the “Tell people about this list” button to the left.
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