Transitions in Employment

Archive for the ‘Recruiting’ Category

Today’s The Wall Street Journal reports in Beware the Phantom Job Listing (page B7) the increase in “back channel” hirings — where it is ” who you know” that is making the difference in job searches. This trend is occurring against the backdrop of regulatory requirements concerning job postings. The take-away from this article reinforces the importance of the candidate’s network, especially in this weakened economy.

How is it possible that Yahoo hired its CEO Scott Thompson, missing the fact that he misrepresented his credentials – to wit, he claimed to have a degree in computer science when he did not?

How is it possible that one of the nation’s leading top executive search firms did not uncover this fact during its due diligence on behalf of Yahoo?

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In “On the Hunt for Tech Hires“  in The Wall Street Journal (April 11, 2012), Lauren Weber writes that technology companies, outside of the “Silicon Valley [stars] or hot start-ups,” are wooing tech professionals with perquisites and benefits.  A sense of creativity has found its way into the recruitment process.  Food truck treats, gifts (such as radio controlled miniature helicopters and personalized items), plus personal attention at conferences and events, are part of the program to attract “techies.”  However, it appears that industries are going outside of the typical HR processes only to the extent they need to attract the best talent.  The tech industry is different from the apparent trends found in the job market generally.  To the extent an industry needs new talent and the competition for such talent increases, more perqs and “romancing” of applicants becomes part of the application and hiring process.  It might also be worth noting that a similar creativity in recruiting was first seen in the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, when companies sold the perqs of working for them to win the best talent.  One can only hope that this is not a bad omen.