The Source Newsletter

2010

The 2010 challenges are done. Now see once and for all who the 2010 Grandmaster will be, live at SourceCon 2010!

Irina Shamaeva
1st SourceCon Challenge Winner 2010

A little bit about Irina:

Irina is an Executive Recruiter, an Expert Sourcer and a Web/Social Media Researcher. For the past five years she has been a Partner with Brain Gain Recruiting, placing senior full-time employees in IT, ERP, strategy consulting, and finances. She has an MS in Mathematics and a strong technical background. Irina teaches Recruiters and Sourcers how to search for prospects on the Internet and on Social Networks. Read about her training webinars and DVDs on her blog Boolean Strings + Social Media. Here is Irina’s LinkedIn Profile. Follow her on Twitter at @braingain.

Irina has created these active and successful recruiting communities: Boolean Strings LinkedIn Group and Ning Network, Twitter for Recruiting Group, and Social Media Recruiting Ning Network and LinkedIn Group (co-run with experts in the field).

Read how Irina solved the first SourceCon Challenge here. It was quite an accomplishment and Irina certainly has earned the title of Grand Master Sourcer. Let her know what you think of her hard work by leaving a comment below or contacting her at irina@braingainrecruiting.com.

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Katharine Robinson
2nd SourceCon Challenge Winner 2010

A little bit about Katharine:

Katharine started sourcing in April 2008. She is primarily an Internet Sourcer; to date she has mainly worked on sourcing senior and technical professionals in the energy industry. Katharine is evangelical about the use of Social Media in recruitment and sourcing. Her ambitions include attending SourceCon and helping sourcing to become a common profession in the UK. When she’s not sourcing, Katharine likes watching Star Trek, drinking tea, eating cheese and attending tweetups.

Read how Katherine solved the second SourceCon Challenge here.

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Lisa Offutt
3rd SourceCon Challenge Winner 2010

A little bit about Lisa:

Lisa Offutt has been sourcing since 2007, when she was recruited to work for BizWerks. She does mainly internet sourcing for technology positions, and the occasional electrical or mechanical engineer. She works remotely from her home, and is very excited to be going to SourceCon and meet in person some of the smart, talented sourcers she knows of through online communities. When not wandering the back roads of the internet, she enjoys reading, live music, organizing service projects for the children at her church, and working with a local organization to reduce pollution and toxic waste in her community.

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2008

Michael Notaro
SourceCon GrandMaster 2008

SourceCon congratulates Mr. Michael Notaro as the winner of the Final Grandmaster Challenge at SourceCon2008. Michael was the returning champion from SourceCon2007’s GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge.

Michael Notaro joined recruiting industry in late 2005 as an IT Executive Recruiter, bringing with him over six years of sales experience coupled with a personal vested interest in cutting edge technology. Since then he has developed and honed his skills both as a recruiter and as a sourcer/researcher seeking new and innovative ways to locate the highest quality candidates for his clients. Michael holds degrees in both Psychology and Sociology from Rutgers University, both Series 7 and Series 63 Licenses, and his CDR designation. He enjoys playing hockey, Web Design/Development, and learning foreign languages

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Shannon Myers
3rd SourceCon Challenge Winner 2008

Congratulations to Shannon Myers who is the official winner of the final sourcing challenge. She will be joining our previous winners Julia Stone and Joshua Kahn at the final table to compete against our 2007 Grandmaster champion Michael Notaro at SourceCon2008. An unofficial congratulations to Jeremy Langhans who actually solved the challenge first by a few hours, but as Jeremy will tell you, he was playing along for the thrill of the chase (like good Sourcers do) as he is a speaker at SourceCon2008 and was ineligible to win any of the 2008 challenges.

If you are interested in knowing how Shannon solved challenge 3 and beat out Nita Villarreal Mentza who came in a very close second, click here for her synopsis.

A little bit about Shannon…

Shannon is the Managing Partner of Walton Search, recruitment and sourcing firm that specializes in the Healthcare Industry. Shannon began her career in a combination of photography and higher education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and working as both a photographer and in Student Affairs at fine arts colleges. She made the transition to recruiting in 2001 as a Project Coordinator/Researcher sourcing candidates for commercial construction positions eventually making her way to a full cycle recruiting in healthcare. She is originally from upstate New York and currently resides with her husband in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

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Joshua Kahn
1st SourceCon Challenge Winner 2008

Congratulations to Mr. Joshua Kahn, who is the winner of the first Sourcing Challenge 2008. Joshua is now the first contender entered into the GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge to be held live on Monday, September 3rd at SourceCon2008 in Atlanta, GA.

A little about Joshua …..

Johsua is a Minnesota native living in a suburb of Minneapolis with my beatiful wife and three children. He has been in recruiting/sourcing for 6 years with a mix of agency and corporate experience. As a Sr. Pipeline Generation Expert with Accenture HR Services as a part of their North American Talent Center. His role is to advise clients on their sourcing strategy in general, and to help choose which technologies, techniques, and tools to use for finding and attracting talent. He also facilitates a networking group across all Pipeline Generation Experts and sourcers within Accenture. Along with the challenge of sourcing, he is also passionate about social media and the possiblities therein for recruiting, employment branding and finding new ways to connect with the talent his clients are seeking. Locally in Minnesota he a cofounder of the Minnesota Recruiters group. For more information on Joshua check out is blog at http://thesourcingriff.blogspot.com.

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We would also like to give honorable mention and our congratulations to Ms. Julia Stone who successfully completed the challenge just a few hours behind Joshua. I know the competition between these two was fierce and they shared much dialogue along the way. Watch for Julia to be a front runner in the next challenge.

A little about Julia ……

Julia Stone is the owner of BizWerks, a boutique, third party search firm that specializes in scientists, software developers, and other geeks. She was introduced to sourcing about nine years ago when she obtained her first AIRS certification. Julia spent several years recruiting in the Seattle area before relocating to Madison, WI. She attended the first SourceCon meeting in 2007, and looks forward to attending future events.

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2007

Michael Notaro
SourceCon GrandMaster 2007

SourceCon2007 congratulates Mr. Michael Notaro as the winner of the first leg of their GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge. SourceCon2007’s GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge is a competition designed to test experts and novices in the field of Recruitment Research. Solving the puzzles presented by SourceCon2007 requires above average skills in the areas of internet research and phone sourcing.

SourceCon 2007’s GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge is a three-part contest with each phase of the competition increasing in difficulty. The winners of each phase will compete in a head-to-head battle at the SourceCon2007 event being held in Atlanta, September 11-13. SourceCon2007 reports that although many had tried to solve the first riddle, only a handful were able to accurately decipher the query. Michael Notaro has earned the bragging rights t hat come with being the first to return with the correct answer.

Michael Notaro joined recruiting industry in late 2005 as an IT Executive Recruiter, bringing with him over six years of sales experience coupled with a personal vested interest in cutting edge technology. Since then he has developed and honed his skills both as a recruiter and as a sourcer/researcher seeking new and innovative ways to locate the highest quality candidates for his clients. Michael holds degrees in both Psychology and Sociology from Rutgers University, both Series 7 and Series 63 Licenses, and his CDR designation. He enjoys playing hockey, Web Design/Development, learning foreign languages, and currently holds the title of Associate Director for The Horizon Group.

The second phase of SourceCon2007’s GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge is scheduled for launch on Monday, July 16, 2007. According to Earl Mann, SourceCon’s VP of Business Development, “Any and all challengers are welcome.”

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Jeremy Langhans
SourceCon Challenge Winner 2007

Congratulations to Mr. Jeremy Langhans on edging out the competition and being the first to correctly solve Challenge #3. Jeremy will receive a complimentary pass/hotel/airfare to attend SourceCon2007 where he will compete as the third participant in the Grand Master Sourcing Challenge on September 12, 2007. Jeremy will join Ms. Suzy Tonini and Mr. Michael Notaro to compete for the grand prize, bragging rights and will hold the title for one year as “Grand Master Sourcing Champion”.

Jeremy Langhans is an Executive Sourcer with Cisco supporting the Customer Advocacy organization focusing on finding & qualifying Dir/VP level talent primarily within the fields of IT Services and Marketing. Prior to joining Cisco, Jeremy was a Sourcer for Autodesk, Panasonic, EA, Yahoo, and Microsoft. He is an expert in Internet Research, Sourcing, and Candidate Development. Jeremy began his Technical Recruiting career in the late 90’s and has experience on both the Agency and Corporate sides. He is very active in the global Talent Acquisition community & has been an Expert Member of such associations as ERE and HCI. Jeremy currently authors a Blog focused on Executive Sourcing.

Please join me in congratulating Jeremy on a much-deserved win.

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Suzy Tonini
SourceCon Challenge Winner 2007

SourceCon2007 congratulates Suzy Tonini as the winner of the second phase of their Grand Master Sourcing Challenge. SourceCon2007’s Grand Master Sourcing Challenge is a competition designed to test experts and novices in the field of Recruitment Research. Solving the puzzles presented by SourceCon2007 requires above average skills in the areas of internet research and phone sourcing.

SourceCon 2007’s GrandMaster Sourcing Challenge is a three-part contest with each phase of the competition increasing in difficulty. The winners of each phase will compete in a head-to-head battle at the SourceCon2007 event being held in Atlanta, September 11-13. Officials at SourceCon report that there were twice as many contestants that participated in Challenge#2 and that even more competitors are expected in the next session of the challenge as the buzz spreads.

This win has definitely earned Suzy Tonini very special recognition and the respect of her peers for being the first to connect the clues and solve the puzzle to win the challenge.

Suzy Tonini began her career with internet sleuthing back in 1996 when she uncovered a scam involving treasure hunters and a very prominent investor. Online forums involving these shady characters led her to the real scoop, and long story short, the investor flew her up and promptly stopped the whole operation, saving him possibly millions of dollars.

When Suzy joined MRI back in 1999 as an Internet Researcher, she quickly was nominated to be among the top 5% of the researchers in the industry. In 2001, she co-founded MTR Executive search and then later InfoSourcer, diligently searching for IT candidates when the IT industry was in the doldrums. In August 2006, Suzy accepted a contract assignment with Deloitte Services and was tasked, initially, with finding great SAP Consultants. Her success and strengths of her internet research skills have since been utilized in various areas of Deloitte, and she joined them full-time as a Manager of Internet Research in April 2007. Suzy truly enjoys her sleuthing work and loves being a part of a great team.

Suzy Tonini lives in Bend, OR and has a great life with her “hubby, crazy pooch and cat,” and loves doing anything outdoors and skiing in particular.”