Editor’s note: the Meet the Speakers series is designed to introduce the SourceCon audience to the speakers who will be presenting at SourceCon Atlanta in February.
Tell us about your background, how you became involved in sourcing, and what you do currently.
I’m a life-long student of recruiting. At one time or another I worked as a company recruiter, a contract recruiter, a college career services counselor, a search firm researcher, a recruitment agency consultant, and much more. I love to travel to other countries and watch recruiters and sourcers work. This past year it was Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay- living with and observing several dozen world-class contractors. Israel, Brazil, India, China were on my list in the past. Currently, my business partner and I facilitate intense small group conversations about recruiting practices between company leaders of large mostly high-brand, competitive firms. [CareerXroads Colloquium].
Tell us about the presentation you have planned for SourceCon. What takeaways should attendees expect?
Not a presentation but a conversation about current and future challenges and opportunities for the impact of referrals on sourcing. I’m co-moderating with with a friend, Master Burnett, and we have three interesting panelists- each a practitioner with a point of view related to sourcing and we expect the audience to add to the conversation and not be passive learners. (Editor’s note: the panelists will be announced very soon!)
Why would it be unwise for someone to miss your session?
It would be wise to miss the session if you want to multi-task. We want you to be present and contribute. I expect the sum of all the sessions and conversations we’ll have at Sourcecon in Atlanta in February to set the stage for 2014. Missing that will be something to regret.
Have you been to SourceCon in the past? What are you most excited about?
Yes. Sourcing After Dark. Just lower the music so the conversation can be central.
How do you feel about the future of sourcing?
Positive. As sourcing evolves to include more competitive intelligence, workforce analytics, and as efforts to establish and develop pipelines are expanded, sourcer roles will continue to evolve and become more aligned with longer term business goals.
What new tools are you experimenting with that you find interesting?
The tools I’m seeking and can describe are not rocket science but have yet to emerge. One example: I want to have an app that can read a job description and infer the name and contact information of the recruiter, the hiring manager and the team currently reporting to the hiring manager that the person who eventually gets hired will work with.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that has nothing to do with what you do professionally.
I have 19 1st cousins on my mother’s side. We, along with our children, and in many cases our grandchildren, plus a few friends (100+), go camping together for the better part of a week each year. We’ve been doing it every year for 36 years. This video of three of my cousins jamming is typical of what goes on for 5 days. #grounded
What is your favorite social network? Why?
Google+. Scope, potential, and content.