alstin communications

As VP of Client Development for Alstin, I (happily) find myself on the road a lot, talking to clients, prospects, people in the media, etc.–and I attend numerous industry functions each month. On Alstin’s blog, I’ll let you know where I am and what I’m hearing in the wonderful world of recruiting.

So we’ve said goodbye to 2009–actually most of us have said, “Good riddance!” While exciting tools and technology continued to emerge and we did some of our best work ever, 2009 was, for the most part, a lousy year for recruitment departments as well as those that serve the human resources industry. Many great workers lost their jobs, highly qualified and motivated people couldn’t find jobs, economic uncertainty hovered like a black cloud–things were tough all over. I for one was happy to turn the calendar over, and while I don’t think anyone is calling for a return to a robust job market anytime soon, we really are starting to see some signs of life–and growth. In the meantime, hang in there and please let me know if there’s any way the Alstin team can help you with your recruitment communications challenges in 2010.

Ok, back on the road!

Princeton, NJ: As always, so many good friends and clients at the New Jersey Association of HealthCare Recruiters. Jessica Cohen from the New Jersey Hospital Association was the speaker and the topic couldn’t have been more relevant: healthcare reform. Jessica really helped me make sense of some of the more complex (and contentious) issues; her handout included several key policy points, and then for each point she included the House Reform Bill position, the Senate Reform Bill position and finally, the position of the American Hospital Association.

West Chester, PA: Visiting a wonderful, long-time client to update them on all things Alstin. Certainly one of the most important services we provide is educating clients on trends, new tools and the best practices happening in recruiting today. Still, the best moments for me in client and prospects meetings happen when I’m simply listening and learning about an organization’s goals and challenges, and how I can help. All in all, great client, great meeting and hopefully more great work to come.

My Desk, Philadelphia, PA: While I love getting on the road and meeting people, there are times when the distance is too great or the time frame too short. Talking with a prospect based in New York via conference call, I was joined by Mike Tedesco and Jen Hitchens-Greenfield, and we had a great opportunity to get more information on the project so we could deliver a strong proposal.

Newark, Delaware: Into the great state of Delaware for an exciting strategy meeting with one of our most forward-thinking clients. Such a pleasure to work with such an intelligent group that’s so passionate and enthusiastic about trying to provide the best experience for their employees. We have a lot of work to do, but this type of employment branding and client collaboration will be a labor of love.

Until next time, see you on the road!

You never know what’s on someone’s mind… We’d like to know what YOU think would make a catchy, memorable headline if this photo were a recruitment ad. Think outside the bubble!

Ever check out Glassdoor? “Anonymous salaries, company reviews, and interview questions and reviews for over 70,000 companies – all for free!” (And for all to see!) What about the thoughts, opinions and musings galore that are out there on social media sites? What are people saying about your company, its people and what it’s really like to work there?

Inquiring HR minds (and job seekers) want to know! So how in the world do they go about finding out?

A great way to get started is to set up Google Reader to gather RSS subscriptions from some of the free media monitoring sites that are out there. Before your eyes glaze over from fear that this post is going to start getting “too technical” for you, don’t worry. You are likely halfway there if you’ve got a Gmail account.

Once you set up a free account with Google, you’ll be able to experience all the joys of Google Reader – a place to aggregate and organize all of your search results in one spot. It’s really as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Go to a free media monitoring site of your choosing.
2. Enter your search terms.
3. Click on the RSS feed icon to subscribe to a continuous feed of the search results.

That’s it. Once you click that RSS button your search agent is set.

The list of free media monitoring tools is a long one and new options are cropping up all the time. So if you are already playing around with these to keep on top of things, please share your favorites. Here are just a few that I think are worth checking out:

Social Mention is one of the best. They live up to their word: “It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including: Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google etc,” Another plus, in addition to delivering real-time results, Social Mention also provides a social ranking score on strength, sentiment, passion and reach with each and every search. Already familiar with Google Alerts? Social Mention can also send Social Mention Alerts right to your email.

Twitter Search’s shpeil: “See what’s happening – right now.” Simply put, this tool is a great way to isolate tweets based on keywords.

Google Blog Search focuses only on the blogosphere. Use it to “find out what people are saying on any subject of your choice” through an index that is continually updated on blogs written not just in English, but many other languages too.

Technorati, BackType and BoardTracker are a few more for you to check out.

The reputation that precedes an organization can make or break their pipeline to top talent. While these tools may be at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to analyzing your brand’s rep (your competitor’s, industry trends, etc…), when you listen you are sure to learn.

Most if not all non-profit organizations depend on grants and donations in order to do what they do. Many also further depend on unpaid volunteers to help them carry out their mission. I recently began a volunteer position at Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences in their live animal center. The work is not very easy; most of the job involves quite a bit of messy cage cleaning and food preparation. However, I am an animal person and knew going into it that I wouldn’t mind those aspects of the job.

What I didn’t expect was just how much I am enjoying my volunteer work. Yes, volunteering doesn’t come with a paycheck, but it provides a tremendous amount of satisfaction and fulfillment. I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity and am so glad I volunteered to do it.

Matching work that you enjoy to an organization that needs help is always a win-win and often provides inspiration to others.

Share with us your experiences performing volunteer work, and/or opportunities that may exist within your organization

Just two short years ago Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sat down with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington to talk about FB’s privacy policies and controls – controls Zuckerberg describes as integral to the core of Facebook. “That’s the vector around which Facebook operates.” Information was only intended to be visible to your Facebook friends. That was then.

Is he now singing a much different tune? This is Zuckerberg now: The Age of Privacy is Over.

 Zuckerberg is quoted as saying: “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.”

Has it really? Openly sharing personal information is the new social norm? Sigh.

My reluctance to personally jump into the wonderful world of social networking has been well documented here and around Alstin’s office. I feel lots of pressure to follow the herd, break down and get me a Facebook page so I too can brand myself through status updates. Maybe I could start doing all this under a fake name? Resurrect Lisa Licketto from Runnemede, NJ – my first fake ID. If it weren’t for that darn privacy thing…

Personal information is sacred to many of us. And I for one really hope the age of privacy isn’t over.

Like many fans of Alstin’s blog, I read a lot of articles about the recruitment/HR industry, and one person I really admire is Kevin Wheeler who blogs on ERE.net. A few weeks ago, when I saw he was writing a “decade in review” article on the state of recruiting, I was excited to learn his thoughts.

The article is, as usual, insightful and filled with great ideas. However, the news when it comes to recruiting and candidates isn’t good. This is what really caught my attention:

How did recruiting fare over the decade? Did things get better for recruiters and candidates?

The decade began with the hope, maybe even the expectation among most recruiters, that the Internet would change things profoundly. Many of the writers and experts on recruiting predicted that candidates would be better served, that workloads would be more manageable, and that costs would go down.

As it turned out, neither the average cost per hire nor the average time to present a qualified candidate has changed much despite the introduction of all the tools that the Internet made possible. Applicant tracking systems were supposed to make it easier to keep track of candidates, present better candidates, as well as for a recruiter to qualify them. Yet, good candidates are rare and hiring managers complain regularly about seeing candidates who do not measure up to their expectations. Recruiters still can’t find good candidates, even when they have stored resumes or contact data in the multitude of systems that have been created to make this easy. Communication — now so easy with email and CRM — is as bad as always. Candidates are complaining more than ever of being neglected, and most remain in the dark about their status.

While these findings are indeed disappointing, I bet not many people in HR are surprised by the results. Certainly we have wonderful tools that never existed before–tools that were supposed to not just make recruiters more efficient and effective, but improve the candidate experience, lower cost per hire and allow HR people more time to focus on their employees. Nearly all HR people I work with are intelligent, savvy, motivated and very, very good at what they do. Of course, there are many noted success stories but, for the most part, these expected improvements just did not happen. Where did we go wrong?

As I’ve said before, I do think we make the mistake of overestimating the power of technology and new tools, especially if we think it can fix systemic problems in already flawed processes. While a totally overloaded recruiter will certainly benefit in some ways from a great sourcing or tracking tool, he/she probably still won’t have the time to get full utilization out of the tool, not to mention fix outdated job reqs, analyze how to make their onboarding process better, develop stronger relationships with hiring managers, etc.

Kevin Wheeler says the best recruiters share three characteristics: (1)a deep knowledge of the industry they are recruiting for; (2)ability to build relationships with the right people; and (3)ability to practice the skills of good salesmanship. If you believe that to be true (and I do), you see that while technology can certainly help with those three traits, they can never be the real solution.

I think we’re also experiencing some of the consequences of the flip side of technology–or that old adage, “With new solutions come new problems.” For example, it’s so easy for an applicant to apply now vs. twenty years ago–when you had to print out a resume and cover letter and mail it to the HR Dept. Sure the candidate isn’t remotely qualified for that position, but if it only takes him two clicks to apply and he’s desperate for employment, why not? Combine that with the huge job losses at the end of this decade, and we see an absolute flooding of resumes into ATSs, job boards and other sourcing tools. This inundation not only increases the burden on recruiters, it also raises the likelihood that a great applicant’s resume will never see the light of day.

What do you think? How can we get better?

Most people understand that pixels play some part in electronic imagery. You’ve probably bought digital cameras that pushed ever-higher MEGApixels, but the question that lingers is:

 ”What is a pixel?”

In simplest terms, it’s the most basic unit of color or value in an image. When you blow an image up on screen, pixels are usually defined as squares. Though you can’t see it from viewing distance, your display, whether an LCD or old-fashioned tube, only has three colors–red, green, and blue. They’re arranged together in groupings of three, one of each color. With LCDs, which have a specific pixel-count, each pixel is defined by one of these blocks of three. The most common type of color image is called 24 bit, meaning that each of the three colors has an 8 bit span of color value (8×3=24). 8 bits = 256 steps, from completely dark to fully bright. With each color having 256 steps, a single pixel, made of 3 colors, has 256 x 256 x 256 color variations (16.8 MILLION!).

When I said “fully bright”, I didn’t mean all the way to white. I mean that the sub-pixel element goes from off (black) to a bright red, bright green, or bright blue. The white you see on the screen is all three of these colors in their brightest state. Grab a magnifying glass or loupe and take a look!

This is RGB color, the way that light-projecting devices show color. Even if you’re working in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) for print, it’s being displayed via RGB on your display. Conversely, if you print out an RGB photo in color, it will be converted to CMYK on the paper.

An image that occupies the CMYK color space has pixels that are defined by FOUR colors, each having 256 values, so you’d think you’d get a wider range of colors this way, but it’s just not so. I’ll leave those worries to the designers. The rest of you note that every snowy shot you take this winter with your digital camera is blasting the red, green and blue sub-pixels. Just stay away from the snow that’s only made up of the red and green subs (that’s YELLOW!).   - j

Remember all the hype surrounding the “Cisco Fatty” tweet in 2009? “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

If you’re not familiar with this particular social media saga, Tim Levad, a Cisco employee, tweeted back: “Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

Connor Reily, aka Cisco Fatty, tweeted herself out of an opportunity and in the aftermath admitted, “I should have been a little more careful … I certainly learned the hard way.”

I’m sure we could all attest to the fact that some of life’s best lessons come to us the hard way, even when it seems that common sense should have saved us.

What can we do to make sure that our current employees, some of our favorite “tweeps” out there, don’t make similar missteps on the web for all to see? Start by creating a set of social media guidelines.

There’s a treasure trove of examples over at SocialMediaGovernance, an online database of social media policies. I also recommend that you check out the set of social media guidelines Intel has created (and continues to evolve as social media does) for their employees. Why?

• It’s concise
• It’s conversational
• It connects back to the company’s code of conduct
• It’s full of common sense advice including: “If it gives you pause, pause.”

The extra second you (the employee and the person) spend to proofread, debate, analyze – really think about what you are putting out there for all to see – is so, so worth it. Heed Intel’s wise words!

James Lipton (and his beard) seem to know what I am talking about. His advice to teens – “Before you text, give it a ponder.” –  in a series of PSAs for LG, is really a universal message:

Do you work for an organization that’s created a social media policy? Share with us some of the key guidelines that you’re glad are there. If you are thinking about creating one, what guidelines do you view as essential?

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing, “Things will get better in 2010!” Really? Why? Because 2009 was so absolutely dismal that it couldn’t possibly get any worse?

According to the Mayo Clinic’s web site, “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) starts in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.” That sure sounds like the 2009 economy (“jobless recovery”) to me. (Sounds like some people I know as well…but that’s a different blog post all together.) The Mayo Clinic also goes on to recommend that SAD isn’t just the case of the “winter blues” and that treatment (in various forms) can help you keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year. Well, I’m all for that—right 2010 economy?

I’m seeing blips on my radar of recovery. My colleagues are seeing blips as well. But, I’m not detecting the colossal tidal changes I’d like to be seeing. I know, I know it’s only three weeks into January but, come on! I was chuckling back in early December at posts and articles like GL Hoffman’s Jobs Summit comments.

But now, I’m wanting some of these recommendations to come to life.

Our 2010 economy needs some serious therapy. I work for a small business, heck I even had my own little web design business for a few years, and as I’m sure all of you know—it’s tough out there. Even if the calendar is saying 2010, I’m still feeling 2009. Except for executives at large banking institutions (don’t get me started on that one), margins are still thin, profits and losses are still being monitored daily down to dollars and cents and the budget restrictions aren’t loosening up quickly enough.

I think the 2010 economy needs a serious ‘therapy plan’ to get out of this SAD funk. Just off the top of my head, I’m envisioning the following:

• Create a “Re-investment Plan” of every single bonus dollar a banking executive would receive in 2010 directly lent to small businesses across the US at zero percent interest for the first three years. I think that would help loosen up some budgets and increase spending and ultimately hiring.
• Create tax incentives for companies that create new jobs. If we can push through and market the “Cash for Clunkers” program—why can’t we launch and market a “Job Recovery Tax Break” to promote job growth? We’re all doing way more with WAY less—if an employer could see the value of rehiring talent because the advantages out weigh the risks, don’t you think they’d take that chance?
• Create tax incentives for entrepreneurs to start their own business (and hire people to work). Have we lost sight of our roots and forgotten that the entrepreneurial spirit is what has made the United States so successful?
• Provide funds for state and local governments to assist unemployed workers to find employment. I’ve never seen my local library so busy and so overwhelmed!
• Remember the New Deal government public works program in the 30s? Maybe we should take a closer look and morph its basic concepts into solutions that makes sense for the 2010 economy? Perhaps, invigorating and investing in green technology?

Are you seeing any signs of the elusive ‘2010 recovery?’ Supposedly it’s going to surface in the spring/summer…

For now, I’m thinking of spring—warm, sunny days with lots of green. It’s already staying lighter later…a daily sign I see for good things to come—one extra minute or two at a time.

I recently came across a great blog post the other day that made me wonder: What are recruiters stumbling across and tripping over on the road to making that terrific hire these days? 

I work with HR professionals everyday, assisting them with their daily recruitment goals. I often hear the urgency in their “I’m swamped” voice, or “I need a vacation” tone. So when I saw this blog title -  Want a new job? Stop being so nice. Seriously. I hate it.  - I had to check it out.

 As I read on, I discovered Sarah White, author of the Imsocorporate.com blog, and her feelings about a special breed of the annoying jobseeker. She goes on to reach out to fellow recruiters for confirmation and to let her readers know the three top things that will classify you as too creepy to consider working with. It was a quick rant but a viable one all the same. Those who commented seemed to take it pretty well. After a good laugh, I became interested to know what my clients would blog about regarding their encounters with eager jobseekers…especially now, in this current state of unemployment.

So little jobs…too many jobseekers!

In a sense, my job is to help you put out the bait, cast a net, and catch and hook those prime candidates for your open positions. It’s then your job to reel ‘em in. So, with this new age of social media, I think it’s sometimes helpful to give a personal voice of guidance to help the process along – and save you from having to throw too many back!

What’s your take on this? Please share your comments with me. These could be quite helpful – and funny.  (We’ve heard some dooseys in the past, so don’t be bashful.)

 I WANT TO KNOW…..

What are your gripes about the sourcing/interviewing processes?

With all this new technology, do you feel like you’re being stalked or like you’re stalking others?

What do you want candidates that are looking for a position with your company to know?

What are your top tips to win you over in an interview?

Want to help, but not sure where to begin? CharityNavigator may point you in the right direction to charities with a history of working on massive disasters and/or of working in Haiti.

As anyone working in HR, advertising or virtually any other industry knows, change is the only constant in the workforce today. Those that hold on to tired, traditional methods, who scoff at social media and other new technology, and reject new ways of doing their job or communicating with industry colleagues are in big trouble–most will either change their tune or risk being left behind.

Most of us industry vets (myself included) looked at the rise of social media with an interested, cautious and sometimes skeptical eye. However, it didn’t take much brain power to realize that no matter what your preconceived ideas were (not to mention how some people misuse it in staggeringly annoying ways), social media is an undeniably robust, immediate and effective tool for delivering your message and interacting with your target audience. If you stop and think what sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have done and how they have connected people in just the last few years, it’s no wonder they’ve soared in popularity.

The downside? From a business perspective, I think some people got carried away in thinking that social media–or any communication tool or technology for that matter–could be a panacea for business processes or relationships that are already broken. Certainly, no web 2.0 tool is going to replace face-to-face communication or real interpersonal skills. Furthermore, if your recruiting function fails miserably when it comes to delivering a positive candidate experience, a nice Facebook page won’t fix that. If you work in an organization that doesn’t recognize its employees as the company’s most valuable asset, clever Tweets won’t magically make everything all right.

Speaking of Twitter, I must admit that while I was excited by LinkedIn and Facebook, I really thought I would hit the wall at Twitter. My first exposure of Twitter was from dopey celebrities giving us near constant updates on the minutiae of their lives. Then regular people began tweeting in the same way, and it was as if your most annoying Facebook friends–the ones notorious for their nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness updates–had found a way to take that annoyance level up a notch–and hammer you constantly about how sleepy they are or important proclamations like: Today is laundry day!

Then I started using Twitter as a business application and I saw things in a whole new light. Not only do I tweet myself and follow many of my co-workers (Jen Hitchens-Greenfield and Annette DeHaven) and industry gurus, I am also the person who tweets for Alstin. Like many Twitterers, I’m still learning–thankfully I have some real pros at Alstin to help me–but my experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive. In just the last year, we’ve cultivated great leads using Twitter, reconnected with former customers we’ve lost touch with and found new prospects. I’ve seen clients tweet out new openings at their organizations and, at Alstin, we also use Twitter as an effective way to get our message out–whether it’s updates on our services, information about our blogs and newsletters, etc.

Finally, by using Twitter to follow people in HR, recruiting, advertising and other industries (twellow is a great resource to find people to follow), I’ve read a ton of articles and discovered resources I simply wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Will Twitter still be around in 2 years? Maybe not. LinkedIn has already incorporated tweets into their interface–maybe soon tweets will be a function of a larger social media tool that will be more of a one-stop shop. If you’re an HR pro and want more information on recruiting in the Twittersphere, don’t miss Jen’s blog on Recruiting in the Twittersphere. Got some more questions? Let us know here on the blog, or send an email to blog@alstin.com.

It seems as if just about everyone here at Alstin knows just about all there is to know about the Web, especially when it comes to recruiting and/or retaining employees. When a client (or a friend, or a relative) needs help searching for a job — or for employees — someone here usually has a much too-lengthy list of recommendations to share. But as is usually the case, while some are neck-deep in knowledge, there are often equal numbers of those without a clue.

That’s where our government comes in.

In an effort to educate more job seekers about the array of online job search tools available to them, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has launched a “Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge.” Offering businesses and other organizations the chance to showcase their products, the challenge uses crowd-sourcing technology to inform job seekers about online career resources. Phase 2 (RECOMMEND TOOLS) is just coming to an end, with Phase 3 (RESULTS) coming in February.

The free Tools being identified for jobseekers are sorted and being evaluated in the following categories:

· General job boards, listing sites and aggregators

· Niche job boards

· Career tools such as ladders and transition tools

· Web-based career exploration sites

· Social media sites specializing in job searches or job postings

· Other job matching and career advancement tools

Though the current list of contenders has a few familiar names — aftercollege, craigslist, careerbuilder, linkedin are obviously there — I was pleasantly surprised not only by the mix of national and regional players, but strategies to help those who are looking for a job find a better plan (see Lazone Grays Jr.’s “Self-employment as a Pathway Out of Poverty”). I really like www.careerrealism.com from an editorial standpoint (their tagline? “Because EVERY Job Is Temporary.”) and think our tri-state area could use a www.Door64.com of our own.

I started to lose track of time checking out some of the tools entered in the Challenge and wondering about the tools who also voted for some of the sites. It seems as if some states/industries are represented better than others (or got the word about the contest out more quickly to constituents than others?), but overall, I’ve found the Challenge a great way to get up to speed quickly on a variety of known, relatively unheard-of, and up-and-coming tools and ideas.

I’ll definitely be checking back at the end of the month for Phase 3: Communicating Results. The DOL/ETA will publish the top tools in each category, with the goal of helping workforce system leaders decide which tools to make available through One-Stop Career Centers, state job banks, and other on-line resources.

Here’s hoping the Challenge not only helps someone you know and loved to work with, but gets the organizations helping people find or market jobs back on track as well.

The art of late night comedy seems to be imitating life, huh?

We sure have been hearing a lot about how 2010 may be a year marked by massive talent turnover caused by a disconnect between workers and their employers.

Which leads me to the many eloquent points made by Conan in his letter to the network in an attempt to connect his passion for his job to broken promises and ultimately his decision to not participate in a 12:05 broadcast of The Tonight Show:

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future … But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

From Conan’s perspective, could NBC be more disconnected to him? What about the disconnect to his fans? Is Leno the only one happy with this decision? (My guess, considering his recent stand-up routine, is that he isn’t entirely either.)

I also felt the sting when Conan went on to say he and his crew just want to do a great show “for a company that values our work.” When the latest stats point to a staggering 79% of workers likely to seek jobs elsewhere this year, and the high profile nature of the Conan debable over at NBC, what can we learn from all this? (Besides a great example of how to respectfully disagree with the boss.)

I don’t think any organization wants to be known as the company that cries wolf – lots of promises/no delivery. Hard business decisions that negatively impact top talent can have far reaching impact, but it is always a balancing act.

It’s your turn now: Can you relate to what happened with Conan? How do you best perform a balancing act when making tough decisions?

The Internet is evolving faster than anyone can imagine.   Web 1.0 (1991 – 2003) was all about the availability of information. Everyone who was anyone had a website; .com, .net, .org, however viewers were unable to participate or contribute to the available content on the Web.   Web 2.0 (2004 – present) is a version all about Social Networking - user-generated content, building connections and socializing. What’s next? 

Web 3.0 – The Semantic Web

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, credited with inventing the World Wide Web, predicts the Internet will soon have the ability to understand services and information without any human direction and will be able to connect  machine information with human information. Can you imagine our computers having the ability to read websites and comprehend that information almost as good as a person can? Some people predict Web 3.0 will equate to more 3-D (such as Secondlife.com) where people can go to a destination without physically leaving their living room.

I believe a big change in Internet technology will come sooner than later, probably within the next year or two. My guess is that the software developers and computer geeks who have been laid off during this recession have not been spending their time at home watching infomercials! They are planning, looking ahead to the future and hoping to get there before everyone else.

My prediction? When the dust settles on the economy we will begin to see what they have been tinkering away on.  What are your predications for Web 3.0? More importantly, what do you hope to see?

Traditionally, when most of us picture job searching, we do not imagine someone doing it while standing on a bus, sitting in a train or walking through a store. But with the ever-increasing number of individuals with mobile Internet access, people are using cell phones/Smartphones to go online more and more. This means if someone wants to search for job openings on a company website, they can do so while standing at the grocery check out. And employers can target potential applicants almost anywhere.

An April 2009 survey by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reveals that one third (32%) of Americans has used a “cell phone or Smartphone to access the Internet for emailing, instant-messaging, or information-seeking.” This number is up by 73% from a previous study done 16 months prior. 46% of those in the more recent survey explained that mobile access is important to them for getting information on the go.

This has some major implications for employer branding and how campaigns should be executed.

InfoWorld recently examined recruitment efforts by Convergys when they decided to use text messaging and social networks to target the Millennial generation for call center jobs.

AT&T recently established a Jobs Application on the iPhone to allow one-step mobile access to www.att.jobs career portal. This enables them to keep in touch with job applicants on events, openings and company information in real-time. This portal was already accessed by thousands of job seekers each month. By making this application available on the iPhone, AT&T now can interface with more applicants with greater ease.

As job searching from mobile devices becomes more commonplace, this means your company may have to develop a mobile web site in addition to the regular website. Furthermore, in order for mobile web sites to have top rankings on Google’s mobile search, Google gives the following tips:

• Create a mobile sitemap and submit it to Google so Google knows it exists. This can be done using Google Webmaster Tools, just like with a regular sitemap.

• To make sure Googlebot-Mobile can access your site, allow any User-agent to access it. ”You should also be aware that Google may change its User-agent information at any time without notice, so it is not recommended that you check if the User-agent exactly matches ‘Googlebot-Mobile’ (which is the string used at present),” says Jun Mukai, a software engineer on Google’s mobile search team. “Instead, check whether the User-agent header contains the string ‘Googlebot-Mobile’. You can also use DNS Lookups to verify Googlebot.”

• Check that your mobile-friendly URLs’ DTD (Doc Type Definition) declaration is in an appropriate mobile format such as XHTML Mobile or Compact HTML. If you run both a regular site and a mobile version of it, there is a possibility that the wrong version will show up in the wrong search results.

By the looks of this blog, you might think we over here at Alstin eat, breathe and sleep all that is recruitment and retention. Every so often we’ll stray from the HR talk and bring you more on some of our favorite things, places and activities that also populate our daily lives.

I love great fiction. My tastes fall more on the literary, non-commercial (my wife would say snobby) side; or what is normally called trade fiction. As we start the New Year, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite novels of 2009.

Obviously, there were a lot of great novels published this year I just couldn’t get to (that pesky combination of work and family really get in the way). My apologies to Anne Tyler, Philip Roth, Paul Auster, Lorrie Moore, Dave Eggers and other great writers who wrote widely-praised novels in 2009–I’ll get to you in 2010. By the way, I’m no pseudo-literary critic; I judge novels not by deep themes, pretty prose, socio-economic impact or any other lofty criteria, but by how well the author tells a good story. Looking over this list, I noticed that all of these works are very accessible and entertaining. I’ll aspire to get back to my pretentious ways in 2010! Here were some of my favorites from 2009:

Once a Runner, John Parker

A cult classic from 1978 that was republished in 2009, and universally considered to be the best book ever written about running. The novel once had the (not entirely desirable) distinction of being the most requested out-of-print book. The descriptions of the life of a competitive runner have never been matched. Intense, well-written and serious inspiration to those looking to get their sneakers laced up for 2010.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

So much has been written about this novel, I’m not sure I can add anything original except a glowing endorsement from a guy who doesn’t normally read mystery novels. Originally published in the late Larsson’s native Sweden in 2005, this book deserved all the attention it received. Once you get the myriad of characters sorted out in your head (this is the opposite of a 1-2-3 whodunnit) you’ll fly through this novel as the disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and punky researcher Lisbeth Salander negotiate twists and turns to get to the bottom of an old Vanger family mystery.

That Old Cape Feeling, Richard Russo

Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors, and even a mediocre effort from him is still better than reading just about anyone else. This is certainly not his best work–that title probably goes to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Empire Falls, Nobody’s Fool (which was made into a great film with Paul Newman) or in my opinion, one of the funniest, wisest and most underrated novels ever written, Straight Man (if you haven’t read Straight Man, stop what you’re doing now and go buy it). Still, reading That Old Cape Magic you’ll find yourself in the hands of an American master. I know some people had issues with the large amounts of exposition and flashback-style narrative, but the sadness and tenderness of Jack Griffin’s story and Russo’s incredible writing makes it more than worth the trip.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Jeff Kinney

Laugh if you want, but the fourth book in Kinney’s Wimpy Kid Series is a big home run. Without 2 daughters nearly the same age as the hilarious protagonist Greg Heffley, I would never have picked this book up–and that would have been my loss. So many children’s books are written as if children aren’t just younger, but some type of stupid sub-species, and books aimed toward them are usually filled with groaningly predictable plot twists, cloying dialogue and a contrived, patronizing ending. Kinney gets it right. This is a very fast, very funny (even for adults) story with laugh-out-loud simple drawings that capture tween angst and awkwardness perfectly.

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, Lydia Davis

Known as a “writer’s writer,” Lydia Davis creates very powerful, very brief short stories. Many in this collection are less than a page long, and some are just a paragraph. This collection includes her stories from her noted debut Break It Down in 1986 to the 2007 National Book Award nominee Varieties of Disturbance.

When Love Was Clean Underwear, Susan Barr-Toman

Full disclosure: Susan is a friend, but trust me, that doesn’t make her debut novel any less of a winner. Pick up Susan’s book, and you’ll meet a great character, Lucy Pescitelli, a South Philly virgin and part-time funeral worker saddled with a mother so overbearing she forces Lucy to help her commit suicide. What Barr-Toman does so well here is bring a lot of heart to Lucy’s story, and she captures the flavors of her South Philly neighborhood without resorting to the usual cliches and stereotypes. A solid, really strong first novel.

Juliet, Naked, Nick Hornby

Probably the most entertaining novel I read this year and a must for anyone who’s a “serious” music fan. I’m always envious of people who have never read Nick Hornby, because his writing is so wonderful and accessible. Hornby has no writerly pretensions; he’s just a great storyteller and his novels are funny, quick and (I think) surprisingly reflective about modern society. Hornby is also a very tactile writer; he creates vivid scenes in such simple language–which may be why so many of his novels have translated well to film (High Fidelity with John Cusack, About a Boy with Hugh Grant, Fever Pitch and he wrote the screenplay for this year’s super well-reviewed An Education). He is also a noted music critic.

In Juliet, Naked, we learn about Tucker Crowe, a Dylanesque rock star who disappears suddenly from public life after releasing his eighties masterpiece, Juliet. His fans, unabashed music snobs, refuse to let him go, and so Tucker remains vibrant on the Internet where his devotees exchange old pictures, swap bootleg tapes, trade “Tucker is working on a new album” rumors and endlessly analyze his song lyrics. Like many of Hornby’s novels Juliet, Naked exists on two levels: there is a great story, comedy and romance, but I think there’s a lot going on underneath here–like how the Internet has connected (and disconnected) us, the trappings of celebrity and what happens when we can’t separate an artist from his/her art.

Coraline, Neil Gaiman

I’ve been a fan of Gaiman for a long time. He can do anything–great adult novels (Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Stardust) children’s books (The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish) and comics (The Sandman series, one of the most critically acclaimed comics of the last 40 years). You may be familiar with the movie (which was also great), but this quasi-kids’ graphic novel illustrated by P. Craig Russell pulls no punches. I read this to my nine-year-old in one day–and she had some problems sleeping that night, so note to parents: The graphic novel is much darker and creepier than the film version.

Generosity: An Enchantment, Richard Powers

Probably the most literary novel on my list, but a pleasure to read. Richard Powers is known for combining science and humanism into his novels. Here he asks the question: Does the happiness gene exist? What would the pharmaceutical and science community do with it should they be able to isolate and market it? Is this the logical next step for our medicated society and does this path of “genetic enhancement” we’re all going down signal the end to what it really means to be human? Russell Stone is a creative non-fiction teacher with a student who seems to have hyperthymia, a very rare trait that manifests itself in a near-constant state of euphoria. I won’t spoil any more of the plot, but in addition to being an exceptional novel that really makes you think, I believe this is the first novel I’ve read that successfully incorporates the effect of the Internet, TV and social media on our daily lives.

Okay, where did I get it wrong. Which novels did you read that didn’t make it on my list?

A few weeks ago, I posted the first five of my “Top Ten” favorite iPhone apps. The list continues below. In the spirit of new beginnings that comes with the start of a new year, I’m focusing these five on self-improvement. These are the apps that can help you live a better life – and, in the case of the first one, possibly even extend it.

5.) Fit Builder – If you have an iPhone and you are at all interested in fitness and exercise, get this app. At $9.99 (for the standard version) it’s on the pricier end, but it comes with content that makes it more than worth it. I log on to Fit Builder to select from more than 200 iPump workouts. Depending upon my goals, I can select from programs like “Upper Body Stretch,” “Quick Cardio Blast,” “Soccer Conditioning” and many, many more. Once I’ve selected a workout, I scroll through photos and instructions for each exercise in the workout, using the on-screen timer to keep me on pace. If I have a question on how the exercise is performed, there’s a video provided to show me proper form. There are also tracking tools and interesting ways to share your routines. This is a highly motivational fitness app that is fun to use. Seriously, you need this app.

 4.) Wine Ratings – For the umpteenth time, I’m trying to learn more about wine this year. While this will require plenty of tastings on my part and a good, solid “Guide to Wine” book, this app is a great supplement to my, ahem, thirst for knowledge. I can search from a database of more than a million wines by numerous variables, including price, grape, and region. I can also save and rate my own favorites for future reference. In the short time that I’ve had this app, it has come in mighty handy while perusing restaurant wine lists and while making wine selections at the store. With this app in hand, this just might be the year. 

3.) Deepak Chopra’s Stress Free – Who doesn’t want more tools to handle the stresses in their life? Deepak Chopra’s Stress Free is a handy app to keep you grounded. It takes you through a series of steps to reduce your stresses. It also offers videos on things like yoga, meditation, music, and other pointers to reduce stress. Some of it is admittedly simplistic, but it does serve as a useful reminder that our hyped up “fight or flight” response was probably better suited to the wild than it is to the conference room.

 2.) Camena – While we’re on the subject of stress reduction, nothing relaxes me more than singing along to my favorite songs. Conversely, nothing embarrasses my kids’ more than me belting out the wrong lyrics. Enter Camena. This app displays the lyrics to the song you’re playing on your iPod. Very handy. Now I can sing along at the top of my lungs without embarrassing anyone. Right? 

10.) Mouthoff - All self-improvement aside, this one is just for fun. Tap the app, select from a series of hilarious cartoon mouths, hold your iPhone up to your mouth to speak, and watch the hilarity ensue. Trust me. It’s funny.

 The iPhone has proven to be a true game changer. And apps like these can legitimately add to your quality of life. Here’s hoping that 2010 brings all of us iPhone users lots more to love in the coming year. (And maybe even a Tablet to change the rules even more. Here’s hoping.)

Good leaders are good listeners. They are of the sort that actively seek out feedback from the team, act on the good stuff, try to resolve the bad stuff and recognize that great ideas sometimes do indeed sprout from where you may least expect it.

Get some feedback on the behavioral economics of your workforce – the cognitive, emotional and social dynamics that drive the people behind your company. I can guarantee that for anyone in HR it will be a worthwhile effort. It can lead to a greater understanding of the whole and real discoveries on better ways to do business, collaborate, share ideas, lead a team … the list of pros really could go on and on. Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, sums up the how and why of this approach to leadership rather nicely:

It’s about understanding and managing ideas and talent — and states of mind. That’s where the new leadership breakthroughs will be. Leaders who can quantify states of mind and make decisions about their constituencies based on that information are the ones who will lead the world.

Right on Clifton! In my mind there’s no doubt that gaining a better understanding of employees’ states of mind will ultimately provide a true  state of the union.

So when I saw a preview for a new reality TV show that’s set to air on CBS this Super Bowl Sunday – stay with me here, reality TV is not my thing either – I thought back on Clifton’s words which continue to ring true.

The show is called Undercover Boss. CBS’s official spin on the show reads:

Each week a different executive will leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company. While working alongside their employees, they will see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organization and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad while discovering the unsung heroes who make their company run.

The preview tells me that this show just might be worth a watch (at least for the first episode) … and that I continue to be easily verklepmt:

In the end Larry O’Donnell, President and COO of Waste Management, found a “whole new appreciation” for his employees and that he planned to change the way he went about doing his own job. That’s a good thing. Coffee cans are meant to store coffee and later on, maybe some loose change.

Be inspired by how your team makes things work at work and in their daily lives. I can guarantee that you will likely marvel at the discoveries.

If I asked you to name your favorite search engine, I am sure Google, Yahoo and Bing would rank right at the top. How about your favorite Job Aggregator (Indeed, SimplyHired) or a Job Search Engine (LinkUp)? Are you just as familiar with these? What are the differences and why should you pay attention?

Well, they each allow a user to find job openings and offer sponsored pay per click campaigns for employers, but job aggregators and job search engines have an advantage – only job openings and nothing else come back in the search results.

Indeed now boasts 16 million unique views and over 300 million page views per month and LinkUp is quickly expanding its user base with currently over 3 million job views and 700,000 page views.

Search engines base their results (what pops up once you’ve entered what you’re searching for) on website content, keywords and structure. Search results are free and based upon formulas created by the search engine. With most people viewing the first several links to obtain the information they need, paid locations called sponsored links can help ensure that your job doesn’t get lost in the mix.

The pay per click (PPC) locations for these sponsored links appear at the top and to the right of search results. As an advertiser you will only pay when a user clicks on the link to your job opening.

Benefits of Pay-Per-Click advertising include:

· Budget Control – Spend as little or as much as you want, you can set a limit of how much to spend per day

· Flexibility – Change budget, keywords, try new landing pages

· Pay for Performance – You only pay when someone clicks on the link

· Measurable Results – How many clicks? You will always know!

· Access Social Networks – Target passive candidates based on their profile

· Behavioral Targeting – Access those truly passive candidates based on online interactions

There are searches conducted — millions of them, actually – every second. It’s a search for information, entertainment, news, and of course: jobs.

The prediction is that most companies are likely to experience a voluntary turnover once the job market improves. What are you doing to retain your best employees? Are you taking the necessary steps to hold on to loyal workers? Tidy up today or it may be turnover tomorrow for some of your best employees.

The last couple of years have made a major impact on many lives, especially in one’s outlook on the future of their career and financial stability. Many companies have suffered through numerous cut backs and the loss of valuable staff, leaving those who are left with double the workload, less hours and pay, fewer benefits and incentives, and the loss of their fellow employees, all while dealing with the uncertainty of maintaining their own position. The sequence of events that surround recurring layoffs cause feelings of insecurity and a decline in morale.

The effects of the current economic climate has clearly changed the atmosphere “around the water cooler”. The latest surveys are showing a large number of professionals who plan to leave their current company once hiring rebounds. Their top reasons for moving on vary from better compensation and benefits to dissatisfaction with potential career development.

I have friends that have gone back to school for a graduate degree to facilitate advancement in their careers, and are now experiencing feelings of despair in positions where they are not being used at their full potential and are not seeing the results of years of hard work. These hard times cause employees to reevaluate their plans, and reminds them to take steps toward new experiences.

The “lucky to have a job” period will be slowly drawing to a close as the new year rings in. The start of 2010 has resolutions raring to go – and the jobless are not the only ones on the market.

Now is the time to reinforce the value of your company. As the job market slowly begins to increase, you must be prepared to keep your best employees in play while hiring starts to pick up.

Are you listening to the concerns and ideas of your employees and taking them under consideration during this difficult economic time? Are your employees recognized and compensated monetarily for outstanding performance? If your answers are “no”, I recommend checking out this post on What People Want From Work by Susan Heathfield.

People like to know that they have room for career movement and advancement. No opportunity to progress within the company is a deal-breaker for many. Enhance the skills and expertise of your employees and the marketability of your company by providing cross-training and education for career and personal growth through training programs, challenging assignments and more.

And finally, it is important that you:

· Staff adequately so people don’t wear themselves out.

· Communicate the goals, new/additional roles and responsibilities of the remaining people in the company (including management) so that everyone knows what is expected of them and are aware that everyone is doing their part for the success of the company.

Remember that your employees are the fuel that keeps your business going.