Workplace Romances – Jared Woods | Employer branding, marketing and talent management theories from a mercenary in the war for talent.

The Violin Maker

// March 29th, 2012 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I found this during one of my regular wanders through Vimeo, and it spoke to me right off the bat. Firstly, it’s about craftsmanship, which is increasingly more important to me. Secondly, it’s intensely personal as a connection between subject, audience and film-maker. And third, it made me want to feel the things that The Violin Maker feels about his work.

Here’s the video.

If anything, this reminded me of a few simple ideas that make a big difference to me. Be where the action is. Focus on the challenge, not the hardships. Make your passion the one component no one else can use. Create with your clients, not for them. And the one that sticks out most – the product changes over time, so be there to fine-tune and adjust, don’t just sell it and walk away.

The case for craftsmanship

// December 6th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Employment Branding

Last week, at the ATC Social Media Conference in Melbourne, I heard one of the speakers suggest something I found remarkable. Bill Boorman told the audience that, in his view, any content ‘that took longer than ten minutes to produce’ was overcooked. Bill’s argument was that raw content was automatically more authentic, and that ‘snap shots’ were more honest than ‘wedding photos’.

I disagree.

The problem with software is that everyone has it.

// June 1st, 2011 // No Comments » // Employment Branding

Technology is designed to make our lives easier. It’s part of an ongoing process by which science creates tools that enable us to achieve more things in less time. Whether it’s time we save by not needing to learn the individual steps, or time recovered from having to manually complete those steps to achieve an outcome, it is time that is the reward when technology is used correctly. Technology is a tool that allows us to do things more exactly, more correctly, more efficiently than we would if we did things by hand.

These days, most of our technology comes in two formats. It is either devices, such as tablets and smartphones, or it is software. While the two often go hand in hand, it is software, and specifically the operating platforms we use therein, that make the most impact to our administrative lives. It’s a growing field in which we can see huge gains made in our processes by adopting newer platforms and versions of existing software, and taking advantage of the automation of some of those tasks.

The Bandage Of Social Media Won’t Stop You Bleeding Talent

// May 9th, 2011 // No Comments » // Recruitment Marketing

It’s been said before that we have moved into an age where adopting the new has overtaken mastering the old. We embrace platforms and technologies as they surface, usually in relation to how submerged we are in the innovation pool. The more time you spend on social media, the more likely you are to know something new is coming, and the more likely you are to try and integrate it into your people strategy. It’s why HR and recruitment people get involved in social media. We like to see the trends coming, and to experience the information, analysis and viewpoints of our own community.

The problem with this is that we become addicted to novelty. We get addicted to trying to get the new thing up and running. Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Tumblr – the list of possible ways to engage talent , particularly passive talent, grows as we spend more time in this world. We have conferences on how social platforms can build brand engagement, on how LinkedIn can find us the names of possible talent, on how metrics and online interaction can create loyalty. It’s a shiny new world, and it gives us all something to talk about. And I have no doubt that there are plenty of strategies that allow companies to use social media to bring passive talent to a greater understanding of what they offer. No doubt at all.

Talent Communities Around Brands Aren’t Communities At All

// May 8th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Behaviour

Kevin Wheeler, as always, is thought-provoking. His recent post on ERE.net about social media trends struck a chord with me, on one issue. He suggests that ‘communities’ as a term is inaccurate, and that ‘special interest groups’ is more applicable to what we’ve been building with online engagement in the talent space. Some comments agree, some disagree – I’m sure almost all have an opinion. Have a read. It’s good stuff.

And given this is my blog, I have an opinion too. And it’s that ‘communities’ is inaccurate for a completely different reason.

Evil Plans

// April 11th, 2011 // No Comments » // Career Development

Having recently devoured Hugh MacLeod’s exceptional “Evil Plans”, I’ve decided to make a few changes to the way I do things. Like resigning. And booking some overseas travel. And changing my life. More on that to come.

Like Seth Godin’s ‘Tribes’ and ‘Poke The Box’, ‘Evil Plans’ is a guidbook to adventure by shedding an almost surgical light on what’s possible. I can’t recommend it enough, and as a short blast of good sense and inspiring stories, it’s definitely worth a read. However, tied to the theme of this blog, I found amidst the messages a very simple idea that we often ignore. And almost always, ignore at our peril.

Ten Questions

// January 16th, 2011 // No Comments » // Employment Branding

I’m about to ask these ten questions of my team. I think they’re a good set of questions for any team of internal recruiters. Or any internal HR team. Or anyone at all.

Work tips from my time playing video games – Chime

// November 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Behaviour

For those of you that don’t know it, Chime is a surprisingly enjoyable puzzle game. The player is required to use pre-defined shapes to build over an area, by creating modules which build up a point score. These modules then contribute to a whole-of-map coverage area. When 100% coverage is reached, the level clears. Additionally, the game is timed to music, with each differently shaped module creating a melodic element that plays over the background music.

It’s fun and relaxing and complex, and it’s taught me a few basic concepts completely outside the game itself.

People are strange and awesome (or: Ten things I learned at the AAGE)

// November 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Behaviour, Branding

Last week I went to the Australian Association of Graduate Employers’ Conference in Melbourne. It’s a hearty affair, with more than 350 industry types attending, across the range of employers, academia representatives, suppliers and industry associations. It was a good week, but rather than write lengthy sections on every session, here’s a quick ten things list. And very little of it has to do with grad recruitment.

HR Tips In Black And White – Riges Younan

// August 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Employment Branding

Recently, I had a discussion with Riges Younan about his take on sourcing, recruitment and social media. Luckily, I had a camera with me, so you can now watch that discussion (or at least his side of it) as a video.