This Week, In Recruiting - Issue 120

Remember:?Recruiting Brainfood?for ever green, deep dive curated recruiting + HR content. Subscribe ??

Sponsored by our friends?Greenhouse

RecFest returns to Knebworth’s hallowed grounds on July 6 for a jam-packed day that is sure to have something that piques your interest- whether you’re a recruiter, resourcing leader or hiring manager. Join Greenhouse for our session, then come meet our team at our booth by the Inspire Stage for more fruitful discussions and cocktails!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Open Kitchen: Newbies Guide on How To Recfest

The dominant story of the week is going to be Recfest, the incredible summer event put on by our friends at The Recruitment Events Co, which combines conference + festival in a way no other event has before or since.

It's a sell out, so I know a lot of you are going (at least 5,000 of you!) so I very much look forward to seeing you there. Many of you will be going for the first time, so I thought it would be useful to do a How-to guide for those who might be a bit lost with the scale of this thing.

So here is what I would do if I were going to Recfest for the first time...

1. Talk About It Before Hand

This is not just to help Jamie and co amplify brand but it's really an opportunity to brand associate with something everyone is going to be talking about anyway. This is particularly the case if you have a reason to increase your profile, such as for example, looking for the next job opportunity. Ben Philips talked about the dangers of 'job begging' social posts - there is nothing wrong with doing this, but if all you do is make public appeals for help, the effectiveness will go down as most readers will be unable to immediately produce job opportunities for you. What you really want to be doing is keeping your profile top of mind in a non-intrusive way and there is no better way of doing this than participating and leading the conversation on something topical. So help yourself to some free and easy brand association by talking about your attendance to the biggest event of the year - post on it today on here. What's the worst that can happen?

2. See Your Friends But Do Get Away From Them

In-person events are great to reconnecting with people you know already - the density of the people in an enclosure means the chances of bumping into people you know are very high. Much more efficient to do this than having bilateral coffee meetings with people in town. So 100% reconnect with your friends in industry, but do create space for new people to meet. It's like going to a party where all you do is hang around with the friends you showed up with - no bueno, you got to go and mingle with others. A friend of mine (hi Michael, we should catch up) is the best party networker I've ever seen - his only secret is the mindset of going out to make sure everyone else makes a connection to someone new. By being the guy that connects others, he ends up being hyper connected himself. And always has a great time

3. Bring A Bag for Swag

One of the unique features of Recfest is the degree to which the sponsors go all out in creating some of the most amazing stands you'll see an industry event. From full on DJ booths on 3 story towers, a commandeered and converted London bus, to impromptu bowling alleys and the rest, you can rest assured that the events marketing teams of recruitment tech vendors will have let their creative inhibitions go to create some wonderful stands to visit.

It also means that you're going to be festooned with swag, whether you like it or not and it will not take much time before you're effectively carrying too much stuff around. A backpack may not quite fit with your outfit but I think it will definitely become a great idea a couple hours into the event. It's also Great Britain, so whilst the weather will probably hold, we are going to have a year when the rains are going hammer down so having some waterproofs or a even change of shoes is likely to be a smart move.

4. Speak to the Speakers

Speakers want to be spoken to! Being on stage can often times elevate the speaker - in an unearned way - above the delegates who are attending the event. It's important that you don't allow that sense to stop you from approaching and chatting with the people want to meet. The reality is the distance between speaker and delegate is minimal, and part of the great atmosphere at Recfest is that this barrier is intentionally eroded. Go up and say hello and use the opportunity to ask the questions you need answering and / or connect with someone whose had something interesting to say on a topic you care about.

5. Have a Connect / Follow up Strategy

Recfest is a in-house recruiter event and I sometimes think that those of us who have moved in-house have sometimes lost the MO to most efficiently build connections. You're going to have a great time, learn a lot of new things, but also have an incredible opportunity to x10 your in-industry network. There's never a bad reason to have a great peer group network, but it's even more important in times when we all need to be thinking about future proofing our careers. Some basics you just got to have covered - bring a spare battery pack to make sure your phone is always on charge, learn how to use the QR code feature on WhatsApp, make sure you LinkedIn is set to visible for people who want to search for you by name. Most of all be open to connecting with people you didn't plan to meet.

Have fun everybody - see you there ??

Now out of the kitchen, onto the lounge ??

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's in the News?

LinkedIn Algorithm Changes

This is probably worth a Brainfood Live but it seems that LinkedIn has made a major algorithm change on the newsfeed, with details disclosed in an interview with Dan Roth, LinkedIn's Editor in Chief. Bottom line is what is on your profile, needs to be in synchro with what you post on here. Worth everyone making a note of this

Karat Lay off 47 Employees

Tech hiring sector continues its reset with assessment provide Karat, fresh from it's acquisition of tech hiring platform Triplebyte earlier in the year, making its second round of cuts, taking another 10% off its employee base. Par for the course for a sector which needs to find new equilibrium in a high inflation, slower growth, hostile de-globalising world. Geekwire with the report here

Settly Raise $6 Million

Never thought relocation apps would be a major thing at height of pandemic, when remote working seemed to be the way, but it is pretty clear by now that candidate shortages are very real in certain key sectors where the work cannot be remoted away. Looks like the competitors are all European based, Settly here joining the top rank with a significant raise. Read about it here

If you are a recruitment technology vendor with some news to share, comment below and let me know your news

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's On Offer?

wellpaid.io is the place to find tech contractors without using a recruitment agency. The marketplace has over 600 vetted engineers looking for their next contract, and you can get 20% off your first job with code: OSOXOGQK

Get to it folks! Thanks to Michael Theodoulou for the offer ??

If you are a vendor and have something you want to offer the recruiting community, comment below and let me know what the offer is. It will go in next week's issue. PS: I don't accept affiliate deals, so everything you offer gets passed on entirely and directly to the community!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's Going On?

Unlock The Power Of Live Video, 3rd July, Monday 3pm BST

So I have been banging on about livestreaming to anyone who would listen, now it is time to share the screen with a few friends who know more about it than anybody. Louise Triance was the first to pioneer video livestreaming in the UK recruitment market - she introduced Crowdcast to me for a start - and is now working with Crowdcast as an evangelist and success person. We're talking about how to do it next week, so if you're into the idea of doing more video, this is a must attend - register here

Brainfood Live On Air - Ep213 - Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Friday 7th July, 2pm BST

Fresh from Recfest on the day before, we're going to be talking with guests who might well have given talks the day before at the event. How do you feel about imposter syndrome everybody? Lets discuss it, lets figure out what to do about it. We're with Lauren Harrop, Talent Acquisition Partner, (D2L), Becca Collis, Senior Manager Talent Acquisition (AMS), Anna Pokrzywka-Szklarska, Sourcing Manager (RTS People) & Alex Geht, Talent Sourcing Lead, Added Value. Register here

Founders Focus - Ep38 - Up close and personal with Ryan Steelberg & Alex Fourlis, Veritone / Broadbean, Thursday 13th July, 2pm BST

Founder's Focus is back with Ep38, this time we've got two of the big beasts in the business, talking about the deal which brought Broadbean into the Veritone family. How did the deal happen and what can users expect for the rest of 2023 and beyond? Great conversations with the business leaders changing the way in which we work today. Register here

Optimal Recruitment Tech Stack (for A Solo Recruiter), Wed 19th July, 2pm BST

Second of our 4 part series with Tribepad on what the world looks like from the SMB perspective, especially for a recruiter who is 'first hire in' a new TA department. What is the optimal tech stack for a company of scale, one which might have managed with spreadsheets until now? One for any recruiter moving in-house for the first time, or in this situation now where you are building from ground zero. Register?here

The Talent Horizon 2023: TA, Branding & Communities, 19th July, 6-9pm, HelloFresh HQ, Prinzenstra?e 89, 10969, Berlin, Germany

We're on the move folks, with a mega collab with the biggest and best in the awesome city of Berlin. HelloFresh are hosting, TA Crunch and TTC are bringing the fun and I'll be there alongside people like Soren Winter, Andreea Lungulescu, Yasar Ahmad and the rest. Is there is better TA event happening in Berlin this summer? Not a chance! Free to attend so register here

How Should Recruitment Teams Measure Efficiency? 25th July, 10am EST

Doing more with less folks, it's the second webinar of a four part series launched with Cronofy. We're going to be looking specifically at how to set up the right measurements to make sure you know what to track and how to understand progress. Must attend for TA leaders - register here

If you have an event, webinar or podcast going on next week and want it featured on next week's newsletter,?comment below?with the link and event details. Don't forget to at mention me so that I see it

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who's Hiring?

Talent Sourcing Partner, Adaptavist, Wiesbaden, Germany

Regional Recruiter, Apex (Grupo Mariposa), Bogota, Colombia

Recruiter transitioning to Sales, Sparcstart, NY / NJ, USA

Early Careers Advisor, Price Bailey, London, UK

People Partner (Maternity Cover), Fnatic, London, UK

Recruitment Consultant, Daniel Owen Ltd, London, UK

Junior HR Generalist, Blinkist, Berlin, Germany

Senior Recruiter, Western Union, Vienna, Austria

If you are hiring for recruiters or HR people, you are welcome to post jobs FOR FREE on the Brainfood Jobs Job Board. Use coupon code: BTCFREE for 100% discount.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whose Story?

Samantha-Leigh Hayward, founder of Recruiters Unite and looking for next project.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Samantha earlier this year when she invited me to attend the inaugural Recruiters Unite event. What a fantastic conference put together by Sam and with the awesome South Africa recruiter community. Of course I had to find the time to ask Sam 20 Questions - here are her amazing answers.

If you want to answer 20 Questions comment below to volunteer. This is an exercise in fostering community and open to all

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whose Available?

400+ recruiters and HR people now on this searchable database. If you are looking for work and want to connect with companies who have access to this db, sign up to the Brainfood Talent Collective. No cost to this.

If you're hiring for recruiters or HR staff, apply for a free company account and get access?here, using this code 'BTCFREE' for 100% usage. If you're a recruiter or HR person looking for work, you can apply?here, and increase your exposure to employers vetted by me!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who's Moving?

Kate Siddiqui joins Verisk as Senior Manager, Employer Brand. I might have met Kate way back during the 4Mat days and somehow have always kept in touch with her career journey. Congratulations on the move Kate - let me know how you get on!

Tina Beeden moves across from House of Parliament to House of Commons as HRD. What a fascinating place to do your work, some people working in unique institutions....this has got me thinking, could be a very cool series to do on Brainfood Live. Let me know if you're up for kicking us on on this Tina...

Emma Petruca joins Tide as Senior Talent Partner. I use Tide as one of the my company bank accounts, have to say a pretty decent service, though a shame that it can no longer run multi-currency accounts! Had no idea that they had office in Romania though, a country I need to know more about.

Kirsty Nelson joins Raft as Head of Talent Acquisition, after nearly 5 years with IBM, and before that with Cisco, DigitasLbi and Microsoft. Cool to see more people shift into the tangible economy, I think a very smart move in world undergoing hostile de-globalisation and AI disintermediation.

Jack Foster boomerangs back to Wunderman after leaving Meta earlier this year. No better sign of a great hire than the boomerang hire. Congratulations on the reunion folks!

Promotions to celebrate: Jack William Cruise expands scope and goes up to Head of People at Satchel, Rich Watson is promoted to Executive Search BP at Publicis Groupe, Sarah Cooper is promoted to Group HR Technology Insights and Recruitment Director at Rentokill, Mitzy Bueno goes up to Senior Manager, Candidate Experience at Pfizer and the marvellous Ebony James moves up to Global Director, Talent Acquisition, People Operations & Employer Branding at TIER Mobility - congratulations all!

If you have made a senior exec appointment to your business,?and feel the wider community needs to know about it,?comment below?with the details and see it featured in next weeks issue.?Don't forget to @ mention me in it so that I see it

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Are You Doing?

Toby Culshaw is collaborating with Talent Intelligence group to launch the first TI Conference in Amsterdam. Call out for speakers happening now, so if this is a topic you care about, get in touch with Toby directly!

Katrina Hutchinson-O'Neill meets King Charles III to receive The King's Awards for Enterprise 2023 for leading Join Talent to be one of the most impressive growth stories coming out of the UK in the past several years. Fantastic to see recruiting companies get this sort of recognition ??

If you are doing something new,?comment below?with what it is and share a link to where you want people to go. Don't forget to mention me in it so that I see it

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Notes

Great to see so many visitors come into town for the big event later this week. I'm sure I'm missing more than a few messages on the various channels we're connected so if I haven't yet responded just ping me again if you want to hang out. See you all soon

Hung

Hung Lee is the curator of?Recruiting Brainfood, and now This Week In Recruiting. Subscribe to both if you are into recruiting or HR or just interested in world of work.