This Week, In Recruiting - Issue 96

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Open Kitchen: Performance + Promotion

Reid Hoffman might not have said it first but he certainly said it best when he claimed that 'distribution was more important than product'. What he meant was that it was insufficient to have a great product because if you don't have an efficient way to get it out to enough your prospects, your company will eventually - and inevitably - fail. Hoffman's recommendation was then to say you need to build both product and distribution in parallel, or better yet find a way to build your product so that it has distribution 'baked in'.

We can apply the same lessons in the job search and job security. If you rely mainly on your performance then you run the real risk that not enough people are going to see it - or remember it, even if they do see it - and that you will not secure the opportunities at the frequency or quality that you might otherwise do.

Early on in my career, I was guilty of relying too much on performance. I was lucky, because I worked in recruiting, which is bottom line business and where performance can be quantifiably and undeniably measured but I look back on those days and sometimes wonder how it might've been had I worked purely internal TA from the start or how it might've been if I worked in another role where quantification of performance wasn't so easy. Because at that time I disdained promotion (hard to imagine now I know ??), chances are I would failed not because my performance wasn't good enough, but because not enough people saw it. This is known as 'Just World Fallacy ' - the cognitive bias that people get what they deserve, if only they work hard enough. Unfortunately, it is corporate propaganda. I was a victim of it and too many of us here are still victims of it.

So today's Open Kitchen is about promoting the concept of promotion. This is not to say you don't need to perform, but performing well when no one sees it will result in an Unjust World where you don't get the opportunities you really do deserve. Recruiters need to get busy with this, as the market for us is tight and likely will be that way for lot longer than we might be comfortable with.

1. Actively Build Your Network

For those who follow me already on here will know that I am firm believer in quantity over quality. We live in a market of imperfect information so commitment to quality alone is akin to continued adherence to Just World. Constantly rolling for two sixes when the house has loaded the dice against you might occasionally it will work, but probability will tell you that you will inevitably lose if you continue this way.

I remember back in 2012, I wanted to increase the size of my LinkedIn network in absolute terms. I knew that to have a bigger network - regardless of the quality of those connections - increased my 'opportunity surface area' for whatever it is I wanted to do. Simply put, more people are more likely to see anything you do on here. It's a free audience build, which it turned out to be critical when Recruiting Brainfood first launched in 2016.

We should all aim to have as many connections on LinkedIn as possible - the 30,000 connections - in order to maximise your potential reach. Now LinkedIn don't want this, as they would much prefer users to upgrade to any one of the several paid tiers they have and have set a weekly 150 connection request per user, and then will monitor the response rates of your outreach in order to moderate your behaviour even further.

So...how do we get there?

2. Post on LinkedIn

Isn't this a wonderful Sketch Note? The original research was from Richard van der Blom (follow/connect) with the artist being Katrin Wietek (follow/connect). What is great about this is not only is it pleasing to the eye but it also condenses what we know about the newsfeed algorithm into a single reference document. Just use this guide when you're posting something - remember the key is to post and nurture - meaning engage with the commentators and reactors of your post. Each interaction is an event signal to the LinkedIn which tells it that a) the content you posted in 'engaging', b) the two engagers might want to see more of each others activity in future and c) maybe more people need to see this post, so boosting it to next level of potential viewers.

How this increases your network is straightforward - whenever you post content on LinkedIn, a percentage of those people who found it interesting will reach out and connect with you. You will notice this when you do it - there will be a surge of invitation connection requests usually within 24 hours of your post, and usually from people who have seen what you have said and would like to see more.

Posting regularly on LinkedIn and accepting the inbound connection requests which came from it, neatly sidesteps the outbound limit - in fact, you end up stopping doing any outbound at all, because it takes too much time to search for contacts and write personal connection request messages. Inbound is much more efficient and it is pretty much how I went from 7400 or so in 2012 to 30,000 in 2015. No reason why anyone else couldn't do the same.

3. Content Ideas

Coming up with something 'worthwhile to say' probably the main reason why most of us never get to the approach described in point 2.

I get it - we all have a problem with pointless noise and no one gains anything if all we end up doing is just adding the cacophony. And yet waiting for inspiration to strike is a guaranteed way of making sure it never does. If we study the writing habits of successfully published authors, they will tell you that the habit of writing itself is what stimulates the ideas. Stephen King famously writes 3000 words at desk first thing at the start of the idea, sans ideas. He writes in order to get the idea of what to write about. The same thing is true with video - I have struggled with apps like Instagram and TikTok because I have been waiting for inspiration to strike - when it is the habit of doing it which gets the mind into creative mode.

Have a listen to Mike Manzi who talked about this in Brainfood Live last Friday (this was about TikTok ); his approach was all about doing it routinely, and riffing off what came into this head, before doing the edits / retouching afterward. A daily habit.

Now I'm not saying that we should be doing this at the level of published authors or professional content creators. But as people who would professionally benefit from building an audience, this is something we could afford to dedicate some time towards.

Another technique of idea generation is to simply be transparent with your approach to work. We are all so deeply embedded in the work we do, such that remarkable and interesting things to others, seem mundane and boring to us. We might be surprised how compelling some of this routine stuff really is. Look at the stuff we as recruiters have to handle every day.

• Difficult conversation with hiring manager with unrealistic expectations
• Negotiation on cost with incumbent supplier whose service is degrading
• Rescinding offer of candidate who has just resigned in order to take the job
• Overwhelming / underwhelming response to advertised job
• ChatGPT to create interview question bank for job role you've never recruited for before
• etc

These are all quite compelling scenarios, more than quite interesting scenes. We just have to shift our mindset from just doing them, to thinking, yes do them, but they could also be great ideas for engaging thing to post about on LinkedIn.

Open Kitchen is kind of an example of this. I had no idea what I was going to write this morning, until being 'open with the journey' itself became the topic of the day. Anyways, this may be the start of a content series, if you guys are interested enough in it. I do strongly feel that a lot of us could benefit from increasingly personal profile but struggle with a way to get started or start and then struggle with maintaining momentum. I've learned a lot from doing Recruiting Brainfood so happy to share what I know on what works - let me know in comments below if you feel this could valuable!

PS: 'No' is ok, I am not precious ??

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What's in the News?

Deel Acquire Equity Management firm Capbase

Global payroll provider Deel get into the equity management business with the acquisition of the Capbase. This says a great deal about the type of customers Deel have been acquiring - globalised, high growth, technology hyper scalers who more often than not offer equity component to the compensation package for employees. Full solution now in one place - Techcrunch with the story here

Beamery announce staff 12% staff reduction

If recruiters are the canaries in the goldmine for the wider economy, then technology companies which sell to recruiters might be the canaries of the canaries. Tough news to see so soon after last month's raise at a Unicorn valuation, but taking a defensive position for rectech businesses is both smart and expected. CEO Abakar Saidov with the announcement a few days ago.

Personio prep for IPO

Another one of the big beasts in HR tech over the past few years has been Munch based HRIS Personio. Happy to say one of brainfood's great supporters, I spoke with CEO Hanno Renner on one of the first Founder's Focuses interview series. Never in any doubt this company will succeed, the question is how, when and what scale. Sifted with the speculation here, but the ducks are in the row for the 2024 IPO

Arctic Shores secure ￡5.75 Million Series B

Great to see UK rectech continue to attract investment! Arctic Shores were amongst the first innovators to bring quality assessment tech to the recruitment market and remain one of the leading players in the space. With the shift to remote increasingly the value of alternative ways of assessing candidate suitability, companies like Arctic Shores should be a great stead. Well done CEO Robert Newry in particular, one of the early Brainfooders!

Gigged.Ai raise ￡1.6 Million Seed Round

The shift to remote is also leading to accelerated diversification of employment types which companies can and need to engage. Latest survey by the Economist validates the trend that companies are expanding their workforce populations beyond FTE. Congrats to CEO Rich Wilson , part of the Glasgow WorkTech Hub which is starting to include some serious competitive businesses. Watch out for Gigged.AI, one of the 2023 sponsors of this newsletter.

If you are a recruitment service provider or technology business and have any news to share,?comment below,?this is your application to get into next week's addition of This Week, In Recruiting. Make sure to @ mention me so that I see it

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What's On Offer?

30% off SuperSourceMe Recruiter WorkBook!

Sometimes you just get a recruiter book which is truly like no other. Kasia Tang and Karolina Latus have put together an amazingly practical education tool for recruiters. You'll make notes on this, draw in it, learn with it - and it's so beautifully put together that it would also make a superb gift for someone in industry. There are 10 copies which can go for 30% off the retail price, that is 10 individual claimants if you click on this link and use the coupon code: recruitingbrainfood

If you are a recruitment service provider or recruitment technology vendor have any exclusive offer for the community, comment below with your offer in order to be included in next week's edition of This Week, In Recruiting. Make sure to mention me so that I see it.

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What's Going On?

Big List of in-Person Recruiting / HR Events to Attend in 2023

89 in person events in 'the Big List' ?this week folks - global one place for all the events you need to care about. Check out these events, register for the ones you want to take part in, and if you are going to an event that isn't there, or are putting on an in person event yourself, make sure you add it to the bottom of the list - I will merge in every week. Lets go folks - and see you at some of these events!

Hiring for Potential: Getting Real Value from Reference Checking , Thurs 19th Jan, 1pm GMT / 2pm CET

What a fantastic conversation we had last week on the value on reference checks. Seems to me that a lot of us as apathetic, if not downright skeptical of them, but with a shift of purpose we can actually start collecting information which might be critical for new hire success. With my buddy?Roy Baladi , Founder (Jobs For Humanity),?Emira Blomberg , Chief Strategy Officer (Refapp) and?David N?sstr?m , Founder (Refapp). Register?here

Brainfood Live On Air - Ep189 - Recruitment Use Cases for ChatGPT , Friday 20th Jan, 2pm GMT

So we are mega oversubscribed to this already, so I have had to increase the seat limit to a wallet busting 500 live on this. ChatGPT has burst onto the global consciousness like few products ever have, and it's important we recruiters get a grip as to how to get good at it. We're with some of the smartest names in the business including Martyn Redstone , Founder (BotJobs), Glen Cathey , SVP Head of Digital Strategy (Randstad), Bill Fischer , CTO (VONQ), Sajithkumar Swaminathan , Corporate Recruiter (Replicon) & many more. Register here folks - don't miss this one.

How to Turbocharge your Employer Branding with Data, ?Thur 26 Jan, 2.30pm GMT

These are two of the smartest people in the business when it comes to EB (don't mean Danny H and I obvs), so I am excited to be co-hosting this webinar on companies can use data to make better decisions on Employer Branding. We're with?Nick Thompson , Global Talent Marketing & Employer Branding Manager (IBM),?Sarah Sturgess , Agency Director (SMRS) -?Danny Hodgson , Founder (Foresight) and I moderating the chat. Register?here

How to use the Big Five Personality Test to Make Better Hiring Decisions , Thurs 2 Feb, 2pm GMT / 3pm CET

The Big Five is the personality assessment which has perhaps the greatest value as a tool to figure out what kind of job you'd be suitable for, what type of team you would add most value in. I've done my test and will publicly upload the data for you to assess - make sure you do yours before you join us for this conversation! With Linnea Bywall , Head of People, and Dhevesh Mewawella (Head of UK and International Expansion) both Alva Labs - register here

Recruiters Unite , Thurs 9th March, Lagoon Beach Hotel, Cape Town

I was excited to see one of my buddies set aside a few days to visit Cape Town - one of those places where the it is entirely worth the hype. I will be there myself in a couple months, where I will be delivering the opening keynote for Recruiters Unite event. Going to be a summary of the predictions posts you've been reading about these past two weeks - if you're coming to this, make sure that you come up and say hi!

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

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Who's Hiring & Who's Available?

We know the market is less than ideal at the moment for us recruiters, so it makes sense to increase profile where ever you and indeed, start conversations with companies who may have opportunities for you in near future. The settings on the Brainfood Talent Community range from 'lurker' to 'ready to interview' so whatever your current status it might make sense to simply get involved. If you're an employer and want to either post jobs and / or browse available candidates, sign up for an account here use the code: BTCFREE for 100% discount!

We are up to 100 available and ready-to-interview candidates on the Brainfood Talent Community. 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!

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Who's Moving?

Ach Petrosyan , joins LevelUp Ventures, after spending 6 years with meettal. I had the pleasure of meeting Ach in person when I visited Yerevan a few years ago and was kind of amazed as to how talented she was, conspicuous even amongst the uber talented Armenian recruiter community. Guaranteed fantastic hire by Levelup - well done Aik, you are a lucky boss!

Dee Tran joins what must be the hottest company in the world right now - OpenAI - as Member of the Recruiting Staff, after spending the past three years at Pinterest. It's a unique moment to be joining a company whose product might actually revolutionise the Internet. Fascinating to hear more about your journey here Dee!

Moves Rocki Howard moves to Chief Equity and Impact Officer at The Mom Project, Donovan Tula moves up to Senior Recruiting Manager at BCGX, Joanne Clark is promoted to Talent Acquisition Manager - Romania at the London Stock Exchange Group, Fr?ya Fuglestad moves up to Lead Talent Acquisition Partner, at RVU

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

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What Are You Doing?

Aylin Abdullah , Global Director of Employer Brand (Scandit) joins the board at the Talent Brand Alliance. Great to see grassroots industry bodies like this emerge - get involved in some of these if they are in your space. I can't emphasise enough how important industry communities have been for me and my work - I am sure it will help you also!

Aydan Al-Saad , Head of UKI & Nordics, (Ravio) has launched a new TikTok series, 'Europe Income' and it's already blown up! If you're in Shoreditch / Old Street area expect to be accosted by Aydan and his team as he interviews random hipsters to ask them how much they are earning. 'Not enough' is probably the most obvious answer! Follow the TikTok if you want to see the series

Alex Her , Manager Employer Brand (GoDaddy) is launching a Discord focusing on the Employer Branding community. Discord might be the next Slack and - if there were enough adoption in the brainfood community - it would probably be my choice of a new place to start a conversation. Apply to join the group here

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

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End Notes

Looks like I'm on my travels shortly - one more TWIR before I end up in Hong Kong for Feb. Going to be great to see family who I haven't had the chance to see for a long time, and if I can get back to the yearly rhythm of 'going back' that would suit me very well. Normal service is going to continue on here though, I though I wonder whether the posting times might change to reflect the fact I'll be 8 hours ahead. Not sure of LinkedIn scheduler actually works for the newsletter...you would hope that it would....

..anyways, hope everyone is back into the swing of things by now. Remember comment below if you want inclusion into next week

Have a great week everybody

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.