How To Quick-Start Networking Conversations

Here.

Please return my call.

How to get your calls returned - every time!

Individual Contributors

Need to find these? They’re called Individual Contributors and they’re cocooned deep inside the brick and mortar walls of your competitors doing the work you need done for your organization.

Just think - they could be working for you!

If only you could find them.

But you can’t, because the FAR GREATER MAJORITY of them are not listed on the Internet! You have no hope of finding them - until now.

Learn how.

Here.
******

“It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunity, and the responsibility of individuals to contribute.” ~ William Pollard

Hear Maureen speak on the MagicMethod way of finding the truly passive candidate on Tuesday, November 6 in Cincinnati. Email GCHRACincinnati@aol.com for details and registration. FREE to members.

TalkSourcing Radio Show Today

Call in TODAY at 12:30 p.m. (eastern standard time) with your telephone
names sourcing questions. Go here for details.
******

I'm speaking on Tuesday November 6 at the Greater Cincinnati Human
Resources Association breakfast meeting at the Baldwin Building near
downtown - if you're in the area I'd love to see you there!

Do something today you don't think you can do. Call in to find out how
to do it!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
http://www.techtrak.com

Holiday Sourcing

The holidays are coming and we sourcers all know what that means – one of our busiest seasons approaches! Customers “in the know” understand that getting their “holiday orders” in early will assure a bountiful harvest of names when they themselves return to work after the festivities. They understand that as the end of the year approaches and some folks re-think their employment options it’s the best time to be offering opportunities – after all, if you “don’t have it on the shelf” you sure as heck can’t sell it, right?

Some of the behavior that fuels all this busyness in our industry is the simple fact that while the cats are away the mice do play! Sourcers understand that while others are away “merry-making”, opportunity abounds in the emptied halls of corporate America. Knowing that many people will take advantage of Thanksgiving week by turning the week before and the week after into full one or two week vacations, sourcers can expect VoiceMails to be stuffed with information fuller than a cornucopia. “Hi, this is Joe Smith – I’ll be back in the office on December 3; in my absence if this is a quality issue call Pete Jones at xxx xxx xxxx and if this is a test issue call the Test Manager at Susan Wheeler at xxx xxx xxxx and if this is a delivery issue call my manager Mike Kincaid at xxx xxx xxxx and if all this fails call my Admin - she usually ALWAYS answers - at xxx xxx xxxx.” VoiceMails can be the most revealing things!

Regular receptionists may also be away during this time as well, replaced by lesser experienced gatekeepers so experienced sourcers adjust their approaches during promising times like these. A “temp” is very likely to confess to you that she is just that to explain her lack of knowledge/skill and many of them are more easily, uhhh, “influenced”, shall we say.

Lonely Security Guards can be not-too-pleased that they’re the only ones required to keep watch at this time of year over extremely valuable information (after all, what’s MORE valuable to a company than their employees? Really?) and some of their angst can be consoled in the simplest ways. You’d be surprised how many of them have access to corporate directories and if they don’t, how much is stored in their heads from long years of service? The human brain is a computer too, you know.

These are just a few of the many reasons this time of year is so productive for sourcing – batten down your hatches, sourcers – we’re coming into one of the busiest seasons in our business! Customers, get your orders primed and delivered to your sourcers – many of them welcome this time-consuming work at this time of year (remember the Introvert theory?) It gives some of them a welcome excuse NOT to attend those awkward holiday parties!
******
This information is not to be re-published for commercial purposes in any form without the prior written permission of Maureen Sharib.

Do something today you don’t think you can do.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!
Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com

Scarifying Sourcing Stories II

The Dummy Gatekeeper

As you all know, I am a strong proponent of calling into companies to gather information, particularly the employee name/title/contact info kind of information. You also know that I am an advocate of going directly at the Gatekeeper and asking her for precisely the information that is being sought. The “trick” is in the asking – if you ask for ONE THING AT A TIME you are far more likely to achieve your goal than if you demand of her, “I need to know who all thirteen of your sales reps are on the West Coast,” information you divined from some unwitting soul on an earlier call into same company.

Although most Gatekeepers are way beyond the usual sets of intelligence most of us possess, occasionally, and I do mean occasionally, you’ll get someone who truly lacks the knowledge you seek.

“Hello, Cindy, this is Maureen Sharib. May I speak with your Director of External Reporting?”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“Then can you connect me to your finance department?”

“I don’t think we have one.”

When this happens, you have to help this poor soul help you. Glancing quickly at my screen and the list of executives Hoover provided to me when I set the job up, I note the CFO’s name listed four slots down on the org chart.

“Can you transfer me to your Chief Financial Officer, John Garrison?”

“Oh - him! Sure, why didn’t you say so?” she laughs. “One moment please!”

(Quickly) “Cindy, before you transfer me, can you tell me, does he have an Administrative Assistant?”

“He has an Executive Assistant,” she reminds, beginning to sound more informed than she did at first. “Her name is Marie Kovack – you want me to transfer you to her?”

“If you would Cindy, but before you do, IN CASE I GET DISCONNECTED, does Marie have a direct dial?”

“Yes, she does, you want it?”

Thinking I just told her I did and reverting back to my original suspicion as to her intelligence level, I purr, “Yes, Cindy, I do, if you don’t mind.”

She gives it to me and then she waits. I suggest, once again repeating the most beautiful sound in the world to her, her name, in an attempt to bee-charm the bee, “Cindy, can you look to see if there is anyone listed under Mr. Garrison?”

I hold my breath, ready for whatever she comes back with.

She hesitates before announcing, sounding somewhat surprised, “Well yes, he has several “under” him, by the looks of it!”

“Oh, that’s helpful!” I reward. “Can you read off their titles to me?” I boldly go where not many dare.

She begins to read and the third one down, after the VP of Finance who appears to report to the Controller, is, miracle of miracles, wouldn’t you just know it, the Director of External Reporting!

“Bingo!” I cry, sounding as if she’s discovered something really important and letting her know I appreciate her capabilities as a Gatekeeper. “And what is that person’s name?” I ask, sounding in great admiration of her and like this whole thing is her idea.

“Joan Peterson,” Cindy immediately beams back, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I quickly type it into my silent keyboard, along with the title.

“And does Joan have a direct dial?” I ask, looking for as much information as I can press out of this ripe fruit.

“She does – you want it?” Cindy asks me again to my wonder.

She gives it to me; I thank her for her assistance and hang up.

“Next,” I think to myself as I dial the next target.

Mission (once again) accomplished.
******

This information is not to be re-published for commercial purposes in any form without the prior written permission of Maureen Sharib.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Call in to TalkSourcing Radio 646-652-2754 with your scariest telephone names sourcing questions! Don’t be all a’trembly - ask away – you can even wear a costume and a mask so nobody will know who you are! Be there with your open sacks and see what “trick” or “treat” you’ll get! Hear Pam and Maureen answer your trickiest telephone names sourcing questions on The Recruiting Animal Show at half past HIGH NOON (eastern time) on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31.

Call & Listening Info here.

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com

See Pam in the the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Scarifying Sourcing Stories

“What is it you’re trying to accomplish?” the dreaded Gatekeeper question came.

“What had I done wrong?” I silently wondered to myself, sitting up straighter in my chair, feeling the tension gather in my shoulders, my body girding for the rare onslaught. She sounded to be in her forties, no-nonsenseish, and serious.

“I’m working on a mailing list…” I answered, slowly, trailing off, doing my best to sound like a mind-numbingly bored secretary doing one of her clerkish duties in her 9 to 5 job. She said nothing and I could tell from her silence she was waiting for a full explanation. I waited – it was hard.

“Mailing list for what?” she demanded.

“You know, I work on a lot of different mailing lists; I know this one is for an upcoming conference…” I again let my voice trail off, striving to sound as disinterested as possible and as stone-cold matter-of-fact as she was.

“What conference?” she again determinedly demanded.

“I don’t know a lot of the particulars – as I said, I work on a lot of different mailing lists. I know it’s going to be within the coming couple months and is going to be held in the San Jose area,” I answered.

“What company are you with, Maureen?” she then asked, affirming for me that I had not forgotten to identify myself to her when I called, laying to rest my suspicion that I had neglected one of my own cardinal rules.

“I’m an independent contractor, Jean,” I answered, using the name she had identified herself with when she answered. “I work for myself.” I simply stated, hoping the Magic would take hold soon.

It did.

“Oh, I see,” she relented. “Okay, what is it you want to know?”
******
This information is not to be re-published for commercial purposes in any form without my prior written permission.

Lose phone fear here.
Do something today you don't think you can do.

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com

Get a Job When Disaster Strikes

A blunt and realistic look at life.

Stephen Pollan’s new book, Lifelines for Money Misfortunes (written with Mark Levine) has a gentle, practical and useful tone about issues that are loaded with emotion and fear, naming 33 misfortunes that run the gamut from the "monumental to the mundane."

"You needn't be a pessimist to believe that a human life is marked and measured by its crises as much, if not more so, than its triumphs," he writes.

Whatever problem you are facing, there are steps that can help:
Accept the problem and own the solution.
Unburden yourself.
Diagnose the impact.
Take your financial pulse.
Start palliative measures.
Launch revenue rehabilitation. Ask for a raise at work. Look for a second job. Encourage your spouse to work if he or she has been staying home.

Whole story.

Strife at Home Affects the Office, Too

One-fifth of all full-time employed adults are or have been victims of domestic violence, according to a survey by the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. And a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that women, the most common victims, lose nearly eight million days of work annually because they have been threatened, stalked or physically assaulted by current or former partners or spouses.

Less than one-fourth of even the largest private sector employers provide training in dealing with domestic violence, according to a survey released in 2006 for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Only 4 percent of all employers offer such training. Whole story.

Legal Immigrant High-Tech Workers Speak

The placards made clear this was not your typical immigrant rights march: "We played by the rules, now it's your turn," read one. "Legal immigrants keep America competitive," read another.

High-tech workers here on federal permits are speaking out - many for the first time - over rules that leave them in personal and professional limbo.

After Congress failed to reform immigration laws for the second year in a row, hundreds of the largely India- and China-born workers protested this summer in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. They were frustrated that the divisive debate over illegal immigration had overwhelmed efforts at comprehensive immigration reform.

"I've never held a banner before, but I don't know what else to do," said Gopal Chauhan, a high-tech employee who has been waiting seven years for a green card. "We usually have better things to do, like invent the next iPod."

Whole story

The Entrepreneur's Curse

Born to Build, Not to Play

Telephone Names Sourcing – Trick or Treat?

Some days when we’re telephone sourcing it can feel like a bag of tricks while other days turn out to yield a well-worn soft pillow-case full of treats. Mother-lode or bust, learn to read the signs of what your day is likely to hold as Pam and Maureen, on Halloween, answer your trickiest and scariest telephone names sourcing questions on the new and only-of-its-kind TalkSourcing Radio Show! . Don’t be all a’trembly - ask away – you can even wear a costume and a mask so nobody will know who you are!

Be there at HIGH NOON (eastern standard time) on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31 with your open sacks and see what “trick” or “treat” you’ll get!

Call to talk: 646-652-2754

TalkSourcing Website
Watch for the upcoming MagicMethod series of webinars coming to your screen soon.
Do something today you don’t think you can do.
******

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com

Gatekeeper Perspectives

“I have been the person, a personal assistant, between you and the person you want to reach. You have less than 30 seconds to convince me that you had something of value to say.”

Interesting LinkedIn responses to the question, “What is the most common Gatekeeper response you encounter?” here.
******

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Character of the American Entrepreneur

Discover Polls Reveal True Character of the American Entrepreneur

Are you tough enough to be one of the 22 million Americans who run a small business?

Can you or your employees afford to go without health care coverage?
Will you work six or seven days a week and give up your holidays?
Will you consistently work more than 8 hours a day?
Can you do what it takes to keep a customer happy?
Are your business and your mind wired for a new digital age?

These are some of the characteristic features of many American entrepreneurs identified by the Discover ® Small Business Watch SM in a year’ s worth of polling the nation’ s small business owners who have five or fewer employees. The 22 million Americans in this segment contribute more than a $1 trillion in receipts each year to the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but until now, little is really known about them.

Discover’ s independent data revealed the following key characteristics common to many small business owners:
Independence is their prime motivation.
Improving customer service keeps them up at night.
Wider economic forces can make or break them.
If they’ re not using the Internet, they’ re falling behind fast.

Whole story.
******

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!
Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Shally says...

Shally talks Jigsaw
******

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Economic integration of the U.S., Mexico and Canada?

Corsi is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, "The Late Great USA," which charges the federal government's unwillingness to enforce immigration laws and border security is, at least in part, a result of plans to promote political, social and economic integration of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Whole story.

Self Fulfillment

The average American works about 34 hours a week -- not an insignificant portion of one's life. It's no wonder then that many of us have embarked on what can often seem an unending quest to find a job that makes us truly happy. Whole story.

California Fires

We have friends in Southern California and we hope they're safe.

Call Reluctance No More

If you think you're the only one with misgivings about the telephone, think again. It seems we've feared the phone for a very long time.

Full Story.

MagicMethod Webinar

I’m doing a webinar on telephone sourcing the MagicMethod way through Kennedy this Friday, October 26, 2007 1-2 p.m. (EST) / 10-11 a.m. (PST)
WHAT: "Telephone Names Sourcing: The Magic in the Method"
FEE for this seminar is $149 per line
EARN 1 recertification credit hour toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR

Click here for a breakout of the many takeaways you'll enjoy with this fast-paced, one-hour seminar!

On Friday, October 26, 2007, Maureen Sharib will lead a 60-minute interactive seminar entitled, Telephone Name Sourcing: The Magic in the Method, designed to help you and your team tap the 70 million people - especially highly desirable passive job seekers - who move to a new job in any given year.

With effective telephone sourcing, you'll be able to identify high-value passive candidates inside specific companies that are especially desirable for your hard-to-fill positions. You'll learn how to make a strategic plan (the 4 P's: Plan, Prepare, Penetrate, Persevere), how to use the phone book as a sourcing tool, and much more.
******

Lose phone fear here with the full year subscription to MagicMethod. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

TalkSourcing

Talk Sourcing is the only call-in radio show in the world today that answers your questions about Telephone Sourcing.

Purpose of The Show: You call the show with your telephone sourcing questions. Maureen Sharib and Pam Simon will answer them.

It's time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Take the original and only-of-its-kind telephone names sourcing course "The Magic in the Method", here.

Barring job discrimination

US House committee approves bill to bar job discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals

Democrats sent legislation to the full House of Representatives that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals, despite bitter complaints from some because transgender workers would not be protected by the bill.

Democratic leaders pushed forward the current bill Thursday after discovering that including transgender workers in the legislation would cause it to be voted down in the House and promised to try for additional legislation in the future.

Whole story.

1/5 of all workers are "engaged"

Only 21% of workers worldwide are "engaged" - that's human-resource-speak for ready to expend some extra effort at work - while 38% are either disenchanted or disengaged, according to a new survey.

Engagement is not satisfaction or happiness, but the degree to which workers connect to the company emotionally, are aware of what they need to do to add value and are willing to take that action, said Julie Gebauer, a managing director with consulting firm Towers Perrin, which surveyed almost 90,000 workers in 19 countries.

Whole story here.

Common Gatekeeper Responses

OPEN LinkedIn question here with 11 answers SO FAR. Add yours.
******

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

What Do I Say NOW?

By Maureen Sharib

One of the problems that telephone names sourcers face today is Call Reluctance on the part of their recruiters! Can you believe it? We sweat and toil blood and tears to get names that have no chance of ever being ferreted out within organizations and sometimes those names don’t get called! It’s agonizing to just think about!

Last week at the ERE Fall Expo in D.C. we touched upon this subject in Wednesday’s MagicMethod Workshop but did not have the time (in three hours) to more fully discuss this phenomenon. For those of you in attendance, at the back of your booklet, Pages 30 through 37 is a more in-depth discussion and I once again advise you to read through the entire booklet!

I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason these valuable names don’t get called is because many people don’t know what to say to these wildly valuable telephone-sourced names we provide. Because these names are many times the truly “passive” candidate – the potential candidate that’s “not looking” because he’s too busy doing the job he has to even think about another job - some recruiters who’ve been reared on resume farming are “reluctant” to call someone who isn’t actually “looking”. How do you call someone anyway who might say to you, “I’m not looking for another job!” How do you handle that? What can you say to that person to get them to not only take notice of what you’re saying but also to listen to your message?

What’s behind this call reluctance? Could it be the fear of rejection? Could it be the stinkin’ thinkin’ so many of us are willing to engage in? Could we be our own worst enemies, getting in the way of our very real potential success?

“Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen.” ~ Pliny the Elder

Imagine calling someone “out of the blue”. Turn it around and yes, just imagine the possibilities!

Given that people change jobs every three years or so on average, just about everyone is “looking” – maybe at different times but the law of averages is in your favor. Would you agree with that?

Out of 10 names you telephone source:
1-2 will be looking at the present time and will have their resumes “out there”
3-4 (maybe 5) will be interested in listening to you immediately
3-4 (maybe 5) will be interested in listening to you at some point in time
1 won’t be interested

“This is Maureen Sharib. You’ve been identified as someone XYZ is really interested in regarding one of their open positions – do you have a few minutes to spend with me to maybe discuss this?”

“Huh? Who, me? How’d you get my name?” they might reply, surprised, but at the same time somewhat intrigued and usually flattered.

Repeat yourself, s-l-o-w-l-y. Tuck in another question.

“This is Maureen Sharib. We’ve specifically identified you as someone XYZ is really interested in regarding an open position they have in their marketing research department – might you be interested in this opportunity at this time or maybe sometime in the future?"

Who would say “no” to that? Sure, one (out of ten) might, but who cares? You don’t want a bozo like that anyway!

The one thing that sometimes stands in their way of being immediately conversant with you is a lack of privacy on their end. Be alert to any discomfort. Offer to talk another time that is more convenient for them - remember, you’re calling them at their desk, usually on their direct dialed desk-phone, and you know what they say about walls…the walls have ears!

Make it easy for them – anticipate their concern and ask, “Might I call you this evening at home regarding this opportunity? Would your cell be better? What is your cell/home number?”

Stay in control of the process. If she says she’ll call you back, she won’t. She’ll forget.

If she sounds like she’s willing to talk right then and there, continue. Expect this:

“How’d you get my name?”

“You’ve been specifically identified by XYZ through research as someone who could help take them to the next level.”

This is the truth – this person has been specifically identified because she holds a specific title in (usually) a specific target company that you’ve chosen that speaks for this person’s job acumen.

“Oh,” is many times the only response they can muster at this point.

“Do you mind if we spend a few minutes together chatting and sharing a little information? If you do decide you might have an interest, a representative from XYZ will contact you to answer any specific questions I may not be able to, but first, I need a little information – you’re a Market Research Analyst there, right?”
All questions may not get answered on this “first” call.

Education, past and present job responsibilities and level of skill/knowledge are usually easily and pleasantly discussed. It’s very premature to discuss money unless the potential candidate raises the issue. You’d be surprised, though, how often they do.

Keep the call short - ten minutes maximum but you can usually get quite a lot accomplished in five minutes.


PostScript:
Now, don’t take my word for what the best way to approach a truly passive candidate is. One of the “tools” I use nowadays is the rather new Questions and Answers forum that LinkedIn has. It presents an opportunity to ask questions of the LinkedIn community; that community at this time (Fall/2007) is approaching 15 million members. In mid August on a Sunday I asked the following question of the members:

How do you approach the true "passive" (and very real potential) candidate?
There IS such a thing as the truly "passive" candidate - s/he is the person sitting inside an organization, head down at their desk, hard at work on the work you'd like them to be doing for your organization! S/he is not "findable" on the Internet - this person does not post, join or attend to anything that would land them in the sticky and intractable historical archive of the Internet; has not prepared or sent a resume to any of the boards and this class represents probably better than 90% of the workforce out there! So once you find them (you DO know how to find them, don’t you?) how do you approach them? Remember, this is not your “usual” potential candidate – s/he being the one who has made themselves available so they might be, uhhhh, “found”, or who has sent you their resume in search of another job. This person is not a supplicant/applicant. THIS IS A PERSON WHO HAS A JOB and has no reason (or doesn’t yet realize he does) to be looking for another one (at least, until YOU come along!) So, how do you approach someone who might say, first thing to you, “I’m not looking for a job” or, the more surprised and unsettling question, “How’d you get my name? How do you do what you do? How do you cast your magic spell to get them to listen to your opportunity? Any spell-spillers out there who can answer my question?

Literally, within twenty-two hours there were twenty-six responses (in what ended up being a total of 34) from people in many different walks of life. If you want to view the string visit here or do a search on my name (in LinkedIn) and look at my questions and answers. There are several I believe you will find interesting.

It appears that some of the respondents missed the point about what a true passive candidate is but a couple got it – I think all their responses are worth perusing.
******
This information is not to be re-published for commercial purposes in any form without my prior written permission.
******

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Halloween Fun

Something cute for the "kids" to play with.

Living Paycheck to Paycheck Gets Harder

The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner. Story here.

A Dozen Magic Potions

By Maureen Sharib

I did a Workshop presentation at ERE's Fall Conference in D.C. on Wednesday and we attempted to squeeze a full day’s MagicMethod presentation into three short hours! We got pretty far before the whistle blew and on the ride home yesterday I was listening to one of my husband Bob’s oldie CDs and one of the songs was Love Potion #9. I thought I’d encapsulate some of the points made throughout the day about telephone names sourcing into bullet points and call them Magic Potions. Here they are and I hope you enjoy them!

Magic Potion #1
ALWAYS identify yourself upfront when the Gatekeeper (Receptionist) answers. Repeat her name back at her – it is the sweetest sound in the world to her ears. Keep it short, be polite and direct – ask her for exactly what it is you want. Say as little as possible. If she asks you anything, answer her questions, one at a time, not offering more than what she is expecting to hear.

Magic Potion #2
WORK her for everything you can, in the small amount of time you have with her (you have about 10-15 seconds for her to decide if she’s going to “help” you or not), but do it one step at a time until you sense her growing weary of your persistence.
“Can you please transfer me to…?”
“Before you do, does she have an Admin?”
“What is her name?”
“Does she have an extension or direct dial?”
“Can you tell me who the Director of Engineering is?”
“I am trying to reach the Logistics department – do you know who is over Transportation in your company?”
“Does it say if he is Rail or Trucking?”
“Does it show what his title is?”
“What is his extension number?”
“Does she have a cell number listed? E-mail?”

Magic Potion #3
ALWAYS take baby steps – don’t ask her for everything at once; rather, spoon-feed the questions you ask of her. Every time she answers “one” she becomes a little more invested in you and is a little more likely to answer another. Know when your “time is up” and politely discharge her from her obligations. Thank her for her help, knowing you may be back for more! She may, or may not, remember you. Never burn any bridges!

Magic Potion #4
ALWAYS ask for the name/and or the extension number or direct dial of the person she is about to transfer you to, as well as if that person has an “Administrative Assistant, just in case, I hit “VoiceMail…” By doing this, you gain knowledge about the internal dial system just in case you are reduced to “stabbing in” blindly for information, which is far more effective than it sounds. Usually 10-20% of target companies on any one job call for this approach.

Magic Potion #5
ALWAYS have a name (or two, or three) when you call just in case she tells you “you need a name in”. Go to the web, or to your former research, or ask if your customer or hiring manager knows anyone inside the target you might use to “get in”.

Magic Potion #6
ALWAYS use Call Block.
NEVER use 800 numbers as they unblock Call Block.

Magic Potion #7
Call through your list of target companies like you’re taking a test. Develop a “next” mentality. Keep notes about who you talk to at each company– who answered, who the Administrative Assistant was for a specific department, what the extension ranges are inside the office, etc. By keeping precise notes of every scrap of information you gather along the way you will be armed with more ammunition on your next round of calls. This information will give you a sense of familiarity, which is a critical component required in telephone names sourcing and is covered more fully in the next Magic Potion.

Magic Potion #8
Before you call into a specific company, take a look at it on the web and try to glean a sense of “being there”. This is not nearly as difficult as one might imagine! Attempt to arrive at your destination with a ring of “familiarity” in your tone:
“Hi, this is Pam calling from the States…”
“Hi, Gineen, Maria transferred me to you and she seems to think you might be able to help me…”
“Mark, I was trying to reach your Manager, Joe Sauers, but as he’s on vacation, I’m hoping maybe you can help me…”

Magic Potion #9
Take time to closely look at a company’s employment section. In reading the job description it very often helps to break out the organizational structure, gives the "proper title terminology" for that company (especially helpful in financial service situations), gives you reporting structure so you know and can go to the direct reports if you are blocked by the potential candidate’s AA. Find out the title of the person to whom your candidate reports - all great sources of information.

Magic Potion #10
ALWAYS “ride the call out”, meaning always stay on the line long enough to hear the recorded message at the other end of the person’s VoiceMail. Eight out of ten calls will result in VoiceMail these days and a couple of them will have useful information on them:
“I’m on vacation until the 23rd, if this is a timing issue, call my co-worker, so-and so, at extension # ____ or if this is a quality issue call so-and-so at ____; for test call so-and-so at ____ and for any issues related to marketing call so-and so at ____.”
Sweet it is.

Magic Potion #11
ALWAYS “zero back out” or call back in to the Receptionist and try to inch a little further into the organization you’ve begun to penetrate. “So-and-so seems to be on vacation this week – does your directory show who her Manager is? Oh, she IS the Manager? Is there anyone else listed under her we might try? I’m trying to reach someone in her organization.”

Magic Potion #12
CLEAR your mind of the stinkin’thinkin” that gets so many of us in trouble. Approach your target with your wings aligned evenly with the assumption that she will give you the information you seek. If you believe in magic, this will happen far more times than you can imagine!
******
This information is not to be re-published for commercial purposes in any form without my prior written permission.
******

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Giving Phone

What’s interesting is that candidates also rely heavily on electronic means of communication. I recently led a seminar on “power networking” to a group of second year MBA students. I asked them to raise their hands if they had ever applied for a job online. All raised their hands. I asked them to raise their hands if they had ever emailed someone regarding a job. All raised their hands. I finally asked if any of them had cold called someone regarding a job. Only one student raised his hand.

After looking at them in stunned silence with my chin on the floor, I said, “Don’t be afraid of the phone,” at least 10 times. I then walked them through my process of turning a cold call into a warm call. These points work for both recruiters and candidates.

More here.
******

There's still room - register for tomorrow’s October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.
Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Wall of Shame

Shaming them into paying taxes: STATE POSTS LISTING OF TOP DELINQUENTS

California's tax collectors hope you'll agree there are better ways to score your 15 minutes of fame than by drawing comparisons with O.J. Simpson.

But that's precisely the fate of more than 200 people and corporations whose names will be forever linked with Simpson's after the state Franchise Tax Board published its first ranking of the biggest tax deadbeats Friday.

The tax board has a wide range of carrots and sticks at its disposal. But this is the first time it has employed public scorn, at least of this variety. Under a state law that took effect this year, the tax board must publish the names of the 250 biggest delinquent personal and corporate taxpayers annually.

"Some people may care about their public reputation," said state Controller John Chiang, who chairs the tax board. "Some people may not want to be on a list with O.J. Simpson."

The list -- posted online at www.ftb.ca.gov -- includes well-known names such as the aforementioned Orenthal James Simpson, who owes more than $1.4 million, and singer Dionne Warwick, who owes nearly $2.7 million.

But it also includes people who otherwise might seldom draw public attention, starting with Waheed U. Begum of Fremont. His $10.6 million tax bill ranked him No. 1 among those owing personal income taxes. The list does not include taxpayers who are fighting their tax bills in court, have sought bankruptcy protection or have set up payment plans.

Read the whole curious (for privacy conscious CA!) article here.
******

No E-Mail Fridays – Good Idea?

A growing number of employers, including U.S. Cellular, Deloitte & Touche and Intel, are imposing or trying out "no email" Fridays or weekends. While the bans typically allow emailing clients and customers or responding to urgent matters, the normal flow of routine internal email is halted. Violators are hit with token fines, or just called out by the boss.

The limits aim to encourage more face-to-face and phone contact with customers and co-workers, raise productivity or just give employees a reprieve from the ever-rising email tide. Emails sent by individual corporate users are projected to increase 27% this year, to an average of 47 a day, up from 37 in 2006, says Radicati Group, a Palo Alto, Calif., research and consulting firm. And one-third of users feel stressed by heavy email volume, according to a 2007 study of 177 people by the University of Glasgow and Paisley University in Scotland. Many check email as often as 30 to 40 times an hour, the study showed.

Managers complain that rather than confronting problems, employees use email to avoid them by passing issues back and forth in long message strings, like a hot potato. Email reduces face-to-face contact among co-workers and clients; terse, poorly phrased messages further strain those relationships. And it is spilling into weekends, chaining employees to computers when they should be relaxing.

But withdraw it even for a day, and some employees fight back like recovering smokers in a nicotine fit. Jeremy Burton's 2004 email ban at a California software firm wasn't 15 minutes old before self-described email addict Michael Parker hit the "send" button on the first digital contraband. Accustomed to sending up to 300 messages a day, Mr. Parker says he couldn't help himself.

"It's kind of like speeding," he says. "You know there's a law that says you're not supposed to do it, but when you're in the heat of combat, you aim and fire."

Read the whole funny thing here.
******
It's time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Take the original and only-of-its-kind telephone names sourcing course "The Magic in the Method".

What is Marketing and How Do You Do It?

Marketing is something that puts you in front of someone you would like to get business from.

Since, you probably would like additional business from your clients, any time you are with them, you are also marketing (whether you realize it or not; 93% of our communication is non-verbal).

Fortunately for you, that is the sum total of all of the marketing efforts that people in our business do. And many try not to do even that, especially now that they can access our client’s computers via the Internet.

Marketing is drawing attention to yourself, in a positive way. It is letting people know who you are, what you do and what you want. The problem with these definitions is that you believe you are already doing sufficient amounts and understand successful marketing. You don’t; that’s why you need to read the rest of this magazine and suck up every proven marketing concept you can.

Whole article here.
******

There's still room - register for this week’s October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Real Costs of a Franchise

There are several fees that come with a franchise and you have to understand them all to get the whole picture.
Here.

Today's tip: One place to learn some of this information is from the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC). The UFOC is a federally-mandated disclosure document that franchisors give potential franchisees. It discusses the background of the franchisor and its principals, fees to be paid, territories, and much more — in all, there are 23 categories covered. The UFOC must be given to a potential franchisee either at the first meeting of the franchisor and potential franchisee or ten working days prior to the execution of a franchise contract, or payment of money to the franchisor, whichever comes first.
******

5 Ways Speakers Connect

For those of us on the eve of speaking at ERE in DC this week, Penelope Trunk gives us 5 ways great speakers connect with their audience.

The art of public speaking is actually the art of connecting. And the people we remember most are not those with the smartest commentary or sharpest wit. We remember people we feel we connected with.

1. Tell stories
2. Look deeply at individuals in the audience
3. Be honest about how you’re doing
4. Smile, even if it’s fake
5. Relax

But what if you do all this and you still don’t connect? Blame it on the audience and try again somewhere else. Because as Ku says, “Some audiences are just not right for you.”
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for this week’s October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

SuperSpecialized Jobs

Niche Jobs Slideshow

"...a gallery of professionals whose very existence most New Yorkers might never have suspected. They work in niches that may strike us as products of an ultramodern Gilded Age. In fact, they owe their livings to a profound conservatism, for their clients are stubbornly out of step with a culture that distrusts the expert and celebrates the amateur. The moneyed class’s faith in the cult of the professional seems at something of a zenith: they seem to think little of paying someone to perform tasks — talking about money with family members; waiting to see a doctor; ordering food in a restaurant — the rest of us might consider ineluctably personal."

Related NYTimes Article

Internet Search Newbies

Are you a total beginner to Internet recruiting? Barbara Ling has something special for you here.

"This beginners eSeminar will patiently guide you thru 30 lessons of recruiting online...each step building on the ones you have learned previously. No confusing terminology, no scary weird unexplained search engine queries, nothing that your Aunt Bertha and her coffeecup couldn't understand!"

The Edge suggests you check it out!

Making TinyURLs

You know how sometimes those akward and long urls show up in a post and when you click on it it goes nowhere?

Well, not no more!

Now YOU TOO can be a tiny url maker! Barbara Ling was so gracious as to send me packing to the site a while back and since then I have made every effort possible to shorten my urls so they work better in some of my group postings.

It’s simple – if I can do it you can do it!

Copy the long url.
Go here.
Paste it in to the box.
Click on Make TinyURL!

WA-LA! You have it. Now copy the one on top and use it in your postings!
******

Hat Tip

Hat Tip to Krista Bradford for this “find”on her blog:

“…there are professional license databases where you can find CPAs, lawyers, doctors, realtors and any other kind of individual who has to be licensed in order to work. Search Systems offers the original, largest, and most up-to-date directory of state licenses websites.”

Changing Jobs

On this past Wednesday’s HIGH NOON Animal Radio Show the distinguished panel discussed Dave Lefkow’s recent move from VP of Sales for Jobster to his new entrepreneurial pursuit, along with Justin Esch, in the creation of a new culinary delight they’re introducing to the market, BaconSalt.

Doubting Thomas Animal seemed rather conflicted about the decision and it seems some others on LinkedIn are discussing the subject of changing jobs/careers and I thought the following question’s 129 Answers might have a thing or two to convey about the wisdom of these kinds of decisions.

“When you changed jobs (voluntarily) was it more because of the money, career path/opportunity, corporate culture or was there something else driving your decision?”

Can a brand character be a multiple personality?

Interesting LinkedIn question and answers here.

Questions (and Answers) that reveal

Interesting LinkedIn question:
What reveals the most about a candidate?
Answers here.
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for this week's October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

China Censors Ratchet Up Web Monitoring

China has 1Billion 300Million People and a little more than 10% of them are on the Web:

For China's 162 million Web users, surfing the Internet can be like running an obstacle course with blocked Web sites, partial search results, and posts disappearing at every turn.

Blog entries like Liu's, which mused on sensitive topics such as the death penalty, corruption and legal reform, are often automatically rejected if they trigger a keyword filter. Sometimes, they're deleted by human censors employed by Internet companies. Whole story.

Hogs get slaughtered...

...but you know what they say about pigs.

Across the country, the federal effort to flush out illegal immigrants is having major effects on workers and employers alike. Some companies have reluctantly raised wages to attract new workers following raids at their plants. Whole story.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

The Recruiting Animal’s Radio Show this past week (Oct 10) found one of the panel members, Harry Joiner, The Marketing Headhunter, talking about Branding. “I don't think most recruiters have a brand. I think most recruiters are completely undifferentiated.” Harry then gives examples of the top ten executive search firms with names that say nothing about the remarkable accomplishments they deliver to the world every day. He makes a point.

After the show, Animal mentioned to me that I should think about changing the name of my company, TechTrak, to something snappier, sexier, something with more sizzle that screams “Telephone Names Sourcing”.

“Well, Animal, you know I admire the NakedArchaeologist so I think I go-daddied NakedSourcer a while back – would that do it for you?” I tease.

“”I own NakedRecruiter,” he volunteered. “Yeah, maybe. You own others, right?”

“Yep, I own several, variations on the names sourcer theme and I have them all pointing at TechTrak.com. Seriously, though, Animal, it’s funny you bring that up,” I said. “I’ve thought about that as well, from time-to-time, and more so recently. I get calls that ask me, ‘Do you source across any industries besides tech? Can you source in sales (or marketing, or building trades or logistics or…')?”

“I hate the fact that we might be losing sales because of our name. I always tell them ‘Of course we do! Don’t let the name fool you – we started sourcing in the mid-90s in Silicon Valley and the name stuck! Consequently, we’re still stuck with it!’”

Are we? I wonder. Animal went on, as Animal so inimitably does, saying, “Yeah, I always thought the name TechTrak was sort of dumb. It doesn’t really say anything about what you do.”

Not quite getting this and remembering the heyday silicon days of technical search I recall choosing the name TechTrak because I thought it conveyed the idea that we could “track” technical people. And “TechTrack” was taken (by an IT consulting firm, as I recall) so I chose the second-half nomer “Trak” instead. I have no doubt I have missed innumerable correspondences from people inquiring about our service because they sent emails to maureen at techtrack instead of to the correct maureen at techtrak (no c in “trak”). I wonder about their reactions when their e-mails bounced back. Not good, no doubt.

TekTrak probably would have been better.

Anyhoo, here we are in 2007 approaching 2008 very quickly and once again, I’m wondering about name changes.
******
This information is not to be re-published for commercial purposes in any form without my prior written permission.
******
There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for my October 16 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!
Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

NewFangledThings

Mike Rabin has a bone to pick here.

Why do geeks hate recruiters?

Perhaps the Geeks are thinking along these lines:

"These are the people that are genuinely interested in placing people into jobs, usually they are women."

"These are the ones that thought that being a recruiter was a touchy feely path into HR, and then realised being a recruiter was a hardcore sales job."

"These are the hard core sales career recruiters, usually guys and a two or three person shop and a short list where they are always the 'preferred vendor'..god if I hear that again I will die."

Click here...

Researchers Map the Internet

It took two months and nearly 3 billion electronic probes for researchers to create a map of the Internet. Now comes the task of making sense of their data - and figuring out what they missed.

The Internet census comes from the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey, Calif.

Over two months, ISI computers sent queries to about 2.8 billion numeric "Internet Protocol," or IP, addresses that identify individual computers on the Internet. (The domain names familiar to most people are converted into these numeric addresses behind the scenes.)

Replies came from about 187 million of the IP addresses, and researchers used that data to map out where computers exist on the Internet. At one dot per address using a typical printer, the resulting map was about 9 feet by 9 feet. The top finally was taped onto the 8-foot-high ceiling.

John Heidemann, a senior project leader at ISI, acknowledges the map shows only a portion of the Internet. For one thing, computers may have been turned off when the probe checked their addresses. Or they were located behind a firewall, or grouped in a way that several shared a single address.

Even so, the results are useful, Heidemann said. They help show how densely populated the Internet is, and they could help security researchers study the spread of computer viruses. And similar censuses over time could help track the Internet's growth.

"There are a lot of questions," Heidemann said. "Our data isn't definitive, but it's data that didn't exist before. It starts to shed some light about how (the Internet is) currently being used."

Whole story.

Real or Raw Deal?

Very interesting forum discussing what tech professionals really think of recruiters. Check it out: Site

Culture of Fear

“In any culture—organizational or societal—that prizes loyalty above all else, fear becomes the major emotion: fear of doing or saying anything that might suggest dissension; fear of exercising individual freedom to think and speak.”

Fabulous post here.

MORE on: AIRS is Plagiarizing?

I posted the following message on Thursday of the past week: AIRS is plagiarizing? Someone forwarded me Lou Adler's Newsletter yesterday and the very first paragraph states: "Question of the Week: A few dozen people asked this week if AIRS has a license to use our Performance-based Interviewing class. The answer is NO! We understand that AIRS has copied this information from our Performance-based Hiring and Interviewing class and from Lou's book, Hire With Your Head. As the originators of Performance-based Hiring and Performance-based Interviewing we can only speculate as to why AIRS did not properly give full attribution." What's up with this? This isn't the first time I've heard rumors about AIRS regarding this kind of activity. What's the buzz? Do you know anything? Tell me what's happenin'.

Someone here on the EDGE blog commented:
Lou Adler has a right to be pissed off. Has it happened before, you ask? Check out the comments this recent thread on ERE.net's discussion groups and decide for yourself.
And, like you, I have heard of other things.
So if AIRS does this, why do they do it? Maybe it's tough for a company that feels it has a reputation as a leading trainer to maintain, to admit that they can't come up with enough new ideas themselves, and have to take from elsewhere.
The only problem is, if you don't attribute properly and/or get permission when it's content beyond what falls under Congress' Fair Use exemption, you can get yourself into copyright lawsuits.

So, perusing that string as suggested I found this intriguing nugget from an AIRS student: “…I can say that they (AIRS) rarely, if ever, give credit for anything they teach to someone outside of AIRS. That is also evident in the newsletters I receive from them. I will say that Shally, Glenn and Maureen had given me, through their own FREE venues, about 80% of the information I received in that one expensive day last year.”

Glenn Gutmacher had asked, in the first of the string’s responses, (and it was hard to miss the terse, ticked-off intonation): Curiously, your cited example did not include any of the boolean NOT inurl and intitle terms that need to follow site:www.linkedin.com KEYWORDS in order to make sure you only get profiles and not the "junk" results of LinkedIn answers pages, directory pages, job postings, etc., when you run that type of search. Did AIRS cover that, too? Indeed, did AIRS give Shally any credit for innovating this search type during their webinar?

What’s up with this groundswell of rumbling that AIRS is taking other peoples’ stuff, repackaging it, and reselling it at greatly enhanced prices? Is it sour grapes or is it for real?

Maybe we all in this sourcing content development business should be flattered; you know that old saw about Imitation being the best form of Flattery. I’m not buyin’ it, though. I believe Imitation is the best form of Thievery.

Back in July of this year (2007) I received a mysterious missive in my email that stated: Hi Maureen: This is ________ (we spoke through MySpace not long ago). It is imperative I speak with you regarding a very serious matter regarding protecting your trade practices as soon as possible. Thank-you!!

At first I ignored it; thinking this was some kooky spam correspondence designed to get me to call about some product. But it came again: Hi Maureen: I'd like to speak with you regarding some unfair business practices and plans of other companies to use your information/training/classes in an unethical way. Please get in touch w/ me. Thanks ;-)

I looked hard at it and picked up the telephone and called. In a nutshell, what I heard (from an ex-insider at AIRS) was a disturbing tale that AIRS was planning on having someone within the organization purchase my MagicMethod course, then reformat it and resell the material. An avid fan, this person was greatly disturbed by this proposition (having, reportedly, strongly advised AIRS to contact me to work out some kind of licensing agreement for telephone sourcing training, which customers were clamoring for; and having been rebuffed on same advice and told words to the effect: "What do we need her for? We'll have _______ purchase her course, reformat it and put our own out.") This person felt compelled to warn me and named names. Believing that the fastest path is a straight line, I contacted AIRS:

I am a telephone names sourcer and I am very active in training others on the technique. Someone called me from within your organization to tell me that it was the intention of AIRS to take my telephone names sourcing training, make it their own (repackaged) and put it out there for public consumption.

I was stunned, as you can imagine, by the allegation, but as I believe the fastest way to put a stop to such misunderstandings is to go directly to the source.

As Sr. Director of Training I would imagine if this were the intent of AIRS (and this person DID NOT say you were involved) that you would know of any such surreptitious planning.

I am not against any collaboration with AIRS regarding my training products but as they are copyrighted please understand I will strongly defend any trespass upon them.

I hope we can clear the “air” on this unpleasant situation.

Soon (that very same day) after I sent that email I received communication from their Sr. Director of Training informing me that my message had been delivered to Chris Forman, the CEO of AIRS. Very soon (within an hour or two as I recall) he called, denying all of my charges above, telling me they had “no plans” to do telephone training and in the event they did decide to go there they’d “be in touch”. It was also imparted to me somewhere along the line of communications that this particular informant was a disgruntled, fired ex-contractor and this was really, only, at its heart, a "personnel" issue - I would be remiss to leave that part out, now, in this retelling. Mollified, deciding not to hold my breath and thinking “whatever” I continued on my way, doing what I can do, letting drop the whole unfortunate messiness from my mind, including the Informant's last words to me: "Be careful & keep your eyes open."

And then Lou Adler’s Newsletter shows up in my email Wednesday night and it says, electrifyingly: A few dozen people asked this week if AIRS has a license to use our Performance-based Interviewing class. The answer is NO! We understand that AIRS has copied this information from our Performance-based Hiring and Interviewing class and from Lou's book, Hire With Your Head. As the originators of Performance-based Hiring and Performance-based Interviewing we can only speculate as to why AIRS did not properly give full attribution.

I don’t know that I’ve been harmed (yet). But I don’t also know that some of my material hasn’t, indeed, been “repackaged” and isn’t being resold now as part of their “Fearless Cold Calling” product (hey, wait a minute, didn’t Chris tell me in July that AIRS had “no plans” to go into telephone training?) for $595 for a four hour online session. Oh, maybe Chris said "telephone sourcing" training, but when you tout, on the session's front page, "Planning and preparation techniques" (did this come out of my MagicMethod lesson "Five Ps - Plan Prepare Penetrate Persevere Prosper"?) and "Ways to get past gatekeepers ethically and effortlessly" (every single one of my MagicMethod modules covers Gatekeeper approaches) I feel a line (or two) may be being crossed.

I don't know that what Lou's organization has said is or isn't true; but I do know one thing - you have to be mightily concerned to put out a statement like that (or this)! I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. But rest assured - I intend to find out. There’s too much smoke here for a forest fire not to be burning.

Appearance is Everything
Several AIRS courses "appear" to have content familiar with what I've seen Shally, Glenn and Lou put out:
Googling
Xtreme Lab
Performance Hiring
I wonder if Shally's recent linkedin stuff and his live.com material are in jeopardy?

"So if AIRS does this, why do they do it?"

And for those of you thinking this sounds like sour grapes – I’m not the only one who can teach telephone training effectively – but I am one who has done it and from what I’ve seen from the front page “snippets” contained at the links above, there are some very disturbing similarities that stretch beyond the telephone training.

I invite my sourcing training brethren to join in this cacophony to AIRS to answer these very serious charges. I invite anyone who has taken the latest "Fearless Cold Calling" to contact me, or Shally, or Lou, or Glenn with your "impressions" of "similarity" between our materials and theirs. It's time these "rumors" get laid to rest.

glenn.gutmacher at gmail.com
lou at adlerconcepts.com
shally at jobmachine.net

“Nothing sanitizes like sunlight.”

Respectfully,

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com

Fun or meaningful ways to reward employees

By Maureen Sharib

Paid OFF Days for Birthdays
Call-In WELL Days
Employee of the Week
Extra time off
Free Food
Time Flexibility
Saying thank you
Whole story here.

“I'm an Internet Expert”

Apparently, everyone’s one!

“North Korean leader Kim Jong Il called himself an "Internet expert" during summit talks with South Korea's president this week, a news report said Friday.”

The whole story here.

How tall is Mick Jagger, anyway?

Go here for this week's Recruiting Animal's Sourcing Radio Show segment. Hear questions answered by me and Pam, the STAR of the Mission Impossible Telephone Names Sourcing video, about telephone names sourcing and just how tall Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney really are - tune in - you just never know what you might learn! Radio FREE Sourcing show here.

Mission Impossible Telephone Names Sourcing video here.
See the actual job performed (Structural Engrs/Big Water stuff) at ERE's October 17 Workshop in Washington DC. Go here for details.
******

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
http://www.techtrak.com

Time to Disaster-Proof Your Office

How do you feel about spending your upcoming summer nights sifting through piles of displaced paperwork? What about working through weekends to recover information lost from your client database? Or spending your hard-earned vacation money to redraft key legal documents? Full Story

Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Work-At-Home Owners Catch Mortgage Malaise

Home-based business owners who need mortgages are facing a squeeze that threatens to undercut a lifestyle recently given a green stamp of approval. Full Story
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for my October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

AIRS is plagiarizing?

Someone forwarded me Lou Adler's Newsletter yesterday and the very first paragraph states:

Question of the Week: A few dozen people asked this week if AIRS has a license to use our Performance-based Interviewing class. The answer is NO! We understand that AIRS has copied this information from our Performance-based Hiring and Interviewing class and from Lou's book, Hire With Your Head. As the originators of Performance-based Hiring and Performance-based Interviewing we can only speculate as to why AIRS did not properly give full attribution.

What's up with this? This isn't the first time I've heard rumors about AIRS regarding this kind of activity. What's the buzz? Do you know anything? Tell me what's happenin'.

Tech giants poke around Facebook

Silicon Valley has asked a question about Facebook: Who will invest in — if not own —the wildly popular social-networking site?Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG) and Yahoo (YHOO) are among the well-heeled suitors generating headlines about their interest in Facebook, a white-hot commodity that has quickly become a major force in social networking.

Millions of Americans joined Facebook Nation this summer to "poke" each other, share book favorites and pose questions to their online circle of friends about the latest Britney meltdown. Between Facebook and its rival, MySpace, it seemed the entire country was part of a social network.

And others noticed. Last week, there were reports that Microsoft is in preliminary talks with Facebook about a 5% stake — worth anywhere from $300 million to $500 million. Google is also reportedly interested in an investment. (Facebook, Microsoft and Google had no comment.) Last year, Yahoo and Viacom made bids to buy Facebook.

What's not to like? Facebook's expanding user base of 43 million members includes the young, old and everyone in-between in the USA, industry analysts say. And it's poised to launch an advertising push that many tech analysts say could be as game-changing as the text-based ads that fueled Google's meteoric rise.

Whole story here.

A Mom's Quandary

Work or stay at home? It's still a quandary for moms
Stay-at-home moms and working mothers have hardly called a truce in the so-called Mommy Wars — the debate over which sort of parenting is better for a child: a mother at home or on the job. The latest salvo: a book by Leslie Bennetts, The Feminine Mistake, which posits that mothers assume too much of a financial and career risk if they stay at home to raise the kids. Recent research also reflects the ambivalence with which many mothers regard their own decisions about working or staying home, and many feel harshly judged for their choices. There is a widespread belief that today's parents are not measuring up to the standard that parents set a generation ago, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. More than half of Americans (56%) say that mothers are doing a worse job today than mothers did 20 or 30 years ago, the study found.
Story here.
******

Get your telephone names sourcing questions answered TODAY AT NOON (est)!
Guest Hosts: Maureen Sharib and Pam Simon
Topic: The hosts will answer Caller Questions about Telephone Sourcing.
Website
Call at NOON (est) To Talk: 646-652-2754

One More Time

A Discussion on sourcing, recruiting, ZoomInfo and LinkedIn that’s worth revisiting!

Part II
******

Get your telephone names sourcing questions answered TODAY AT NOON (est)!
Guest Hosts: Maureen Sharib and Pam Simon
Topic: The hosts will answer Caller Questions about Telephone Sourcing.
Website
Call at NOON (est) To Talk: 646-652-2754

The Big Skype Write-Off

EBay announced on Oct 1 that they're taking a $1.4 billion third-quarter charge related to Skype, acknowledging that their biggest acquisition ever has failed to live up to expectations. Boy, how things have changed since we interviewed Mark Zennstrom back in January. At the time, Skype was riding high on it's $2.6 billion purchase price, and EBay was hands-off, letting Skype operate with little oversight. But two years later, revenues remain anemic as users have declined newly developed paid services, and the anticipated integration with EBay's auction site remains theoretical. Story
Whole story.

MORE:
Co-Founder of Skype Defends Its Value
BUDAPEST, Oct. 9 — In his first public remarks since quitting last week as chief executive of the Internet phone company Skype, Niklas Zennstrom said Tuesday that he had no regrets about his handling of the company but conceded that he might have tried to squeeze money out of it too quickly.
Whole story.
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for my October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Animal Show Wed NOON Eastern Time

TUNE IN to the Animal's Radio Show TODAY at HIGH NOON Eastern Standard Time for RadioFreeSourcing and get your telephone names sourcing questions answered LIVE by Maureen Sharib and her side-kick, Pam Simon, the STAR of the popular Telephone Names Sourcing video!

Radio Show Website

Call at NOON (est) to talk: 646-652-2754 If you call before you won't be able to get through and you may have to repeatedly call to get through once the show starts. Only six can be on the air at a time and Animal will be in charge of the controls - so watch out - get your questions ready and be ready to spit them out coherently 'cause you know how impatient the Animal gets. Fasten your seat belts - we're taking off into the sourcing zone!

Afterwards, a recording of the show will be available for free download at the site.

Upcoming: Craig Silverman (Oct 17), Ron Humphrey, Colin Kingsbury
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for my October 17 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com

More Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck

An online survey of 47,000 employees by the American Payroll Association asked participants how difficult it would be to meet their current financial obligations if their paycheck were delayed for a week. An overwhelming 67 percent said they'd find it difficult to meet their financial obligations if their paycheck were delayed.

Whole story here.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

"...you need to get your nose bloodied."

Excellent, earnest response from Barbara Goldman over on ERE about what it REALLY takes to be a recruiter (or sourcer, or anything successful!) Barbara's is listed first (meaning she is at the bottom of the string). I suggest you read, and heed, her words!

"Trust me, I know how hard it is. And, I know why people do it. The lure of the freedom to work at home, and the promise of big money is tempting. But, the realities of the business are truly brutal. It takes a crusty old broad like me, or a manager who has been through every tough situation in the book to lead you and guide you on a daily basis in order to make you the success you deserve to be, and the professional this industry demands you to be. There are no shortcuts...Yep, you need to get your nose bloodied. Just like the new attorney who works from dawn to dusk or the resident who puts in 100 hours per week, this is a profession that the average person can't master in a few months. Corporations will chew you up and spit you out. Candidates will break your heart. Purchasing training isn't enough. You need daily, real world experience. There are a lot of fine, established firms to work for. Please consider it."

Read the whole thing here.
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for my October 16 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video

Court Orders Delay on Illegal Worker Rules

A federal judge in San Francisco yesterday extended for 10 days a temporary ban on a central measure in the Bush administration’s campaign to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

After a two-hour hearing, the judge, Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court, strongly suggested that he was leaning against the government in the case.

The ban further delayed the start of a rule, which establishes steps an employer must follow after receiving a notice from the Social Security Administration, known as a no-match letter, reporting that an employee’s identity information does not match the agency’s records. According to the rule, originally scheduled to take effect Sept. 14, if the employee cannot clarify the mismatch within 90 days, the employer would be required to fire the worker or risk prosecution for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Those immigrants often provide false Social Security numbers when applying for jobs.

Story here.

Yahoo Upgrades Online Search Engine

Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) has retooled its online search engine to make it more helpful and engaging, joining an industrywide wave of improvements that so far haven't dented Google Inc. (GOOG)'s dominance.

The Sunnyvale-based company regards the upgrade to be announced Tuesday as the most significant change to its search engine since it reclaimed control of the underlying technology nearly 3 1/2 years ago.

Story here.

MORE on this story here.
******
Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Glass Hedges?

Next-Door Celebrity Neighbors
Homes & Land Magazine asked its readers which celebrities they wanted living next door to them. Women put men and women at the top of the list. Men just chose men. Huh?
Full Story

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

It's About How Much They Keep

Financial Literacy & Wealth-building: It's About How Much You Keep

Canadians may benefit from professional advice on keeping as much of their income as possible, rather than seeing it disappear unnecessarily to taxes, borrowing charges, interest rates and other financial sink-holes. PJ Wade explains how this financial literacy is an important wealth-building strategy.

Full Story
******

There’s still time to advance your sourcing skills. Think beyond. Register for my October 16 Workshop at ERE's Fall Expo in D.C.: Telephone Names Sourcing: What Is It and Why You Need To Do It - Go here to read all about it! Questions? Contact amy at ere.net or call her direct at 360-264-5627 or also at 212-671-1181 x813 Use discount code of DC07SP (case sensitive) to receive a $200 discount off the conference registration cost.

Lose phone fear here. Learn how to telephone names source today!

Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer
513 899 9628
TechTrak.com, Inc.
maureen at techtrak.com
Watch the Telephone Names Sourcing Video