Amybeth Hale - Research Goddess

I recently spoke on using research effectively at the Fordyce Forum in Las Vegas. As anyone who has ever gotten up in front of a group of people to speak would agree to, I hoped that I conveyed the information in a usable manner and that my audience would find some value in my topic. Last week, I received the following recommendation from Glynda Finister, who sat in on my presentation:

“I heard Amybeth speak at the Fordyce Forum in Las Vegas in 2008 and she provided me with excellent tips for finding a good researcher and as a result, I now have two really great researchers. I could not have known what to look for with out her advice. After the seminar, she spent a great deal of time with Attendees with various questions on how to find a researcher. Thank you Amybeth!”

If that isn’t a validation that the presentation did some good, then I don’t know what is! Receiving a note like this is the best thing that could have happened, and I am so pleased that Glynda was able to hire not just one, but two researchers using some of the information she’d heard.  THANK YOU for letting me know!

The  Fordyce Letter Network recently posted a short video highlight from my presentation. Here is a link to it, or you can view it below:

Over 60% of those who suffer from HIV/AIDS worldwide live in the sub-Saharan region. Learn about the aid trip I am going on this November to Mamelodi, South Africa, and how you can help!

I’ve seen a lot of folks in our community who use Eventbrite to host trainings and organize networking events. But did you realize that you can use Eventbrite to help in your research efforts as well? Read on to find out how…

Eventbrite is a provider of online event management and ticketing services. If your event is free, there is no charge and if you sell tickets, they collect a small fee per ticket.  When people register for an event, it generates an attendee list for you. This list can often be viewed via a specific Eventbrite website. So, for example, let’s say we created an Eventbrite registration site for ‘Recruiting Conference’; our attendee list might show up on recruitingconference.eventbrite.com.

Why do you need to know this? For a very simple search technique! Using an easy site: search for Eventbrite, you can locate people from specific companies or with specific titles that you might be looking for. Here is an example:

site:eventbrite.com “public relations” “attendee lists”

This search yields me countless numbers of events, both past and future, with attendees from the public relations field. At the very least, I am provided with a name and a company, and as a good researcher, I can take that name and find a profile or contact information. Often, a city/state, website, blog, and sometimes an email address are provided. Any researcher worth his/her salt can take only a name and find the contact information for that person. Here’s a sample from the page of one of the events in my results:

Here’s another example: let’s say you want to find someone from a specific company – we’ll use Creative Director from Avenue A | Razorfish as the example:

site:eventbrite.com razorfish “creative director” “attendee list” – result page

Not only did we find a creative director from Avenue A | Razorfish, but we also know her location. In addition, there are some other folks on the list that would be worth taking a look at as well: an Associate Creative Director from Digitas, an Interactive Marketing Manager from Comcast-Spectacor, a Media Director from Backe Communications, as well as the VP, Media for Avenue A | Razorfish.

Another way to source using Eventbrite, especially if you are sourcing locally, is to search for a specific city name to find good networking events. This is a great way to learn what events are in your city, and also to find people who will be there who could be potential candidates or clients:

site:eventbrite.com Philadelphia “attendee list” - result page

This event hasn’t happened yet, and you can also subscribe to the attendee list so you’ll be notified when new people register for the event – cool!

 Learn about the aid trip I am going on this November to Mamelodi, South Africa. I need to raise $3000 by the end of October - any help you can provide is greatly appreciated!

There’s a new show on Tuesday nights, I Survived a Japanese Gameshow!, which is questionable for entertainment value, but in this week’s episode, there was a lesson learned in integrity that I think could be applied in our line of work.

Mary, a 23 year old gym membership sales rep, and Donnell, a 24 year old real estate appraiser, made a deal with their teammate Meaghan, a 22 year old bartender, who put herself up in a previous episode for elimination with the promise that she would be immune from possible elimination this week. Both agreed, and Meaghan won her challenge and remained on the show. However, when their team was once again up for an elimination challenge this week, Donnell wanted to re-neg on their pact. Mary, however spoke on camera and decided that she would keep her promise to Meaghan because in her words, “I need to be true to myself and true to my word.” (paraphrased) She ultimately ended up being eliminated, but she can go home with a clear conscience knowing that she stayed true to her word and didn’t compromise her integrity by going back on a promise.

Who’d have thought that we could learn a lesson in integrity from a(nother) reality TV show? I was impressed that Mary stuck to her word, even when it resulted in her being eliminated from the show. Donnell, on the other hand, has to face a teammate that he stabbed in the back and deal with the trust issues that have no doubt resulted from it. And I’ll bet that the integrity Mary maintained will come back and reward her down the road. I am a firm believer in sowing/reaping - what you give is what you’ll get in return.

How often does a situation like this come up in our professional lives though? We make promises and give our word on things, but then when it’s not convenient for us, we ‘change our minds’ or try to justify why we cannot be true to our word. If we stopped to think about it, the convenience of the moment of going back on our word results in the destruction of a trusting relationship. It takes so much time and effort to develop trust, yet so little to break it down. Why destroy what you’ve worked so hard to build just because it’s not the absolute ideal situation for YOU, at the moment?

My thoughts on this are as follows: think about the promises you make to people, not just in the moment but over the long term. Will you be able to complete that search assignment in a timely manner? Will you be able to find that individual a new position? Can you meet the financial requirements your client has laid out to you? Don’t make a spur-of-the-moment promise to someone just to gain their immediate business if you don’t think you can fulfill it in the long run. Being honest with someone about what you can and cannot do will actually build more trust with them than if you give your word, only to go back on it later on.

No more reality TV for me But I hope this gives you some food for thought!

I keep seeing so many similarities between PR practices and recruiting, sourcing, and research practices - could it be because they are both service-oriented? (duh) I read this great article this morning in The Council of PR Firms‘ The Firm Voice - PR Firms Differ on the Best Way to Train Outstanding Account Executives. This article talks with some executives in the PR industry and asks them their thoughts on how to work most effectively with their clients, as well as what they believe are good qualities to possess as a successful PR professional. Most of what is discussed could also directly apply to developing client/recruiter relationships. Here are a couple of snippets:

• “Some of the most important skills an account service person should have include being service-minded, being able to manage expectations, being accountable, being able to communicate frequently, and working with a client in the spirit of partnership…”
• …”we are counselors to our clients and [that] we should be framing a strategy for our clients, not the other way around. We need to be 10 steps ahead of our clients…”
• “…the biggest mistakes also include not being aggressive enough, being afraid to make a suggestion, and taking something for granted…”

I encourage you to read the entire article and learn how many similarities there are in our methods of operation!

The July issue of The Source is ready! Check it out here: July 2008 - The Source

Also, don’t forget to register for SourceCon 2008! It’s under 2 months away now, September 2nd - 4th in Atlanta, GA. Gather with your fellow researchers and sourcers, meet people you’ve known for years but never seen in person, and learn a ton about tactical and strategic sourcing. Don’t miss out!!!!

Alright, I’m all for making new (meaningful) connections on LinkedIn, but this new site that a friend showed me tonight has taken things, in my opinion, to a sickening new level. The site, called InvitesWelcome.com, describes itself as the “casual and informal version of TopLinked.com [they are both registered with the same contact information]…. another way to show you are open to new connection opportunities.”  So basically, you can either do this for free and be on one big giant list, or you can pay $5/month or $20/year to be on a top list, and you’ll get fresh, new email addresses sent to you to connect with on LinkedIn. There apparently is also a ‘Top Supporters’ list that you can buy your way onto through toplinked.com by purchasing points or something….honestly, I wouldn’t consider a list to be a ‘top’ anything list if you had to buy your way onto it. It’s like those “Who’s Who Among Students” things we used to get in the mail (where you buy your own plaque, trophy, and bound book that honors you), or the mail-order beauty pageant applications that don’t even require a photo for you to be entered in some obscure beauty pageant.

Another thing that comes to mind is those chain letters that used to circulate through the postal system a few decades ago. You know, the ones that say, “Send $1 to the first person on this list, then write a new list adding your name and address to the bottom and remove the first person on the list, then send it to 10 people”, and supposedly you’d get thousands of dollars in the mail within 6 weeks. This seems kind of like that, except instead of sending dollars, you’re sending around your email address.

Though I would imagine several folks from the recruiting community are on the list, I still stand by my original opinion that buying people’s email addresses for this purpose is lame. Some might argue that it’s like buying a database access – well, not really. When you purchase a niche database, you’re pretty well assured that the information contained therein is industry specific. This is just haphazard connecting with people who may or may not be in your industry, and who may or may not be connected with someone who is in your industry. It’s total pot-luck!

Hey, if you’re into this method of making new connections, more power to you. I guess this is cool if you’re a ‘power networker’, LION, or a ‘top-linked’ person. Besides, it IS only a few bucks. And from a business standpoint as well this is profitable, because whoever came up with this is making some pretty easy money! But for me, it seems pretty lame. Lists that call themselves “top lists” should not be something you purchase points to be at the top of. You be the judge and come to your own conclusions about this one…

There is an endless supply of information available to us these days. This information comes at us in all forms – emails, blogs, RSS feeds, tweets, at times I know we all feel bombarded. Come join the latest social network! Check out my new website! Please subscribe to my blog! How can you possible keep up with the latest trends within your industry to maintain a competitive sourcing edge without spending the rest of your life trying to play catch-up with your RSS reader?

I propose looking at the flow of information and knowledge outlets in the same manner that you approach a trip to the grocery store. When some people go to the grocery store, they create a list of items they need ahead of time. This makes the trip quicker – in and out. Of course, there are always a couple of rogue items that get put into the shopping cart that were not on the list (usually your kid sneaks a candy bar or a bag of chips in when you’re not looking). Then, there are those who have an idea in their head of what they need when they hit the store. Usually, more rogue items end up in those people’s shopping carts, right? 

Regardless, you go to a grocery store, filled with thousands upon thousands of perishable and non-perishable items, and you come out with only a small sampling of what was available to you. Why? Because that’s all you need – at the moment. However, those other items that you did not purchase will be available to you the next time you need to go shopping, just in case you need one or two of them.

How is this like our seemingly endless flow of information? Well, the Internet is like that grocery store. It houses all the different portals and networks that we need on a daily basis to have a competitive edge in sourcing. Each of these knowledge outlets is like an item sold by the grocery store. They serve a specific purpose for a specific audience. And the important thing for us to remember is that we don’t have to buy every item in the grocery store (register with every network, read every blog, subscribe to every RSS feed). All we need to do is go in with our list, take what we need, and leave the rest on the shelf, knowing that if we need it next time we go to the store, it will be available to us.

What are some good ways of keeping these things organized? The example I’ll use is RSS feeds. I have about 16 different folders in my reader – one for recruiting blogs, one for PR blogs, one for analyst relations blogs, another for social media, etc. Each one is a specific category that I can choose to read at my leisure. Or, I can collect the blog posts for future reading if it’s not an area of top priority to me. For example, I still have a folder for RFID, which is an industry in which I researched over 2 years ago. Who knows if I’ll ever need that knowledge again? But just in case, I’ve got that folder there waiting for me.

So, remember that you don’t have to buy everything in the store; just get what you need at the moment and know that the other items will be there if you need them. Happy Sourcing!

Thank you to all of you who have already sent support and words of encouragement for my upcoming trip to South Africa this November. Even though the trip is still 4 1/2 months off, I am getting more excited about it each day!

My first deadline is coming up on July 15th - I must have 1/3 of my total trip cost collected, which amounts to $1000. I’ve had good support up to now and I just have a little more to collect to get there! I realize that $3000 total sounds like a daunting number, but EVERY contribution helps. I do mean that - $5, $10, anything that you can spare is so much appreciated. Also, if you cannot help out right at this moment, I will be able to accept contributions up until November, so if timing is an issue there are still 4 months to go! If you are able and willing, please go here to make a contribution online or to find information for mailing in a check.

My goal is to have as many people involved within my network as possible. I’ve worked hard to grow this network for the past several years and I would love nothing more than to put it to work for a good cause.

For more information on this endeavor, please visit my Go Mamelodi! page on my blog, or you can go to the Crossroads site to read. Thank you for your support, and I hope to make my goal of $1000 by July 15th!

Bill Bradley, an editorial assistant at Vanity Fair, asks for ideas on how he can “be more lame and attract more fans” to Vanity Fair’s Facebook page. Because if he doesn’t, his boss says he’s canned. Seriously - check out the article on Ragan. Interesting publicity stunt here, as Bill is using all kinds of on- and off-line methods, including flyers and sandwich boards, to get people to be his friend on Facebook. Whether or not it’s true that he’ll actually lose his job if he doesn’t make his goal of 10,000 friends by August 5th, it’s still and interesting, and slightly cheesy, way to gain more fans for the Facebook page. In Bill’s words, “the surest way to accumulate 10,000 fans is to transform oneself into a class-A stalker…” I’m curious how many researchers and sourcers have been accused in some fashion of being stalkers. hehehe…

So, is this what it’s come to? We’re being forced make friends to preserve our employment? I wonder what’s next, paying people to interview with us? Oh wait, that’s already been done

I loved this article! I personally believe that the degree to which you are affected by a “recession” is directly related to how much you dwell upon it, but I digress….article written by Darryl Salerno, It’s Not the Economy, Stupid, outlines some ways to make sure business continues as usual even when faced with an economic slide. Main points from the article:

• APPROPRIATE CUTBACKS: With 3/4 of all expenses tied up in compensation and rent, scrimping on incidentals like travel, dues & subscriptions, new business, etc. won’t make much of a dent for cutbacks.
• RECRUIT/RETAIN: The only thing agencies have to sell is the time of their staff; hire/fire decisions should be made on the basis of performance, not profits. AND - if an excellent new hire becomes available, you should jump at the chance to bring him or her on board.
• BEWARE OF FREE STUFF: Don’t keep your staff “busy” by providing extra services to your existing clients for free; it’s hard to go back when your clients get used to these freebies.
• RAMP UP NEW BIZ: Never slow down on new business development!

Read the whole article here- the thought processes apply to many business areas well beyond PR, and the author knows a thing or two about business financials and profitability (he’s been CAO/CFO/CEO of some pretty well-known companies!)