My Favorite Posts
This isn’t really a “tool” per se, however I think it certainly should be categorized under ‘cool’!
Those who know me know that my only complaint about working remotely is that it gets lonely from time to time. Sure, I get my best work done when I’m not disturbed but there are some rare moments when I crave some human interaction!
I subscribe to an RSS feed for Trendhunter.com, and recently I was reviewing some interesting new technology when I came across this video for Jelly. Apparently, this is just what I’ve been looking for!
So, what is Jelly?
Jelly is casual coworking. We invite people to work from our home for the day. We provide chairs and sofas, wireless internet, and interesting people to talk to, collaborate with, and bounce ideas off of. You bring a laptop (or whatever you need to get work done) and a friendly disposition.
Jelly started in NYC in February of 2006 when roommates Amit and Luke realized that they loved working from home, but they missed the creative brainstorming, sharing, and camaraderie of a traditional office. So they started inviting friends to come work from their home one day a week. They soon found that working in close proximity to new and interesting people every couple weeks resulted in new ideas and interesting conversations.
I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that you can learn something new from every person you encounter in life. This is a cool idea in my book.
So….I decided to bring Jelly! to Cincinnati! If you live in the Greater Cincinnati area, please visit the NEW Jelly! in Cincinnati page for information on the FIRST meeting, to be held on Thursday, November 15th. Or, you can click here to sign up directly.
Here’s a list of some of the locations that already have Jelly! groups started. Check it out! You never know who you might meet. You may learn something new, try something different, or perhaps you might even find a new job opportunity! 
New York City (Manhattan & Brooklyn – the ORIGINAL Jelly!)
Atlanta, GA *new!*
Austin, TX *new!*
JellyInPerth – Freelancer Friday *new!*
Chicago
Cincinnati, OH *new!*
Delhi, India
Denver, CO
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR *new!*
Portsmouth, NH *new!*
San Francisco, CA *new!*
Singapore, Southeast Asia
Sydney, Australia *new!*
Tel Aviv, Israel *new!*
Tampa Bay, FL (Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg)
Washington, D.C.
Filed under: Blogging
Today marks the first anniversary of the start of the Research Goddess blog. From its humble beginnings as SPI Internet Research to where it’s gone today, I am excited to reach this milestone! Thinking back on my first post (actually, it was my second official post, as my first was a simple welcome message), boy has my blog changed! The first comment made on my blog was from my now-dear-friend, Jim Stroud. Ahh…that was the start of a beautiful friendship.
I am so incredibly thankful to all of you who read my blog and enjoy my posts. As you know, one of my goals was to hit 50 subscribers and, well, if you look at the reader counter to the right, you’ll see that I have achieved this goal. So, many thanks to all of you!
I wanted to take this time to reflect back on some of the highlights and my favorite moments in my first year of blogging, and how starting the Research Goddess blog truly has made a difference, not just for me, but for lots of you folks out there who read it!
My dinner with the Big Cheez – Joel was my original inspiration to start blogging. I remember reading his blog one day and thinking ‘his blog is awesome – I wonder if I could do something like that with a research blog?’ He is probably sick of me saying this, but I am ever grateful for the time Joel spent with me while I was up in Cleveland because he is the one who gave me the gentle shove to get this whole thing started.
Nomination for the Recruiting.com 2006 Best Blog Awards – how cool was this! My little blog got nominated for an award just two months after I started it. I did not get into the top 10 but just to be in the company of the other nominated blogs was humbling.
My first appearance on the Recruiters Lounge – ah, the first time I got interviewed by the Searchologist. My how time does fly!
Meeting my good friend, Mike Notaro – I think this occurred some time around January or February, and I am thankful for Mike’s friendship and the knowledge he shares with me. He has come into his own in internet research so quickly and I am glad I met him!
My first somewhat questionable search technique, and a major nod from Shally – my post on the MySpace site: search that really seemed to grab Shally’s attention…some of the big dogs in research were starting to notice me!
Being appreciated, and starting my obsession with social networking and new media – I love getting messages from people I’ve had conversations with that have gotten something useful out of our discussions. Makes me feel like it was time well spent!
My first conversation with Rob McIntosh – I have a lot of respect for this man and the knowledge he has, and I was pleased to be able to speak with him at length before I wrote this article. Rob also was responsible for connecting me with Suzy Tonini, another person I have developed a great friendship with and learned a great deal from.
Getting tapped on the shoulder by Leslie O’Connor and Earl Mann to present at SourceCon – man, I can’t think of another event in the past year that I was so excited to attend, and the fact that I was asked to present was just icing on the cake. Thank you so much for the opportunity!
Reaching the five-year mile marker as an Internet Researcher – it was so great to think back on the last five years and how much I’ve learned, how many great people I’ve met, and what I’ve accomplished in the world of Internet Research.
Getting published in the Fordyce Letter – what an honor! I wrote an article called ‘Stephen Covey Applied To Research and Recruiting Prioritization’ that I had originally wanted published on ERE but they thought it would be well received by the readers of the Fordyce Letter – cool!
The Research Goddess Radio Show goes live –I am looking forward to having the chance to interview a lot of you on my podcast show on Recruiter Life!
Landing a new job at Waggener Edstrom – this rounded out my first year writing the Research Goddess blog. I love my new position and am excited to see what good things are in store here!
There are so many, many more cool things that have happened over the past year as a result of my blog, but these were just some of the best moments. Over the last year as well, I have received so many emails and comments on my posts that have warmed my heart. I am thrilled that so many of you enjoy reading my stuff!
I found you through your blog and you had been mentioned in some of the other blogs that I read.
[By the way, you do a great job with your blog.]
Scott Szur, The Harrison Group
Amybeth,
I love your Blog!!! You are doing great things-Thank you for keeping me on your mailing list.
Margaret Blackwell, Sr. Recruiting Consultant
Hi Amy. We’re going to add your blog to our blogosphere…
Todd Raphael, ERE Media
I’ve actually been reading your blog since around December, and I have to say I love the emurse.com search string you provided in one of your past posts. Great tip!
Sara Agee, Internet Researcher
Amybeth, Thank you for all the knowledge and support you have offered my in my efforts to ramping up my desk. I know that at times you probably felt like blocking me from your IM list but now I think the most tedious part of my learning process is behind me. You have been a true mentor for me as I embark on this exciting journey!
Paul Wolfe, SPI franchise owner
My name is Bryan Marek and I have become a fan of your blog. I have left a comment on your most recent one on recruiter.com stating how you have helped me set up a more productive researching process. For that I am truly greatful.
Bryan Marek, Internet Researcher
thanks for the exposure amybeth! i love hearing your thoughts
Jeremy Langhans, Executive Sourcer
I hope you continue putting research/sourcing out there in a more positive light (as you already doing) and continue to spread the news about what value and what a researcher/sourcer does!
Dan Harris, Sourcer/Talent Researcher
Really enjoyed your presentation and some of your comments will be making my slides as we continue to build our Sourcing Team here. Brand new model for the company as of beginning of this year and we are already see contributions being made.
Bryan Reichert, Lead Recruiter
I appreciate your definition of what my new career path should be. You truly helped me to better understand what it is that my job description should entail.
Elizabeth Gary-Ruegger, Research Manager
The things I write about are things I feel very passionately about. My goal in starting this blog was to connect with the larger research community, and I most certainly have accomplished this. I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart, because you are what has made this blog what it is!
from the archives…
Amybeth Hale, Research Goddess, interviews Jeremy Sisemore, Founder and CEO of Dynamic Search Partners of Houston TX. Jeremy is a very successful SAP recruiter and he and Amybeth discuss the importance of the internet and the research function in a successful recruiting organization.
View the original interview page here on Recruiter Life Magazine, or play directly below.
Filed under: Education
I’m pretty particular on what webinars and trainings I will promote. I think that this one is going to be worth taking a look at:
Filed under: Networking/Social Media
I use LinkedIn all the time when I conduct research. It has become one of my first resources when handed a new job req. I was under the impression that everyone in the recruiting industry understood the importance of networking on sites like LinkedIn. Apparently, I was mistaken in this assumption. Just about a week ago, I noticed the option for me to choose how I knew a potential new connection had been taken away from me. Instead, now every time I want to send a new invitation I get the slap-on-the-wrist notification:
You are now required to enter an email address to send invitations from this page because several recipients of your invitations indicated they don’t know you.
What? I always take the time to personalize my invitations to people who I’m pretty sure don’t know me yet. How could this have happened?
You can now check out who noted that they ‘don’t know you well enough to connect’ on LinkedIn. I saw a couple that seemed legitimate. There was one who was also a graduate of the same university as me who, incidentally, had requested that I add him to the Gator Alumni LinkedIn group (which I did so we’re connected anyhow), and I made sure to write him a kind note letting him know that we’d be connected anyhow through that group. Then, I was surprised to see….a recruiter!! A recruiter who had refused to network – AND…one who lives right here in the same city as me.
I ask you this – what kind of a recruiter refuses to network? What kind of a recruiter turns down a new connection? In my humble opinion, one that hasn’t figured out the value of making connections just yet. Someone who doesn’t understand that recruiting is developing new relationships, even though they may not seem relevant at the moment, because they may be beneficial later down the road. Someone who, to be honest, unless they grasp the concept of networking quickly, will not be recruiting 2-3 years from now.
You’re entitled to your own opinion on this. I know many people out there do not believe in making LinkedIn connections with people unless they’ve ‘had a meal together’ or something else of the sort. Truth of the matter is that I actually interviewed at this recruiter’s office about 6 months ago. I met his boss for lunch one day, and he convinced me to come in and meet another recruiter (who quickly accepted my invitation to connect and has corresponded with me since then, by the way).
Perhaps my invitation was not compelling enough. Perhaps I should have referenced the connection to this recruiter’s boss in my message. Or perhaps my shock is completely valid. Recruiting IS networking – and when you don’t participate in the practice of your own business, you’re just shooting yourself in the foot.
I am so excited!! I am going to be heading out to San Francisco from October 27th to the 30th to attend VisiblePath’s Corporate Social Network Design Council. The obvious purpose of this gathering is how to apply social networks in the enterprise world. Not only am I planning on learning a TON, but I also get to hang out with my dear friend, Ms. Suzy Tonini! She alerted me to this gathering and it is a bonus that I get to see her as well.
Which leads me to my next point! Suzy and I are very excited about trying to get some time with some of you Bay area researchers and recruiters. If anyone lives in the San Francisco/San Jose/ Silicon Valley area, we were thinking of getting together on Saturday evening for some f-u-n and networking!
Please email me or leave me a comment here if you’d be interested in getting together with us. We could consider this an extension of the awesome SourceCon conference that many people just attended last month.
Hope to see many of you in a couple weeks!!!
Checkout Austin
jobs at itzbig.
Filed under: Thoughts
Many of us have experienced something like this in our lives. We’re sitting on the plane, ready to fly to wherever, when we get notification that our flight has been delayed due to bad weather, mechanical issues, whatever the case may be. We deplane and hang out in the terminal for who knows how long. When we finally get back on the plane and land in our connecting city, we’ve obviously missed our connecting flight. Since it’s late in the evening, no more flights to our final destination and leaving so we are forced to stand in the Customer Service line for what seems like hours to change our flight and figure out where the heck we’re going to stay for the night.
You may have guessed that I recently experienced this very scenario! You guessed right. On my way back from Florida where I just attended my 10 year high school reunion, my flight was delayed in Florida due to some nasty weather in Houston where I was supposed to connect to get back to Cincinnati. 2 hours later, we were finally in the air on our way, and of course I missed my connecting flight home in Houston. What a crappy experience you might say. I say not at all!
For starters, you must keep in mind that there is no sense in getting frustrated or irritated by the situation. Things like this happen from time to time, and when you’re in the middle of one o these moments, stop to think that EVERYone else around you is experiencing the same issue. Then remember that there’s nothing that can be done at that time to fix the situation, so you might as well just make the best of it.
The first thing I thought to do at this time was to tap my network and see who I knew in Houston. I emailed one of my former franchise owners whom I supported when I was at SearchPath and told him what was going on, asking if the situation arose where I would need to spend the night in Houston, would I be able to crash at his place. He responded within ten minutes saying absolutely, and to let him know when I landed what was going on. Check out my post on Jim Stroud’s blog about gracefully departing a company – by maintaining my friendship with my former colleague, I was able to solve one potential problem before it even arose. It is so important, when you are networking, to make sure you cultivate those connections and add value upfront. You never know when you may need to call in a favor!
When something like this happens, I also like to take the time to converse with some of the other weary passengers with whom I am travelling to try and keep them from getting too frustrated. In this case I met a nice young girl named Abby who happened to be flying home to Houston from visiting her boyfriend in Florida. He just took a new position in Florida and this was their first experience being so far apart. We got to talking about work and come to find out she isn’t quite sure what she wants to do yet. She currently works in her dad’s accounting office, but she wants to do something that would allow her to have more human interaction. I threw out a couple of suggestions and we had a very nice conversation. Also on my flight happened to be a group of musicians who were playing some of their music on their laptops in our terminal boarding area. I listened in and enjoyed the music, so when we were about to re-board the plane I stopped and inquired about their band and asked if I could purchase a CD. Once we were on the plane, one of the musicians came up to me and handed me a CD, telling me I could just have it. Very nice!
Once in Houston, I re-booked my flight back to Ohio and called up my colleague, Jeremy Sisemore. He came and picked me up from the airport. Since I was unable to get a flight out of Houston until 7:50pm the next evening, Jeremy graciously offered to let me work at one of the empty desks in his office. (I never travel without my laptop, just in case!) I spent all day Tuesday in Jeremy’s office amongst his recruiters. (Jeremy runs a SearchPath franchise recruiting office specializing in SAP placement. If you know of anyone who works in the SAP space, Jeremy is a fantastic SAP recruiter and I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone) Over the course of the day, I was able to show one of his brand new recruiters a few little tips and tricks using LinkedIn and Yahoo and Google groups to look for passive leads. I also showed her one of the email templates I use when I reach out to my passive contacts regarding opportunities we have available at Waggener. She was very excited about using some of these techniques to find more candidates. I figured helping her out was the least I could do! Jeremy and I grabbed some Mexican food before he returned me to the airport, and over dinner I found out that he has a TON of connections with individuals who work at one of the largest PR agencies in the world. He offered to put me in touch with them. Had I not been forced to stay overnight in Houston, I may never have found this out!
So, what’s the point to this long-winded tale of my awful travel experience? That it wasn’t awful at all. I made some new friends, got some cool music, learned some helpful information from a trusted colleague, and helped a few people along the way. If I left the whole delayed flight/stuck overnight part of the story out, it sounds like a pretty fulfilling day, don’t you think?
Don’t look at the situation for what’s gone wrong with it. Look at the situation from the standpoint on how you can make it a great experience – and not just for yourself, but for others too!
Filed under: Uncategorized
…I had the great pleasure of spending some time with Mr. Dan Sweet, of the Free Resume and Career Toolbox website. I knew I would have about 3 hours to cool my heels in Houston on my way to my 10 year high school reunion, so before I left I checked my network to see who I knew in the area. Dan responded that he’d love to meet up with me in the airport. We got to chat for about 30 minutes. Dan’s got a neat history of ’stumbling’ into recruiting and I loved how he said he is becoming ‘unemployable’. For those who enjoy reading Dan’s FRACAT blog, he shared with me some of the things that caused him to begin writing it, and some of his sources of inspiration for his writings. I’ve always liked the fact that Dan incorporates his faith into his business and his writings.
Filed under: Networking/Social Media
I have been home in Fort Myers, FL this weekend to attend my 10 year high school reunion. I was in a magnet program for gifted high school students, so my class was full of competitive, driven, overachievers who were all expected to do great things with our lives. Those who have only known me for the last 5 years wouldn’t guess that I wasn’t quite as outgoing in high school. I was the ‘nice girl’ as in, “Oh, Amybeth? Yeah, she’s a nice girl”. I had friends in all the groups since I was an academic and an athlete. I was on the Academic Team, the swim team, and in the Math Club, the symphonic orcehstra, and was the Kiwanis Key Club president for a year. It was a weird mix, so I guess I was kind of an ‘independent’ when it came to hanging out with different groups.
elp each other. After all, it’s all about networking!
Filed under: Uncategorized
This amusing post on Craig’s list was forwarded to me by a coworker of mine. I think this is taking ‘social networking’ to a ridiculous level While you have to give the girl credit for being ‘creative’ in her search for a rich husband, you must also give the man props for his ‘business transaction’ response to her rather shallow query!
For the record, I plan to post my own personal ad on Craig’s List….must be tall, dark, and handsome….
Just kidding.
