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Overheard at Kennedy onRec 2009: Our overview of recruiting gems from sessions at this week’s Kennedy onRec Expo

The Kennedy onRec Expo 2009 wrapped up yesterday in Chicago, and the attending members of the SmartBrief team are back and full of exciting new knowledge. Here’s a quick rundown of their favorite sessions and the tips they gleaned from them:

Changing Supply and Demand: Lessons Learned from the Real Estate Industry — presented by Wendy Forsyth of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate

  • “Hire for attitude” — you can teach people the skills they need later.
  • Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate removed the word “recruiting” from its corporate vocabulary. The group’s hiring strategy isn’t about convincing candidates to do things; it’s about “talent attraction” and bringing the next generation into the real estate industry.

How to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck from Job Boards — moderated by Tony Lee of Adicio

  • Ask job boards to deliver services for free or at a discount.
  • Seek premium positioning to boost qualified responses.
  • Confirm each site’s traffic rate to weed out those that won’t deliver.

Finding Keepers — Hiring for the Long Term in a Down Economy — presented by Eric Winegardner of Monster Worldwide

  • The recruiting industry has the opportunity to reinvent work.
  • We have to stop using negative candidate labeling (active vs. passive candidates). Having your resume posted isn’t negative, it just means you’re managing your career. Recruiters could find a “keeper” anywhere — including in a pool of “active” job seekers.
  • Resist the urge to “over-employ.” The candidate who’s 90% qualified for the job is always a better hire than the candidate who’s 110% qualified.

Stop the Insanity! Why do the Same Recruiting Challenges Surface in Every New Recruiting Medium? — presented by Steve Lowisz of Qualigence

  • Recruiting is still, bottom line, a sales job.
  • Touch, don’t just tap. Focus on developing a relationship with candidates — no matter what technology and tools you’re using.
  • The most important tool in recruiting is still the phone.

Photo credit: halbergman via iStock