[Hidden-tech] a question on recruiting -- Rbt Half is a straightforward long-time recruiter

Mon May 12 13:57:35 EDT 2008

Amy,

Robert Half has been around the recruiting business for donkey's years--way
long before there was a web in anyone's eye.  But they're interested in
keeping up with the Joneses, so's to speak.  Witness their being willing
actually to send a warm body to the H-T b'day party, probably in pursuit of
networking via H-T (Rbt Half likely is somewhat formal) with H-T's
interesting, networked members.  It's likely a clear opportunity if H-T
wishes to structure a relationship.

As nicely discussed below by Steven Solomon, clearly H-T's members have
marketing ideas that could help Rbt Half segment the Mass market including
the Conn River Valley, Berkshires,  & Hudson River Valley regional markets
with more regional granularity than "Boston metro."  The disaggregated
nature of H-T may discombobulate folks as structured as Rbt Half, but then
again, maybe not.  It may not have escaped their notice that Craigslist runs
to the city level around the country, which granularity has served seekers
and employers equally well.

BTW, as Steven Solomon noted below, Mass Mutual is very much a technical
company, and very large.  You may want to touch base with Allan Campbell,
MM's Sr Enterprise Architect.  He's an enterprise content management guy,
and he's focused on records & content management and enterprise reference
architecture.  He likes FileNet's P8 product suite (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileNet).  IBM bought it.

Best regards,

       David

David Morf

Market Data Consulting

Complexity, context, pattern

136 Dartmouth Street

Holyoke, MA 01040

413-536-0944 (direct)

413-426-6059 (cell)

davidtoday at comcast.net 

A founding member of the Center for Semantic Excellence

www.semanticexcellence.org <http://www.semanticexcellence.org/> 

-----Original Message-----
From: hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net
[mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net] On Behalf Of Steven
Solomon
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 10:25 AM
To: A - Z International; Hidden Tech
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] a question on recruiting

   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.

   ** You too can help the group

   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.

   ** If you did, we all thank you.

Amy,

I had not heard of them nor used their services, but a quick look at  

their site leads me to think that they are credible. That said, if  

you poke around their online forums you'll see a lot of griping by  

users about Half's performance. This may be as much a result of the  

user's overreaching and being less that qualified for the position  

they were interested in. Who knows.

Oh, and after a quick Google, I found no hint that they served  

creative types, tho their range of offerings is vast.

Am I correct in reading between the lines that they are staffing a  

branch office in Spfld? If so, you might want to suggest to somebody  

there that they offer W. Mass as a location to search. Boston is not  

all of the Commonwealth, after all. There's also a lot of activity in  

the Albany area adjacent to the Berkshires. Tons of tech oriented  

programs at the region's colleges and SUNY, plus hoards of now  

unemployed former GE workers and the Knoll's nuke research center  

that GE runs.

Tho I haven't been very active with HT outside this list, the thought  

that stitching together a region that includes west of Worcester up  

to the foothills of the Adirondacks could give HT enough heft to  

better compete for opportunities with Beantown. Our population not  

nearly as dense, but we do have the numbers and educational  

infrastructure to rival them.

One last thought. Have you taken a look at Mass Mutual? They  

represent a different kind of Hidden Tech. The modern insurance  

company is as much a IT shop as a financial institution. MM not only  

has a value that, if I remember correctly, is ten times that of  

Microsoft, but they are in constant tension with recruiters and  

college placement folks to keep IT grads in the region. The company  

may have an interest in supporting HT. You might also want to stop by  

their Spfld headquarters and see if there's an article from such a  

visit. Folks at the EDC can get you entree.

Be Well,

S

On May 9, 2008, at 9:17 AM, A - Z International wrote:

>   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.

>   ** You too can help the group

>   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.

>   ** If you did, we all thank you.

> 

> 

> Hi all,

> 

> I've been conducting a running dialogue for a year with members of  

> the Robert Half recruiting agency's various departments about how  

> they can better serve virtual company owners like us who depend on  

> project work -- preferably retainer-based clients. Ironically, they  

> found me by showing up to Hidden-Tech's 5th birthday party to scope  

> us out.

> 

> I'm curious how many of you knew that Robert Half offers recruiting  

> services for project work for both techies and those in the  

> creative sectors?

> 

> I certainly did not. And to be honest, I'm not plugging them or  

> working for them. I don't even have a clear sense of what they do  

> offer, which is why I'm turning to the list with these questions:

> 

> -- Have any of you heard of this agency?

> 

> -- Have any of you ever utilized their services?

> 

> -- If so, were your experiences positive? negative? in-between?

> 

> -- Would any of you be willing to pay money for an agent or "head  

> hunter" who could get you project work, or even  retainer clients?

> 

> Let me know. Could be I'll write about this. But I will certainly  

> pass on your thoughts to this organization and many others. As  

> someone who has never located an on-line job board I could stand,  

> and would love a work agent or head hunter to assist me when work  

> is slow, I think it would be great of the recruiting industry  

> caught up to our needs. Curious if you agree.

> 

> best,

> 

> Amy Zuckerman

> Hidden-Tech Founder

> 

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Steven Solomon

ssol at othereality.com

http://www.othereality.com

"God, for lack of a better word, is that Order implicit and emergent  

in all possible Universes, in all possible dimensions, within and  

without Time."

Anton Saurian Circa 2005CE

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