What a rough few weeks. You've probably heard a couple of things about me lately – I lost a friend / colleague, and I changed jobs. After nearly two years as a corporate recruiter for Zones, responsible for just about every department outside of sales, I left. Coming on the heels of a death in our department, it was especially hard to say goodbye.

The past month has been full of difficult conversations. I was not actively looking for a new role. Some might even call me a passive…

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Microsoft's SOCL is a social search / social networking site that (at this writing) is in closed beta. Jim Stroud discusses what he knows about SOCL and explores his feelings about another social network. Be sure to download the show notes for links to all of the stories cited in this episode and more:…

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The future death of social networking

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Over the past few weeks, the most talked about topic in social media has been the introduction of Google Buzz. Some users love it for its game-changing interactive potential,…

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I have never liked the phrase Cold Call. When I was trained to become a Recruiter, we learned to use the phrase Warm Call. Well, after all, that is what the inititial call is isn't it? If the call is cold you will, well be cold. The candidate or client for that matter will be cold. It is really that simple. I don't need any "guru" to tell me differently.



I was recently interviewed on the @Animal Radio Show http://… Continue

I've always been a fan of Microsoft's online recruitment efforts, and their latest addition is actually something I've suggested before: recruiter profiles on your jobs site. Michael Marlatt, are you reading this?



Take a look:

A nice mug shot, division within Microsoft he… Continue

The Tribune bankruptcy might cause a major shake up in the Internet Recruiting market.



Tribune Co. is a 40% owner of CareerBuilder.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy, means the creditors, owners, and a judge have to sort out the debts, and where the money is going to come from.



One possibility is a sale of Tribune's share in CareerBuilder.

Who would buy? Good question. Microsoft could be a buyer. They already own 4% of Careerbuilder. They also have cash, which is what… Continue

Check out this free webinar next Tuesday. It should prove to be both interesting and informative. Call me if you have any questions or simply click on the "register" button below to sign up. There is no cost to attend but attendence is limited.



Ken Horst

952-697-2944



The Power of a Sourcing Pipeline at Microsoft

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST



Presented by Doug Berg, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Jobs2Web, Inc.… Continue

This is a new Low for Microsoft. What happened to their great Product Marketing teams? Oh yeah...Googles' got them.

Posted by Matt Asay



Why must Microsoft strenuously seek to earn the "dork" label that Apple has been pinning on it? In case you missed it, Microsoft is now offering "I'm a PC" gear - like ties and skateboards and probably pearl-encrusted thongs - online for purchase.



This is stupid.… Continue

CNN Posting



SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Now that a pivotal advertising partnership with Google is off the table, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is ready to return to the bargaining table with Microsoft if the world's largest software maker remains interested in buying his embattled Internet company.

Yahoo boss Jerry Yang faces some tough decisions after an advertising deal with Yahoo fell over.



Yahoo boss Jerry Yang faces some tough decisions after an advertising deal with Yahoo fell… Continue

Of course I wouldn't be writing this if Avature's Recruiting CRM wasn't selected...thankfully it was and a big "hug it out" to David Shadovitz and his editors for selecting us. You can see the article in the Oct. 2, 2008 current issue here:



http://tinyurl.com/avaturewins



There were a few winners in the talent acquisition space so I congratulate them as well - LinkedIN and Kenexa - good company to be in.



What's… Continue

I'm taking a 2 minute break from training (still @ Microsoft) and found this site: Hey, Genius!



The site is kinda cool. It's designed to reach Gen Y as a tool to inform them about the fun things going on at Microsoft. I really just think it look cool (the design reminds me of my… Continue

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a huge hype guy when it comes to new tools for my PC, but a friend of mine in sales at Microsoft mentioned this product (it’s free here) as a tool that a few of the sales reps there are using to help with their contact and connection management with MS Outlook.



I’ve only been using it for a couple of days, but I’ve gotten a lot of value from it as I am able to quickly pull up email histories with clients and… Continue

Yahoo vs Microsoft - Dealing with Uncertainty





When Microsoft was being hounded by the DOJ on antitrust issues, Bill Gates continued to put forward, with some audacity, his company’s mission “to get a workstation running our software onto every desk and eventually in every home.” This signaled to software buyers that MSFT was intent on maintaining their OS as the standard and, to employees, it made clear what their… Continue

Microsoft Shows Its Hand

by Steve Baldwin , Monday, June 2, 2008



IT'S BEEN CALLED A STUNT, a desperate move, and "little more than a gimmick." It's been derided as a failed idea already tried by Amazon's A9, iWon, and other rebate-hawking sites that never gained traction. It is, of course, Microsoft's Live Search Cash Back, the first of what promises to be a series of "disruptive" initiatives designed to derail Google's overwhelming, yet ever-growing dominance in search (now… Continue

By Tameka Kee , June 2, 2008



Microsoft Wins Default Search Space On HP Computers

Search Engine Land

While the blogosphere focused on Microsoft's cashback deal, the software giant was plugging away at another, behind-the-scenes deal that would secure it even more search market share. It's a deal with HP for Live Search to be packaged as the default engine with all new computers--and Microsoft wrestled the agreement away from Yahoo.



Starting January 2009, new HP… Continue

The Future of Search

You may have just become accustomed to the idea of Search 3.0, but get prepped for search's latest evolution -- and it's more socially powered and human influenced than ever before.



Danny Sullivan recaps the growth of algorithmic search from strictly on-page factors (Search 1.0), to off-page factors like links (Search 2.0), to blended or Universal Search (Search 3.0) and arrives at this new age of Mahalos, Eureksters, Twitters and personalized… Continue