I'll make this quick:  Temp to Direct is a bad choice.  It's a "we really want to hire someone, I think, but it would be great if we didn't have to make a firm decision - so let's roll a few unemployed people through here and see if someone knocks it out of the park."

Dear Client - here are your choices:  Unemployed people who have no other choice or contractors who will happily "pretend" they "may" be interested in a full time role.

Contractors contract. …

Not a day goes by that I don't get an email or two letting me know someone appreciated the forms available in the Recruiting Library.  It's a project well worth my time and effort - to give back to the community.

I need your help.  I have all kinds of requests for various forms/letters, etc. that are just not in my day to day business.  Got an email last night asking if I had an "Exclusive Contingency" agreement. …

I must admit - I lose perspective at times.  I have a home office, loyal team members working in their own offices and plenty of opportunity to pursue my destiny each day on my own terms.

This morning I stopped into the gas station for a fill up.  I just happened to notice the last guy stopped at $5.  How can that even get you down the street?  It was an odd thing - for me to consider really.  Maybe he was just filling up a gas tank for the lawn mower?  That could be.  But I don't…

This is not another rant.  Rather - I'm really hoping to have a discussion about the trend we're all seeing here AND what WE can do about it.

I've retired my "Nice Ad" pic for a while, though it seems more and more appropriate of late.  I'd rather see if the non-self promoters, the non-syndicate posters, the veteran community here BLAST THIS junk off the front page with a few great discussions.  I really can't stand it any more.  Can you?

In review of the…

Yes I've brought this up in the past.  Yes - I am still P.O.d by the idea.

I am SICK AND TIRED of writing a reply only to find out my comment is now under some sort of consideration.  This is usually (almost always) some sort of ad/marketing/follow these links type of post. 

Shouldn't there be some sort of indicator on the blog itself letting us know our comments may (or most likely may not) be approved by the blog writer?

File this one in the "Another Jerry Rant" section......

Here's what has happened to me about half the time I've had a chance to catch up on the latest here:

I see an inviting title and click.  Right off the bat I realize "Yep - another self-promo blog" and back out.  I'll give a few of them a shot - but still find myself wondering why this junk was posted.  I mean - for many of them it's hard to even find a way to kick-start a conversation.  Just plain old…

This just happened.

We're recruiting for a C# developer (in Michigan).  We've had a few candidates interview and the process is moving along.  The first step in the interview process involves a WebEx meeting with the hiring manager just to get a bit of "who are we? - who are you?" in place.  Simple enough, right?

The starting point for that is an email from the manager to the candidate with the WebEx details - the link, password, etc.

So our…

Only a handful of my friends work for themselves.  The rest are employed.

Some of the employed folks are taking today off - getting a jump on the weekend.  At times I envy that.  Being able to remove yourself from the job for the day or week.  It sure would be nice I guess.

I could take today off though....if I wanted to....if only to prove "I can do whatever I want cuz I'm my own boss!"

But I can't.  Thank the good Lord…

.....you'll need to agree to the cut rate, bargain-bin fee the other agencies agreed to.  The position has been open since December and we really need someone ASAP.  Do you have anyone?  The manager is losing his mind - and taking it out on me!

This happens…

For the past few months I've noticed more and more self-promo stuff geared toward candidate enlightenment, job hunting tips, etc.

Do the posters have any idea what so ever this is a place for recruiters?  Or do they come here, think "Hey - this is a great place to spam with my candidate BS" and post away?

Yes - I'm an old dog.  Perhaps one of the new tricks I should learn is "How to get business by joining the job hunting and resume writing tips club and…

Another installment in my series of UnModerated blogs:

By and large I reject the notion of Talent Community all together. The very idea that people are inclined to "connect" with a company over a long period of time - hanging out backstage like groupies at a Rolling Stones concert, hoping to get the call to join the team, is nonsense.

Sorry - but this is primarily a pipe dream for most employers. Most employers are not cool, hip spots like Google or Starbucks.…

I trust Gerry Crispin.  So should you.  He is not a career branding "expert" or any other type of new media blow hard.  He has data.  Real data. Dare I say "Big Data"?    He doesn't make up stats and figures to promote his business.

Why do I bring this up?  Well - it seems some people in the "how to network" coaching business want you to believe that 80% of the job openings are being filled through networking.  And where does that stat come from?  Who knows....?  Not Gerry…

Nothing bugs me more than entering a comment only to find the blog is moderated and my comment must be approved.

Do you want conversation?  If so - conversation is the free flow of dialogue.  That means - you say something, I say something, you reply, I reply and so on.

If you moderate your blog here - it more or less says "I am here to tell you what I think" which is not the way a thriving community continues to grow.

Thank you.

There is a ton of crap vying for our attention on a minute by minute basis.  Facebook.  Linkedin.  Email.  Your cell phone alerts.  Phone ringing.  The list is endless.

You know what you need to do on Wednesday between 12 and 1 EST? You need to listed to The Recruiting Animal Show!

Here is an even cooler idea:  Be a guest!  Numerous careers have been made using an appearance on this show as a…

........and I have the Little Mrs. wait in the car while I go into the bank and talk about the important stuff.

How old are you?  Where have you been the past decade?  Watching All in the Family reruns every night?  They call me old school – but I’m starting to wonder if I no longer deserve that label.  Perhaps you’re the one more deserving…….

Don’t work with HR?  What clients do you work with?  The mechanic down the street?  Your cousin’s Insurance agency? …

Who – me? You’re asking me if I’m a good fit for your job?

Well gimme a minute. You know what I do, right? I’m a recruiter! Nearly every person who follows you is a recruiter, resume coach, PR firm, ATS guy or HR lady. This is one giant fishbowl of people who DO NOT do what your client needs. So why do you keep up the exercise?

Remember waaaaaaaayyyy back a few years ago before social media? Remember how you actually had to put together a…

Look - I get it.  We all hope that somewhere, some time a client is going to become aware of what we do and connect with us on it.  I'm in sales.  I'm all about it.

But here's what bugs me.  I was thinking about this a few minutes ago while finishing off a whole chicken from the WalMart deli. (I started it last night by the way.....)

So someone wants to slip an ad in here.  What's the big deal?  Am I so uptight that my eyes can not deal with someone wanting to…

Just going through some of my earlier material and thought you might enjoy this one from a few year ago. So my apologies to the 4 people who have already seen this..........

Changing jobs is tough on people. They’re usually not comfortable with it – no matter…

Yep.  I was in there.  Mentally I was already making my plans.......but I've already been outbid and the auction doesn't end for 11 more days.  What auction? This one. This place. Here. "We" are for sale!

Am I cut out for blog ownership?  Nope.  I'm a recruiter.

Would I be bummed out if the next owner of RBC decided to turn the place into something that wouldn't even resemble the place we've come to know and…