Comment by Amy Ala on July 26, 2012 at 10:30am

Hi Joe,

I'm also a corp recruiter. I am personally not big on conferences... If there is a local one you could attend that doesn't involve travel that would be a better starting point. I find joining a local recruiting group (such as Northwest Recruiters Association here in Seattle) to be far more valuable. You'll often find programs and great speakers without all the cost and fuss of a conference.

Comment by David Jaramillo on July 26, 2012 at 5:10pm

Hi Joe.There is value to some national conferences but I'd have to agree with Amy overall.  Local events are easier in time and expense. If you do identify a good national one, have one of your senior members attend and bring back best practices that they can teach to the rest of the group. 

Having your whole recruit team be out of pocket for an extended period can be painful.

Comment by Joe Sheehan on July 26, 2012 at 8:26pm

Thanks for the insight guys. Much appreciated. 

With an on-going hiring process and small crew, it would be difficult to keep our department running with 1 or 2 members gone for a few days. I've been researching alot in the last 24hrs and have discovered alot of  conferences that have elaborate websites and come fully equipped with an entire day's agenda. Are these for show? Or is there something to be taken from a fully-planned day of exhibits, speakers, and workshops?

 

David, you mention there are "some" value these national conferences hold. this is perfect amount of "some" to spark my curiousity. What are a few things I can get from these national venues that can't be attained through a local conference? Is it safe to say national and local venues barely differ at all when it comes to added vlaue?

Again, thanks for your thoughts! Please bear with me as I ask alot of questions!...

Comment by David Jaramillo on July 30, 2012 at 1:25pm

- Those with detailed agendas are great because they help you focus on which speakers to attend and skip others that may have little bearing on your organization. 

- The value is what you get out of it of course. Some examples: Having a speaker from a big company provides some insight on what they've learned to do (or not). Also, having someone that doesn't typically present in your region live (e.g. like Irina or Shally) are invaluable because you have their expertise on tap.

- Overall, I'd say the nationals do provide some level of value-add different than local ones in terms of the diversity of backgrounds and exposure. But ulitmately, the same information will get to the local level.  

Hope that helps!

Comment by Susan D. Strayer on August 1, 2012 at 4:49pm

I recommend multiple conferences including ERE Expo, TLNT and the Recruiting Innovation Summit. The agendas and content matter but what I like most about ERE events is the networking opportunities. When I was a recruiting leader inside a large company it gave me the opportunity to meet others in similar roles. Learning from experts is really helpful but so is growing your network of peers that you can reach out to regularly!

Comment by Joe Sheehan on August 14, 2012 at 10:41pm

Thank you everybody for your feedback. We have been in a hiring frenzy (not a bad thing) and I haven't had too much free time to blog and get back.  Hence, a consistant testimant as to why it might be difficult to book a 2-3 day trip.

Thanks again. My team and I will put our heads together to wiegh the pros and cons.

I think the networking piece would be a huge plus for a young team like ours. To date, there haven't been many changes made to my company's recruiting practices (the company was start in 2002). The networking alone could be very beneficial.

 

Thanks again! Stay connected!

 

 

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