Generation A

It might seem a bit weird to be writing about hiring talent at a time when the numbers of announced job reductions seem to rise about as fast as the clock that tracks the national debt, but as bad as the employment landscape is likely to be for the next year or two, the fact of the matter is that organizations will still be looking for talent. Indeed in the current environment one could easily make the argument that the need for "A" level talent and leadership is more important than ever.

If you are like me, the alphabet soup of X's, Y's, Millennials, Boomers, etc. about which we read almost daily can get fairly confusing in very short order, and when you couple the definitions of these generational cohorts with what turns one on and the other off, it often feels like you need to do a DNA analysis before you dare start an interview.

As is so often true with subjects that tend to take on a "flavor of the month" feel, it usually takes someone who not only is steeped in the industry but as importantly can translate his knowledge in a way that value adds to the discourse in order to make really telling points. Based on such a description, those who roam around the staffing space would immediately think of Pete Weddle.

A recent article in Pete's newsletter which he called Generation A got me to thinking yet once again about the challenges of hiring at any time irrespective of what the economy was doing. What is a Generation A you ask? Pete describes them as:

Gen As never, ever look for a job. In fact, they can't even conceive of themselves as job seekers. Why? Because every job change they've made in their career was initiated by someone else.

and the point he goes on to make in this piece is this:

So, here's the bottom line. If you want to win the War for Any Talent, tailor your recruiting to the age differences among generations. If you want to win the War for the Best Talent, focus, instead, on the talent differences within generations. Why? Because the best talent-Generation A-was born in 1947, 1976 and in 1990, as well.

As I finished reading his article, it reminded me of something that we at ExecuNet have found to be true during the twenty years that we have been roaming around the staffing world for senior level talent - the search for "A" players is never in a recession.

What You Are Is Where You Were When

Even with all the doom, gloom, and general depression surrounding the state of education in this country, one of the the things that helps me to feel there may still be some hope is the quality of the writing that I continue to stumble upon in many of the blogs I come across.

One of these that I have followed with admiration for quite a while is What Would Dad Say? which is the domain of GL Hoffman, who describes himself as follows:

A baby boomer dad rambles on about the workplace, recruiting, jobs, startups and anything else mildly amusing.

I know I am probably well behind the learning curve here in terms of those who have already discovered Hoffman's musings, but in case you haven't, add me to those who would suggest you are missing something if you haven't check him out.

It was in reading one of GL's recent posts that he sang the praises of a twentysomething blogger named Jacqui Tom whose blog is called The OfficeNewb. Jacqui describes herself thusly:

Jacqui Tom (aka “The Office Newb”) is a young professional working her way up the corporate ladder. A graduate of the University of Washington - Seattle, Jacqui launched her career with internships at AOL (America Online) and Amazon.com, Inc. Currently a web editor at an internet publisher, Jacqui has been moving steadily through the ranks to become the company’s youngest supervisor.

Typing furiously from her cubicle, she shares lessons about life, business and everything in between.

This young lady has a way with words as well, and "listening" to her and "Dad" exchange views on the differences between the boomers and the Gen Y world I found interesting as well as entertaining; two things that don't always come packaged together.

It reminded me of a guy named Morris Massey who in the 80s (I think) produced a series of videos called What You Are Is Where You Were When. In the age of PPT and streaming video, etc., watching Morris make magic with his white board marker was still pretty effective as he helped people understand why your parents might not see things quite the way you do. Of course the fact that one really couldn't relate to the differences until you were an "adult" yourself was a bit of a bummer, but still it was good info to have.

As a manager, all of this also reminded me an answer that I gave in an interview some years ago when I was asked what area of the HR function did I think was the most important? My answer was something like "Well, if you told me I only had a $1 to spend and I could only spend it on one thing, I would spend it on communications."

I haven't changed my mind.

And the Answer Is?

I would guess that anyone and everyone who watches or plays in the world of recruiting and/or talent management is aware that Kennedy Information is hosting their annual Recruiting Conference & Expo in Orlando the week after next. Even if you are not a staffing space watcher, it is always an interesting event to attend.

I am looking forward to being there for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it gets me to Florida so I can stay the weekend and see my grandson - always a nice fringe benefit.

I am also flattered and looking forward to being part of a panel moderated by Pete Weddle, CEO of Weddles and the Executive Director of IAEWS on The Future of Online Talent Acquisition. Also on the panel will be Don Ramer,CEO & Founder, Arbita, Rob McGovern, Chairman and CEO of Jobfox and Jenny Floren, CEO of Experience.

While we certainly expect a lively discussion as well as questions from the audience, Pete asked all of us to think about a couple of questions beforehand, and while certainly I am thinking about them, I also thought it might be fun to post them here and see what, if anything, others might have by way of an opinion. So if you are of a mind, what might be your thoughts on the following:

1. How will the online behaviors and preferences of the Baby Boomers who will still be in the workforce for the next 10 to 15 years influence the way online recruiting will be conducted at that time and

2. What aspect of online recruiting today might we all look back on 10 or 20 years from now and consider as charmingly quaint, horribly misguided, or just plain dumb?

I'm all ears!