As a general rule (it’s part of my personality really) I try to withhold judgment, being an open-minded seeker of people talent in all forms and shapes entails this, but I’ve just been given an opportunity to be officially judgmental. HRO Today Forum, a lively and informative event for the HR and talent management industry, has invited me and several of my colleagues and friends to serve as judges for the 2012 HRO Today Forum’s Startup America Partnership iTalent Contest. The panel of judges — I’m still amazed and honored to be included — will review the latest HR, recruiting and talent

Remember the enthusiasm for our first Social Talent Show? Well, now it’s rolling, and we’re working hard for you guys to prepare an awesome, disruptive and fun conversation this Wednesday. With our guest Bennett Resnik, founder of The Hands We Shake, we’ll chat about mapping the social graph within and outside the enterprise — i.e., retaining your best talent by understanding how they interact with others inside and outside your company. I’m looking forward to our conversation on Wednesday, because the world is changing dramatically, in terms of leadership and workplace. Addressing that will help us build the future of work and make it

Hey, folks — by the time you read this I’ll be headed to sunny San Diego for ERE Expo 2012 Spring, a longstanding and educational conference put on by the folks over at ERE. I’ll be shaking hands with, sharing meals with and talking to an awful lot of recruiters. And if there’s one stance sure to get recruiters talking, it’s the one we’ve chosen for this week’s “#TChat, the World of Work“: Is recruiting retention? Of course not, some scoff. Obviously a recruiter’s job is to find the right fit, to place the right candidate in the right position. …right? Recruiting, at

It seems apt that our subhead for last night’s #TChat was “sticky” employees. …most of the attendees started out talking about the unseasonably warm weather and truthfully, the chat just heated up from there. After all, like so many noticed, getting it wrong is the easy part: A1: Employee recognition and engagement have remained the same in that most companies still do horribly with them both 🙂 #tchat (via Stephen Van Vreede) It’s true, many companies are lacking when it comes to engaging and retaining the employees they worked so hard to source and recruit. But we’re all in the world of

I’m excited about a new social application that my friend, Nick Kellet, is championing. Nick, who recently joined List.ly as co-founder, is fired up and taking names. An entrepreneur who reminds me always to create value through the organically formed TalentCulture community to date and far beyond, Nick is tuned in to the value of brand awareness. He is all about dreaming BIG. And he’s on a mission: to humanize brands. I’m on the same mission. Despite brands’ desperate forays into social media and creating social community, human context and values are withering everywhere. That’s because most of these attempts have been

It’s been a long time coming, but it appears we now live in Freelance Nation, at least according to TIME Magazine, which in February announced we’d seen the end of the full-time job. Fast Company predicted this in 1997, and the New York Times chimed in on the topic in 2000, just in time for the dotcom bust. So it’s an old meme. Or is it? I’m a big fan of Freelance Nation for many reasons. This time, it’s now again, and I may just give the notion a Woot, Woot. Here, in the United States, freelancers now number some 22 million

Talent shows — as a former choreographer and dancer, I have fond memories of them. No matter what the venue or purpose, putting on a talent show is at once challenging and rewarding. Pulling off a performance that wows the crowd and leaves you on top of the world is an incredible feeling. Everyone’s happy and excited for more. It’s a palpable sense of having served others, of having contributed to their joy. That’s why we can’t wait to launch the Social Talent Show. Teaming with UpMo, TalentCulture (#TChat) is putting on a series of interactive online events, and today, March 6, marks the

I go to conferences because I love people, the buzz of face-to-face and meeting people who inspire me. I’m not one these people that always wants to be the star of the show necessarily. If my role at a conference is to present and deliver you new and exciting information well then I’m in of course. I play this role on a regular basis and enjoy sharing with you very much. People who meet me IRL (in real life) often say I’m more interesting in person than I am “online” – This makes me laugh and it’s likely true. Many of

Editor’s Note: Please read all the way to the bottom where we’ve got an exciting contest for you to enter! When was the last time you cleaned your house or did your own laundry, complete with folding and ironing? If you live in the burbs, do you mow your own lawn? Do you put out your trash for someone else to pick up? It’s likely someone else changes the oil in your car, unclogs your drains, and cleans your gutters. Turn the heat up – have you ever worked in an oil field? Call 911 – nope, probably served as a