Editor’s note: the Meet the Speakers series is designed to introduce the SourceCon audience to the speakers who will be presenting at SourceCon Atlanta later this month.
Tell us about your background, how you became a sourcing professional, and what you do currently.
I’ve been sourcing since the days of OCC and listserv’s…I actually had my first online hires as a Generalist prior to 1997 while supporting my company’s Worldwide Sales and Technical Training division. I was going to leave it all in 1998 when I was pregnant with my second child but my very forward thinking manager thought we should give this sourcing thing a go as a job and also offered me the opportunity to work from home. That started at 10 hours a week and grew to 40+ by 2000. Currently I work for Staffing Advisors, a retained search firm headquartered in DC metro and run the Research Department. I love this job, strategizing searches, seeing the results and working with phenomenal clients that are out in the world to make a difference, like The SEED Foundation. It’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else.
Tell us about the presentation you have planned for SourceCon. What takeaways should attendees expect?
I can certainly talk at people for an hour about 20/20 hindsight on things I wish I’d done earlier in my career and tools I wish I’d paid for from the get-go. There are times when the quick go-to’s in search (aka LinkedIn) just don’t generate the people I need and I find I circle back to the basics of finding names and building information from there. My goal is that this will be an interactive session trading information on tools and techniques that work…fingers crossed we’ll have an awesome wi-fi connection to jump online when required. Virtual accessibility is also a key talking point – I’m always looking for tools that make my work life functional whether I’m in the office, at a kiddo’s event or at the beach.
Why would it be unwise for someone to miss your session?
With every conference I attend, the President at our company tasks me with finding one key takeaway…and believe me…that’s often harder than you think when you’ve been sourcing as long as I have. But I definitely think attendees will find that in this session.
Have you been to SourceCon in the past? What are you most excited about?
I attended SourceCon in 2008…it was pretty exciting to be in a room of sourcers and hearing them trade info on their favorites Search Engine’s, Tools and Tricks. To be honest I’m excited about the whole show, I don’t think you could go wrong attending any of the presentations and I plan to try and fit it all in.
How do you feel about the future of sourcing?
In the retained search world that I live in, sourcing is a vital part of our program’s offering. It’s more than finding a profile or resume online. It’s definitely about intelligence gathering for our clients and relationship building with our potential candidates. I have become a gatekeeper for our organization and over the past 3 1/2 years really gained an insight into our clients industries.
What new tools are you experimenting with that you find interesting?
None right now, that’s one of my key objectives at SourceCon, to see what’s out there that will enhance efficiency and expand intelligence gathering.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that has nothing to do with what you do professionally.
Oh Geez…and lose some of my mystique?
What is your favorite social network? Why?
I still enjoy the quick pithy interactions on Twitter. I love that you have to say what you want to say in 140 characters or less.