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Friday Wrap-Up: 'Your Screw-Ups Keep Me In Business' And More

By Rachel Kaufman on Nov 20, 2009 06:18 PM

Comment of the week goes to "Grammargirl" on Yow! 'This Is Why Recruiters [Are] The Most Hated Folks On Everyone's List', a piece about a recruiter who sent the wrong e-mail to the wrong person:

This is why people hate INTERNAL recruiters. In all the years I've been placing candidates, and in all the companies I've worked for, I have never had this happen to me nor to my former and current colleagues but, it doesn't surprise me that it goes on with internal recruiters. Why wouldn't it? If companies feel that internal recruiters are worth only $40-50k, they get what they pay for.
And this is why a day doesn't go by that I don't have to apologize for the behavior of other recruiters. On behalf of all the idiots who give executive search recruiters a bad rep, I'd like to say that I'm very sorry and that we are not all like this. I'd also like to say thank you to the aforementioned idiots because your screw ups keep me in business.

Our thoughts: We really don't want to fuel the flames about internal versus external. We don't. But whoever you are, please try to treat jobseekers with respect. That's all. As the kids say, K THX BAI.

Popular posts this week:
WSJ Hiring For City Posts Has Begun

Why You Shouldn't Fire The Copy Editors

Job Trends, Then And Now

And some Friday reading material. Have a great weekend, y'all.

Work Tech And Why It Sucks

By Rachel Kaufman on Nov 18, 2009 08:50 AM

The WSJ has a nice article up about why the computer you may use at work is so much slower and infuriating than the one you have at home.

Essentially, the piece argues, corporations are far more disposed to one-size-fits-all solutions and the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" model (though what constitutes "broke" is up to interpretation). This reduces tech support/troubleshooting time.

Also, since the cost of computers has plunged and more people can afford one (or two, or three) in their homes, that spurs innovation in the personal computing space, not the corporate computing space. What great inventions geared at office workers have come out of the last decade? Bet you can count on one hand. (The Blackberry, er, um....)

What does this all have to do with jobs and recruiting? Behold:

The rise of the consumer market also means people have gotten a lot smarter when it comes to technology—and a lot less patient with substandard stuff at the office. Even with the weak economy, companies will find it harder to recruit savvy workers if they don't let them use their favored technology.

And:

That said, many executives agree that change is in the air. Chris Turner, Unilever's chief technology officer, says the pressure to relax IT policies is bubbling up, especially from young employees. "They look at your standard corporate desktop and say, 'I can't work with that,' " Mr. Turner says. "If you can make it an attractive thing that they want to work with, that's a hugely powerful thing."