Letter of Reference for Wendy Holstine

Letter of Refernce for Wendy Holstine

From: Director of Global QA

Company: Quark, Inc.,

Dates: 2004 & 2005-2007

Working Relationship: HR Recruiting Business Partner & Employee Relations

To Whom It May Concern,

During my 10 year career at Quark as Director of Global QA, Wendy always stood out in my mind in regards to her attitude and recruiting methods. She is very personable and always approached her job with enthusiasm while also helping fellow recruiters improve their skills and effectiveness. This approach provided me and other hiring managers the confidence the sourcing and initial interview process would be conducted on time and in a proper manner.

The ability of Wendy to conduct effective preliminary interviews also stems from her knowledge about many of the terms and concepts that are common within the IT sector. This skill is critical for Recruiters and Wendy excelled in this area.

I believe Wendy would be a great addition to a company’s desire to not only source solid candidates but also to improve the recruiting processes as a whole within a company.

Regards,



(If you are interested in receiving a copy of this letter, and/or contacting my referral, please contact me at: wendy_holstine@hotmail.com)

The Errant Recruiter - is open for work!

Yes. It is true. I am available for work in the Greater Denver Metro Area or Virtually, starting immediately. Am open to full-time, part-time, contract and fill in work.

Will work on 1099 or W-2 or would love to be fully employed as your employee. I am able to work virtually as well, if that is an option. My goal in the next 1-2 month is to move to Bellevue or Seattle, right now I am in North Bend, but a commute will not bother me - depends on the location.

see resume below for your reading pleasure!


Wendy Holstine, CIR
8847 Coneflower PL

Parker, CO 80134

Home: 303.627.2405
Cell: 425.985.6702
wendy_holstine@hotmail.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/wholstine
http://rantercrugger.blogspot.com/

OBJECTIVE: To acquire talent and allow my passion & expertise to contribute to the success and growth of the organization

SUMMARY
Professional AIRS Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR), with over thirteen years of experience in United States with some International exposure to Europe, Asia, and India. Ability to recruit all levels of technical and non-technical positions efficiently to reduce hiring costs by having a thorough knowledge of current market trends in recruitment, gaining a clear understanding of company culture and dynamics, and a pure PASSION for recruitment.


OFFICES HELD: PROFESSIONAL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Global Technical Recruiters Network (non-profit)
· Vice President – 2007-2008
· Colorado State Representative – 2006-2007

Colorado Technical Recruiters Network (Board of Directors: Member 2004 – 2007 ~ non-profit org with 300+ paid members)
· CTRN President, Board of Directors – 2006-2007 (www.ctrn.org)
· CTRN Vice President & Board of Directors – 2005-2006
· CTRN Director, Board of Directors – 2004-2005
· Downtown Chapter Chairman, 6/2003-6/2004, Awarded Chapter of the Year 2003


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

OpenSourced, Parker, CO & Seattle, WA
8/06-Present
Contract Corporate Recruiting ~ Independent/Owner – Director/Sr. Technical Recruiter
Clients: Quark ,continued as a Contract Recruiter thru 2/07; Jones HR Group, sub-contracting w/ Quovadx (Roguewave & CareScience) & Washington Group International; Frey & Associates, sub-contracting onsite @ Rivet Software: contract completed; Discovery Technology, Inc., sub-contracting onsite @ Aurora Loan Services, a Lehman Brothers Company: contract completed; Jones HR Group, sub w/ Washington Group Int. & Lafarge North America: contract completed. Recruiting Point, ongoing sourcing; Jobster.com, Contract Corporate Recruiter, Seattle, WA 12/07 thru 5/08; HR/Recruiting Consultant @ Devon James Associates, Inc., onsite HR/Recruitment Consulting: work completed; Jobster, contingent search completed; Microsoft Managed Partner & National Systems Integrator: completed; Current: National Healthcare Payer integration project(s)

Quark, Inc., Denver, CO (re-hired)
11/2005-2/2007
Recruiting Manager (US Internal Recruitment Downsized 9/06, converted to contract via OpenSourced)
Responsible all US Recruitment and acted as a liaison with the European and India locations to retain top talent. Provided management for entire recruitment process and consulted with hiring managers to determine an individualistic approach to each area of the company in US. Successfully recruited and hired Sr. Staff, Directors, Managers, and high level, individual contributors into the company while maintaining an enthusiastic attitude. Created and developed a college recruiting program and Recruiting Department Team Handbook for the Human Resources Department. Retention rate from hires made in 2004: 95%.

Integro, Denver, CO
2/2005-10/2005
Sr. Technical Recruiter (Managed Internal Hiring for eBusiness Consulting & Training)
Responsibilities include the creation and implementation of a recruiting department to support an existing eBusiness Consulting firm. Recruitment focus included hiring internal consultants for IBM and Microsoft practices in Denver, Chicago, New York, and California. Successfully revised and improved Integro’s Immigration, Hiring, and Employment Policy’s. Clients: Quark, CHFA, AIMCO, IBM, Lennar, Graebel, MX Logic

The TriZetto Group, Inc., Denver, CO
10/2004-2/2005
Sr. Corporate Recruiter (Contract, position relocated to Naperville, IL)
Updated and launched an internal recruiting department by improving current recruitment processes and procedures for national hiring efforts. Manage the presentation, selection, offer, negotiation, closing, and administrative components, including the current use of the job log and involved in full lifecycle recruiting. Hiring responsibilities include areas of Software Development, Implementation Professionals, Business Analyst, Accounting and Finance, Recruiting and Organizational Development. Position was responsible for TriZetto’s Naperville, IL, location, recruitment efforts both remotely and via travel to the location.

Quark, Inc., Denver, CO
3/2004-11/2004
Contract Recruiter 10/04-11/04
Sourced Sales candidates for niche enterprise order management system for online businesses that integrated with warehouse management systems for smooth delivery and a shared data approach for promotion strategies.
National Recruiter (Corporate Recruiter, Contract, contract completed) 3/04-9/04
Update and re-launch recruitment processes and hiring procedures for national hiring efforts. Work with Managers and Directors to determine strategic sourcing and market penetration for passive candidates within the layout design, print, pre-press, publishing and enterprise solutions industries. Hiring responsibilities include areas of Software R&D, Software Product Management, Enterprise Software Sales, and Direct Marketing in the US. Managed outside recruiting vendors and supported hiring mangers.

KBtoys.com / eToys, Denver, CO
2/2000-3/2004
Senior Corporate/Technical Recruiter/HR Generalist & Management
Developed and implemented recruitment/hiring processes and procedures for the dot com HQ, Seasonal Call Center and Distribution Center. Created a successful Internship Program and developed key relationships with local Colleges and Universities. Consulted with Managers, Directors, and Executive Management to determine current hiring needs and develop future staffing plans. Hiring responsibilities include exempt and non-exempt employees; technical and non-technical positions and upper level management openings. Participated with the eToys Distribution Center Start-Up in 2001: hired core employees including, operations, management, supervisors, and administration; this included shared responsibility of the HR Department during initial phase. Also staffed two Seasonal (Peak) Call Centers and had decreased turnover for three consecutive years. KBtoys.com was voted as “One of the Best Places to Work” by the Denver Business Journal in 2003.

ENTEX Information Services (now Siemens), Redmond, WA
8/1999- 2/2000
Senior Technical Recruiter (Consulting onsite at the Microsoft Corporation)
Duties included placing Technical/Information Systems associates onsite at Microsoft for both contract and permanent positions. Recruited and staffed a Help Desk team. Worked directly with Microsoft management to define job specifications and identify viable employees. Positions recruited for included: Help Desk Engineers; Test Engineers; Application Developers; Database Developers, and Web Developers. Recruiting processes included cold calling, networking, interviewing, and hosting community events.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Superior Technical Resources/SDC Computer Services, Kirkland, WA
1996-1999
Account Executive/Information Systems Staffing Supervisor 6/98 to 7/99
Technical Staffing Supervisor 4/1997 to 5/1998
Boeing, King County, and Microsoft Accounts
Assistant Staffing Supervisor 2/1997-4/1997
Payroll Administrator 6/1996-2/1997
Business Computer Training Institute (BCTI), Olympia, WA 1995-1996
Employment Specialist - Awarded Rookie Employment Specialist of the Year for 1996

EDUCATION: Washington State University, Bachelor of Arts, English (106 Credits Completed toward degree) expected to complete by 12/09

TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE – USER: Operating Systems: Windows XP& Vista; Office 2003 & 2007; Email Programs: Outlook 2007, Lotus Notes, and web based email; Web Browsers: Internet Explorer 7 (MSN 8), Netscape Navigator & Firefox; Database: Oracle, PeopleSoft, Access, Act!Contact Manager. Proficient in internet recruiting and web based recruiting databases. Basic ability to hand code in HTML; Ability to build Boolean Search Strings in popular Search Engines (fond of cheat sheets)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: Colorado Technical Recruiters Network since 2000; Global Technical Recruiters Network since 2006; Colorado’s Human Resource Association 2003-06; National Association for Female Executives since 1996; Society of Human Resource Management since 2004; Direct Marketing Association 2004; Human Capital Institute 2004; Electronic Recruiters Exchange since 2004; Alpha Gamma Delta alumni support for the University of Denver since 2003;

ONLINE COMMUNITIES: LinkedIn, Jobster, Facebook, Plaxo, Naymz, Spoke, Ecademy, MySpace, Seattle20.com and more

TRAINING COURSES, EVENTS, AND CERTIFICATIONS:
Supervision: Core Competencies-Mountain States Employment Council 2006
Interview Training (Behavioral, Situational, Technical) – SDC Computer Services 1997
Management Training – KBtoys.com 2002 & 2003
Monster.com Training – 1996 & 1998 & 2000 & 2003
PeopleSoft (HRIS) Training – 1998, 1999 & 2003
HIPAA Training – TriZetto 2004
HIPAA Deputy – KBtoys.com 2003
2005 AIRS: Beyond Google 2006
Next Generation Recruiting 2005 & 2006
Immigration Law 2005 by Stern & Elkind, Esq
AIRS Search Lab 3.0 – 2005 - Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) 2006 – (may need to re-take test to keep cert current)
Bill Williams – How Monster Board Started – 2006
VB.NET vs. ASP.NET – New Horizons 2007
“Go Google Gadgets Go” – Seth Williams – Pepsi Center 2007
“12 Steps to Getting the Best Results from the Web” – Shally Steckerl (Job Machine) Pepsi Center 2007
“Recruiting on a Shoe String Budget” – Eric Jaquith - Pepsi Center 2007
Ask Liz Ryan – Recruiting Outlook – Longmont, CO 2008

Gen X = Gen Yes....HIRE US & more errant thoughts.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Hello,

I have not posted in quite some time and thought I would get back in touch with my Gen X topic, due to some comments I have received.

To start off, I have a quote to share (found it in a fortune cookie!)

"Only she who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible."

The Errant Recruiter, although Errant in her ways, believes in treating others better than others may treat may treat themselves, her/him/others, etc.

I am Gen X and use Craigslist for everything. I will actually pick up the phone and call. I am technically perceptive and believe that Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Millenniums, are ALL necessary to make up a work force.

Tell me, please, if I am missing something, if so, I will sheepishly crawl back under my troll bridge (for Dave M. :-) ). I am reading HR articles that almost encourage HR Leaders and Hiring Managers to NOT hire from the Gen X labor pool???? Is generation X really the problem? Can we re-word our advice to say, let's not forget Gen Y or Boomers?

To exclude a generation is direct violation of everything our EEO Rights stand for!!! (sounds so scary and extreme...)

Are we blaming our current issues on Gen X? Why Blame? We should be PROBLEM SOLVERS! It is easy to sit back with your charts and graphs but is that valid? Then write some article because you have a Ph. D - not that you have not earned your insight. I respect my Recruitment Leaders, but I also feel that 14 yrs in recruitment is enough to be able to challenge - and question when articles are sent out from the ERE on "Who to Hire" as gospel. Sometimes the messages seem to violate our EEO rights.

I simply suggest that we stop the 'all or nothing thinking.' Try a new approach, such as allowing ourselves to open up our minds to think in grey or color – we are Recruiters!!! It seems like using the "Jump to conclusion Matt" from the cult classic "Office Space" to generalize that Gen Y is more apt to use Craigslist, and Monster.com but no mention that Gen X taught them HOW???

Not a “shout out” to Gen X who have spent endless hours mentoring Gen Y?

My own experience managing gen Y was horrifying! It was like a gaggle of witches who did not know how to stir their own brew and blamed me for making them witches!

I do agree that Boomers have a lot to offer... and we need to figure out a way to bring them back into our workforce. I also agree that Gen Y and their offspring are needed, as well as, all of us offer different life experiences, from our generations. It is also great to point out our strengths and weaknesses, but it is NOT ok to isolate and go against Federal Laws when making hiring decisions.

My point really is this: do not discount Gen X. We sat at the feet of the boomers and listened to every word while growing up - perhaps despised it, but it is ingrained in us... we are have the same work ethic and added creativity, along with the independence to get a job done.

Thanks for listening.

The Errant Recruiter.

The Errant Recruiter: on the prowl...looking for a job...

Another shameless self advertisement! Yay! But...it is for a great cause. Myself, husband, cat - Gryphon, and our three Blue Heelers. I have moved to Seattle where the grass IS actually greener than Colorado and I need to get to work so my my tiny army of critters (and Dear Husband) can join me in Seattle. Look for the postings of the dogs and hubbers.

I have just relocated back to the Seattle area from the Greater Denver Metro Area. At this time, I am currently searching for a full-time, regular position as a Sr/Lead or Manager level Recruiter within a software company - or - start-up! I come to you with over thirteen years of experience and I am an AIRS Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR). I will work for food (and preferably money - those Aussie Cattle Dogs are quite busy!), and am only found to be errant when given processes that bog down my ability to effectively hire the best person for the job - NOW.

When processes get in my way, I know from years of working inside of HR as well as my experience in Leadership on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Technical Recruiters Network, that the process is slowing them down as well. I have a keen eye and a gentle touch for such opportunities, however, I can also be the "go to" who will see to it that change takes place. Either way, I am all about results. Solid, lasting results who will contribute to your bottom line. And I do it effectively, efficiently, and in a timely manner. One other thing I should mention, I am accustomed to adapting to a set policy and process and making it work for me, however, it there is not a process, I work with anyone to effectively adapt to each individual hiring manager's hiring profile.

Although errant, I do value business ethics and the recruitment profession. There are different folks who take different strokes and it is obvious that recruiters are not immune to having different styles. However, all recruiters should uphold the company vision on recruitment and respect each candidate as a potential customer. Smile and dial is not what I do, I do not place massive amounts of people within a company. However, I will develop lasting relationships with candidates for the now and the future. As well as assist with branding to attract those who should be attracted to a company and those who should keep looking.

My LinkedIn Profile has 18 recommendations and I just noticed 6 on my jobster profile! Not one of the recommendations are any of my usual references either (well, except for Zach, but he is exceptional), so I am very honored and humbled to have a great following from such a tight-knit group. Thank you guys!!



Below is my resume - if you know of anything I should apply for, just ping me! Or if you would like to talk to me about an opening you know, email me or call! I am actively searching and can not wait to find my next home at home!!



Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post!!

Wendy Holstine, CIR
1036 Riverside Dr North Bend, WA 98045
Mail: PO Box 1468
Cell: 720-985-4341 425-888-5508 (temp home)
wendy_holstine@hotmail.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/wholstine http://rantercrugger.blogspot.com/

OBJECTIVE: To acquire talent and allow my passion & expertise to contribute to the success and growth of the organization

SUMMARY

AIRS Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) with thirteen years of professional experience recruitment both Nationally, and Internationally with International exposure to Europe, Asia, and India. Ability to recruit all levels of technical and non-technical positions efficiently to reduce hiring costs by having a thorough knowledge of current market trends in recruitment, gaining a clear understanding of company culture and dynamics, and a pure PASSION for recruitment.

OFFICES HELD: PROFESSIONAL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Global Technical Recruiters Network (non-profit)
· Vice President/President Elect – 2007-2008, CURRENT
· Colorado State Representative – 2006-2007

Colorado Technical Recruiters Network (Board of Directors: Member 2004 – 2007 ~ non-profit org with 300+ paid members)
· CTRN President, Board of Directors – 2006-2007 (www.ctrn.org)
· CTRN Vice President & Board of Directors – 2005-2006
· CTRN Director, Board of Directors – 2004-2005
· Downtown Chapter Chairman, 6/2003-6/2004, Awarded Chapter of the Year 2003

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

OpenSourced, Parker, CO 8/06-Present

CURRENTLY: Jobster.com, onsite, Seattle, WA, 12/07-Current

Contract Corporate Recruiting ~ Independent/Owner – Director, Technical Recruiting
Clients: Quark – continued as a Contract Recruiter; Jones HR Group sub-contracting w/ Quovadx (Roguewave & CareScience) & Washington Group International; Frey & Associates sub-contracting onsite @ Rivet Software ~ contract completed; Discovery Technology, Inc. sub-contracting onsite @ Aurora Loan Services, a Lehman Brothers Company ~ contract completed; Jones HR Group sub w/ Washington Group Int. & Lafarge North America; Recruiting Point ~ Sourcing ~ ongoing; Devon James Associates, Inc., onsite HR/Recruiting ~ work completed; Jobster ~ remotely & onsite in Seattle 12-07 ~ contract completed; CURRENT: Jobster ~ contingent search

Quark, Inc., Denver, CO (re-hired) 11/2005-2/2007
Recruiting Manager (US Internal Recruitment Downsized 9/06, converted to contract via OpenSourced)
Responsible all US Recruitment and acted as a liaison with the European and India locations to retain top talent. Provided management for entire recruitment process and consulted with hiring managers to determine an individualistic approach to each area of the company in US. Successfully recruited and hired Sr. Staff, Directors, Managers, and high level, individual contributors into the company while maintaining an enthusiastic attitude. Created and developed a college recruiting program and Recruiting Department Team Handbook for the Human Resources Department. Retention rate from hires made in 2004: 95%.

Integro, Denver, CO 2/2005-10/2005
Sr. Technical Recruiter (Managed Internal Hiring for eBusiness Consulting & Training)
Responsibilities include the creation and implementation of a recruiting department to support an existing eBusiness Consulting firm. Recruitment focus included hiring internal consultants for IBM and Microsoft practices in Denver, Chicago, New York and California. Successfully revised and improved Integro’s Immigration, Hiring, and Employment Policy’s. Clients: Quark, CHFA, AIMCO, IBM, Lennar, Graebel, MX Logic

The TriZetto Group, Inc., Denver, CO 10/2004-2/2005
Sr. Corporate Recruiter (Contract, position relocated to Naperville, IL)
Updated and launched an internal recruiting department by improving current recruitment processes and procedures for national hiring efforts. Manage the presentation, selection, offer, negotiation, closing, and administrative components, including the current use of the job log and involved in full lifecycle recruiting. Hiring responsibilities include areas of Software Development, Implementation Professionals, Business Analyst, Accounting and Finance, Recruiting and Organizational Development. Position was responsible for TriZetto’s Naperville, IL, location, recruitment efforts both remotely and via travel to the location.

Quark, Inc., Denver, CO 3/2004-11/2004
Contract Recruiter 10/04-11/04
Sourced Sales candidates for niche enterprise order management system for online businesses that integrated with warehouse management systems for smooth delivery and a shared data approach for promotion strategies.
National Recruiter (Corporate Recruiter, Contract, contract completed) 3/04-9/04
Update and re-launch recruitment processes and hiring procedures for national hiring efforts. Work with Managers and Directors to determine strategic sourcing and market penetration for passive candidates within the layout design, print, pre-press, publishing and enterprise solutions industries. Hiring responsibilities include areas of Software R&D, Software Product Management, Enterprise Software Sales, and Direct Marketing in the US. Managed outside recruiting vendors and supported hiring mangers.

KBtoys.com / eToys, Denver, CO 2/2000-3/2004
Senior Corporate/Technical Recruiter/HR Generalist & Management
Developed and implemented recruitment/hiring processes and procedures for the dot com HQ, Seasonal Call Center and Distribution Center. Created a successful Internship Program and developed key relationships with local Colleges and Universities. Consulted with Managers, Directors, and Executive Management to determine current hiring needs and develop future staffing plans. Hiring responsibilities include exempt and non-exempt employees; technical and non-technical positions and upper level management openings. Participated in a Distribution Center Start-Up (2001), by hiring core employees including; operations, management, supervisors and administration. This included shared responsibility of the HR Department during initial phase. Also staffed two Seasonal (Peak) Call Centers and had decreased turnover for three consecutive years. KBtoys.com was voted as “One of the Best Places to Work” by the Denver Business Journal in 2003.

ENTEX Information Services (now Siemens), Redmond, WA 8/1999- 2/2000
Senior Technical Recruiter (Consulting onsite at the Microsoft Corporation)
Duties included placing Technical/Information Systems associates onsite at Microsoft for both contract and permanent positions. Recruited and staffed a Help Desk team. Worked directly with Microsoft management to define job specifications and identify viable employees. Positions recruited for included: Help Desk Engineers; Test Engineers; Application Developers; Database Developers; and Web Developers. Recruiting processes included cold calling, networking, interviewing, and hosting community events.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Superior Technical Resources/SDC Computer Services, Kirkland, WA 1996-1999
Account Executive/Information Systems Staffing Supervisor 6/98 to 7/99
Technical Staffing Supervisor 4/1997 to 5/1998
Boeing, King County, and Microsoft Accounts
Assistant Staffing Supervisor 2/1997-4/1997
Payroll Administrator 6/1996-2/1997
Business Computer Training Institute (BCTI), Olympia, WA 1995-1996
Employment Specialist - Awarded Rookie Employment Specialist of the Year for 1996

EDUCATION: Washington State University, Bachelor of Arts, English (106 Credits Completed toward degree) expected to complete by 12/08

TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE – USER: Operating Systems: Windows XP& Vista; Office 2003 & 2007; Email Programs: Outlook 2007, Lotus Notes, and web based email; Web Browsers: Internet Explorer 7 (MSN 8), Netscape Navigator & Firefox; Database: Oracle, PeopleSoft, Access and Act; Proficient in internet recruiting and web based recruiting databases: SonicRecruit, ResumeMax, HireDesk, Sendouts and many others. Basic ability to hand code in HTML; Ability to build Boolean Search Strings in popular Search Engines (fond of cheat sheets)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: Colorado Technical Recruiters Network since 2000; Global Technical Recruiters Network since 2006; Colorado’s Human Resource Association 2003-06; National Association for Female Executives since 1996; Society of Human Resource Management since 2004; Direct Marketing Association 2004; Human Capital Institute 2004; Electronic Recruiters Exchange since 2004; Alpha Gamma Delta alumni support for the University of Denver since 2003;

ONLINE COMMUNITIES: LinkedIn, Jobster, Facebook, Plaxo, Naymz, Spoke, Ecademy, MySpace, and more

TRAINING COURSES, EVENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS:
Supervision: Core Competencies-Mountain States Employment Council 2006
Interview Training (Behavioral, Situational, Technical) – SDC Computer Services 1997
Management Training – KBtoys.com 2002 & 2003
Monster.com Training – 1996, 1998, 2000 & 2003
PeopleSoft (HRIS) Training – 1998, 1999 & 2003
HIPAA Training – TriZetto 2004
HIPAA Deputy – KBtoys.com 2003
2005 AIRS: Beyond Google 2006
Next Generation Recruiting 2005 & 2006
Immigration Law 2005 – Stern & Elkind, Esq.
AIRS Search Lab 3.0 – 2005 - Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) 2006 – (may need to re-take test to keep cert current)
Bill Williams – How Monster Board Started – 2006
VB.NET vs. ASP.NET – New Horizons 2007
“Go Google Gadgets Go” – Seth Williams – Pepsi Center 2007
“12 Steps to Getting the Best Results from the Web” – Shally Steckerl (Job Machine) Pepsi Center 2007
“Recruiting on a Shoe String Budget” – Eric Jaquith - Pepsi Center 2007
Ask Liz Ryan – Recruiting Outlook – Longmont, CO 2008

Taleo & Kevin Wheeler: Really? Just forget about GEN X???

Alright. That is enough already!!! Come on people have we all lost grasp on reality here?? According to a white paper Taleo recently put out about "Sourcing in a Time of Scarcity: The Evolution of Social Networking as an Aid to Hiring," they say that our old routines (in recruitment/hiring) are killing us.

Killing might be a bit vivid, but to some extent it is true - we as HR and Recruitment Professionals need to get with the NOW.

However, what stopped me in my tracks was the following:

"Recruiters and hiring manager have fallen into a sourcing routine that is slowly strangling them," says Kevin Wheeler, an author and consultant in human capital acquisition and development. "They do this," he says, "by forcing their efforts on hiring people 30-45 years of age, members of Generation X, when they'd be better off challenging their assumptions about older and entry-level workers."

He goes on to say that Boomers and their Generation Y progeny outnumber Gen Xer's by more than 4 to 1.

Have I missed something? Kevin, are you on CRACK? Or is that for Gen X only? Are you suggesting to HR/Recruiting, to um like uh, not hire workers who are 30-45?? Hmm. Interesting.

Aren't Gen Xer's known for there keen sense to figure out how to complete projects and tasks on their own, come up to speed quickly and require little to no hand holding when brought on as an employee or into a project? Perhaps Generation Xer's may have been key in the R&D of the architecture, development, marketing, distribution, fulfillment and sales of those technical gadgets that Gen Y has been notorious for mastering.

Again, did you have a brain tumor for breakfast? (favorite Heather's quote - cult classic 80's movie for Gen X), Who do you think came up with the ideas to create these computers and gadgets AND GET THEM leveraged to the right people to be sold to get them into any one's hands???? The answer is this: BOOMERS, GENERATION X, AND GENERATION Y!! It took THREE GENERATIONS WORKING TOGETHER!

As a PROUD member of Generation X, I am slighted by Kevin's suggestion to disregard a whole generation when we, as Recruitment and Human Resources Professionals are dedicated and passionate about hiring the RIGHT candidate for the RIGHT position.

Taleo? Do you support the discrimination of an age group? Do you condone, the subtle suggestion that in order for recruitment to stop the stranglehold, we should do as Wheeler suggests and ignore a whole class of workers?

To ALL Hiring Managers and Fortune 500 Companies: if you are hiring the right type of recruiters, and have the best HR Professionals within your organization, then you need not worry about what generation pool candidates are being pulled from. Any experienced recruiter who has a strategy in mind, will hire the RIGHT person for the job - and when building teams - will know how to hire from the right places to create an outstanding team which will be felt throughout the organization.

I assure you, top notch recruiters hire the best, no matter if they are Gen Y, X, Boomer, Aliens, Robots...you get the picture.

We know the value Boomers have been to this nation. We know the value that Generation Y is now and will continue to be as leaders, thinkers - caretakers of this land we know and love. People, don't be such a pillow case and forget about Generation X and what we have contributed - and continue to strive for.

Now, I am big enough to have considered that Kevin was suggesting we try this now and again. What do you think?



Written with love,

The Errant Recruiter
who went to high school in the 80's!!

Jobster - Seattle is hiring! SDE, Sr. SDE/Arch, SDET, SDE - expert Java

Jobster is seeking talented individuals for our Development Team who have a passion for coding and thrive in a collaborative environment! Take a look and feel free to pass this along to your buddies and their friends with mad coding skills!!

See Below:
_______________________________________________________

Software Development Engineer (SDE)
Location: Seattle, WA

Don’t you wish every company you’ve worked at had a top-notch team, but experience has taught you that an excellent team is hard to find and create?
At Jobster we’re passionate about great teams and we build services to find those great people and perfect-fit jobs.

Come join a small but growing superstar engineering team at Jobster. We’re operating on rapid development cycles, so your impact on the Jobster product can be felt immediately! We’re looking for developers with technical brilliance, team fit, and a passion for shipping product.

Responsibilities:

• Project ownership and shipping responsibility as a part of a project team.
• Participation in technology and product research to introduce new methods and ideas into the product and engineering environment. Past examples include introducing Ruby on Rails as a rapid development environment and new product focuses such as tagging of people profiles.

Requirements:

• 0-7 years experience building scalable commercial software products or services with ability to work as part of a larger software development team.
• Database development expertise is required.
• Experience with fulltext search engines like Lucene a plus.
• Must be comfortable with an open source-like development environment with a variety of tools and languages including Java/J2EE, Ruby/Rails, Perl, Oracle, MySQL.
• Title and salary dependent on experience.

________________________________________________________

Senior Software Design Engineer/Architect - Location: Seattle, WA

We're looking for a senior software engineer/architect to join our rapidly iterating team, offering immediate impact on the product and our growing customer base.

Jobster's product is an innovative web 2.0 Service that takes a distributed, targeted, and social approach to job search. We believe that the best job and people search results aren't going to come from today's walled gardens of resume repositories and job boards but from internet-wide advertising networks targeted to specific communities, blog postings, user generated content, and social networks.

We're looking for a senior software engineer/architect to join our rapidly iterating team, offering immediate impact on the product and a deep dive into challenging technical problems in search relevance, matching jobs and employers to people, ensuring job prospect quality, and distributed job advertising.

Responsibilities:

• Hands-on ownership of significant product initiatives around search relevancy, people search, and data analysis techniques, responsibility for architecture through shipping.
• Mentoring a team of SDEs through architectural design, implementation guidance and shipping ethos.
• Ongoing leadership for cross product engineering problems such as performance analysis, operational costs, and service deployment automation.
• Growth potential for project & business leadership as well as engineering responsibilities.

Requirements:

• 7+ years experience building scalable commercial software products or services with 2+ years at senior/architect level.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a larger software development team.
• Database development expertise is required.
• Experience with fulltext search engines like Lucene a plus.
• Large scale data analysis background and experience a plus.
• Must be comfortable with an open source-like development environment with a variety of tools and languages including Ruby and
• Ruby on Rails, Web Service components and interfaces, Java/J2EE, Oracle, and MySQL.

_______________________________________________________

Sr. Software Development Engineer, Test - Location: Seattle, WA

As a Sr. SDET you'll take on the toughest problems in software testing: system-wide test automation, performance/load testing and white-box testing for complex MVC architectures.

As a Software Development Engineer in Test you know the tradeoffs between software quality and shipping product on time. It's a balancing act that makes your job one of the most unique and challenging in software development: building and applying technology that enables teams to deliver quality software on time. You'll take on the toughest problems in software testing: system-wide test automation, performance/load testing and designing white-box test strategies for sophisticated multi-tier architectures. You'll work with developers, test engineers, program managers and product specialists in a high-velocity agile environment, applying cutting-edge technology on Jobster development projects. We use Ruby and Rails-based test frameworks to help ship hosted web apps and platforms.

Jobster is a leading career networking service, enabling millions of individuals to reach people, information, and opportunities to further their careers. Our recruiting tools connect employers with candidates through targeted advertising and social networking. Companies count on Jobster to help them promote jobs, search for candidates, and build talent networks. Our affiliate partner network technology, connecting to hundreds of websites, blogs and job boards, extends the reach of recruiters who post jobs on Jobster.com to huge communities of potential job seekers. With the PoweredBy Jobster platform, launching in early 2008, we'll enable leading brands and publishers to leverage Jobster’s career networking services to power their own sites.

Responsibilities:

• Develop automation and tools for functional, performance, load and stress testing
• Design and execute tests at all levels of hosted multi-tier applications
• Lead test engineers and SDETs in developing test framework architectures and applying advanced testing strategies
• Work with development and QA teams on performance optimization; application debugging and test tool development.

Requirements:

• Expertise in test design and automation for web applications.
• Proven track record leading developers and/or test engineers in designing and implementing technology solutions for software testing.
• Solid skills in test design/planning/execution, problem isolation and debugging. Structured performance/stress test experience a big plus.
• 5-10 years experience in development or testing/QA. 5+ years experience in one or more programming languages: Ruby, Java, Perl, Python, C++/C#. Experience in MySQL, Oracle10g or MS SQL.
• Experience with open-source technologies and hosted web services. Solid technical foundation in Linux/Unix.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, or equivalent combination of degree and relevant experience.

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Software Development Engineer/Web developer - Location: Seattle, WA

Software Development Engineers/Web developers help us solve challenging user experience problems to build and manage the Jobster network. This role is responsible for building and maintaining the presentation layer. This position requires 2+ years of web development/programming, with extensive experience in HTML, CSS, JSP, JavaScript, and some knowledge of Java. Strong written and verbal communication skills are crucial for any successful candidate. Knowledge and skills to code for cross-browser compatibility are essential.

Essential Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Build and maintain the presentation layer
• Participate in user interface reviews
• Work with the Program Management team to implement designs as specified
• Participate in code reviews of other developers' work
• Provide technical assistance to engineers, designers, managers as required

Candidates must have:

• HTML, JSP/JSTL, CSS, and strong JavaScript experience.
• Java experience using APIs and familiarity with standard Java Libraries (util, string, date, etc.)
• Image editing skills with Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator and/or other standard graphic design tools

Familiarity with the following is a strong plus:

• Spring Framework or Struts development, Homesite and/or Dreamweaver, PERL/XSLT or some other scripting language
• Past experience with mass-market consumer web applications
• Ability to write clean, coherent code and to follow established coding style guidelines
• Strong verbal and written skills, with proven ability to communicate complex ideas and to design and document projects in a clear and concise way

To Apply: email your resume to wholstine@msn.com with the title of the job you are applying for in subject line of the email.

(Rumor has it that employees can bring their "Dogster's" to work!)

Local candidates only, and please, no recruiters. Thanks!

Jobster needs a Sr. Software Development Engineer, Test (SDET)

Jobster.com Sr. Software Development Engineer, Test (SDET)
Seattle, WA

As a Sr. SDET you'll take on the toughest problems in software testing: system-wide test automation, performance/load testing and white-box testing for complex MVC architectures.

As a Software Development Engineer in Test you know the tradeoffs between software quality and shipping product on time. It's a balancing act that makes your job one of the most unique and challenging in software development: building and applying technology that enables teams to deliver quality software on time. You'll take on the toughest problems in software testing: system-wide test automation, performance/load testing and designing white-box test strategies for sophisticated multi-tier architectures. You'll work with developers, test engineers, program managers and product specialists in a high-velocity agile environment, applying cutting-edge technology on Jobster development projects. We use Ruby and Rails-based test frameworks to help ship hosted web apps and platforms.

Jobster is a leading career networking service, enabling millions of individuals to reach people, information, and opportunities to further their careers. Our recruiting tools connect employers with candidates through targeted advertising and social networking. Companies count on Jobster to help them promote jobs, search for candidates, and build talent networks. Our affiliate partner network technology, connecting to hundreds of websites, blogs and job boards, extends the reach of recruiters who post jobs on Jobster.com to huge communities of potential job seekers. With the PoweredBy Jobster platform, launching in early 2008, we'll enable leading brands and publishers to leverage Jobster’s career networking services to power their own sites.

Responsibilities:

• Develop automation and tools for functional, performance, load and stress testing
• Design and execute tests at all levels of hosted multi-tier applications
• Lead test engineers and SDETs in developing test framework architectures and applying advanced

testing strategies

Work with development and QA teams on performance optimization; application debugging and test tool development

Requirements:

• Expertise in test design and automation for web applications
• Proven track record leading developers and/or test engineers in designing and implementing technology solutions for software testing
• Solid skills in test design/planning/execution, problem isolation and debugging. Structured performance/stress test experience a big plus
• 5-10 years experience in development or testing/QA. 5+ years experience in one or more programming languages: Ruby, Java, Perl, Python, C++/C#। Experience in MySQL, Oracle10g or MS SQL
• Experience with open-source technologies and hosted web services. Solid technical foundation in Linux/Unix
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, or equivalent combination of degree and relevant experience

If you fit the bill, then we want to talk to you!

To apply: Please forward your resume and cover letter to: wholstine@msn.com with the name of the job you are applying for in the subject line of the email.

Wendy Holstine Contact Information:
C: 720.985.4341