Forget head hunters, try community networking sites !!

Well..I guess I needed such a headline to shake myself back into action!!

For almost 10days I had typically got into the 'nervous nineties' syndrome most cricketers get into..as they approach a century! It was late last year that I first blogged-and have tried to articulate some of my thoughts almost twice every week-when a pal of mine prompted me and I realised I was reaching blog 99!! Suddenly, for no rhyme or reason, the milestone presented a huge challenge- one is tempted to reach the mark by a flourish- at the same time, there is a deep sense to make it count!!

To rush to the point- I came came across an article online Forget headhunters -which goes on to say how community networking is going to be a threat for headhunters, placement firms, and the third party consultants -and their livelihood;

Personally I have always maintained that the 'happy employee' is the biggest asset for any employer-and the greatest ambassador any company can have. For you cant have a better testimonial that a team of charged employees taking ownership and driving 'employee referrals'!! They are the best judge for the best peers they can attract and align with- and stay motivated. And the only mantra for that is very simple- the right job for the every person and the right person for every job!!

However that is easier said than done. And so, the talent search exercises have always tended to be a multipronged approach - campus hires, lateral hires thru referrals and when there is an extreme pressure- go for external help !We have had innumerable innovative attempts at attracting talent- 'catching them young', job fairs, hiring at churches & parks, and so on.

Earlier in the day, I had read a blog by Jim Stroud set around the premise of 'people interviewing people'.

Some time back I had come across an Indian solution http://www.mohanchoti.com, leveraging on the power of referrals

Web 2.0 is in, and there is bound to be convergence of many different media of attracting talent. Collaboration -not competition, is the solution.

Blogs are increasingly being adopted by corporates to communicate more convincingly than before. Social networking sites like LinkedIn, orkut, ryze, and some others already have large pools of talent- and increasingly better tools for data mining!!

Well, it is time one made oneself more visible on the net-and be hunted :-)!!

PS-am rather relieved to see another commentary-sourcing firms have their role to play :-)!

HR Sourcing companies could be tapped!!