2008 IPMAAC Conference: Presentations

With memories of last week's IPMAAC conference fresh in my head (and what a great conference it was!), I thought I would mention that presentation slides have already started to appear at the website.

Here's a sample of what's already up:

Police recruiting and retention: "It's Showtime"

Implementing an assessment program for executive candidates

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Expect many more to pop up in the next few weeks.

Interested in becoming a member? Go here.

2008 PTC-NC Conference, Day 2

In my previous post I talked about the first day of the 2008 PTC-NC Conference. Today I'll give you a rundown of the second day.

The day started off with a bang due to a keynote address by noted personality researcher Robert Hogan. Dr. Hogan never disappoints, and his presentation was a mini-history of personality testing combined with executive assessment and organizational performance--all in 75 minutes. Major themes included the importance of leadership personality, how reputation is much more important (from a measurement perspective) than identity, why leadership effectiveness should be defined by team performance, and the characteristics of great leaders (e.g., integrity, decisiveness, competence, vision). You can get some of the same flavor in a recent American Psychologist article he co-authored.

The first breakout featured Jim Higgins (Cal DOJ) discussing an internet-based applicant self-assessment career tool and Greg Beatty (IRS) describing how the IRS has modernized using a competency-based approach. I attended Greg's (since I work within throwing distance of Jim), and he provided a great overview of some of the innovative things the IRS is doing both for incumbents and applicants, including job simulations, online assessment tools, and a career management center. "IRS...really?" you say? Yup. Don't believe me? Check out the simplicity and ease of use of their career site.

The last sessions of the conference included one on how to use MS Excel to automate selection by Dan Kuang (Biddle) and another on the leadership developmental assessment center (LDAC) by Matt Gruver (CPS). I attended Matt's, where he provided a great overview of how to develop an LDAC, including the importance of competency definition, how top management involvement is key, and how participants often are very appreciative of the (unusually rare) honest feedback they receive. Can't wait to put one together!

Overall, a great program and kudos to the organizers! Looking forward to next year.

2008 PTC-NC Conference, Day 1

On March 20th and 21st I was lucky enough to attend (and present) at the 2008 PTC-NC Conference. There were several great presentations and I'm going to break the summary up into two days for ya.

The conference started off with Michael Harris, professor of International Business at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, with an update on what the courts have been saying in the area of adverse impact and employment testing. Some major points:

- Although criterion-related validity has been discussed a lot lately, Dr. Harris predicted that a content validation strategy will continue to be the most popular choice of employers.

- They're not perfect, but courts will continue to rely on the Uniform Guidelines when judging employers' efforts to validate their tests.

- Employers should be prepared to answer what alternative tests they considered before choosing the ones they did (the third prong of this type of case).

The next session was a breakout, with Chris Wright and Louis Xavier (SF State) presenting on stereotype threat while I went over the results of a demographic analysis I conducted on applicants to an on-line T&E system. Bottom line of my presentation: there were some clear demographic differences in the jobs applied for but actual instances of adverse impact (using 4/5ths rule) were rare.

Next up was another breakout, with Jim Kuthy (Biddle) presenting on AutoGOJA while Shelley Langan (CPS) presented on succession planning. I attended Shelley's, which focused on the importance of workforce planning given current demographics and provided some practical tips on how to put together a successful plan. Some key takeaways: limit succession planning to certain positions, consider inviting everyone to apply, and conduct a future-oriented job analysis as part of your planning process.

The last breakout featured an introduction to competency modeling by Nathan Ainspan (independent consultant) and a presentation on using personality testing by Shelley Langan and Howard Fortson (CPS). I attended the latter, where we had a spirited discussion of the state of personality testing and how to introduce personality testing to your selection process (hint: rhymes with job analysis). Example business measures they mentioned included the CPI, HPI, NEO, and 16-PF. They also mentioned an upcoming article by Hough & Oswald where the authors list all of the various outcomes that personality tests have been able to successfully predict.

Last but not least that day was an outstanding keynote address by James Outtz, president of Outtz and Associates and international expert on employment testing and discrimination. Dr. Outtz went over a wide range of issues related to those subjects, including the balance between validity and adverse impact (so well covered in the most recent issue of Personnel Psychology). He introduced some fascinating research that showed that while multiple choice formats showed adverse impact against African Americans and Hispanics (favoring Caucasians and Asians), the opposite was the case for multiple list (divergent) items. Perhaps most interesting was his description of a questionnaire he developed called the Job Perception Index that served as both a realistic job preview and a selection device for firefighter positions. Some great stuff from a fabulous speaker.

That's it for now--those of you that attended, feel free to comment or add! Tomorrow: Day 2.

IPMAAC Conference Registration Opens

Registration is now open for the 32nd annual IPMAAC conference, to be held in Oakland, California in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area on June 8-11.

There's an incredible program lined up, including plenary presentations by:

Dr. David Campbell, Fellow at the Center of Creative Leadership, co-author of the popular Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory and author of several books including "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somwhere else."

Dr. Neal Schmitt, Professor of Psychology and Management at Michigan State University, author, and recognized expert on organizational selection procedures.

Dr. Bob Guion, Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University, consultant, and one of the field's most acclaimed authors (including this gem).

Dr. Richard Jeanneret, president of Valtera, expert in individual assessment, and provider of expert witness testimony in litigation.

There will also be several workshops, including ones focused on:

* Assessment centers

* Structured employment interviews

* Job analysis

* Situational judgment tests

In addition, there will be nearly 50 concurrent sessions covering everything from competency modeling to web-based testing. The conference promises to continue to be the annual event for personnel selection professionals who live in the intersection between research and practice.

More details here.

2008 PTC-NC Conference

The Personnel Testing Council of Northern California (PTC-NC) is hosting its annual conference on March 20-21 in Concord.

They've lined up quite an agenda with some great presentations. Here's a sample:

- Disparate Impact and Employment Testing by Michael Harris

- Situational Judgment Testing by Jim Outtz

- Personality Assessments by Bob Hogan

Oh yeah, and I'll be doing a session on demographic application patterns and adverse impact of an on-line T&E system.

For more information contact Jerimiah Honer at jhoner@spb.ca.gov

IPMAAC Sponsor/Exhibitor Opportunities

Information has been posted on how you can become a sponsor or exhibitor at the upcoming IPMAAC conference in Oakland, California.

IPMAAC is the leading professional organization focused on employee assessment and selection. The annual conference attracts a wide variety of professionals, including individuals at all levels of government, professors and students, and consultants and other professionals from the private sector.

Click here to see a sample of presentations from previous years.

SIOP Conference Registration Open

Registration is now open for SIOP's Annual Conference, to be held April 10-12 in San Francisco.

Cost for early registration (before 2/29): $140 for members, $330 for nonmembers, $85 for students.

Workshops will be held on the 9th and are $400 for members, $650 for nonmembers, and this includes two workshops.

Good things about the SIOP conference: tons of presentations and lots of technical information.

Bad things about the SIOP conference: tons of presentations and lots of technical information.

Call for Proposals for 2008 IPMAAC Conference

You're invited to submit a proposal for the 2008 IPMAAC Conference, to be held on June 8-11. The theme of next year's conference is Building Bridges: Recruitment, Selection, and Assessment and the conference will be in Oakland, California in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.

IPMAAC (IPMA-HR Assessment Council) is the leading organization for HR assessment and selection professionals interested in such diverse topics as job analysis, personality testing, recruiting, and web-based assessment.

IPMAAC members are psychologists, attorneys, consultants, management consultants, academic faculty and students, and other professionals who share a passion for finding and hiring the right person for the job. Whether you're from the public sector, private sector, or non-profit, everyone is welcome.

Please consider submitting a proposal for the 2008 conference--it could be a presentation, a tutorial, a panel discussion, a symposium, or a pre-conference workshop. If you have something you'd like to share, don't be shy.

Even if you don't submit a proposal, plan on attending the conference. It's a great opportunity to meet knowledgeable and passionate people and learn what everyone else is doing out there. Some presentations at last year's conference, held in New Orleans, included:

Succession planning and talent management

Using personality assessments in community service organizations

Legal update

Potholes on the road to Internet Applicant compliance

See you there!

Links a go-go

Good reading for December 14, 2007:

Why your company needs to be on Facebook

Target Corp. to pay $510K for race discrimination in application process

Check out the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's virtual conference

Monster launches website targeting Hispanic applicants

SIOP's December, 2007 newsletter

Is your organization green? Candidates want to know.

Using social networking sites to reach out to entry-level hires

The importance of background checks (white paper)

HR.com's Virtual Conference

If you want to see something creative, head on over to HR.com's virtual conference called VIEW, which is taking place today and tomorrow.

HR.com says this conference, which is very Second Life-ish, will have 40+ speakers, 1000+ attendees and 70+ vendors.

Right now I'm watching Carly Fiorina talk about leadership. Later presentations include:

Managing a Talent Pool for Succession Planning

The Federal E-Verify Program and Electronic I-9 Compliance

Quality of Hire

Creating Value Exchange in the Candidate Experience

...and a lot more. Creative stuff! And oh yah, it's free.

2007 Academy of Management Conference

There have been some news stories about one of the presentations at this year's Academy of Management (AOM) conference--about an online survey where a majority of respondents said that bad bosses either get promoted or have nothing happen to them. But there's a heck of a LOT of other good stuff at this year's conference. So take a deep breath and let's take a look...

First up, a whole set of presentations devoted to selection, including:

- Hiring for Retention and Performance
- Work Sample Test Ethnic Group Differences in Personnel Selection: A Meta-analysis
- Stigmatizing Effects of Race-Based Preferential Selection
- Longitudinal Changes in Testing Applicants and Labor Productivity Growth


Next, a session devoted to recruitment and selection, including:

- The Role of Sociolinguistic Cues in the Evaluation of Job Candidates
- Recruitment as Information Search: The Role of Need for Cognition in Employee Application Decisions
- A House Divided: Cooperative and Competitive Recruitment in Vital Industries
- The Practice of Sense-Making and Repair during Recruitment Interviews
- Overqualified Employees: Too Good to Hire or Too Good to Be True?


Next up, a session devoted to recruitment. Included topics:

- Customizing Web-Based Recruiting: Theoretical Development and Empirical Examination
- Network-based Recruiting and Applicant Attraction: Perspective from Employer and Applicants
- Fancy Job Titles: Effects on Applicants' Job Perceptions and Intentions to Apply
- Recruitment and National Culture: A Value-Based Model of Recruitment


Next, a set devoted to person-organization (P-O) fit, including:

- Going Beyond Current Conceptualizations of P-E Fit and Presenting a Status Report on the Literature
- Outcomes of Multidimensional Misfit: An Empirical Test of a Theoretical Model
- FIT: Scale Development and Initial Validation of a New Measure
- Considering the Contextualized Person: A Person-In-Content Approach to Goal Commitment


Next, a set on predictors of individual performance, including:

- An Examination of Ability-based Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance
- Predicting NFL Performance: The Role of Can-do and Will-do Factors
- A Fresh Perspective on Extraversion and Automobile Sales Success
- Auditor Effectiveness and Efficiency in Workpaper Review: The Impact of Regulatory Focus


Last but not least, one of my favorite topics, how organizations and individuals perceive selection. Topics include:

- Understanding Job Applicant Reactions: Test of Applicant Attribution Reaction Theory
- Effects of Ingratiation and Similarity on Judgments of P-O Fit, Hiring Recommendations and Job Offer
- The Effects of Resume Contents on Hiring Recommendations: The Roles of Recruiter Fit Perceptions
- Organization Personality Perceptions and Attraction: The Role of PO Fit and Recruitment Information


This is just a sample of what the conference has to offer; if you went, or otherwise know of other presentations we should know about, please share with us.

And no, most of the presentations aren't available on-line but the presenters' e-mail addresses are provided and most folks are willing to share.

IPMAAC Presentations + Cheaper Membership

I posted earlier about presentations from the 2007 IPMAAC conference going up online. Well now there's a whole gaggle of 'em and there's some really great content. Check out these sample titles (PDF):

Applicant Reactions to Online Assessments

Succession Planning and Talent Management

2007 Legal Update

Potholes on the Road to Internet Applicant Compliance

Measuring Complex Reasoning

Tips on Writing an Expert Witness Report

And that's just the beginning. For all the goodies, check out the full list.

But wait, there's more...

In addition, IPMAAC recently enacted a change to its membership categories & fees. You can now become an IPMAAC member for only $75! Talk about cheap. $75 pays for the difference in conference fees between a member and a non-member! And you get all this to boot. Plus, you're "affiliated" with IPMA-HR, which means you get the awesome weekly HR newsletter and discounts on all sorts of IPMA-HR stuff (that's a technical term). And you DON'T have to work in the public sector to join.

There really aren't that many professional organizations associated with assessment. There's SIOP, but they're about a lot more than just staffing. There are local groups. But when it comes to national or international groups, IPMAAC is it. Which is a good thing, because it's a great group of people (not that I'm biased or anything).

2007 IPMAAC Conference Presentations

The 2007 IPMAAC Conference in St. Louis was great this year, with tons of informative and entertaining presentations, including great talks by Wayne Cascio, Bob Hogan, and Nancy Tippins.

The presentations are starting to roll in. Right now there's only one up--Michael Harris' great presentation titled Disparate Impact and Employment Testing: A Legal Update--but I expect more to show up this week and the next, so keep checking.

Next year I am co-chairing the program committee along with Carl Swander of Ergometrics. We're going to attempt to match the quality of this year's conference and plan on putting together an outstanding program. It's never too early to start thinking about presenting at next year's conference, to be held on June 8-11 in beautiful Oakland, California. Mark it on your calendars!

2007 SIOP Conference: Highlights, Part 3

This is the fourth in a series of posts about the 2007 SIOP Conference. In Part 1 I talked about some of the new products out there and in Part 2 and Part 3 I reviewed some of the research that was presented. This post continues that review...


Employment interview structure and discrimination litigation verdicts: A quantitative review

Pool, McEntee, and Gomez analyzed 31 federal court cases from 1990 to 2005 (27 claims of disparate treatment, 7 of adverse impact) to see if there was a relationship between the amount of interview structure and verdicts in employment discrimination cases. Most cases (73%) were brought under Title VII and involved promotional decisions (65%). Race discrimination was the most common allegation (47%) and the vast majority of cases (84%) involved a single plaintiff. For both types of claims, the strongest factors associated with a victory for the defendant (employer side) was having interviewers that were familiar with job requirements and having a guide for conducting the interview. In disparate treatment claims, defendants were more likely to prevail if they also had standardized questions and identical interviews for each applicant. In disparate impact cases, defendants fared better when they had evidence of validity (which makes sense given the burden shifting in these cases). Similar results to Williamson et al.’s 1997 study, but good data to have—see, we’re not just saying standardize those interviews because we’re sadistic HR folks.

Recruiting through the stages: Which recruiting practices predict when?

This meta-analysis by Uggerslev and Fassina of 101 studies looked at the impact that various “recruitment predictors” (e.g., job-person fit, job/organizational attraction) had on various outcome criteria (e.g., job pursuit intention, acceptance intentions). Results depended somewhat on the criterion, but perceived fit between the individual and the job/organization was across-the-board the strongest predictor. The only criterion that matched perceived fit was job characteristics, which tied for predicting acceptance intentions. The strength of the correlations varied, from a low of .15 between perceived fit and job choice to .47 between perceived fit and recommendation intentions. So how do we use this? The authors suggest efforts to increase the appearance of a good fit between the values of goals of applicants and those of the organization may pay off (I'm thinking, say, by focusing on aesthetics and message customization or clearly indicating what you’re looking for).

Meta-analysis on the relationship between Big Five and academic success

Okay, so it's not directly about recruitment or assessment, but it's still interesting. The title pretty much says it all--the presenters (Trapmann, Hell, Hirn, and Schuler) were looking here at the relationship between Big Five personality traits and academic success. Results? As you might expect, it depends what you mean by "success." Neuroticism was related to academic satisfaction (hey, that's why they're neurotic, right?) while Conscientiousness correlated with grades and retention. The other three factors (Extraversion, Openness, and Agreeableness) were not related to success.

That's probably the end of my review of 2007 SIOP presentations, unless I manage to obtain more presentations. Stay tuned for reviews from the upcoming IPMAAC conference!

2007 SIOP Conference: Highlights, Part 2

This is the third in a series of posts about the 2007 SIOP Conference. In Part 1 I talked about some of the new products out there and in Part 2 I went over some of the research that was presented. In this post I'll point out some more research that you may find interesting...

Legal risks and defensibility factors for employee selection procedures

Posthuma, Roehling, and Campion analyzed nearly 600 federal district court cases and came up with some very interesting results:

- Employers are most likely to win (by far) when defending tests of math or mechanical ability. Employers also fare well when defending assessments of employment history and interviews.

- Employers did worst when defending physical ability tests and medical examinations. Tests of verbal ability and job knowledge were also more likely to result in a plaintiff win.

Predicting Internet job search behavior and turnover

Using a sample of 110 nurses in Texas, Posthuma et al. found using longitudinal survey data that (among other things) Internet job search behavior was related to turnover--folks weren't just surfing for fun. This suggests that organizations need to pay close attention to job searching behavior among employees; not necessarily to curtail it but instead to figure out why high performers want to leave.

Gender differences in career choice influences

After analyzing survey data from nearly 1,400 fourth-year medical students from two U.S. schools, Behrend et al. found a gender difference in preferred career: specifically, female medical students valued "opportunities to provide comprehensive care" when choosing a specialty much more than men. This is consistent with other work that has showed women to be more "relationship-oriented" than men when it comes to choosing a career.

Portraying an organization's culture through properties of a recruitment website

In this study of 278 undergraduate students, Kroustalis and Meade found that inclusion of pictures on a website that were intended to portray a certain organizational culture did so--but only for certain cultural characteristics. Specifically, pictures that implied a culture of either innovation or diversity had the intended effect--but pictures representing a team orientation did not. Interestingly, "employee testimonials" designed to emphasize these cultural aspects failed to do so for any of the three aspects studied. Finally, individuals who perceived a greater fit between themselves and the organization (in terms of the three cultural aspects) reported being more attracted to the organization.

Recruiting solutions for adverse impact: Race differences in organizational attraction

Last but definitely not least, Lyon and Newman gathered data from nearly 600 university students on their reactions to 40 hypothetical job postings...and came away with some very interesting results. For example:

- Conscientious individuals were more likely to apply to postings that explicitly stated a preference for conscientious applicants.

- Conscientious individuals were more likely to apply to postings that described the company as results-oriented.

- Black applicants with higher cognitive ability were more likely to respond to ads seeking conscientious individuals while White applicants with higher cognitive ability were less likely to do so.

- When a company was described as innovative, Black applicants high on conscientiousness were more likely to apply; this was not the case for White applicants.

2007 SIOP Conference Part 2: Highlights Vol. 1

In a previous post I talked about some of the products showcased in the program for the 2007 SIOP Conference.

In this post I'd like to highlight some of the more interesting (to me--and to you too, I hope!) presentations being made. Because there are so many interesting presentations, I'll use several posts to cover a number of them.

Gender and letters of recommendation: Agentic and communal differences (249-8)

Here's a study that should make you think twice about those letters of recommendation you review (if you don't already). After analyzing nearly 700 letters of recommendation for psychology faculty positions, the researcher found that women in these letters tended to be described as more affectionate, warm, and kind, while men were described as more ambitious, dominant, and self-confident. In addition, letters for women contained more references to their physical appearance (insert shudder here).

Data trends in open mode, online, unsupervised cognitive ability testing (61-28)
Personality testing online (unsupervised) and paper and pencil (supervised) (103-21)
Retest effects on an unproctored Internet-based GMA test (205-29)
DFIT analysis of web-based and paper-based versions of the WPT (261-21)

These four studies all looked at online testing in some way or another. The first three provide some support for online testing; they suggest that online general mental ability (GMA) test scores are relatively stable over time and the psychometric qualities of a personality test were consistent regardless of whether the test was taken online & unproctored or in person & proctored. Before we get too excited, however, the last study found that the paper-and-pencil and online versions of the WPT were not completely identical. It also found that WPT-Q scores differed between proctored and unproctored settings. So overall, mixed support for online testing. Chances are other factors (e.g., physical environment, Internet self-efficacy) play major roles.

Fancy job titles: Effects on recruitment success (261-25)

Chief Fun Officer. Brand Evangelist. Some organizations are coming up with creative job titles in an attempt to lure candidates who may find "Marketing Executive" a tad dull. But does it work? In this study, Dr. Klaus Templer presented nearly 400 marketing students with four hypothetical job ads using various titles, including fancy (e.g., Global Brand Insights Manager) as well as traditional (e.g., Marketing Officer). Results? Attitude toward the job was significantly higher with the fancier title, as was the extent to which the job was recommended to a friend. Why? Templer hypothesizes that fancier job titles lend the job more prestige, making it more attractive. Interesting follow-up question I have: Does the response vary between high-potentials and low-potentials? Also, we should keep in mind that surveys suggest job titles may have less of an impact on retention.

More conference goodness in upcoming posts!

2007 SIOP Conference, Part 1: The Tests

Getting the SIOP Conference program in the mail is kind of like getting the toy catalog as a kid. At least for me it is. I look forward to peering inside at all the hundreds of different presentations and topics. I won't be going this year but I get a heck of a lot out of simply reviewing nearly 200 pages of glossy-covered goodness.

So it was with great interest that I cracked open this year's conference program to see what was inside.

There is SO much content at a SIOP conference (too much, some say) that I won't even attempt to cover it all--heck, there are over 30 items (presentations, poster sessions, panel discussions, etc.) listed under "Personality" alone--but I'm going to hit some high points. Mostly stuff I find interesting.

The first thing I'm going to talk about isn't conference content at all--it's the ads in the program. Specifically, the test products mentioned in the ads. In addition to the program being a great overview of what's going on in the world of I/O research, it's a good way to find out about new tests and/or consulting firms. I won't be covering some, like the 16PF or HPI, because, well, they've been around for so long that most folks know about 'em (or should). Instead my eyes were drawn to the new kids on the block--at least new to me.

First up, the personality inventory for integrity assessment (PIA) from S & F Personalpsychologie. The ad states, "With...PIA, you can identify honest employees and decrease bullying, theft, and absenteeism." The website claims PIA is "the first ever German integrity test." What else do we know about it? Not a lot. The test presents candidates with various questions on "behavior conforming with contractual agreements, on reliability, and on their willingness to take risks." Apparently the test has been in use since 2000 and they are currently conducting a validation study by comparing answers given by inmates to non-detained individuals.

Next, the Sales Leader Navigator from Wilson Learning. This a 360-degree feedback instrument designed to be used for promotions in sales positions. The tool is tied to 76 competencies and "character elements" and can be tailored to specific organizational needs. The leadership roles focused on include visionary, tactician, facilitator, and contributor. Ratees can request feedback from raters via an online system. Other details about the assessment (say, item/scale type, reliability & validity data) will hopefully be forthcoming. For more general content info, see their"point-of-view whitepaper."

Last, two products from Saville Consulting--the Wave Professional Styles, designed to be used at the manager/director level, and a shorter version, Wave Focus, which apparently can be used with a wider applicant population. According to the website, the Wave "measures motivation, talent and preferred culture." It also apparently maps to the Big Five personality factors. The assessment presents a series of six statements, e.g., "I am an optimist" and uses a 9-point scale ranging from "Very Strongly Disagree" to "Very Strongly Agree." If two statements receive the same rating, they may be presented again and force the candidate to differentiate them. More information regarding development can be found here, including some reliability and validity information (without a description of the samples, unfortunately).

In future posts I'll cover some of the content of the presentation, including personality and cognitive ability testing. For those of you that are curious, the entire program is searchable by going to this link.

IPMAAC Conference Registration Open

Registration is now open for the 31st annual IPMAAC Conference in St. Louis on June 10-13.

Along with the annual SIOP conference, this is THE professional event to attend to learn about innovations, best practices, and the latest research in personnel assessment.

Highlights

Presentations:

- Dr. Wayne Cascio on Do employee behaviors matter? Some economic effects.

- Dr. Robert Hogan on What we know about leadership.

- Dr. Nancy Tippins on Unproctored testing.

Pre-conference workshops:

- Using logic-based testing to develop powerful measures of reasoning ability.
- Oral examinations.
- Examination planning.
- Situational judgment test: Development and applications.
- Adverse impact: Pitfalls, Pollyanna, and practical advice for practitioners.

Unlike some conferences, IPMAAC is very doable--there are a lot of presentations but you can generally hit most that you're really interested in. Another benefit? It's cheap. Registration is only $345 for IPMAAC members, $445 for non-members. Still not convinced? Take a look at some of the presentations from previous annual conferences.

I'll post more about the content when the full program is published. Registration brochure is here. Highly recommended!

Recruiting 2007 Conference

Not only is it journal time these days, it's conference time.

Kennedy Information is holding its Recruiting 2007 Conference and Expo at the Las Vegas Hilton on May 9-11.

Price: $1095 for the whole shebang, cheaper for solo days. $495 for pre- and post-conference workshops.

Focus: Internet recruiting, using the Internet for recruiting, and recruiting over the Internet. Oh yeah, with a special focus on health care recruiters. On the Internet.

Who's presenting: Practically everyone you can think of, including:

Steven Pemberton from Monster about its diversity survey;

Steven Rothberg (CollegeRecruiting) about social networking sites;

Jason Goldberg (Jobster) about how to use Web 2.0;

Shally Steckerl and Dave Mendoza (JobMachine) about using LinkedIn;

Carol Mahoney from Yahoo! about building a talent acquisition organization;

Peter Weddle about best practices in online recruitment;

Those two guys from CareerXroads about building relationships;

John and Bridget Sumser on generational recruiting;

Paul Forster (Indeed) on Web 2.0 (again...hey, I smell a trend);

...and that's just the beginning. There's a whole mess 'o content being presented here.

Wait...where's Joel Cheesman? Oh there he is...at the very end of the regularly scheduled conference. At 4:45. In May. In Vegas. Heck, it's worth going just for that!

2007 SHRM Staffing Management Conference in New Orleans

From April 23-25, SHRM will be having its annual conference devoted to employment and staffing in New Orleans, LA. (Note this used to be the Employment Management Association Conference & Exposition).

So why would I go?

1) You're a SHRM member and you have $875 to spare, OR
2) You're a non-SHRM member and you have $1120 to spare

AND

3) You're really into conferences devoted to recruitment and assessment
4) You like New Orleans

Unfortunately I meet the third and fourth criteria but neither the first nor the second. But, I can give you a flavor of what's in store in addition to some great keynote speakers, including Malcolm Gladwell, whose books are often mentioned on this blog.

What are the topics?

Rather than attempt to summarize the entire conference, I'm going to list the most relevant presentation titles, which are heavy on sourcing techniques and avoiding legal pitfalls. Several of these look really interesting; the full menu can be found here.

- Recruiting the best and the brightest: How to develop a market-and customer-focused mindset
- Interviewing: Identifying the liars, avoiding illegal questions
- Interactive recruitment marketing: Navigating the Internet to attract A-level talent
- Extreme caution advised: Dealing with federal and state laws regulating preemployment screening and safe hiring
- Recruiting an agile workforce that adds value to customers and shareholders
- Superstar selling techniques for non-sellers
- Impacting recruitment, retention and employee engagement with culture
- Daniel Boone and the tracking of applicants [new OFCCP regs]
- Extreme makeover: Renovating recruiting at Great-West
- Personality assessment in employee selection and promotion
- Avoid negligent hiring--best practices and legal compliance
- America's new regional demography
- "DOT" jobs: What have we learned about Internet recruiting in the past five years?
- Talent hunting: Sales skill development for the corporate recruiter
- Recent changes in immigration law that affect HR decision-making
- Rebuilding a world-class staffing function--from administration to profit center
- I'm not just a recruiter...I'm an expert consultant! Key consulting skills for recruitment professionals
- Effectively interviewing global talent
- Best practice techniques for finding and selling professional-level candidates
- Winning the talent war--meeting the recruitment challenges of the next decade
- Your candidate's experience: Black hole or North star?
- Background checks and the law
- The circle of recruitment success
- Get GenderSmart! Communicating with and managing women for recruiting and retention results