client innovation...

So as of today I have a new role & title: Director of Client Innovation. I am super excited about the role, because it is made up of all the things I LOVE to do, and do naturally with customers.

Some cool stuff I am working on right now that you'll likely hear about:
- Diversity Connections Website for Starbucks
- Microsoft Talent Outreach (will add link soon)
- Re-engineering Samsung's ERP
- Engaging Nike's Internal Affinity & Diversity Organizations

If I have a moment I will post our current vision for the Jobster powered ERP site...

5-minute Jobbing Event

I am working with 4 local seattle tech start-ups that are banding together to try a new way of recruiting. I will post the RSVP link when it is ready... but this should wet your appetite.

jobster groups launches today

today is a big day for me. today our team will release jobster groups, which will allow the first "professional to professional" networking functionality on jobster. there is definitely more to come in this area, thanks to the addition of a dedicated consumer pm a few weeks ago.

from the beginning of jobster, i have been super passionate about this piece of the networking puzzle.

i am just now completing the creation of a plu alumni jobs group and inviting about 6000 alumns from my directory. this will be a valuable tool for alumns to locate and network their way to positions at leading companies.

I'm back, renewed and ready

I just returned from a 2 week vacation that coincided with the birth of my son, Carson. Two weeks of family time gave me a chance to reformat & defragment the old hard drive (brain) and prepare for a great winter, driving into 2006 with Jobster Customers.

There is alot of customer momentum and break out companies that are taking advantage of the flexibility of Jobster to execute some very creative and effective recruiting/sourcing initiatives, and that is great to see. I will be posting some of these for the good of anyone interested in the coming weeks.

Landed.fm, On-Demand Internet Radio

Re-published audio from our CEO's keynote at ERE last week. Also some customers talking about it: Landed.fm, On-Demand Internet Radio - The Voice of Career Success - Home

targeting diversity

I have been really lucky in the past few weeks to be working with Starbucks on diversity sourcing- my customer there, Craig, is doing some very good work there.

Check out http://www.diversityconnections.com where you will find a link to join Starbuck's diversity talent network. This has only been live a short time and is creating a massive talent network of diverse professionals AND prospects for specific opportunities.

Jobster Search Unveiled in Boston today

The launch of Jobster Search is happening today, which brings back similar feelings I had when we launched Jobster. http://yarddart.blogspot.com/2005/03/scene-to-remember.html.

This is another step toward driving some big change (good change) in the industry. Imagine a path of pre-qualification and verification of skills when jobseekers find your jobs on the Internet. Once pre-qualified, they become a future source for hiring and referring other great people. Using Jobster's relationship management capabilities, companies are building pipelines RIGHT NOW.

I explain Jobster Search as the employee referral program in reverse. Instead of a recruiting team initiating the process with employees, jobseekers can now initiate the process through people they know at the company. In the end, the employee continues to be a critical piece of this... they have to decide whether to vouch for the jobseeker. If they decide to, then the job seeker is forward directly to the hiring team.

our professional service is live!

Kudos to our dev, test and product teams, who valiantly stayed up most of Friday night and Saturday morning to release our September bits. Now professionals who have contacts in companies can leverage their contacts to get in touch with & referred directly to hiring teams in those companies- really really powerful stuff.

CHECK IT OUT!! http://www.jobster.com

Torrefazione no longer

I was really sad to find out thatTorrefazione, the Italian coffee shop that quickly gained my patronage when Jobster moved to downtown Seattle, is closing its doors today permanently.

Starbucks bought the 17 cafe chain back in 2003, and it looked like the brand was going to remain untouched for a while. The reason cited by corporate was that the chain "...failed to meet corporate goals."

My daily treat will be missed.

two things

Other than the fact that my mind is consumed with a hugely important release in our company's history next week, I CANNOT shake two things out of my brain...

1) Podcasting is going somewhere fast. I have SO many questions, ideas, and concepts that apply to this new and phenomenally efficient form of distributing content to personal devices on a massive scale. I am watching closely... would love to have a hobby site that helped others learn how to take advantage of this new medium... but that is a project for another day.

2) Microsoft and recent news about them losing the war on talent. That combined with what I consider to be the most viable threat (and widely loved) Google; who is on a rampage, delivering very compelling and useful products in a very rapid & iterative model. The big question in my mind is will Google take their desktop beginnings and introduce an open source OS or Office competitor? Do they have secret teams already working on early versions of these? I know MS is watching them like a hawk competitively...

should be a historic battle with good results for consumers.

btw: I started using audio blogging on jack and carson's site. I also researched and bought some podcasting production gear to start goofing around.

jack and carson

This week I decided to start breaking up the content of my blog into some distinct spaces. I think yarddart is ALL OVER THE PLACE in terms of content, so I plan to tighten it up and talk more about Jobster and industry related things.

My favorite thing to blog about right now is my son, Jackson, and about our baby boy on the way. Carson is due to join our family in the next few weeks!! Exciting, scarey and emotional... but I am ready.


A blog about two boys starts this week.

welcome back carter

J and I met as housemates in college. It was funny that his jaw was wired shut for the first few weeks I knew him, but once he could talk we hit it off & have been good friends ever since. He was a year ahead of me in school, so when he graduated and took a position with a big 5 firm, he spent the next year helping me network my way to a job with them. Beyond the career stuff, we have had a blast over the years going on trips, kayaking, windsurfing or just hanging out having a cold one.

About 3 years ago, he and his wife moved to Portland so he could pursue his law degree. At the time, it was tough to see them go. I even bet him $50 that they would stay in Portland permanent.

Last week, they returned to the Puget Sound, even getting a place in our neighborhood. What fun to have such good friends back in the mix! Bobbi said I have been acting like a kid who's best friend has moved in next door. Not so far off I guess.

That reminds me- I need to stop by the ATM and get him that $50 bucks.

a little behind the ball

I have known for a LONG TIME that I was missing out on something, not having an iPod. Everytime I came close to purchasing one, something else came up.

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday and my wife gave me an iPod Photo as a present. It has only been 24 hours and I am having so much fun exploring what I can do with it.

I am now subscribed to some interesting weekly podcasts that will automatically load, I have a small library of songs that I plan to grow over time.

This is truly music on my terms, and that is what makes it so compelling. I wonder if there is a recruiting product/service equivilent?? If there is, Jobster is going to find it.

looking up

I think the Seattle market is heating up in terms of new ventures. I can count about 7 ventures at various stages that friends and colleagues have embarked on, of which 2 have landed some funding (the others are more early stage). This is huge!

Having weathered the downturn at Microsoft, I am very excited to see how these next few years develop. The investment community, entrepreneurs, and start-up employees are smarter, more saavy than '99. There is a solid focus on real business fundamentals- not the funny money days of searching for a revenue model while burning $1.2 mill a month -- OK WAIT, maybe I know of one firm doing that...

I am just happy to be affiliated with these people and the pursuit of their passions. Perhaps I will write about some of these ventures here... but there won't be much I can say... but there is still a lot to glean even if you do not know the industry, the opportunity, or who it is chasing it.

winning over the masses

There is a wind of change that we are witnessing real time in the recruiting industry. Whether I am in Dallas at a Jobster Strategy Session with sales prospects, or meeting with the division recruiting lead of a Fortune100 client, the message is clear: "Something in this industry needs to change." The other consistent thing I hear from those same decision makers is that many companies are talking like us, even though their actual product does nothing of the kind - they see right through it.

Jobster is one of the agents of change in an industry that needs it badly- what a unique and exciting place to be. I will look back at this years from now and say remember when...

The S4 is making me rethink my A4

I have been super happy with my 2003 Audi A4. In fact, it is the most enjoyable car I have had since my 67 Chevelle in high school. The same weekend I purchased the car, we found out we were pregnant with our first son, so I hesitated a little and opted out of the "S" version. Mostly this was in an effort to prove to my wife that as a father to be, that I could make reasonably mature decisions...

The S4 is haunting me each morning on my way to work. We usually meet up around Fall City, both of us creatures of habit. He usually shows me a few moves as we drop down into Issaquah, demonstrating superior accelleration. Did I say haunting??

websites of past

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

This site allowed me to view old Internet projects of mine that are long gone. How nostalgic...

etonomy, paddlepoint, yarddart...

"D" is for dog, Da Da

Twenty two months old and he starts naming letters on my shirt as I am changing his diaper... T - I - O - S - E - L - O. The "L" was particularly fun, he starts with the sound of an "A" and then rolls his tongue.

It is times like this that make me thankful that we have read more than 10 books a day to this boy religiously. He has an amazing vocabulary, about 50 to 75 words.

Still, Jackson continues to amaze me each and every day... although yesterday when he discovered the power of the word "NOW" when demanding things from his parents was a little disturbing!

He always charms his way back with a triumphant, "I DID it!" at even the smallest accomplishment.

what does it all mean?

Every so often I need to take a small step back and take a deep breath. The work we are doing at Jobster is a lot of fun- we are making solid progress with customers and I am constantly amazed at this team that we have assembled. Having spent some time with our WorkZoo founders makes me realize what a GREAT addition they will make to the team. I hear Mark will be running the Jobster Search team, a perfect place for him to continue on his WorkZoo vision within the context of the larger Jobster vision.

These last few weeks we saw record PR levels for our company based on a solid combination of events. More than progress in the space, I think the coverage showed our customers, partners, competitors, and professionals in general, that

1) Jobster is for real
2) Jobster is here for the long hall, not going anywhere
3) Jobster is quick to make moves when it makes sense for customers
4) Jobster will boldly help move this industry to the next evolution

If you have a chance to hear our CEO speak in the future- take the opportunity while you can.

Welcome Workzoo to Jobster!

It is official today and the company & newswire is buzzing. Great addition to our company...