My Blog


Shaker, Innovation and Carepages


Shaker Advertising:


I have to give three cheers to Joe Shaker Jr. and his team for being innovative and trend setting. The recruitment advertising market in the last 10-15 years has undergone a radical shift. From taking a 15% cut of all media (predominately low volume, high priced newspapers and magazines) for designing artwork, to highly transactional, fragmented, lower priced Internet ads. The model is now more about value add and supplying tools and metrics to:


1) Help firms measure and maintain their employment brand,

2) Help firms target and measure their sourcing process, and

3) Use distribution tools, applicant tracking systems, career sites, etc.

Although these creative types (after all, they are still in advertising) have been the founders of some great success stories -they built the first web-based metrics tool for recruiting (see TMP’s measurement tool), they built the job boards - www.,monster.com and CareerMosaic - now Joe and his team is redefining the job fair market with the launch of their virtual job fair business. This ironically will run in seven markets where they are co-operatively running newspaper affiliated job boards (Chicago, Boston, Rhode Island, DC, Maryland, Virginia (jobfetch) and CTJobs for Connecticut. Last fall, we took this idea to the job boards as a medium to bring their job boards to life. None have jumped on board yet but I am so pleased that Shaker is leading this charge. Frankly, we need more innovators like Joe.

Some one to watch out for …

Check out www.standoutjobs.com ,. the first truly web 2.0 site that enables you (yes you, or any other non-literate Internet HTML type person) to build and maintain a career site with drag and drop technology that supports adding blogs. Video is another rich media. Steve McNair and David Tanguay (ex-Wanted Technology Team members) have recently joined forces and with their BD savvy, will be lining up partnership to many ATS, Job Boards and third party distribution channels.

Check out the latest fundings:


5/20/2008 Paylocity On-line provider of payroll, human resources and time and

$10.0 Adams Street Partners “ Chicago

StarCite On-demand global meeting solutions $15.0 ICG, Norwest Venture Partners, TPG Ventures

6/3/2008 JobPartners Provider of integrated Talent Management products
$17.1 SG Asset Management, CM-CIC Capital Prive, UK HQ Job Partners :
6/12/2008 Bullhorn On-demand front office applications for the staffing and
recruiting industry
5/1/2008 Xactly On-demand sales compensation management $30.0 Glynn Capital Management, Cheyenne Ventures Chicago

Too often, we forget what is important to us, our family and our health. Last week, Brian Kelly of Infohrm welcomed his third child into this world. Maggie Kelly has a heart valve issue, which the Kelly’s were aware of before she was born. The little trooper is hanging in there, hoping the valve issue heals shortly. In the meantime, Brian and his family have been using Carepages (a healthways product offering) to keep all his friends abreast of the progress Maggie is making daily. It’s an awesome way to let us all know what is happening without having to bother the family constantly. This is a prime example of how the web can help us in communications on a daily basis and keep us educated. I love the fact that you can send virtual gifts and messages and see who else is following her progress. Thanks Brian and Molly for keeping us in the know.

P.S . My update on my daughter Katie’s job searching. Wendys interviewed her and told her they would call back. They never did. Six weeks after the application, The Real Canadian Super Centre called and she accepted the job as a check out clerk. The day she accepted, Tim Hortons also called. I now have two employed kids …. who have promptly told me I am ruining their lives…


Wednesday, July 30, 2008



A group of friends at a coffee shop
Foto von Brooke Cagle