A note from Colleen:
As Talent Connect 2015 kicks off in warm and sunny Anaheim, CA there is an air of excitement in the air and word of major product announcements on the horizon. (Stay tuned). Erin Miller and I are dividing and conquering to bring the most useful and best information back to our team and clients. And you! We will be posting over the next three days to share LinkedIn’s key moments, big takeaways and our reflections.
Here are some of Erin’s highlights from the first day. Enjoy!
Day 1
Tuesday, October 13 || 10:30am
We arrived at the Anaheim Convention Center around 10:30am. Of course, we had to take a selfie:
11am
Colleen and I visit the Share Your Story booth, where LinkedIn has set up TYPEWRITERS (of all things) so that we can type our story on a notecard. I chose a notecard that instructed me to describe an introduction that changed my life forever. Our finished notecards were slipped into an envelope on the wall for others to read and enjoy. What a great, personal idea. And even though we love technology at Intero, I loved the typewriters. Just another way of communicating that networking, connecting and the people part of business is timeless.
1pm || General Session
The Welcome ceremony and keynote begin. HOLY WOW!!! An awesome bearded dj, an improvisational live violin performance, a light show and video cameras in every direction. LinkedIn worked hard to make this a rockstar event.
1:14pm
“We are all CEO’s of our own space.”
Wade Burgess, LinkedIn’s VP of Talent Solutions, shares the story of an inspiring airline pilot who has built his reputation by doing things like reaching out directly to his customers, asking for feedback and making their flight experiences more special by closely paying attention to the details. His name is Captain Denny and he sounds like a wonderful man. Wade shares that Capt. Denny once told him that we are all CEO’s of our own space, further illustrating his commitment to ownership and excellence.
1:18pm
Captain Denny is here! He surprises the crowd by showing up in-person during a layover at LAX. How wonderful to see this special man that we’ve just all been inspired by. I freely admit that I got a little teary-eyed.
Capt. Denny shares his three primary philosophies for excellence:
- Work from the heart.
- Treat everyone like it’s the first time you’re seeing them.
- Don’t allow “it’s not my job” to be part of your vocabulary.
2:30pm
Lars Schmidt, Founder of Amplify Talent and Ambrosia Vertesi, VP of Talent at Hootsuite, take the stage to introduce an open source HR resource that they’ve created called HROS. All of my HR and talent acquisition peers should check it out!
2:51pm
“The war for talent is dead. Talent won. Let’s move on.”
During the HROS presentation, Lars tells it like it is – the war is over and talent won, folks. Let’s move on. This is a moment that will stand out for me for the remainder of this conference. For my recruiting colleagues that have a) viewed talent search as a power struggle between companies and the talent pool and b) are coming around to realizing that the talent pool is influencing and shaping the job market, this quote will be profound, scary and one to contemplate for a while.
4:35pm || Breakout Session
Halfway in to breakout session “Millennials: A Decade In” another truth bomb is dropped – A company’s purpose and mission is the most important factor for millennials in making an employment decision.
So while so many recruiters, me included, have been quick to voice our frustration with this segment of the workforce, we have to remember – they’re just searching for meaning like the rest of us. And because they’re demanding it, it’s forcing companies to rethink the way they attract and keep employees. We actually have a lot to thank millennials for!
5:24pm || Breakout Session
In a breakout session about maximizing searches on LinkedIn, members of the LinkedIn team demonstrate a candidate search on LinkedIn Recruiter. Recruiter doesn’t work. LinkedIn representatives get frustrated.
See folks, even the LinkedIn team runs into issues with their product sometimes!
9:25pm || Hotel Room
Back in the hotel room, p.j.’s on and I’m ready to drift off to sleep. I have visions of smiling faces, new friends and endless opportunity dancing in my head. Until tomorrow, good night and happy searching.
