Week of May 13th, 2024
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The 7 Types of Stories in RecOps by Jeremy Lyons
There is a popular adage that there are only seven types of stories (or, if you want to be specific, seven types of plots). Here they are with RecOps themes:
Overcoming the Monster - You are at a company or recently joined one that has a negative opinion of TA or RecOps and you have to fight to prove the value it can bring and overcome the negative perception.
Rags to Riches - You started with few resources but you have demonstrated that RecOps is a force multiplier for the TA team and company so receive great tools, budget, and a strategic seat at the table.
The Quest - You need a new tool (e.g., scheduling platform, ATS), but know you’ll need stakeholder approval as well as research to back why the one you pick is the best and not a shiny object. On all sides you have to use all your soft, or hard, skills to overcome any obstacle and achieve your goal.
Voyage and Return - You leave RecOps only to realize how much you miss it so you come back. With it you bring new ideas and insights on how to make your team better.
Comedy - Let’s face it: if you can’t find the humor in all the situations or people involved, this role will break you.
Tragedy - Layoffs and voluntary attrition. Working late nights on a project or implementation only to have it scrapped at the last minute.
Rebirth - A new manager comes in or new experiences avail themselves to you and it changes your way of thinking.
That seems like one of your more generic weekly posts, why discuss this here?
I discuss this here because when RecOps folks are approached with a problem to solve in our space, we often think about it as if it needs an entirely new solution. This can lead to overly complicated solutions predicated on individual ability, not scalability.
There is one issue with that approach: most problems and the solutions to solve them are not new. Most problems or solutions have plots that have been seen before. So while it might be new to the organization, it likely isn’t new to the industry. In that sense, they are closer to being origin or discovery.
I see you using the words new, discovery, and origin and I’m not following. What do you mean and why?
I borrow these terms from the culinary world because I think they’re important to know and ground ourselves in. To define them:
New: This hasn’t existed before.
Origin: We know where something came from.
Discovery: This might be an old process that hasn’t been talked about for some time or is a blend of ideas.
I use them because they can help when it comes to problem-solving or how to help guide your direct reports.
How will knowing if something is New, Origin, or Discovery help my team or me?
Because if you take a deep breath and look at the facts of what you are working to solve for, you will notice a few common questions will arise:
Have I seen this problem before? If yes, how did I solve it previously? If not, who do I know who might have seen this before?
Who is asking for this solution? Have you worked with them in the past so know what information they are looking for or will you need further clarity? Is the question really coming from them or someone else?
When does the solution need to be delivered? If we need to completely rethink the process or program, do we have the right skills to deliver the solution by that date? If not, how will we find the solution needed?
Depending on how your answers are coming together, you will know if what needs to be accomplished is new, origin, or discovery.
Ah, I see now. So, in a way, knowing the plot and whether you are looking for new, origin, or discovery gives you a framework for moving through things methodically and also for pitching them later to show impact.
Yup, exactly, and good catch. These situations can help when talking in interviews or writing about your work. It’ll also help you see whose style and thinking have influenced your own.
Problem-solving
RecOps - Your Friendly RecOps GPT Update
RecOps has handled thousands of prompts from folks. Thank you to all those who are using it and helping it learn.
Link: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-PDEG1n7fb-recops
Articles / Industry News
Articles/Graphics/Podcasts On Our Radar
Ashby’s Offer Accepted Podcast - Taking your Sourcing Strategy Outside the "Office"
John Vlastelica’s Will AI Usher in An Era of Inefficiency in Recruiting?
Trainual’s How To Write a Standard Operating Procedure (in 4 Simple Steps)
Industry News (sorted alphabetically with space in the RecOps community in parenthesis)
Ashby (AiO) - Placeholders, HireJoy Integration, Hidden Gems #6
Brighthire (Interview Intelligence) - Do AE candidates ask interviewers more / less Qs based on gender?
candidate.fyi (Candidate Experience) - Mastering The Art of Recruiting Coordination webinar
Covey (Sourcing) - The Ultimate Guide to what Talent Leaders need to know about AI in Recruiting
eqtble (Analytics) - 15 Questions to Ask Before Choosing People Analytics Software
Greenhouse (ATS) - Roadmap to add salary benchmarking data within GH, Mastering skills-based hiring: A comprehensive strategy guide for European leaders
Jobsync (Hiring Ops Platform) - Safeguard Your Talent Pipeline: The Data Integration Guide Every Hiring Ops Pro Needs
Recruit CRM (CRM) - Recruiter Cheat Sheet
Permanent Articles
Job Search
Emory University - Career Center Manager, Recruiting Operations - Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. - Manager, Talent Acquisition Operations
Here is the list of previously listed jobs, which may or may not be available.
Additional Resource
ATS Specific Job Boards
iCIMS's HR professionals job board aggregates all the HR jobs across their customers
Workable’s job board aggregates all jobs for companies that use Workable
SmartRecruiters’ job board aggregates all jobs for companies that use SR
Denys Dinkevych's remote job board, which aggregates jobs from all the major ATS
TrueUp - Has a fantastic job board filled with information others don’t like the last time the company did a layoff, application experience based on the ATS, and more.
Boolean Strings for Specific ATS Job Search
We’ve consolidated our list of boolean search strings for RecOps professionals to make them easier for everyone. Check out the list here. Kaitlyn Elting also built a generator for you if you are worried about your attention to detail.
Thank you to Steve Levy for contributing so many wonderful strings and Gabi Preston-Phypers for QA help. Follow both of them for excellent boolean and sourcing content.
#YourNextHire / People Looking In the RecOps Community
Here is a Google Sheet View for a list of people who were previously featured and are still looking.
Events
candidate.fyi ‘s Mastering The Art of Recruiting Coordination
Brighthire’s Quality Over Quantity: How to Increase Talent Density
🎉 Reminders and Disclaimers 🎉
If you’d like to contribute a job, an article (one you found or wrote), or you are a company and have a product update you want featured, contact Jeremy Lyons.
Please use this form if you or someone you know would like to be featured in our #YourNextHire section. The only condition is you are a RecOps professional.
Disclaimer #1: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis do not reflect the position of any entity other than the author. As critically thinking professionals, these views are always subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time. They are not to be held in perpetuity.
Disclaimer #2: We are sponsor-free. No company below has paid us to advertise their products or share their open jobs. If that changes, we will deliberately call out where we stand to benefit. Additionally, sharing these opportunities and information should not be read as support for these companies or their practices. Regarding jobs, we share these opportunities with the community and only post roles from the company's website. We encourage possible candidates to research each one, as their inclusion does not mean we support the companies or their values.
Until next week, Regulators 😊