Talentism

New Entries at TuSK

Three new people over at TuSK. Check it out.

Dave Lefkow Posts on TuSK

Just a "heads up" that Dave has put another person up on TuSK. Go over and check it out!

Monster Blog Mentions TuSK

Another nice article about TuSK, this time in the Monster Blog. Thanks to Jayme for this nice mention.

John Sumser Talks TuSK

Thanks John!

There's a new post on TuSK, and three new people have joined as authors. Looking forward to learning about their thoughts and networks.

Why TuSK?

A couple of people have inquired: "Why start TuSK (Talent u Should Know)?"

Over the last couple of months I have had an increasing number of conversations with people whom I respect and admire that go something like this:

For the last (X) years I have been heads-down at work. My whole focus has been doing a great job for my employer / client / customer. Then one day I looked up and realized that the great network that I had prior to the start of my job / project had gone away. And now I raise my head from work and look around and see and hear that a lot of work is getting done through informal and formal referral networks. I feel like I am on the outside looking in. What do I do?

TuSK is my response to those conversations. It is a way for me to give back to all the people who have given me value through the years.  I hope that TuSK develops meaningful networks  for people who may not otherwise know how to "jump in."

And if you are "in my network" and want to become an author so you can tell the world about the great people you know, please write me. Thanks everyone!

Announcing TuSK!

I am not a recruiter. There, I said it. I do a lot of my work in a recruiting department, and spend a lot of time with recruiters and I have been a recruiter in the past. But right now I am doing technology, strategy and business stuff, not the whole recruiting thing.

But once you recruiting in your blood it is hard to forget. It's a lot like sales but with two smiling faces instead of one (since in recruiting you always have two customers: the candidate and the hiring manager). You can go on to start companies and do all sorts of things, but you never forget the high of helping a great person find a job, or connecting two great people so that they go start something great. I think it’s one of the coolest ways known to wo/man to make the world a better place.

It’s with that in mind that I have started a new blog: TuSK. TuSK stands for Talent u Should Know. As I explain on the site, TuSK is about introducing you to:

• People who I have worked with who I think are great, and
• People who I trust and respect, and
• People who the people I trust and respect know

In other words, it’s an informal network of at most one degree of separation. Sometimes you will see a short note from me about somebody I think you should know. Sometimes you will see a note from that person themselves (that note can cover any topic of their interest as long as they think it serves as a way to get to know them better). Other times you will see people I trust and respect writing about great people they know. But no matter what, if you are reading about someone on TuSK he or she is a person I am willing to champion and spend time on.

There aren’t many rules, but the few that exist won’t be broken:

• If I don’t know you, introducing yourself via email won’t qualify as “friendship.” To be a guest author or otherwise be in the TuSK spotlight I need to really get to know you. You figure out how (hint: email always works better than phone or voice mail).
• No fees, no time, no way. Don’t even think about writing me to put someone on if you will get paid for it sometime later. This is a way of building a value network, not of getting my friends rich. If I find out you are pushing people for monetary gain you will be deleted as an author.
• If you like the site, think about using the “Tip Jar” on the left hand column. It will help me cover the costs of the site.
• All posts are approved by me before they go out, so if I don’t like it, I won’t post it. No exceptions.
• I reserve the right to change, add, delete, modify, color and flaunt the rules however I see fit. No whining!

Otherwise let’s have at it and see if we can’t all introduce each other to the great people we know.