Cheezhead Recruiting News and Opinion

The unconference movement has been gaining a lot of traction as of late. Instead of the traditional conference format, where attendees sit in a room and listen to a presenter for a good chunk of time, unconferences allow for a more open format that seems to result in a more interactive learning and sharing experience.

In most cases, unconferences allow presenters and attendees to focus on what they’d like to learn or speak about during that particular event. Most have a very limited set schedule and some have no schedule at all. While there have been a few unconferences in past years, the movement seems to be picking up.

ERE held its Social Recruiting Summit 2009 this June and touted the event as a first-of-its-kind unconference about social recruiting. The event, which only had a partial agenda, was so popular that it sold out.

Next was the BarCamp Recruit event that took place in July in Newport Beach, Calif. Gretchen Benes and Chrisa Mott put together this unconference for recruiters that also was mainly focused on social media. The event was meant to increase knowledge about new technologies and create opportunities for cross-fertilization between people and new ideas.

Then there are the more local-oriented unconferences, such as WISPRR’s annual Recruiting UnConference in Wisconsin and MN Headhunter’s Minnesota Recruiter UnConference. Events like these allow professionals in a specific area to get together and talk about the local recruiting world.

Following on the success of its first unconference last year, and a Las Vegas unconference in May that piggybacked the Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference, RecruitingBlogs.com is now planning to hold its second annual unconference.

RecruitFest, which is labeled as part educational powerhouse and part party, will take place September 23 and 24 at The Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto. RecruitingBlogs.com Founder Jason Davis said he isn’t interested in competing with larger events, but believes the best networking often happens before and after traditional conferences.

“Well, it’s very basic but very powerful,” he said. “It’s much different from a regular conference in that no one will be speaking at you. Attendees will be part of a group that is moderated by a track leader and they will both learn something and teach something.”

This year’s speakers include Geoff Webb, Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jerry Albright, Julia Stone, John Sumser, Marie Journey, Jason Davis, Jenny DeVaughn, Gerry Crispin and the Recruiting Animal.

Subjects to be covered include business development, social media and third party recruiting, as well as a special colloquium on candidate experience. RecruitFest’s set sessions include: Recruiting Disruption; Strategy into Reality; 50 Principles of Success; Live from the Couch; Where Talent and Social Media Intersect; and A Conversation: The Candidate Experience.

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