bourbon-street-new-orleans-wpthelonggoodbyeNext week (and I’m quite excited!) I’m heading over to from Baton Rouge to New Orleans (a 60 mile drive which, by Louisiana traffic standards, will take 3 hours) in order to get my TA mojo on at The ERE Recruiting Conference (#ERE16). My friend Amber Eastman is coming with me (she’s an awesome recruiter BTW) and we’re going to talk recruiting and tech and employer branding and then probably drink a cocktail or two. OK; maybe three. Probably three.

I’ve not been to ERE before and, let me tell you, I can’t believe I’ve never gone to this conference! How is this possible? I went to the inaugural TLNT conference (they don’t even hold that one anymore!) in Austin (circa 2012 ish?) and then, once upon a time, snuck into SourceCon in Atlanta when I was there for a #tru event. So, in some respect, once I get ERE under my belt I will have completed the Triple Crown of the EREMedia conference circuit. Like getting a stamp on my dance card…am I right?

Look…I float hither and yon with the HR/Talent/Tech/Recruiting crowd. I’ve even been known to cozy up to a payroll lady or two having attended and spoken at a few payroll and accounting conferences. (The swag of choice is also Coach bags and stuffed animals; sensible flats are the footwear of choice). However, there is nothing, seriously, like hanging with recruiters for a couple of days. Nothing. Seriously.

Now I’ve got “HR” in my title but over the course of my career I’ve also worked in a recruiting agency, been an in-house recruiter, and done a few stints as a Corporate Recruiting Manager.  (Perhaps that gives away my age; it was before we re-named ourselves Talent Acquisition. Ahem.). Thinking back on it though every time that I’ve gone back to in-house HR I ended up zigzagging back out and went sideways/upwards back into recruiting. My first love. Truly.

Yup; that’s why I’m ALL about talking talent next week. People – and the acquisition thereof – drive the success of our organizations.

Oh sure, when we work in HR-proper we get all pumped up about our ability to churn out ACA notices or manage Open Enrollment. That magical time of the year, am I right? Kill me now. Employee Relations? Got to master that. Employees peeing in the parking lot? Co-workers can’t get along? A rumble in the lunch room. We are on it!

But… let’s face it. In my heart (thought not in the heart of every HR lady) beats a restless quest to source and recruit and hire and onboard and retain PEOPLE.

That’s what we’re talking about next week and I’m looking forward to hearing from/meeting folks like:

Christine Deputy, CHRO of Nordstrom

Jennifer Shappley, Director, Talent Acquisition, LinkedIn

Tiffany Ligon, Head of Talent Acquisition, Vodafone, Americas

Stephen Leach, Manager, Workforce Diversity and Inclusion, Nestle USA

 

Follow along at #ERE16 and watch for dispatches from New Orleans. I may take a picture of two of my Sazerac.

Or the tattoos we’re gonna get!

Maybe.

Let’s Get #ERE16 Tattoos on Bourbon Street!
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