Last month, I interviewed Geoff Peterson for The Master Sourcer Series. Since that time, he’s presented at ERE, and conferences around the US. I suggested everyone follow him on twitter, and facebook.

He lead a session about mobile recruiting where he taught participants how to “mobilize” their sites using their phones, matchbooks, and IPad tablets. Peterson trains recruiters about linkedin (where he has more than 10,000 connections). What follows are his answers to my key interview questions:

1. How did you get started in the recruiting industry?

About ten years ago I was looking for my first job out of college, and got a call about an open technical recruiter position in Pittsburgh. I asked “what does a recruiter do?” Now, ten years later, here I am still working in the recruiting field.
 
2)      What type of education, skills, knowledge and abilities must a person acquire to become a sourcer/recruiter?

In my personal experience, I don’t think there is a special degree that is mandatory to get into recruiting and sourcing and do it well. If you have a curious nature, a tenacious appetite for research, and a natural sales ability, you should be able to do well. People skills I think are the one key component you need to bring to the table in this profession because you are dealing with a lot of unique and different people daily. I think self-education is important as well. I’ve always strived to learn more, reading industry publications, combing through blogs, digging through books, and networking with others.
 
3)      Tell me about your career trajectory?

Started out as a technical recruiter with Ciber, then went off on my own path for the past several years, owning my own recruiting and sourcing services company called General Lead. Through my company, I’ve had tremendous opportunities to work with the likes of IBM, UnitedHealth Group, ADP and several other clients in various staffing capacities and roles.
 
4)      What do you find most satisfying about your job?

I enjoy helping people find jobs because it’s rewarding. I especially enjoy technology and how you can apply it to better yourself, your company and your clients. Using the latest in social media and mobile strategies has greatly improved my recruiting and sourcing abilities. Specifically, I now have better access to prized passive talent in the market with programs I’ve developed over the years.
 
5)      What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

I used to get frustrated not being able to help everyone find a new job. Working with candidates = investment of your time. I probably receive 250-300 new resumes each day from job seekers. That’s around 100,000 new candidates I get every year. This has to do with the fact I have very visible profiles in several places online. I encourage candidates to reach out to me. It’s impossible to believe I can place every one of these folks, let alone screen them. This is why I created RecruitChute, which is a resume delivery service where I try to connect job seekers directly with other recruiters looking for talent. It’s free for recruiters to use if interested.
 
6)      What sells the most on your website and why?
I’m not sure if I’m out to “sell” anything on my websites, (General Lead, GeoffPeterson.com, RecruitChute, etc). but rather am trying to help, educate and offer my services. RecruitChute is the site that does this well. My personal site, GeoffPeterson.com, gives good background information on my experiences as well as recruiter and sourcer education.
 
7)      What sets you apart from the pack?  Why should clients do business with you verses someone else?

My vast experience with sourcing programs, social media and technology, including mobile devices. I have very solid experience finding both active and passive talent from sources and means that most other recruiters do not use. My current talent pool (in dozens of disciplines) is in the million plus range and growing daily. I wrote a book last year titled, The Sourcer’s Playbook, outlining some of the key ways to find talent online today.

For more information about Geoff check out his site: http://geoffpeterson.com
 
 

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