A great man sang the words, "The times they are a-changin'." These words, written by Bob Dylan during a time of great uncertainty in our country’s history, very well could have been written today. Today, the U.S. economy and economies all around the world have slowed, thus creating the inevitability of a changed world. It’s how we view that change, however, that will define our future. We can either panic and slip further away from prosperity, or we can come together to make sure that we all reemerge from this slow economy ready to grow personally, professionally, and financially.

We have elected a new President and it will take President-Elect Obama months if not years to get everything back on the path to growth. In the meantime, some of our colleagues and friends have been affected by layoffs or loss of clients. Some of us could be affected as well. Recruiters and sourcers need to come together and help each other.

With all the uncertainty in our chosen profession, now more than ever, we need to help those that have lost their jobs. My first two articles for Recruiting Trends were about leveraging social networking and affinity groups for recruiting purposes. I’ve now put these tools to work for my own colleagues and friends. Within the last few months, several of my colleagues had their contracts terminated early. In order to help them, I immediately setup a Yahoo! Group for those that were laid off, as well as for those of us that remained. It is a place where those of us who are looking for leads can find out about openings we otherwise may not know about. It is my understanding that most of the positions posted on the Yahoo! Alumni Group site have Yahoo! alum as finalists.

As recruiters and sourcers, we are part of one of the most dynamic and expansive affinity groups/social networks in the world. We are a global group. We are a well connected group. Finally, we are a very influential group. We change the lives of the candidates that we place with our clients and hiring managers. We influence product development and change the direction of companies with our placements. We also have a great capacity to help those among us who may need some assistance right now. . Sharing a lead and offering advice are two very powerful gifts we can give to each other.

Whether you are in-house or at an agency, this is the time to improve your skills and your networks so that when the economy turns around, you are ready to knock it out of the park. This is the perfect time to invest in our futures by taking classes, reading books, and reconnecting with old friends. Some of us will leave recruiting and go back to the careers we held before getting into the recruiting game. Those of us that remain have an opportunity to start doing the things we’ve always wanted to do for our companies and clients. This is the time to take some risks. This is the time to show everyone what we’re made of and how we’ll be able to change the world one job req at a time.


The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.
- Bob Dylan