This Blog was moved

This Blog was moved to a WordPress url and can now be found at http://eelcoscheltinga.wordpress.com/ I started using Wordpress because it has more and better content management options. It is more user friendly and most of all it is better geared towards supporting my online presence since Wordpress Blogs can be included in your Linkedin profile. Any articles you publish on your private Wordpress blog will also show up in your linkedin profile. Just like your SlideShare app in Linkedin this information is exposed to you readers and Linkedin Network, which strenghtens your personal brand and generates more traffic to you articles or your (brand)name.

Microsoft en Linkedin partneren

Microsoft en Linkedin stappen samen in het huwelijks bootje. Microsoft's interesse in Linkedin was al eens eerder aan de orde in Feb 2008, maar nu zowaar een echte samenwerking in de vorm van een 'add-on'. Terwijl Microsoft vorige week Explorer 9 aankondigde en de beta versie van Office 2010 introduceerde lieten ze ook weten een aantal nieuwe functionaliteiten te hebben waaronder een Linkedin integratie in Outlook.

Deze integratie, ook wel de "Outlook Social Connector" genoemd, zorgt ervoor dat veel van je Linkedin informatie wordt weergegeven in je Outlook contactpersonen. De bekende professionele informatie en sociaal gerelateerde informatie, zoals met wie je onlangs gelinked bent en welke group posts je gedaan hebt of wat je huidige status is worden weergegeven in een uitklapbaar venster onderin binnenkomende emails. Uiteraard met alle mooie profiel foto's zoals we die kennen van Linkedin erbij weergegeven. Je kan doorklikken op de foto's en zo de detail info per persoon oproepen en je netwerk blijven uitbreiden vanuit de functionaliteiten waar de meeste professionals direct mee werken, in dit geval Outlook, zoals Elliot Shmukler aangeeft op de Linkedin Blog. Linkedin wordt daarmee de eerste Social partij die aanhaakt bij de nieuwe connector van Microsoft.

Aanvullend wordt profiel informatie zoals laatst bekende functie e.d. direct bijgewerkt in het geheel en kan je, wanneer iemand nog niet in je netwerk zit direct een uitnodiging versturen om bij elkaar aan te sluiten. Volledige synchronisatie van de laatste gegevens tussen Outlook contacts en Linkedin dus wanneer iemand zijn informatie wijzigd in Linkedin wordt je Outlook client automatisch bijgewerkt. Voor de Plaxo gebruikers onder ons eigenlijk niets nieuws, die doen dat al minstens net zo lang als Linkedin bestaat. Plaxo is hier mee gestart en voegt nu netwerk activiteiten toe, waar Linkedin nu juist met netwerken is begonnen en nu het omgekeerde doet.

Linkedin is blijkbaar druk bezig met partnerships de afgelopen weken. Eerder al kondigde het een samenwerking aan met Twitter waarvan je nu je status direct kan inlezen door het toevoegen van #in of #li in je tweet. Samenwerkingen met IBM en Lotus Notes werd begin van het jaar al aangekondigd. Door het brede draagvlak van Outlook is deze uitbreiding voor Linkedin een belangrijke om nog meer marktaandeel te krijgen in de markt van professionals en zo zijn platform te vergroten. Aankondigingen met andere mail providers zullen binnenkort ook wel voor de deur staan. Zo hoop ik zelf op een integratie met GoogleApps en GoogleMail. De nieuwe functionaliteiten zullen meegaan in de Office 2010 producten en kunnen ook gedownload worden als plug-in voor de Outlook 2003 en 2007 versies.

Linkedin platform open voor business

Linkedin heeft nu dan eindelijk zijn langverwachte API's aangekondigd bij het grote publiek: Linkedin Platform Open for Business. Gister verstuurde zij een aankondiging met toegang tot de API's voor Search, Profielen, Field selectors, Connecting en Netwerk updates. Ontwikkelaars worden hier in de gelegenheid gesteld om direct in de code te duiken en functionaliteiten in websites of applicaties op te nemen. E.e.a. moet het makkelijker gaan maken om direct vacatures te gaan publiceren vanuit je CMS of ATS systeem rechtstreeks op het Linkedin platform. Tevens kan gedacht gaan worden aan de mogelijkheid om natuurlijk profiel informatie uit te gaan wisselen en sociale netwerk activiteit weer te geven binnen persoonsgegevens van kandidaten of contactpersonen. Vergelijkbaar met de Outlook Social Connector zoals aangekondigd door Microsoft.

Deze stap zal ongetwijfeld een golf van nieuwe innovaties en toepassingen met zich mee brengen waar de verschillende eindgebruikers lang op hebben zitten wachten.

Architects can move mountains.

Absolutely Amazing! This film was sent to me by my collegues in Denmark. It's about architecture, but it presents it in a way that I never thought off architecture before. You have to watch it till the end to see what he is getting to. But don't worry the entire film is interesting to see. Bjarke Ingels is an inspiring presentor and a firm that really takes architecture and building to the next level. This guy is not only visionairy, he actually has accomplished to take this to a realized level. Sit back and enjoy the new way of living and working in a construction that is actually acting like nature. Blocking the wind, collecting solar energy -- and creating stunning views.

Aandachtpunten Carriere website

Vanmiddag is het event "Digitaal-Werven" waarin aandacht wordt gegeven aan de digitale sollicitatie ervaring bij bedrijven. Dit event wordt nu inmiddels voor de 3e keer gehouden. Zoals wij hier al eerder bekend maakte was in 2007 1 van onze klanten de winnaar. Het zal mij vanmiddag erg benieuwen of Reed Business, die alweer zijn genomineerd, wederom met een prijs weglopen.

Waar wordt dan op gelet bij zo'n event en wat zijn belangrijke aandachtspunten om op te letten bij het opzetten van een eigen carrière of 'werken bij' website. De punten hebben we niet zelf verzonnen, maar zijn zeer zeker nogmaals noemenswaardig. Wanneer je er over nadenkt eigenlijk wel logisch, maar waarom wordt er dan toch zo weinig aandacht aan besteed op websites. Reden voor ons om ze nogmaals toe te lichten en hieronder nog eens te bespreken. De aandachtspunten zijn ook te vinden op de digitaal-werven site, maar wij belichten ze hier nogmaals om in overweging te nemen.

Een aantal van deze zaken, zoals een algemeen bedrijfsprofiel en de vacatures worden vaak standaard afgedekt. Helaas blijkt veelal dat veel zaken eromheen die voor de kandidaat een extra indruk geven en bijdragen aan de totaal 'ervaring' nog worden gemist.

Lees meer...

Literally Browsing through Real Live, its possible!

Ever thought the movie the matrix was someones imagination gone to the extreme? Sure it is, but look how "Augmented Reality Browsing" is getting another step closer to getting real live and the online world mixed together. In Augmented Reality Browsing they go hand in hand to serve you on a new level in the real world.

So what is Augmented Reality Browsing.
It is a way to use your browser on the real world. Just like you would browse certain topics on the internet through Google. You can now use your phone to browse what you see in reality in front of you based on certain topics, such as housing, shopping, bus or metro stops, etc. Turn the camera of your phone to where you are going, turn on Augmented Reality Browsing and your phone will display a layer over the screen and the real picture to where you are positioning the camera. Based on the topic your trying to find your phone together with its gps will tell you exactly where to look.

What does this apply to
Basically you can apply this to any topic you can imagine looking for in the real world. It is all dependent on how fast the technology will provide this for us. Right now a company like layars.com has given us the first 200 layars that we can use. With layars in this particular situation (very applicable name) we mean the scan or layar of information they can put on your camera's positioning. For example the nearest ING bank or the nearest house for rent/sale, or bus stops, etc. Simply it will make live easier again.

Still not convinced
Watch the following two video's to show you what this can do for you. If you have not heard of this before. This will blow you away. This technology is already working.

Video 1: Layar.com using "Funda" housing as example


Video 2: Nearest Tube Station from "acrossair"



Does it add value to recruitment?
Of course this can also be applied to the wonderful world of recruitment. Although I have not yet heard of people requesting for these services, it is probably just a matter of awareness among recruiters. As soon as they understand the technology and possibilities I expect them to start asking for applying their company and job profiles on these services.

Will it add value? yes I think so. But not for all vacancy types. I think for jobs at stores in busy shopping streets this may work, but when you are recruiting for the higher end or mid-level career jobs, I don't think this typically will be used much by applicants, but then again you may never know.

SaaS Customer Bill of Rights

For all people considering going into Saas (Software as a Service or online software) this is a great document that paves the requirements for true SaaS suppliers. This report is MUST READ for anyone purchasing SaaS models. I am proud to say that my company, PeopleXS, meets these requirements seemlesly.

Source: www.altimetergroup.com

AG Customer Bill of Rights - SaaS - Live

iphone en recruitment goeie combinatie

Dat de iphone een geweldige telefoon is weten we allemaal inmiddels wel. Ook ik heb er onlangs één aangeschaft om te zien hoe de consumenten- en bedrijfsapplicatietoepassingen erop kunnen werken. Opvallend is dat er op het gebied van recruitment nog niet heel veel toepassingen zijn gebouwd. Voor Gordon Lokenberg reden om hier als recruitment goeroe op in te springen met Lokloq.

Met de gedachte van Forrester Research dat op direct messaging of sms op mobiele telefoons een 95% penetratiegraad is en 5 tot 25% response rate lijkt het ook logisch om het mobieltje nog meer in te lijfen in het recruitment vak. In principe betekent het, dat bijna alle mobiele telefoongebruikers het ontvangen bericht zullen lezen wanneer zij zich daarvoor aanmelden. Inkopper toch, zou je zeggen. Lees het hele artikel...

Perfect Example on Recruiting through Social Media

This must be one of the best examples I have come across in recruiting on how to fill a position. This shows that Forrester understands the effect of Social Media. They are recruiting through Jeremiah’s own blog with a guest post.
For those that don't know Jeremiah Owyang, he is the one leaving the verry position they are recruiting for. Jeremiah is one of the people that people turn to with questions on Social Media and has travelled around the world for Forrester to teach people and corporates about this topic. You can refer to him as a guru on this subject matter and has met probably thousands of people that know this subject. He therefore is "the one" with the network to recruit for this position.

Recruiting at the heart of your market and using Jeremiah as brand ambassador for ‘his Job’ is brilliant. Perfect example that Forrester understands recruitment and social media use.

Just for the example I think it would be great to follow the rest of the process and apply for the job myself, but since I don't qualify for the "non-negotiables" and I love what I am doing now, I will skip that part.

So why is this such a great example for the recruitment industry? Here are some thoughts:

• The introduction by Jeremiah himself. You cannot be more convincing than this. He knows best what the job includes!


• Recruiting on this blog puts them at the heart of their target market


• They use the online Social Media network to spread the word. Connecting through facebook allows them to draw more friends in the network to the blogpost and so to the position.


• Jeremiah continues to be a brand ambassador to Forrester, even after he's gone


• They use links to twitter & blog profiles to follow people and get their impressions to set the company and job culture


• They introduce the team with pictures and profiles that the applicant will become part of


• They define clear and non-negotionable must-haves for the job


• Clear links to twitter and Linkedin profile of the "recruiter"


• Clear links to Forrester community for more impressions


• Options to share this post with multiple social media channels so the viral marketing of this post can do its work

It would be interesting to see how fast this job is filled, how qualified the person is and if he comes out of Jeremiah's realm of influence.

Some more thoughts you can consider when posting jobs:

• Make sure you follow up correctly when people start applying for the job on your website.


• The webform and follow up responses are critical. Make sure it is branded and looks the part.


• If possible skip the webform and either parse the CV automatically or have people apply for the job with their Linkedin profile or Facebook profile.

At PeopleXS we can make sure that the Facebook profile is read directly into your ATS with contact details, work experience, etc.

So for all recruiters out there. Keep this list in mind when you post your next job. I will do my part in making sure you are enabled to do this easier when using PeopleXS allthough a lot of this comes down to your own creativeness.

Let me know if you have more good ideas and I will include them in this listing
Good luck!



(special thanks to @bvdhaterd's tweet and reference to rectec.nl)

Flexibility in SAAS

Flexibility as SAAS supplier remains an interesting and disruptive topic. Even though PeopleXS has set a new standard since the year 2000 in approaching software development for an Applicant Tracking System, it seems that different parties are finally trying to catch on.

What does flexibility mean?

Typically all suppliers say they are very flexible in their system. They can change things such as tab labels, workflows, reports, etc. But that is just it. They can change it, but "they" have to do it! Real system flexibility however means that admdinistrating users of an application can change these items themselves. And I am not talking about changing a label on a field or tab or changing the data selection for input on a standard report.

The kind of flexibility within a SAAS model that I am talking about (or that PeopleXS is enabling) includes creating your own new custom fields that:

• you can immediately use in the application;


• you can immediately use in reports;


• you can use in the report wizard when you are creating your own reports;


• you can use and immediately display on an application form on the website;


• you can use as a field on the vacancy text dislay on your vacancy portal;


• and that you can use within your search engine.

That is the kind of flexibility that we are talking about at PeopleXS. Customizable by your own administrator within our normal user interface.

Why would I want to have this flexibility?

The foremost reason is that you don't need a PeopleXS expert, you don't need development and you don't have to spend money to get it done.

Secondly Software as a Service (SAAS) is per definition suitable for this kind of functionality. Isn't this what the internet is all about? Making things easier for all involved! If we would not create these kinds of benefits within SAAS we might as well have stayed with the client-server model that we were all used to.

As a third reason we can see that technology and organizations are constantly changing and so, even though you may standardize your work processes and candidate and vacancy handling, you should have the same options to change your ATS along just as quickly and easily. Again, without the use of expensive expertise.

Ofcourse, when you don't want to be bothered with system settings you should have the option to have your supplier do it, but it should be an option, not something you are forced to do as otherwise your investment becomes worthless.

PeopleXS is still market leader in customization within one standard product. We have been doing this since day one, and even though, others are trying to catch up. It is not done this intensely to serve the end-user and value the people that are using the tool.

This was recently confirmed by Jacco Valkenburg, Dutch Recruiter of the year 2009 and author of the book "Recruitment via Linkedin". Jacco is currently writing his new book "Recruitment Systems and Technology" where he is comparing the different Recruitment Applications on the market. After a meeting with Jacco as one of the last ATS suppliers on his list he stated about PeopleXS "I am very impressed with the flexibility of the system setup and have not seen it in this intensity before"

Unique visitors facebook.com doubled

Really increadible, but the number of unique visitors on facebook over the last six months doubled. Leaving myspace behind in the dust, facebook literally took off from 59 million to 122 million! Facebook clearly is becoming the next big thing in Social Media even though they are not a new party in this arena. They are averaging 700,000 new users each day. Most growth, 70%, is located outside the US.

Een ander perspectief op Social Media

Sociale Media in de wereld van recruitment is echt groot aan het worden. Logisch want er zijn veel mogelijkheden om je online tussen de mensen te bevinden waar je naar op zoek bent. Er wordt zelfs zoveel over gesproken dat men hier en daar ook uit het oog verliest wat je er nou werkelijk mee kan doen. Juist om die reden denk ik dat het goed is om niet te ver vooruit te streven of onszelf te verliezen en ook bij de mogelijkheden van 'nu' stil te blijven staan. Focussen we wel op de juiste technologie?

Lees het volledige bericht hier verder

Social Recruitment Evolution

The Future of the Social Web

The objective of a blog is to keep people up to date of recent experiences and new(s) facts. My visit to the Corporate Social Networking Conference 2009 in Amsterdam has already been 2 weeks ago, but it is still interesting enough to write about. I will discuss the various topics separately in different blogs over the coming period.

The first speaker of the event, Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester, made a big impression on me. He stated “that Communities will continue to evolve over the next few years to and become companies and institutions that will be in power of product brands and services”. Basically not new for me, however the steps that he described on the road ahead I find very interesting. In the following article I will describe these steps.

Fact is that the Netherlands is taking the lead and is far ahead in Europe with the penetration of Social Media in daily live and work. 40% of the dutch are on Social Networks such as Hyves, Facebook, Linkedin and twitter being the most popular. Innovative companies differentiate themselves by setting up communities for their customers where they can discus products and experiences.

The whole social experience nowadays is rather chaotic or disjointed for a lot of people. People talk about, lots participate, but by far not everyone, and actually most people are still unaware of what they can accomplish or do with it. Let alone where we are evolving to. Part of the reason for this is that most consumers still have separate identities within the several social networks that they visits. These are still separate islands.

Simple technology should provide a ‘portable identity’ within the near future that will enable consumer to take their identity with them wherever they surf on the web. This will cause a significant transformation of marketing, eCommerce, CRM and advertizing. Mobile ID’s are just the beginning of the steps in this process of independent sites towards a total social experience. Consumers will start depending on their peers and the opinions of others when they are buying online. Socially connected consumers will empower communities and pull away the decision making power from the brands itself. Eventually this will lead to communities that will create and develop the next generation of products by themselves.

Soical Networks are a representation of what we do. We connect to it and share info. Ofcourse companies and brands would like tap into this information and review our social data, profiles and friends. The problem right now is that we are all working on different islands or networks which leads to frustration with the consumers using the technology as they have to register their info over and over again as well as the brands that would like to connect to us.

The web is now evolving to a phase where the various networks can overlap in different area’s and share information through SocialID’s which allows for brands and people to start communication in a totally different way. The evolution of the web in this area proceeds through 5 phases or ‘era’s’as Owyang calls them, these are:

1. Era of Social Relationships (people connect and share).
This is the first development fase of the social web as it started in the 90’s and as we now know it. Simple data is stored and can be shared with each other. This process that has already taken place forms the basis of the following four era’s that will be described below.

2. Era of Social Functionality (Social networks become operating systems).
Today’s Social Networks have evolved passed the stages of ‘friend’ networks to platforms that engage social interaction through various applications and give a new meaning to communities. But even now social relations are still imprisoned within these sites.

3. Era of Social Conolization (every experience becomes soical).
In the following fase of social evolution, that we can probably expect later this year, technologies like OpenID and Facebook will enable people to surf the web and take their social online connections along with them. The bounderies of social networks and traditional websites are beginning to fade out and every website visit will become a social experience.



4. Era of Social Context (Personal and accurate content).
Next year, when most websites are starting to recognize the personal identities of their visitors and their social relations, companies will customize the information presented to visitors of the site based on their experience, their interests and preferences, and who their friends are. In addition to these intense social applications social networks will include email type functionality and form a basis for everyones online experience as they will move the information towards you. Which reminds me of the movie "Minority Report" from several years ago. Check this scene...



5. Era of Social Commerce (Communities shape future products and services).
In about two years from now, when social networks are the repository of personal identities and relationships, they become more powerful then ever and even more powerful than Corporates and CRM systems. Communities will become the driving force behind new innovations and brands. This will result in an inferior position of brands in relation to the community and will be a major turnaround in the power of the connected customer.

What do you mean Revolutionary? Democrocy rules!

Sharing Music tracks with Soundcloud

Hi All, my son is really into music and creating his own tracks. He loves sitting behind his keyboard for hours and playing with FruityLoops to get the right beats and tunes set up, yatayatayata. In the past you really needed tons of expensive equipment and a real live studio to make some kick-ass music. Today you can simply do that from behind your computer or even with a simple iPhone (I've been told). Now I found a cool tool for him that he can use to update all his friends on what he is doing and at the same time listen to what they are listening to. Soundcloud lets you update, move and send music around fast.

You can receive, send and distribute music with your friends and fans. Listen to it and download when you like it. You have a drop box location where you can simply listen to all your received music by people you follow or don't follow in a playlist. You can delete it right away or get back in touch with the creators if you're realy down with it.

When you have send stuff yourself you can keep track of what you've send, who has been listening to it and who has been downloading it. Before you know you'll be a rock star yourself. Check out this introduction video. ....it's cool!

SoundCloud: The Tour from SoundCloud on Vimeo.

First Twitter Recruitment App

The first job application for twitter is there. At least, as far as I know the first. Tweepjob. Both for candidates and recruiters or actually Tweepseekers and Tweephunters. You simply place a hashtag and 'tweephunt' or 'tweepseek' in your Tweet and Tweepjob pickes up the data and puts it on Tweepjob. Tweepseekers are those who are looking to find a job and Tweephunters are those that search for candidates. Pretty obvious, I guess. Tweepjob has been intended to bring companies and candidates together as with other recruitment tools. At a positive match between hunter and seeker the interested follower automatically receives a tweet from Tweepjob to indicate that there may be an opportunity for either one. Tweepjob origins in this difficult time where also IT unemployment has become a phenomenon. The use of Twitter and awareness of the API's by developers has completed this tool. Currently it is still a beta version. Simple but efficient, this can be a good app when people use it en masse and the matches come true. The massive use of Twitter does not seem to be a problem now lets see the matches that come about, I'm curious! I have not tested it yet. I will try and see what happens by placing a #tweethunt for a coldfusion developer in Den Haag, The Netherlands. Feel free to place a #tweetseek and don't hesitate to see if the match takes place.

this is what happens so far... the tweephunt:


and indeed it comes through on tweepjob as follows:



Now lets wait for a match to come through, so far nothing yet. Or am I doing something wrong?

Is recovery on its way?

Yes, it never stops.. Again news on the economy. But this time a really interesting film on the affect of the economy from a classical classroom perpective. What is yet ahead of us and when is the recovery predicted to take place. Are you using this time to prepare your business, HR and recruitment procedures to get ready for the next recovery take off, that, we know is coming eventually. ... sometime after summer 2009 is already being mentioned!!!

Dr. Robert Genetski's keynote presentation from the ERE Expo 2009 Spring. Promising stuff

Evolution of IT.....so, what does it all mean?

OK, I know, it is an easy way to get out off a real textual entry on my blog, since it is not a written entry, but I did like what this film was trying to get accross and thought it was worth sharing... it is a fact! Technology is growing rapidly and faster then ever before. We live in a time where more information is shared then ever before and the information at hand is already outdated. Even before you get it! Anyway check it out, I am interested to know where it will lead us and what it all means?

Dilbert's truth about Consultancy

Sectoren in Stress

Volgens een onderzoeksrapport van ABN Amro bank (NewBank)naar de gevolgen van de kredietcrisis voor sectoren in Nederland dat uitkwam eind februari 2009 komt de IT-sector er beter vanaf dan andere sectoren. DE IT zal de gevolgen niet ontkomen maar de groei zal rond de nul-factor liggen.

Volgens het gesprek wat ik vanochtend had met Jeroen Jong, accountmanager ABN Amro (New Bank) omtrent het rapport wat hij overhandigde lopen de meningen over hoe IT-dienstverlening zich tijdens een recessie zal ontwikkelen uiteen. In het verleden was IT vaak 'recessieproof'. Maar dat was wel in een tijd dat de informatietechnologie in opkomst was en investeringen in IT als strategisch werden gekenmerkt. (volgens mij hebben IT-bedrijven nog nooit een echte tijd van financiele-/kredietcrisis meegemaakt)

De zakelijke IT-dienstverleningssector lijkt relatief gezien minder gevoelig voor de huidige economische neergang, stelt het rapport. Natuurlijk vind er vraaguitval plaats, vooral vanuit de financiele sector, één van de grotere opdrachtgevers, die het hardst geraakt wordt door de huidige kredietcrisis. Maar IT-diensten gelden door hun noodzaak en onderscheidend vermogen, over het algemeen toch niet als eerste aangewezen besparingspost voor bedrijven. Wel is te zien dat grotere projecten worden uit- of afgesteld. Bedrijven die met onderhoudscontracten werken zullen weer minder merken van de crisis. Daar waar IT (aantoonbaar) bijdraagt aan een efficiëntere bedrijfsvoering zullen ook in een tijd van recessie (of zelfs juist) ondernemingen in IT willen investeren. Een kleine krimp in hardware en lichte groei in software en dienstverlening. Diversificatie naar klantsegment is komend jaar cruciaal! Specialisatie richting financiële of industriële opdrachtgevers is een nadeel [killing dus] aangezien de omzet in deze segmenten sterk terugloopt. Voor het eerst zal de marge van IT-bedrijven wel onder druk komen te staan ivm de stijgende loonontwikkeling.

Zelf ben ik van mening dat bedrijven juist in een tijd van 'bezinning' hun processen onder de loep gaan nemen. Ondanks hectiek zullen ze de tijd nemen om processen te herstructureren en juist nu te investeren om ze op orde te brengen. Voor het eerst zal er echt duidelijk voordeel ontstaan voor de online dienstverleners die via het SAAS model (Software as a Service) werken. Met hun abonnementsvormen en maandelijkse betalingen zijn daar geen grote investeringen vooraf noodzakelijk wat in deze tijd direct zijn ROI terugverdiend.

Dergelijke berichtgevingen lopen volledig in lijn met mijn eigen bevindingen in de markt en de manier waarop bedrijven een beroep op ons blijven doen.