HR Summit 2011

hehe..that's me!

Luna Park is beautifully situated juuust over the Sydney Bridge

The conference was held at Luna Park - yeah, it made me want cotton candy, too

Jamie, myself and Stuart - terrible lighting, beautiful background!




On 7 April, 2011 I was a main speaker at the HR Summit Sydney 2011 in Luna Park, Sydney. It went fantastically well (I think, anyway) and the feedback I received was all positive. I'd venture to say it was the best presentation I've ever given! I spoke for 45 minutes on the importance of utilising social media in the recruitment space and how HR corporates and recruiters can go about implementing a social media strategy. Overview (see full conference agenda here) below:

12:15pm EXPERT COMMENTARY Understanding, maximising and leveraging social media in recruitment and employer branding
With 9 million Australians using social networks and spending more time on social media than any other country in the world, the importance of forming an online recruitment strategy is essential. Social media has shifted the recruitment landscape by connecting candidates, recruiters and businesses together. Tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are allowing us to be more creative in connecting with people, while candidates are increasingly turning to these tools to learn about organisations and the positions they have available. Explore:
• How to build, manage and maintain a niche online talent community
• Fostering a sense of innovation in your employer branding message
• Social media governance: Understanding the boundaries
• iPad, iPhone and Blackberry: Focusing on mobile recruiting
• Talent management case studies
• How to use metrics to evaluate social media recruitment success
Mariah Gillespie, social media strategist, JXT Consulting Pty Ltd

There were around 250 delegates in attendance, and while I was a bit nervous at first, once I started talking I really just let it all roll off my tongue. To be honest, I could go on for hours on social media, especially facebook, and because I work in the space all day, every day, I knew that I was the expert in the room and that I was the one that had the authority. Obviously using social media is new to a lot of businesses and having an online marketing degree doesn't mean you necessarily know anything about it. I was a little nervous that I would be thrown a question I couldn't answer, but I took on every objection with ease. In fact, mid-way through the preso, I dared someone to object to social media, to give me a reason why it wasn't important...I believe I dared them to "attack" me, but I don't remember the exact wording.

Speaking of exact wording, I'm extremely, extremely disappointed in the HR Summit for not video taping my segment. Every other session was taped, and the guys with cameras were always walking around the conference interviewing people and taping people interacting, networking, eating lunch, whatever. But for my session, the most interesting session, the most provocative session given by the youngest speaker in the most innovative and dynamic space....that session wasn't documented in any way. I couldn't believe it. I was assured that it would all be recorded, and I was planning on uploading it to our company facebook page, tweeting it, embedding it on our website and most certainly putting it up here. But nope. No go. #HRsummitFAIL, for sure. Also, there was no mention of hashtagging on twitter, so there was no online community in which people could share ideas, feedback and support throughout the 2 days. For instance, if someone heard something useful in my session, they could have tweeted "great session by @mariah_onfiah from @jxtconsulting on social media and recruitment #hrsummitsydney. The #hrsummitsydney bit categorises it so that everyone at the event can see what everyone else is saying about it. Also, no mention of wireless internet, though I'd heard from the LinkedIn guys that there actually had been wireless the whole time. ALSO, the computers were antiquated machines, slow and outdated. No macs. Also, because there was no wireless, there was no internet for my powerpoint pres. Everything was done via screenshots, which was annoying, because obviously I would have liked to shown my audience some live facebook feeds or twitter pages. A youtube video would have been nice, too. But nope. And just to top it all off, all of the 300ish delegates were provided with a feeback form on their HR Summit experience. But the main speakers, who, at the end of the time, made the damn thing happen to begin with, were given nothing. No online form, no paper questionnaire, nothing. A lovely thank-you-for-participating email, to be certain, but nothing else. Hence, I'm forced to whinge about it here!

Speaking of here, what a terrible blogger I am hey. I go for six months without a single word, then post some rant about Yamaha Music and now here I am giving full blown presentations on the importance of social media with a blog that hasn't been updated in ages! Terrible, I know, but life has been hectic. Very, very hectic.

In other news (ha, "other" news..I haven't even touched on the most important news yet, regarding work, play, stay, teaching, weather, Australia, friends, fun times, good times, bad times, flatmates, trips to Brissy, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise...), I'm officially moving to Melbourne! JXT Consulting is pretttttty much the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm starting up my own social media division. I really enjoy working in the Melbourne JXT office (the "engine room") with Jamie (jkill), Wil (with one L), the Cat (Stephen Catley) and Andrew Tan the Finance Man (the key to happiness at JXT is keeping the TanMan happy!). I'm very excited to embark upon this new challenge (moving to a new city, new people, new streets, new beaches, new working environment and new opportunities) and am confident that I can handle it. After all, this American in Oz is still an American, and still in Oz!

Speaking of being an American in Oz, I'm officially sponsored! My 457 visa has finally come through, meaning my visa is valid for another 4 years, as long as an Australian company continues to sponsor me. And with the social media industry taking off the way that it is, trust me, there's no shortage of companies willing to sponsor me. I'm getting job offers left and right, from LinkedIn, linkme, post-presentations, word of mouth..even my own clients are trying to snatch me up! I'm very happy where I am, however, and foresee a lot of really fantastic things happening in the coming months. Stay tuned!