And you thought Gen Y was the gadget-driven, totally connect generation.  I was utterly shocked by this Online Media Daily story:

The Nielsen Co. released the findings of an in-depth study on the mobile media and cross-media behavior of U.S. “tweens” (ages 8-12). The report estimates that: 35% of tweens own a mobile phone, 20% of tweens have used text messaging, and 21% of tweens have used ring & answer tones.

While text-messaging and ringtones remain the most pervasive non-voice functions on the phone, other content such as downloaded wallpapers, music, games and Internet access also rank high among tweens. According to Nielsen, 5% of tweens access the Internet over their phone each month. While 41% of tween mobile Internet users say they do so while commuting or traveling (to school, for example), mobile content such as the Internet is also a social medium for this audience: 26% of tween mobile Internet users say they access the Web while at a friend’s house, and 17% say they do so at social events.

As the father of a “tween” I am surprised that this many kids (my old school name for them) have a cell phone yet alone access to the Internet.  And they are texting already?  I can’t help but think this upcoming generation, combined with future technological advancements, will someday make Gen Y look like stodgy old dinosaurs.

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The recruiters conference I attended last Friday started off on the right foot – we calculated the cost of a bad hire (even for a $6 an hour employee, it can run $2400 or more), interacted with the moderator about CEOs’ perception of candidates brought in by an outside agency (79% unfavorable) and even discussed the challenge of finding “A” players in a tight talent market. But when the speaker explained their approach of grilling a candidate on each and every job back to high school (Tell me your bosses name. Spell it. Tell me your closest peer’s name at that job. Spell it.) during a 3 to 4 hour long third interview, I began to lose faith in the chef.

This approach to candidate qualification suggests they have no idea which questions will reveal the undefined information their gut requires to make a subjective judgment about the candidate’s ability to fit in. (Italics are all mine and denote disbelief and a little sarcasm.)

This quantity vs. quality approach is certain to destroy any rapport built with the candidate during the qualification process, and simply feeds the interviewer with fodder for rationalization. As a candidate in that scenario, I would jump out of the frying pan fast and head for a more trust-oriented environment.

Effective selection uses evidence-based techniques early in the process to ensure that the final interview is a confirmation of mutual interest, skill alignment and “fit.” Time is not wasted. Questions are revealing and insightful (not just plentiful) and rapport is maintained throughout the process. Assessment tools like the ones used by Select Metrix in their work for our company provide meaningful information and not only help find the right candidate, but help us adapt our new hire orientation and on-ramp activities for maximum traction.

I wonder what the real costs are for spending three interviews (the speaker’s approach included a 1 hour phone screen, 2+ hours at a lunch or dinner interview, and then that final 3-4 hour death march) only to find that the candidate is much further along on the trust meter …with someone else.

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I’m not much of a web address guy though I know their are many who enjoy purchasing domain names.  This Search Insider article provides a good, quick list of suggestions for good (and bad) web addresses.

What Makes a Good URL?

On GoodURLBadURL.com I list some best practices for marketing professionals who, like me, take this URL thing seriously. Here are the Dos and Don’ts I’ve come up with for selecting and promoting URLs. I’d love to hear yours, too — either in the Search Insider Blog or the comments section on my site.

Dos

1. CapitalizeTheFirstLetterOfEachWord.

2. UseDifferentColorsOrBoldToHelpEachWordStandOut.

3. Whenever possible, use YourBrandName.com.

4. If .com is not available, use YourBrandName.net.

5. If .com and .net are taken, find a new brand name. Seriously.

6. Use YourSlogan.com when running an integrated media campaign.

7. Use subdomains when driving people deeper than your homepage — e.g. Product.YourBrandName.com.

Don’ts

1. Don’t include www. We know to go to the World Wide Web to find you.

2. Don’t include http://. If your audience isn’t Web-savvy enough to know where to type the URL, you shouldn’t have a Web site.

3. don’tusealllowercase (canyoureallytellwhereonewordendsandthenextbegins?)

4. DITTOFORALLUPPERCASE

5. No-hyphens/or slashes.

6. Don’t use acronyms, abbreviations, or numbers unless your brand is widely known as such.

7. Don’t bury your URL at the bottom of a billboard. I’m the only nerd driving around with a 4x zoom lens to find URLs.

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We are in the process of some changes here at The Hire Sense.  We are working on a new look and we are adding a new author.  Eric Ramberg is a customer of ours who will be guest blogging on a regular basis.

We have worked with Eric for the past 3 years on many different hiring projects.  I know he will bring a unique perspective to our blog – the hiring manager/customer perspective.  I suspect that perspective will be somewhat unique in the blogosphere.

I hope to have Eric’s bio up on our site later today.  Eric has a diverse background from theater director to sales manager.  The topics for him are wide open and I am sure you will enjoy his point of view.

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