Thinking on the Edges

Thinking on the edges is finding that line between control and chaos, that can create breakthroughs for you and your business. I would suggest that it means even delving into chaos and pushing the line a little further and coming back to transform this into something that can be used effectively.

Growth can come from here, and as Karl Long suggests so does talent. As a job searcher, your online presence is now screened by any prudent employer so why not utilize this space to show your talents. I have stated before that a blog can be an extension to your resume.

If you are a company looking for talent don't just use Google to find dirt on candidates to screen them out (although this can be very effective), also think about using online sources for scouting talent. For example, if you are looking for .Net developers, don't just post on monster, Craig's List or other job boards - try looking on the edges for talent. Try using Google Blog Search or Technorati and look for bloggers with a passion for .Net development. Start by narrowing it to your city or region and then you can branch out from there. Depending on your business needs, you may also find candidates in YouTube or online communities.

There is so many more ways for people to show and present their talents beyond a resume and some references, but unfortunately they are very disparate and difficult if not impossible to link together. I feel like there is an opportunity here to build a talent scouting networking that can build informal resumes on candidates and match these to job opportunities through non linear connections. Keyword based filtering just doesn't cut it anymore. A startup idea I was working on in 2006 involved linking customers with ideas to companies that needed innovative ideas (that actually met customer needs). There are now a couple of startups now doing something very similar. Anyhow, one of the concepts we had was creating user innovation profiles. Among many uses of this concept was an application in the talent market where we could use these profiles to identify candidates that showed strong innovation potential in areas that companies were trying to find and hire for. An example of finding talent on the edges.