First off, the venue has changed. Sorry for the last minute switcharoo but we’re excited about the new location. Check out Trinity College at the University of Toronto and all it has to offer. You can view a list of nearby hotels on our travel page or book this one (closest and least expensive) now.

Also, if you haven’t RSVP’d for the party at Slouch Central do so NOW. It promises to be a great time and only track leaders and attendees are eligible to attend so sign up.

Getting in early? Find out where everyone is by using #recruitfest. We’ll be keeping an eye out for you. There’s also an impromptu dinner planned for the night before the conference.

Any questions? Email us at maren@recruitingblogs.com or send @radicalrecruit or @marenhogan a DM.

See you there!

Now best known as @BillBoorman on twitter. Bill is a twitterholic that never sleeps and a self-confessed social media amateur.

Host of Ready For Lift Off on blogtalk radio & owner of The Good News Group (Recruiters) on Linked In. MD of the Bill Boorman Consultancy that supports Recruiters & recruiting firms across Europe.

Recruitment has given him an insight in to the workings of many companies and he believes that this has given him a broad based understanding of business and people in general. He bases his training and consultancy work on this experience. He describes himself as being a non-academic trainer, preferring instead to deliver “true life” training that mixes reality with theory. Through his many experiences he has many case studies that help make sense of the problems delegates face.

As a presenter, Bill has delivered many keynotes to industry leaders, working to his usual aim of informing, amusing, educating and inspiring change. It’s a simple belief that people learn best when they are smiling. Most recently presenting the key note presentation to Elite recruitment leaders, the national recruitment federation (Ireland), World leaders in recruitment Conference, TalentNetLive (Dallas), the REC riding the recession tour, the first Social Media In Recruitment Conference and many more.

Bill is a regular blogger and contributor in many of the recruiting and social media groups worldwide.

Personally, Bill is married with two children, who give him plenty of inspiration. He runs marathons around the world badly and slowly, and loves being in the great outdoors.

He launched Bill Boorman Consultancy in November 2005 to share this experience with others and to develop training and consultancy for a wider ranger of companies and develop keynote presentations to a bigger audience.

Informing ◦ Educating ◦ Entertaining ◦Inspiring Change

In a matter of weeks one of the most power packed, non-traditional hopefully to become a tradition in recruiting conferences will be taking place. If you haven’t heard RecruitFest is back, and it’s better than the original. Why is it better? Because I will be there! Ok, so I’ll get off of my soap box, but seriously, I missed the last event due to work travel and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Traditional conferences are great to go and see vendors and some workshops, but what makes RecruitFest different is that we run the show. The session leaders are amazing, the brain power that will be in the building will be amazing and the shear fact that you will have the opportunity to shake hands with the very same recruiters and leaders you chat with virtually is even more amazing.

I’m not sure about you but I have a list of people I am looking forward to meeting, and I’ll share that in a few, but let’s look at my top 5 reasons why I think you should attend RecruitFest with me!

1.       You’ll be a part of an event called “RecruitFest”. Seriously how cool is that name.

2.       You’ll get to sit at the same table as the presenters to ask real questions and get real answers. (Yes, as opposed to fake ones)

3.       You can wear your earplugs because you’ll get to meet the Animal and watch a live show.

4.       You can read about last year’s event HERE…Did you read it yet? I did and I’m amped to be attending a conference that will not require me to be fancy and uncomfortable selling myself as an expert. I will actually get to learn and be schooled by some of the biggest names in the industry. (at least online J)

5.       Someone told me that Maren Hogan was going to be in attendance and that the MILH herself Sarah White would be singing the opening ballad during the inaugural drum circle.

Gerry Crispin is a consultant, HR practitioner, thought leader and

Acknowledged as one of the most influential leaders in the staffing industry, Gerry and his business partner, Mark Mehler, founded CareerXroads in the mid 90’s and today their firm facilitates intense, small-group meetings with staffing leaders at 80 of the world’s largest multi-nationals. They create experiences that probe cutting-edge employment issues, contrast staffing best practices, and contribute to the evolution of the recruiting function.

Jenny DeVaughn is an Executive Recruiter and Social Media Enthusiast who loves to pay-it-forward. While sourcing and recruiting at Talent Connections, Jenny has earned the nickname, “Bring It On” DeVaughn due to her consistent success in completing hard-to-fill searches.  Jenny

Jenny is honored to be the EVP of Member Services for the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-Atlanta), Director of Career Advancement for the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) and an active member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Recruiting Society.

She is in the top five of the most connected on LinkedIn in the metro Atlanta area with over 15,000 direct contacts. Jenny attended The College of New Jersey and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing through The University of Phoenix.

I should preface this discussion with the admission that this is my first discussion on RecruitingBlogs- and mainly it is due to a request by Maren Hogan…and who can refuse Maren.

I simply prefer to speak directly to individuals, occasionaly comment publicly and, for the most part, my blogs are written elsewhere w/o fanfare and tend to be musings directed only to myself.

That being said, I’m a fan of showing up for a good conversation. I admire the RecruitngBlogs community as an online source of great conversation and look forward to the real-time engagement of old friends and new connections in Toronto at RecruitFest next month.

I’m going because I think it is important to listen actively in a venue where everyone has a voice. I wouldn’t even know how to sell the importance of a format like the one RecruitFest offers- not because I struggle with the value prop but because it is so much a part of my DNA that I wouldn’t want folks who need or prefer more traditional approaches to choose it.

I’ve also been known to hold some strong opinions about the difference between simply recruiting for a buck if it limits making a difference in what you do for a living… regardless of whether it is recruiting or anything else. I’m convinced the former is guaranteed by pursuing the latter.

Staffing is a lifelong passion of mine and one of my hot buttons is digging into what we really owe the job seeker as a stakeholder in the profession we are all attempting to master. I would really enjoy hearing your thoughts…firsthand…next month.