[BALUG-Talk] Idea for a BALUG talk/presentation: (HR) Panel discussion on (recruiting/hiring/job seeking ...)

[Michael Paoli]

Idea for a BALUG talk/presentation: Panel discussion on ...

So, ... how's this sound for a potential BALUG talk/presentation
(love it, hate it, would change it such-and-such way ...)

HR Panel discussion: getting the right job/candidate in an
up/down/sideways economy, and other interesting/juicy bits

Panel of N folks (probably between 5 and 7 total), plus a
moderator/facilitator, topics/areas to include, e.g.:
o up and down economies:
   o finding great jobs in a down economy
   o finding great candidates in hopping (e.g. dot com boom) times
   o retaining good employees in hot fast-moving economies
   o what needs to or should change when the Linux/IT job market is
     up/down/sideways/strange and what does or should stay the same?
o in all that hiring/contracting process:
   o things companies do right/wrong
   o things HR departments do right/wrong
   o things hiring managers do right/wrong
   o things agencies/recruiters do right/wrong
   o advantages/disadvantages of using recruiters/agencies
o finding the good (or good fits), and sorting out the bad (or bad fits):
   o companies/"opportunities"
   o agencies/recruiters
   o candidates
o in recruitment/hiring process, most
   excellent/horrible/strangest/funniest things you've ever seen done by:
   o company/employer
   o hiring manager
   o recruiter/agency
   o candidate
o ... and if folks want to suggest additional questions/topics to the
   panel or particular members of the panel in advance, or time
   permitting at the event, we could also take those, or a select set of
   them.

Panel composition: I'd propose something like this:
o aim for about 5 to 7 folks total (+ 1 moderator/facilitator)
o recruiters/agencies - absolute maximum of 2 from the same agency or
   (ownership) related set of companies; only allow more than 1 if
   they're quite distinct roles (e.g. client rep (non-recruiter) vs.
   recruiter (not a client contact) or quite substantially different
   roles/positions with little overlap in functionality).  Also,
   diversity in agencies is good (e.g. large vs. small, or relatively
   distinct specializations, etc.)
o hiring managers, HR personnel - no more than 1 from any given company,
   try to cover a reasonably diverse representative set (different nature
   of companies, sizes, etc.)
o if/as relevant, one or two folks with substantial experience in the
   business (e.g. as candidates, hiring or non-hiring managers,
   responsible for screening candidates, etc.).
o general: everyone on the panel should have "substantial" industry (at
   least IT, preferably
   Linux / Open Source / Unix / DBA / network / programming ...)
   experience - say, likely minimum 5 years, preferably 7 (or 10) or more.
o it's BALUG, so emphasis should be on the Bay Area and Linux (and
   more-or-less reasonably related fields/areas) ... but not necessarily
   to exclusion of information on and comparison to other markets.

So, ... how's that sound?  Like/love the idea, dislike/hate it?
Thoughts/ideas/feedback on such proposal?