This year, the world has known unprecedented challenges which impacted pretty much everything we know, and which will re-shape the codes of work post-COVID. Lots of events have been cancelled or rescheduled due to the pandemic, but some organizers decided to adapt and rethink their format to keep communities connected.
After having to cancel a few of the local formats, Phil Tusing and his team have decided to gather recruitment and sourcing professionals for a global event: Sourcing Summit Virtual (SOSUV). It is not a secret anymore, Sourcing Summit events are titans of the industry, so we were not going to miss this one! I will be attending this 4-days online event from 6-9th July 2020.
Before digging into the details of SOSUV, let’s have a look at some of the amazing initiatives that happened in the industry in the last few months.
PCMA, the world’s largest, most respected, and most recognized network of business events strategists, has recently published a study on the impact of COVID19 on the events industry. They said that “seven out of 10 respondents have moved their face-to-face event partially or fully to a virtual platform, and many don’t see that as a short-term fix during the pandemic but something that will continue alongside in-person events going forward.”
Professionals have noticed an increase of all-digital events in the recruitment industry during the pandemic, which has made knowledge more reachable and accessible for all. At Hudson RPO, a few of us took that chance to attend conferences like the Brainfood Marathon organised by Hung Lee back in April. The event gathered more than 80 speakers and was offering a 24hr nonstop livestream. Hung shared with us how this global event was born:
“There has to be purpose – why are you doing this event? For the Brainfood Marathon, I felt that the HR / Recruiting community as a whole needed to come together.
We were all experiencing such sudden and profound change, we needed to be reminded that there was a strong community out there, that everyone was in the same boat, no matter where you were, or what you did in the recruiting industry.
So the marathon was born – to bring the community together in one day, in one digital place, by pulling a ridiculous stunt of staying on screen for 24 hours”.
Outside of the event, Hung is working hard at keeping the community together with different initiatives such as a weekly live webinar, podcasts, resources and a newsletter that you can find on his website: https://www.recruitingbrainfood.com/
More recently, we have also participated in online training like the AmazingHiring Tech Sourcing Course which has gathered us in a virtual classroom for 5 weeks, resulting in certification.
In the French recruitment sphere, Pierre-André Fortin, who is known as the data scraping magician globally, has started a regular e-coffee to gather the community which was isolated in lockdown.
Twice a day, he opened his online zoom café to anyone who wanted to meet up virtually and talk about recruitment, sourcing, onboarding and even sharing technical tips which led to articles being published. He celebrated the 100th and final meeting last week, ending a rewarding series of valuable gatherings.
From the 6th of July and for 4 days, more than 50 speakers from all around the world will be sharing their knowledge. There will be over 60 actionable talks on talent sourcing and the latest trends and techniques in the industry.
No need to travel, the event will be one click away from the comfort of our own home. Some might say that we will not get the networking benefits that an in-person event offers but fortunately technologies are here to help. The event-tech platform Whova will offer a closed space for attendees to be able to connect, discuss topics, chat privately and share information. The streaming platform used also gives participants the opportunity to ask questions directly to the speakers (live Q&A), and virtual rooms are open if more time is needed after a presentation.
I personally am looking forward to the technical topics and connecting with the global community during the 4 days. Iker Jusue, RPO alumni, will present “Why Sourcing Still Matters. A New Roadmap for Sourcing & Sourcers” and explain how sourcers can keep adding strategic value.
Social Media platforms will be covered with Balazs Paroczay in “The Complete Facebook Sourcing Playbook for Serious Sourcers”, Wim Dammans will tell us all about sourcing on Reddit and Sarah Goldberg will discuss the ins and outs of sourcing with images.
Jan Tegze, who has just released his latest book “Full Stack Recruiter – The Ultimate Edition” will discuss technology in recruitment, how to choose and use the right tools when sourcing.
From automation through to diversity, web scraping, growth hacking, agile sourcing to emailing, everything sourcing related will be covered.
Jessie Caudron is a global sourcing specialist currently working with one of our clients, a digital music distribution company based in France. She will be acting as a UK moderator at SOSUV, make sure to connect with her and say hi!
To get more information about SOSUV, visit https://sosuv.sourcingsummit.net/
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