Why take part at any #tru – The Recruitment Unconference? Is #tru really worth it?
Irish Recruiter is a part of tru community – truMunity since the early days and there is simply no other event that has an impact on our business such as #tru.
The collective wisdom at each #tru is the well of ideas that doesn’t dry out but is replenished with new minds and faces every time.
At #tru creativity takes center stage, a new perspective on the recruitment industry emerges every time and, above all, many long-lasting friendships are forged.
Having organised several #tru events in different countires, I may be somewhat biased while answering the above questions so instead I give you reflections of last #truLondon participants to paint the picture.
By Frank Zupan, Director of Talent Management at Associated Materials:
“The great thing about the tru track format is that it’s part knowledge, part experience, part improv and ALL about the discussion. Suffice to say I’m now able to add “tru Track Leader” to my LinkedIn profile!”
“… I was REALLY hungry for learning! And I was able to satisfy that incredible hunger with a fantastic learning experience at #trulondon…”
Read more here
By Trish McFarlane, CEO of H3 HR Advisors:
“I’ve been attending the recruiting unconference for six years. It’s changed quite a bit over the years and as it’s developed, it is now one of the best places in the world (yes, in the whole world) to meet with recruiters, sourcers, talent acquisition leaders, marketing pros, solution providers and practitioners. The secret sauce for this event is that you walk in and immediately feel part of a community and a movement.”
“People who attend are tired of the status quo. They don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. They are there to challenge their own perceptions… and yours. They have the dreamer’s disease and they are going to make sure you have it too. It’s a deliciously, wonderful mix of learning, networking and chaos. With Bill Boorman at the helm and the partnership of Noel Cocca and Matt Charney of RecruitingBlogs and Recruiting Daily, this is not only a great use of your time, but your money.”
“It was a mash-up of all things great in the recruiting industry and the future to come.”
Read more here
By Michael Heller, CEO & Founder of iRevu:
“In 2015 I attended my very first TRU event. I ‘knew’ Bill Boorman from his online presence and met him for the first time in Las Vegas at a conference. He didn’t strike me as the typical HR professional, but had knowledge spewing out the brim of his trademark hat. He mentioned that he hosts an event – The Recruiting Un-conference – designed to get people talking.”
“Bill told me that the TRU events are different…
…So when he kicked off the event, there were a few takeaways. No name badges ensures that everyone is on a level playing field. No inflated titles, no fancy companies. If someone said something interesting and you want to meet them, by all means introduce yourself!”
“…the sessions (called tracks) are also different – the good session leaders are NOT there to show you how smart they are. They show you how smart and innovative YOU are. They are roundtable-esque discussions where everyone is encouraged to participate and share their experiences and thoughts. Anyone can participate, everyone learns. Everyone wins.”
“TRU events are extremely valuable. There’s a warmth and affability about them that draws you in, even when the discussion gets heated. In one session, ‘The Day in the Life of a Recruiter – how we spend our time?’ the leader asked as much and then stepped back while the track attendees discussed everything from sourcing to relationship building to extinguishing the fire du jour. In this session, the what wasn’t as valuable as the how. The attendees were so diverse and their approach so varied, I saw so many nodding their head and saying ‘wow, I never thought about that.’ I plan on attending TRU events for a long time to come.”
” …I learned from everyone there – from the A-Listers to the regular people like me. If you want to wear a name badge and talk about what’s already happened, this is not your conference. However, if you want to be immersed in real discussion about what’s happening and will likely happen, you owe it to yourself to attend at least one TRU.”
Read more here
By Salma El-Wardany, Head of Marketing and Social Media at Recruitment Entrepreneur:
“A total newbie to the #Tru events, I trotted along with my usual preconceived notion and ready to spend the day feeling marginally uncomfortable and mostly bored. Instead, I was thrown into a load of rooms with stuffed animals (way better than the usual stuffed people), not a suit to be seen in sight and apparently, no one stood on ceremony. At all!”
“People didn’t sit quietly while someone on a stage flicked through a PowerPoint presentation originally made in 1999. People definitely didn’t hang around the edges waiting for an opportune moment to dive into a conversation while smiling emphatically and pointing at their name badge. There wasn’t a name badge in sight. And it was a beautiful thing.”
“Instead, just a swirling mass of bodies and human behavior. Of everyone pitching in and discussing topics instead of your standard ‘thought leader’. It was people being human, and that’s when we’re best. When we’re being ourselves and not restricting our behavior or pretending to give a shit about topics we actually don’t care about. We’re all so busy standing on ceremony with one another, tripping over our ‘professionalism’ that we miss out on so much.”
“…when we just relax a little bit and allow ourselves to be the people we really are, networking events are wonderful places. You meet people who think like you. You meet people who don’t think like you, which is even better. You learn things. You change perspective. You enter different spaces. You change perspectives all over again, and above all, you make friends instead of contacts.”
Read more here
By Stephen O’Donnell, Founder of PC Evaluate (online psychometrics), truScotland & The NORAs:
“Recruitment events are regularly rubbish. Big droning conferences in massive auditoriums funded by the excess of tech companies selling their wares. The guru on stage is the only voice of note. The perfectly knowledgeable audience are consigned to just gawp from afar and at best tweet nonsense and soundbites we already heard in 2010.”
“Which is why Bill Boorman’s #Tru Unconference format stands above the rest for quality of recruitment, HR and Rec-Tech enlightenment. Because often, it’s set in the pub environment; or is exercised as such – that you are among friends and colleagues on a level playing field.”
“The Expert is the same as the Newbie: The track leader thing is not a guru thing. If it is, then the leader misses the point. Subject experts sometimes exist, but the voice of everyone in the conversation matters – in fact it’s the conversation that matters. The willingness to share tips and secrets; to support those who enquire – is fantastic. Proper camaraderie amongst professionals. No question is a stupid question.”
“No hiding place for the ‘Subject Expert’: I’ve noticed a trend recently where big and small conference speakers don’t really need to be either a) practising what they are paid to speak about, or b) be as authentic as they should be about their knowledge and/or criteria for expertise. They can get away with it, because they stand up on stage and don’t have to answer for the personal validity of their content. #Tru events are exposing. If you are leading a track as a subject expert, then you have to back it up with real knowledge and practising expertise. You have to answer the Whys, the What Ifs, and the Hows. No Keynotes or Headliners. People who crave that glory end of the spectrum, often seem steer clear of track leadership at #Tru.”
“Community: Oh yeah, at the heart of #Tru, forever has been community. Content and Knowledge, Learning and Expertise – all fantastic – but sometimes there are many who will be there just to meet people who have begun to be old friends.”
Read more here
Hope you are curious to experience #tru and become a part of truMinuty.
Join us at #truZagreb!
