John Sumser: A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing?
- Author: Amitai Givertz
- Posted: April 12, 2007
- Category: Business Matters, Blogging
- Tags: No Tags
- Comments:
Part One in a Series About Today’s Recruiting.com
Since the announcement that industry ol’-timer John Sumser will be replacing the beloved Jason Davis to assume a management role in the affairs of Recruiting.com I have been organizing my thoughts so that I could communicate in some coherent way the assortment of important things that this one event represents.
Like the symbols of Easter - lambs, eggs and lilies, bread, wine and what-have-you — alone they mean one thing but together they convey a greater meaning, significance and potential for those who “believe.”
So, under the banner of this short series of posts we can discuss each one of these things drawing them together to make sense of what combined represent the symbols of Recruiting.com: content, community, transparency, social media, corporate social responsibility, thought-leadership, online persona and personal branding. You digg?
For the atheists and agnostics among us – those less concerned with the higher purpose of publishing in our space as a force for change – these things along with a good dollop of ego-mania, profiteering and power-play make for interesting gossip I think. So whether you hear a prayer in the whisper or something else, come a little closer and I’ll speak softly in your ear.
I shall start out with a four-part introduction to the characters in this passion play:
…concluding with a couple of posts that attempt to make sense of the confusion this transition is generating, discussing the competing interests and suggesting how we might all emerge from this empowered, I hope.
Part One, then:
John Sumser is widely thought of as the seminal figure that put online recruiting on the map with his daily digest of industry news and commentary. Since 1994ish, John Sumser has been prolific in his output on interbiznet and the comment-free Electronic Recruiting News.There aren’t many people who have been around this space for any length of time that would contest the widely-held belief that it was John Sumser who created an appetite for the more creative menus being served up today by David Manaster’s ERE (formerly Electronic Recruiting News), Recruiting.com and any number of self-published bloggers, analysts, court-jesters and half-wits.
As John Sumser has aged – hardly mellowing – the technologies and social framing for his commentary has also matured. The convergence of technology, communications and market demand has created an environment where on-demand access to content, subject matter expertise and solutions-in-a-box have become insatiable.
Against this backdrop of emergent communications and technologies, user-defined segmentation, web 2.0 wonderment, industry celebrity, an audience of early adopters and vendor proliferation the sad fact of the matter is that the majority of constituents in the recruiting business – the consumers and the consumed — remain disenfranchised. Disconnected from the world of thought leadership, best practice and competitive advantage. Most recruiters in the “real world” would admit they are starving to death.
To describe John Sumser as a “has-been” is unkind. But that he “has been” is without question his prevailing claim to fame. For many who have been around long enough to see it happen, John Sumser has failed to evolve at the same rate as the now expanding universe of newly enfranchised and content-hungry practitioners – the ambitious recruiting professionals who increasingly represent bottom-line responsibilities and budgets to spend, spend, spend.
Having grown affectionately disposed toward John Sumser in our offline meetings and tête-à-têtes I admit some bias. But I would be remiss — a sycophant even — if I didn’t note that his stubborn refusal to adapt to the real new order in many ways has created an impression among a vocal majority — who have not had the benefit of his company — that he is in reality the grumpy and cantankerous coot he promotes in his attitude and writing.
The news of John Sumser’s appointment brings his online brand and persona into sharp focus, drawing both unfair personal attacks and legitimate criticism. Unfortunately, untangling the two is becoming increasingly difficult for the casual observer. Perhaps cultivating the image of elder statesman would have been a better contrast for his waning importance as a seminal figure (head).
As if his image as grouch wasn’t bad enough, John Sumser’s ongoing misgivings about blogs and blogging and “loser-generated” content in general — contemptuous and condescending in some of his remarks — has set him apart from the Recruiting.com community he is now expected to promote, not a part of it all. This leads one to question his motives in taking on this role as Recruiting.com’s front-man, John Sumser becoming the suspect now.
So, there is a general discontent that seems to be building with talk of boycotts and such nonsense born of righteous indignation. How John Sumser responds will be interesting indeed, a test of his leadership and savoir-faire. Will he honor the symbols of Recruiting.com and lift the chalice of communion? If he does, who will want to share the cup?
Next up, Jason Davis: The Recruitosphere’s Darling.
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Comments (13)
Comment by Recruiting Animal, April 12, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Amworth, Papa has always been part of the Recruitosphere but he stood apart by not adopting the standard blogging platform with comments. That’s all over now.
When Kevin Wheeler started making erroneous proclamations about blogs, Papa heartily endorsed the swift rebuttal of experts by commenting readers. So he’s got to know what’s coming his way.
Therefore, I believe it was a bold and regenerative step for him to accept this role rather than become the elder statesman you recommend.
John’s going to make mistakes (like he did about LinkedIn) but he’s going to be called out on errors regularly in the comments. And, once he’s in the fray of things it will be harder to call him a has-been.
PS: I had lunch with John a few weeks ago and he seemed like a nice guy to me. But, then again, I like being Sumserized.
Comment by Amitai Givertz, April 12, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Animal, for the record…
I do not share the misgivings that others have about John’s ability to make a meaningful contribution. Your observation “…a bold and regenerative step for him to accept this role” is easy for me to agree with. Same with “…once he’s in the fray of things it will be harder to call him a has-been.”
As it appears to me, John has is a three-fold problem:
1. His online persona and real life presence don’t synch in the minds of readers who have no appreciation for what he has done or continues to do to build the network, a measure of the man. The grumpy ol’ Sumser is an easier stereotype for him to project than that of industry stalwart. One requires little work and the other requires a tremendous amount of energy.
Let’s not loose site of the fact that his level of output over nearly 15 years would kill an average “bloviator.”
2. John was right most of the time in his analyzes about this space. Increasingly with the proliferation of bone-fide commentators and blogging-hacks — the voice he projected as a soloist for so long is being drowned out by a chorus of voices that do not harmonize with his. This invites debate which John appears to be reluctant to engage in. His reasoning for not having comments for example is – at best – nonsensical. The conclusion among the vocal then is, he is wrong more often than he used to be right. Therefore, he is not qualified for this new job. Skewed thinking maybe but John’s “no comment” is the wrong comment in this context.
If John just came out and said, “After 15 years of analysis and writing and speaking and consulting and building businesses and pushing the envelope and raising a family and paying the mortgage I don’t have the time, energy or inclination to be engaged with minnow-minded hangers-on and “gravalicious” groupies well, at least we would know-what’s what. Don’t you think? Transparency doesn’t mean being liked or understood, it means being transparent.
3. John represents something that a good many of his critics in the Recruiting.com fold reject – an apparent unwillingness to be engaged on terms other than his own. That’s kind of counter intuitive for the Recruitosphere who reject overt dictatorship, however benevolent. Recruiting.com sees itself as new-age and John Sumser as old-school. The expectations of both need to be aligned for there to be a communal benefit.
Comment by Bob Wilson, April 12, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Ami and Animal … you guys are great! If I blogged for a hundred years I couldn’t match your skills.
I would like to clarify that I made a personal choice, which I shared with the world, to boycott the new Recruiting.com … the one that will be led by a ‘mouth’, rather than by an ‘ear’ or a ‘hand’. I didn’t advocate a broader boycott.
As Ami points out, John is prolific beyond my comprehension … a veritable Barry Bonds of the recruitosphere … thus, a ‘mouth’. Of course Barry strikes out a lot too … home run hitters do … and he isn’t particularly well loved outside his local community. But this is about John and Recruiting.com, not Barry … I digress.
B.J.- (Before John) Recruiting.com has been led by an ‘ear’ and a ‘hand’ … masterfully listening to the community and reaching out to bring folks together on common ground we share.
As a ‘mouth’, John is the perfect choice if A.J.- (After John) Recruiting.com is intended to be a pulpit for John’s opinions – perhaps, as some have suggested, John is interested in the URL, and Jobster is looking for an exit.
I do think it’s telling that Jason Davis posted that “… if I had to pick 10 people for the gig, I don’t think John would have been on the list. Not because I don’t respect him or think he is a smart guy but rather, he has never ever shown any interest in being an active participant on Recruiting.com. Plus people already read him and I would think his best stuff would be reserved for Interbiznet. That is his business.”
Comment by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com, April 12, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I look forward to a lively discourse when John Sumser takes the helm of Recruiting.com. For those who believe that their world is coming to an end, or at least that Recruiting.com is doomed, then I suggest they remember the adage that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I do regard John as a friend and not at all an enemy. Yet some of my other friends do regard John as being their enemy. So be it. But rather than boycott Recruiting.com because they fear that they may disagree with the opinions of the man who will soon be in charge, I encourage them to become even more active. If John’s opinions are as wrong as these people claim they are, then let his opinions be heard, debated, and respectfully discredited. I think that they’ll be surprised to see that John is a big enough person to admit when he is wrong. He may arrive at that conclusion slower than some of my other friends would like, but who doesn’t share that attribute?
Comment by Amitai Givertz, April 12, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Bob, as much I would like to agree with you because you are an all-round nice guy, I cannot. You are simply wrong. As Steven implies in his follow-on comment, communities are shaped by those who actively participate in them; forums flourish when we all contribute, even with – no, especially with — a dissenting voice.
Conversely, and to your concerns I think: If the editorial direction of Recruiting.com changes to communicate more clearly to an audience of the disenfranchised, I say, “bring it on.” If you honestly think that those who we would evangelize to will be turned on by the braying of bloggers and the puffery of personalities, you are horribly mistaken. Understanding that — what the disenfranchised want — is what puts David Manaster and ERE light years ahead of Recruiting.com and leaves interbiznet falling further behind for credibility and audience.
The disenfranchised don’t want to lug around all the baggage that comes with Recruiting.com any more than advertisers want to spend money talking to the likes of you and me and Chad and Cheesman. Oh, but I’m spilling my candy…
Last your reference to “hands,” “ears” and “mouth” are interesting. No mention though of “heart” and “guts” and “voice.” Don’t you of all people be the one to talk of dismembering Recruiting.com. You are as important a part of it as Jason Davis and John Sumser are. You are, Bob. Boycott, indeed. What rubbish!
Comment by Bob Wilson, April 12, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Ami,
I’d like to think that you and I are of a kind, even if in doing so this gives me more credit that I deserve and you less than you deserve.
What we share are values for dissent, critical thinking (sometimes out loud), and communal learning … in essence the ability of the whole to arrive at ‘truth’ exceeding that of any individual.
Logically then, I’m wrong … often. But I open myself up to immediate correction on my blog … correction that I take to heart.
I was wrong to be so hard on John … I lowered myself in the process. But I remain at a loss as to the appropriate way to express my frustration with a voice that does not allow comment.
Recruiting.com to me is a meeting place with a host … in the past I came to visit at Jason’s house … I felt comfortable … all opinions were welcome … laughter could be heard as friends disagreed.
Do I want to visit John’s house? I’m pretty sure I don’t … not because I can’t tolerate a differing view, but because the host doesn’t seem to encourage differing views.
Of course I don’t want to stop seeing you and all my other friends … I want you to tell me I’m wrong … I want you to challenge my viewpoint … I want to hear your ideas … and I hope, and trust, that you’ll continue to treat me with similar courtesy.
Houses come and go, but comrades live on.
Comment by Lavinia Weissman, April 12, 2007 at 8:29 pm
This is going to force me to pick up the phone can call John. First to congratulate him and second to drive him nuts with my view that recruiting has to change as much as HR.
In the blogsphere of HR and Recruitment, I am beginning to see a value for people again, where technology does not dominate. The technical space is going to have to grow along with the brilliant work I see people doing now to build on line portfolio’s that reflect their social network space and how who they are linked to, who they share knowledge with and how they take that knowledge and translate it into assets of value with others — is the future space.
Amitai is a trend setter in this regard with this blog. Dubs is asking hard questions that show leadership and are not limited to his day job. It will be interesting to see how people like Dubs and Amitai influence the content at Recruiting.com and lead a change in the field.
One of these days, I have to meet some of you in person. I am now based in Boulder Area for a few months, if anyone travels through this area.
Comment by Amitai Givertz, April 13, 2007 at 7:02 am
Bob, you are welcome at my house anytime
I guess the simplest way to reply to your last comment — not being a spokesperson for John or his apologist, nor having any interest in Recruiting.com beyond what I see as my “communal responsibility” — is to suggest this:
To see Recruiting.com in what it was at its inception and first reiteration — and to personify its potential in the image of the person at the helm — is to seriously underestimate its real potential in:
a) Advancing the agenda of our whole community and expanding “our” reach as a positive influence and
b) Making an economic/profitable impact for its stakeholders, either directly or indirectly.
Take your own subject matter, Bob. How many people in recruiting departments anywhere have the same insights as you do relating to SEO, semantic search, search relevance and the candidate experience, vertical search, job board use and on and on and on?
You said, ”What we share are values …in essence the ability of the whole to arrive at ‘truth’ exceeding that of any individual.” Right on, dead on. Add “knowledge” to “values” and we have something that is attractive to a broader audience – the very audience you and I want to reach.
I have not spoken with John in the last few weeks. I have no idea what he has planned other than near term he said he would be listening. But I can say this with some degree of certainty, John is no fool. His purpose from the get-go has be to expand the universe of understanding among our shared target/audience with a network of advocates and rain-makers shoring it all up. Look at his history.
It is clear that in public at least John has no interest in getting his emotional needs met by pushing the envelope and testing new ground. And I’ll be the first to admit his makes good sport for a blogger looking to get noticed. But dismissing him and his intentions without the common courtesies we should be affording each other as an example of how to behave in this community — a community which is OURS make no mistake about it — that unravels what we have all worked hard to create.
When John trips up – as he may well have done in his recent analysis of ABJ and NaviSite, the catalyst for your own reaction - it seems there are those that would help him up and dust him off and those that would prefer to kick him back down. If the types of behavior we choose to promote – or condone at least — are indicative of the community we want to build I know which camp I want to be in. That doesn’t mean we have to be nice to each other or say nice things. What it means is we understand what Recruiting.com represents and promote that as something everyone would want to share in.
Sure, there are people who would point to John’s behavior and say that argument cuts both ways, and true it does. But John is not an elected official and democracy on the Net does not equate to popularity, however popular Jason Davis might have been in the role John is getting paid to do.
Recruiting.com represents much more than a simple business. But when it all boils down to soap, that’s exactly what it is: a business. As a community of shared interests and aspirations, let’s try and get a grip instead of in a lather.
Bob, when all is said and done we might both hate what Recruiting.com turns out like and realize we have little or no influence after all. If that happens I won’t boycott it, I will simply walk away. No protest. Regardless, the relationships that you and I have built are of such tremendous value to us personally and professionally that I think Recruiting.com is worth making an effort for, Sumser or no Sumser. He is hardly the issue here. We are.
Comment by Lavinia Weissman, April 18, 2007 at 7:55 pm
When all is said and done in my opinion, recruitment will disappear and the people who are changing the field will show up as evaluators of performance and leadership coaches who guide quality candidates to new jobs by coaching them on culture, strategy and work practices of the companies that are seeking out talent. They will work within companies on processes to assure that new employees or contractors succeed and they will work with candidates to help them clarify from their experience and studies what they can bring of value, what they can learn and what they can teach.
When John is quiet by the way, he is listening.
Amitai, let’s talk next week and make it happen.
Comment by Amitai Givertz, April 18, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Lavinia, thanks for your reflective comment.
Your futuristic outlook is compelling. I have just had dinner with Julian and Shannon Seery Gude (EXCELER8ion.com) and we were discussing the exact same scenarios as you describe. Coincidence? No, I think some of us are reading the writing on the wall perhaps.
I’m traveling next week but I will try and connect in between this and that. I agree we should talk and look forward to it.
Oh, and I think John is doing more than listening…
Comment by Lavinia Weissman, April 19, 2007 at 9:45 am
Amitai, thanks.
This is why the foundation course for Core Group Theory and Practice is so relevant. I introduce people to the concept of social networking and the interplay with learning and identifying competent people to add value to your network.
In my network right now we are going through a significant and painful learning curve, where we are moving into a networked scheme of talent that is pushing “free agents” to describe how they use their time and get paid, while people on pay checks are being asked to be more purposeful and deliver what they stand behind.
It is quite extraordinary. Yesterday I experienced for the first time hiring someone to work for me, who keeps asking me to build their time into the project that I am doing. He inserted a tech spec based on the best web usability and the timing of what he did that he viewed simple, was not right. We were in a phase with a group of people establishing quality guidelines for each other and the way we work. He was trying to do the job of another vendor under contract.
This person’s talent is superb. His social network skill and systemic analysis week because he is isolated in an office and on a virtual team of people he does not know. It took me 3 hours and time that I did not get paid for to set it up for success between the client and all parties involved.
Now I have established a pattern of network, communication and work practices where everyone has an opportunity to succeed in a hastily formed network and earn.
However, we are still dealing with one group on a pay check and one group working in the construct of pay for performance.
Recruiters have not been concerned enough with what people get paid for and why and how they add value. Both in the contract world and permanent employment world. I think Social Network Analysis is going to be key to learning how to work in this pattern. I have a great passion for teaching it. Right now Steve Jobs, at Apple is my idol. He came back for a $1 a year. However, we have to get real and recognize in any situation the ordinary person has to eat, pay rent and support health, etc. Time is no longer something you give. Time is an earning commodity and if we do not integrate that with the way we work, companies are not going to attract talent of any kind.
Comment by Lavinia Weissman, April 19, 2007 at 9:47 am
I apologize for taking too much space here. I have one final comment.
Technical Recruitment has not valued Social Network Analysis and it has not valued the power of conversation and relationship. In fact in many instances engines are programmed to break laws and shop for talent from bias and prejudice. Performance is something living– you have to learn to watch, touch and feel and learn from.
I was fortunate I did that early as a line, operations and senior manager and came to recognize few do it easily or give it thought.