On Wednesday, a group of Nexxt-ers organized "Weinlick Wednesday." I dressed up, wearing a button-down and tie even though I had no outside meetings. And, everyone else wore a black t-shirt and jeans.

[Photo: Weinlick Wednesday crew with Joe Weinlick at center]

A little exposition is probably in order for those who don't know me. For the past several years, my standard work attire has been jeans and a black t-shirt--perhaps with an open button-down when it is colder. I joke, with some truth, that I do it because I am lazy. Mark Zuckerberg has said that he wears the same color t-shirt every day--gray in his case--so he doesn't have to worry about what to wear. Steve Jobs had his trademark black turtleneck.

But, there are deeper reasons than laziness in my case, and I suspect for Zuckerberg and Jobs as well. In a sense, it is my uniform. Unlike Zuckerberg, I didn't start out having earned this uniform. It came from years of learning who I was, and gaining confidence that it was okay to be me at work.

This article was originally written for Talent Napkin, the new e-magazine of the International Association of Employment Web Sites (IAEWS).  IAEWS is the trade association for the global online employment services industry.  Download the full PDF version of the emagazine at EmploymentWebSites.org.

According to the Pew Research Cell Phone Activities 2012 report, 85% of American Adults  own a cell phone, and these devices now play a central role in many aspects of their owner’s lives. Today’s children will have grown up experiencing a fully connected, fully wireless, cell phone–centric lifestyle. Pew’s Teens and Technology 2013 report finds that 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of those own smart phones, translating into 37% of all teens who have smart phones.

Today’s teens will be tomorrow’s workforce.

In the ecosystem of online recruitment products & services, there’s been a lot of buzz around the use of smart phones for job search, and most of the major career sites have invested in mobile offerings. But true innovation—game changing innovation in how employers connect with candidates—is pretty lacking.

Nexxt values relationships, and our strategic partnerships are no exception to this rule.  This blog is the first in a series of recruiting-focused articles that highlights the diversity of our industry partners, how they impact the industry as a whole, and explores the unique value proposition that these companies bring to the online sourcing & recruiting marketplace. 
 
Back in the 90’s, as the recruitment landscape was rapidly shifting from print to online,
recruiters where suddenly faced with some serious online challenges.  Back then, purchasing ads in the local newspaper and hoping you’d hit the right candidates was the typical kneejerk reaction when you had an open job.