From ERExpo – A Great Community – In Person and Online

I’m launching a new business and very excited or a little scared or very excited depending on the exact minute you catch me.

For instance, as I walked into the first cocktail party tonight at ERExpo in Florida I felt like I was back in high school. I didn’t recognize anyone and I didn’t see anyone that looked as if they wanted me to approach them. My immediate thought was…what am I doing here.

So I got a beer, and some food, and checked out the silent auction. And of course in the process I talked to someone bidding on items at the auction. Then two people and then before I knew it I saw a familiar face and I was off networking.

It is a compliment to David Manaster and all the great people at ere.net that vendors at ERExpo want to talk with each other and help each other out. They’re not trying to sell you something…they’re exchanging ideas and making truly useful connections. Tonight I got some insight into where the recruiting market might be at with layoffs and budgets. I shared my knowledge of the corporate recruiting world with a first-time vendor. I got advice from a start up that made some mistakes in the beginning and would like to see that those mistakes don’t get repeated by me. I got validation that the money I’m spending on SEO is money well spent and I’m looking forward to learning more from a real SEO pro – Joel Cheesman. Also David Manaster, who is ultimately wholly responsible for this conference, took time to share with me the challenges and rewards of running a virtual office (more on that subject in a future post.) The enthusiasm at this event on the part of vendors is genuine, infectious and just really nice to be part of.

ERE.net is the leading community for recruiters to learn from each other and share ideas. It’s not surprising then that ERExpo is a great community for vendors in this marketplace to do exactly the same thing. Thank you, David.