Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q2 2016

 

~ Larry Bird -- All-NBA First Team nine consecutive times 
~ Magic Johnson -- All-NBA First Team nine consecutive times

These are indicators of high standards of performance on the basketball court. 

In the recruiting industry nine remains the current standard for performance.  Technical recruiters need nine to make The List.  They need nine LinkedIn recommendations to make The List of Boston's most-recommended recruiters -- Boston's Rockstar Recruiters.
  
Boston's Top 100 Technology Recruiters

In the fall of 2012 Beantown Web asked the question, "Who are Boston's Rockstar Recruiters?"  Welcome to the 15th installment of The List.

To begin the quest, Beantown Web identified nearly 500 technology recruiters via LinkedIn.  Most are located in the Boston area.  Some are located in New Hampshire and Rhode Island and conduct a significant amount of business in the Boston area.

Beantown Web then turned to LinkedIn to identify customer satisfaction scores.  In particular, how many people were willing to provide a public recommendation for each recruiter?

Athletes have championship trophies and honors such as All-NBA first team.  For those of us who perform in different arenas, we have LinkedIn recommendations to recognize our performance.  Less than 100 out of nearly 500 technology recruiters in the Boston metro area has earned Boston Rockstar Recruiter status with at least nine LinkedIn recommendations received.

Top 10 in Scoring

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters perform to a higher standard.  The best in the recruiting business have received at least 52 LinkedIn recommendations each.

Here are the Top 10 Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the second quarter of 2016 [number of LinkedIn recommendations received + given]:

1. Chris Fountas [108 + 9] -- Hollister Staffing
2. Scott Dunlop [96 + 6] -- The Bivium Group
3. Brendan Andersen [81 + 20] -- CyberCoders
4. Doug Schade [80 + 11] -- WinterWyman
5. Jamie LeBlanc [78 + 2] -- The Bivium Group
6. John VanderSande [65 + 2] -- WinterWyman
7. Brian Abrams [59 + 18] -- PMO Partners, LLC
8. Danielle Lief [57 + 8] -- InnoTECH Staffing
9. Roy Evans [55 + 20] -- CyberCoders
10. Maureen Lawson [52 + 57] -- Clear Point Consultants

Top 10 in Assists

Some basketball players are valuable because they score a lot of points.  Other basketball players are less heralded; they are particularly good at distributing the ball to others.  This second list ranks "assists."  It answers the following question:

"Of the recruiters listed in the Top 100, who are the most generous in offering recommendations to others?"

The Top 10 most generous Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the second quarter [number of LinkedIn recommendations [given + received] are as follows:

1. David Perlman [59 + 19] -- Grenadier Search Group
2. Maureen Lawson [57 + 52] -- Clear Point Consultants
3. Scott Ragusa [40 + 26] -- WinterWyman
4. Tim Halloran [34 + 10] -- JVT Advisors
5. Marsh Sutherland [31 + 12] -- Walden Recruiting
6. Jordan Goldberg [31 + 11] -- The Bowdoin Group
7. Carol Taylor [30 + 18] -- Private Clients
8. Andrea Williams [29 + 32] -- Career Minded Recruiting, LLC
9. Sean Dowling [21 + 25] -- WinterWyman
10. Brendan Anderson [20 + 81] -- CyberCoders
11. Roy Evans [20 + 55] -- CyberCoders

Congratulations to Maureen Lawson, Brendan Anderson and Roy Evans for attaining Top 10 status (with ties) on both the receiving and giving lists!  If you had only three recruiters to contact, why not start with these three?  [Full disclosure: I had the pleasure to have worked with Maureen Lawson at CDIA.  You can review my recommendation on her LinkedIn page.]

Team Scores

Now, for the team scores.  The following teams placed the most recruiters (at least three) in the Top 100 [number of recruiters in the Top 100]:

Gold Category:

• WinterWyman [7]

Silver Category: 

• CyberCoders [5]

Bronze Category: 

• PeopleSERVE Inc. [3]
• Strategic Employment Partners (SEP, Inc.) [3]

Suggested Strategy

There are no live sportscasts on network television that document technical recruiting excellence.  In fact, there is no single measure we can all agree on to decide which recruiter or recruiting firm might work best for you as a candidate or as a hiring manager.

However, there is one place to start your search.  It is the same place many of us start when buying a car, or looking for a plumber or finding a dentist.  That place is personal recommendations.  LinkedIn provides personal recommendations.  Banks use credit scores as proxies for trustworthiness.  We can use LinkedIn recommendations as a starting point to determine networking currency. 

If you have technical skills and believe you offer above average value in the marketplace, then consider working with recruiters who have consistently demonstrated above average customer service in the form of personal recommendations -- both receiving them and giving them.

The complete list of Boston's Rockstar Recruiters is made available exclusively to the 400+ Web Design and Web Development alumni of CDIA, some of the most talented designers and developers I have had the pleasure to teach, mentor and collaborate with.  You will hear more about the CDIA Alumni in the very near future.

The list of the 97 most recommended technical recruiters (out of nearly 500) in the Boston metro area is being counted down throughout the quarter on the Beantown Web page on Facebook.

[ NOTE: You can follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and become a Fan of Beantown Web on Facebook. ]