Tom says it's a challenge getting a start as a free agent talent agent. It's guerrilla warfare out there to hire people. In the end, it's not HR that makes decisions. Human resources' is a noun. Recruiting is a higher form of selling.
Sales is a one-way deal.
Recruiting is a two-way deal. I'm trying to sell the company to you, and you're trying to sell yourself to me. McKesson HBOC is one company that Tom's currently working with as it tries to sell itself to potential hires. McKesson needs to hire more than 2,500 people over the next six months. And even though McKesson has a 10-person recruiting department that's separate from HR, it still need help to run its interviewing and employee referral processes.