Over their Macchiatos

If you really want to get crazy about recruiting and make a life out of it, everyone knows you have to stay close to your candidate community. If you're going to recruit programmers for the next ten years, you really should consider taking a programming class. If you're recruiting investment bankers (my heart goes out to you), you should read up on exotic derivatives and take up yachting. Become thy prey, O Zen Master.

Another method of digging into your industry is by doing this. Blogging. Yes, you may have heard the news. It's a nice way to demonstrate your knowledge. You could host it anywhere. TalentBar, perhaps. Candidates will marvel at your insight and crave your association. But let's assume a ridiculous circumstance: you have no knowledge. You recruit Java developers and you think Java Beans just go in your morning macchiato. Here's a quick idea for you. Don't try to be an expert. But do be useful. You don't have to be an expert in your field. Check out local news stories, jobs, employment figures, good training programs, etc... and mix them into your RSS feeds of jobs. Over time, your pool of candidates will see you as an essential part of the community. You don't have to have their particular expertise to have them read you over their morning macchiato. Now about how to start that RSS feed...