How I spent the night flirting at the National Online Recruitment Awards

What is the difference between speed networking and speed dating?  After my unplanned social experiment at this media event, I’m not quite sure there is one…

So last night my compatriots and I hauled on our best suits and headed to London’s West-End for the eagerly-anticipatedNational Online Recruitment Awards (NORA) – the Oscar’s of the digital recruitment advertising world.

Due to a miss-judgement of the selection criteria our marketing jobs website was not in the running for ‘Best Newcomer’ and nor did it feature in ‘Best Niche’ but nonetheless we strode into the venue unbowed, though with a tinge of reserved repent.  ‘Next year’, we buoyed ourselves.  Next year.

To kick the evening off we headed to the bar to cash in on the beer tokens handed to us on arrival (nice touch, incidentally).  Once festooned with our alcoholic armour we decided to make the most of the speed networking section of the night so split-up to work the room, our syncronised watches determining a reconvening time of precisely one hour.

And so with pockets lined with business cards we waded into the throng of industry luminaries strewn across the floor.  Our mission: to seek new contacts, all the while diligently dodging familiar faces and antiquated acquaintances, for whilst we looked forward to catching up with them later, they would only hinder our immediate strategy.

Now it’s a funny old do, speed networking.  For it doesn’t matter how hard you try it is virtually impossible to unfasten the feeling that for all the business banter you are, ostensibly – and actually – speed dating.  And it makes no difference whether you are courting a male or female, either.  You stand there, plumes puffed promiscuously as you indulge each other’s story, all the while waiting for the opportunity to surreptitiously deliver your number.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge advocate of this dating game.  I just think it’s funny.

So the horn signalled another change in partners and my crew caught up at the bar over another beer.  We were doing well: collectively we’d found out about the 2010 Social Media in Recruitment Conference; understood more about perennial blogger,Andy Headworth’s recruitment consulting firm, Sirona; were enchanted by the enigmatic Lisa Scales and her video solutions for recruitment model; blown away by the magnitude of the JobSiteAdvisor emergence; and impressed by the innovation behind Bill Boorman’s Recruiting Unconference event.

From both the hub and peripheral, the evening was progressing well.  It was enlightening to know that every single person in the place was in some way empathetic to either my individual role as editor at Only Marketing Jobs or the business itself.  Having attended a number of events throughout 2009 this was beginning to rank as the most relevant, as well as being ludicrously entertaining.

As networking continued, presentation of the awards commenced.  Job boards and recruitment websites were competing for decorations in categories including: Best Generalist/Specialist; Best Regional/National; Best Newcomer; and Best Innovation.  The tension was, erm, palpable as Stephen O’Donnell, director of the NORA’s and founder of online recruitment directory, AlljobsUK.com took to the stage, his bonnie brogue booming amidst the chaos.

If I’m honest the awards bit could have done with being rather more placated.  Whilst half the room huddled to cheer the victors, the other half (I’m guessing those not nominated!) bellowed in the background.  Nothing wrong with it in principle – far be if for me to a party pooper – but I suspect the sponsors may have benefited from a little less din preceding their announcement.  That said, I should imagine career development toolbox Workthing+ were pleased not the whole audience heard them referred to as Worthing+, which as its marketing manager Sarah El-Dooricommented, neatly portrayed them as a ‘pretty Sussex seaside town’!

Now, at about 21:30 I sought solace in a slice of Sushi.  Topped with Horseradish it was the perfect compliment to the white wine I was now quaffing.  And it was during this self-imposed interval that I spotted a rather attractive girl scoffing chocolate brownies.  Although not usually attracted to such flagrant feasting we soon found ourselves perched at the same table.

This girl was beautiful and I was about to cross into unchartered territory.

Adding to my business card collection was far from my thoughts as I found myself regressing to bygone days, those ones before my liver had forced me into semi-retirement.  Forgotten was the patter of affiliate partnerships, reciprocal linking and social media strategies.  This was an altogether different engagement.  For now I was playing the long-game: wistful words and some playful tête-à-tête.

Another glass of wine passed and our conversation continued to flow.  However, now the dynamic had changed: we were back on topic – business.  But because of our developing ‘intimacy’ we now spoke freely, honestly.  I’d met some great people up until now and made some superb contacts, whilst cementing others.  This, though, was different.  We didn’t need need business cards, hash-tags or personal URL’s.  We had a deeper connection.

About an hour later a tap on my shoulder signalled the end to my fraternising.  Apparently my work was done, my co-conspirators needed some Asian scoff.  So we concluded our night of pitching, back-scratching and shoulder-rubbing with one-for-the-road and a series of sincere farewells.

I have no doubt that, as we did, more than the majority of last night’s attendees woke this morning with a sense of achievement as antidote to the undoubtedly sore head.  I suspect the award winners probably partied until dawn.  And fair play to them.  Job boards/hiring platforms have an awful lot to offer the recruitment industry and with so much murk shrouding the past eighteen months it was great to feel the energy of this event.

And you know what?  Whilst writing the ending to this piece I received an email entitled: ‘We should share more brownies’.

Maybe it was speed dating, after all..!

Big up to Louise Triance, Stephen O’Donnell and all their respective event partners who ensured the NORA on 5th November went off with a bang.

Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs

View Simon’s blog here http://recruitmentwaters.com Follow Simon at http://twitter.com/SimonLewisOMJ