Fort Lauderdale, Florida -- The world keeps shrinking, but for those fighting the talent wars, distance still matters. At an event held here by the South Florida CoF, I met Chris Muccio, 31, senior manager of finance systems at Sensormatic Electronics Corp., a supplier of electronic security systems. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Sensormatic has trouble bringing recent MBA grads to that city for job interviews. 'The school that we recruit from, the University of Florida in Gainesville, is four and a half hours away,' says Muccio. 'We don't have a lot of students coming to Boca Raton just to interview with us.' Muccio spoke with me about Sensormatic's latest talent-attraction strategy: organizing events that include other companies.

Hire learning.

'We first started targeting U of F grads in 1998. We went to Gainesville, and I conducted 30-minute interviews with 16 people. I barely had time to go to the bathroom, and I didn't really get to know any of the candidates. On the flight home, I thought, 'We should recruit companies that will recruit students for us.' So, last summer, we invited 10 other organizations -- including NationsBank, Office Depot, and Ryder System -- to participate in a 'Gator Get to Know Ya' event. It wasn't a traditional job fair: It was fun, informal, and extremely interactive. We wanted to find the quality people, but we knew that Sensormatic alone wouldn't bring them to Boca Raton.'

Managed 'coopetition.'

'I was confident that using other companies as a drawing card would bring more people to Boca -- and I wasn't concerned about losing candidates to those companies. Hiring people is like watching a tree grow: It could branch out in many directions. If you don't raise the visibility of your business community, then people won't see what it has to offer.'

Interview to a skill.

'The event was an interactive way for high-caliber students to meet local professionals. We organized students, alumni, and other local businesspeople into teams, and we had those teams engage in a series of activities. We gave people 'corporate bingo' cards that required them to gather personal and professional information from other participants. Then we gave them toy pieces and asked them to build a cell-phone tower according to certain rules. After 15 minutes, we changed the rules. Participants got to see how well they handle stress, as well as new challenges.'

Coordinates: Chris Muccio, muccio@sensormatic.com

From: January:February 2000 issue