4 Recruiting Conferences You Cannot Afford to Miss this Fall

With the advance of social media and mobile technologies, the world of recruitment is changing faster than ever. It seems like it should be easier than ever to find the right candidate, and yet employers are often displeased with the fit they get.

I am not going to bore you with statistics, but suffice is to say close to two-thirds of employers in the U.S. report losses due to bad hires. And it does not end there. A bad match is not only costly, but can have a negative effect on employee morale, lower productivity and even lead to legal issues.

Regardless of whether you work as an in-house recruiter or an outside recruitment consultant, you could benefit a great deal by staying in touch with the latest advances in recruiting. Not only will you save your company or clients a lot of money and trouble, but you will become a more valuable and sought-after expert. Here are 5 upcoming recruiting conferences you shouldn'tmiss if you want to stay on top of your game.

ERE Recruiting Conference & Expo (September 16-18) in Chicago, IL

ERE's Recruiting Conference will gather hundreds of in-house recruitment experts to share what's new, what's now and what's next in corporate recruitment for a twelfth year in a row. Attending the event, you will have the chance to dissect some successful case studies and learn from the experience of organizations such as Sony, Dolby, the Mayo Clinic and a lot more. In addition, each day a few hours of the program will be dedicated to networking opportunities between peers. And there's another great practical aspect too you: will get the chance to sit on a roundtable with a small group of experts and discuss the most urgent issues you face as a professional. A full conference pass is $1,495, but you can save $300 if you register before the end of July or $100 if you register as a group.

Mobile Recruiting Conference 2013 (September 23-24) in Atlanta, GA

More bad news for the technologically-challenged out there. Mobile recruitment is the biggest trend in the field, it's stronger than ever and it's here to stay. In fact, it's a preferred method among close to half of the applicants, as they usually consider the application method too lengthy and tedious. Pretty much every recruiting conference touches on the subject, but the Mobile Recruiting Conference is the only event in the US that focuses solely on mobile recruiting. During this intense two-day event, you will have the opportunity to interact with the pioneers and thought-leaders from Adobe, Amazon, Groupon, Linkedin, Microsoft, Mozilla, Starbucks, T-Mobile, UPS, Yahoo and more. A great deal of time is also dedicated to case studies, hands-on workshops and find out what is still working, and what not. Need more reasons to go? The conference is significantly cheaper than others of its kind an early bird registration (before August 23) will only cost you $695.

SourceCon 2013 (October 2-3) in Seattle, WA

This year's SourceCon is the place for all things sourcing, making it suitable for sourcers and recruiters alike. The event's agenda is packed full of influential speakers in the field of sourcing, but a lot of time is dedicated to hands-on workshops, teaching specific skills and dealing with concrete issues. For example, during the Soucring Lab you will learn how to use the metrics that matter today, in order to accurately measure both your performance, and that of your competition. And perhaps the hottest thing this year you will have the chance to learn more about people aggregators and how they are changing the world of recruitment. A full-conference pass costs $1,295, and an early-bird one will save you $300 if you make up your mind before August 16.

HR Technology Conference & Expo (October 7-9) in Las Vegas, NV

If you have not noticed by now, being tech-savvy is no longer an advantage, but a must-have for any recruiting professional. That holds true even if you are not a strictly tech-oriented recruiter. The HR Technology Conference is the leading event of its kind, helping businesses to maximizing their performance with the help of technology. But if technology is not your favorite topic, do not get too agitated. The conference is not so much about technical details, as much as it is about technology in the organizational process. In addition to all the hottest trends in HR and recruitment, the conference will focus on these traditional methods that still get the job done. You can still make it for the pre-early bird registration and save $450 from the price of the full pass.

I am confident attending one (or some) of these conferences can give your career a serious boost. Do not forget to bring a big back for all the promotional flash drives you are going to receive!