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The Career Site Metrics Every HR Team Needs to Track

Most HR teams aren’t tracking the basic metrics around their career site, and that’s a problem.  Marketers track their corporate websites through Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and a host of other tools to better understand buyer behavior and how to drive revenues.  Similarly, talent acquisition teams need to gain insights into their candidate journey in order to reap the most benefits from past/ongoing/future initiatives that drive awareness and consideration from relevant candidates.

For example, how can you tell if an employee advocacy program is working unless you know how the number of visitors to the career site changed? 

How can you judge the effectiveness of adding employee testimonials to your careers site without knowing the percent of people who’re convinced to apply into the ATS after viewing the careers site before and after the testimonials went live?

 

While marketers have entire teams and software suites designed to help them track everything that’s going on (sometimes creepily), HR is of course at a huge disadvantage.  However, there are a few easy to track metrics that can make a huge difference in the amount of intelligence you have around your top of funnel talent acquisition efforts.
Here are the key metrics to track along with, more importantly, WHY you should be tracking them:

Not Another January AI Article

 

ai chatbot

 

It is 2019 and we all are reading the articles about what is going to change this year.  I have spoken to industry experts and listened to many a vendor in 2018 and I’m prepared to make a few predictions on what will move the Talent Acquisition industry.

In 2019 automation sold as AI will be the thing to watch.   Many of these technologies are sold to us under the term AI.  Salespeople have learned to take advantage of AI as a buzz word to get them in the proverbial door and while many of the tools being sold under the AI blanket is not truly AI it does not mean that they should be overlooked.  In fact, I would say that the sales people are actually helping our industry modernize by advertising their products as AI.

My reasoning is this.  If you are going to Finance do you think you will have more luck procuring an AI-powered recruiting assistant that will schedule all of our interviews for us OR an automated interview scheduling platform?  AI is a term that everyone has heard.

They understand, at least at a high level, that AI is being brought to bear on a number of business challenges.  So they fully expect that TA, and everyone else, are going to knock on their door asking for money for AI.  AI is one of the technology buzzwords TA can use in order to justify budgets to update what are all too often antiquated and inadequate systems.  My advice would be not to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth while getting lost in the semantics of what AI really is.

That said in 2019 would be wise to start with something simple and universal, if you have not already.  I think a Chabot or an AI-powered interview scheduling platforms is the right place to start.  Chatbots are becoming specialists just like recruiters and I think in 2019 you will start to see the technical recruiter chatbots followed by other specialties.

In this field, I see us following the pattern first outlined by IBM as they have rolled out new Chabot versions of Watson.  They started with what amounts to a Chabot RN and have moved to Chabot lawyers that are able to answer a surprisingly large number of fairly complex legal issues. I believe in 2019 in an effort to distinguish them above the noise that vendors will begin to market their chatbots in a way that mirrors what IBM has been doing.

One of the things you need to ask any Chabot vendor is how many conversations their Chabot has had.  When it comes to AI volume of data is the key to success.  Up until now, chatbots have had very basic functionality and indeed there are places where to go where in a few hours you can build and deploy your own Chabot with no coding skill required.  The programming itself is less important, at this stage of development than the number of interactions.

This is an underlying drawback to every AI-powered technology currently being sold on the market.  It takes a large data set of interactions and manual ratings in order for an AI to “learn” what good looks like.  Not only what good looks like to your organization but also it takes time for a Chabot to learn what someone means versus what they said.

It would be a mistake to believe that any solution comes out of the box and is instantly ready to make a major impact on your recruiting process.  A Chabot will require an upfront investment in time and effort to set up and to make sure the messaging you choose accurately reflects your corporate culture and values.  I would strongly recommend working with your marketing communications team when setting up a new Chabot.

To my mind, a universal entry point into AI would be to consider AI-powered interview schedulers. I have never met a recruiter that loves scheduling interviews and various studies indicate that recruiters spend between 15 to 30% of their time simply scheduling phone and in-person interviews.  To me, this is a logical first investment because everyone can use it and it gives time back to recruiters that they can spend doing things that are more productive and that they enjoy anyway, things like talking to candidates and helping them get excited and prepared.  I believe this is an easy win for any organization not already using these types of tools.  After all, what would it be worth to give your recruiters as much as 30% of their time back?

For the more savvy users, there are a wide variety of new AI-powered tools that all have the same goal, of helping you talk to and qualify more people in less time.  Sourcing powered AI tools are now commonplace in the market and look for vendors to start producing sourcing chatbots that conduct initial candidate outreach. I believe that this is an emerging area of AI and as NLP (Natural Language Processing) gets better it seems likely that these tools will become ever more sophisticated and in the not too distant future a sourcer or recruiter might simply be the people behind the curtain that tell the AI what to do. I know it seems like new tools are being produced every day and it can be a bit overwhelming but don’t worry.  At it’s the decision to purchase AI or Automation is the same process as purchasing any other technology product or service.

Before plunking down large sums of cash on an AI-powered product you take the time to identify the biggest bottlenecks in your recruiting funnel.  Once you identify your bottlenecks you should measure your current performance at those pressure points.  It is going to be impossible to demonstrate ROI if you don’t know where you start.  Ask questions about support, upgrades, and ROI from other customers.

A competent sales person should be able to answer all of these questions in detail but focus on the ROI.  The business speaks the language of money and if you want to gain the trust of the business you need to demonstrate that you are a good steward of corporate resources.

If the people selling you a product can’t give you the numbers about how they will impact your bottom line I would be hesitant to sign a contract with them.   Don’t get lost in the AI.  AI and automation are tools that should be employed for specific strategic and tactical goals.  Once you understand where your bottlenecks are I think you will find that sorting through the noise becomes much more manageable.

Bottom line no matter what sales terms people present you with make sure you understand exactly how something works and how it will benefit you, your team, your hiring managers and your candidates.  Done correctly AI can be a powerful asset to improve your time to hire, candidate experience and cost per hire.  Finally, don’t give up if the first thing you try doesn’t work.  Amazon is currently the most valuable publicly traded company in the world and even they had to shut off their AI for a while.

 

 

Jobs For All Now! Some Truths About Diversity and Inclusion

Jobs For All Now

 

“People are tired of talking about D&I, frustrated by the lack of results and overwhelmed by the number of issues to be addressed.” That’s downright abysmal – and frankly, disheartening.

For a long time, diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives took a backseat to other business priorities. Companies claimed to have their reasons, valid or not, for focusing attention elsewhere. Many argued, mistakenly, that affirmative action took care of diversity. Others emphasized their standing as an “equal opportunity employer.” And all the while, the evidence for D&I sat there in plain sight, languishing. Recently this seemed to be changing as if the tide was turning in favor of D&I, with more and more companies pledging their commitment publicly, promising to do better and even sharing early results in some cases.

Despite what seems to be an increased level of interest, problems accepting D&I persist. In fact, according to last year’s Atlassian State of Diversity and Inclusion in U.S. Tech report, while 80 percent of respondents agree D&I is important, up to 50% have actually decreased their individual participation in these initiatives year over year. And this is not because D&I numbers are up in tech, because they’re not. That same study found that in tech, representation, retention, and sense of belonging among underrepresented groups remain below 30 percent.

So what’s going on? Well, as Atlassian put it, “People are tired of talking about D&I, frustrated by the lack of results and overwhelmed by the number of issues to be addressed.” That’s downright abysmal – and frankly, disheartening. And though this is the experience of just one sector, one with longstanding diversity issues, this report is indicative of some of the broader challenges facing employers.

But instead of throwing in the towel, it’s time to get real and face facts. No matter the industry, D&I does not, will not and cannot happen overnight. Yes, it is possible to move the needle, slightly, over the course of a year or two. Treating D&I as a competitive program, rather than as a business strategy, sets the organization up for failure. What can we do?  We have to do more:

Set a Strong Foundation For Clear Career Paths for Women, LGBT individuals, and People of Color

without inclusion, there is often a backlash against diversity

For starters, everyone, organization-wide, needs to understand that diversity and inclusion are not the same things. Though the two pair together, successful D&I will require separate thinking and different strategies. At the same time, rethink where the two fit within the organizational framework.  In fact, without inclusion, there is often a backlash against diversity.

More often than not D&I falls under HR and recruiting, because of diverse hiring, but that approach is limited at best. Similarly, D&I is not a campaign or a communications tool and should be kept away from things like public relations and reputation management. Rather, consider putting D&I at the center of the business, versus tucked away in a single department.

To do this, bring in stakeholders from different teams, at multiple levels throughout the organization to work together. Collectively, this will offer them the opportunity to align D&I with other strategic goals and in the process, promote more expansive thinking. Follow up the initial meeting with regular check-ins to keep these players active and engaged. Like most things in life, from the personal to the professional, D&I won’t stand a chance without shoring up the foundation first.

Mind the Metrics

From here, look at the data. Really look at it, dig in and see how it feels. Probably not very good at the outset. That’s the point. A few years back, Fast Company did this and found that “According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s last tally, American companies with more than 100 workers have posted marginal increases. A national aggregate of all industries between 1985 to 2014 shows an increase from 3 percent to 3.3 percent of black men in management roles, and an increase from 22 percent to 29 percent of white women in management through the year 2000, and no movement since then.”

Now, it’s unlikely that most organizations have the historical data needed to look back as far as the EEOC does, but the metrics won’t move if D&I is seen like a ballgame instead of the stadium. Use what’s available, including hiring info, to set a baseline and proceed accordingly.

Continue to Work on Shifting the Narrative

Making D&I work is no easy feat. It needs constant input and attention from some very busy people. That’s why tech is seeing people tired of talking about it.  It is hard, and slow, point proven, and even with the right resources and a well-defined plan in place, taking into account results and the issues at hand, there’s going to be fatigue at some point.  But that doesn’t mean stop.

Short term change is significant, but winning the game means changing the mindset and integrating D&I into the day-to-day, over a callout. That way, D&I becomes inherent, second nature, and an ongoing piece in who an organization is and not just what it does.

We will talk about this in a webinar where we look at a wide range of D&I programs and determine:

  • What companies need to start doing
  • What they absolutely need to stop doing
  • What they should continue doing and what they should tweak

Tuesday, January 22 at 2 pm EST – MORE INFO HERE

Bluevine and Bullhorn teaming up to help the small-to-mid staffing agency market

Bluevine (think fast funding for your business) and Bullhorn (a leader in staffing and recruiting software) have increased their commitment to fostering the growth of small and medium-sized staffing agencies through an innovative partnership.

Enabling access to invoice factoring and business credit lines provided by BlueVine, Bullhorn’s small and medium-sized staffing firm customers can accelerate their business growth with fast and flexible access to working capital.

Understanding the landscape

When staffing firms place candidates, they are typically required to cover payroll expenses for 30-60 days while awaiting payment against their outstanding invoices. To fund payroll, staffing firms have depended on a combination of banks, factoring companies, and payroll financing providers. Many years of economic expansion have put financial strains on growing staffing firms, especially small and medium-sized firms that can be challenged with access to funding. Amid a fierce competition for talent, staffing firms are flourishing, but many smaller ones do not have access to the right resources to quickly secure financing to help grow their operations.

What we’ve increasingly seen is financial technology companies reinventing financial services for staffing firms. Leveraging deep investment in cutting-edge technology, these companies are redefining cost, speed, flexibility, and ease of use for an industry long accustomed to more offline and manual funding options.

What Bullhorn and Bluevine (and their customers) are saying 

“After years of time-consuming operational burden from using traditional invoice factoring for my firm, I needed a more streamlined solution to help me reach my business goals,” said Mike Smith, CleverTerra’s chief talent officer. “I turned to BlueVine and quickly secured funds to cover payroll, smooth cash flow, and evolve my practice. BlueVine is a great complement to Bullhorn, which I rely on to effectively manage my day-to-day operations. As a result, the BlueVine-Bullhorn partnership will be very helpful to my firm in achieving our next phase of growth.”

“With BlueVine, firms can receive fast and flexible access to financing that can help them power their next phase of growth,” said Nina Eigerman, Bullhorn’s vice president of alliances and business development. “At Bullhorn, our overwhelming focus is on helping our customers and providing them with an incredible experience as their long-term growth partners. This initiative delivers on that vision.”

BlueVine provides online invoice factoring lines up to $5 million in available funding. Staffing firms can apply online in minutes and receive approvals quickly – typically within 24-48 hours. Once approved, clients are given the flexibility to decide which invoices they fund and when from BlueVine’s online dashboard. With low weekly rates, advances up to 90 percent, and same-day funding options available, BlueVine quickly helps staffing firms receive access to the financing that they need to manage cash flow and grow. There are no sign-up fees, no monthly minimums, and no cancellation fees.

“BlueVine is deeply dedicated to enabling the growth of small and medium-sized staffing agencies by providing working capital financing to business owners looking to simplify their cash flow and grow,” said Eyal Lifshitz, BlueVine’s CEO. “Partnering with Bullhorn furthers this mission. We share the same vision for creating incredible customer experiences by working directly with our customers to help them achieve their business goals. We’re looking forward to helping Bullhorn’s customers explore new options for fueling their growth through payroll financing and access to working capital.”

Using The New Jobjet Prime

jobjet

 

The new Jobjet update is better than ever

In a few months, it’s out with the old and in with the new for Jobjet Pro. Instead of Jobjet Pro, Jobjet itself is being packed with more functionality than ever before.

First, let’s talk about the new and improved Chrome Extension. The extension itself is very flexible, you can easily move it up and down, from one side of the screen to the other, or get rid of it entirely. The tool currently works with LinkedIn, GitHub, and AngelList, though more are sure to come.

  • From within LinkedIn, you can use the tool on any part of the site—from Standard to Recruiter, from search results to folders and projects. You can even grab all the people from search results for a mass import into Jobjet.
  • Within the extension, you can see emails and other contact info, and can ever add people to lists or tags.
  • You can also send emails directly from the extension, including using templates. This means you can be looking at a person’s profile while crafting an email to them. With this, you can be more personal and accurate than before.

In addition to the great extension, the Jobjet app itself is greatly improved.

  • Within the app, you can import lists, and Jobjet will help populate those lists with as much information as possible. For example, if you use Data Miner to comb a list of LinkedIn profile URLs, using Jobjet with this list can help provide contacts and complete profiles.
  • The Reports section of the app allows you to track the effectiveness of you and other members of your team. You can see how much information Jobjet has found for you, allow you to decide where to focus your efforts.

Jobjet is one of the best helper tools around. ~ Noel Cocca 

Look inside with Dean Da Costa:

 

Finance and Diversity: The hiring mistakes that have cost institutions billions

Diversity Finance

 

“They’re not even just not talking to them in the right way, they’re not talking to them at all.” Talk about a “misstep.”

Financial institutions are missing out on some $800 billion in investable assets, says a recent study by Kantar. Go back and read that number again. $800 BILLION. The reason why? Simply put, they’re not engaging enough with women. And women, beyond making up roughly half of the world’s population, control 80 percent of consumer spending and 51 percent of personal wealth. What’s more, says Anita Watkins, global head of qualitative at Kantar, most of these brands don’t even advertise in women’s publications.

Now, you might be thinking, sure, but what does this have to do with hiring? Well, as Watkins shares, “They’re not even just not talking to them in the right way, they’re not talking to them at all.” Talk about a “misstep.” And while it would be difficult to determine how many billions of dollars finance brands lose out on by not hiring women; it’s safe to say that if they don’t want their business, they probably aren’t going out of their way to recruit women either. And it’s high time that changed.

Here’s a look at some common hiring mistakes plaguing the finance space plus ways to improve gender diversity at every stage:

Improved Communication

Perhaps the most shocking conclusion from the Kantar study was the piece about communicating finance to women, or in reality, not. The truth is words matter, especially when it comes to recruiting. And like it or not, men and women react differently to what’s on the page, including job descriptions, job ads, and other recruiting materials. By gearing these towards one gender over another, we’re tipping the scales in favor of men versus women and perpetuating bias, rather than promoting diversity.

On the flip side, in a study conducted by Oleeo and University College London, we sought to identify features that differentiate a male resume from a female resume. The results were staggering, especially in financial services. Here, women relied on words like organize, volunteer, assistant, marketing, community, and plan, while men used equity, investment, capital, analyst and technical. See the distinction? Whether we realize it or not, gendered communication goes far beyond the pronouns we present. To counteract this, financial institutions should strive to even out their recruiting efforts, down to the letter.

Earlier Recruiting

And while gender diversity is a top priority for many industries, it appears to be slowing in the financial sector. Last year, at the urging of the 30% Club, companies including BlackRock signed up for “an initiative pushing for 30 percent of women on FTSE 350 boards and 30 percent of women in senior management at FTSE 100 companies by 2020.” Research shows this is already behind schedule, with Meggin Thwing Eastman, one of the report’s authors, commenting, “There seem to be lingering attitudes, conscious or unconscious, that make this hard.”

To make things less hard, let’s take a look at how and when we start hiring for these roles. Education continues to be a primary factor for securing a job in finance, so maybe it’s time to emphasize earlier recruiting. This might mean getting out there on college and university campuses and engaging students, even before they declare a major. Consider events featuring balanced panels of alumni who can help teach them about the finance sector, the types of positions available, what these organizations might offer and how they can get involved while still in school. Remember, sometimes showing is the fastest way of doing.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Of course, not everyone is eager to play the long game – and for that, there’s technology. Having realized years ago that gender-blind recruiting isn’t really possible with only humans involved, we’re just starting to understand how machine learning can solve for our biases. Luckily, as we get smarter, so do our solutions. Through custom algorithms and intelligent automation, we can improve the recruiting process and level the playing field for all candidates, regardless of factors like gender.

With these in place, we can let the data do some of the heavy lifting, screening candidates based on skills and experience, rather than their choice of noun or verb. We can select candidates recommended for being qualified and competent, improving the candidate experience and expediting the process. We can hire with confidence, increasing our efficiencies while recognizing that a diverse workforce ushers in diverse thinking. The kind that might figure out a way to solve for that $800 billion left sitting on the table, when finance was too busy to bother to worry about talking to or hiring women.

To learn more about diversity hiring and overcoming gender bias, visit https://info.oleeo.com/diversity-hiring-guide-to-gender-blind-recruiting.

What does the OutMatch acquisition of Wepow mean?

outmatch

This happened about a week ago. 

Previously — November 2017 — you might remember that OutMatch acquired Pomello as well.

They also acquired Assess Systems and Chequed, Inc. along the way.

That’s four total acquisitions. Let’s break them down by what they were focused on pre-acquisition:

  • Wepow (the most recent): Video interviewing
  • Pomello: Culture fit
  • Chequed: Predictive talent selection
  • Assess: Talent selection and people development

You can begin to strategically see the suite coming together. OutMatch is defined in the market (by many) as a “predictive talent and culture analytics” company, and uses this on their “About Us” page:

By truly understanding your candidates, your culture, and the underlying behaviors that drive employee success, you can expect to see an average workforce transformed into a high-growth, high-performance company.

The transformation begins by infusing behavioral data and predictive models into your talent strategy. OutMatch’s predictive talent and culture analytics fully equip you to make the best possible decisions about your people, from hiring and development to leadership and culture.

In essence, then, they use science and data to help you hire better.

Why would that kind of company need video interviewing in the suite?

Seems to be about humanizing the hiring process, which is good, because the hiring process is massively inhumane in many organizations.

Here’s what OutMatch can bring together for its client base now:

  • Data
  • AI stuff (table stakes now in HCM)
  • Machine learning
  • I/O science
  • Video interviews

That’s a powerful suite, right? Let’s turn to the PR side of the world:

“With the added layer of video interviewing, we have the ability to humanize the hiring process in a way that’s never been done through a convergence of unparalleled data, AI and machine learning, IO science, and a more personal touch that matters to people seeking ideal jobs,” said Greg Moran, CEO of OutMatch.

The lists align!

Video interviewing has two major pros within a hiring suite:

  • It’s more personal.
  • It’s cost-effective when you scale it.

So now we’ve got a mix of this human/personal touch — which is the cornerstone of “candidate experience” when done right — and we’ve got the ability to reduce cost at hiring scale. Nice little 1-2 punch. The acquisition makes a lot of sense at those levels.

Pre-hire to post-hire

There is a metric crap ton of navel-gazing in the industry about whether the term should be “employee engagement” or “employee experience.” In reality, if you treat your employees like humans and genuinely respect them and give them opportunities for growth and not just more task work, it doesn’t matter what term you use. Be a good human being.

But one of the areas where companies deeply struggle is connecting all the dots.

Basically … all the pre-hire work we did … how does that actually tie back to post-hire performance issues?

Probably 92 percent of companies flop at figuring out that connective tissue. It’s one (of many) reasons why work is such a cluster for so many people and hiring managers are allowed to bitch left, right, and center about an imagined skills gap. 

These OutMatch acquisitions help to tie the pieces together. That’s why it’s happening. What clients of hiring suites need is:

  • Something that works
  • Something that gets good people
  • Something that’s relatively cost-effective
  • Something that’s compliant

You hit all four and that’s the jackpot. OutMatch is moving there.

As AI Advances, So Does Legislation for Transparency Surrounding the Technology

Ai Transparency

 

“(The new Law) will require companies that use automated systems like chatbots to disclose when their customers are interacting with the technology as opposed to a human”

Companies using advanced AI technology in their recruitment efforts are already striving to make the hiring process more transparent, but legislators are beginning to make those efforts mandatory.  Regulations passed in September by the California State Legislature is the most recent example of legislation catching up to advancements in technology. At its most basic, the law, which takes effect in July 2019, will require companies that use automated systems like chatbots to disclose when their customers are interacting with the technology as opposed to a human.

Like many efforts that place stipulations on technology, this new set of regulations has broader implications than the specific problem it targets. The intent, as the co-authors have stated, is to clamp down on bots that are used for deceptive commercial or political practices. However, the law’s disclosure requirement encompasses far more than just these intended targets. Any company using bots or AI-powered systems to interact with customers will now need to offer a disclosure in some form or another.

The change is, in a way, ironic. The promise of AI technology for years has been that humans could interact with systems that are so smart, it’s nearly impossible to tell whether or not they are speaking with a robot. In fact, the Turing Test — the longtime standard for determining true AI — is based upon this blurred concept of human versus machine. Companies that use the technology to interact with candidates were likely attracted to it in the first place because of its ability to provide a human touch in an ultimately automated process.

However, California’s new rules are not likely to be the last. Companies considering adopting chatbots in their recruiting efforts — or those that already have the technology in place — need to begin thoughtful conversations about how they can comply with this and similar legislation in the future. While a more transparent disclosure of candidate interaction with bots is not inherently a bad thing — companies should always strive for more transparency in recruiting — it will require some changes to how the technology is deployed and maintained.

Companies whose recruiting efforts include bots that interact with candidates and employees — or those that are considering the tech in the near future — should consider the following:

Make sure the technology is agile

New laws and regulations often require companies to make significant changes to their processes. In the wake of California’s new law, companies that use chatbots or virtual assistants will need to be fully transparent with candidates. This is why it is essential that the software and systems that power the chatbots are easy to update. If the tech is not agile, or if the partner that provides it is not proactive, a company can find itself out of compliance and potentially facing more problems than the bots solve in the first place.

The importance of being able to make changes to the AI-powered systems that enable chatbots also goes beyond just compliance. Candidate preferences and needs change, and so too should the virtual assistants that shepard them through the application process. Not being able to respond to the shifting desires of the candidate can set recruitment efforts behind — a bad place to be in an increasingly candidate-driven market.

Keep ahead of legislative changes

Smart companies should be keeping an eye on legislative actions that may affect the way they use AI in the recruiting process. Yes, the new California laws are just limited to one state — for now. But as legislation increasingly catches up with the technology, businesses can expect more rules to follow.

GDPR is just one example of how being behind can cause chaos. These regulations had far too many companies scrambling at the last minute to remain compliant. When it comes to AI, companies should be proactive about how legislation will affect their products now and in the future.

For HR, this means thinking critically about how each step of the recruiting process can be more transparent. Do candidates know how much personal data is being stored? If the candidate participates in a video interview, is this recording kept, is it being replayed, and for whom? Having concrete answers to these questions is critical to staying ahead and being able to comply with any future regulation or laws that may affect their use of technology.

Ensure the candidate experience is not forgotten

A positive candidate experience should be a top goal for employers, and their use of AI should support this. Companies need to keep in mind that candidate comfort with AI and chatbots will vary from industry to industry. Candidates for engineering jobs, for example, may be far more comfortable interacting with a bot than a candidate for a marketing role.

This means taking care in how interactions with the technology are disclosed. If candidates in your industry typically have no issues communicating with bots, a quick, simple disclosure akin to “Hello! I’m an automated assistant” may suffice. However, if candidates are more averse to the technology, it may be advantageous to offer an option that includes human interaction, and provide further explanation on how the technology works and what data is being disclosed.

Use transparency to your advantage

As transparency about AI becomes increasingly required, companies should use this opportunity to explain the technology to their advantage. Candidates should not only be told when they are interacting with AI, but they should also be educated about how the technology may be advantageous to their job search.

This goes beyond disclosures about bots. AI is increasingly playing a role in other aspects of the job search, and companies should take the opportunity to tell the candidate about how this may help them. If an algorithm is being used to eliminate bias in the screening process, companies find ways to proactively inform candidates. If they are using AI tech that can intelligently update the candidate on future opportunities with the company if they are not selected, companies should tout this capability as a positive as much as possible.

It’s clear that a push toward transparency surrounding the use of AI technology not only continue in HR, but be increasingly governed by new legislation. Companies that actively seek new ways to be transparent in their processes and keep the candidate experience in mind are far less likely to be caught off guard when new regulations come down — and much more likely to set themselves apart from competitors.

SeekOut Puts Out Major Update

SeekOut.io

 

“a no-brainer for any recruiter” ~ Noel Cocca

Early next week, the SeekOut Chrome Extension will be releasing a major update that increases its utility and makes it a must-have for any workflow.

Previously, the SeekOut extension was one of the best tools pulling people into a system and finding contact information. Now, this extension is becoming ever more versatile by adding features to Google searches.

When x-raying LinkedIn through Google, the SeekOut extension will now pull relevant information into an easy-to-read box.

  • SeekOut formats searches so that names, positions, and companies are listed first.
  • Next, SeekOut identifies a person’s location and education.
  • Following this is a short excerpt from the person’s LinkedIn bio.
  • Lastly, SeekOut pulls out the person’s skills. These are listed as individual, clickable items, allowing you to read a brief description of any terms you may not know.

When each skill is clicked upon, SeekOut displays the Wikipedia article in a small window on top of the page. For recruiters that may not know everything about everything that they are searching for in a candidate, this can save valuable time and help focus your search.

With this update early next week, the new functionality will only work with LinkedIn. However, many more sites are coming through more updates over the next two months.

SeekOut is free to download and gives you plenty of free credits for search and email addresses. It’s already a no-brainer for any recruiter, but will only be getting better over the coming months. ~ Noel Cocca

 

Look inside video with Dean Da Costa:

 

 

 

Free Simple People Search Tool

Free People Search Tool is a fairly simple tool, but it cuts steps and time out of your search process. Basically, the tool is a custom search engine that searches through LinkedIn. However, in order to use the tool, you do not have to sign in to LinkedIn or pay, saving you time and money.

The setup of the tool is like any standard search engine. It consists of a search bar, and provides a few specifications.

  • Location options allow you to narrow your results based on country.
  • You can choose between showing results in terms of Relevance or Date.

You can use the search engine to search by name, role, location, or company.

The simplicity of its process may be Free People Search Tool’s greatest strength. It doesn’t bog you down with innumerable choices, making it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for.

Though the tool does not really allow you to do anything you couldn’t do directly from LinkedIn, it does make it faster and simpler, try it. ~ Noel Cocca

 

Look inside with Dean Da Costa:

 

Gender-blind hiring is BS. Here’s why so many companies are failing.

Gender Blind Hiring

 

 

Blind hiring aims to remove any and all identifying information (personal, demographic, etc.) from the recruiting process so that recruiters and hiring managers can evaluate candidates based on their abilities alone. Sounds good in theory, right?

The reality of blind hiring is something different altogether. So much so that recruiters, as well as academic researchers, have debated its merits for decades. Organizations of all sizes across all industries have tested its relevance, subjecting job seekers to “auditions” in place of the more traditional screening methods like resumes and interviews.

One well-known example cites symphony orchestras in the 1970s. At the time made up almost exclusively of white male performers, who directors claimed were the only qualified candidates. But after implementing blind auditions, using screens and carpeted floors, the likelihood for a woman to be hired increased by somewhere between 25 and 46 percent.

Sometimes, as is the case above, the results of blind hiring prove positive, demonstrating a decrease in bias towards race or gender. Sometimes things go the other way, bringing the conversation back to the table and leading us here to this point. So what’s the problem? Why is this failing? Well, for starters, the playing field for applicants isn’t as level as you think.

Words matter to candidates…

Though hotly contested in recent years, gender and its related biases continue to permeate all aspects of the recruitment process, starting with linguistics. Think about the typical job ad and the words used to communicate different roles. Depending on the position, industry, organization and the like, these ads may appeal innately to one group over another, and in turn, increase gender inequality within organizations – and we’ve known this for more than 40 years.

In two studies, dating back to 1973, participants reviewed a series of job ads that were either sex-biased (referenced men for traditionally male-dominated jobs and women for traditionally female positions), unbiased (referenced men and women as candidates) or sex-reversed (referred to women as ideal candidates for the male-dominated roles and vice versa for traditionally female jobs). The results were undeniable: Women were more interested in the male-dominated jobs when the job ads were unbiased and referenced both men and women as candidates, over the advertisements geared specifically toward men.

Yet, these basic issues with language persist (and this is not to mention the impact of explicitly gendered pronouns at a time when higher percentages of candidates identify as non-binary, but we’ll save that for another day).

… And to recruiters …

Equally important in this conversation is the perception of candidates on the part of the recruiters. Here again, bias can occur in response to something as basic as the applicant’s name or education. In a field experiment conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, researchers responded to more than 1,300 job ads, sending out nearly 5,000 resumes using names with different racial intonations. The results indicated a 50 percent gap in callback rates between the candidates with “white-sounding” names versus those with African-American names.

Going one step further, this research also looked at how higher quality resumes affected the outcome and found: “While one may have expected that improved credentials may alleviate employers’ fear that African-American applicants are deficient in some unobservable skills, this is not the case in our data. Discrimination, therefore, appears to bite twice, making it harder not only for African-Americans to find a job but also to improve their employability.”

All because of names. As a minimum, companies need to recognize the weight that words carry throughout the hiring process, both in terms of promoting open positions and during screening when reviewing candidate materials.

… But not to machines  

Until recently, the answer to this problem was blind hiring. Obscuring things like gender or demographic information, overlooking where people went to college and what they do in their spare time was the norm instead of focusing on the more human issues at hand. But now, we have the technology provided using machine learning techniques from vendors such as Oleeo.

See, while humans are great at forming relations, we’re not so great at making unbiased decisions (even when we have blinders on). With support from intelligent machine learning, recruiters can improve the way they talk to – and understand – candidates. And the key word here is intelligent.

We’re not talking simple automation. Rather, sophisticated solutions complete with custom algorithms that leverage common data points from candidate resumes and job profiles to analyze data in a fraction of the time it would take a recruiter — tools that use data to make prescriptive recommendations, void of the inherent bias found in human interaction.

To learn more about the reality of gender-blind recruiting and hiring, check out Diversity Hiring: A Guide to Gender Blind Recruiting and Overcoming Bias.   

How to Monetize Your Resume Database in 6 Steps

CV ROI

 

Do you know how much each resume is worth?

In today’s market, organizations are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a hiring solution where they can source candidates and post their jobs. For job boards and career sites, this means more pressure to stand out from the crowd and drive the necessary revenue to stay afloat.

The good news is, if you have a resume database, there are more ways to drive additional revenue aside from earning money through user licenses and having a large sales team. Better still, you could be sitting on a gold mine.

1. Measure Data Performance

Firstly, if you have a growing resume database, you need to ensure that it’s packed with candidates that match your clients’ requirements.

So, don’t try to build a massive database for the sake of numbers. Look at the jobs on your site and explore the candidate data you need to fill them. It may be that you need to focus on a specific location, demographic, or sector. Here’s some questions to ask yourself:

  • Are candidates’ resumes being viewed?
  • Which resumes are being downloaded?
  • Are candidates updating their resumes?
  • Are they making applications?
  • Are candidates actively visiting the site?
  • Do you know how much each resume is worth?

With any form of data, measuring its performance is extremely important. The sooner you understand which data performs better, the easier it will be to monetize your Resume Database.

2. Analyze Your Data Sources

As per the above, you could be in danger of losing money on data that isn’t working or being used. Therefore, it’s important to look at the traffic sources you’re investing in to drive candidates to your site and consider whether you’re spending your money in the right places.

Looking at which candidates are making applications and which resumes employers are downloading can help you to gain clarity on whether your database is providing clients with the resumes they need. You can then reinvest the money back into the right traffic sources.

By analyzing your data sources, you can also start to build complete visibility on the average cost per resume, which in the future, could help to shape your pricing strategies. We’ll move onto that shortly.

3. Consider Different Charging Models

Nowadays, traditional pricing models are being pushed aside in favor of pay per performance models. This means companies only need to pay when they wish to contact a candidate, taking the risk out of lengthy contracts. In the future, it’s likely that job boards will look to develop this further, charging different values for resumes at certain job levels and in certain industries. 

4. Match Resumes to Market Demand

Another way to make additional revenue is to match the resumes in your database with market demand. This is something we’re passionate about at Resume-Library and while we own an extensive Resume Database ourselves, we were also the first of our kind to aggregate (but not own) resumes from other sites, and help people monetize their databases.

Essentially, by pooling your data into a resume aggregator, you’ll be gaining even more exposure and can earn money every time one of your candidates is unlocked and matched with a recruiter via different search channels.

5. Co-Register with Partners

In addition to this, you can monetize your Resume Database through co-registering with partners like resume review sites or other job boards. Essentially, when signing up to these sites, candidates will be presented with the option to share their resume on your database too.

Not only does it mean you’ll be growing your pool of resumes, but you’ll also be able to make money when that candidate’s resume is downloaded by clients.

6. Data Sharing

Lastly, data sharing is not unusual here in the U.S. and it’s easy to monetize your Resume Database without compromising your own service. Essentially, if you have the data, but not the front-end for employers to search it, there are companies out there that can show you how to monetize it and earn every time one of your resumes is unlocked via a resume aggregator.

Ready to Monetize Your Resume Database?

If you have a resume database, you’re in a great position to match your data to market demand. Don’t forget to analyze your data sources to ensure that you aren’t losing money on data that isn’t working, move outside of traditional pricing models and consider partnering with other sites to monetize your Resume Database even further.

 

 

Is “personal branding” a buzzword, or is it crucial to the modern era?

Here’s a little intro to the idea of personal branding by way of my Thursday this week. I decided to drive over to a Small Business Expo in Dallas. I’ve been doing this freelance solopreneur deal for about six months now and I’m making money and paying bills, but I figured maybe I could learn something new or innovative about running your own business at this deal. I drive 40-45 minutes and of course, the thing is Massive Up-Sell 2016, with vendor after vendor promising “hundreds of thousands of new leads” or “on-target local SEO.” I wanted to self-immolate, and left in about 1 hour and 20 minutes or so. Maybe the funniest part was that one of the keynote speakers was a “marketing expert,” and when I Googled him on my phone, his website isn’t mobile-friendly. Ha.

I walked through one keynote — by some target-hitter out of Chicago with a personal branding of ‘venture capitalist’ and ‘turnaround specialist’ — and it was one of those up-sell speeches to the max. He opened — literally opened — with “Who here wants to make $10 million in the next three years?” Hands shoot up. “It is possible, and we’re going to walk through how.” Pens scribble. Every sixth sentence, he said “This is important. Write this down.” I audibly laughed at one or two points. Thankfully I didn’t cause a commotion or anything.

This dude was Snake Oil, for sure — as were many of the speakers and vendors. Hence, I left quickly. But it underscores a bigger point about personal branding.

Personal Branding: Everyone’s selling something

I had a phone call a couple of days ago with a coach who wants to build up her business a bit more, and maybe I can help. She was great. One of the best quotes on that call was “Everyone practices something every day, so you might as well be good at what you practice.” Indeed. Drug dealers practice a craft, and so do product marketing managers. Whores do, and so do CFOs. Everyone’s practicing something.

The other side of the deal is that everyone is selling something, give or take — be that a product, a service, or themselves. In the process of that thing being sold, many people do it wrong and come off like stalkers or Snake Oil salesmen.

I can’t tell you how many e-mail campaigns I’ve gotten in the past six months promising me wealth, leads, money, a great attitude, percentage growth of business, or whatever else simply by clicking on a few links within an e-mail. It’s insane. It has to number more than 100-200. Even if you obsessively curate your e-mail marketing opt-ins, you probably get a couple.

So this is my first tier on personal branding: I think it’s important to be authentic, because it can become so much up-selling so quickly if you’re not. For example, I lob a ton of grenades at traditional management structures on this blog. I get shit on all the time by people who read it and say stuff like “You’ll never get a job at Proctor and Gamble now! Oh God!” No, I probably won’t. And I’d probably hate that job if I did, as an aside.

When you use the term ‘personal branding,’ it can sound buzzword-y as hell. It sounds like you’re trying to game the system and turn yourself into a ‘brand,’ as opposed to a person with flaws, which is what we all are inherently. Also, to go back to the Snake Oil and stalking situation — there’s probably 95,481 people online selling ‘personal branding’ programs or ‘personal branding’ solutions or a ‘suite of services related to personal branding.’ Again, it can seem buzzword-y.

But it’s crucial — and here’s why.

Personal Branding and The End of Employment

I think automation is still probably farther off than we think — a robot might not have your job next month, in other words. But employment is definitely shifting. You can call this “The Gig Economy” or “The App Economy” or “The Rise of the Millennials” or whatever else, but basic notions around the future of work and employee loyaltyare shifting and continue to shift.

It starts with this: companies have absolutely no moral imperative to treat their employees well. Companies are supposed to protect their bottom line, their stakeholders, and their executives. That’s basically it.

A couple of years ago at this job I had, I was sitting outside a high-middle manager’s office and he was in a meeting with one of his direct reports. It boggles the mind that he left the door open during this meeting, but I heard everything. The direct report was upset. He had hit all his targets and driven growth for the company — and, no promotion, no raise, and only about a 1.7% salary bump, which is barely ahead of inflation. He was getting pretty livid. I even think he said once, “But I hit all my targets!” The manager couldn’t give two shits. He was throwing buzzwords around like candy talking about mission and values and vision and purpose and whatever else, and barely answering any direct questions. It was a total joke. The direct report walked out nearly in tears with fists of rage.

Conversations like that happen at jobs all the time. Organizations aren’t designed to protect ‘the little guy.’ They’re barely designed to protect big wigs, honestly — if your revenue takes a hit or there’s a PR scandal, a CEO can be out the door too.

As Liz Ryan writes: 

The old notion of employment has devolved into short-term project work. It doesn’t matter whether you get paid a salary,  hourly wages or a consulting fee. Consultants and contractors have more job security than traditionally-employed people do now, because traditional employment comes with no guarantee of job security whatsoever.

Some people call this “Team of Teams” or whatever. Phrased another way: round up all the middle managers and put ’em out to pasture.

This is all a long way of getting back to personal branding. See …

  • If employment as we’ve traditionally viewed it is ending/declining …
  • … and you’re going to be hopping from place to place and team to team hitting targets and projects, then …
  • … all you really have is your personal branding

If you get axed from a gig or want to hop on a different project or drive an Uber or whatever, where is someone going to go for information about you? Google. LinkedIn. Twitter. Facebook. Your references, which is an aspect of reputation/trust. It’s all a complicated series of ecosystems and referrals and information-seeking.

Personal Branding And Being Authentic

I wrote this back in July of 2014 on the idea:

And it all points back to your personal branding.

So yes, it sounds like a buzzword. And yes, there are target-chasers the world over asking if you want to make $10M in the next three years through some combo of personal branding and aggressive e-mail list growth. And of course, people are selling snake oil and following you around the Internet like a dog (“re-marketing”). All this stuff happens and exists and it’s hard to hide/run from.

But as the way we work and conceptualize work shifts more and more, we’re all kind of lone wolves in a way. We have friends and trusted professional colleagues, sure — and spouses and kids and pets and all that. But at the end of the day as someone is trying to gather intel on you for a new team or project or opportunity, there’s dozens of ways for them to do it now. And it’s all about your personal branding.

It matters tremendously — and certainly moreso than the bold company name on your resume. That could change tomorrow.

Your take on personal branding?

Prophet II: You Love It, We Love It

 

Prophet II adds search interface

 

By now you should all know we love Prophet here at RecruitingDaily as we have been talking about them since 2014.  While the original Prophet was a Chrome Extension that found links and contact info from a variety of sites, Prophet II (currently in beta) builds on this by adding an excellent search interface.

Prophet II’s new functionality consists of an incredible search engine that can be used in conjunction with the original Prophet tool.

  • The search interface allows you to search by title, location, skills, exclusions, and more.
  • Searches are completed incredibly fast, saving you from wasted time.
  • You can quickly create and add to lists, making your workflow more organized than ever.
  • You are given plenty of free credits that can be used to access contact information and links to profiles on other sites.
  • Lists are easily downloadable, allowing you to bring the information you gain in Prophet II into other tools with ease.

Prophet II finds the email address for a great deal of the people it sources. However, even when it does not, you can easily click through to a person’s other social profiles and use the original Prophet to find more information.

Prophet II’s speed and the number of free credits set it apart from other resources. Whether or not you utilized the original Prophet, you need to check this one out. ~ Noel Cocca

 

Look inside with Dean Da Costa:

Why Chatbots Are Valuable in the Recruitment Process

 

Rather than fretting about being replaced by AI, recruiters should rejoice about the role AI will play in reducing the administrative burden on their shoulders.

The idea of chatbots conducting job interviews may seem strange. But as it turns out, using them – at least for part of the interview process – is proving highly beneficial for many companies.

Byte is a digital marketing firm that has built chatbots, used by big name brands like Adidas for marketing purposes. The first chatbot that Byte built is one that it still uses. It’s called the Space Gentleman. And it helps the marketing firm to hire employees. Co-founder Alex Miller says the feedback about the bot has been extremely positive. So far, the Space Gentleman has helped Byte to hire 70 employees.

But how could a chatbot be more effective at hiring employees than a person? Wouldn’t a job interview with a modern-day robot be a bit clunky and awkward? Well, the Space Gentleman has not taken over the entire interview process. The role it plays is limited – but is, nevertheless, quite advantageous for Byte.

The Benefits of Chatbots in Recruitment

In an interview with LinkedIn, Miller said:

“It is not cutting out the first interview, to be clear! It is cutting out that first stage of the online application process. Really simple things like, “Have you got the right to work in the UK?” It sounds obvious but if you haven’t then there is no point doing a first interview.”

Isabel Perry, Chief Technology Officer at Byte, added:

“I think applying for jobs is probably the worst experience anyone has in their career, so if you can make it at least entertaining then you’re doing society a favor! And there are people here who say they applied on it and after that, they didn’t apply for another job.”

The Space Gentleman, however, is not the only chatbot that is being used for recruiting employees. Mya is another example. By using a messaging app, candidates can talk to Mya, which records data and answers questions that candidates have. Recruiters using this chatbot can screen a large pool of candidates without having to dedicate any extra work to the hiring process. In fact, chatbots can improve the recruitment industry in a variety of ways:

  •       They enhance a candidate’s experience. Chatbots can help to reduce the gap between submitting an application and getting a response from a recruiter.
  •       They can act as an effective platform to handle FAQs, for roles and your business in general.
  •       Chatbots can set up meetings and calls with candidates.
  •       Chatbots can qualify candidates efficiently, ranking them against the criteria supplied by the employer. This makes it a lot easier for recruiters to assess the most qualified applicants.

A savvy recruiter who is looking to boost their productivity should consider including chatbots in their recruitment toolkit.

Other popular chatbots used in the recruitment industry include:

Potential Downsides to Using Chatbots

Using chatbots in the recruitment process can present some challenges.

  1. First of all, if you start using a chatbot that doesn’t align with how you operate, then this could end up creating more work for you, rather than save you time. However, by carefully selecting a chatbot that fits in with your schedule and candidate management system, you can save a great deal of time on tedious admin tasks.
  2. Secondly, you should be aware that chatbots often learn from conversations with candidates. This means that initial conversations may not deliver the results you’re hoping for. Nevertheless, this is just part of the process. After some time, you can expect your chatbot to become more reliable and effective at qualifying candidates.
  3. Thirdly, there will be many questions that a chatbot won’t be able to answer. However, as the technology improves over time, this will become less of an issue. You may have 24/7 responses to FAQs, but for a lot of questions, some human interaction is likely to be needed. Again, it’s worth emphasizing that chatbots should serve as a means of streamlining or supplementing the interview process. They cannot completely replicate the skills and capabilities of a human interviewer.

It is up for debate whether robots will replace recruiters in the future. Rachel Chalmers, VP of marketing at Unitive, says that the company’s use of HR software has helped to eliminate bias from the recruitment process. Instead of relying on unreliable gut feelings that recruiters have, Chalmers maintains that HR software can make more informed “data-driven choices”, allowing companies to hire the best candidate every time.

On the other hand, many experts believe that advancing AI will simply replace the most menial, mundane tasks that recruiters have to do. For example, Leela Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer at Lever argues:

“Rather than fretting about being replaced by AI, recruiters should rejoice about the role AI will play in reducing the administrative burden on their shoulders. AI will save recruiters a ton of time by automating simple tasks, stack-ranking resumes and more. Recruiters should then re-invest that time in the very things that AI can’t replicate, like building real human rapport and relationships with current and future candidates, as well as developing strategic and mutually respectful business partnerships with hiring managers. The bots won’t be taking over those aspects of their jobs any time soon.”

Recruitment depends on human judgment, finesse, feeling, subtlety, meaningful connections, building relationships, and providing strategic advice. It seems unlikely, therefore, that robots will replace recruiters. Instead, AI will make the recruitment process easier and allow recruiters to focus on the more engaging and fulfilling aspects of their role.