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Recruiting Operations: Fancy Title, or the Latest “Must Have” in Talent Acquisition?

William Tincup posed this question recently on Facebook:

“Why don’t we talk about ‘Recruiting Operations’ as a critical role within all recruiting teams?”

It got a huge response, with most responses being an entire blog post on their own. I told William I want to write about this, and being that I normally write for Fistful of Talent and my own blog, The Tim Sackett Project, he said yes — but only if I write it for Recruiting Daily! I’ve been a long time reader of Recruiting Daily and love the team, so that decision was easy!

Here’s a link to the original post on Facebook, and it’s well worth a read because the comments are awesome and you will gain some great insight from some really great recruiting minds on the subject. Now, I’ll give you my take on it, which will be much less sophisticated, but I find I’m normally spot on in my unsophisticated takes!

A little insight into Recruiting Operations

First, we need to define what are “Recruiting Operations.”

That was one thing that you could see right away in the comments on William’s post — everyone has a different opinion on what this might be. For many, traditional recruiting operations were just all the crap that bogged down recruiters, the things we wanted to make sure they didn’t get involved with so they could spend all their time finding talent.

Recruiting operations include analyzing and improving processes, working with vendors, understanding and keeping on top of the recruiting technology landscape, working across organizational functions, developing and implementing recruiting programs, etc.

Basically, recruiting operations are about doing everything — except finding the talent. It’s all the stuff that used to get thrown on the recruiting leader’s desk that they never had time to do but that could make you a lot better if they did.

To be honest, many times Recruiting Operation activities were then thrown on to the admin’s desk within the recruiting department. These were things like: Follow-up on this. Check into this. Put all of this stuff together; then the team will review and we’ll make a decision.

A recruiting leadership failure?

We don’t talk about Recruiting Operations as a critical role, because for the most part, as recruiting leaders we were fighting fires and not trying to figure out how do we stop the fires altogether. It’s been tactical vs. strategic. I’m a great recruiter; I know how to find and get people hired — head down, pick up the phone, rinse, repeat.

That’s a broad stroke, to be sure, but it’s mostly accurate. The lack of a recruiting operations focus is a recruiting leadership failure.

The passion around the comments on Tincup’s Facebook post showed that the sophistication of recruiting leaders has come a long way over the past decade. If you are now running a large talent acquisition shop and you don’t have a focus on recruiting operations, your shop is not running at full capacity. In other words, you’re playing catch-up with the rest of the industry.

As your talent acquisition shop grows, some things happen in how you grow your team. A basic TA leader just adds more recruiters, sourcers, and admin help to keep doing the same work you’re already doing. A more advanced TA leader, however, will begin adding pieces to their team that looks to expand capacity without growing more recruiters, sourcers and administrative staff.

As you advance as a TA leader, you now look at your own capacity and find out how to expand your knowledge. So, you add in a business analyst to help you become an expert in data and analytics, maybe a TA technology expert, or an Operations expert, a marketing/branding expert, etc.

Making a case to add “operations” head count

The most innovative recruiting shops just don’t get bigger — they grow with a purpose of getting better.

It sounds easy, but it’s not for most TA leaders.

First, it’s easy to talk finance into more recruiting heads as you grow and recruiting is a pain point. But, it’s hard to talk those in charge of the purse strings to add a person or two or three in “operations” when you yourself as a leader can’t clearly define what these folks will work on and what those outcomes will be.

To someone in finance, recruiting operations sounds like a catch-all title for the work that they’re paying a recruiting leader to do. For large recruiting organizations, or those organizations that are growing into large ones, it’s difficult to immediately show measured results by adding “operations” titled staffers to your team, but it’s imperative for future success, growth, and, to remain competitive for talent.

That’s your key to add in Recruiting Operations — competition.

Will your organization lead — or follow?

Good executive leaders will not allow finance to keep you in a non-competitive state in recruiting. Sure, you still need to see improved measures, but the future talent acquisition departments will have a focus on recruiting operations as one major strategic segment.

Will your organization be leading, or following, when it comes to talent acquisition? It’s a question you have to ask your leadership team.

Why Summer Is the Ideal Time to Recruit Passive Candidates

If you’re a recruiter, hiring manager, or head of talent, you’ve undoubtedly heard the conventional wisdom that recruiting in the summer is hard with a capital “H.”

Countless articles have lamented this supposed seasonal slowdown, such as Recruiting.com’s 4 Ways to Ease Your Summer Hiring Woes, which encourages industry professionals not to “let the summer blues get to you.”

Let’s say your incoming job applications have slumped like an inflatable raft flopped on one too many times. There’s no need to fret; active candidates aren’t the only swimmers in the talent pool.

Passive Candidates = Hidden Talent

LinkedIn’s 2016 Global Talent Trends report found that just 36 percent of the more than 30,000 users surveyed were actively seeking new job opportunities. However, 90 percent were open to hearing about new opportunities.

What does that mean for those working in Talent Acquisition? In short, it’s safe to assume that a majority of professionals (54 percent) are “reachable” passive candidates.

Hiring managers accustomed to letting job applicants come to them might wonder why they should dedicate resources to candidates who aren’t actively seeking a new job.

As Hire Velocity explains, the answer is simple: the best talent often isn’t looking.

Experience demonstrates…that the most highly qualified, in-demand talent isn’t out there surfing job boards. They already have jobs and they are generally satisfied with their positions.”

RecruitLoop adds this: “Seeking out passive candidates … can be especially relevant when you’re looking to fill a role with someone who has very specific skills,” as is often the case in the high-growth tech sector.

Timing Is Everything

Recruiting passive talent requires a different strategy than recruiting active candidates.

“The first big difference is that passive prospects need to be convinced that the first conversation is worth their time investment,” advises Lou Adler in 8 Steps for Turning Passive Prospects Into Eager Candidates.

Even if you’re pitching the most interesting job in the world, if you contact a passive lead in the midst of a particularly busy time you’re unlikely to receive a positive response. In fact, you’ll probably be ignored altogether.

On the other hand, if you reach out with that oh-so-compelling opportunity when the candidate has a moment to spare, chances are much stronger that you’ll spark a much more successful dialogue.

sourcingWhile it’s impossible to know the particular scheduling demands of an individual candidate, you can make smart assumptions about which periods are likely to be less hectic for passive talent. And summer — with its three big holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day), an increased use of vacation days, and potentially a more flexible or scaled-back work schedule — fits the bill like a perfect new pair of sunglasses.

So, with summer temps heating up, how can you capitalize on this seasonal advantage?

No. 1 – Try New Sourcing Technology

The first step to converting qualified passive candidates into new hires is sourcing.

As defined by the Society for Human Resource Management:

Sourcing is the proactive searching for qualified job candidates” in contrast to “the reactive function of reviewing resumes and applications sent to the company in response to a job posting or pre-screening candidates.”

For most recruiters, the go-to sourcing spot is LinkedIn. And for many verticals, the professional networking site has set the gold standard for finding candidates. But, if you’re recruiting for technical positions, it leaves much to be desired.

LinkedIn doesn’t provide a way to evaluate the breadth or depth of a programmer’s actual code. In addition, developers don’t tend to spend much time on the platform, making InMail response rates low. As Chris Shaw, Director of Talent at Meteor, bluntly puts it, “LinkedIn messaging is pointless for engineers.”

The good news is that LinkedIn isn’t the only talent game in town; there are other tools specifically designed to help companies source top tech candidates and shepherd them through the recruitment process.

For example, Aevy includes data from sites like GitHub, StackOverflow, HackerNews, and Meetup.com in its candidate profiles to provide better insight into developers’ programming interests and coding skills. And when it comes to applicant tracking systems, there are a few ATS providers that specialize in working with tech companies. For instance, Greenhouse counts Airbnb, Pinterest, Evernote, and Twilio as customers, while Lever has helped to revolutionize the hiring process at Lyft and Quora.

No. 2  – Turn the Seasonal Schedule into an Advantage

Passive candidates, by definition, are not explicitly looking for new opportunities, which means they most likely already have a job. And, it’s probably a job where they’re expected to be present during business hours and where it might be difficult to escape the observant eyes of a boss or co-workers to step out for an interview.

With this in mind, recruiters can not only use the summer schedule to their advantage in terms of giving the passive candidate more time to consider the new opportunity but also increased time and flexibility for the interview process itself.

Patty Coffey lays out the seasonal scheduling benefits in this Mashable article:

Many companies have a more lax schedule in July and August — some close early on Fridays, while others have more unofficial long weekends. Bosses are often on vacation or may take a long lunch, so employees can slip away unnoticed. Vacation days are also more accepted — your boss won’t think it is odd if you take a vacation day or two in August.”

No. 3 — Job Transitions Are Easier During the Summer

For passive candidates, a key potential blocker to contemplating new opportunities is the transition cost. This cost (in time, energy, and money) is exponentially higher if the position in question requires moving to a new home, especially if the candidate has a partner or children who will be affected.

This is yet another aspect where hiring managers can use the season to their advantage by emphasizing to passive candidates that making the job transition during the summer will be easier on them (and their families).

Coffey also made this point about that:

Summertime is typically a less hectic time to transition to a new job. Prospects can get acquainted with the company when less people are in the office and things are slower.”

She adds,

It can also be less traumatic for families if a move is involved, since children wouldn’t have to switch schools mid-year.”

No More Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

The take-away message from this?

Even if it’s true that it’s more challenging to hire from the pool of active candidates in the summer, there’s also a much larger ocean full of passive candidates. That means more for recruiters and hiring managers to pursue.

Follow the author on Twitter @beckyloveshugs and connect on LinkedIn.

The Five: Top Tricks to Recruit Salespeople

All companies desperately want superstar sales talent. The question is, how do you find them? Here are five tricks to remember when you are recruiting salespeople.

1. Make a list of your favorite sales people and talk to them.

Recruiting salespeople may seem like a challenging task however you spend more time with salespeople than any group of people on earth. Make a list of people that you’ve bought something from – narrow it down to the ones that gave you a great buying experience. It could be your house, car, or even the person you met while looking for pens at Office Depot or the person at the front desk at the YMCA. You can always train someone on a product. But what you cannot train is how to be a driven salesperson.

2. Have a clear understanding of how your commission structure works.

At some point, the sales candidate is going to be asking about the salary. Stumbling on this is the easiest way to lose a candidate. Is this a base plus commission? What is the ramp up expectation? Is there a salary cap? Are there bonus opportunities? Are there territories? Make sure you know before you start smiling and dialing.

3. Ask for proof.

We make the mistake of hiring salespeople that like to “forget” that they are salespeople! They are naturally charming and know how to play the game. But that doesn’t mean they are great teammates. Ask them the workload they are used to. How many phone calls do they make in a day? Do they have any sales training or methodology that they use? What kind of awards have they won? Don’t be afraid to get into details and have everyone on the hiring team ask the same question to validate the answers given.

recruiting sales people4. Use personality assessments.

Again, salespeople are charming. They also know how to sell themselves on their resume. But when you are hiring salespeople, only a scientific assessment will give you the reassurance that the person you are hiring is wired for sales. TriMetrix, StrengthFinder and HireVue are all good options.

5. Offer a sign on bonus.

A good salesperson is not going to be swayed easily to just up and leave their current position.  They have a great gig, great boss, sell a great product and work with great people. The inverse of that statement is also true;  it is WAY too easy to recruit under-performing sales people. Offering a sign on bonus will let them know you are willing to invest in them. It also makes the blow of leaving money on the table a little less.

Recruiting salespeople can be tough, but if you do it strategically, you will be hiring superstars in no time.

The Week That Was 7.7.17: OnboardIQ, ClearCompany, ADP, Hikido

Every Friday in case you missed it, ‘The Week That Was” is your weekly news update for recruiters. AKA All you need to know about anything that matters in recruiting. We go out to the interwebs and gather interesting and insightful recruiting news we will interest you. This week we learn how to get on board with hiring, why we should refer to candidates as people, how not to fire an employee, meet the new boss and how to beef up our Hikido.

Word of the Week:

 

Tweet of the Week:

 

 

Hire in 24 hours or lessAll Aboard! OnboardIQ raises $9.1 million to automate hiring for hourly workers

Ironically enough, OnboardIQ, who we introduced you to yesterday, announced that they closed Series A funding at a cool 9.1 million bucks!

“With the rapid growth of the ‘gig economy’ and contingent workers, we expect more employers in diverse industries will turn to this emerging sector of the workforce. As they do, the ability to remove time and expense by automating the on-boarding process can make the difference between success and failure. OnboardIQ brings market-leading, flexible software to this emerging sector of the labor market,” said Brent Hill, partner at Origin Ventures.

Founded by a pair of technology and human resource leaders Jeremy Cai and Keith Ryu, OnboardIQ’s cloud-based solution uses machine learning and automation to address the challenges that today’s HR and operations teams face when hiring large workforces such as analyzing data that’s siloed in on-premise HCM suites, screening an increasing number of applicants with a lean HR team, and delivering a branded, enjoyable candidate experience.

“We are excited to welcome Brent to our board, and drive forward in our mission towards maximizing labor-market efficiency and creating economic opportunity for local employees,” said Keith Ryu, co-founder, and CEO of OnboardIQ.

Congrats to OnboardIQ! Get a demo bly clicking here.

Recruit Human

It is time for recruiters to take a human approach to recruiting. Recruiters need to recognize that those you are recruiting are people with needs and expectations.

Raise your level of honesty and transparency to make sure that the candidate truly is a good fit, not just because of their skills but because of who they are as a person. Jo Weech will be with us on RecruitingLive to offer insight as well as answer questions about this most overlooked topic. Register by clicking here.

 

‘Quit by 10am tomorrow or you’re fired’: IT employee’s recording of sacking goes viral

In the backdrop of the Indian IT industry continues to deny reports of mass layoffs, an employee of a tech firm has circulated a recording of his sacking, in which he was allegedly told to put in his papers as part of the company’s “restructuring plans”.

In the recording, a human resources executive can be heard asking the employee to resign as part of a “corporate decision”. In the 6:45-minute long audio clip, the HR executive is asking the employee to put in his papers by 10 am the next day or his services at the company will be terminated.

 Damn.

Listen to the clip by clicking here.

 

ClearCompany and ADP Announce Partnership and Industry-Leading Integration

ClearCompany, the leading talent management software solution that helps companies identify, hire and engage more A-players, today announced a partnership and industry-leading integration with ADP, the comprehensive global provider of cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions that unite HR, payroll, talent, time, tax and benefits administration.

Together, customers of the two software providers can seamlessly experience ClearCompany’s next generation talent management platform combined with ADP’s payroll, time and attendance, and benefits administration. The combined service offering will address the needs of SMB and mid-size organizations that are looking for a modern cloud experience for all aspects Human Capital Management. ClearCompany is now also available to ADP clients through the ADP Marketplace.

“By combining ClearCompany with ADP services, we are bringing a complete, modern and comprehensive HR solution to millions of employees currently leveraging both ADP and ClearCompany solutions,” said Andre Lavoie, CEO of ClearCompany. “Available today, ADP customers can experience a cutting edge recruiting, onboarding, performance and goal management platform that is seamlessly integrated with their payroll, time and attendance and benefits,” Andre said. Click here to read more.

Find More Peeps with Hikido

Dean DaCosta helps us to find the informaitno about the candidates we need by using Hikido!

That Would Be Great: Sentiment Analysis for HR and Recruiting.

Despite our near obsessive fixation on “employee engagement,” this term remains largely amorphous and highly ambiguous, a subjective subject at best.

Inherently, HR knows that an engaged workforce is more satisfied in their jobs, more productive at work, and generally stick around for longer tenures and lower pay.

These are all outcomes, we can agree, by which HR should be both managed and measured.

Didn’t You Get the Memo? The Problem With Employee Engagement.

This explains the business case which justifies the significant chunk of change we spend each year on employee engagement initiatives, a staggering sum estimated to represent north of $1 billion dollars every year (that’s billion, with a “B”) annually in North America alone.

This trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, considering that as ubiquitous as employee engagement has become, only about 50% of employers report actively investing in related programs, products or services last year, meaning that only about 50% of the overall market for employee engagement solutions has even been tapped.

Stop and think about that for a minute. While HR and recruiting, as a rule, tend to be prodigious in their reckless  spending on stuff they don’t need (see: employer branding consultants, “candidate experience platforms,” etc.) employee engagement represents by far the biggest money pit in an industry littered with them.

There’s no other category in HR Technology today which generates such dismal returns for such staggering investments, with companies throwing cash at a problem that remains as persistent as ever. In fact, according to a recent Gallup survey, a whopping 34.1% of all employees consider themselves “engaged” or “highly engaged,” a sad number by most every measure.

What makes it sadder is that this is a record high, with more employees feeling engaged at their jobs than at any point since Gallup began tracking employee engagement all the way back in January 2011. That’s right. For the billions we’ve spent on employee engagement solutions, we’ve still barely moved the needle. As stands, two out of three workers still feel that they are not “fully engaged in their work” nor “had sufficient support to cope with and resolve work situations.”

Were it any other function, as we’ve seen, HR would have long ago been shown the door for not making their numbers. So, what, exactly, are we getting wrong?

Standard Operating Procedure: The Problem With Employee Surveys.

The answer is simple: we’ve yet to reconcile the clear divide between data driven, scientifically validated approaches to performance management, and sweepingly unfocused, unscientific and qualitative annual or even irregular “pulse” surveys designed to quantify the unquantifiable.

The end result is that our intentional investment at seeing increases in employee engagement have yielded a return that’s not only not aligned to business objectives, but nearly impossible to take tangible steps or tactical actions to resolve after receiving the data of such surveys, even if these are administered in real time, all the time.

Surveys have the inherent limitation by which the results are never forward looking, and represent only a snapshot, not a strategy, for resolving employee performance issues.

 

The answer this problem is not creating surveys, or even expanding employee feedback mechanisms, which effectively check a box for “employee engagement,” but don’t actually align with workplace realities or the business’ bottom line.

This is because while we’ve become fairly adept at measuring employee engagement, but fail to actually capture the real data needed to improve business results or meet the actual needs and wants of the employees they purport to measure.

Reconciling these two disparate approaches to talent management requires rethinking the way we monitor and measure performance. That’s why it’s time HR takes yet another page from the marketing playbook. Unlike branding, however, this discipline is quantifiable, measurable and actionable.

It’s time for HR to finally put their money where their “big data” and “employee engagement” mouths are. It’s time for HR to finally figure out how to implement sentiment analysis into their ongoing programs and initiatives.

Why Sentiment Analysis is the Future of Employee Engagement.

Sentiment analysis, which first got its start in market research, was first implemented as online review sites like Yelp! (and, closer to home, Glassdoor) began to move from the margins to the mainstream.

Companies wanted to know how customers and consumers really felt about their products – and how those perceptions stacked up against the competition.

Coupled with the rise in review aggregation and machine learning algorithms, companies soon discovered that they could go beyond what was ever possible by simply using focus groups (effectively, the marketing equivalent of employee satisfaction surveys) and get a comprehensive, actionable and accurate look at public perception.

The resulting discipline of “sentiment analysis” has been widely adopted by companies externally.

Today, the time has come to finally adopt these approaches by turning sentiment analysis methodology internally – and finally figuring out what real employees think about their jobs, surface actual trends and actionable tactics and start realizing return on their employee engagement investment.

While many enterprise employers have adopted this technology to understand the market, few have used sentiment analysis to accurately understand and identify performance related problems. But the inherent possibilities of using sentiment analysis are obvious, and likely inexorably intertwined with the growing ubiquity of machine learning technology within the HR and recruiting functions today.

Employee engagement, for example, can be easily moved from an arduous and arbitrary annual process to social network analysis, real-time mood tracking and monitoring of employee communications like emails or social media updates for natural language which measures not just what workers are doing, but how they’re feeling, too.

True innovations don’t result simply from understanding data, but having the right information to implement change and catalyze action; this means increasingly, HR and talent leaders must stop focusing on the quantity of “big data,” but rather on the quality of the data and generating actionable analysis and tangible tactics from the data they do collect.

Employees, for example, exchange an estimated 2 billion emails every day at enterprise employers, but without understanding recurring topics, themes or the emotions at play, these potentially meaningful sources of aggregate data become independently worthless. Similarly, for all the fixation on social media recruiting and the impact of employer reviews, few companies understand the context behind this content, nor can they proactively use these tools to improve employee performance and business outcomes.

The technology for bridging the divide between the emotive world of HR and the data driven world of employee performance exists, and it’s incumbent on employers to start figuring out how to turn this science into strategy, and how to turn employee perceptions into concrete applications.

When it comes to sentiment analysis, the good news is, the future of HR is right now.

Editor’s Note: This post was sponsored by our friends at Ultimate Software, and RecruitingDaily received compensation for publishing this post. We bet you probably figured that out by now.

Now that we’ve got that disclaimer out of the way, we still think that UltiPro Perception is actually a pretty kick butt tool, and if you’re a talent leader, this is one SaaS solution that’s definitely worth checking out for yourself.

Click here to register for an interactive tour of UltiPro Perception and see what sentiment analysis can do for you.

With This Technology You Can Hire in 24 Hours or Less. But Should You?

Recently, HireVue held their Digital Disruption conference in Park City, Utah. ‘Disruption’ is the latest in a string of buzzwords getting a lot of play these days and so even though it is in the name, rarely do you see technology that is truly disruptive. One of the breakout sessions featured Jason Creel from the startup Shipt. It was there that they were truly doing something disruptive.

Hire in 24 Hours or Less

 

Time to Hire: Breaking the Matrix

Shipt is a same-day grocery delivery service and they are growing fast. In 2 years, they went from basically nothing to 2 offices, 50 metros, 2 corporate offices and over 250 full-time employees and over 20K ‘shoppers’. They did that with 5 recruiters. Oh, and they only hire 10% of those who apply. At Shipt, they can go from candidate to contractor in 3 days and sometimes they hire in 24 hours or less.  That is not a typo. Their shoppers can apply, interview, have credentials reviewed, sign documents, complete a background check and start delivering groceries same day. All parts of the hiring experience are automated with the exception of reviewing the video interviews. By using HireVue Video Intelligence,  OnboardIQ for document signing and Checkr for background checks they have reduced hiring time by 80%.

Hire in 24 Hours or Less

 

The Gig Economy Dream Realized

So should we all try to hire in 24 hours or less? This process is working for Shipt, making it one of the fastest growing online marketplace. But is complete automation the best way to handle hiring?  The answer is, maybe. Pay special attention to the fact that they are using the right kind of technology in order to do it. Let’s look at these tools a bit closer.

HireVue OnDemand Hire in 24 hours or less

First, they needed an interviewing process where candidates could apply when it was most convenient for them and recruiters could review on their time as well. It is convenient. Candidates don’t have to worry about uploading a resume or attaching LinkedIn profiles, they answer around 5 questions via video, some short answer written questions and they are done. The recruiters are the decision makers. And that is it.

“Our team couldn’t watch the interviews as quickly as they were coming in. Now we’re watching them in a matter of hours and we truly have the ability to have shoppers shopping within the same day that they apply.”— Jason Creel, Director of Recruiting and Launch 

 

Hire in 24 hours or lessOnboardIQ

As you read above, Shipt had some tremendous hiring needs. You can imagine what it would be like to keep track of 80 candidate interviews a day without the right system. OnboardIQ  works by automating candidate workflow, document signing, training, and onboarding (as you may have guessed by the name.) The best part is they have a communication dashboard that allows you from a single platform to communicate with multiple groups of people via email or text.

“Shipt considers OnboardIQ family. Whenever I meet with a potential retail partner, the first thing I ask is: Are you willing to work with OnboardIQ? If the answer is no, there’s no deal. Period. That’s how integral OnboardIQ’s workforce software has been to Shipt’s success.” – Jonathan Wilhite, VP of Finance and Operations at Shipt

Hire in 24 hours or lessCheckr

It wouldn’t make sense to have a short application process and then have a lengthy background check process. That is why Shipt uses a third party called Checkr. This may not be a good thing, but it is the same background checking company. From the Shipt website, they describe it like this:

We obtain various consumer reports for independent contractors in compliance with state and federal employment laws. This comprehensive background check is performed through a national third party vendor and includes searches of multiple federal databases.

And for the On-Demand service industry, they can do it all for about $25 bucks a pop.

All of this speed is great but where does that leave quality? In my assumption, it depends on the tools you use and what types of positions you are hiring for. Most companies that are using this model are hiring for the ‘gig economy.’ But this does not mean that you should not implement this strategy for full-time corporate positions. This speed to hire mentality will have to drip into the HR world if they are going to be able to compete for talent. As Jim Barnett, CEO of Glint was quoted in Fast Company magazine:

“Traditional metrics will need to be tweaked in order to properly measure these workers in terms of engagement and retention,” he says. “This will require significant gains in speed and agility in order to quickly identify work/projects in need of attention, source employees with the required skills, and staff project teams that can quickly perform the necessary task.”

But fast doesn’t mean careless. Using Shipt as an example, what recruiters will have to do is automate as much as possible and empower people to make hiring decisions. No amount of technology or automation will work if the hiring decision makers drag their feet. 24 hours still sounds a bit fast. But if your company is still taking 3 weeks to make a hiring decision, be prepared to lose candidates.

The Best Around: John Hollon is My Hero. He’s Also Our New Editor.

 

Today, RecruitingDaily has officially announced that John Hollon has been appointed Editor of RecruitingDaily.com. Of course, if you pay any attention whatsoever to this publication, you probably figured that out by now, as he will be responsible for managing our external contributors, maintaining our editorial calendar and overseeing the daily operations of our flagship property – duties that he has diligently been executing for a couple months by now.

We are thrilled that John has decided to join us and support what might be the most critical role in what’s becoming an increasingly complex, increasingly visible global publishing imprint – there is, in fact, no one better suited to the role than John.

With nearly four decades of journalism experience, John’s editorial experience and industry expertise is without parallel.

The Best of Both Worlds.

For me, this marks something of a bittersweet moment, as I will be turning over the reins of a publication that I’ve managed for nearly four years.

During that time, I’ve sweated over every single piece of content on this site, and am proud to have grown both our readership as well as our brand to the point where we’ve become essentially ubiquitous as one of the primary journals of record in an industry where there’s a dearth of objective content and quality coverage.

It is not easy for me to hand over control (and .gif selection) of a site that I’m so personally and professionally attached to. But it’s time, and there’s no better person to ensure Recruiting Daily continues its market momentum, editorial mission and industry mandate than someone I personally consider to be both a mentor and someone whose work I’ve long admired.

I’ve been covering the recruiting and HR space for nearly a decade now, which makes me, by any standard, an OG. During that entire time, my responsibilities have always included overseeing a daily publishing schedule of a group blog, and, to be honest, I’ve become quite proficient at the craft of B2B content. But compared to John, I’m a tyro – and a rank amateur, as far as journalistic standards and editorial expertise are concerned.

Watch the Throne.

Put simply, when I first assumed control over the now defunct MonsterThinking blog while at Monster (so long ago, in fact, that at the time it was a DJIA component company and member of the S&P 500), I looked at John’s work as the standard of what content in this category could be.

At the time, John was just launching TLNT, a brand that became a daily destination for me and countless others in this industry to not only know what was new and what was next in HR and recruiting, but also, to learn this business and grow our professional insights and expertise. In short, I’ve long considered John to be one of the most important influences in my career (yeah, blame him).

I’m not sure he’s fully aware of the impact he has made by consistently proving that even this most esoteric and mundane of categories can be made exciting, engaging and, yeah, even kind of interesting. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, which is why I’m so excited that John will be lending his expert eye and singular voice to a site of which I’ve become profoundly protective.

As an editor, John has long given a wide array of contributors with manifold styles and perspectives a voice, and is committed to advancing the conversation rather than trolling it, as has largely been my style. I admire this greatly, and know that under his watch, RecruitingDaily will continue to be a publication I can be proud of. When it comes to readership, and reach, we are confident that John will take us to the next level. Dude has the track record to prove it.

Magna Carta, Holy Grail.

John began his career as an editor at the venerable (and defunct) Los Angeles Herald Examiner in 1979, so he’s been doing this for longer than I’ve been alive. In that time, he’s served in editorial leadership roles at the Orange County Register, Montana’s Great Falls Tribune, and The Honolulu Advertiser, leading news teams and overseeing operations at a time when all the news that’s fit to print was actually in print. This is a foreign concept to most of my cadre of contemporaries.

John was also on the front lines of the dot com bubble, running editorial at Pets.com, coming in as employee No. 7 at what’s become the poster child for a boom that, before it bust, helped irrevocably shape the way we consume content and provided a powerful precedent for the possibilities of the digital era in which we’re now so fully immersed. This alone would have been enough to seal his legacy. But then, he found our industry. And we’re all the better for it.

John served for nearly six years as the Editor of Workforce Management and its online destination, Workforce.com, where he grew both the print and online imprints into award winning news sites with some of the best journalism, content and coverage not only in our business, but in online news, period.

I remember looking forward to receiving my copies of this magazine a couple times a month back when I was a recruiter, and I know on a personal level, his work made me better at my job, and imbued me with a passion for the people business that continues to shape and inform my own professional work and personal outlook. I’m a nerd like that.

And all I can say is, I’m geeking out that John friggin’ Hollon is coming on board as Editor. Because, well, there’s really no one in this business who’s better. After all, he helped invent it.

Unfinished Business.

As for me, I’ll still be around. Most of my time these days is spent speaking and covering conferences, working hands on with our growing portfolio of advisory clients on everything from go-to-market strategy to competitive intelligence (a full time job in and of itself), and, you know, extraneously tweeting shit that gets me in trouble.

I’ll still be contributing here as a columnist at least once a week, but John will do what I’ve been unable to do – make sure that we’re able to serve up fresh content daily and operationalize our news room while scaling our coverage and enhancing our capabilities (and reach) as a publisher. So send your best news items, story ideas or submission requests his way.

So, officially, a big RecruitingDaily welcome to John Hollon. We couldn’t have asked for a better journalist or more capable editor. We’re just relieved he decided to join us, because if nothing else, his hiring proves that maybe we still know a thing or two about recruiting top talent. Hell, we hired the best, after all.

And all I can say is: Game on.

Say It Ain’t So! What You Just Can’t Ask During an Interview

I realize we live in a post PC world, filled with spectacle and alternative facts, and all over social media it looks as though civility has left the building.

And that may be true.

Civility may have left the world of social media, but employment laws are still the same. There are certain things we just can’t ask — even in a post-PC world.

For many of you I’m sure this is old news, but with a constant stream of people entering recruiting, it bears repeating.

It is so easy to become complacent. After all, it is just a phone screen or just a Skype interview, and while it is good to be comfortable in your work, it can lead you into trouble if you wander too far off the beaten path.

Walking a fine line on what you can ask

Unfortunately, we live in a world where bias, both conscious and unconscious, are real things and where coffee can be too hot. It’s important to be warm, friendly, and open, but we need to remain professional.

I was recently part of a panel that was advising people on their resumes. One person asked if he should remove the date he graduated college from his resume. The answer from my fellow panelists was unanimous — Yes!

What does that tell you about our profession? We are not allowed to ask about a person’s age, but for a long time we have navigated and done the math based on the date someone graduated from school. But don’t ask about a person’s age or anything that might be mistaken as trying to get that information. For example, if you see someone has listed that they have a degree but did not put the date, you may ask them if they finished their degree if it is not clear, but be careful about asking them when.

We live in an environment where more of us are working from home and conducting interviews on Skype or something similar. You may notice, when you have someone taking an interview from their home, that in the background there may be pictures of children or a family. Many of us got into the profession because we enjoy talking to people.

It’s very tempting to try to connect

The temptation to try to connect with people is higher for us than it is for most people. However, I would caution you about asking for details about the photos you see in the background. If you do, innocent as it may seem, you may be putting yourself and your company at risk.

You may even be thinking that “this job requires travel, and I can see they have a family, so I should ask about that.” If you must ask, ask about the job requirement, not their personal life.

You may ask,”This job requires 30 percent travel, are you able to commit to that?” You may not ask, “I see you have a family and this job requires a lot of travel; are you comfortable with the travel requirement?”

Likewise you may notice some religious jewelry, perhaps a necklace or a picture in their home office. Again, this is something to avoid. It’s not appropriate to ask where a person goes to services or anything that may imply you are looking for information regarding someone’s personal beliefs. Religious affiliation or non-affiliation is not fair game in an interview for employment.

Over the last few months, Facebook and Twitter have been alive with vigorous political commentary. No matter your personal views, an interview is neither the appropriate time nor place to share those thoughts or to ask about them.

One question we ask regularly is about salary. Now, asking about salary is a big taboo in our society, but recruiting is one area where culture has typically permitted the question. However, be aware that the laws around salary inquiry have changed and continue to change. You may no longer legally ask about salary in Massachusetts and Philadelphia. As the equal pay effort gains momentum, I would not be surprised for this question to become broadly illegal in many places.

Some things you just can’t ask

So let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the issue. What are the questions that you just can’t ask?

  • How old are you?
  • How many sick days did you take last year?
  • Are you the care giver for elderly family members?
  • Are you married?
  • Do you have any kids?
  • Are you a liberal or conservative voter?
  • Do you plan on starting a family?
  • Where are you from, originally?
  • Are you Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Hindu?
  • It is so rare to see females succeed in this industry. How do you feel you will do?
  • Are you gay?
  • You aren’t a member of a union, right?

How DO you ask about sensitive topics when it is relevant to the job at hand? You have to ask your questions in such a way as they relate to the written job requirements. For example:

This job regularly requires lifting 50 pounds or more. Are you able to do that? This job requires 30 percent travel — will you be able to commit to that?

I find starting my questions with “this job requires.” It saves me from wandering into an area I shouldn’t go.

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we have candidates that volunteer information that would be considered protected or privileged. So what do you do in a case where a candidate has provided such information? The best thing to do is not to pursue it and don’t make a note of it.

Building credibility and staying out of legal trouble

My final advice to you is this: Prepare your questions in advance and avoid off the cuff questions whenever possible. Consistency equals fairness. Keep the focus on the job requirements and how the candidate has performed in the past.

When asking questions, remember that job relevance is the key factor. Your interview questions should be designed to determine a candidate’s capability to perform the essential functions you have defined for the job. Make sure your questions are in job-relevant language, and don’t make assumptions about a candidate’s ability or disability.

Finally, take the initiative to not only to share this information with your team, but with your hiring managers as well. We don’t get a lot of formal interview training in our profession and our hiring managers tend to get even less. If something were to go wrong, you don’t want the hiring managers indicating that you never told them what questions they could or could not ask.

Personally, I would use this as a way to create an opportunity to train the hiring managers on how to interview. This creates a win for you and your company by keeping you safe from any possible legal trouble, and it gives you the opportunity to build credibility as a subject matter expert with your hiring managers.

6 Million Reasons to Hire and Support Our Vets

By Chris Crace and Frank Gaudio

Right now there are six (6) million job openings in the United States. We know how to fill 495,000 of them.

Hire a vet. There are nearly a half-million unemployed veterans today across the country, and with a million more veterans expected to transition to civilian life over the next four years, we can draw from a tremendous pool of talent to fill these and future vacancies.

We have a great opportunity both to demonstrate our gratitude for the sacrifice, commitment, and service of veterans — and their families — and to take advantage of veterans’ considerable skills, real-world experience, and drive to achieve their goals.

To help veterans compete for and secure civilian jobs and thrive in their new roles in the civilian workforce, we believe it’s important for businesses to help sustain and collaborate with the many effective veterans services organizations that provide education and transition services and to create workplaces that encourage and support veterans, from talent recruitment to on-boarding and beyond.

From Established Leaders to Entrepreneurs – Veterans Need All of Us

When the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. made its original, five-year commitment of $5 million three years ago to support veterans services organizations dedicated to helping veterans transition from the military to civilian life, we engaged with six leading organizations, and through our collaborations have reached more than 32,000 veterans and their families to date.

  • With The Dixon Center powered by Fedcap, we have supported training and credentialing to enable veterans to re-tool their valuable skills for the civilian workplace.
  • With collaborators at FourBlock, we have engaged in career readiness efforts for veterans with college degrees.
  • Collaborating with Team Rubicon — an organization that began with just 10 volunteers six years ago and has grown to a force of 40,000 veterans worldwide — we have supported veterans’ critical work responding to urgent disaster recovery efforts around the U.S. and abroad.
  • Through Hire Heroes USA, we have had the opportunity to help veterans secure jobs in hundreds of business and organizations.
  • More than 2,000 children of military families every year have the opportunity to pursue their educational goals through our collaboration with Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. College would be out of reach for many of these young people without this essential financial support.
  • Most recently, we engaged with Student Veterans of America to support a sophisticated research initiative to analyze the relationship between, and factors related to, student veteran education and civilian workforce employment and success.

The Foundation exceeded its original commitment two years early, having already committed more than $6.5 million, and recently — and proudly —  announced an extension of this commitment, an additional $5 million over four years with the goal of reaching an additional 100,000 veterans. We will focus on education, transition services, and job placement assistance.

The funding is important, but it’s about much more. Veterans services organizations need a vast suite of services, including research, technology, and data analysis to develop sustainable solutions to meet the needs of the transitioning veterans they serve.

And, while we will maintain and enhance our relationships with long-term collaborators, we will be seeking opportunities to collaborate with start-ups, groups with creative new solutions for veterans education and transition services and programs that may need support for research, analysis, business expertise, or financial backing to set their plans in motion.

Opportunities for Impact

You don’t need to be a large corporate foundation to make an impact. Companies of any size can contribute to programs that help veterans prepare for, secure, and succeed at jobs in the civilian workplace.

With more than 40,000 veterans services non-profits across the country — from established agencies to start-up — there are ample opportunities for employees at all levels of an organization to volunteer, share expertise, participate in training or advising, serve on boards, or make financial donations.

And in an era when corporate responsibility has become increasingly important to employees, there are rich opportunities to engage with veterans services organizations that contribute to the empowerment of veterans and their families while supporting employees’ values and desire for social impact.

Strategies for Success

Veterans can clearly be an asset to almost any business or organization.

The men and women who have served in all branches of the military are goal-driven problem solvers used to performing under pressure, working with diverse colleagues, adapting quickly to new challenges, and following through. They possess specialized technical skills and many capabilities directly applicable to a wide variety of industries. Yet, the transition from the military workplace to a civilian job can be challenging.

At PwC, we appreciate the work that the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. engages in to support veterans’ preparedness for the workplace, but we understand that as an employer, our firm must create a vet-friendly workplace and culture, and provide veterans with opportunities for success.

The strategies we employ at PwC are scalable and flexible enough to be put in place by nearly any type of business of any size. It begins with training your company’s hiring managers, recruiters, and interview teams. Hiring managers need to be aware of the specific skills that veterans bring to your work.

One effective strategy is to highlight the veterans in your company who have been successful. Recruiters and interviewers must know how to read a veteran’s resume, interpret military experiences and skills, and ask the right questions.

When vets join your company, it’s important to provide mentoring, customized training opportunities, and career planning. For example, at PwC we match newly hired vets with “battle buddies,” PwC employees who understand the challenges associated with transitioning from military to civilian work.

One of the most effective and important components of our firm’s veterans’ advocacy work is PwC’s Veterans Affinity Network (VAN). More than 1,000 employees across the company — veterans, veterans’ spouses, and non-veteran friends — support our employees who are vets and their families with mentoring, professional and personal support, outreach, and community building.

VAN has proven to be enormously helpful to our employees who are veterans, as well as to employees — men and women — whose spouses are on active duty. Affinity groups don’t need to be large to be effective. What matters most is empathy, support, and a sense of connection and community.

What We Can Accomplish Together

Veterans bring their commitment to purpose, diverse skills, agility, and the desire to keep growing and improving to the civilian workplace.

Enriching education and transition programs and increasing access and opportunity to meaningful careers is not only about what “we” can do for vets, but what we — businesses, veterans services non-profits, charitable foundations, and veterans — can do together for each other.

Frank J. Gaudio, Jr. was a PwC partner for 28 years and was with the firm for 35 years. Frank retired in July, 2015 as U.S. Deputy Tax Leader and Global Strategic Projects Leader for PwC. He was a member of Tax Core Leadership and the firm’s Extended U.S. & Global Leadership Teams for more than 12 years and an integral part of the Firm’s U.S. and Global strategy development. For the last six years, Frank oversaw all U.S. Markets for Tax, as well as all financial, human capital, diversity, and operational aspects of the U.S. Tax practice (a 9,000 person, $3 billion business). He also served as Senior Relationship Partner to several of the firm’s large clients and four years on the Firm’s Board of Partners. Currently, Frank works with PwC as a consultant on Learning & Development and Strategy. In addition, he is currently a member of the Board of Directors and a Trustee for the PwC Charitable Foundation. He is the Foundation’s Veterans Liaison and oversees the Foundation’s Veterans Initiative as well as being integrally involved in the Foundation’s overall charitable functions.

The Five: Common Recruiting Mistakes Even The Best Recruiters Make

Dictionary.comRecruiting Mistakes describes a mistake as an error in action, calculation, opinion or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc. When it comes to recruiting mistakes, it can be because of lack of resources, not having enough time or a different list of priorities than others in the hiring process. They aren’t done on purpose; that is why they are mistakes. However, here are five common recruiting mistakes you need to stop making starting today.

 

1. Depending on Hiring Managers to Write the Job Description

Recruiters are inundated with articles and blogs explaining how to write inclusive and creative job descriptions. The problem is, most hiring managers are not getting the “better job description” memo. So why do we depend on Hiring Managers to be the sole voice on our job descriptions?  It is better for the recruiter to write the job description. But not FOR the HM, with the HM. Take the time to sit down with the hiring manager and find out what they are looking for in an ideal candidate. Get as many details as possible.

Take the time to challenge what their requirements may be. If they say they need a candidate with three years of experience, ask them what three years of experience looks like. Challenge why they think that a candidate needs a college degree. Is that a must have because of the job, or just something they have always asked for? If you work with your hiring managers on job descriptions, you will be able to develop a job description that is more accurate to what the role entails. You will also shorten time to hire because you will be able to vet candidates better. Furthermore, you will also have a better chance of attracting candidates that are a better fit, to begin with.

Textio, Workable, and Insperity are all tools that can help.

2. Not looking for Candidates already in Your Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

Have you ever put on a winter jacket and found $20 in the pocket? Those are the best days ever. Feels like you found free money. Not to be a killjoy, but that is not free money. It is money you basically threw away and forgot about when the season changed. And one year later, you find it and get all excited. But how many times could you have used that money during the year?

In recruiting, you have valuable candidates that you packed away in your ATS just like that winter coat. Use your ATS to your advantage. Tag candidates so you can easily find them again. Create talent pools. Make a promise to stay in touch with potential candidates for reoccurring positions. The best part, when a new job opening comes up if you use your ATS, 25% of your job is already done.

If you want to use software to stay in touch with candidates, you can try getTalent, Clinch, or nimble.

3. Trying to be a Sourcer, Rather Than a Sourcer

Are you a psychic or a Recruiter? Dumb question. You are a Recruiter. But, have you ever made assumptions while recruiting like:

  • The hiring manager will never hire this person.
  • The job requires five years experience, and this candidate only has 3.
  • 7:00 p.m. is too late to call a potential candidate.
  • There is no way that someone who lives in Miami would relocate to Delaware.

Recruiting MistakesStop this line of thinking. I mean, how do you know? What makes you so smart that you can look at a resume or LinkedIn profile and tell if a candidate will relocate or not. Not only can you not guess, the only way to find out for sure is to talk with the candidate. Now, you have to use common sense. I mean, don’t interpret this to mean I am suggesting you call a candidate at midnight or visit them at work. But don’t get in your own way. If you have a candidate that doesn’t fit all of the requirements, but you think are still a good fit, let the hiring manager tell you they are not a fit. Along those same lines, let the candidate tell you when they will or will not be open to receiving calls.

Some tools that can make sure you are talking to the right candidate’s at the right times include Happie, TextRecruit, and beamery.

4. Not Prepping Candidates

Going for a job interview is nerve-wracking. It is normal for candidates to experience anxiety before a job interview. For some candidates, however, the anxiety can be so drastic they are unable to present their best self in the interview. You can help. First, make sure your candidate is clear about the position they are interviewing for. Talk to them about who they will be meeting during the interview and their job titles. Inform them about how the interview should go. Is it a panel interview? Will they have to take an assessment? Have a mock interview with them so you can help them with some of the more difficult questions they will have to answer.

One of the most important things you can do is meeting with the candidate 15 – 30 minutes before the interview to just chat. By just speaking with the candidate, you can help put their fears at ease. Be there to answer any last minute questions. Next, introduce your candidate to the hiring manager. By doing this, the candidate does not feel like they are walking into the unknown.

Recommended Reading: How to Become a Badass Recruiter.

5. Not Telling Candidates When They Did Not Get the Job

“Candidates are customers,” is a phrase often thrown around. But really, they aren’t. However, employ some good customer service rules while communicating with candidates. For example:

  • Know your company.
  • Be Friendly.
  • Move Quickly.
  • Explain the Process.
  • Set proper expectations.

Recruiting MistakesMost importantly, let the candidate know when the process is over. There is a big push to automate correspondence. However, this should not be used once a candidate has entered the interview process. I am sure this doesn’t describe you, but there are recruiters that never call candidates to let them know that they did not get the job. Before hitting send on that automatic rejection email, take the time to thank them for their time and let them know why they were not selected by actually speaking to them.

There is not a software that can help with this; instead, try compassion. When you know better, you do better.

The Week that Was 6.30.17: Newton, Bullhorn, Gorillaz App, LinkedIn

Editors Note: In case you missed it, ‘The Week That Was’ is all you need to know about anything that matters. This is your source for insight to this week’s breaking news, current events, and money swapping in Recruiting. That and the stuff we like. This week we learned how to light a fire under hiring managers, how to gain Novo experience, Gorillaz do more than eat bananas and someone is watching you.

 

Word of the Week: 

Engagement: If you want a candidate to take a next step, you’ve got to initiate the first one.

Tweet of the Week:

 

 

HiringLight a Fire Under your Hiring Managers with Newton

Newton just launched interview scorecards that allow companies to decide who is making the best hires. Co-founder Joel Passen said:

Building better teams starts with selecting the right people. Our Interview Scorecard functionality is way ahead of the what’s already on the market, and we’ve just gotten started.

Newton now can keep track of individual raters’ average interview scores. By capturing the numeric trend of an interviewer, you get a view of how accurate a hirer is on identifying great hires. Essentially, Newton creates a win rate or “batting average” for a person’s hiring record, showing who is most prone to making the best hiring decisions, in addition to uncovering opportunities for training and development.

Some additional benefits of Interview Scorecards include:

  • Improve the subjectivity and fairness of interviews (removing common biases)
  • Enhance interview preparation process
  • Engage teams to collaborate more effectively
  • Accelerate time to fill positions by driving better hiring decisions

I guess we will have to see. Click here to read more.

So much of the tools we see launched offer little to no help for agency recruiters. Add turnaround around that occurs for agency recruiters, it can be tough to personalize all of that. Built from the ground up to be open, extensible, and mobile, the Novo Experience fundamentally enhances the way customers work with the Bullhorn platform and radically improves the way recruiters interact with candidates. It adapts to the way users want to work – regardless of role, geography, language, or device – and enables them to work more effectively by eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies in their business processes. Read more about it by clicking here.

 

 

HiringJaguar Land Rover Uses Gorillaz App to Recruit Coders

Ok – We all know that it is hard to find tech talent. But this knocked me off of my feet. I had no idea that Gorillaz was a virtual band to start off with. Also while I knew that

Hoping to attract more talented coders to the auto industry, Jaguar Land Rover is adding code breaking puzzles to the app of the virtual band Gorillaz.

Want to work as a coder for Jaguar Land Rover? Better brush up on your puzzle-solving skills.The automaker on Monday became the latest big company to recruit software engineers with game-based puzzles, unveiling an augmented reality smartphone app in partnership with the virtual band Gorillaz. The company said that prospective applicants who are able to solve the game’s puzzles will be “fast-tracked” through the recruitment process. Jaguar Land Rover is looking to hire 5,000 people this year, including more than 1,000 electronic and software engineers. It also has a marketing relationship with Gorillaz, a virtual band created in 1998 that consists of four animated members: Gorillaz guitarist Noodle is Jaguar’s Formula E race team mascot. Click the title to read more.

LinkedIn Wants You to Know Who’s (job) Searching For Youhiring

LinkedIn thinks its new search features could help its half-billion members simplify that arduous process. The professional network on Wednesday launched a Search Appearances feature on members’ profile page, for both mobile and desktop versions, to find out how many times they’ve been discovered.Members can also see specifically which companies are interested in them as a way to gauge job opportunities on the market. They can click on the job openings at each company, as well as track down hiring managers to follow up for more information.”The goal is really helping people understand who is their profile really resonating with and what valuable skills they might have in their profile,” said Charu Jangid, a product manager. “We want to give them a sense of how frequently they’re appearing in queries and how they can strengthen their profile.” Click title to read more.

 

What Are the Qualities a Recruiter REALLY Needs to Have?

My LinkedIn timeline is overrun with people complaining about how terrible a recent transaction has been with a recruiter. I mean, every other post is someone venting in front of the world that they had a terrible encounter with a recruiter.

WE GET IT. Falling slightly behind politics and people that can’t park well, it’s the third most annoying thing in my world. Yes, there are a ton of recruiters out there that give the top 10 percent out there a very bad name.

Think about it: there are zero barriers to entry into the profession. It’s not like anyone goes to college to major in “Recruiting.” Most staffing firms will hire a handful of college grads and just see who survives the cut of micromanaging metrics.

It’s basically like throwing someone out of a helicopter into the ocean a mile offshore and seeing if they can make it back to shore alive.

The key qualities that recruiters need to have

There are very few certifications for recruiting either, and even the ones there are, honestly, are not too hard to get. If you have the cash and a weekend to spare, you’re certified! I have learned the same things via Google and YouTube and didn’t have to pay money to have some alphabets behind my name.

So to recap — yes, there are a ton of very bad recruiters out there.

If you have ever been a manager of recruiting, you had to recruit recruiters, and your future (and sanity) is on the line to make sure that you hire the right recruiters for you organization or on your particular team.

Most recruiters are good communicators and know all the right things to say, but you would be surprised how many still do not. Most know how to talk the talk but you need to figure out can they walk the walk? I have seen far too many times when managers will simply look at the tools they have used, the metrics they had in their previous role, etc.

Just look at the job descriptions for recruiters. The first 4-5 bullet points are just about years of experience, recruiting in a certain space, did you use this specific ATS, or hold a certain metric, blah, blah, blah. This is not to say that you should not at least look at these things, but metrics can change a lot from org to org.

Also, the ATS or tools they have used are things that can be taught very quickly. I have been a part of several ATS implementations, and it’s not rocket science as long as you get in there and start using it.

But when it comes to hiring a recruiter, here are a few key qualities to zero in on that will increase your percentage that you are hiring and landing someone that will make you look like a great manager.

1 – Curiosity

I have yet to find a truly successful recruiter that isn’t curious about what they do.

I know the term “successful” is not a true, defined term. To be curious means that you have an internal catalyst that makes you want to be better, and that you make an extra effort to learn your industry.

Recruiting is not a 9-to-5 job. Curiosity goes well beyond trying to just learn new things about just recruiting. I’m not a technical guy, but I have read books on UX, content strategy, and watched numerous hours of YouTube hours how API’s, Javascript, UI/UX work. Last year, I even got an AWS certification because that is a sandbox that I play in and I wanted to be able to speak more intelligently about the subject.

If you aren’t curious of what you are recruiting on, you’re just going to fall short. You have to commit yourself. If it’s not an interest of yours, you are in the wrong line of work. Go do something else.

2 – Likability

OK, this one may get beaten up a bit because not all organizations need this exact style. Some orgs are really large and recruiters don’t meet a lot of people face to face and just need someone that can drive process and keep things moving.

But ever seen the movie The Internship? Who is the person that you would rather spend five hours in an airport with during a layover? If you are a smaller org that meets a lot of candidates face-to-face, they have to pass the likability test.

It’s all about your gut instinct when you meet a person for the first time that makes you think, “Yes, I really liked that person.” Outside of what they think they know about your company’s “brand,” in that initial meeting or phone call, you ARE the face of the company and what they will now think of as that company’s brand. They have to be likable which leads into the next important quality — trust.

3 – Trust

When making a job move, candidates are changing their compensation, where they commute, the environment they live in, and many other important factors. Their family is making a huge change in their daily routine.

If a candidate thinks you are just pitching smoking mirrors with them, you’re not landing them. You have to be honest. You have to also be willing to show them the negative aspects to paint the entire picture.

Showing the negative is not always a bad thing. The realization of knowing what you don’t do well, and how you are fixing it, is very powerful. If a company doesn’t know what they are doing wrong, they will never fix it. It takes a smart organization to realize their deficiencies and that they are making strides to fix things.

A good recruiter knows how to actually listen and process what someone is saying. What are their top needs in a new role, and can you make sure that your company can honestly fix their current situation? I love asking the question, “On a scale of 1-10, where are you with happiness of your current role?” Whatever they answer, what would make it a 10?

Really dig to figure out exactly what they want in a role. If they had to write their own job description, what would it look like? If your organization can’t provide what they need, be honest about it and move on because it will come out eventually.

Remember: It’s always easier to be honest and transparent.

4 – Authenticity

You gotta be you! This should probably be the No. 1 key quality, but these are in no particular order.

People do not want to interact with a robot that is reading a script. When you have a level of authenticity, selling your brand comes natural and candidates can feel that. Write an email like you are having a conversation with a friend. You don’t have to be so damn formal all the time.

The question around “Do I mix personal with professional on social media?” comes up all the time. For Twitter, yes!! Candidates want to see that you are an authentic person that talks about the same things that they do.

At the end of the day, hiring recruiters can be a bit of a crap shoot. Generally more senior (and good) recruiters have a good “brand” of their own, and anyone that knows them will confirm that they are legit. But we are great communicators by nature and shocker, when we say the right things in the interview.

You need to focus on the intangibles. I really could care less if you have used our particular ATS. I can teach you that, but  I can’t teach you to have the curiosity and drive to be better and learn things on your own.

I know it is tough, though. It’s like watching the NFL combine. You can see on the outside some rough skills, but you can’t see how hard they are going to work or how great of a teammate they’re going to be. At the end of the day, try to capitalize on these things and could potentially lead to less headaches down the road.

Happy Hiring!

Sometimes, Recruitment Statistics Are Just Fake News

There are two ways you can be deceived: believe something that is false or disbelieve the truth, because if you do that, you deceive yourself.

What does recruitment have in common with fake news, anyway?

I will explain it later, I promise. But first, let me give you a question to consider. It’s this: Figure out which of these statements below are true?

So, which of these statements are correct? If you answered “none of them,” you’re right because all of them are fakes.

And what do recruitment and fake news have in common? In both cases, it’s wise to double check the facts!

As you can see, stаtiѕtiсѕ, when рrеѕеntеd оn аnу рlаtfоrm, are vеrу роwеrful tools. But when they are intrоduсеd intо thе rеаlm оf candidates, recruiters аnd еmрlоуеrѕ, their effect саn positively and negatively determine dесiѕiоn-mаking.

Some Examples of “Fake” Recruiting Stats

Take these two engaging еxаmрlеѕ:

  • “Research ѕауѕ 42 percent of people will bе lооking for a nеw jоb thiѕ year;” and,
  • “Some 59 percent of candidates, will bе lооking fоr a nеw jоb in 2019.”

Aраrt from being ѕuсh lоvеlу sound bitеѕ, numbеrѕ hаvе аn арраrеnt precision, and this iѕ whу wе оftеn give them mоrе wеight than thеу deserve.

None of the four statements you read above are correct or were created based on any research or real data. And thеѕе dауѕ, in thе rесruitmеnt induѕtrу, wе’rе all getting hit with one alarming ѕtаtiѕtiс аftеr another, ѕо it’s a gооd time tо dissect еxасtlу whаt these ѕtаtiѕtiсѕ асtuаllу rерrеѕеnt.

Statistics and numbеrѕ, meanwhile, often еnjоу the rерutаtiоn оf being free frоm bias оr еrrоr. In rеаlitу, thiѕ соuld nоt bе farther frоm the truth.

Stаtiѕtiсѕ are оftеn соmрilеd with arbitrary decisions mаdе by the person gathering them. I’m talking about decisions like, for еxаmрlе, whеrе to set cutoff points, whеrе to accumulate thе ѕаmрlе, what stats tо provide, аnd hоw in-dерth tо make the rероrt, etc. This does nоt еvеn take intо ассоunt thаt the individuаl uѕing thе stats mау nоt bе using thе bеѕt оr most аррrорriаtе dаtа tо аnѕwеr the question they are rеѕеаrсhing.

A great еxаmрlе оf mаniрulаting ѕtаtiѕtiсѕ relates tо nеаrlу еvеrуthing finаnсiаl. Mоnеу саrriеѕ a ѕеnѕе of рrеѕtigе, thеrеfоrе a jоb-ѕееkеr lооking tо work for a successful соmраnу саn easily be ѕwауеd by mоuth-wаtеring finаnсiаl statistics.

A few years ago, I got a salary survey statistic that surprised me with the numbers in it. They were 20-30 percent above the reality of the market, and when I tried to find the data to support it, I got an answer from that agency that the data was based on their clients.

After a few days, a friend of mine (a developer) got that same statistic through email with a URL for a new job. He told me that he responded to that agency because the money he saw was more than he is earning now. He never got that money, because after some time, we found out that the statistics were fake and used to lure resumes from developers.

Guess what? — it worked.

 Statistical Cliсkbаit

Sometimes wе are аt thе whim of online сliсkbаit stats. Don’t уоu just hate it whеn уоu rеаd a vеrу еngаging аnd mind-bоggling title of аn аrtiсlе or еditоriаl on thе intеrnеt that turns out tо be lеѕѕ рrоmiѕing thаn hоw it was bеing ѕоld in thе hеаdlinе? Thiѕ has bесоmе a growing trеnd, and it hаѕ ѕеnѕаtiоnаlizеd thе сrеаtiоn оf misleading titlеѕ in order tо pull a bigger audience into thоѕе trаffiс-hungrу ѕitеѕ.

Aрраrеntlу, thаt’ѕ whу those hеаdlinеѕ аrе саllеd “clickbait,” because thеу “bait” thе аudiеnсе bу ѕраrking their intеrеѕt with false captions оr bаnnеrѕ, thuѕ mаking thеm (thе аudiеnсе) сliсk оn it. Whаt bеttеr wау tо сарturе the intеrеѕt of numbеrs-drivеn jоb ѕееkеrѕ and саndidаtеs than with аn еngаging niсhе statistic?

Few of these articles are hidden PR articles. For example, one job board recently posted their survey that found that people are still looking for a job through their portal, but they are not replying because the advertisement is not tempting. This could be true and you can believe that information, but if you start digging more and double-checking the facts, you can find that it’s just a PR stunt. And they are trying to find an excuse as to why the price of their service is going up and the number of candidates are going down.

You can find a list of these examples every day on the internet and on LinkedIn. Companies, agencies, and recruiters are posting statistical “facts” without explaining how found them, what methodology they used, and how big the pool of responders was. Very often, they used data from other sources without any proper research behind it. They just reposted the information.

Sifting Through “Facts”

If stats аlоnе tоld thе еntirе ѕtоrу, the world of recruitment would have been thrown into a chaos of frantic decision-making. To be one step ahead, one needs to carefully sift through these “facts.”

Hеrе аrе ѕix questions tо аѕk about аnу statistic, whеthеr it’ѕ one you’re generating via a ѕurvеу, соntеmрlаting оvеr уоur mоrning lаttе, or inсоrроrаting in a recruitment or jоb-ѕееking рlаn.

1 – Whо dоеѕ thiѕ represent?

If thе statistic is about thе орiniоnѕ оf Fоrtunе 500 еxесutivеѕ, it’ѕ рrоbаblу nоt gоing tо bе uѕеful fоr рrеdiсting the асtiоnѕ оf rurаl fаrmеrѕ.

Whilе thiѕ iѕ оbviоuѕ, thе рrоblеm with many ѕtаtiѕtiсѕ is that they dоn’t tеll уоu anything about who аnѕwеrеd the ѕtudу. They know the representative sample is very important.

If you are going to read the statement, “76 percent of employees are ready to switch their job for a 10 percent raise in salary,” you should ask who answered that question. If the questioner asked people in a small village and all of them were warehouse workers, you should not expect that it is applicable for every job in other fields.

Sadly, most of these statistical statements are without any information about respondents.

2 – How mаnу реорlе does it rерrеѕеnt?

Sоmе ѕtudiеѕ, particularly оnеѕ that аrе vеrу еxреnѕivе tо соnduсt, will draw соnсluѕiоnѕ frоm lеѕѕ thаn 100 раrtiсiраntѕ. Others will have thоuѕаndѕ оf respondents. Thе mаin fасtоr for gаuging rеliаbilitу is the роrtiоn оf the tаrgеt рорulаtiоn (whо thе statistic represents) that answered.

If уоu dо come асrоѕѕ a ѕtаtiѕtiс based оn very fеw people (a small sample size), it’ѕ not necessarily wrоng, it’ѕ just mоrе hуроthеѕiѕ thаn fасt until further research iѕ dоnе to соnfirm it.

3 – From which location were реорlе chosen?

The location of the survey participants is also important.

If the questioner surveyed people in just one small city ,and they are meant to represent the entire country, you can be sure that these answers are not going to be relevant for a location that could be up to 100 miles away.

4 – Hоw were реорlе rеасhеd?

The statistic сlаimѕ tо rерrеѕеnt Fоrtunе 500 executives, but when you dig a little dеереr, уоu diѕсоvеr the dаtа was gathered viа рhоnе and intеrviеwѕ taken in the mall.

Would уоu ѕtill think it rерrеѕеntеd Fortune 500 executives? Selecting the right method for соllесting аnѕwеrѕ iѕ аѕ muсh аrt аѕ ѕсiеnсе, but it’ѕ an imроrtаnt аѕресt to check.

5 – Whо соmmiѕѕiоnеd thе research?

Evеn if they hаvе the bеѕt intеntiоnѕ fоr рurе rеѕеаrсh, a ѕресiаl intеrеѕt grоuр has a “truth” they bеliеvе, and ѕоmеtimеѕ a biаѕ iѕ introduced intо the questions аnd аnаlуѕiѕ as they try to get at that. At thе very least, one must trу tо find a ѕtudу from the оthеr side fоr соmраriѕоn.

If a company is paying for the surveys about themselves or their products, these surveys almost always show what the company wants to present. So, make ѕurе the rеѕеаrсh wаѕ done in a neutral mаnnеr and check who prepared it — and if it was done by an independent researcher, or, a researcher with a connection of the company who is paying for the survey.

6 – Hоw wеrе ԛuеѕtiоnѕ phrased?

You can ask one simple question and get one kind of answer, and then you can refresh the question a little bit and you will get a completely different answer. We’ve all seen “роllѕ” that were dеѕignеd to рrоduсе a сеrtаin rеѕult.

7 – Whеn wаѕ the ѕurvey соnduсtеd?

Some really оld statistics are ѕtill running аrоund out there. Whаt hарреnѕ sometimes iѕ that thе statistic bесоmеѕ “lаundеrеd” and thе date оr ѕоurсе сitеd becomes a lаtеr ԛuоtаtiоn (оftеn from a wеll-knоwn organization), rаthеr thаn having it come from thе оriginаl ѕtudу.

Google could be the best way to double check the data from a the statistic that you just read. If you double check the data from that “new” statistic, you can sometimes find that the author simply reused some very old statistic.

Learn What to Trust

In practice, оf соurѕе, you’re often not аblе tо аѕk all thеѕе ԛuеѕtiоnѕ. Hоwеvеr, thе mоrе holes thеrе аrе in a statistic’s backstory, thе mоrе riѕk уоu run if you rеlу оn thаt ѕоund bitе аlоnе аѕ a “fact.” Evеn уоur оwn сuѕtоm ѕurvеу research should аlwауѕ bе bаlаnсеd bу infоrmаtiоn ѕuсh as induѕtrу ѕtudiеѕ, соmреtitivе positions, еxреriеnсе, аnd finаnсiаl dаtа.

When уоu’rе not doing rеѕеаrсh оn a topic — that is, when уоu’rе ѕimрlу tаking in thе nеwѕ — kеер in mind thаt fоr every study you see quoted, there are dozens оr еvеn thоuѕаndѕ mоrе conducted thаt уоu’ll never knоw about, some of which are likеlу tо hаvе mоrе mоdеrаtе оr rаdiсаllу diffеrеnt соnсluѕiоnѕ.

Statistics аnd data оnlу trulу hаvе vаluе whеn реорlе whо undеrѕtаnd hоw tо rеviеw аnd еvаluаtе thеѕе itеmѕ gеt to see the entire raw dаtа set, inсluding the ѕаmрlе ѕizе, composition, wording оf questions, еtс. Whеn wе read ѕоmеоnе else’s interpretation оf dаtа, thеrе is оftеn аn inhеrеnt biаѕ. Yоu must lеаrn to ѕift through еngаging statistics by basing уоur dесiѕiоn-mаking on a combination of fасt-сhесking AND common sense.

Whеn уоu read ѕtаtiѕtiсѕ thаt аrе ѕuѕрiсiоuѕlу bizаrrе, a ѕimрlе Gооglе search саn еаѕilу clear thе аir fоr уоu. Rеѕеаrсh, соmраrе, аnd bе critical of everything thаt уоu rеаd.

The next time you see some really cool statistic without any data, don’t be afraid to ask that person publicly — “how did you get this, and whо dоеѕ thiѕ represent?”

Remember always — there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

We Are #HRTX Squad

You may have seen posts with #HRTX on them and wondered, “What is that all about?” Allow me to share a bit with you. I got an email that basically said, “Invitation Only Recruiting Event in San Francisco!” My first thought was: This must be a mistake; why would they invite me? My second thought was more pragmatic: Hang on, this looks cool — but how am I supposed to take a day off work to go?

As Co-Founder of the Silicon Valley Recruiters Association, I’ve seen first-hand how difficult it is to get people in the Bay Area to:

  1. Take a day off for anything other than PTO; and,
  2. Actually get out into their industry and meet people face to face.

Yes, this has been a frustration of mine, and not wanting to fall into the trap I see so often, I decided to attend the event.

WOW. How thankful I was that I attended — primarily for the friendships and knowledge I walked away with. The actual day included two parts: exposure to many potential recruiting tools (NOT in a salesy manner, thank God), and multiple diverse fireside chats about all things under the Talent Acquisition umbrella.

That being said, the only reason we were able to have such diverse chats was because of the people who attended the event. It was very much a mix of all things talent acquisition — recruiting practitioners, HR professionals, relevant bloggers, and recruiting tool company ambassadors. In a world where automation is king and robots are supposed to take over, it was refreshing to know that there were so many like-minded colleagues who had the same goal: connect and learn face to face.

From my experience at #HRTX SF, and what sounds like similar conferences in just about every other city, the one question that remained is this: How do I continue to bridge relationships and learn more from these incredible peers?

 

What has amassed is the #HRTX Squad, a small group of #HRTX attendees brought together by the RecruitingDaily team to continue sharing knowledge and bridging relationships across the world. Isn’t that why we’re in Talent Acquisition anyway?

Now, you’ll be asking why it’s going to be a small group of ambassadors and why not a greater community. Remember the first rule of Fight Club? Yes, that will be us, but we plan on sharing our findings after first having an intimate chat among the group. I think we can all agree that social media exists for a reason, and the content that is passed around in Facebook groups is second to none. But sometimes, it’s important to give everybody a chance to share in a safer space.

We will be getting together on a monthly basis to share pain points, new ideas, and REAL situations. Let’s just say knowledge WILL be dropped. In addition, we’ll be creating content from our real day-to-day experiences.

If you’re interested in learning how you can go to an #HRTX event or join the Ambassador program you can email [email protected].  Stay tuned, we are just getting started.

Introducing the current #HRTX Squad:

HRTXHRTX

About Our Author:

Allison Mackay is currently responsible for Infrastructure Data Center Recruiting at Facebook.  Her current team manages hiring for the Facebook team responsible for design center site selection strategy, infrastructure design and creation, the operation of data centers, servers, and network hardware, and managing Facebook’s standards compliance and sustainability programs across Facebook’s data center sites.

Alison began her career in retail management, where she was first introduced to retail campus recruiting. After realizing her heart belonged to talent acquisition, she began her career in recruiting, starting off at two separate boutique agencies focused exclusively on technical recruiting before moving to her current in-house role at Facebook.

A graduate of San Jose State University, Alison is also the co-founder of the Silicon Valley Recruiters Association.

Follow Alison on Twitter at @am_recruiter_sv or connect with her on LinkedIn.

 

 

4 Keys to a Successful and Memorable Recruiting Event

Today’s talent is flooded with event invitations.

Every major corporation — from Deloitte to Snapchat — is throwing recruiting events that go all out in style and activities from in-depth presentations to feel-good Snappy Hours.

When it comes to competing for the best and brightest talent, creating an exceptional experience is not just important — it’s necessary for success. As more companies place a greater emphasis on building their brands, there has been a dramatic shift toward in-person, branded experiences.

Want to make sure you drive success with your recruiting events? Here’s how:

  1. Get the right people in the room.
  2. Make the first impression positive and memorable.
  3. Be smart with your data after the event.
  4. Have the right systems in place to track performance.

Let’s break them down.

1 – Get the right people in the room

Some 40 percent of Millennials say they won’t even consider attending an event if the invitations and landing pages aren’t visually appealing.

To capture the attention of in-demand professionals, employers need to make their events stand out. And the most effective way to do this is with compelling, beautifully branded digital event assets.

An events page serves as the first step for getting the right people in the room but they can also be used to capture important information about candidates. Technology companies in particular have become well-adept at pre-event data collection, using the event page RSVP form to ask engineers what languages they are proficient in.

Some companies are even asking candidates to submit their resume before RSVP-ing to an event. This pre-event data collection allows the on-site team to prioritize their time and energy on the people that are the right fit.

The most advanced teams get even smarter; they’ll use this data to tag VIP candidates so that they can send them a personalized welcome text message as soon as they check-in to the event.

2 – Make the first impression positive and memorable

Sure, those first digital impressions help set the tone for a great candidate experience, but it doesn’t stop there. What will really stand out in candidates’ minds is the experience of the event itself. And this on-site experience begins with the check-in process.

Checking names off a printed list and handwriting name tags signal to tech-savvy candidates that employers are behind the times, and ultimately lack innovation. The most innovative employers are beating slow adopters to the punch with seamless, digital check-in processes.

Why does it matter?

For one, the door looks infinitely more professional when technology like an iPad (connected to your guest list) is used.

Secondly, the time that it takes to get through the door and into the event is dramatically reduced.

Lastly, by leveraging technology to run a smooth and professional door, employers set themselves up to execute smart, personalized follow ups after the event.

3 – Be smart with your data after the event

Let’s say you have five “A+” candidates (out of 50) in the room. With the right technology in place, you’ll be well-equipped to deliver a highly personalized touch point after the event. Talent teams can use the check-in technology to make candidate-specific notes that inform their follow up message.

What about the people who said they would attend, but didn’t show up? You’ll send a follow-up email, of course. The most sophisticated employers will go even further by re-marketing to those candidates and directing them to a post-event recap (videos, pictures, and social, etc.). We’ve seen this type of re-marketing strategy increase attendance at future events by up to 25 percent among no-shows at previous events.

Check-in data is the key for deploying this type of simple, yet powerful re-marketing strategy. Facebook, for example, uploads images from its events to show just how incredible it was.

4 – Have the right systems in place to track performance

Knowing who attended is great, but the right event marketing software should integrate with your applicant tracking system (ATS) to allow you to understand how your events move the needle from a hiring standpoint.

By integrating your event data with your ATS, you can identify insights to inform and optimize your strategy. For example, are engineering candidates more likely to attend a hackathon vs. a typical happy hour? Did a campus career fair produce no hires, whereas an office open house produced five?

With the right tracking in place, you’ll be able to maximize both the efficiency and effectiveness of your event programs, and make decisions based on data rather than assumptions.

Final thoughts

As hiring competition increases, companies face the challenge of building an employer brand that attracts the right talent and creates exceptional candidate experiences that convert to great hires. Events have always been a powerful component of effective recruiting strategies.

The most successful employers will be those that are fastest to adopt technology that enables them to fully capitalize on opportunities to engage talent in person.