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The Internet of Things: Why Employers and Recruiters Should Care

Perhaps as important as any trend in technology is the process of making dumb technology smart.  This shift is more commonly referred to as “The Internet of Things” (IoT), and it’s a topic we tackled recently in TMP Labs.

The Internet of Things: What Is It?

The Internet of Things is the process of bringing offline objects online.  This isn’t a new concept. Originally coined in 1999, it has been a dominating theme at the Consumer Electronics Show, and this year there were 18 sessions at SXSW dedicated to hardware compared to only 2 in 2012.

So what does this have to do with recruitment?  Well, first of all, in TMP Labs we talk about that which is disruptive, or, in other words, things that both create new markets and disrupt existing ones.  And little is more disruptive right now than IoT.

Second, the impact on recruiting as a result of this shift is, and will continue to be, significant.  Recruiters once tasked with finding engineers and manufacturing talent are now looking for iOS, Android, cloud, and mobile hardware talent to help bring the products the engineers are manufacturing online. More on that later.

What are some of the best-known examples of IoT?

Well, maybe this is cheating, but in my opinion, the best example is the use of the QR code.  QR codes were ahead of their time.  When QR codes first came out, most mobile devices did not support them without downloaded software, and even when they did, the experience was often unrewarding – a product of low bandwidth and poorly designed mobile experiences.  However, QR codes were the genesis of connecting the offline and online worlds.  Simultaneously, hardware manufacturers started to bring their traditionally offline devices online.

Two of the most talked about examples are the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Google self-driving car.

The Nest Learning Thermostat replaces your home thermostat.  Through a Wi-Fi connection and built-in motion sensor, it learns the temperatures you like, turns itself down while you’re away, and can gather information about the temperature outside to make decisions about the temperature inside.  This is a great example of taking a typically “dumb” device and making it smarter.

Google, as you’re likely already aware, has been developing driverless car technology, and as of August of 2012 had completed 300,000 autonomous-driving miles, accident free.  Through a combination of mounted cameras, a laser radar system, connectivity, and the rich data Google has gathered through its Street View program, Google has brought the automobile online, allowing decisions to be influenced by real-time data and made by the car itself.

Why should employers and their recruiters care?

It’s important because we’re in the process of shifting how we look at technology.  Things like a refrigerator have always been looked at simply as a place to store your perishables.  The inventory of what’s in your fridge was managed in your head, or on a piece of paper.  However, even refrigerators are being brought online to manage that inventory for you.  They’ll even connect to services like Peapod to have the essentials delivered just as you’re about to run out.

Impacted by this are staffing and training.  This newly connected hardware can only thrive if it’s accompanied by equally innovative software.  An emphasis on hiring and training people who can communicate this vision to suppliers and customers will become a challenge for many employers.

Maybe this sounds like your company, or maybe it doesn’t.

But even if you feel somewhat sheltered from this shift, you’re probably not.  The people proficient in the principal technologies that power the web today, and that will tomorrow, are in high demand.  “iOS”, “Android”, “HTML 5” and “Mobile App” represent 4 of the top 5 growth positions on Indeed.com.

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The Internet of Things is a paradigm shift that’s creating new opportunities for some businesses and dictating obligations for others.  Needed will be the talent to help make devices more intelligent and the way we interact with them more integrated.

Learn more (from Meshworking by TMP Worldwide):

Follow the topic: http://mashable.com/category/internet-of-things/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things

Infographic: http://visual.ly/internet-things-0

Article: http://allthingsd.com/20130114/internet-of-things-hype-or-reality/

Nest Learning Thermostat: http://nest.com

toddAbout the Author: As Vice President, Product Innovation Todd Maycunich co-manages TMP Labs — an internal design and product think tank comprised of a diverse group of the agencies most forward looking thinkers and rounded out with a dedicated development team designed to help bring ideas from TMP labs to our clients to help them innovate within and grow their organization.

Prior to that Todd oversaw the Media and Analytics teams, helping to ensure our clients were reaching candidates effectively and efficiently and that we were measuring their results comprehensively, making the data actionable and the digital media strategy informed.

Todd started his career with TMP in July of 2006 as the Campaign Management Product Manager, responsible for product development, marketing, and vendor relationships. Additional responsibilities include developing cross-product integration strategies, as well as helping to define the overall product roadmap.

In 2007, Todd took on the role of Director of Platform Development, overseeing the development and deployment of TMP’s new Pathways platform – an innovative distribution and marketing vehicle for jobs, active and passive candidate mining, and employer brand.

Prior to TMP, Todd spent six years with Aon Corporation, leading various roles including, database management, email marketing, search engine marketing, and most recently as a web designer/developer having built and maintained 20 production websites.

Follow Todd on Twitter @tmaycunich or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Recruiting Ripoffs: Job Search Scams Candidates Need To Know

job search scams“Post and pray” isn’t limited to recruiters. For a lot of job seekers out there, finding their next opportunity means casting the widest net possible. For candidates, “post and pray” often means applying to hundreds of jobs (often without even checking to see if they’re minimally qualified), contacting everyone in their network for introductions and inquires, and saturating social media in an attempt to look like experts without the experts knowing they’re looking. Of course, looking for a job isn’t about pure volume – it’s about relevance and research.

But after sometimes months of unrequited advances to employers and recruiters, particularly for those “active” candidates facing the uphill battle of employer bias and much longer searches, statistically speaking, it’s not difficult to understand why the “black hole” of no responses, no leads and seemingly no hope creates a sense of urgency often tinged with desperation and despair.

This is one of the primary reasons that so many job seekers find themselves so susceptible to scammers, whose various techniques to target job seekers are becoming more prevalent and more sophisticated, particularly when it comes to online job search scams.  But with a little bit of background into the methods and methodologies behind the most common scams, job seekers can protect their pocketbook – and their pride.

Like Nigerian princes looking for bridge loans until their fortune can clear escrow, here are some surefire red flags that a promising “dream job” could end up being a fraudulent nightmare.

The Deposit for Training Scam

As charlatans and confidence men have long known, the number one rule for running a successful con is that the grifter has something to offer that the mark desperately wants or needs (or at least can be convinced into thinking they do).  Con artists most commonly play on greed and desperation as the primary motivators for their respective marks, which makes job ads an ideal avenue for the technological equivalent of three card monte.

Many job postings or help wanted ads promise a guaranteed job waiting for any candidate willing to undergo the necessary training program required by the position or company.  Sounds reasonable – after all, you can’t attest audits without a CPA, nor can you sell financial services without a Series 7 & 63 license. The way these ads are written, though, make it seem like the costs of this mandatory training can only be offset by candidates helping cover the costs.  These ads make it seem like the training is a logical investment, since it leads to both guaranteed income as well as professional education. This makes the required costs, most commonly a seemingly nominal amount ranging from $100 to $1000, seem like a slam dunk.

In truth, most of these scams do provide some form of documentation or “training,” generally recycled documentation or repurposed training materials publically available online for free, such as certification study guides, e-books or other free professional resources readily accessible through any search engine.  They’ll normally package these together with a little fake branding and basic graphic design – costing them at most a few dollars to produce – and also fulfilling their legal responsibility to provide training materials in exchange for the money they’ve bilked job seekers for already – leaving their marks more or less SOL.

Most legitimate employment opportunities, in fact, offer paid training or certification if the company or position requires it, and in no case should job seekers pay out of pocket for a career opportunity prior to formally accepting an offer and beginning the onboarding process. When seeing ads like this, it’s imperative for job seekers to do their research to protect themselves by searching fraud stopper and governmental sites for similar instances of fraud, as well as reporting any suspicious sounding postings as appropriate.

The number one rule of the con is that the grifter is offering the mark something that he wants. Most commonly, con men target greed and desperation. The want ad said that they have a job waiting for you. All you need to do is get trained. The way that the ad is written, it makes sense to ask you for some money to cover the cost of the training. You are going to get education and a job out of it, right? In this swindle, you send them anywhere from $100 to $1,000 and get a copy of info that was pulled from the Internet. It cost them a few bucks to make, they legally fulfilled their responsibility, and you are out your graduation gift money. When you see companies like this, research them. Use the Internet to protect yourself by searching reputable fraud stopper and governmental sites.

Online-Scam-in-NigeriaThe Direct Deposit Scam

We’ve all seen these stapled to telephone poles and in the classified section of alternative newspapers, but if a six figure income working from home sounds too good to be true, chances are you’re right.  Many candidates, however, sometimes out of nothing more than a passing interest, will do their due diligence on the opportunity.  In these cases, research can backfire, as most of these scams are predicated on creating a convincing digital identity, from a company careers site and social profiles to an actual ATS and interviews (which are never selective, but further serve to reinforce this elaborate ruse).

Anyone who wants to can easily get through this process to an offer – and everything looks like it’s on the up-and-up, including the HR paperwork required for onboarding that includes standard documentation like proof of residency and work eligibility as well as direct deposit information so you can start getting your paychecks disbursed during the first pay period.

The ostensible new hire simply completes the paperwork and sends in the mandatory documentation like copies of their driver’s licence, social security card and a voided check. Only instead of finding that next job, often times, job seekers find themselves victims of identity theft – pretty easy to do with the information most employers require as part of the onboarding process.

It only takes a few hundred dollars to register, design and create a website and digital profile that looks and feels like a real company, and experienced Internet grifters can make any site seem as legitimate as Google or Amazon.  This is a difficult scam to spot, but it’s relatively easy to preempt.  As a rule of thumb, if a job seeker has not met a potential employer face-to-face, then they should never surrender their bank account information or copy of a government issued ID (most employers ask for that during orientation or on the first day in conjunction with IRS documentation).  Also, no legitimate employer will ever ask you to open a dedicated account just for your direct deposit, so if you ever encounter this request, immediately sever contact and report the scammer to the correct authorities to keep other job seekers from falling victim to the same schemes.

The Pay For Nothing Scam

While online scams remain a widely underreported crime, in 2013 alone the FBI reports receiving 262,000 complaints totalling more than $780 million in job related internet fraud.  One of the most common tactics employed in these frauds is phishing: getting a user to click a link, generally from an e-mail or a fake website, to steal personal information from an internet browser or network, including credit card and bank account data.

Job related phishing generally occurs when a prospective “employer” initiates contact with an offer so compelling, even the most sophisticated candidate will want to take a closer look – think inordinately high salary, prestigious title, the promise of international travel, etc. – but these job descriptions or e-mail blasts often serve as a means to pilfer personal information.

To ensure that this data stays secure, identity theft protection company LifeLock says that the only guarantee of avoiding falling victim to phishing is to not click links from unknown or untrusted senders at all. Think of it as the internet version of abstinence as the best form for birth control. You can also protect yourself further by constantly erasing your browser’s cached information and frequently changing your passwords (as well as making them unique to each site).

All in all, not getting burned by job search scams comes down to something as simple as common sense. If something seems off about the job description, recruiter or employer, do a little digging. If there’s no record of the company on review sites like Glassdoor or company information sites like Hoover’s, than chances are you’re being taken in by a con man.

Of course, even if you do dodge a scam, there’s always a little bit of bait and switch involved in the recruiting process, so the best advice is simply to always search for a job with at least a little skepticism. After all, that’s how recruiters look for candidates, too.

Are Your Recruiting Practices Helping or Hurting the Leadership Gap?

Halogen-Software-Logo (1)I’m scratching my head in wonder at new evidence that many organizations are not developing the very people in the very skills they need to ensure business success.

In early 2014 Harvard Business Review Analytic Services conducted a survey where 77% of business leaders said that front line managers were important in enabling the organization to reach its business goals, but only a third or less rated those same leaders as competent in key leadership skills.

Even more perplexing is the apparent lack of attention within those companies to addressing these gaps: only 12% of respondents thought their company provided sufficient development to their front line managers.

Does this provide an opportunity for savvy recruiters to help mitigate the leadership gap?  I think it does. 

Buying critical leadership skills

Many hiring managers are focused on short sighted goals in hiring talent primarily based on specific experience in the jobs they are trying to fill.  I think this focus may be adding to the leadership gap described above.  I am not suggesting that we ignore specific experience, but I think that guiding hiring managers to select for critical leadership skills will bring better long term results. Especially for companies that lack robust development programs, buying leadership skills through recruiting front line managers who already demonstrate them will help to fill the gap.

What are the critical leadership skills?

The leadership skills cited in the HBR study were business based decision making, organizational savvy/judgment, strategic thinking, innovative thinking, developing talent and inspirational leadership.  In a pinch these would work, but consider conducting a little informal research to discover the skills that will bring the most return on investment in your organization.

A good place to begin is with your organization’s strategic planning documents.  Have leaders identified the leadership skills they will need to take the organization in the direction they want it to go?  Have they published mission and vision statements, values statements or other guidance documents that mention leadership skills?

For example, if a company has identified new objectives to improve customer service, then you want to include problem solving and conflict management skills in interview and selection guides for relevant positions.  Is your organization facing major transformation?  Recruit for personal resilience and experience in leading others through change.

Finally, identify the current leadership gaps in the organization as a whole or the department for which you are staffing.  Perhaps your current front line managers are weak in coaching for improved performance or need the savvy to surmount organizational silos.

Don’t get me wrong – I am a strong proponent of robust leadership development programs.  But, especially in organizations where training may be lacking, new hires who already demonstrate critical leadership attributes will help to fill the leadership gap and spread those skills even in their absence.

sean_conrad_newAbout the Author: As a senior product analyst at Halogen Software, Sean Conrad helps HR teams improve their organization’s performance management processes.

He’s a regular contributor to the Halogen blog writing about talent management trends and best practices.

Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanPConrad or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Contract Staffing: A Game Plan For Recruiting Agency Growth

social network structureWe have already crossed the halfway point of 2014.  When you look back on the first half of the year, are you satisfied with the profits your recruiting firm has garnered? Or do you wish you could give your placements an extra boost?

You can add more than $120,000 to your bottom line for 2014 by making one simple change to your business – adding contract staffing services.  Contract staffing is hot and only getting hotter as it continues to break records, most recently reaching an all-time high temp penetration rate (the percentage of jobs that are contract based) of 2.0677%. That makes it an excellent way to increase your sales for the second half of the year.

Not only that, contract staffing can allow you to do something that is rarely possible in recruiting – prepare for the future. Contract staffing provides a steady income that you can count on in between the large lump sums you receive with direct hire placements.

Most contract placements run on a weekly cycle, so every week your contractor gets paid, you also get paid weekly once the client payment cycle is established. For many recruiters, the money earned from contract staffing covers the monthly overhead, making direct hire fees pure profit.

This is especially important in the current economic environment. While the most recent jobs report was very positive, there is still a lot of uncertainty.  Factors such as the unknown impact of healthcare reform (ACA or Obamacare), political squabbles, the upcoming Congressional elections, and more are making employers less than confident to hire, which is one reason so many are turning to contractors that do not present a long-term financial commitment.

So how much additional recruiter income can you earn with contract staffing? Well, many recruiters who run blended desks (direct hire and contract staffing) usually try to keep at least 10 contractors working at a time, making an average of $12 per hour on each contractor. As you can see, that would generate an income of $4,800 per week or $249,600 per year. If you start now, that means you could potentially add more than $120,000 to your bottom line by the end of the year.

Estimated Annual Recruiter Income on Contract Staffing
$12/hour x 10 contractors = $120/hour
$120 x 40 hours a week = $4,800/week
x 52 weeks per year = $249,600 annual recruiter income

 

3 Steps To Get Started In Contract Staffing

Getting started in contract staffing is easier than you may think. In fact, it can be simplified into three basic steps:

  1. Select a back-office option: The first thing you need to decide when you add contract staffing to your business model is how you will handle the employment of your contractors.  A number of recruiters choose to outsource this responsibility to a contract staffing back-office provider. They will become the legal W-2 employer of the contractors, handling the financial, administrative, and legal details of your contract placements. This allows you to add contract staffing with no ramp up time or upfront financial investment, so you can start immediately. If you choose to employ the contractors and handle the back-office tasks yourself, be sure to allow several months to get set up (register for taxes, secure payroll funding, get Workers’ Compensation coverage, develop a method for generating paychecks and invoicing, etc.).
  2. Notify clients:  Statistics show that the majority of contract staffing job orders come from a recruiter’s existing direct hire clients. Therefore, the best way to promote your new service is to simply tell all of your clients that you can now provide contractors. Chance are that a large number of your clients are already using contractors, and if not, they are likely considering it. If they like you for direct placements, they would probably like to use you for ALL their placements.  You just need to let them know you can do so.
  3. Get candidates: Likewise, the candidates you already have are your best pool of contractors. All you have to do is ask them if they are willing to work on a contract basis. You may be surprised by the response.  Many professional candidates would rather work on contract because of the flexibility it offers. Plus, contractors often earn more money than their direct hire counterparts because they are paid for every hour worked (and overtime) rather than a straight salary. For these reasons, many professionals are choosing contract staffing as a lifestyle over traditional direct employment.

As you can see, contract staffing requires minimum investment of time and energy and offers a potentially huge return. Contract staffing can help you secure the extra income you need to finish the year strong and shore up your firm for any future economic conditions.


debbiefAbout the Author: Debbie Fledderjohann is president of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc. (TEC), a full-service contractstaffing back-office. Founded in 1992, TEC allows recruiters to establish or expand their contract staffing services with no ramp-up time, no upfront financial investment, and no additional staff.

As the legal employer of the recruiters’ contractors, TEC handles all the legal, financial, and administrative details of the contract placements, including employee paperwork, legal contracts, time sheet collection, payroll processing, payroll funding, tax withholding, Workers’ Compensation, invoicing, collections, background checks, benefits administration, and ACA compliance. The company places technical, professional, and healthcare contractors in 49 states.

Follow Debbie on Twitter @DFledderjohann or connect with her on LinkedIn.

 

Talent Warriors: What It Really Takes to Be A Top Recruiter

Twar logoRecruiting is, professionally speaking, something of an anomaly. Most recruiters are career existentialists, somehow falling into a profession that has low barriers of entry, little or no formal training or dedicated certification and a lack of consensus between practitioners on what it is recruiters actually do in the first place. In recent years, the rise of technologies like SaaS, social and mobile, along with increased competition for a diminishing supply of truly top talent has gone along way to codifying and creating cohesion in the industry.

There’s still quite a ways to go in terms of professional progress to move recruiting for tactical cost center into strategic business partner – and a lot of opportunity for individual recruiters to advance their careers, companies and the entire recruitment profession.

But with most recruiters overworked and underappreciated, few have the bandwidth to look beyond their open reqs and at the bigger talent acquisition picture – and these recruiters on the front lines of the talent trenches do more to influence recruiting than any “influencer” whose work doesn’t actually include making hires.

While the industry repeatedly recognizes excellence for those pundits and thought leaders whose main contributions to the community happen almost exclusively online, generating list after list of who to follow and who has the most relative influence on social media, there’s a dearth of initiatives to recognize the real recruiters who really fill jobs and are too busy recruiting to tweet or blog about it.

That’s what’s so cool about the Glassdoor Talent Warrior Program. Now in its second year, the Talent Warrior Awards “recognize industry leaders for their innovation when it comes to winning the war for talent,” honoring “the leaders on the front lines of this battle.”

To learn more about the Glassdoor Talent Warrior Awards, I spoke to last year’s winner, Will Staney, whose award came with an added bonus: the opportunity to lead the talent acquisition team at Glassdoor as their resident Head Talent Warrior.

Here’s what you need to know about this unique initiative – and why you should take a minute to nominate yourself, a co-worker or professional colleague before this year’s nominations close on August 1 (click here to start the nomination process now).

874083faf1f3c4231495767137203d9a_400x400Recruiting Daily: What is the Glassdoor Talent Warrior Program? Tell us a little bit about why Glassdoor created these awards and why they’re important for recruiting & talent acquisition professionals.

Will Staney – Global Head of Recruiting, Glassdoor: The Glassdoor Talent Warrior Awards recognize HR industry leaders for their innovation when it comes to winning the war for talent. Glassdoor created this awards program to sing the praises of the unsung: those who are truly creative and on the cutting edge of talent acquisition.

Why should recruiting practitioners and leaders consider nominating someone for this year’s awards? What are the benefits or recognition involved in winning?

Being recognized as a Talent Warrior is a true honor—it tells companies, job seekers and fellow HR professionals that you are a unique recruiter who is not afraid to operate on the cutting edge of talent acquisition. Plus, the trophy is a pretty sweet personalized bobble head. Seriously. How cool is that?

 

Will, you won the award last year. What did that process look like for you?  What exactly did the selection process entail and what were your biggest takeaways? Any lessons learned or advice for this year’s potential Talent Warriors?

The process was a breeze—I simply filled out the submission form which asked questions about what made me unique in my recruitment practice and I explained what I do that I felt set me apart. Colleagues of mine had also nominated me, including my boss at the time, which in itself was very validating for the hard work I had put in. Even if I hadn’t won, knowing my co-workers and boss thought I was worthy of the award was rewarding enough.

What, exactly, does it take to be a “Talent Warrior?” What skills or characteristics do you think are required to truly own that title? What can recruiters do to better equip themselves to be “Warriors?”

A Talent Warrior is a recruiter or talent acquisition leader with a marketing mindset, the tinkerer of new technology or the recruiting professional that isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. This award is designed to recognize folks who are finding creative, outside-of-the-box ways of hiring top talent.

Will, you not only received the 2013 Glassdoor Talent Warrior Award, but you also recently joined Glassdoor as a full time Talent Warrior heading up its recruiting function. What made you want to join Glassdoor? Tell us a little about your role and why you’re excited to recruit for Glassdoor.

I joined Glassdoor because I saw an opportunity to work at a company on the forefront of disrupting the HR and recruiting industry and with a very cool mission: help people everywhere find the jobs and companies they love. I truly believe that’s what we’re doing and as a long time Glassdoor customer, I know the company has awesome products for employers that truly help them recruit top talent.

I like to think of myself as one who thinks outside the box when it comes to recruiting, and Glassdoor encourages me to do that. I’ve spent my career taking legacy recruiting machines and successfully modernizing them for today’s candidates; so when Glassdoor offered me the opportunity to build a modern recruiting team and strategy from the ground up, I was thrilled. I have a sweet tooth for innovative recruiting and right now I’m one very excited kid in a pretty freaking amazing candy store.

What tools or technologies (besides Glassdoor, of course) do you personally recommend other recruiters or TA professionals checking out? What weapons should a warrior have, in other words?

A Talent Warrior is someone who understands that recruiting is more complicated than ever before. It now involves a multi-channel approach including online marketing, employer branding, social media and embracing new technologies. The tools in that belt are those that leverage dynamic content and encourage authenticity.

True Talent Warriors don’t just have the latest tools; they also know when to throw out the old ones. If you’re serious about being on the cutting edge of talent acquisition it’s time to stop investing in old school traditional tactics like job boards that simply post open positions and pray for lots of clicks. Be more elegant and strategic than that. Figure out where your talent is looking for you, and share more information via those channels. Talent Warriors have a targeted, more precision-focused approach to recruiting and of course, if you’re not using Glassdoor as a recruitment strategy, you’re missing out on high quality, low-cost and engaged talent.

How did you learn how to recruit and develop the skills and experience required to become a 2013 Talent Warrior? What are your biggest lessons learned or best advice you can impart to recruiters just starting out? 

I came into the recruiting industry with a background in sales/marketing and a passion for applying technology and new media to an industry ripe for innovation.  I learned this trade by doing. I didn’t major in recruiting or HR and I certainly didn’t know what I was doing when I first started. But I took risks and I tried new things, I made mistakes and most importantly, I wasn’t afraid to do things we hadn’t done before.

What are some of the trends you see most impacting front line recruiters and employers today? Which buzzwords or topics do you think we should stop talking about, and which do you wish we’d spend more time focusing on?

Everyone has a buzzword they can’t stand. Mine is “social recruiting” because I think it’s conceptually flawed. Recruiting is inherently social and always has been. I believe social media hasn’t replaced traditional recruiting methods…it has enhanced them. We still call people on the phone, we have conversations, we find out who people are. Those are all very social practices and while we have new communication tools and technologies that make this more efficient, I feel like that term makes it sounds as if we’re doing something completely new.

The fact is we are returning back to what recruiting used to be before the post and pray traditional job board era of our industry that made it so transactional. So, when I hear the term “social recruiting,” meaning in many cases that recruiters should do more online, I laugh a little. Obviously this is the direction that not only recruiting, but every element of business has gone in, and if you’re not “getting social” online, you are tremendously behind. Social is a way of life and business for many, and it’s only natural businesses should operate with this mindset.

In that same vein, I think there is a major shift happening in recruiting right now, because everyone has already “gotten social.” Because social media allows people to have more access to more information than ever before, recruiting is no longer just about hunting down great candidates, it’s about branding yourself, becoming a recruitment marketer and making sure that your company is a place that job seekers and prospective candidates want to work.

Companies I see doing this right are embracing workplace transparency and actually encouraging employees to share authentic feedback online. Like those participating in our new program called OpenCompany. A few folks doing this right include Deloitte, Nestlé Purina PetCare and United Airlines.

Who is your recruiting role model and why?

I’ve been lucky to work for some pretty amazing folks in the recruiting industry who had the foresight to see that I had a passion for the business and let me try new things. That’s the kind of recruiting leader I strive to be…one who gives the foundation of the core principles of recruiting then lets creative and passionate people try new things.

From my first manager at VMware early in my career, Kevan Blanco, who piqued my passion for sourcing and challenged me to find new ways to do it. To my most recent boss, Mike Leary, who heads up global recruiting at SAP, who taught me how to be a leader and that all the newest technology and data in the world can’t replace a recruiter who’s good on the phone.

140 Characters or less: What Separates a Good Recruiter from A World Class One?

The best recruiters take risks, fail and learn. If they take that lesson and do something awesome, that’s when they win. #TalentWarriors

Nominations for the 2014 Glassdoor Talent Warrior Awards close on August 1. To find out more information or to submit a nomination, click here.

Why I’m (Still) A Recruiter: My Take From the Talent Trenches

recruiter_loveSometimes I am asked: “So why are you a recruiter?”  It’s a great question really. I mean you don’t go to school for it. I don’t know of anyone who says “I want to be a be a recruiter when I grow up!” There are some good answers to this and they are all pretty different I assume.

However, I think the question really should be, “Why are you STILL a recruiter?”

Let’s face it, there are very few, if any, roles within HR that are as scrutinized as recruiting. I mean, we are the red-headed step child that gets it all thrown at us with little if any fanfare. Well, other than sales, I guess.

Recruiting is sales – no it’s not – yes it is!  Nope, not going there. That’s a different post for a different day. Instead of talking about what recruiting does, I want to talk about what recruiting has done for me as a profession – and as a passion.

Recruiting is that rare profession that has little to no downtime. We’re constantly tasked with building “pipelines” ( or “talent pools,” or “talent communities,” or blah blah blah insert buzzword of your choice here). Recruiters are always expected to be “ON” (jazz hands!)

We are hated by our clients and consultants, who look at us as a necessary evil and usually disregard everything we say as soon as our conversation ends. If we succeed, either HR or the manager is praised. If there is failure, it is ours to own as recruiters.  Many times, we’re brought on as “contractors,” so we’re easily replaceable if we can’t immediately do the impossible and immediately start finding people to fill some of the craziest roles ever imagined.

We are matrixed to death by people that were either not good enough to be real recruiters or by failures that saw an easier path in to HR.  I personally have been “dressed down” or “taken to task” and told that I don’t know what I am doing and this is what I should do to be successful.

No, really, this happened just last week after three-and-a-half years at my company.

Recruiter Empire3 Reasons Recruiting Rocks

I think that just about once a month throughout my career I have wondered  a simple question:

“Why the hell I am doing this?”  

It’s a question all of us in recruiting have probably faced at some point or another, and the answer is – and should – be different for all of us.  Here are my reasons, since you’ve read this far already.

I Make a Difference.

I bet you didn’t see that one coming huh? It is true though, at least for me. I make a difference when I help someone get a good job, move forward with their career, or just listen and pay it forward by handing them off to someone else that can help them succeed.  These are people. They pay bills like me, they are just trying to make it like me, and they are not the Kardashians (I could never help them).

The other is when the rare manager or “boss” gives you a pat on the back, takes you to lunch, or gives you a gift card for that really great find.  I make a difference by supporting the team and helping the company to continue to profit and pay the bills.

The Thrill of the Chase.

There are very few professions that give you the ability to not only change lives but let you be creative in the process. Recruiting involves multiple hats that range from being an influencer to a negotiator.  The really good talent out there is not always looking. They need to be sought after and then convinced that they should take your job.  Sometimes this is a monumental task at best. Yet that is what makes it exciting.

I rarely hear “I don’t want to talk to you.” when I call someone asking if they would like to discuss a new opportunity. Why would they? Even if they are happy there could be multiple reasons for making a move. I know people that are happy at their job but would move for an even better position to further their career. Which leads me to my third reason…

Closing the Deal.

There is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing fresh ink on an offer letter to a new hire. It is like the smell after a fresh rainstorm on a summer day. You do a happy dance, ring that bell, or just let out a rebel yell! This is the feeling that drives me to continue on. For me, it’s an adrenaline rush that comes only with knowing a job has been well done and done in such a way that everyone ends up satisfied.

I know you remember your very first hire, right? We all do.  Mine was in my third week at a staffing agency. Once the contractor signed the deal I went across the street for a coffee and said to myself, “that was the most satisfying thing I have ever done at job.” And I’ve been hooked ever since. No hiring manager, candidate, or HR person can ever take that away from me.

So that’s it, I guess – that’s why I’m still a recruiter. These are the things that get me through the day, the week, and the month, the factors that drive me through the long days and nights that inevitably come with my chosen line of work.While like most other people, I might have fallen into recruiting, but not a day goes by where I don’t feel lucky I found recruiting – or maybe, that recruiting found me.

Besides, what else am I supposed to do to make a living? Become a professional blogger? Yeah, right.  C’mon, man, who does that?

 

Derek ZellerAbout the Author: Derek Zeller draws from over 16 years in the recruiting industry. The last 11 years he has been involved with federal government recruiting specializing within the cleared Intel space under OFCCP compliancy. Currently, he is the corporate manager for Advanced Resource Technology, Inc. He has experience with both third party agency and in-house recruiting for multiple disciplines and technologies. Using out-of-the-box tactics and strategies to identify and engage talent, he has had significant experience in building referral and social media programs, the implementation of Applicant Tracking Systems, technology evaluation, and the development of sourcing, employment branding, military and college recruiting strategies.

You can read his thoughts on RecruitingDaily.com or Recruitingblogs.com or his own site Derdiver.com.  Derek currently lives in the DC area.

Follow Derek on Twitter @Derdiver or connect with him on LinkedIn.






LinkedIn Is Still The King…For Now

in-crownSoftware Advice, an Austin based subsidiary of Gartner Inc. designed to help consumers choose the right software for their needs, recently published a benchmark study on job board efficacy and ROI, interviewing 150 recruiters across sectors, industries and geographies about their current and forecasted job board use to see which boards work best – and which fail to deliver the maximum results for their recruiting budget.

The resulting study, The Best Job Boards For Your Recruiting Dollar,   The Best Job Boards for Your Recruiting Dollar, is a must read for any recruiting or staffing practitioner or employer looking to optimize the bang they’re getting for their job board buck, a total spend worth an estimated $3.9 billion dollars last year in the U.S. alone.

As a recruiter, the results really came as no surprise. The job boards included as part of the study’s scope were a cross section of the recruitment advertising industry’s biggest brands, and subsequently, the biggest sources of job board spend for employers and agencies alike. The study specifically focused on LinkedIn, Indeed, CareerBuilder, Monster, Glassdoor and Craigslist.

Software Advice looked at four distinct considerations in formulating their study, analyzing the job boards which delivered the highest quality candidates, which resulted in the highest quantity of candidate applications, which delivered the most cost effective solutions and which job boards were the most effective channel by level of position (from entry level to executive).

In my own experience as a front line recruiter for whom job boards remain an integral part of my recruiting strategy and spend, I absolutely, 100% concur with the results of the study, representing a very accurate snapshot of where recruitment advertising and is relative effectiveness is really at when it comes to talent acquisition today.

QUALITY OF APPLICANTSAmong the study’s many interesting and insightful findings, the board that stood out – and the one I’d really like to focus on in particular – is LinkedIn.  While this “professional network” has found itself increasingly subject to both controversy and criticism from recruiters and employers alike, the fact remains that the study reinforced what most recruiters have discovered: that LinkedIn delivers (by a wide margin) the highest quality candidates (see left), and was second only to Indeed for delivering the greatest quantity of applicants as well.  The study also revealed that employers reported plans increasing their future investments with LinkedIn, which also came out ahead of the competition as the most effective way for recruiters to find mid and senior level talent, too.

These survey results, generated from real recruiters overseeing talent acquisition and strategy for some of the world’s biggest brands and most prominent employers of choice, seem to suggest a bright future – and increasing market share – for LinkedIn as more and more recruiters rely on this “professional network” for posting results.  The truth is, in fact, a little more complicated.

Looking at the Future of LinkedIn

job board costsWhile LinkedIn is clearly on top today, it’s no secret that the company’s hubris and aggressive tactics have created some negative brand buzz – not to mention some enemies and enmity along the way.  As the old adage goes, pride comes before the fall, and it’s clear that if LinkedIn isn’t more careful, they’re slowly going to lose the market share – and likely, their preeminent place at the forefront of the industry.  Without a significant about face, they’re doomed to repeat the history that companies like CareerBuilder and Monster have experienced – job boards that, not all too long ago, topped this list and the recruitment advertising industry. Remember that?

I’ll admit, this isn’t the first one of these posts you’ve likely read, and it probably won’t be the last.  Truth is, LinkedIn is an easy target.  The reason is simple: they are, at this moment, the unquestionable leader of the pack, that company every competitor wants to be (and emulates in their product roadmap and marketing).  But recently, they’ve made a few changes that serve, at least for those of us who watch this kind of stuff closely, that we may well be witnessing the beginning of the end for LinkedIn’s reign over the recruiting industry.

Whether you agree or disagree with these questionable moves, here are some of the things they’ve done lately that evidence the eminent demise of a one-time powerhouse into an also-ran:

  • Offering “premium” accounts to candidates so that their applications get “featured,” regardless of relative qualifications.
  • Opening up their publishing platform to all members, adding to an already overwhelming deluge of candidate, recruiter and vendor spam.
  • Making finding relevant or timely status updates more difficult by eliminating the “recent updates” filter on their news feed.
  • Blocking LinkedIn Recruiter license holders, already paying well more than market for access to their platform, from sending InMails in bulk, despite their overall response rate of around 13%.

Of course, LinkedIn has made manifold other changes over the past year, but these stand out as the most significant signs of the strategy that’s likely to trigger their long slide out of their preeminent position and away from recruiting relevance.  Looking ahead to the future, it’s imperative that recruiters (and HR departments) proceed with caution when it comes to using LinkedIn.

The Job Board Revolution: Claiming the Crown in 2015

While the platform remains effective today, as the Software Advice study suggests, I can’t wait to see what recruiters will say in terms of spend strategy and overall efficacy in 2015. Something tells me that in a year, we’ll already start seeing LinkedIn’s slide quantified statistically, reinforcing the anecdotal evidence that’s already pretty obvious to most recruiters and industry pundits.

Sure, most recruiters still love LinkedIn, but the company has been making too many wide sweeping changes to its core solutions and market strategy for that love to last.  In my own experience as a global sales and marketing recruiter, I’ve seen for myself the huge drop in the number of applicants we’ve been getting from LinkedIn, and the sharp decline in quality of those few candidates who do come through that channel. Conversely, I’ve used Craigslist to find and hire some notable skilled, mid-level talent that only a year ago, I would have thought wouldn’t be possible on that platform.  Given that Craigslist is already selling over $300 million in job postings a year, a number that continues to shoot up, I’m obviously not the only one making this move.

The traditional competition should also pose a threat and erode some of LinkedIn’s market share; Monster recently announced some major changes to its business model and product positioning, and Glassdoor itself has set its sights squarely on LinkedIn as a chief competitor – bad news for $LNKD, given Glassdoor’s explosive growth and increasingly impressive results for recruiters (not to mention likely impending IPO).  Indeed, meanwhile, simply acts as an aggregator across job boards, so it has nothing but upside regardless of LinkedIn’s expansion or retraction within the market.  Interestingly enough, Facebook was omitted from the Software Advice study, which not only surprised me, but given its potential for finding and engaging talent on their platform, will likely be included in next year’s job board report – and the wider industry conversation.

All in all, it looks like LinkedIn’s crown is up for grabs, and the opportunity to topple “The King” and reign over recruitment advertising is ripe for the taking.  Software Advice’s study is right – LinkedIn still rules recruitment advertising.  But like all dynasties, the cracks already showing suggest a crumbling empire that might not remain in the lead for much longer – and I expect the 2015 study to show that this revolution will have already begun.

will_thomsonAbout the Author: Will Thomson lives in Austin, Texas, and works for Rosetta Stone as the Global Sales and Marketing Recruiter. He has been in recruitment and sales for 20 years.

He received his undergraduate from The University of Mississippi, and his Master’s Degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin. He has recruited some of the most sought-after talent around the globe, and is a regular blogger for the recruitment industry.

He is the founder of Bulls Eye Recruiting and you can find him on Twitter @WillRecruits.

Do You Need A Best Friend At Work?

3a665dfd4dae060bec7a0638768eab12_400x400We are sometimes asked why we don’t have the ‘best friend at work’ question in our engagement and culture surveys. Apart from it being a Gallup copyrighted question, we have a few good reasons.

1. Even on basic grammar considerations it isn’t that great a question. The question consists of the following statement which is accompanied by an agreement scale:

‘I have a best friend at work’

Does it mean my best friend works with me? Or does it mean that I have a colleague who I like more than other colleagues who I would consider a friend? Or does it mean I can identify anyone as being more friendly than my other colleagues?

Many people tell us they have a ‘good’, ‘close’ or even ‘totally awesome’ friend at work, but ‘best friend’ is often described as confusing.

Additionally, considering Gallup’s stated ratonale behind the question, it isn’t clear the wording best matches this. Here is the rationale as explained in Gallup’s recent meta-analysis.

“Managers vary in the extent to which they create opportunities for people at work to get to know one another and in how much they value close, trusting relationships at work. The best managers do not subscribe to the idea that there should be no close friendships at work; instead, they free people to get to know one another, which is a basic human need. This, then, can influence communication, trust, and other outcomes.”

If we want a question to assess how well managers facilitate close friendships at work it seems odd to frame it around having a ‘best friend’; ‘best friend’ is usually a term people reserve for a very singular and special relationship. Even in the narrower context of someone having a ‘best’ friend at work it seems odd to confuse people who might value a few colleagues as close friends but not have a singular ‘best’ friend at work. It’s not great practice to use absolute type words in survey questions (like best, or always or never) unless you have a very good reason for doing so, and it can have substantial impacts on statistical properties and response biases.

2. More importantly, we don’t see any evidence that this sort of question is related to engagement or retention measures. When a client wishes to ask this question we have instead asked if people have a ‘close’ friend at work. This seems to match the intent of the question better anyway. However, when we look at the relationship between this question and motivation, intent to stay, or whether people would recommend their workplaces, we find no relationship. That’s right – zip (or as statisticians like to say: it’s so close to zero that it’s statistically indistinguishable from zero).

We don’t make any claims about Gallup’s own research. It’s difficult to independently test or validate because you can’t use the questions due to copyright. However, we note that in the latest meta-analysis there is no reference to relationships that the individual questions might have with outcomes – these are only shown for the aggregate of all Q12 questions together. As this recent and compelling article from LeadershipIQ makes clear – it is our job to listen to what we hear employees saying, not what Gallup says they are saying.

If you really want to ask whether your workplace or a manager or your culture fosters close relationships, we prefer to ask these sorts of questions (see footnote):

“There is at least one person I can speak to openly and honestly here”

“I truly value the relationships I’ve developed here (or in my team)”

“I feel close enough to people here to feel comfortable”

Do you really need a ‘best friend’ at work?

Read more at the CultureAmp Blog

Footnote: Questions in employee surveys and many psychological assessment instruments are often referred to as items. Items may not take the typical form of a question but instead may be comprised of a statement which people then indicate a level of agreement or disagreement with. These questions/items take this same approach.

mcpherson 2

mcphersonAbout the Author: Jason McPherson is the Chief Scientist forCultureAmp, developers of Murmur, the first People Intelligence Platform built specifically for metrics-driven organizations. Jason is a research psychologist interested in technology amplified research.

He was previously a founding team member with Kenexa in Australia, and Asia Pacific Research Associate at Towers Watson.  Follow Jason on Twitter@DrPeopleGeek or connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

Replacing Rapportive + Top Recruiter Talk – Cool Tools Show

The latest on Rapportive and how to replace the functionality that Linkedin has removed from the app.

Craig and Lars discuss the changes in one of their favorite Gmail extensions, Rapportive, and how to replace the functionality that Linkedin has removed from the app. Learn some new cool tools for your Gmail productivity.

We also discuss some recent criticism of the “reality” recruiting show, Top Recruiter. Chris Hoyt has a point, and Chris LaVoie may have been a bit hasty in his retort. But is reality TV worth arguing over? Of course! That’s the point.

Stand Out, Get Hired: 3 Unconventional Interview Tips For Job Seekers

shutterstock_149675159Interviewing well for a job doesn’t take real magic.  But as every recruiter knows, what it really takes is a method.  Knowing that method can make or break your chances of landing your next gig, because too many job seekers forget that if they’re interviewing, they aren’t the only one that employer has lined up as an option.  Most companies have at least five candidates interview for every open position, what recruiters refer to as a “slate.”

Those slates feature candidates who often look more or less the same on paper, with essentially equivalent experience and expertise.  That’s why getting that offer comes down to two essential characteristics: personality and preparation.

The bad news is, you can’t really do much about personality  – except maybe fake it, but that never fools anyone).  The good news, however, is that with the right preparation, job seekers can stand out from the rest of the slate and overtake the competition when it comes to getting an offer.

Sure, we’ve all heard the conventional wisdom about how to approach an interview.  You know those old cliches from countless career coaches, career advice columns and plain common sense: practice by role playing in a mirror or with a coach; research the company to learn about their business culture and bottom line; show up on time (or even a few minutes early); dress professionally to create a good impression; always send a thank you note.

Those interview tips are all accurate, of course, but the problem about conventional wisdom (and conventions) is that everyone else on that slate is fundamentally approaching the interview by preparing the same way – and that means often, no one really stands out.  This means that interviews often don’t help candidates get jobs, since they merely reinforce what’s already on your resume – they really serve to screen people out.

3 Interview Tips for Standing Out From the Chorus Line

But there are some unconventional, little known secrets that can turn the interview from candidate confirmation bias into a competitive advantage that can give job seekers the edge over the competition vying for the same position.

Wear the Right Color

Career Builder, one of the largest online employment websites, commissioned a national survey in 2013 of hiring managers and human resource professionals asking about the best colors for job seekers to wear to interviews.

Survey participants said conservative colors like black, blue, gray, and brown all conveyed beneficial business attributes such as leadership, being a team player, being logical, and being dependable, respectively. Red conveyed power. Other colors like green, yellow, and orange conveyed a sense of creativity.

Match your interview outfit to the type of job you are interviewing for to show that you are a good fit. Jobs in more conservative industries like accounting and insurance call for colors like gray or brown. Management jobs call for black or red. And if you are trying to get a position in a creative industry, other colors like those mentioned above tell your interviewer you are the right candidate for the job.

Get There First

Science Daily reports that first impressions matter more than the facts that follow.  A study conducted by the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business found that people consistently choose options that are presented first. The study included experiments in which participants were asked to report their preferences of multiple offerings, and the findings were that first options were consistently preferred or perceived as better.

Being the first interview of the day or week will give you an advantage over other candidates. The authors suggest that first encounters have benefits across a wide variety of settings including sales and marketing. In job search, you’re marketing your skills and experience, which may be similar to many other candidates. Why not get the “first is best” advantage with an early interview?

Look Smarter and Taller

Perception is important. When you’re up against a room full of qualified candidates with the same or similar skills and experience, the appearance of being better dressed, more professional, or smarter can mean the difference between going home or going to work.

The Telegraph cites research by the British College of Optometrists that found that British adults think glasses make people look professional and more intelligent. Almost half of those studied said they’d wear glasses with clear lenses, placebo glasses, to improve their chances of getting a job.

Although doctors like Lancaster University Professor of Organisational Psychology’s Cary Cooper say this perception of glasses indicating intelligence is based on an old stereotype that poor eyesight is due to reading a lot, it’s the perception of intelligence that has an influence on people.

While you’re putting on those placebo glasses to look smarter for your interview, you might want to wear shoes that make you look taller too. A study of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia found that taller people earn more money. So it might be worth suffering those stilettos during that interview to score the job that might change your quality of life and your overall career prospects.  No pressure or anything.

Besides, if you’re not particularly tall, have 20/20 vision, have the hygiene of a hobo and are completely color blind, you might not get that job, but don’t worry.  You can always become a blogger.

Trust me on this one.

The Problem With Passive Candidates

tmpFirst off, what defines a passive job seeker? Let’s see, they aren’t necessarily looking for a job. They are happily employed where they are. They are top performers of their company which means that their company is taking really good care of them.

Screeeeeech. What? Let’s back that up.They are top performers of their company which means that their company is taking really good care of them.  

Well this opens up a larger discussion on who these people are and why we are after them. It goes beyond the label we give people who simply are not looking for a job. In reality we’re not after passives. We’re after high quality performers that companies want to keep. They are proven and extremely valuable for the organization’s growth and success. So how do you attract them, and how do you even know that they’re in fact top performers?

Attracting high quality performers makes for pretty tough odds in getting their attention. Much less asking them to give up on what they have now, risk creating anxieties between them and the company that’s treating them so well, and changing their lives. Let’s analyze this audience a little more.

Why You Should Stop Pursuing Passive Candidates

2014-07-14_09-34-21First, a passive job seeker does not = best talent. Just because they’re not looking, doesn’t always mean that they’re great. In fact, they may be happy just doing their jobs, going through the motion, and not wanting to change and/or grow at all. They’re comfortable and they may have no motive or anchor to want to change. Change may be a difficult task for them to execute upon and chances are, this isn’t really an attribute you’re looking for in the first place.

Second, getting top performers to believe in your messages, if they’ve seen them, will be tough and will need to get their attention first and engage them on a whole other level that involves contagious content strategies. Take a look at your story and the content that delivers it. Connect your story to those high performing people that have anchors to contribute to new things, and you will have greater chances for a match.

High performing people love what they do. They are attracted to skills growth, contribution to new challenges, and they have an open mind and ears to the market. Reason? To stay sharp. To keep in the know, and to keep engaged with their craft so that they can grow and apply it to their work. They do this through networking, research blogs, and knowledge communities to name a few.

If you approach your audience with this in mind instead of a label, it will force you to be more strategic in how you develop your creative messaging, content and distribution strategies that will have a greater chance to persuade these top performers to consider the possibilities with you.

Read more at Meshworking from TMP Worldwide.

russell miyaki headshotAbout the Author: Russell Miyaki is Sr. Vice President Global Creative Director for TMP Worldwide and leads innovation initiatives for our clients and development teams while overseeing the development and creation of all interactive media. He is involved with ensuring that the highest of standards and best practices of interactive development are applied to all interactive projects. At the same time he is constantly focused on exploring new navigational schemes and information design that involves audiences deeper into the context of the message.

His experience and knowledge of interactive media and human factors allows him to bring a strong balance of sound usability and intuitive exploration to each solution. Russell is one of TMP’s visionaries. He is the leader of a company think tank known as TMP Labs which is comprised of TMP visionaries tasked to stay in the forefront of innovative new media solutions and trend indicators in talent acquisition.

Russell has over 20 years of experience in advertising and design working for agencies such as FCB, Landor and as Creative Director for The Sharper Image.

 

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Seriously): Why You Can Still Be Fired for Being Gay

United_States_Gay_Pride_flagI remember the day Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed. As a proud army brat, it was really powerful for me to see the US Military, this huge establishment that’s about as open minded as your average HR generalist, recognize that gay people could talk about who their partners actually were without actually breaking the troops or jeopardizing our national defense.

The trouble with that policy, for starters, was that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell set a precedent that telling your peers you are gay is not OK – that being open about who you really are and who you really love would destroy your personal friendships and professional relationships, not to mention a hostile work environment. And they were changing, evolving. They said we were the same. Our relationships were equal.

Disclaimer: I probably took this whole idea of inequality in the ranks a little personally, because when I was a kid, the Army was our life.  My family sacrificed so much for this country – time with each other being the biggest price we paid as our debt for service.  Not to mention the fact that we were always in transit, always off to the next posting, the next deployment, the next new school and house and neighbors and friends.

But here’s the thing.  The Army always had a way of showing our family – and all military families – that they not only understood the sacrifice we were making, but they also appreciated it.  They had various ways to demonstrate this recognition, from ceremonies and picnics to discount days at theme parks.  They would even act as intermediaries to inform the family directly when service members couldn’t make it.

I think back now, and I really can’t imagine trading the experience of growing up an Army brat, the feeling that while your family might be part of the Army, the Army was also part of your larger family. But being in the military is also a job, and I also can’t imagine being told I had to leave this family, and leave home, because I could be fired for being gay.

But even after the military finally retracted this policy, and even after all the strides we’ve all made in evolving this civil rights issue move from the margins to the mainstream when it comes to accepting LGBT equality, somethings, sadly, haven’t changed.

You can still be fired for being gay.

Yeah, I know. A lot of you are probably shaking your heads in disbelief, thinking “no way,” or “that doesn’t happen.” I know you’re skeptical, because I’ve read your comments on the last two posts I wrote on this topic over at RecruitingBlogs, Coming Out at Work and How To Respond To A Coworker Coming Out. In both cases, someone has shared their disbelief in one way or another that I’d even need to come out at work, or that what I’ve had to go through would never happen at their company or in the progressive city they work in.  Sadly, they’re wrong.

I wish that sexual preference and the workplace was a passe conversation topic, but the real shocker here is that this is still a major issue that’s majorly affecting the work lives, careers and happiness of millions in the workforce.  Sure, one of the nation’s biggest (and most conservative) employers – the US Army – changed their policy, but in 29 of the states that military protects, it’s still OK to fire someone simply for being gay.

Out at Work: Fired for Being Gay

Yes, you read that right: 29 states. 58% of our country. Don’t believe me? Here’s a map from Upworthy:

fired_for_being gay

Pardon my language, but that’s a f ton of red, y’all. Head shakers – what do you think of those apples?

In all seriousness, WTF? If you don’t think there’s blatant inequality and discrimination happening, now you know. It is. It’s real. And there are 29 states where the laws support discrimination in HR departments. There are enough people being fired that publications like the Advocate can create an entire series on people who have been fired for being gay in 2013.

Stories that hit the heart like Bradley Kindrick, who was working the overnight shift at 7-Eleven in Virginia Beach, Va., until March when he was attacked. His employers told him he was attacked because he was gay. Clearly, he deserved it. Or Ken Bencomo. He was an English teacher at St. Lucy’s Priory School in Glendora, Calif., until July when he and his partner were featured on the front page of the newspaper when Propisition 8 was dismissed because no one knew he was gay until then. Can you imagine? Being outed by a newspaper then losing your job in a matter of weeks? Talk about a bad day at work.

Now, there has been some progress thanks to organizations like the Human Rights Campaign. There’s a ton to talk about in this space but the big focus is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Here’s a brief synopsis of what it would create:

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would provide basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  ENDA simply affords to all Americans basic employment protection from discrimination based on irrational prejudice.  The bill is closely modeled on existing civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The bill explicitly prohibits preferential treatment and quotas and does not permit disparate impact suits.  In addition, it exempts small businesses, religious organizations and the military.

I don’t think this legislation can change fast enough and until it does, the biggest thing HR professionals can do is educate their employees about the LGBT community. They need to let their organization and co-workers know that even if the state laws are discriminatory, their department won’t be. it’s important to communicate that message clearly and not just assume your employees know. And the organizations we belong to need to support this Act when they can (cough cough SHRM cough).

We need to keep talking about this. Honestly, I feel like a lot of these laws can only still exist because people don’t know. They know gay people but they don’t know a lot about the laws that don’t protect them. The news doesn’t talk about people getting fired for being gay because the news talks about marriage equality. Marriage is great but that’s another post for another day. For now, if you live in one of the 29 states, go talk to your team. Tell them it’s against your policy. Make sure they feel it’s ok to talk about, address and stand up against.

Until next time, thought I’d add a little bit of humor with this kick ass photo I found, because I know I just dropped a ton of serious stuff on you. Seriously.caption

About the Author: Katrina Kibben is the Director of Marketing for Recruiting Daily, and has served in marketing leadership roles at companies such as Monster Worldwide and Care.com, where she has helped both established and emerging brands develop and deliver world-class content and social media marketing, lead generation and development, marketing automation and online advertising.

An expert in marketing analytics and automation, Kibben is an accomplished writer and speaker whose work has been featured on sites like Monster.com, Brazen Careerist and About.com.  A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Kibben is actively involved in many community and social causes – including rooting for her hometown Pittsburgh Steelers.

You can follow Katrina on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

 

LinkedIn And HiringSolved Settle Highly Publicized Lawsuit

lihqSince LinkedIn first filed its complaint against HiringSolved back in January, the case and its developments have been highly publicized – and closely watched – throughout the HR technology and recruiting industries.

In its initial action, LinkedIn filed a lawsuit against unnamed defendants for, among other alleged violations, maliciously creating fake profiles and using Amazon Web Services as a smokescreen to hide the still anonymous defendant’s illicit pilfering of “LinkedIn data.”

Shortly after the suit was filed, the original complaint was amended to reveal the real identity of the previously unnamed defendant: a two year old California based startup called Robocog, doing business as HiringSolved.  It also named Shon Burton, HiringSolved’s CEO, who had registered the AWS account in question to  the address of his San Francisco apartment.

After months of legal machinations, motions and negotiation, a settlement between LinkedIn and HiringSolved was finally reached.

Last Friday (July 11), the proposed Judgement on Consent (to use the technical terminology, as lawyers like myself are wont to do) was filed with the court.  While under the terms outlined in the settlement, the complete agreement is to be kept confidential, the stipulation filed Friday by LinkedIn gives a pretty clear picture of what’s really going on behind closed doors, even if most of it remains officially sealed from the public record.

In the proposed order handed down by the court, HiringSolved will pay LinkedIn a cash settlement of $40,000, and the company will delete all LinkedIn data as well as any references to LinkedIn in its product platform, marketing materials and any other B2B outreach, biz dev or branding efforts.  Additionally, the order stipulates that, under court order, HiringSolved will remain in full compliance of LinkedIn’s terms and conditions in any future use of the site or its affiliates.

Check out the embedded document below for full details on the proposed Judgement of Consent:

LinkedIn and Hiring Solved React to Settlement

Speaking in an official statement on the record, Shon Burton, HiringSolved CEO, told Recruiting Daily:

“We are pleased with the outcome of the settlement. This is a major win for us. Overall, LinkedIn was very reasonable and I am especially happy with how quickly we were able to reach an agreement.
Every company in the aggregator space is aware of LinkedIn. HiringSolved is the only company that has successfully navigated this issue. We have been tested. We have an agreement with LinkedIn and we know exactly what we can and cannot do. That gives us a big advantage over our competition.
We are already accelerating. Since the settlement was signed by LinkedIn, we have brought on two new investors and we are preparing to launch a new product. I’m thrilled to put this challenge behind us and once again focus my attention on delivering amazing products to our customers.”
While the case lasted for several months and was closely watched and analyzed by many recruiting, technology and legal pundits for its potential precedent setting scope, the settlement was ultimately reached extremely quickly and relatively fairly by the standards of civil litigation.  LinkedIn, represented by the white glove, blue chip law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (described by The American Lawyer as an “army of trial lawyers capable of waging war“) could have permanently shuttered HiringSolved by burying the startup in an extensive, expensive legal battle.
HiringSolved, the David to the Goliath that is LinkedIn, was represented in the case by Agility IP Law, a boutique, low profile practice whose monthly legal bill would nevertheless likely exceed the entire cost of the settlement’s final sum had the litigation gone on in a protracted court battle.  In other words, HiringSolved couldn’t afford this civil action to reach any other resolution – and got off with a relative slap on the wrist.
The response from LinkedIn’s PR department?

“We are very pleased the Court has entered a Final Judgment on Consent in LinkedIn’s favor that permanently bars HiringSolved from scraping LinkedIn member profiles and orders them to destroy all the data they obtained. We give our members control over the information they post on LinkedIn. When anyone takes that control away by scraping our members’ profiles without their permission and storing or displaying their information elsewhere, we take aggressive action to stop them and hold them accountable.”

It’s not often both parties walk away from the negotiation table with a settlement that makes both the defendant and plaintiff practically sing rainbows and sunshine – particularly in the Northern District of California, a notoriously contentious jurisdiction that’s a historic hotbed of technology related legal wrangling.

A closer look at the consent decree, however, shows that the real win for LinkedIn doesn’t lie in the $40,000 worth of chump change (for them) the settlement stipulates HiringSolved must cough up, but rather, in the injunctive language contained in the consent decree itself.  The judgement won by LinkedIn serves as a staunch warning to anyone it perceives as a competitor – current or future – that tries for a piece of the people search and data aggregation market.  That market, of course, while still expanding exponentially, already represents billions of dollars of annual spend.

HiringSolved, by contrast, managed to walk away from the lawsuit with a relative slap on the wrist, the settlement containing the legal equivalent of a finger shaking while being scolded “don’t do it again, or else!”  So, is the lawsuit’s seemingly win-win resolution what it seems?  The answer, not surprisingly, is no – and the loser in this case might end up being not just HiringSolved, but the recruiting technology industry.

In the wake of last week’s settlement, Recruiting Daily will take a closer look at the implications of the Consent Decree as well as a detailed analysis of the response in relation to the Amended Complaint, and an overview of how existing laws and judicial precedent apply to the allegations made in LinkedIn’s lawsuit.  If you’re not fluent in lawyer, that’s just my way of telling you to stay tuned for more coverage of this case in the days to come.

While the settlement is sealed, it should be noted that HiringSolved limited the admission of wrongdoing stipulated in the settlement to just two of the initial allegations piled on in a substantial laundry list of complaints originally outlined: that it created a lot of fake profiles, and that it programmatically copied and saved profile information.

Of course, that sounds suspiciously like LinkedIn’s business model.

NicoleGreenbergSTreckerAbout the Author: Nicole Greenberg Strecker, Esq. serves as Managing Director at STA Worldwide, a global professional services firm specializing in IT staffing, project management and consulting services. A licensed Illinois attorney and member of the American Bar Association, Nicole has over a decade of experience in talent acquisition and recruiting strategy.

Recognized as “the world’s only lawyer with a focus on sourcing,” Nicole is a highly sought after public speaker, presenting on compliance, sourcing and technology topics to industry audiences around the world, and her writing on these subjects has been recently featured by top publications like SourceCon, Recruiting Daily and HRExaminer.

A lifelong native of Chicago, Nicole is a graduate of Lake Forest College and received her Juris Doctor from the John Marshall Law School. Follow Nicole on Twitter @NGSEsq or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Cool Tools Show: Gild’s Brad Warga – Big Data Meets Recruiting

Do you know how to use Big Data for recruiting? We can help.

Craig and Lars interview Gild’s Brad Warga about how Gild is changing how we asses talent with big data and stack ranking job candidates.

Brad Warga is a veteran Talent professional with experience from top brands such as PWC, Ernst & Young, Sapient, Harrah’s, Caesar’s, and Salesforce.

Gild is a start-up that is changing the way talent is discovered. We help companies hire skilled developers by ensuring that candidates stand out on their proven abilities, not just their resumes. Backed by proprietary data analysis that examines developers’ actual work, Gild’s tech hiring software is used by growing companies like Facebook, Red Hat, and Rackspace to find the developers they need to innovate. Founded in 2011, Gild is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Salt Lake City and Milan. Gild is backed by Globespan, Baseline Ventures, and SAP. www.gild.com.

Brad is keynothing the 2014 TalentNet Interactive conference in Austin at SXSW Interactive on March 7th. Gild is the conference’s platinum partner. Registration and info at www.TalentNetInteractive.com

Follow The Cool Tools Show on Twitter @cooltoolshow

Doing More with Less: Maximizing Your Recruiting Efforts

Don’t miss this exclusive event on low cost, high impact success strategies, tactics and tools in sourcing and recruiting.

Doing More with Less: Maximizing Your Recruiting Efforts

No Budget? No problem. If you’re like most recruiters, seems like doing more with less is a part of your job description. Probably because you’re not a big spender or big brand doesn’t mean you can’t recruit like one.  Let’s focus on your recruiting efforts.

That’s why you should watch this webinar. We will discuss low cost, high impact success strategies, tactics and tools in sourcing and recruiting.

As a result of this webinar you will learn how to:

  • We’ll break down how to determine what’s working when it comes to your processes and products. We’ll also show you how to adjust and measure your efforts to ensure maximum return on your recruiting investment.
  • Save time and money by getting to know some of the most essential low and no cost tools for sourcing.   In addition you will learn how to incorporate these tools into your existing strategies and daily workflow. Learn how to effectively tackle recruiting challenges like mobile, social and big data.
  • See actual examples of what works in the corporate and third party recruiting world.  See a new view from the long working histories of these accomplished recruiting practitioners.