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How Does a Recession Affect Recruiting?

With an economic downturn seemingly on the horizon, many people are wondering how the labor market and work will be changed as a result. While the answer is up in the air, for now, we can make predictions and draw on past experiences to prepare for the future. From developing more misfit situations to increasing the number of applicants, here are some insights into how a recession can affect recruiting.

Creates More Person-Job Misfits

During a recession, most companies try to cut costs by laying off several employees at once. Of course, a job market with few jobs and many job seekers can often result in more person-job misfits.

A person-job misfit happens when an applicant is hired for a position for which they do not fit. It can be because of over-qualification or irrelevant skills and experience. Basically, this leads to a mismatch between job seekers and available jobs.

During a recession, companies may focus on hiring individuals with more experience, regardless of their skills and values. This is because companies are less willing to put time and money into training new talent. They would rather have someone who can start off strong.

Additionally, job seekers would be more eager to secure employment, so they would accept jobs that are not a good fit for their skills and experience. This means that they could settle for jobs that do not use their full potential.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Transforms Entry-level Applicants from More Experienced Careers

Recessions can wreak havoc on entire industries, and the employees in those industries are going to transition to other spaces that aren’t as affected by economic downturns, even if it means starting over. Someone with ten years of retail experience is going to move on to something in the digital realm because that is where the jobs are going.

If you’re in an industry that is attractive to those leaving a floundering industry, you’re going to have more applications to wade through, and a higher percentage of those applications are going to be filled out by people with little-to-no experience in your sector. You also have to decide whether to take a chance on one or more of those candidates, which can be a big thing to consider.

Brittany Dolin
Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Lowers Overall Likelihood of Hiring

One significant effect is that organizations are less likely to hire new workers due to cost-cutting measures. This means that employers are more selective in choosing candidates and may even place a moratorium on certain types of positions.

Additionally, job seekers may be more cautious during a recession since they may not be sure if their job is secure or not. This can lead to more competition for fewer positions and longer hiring times. Companies are also likely to offer lower salaries than during periods of economic stability, which can lead to job seekers feeling less motivated to apply for jobs.

Brenton Thomas
CEO, Twibi Digital Marketing Agency

Places More Obstacles in Front of Recruiters

In the short term, businesses may lay off existing employees or stop hiring new ones altogether. Additionally, businesses may freeze pay increases or salaries may be reduced because of less demand for products or services by customers and clients.

Recruiters will have a harder time convincing potential candidates that this is an ideal time to join the business when there are no benefits, like increased pay or job security. On the other hand, in the long term, recessions often lead well-positioned organizations to target new markets with innovative solutions by newly hired personnel during economic upturns as they prepare for future growth prospects.

In addition, during times of economic uncertainty, there is less competition among applicants, making it easier for recruiters to select top talent from a larger pool of applicants compared with previous years when the competition was fierce. Astute recruiters can look past general resumes and focus on what makes each applicant unique.

Travis Lindemoen
Managing Director, nexus IT group

Limits an Employer’s Ability to Give Raises

A recession can have a notable effect on recruiting efforts, as businesses struggle to maintain multiple departments with limited financial resources.

An example of this is the inability of many employers to give raises; although it is likely that workers will continue to be recruited, it may be at the same salary as before or even lower sometimes, which reduces the overall money available. This lack of growth potential could further limit the pool of qualified applicants who are willing and able to take on new job opportunities.

Grace He
People and Culture Director, TeamBuilding

Changes Recruiting from One Phase to Another

Although the number of job opportunities may decrease during a recession, the recruiting function remains robust. It alters from trying to find qualified applicants who are looking to change building a talent pipeline for future needs.

Many more talented people who are currently employed are open to a dialogue in an uncertain economy, so if you concentrate your efforts on talent acquisition, you can create a pool of fantastic candidates that you otherwise might not have been able to reach if the economy was strong.

Dave Haney
CEO, Surety Systems, Inc.

Generates a More Helpful Situation

Contrary to what many companies believe, as a veteran recruiter, I contend that one of the best times to recruit is during a recession. Here’s why—during a recession, most companies halt their hiring. By continuing to interview, and possibly hire, during slow economic times sends a clear message to those talking to you that your company is resilient.

In addition, with fewer companies interviewing, you are less likely to get into a bidding war against another firm vying for the same candidate. Also, your chosen candidate will probably not be receiving a counteroffer from their current company.

Obviously, you don’t want to offer them a lower compensation package, but you definitely will not get into a bidding war and have to overpay. Finally, during a recession, many external recruiters may discount their fees in order to get your business. All good reasons to continue recruiting regardless of the economic climate.

Jamie McCann
Executive Recruiter, 3AM Marketing Services

Shifts to Working With Limited Resources

Business owners and leaders are feeling pressure to reduce costs and overhead, leaving recruiters to work with very limited resources, especially as costs continue to increase. As such, the cost of recruiting has gone up significantly, and resources available to recruiters will continue to decrease.

It’s no secret that economic uncertainty impacts recruiting. 2022 was a year of increasing inflation, leaving many companies actively contemplating cutting recruiting resources in order to save costs. This not only slows hiring in different industries, but it also can negatively impact the company’s bottom line.

Yes, recruiting is expensive, but it’s also necessary. The recruiting process sets the tone for a new employee’s entire experience. As a company, you want to present yourself as strong, inclusive and encouraging. Cutting recruiting resources will make your company seem essentially cheap and uninviting, and this deters quality talent from walking through your doors.

David Lewis
CEO and Founder, Monegenix

Increases Talent Quantity, but not Necessarily Quality

The reality is that yes, there’s more talent on the market, but that doesn’t mean there’s more exceptional talent on the market.

The last few years were a candidate’s market, where they were demanding high salaries and expected certain lifestyle accommodations. Many companies had to make hires based on tight budgets and where the market was, which was extraordinarily competitive.

This is a time to really dive in and assess your team’s skills against the business outcomes you seek. If you do not feel you have the best-in-class talent to achieve those outcomes, it’s a good time to network and up-level your talent or invest in upskilling your current team.

Kristine Shine
Founder and CEO, Shine Talent

Generational Recruiting: Know Your Audience 

Today’s modern workforce includes four primary generations— Gen Zs, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers. The multigenerational workforce is one of the four main trends shaping talent acquisition in the coming years and a key factor to the success of a company, according to a LinkedIn report. Each generation has subtle differences in communication style and interpretation, work-life harmony, life goals and work productivity, among other aspects of work. These differences generally make each generation approach job hunting differently.

Regardless of the subtle differences, recruiting strategies should be designed to attract candidates where they are in life and tailored to their unique preferences for job hunting. Employers who want to maintain, build and attract a multigenerational workforce need to understand their audience, the best messaging and medium for recruiting.

Organizations eager to learn how to recruit across generations and attract top candidates should take the following topic tactic for each generation into account. 

Recruiting Gen Z 

Gen Z includes individuals born between 1997 and 2012, and though many are just beginning to enter the workforce, this segment will balloon over the next few years. Therefore, recruiting Gen Z has quickly become a priority for recruiters.

To successfully recruit and attract GenZ, recruiters should consider: 

  • Content marketing – Leverage social media channels to boost the company’s presence. Developing helpful content about core values, the company’s mission, non-traditional benefits, retreats and social events for the potential candidates will pique this generation’s interest and allow recruiters to connect organically. However, once engaged, recruiters should personalize communication through email, social and text. For many in this generation, candidates need to visualize how their personal and professional lives can blend. Through content marketing, recruiters can intentionally showcase the company and how candidates can add value with their unique perspectives and experiences.

Recruiting Millennials 

Millennials are candidates born between 1981 and 1996. As technology continues to evolve, this generation of tech natives and early adopters of the newest tech trends are assets to today’s workplace. 

To attract Millennial candidates, recruiters should consider: 

  • Hiring timelines – Millennials tend to value communication and feedback, especially during the interview process. Many within this generation value faster interview processes and frequent check-ins. Recruiters should communicate with this generation during each stage of the hiring process to keep candidates engaged. Engagement steps might include creating communications triggered by each recruitment step and being clear about the next steps and expectations. This generation values personalized communication and engagement through text messages, emails or direct messages from social sites like LinkedIn to build rapport quickly. With immediate and constant communication, talent acquisition teams can build rapport among millennial candidates, garner interest and attract top talent.

Recruiting Gen X 

Generation X includes individuals born between 1965 and 1980. As more boomers retire, candidates within this generation are starting to take on more senior-level roles and fill top leadership positions, making Gen X recruiting key to business succession. 

To add more Gen X candidates to the talent pipeline: 

  • Clearly define career paths – Collaborate with human resource personnel and research the career path of past candidates who are still with the organization. As a generation that values transparency, Gen X wants to know what it takes to succeed in the role and how others progressed before them. Although some within this generation can be skeptical about opportunities through social media, recruiters can build credibility with direct, one-on-one communication through these channels. 

Recruiting Boomers  

Baby Boomer candidates were born between 1946 and 1964, making them some of the most experienced talent, particularly in leadership positions. 

To find more Baby Boomer candidates, recruiters should consider: 

  • Direct communication – Individuals within this segment care about the day-to-day aspects of the position and generally less about company culture, therefore when communicating with candidates, recruiters should explain why a candidate’s experience makes them an ideal candidate for the job, what they stand to gain from the opportunity and present a comprehensive job description. Through direct phone or email conversations, recruiters and candidates within this generational pool can further discuss opportunities for leadership positioning, mentorship and relationship building.

Recruiting for a multigenerational workforce cannot be taken with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Before recruiters deploy their strategies, they should identify the talent they need and want. Then, develop and target the messaging to the audiences based on their unique needs, how they communicate and what they want from a job. By considering and prioritizing a candidate’s generational nuances, recruiters can successfully build a multigenerational workforce to withstand the future.

How Your Language Hurts: The Impact of Brand on Gender

Employment brand and branding strategies are critical to success, including success in your recruitment and hiring methods. But, how does your language impact your brand’s position on gender and hiring?

Is your language advancing your organization’s approach to recruiting, hiring, and advocating for all genders? Or are you hurting your brand without even knowing it?

Keep reading to learn more about the impact of your brand on gender.

What is the Impact of Brand on Gender and Sex?

We know that word choice is essential to a product or service’s perception. It’s no different for your organization’s brand and how the brand impacts views on gender and sex.

First, let’s understand the difference between gender and sex. Sex is typically categorized as female or male; however, organizations should keep in mind that sex includes variations in biological attributes (and how individuals express those attributes).

Gender, on the other hand, “refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people.”

According to the Association of National Advertisers, “[w]hile many brands are embracing LGBTQ+ inclusivity in their marketing, tackling gender nonconformity authentically can still present a challenge or missed opportunity for some. However, this is a necessity for brands existing in the now and moving into the future gracefully.”

Not only is this an opportunity for brands and branding, younger generations demand it. According to Gallup, “35 percent know someone who prefers a gender-neutral pronoun and 59 percent believe forms should include options beyond the binary (‘man’ and ‘woman’).”

And as far as the workplace? Deloitte has found that Gen Z will surpass Millennials in population numbers while taking the torch as the most diverse generation in U.S. history. Further, “[a]s Gen Zers are about to step onto the world stage, the impact of their entry will be swift and profound, its effects rippling through the workplace, retail consumption, technology, politics, and culture. Radically different than Millennials, this generation has an entirely unique perspective on careers and how to define success in life and in the workforce.”

And this “swift and profound” entry includes employers’ brand and branding, causing employers to question how and when to market to different sexes and genders – without being “insensitive and outdated.”

Why are Language and Branding Important in the Hiring Process?

Job seekers respond differently to language and branding, including as it relates to job searches – causing some applicants not to apply at all. For example, studies show that “gender-coded language” in job ads deters female applicants. Specifically, in an oft-cited LinkedIn study, if the word “aggressive” was included in a job ad, 44 percent of women and 33 percent of men would be discouraged to apply.

Additionally, LinkedIn found that 92 percent of hiring professionals believe that soft skills are more important than hard skills, including job ad language such as leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability.  However, 61 percent of women associate soft skills with the female gender, 52 percent of men associate soft skills with the male gender, and more than 55 percent of c-suite professionals associate soft skills with the male gender.

As you can see, language can impact genders and sexes at all levels of a company – from the job seeker to the hiring manager to the c-suite executive. But, which companies are doing a good job of being more descriptive about the specific job candidate they’re looking for – whether through job descriptions, job ads, or other employer branding language?

For example, Aubrey Blanche, the Global Head of Diversity & Belonging at Atlassian, stated that when it came to using truly inclusive language, they “focused on bringing in more balanced teams as it relates to gender, race, and other underrepresented backgrounds . . . [they]  discovered that we had used language that subtly biased on job ads in favor of white and male candidates, and [technology] helped us more closely align our language to our culture and message more inclusively to a broader set of candidates.”

Promoting an inclusive brand is not always an easy task. Employers must pay attention to language (and reactions to language) across all sexes and genders. However, paying attention to your employer brand’s terminology when recruiting and hiring talent can help you attract more diverse talent while setting a more relevant tone for your employer brand.

Diverse LGBTQ Books for Your Workplace Library

As recruiters, hiring managers, and sourcers, it is important to cultivate a diverse and inclusive workplace. One way to do this is by understanding and embracing the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. Reading books written by LGBTQ+ authors or about LGBTQ+ experiences can be a great way to gain knowledge and insight into the community, and foster a more inclusive workplace.

Here are some LGBTQ+ books to add to your office collection:

Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation

“Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation” by Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman – The narratives of transgender individuals have traversed from the fringes of society to the forefront, and now, contemporary genderqueer, nonbinary, and other sex/gender radicals are crafting an entirely novel world. Gender Outlaws, edited by Kate Bornstein, the pioneer gender outlaw, along with S. Bear Bergman, a writer, raconteur, and theater artist, compiles and contextualizes the work of this generation’s trans and genderqueer trailblazers. This collection showcases the fresh perspectives of individuals from a broad range of backgrounds, including those from the stage, streets, workplace, bedroom, and prominent publications worldwide. Gender Outlaws features a diverse selection of essays, commentary, comic art, and conversations that reflect the lives of individuals who embrace lives that break down barriers.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli – Simon Spier is a sixteen-year-old who is not yet open about being gay and prefers to avoid any unnecessary drama, except when it comes to the school musical. Unfortunately, after an email falls into the wrong hands, Simon’s secret is in danger of being exposed for all to see. Now, Simon must learn to step out of his comfort zone, without jeopardizing his relationships, betraying his values, or losing his chance at love with the enigmatic and charming boy he has never met.

Becky Albertalli’s debut novel is a hilarious and poignant coming-of-age and coming-out story set in the twenty-first century, with a delightful geeky romance that will captivate readers. This novel is a knockout, and not to be missed.

Transgender History

“Transgender History” by Susan Stryker – In Transgender History, the author provides a chronological account of American transgender history, beginning in the mid-twentieth century and extending to the present day. Each chapter focuses on major movements, events, and written works within the field of transgender history. The book covers a range of topics, including the transsexual and transvestite communities in the post-World War II years, the emergence of trans radicalism and social change from the publication of The Transsexual Phenomenon in 1966 through the early 1970s, the era of identity politics from the mid-1970s to 1990, and the gender issues that characterized the 1990s and 2000s. 

Transgender History features informative sidebars that showcase quotes from major texts and speeches in transgender history, as well as brief biographies of significant figures. The book also includes excerpts from transgender memoirs and examines how transgenderism has been portrayed in popular culture.

The One Woman

“The One Woman” by Laura May – The saying “Right person, wrong timing” perfectly sums up Julie’s situation in Laura May’s book. As a graphic designer, she’s skilled at manipulating what’s beyond the naked eye, but her life with her boyfriend Mark is far from exciting. That is, until she crosses paths with Ann. Beautiful, successful, and oozing charisma, Ann ignites something in Julie that she can’t ignore. When they meet again in Barcelona, their connection is undeniable. But when tragedy strikes, Julie finds herself torn between her loyalty to Mark and her feelings for Ann. Will their love withstand the test of timing?

The Gay Revolution

“The Gay Revolution” by Lillian Faderman – Lillian Faderman’s The Gay Revolution offers a comprehensive history of the fight for gay and lesbian civil rights, chronicling the years of injustice, early struggles, heartbreaking defeats, and eventual victories beyond the imagination of pioneers in the gay rights movement. This book presents the most significant civil rights issue of modern times, and Faderman tells this crucial yet unfinished story with sweep, depth, and emotional intensity.

The narrative begins in the 1950s, an era when gays and lesbians were criminalized, psychiatrists diagnosed them as mentally ill, churches condemned them as sinners, and society subjected them to rampant hatred. Against this hostile backdrop, a few courageous individuals initiated the struggle for their rights, paving the way for revolutionary changes in the 1960s and beyond. Faderman covers the pivotal protests of the 1960s, the counter reactions of the 1970s and early 1980s, the decimation of the gay community during the AIDS epidemic, and the current challenges faced by those fighting for marriage equality. This book captures the dramatic accounts of passionate struggles that have made the gay rights movement an integral part of American civil rights history.

The Charm Offensive

“The Charm Offensive” by Alison Cochrun – Dev Deshpande has dedicated his career to crafting perfect love stories for contestants on the reality dating show, Ever After. However, his own love life has been less than ideal. When disgraced tech genius Charlie Winshaw is cast as the show’s star, Dev is tasked with getting him to connect with the contestants. Charlie is not the Prince Charming the show was hoping for; he doesn’t believe in true love and is awkward and closed-off. Despite this, Dev and Charlie begin to open up to each other on a worldwide tour, leading Charlie to realize he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of the female contestants. To find their own happily ever after, they must navigate the constraints of reality TV and determine whose love story will be told.

Stone Butch Blues

“Stone Butch Blues” by Leslie Feinberg – Considered a groundbreaking novel since its publication in 1993, this brave and original work provides the most insightful account of the intricacies of transgender existence. The central question surrounding Jess Goldberg’s life and identity is whether they are a woman or a man, a dilemma that engulfs them like a raging storm. Growing up in a blue-collar town in the 1950s with a different gender identity, Jess must navigate coming out as a butch in the bars and factories of the pre-feminist 1960s, and later deciding to live as a man to survive after losing their job and community in the early 1970s.

This powerful, thought-provoking and profoundly moving novel takes Jess full circle as they learn to embrace the complexities of being transgender in a world that demands simplistic explanations. The story of Jess culminates in a he-she identity emerging as a whole person, weathering the turbulence of life. This novel is a poignant portrayal of the transgender experience and challenges the societal norms of gender identity.

Expanding your Library

By adding these books to your office collection, you can create a more inclusive workplace and gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals. It’s important to note that reading these books is not a substitute for actually listening to and engaging with LGBTQ+ individuals in your workplace. However, it can be a valuable tool for gaining knowledge and starting important conversations.

In addition to reading these books, it’s important to make sure that your hiring practices are inclusive of LGBTQ+ individuals. This means creating job descriptions that are gender-neutral and using inclusive language in job postings. It also means ensuring that your hiring process is free from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

By taking these steps, you can create a workplace that is welcoming and supportive of all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

5 Ways Paycor Smart Sourcing Can Help Your Recruiting Efforts

Paycor Smart Sourcing is a platform that helps users find and engage talent, a task that is growing ever more difficult with the current state of the market. The product uses a database of passive candidates with 1.5 billion profiles along with the help of AI to uncover hidden talent and engage with them automatically. In addition, the offering attracts active candidates through programmatic campaigns on job sites.

The platform automates the recruiting process of identifying best-fit candidates for open positions, improving efficiency while also broadening the talent pipeline. In essence, it works like a virtual sourcing assistant, tapping into the world’s largest database of passive candidates to find top talent for every organization.

The world of work, and especially the world of hiring, are being turned upside down as of late. In January 2023 alone, the U.S. economy has added a whopping 517,000 jobs, meanwhile, on the flipside, more than 100,000 workers found themselves laid off. As a result, recruiters are facing one of the most challenging labor markets to date.

This kind of unsettledness – good news and bad news landing at the same time – makes the business environment shaky. That impacts the world of talent acquisition, which is pressured by the demands of business performance on the one hand and empowered, picky candidates on the other.

Indeed, workers today are giving less weight to keeping their current job and more to pursuing new opportunities. They mean it, too. According to the Harvard Business Review, employers will continue to face challenges to their efforts to build and develop their workforce. Among those trials are competition for talent, pressure to control costs and the threat of an economic downturn. “How employers respond,” wrote HBR, “could determine whether they are an employer of choice.”

And today, everyone wants to be an employer of choice. In this environment, attracting and engaging the right candidates, offering them a solid experience and hiring them more quickly are all critical components of a comprehensive – and successful – talent acquisition strategy.

That’s where Paycor Smart Sourcing comes in.

But let’s look at specifics. Here are five ways Paycor Smart Sourcing can help your recruiting efforts.

Surfaces Better Candidates: Paycor Smart Sourcing uses AI tools to review and collect talent data from a variety of public sources, then compiles them into profiles that increase your chances of finding the right talent for any given role. On top of that, its AI eliminates keyword search, understands job descriptions in context and can run granular searches.

With machine learning, recruiters rate candidates by selecting “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to train the algorithms. The software then looks for commonalities in the recruiter’s selections and prioritizes the candidate list accordingly.

Identifies More Diverse Candidates: Paycor Smart Sourcing identifies diverse talent based on dozens of parameters. It breaks down the candidate set to provide a true picture of diverse candidates’ availability. AI-powered dashboards track diversity KPIs while big data helps create a roadmap for hiring and retaining employees, both general and diverse. Paycor Smart Sourcing uses AI to identify diverse talent and boost participation in the hiring pipeline, without offering preferential treatment. And, it reduces time-to-hire by sourcing candidates who may be ideal for a role but have been overlooked by traditional systems.

Increases the Pipeline: AI tools collect public information so you can access a wider range of talent without spending hours searching every possible source. AI tools collect talent data from a multitude of public sources, curate them into profiles and increase your chances of finding the right talent for open roles. By using AI to tap into additional data sources and compile them into unified profiles, the system can more than double your talent pool (compared to using only LinkedIn) while making it much richer.

Drives efficiencies: Paycor Smart Sourcing works like a virtual sourcing assistant, leveraging the world’s largest database of passive candidates, examining them, then reaching out to the most promising possibilities for each role. Completely automatic, it takes hiring to a new level of efficiency and quality.

Focuses Recruiters: Recruiters spend a lot of time juggling things to do, which chews up both hours and efficiency. Paycor Smart Sourcing allows users to devote more attention to the personal aspects of their job, whether it’s leading and coaching a team of recruiters or connecting and developing relationships with candidates. In turn, that results in higher candidate engagement, reduced time and cost to hire and more time dedicated to developing the relationships that lead to good outcomes.

Given the obstacles they face today, recruiters are under pressure to work efficiently and intelligently. Paycor Smart Sourcing helps them do just that by helping them search more efficiently and identify diverse candidates more accurately. In a challenging labor market, it helps recruiting teams succeed.

When Your Job is on Thin Ice: 6 Tips for Managing Layoff Anxiety

It’s been a tough time lately. From necessary and empowering shifts like zero tolerance for toxic work cultures to the great resignation and even greater layoffs, “job security” is hardly inevitable. The abundance of layoffs in all industries harms employees’ mental health. People feel vulnerable, anxious, and disposable. Plus, breaks in employment may have an impact on future employment opportunities, leading to a bash in confidence and a downward spiral of stress. 

Numerous talent acquisition (TA) individuals have been confronted with job layoffs over the past year and potentially even this year. This situation has caused a significant amount of anxiety not only for those who have managed to hold onto their positions but also for those who are seeking new career opportunities or have just secured a new role. 

6 Ways to Cope with Layoff Anxiety

With predicted shortages of human talent by 2030, it’s crucial to stay at the top of your game and take active steps to feel confident and like you have a worthy skill to offer your current or future employer. 

Here are some ideas on how to cope with layoff anxiety and keep doom-and-gloom uncertainty at bay. 

1. Know Your Worth

A Korn Ferry study concluded that by 2030, the world would see a human talent shortage of more than 85 million people, resulting in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized revenues. As a talent acquisition coordinator, your skills are vital in recruiting new talent, preparing companies for future positions by hiring staff with potential, and proactively hiring faster than competitors who do not have a TA expert in their business arsenal. 

Step up to the plate and shine as you proactively go about your job, making yourself indispensable.

2. Find Other Ways to Generate an income

Finding yourself without a job doesn’t mean you need to move into your mom’s basement and become nocturnal. Why not embrace the opportunity to shift gears in your career? There are recession-proof industries to consider if you’d like a change, or you can invest time and effort into a side-hustle business that includes your most-loved hobby. It could turn into a booming business or ease stress as a gap-filler until something permanent comes along. 

3. Upskill and Step Up

Even if you’re safe in your current job, upskilling sets you apart from other vulnerable employees. Staff interested in developing their skill show improved morale, productivity, efficiency, and more. If your current employer offers development opportunities, now is the time to put your hand up to take extra courses and show your desire to grow. 

If you’re between jobs, plenty of accessible or affordable courses will keep your mind sharp and motivated. You may even stumble across a new passion that leads to fresh career possibilities.

4. Have a Plan B in Place

Rather than wallow in layoff anxiety, take control of the situation and spend time planning what you’d do if you were laid off. Updating your resume, being diligent with savings, networking with industry professionals, and upskilling are all things that can have an impact on D-Day (if it comes). 

5. Seek Help 

Studies have shown that uncertainty can have a crippling impact on our ability to function. Visiting a therapist can help you deal with stress or that annoying imposter syndrome that tells you to panic. Adopting tools to deal with your anxiety is a lifelong skill. Beyond professional assistance, stay connected with people who can provide emotional support. 

6. Take Care of Your Physical Health

Exercise, eat well, and get enough sleep to protect your overall well-being against long-term stress.

Empower Yourself for the Future!

While coping with job loss may seem overwhelming, focusing on your health and creating a plan for the future empowers you to find new opportunities for growth and success. You can overcome the challenges of layoff anxiety and emerge more resilient and skilled than ever.

Should You Screen Applicant Social Media Profiles?

Companies hiring are always looking for a way to get an edge on the competition. One of the best ways to do this is by screening applicants’ social media profiles before extending them an offer, but some question whether they should be doing it. In short, they should — but not without considering the risks involved first.

The Pros of Screening Applicants on Social Media

Below are the benefits of screening applicants on social media.

Provides You With a Direct Link to Contact Candidates

Hiring isn’t always easy. You have to sift through hundreds of applications, and sometimes it can seem like there are too many qualified candidates.

However, social media gives HR reps a way to find out more about applicants. Once you’ve found someone who looks like a good fit, you can reach out to them directly on social media. This works best since it allows both parties to get to know each other better before making any commitments.

Identifies Qualified Candidates

If you’re only looking at resumes from people with a certain level of education or experience, it’s easy to miss out on someone who doesn’t fit that profile but could still be an excellent fit. By including social media as part of your screening process, you can cast a wider net and potentially find better candidates than would have been available otherwise.

Saves Time and Money

When deciding if an applicant is right for your business, social media can help you quickly get a sense of who they are, what they’re about and how well they will fit in with your team. It can also save you money by preventing errors in recruitment. When using traditional methods like resumes and interviews, you have to pay for each step of the process. With social media screening, it’s all done online — providing you with more freedom and flexibility at no cost to you.

The Cons of Screening Applicants on Social Media

Here are the drawbacks to consider when screening candidates on social media.

Unreliable Source of Information

Screening applicants’ profiles can be risky as it can be challenging to determine whether they are qualified for the role. Though social media gives you some insight into their personality and character, some people post about themselves in a way that can be deceiving. Even if they’re being honest, there’s always a possibility they’ve chosen to share something that doesn’t represent their overall personality or work ethic.

It Can Be Unethical

Screening applicants on social media can be unethical in various ways. For one, it may violate their privacy rights, especially if employers ask candidates for login credentials. This is against the law in over 20 states today.

Secondly, it can lead to the risk of discrimination. Any applicant can claim you saw information that shows their ethnicity, religion and private information — and they can claim you used that to make a final decision and launch a lawsuit.

May Increase Bias

Bias can occur when an employer screens an applicant for specific qualities, but their social media profile misrepresents their personality and information. During the screening process, this may lead the employer to make a swift decision about the applicant.

For example, an employer might look at a candidate’s Instagram profile and see they have posted pictures of themselves drinking alcohol or partying with friends. The employer may think this person would not fit in with their company culture or disrupt office harmony. If this kind of screening occurs regularly in an organization, it can tread the thin line between protecting company culture on the one hand and bias against people who are not like-minded or those with different lifestyles on the other.

What to Look for on Potential Candidates’ Social Media Profiles

If you are interested in screening applicants’ social media profiles correctly, consider implementing these tips below.

1. A Strong Network of Connections and Followers

Looking for applicants on social media with a strong network of connections is crucial because they are likelier to be honest, hard-working and trustworthy. When looking at the people in an applicant’s network, you can see the type of person they are, their interests and how they live. If you check their network, you can tell if they may be the right fit for the organization because it gives you an idea of who they like to interact with online.

2. An Active and Professional Presence

Suppose a candidate has a professional presence on social media. This will tell you much about who they are and how they fit into your company culture.

Having an active and professional presence on social media shows the person regularly engages with their community, which means they’re likely to be involved at your business. A lively social media presence can also mean they’re conscientious of their online reputation. This is important when looking for new hires who represent your organization well in public spaces like social media.

3. Questionable Content

A company’s reputation is a considerable part of its success and hiring the wrong people can have serious consequences. If you have an employee with questionable content, it can be a big mistake for your business. Even if the applicant may be good at their job, they might not be the best person to represent your organization if they’re posting inappropriate things on social media.

4. Inconsistencies Across Profiles

When looking for your next hire, looking for applicants on social media with inconsistencies across profiles is essential. These inconsistencies can help you weed out applicants with fake accounts or applicants who may try to lie about their experience. For instance, if they claim they graduated from MIT, but their LinkedIn profile says they went to a different school, this could be a red flag.

5. Evaluate the Person’s Tone and Attitude Toward Others

Evaluating an applicant’s tone is a way to assess their ability to communicate effectively, which is vital in any job. It can also reveal how well they fit in with their current team, how willing they are to take criticism, and whether or not they have an appropriate sense of humor.

If you have a candidate who seems perfect on paper but has an unprofessional attitude toward others — even if it’s over text — it may be best to pass them up. Not only will this person likely have trouble fitting in with your team, but they’ll also be hard to work with in general.

Using Social Media as a Hiring Tool

Many employers use social media to screen applicants because it can help them make better hiring decisions. Yet, while there are some ethical and legal concerns, screening social media profiles has become an accepted practice in most industries.

Of course, you’ll have to be aware that some social media profiles don’t accurately reflect the person applying for the job. Therefore, that is something to be mindful of when screening applicants’ social media profiles. Incorporate these tips into your screening strategy to make the most of recruiting people who fit within your company’s team and culture.

How To Gain Qualified Leads From Career Coach Partnerships

Referral partnership programs have become increasingly popular ways for recruiters to obtain new clients. This phenomenon has grown due to the increased demand for trusted referrals, as well as the increased cost of unqualified leads.

A growing trend is for recruiters and career coaches to collaborate. These collaborations allow recruiters to access expertise from experienced professionals in the field. This relationship is beneficial for both parties, as the recruiter obtains a qualified lead and the career coach receives exposure for their services.

There are a few key benefits both sides receive when collaborating.

Help Candidates Prepare for Interviews

When a candidate contacts a career coach to learn how to prepare for an interview, the coach will sometimes offer tips and tricks to make the process more enjoyable or helpful. By partnering with recruiters, career coaches can connect the candidate to a recruiter who may be able to provide additional interview preparation resources. This helps the candidate better prepare and increases the chance of them being hired while providing the recruiter with a highly qualified lead.

In return, when a recruiter comes across a candidate that might not be prepared enough to face employers but could improve, the recruiter could farm out the work to career coaches. The candidate will likely return in a better position to be connected.

Help Lost Candidates Find Their Focus

Many recruiters face the grind of dealing with candidates who don’t know what they want yet. Candidates regularly expect recruiters to have all the answers to their career questions, but recruiters know that’s not always the case. By partnering with experienced career coaches, recruiters can offer candidates a place to find focused advice and guidance on going about their career change.

These partnerships also help increase the chances of referrals being sent back to the recruiter if they are able to send clients over with greater confidence and preparedness.

Increase Chances of Hiring Qualified Candidates

Recruiting firms are often tasked with finding highly qualified candidates for a company. It can be difficult to find top talent, so many recruiters look to career coaches who specialize in helping candidates land the perfect job. By partnering up with these professionals, recruiters gain access to an experienced network of professionals who are connected to the latest trends in the job market and can offer insight into what employers are looking for. This helps recruiters find qualified, motivated candidates more quickly and reduces the time and effort it takes to fill a position with a great candidate.

Provide Continuing Support After the Job Has Been Secured

This can be an added benefit of the referral partnership or a new feature that recruiters will need to work with their clients on. Once a candidate has been placed in the position, it is important to make sure they are properly retained and supported.

By working with career coaches, recruiters can provide continuing support for the successful candidate during their transition into the new job. This can help ensure they remain engaged in their work and grow within the company while reducing turnover rates.

Work with Multiple Career Coaches to Maximize Results

There are many career coaches out there, so it can be beneficial for recruiters to work with multiple professionals. This will give them a broader reach and access to more experienced resources who can offer advice and guidance in different industries. Working with multiple career coaches also offers the potential to get greater value from referrals as they come from different sources.

Recruiters and career coaches have much to gain by partnering together. When recruiters tap into the services of career coaches, they increase their chances of finding qualified candidates and help improve the quality of referrals sent back to them.

You’ll need to work smarter by integrating your new career coach partners into your tracking system and outbound workflow to ensure you attribute referrals correctly, but the extra workload is more than worth the new qualified leads you’ll receive.

By leveraging experienced career coaches, recruiters can provide greater support for successful job seekers during the transition. Ultimately, these partnerships can help both sides achieve their goals while providing better results for clients.

ChatGPT Won’t Revolutionize Recruiting Anytime Soon

Recruiters should remember that, while ChatGPT offers an answer for certain recruiting challenges, it isn’t the answer. 

When the artificial intelligence research lab OpenAI made ChatGPT publicly available last November, it immediately became a global sensation. The platform’s ability to provide creative and seemingly organic answers to a vast array of questions has captivated millions of users and raised questions about the implications of the technology for a wide range of industries – particularly those that employ knowledge workers.

And, recruiting is no exception – from creating interview questions and job ad templates to following up with candidates, ChatGPT has many potential applications in the field. However, it would be a mistake to treat the technology as a silver bullet. Seriously!

ChatGPT is undeniably impressive as a dynamic language model, but it also has a habit of getting basic questions wrong, providing nonsensical interpretations, and presenting these mistakes in a convincing way to users who aren’t familiar with the subject matter at all. Don’t believe me? Just go down a reddit hole.

Now, don’t get me wrong. These problems certainly don’t make ChatGPT useless for recruiters, but they provide ample cause for caution. ChatGPT can complement the recruiting process in many ways, but hiring professionals need to figure out how to integrate it without relying on it. As AI rapidly becomes more powerful, recruiters will have to continually reassess which AI-powered tools they’re using and how to fully leverage those tools without taking unnecessary risks.

The Shift Toward AI in Recruiting

Recruiters were focused on the role of AI in their field long before the arrival of ChatGPT. AI has the potential to help recruiters source talent, reduce hiring mistakes, improve diversity, and accomplish many other goals. For example, at a time when the labor market remains hot and companies are finding it difficult to fill open roles, AI-powered talent rediscovery can give them a competitive edge by quickly searching through and surfacing previous applicants who meet a specific set of hiring criteria.

An Oracle survey found that significant majorities of HR professionals would like to use AI for many elements of talent acquisition: identifying candidates with the right competencies (66 percent), spending less time sifting through resumes (64 percent), filling open positions more quickly (58 percent), and improving the candidate experience (55 percent). The same survey found that HR professionals expected to use AI much more heavily in the coming years, though just 12 percent strongly agreed that they’re knowledgeable about using AI for talent acquisition.

As recruiters cast increasingly wide nets in search of talent and remote platforms make it easier to hire and onboard employees from anywhere in the world, AI will play a larger role in all aspects of talent acquisition. Still, there are good reasons why this role will likely continue to be supplemental rather than central to the most effective recruitment strategies.

The Liabilities of ChatGPT

Consider one of the most commonly-cited problems with ChatGPT as it currently exists: its answers are often incorrect. There are proliferating accounts of how ChatGPT misstates historical facts, makes programming mistakes, and even gets basic arithmetic wrong. This problem isn’t limited to ChatGPT – Alphabet shares recently plummeted when Google’s new Bard chatbot presented inaccurate information in a high-profile ad. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s new Bing chatbot (powered by OpenAI software) has proven to be bizarrely moody, frequently and stubbornly incorrect, and even emotionally manipulative.

Although ChatGPT is a powerful platform that offers a glimpse into the future of AI-enabled work, its tendency to make mistakes should be a big red flag for recruiters. For example, recruiters may attempt to answer candidate questions more efficiently with ChatGPT and end up providing erroneous information. This is particularly problematic when it comes to issues around diversity and inclusion, disabilities and accessibility, and compliance with relevant laws and regulations. There are many reports of bias in ChatGPT’s answers, which isn’t surprising as the model is built on real-world associations where biases are pervasive.

ChatGPT will continue to improve, and there are plenty of ways for recruiters to use the technology productively. But this should always be done with the full awareness of the platform’s shortcomings and the risks of over-reliance on AI in the hiring process.

Taking full advantage of ChatGPT and other AI platforms

ChatGPT is among the most powerful language models and information aggregators available, and its reach is growing all the time. As the platform continues to gather data from millions of users (and now that Microsoft is incorporating ChatGPT into Bing), we should expect to see the amount and quality of information increase along with the number of users. Meanwhile, other major companies, startups, and labs will pursue their own generative language models.

How can recruiters benefit from these developments? ChatGPT is capable of providing job descriptions, candidate pitches, and interview questions. It can create boolean strings to help recruiters widen or narrow their search parameters. It can immediately generate overviews of market research. However, beyond the fact that recruiters should be wary of many of ChatGPT’s “answers” for the reasons outlined above (bias, unreliability, etc.), they should also use the platform as more of a jumping-off point than as an end in itself.

Recruiters are still the ones who know what type of culture they’re trying to build, what unique advantages and constraints their companies face, and what they’re looking for in a candidate. These are all reasons they should remember that, while ChatGPT offers an answer for certain recruiting challenges, it isn’t the answer.

How Do You Encourage Employees to Apply for Internal Positions?

Internal mobility can be a beneficial part of a companies workforce planning. Especially now as people prepare for the possibility of an economic downturn, upskilling and reskilling employees can be a way to acquire new skills without recruiting new talent. From leaning into more one-on-one meetings to prioritizing employee happiness, here are HR leaders and executives insights into how to encourage employees to apply for internal positions.

Conduct Regular One-on-One Meetings

There are several reasons conducting regular one-on-one meetings is a good practice for encouraging employees to apply for internal positions.

First, one-on-one meetings are an effective way of spotting exceptional talents within your workforce. It also allows you to focus on analyzing and providing feedback on their performance and prevents external blockers from impeding doing that. Hence, if an employee is performing great on a project, you can readily discuss internal mobility opportunities with him or her during these meetings. That way, you’ll make sure that opportunities are given to the right people.

Additionally, one-on-one meetings provide you with an easier way of gauging your employees’ needs. During these meetings, employees are more open to talking about their morale and productivity issues regarding certain tasks or projects. Hence, once an employee becomes unhappy with his or her position, you can discuss internal opportunities with him or her.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Recognize Your Workforce

One powerful way to encourage employees to apply for internal positions is to create a culture of recognition and reward. This can be done by recognizing employees who have applied for and been successful in internal positions and rewarding them with bonuses, promotions or other incentives.

Providing your employees with access to resources such as career development programs, mentorship opportunities and job postings can help them feel more confident in their ability to apply for internal positions.

Ultimately, creating a culture of open communication between management and employees ensures that they can feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their interest in internal positions.

Ryan Rottman
Co-Founder and CEO, OSDB Sports

Send a Personal Invite 

We send a personal invite to key individuals we think would be a great fit for the role to build their courage to apply. We detail the email with why we think they should apply, how we would support them in the role and additional role details.

Even if the employee doesn’t get the offer, they know we selected them to apply, and that their team thinks highly of them. If an employee doesn’t get the offer, we share feedback and create a plan to build certain skills and gain experience.

Nicole Serres
President, Star Staffing

Encourage Individuals to Switch Jobs

Show your employees from the beginning that your company has many paths to advancement. Allow your A-listers to take center stage during employee orientation. Has anyone, say, moved from payroll to marketing to management? How did she plan out her career?

Tell tales that show why your staff members shouldn’t limit themselves to a single function. Solicit their interest in other available positions. Maintain this upbeat attitude even after training has ended.

For instance, if a new position opens up, you could notify the entire company via email. Or, you could make an internal board and publish a notice on the company intranet. Employees frequently misjudge the availability of opportunities because they are unaware of what is out there. And keep an open mind if an employee approaches you about leaving to pursue another opportunity. Don’t automatically label someone as a “technical engineer.” They might have unseen strengths in business development.

Samantha Odo
Real Estate Expert and Chief Operating Officer, Precondo

Get the Positions in Front of Them

At an organization with a lot of moving parts and constantly changing hiring needs, your employees may not have the time to go in and check the internal career site regularly.

We use multiple channels to ensure our people know about our current openings, and we pin a link to our career site to our internal communications hub. Our weekly newsletter calls out the opportunities in a section specifically for hiring. We also often spotlight open positions on our social media channels.

The benefit of this strategy goes beyond internal applicants, as it can also promote awareness that can drive additional employee referrals!

Patrick Ward
Manager, Talent Acquisition, Halloran Consulting Group, Inc.

Provide Mentorship Opportunities

I best encourage and support my employees to apply for internal positions by offering mentorship opportunities.

As you know, most times, employees may not apply for internal positions because of a lack of experience or uncertainty about the position’s duties. But for us, mentorship programs have been extremely effective in helping employees feel more confident in applying for internal positions and taking the next step in their careers.

With those programs, we provide a support system that not only helps employees understand what we expect of them in different roles, but also helps them to develop the skills and knowledge required to succeed in those positions.

Plus, our mentorship programs also provide a valuable opportunity for employees to network and build relationships with other professionals within the organization, which opens up extra opportunities for growth and advancement.

So, it’s an exciting chance to take on new roles with confidence.

Maria Harutyunyan
Co-Founder, Loopex Digital

Socialize Internal Positions With Slack

If you want to encourage employees to apply for internal positions, consider socializing the opening via Slack. It’s a simple and easy way to create more awareness of new career opportunities for current employees.

By sharing the opening in one or more Slack channels, you’re spreading the word internally much quicker than asking your team, “Who do you know?” Doing this early in your search will give you a clear sign of whether the right candidate exists internally or if you’ll need to pursue external candidates.

Tim Butler
Manager, Talent Acquisition, Sourcing Team, New Relic

Stretch Initiatives for Your Staff

In the growth of employees, pacing is crucial. Employees can gradually broaden their skill sets by taking on challenging new tasks as part of stretch initiatives. Tell your team members why they were chosen to work on these projects to avoid any confusion.

Employees become much more invested and engaged when allowed to voice their opinions, since they are aware of the potential effects on both their personal lives and the success of the company.

As the year progresses, have follow-up discussions regarding these stretch goals. This allows your staff a chance to communicate with you about what’s working and any difficulties they are experiencing. Your staff should gradually feel more comfortable with their abilities and be prepared to assume even greater responsibility.

Michael Koh
Senior IT Director, PropNex

Link the Opening to their Career Development Plan

Employees like to know what their next role will be. What skills do they need to reach that next promotion or lateral move? With well-organized career development plans and a skills inventory in each employee’s profile, I can easily see which employees are the best qualified for open positions.

Once the position is advertised internally, employees can see right away if they meet the requirements and if the position is on their development plan. I can then work with employees’ current managers and hiring managers (if different) to schedule interviews. It’s important that these impactful conversations occur directly between employees and managers, so that team members feel valued.

Susan Snipes
Chief People and Culture Consultant, GoCo

Streamline Internal Recommendations

One way to encourage employees to apply for internal positions is to emphasize company loyalty by streamlining internal recommendations. This method is a way to show employees they have an advantage over outside candidates. Having an internal recommendation for a job opening within the company will encourage employees to see a long future within the company.

Lionel Mora
CEO, Neoplants

Promote Growth and Development Programs

Employees who know their company cares about their growth and development are more likely to stay. That’s a fact. Create a program that allows your employees to share their desires and simultaneously help your leaders develop their teams. It can be that simple.

Irma Parone, ODCP
President, Parone Group

Be Transparent About Career Paths and Discuss Goals

One way to encourage employees to apply for internal positions is by facilitating open and honest conversations about career paths. By allowing time in the workday to discuss personal goals and ambitions, employees can determine if an internal position is a good fit for their professional development.

Additionally, providing resources that help explain job expectations, qualifications, roles and duties may help make applying for an internal position more transparent and inviting. Offering incentives such as monetary rewards or extra vacation days can further reward employees to pursue opportunities within the company.

The most important factor in retaining talented employees is recognizing their hard work and investing in their growth. Providing mentorship programs, special projects or additional training can show employees that their efforts are valued and appreciated.

Darren Shafae
Founder, ResumeBlaze

Cultivate High Employee Satisfaction

Studies show that companies with high employee satisfaction rates often have the highest internal application rates. This is because a happy employee will want to learn and grow within their current space, whereas an unhappy employee will seek opportunities elsewhere.

So, how do I keep my employees happy? Open communication. Talk to people with whom you work. Find out what their biggest frustrations with their current position are and what they wish the company would do differently. I promise the insights will pleasantly surprise you.

McKay Simmons
Account Executive, Ignite Recruitment

Small Business Guide to Outbound Recruiting

With fewer resources and capabilities than larger corporations, small firms have a harder time finding people. Outbound recruiting is a proactive strategy to help them. To assist small firms in overcoming these difficulties and locating the best candidates for open positions, this article describes the procedures and tactics involved in outbound recruiting, including telemarketing, cold calling, online networking, and social media outreach.

How Can Small Businesses Successfully Implement Outbound Recruitment Approaches?

Small firms can use outbound recruitment successfully by using a tailored strategy to draw candidates that match their unique needs and vision. By specifically contacting people who meet their requirements, small firms can recruit and retain talent by using the advantages of employment stability, salary, and work-life balance.

To contact and engage potential prospects, recruiters might leverage the networks of their staff members, work in tandem with hiring managers, and make use of social media.

A study showed that job security, compensation, and work-life balance impact an employee’s satisfaction. This is an advantage small businesses can leverage. While other prominent enterprises go out of their way to provide desirable perks, small firms can provide competitive salaries and a healthier work environment. As a result, they get to keep the employees and maintain the stability of the business. 

The way to create and implement successful outbound recruitment methods is to know the type of person you need for the job, understand the specific qualities you are after, and approach individuals intentionally to ensure they fit your needs. The differences between inbound and outbound recruiting include:

  • How the message goes out
  • The art of pursuing
  • Traditional versus digital methods
  • The level of engagement

Recruiters must also design these basic points to attract the right talent. For example, the recruiter can use their employees’ networks or align with hiring managers to find top talent. They then initiate contact, even if the person is not seeking a job, or take advantage of other platforms like social media to engage them. 

Are you a small business trying to improve your outbound recruiting process? Here is the breakdown of what you must do to achieve that successfully.

Step 1: Create a Plan

The first step in outbound recruiting is to have a well-structured plan in place. Instead of adopting a passive approach to recruitment, small businesses should be actively involved in the process. By treating the recruitment process as a project, small businesses can create a roadmap to reach the right audience and find the right talent for their organization.

Step 2: Build a Team

Small businesses can benefit from having a team involved in the recruitment process. The team should consist of individuals with different perspectives and opinions to help sift through the pool of unqualified candidates. Identifying the capacity and value of each team member is essential in determining their involvement in the process.

Step 3: Identify the Key Points

Before starting the recruitment process, small businesses need to thoroughly review the job requirements to determine the competencies and skills needed for the role. These key points should then be ranked and ordered according to priority to guide the team in the pursuit of the perfect candidate.

Step 4: Search Widely But Narrow your Options Quickly

A searchable database can be a great starting point for small businesses, as it minimizes effort while providing a range of options. However, using the key points identified in step 3 can help narrow down the options and find the right fit faster.

Step 5: Personalize Your Messaging

Once potential matches are found, small businesses should reach out directly to gauge their interest and learn more about them. Personalizing the messaging to include their areas of interest and why the role would be a good fit can prompt a response from the candidate. Making an offer can also increase the chances of getting a positive response.

Step 6: Keep in Touch

Even if a candidate is not interested in the role, small businesses should keep them in mind for future opportunities. A ‘no’ response does not necessarily mean that the candidate is not interested in working for the company, but rather not interested in the current role. Keeping in touch with these candidates can lead to better engagement levels and opportunities in the future.  

Final Thoughts

It’s extremely important to help small businesses navigate the recruitment scene. During recruitment, most small businesses run for the inbound approach; they stand to gain more from the outbound approach as it allows for better engagement levels and opens the business up to endless opportunities. 

The steps outlined above are meant to give small business recruiters an effective blueprint without demanding the use of resources they may not have. The stages use what is within their reach to make the most of personalized recruitment approaches. 

Indeed 2023 DEIB Report: Black Worker Trends – What Recruiters Need to Know

While honoring Black Americans this February, it’s good for employers to check in with what they’re doing to support Black workers. However, it’s also a good time to understand the employment trends impacting Black employees – which is exactly what Indeed did.

On February 16, 2023, Indeed published its results from a recent study about Black job seekers and employees.  Keep reading to understand what Indeed found and how these results may impact your recruitment efforts.

Close to Half of All Black Employees Are Considering Leaving their Jobs

In a shocking statistic, Indeed found that 49 percent of Black workers aren’t satisfied with their current job for two primary reasons:

Indeed noted that Black workers want to work for organizations that are transparent about salary (78 percent), where personal and organizational values align (63 percent), and that support a diverse leadership team (60 percent) while prioritizing their DEIB initiatives to the same level as Black employees’ expectations. Doing so would not only attract more Black talent, but it would also increase retention rates – something that’s not happening now.

DEIB Policies, Procedures, and Training Are in Need of Continue Improvement

While we’re definitely not implying that DEIB policies, procedures, and training haven’t been effective – in fact, the statistics prove that Black workers believe most DEIB initiatives are effective –  we do agree with Indeed that improvement is needed.

For example, here’s an issue. Black workers generally believe that their employers are “implementing DEIB initiatives with ulterior motives.” Further, 24 percent of respondents believe that DEIB efforts are “performative in nature.”

While this is concerning, the inverse is true. Just over 75 percent of respondents believe that their organization’s DEIB initiatives are effective and perhaps even more important, genuine.

So, How Do Black Employee Demands and Employer Actions Line Up?

With these baselines established, what are Black employees demanding from their employers?  Here are some DEIB demands identified by Indeed:

  • 58% want pay transparency and equity
  • 52% are looking for more worker flexibility to improve work-life balance
  • 44% would like increased representation

On the other hand, the top three DEIB initiatives implemented by employers are:

  • 64% of employers implemented diverse hiring practices
  • 44% noted diversity committees
  • 40% cited DEIB employee awareness events

The Cost of Not Prioritizing DEIB Initiatives

So, what is the cost of not prioritizing DEIB initiatives?  Indeed found that employers who fail to prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging among all demographics are not only hurting their employees, but they’re hurting themselves – and their futures.

Fifty-eight percent of Indeed respondents “skipped applying to a job they would have otherwise been interested in because the company did not appear inclusive and/or diverse.”  Of those employees, 45 percent said they “experienced discrimination in the job interview process.”

But it’s not just Black employees that demand a DEIB-forward workplace culture. According to an Indeed & Glassdoor’s Hiring and Workplace Trends Report 2023, 62 percent of all U.S. employees – across all different demographics – would consider turning down a job offer or changing employers if their company – especially their manager – did not support DEIB initiatives.

DEIB initiatives are continually essential to attracting and retaining top talent. However, employers should take survey results – like these from Indeed – to tailor and tweak their current DEIB efforts, ensuring that they still positively impact Black employees now and in the future.

Escaping the Cycle of Low Wages: The Benefits of Upskilling for Workers and Employers

Is upskilling the solution to hiring challenges for employers? Many believe it is. Would rage applying or quiet quitting be trending if employers were investing in the lives (and ultimately livelihoods) of their team members? Maybe less so.

A 2021 Workforce study surveyed over 18,000 frontline workers across 150 companies, stating their number one reason for leaving their job. Guess what came out top? Lack of career growth opportunities. So if you still need to give upskilling due praise, now’s the time to shift gears and equip candidates and current staff with tools for career development.

We discuss upskilling and how it’s the pathway to happiness, as well as the key to employees feeling like they’re winning at life.

How Upskilling Fosters a Happier Workplace

Upskilling involves providing current employees with training and development opportunities to help them gain new skills and knowledge. This can be beneficial when in-demand trends arise/advance and skill gaps present themselves. It can provide an opportunity for companies to invest in their current workforce by offering tools and educational courses that help individuals to advance in the business pipeline. By doing this, companies save themselves the effort of recruiting and introducing new talent to the team.

ClearCompany research shows that “across mentally healthy organizations, 69% of employees were offered professional development opportunities.”

Gold Stars for Employers

 Employers benefit from investing in their in-house workforce in the following ways:

  • Staff retention rates are 30-50% more for companies with strong learning cultures.
  • Engagement is 15% more in employees with access to career development, benefitting the business by efficiently reaching goals.
  • Happier company culture is another outcome of upskilling, with 76% of millennials confirming that professional upskilling at work plays a role in their company culture – a huge motivation for Gen Z too.
  • Up to 58% of employees report being more satisfied in their jobs when upskilling is part of company culture. Employee happiness leads to 41% reduced absenteeism and higher customer satisfaction too.
  • Studies have even shown that a business’s total revenue can be affected by up to 34% when employers are discontent and miserable.

When fighting a war on talent, the key is to invest in the talent available to you! It’s clear – ensure employees are happy by offering a leg-up in knowledge and opportunity. Show empathy in the workplace by caring about employee potential.

The Real Winners in Upskilling are Lower & Middle-Class Workers

Yes, you read the correctly. Lower-class workers are plentiful. Plus, the American middle class is struggling more than ever, with more and more households falling into the ‘lower-class’ sector, anxiously rubbing shoulders with poverty.

Pew Research had the following findings in their 2021 government data analysis:

  • The share of the lower class has increased from 25% to 29% from 1971 to 2021.
  • Household incomes since 1971 have increased, but the percentage increase is highest in upper-income households. For the middle-class, gains over the past 50 years are up by only 50%, and in low-income homes by 45%.
  • Regression in earnings over the past 50 years saw more people entering the lower-income tier, especially those without degrees, even if they had college experience. In 1971 only 8% of those with bachelor’s degrees were in the lower-income level, but today 13% of people with a qualification find themselves stuck in low-income sectors.
  • In the same category, those with less than a high school graduation made up 41% of the lower-income group in 1971. Today this demographic makes up 57% of the low-earners.

Wages are down, part-time jobs are plentiful, debt is crippling, and saving margins are slim or non-existent. It’s far from an exaggeration to describe the situation as desperate.

But this is where upskilling can have a real and lasting impact.

Upskilling Can Change the Future

Boosting education levels and upskilling allows middle- and lower-class workers a chance to realize gains and move further away from poverty…and closer to empowerment.

Here are the benefits of upskilling and what it can do for low- or middle-income workers:

  • Learning empowers workers and boosts self-determination.
  • Higher earning potential.
  • Opportunities for career advancement, sometimes in new job markets and industries.
  • Enhanced job security and employability.
  • Education and skill-mastering foster self-actualization (feeling of fulfillment, self-image, and pride). One study showed that 80% of employees attributed upskilling/reskilling training to a boost in their confidence.
  • Increased job satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
  • Higher education has a long-term impact on a person’s health by affecting their happiness.
  • Positive impact on mental health and well-being.
  • Increased motivation and engagement in work.
  • Learning broadens one’s perspective —of others, the world, circumstances, and possibilities— and is linked to greater happiness.
  • Formal educational programs equip people to make better decisions, especially concerning economic assessments.

The Gift of Elevating Income Class and World Effectiveness

Top talent needs to be retained and future-proofed. With trends of resignations and sudden job shifts, upskilling or reskilling is vital for staff retention, business success, and overall work culture. But more importantly, by upskilling your workforce, you offer a helping hand to the many outrunning poverty.

By investing in their skills and knowledge, eager-to-learn employees can improve their job security, earning potential, and career opportunities. Moreover, upskilling provides a sense of personal growth, fulfillment, and empowerment, which can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being.

As recruiters and businesses recognize the benefits of upskilling, we can expect to see an empowered and motivated workforce better able to meet the demands of a rapidly changing job market. By supporting upskilling initiatives and encouraging employees to take advantage of training opportunities, we can help create a happier future for all.

Location-Based Compensation is Bad for Business

Location-based compensation is a practice from the past that has to go. Let’s say it right from the beginning, straight up.

We all know that the cost of living differs vastly depending on where an employee resides in the country or the world. In its naive genesis, more than a hundred years ago or more, the concept of paying someone according to their location’s cost of living made sense.

Pay scale standardization became more commonplace in the 1960s and 1970s. Still, in recent times this now problematic practice seemed to rear its socially inappropriate head once more.

Location-based compensation was inherently fair, ensuring equal pay among employees even when they lived in diverse locations with differing costs of living. New York, for example, is vastly different in living costs from that of Pittsburgh to the West or, internationally, Mumbai to the East. As companies saw the gap to minimize costs and maximize profits, the practice started to ring alarm bells for many reasons.

Let’s look at why this system has become problematic and one which could and probably will damage business and the economy.

Decreased Employee Morale

Location-based compensation can create resentment among employees who are paid less than their colleagues in other locations, even if they perform the same job. This can lead to decreased motivation, lower productivity, and increased turnover, hurting the company’s bottom line.

Increased Administrative Overheads

Implementing a location-based compensation system can be complex and time-consuming. It requires extensive research into local labor laws, wage rates, and cost of living indexes, as well as regular updates to ensure that the system remains accurate and complies with changing regulations.

Legal Risks

Location-based compensation can also pose legal risks, mainly if not implemented correctly. For example, suppose an employee in one location is paid less than a similar employee in another location for the same work. In that case, this could be considered discrimination and result in legal action.

With remote and hybrid work so prevalent, companies have looked at different pay for employees depending on whether they are working remotely or commuting to work. They have then considered the cost of living in the location the employee is remote-working from.

This practice can cause many unintended legal and discrimination issues. According to SHRM, location-based compensation can pose legal risks if not implemented and administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as equal pay and anti-discrimination laws.

Decreased Competitiveness

Location-based compensation can make it difficult for a company to attract and retain the best talent, especially if it is located in an area with a lower cost of living. This can make it harder for the company to compete with businesses in more desirable areas and attract top talent.

Lack of Transparency

Location-based compensation can be complex for employees to understand, leading to confusion and mistrust. It can also be challenging for managers to explain why employees in one location are paid differently than employees in another, even if they perform the same job. The resultant lack of transparency can erode trust and create a negative workplace culture.

Difficulty in Determining Fairness

Determining what is fair compensation for employees in different locations can be challenging. Benchmarking cost of living indexes and wage rates can be difficult from location to location, making it tough to determine a fair and reasonable salary for each place.

Employees Can Cheat the System

Employees have unfortunately been found to cheat the system by using relatives’ residential addresses in locations that might receive higher pay to get paid more. Living in a low-cost location but receiving compensation based on a high-cost-of-living location can be seen as fraudulent. This practice, however, is difficult to pinpoint sometimes, and doing so can incur costs and unproductive use of HR time.

Moving Away from Location-Based Compensation

What should companies be focussing on when creating compensation policies? The research and opinions clearly state it; location-based policies are falling apart and irrelevant to our current society and situation.

Minimizing costs and maximizing profits is important for the financial welfare of a company, but high employee turnover will incur insurmountable recruitment and training costs in the long run. Companies need to adopt more skills and abilities-based approaches, enabling them to attract and retain top talent, regardless of location.

How to Identify a Fake Job Applicant

With more digital technology in the business world than ever, it’s no surprise that malicious actors will do whatever they can to scam someone. Unfortunately, one major target for scammers is a company’s HR department. 

Most hiring starts online, where it’s easy to impersonate someone else or create an entirely fake profile. While it’s common to see fake profiles on social media platforms like Facebook or dating apps like Tinder, it’s now becoming a serious issue for HR professionals.

Why Fake Job Applicant Scams are on the Rise

One reason why fake applicant scams are becoming more common is because of the remote work environment many companies have in the post-pandemic era. Hiring managers and other HR experts prioritize remote interviews and phone calls, allowing flexibility for job applicants. Scam artists are essentially exploiting the remote work trend by applying to jobs with ill intentions. 

When a scammer is hired, they can wreak havoc on the company they’re “working” for. They can launch cyber attacks or steal sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information (PII). 

Research suggests that breaches caused by remote workers averaged $1.07 million higher than those that did not occur on remote devices.

The number of fake job applicants is increasing, making your recruiting efforts much more labor-intensive than they already are. In addition to sifting through hundreds or thousands of candidates for open roles, you now have to beware of fake profiles applying to those jobs.

How to Spot a Fake Job Applicant

The scams are increasing so much that the FBI released a public service announcement with information and tips on spotting these fake applicants. Scammers are going as far as using deepfake technology. 

The FBI’s PSA defines deepfakes as any altered video, image or recording manipulated to misrepresent someone saying or doing something they don’t actually say or do. A popular example of deepfake technology is the viral videos of “fake” Tom Cruise acting silly on the widely used app TikTok.

As a professional in the HR and recruitment industry, you must be aware of the rise in fake job applicants and how to identify them. This way, you can save your company time, effort and money by preventing potential cyber-attacks. 

1. Resume Reads Like a Manual

If a candidate’s resume reads more like a manual or states the job description word for word, it could be a scammer. While many candidates, including those who are who they say they are, understand that resumes must pass through new applicant tracking systems (ATSs), scammers will try to oversell themselves on their resumes. 

Having a few buzzwords or keywords in a resume is never bad, but having too many could be a sign that the candidate is fake. Be sure to check resumes thoroughly and trust your gut.

2. LinkedIn Profile is Empty or Says “Self-Employed” Without Details

If there’s little to no information on the candidate’s LinkedIn profile, it could be a scammer. Most real, true candidates looking for open roles will fill in their LinkedIn profiles to ensure they include all of their educational achievements and professional experience. 

Additionally, if a profile says the individual is “self-employed,” with no other context, they could be fake. Freelancing is common, so it’s fair to say freelancers could be applying to your jobs. However, take some time to dig a bit deeper — see if the individual has their own company, has any prior experience or if they have connections on their LinkedIn profile.

3. Sends Long Emails or Messages with Errors

Another sign that an applicant is a scammer is if they send long emails or messages with grammatical or spelling errors. If you have an email, you’ve probably received a spam email telling you you’ve won a prize or need to send money to a specific address. 

These fake emails are similar to the messages you receive on LinkedIn or other online job boards. Give all correspondence a spelling and grammar check before replying, as this is a clear sign that the applicant is fake. One or two typos might not seem like a big deal, but most qualified candidates will check their spelling and grammar before sending messages to a hiring manager or recruiter.

4. Incorrect Dates for Graduation or Work History

Fake candidates may put in years of education or professional experience that never really happened to try and trick recruiters. They may claim to have a university degree or have worked for a company for years. While double-checking the dates and years on someone’s resume might take a long time, it’s crucial to spot a fake applicant. 

Consider checking the dates of employment or time spent at a university to see if the candidate is telling the truth. You can also try contacting the college or university your candidate claims to have earned a degree from with a quick phone call. 

Protect Your Company From Potential Scams

There is no question that recruiting high-performing candidates is a struggle in today’s labor market. In addition to finding the perfect candidate for your open roles, you now have to be vigilant and protect your company’s integrity by weeding out fake job applicants. Consider the tips above to identify phony job candidates so you can keep your recruiting efforts focused on real individuals.