Keeping the Human in the Hiring Process

It is no surprise candidates for a job opening want to make a good impression on their potential employers. Who doesn’t? In the same way, HR professionals want to make a similar impression throughout the recruiting process and showcase why their candidate experience stands out against competitors.

With never-ending technology tools, such as Slack messaging and Excel sheets, HR professionals are overwhelmed with their recruiting processes. They must stay on top of new trends. They must also remain consistent with the company’s goals and beliefs. However, keeping hiring practices consistent is not the most challenging aspect of the recruiting process. Instead, with the rise of technology, human connection throughout the recruiting process has suffered.

As a result, the questions many HR professionals ask themselves include:

How do we show the appreciation we have for our candidates?
Can we make sure our beliefs and values stay consistent? How?
How can we put the human touch back in the process?

With artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) coming into play with recruiting and hiring, the emphasis on a humanized hiring experience may seem counter-intuitive. However, tools like hiring software can keep the human in the hiring and recruiting process. By using automation, HR teams save time and also increase productivity and communication. Thus, the emphasis can go back to what makes HR, well, human.

Productivity and success

Throughout a typical workday, HR managers have a never-ending list of tasks to finish. Completing all of them seems out of reach. But what if I told you that hiring software could save your HR department time and energy to complete those tasks?

According to a survey, 52 percent of HR professionals agree that manually screening applicants is the hardest part of the recruiting process. Not to mention, the time-consuming and mundane tasks involved each step of the way. Instead, the best hiring software can significantly improve the HR workflow.

By using these tools, they can eliminate repetitive tasks, like updating documents and sorting through emails. Then the focus can shift from paper applications to the actual human who wrote it. This adds a little personal connection to the overall process.

Human interaction leads to better results

In a world where technology is a must-have, human interaction is still the key to a successful hire. Automation and other tools are introduced continually to the market. As such, the capacity to take on more tasks that one initially could not accomplish in a single day has increased. This includes jobs that need the human touch, such as planning a new campaign angle. Prior to hiring software, HR professionals had to spread themselves thin when responding to an excessive amount of emails. Tasks like scanning through resumés until they all start to look the same, and more. It’s not only the time capacity issue.

The other problem with all resumés looking the same is that most organizations are looking for a “unicorn candidate.” In essence, someone who stands out on a sheet of paper. By using automation tools to narrow down the candidate pool, HR managers can spend more time getting personal with a smaller list of potential employees. HR teams can put the emphasis back on the candidate’s experience and stand out against competitors.

As a result, a candidate can begin to feel like their opinions matter. This process has proved beneficial for modern companies. When employees feel like their voice is heard, they are 4.6 times more likely to complete tasks and do them at a higher level.

Internal and external communication during the hiring process

Choosing the right person in the hiring process is stressful. The perfect employee can help a company excel. The wrong employee can be detrimental to a company. For that reason, during recruitment, collaboration and discussion amongst the HR team are essential. That said, sending emails back and forth can be time-consuming and too confusing as messages get lost. Instead, using an applicant tracking system (ATS) helps the hiring team to stay organized. It also helps clarify decisions and compare notes on candidates. That way, everyone is on the same page moving forward in the hiring process.

Ideally, automation has already taken care of the logistics when filtering through applications. As a result, more time can be spent communicating with and learning about each candidate. AI and ML have reminded HR teams that the unicorn employee is not a myth. The employee who will best fit the company does exist.

Hiring and recruiting processes can be stressful when combined with other responsibilities. By condensing the workload and being more productive, making those decisions that require a human touch can be more effective. They can also produce more significant experiences along the way.

Let’s not forget that AI and ML are much more than a time-saver in the HR professional’s life. Hiring software is an opportunity to make more voices heard. Human interaction throughout the hiring process a must.

About Breezy HR:

Breezy HR is a recruiting platform and applicant tracking system that believes hiring doesn’t have to be messy. The company is based in Jacksonville, FL with customers around the world.

Breezy HR has thrown out the traditional hiring model and replaced it with a set of tools that engage hiring teams, manage day-to-day chaos, and ensure teams continue to attract and hire great employees with less effort.

4 Mysteries of Sourcing – Debunked!

Sourcing attracts a lot of obvious comparisons. Sorcery, for one, thanks in large part to the similar-sounding words and air of magic it presents. Detectives pop up now and again, coupled with a cute stock image of a magnifying glass (when was the last time anyone actually used one?). Myths and realities appear, too, mostly because there’s so much lingering confusion around what it takes to source – and source well. And it’s that last part, about confusion, that’s going to serve as the basis for today’s exploration of the mysteries of sourcing. Hop aboard; we’re going intergalactic.

#1 – It’s just recruiting

This might seem obvious to those doing the work, but a quick stroll over to Twitter makes it clear that even members of #HRCommunity still struggle to recognize the difference between sourcing and recruiting. Heck, even SHRM, has an article titled “Recruiting: What is sourcing?“ though it’s hard to tell from the wording if they’re asking recruiters or posing an SAT-style question. Even good old Wikipedia says, “The definition of sourcing needs to be clearly defined by what it is, as much as what it is not.” Seriously. There’s also evidence that sourcing, and the understanding of it, might differ from country to country. Then there’s the whole procurement complication. It’s a lot.

So, once and for all, let’s establish a definition, shall we? Sourcing is part of recruiting, plain and simple. It’s a stage, in which, sourcers or other qualified individuals, likely recruiters by title, find job seekers. The process combines a series of carefully crafted search techniques and tools to produce a list of potential candidates.

#2 – It’s all about LinkedIn

Without bashing the so-called “employment-oriented service” site, let’s just say there is a time and a place for LinkedIn. It is an essential resource, but it’s not the only one. If you’ve ever spent some time with industry folks like Shally Steckerl or Ronnie Brachter, you’d know that the possibilities for sourcing are virtually limitless. You’ve got search engines on top of search strings on top of tech solutions offering to help automate sourcing. And that’s just the technical side of things. There’s also the possibility of using mainstream social media channels like Instagram and even TikTok to source if you’re so inclined.

The point is if anyone tells you to stick to LinkedIn for sourcing, don’t listen to them. The World Wide Web is vast and infinite and sourcing needs to reflect that. This Hire by Google (RIP) piece details some of the more creative strategies seen over the last few years, including Spotify’s “Join the Band” playlist for software developers and McDonald’s “snaplications” advertising campaign.

#3 – Boolean, who?

The average person probably has no idea what Boolean is, and that’s OK. There are probably a good number of recruiters who couldn’t Boolean their way out of a paper bag. While the others are off thinking it’s a new language offering on Duolingo or an infectious disease, skilled sourcers know the real power of George Boole (yes, he’s a real guy!).

Boolean takes sourcing to the depths of the deep web with just a few parameters. It allows sourcers to scale through mountains of candidate information with only a few parentheses and quotation marks. It’s 100 percent worth learning, because here’s the thing, once you know the basics, it’s cake. Boolean doesn’t change, your searches do, and it never hurts to keep a cheat sheet handy. And if personal mastery isn’t really your thing, fear not, there are browser extensions, add-ons, and plugins that will do the work for you. Free ones too! Think CliffsNotes for sourcers, except Cliff isn’t just summarizing the book, he’s also doing your report.

#4 – All sources are created equal

There are some – not naming names – who seem to talk down to sourcers, as though they’re somehow less qualified or important than their counterparts in later stages of the hiring process. But here’s the thing: sourcing isn’t just running the search and pulling the names. It can also be about taking a critical lens (OK, so maybe there is a need for the magnifying glass) to the information gathered before presenting it to the recruiter. Like historians or social scientists, sourcing requires looking long and hard at their results, considering the source, determining where it came from and if, ultimately, it fits the search. That’s not a one and done click of a button.

The fact remains that finding candidates is challenging, no matter how you slice or dice the process. As they say, it takes a village – and in this case, one fully stocked with systems, solutions, and yes, sourcers.

Have sourcing questions? Need answers?

Dean Da Costa will be live on March 17th at 2 PM Eastern on RecruitingDaily. He asks you to bring your questions and has promised answers. Class is in session. Join us, or simply register and we’ll send you the recording when it’s over.

Let’s Solve Your Biggest Sourcing Problems: Dean Da Costa Q&A Session Free-for-All

Talent Acquisition Movers, Shakers, & News Breakers – February 2020, Part 2

FEBRUARY 2020 – Talent Acquisition News, Part 2

February certainly was a month, wasn’t it? After a (by comparison) quiet start, the second month of 2020 tore through the industry. If you’re wondering what that is, let’s start with news of the current consolidation trend.

Kronos and Ultimate Software

First up, we saw Kronos and Ultimate Software enter into a definitive merger agreement. While the move didn’t surprise anyone, with the two companies both controlled by Hellman & Friedman LLC, the timing certainly did. Most analysts and influencer types expected to see the companies combine in 2021 or 2022 at the earliest. Moving forward, the entity will create a “People Inspired” company, sharing joint headquarters in Massachusetts and Florida. Combined, the company has a sizable global presence, with more than 12,000 employees worldwide, and a $22 billion enterprise valuation.

Cornerstone acquires Saba

Not to be outdone, Cornerstone announced its plan to acquire Saba in a cash and stock transaction deal worth somewhere just under the $1.4B mark. The slightly smaller deal will result in a combined company with more than 75 million users, over 7000 clients, and reportedly $818M in annual recurring revenue. As far as the industry goes, analyst Albert Pang of Apps Run the World offered a preview of what the market will look like following these two deals alone. And it’s still Q1!

Randstad

Randstad formed the Randstad Enterprise Group (REG), a talent advisory infrastructure that leverages the company’s services to build total talent models for clients. The offering brings together Randstad’s global strategic accounts teams with the sales and solution design functions of its RPO and MSP arm, Randstad Sourceright. The group will deliver an entirely new experience for clients, across six functional areas, which include customer and talent intelligence, marketing and communications, enterprise solution design and bids, talent marketing and global pursuit operations.

iCIMS has a new CEO

Meanwhile, iCIMS introduced its new CEO, Steve Lucas, a member of the company’s board for the past year. He comes to iCIMS from Marketo, where he oversaw its sale to Adobe back in 2018. His bio includes leadership roles across SAP and Salesforce, and “a broad range of GTM, operations, R&D, sales, services, and technology market expertise.” Lucas replaces iCIMS founder and former CEO Colin Day, who announced his departure last fall and is now serving as Chairman.

Deloitte 2020 Workplace Flexibility Survey

Shifting gears from vendors to workers, Deloitte released new survey findings of flexible work options. Says the 2020 Workplace Flexibility Survey, “most professionals take advantage of flexible work options despite perceived potential consequences to professional growth.” If you’re wondering why that’s the case, it comes down to the good outweighs the bad. Or, so indicates the 94 percent of respondents who say they would benefit from work flexibility. As a result, becoming less stressed, improving their mental health, and finding better integration of their work and personal life.

Capital Investments, Mergers, & Acquisitions

In other M&A news, the performance management platform Betterworks acquired Hyphen. Hyphen is a continuous employee listening and engagement solution. Hyphen employees will join the Betterworks team, and the Hyphen product will incorporate into the Betterworks Engage offering.
On the funding front, online learning platform Udemy raised $50M from a single investor, Benesse Holdings. This investment came following a $2B pre-money valuation. The company plans to use the round to improve its course offerings, grow its enterprise relationships, and expand its global reach.
Female-led digital health company Maven closed $45M in Series C funding. They closed with participation from existing investors as well as individual investors Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Mindy Kaling, and Anne Wojcicki. Yes, as in that Witherspoon, Portman, Kaling, and Wojcicki.
Israeli HR tech startup Actiview announced $10M in Series A funding. The company develops virtual reality and machine learning-powered assessment solutions. Already operating in 10 countries worldwide and recently teaming up with international university INSEAD, Actiview will use the funds to enter additional markets.
A platform that allows users to explore any company’s organizational chart known as The Org completed an $8.5M Series-A financing round. The funding occurred following a previously unannounced seed round of $2.5M. The Org reports a growing database of over 16,000 org charts created through research and crowdsourcing.

Upcoming Events & Conferences for March

3/16-17 – HRcoreLAB Summit in Barcelona
3/23-25 – HR Transform in Las Vegas
3/23-25 – SourceCon in Seattle
3/24-25 – UNLEASH Spring in London

Other recent highlights:

GoCoach worked with Unicon on enhancements intended to improve personalized learning and coaching.
AllyO promoted a 3.3x increase in Annual Recurring Revenue, helping drive the company to more than 11x two-year growth.
Indeed launched Indeed Hiring Events to help employers reduce costs and speed up high-volume hiring.
Hourly workforce platform Snagajob launched its Shifts solution in the Orlando, Florida area.
Empathic Workplace and Mursion partnered to create a VR platform to foster empathy and understanding in executives, managers, and employees.

Got news to share with us for our next update? Contact [email protected]!

CRM Tug of War

Sourcers, gird your loins! A battle is afoot. Sourcers rejoiced, when talent acquisition implemented the first CRM. We finally had a database to store and manage candidates. The CRM was ours. Then, word traveled fast of the benefits of the CRM. Sourcers could now stay in contact with their leads, set reminders to connect, keep comprehensive notes, leverage data, send engaging content, and grow relationships with their prospects. For a short time, the CRM helped to catapult the Sourcer role into nearly every occupational sector on the globe. So great was the CRM that other departments started to take note. Thus the tug of war between Recruitment Marketing and Sourcers was born.

Slow Takeover

Now before you get ahead of me, I am in favor of recruitment marketing and sourcing merging forces in the CRM. Of course, I’m in favor of an equal partnership between content and candidate. It is a marriage that is benefitting all of Talent Acquisition. Sourcers will not be successful if they refuse to accept the benefit of building relationships with prospects with the use of recruitment marketing tactics. However, the CRM is slowly being taken over by internal marketing teams for drip campaigns, events management, and talent networks. Likewise, I even know of at least one business that is selling a talent network as a CRM (you know who you are).

Defend your Claim

The truth is that without the Sourcers curating the CRM with qualified leads, the recruitment marketing part of the CRM wouldn’t work. Perhaps your talent network will bring in two thousand candidates in a year, but a Sourcer can add that many candidates in a day from a good membership list. If you argue that you can purchase lists to stuff your CRM, my comeback is it still takes relationships with a human being to turn a lead into a candidate. Sourcing and Recruitment Marketing must work together, a 50/50 share in the wealth that a CRM brings. Any unequal division will tip the scales in benchmarks, sourcing metrics, open rates, and hires. Sourcers need to speak boldly and defend their claim to the CRM.

The Recruitment Marketing CRM takeover has happened quietly, slowly, and led by misinformation. No sense blaming vendors or talent leaders, it is not their fault. We, as Sourcers, were not part of the CRM marketing usage conversations. We didn’t have a voice, and we didn’t know we needed a voice to defend Sourcer use. The CRM introduction to Talent Acquisition was a business disruptor. Companies jumped on the bandwagon and created their CRM policies and procedures without much input from Sourcers. The recruitment marketing products added to the CRM are helpful, that is not the problem.

The Disconnect

Event management through CRM has saved Recruiters and Sourcers countless hours of time and effort. The disconnect comes from recruitment marketing pursuing the carefully added leads to the system without regard to the work the Sourcer has put into the relationship. The CRM should not be recruitment marketing’s playground to experiment with texting and email branding campaigns with our carefully curated leads. You wouldn’t spend all your money in your bank account without thinking about replenishment. That is to say, how the money comes in is just as important as how you spend it! Similarly, entering sourced leads is just as important as how they are treated by recruitment marketing once in the system.

Dig in Your Heels and Make Your Demands

In searching and building the right CRM for your organization, consider this tug of war between recruitment marketing and sourcing with caution.

Demand that the CRM has editable folders for Sourcers to inventory their leads. Demand a drag and drop option to quickly add leads to the system or even a chrome extension. Demand to have a say in the workflow process, so it keeps from being over-engineered. Demand to be a part of the implementation team and user acceptance testing.

Don’t be sold on just a recruitment marketing platform that limits or minimizes the use of the CRM for sourcing purposes. Remember, the R in CRM stands for relationships. Sourcers are the relationship that makes recruitment marketing functions come to life. The best way to win a tug of war is with teamwork. Dig your heels in Sourcers; the stronger team exerts a larger force.

Why Communication Should Be Recruiters’ Top Focus in 2020

The labor market is continuing to grow, and most companies are feeling strained by the competition. Recruiters are already wrestling over top talent, and the tight market just throws more stress into that fray. So, what can your company do better to attract candidates? One of the most important things you can take a look at is communication. It is a core part of your hiring process that often goes overlooked. Good communication can give you the edge you need to grab that next star employee.

David Markus is the Director of Executive Recruiting at SymantecCorporation. He has some poignant things to say about how their company is tackling the challenges in the current market by implementing high-quality communication.

“I think candidate experience is vital here. An extremely important part of this is giving the candidates insights about the company and what it would be like to work there. I think at its core, everything comes down to communication, staying in touch. Consider that a candidate, if they are a hot candidate on the market, could have three or four companies vying for them at the same time. So, we need to be available 24/7, and all this tight communication will give you an edge on achieving a quality hire.”

Ghosting a candidate can hurt your brand

While using effective communication may seem like common sense, a shocking amount of job seekers have reported that companies ghost them entirely after an interview. A Clutch report showed that almost 40% of candidates never received a response when a company rejected them. Most people know how frustrating applying for jobs can be, and this lack of response can contribute to job-search burnout. A side-effect of this that most companies don’t consider is how this can increase negative opinions of their company.

If an applicant feels as though a company didn’t treat them with respect during the hiring process, they will be less likely to apply for other open positions within your company. They may not use your services or products again. This alienation of potential future candidates and clients can contribute to negative brand associations, especially if these bad experiences end up on forums and sites like Glassdoor.

When thinking about your communication processes, it is essential to extend your practices to candidates you reject too. Only 13% of people in Clutch’s survey received a personalized email rejection. When you take time to reach out to rejected candidates, they will walk away from the process feeling more positively toward your company. This can influence them in the future to apply to future openings at your company, or a positive response if you reach out to them for a different position. This task may seem daunting when some opportunities pull hundreds of applicants, so think about looking into automation tools to help assist your recruiting team.

Faster response times

Another way you can improve your communication with candidates is to look at how quickly you respond to them. Top candidates only stay on the market for ten days on average. Every moment counts! Robert Brabo, Vice President of Human Resources at Advantia Health, has good insight on this topic:

“Today, one of the main recruitment challenges is sourcing top-quality candidates, which takes a significant amount of speed and effort. The second one is convincing them to be attracted to your company, so the candidate experience during the whole recruitment process is very critical. Part of that candidate experience is timing or how quickly you can get them through the hiring pipeline. Hiring managers need to understand the importance of responding as quickly as possible and getting those top candidates actually into the hiring process. Companies that can provide a quicker process will end up on top. Thus, it is important to speed up the most time-consuming step in the healthcare sphere – the prescreening. Constant communication with the candidates will also show them that you’re genuinely interested in them.”

Keep those communication lines open

After you hire an employee, continuing a strong line of communication is vital. During the onboarding process, you should continue to be open and attentive to your new hire. For instance, it is a great idea to give feedback on their interview. According to a Linkedin stud y, 94% of candidates want to receive interview feedback. However, only 41% have ever received any. Something else to keep in mind is that a negative onboarding experience can mean that employees are less likely to stay at a job.

Post interview, communication doesn’t become less important. 80% of workers have said that they have had stress because of poor communication in their company. Retaining top talent is something that should be focused on equally as much as acquiring them was.

Enjoy the results

Communication with employees and candidates should be a front and center focus for human resource departments. Effective communication not only will give you an edge when competing for top talent, but it also helps you retain those valuable employees. Being open and direct helps lower stress in the workplace and create a healthier environment for them to thrive.

Take some time this year to bring quality candidate-centric communication practices into your company, and you will absolutely see results.

Recruiting for Security Clearances

One of the hardest recruiting jobs is to access and hire high-level security clearance professionals. Although different levels of clearances exist, these individuals are not that visible from a social media perspective.

Furthermore, traditional methods of relationship building aren’t necessarily successful, so recruiters must build trust.

A security clearance is essential if you have an offer to work for a government agency on a full-time basis. The same is true for consulting contracts with a vendor who works for a government agency, primarily for handling and access privileges, for example.

With this in mind, we’ll outline requirements to obtain a security clearance and then how to source for individuals that hold them.

US Government Security Clearance

In any event, all federal agencies require a security clearance. Varying levels of access are dependant on the privilege level granted.

For example, below are the three levels of clearance:

Confidential – An unauthorized release of this information could cause some damage to national security.
Secret – An unauthorized release of this information could cause serious damage to national security.
Top secret – An unauthorized release of this information could cause grave damage to national security.

In order to qualify for any level of clearance, the individual must first be a US citizen. The individual will then need to pass a series of checks, including the following:

First, one must pass all credit and criminal checks, which includes fingerprinting. Second, a polygraph must be passed. Then, there will be interviews of neighbours and co-workers, as well as a review of personal records. Finally, all records such as tax returns, county assessor’s data, employment records, driver and vehicle licensing records, drug, alcohol, and sexual status (among others) will be assessed.

All these clearances are re-evaluated every five years.

Keep in mind, top-secret does not give access to all classified information. To clarify, some classified information is so sensitive that extra protection applied to Top Secret information won’t cut it. For example, a category called Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) includes intelligence sources, methods, and processes. Special Access Programs (SAPs) are another category that includes highly sensitive projects and programs.

The DoD operates a security program weighted differently from other agencies. They also create the highest number of security clearance requests. For example, 80% of all clearance requests come from the DoD. That said, even if one were to possess a secret/top-secret clearance from a different agency, it might not transfer to the DoD. Therefore, it will matter what kind of security clearance an individual has.

When a security clearance expires, they can reactivate within 24 months. An example of expiration of clearance would be when someone leaves the military or leaves a government civilian job or contractor job. However, reactivation is only possible if reactivation falls within the re-evaluation period. Otherwise, the clearance must be obtained as a new request. This takes time, even if the clearance is guaranteed.

In other words, for recruiters, this means a race to source and hire active clearance holders. As a result, successful hires can come with huge rewards and bonus payouts for sourcing such individuals before that re-evaluation period runs out.

Clearance personnel numbers

According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as of 1st October 2017, there were 4,030,625 individuals found eligible to hold a security clearance. Of that number, the Top Secret clearance numbers are 1,309,793.

Sourcing cleared personnel

So, now you understand the value of individuals holding these security clearances. Next, the question is how to find them? Below, please find areas across the internet where you can search for clearance jobs, talent, and how to source for them.

Clearance searches and job sites

Here are three websites that discuss clearance job queries for potential leads: Clearance Jobs Blog, Federal Soup, and Reddit /r/SecurityClearance.

Likewise, here are three locations where you can attract and hire talent: Cleared Jobs, Clearance Jobs, and Cybersec Jobs.

Where can I find lists of US government contractors?

Your first avenue is to look at the Top 100 US Government contractors report from the “Federal Procurement Data system.” After that, you can search based on those companies to find their current relevant security clearance personnel.

Secondly, look at Washington Technology. Here, you’ll find lists of Top 100 Prime contractors in many areas. These include IT, professional services, and telecommunications, as well as other high-tech services.

Another source is Bloomberg Government Top 200 Federal contractor’s reports.

Finally, an option is to look up GSA schedules in Google. Companies often display this on their website to identify competitors not found in the Top lists above. For this purpose, an example Google search would be: “GSA schedule” federal government -what -how -advantage.

LinkedIn search

Of course, most LinkedIn searches will produce results, but few will be Top Secret personnel. Typically, they are the hardest to find and hire.

In light of this, here are some security clearance specific keyword searches:

“Security clearance”
“Public Trust clearance”
Secret OR “DoD Secret”
“Top Secret” OR “Top Secret Clearance”
“TS SCI” OR “TS-SCI” OR “TS/SCI”
“Special Access Program”
“TS/SCI w/ Full Scope” OR “Full Scope Poly”
“TS/SCI w/FSP OR “FS–Polygraph”
“Special Agent” OR “SIDA”
“Sensitive Compartmented Information” OR “SCI”
“Counter Intelligence poly” OR “CI Poly” OR “Lifestyle poly”

Keep in mind, JPAS or Scattered Castles (for intelligence agencies) is the only place to check an individual’s current clearance status. What’s more, even a full-scope Polygraph from some agencies like NSA may be inequivalent to DHS Full Scope Polygraph.

A US Navy or Airforce contractor personnel is typically required to travel. Considering this, use a search term of CONUS for the Lower 48 states. Additionally, the use of OCONUS for outside of Continental United States would be handy, as well.

Likewise, you can utilize specific department names like these:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Department of Defense (DoD)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
NSA
NGIA
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of State – Bureau of Intelligence and Research
NASA
CIA
National Reconnaissance Office
Air Force Intelligence-Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Army Military Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
Marine Corps Intelligence
Pentagon

Facebook search

Often, enlisted personnel are stationed on warships, so they’ll typically have USS or USNS as a starting point. The Military Factory website has a good list of the current fleet by name. With this in mind, to use the list just look up the fleet by name. Then, determine where its base station is in the US, and search from there.

For example, an x-ray search could be: site:facebook.com “profile photo” “USS Carl Vinson” “San Diego” engineer

Federal procurement registry search

You can check past program names like F35 or F22 or F18A in the RFP/RFQ solicitations. These can be found in Federal Government procurement sites.

Frequently, company names will be the current vendors (prime and sub-contractors). You can then cross-reference with other sources to identify personnel working on such programs. Of course, some may be brand new programs that you can add to your database search list for future use.

Some of these registries are:

Areas where government agencies hire contractors:

Systems Integration
Network support
Missile Defense and Security Systems (warning, environment monitoring)
SATCOM
Space Systems and Exploration
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Platforms
Cybersecurity Analysis
Radar and Air Defense Systems
Logistical Support
Drones
Secure Unified Communications
Combat and Fire Control Systems
Port Harbour and Perimeter Defense

Typical job titles at federal government agencies:

Thermal engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Identity and Directory Management Lead
Program Analyst
Help desk or service desk agents
Software engineer
RF Engineer
Electrical engineer
Program and Project Managers
System Integrator
Systems Administrator
Stress and Structural Engineer
Systems and Network Engineers
Software Programmers
Intelligence Analyst
Hardware Engineers
Application Developers
Data Methodologists
Strategy and change management consultant
Facilities consultant
Testing Engineers
Contracts Management Professionals
Aerospace and Aerostructure Engineers
SATCOM network support analysts
Cybersecurity analysts and managers
Logistics support associates and analysts

Scrape contractor job postings

If you keep in mind that if you scrape every job posted by federal contractors, you’ll pick up a lot of specific system names unique to that government agency. That is, you can then use these system names in future searches.

To illustrate, here’s an example of a SAIC job posting with system names highlighted:

From a Canadian perspective

Similar to the U.S., the Canadian government has three levels of security clearance:

Enhanced Reliability (Level I): Unauthorized Disclosure by which some damage occurs to the national security
Secret (Level II): Unauthorized Disclosure by which serious damage occurs to the national security.
Top Secret (Level III): Unauthorized Disclosure by which grave damage occurs to the national security.

Clearance	Screening activities	Background check	Validity (Years)	Average Processing times
Enhanced Reliability	First, verification of identity and background Second, verification of educational and professional credentials Both Personal and professional references check (every agency may not check personal refs) Both Credit and financial check (may differ from agency to agency) Criminal record check Fingerprinting	5 years	10	2-4 weeks
Secret	Above criteria, as well as a CSIS assessment	10	10	Up to 9 months
Top Secret	Above criteria, and additionally Polygraph tests, personal interview, and neighbour checks	10	5	>1 year

Also, if a person has lived outside of Canada at any point in time during the active security clearance timeframe, additional documentation will need to be submitted.

Contract award notices search

Finally, the Canadian government discloses all awarded contracts under and over $10k. This data is searchable by many types of data. They include the year, company, country origin, agreement type, contract values spread across goods, services, and construction, along with departmental wise of contracts and values awarded. The data is also available for download and can be found here: Canadian Government Contract search.

NATO Clearances

There is an additional North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) clearance that is required to access NATO classified information for a specific contract. This is applicable for 29 countries. A variation of this is COSMIC for NATO Top Secret, for example. All in all, NATO clearance typically involves a check of 20 years of your historical professional experience, in addition to the Top Secret clearance requirements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, though sourcing and hiring talent with high-level security clearances may seem impossible, it is not. As discussed, there are many methods to use and to narrow your search. In spite of the difficulties, the rewards can be large and perhaps worth the effort. However, that is up to you.

Diamond in the Rough Software Engineers

The Elusive Software Engineers

Finding and attracting software engineers is one of the most difficult jobs any recruiting team can be tasked with. But not when you have the right tech assessment platform. A great platform can widen the application funnel in a way that uncovers those diamond-in-the-rough candidates.

See the Data

According to new research from CodinGame, this is especially true as more and more candidates identify themselves as self-taught.

Watch the Video!

I would love to hear your experiences in the comments.

P.S. If you’ve missed the last post, you’re forgiven. But go now and learn about Understanding HRTech Salespeople! It’s a good one!

Find and Source Freelancers at PeoplePerHour

You can source from anywhere. In this video, Dean Da Costa demonstrates how you can utilize PeoplePerHour for sourcing candidates.

We’re going to talk about PeoplePerHour.com, which is a site similar to Upwork or Fiverr where users post projects or work needed, and people bid to work on those projects. They also allow you to search and filter through their freelancers registered on the site. These could be people you need to work on a specific project, or maybe you want to hire them full time. Either way, let’s take a look at how you can use PeoplePerHour for sourcing!

On this site, freelancers are in both tech and non-technical categories. Let’s take a look at their graphic design category and see what we can find. Go to their search at the top and choose “Search Freelancers,” from here you can filter by Industry, Location, Pay Rate, and whether or not they are available or have a portfolio. Great!

Once you have your list, you can click into the freelancer’s profile. There is the option to email people directly through the site, or we can use the information given on their profile to find them on other social sites! Do your name search, reverse image searches, and all those other tricks we’ve discussed to find their direct contact information.

There’s always enough information to find people, and the more information they provide, the easier it is! That’s it, people! You can source from anywhere, even on a site like PeoplePerHour. Not to mention, we aren’t even signed in. Give it a try!

~ Noel Cocca

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Combining AI with the Human Touch to Eliminate Bias in Sourcing, Recruiting and Hiring

Combining Artificial Intelligence and Human Touch to eliminate bias

By design, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms make decisions which generally require a human level of expertise. When it comes to employment, AI can be used to help find and hire the best talent.

AI can reduce recruiting workloads by locating qualified candidates, improving recruiter response times, and even help recruiters anticipate skill gaps and talent shortages. More advanced uses include using facial recognition to secure video interviews or using chatbots to answer questions that enrich the candidate or associate experience. However, the growing use of AI in sourcing, recruiting, and hiring has created a debate about bias and fairness. There have been some cases where artificial intelligence bias has occurred.

Bias in diversity

For example, when it comes to facial recognition, AI has failed to recognize the faces of iconic women of color. These iconic women include Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, Michelle Obama, and more. Many suggest this is because people of color are rarely in technology development positions. To demonstrate, at LinkedIn, only 1.2% of tech employees are black. At Facebook, that number is only 1.5%. In Google’s tech workforce, it’s 2.8%.

Gender bias

Amazon realized that there was artificial intelligence bias within their AI-based applicant system. It had a male bias when it came to technology-based jobs. That is because Amazon’s algorithm code was to observe patterns in resumes submitted over ten years. Most of that historical data came from men, reflecting male dominance in the tech industry during that time. This data caused the algorithm to penalize words such as ‘women’ or the names of women’s colleges on resumes.

Remember, AI is only as biased as the human processes it simulates.

AI, at its core, is data. If that data comes from a biased data set, it can perpetuate artificial intelligence bias. In other words, AI in and of itself does not have a conscience; it can only be as flawed as the human processes it simulates. As such, those who use AI must ensure the design is appropriate. The first step for those using AI is to recognize prejudices and identify where an algorithm could either perpetuate or prevent bias in the hiring process. When intentionally incorporated and managed (by humans), AI can help eliminate bias in sourcing, recruiting, and hiring. Here’s how:

Sourcing

Sourcing shapes the talent pool by finding qualified people. AI makes it possible to review all applications in your possession; instead of the few a human can consider on a tight timeline. However, automated decisions at this stage can cut applicants before they even knew there was a job.

So, what can a time-strapped recruiter do?

Consider the wording and adjectives used in the job description.
Look at which channels you’re using to promote the job and how job alerts function on those channels.
Finally, consider the criteria you’re using to screen, and what questions you’re asking on the application.

Unquestionably, understanding where bias arises in these areas can help organizations make the best use of AI. Understanding this will enable AI to optimize the complete sourcing experience, attract more diverse candidates to your job, and convert more qualified applications.

Recruiting

AI and machine learning increasingly are being leveraged to predict how likely a candidate is to achieve success in a given job opportunity. Unfortunately, such algorithms often use historical data, either from the company itself or industry data, to project who’ll be a good hire. The rest get eliminated. But what if the historical data is incomplete or flawed?

For example, what if your historical data focuses on candidates with proven track records of results, 10+ years of experience, and references from senior management? The problem is that this leaves no room to understand whether those achievements were a result of hard work, talent, or privilege. Institutional bias, from housing to healthcare to education, has limited access and opportunity for broad categories of candidates. Therefore, in many fields, only specific candidates would meet the above criteria.

To demonstrate, in technology, men still hold more than 80% of jobs. This historical data would continue to paint a picture of the same guy who’s worked that job for decades. No one different would ever get hired. Instead of looking at historical data and random human beings, put AI to work getting to know your actual candidates and their capabilities.

AI can help recruiters and employers evaluate interview responses with video analysis. You can also use it on work samples or skill assessments to predict performance, productivity, or likelihood to want the job.

During the evaluation phase, chatbots can further limit bias by taking questions and answers at face value, upholding the truth that “there are no stupid questions.”

Hiring

AI can give you data, analysis, and projections about whom to screen, interview, and hire. But only you and your team can connect with the human being behind the application. Once you make that connection, AI can help. AI can measure the likelihood of a particular candidate to accept the job and how to configure a competitive offer. Also, AI won’t err on the side of a salary gap to save a few bucks.

AI-powered chatbots can remove social stigma and stress from salary negotiations and open the floor to questions during the onboarding process. Additionally, AI can measure employee engagement. It can also focus on delivering better onboarding experiences for each new employee. With this intention, this will increase engagement and improve your retention rate with an experience that continues to grow.

AI can bring the “human” back to recruiting.

In summary, AI can give staffing and recruiting professionals more time to do the parts of their jobs that benefit from human connection and require decision-making. Recruiters are better equipped than machines to connect, human-to-human. They can learn about candidates’ passions, challenges, triumphs, and fears. When AI becomes an assistant that can help humans deepen these connections with candidates and employees of all backgrounds, genders, and orientations, that’s a win-win for everyone.

Finding Coders and Developers Using Codersrank

Are you looking for coders and developers? Head over to Codersrank!

Lately we have been taking a look at a lot of different developer type sites, and we have another one for you. Codersrank.io is on the newer side, and at first glance, it appears to only be driven by GitHub, but there are others including StackOverflow, GitLab, HackerRank and more.

The site’s intent is for coders to create profiles with their projects and experience, with the ability to pull from multiple repositories. Coders are then ranked based on their experience. They offer personalized learning paths to help developers improve as well. Pretty great, overall!

To search for people, just head over to the developer leaderboard. All of these profiles are listed and can be filtered by country, city, and technology. Once you have your list, you can click through into a coder’s profile that meets your criteria. These profiles can include a username, a profile photo, full name, location, and their global rank. You can also see their scores broken down by each programming language they listed. This can be especially helpful if you’re looking for someone proficient in multiple technologies.

Once you want to find more information on a specific profile, just grab that profile name and search google for it. You can also grab the profile photo and do a reverse image search. From here we found a user’s website, their GitHub profile, LinkedIn, and their email address. That’s how simple this site can be to use!

~ Noel Cocca

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How to Hire Remote Developers in 2020

Hiring remote employees is nothing new to the workforce. This hiring process has grown tremendously over the years as businesses learn about the benefits of hiring workers remotely. As with anything, there are both advantages and disadvantages to hiring remote workers. When it comes to the IT industry, however, the benefits seem to far outnumber the setbacks.

If you want to successfully hire remote workers for web design and development projects, you must understand the process. Knowing the challenges and how to overcome them can give you several advantages in your industry. Let’s take a closer look at how to manage a remote development team effectively.

Remote Workers in the IT Industry

While working with remote teams has become common in most business industries, remote work in the IT industry is particularly common. Remote IT jobs made up an $85.6 billion industry in 2018, according to Statista. Remote work is certainly not a trend, but a new way of sustaining employment in 2020.

When it comes to the IT industry, there are several advantages to outsourcing jobs and hiring remote workers from all over the world. The benefits of using a remote developer include:

Increased productivity and fewer distractions amongst employees
Reduced business costs such as office space, paid time off, and salary rates
Higher employee retention
Access to a wider tech talent pool
Better lines of communication
Extended hours of operation working across multiple time zones
Diversified workforce

Over the years, the process of hiring remote workers has expanded to include several options for businesses when it comes to hiring. Remote, outstaffed, and outsourced are all means of hiring remote workers. They each have their pros and cons, but all deliver the same advantages listed above.

How to Overcome Most Common Challenges of Hiring Tech Professional

The IT industry is ever-changing. You need to make sure you hire a developer or team that is up-to-date on the latest technologies. Have an in-depth discussion about the work you need to be done. What will it look like? What functionality do you need? The more information you provide when talking to a prospective developer, the more likely you will be to find the perfect match for your project requirements. Here are some of the common challenges businesses face and how to overcome them.

Evaluating Developers

When you hire any type of developer, you need to make sure they have the right technical background and skillsets to deliver your project successfully. While professional staffing services can help you find a developer, they charge for these services. It’s easy to find a variety of IT talent by looking on your own, but you need to make sure you know what to look for before you hire.

Don’t just accept the technology skills on the resume as good enough. You need to dig deeper. Ask for examples of their work. Discuss some other remote projects they’ve done. Talk about what type of remote work they are willing to perform. It’s best to go into the interviewing process with a team so you make sure all questions are asked.

Locating Talent

When it comes to the talent pool, your opportunities are endless. This can be a downfall, however, if you get overwhelmed. Try to find a source for locating talent that works for you. You need to decide whether you will hire local remote workers, choose IT outstaffing services, or outsource an offshore software development team. Once you make this choice, you can find a source for developers that works best for you.

Navigating Different Cultures

One of the biggest challenges businesses face is navigating different cultures when outsourcing. The best way to overcome this issue is to be upfront about your expectations. While your way of conducting business might not be commonplace in a developer’s country, discussing your expectations can overcome this easily.

Geographic Constraints

Businesses who hire locally or within their same country often meet geographic constraints. It’s important to be open-minded when it comes to hiring developers. This is the key to choosing the best option for your project needs. When you lift the constraints of your geographic location, you open the door to endless possibilities with talent across the globe.

Which Remote Hiring Model Works Best?

When it comes to choosing between the different remote hiring models, the right choice truly depends on the scope of your project. But, you need to understand how each model works before you can begin to decide which is right for your business. As mentioned earlier, there are several types of remote workers. Each option fits a different project.

The three main models are:

Local remote workers
Outsourced remote workers
Outstaffed remote workers

Local remote workers are employees who live in the same country as your business. They don’t report to the office daily, but instead, work from home. While the term local usually gives the perception that the employee lives close to the business, local remote workers can live on the opposite side of the country than the business location. Local remote workers can work full-time, part-time, or as a freelance worker who takes on a specific project. The main benefit of choosing a local remote worker is that they are less expensive than hiring a full-time employee, but they work from your home country.

Outsourced remote workers can come from anywhere in the world. Many businesses choose to outsource their work to other countries. This can be done for several reasons. Outsourcing work to other countries can give additional cost savings as a remote programmer salary around the world is different from country to country. In addition to finding the best option financially, outsourcing opens the door to a variety of possibilities when it comes to the talent pool. With outsourcing, you aren’t limiting the talent to local developers.

The final model, outstaffing, is similar to outsourcing. The difference between the two is that a remote employee who is hired under the outstaffing model would work closely with the client until the end of the project. Outsourced projects deliver the requirements and timeline and workers deliver the completed project in its entirety. Oustaffed projects check in daily so every part of the team is involved with the progress along the way.

Is Remote Work the Future?

When it comes to development projects, outsourcing is an extremely popular hiring option in today’s business world. The shift towards remote work in the IT industry is only expected to grow. That’s because the technology world grows by leaps and bounds every day. As technology rapidly changes, we have seen a global skill shortage in the IT industry. So, as the demands grow, the number of developers available to deliver your project successfully is limited.

The great news is that outsourcing your development work can provide you with the resources you need to complete your next project. Businesses who take advantage of outsourcing find themselves ahead of their competition. As countries like Ukraine turn over newly graduated IT professionals at a rapid rate, outsourcing has become the key to success for many businesses in need of development that involves the latest technology in the industry.

In 2020, we can expect to see:

A rise in outsourcing with the outsourcing market predicted to reach $220 billion by 2020.
A variety of new business services being outsourced as companies continue to see the benefits of remote work.
Increased demand for AI experts as intelligent automation takes over the IT industry.
Increased demand for cloud computing services as more and more businesses perform operations over the cloud.

The need for businesses across all industries to deploy mobile apps to stay relevant and competitive as more users shift to mobile platforms and IoT becomes more popular.

There is no doubt that remote hiring is the way to go in the business world in 2020. As the IT industry continues to grow, you need to be sure you not only hire the best remote workers but that you choose the perfect fit for your business. Explore all your options and do your homework and you’ll have the peace of mind that you’ve chosen the best when it comes to your business.

Understanding HRTech Salespeople

Salespeople in HRTech

Understanding how HR Tech vendors operate is a great way to efficiently find and buy the right recruiting and hr software.

For Example…

You can completely avoid the first call with salespeople. They are simply trying to vet YOU as a customer by feeding them the info they want to hear in an email.

You can also save money in negotiations by understanding exactly how different salespeople are compensated.

There’s more.

This is where I tell you to watch the video above.

Can’t eat the filling before we bake the pie.

Or something like that.

Enjoy.

And if you haven’t seen it, check out the first video in my series, How to Stay Organized When Buying HRTech.

3 Reasons No One is Applying for Your Job

“Why isn’t anyone applying for my job?”

If you’ve ever posed this question, your shortage of applicants could have nothing to do with the tight labor market, your recruiting resources, or even the job itself. Rather, your job ad could be to blame.

Your online job ad – as insignificant as it may seem in the grand scheme of recruiting – can make or break your ability to attract qualified talent.

I’m sure you already understand the importance of including keywords, a clear call to action, and short, straightforward titles in driving applies. However, there’s more to crafting an effective job ad than filling it with the right phrases (and posting it in the right places).

If the volume of job postings (32.2 million) promoted across iHire’s platform last year is any indication, recruiting and hiring professionals are busy, to say the least. But that doesn’t give you a free pass to overlook the details when developing your job ad.

Here are three reasons your job ad might be deterring high-quality applicants – and what you can do about it.

You’re not specific where it counts.

Let’s say you’re advertising for an accountant. Everyone knows what an accountant does, so your job ad shouldn’t need to delve into details, right?

Not quite.

Job seekers want to know what their potential new gig will entail. They want to be able to imagine themselves working for your company.

You could pack in all the relevant keywords you can, but if you don’t specify what day-to-day work will be like or describe your company culture, you’ll lose out on great hires – especially passive job seekers who need a little more of a nudge to apply.

Instead of crafting your job ad with long lists of requirements and “must-have” qualifications, focus instead on detailing the nature of the position and your company. How will the candidate be able to contribute? What growth opportunities exist? Have you shared your company’s mission and core values? What types of unique employee perks do you offer?

These are the pieces of information that will really resonate with potential applicants.

You don’t offer a competitive salary.

A few months ago, I spoke with an employer trying to hire a construction site supervisor. They were getting applies, but as soon as the hiring team mentioned the salary, candidates were no longer interested in the position. It turned out that this company was offering a lower pay range than their industry peers hiring for the same type of position.

Listing a specific salary or at least a salary range can incentivize applicants. But if that salary is not up to par with the rest of your industry, you’re going to derail your hiring efforts.

In fact, job seekers deem salary range the most valuable element of a job ad.

If you choose to include salary information in your ad, do your research first. What are your competitors offering? If you find that you cannot offer a competitive salary, it’s even more important to include details about your company’s benefits and perks. You may find that a candidate will accept lower pay for a better work/life balance or a rewarding benefits package.

You don’t put yourself in the candidate’s shoes.

Recently, a client expressed concern about a low response rate for their job ad. It was receiving candidate views on our platform, but once job seekers clicked through to apply via the employer’s website, interest dropped. Our team discovered that the client’s website had a major software defect for mobile traffic. This accounted for 70% of the ad’s traffic. The “apply” button didn’t work, so every candidate received an error message and abandoned the entire process.

The moral of this story is to quality check your application flow.

When you post a job online, walk through the process from a candidate’s point of view. Consider where the applicant might encounter friction. Maybe your ad isn’t mobile-friendly. Perhaps you have a confusing call to action.

You may also find that your online application process is just too long. Research shows that employers experience a 50% to 75% drop-off rate when an application takes longer than five minutes to complete.

Final Advice

If you find that your job ads still need a little help, tap your company’s marketing team.

Like any other type of advertisement, your job ad should accurately reflect your company’s mission and workplace culture, and speak to your candidates in your brand voice. Your resident marketing expert(s) can help you capture the right details to win over top talent. This will not only improve the efficacy of your ads, but it’ll strengthen your employer brand to attract qualified candidates.

Lastly, don’t overthink it. There is no need to fall into paralysis by over-analyzing your posting. Don’t agonize over what information will attract your ideal candidate.

Make a change, measure its impact, and iterate on it until you find a winning formula that draws in top talent every time you hire.

Can You Pivot? Transferring your recruiting skills to another industry.

Can you transition your great recruiting skills from healthcare to IT? From retail to financial services? Or from transportation to semiconductor? Absolutely, yes!

Experienced recruiters know that the process of recruiting remains roughly the same across different skillsets or jobs one is recruiting for. As Mile Zivkovic, writer for Hundred5 (now Toggle Hire), points out, “No matter the type (external or internal) or their niche, there’s a common set of recruitment skills that every good recruiter needs to have to do their job well.”

While Mile is right about the transferable skills (attention to detail, marketing skills, and communication skills) every recruiter has, you need to prepare and understand the new field you’re tackling. Without an intimate knowledge of an industry, you may lack the business acumen that drives that industry, and you might significantly miss the mark.

To put it simply, you might make some wrong assumptions about the industry you are about to recruit for. Follow these tips to ensure that you’re prepared for changing industries as a recruiter.

Understand the industry and terminology

According to Lou Adler’s Recruiter Competency Model, a key pillar of success is “Knowing the Business.”

With that in mind, answering these questions is a good place to start:

What is the product or service and who are the customers?
How is the product or service designed, made, and delivered?
How do companies make a profit in this industry, and how profitable are they?
Who are the biggest and most profitable companies in this industry? Is my client one of them?

Some answers to these questions can be found in centralized places. Company websites, LinkedIn profiles, and Glassdoor pages name a few. So, get online and research before you engage with your clients, hiring managers, and hiring teams. You can also ask for some clarifying information in your kick-off meeting.

Each industry and the skill sets that drive it has its own vocabulary, and many large corporations have a language of their own! Just read through a few job descriptions in your new industry. You’ll find terms, technical jargon, buzzwords, and acronyms you may not have heard before.

Plan to spend some time looking up terms, researching definitions and understanding the differences between similar terms. You’ll find that some terms are spelled differently by some companies or candidates. Some acronyms are arranged differently but refer to the same term. These are important nuggets of knowledge for when you start building your Boolean strings.

Another valuable resource is your hiring manager and the hiring team. They can be a great sounding-board for any questions you may have about the industry. By asking questions, you’ll gain respect and build a much stronger partnership if they see you are really learning the details of their unique field.

Understanding Different Cultures

Research from Energage, an employee advocacy tool, shows that different industries prioritize different values. For example, the retail industry values family and integrity, while the tech industry emphasizes support and inclusivity. These differences result in different communication styles, dress codes, and language potentially used in the workplace.

For example, if you are working with a client in the transportation or warehouse space, you might find that the company, managers, and candidates communicate via text messaging. If you’re recruiting in the financial services sector, the hiring managers and client contacts will require more data, written documentation, detailed contracts and commitments, and a high level of risk mitigation. Learn about the many nuances of the industry and how to best work with those nuances, rather than against them.

In addition to understanding the nuances of different industry cultures, you might be recruiting people from entirely different cultures.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group reports that every major tech hub in the United States has more foreign-born workers than domestic ones. With an economy that is becoming increasingly global, being aware of different cultural customs and tendencies will serve you well.

This article on LinkedIn, which references Erin Meyer’s work from the Harvard Business Review, is a quick summary of several key cultural differences. Articles like these are a good starting point and will help enhance your relationship-building skills and minimize stereotypes.

The more knowledgeable and comfortable you are with the industry, its terminology, your candidates and their cultural backgrounds, the better candidate experience you will give. In turn, this will increase your success rate in helping your client make faster, higher-quality hires.

Science Direct is an untapped resource with millions of experts!

Let’s talk about a site called Science Direct. Now, this is a site that is extremely fascinating. You can find articles on any scientific topic here, whether they are review articles, research articles, or excerpts from published books.

Plus, you can refine your searches by year published, article type, as well as the publication title. Creating a free account allows you to add more filter options, as well as other features like exporting documents, downloading PDF’s, creating search alerts, and personalized recommendations.

Ok this is great, but what does it have to do with recruiting?

Well, once you open one of your search results, you not only have access to the article, but also the author list, which contains contact information! A contact with a provided email address will show a small envelope after their name. Bingo! Click through to their profile, and see other publications, groups they are in, plus their network of co-authors.

So, using Science Direct, you can find experts on specific topics and you can reach out to them! This could be especially useful with those hard to fill positions where the orders are to find an expert in a nice field.

Plus, it’s free, which you can’t beat. Take a look, maybe even learn something new, and get sourcing!

~ Noel Cocca

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