RecruitingLive with Vanessa Sandoval

I’m always curious why so many social media and recruiting events only pick big brand teams to present at their conferences. I mean, sure. I know why a big name might drive registrations. People are excited to have access to the great minds of companies they admire. “Thought leaders” they may not know or desperately want to. They want to know what the teams at places like Coca-Cola and Lowes are doing. But the reality is that these big brands don’t have realistic real-world examples to bring to the table. They set expectations for campaigns to the audience that are well above the average team’s reach. Then, when recruiters are banging their heads against a wall wondering why their version of the same campaign didn’t work, they have no one to blame but themselves for buying into the BS.

In fairness, the outcomes for these big budget brands are real for them but they inevitably put the little guy at a disadvantage. We take these case studies as the bible truth and try to turn them around in our own organizations only to realize that the cash pumped into the program was the real driver of outputs, not the creativity or concept. It’s the same reason so many PPC programs don’t perform for marketers – they’re outbid by the big guy and they never come across the radar of customers.

That’s a problem recruiters face too, especially in highly competitive areas like Silicon Valley. The reality is that most of us are working on a limited budget when it comes to recruiting, especially, regardless of company size . We’re handed an operations budget that barely covers the legacy systems we hate now and very little is left for candidate marketing tests and leveraging new technologies.

The Recruiting Spin and Reality Check

Of course, we still try to work that to our own advantage in hiring conversations. “It’s like your own startup in a well-funded company” is one of those standard lines recruiters like to use on people when they’re not sure they can convince someone at a startup to transition into a more well-known corporation. It’s right up there with “we’re team players” and “looking for someone with high-energy” in a job description – everyone says it but in reality, that’s not really the case. It’s almost like there’s a large tribe of recruiters that took a lesson in politics, learning to lean on half-truths.

The reality is that working at a big company means more boundaries and barriers while operating with the same budget to attempt to recreate successful campaigns we see. I wish more companies were open and honest about those boundaries and budget restrictions to convey the reality of the roles. It would probably help retention and results. I wish that events and webinars would give the people without a huge operating budget to talk about reality and for that honesty and transparency to translate into recruiting situations, too.

That’s one of the drivers behind RecruitingLive – to give recruiters access to people who don’t have huge agency budgets and a platform to ask questions and learn about strategies from people who have tried, failed and tried again.

Meet Vanessa Sandoval

My guest on this week’s RecruitingLive welcomes that challenge to be the change. Vanessa Sandoval, Director of Talent Acquisition, Diversity and Inclusion at Planned Parenthood is joining us this week to share her expertise on recruiting and technology selection without a huge budget. We’ll also cover standardizing and implementing recruitment and onboarding processes and procedures from ground zero – a reality of startup style recruiting that doesn’t always get featured on the big stage.

So bring your questions and witty comments to our live digital stage this Friday at 1 pm eastern and learn from a practitioner who’s actively driving change.  

Guest

Vanessa Sandoval|Katrina Kibben

Director, Talent Acquisition, Diversity and Inclusion|Managing Editor Planned Parenthood Federation of America|RecruitingDaily

Driven by curiosity and continuous performance improvement. |Managing Editor @RecruitingBlogs + @RecruitingDaily. I will make you swear, share or care.

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By Katrina Kibben

RecruitingDaily contributing writer and editor.  I am a storyteller. A tactical problem solver. A curious mind. A data nerd. With that unique filter, I work to craft messages that strategically improve the perceptions and experiences of our clients, the people they employ and the candidates they wish to attract. I methodically review and collect research and insights to offer solution-based recommendations that meet the one-off, and not so one-off, recruiting and employer branding problems of today's global employers.