Category: Focus on Recruitment

Every Interview Counts: Making a Good Impression Through Recruitment

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

Although most people think of an interview as a chance for potential candidates to impress hiring managers, the reality is that many interviews are actually a chance for high-quality candidates to find out whether or not a particular job appeals to them. Recruiters, hiring managers and employers need to work just as hard in order to make a great impression and recruit the best possible talent. Here are some key ways to make any interview work to your advantage.

Be as Specific About Job Duties as Possible

One of the reasons that top candidates decide against a specific position is because they don’t know what to expect. Jumping into a vague career is far more risky than one where the tasks are clearly outlined. If possible, have specifics written down or memorized, so that interviewees can better understand what their job might be like if they were to accept a position at your company.

Have Flexibility When it Comes to Benefits and Schedules

Surprisingly, many employees actually rank flexibility as more important than salary when it comes to accepting employment. Make sure that you are able to offer some kind of flexibility, and be open about it during the interviews. Parents of young children, for example, might appreciate coming in early and leaving early on certain weekdays. Other employees alternatively might prefer the option of working from home on two days each week.

Do Your Homework on the Candidate

Hiring managers would be disappointed in an interviewee who didn’t know anything about their company, but all too many know little about their candidate. Do your research prior to an interview and be able to mention specifics about the person’s job history. This will show that you are genuinely interested in them and appreciate their accomplishments.

Follow Up Immediately

After the interview ends, make sure that you make some kind of follow-up contact within 24 hours. It could be a quick call thanking them for coming in, or it could be a friendly email saying the same.

Recruiting top talent is one of the challenges of a successful business. These tips can ensure that candidates who interview with you leave feeling impressed and interested.

Top 5 Qualities of a Star Applicant’s Resume

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Hiring candidates is a long and often challenging process, but going through hundreds or even thousands of resumes at a time means that candidates can tend to blend together. In order to pinpoint the top applicants that signify a potential star and asset to a business, here are the top five things to look for on a resume.

1. Glowing References

An applicant can say just about anything they want to on a resume, but it can only be backed up by references from past employers. Having glowing references means that an individual can maintain business relationships, as well as excel in their employment position.

2. Customized Cover Letter

It is typically easy to tell when an applicant submits the same resume for 100 different jobs because there is no reference to the company or the position desired. However, star applicants will have carefully thought about this position, and they will have tailored their cover letter to include information about the business. This demonstrates passion and enthusiasm about a career at the company, but it also shows that the person pays attention to detail.

3. Lack of Career Gaps and Upward Movement

Having gaps in an applicant’s resume are not immediate red flags, but they need to be explained. The best applicants will have a steady stream of employment, few gaps and upward rather than lateral career shifts.

4. Identifiable Strengths

Someone who lists dozens of positive attributes may or may not actually have any of them, but a top candidate knows their strengths and clearly outlines them. Look for repeated concepts like teamwork, leadership, dedication or creative thinking.

5. Perfect Grammar and Spelling

Many employers don’t think that a few spelling mistakes on a resume are vital, especially when the position in question won’t require extensive written communication. However, it is about more than just communication skills. Top candidates will present well and pay attention to small details like those on a resume.

A resume is often the first time a candidate will have the chance to impress a hiring manager. These key attributes are the five things to look for when seeking out the top candidate for any position.

The Use of Social Media and Infographics by HR Recruiters

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Infographics (information graphics), by definition, are graphic visual representations of information, or data intended to present complex information quickly and clearly to an audience. The use of infographic productions by human resources professionals to interact with job applicants is a growing trend. Relying on social media sensations like LinkedIn, YouTube, FaceBook and Twitter to identify top-notch recruits is proving to be a cost effective means of showcasing an organization.

Modern infographics combine multiple technologies and media formats to communicate a diverse array of information in a clear and concise manner. From simple drawings to sophisticated three dimensional images, interactive infographic presentations allow job applicants to easily explore the diverse aspects of a potential employer. Infographic designers blend art, music, video, motion and animation to tell the story of a complex company. Job applicants can take control by clicking links to unveil graphics, maps, charts, tours and informative discussions.

Social Media Recruiting

Human resources professionals are turning to social media to find highly qualified job candidates. The use of social media sites has increased dramatically in recent years. Recruiting software developer, Hire Rabbit, reports that 92 percent of U.S. companies used social media to recruit job candidates in 2012. At least 70 percent of these companies hired one or more employees with the assistance of social media.

Nearly 40 percent of all job applicants are active Twitter users. As many as 225 million social media users from over 200 nations now access LinkedIn’s network of career professionals. FaceBook has become an advertising and recruiting superstar. Recruiting videos allow companies to build their brand and attract job seekers from around the world. Traditional recruiting techniques involve a painstaking geographic search for talented job applicants. Social media presentations serve as a digital recruiting magnet, saving time and money.

Infographic presentations are visually appealing and entertaining. Recruiting videos possess the power to efficiently communicate an organization’s purpose and culture. Job listings that are accompanied by a video presentation receive significantly more visits than standard job listings. Infographic profiles become even more effective when they are properly tagged to attract focused digital traffic.

Showing a job candidate what it’s like to work for a top tier company is an extremely powerful recruiting strategy. Not only is it vital that HR departments employ social media to recruit talented employees, the use of social media is the new frontier of an increasingly competitive global economy. Social media has become an indispensable recruiting tool for successful HR professionals.

Top 5 Warning Signs on an Applicant’s Resume

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Every hiring manager has a different checklist of what they are looking for in a potential employee. You might be searching for someone with years of experience in a big firm, or you might be looking for an applicant that has mastered social media for a marketing position. The first way to find information about applicants is through their resumes, but it is also the first place to dismiss applicants entirely. Here are the top five warning signs on an applicant’s resume that you shouldn’t ignore.

1. Generic Resume
If the resume you are reading looks like it could have been sent to any employment agency, it probably has been. Skip over the generic resumes, because this means that applicants are probably not specifically interested in the position they are applying for. Choose instead individuals who have customized their resume to reflect the career that they are truly passionate about.

2. Spelling Mistakes or Typos
Many individuals argue that if the job doesn’t require writing, then spelling shouldn’t matter on a resume. However, not properly proofreading something as important as a resume shows that the applicant does not pay attention to detail.

3. Unprofessional Resume
An unprofessional resume could range from one with a big picture of the applicant, to one that has a juvenile email address. It is also common for applicants to try to stand out with large fonts or cheesy introductions. Don’t dismiss creativity, but seek out tasteful and interesting resumes rather than ones that stand out for all the wrong reasons.

4. Long Resumes
One of the most common problems for applicants is creating unnecessarily long resumes. Although two pages is still considered to be acceptable in most cases, skip over those that take up three or more pages. This length means that applicants can’t prioritize what is most important.

5. Unexplained Career Gaps
In most cases, short career gaps less than three months are planned or due to the economy. However, be wary of applicants who don’t explain long gaps between jobs. Those who do have gaps should explain their reasons – whether that might be pregnancy, military service or online certifications.

It’s not always easy to whittle down a list of candidates and find the right employee. By eliminating those resumes containing these five warning signs, the process will be much simpler.

The Importance of Employee Retention in a Healthy Economy

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Human Resource metrics can reveal information that can help your organization identify the causes and patterns of employee turnover. Employee retention is again becoming a problem for employers. During recent economic trouble, employees were staying put, but now, the economic climate is improving, and employers must take a serious look at how to retain their best talent.

In November of 2011, an online survey indicated that more than 84 percent of employees wanted to find new jobs. This survey was conducted on a cross-section of 1,000 people across the United States and Canada. Another survey conducted by Mercer revealed a shocking revelation: Workers planned to search for a new job. The initial survey was done in 2005, and the numbers indicated that 23 percent of workers wanted to search for a new job. In 2010, the numbers had jumped from 23 percent to 32 percent.

Human Resource professionals must measure voluntary turnover versus involuntary turnover. In short, turnover simply means the number of employees that stay in an organization versus the number that leave the organization. The focus should primarily be on the voluntary turnover. Employers have to take a serious look at retention. Some turnover is healthy; it helps weed out the low performers and trouble makers, but how does an organization know how much is healthy?

HR professionals must benchmark the turnover in their organizations to determine what level of turnover is harmful to the business. One way to improve retention is to improve hiring practices. Hiring the right people is a significant way to improve employee retention. Bringing candidates in for a multiple-interview process can produce better hires.

HR professionals must keep an eye on those employees that are most likely to leave. This requires being in sync with the morale and engagement of top performers. Exit interviews are one important way to get feedback on why an employee is leaving the company.

Research has indicated that an exit interview done immediately after leaving the company will be more negative than one done several months later. There is more emotion involved immediately after exiting the company. Employers must look at the data of retaining top employees. Employee turnover is costly, and it impacts the bottom line of the organization.

“Can I Tweet You My Resume?” The Tension Between Social Media and Professionalism

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There is no question that marketing a business in today’s world involves some kind of social media outreach. Whether you are recruiting interns via tweets, using hashtags to draw awareness to a new advertising campaign or hoping that a popular video uploaded to Facebook goes viral and spreads the word about your brand, you can’t avoid social media. If you are searching for a job, you might think seriously about erasing your Facebook profile before you start sending in applications. However, there are ways to utilize social media platforms like Twitter, Google+ and Facebook and still maintain a professional online appearance.

Keep LinkedIn Completely Professional: No Cat Memes or Funny Pictures Here
Although employers don’t expect applicants to be professional in every single aspect of their lives, LinkedIn is still one social media platform where professionalism should be embraced wholeheartedly. Keep your resume up to date, truthful and free from grammatical errors. Skip updates about unrelated topics, and don’t spend time chatting with friends or sharing political views. Facebook and Twitter are still acceptable places to express personality, but a LinkedIn profile should remain 100-percent dedicated to your career objectives, goals and job search.

“Like” Less on Facebook: Your Friends Will Understand
You might be surprised at what comes up when you click “like” on Facebook. Even if you carefully delete any unprofessional photos and limit who can post to your wall, the things that you click to “like” can still pop up when employers search through your profile or look at your recent activity.

Apply For Jobs Traditionally, Follow Up Using Social Media
Social media can open new doors to job opportunities, but don’t push too hard with nontraditional methods. If you see a job advertised on Twitter, don’t engage in an abbreviated conversation online with a hiring manager. Search for the company, click to see job openings and proceed through the traditional channels. If several days pass without a confirmation, a follow-up Tweet or private Facebook message might be acceptable.

Although social media obviously has a place in marketing, in business advertising and in finding new employment positions, it is still important to maintain professionalism. These tips can come in handy whether you are holding onto you existing job or looking for a new one.

Growing a Diverse Company: Dos and Don’ts for Attracting Talent

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With today’s workforce growing at an unprecedented rate, attracting and retaining top talent is becoming increasingly competitive. Not only that, the popularity of social media platforms is changing the way businesses communicate with potential candidates. Here are some simple dos and don’ts for attracting top talent in your industry.

Identify what you want. The first step in recruiting top talent is identifying exactly what your company is looking for. Work with multiple departments to ensure that everyone is on the same page in terms of what qualities the candidate must have and which duties they are expected to perform.

Remember to be flexible. Showing potential candidates what your company can offer them is just as important as what they can offer you. While compensation is a primary concern for most candidates, other factors such as room for growth, personal development opportunities and advancement opportunities are equally important. Offering perks like flex-time, personal development workshops or job skill training can help your company attract better talent.

Make a strong impression. Your current employees and work environment make up the first impression that potential candidates have of what working with your company will be like. If your employees are unhappy, that sends a negative message to potential talent and may drive some highly qualified candidates away from your company. On the other hand, if your employees appear happy, they are more likely to envision themselves working for your company.

Do not underpay your employees. With high unemployment rates and fierce job competition in many industries, it may be tempting to underpay new employees. While this may work for a while, the employee will likely leave the company once the job market begins to recover, and they are offered a better position.

Do not be passive. Once you have posted a position to your company website, it is time to get out and pursue the talent that you are looking for. Do not sit and wait for them to come to you. Social media websites including Facebook, LinkedIn and even Twitter offer great opportunities to take the search beyond your geographic area and reach global talent.

Does Video Based Recruitment Really Work?

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Videos have transformed the Internet almost as much as the Internet itself has transformed the sharing of information. Recent studies have shown that at least 85 percent of all Internet users watch videos every month. The majority of the people browsing websites would prefer videos over text; they like the simplicity, the rapid-fire information sharing, and the entertainment value.

All of this translates perfectly into recruiting. You could write the most compelling copy in the world, describing everything that your company has to offer, and most people simply would not read it. They would skim over it. Reading a entire page of information takes too long, and people have too many things to do to devote their time to something like that unless they have no other choice.

However, these same people will happily click on a three-minute video and watch the whole thing. This is why it is an effective recruiting tool – it opens the door to far more prospective employees. It throws a wide net that draws in top talent from all over the world.

A recruiting video also allows you to create a strong brand for your company. You can creatively use things like you logo, your color scheme, a slogan, a jingle, and much more. Text is far too simple to truly capture everything that fits into your brand, that gives your company its identity.

Finally, people are very quick to share videos. If they find them funny, interesting, or engaging, they will post them on social media sites and blogs. They will recommend them to their friends. A well-made video has the chance to get millions of views. With this type of exposure, you can really find the talent that you are searching for.

In the end, recruiting is too important to ignore the changes in the industry. You must have the best possible employees, and you need to get their attention in order to connect with them. A video is a sure way to attract a lot of attention, to build up your brand and your company image, and to start recruiting high-caliber employees today.

Making the Right Hire

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Any recruiter knows that hiring the right person can be difficult, and hiring the wrong person can be costly. From re-investing time in reviewing resumes and conducting interviews, to spending more money on advertisements, plus the cost of training, having to re-hire for a position that was inadequately filled, can be a huge burden on an organization. An article posted on Smart Planet notes that 69% of employers admit to having suffered from bad hires over the past year. 41% of these companies estimated the cost of the bad hire to be over $25,000.

Adverse affects of bad hires include lack of productivity, increased costs for recruiting, fewer sales, legal issues, a negative impact on the morale of employees as well as a negative impact on clients.

So how do you avoid bad hires? Some employers note the importance of not rushing the process, while others express how essential it is to check references. In some instances, a decreased workforce of recruiters leads to a problematic system of hiring. In this instance, you may need to get creative with how you evaluate potential candidates and ensure that the right hire is made. Check out this video which features Heineken’s unique hiring initiative that netted a successful hire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Ftu3NbivE

Recruitment Challenges in Healthcare

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Be your operation a single treatment center or a healthcare system spanning several hospital locations, your challenges are unique. Not only do you have to appeal to a highly educated, specially-trained workforce, employers are already competing in a job market where professionals are highly sought-after. As a medical employer, here are strategies to keep in mind as you staff your halls with exceptional talent.

Consider demographics. Are you hiring young professionals? Established doctors? Seasoned vets? Different experience levels require you to target different age brackets—and in some cases, separate generations. Tailor your message to speak directly to the preferred age group that you’re looking to recruit and retain.

Who are you, really? Big or small, you have unique differentiators that make you stand out. Your employer brand may appeal to some, yet turn others away. Aim to honestly represent your company, and you’ll score employees who truly enjoy what you have to offer—leading to greater retention and a more pleasant work environment.

Concentrate on service areas. A hospital can be considered a library of skilled medical and healthcare professionals, all with separate talents and abilities. Hone in on your preferred professionals with distinct hiring campaigns—different yet tied together under your employer brand.

All said and done, be honest, different, clear, and unique—you’ll find that great people will follow in your wake.

Signing off for now,

Buyer Advertising
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