Category: Focus on Recruitment

Top 5 Warning Signs on an Applicant’s Resume

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

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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Recruitment Pain Points (and Remedies)

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Employees. Every company needs ‘em. Whether yours is a bustling enterprise of hundreds or a smaller operation of 10 people, the quality of your hires will eventually reflect the quality of your organization. High-powered individuals make for a red-hot organization. As you build out your recruitment strategy, keep in mind these pitfalls and the best way to avoid them.

1. Small applicant sizes. You spend all day writing up a beautifully-worded job description, and the following week you receive only 4 resumes. Boo. Creating an attractive workplace starts at home. If you haven’t already, sit down and define the value you provide to employees in the form of an Employer Value Statement, or EVP. Using that as a tool, get the word out through print and online that you’re looking for the next great employee at a great place to work.

2. Falling behind on the times. New technology based around the Internet allows virtual interviews, electronic portfolios, pre-qualifiers even before potential hires arrive at the office. Technology and digital interview tactics allow you create a “short list” of candidates that reduce overhead and narrow down on quality candidates.

3. Not keeping what you’ve got. Employee satisfaction extends beyond wages and bonuses. The culture you create at the workplace and affects both retention and productivity for the years your employees call your office home. Work in the concept of flexibility. Find creative ways to reward (and not punish) hard work and keep your base engaged. Good luck!

Until next time,

Buyer Advertising
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Helping You Post Jobs to Facebook… Is Facebook.

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Facebook is huge, and it’s looking to get even bigger. As part of its joint agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, the social media giant is looking to buff up its arsenal and service offerings by posting jobs online. The effort comes from a government-approved attempt to lower the nation’s 9.1% unemployment rate. One nice side effect (for Facebook): they’re increasing their offerings even further.
What does this mean for companies looking to recruit talented job seekers? Something to watch. Still in its formative stages, Facebook promises a “system where new job postings can be delivered virally through the Facebook site at no charge.”

It will be an interesting road ahead. This move puts Facebook in direction competition with sites such as Monster.com and LinkedIn.

Stay tuned for future developments. The infrastructure that the social network already has in place is a great vehicle for propagating hot jobs—and better yet, would do so at no cost.

Signing off for now,

Buyer Advertising
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Steve Jobs and the Timelessness of Innovation

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Last night, the nation began mourning the loss of Steve Jobs. His personality and brand represented more than just the genesis of a successful company (Apple Computer)—his vision and pursuit of new user experiences, as well as infusing life and charm into an all-too-often dry technology sector, changed history.

But if one were to distill his legacy to tactical moves, there’s a lot to unpack. Black turtlenecks instead of suits. Revolution instead of status quo. Calm, personal speeches instead of hackneyed, over-exuberant displays that similar companies had employed in the past (cough, cough, Microsoft). Above all else, Steve employed a willingness to ignore everyone else while following a rhythm all his own.

Innovation comes in many forms. For Steve, they were in the promotion of the user experience, and a new amalgamation of great music and geek tech. For you, they can be an exploration into new arenas, a marketing message unique to your organization that’s never been heard from before. Above all else, never stop innovating and amazing results will follow.

‘Til next time,

Buyer Advertising
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