Tag: recruitment trends

Which is the Most Powerful Recruitment Tool in 2014: Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn?

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image_14When it comes to staffing your business, the Internet provides many avenues for finding qualified professionals. Social media has become a prominent method of attracting possible future employees. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all have their individual benefits and drawbacks. Which one is the most powerful recruitment tool for you?

Facebook

A Facebook profile is a great way to keep consumers connected to your business through status updates. It’s also a great platform for connecting to specific individuals through advertising. Facebook allows you to fine-tune who sees a job announcement ad based on specific criteria such as location. While this may cost you a bit more, it can be valuable in the search for specific individuals.

As much as 83 percent of active job-seekers use Facebook. [1] This social hub is the second most accessed website in the world.

Twitter

When it comes to sharing messages and tidbits of information with a large audience, Twitter is an excellent tool. With a simple hashtag targeting those looking for employment, you can reach thousands of potential candidates almost instantly. The downside to using Twitter is that your message can quickly become buried as other people join the conversation, making your Tweet less effective. Supported advertising may still be a viable option for recruitment to keep these messages on top of other conversations.

In 2014, 54 percent of recruiters utilized Twitter to find candidates [2]. As there are 560 million active users, the outreach for recruitment is significant.

LinkedIn

Although it’s not as popular of a social media outlet as the previous two, LinkedIn was developed to connect professionals together. Businesses can post job openings while searching for candidates that fit specific criteria. The most significant disadvantage of this social hub is that it isn’t as popular and thus provides fewer potential candidates. However, the site has grown consistently each year and may be worth your time.

Although LinkedIn has only 240 million active users as of the beginning of 2014, the level of professionalism is much higher. Currently, 89 percent of recruiters have hired someone from this professional social network, and the site continues to grow [3].

Each of these methods can attract candidates for employment. Success of the process may rely more on strategies and your organization’s use of each social outlet, and you should determine what’s easier for you to implement. What works well for one company may not have the same impact for another.

 

[1] https://careershift.com/blog/2014/03/how-to-really-use-social-media-to-get-a-job/

[2] http://employerblog.looksharp.co/social-media-recruiting-using-twitter-find-diverse-professionals/

[3] https://www.recruiter.com/i/attention-candidates-how-to-get-in-the-digital-game/

Recruiting Industry Trends That Should Have Your Attention

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image_17Are you looking to sharpen your talent-hunting skills? To stay competitive in today’s market, keep up with how technology affects candidate job hunts and widen your search umbrella to as many corners as you can. Take your cues from big brand HR and diversify your hiring techniques with the biggest industry trends.

Going Mobile

A 2014 survey by LinkedIn found that 72 percent of working professionals visited a company’s career page using a mobile device [1]. Whether you utilize apps or a mobile-optimized website, mobile has become essential for keeping tabs on the talent pool.

Adding Analytics to Your Toolkit

Choosing from a pool of candidates can be a challenge, but big data analytics can help alleviate some of the burden. By scrutinizing trends, successes and failures, analytics provides guiding insights into your team-building decisions. One Accenture survey found that business reliance on analytics has tripled since 2009 [2].

Aggressive Sourcing and Branding

Experts agree that aggressive sourcing is becoming a driving force in recruiting. Reaching out to “passive” talent is as important as seeking active candidates. In turn, strong branding and company culture is essential for luring talent away from its source. As Susan Strayer LaMotte, founder of branding consulting firm Exaqueo, told Monster, “You have to focus on what’s yours — what makes your company great that’s different from everyone else [3].”

The Power of the Blog

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are merely the basics of social media recruiting. Young talent appreciates the authenticity of an employee-run blog, the creativity of a well-composed YouTube video and the wit of Tumblr posts. Create your own content to promote via social media and harvest talent from intrigued followers.

Anticipatory Hires

Widespread technology is forcing companies to evolve faster than ever. Hiring for today’s goals alone will leave you with an outdated team tomorrow. Corporations are taking stock of what lies ahead and grabbing up specialized talent before smaller businesses know they need it.

Big corporations recognize the success of startups and small businesses in today’s market. While they rush to stay ahead, take your cues from their techniques and you will come out on top.

 

[1] http://talent.linkedin.com/blog/index.php/2014/02/mobile-recruiting-statistics-infographic

[2] http://www.accenture.com/us-en/landing-pages/analytics-in-action/Pages/home.aspx#Infographic

[3] http://www.monster.com/blog/b/small-business-attract-talent-1-brand-0709

Hiring Quality Staff in a Down Economy

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image_01A struggling economy may sound like the bane of businesses, but it changes hiring into a buyer’s market. Your hiring pool is swarming with top talent, frustrated by layoffs, looking to be scooped up by big corporations. Take advantage while you can and fill your empty positions with quality hires.

Hire Strategically

An abundance of options gives you the opportunity to be discerning. Take your time screening and interviewing potential hires, and only offer positions to people that are a perfect fit for your company. Down economies are also more forgiving when it comes to hiring mistakes. Dismiss poor fits swiftly to avoid buyer’s remorse when the economy starts up again.

Trade Salary for Perks

If your company is looking to keep salary costs down but your best candidates are expecting premium pay, consider offering them perks to make up the difference. Access to a company car, the ability to telecommute a few days a week or extra vacation days can be an even bigger draw than a high salary for some candidates.

Be Wary of Over-Qualification

Candidates that are too good to be true on paper can be a hiring trap. Over-qualified candidates are desperate for work now, but when bigger and better opportunities open up, they are likely to start looking elsewhere. Unless you are willing to promote these candidates into a higher position to keep them, avoid the temptation of those glowing resumes.

Do Not Neglect Retention

Unhappy employees will start looking for greener pastures the moment the economy turns around. Anticipate the inevitable end of the recession by cultivating a happy, loyal staff when the going is rough. Showing open appreciation for hard work will go a long way with your valuable new hires and established employees.

By stacking your ranks with quality hires, your company will be a step ahead of the rest when the recession comes to an end. Be picky, be strategic and harness your blessings in disguise.

Leveraging Social Media to Recruit the Best Talent

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image_30The key to building a successful workforce is to be proactive in finding and recruiting the best talent that you can get. It is not enough to wait for people to apply and then pick the top applicants. You must make a concerted effort to locate these people and get in touch with them.

One way to do this is by harnessing the power of social media. Thanks to sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, people are now more connected than they have ever been before. Networking has always been important, but it’s simpler than it has been in the past with the easy-to-follow digital trail that connects each person to the next. In fact, according to MediaBistro, “92 percent of companies use platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for recruitment[1].” To make use of it, though, you really have to be able to look past the chatter and noise to find the recruits you want.

You can start by looking for those who are showcasing their work. For example, many graphic designers and calligraphers will put their work up on Pinterest. They may also run personal blogs that are linked into various networks. They share this work with their followers simply because they are proud of it, but you can use it to easily assess what they are capable of. It was found that 73 percent of companies “hired successfully with social media”, so this is clearly a tactic that works[2].

The beauty of this system is that it puts less emphasis on asking for portfolios of work and doing interviews. You can often learn everything you need to know about their dedication, their quality of work and any special attributes that they have before you even get in touch with them. By the time that you reach out to them for an interview, you will have a very good idea of what they can provide and whether or not you want to offer them a job, making it take “less time to hire” as MediaBistro found was the case with 20 percent of the companies that used social media[3].

Finally, you can use social media to learn a lot about their background. Looking at their education level and their extracurricular activities — such as semesters spent studying abroad or participation in a college athletic team — can give you some idea of their personality, so you can determine whether or not they are a good fit for your team.

 

 

[1] [2] [3] http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-recruiting_b50575

 

 

 

Buyer Solutions: Mobile/Responsive Career Sites

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Did you know that over 1 billion job searches are done per month on a mobile device? At Buyer Advertising, our custom mobile solutions will help optimize your jobs for candidates on-the-go!

Buyer’s mobile recruiting solutions offer:

  • Cohesive employer branding
  • Compelling custom content
  • Responsive/mobile ready interfaces
  • Geo targeted job search capability
  • Quick apply functionality
  • ATS/social media integration

Learn more by clicking here, and contact us today to discover how our mobile recruiting solutions can help you!

Three Ways that the Recruitment Landscape is Changing as the Economy Rebounds in 2014

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After several years of economic depression and stagnation, the United States is seeing a rebound in 2014. While this affects businesses of all types in a variety of ways, it also plays a big role in the look of the recruitment landscape. Here are three of the key ways that recruitment is changing thanks to economic rebounding:

1. More Competitive Packages for Best Candidates

In 2009, there were six applicants vying for every single job opening. In 2014, that ratio has halved, leaving just three applications for every position, according to U.S. News & World Report[1]. While this still gives employees the upper hand in negotiations, the most highly qualified candidates will be harder to recruit. This creates the need for more competitive packages for applicants. These packages will focus on salary, but they may also include fringe benefits, like the option of working from home or flexible hours.

2. Faster Recruitment Process

Ken Sundheim writes that, “An improved economy means heightened opportunity costs (i.e. lost potential sales) when organizations don’t have the manpower to service clients.[2]” In a stronger economy, companies need to cut down on recruiting times in order to be fully employed on a consistent basis. Hiring managers may have to conduct fewer interviews and make faster decisions when recruiting in order to cut down on the time that positions stay vacant within a business.

3. Increased Use of Outside Recruitment Providers

Perhaps the biggest change in the recruitment landscape is that in a booming economy, companies are willing to spend more on the hiring process and pay outside companies to do it. As the recruiting process becomes more complex, Forbes reports that, “U.S. corporations spend nearly $72 billion each year on a variety of recruiting services, staff and products.[3]” Outside recruitment companies are the natural choice for selecting key applicants when time is of the essence for hiring managers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in January 2014, unemployment had dropped to just 6.6 percent in the United States[4]. This along with other signs of a rebounding economy signal the three changes listed above, which will play a role in today’s recruitment landscape.

[1] http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/01/08/8-ways-the-economy-is-still-affecting-the-job-market

[2] http://www.ere.net/2013/12/18/how-an-improved-2014-economy-affects-recruiting/

[3] http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2013/05/23/corporate-recruitment-transformed-new-breed-of-service-providers/

[4] http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Take Your Time When Hiring Someone New

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In the business world, finding and hiring the right people is critical to the overall success of a business. While there may be times when the workload necessitates finding an employee quickly, there are some major benefits to taking more time to find the right person. Here are 4 reasons to take your time when hiring someone new:

1. Preserve Your Company Culture

You and your team have worked hard at building a positive, productive work environment. Spending a little more time searching for the right person may allow you to find someone that fits into your already well-oiled machine. Patrick Hull, a contributor at Forbes, wrote that “It’s important to have managers and other team members involved in the interview process. They provide important perspectives and make sure that the new employee will fit with the existing culture.[i]” A longer hiring process would give you more time to involve other team members within your organization, whose opinions can help gauge whether a potential candidate is the right fit or not for your organization.

2. Find the Right Candidates

The beauty of using recruitment services is that you have a seemingly endless talent pool to choose from. Recruitment experts specialize in finding the best and brightest minds in your area. Investing a little more time to find the perfect candidate will be well worth the wait.

3. Check Credentials

Spending more time finding the right hire means that you have the opportunity to more closely screen your pool of candidates. Take advantage of this by contacting references, reviewing their work history and making sure that they are well-qualified for the job.

4. Interview More

When it comes to recruiting techniques, few are more effective than face-to-face interviews. A candidate may seem like a perfect fit on paper, but their personality may not be well-suited for your team. Likewise, there may be instances where a candidate lacks the experience or the education that you are looking for, but has a work ethic and attitude that makes them worth training.

When it comes to finding the right employees, there are no set rules on how long you should search. Depending on the size of your company and the type of vacancy you are looking to fill, this could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Taking the time to really dive in and explore your potential talent pool is always time well spent.

[i] http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhull/2013/03/27/hire-slow-fire-fast/

5 Benefits of Hiring Part-Time Employees

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When it comes to choosing the right workforce, key concerns are hard costs, consumer demand and organizational structure. Part-time employees may be exactly what you need to help meet these demands. Although many companies gravitate towards full-time employees, hiring part-time employees can be quite advantageous.

With this in mind, here are five benefits of hiring part-time employees:

1. Cut Labor Costs

Hiring a part-time employee is very economical. Generally, these employees work for an hourly wage and can be scheduled based on the needs of the business. If your company needs more hands on deck during the holidays or a slimmer workforce during the summer, part-time employees may be exactly what you are looking for. Also, most part-time employees often do not receive benefits. This can result in significant cost savings.

2. Boost Employee Morale

Part-time employees allow you to boost morale by giving full-time employees a break. When employees are asked to work long hours with very little time off, morale can take a beating. By using part-time employees to fill gaps in the schedule, you can reduce the number of hours that full-time employees have to work. This will also save costs by reducing the amount of overtime wages.

3. Flexibility

Unlike full-time employees, part-time workers do not have to be scheduled for a set amount of hours. Many businesses find it useful to use part-time employees to fill shifts that are not covered by regular full-time employees. This may include night or weekend shifts. The ability to schedule these employees on an as-needed basis allows managers to maintain productivity levels without paying unnecessary wages.

4. Less Burnout

The burnout rate among part-time employees is very low. Since they work fewer hours, part-time employees are often refreshed and enthusiastic about the work they do.

5. Higher Quality Work

Another perk of hiring part-time employees is that they can be trained to specialize in a specific task. This allows them to produce higher quality work than employees that frequently have to rotate positions. This can be especially useful in administrative or manufacturing roles.

Part-time employees can be an asset to any company. This flexible type of employee allows businesses to maintain productivity while tightly managing labor costs. Part-time employees may be exactly what your business needs to maintain a unique, diversified workforce.

How Have Virtual Staffing Platforms Changed the Recruitment Process?

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Technology has revolutionized the recruiting process. The days when newsprint ads were a primary component of the hiring process are long gone. Now, with technology changing by the nanosecond, virtual staffing platforms have taken center stage.

Virtual staffing platforms have positively changed the recruiting process in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of the benefits that it has brought to the table:

More Diversity

In the past few decades, diversity has been a hot topic in the recruiting industry. As companies begin to place an increasingly large emphasis on maintaining a diverse workforce, recruiters are challenged to find candidates that are not only talented, but also diverse. Virtual staffing platforms offer a solution to this problem by giving recruiters access to more candidates. As an example, positing a company vacancy online will likely yield a more diverse candidate pool than a classified ad in a newspaper.

Cost Effectiveness

Another benefit of virtual staffing platforms is that they help cut hiring costs. For instance, many recruiting portals now utilize some form of data mining software. This allows recruiters to save time by quickly identifying applicants with the most relevant skills. Also, video chatting software reduces travel expenses and minimizes the time constraints associated with scheduling an interview.

Larger Talent Pool

Virtual staffing platforms eliminate geographical boundaries. With just one click, you can connect with the brightest minds from across the globe. Before the virtual staffing platforms became integrated into the recruiting process, recruiters were often limited to the talent within their geographical area. Now, as the recruiting process is more virtual than ever, this is no longer the case.

When it comes to the recruiting process, virtual staffing platforms have changed it for the better. Recruiters now have access to a broader, more diverse talent pool without the added time and expenditures of manual recruiting. As technology continues to advance, the recruiting process will surely continue to take positive strides.

What Do Potential Hires Prefer: Higher Salaries or Flexible Schedules?

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When a company prepares to offer a job to a potential hire, many different attributes compose the employment package offered. This employment package is meant to entice a candidate to accept the job, and it should include the benefits that a company can reasonably offer and that a potential employee would find integral to their career and life. Among the things a job applicant will look for within an employment offer are job and company stability, alignment of the offered position with their career interests, the company and office culture, and, of course, salary and benefits.

Salary is often thought to be the most important component of a job offer, but the reality is more complicated. While an applicant will look for a dollar amount that is commensurate with the industry and their experience and expertise, they’ll also be looking for a broad range of benefits to cover the needs of themselves and their family as well as opportunities to promote work/life balance. In the modern workplace, this has led to an increasing number of organizations offering flexible scheduling and work arrangements.

While the amount of money that goes into their bank account each payday is vitally important to job candidates, many are willing to accept a reasonably lower salary in exchange for the ability to work more flexibly. This may include working from home, working better hours or arranging work schedules to suit outside interests such as family, school or community involvement.

What this means to a company hiring to fill vacancies is that while an attractive salary will net suitable candidates, a balanced package that includes flexibility can enable the engagement of employees who might otherwise look elsewhere. Many job-seekers currently looking for new opportunities prefer the opportunity to align their work and personal interests over simply earning the highest salary. When bundled with additional benefits and when in alignment with the candidate’s expectations of work culture and future stability, a company can pull in better employees who will be engaged in their work and committed to the organization’s overall goals, aims and vision.