Posts

6 Learning Benefit Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank in 2017

in /by

It’s the end of the year once again. And if you’re like me, you might be reminded of all the things you endeavored to accomplish in 2016…but just didn’t get around to starting/doing/finishing. Especially if any of them were official new year resolutions. And while I failed at some endeavors, but succeeded to form other productive habits, one thing is clear: my ideas with the best chance of success are the ones that take just a little bit of time, not a ton of money and can be easily turned into a healthy long-term habit. Sustainable learning is one such habit that has every chance of being successful–and not just for me.

“What you see depends on where you stand.” – Albert Einstein

Wise words, indeed. Furthermore, consider Isaac Newton’s statement “if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Gaining new knowledge to broaden our perspective is a great place to start when considering little habits with potentially big impact in 2017. In this blog, I’ll share six learning opportunities you can encourage your employees to utilize in 2017 that range from free to affordable for small and medium business.

Download ExactHire Company Culture E-book

1 – Feed their brains with Feedly

Does the thought of scrolling your email inbox forever strike fear into your heart? Or…gasp!…having to click to view the next page of emails? If I had you at “scroll,” then imagine the liberation of capturing all the compelling blogs/articles from your favorite e-newsletters (that you never have time to read before they pile up in your inbox) in a separate, easy-to-find spot that can be searched anytime? Enter Feedly – your new favorite RSS reader for all the content you don’t want to miss. While Feedly does have paid options if you really want to get into easy content sharing and annotating, I enjoy the free version on my desktop and smartphone app. Make news of this resource available to your team and encourage them to share the insight they gain from staying up on the latest content in your industry.

2 – Never miss a good read

Once you’ve mastered Feedly, you’re bound to run across book reviews and/or interesting quotes from novels that you might like to read as you peruse the latest blog content. Don’t make the mistake of logging a mere mental note to check that book out next time you hit the library or Audible. Instead, create a profile on the free social network for avid book readers, Goodreads. Whether I keep a tab open in my browser or quickly access the phone app, Goodreads is always there for me to quickly categorize a book as “want to read,” “currently reading” or “read [it].” Better yet, by connecting with my peers on the network, I can quickly find books that may appeal to me. In a business setting, fellow co-worker bookworms can share and inspire ideas for goal planning and/or content for in-office book clubs.

3 – Auditory learners have options, too

Not everyone is the type of person to just curl up with a good book or e-reader; however, many more are willing to give listening to books a try. Especially if you have employees with lengthy work commutes, or those who are looking for a distraction during their next workout session, consider offering an optional subscription benefit for an audiobook service like Audible or Scribd. At ExactHire, we have a partial benefit that allows employees to pay only 50% of the cost of a subscription to ebook and audiobook provider, Scribd. We selected Scribd because it is only $8-9/month for three books and one audiobook, yet has an increasingly prolific catalog of business- and personal development-related books from which to choose. Because there is a cost to the employer for this benefit, we ask employees to do the following in exchange for the partial reimbursement:

  • At least once per quarter, write a blog that either reviews a book, or at least references an idea from a relevant book read during that quarter.
  • Share insights gained from books read to inspire new ideas and actions during departmental and strategy planning meetings.
    So, for only about $13.50 per quarter, I get to read and/or listen to as many as 12 different books of my choice…without any waiting lists. I satisfy my work requirement for the quarter, and then catch up on my personal to-read list, too.

4 – Seize the day – get that certification

While the price of obtaining a professional certification will vary depending on the credential one seeks, relative to the cost of tuition reimbursement for an employee, certifications are an affordable learning benefit that allow your teammates to improve their skill set. Some members of the ExactHire team hold various credentials, including HRCI’s PHR/SPHR, SHRM’s SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP and the Google Analytics certification. In fact, a big congratulations goes out to our very own Darythe Taylor, who earned her SHRM-CP designation last week!

Aside from well-recognized professional certifications, in this world of SaaS software there are myriad providers who certify power users of their own software platforms. So, encourage the administrators of your organization’s key software platforms to explore advanced training and/or certification from your provider(s).

5 – Learn anywhere, any time with Lynda

Need to boost the knowledge base of your white collar workers? Look no further than Lynda.com from LinkedIn to give your team access to unlimited courses about everything from web development to business to design to marketing. Plans start at just $19.99 per month for the basic offering. Or, research and consider other similar services/sites such as Udemy, Codecademy or Khan Academy.

6 – Fingertip fast

Earlier this year, I learned about a free pilot program from Google called Primer. Its promise is easy to digest, marketing-specific training in five minutes or less. While this appeals to me (especially when I’m waiting to pick my kids up from practice and have time to kill on my phone), not everyone is interested in marketing learning. For a broader array of subject matter resources, check out the TED app to catch up on the latest TED talks. With such a wide variety of topics from which to choose, there is bound to be something for everyone on your organization’s team. Who knows, maybe a talk will inspire a rousing debate at the next all hands meeting.

Make accessible learning resources a priority for your workforce in 2017. It’s a great way to engage employees and create a culture that champions development and innovation. Here’s to standing on giants’ shoulders!

Download ExactHire Company Culture E-book

4 Guidelines for Optimal Job Application Conversion Rates

in , /by

We live in an age of distraction and it’s wreaking havoc on your talent applicant sourcing process. Despite your efforts to write engaging job descriptions, post them far and wide and publicize your amazing corporate culture, your click-to-apply ratio is dismal. So what gives?

While the aforementioned items are undoubtedly important factors in the talent acquisition game, another critical component is the length of your job application. The likelihood that you’ll make your very next priority about researching your ideal application length will depend on the supply and demand for job categories in your local market. However, know that the very best candidates always have options, so even in a seller’s…ahem…employer’s market, top talent still won’t fill out your 50-question job application.

The proof is in the numbers, and it’s pretty staggering on both desktop and mobile devices. Check out this statistic from a study referenced in an ERE post:

“For every 100 candidates who click through from a job advertisement to a recruitment portal on a desktop device, an average of 8 will complete a job application. For mobile click-throughs, the completion figure is just 1.5 percent.”

I was curious about how the same numbers would stack up across all of our own HireCentric applicant tracking software client job portals. During the last six months, our own click-to-apply ratios for site visitors who make up the referral traffic category* are listed below.

  • desktop – 9.23%
  • mobile – 4.96%
  • tablet – 3.34%

*Referral traffic category visitor = visitor referred to a client’s HireCentric ATS portal from a link on another site like a client’s corporate website or an external job board.

While our ratios come out slightly more favorable than those referenced in the study, it’s still pretty disheartening to think about the fact that out of 100 job seekers referred to your careers portal, only three to nine of them will actually finish the application process, depending on their device. So how can you improve your own job site’s click-through numbers?

Ditch Traditional Job Application Length Thinking

Start to ask yourself the tough questions about what you really need to know from applicants at the onset of the hiring process. Then, dump traditional thoughts like these:

Employer thinks: “I want my application to be long enough that I won’t get overwhelmed with unqualified applicants.”

High potential job seeker thinks: “This is taking too long…I won’t be applying here now…or ever.”

While there is some logic to making your process long enough to be a speed bump to candidates that are just looking to claim their next unemployment check, if it’s too lengthy you run the risk of disengaging the best potential applicants from finishing your application now…or anytime in the future.

Employer thinks: If someone wants to work here badly enough, they’ll jump through whatever question “hoops” we present.

High potential job seeker thinks: If the employer cared enough about its employment brand, they’d only ask the deal-breaker questions early, and save the other stuff until later.

Evaluate your own application process to determine what works best for your organization and job market. And, remember to consider how the applicant might feel while completing your employment application. Use the following sections as a checklist to help make adjustments…and know that what works for one job category may not be ideal for another.

 

Mobilization

Make it easy to apply from a mobile device

The statistics don’t lie–the conversion rate for job seekers viewing your site from a mobile device are even worse than from a desktop. Smaller screens make lengthier applications appear even more intimidating and stop potential applicants in their tracks. Implement these enhancements to improve your odds for success.

  • Mobile-friendly jobs site – make sure your careers portal is developed with responsive web design so that your employment application automatically adjusts to the size of the screen on which it is viewed.
  • Mobile apply integrations – Look for an applicant tracking system that integrates with well-established sites from which candidates may pull application information.
    • Apply with LinkedIn – can your candidates authorize their own LinkedIn profile to populate some of the fields of your application?
    • Indeed Apply – Is your application set up in such a way (including responsive web design) that Indeed can empower job seekers to use their Indeed profile to push application info to your ATS? The key to making this setup work is collecting only basic information in the first step of the application process (e.g. applicant source, resume and job screening questions, for example).
  • Dropbox/Google Drive – Candidates can’t necessarily upload a resume file to your jobs site from their phone/tablet. Mobile job seekers will count on your system to allow them to pull their resume files from a cloud-based file storage site like Dropbox or Google Drive.

 

Segmentation

Do not put the cart before the horse

Do you really need to have a candidate’s references in the first step of the hiring process? After all, only a tiny percentage of all of your candidates will have those come into play at the end of the selection process. And, you don’t really need the full employment and/or education histories right away if you get a resume up front.

Look for an ATS provider that offers employment application options such as the two-step application. This feature allows you to ask only the absolute need-to-know-now questions of applicants in the very beginning of the recruiting process. Then, once applicants are pre-screened and a few top candidates are identified, you can always ask those top candidates (who are now more motivated to respond having been identified) for more robust applicant information in the second step of the application.

Additionally, limit the number of essay questions in your application, and instead opt for multiple choice questions to facilitate informative, quick answers that don’t lengthen the time it takes to complete an application, but at the same time, do allow your staff to use answers to automatically score and/or disqualify applicants. In fact, the aforementioned study found that the length of time it takes one to complete an application is an even bigger driver of applicant drop-off than the number of questions asked.

 

Customization

Identify the information you need in each job category

Help job candidates help you. That is, customize their application experience to be hyper-specific to the information you need early on to assess their potential qualifications for a position. For example, if you are sourcing applicants for an exempt position, then don’t make them answer an application question that asks whether they are willing to work overtime…as that would only be applicable to non-exempt job candidates. This can be accommodated either through job screening question groups customized for each of your job categories; or, via multiple application layouts for different hiring needs (e.g. executive-level, different geographic locations, etc.) that are set up by a trusted applicant tracking software provider.

Think about other potential considerations to ease the candidate experience. Do your graphic designer job applicants have a designated place on the application to reference their online portfolio? Does the application associated with the recent college graduates’ hiring track allow candidates to link to a copy of their student transcript?

 

Communication

Paint a clear picture of the path to employment

Many effective writing styles preview a piece of content’s focus before getting into meaty topics. In a sense, you’ve got to tell readers what you’re going to tell them before you tell it. Redundant or not, a lot of people like to know what they are getting themselves into to determine if it’s worth their time in the first place. Job seekers are no different.

Create content that illustrates not just your employer’s application process, but the entire hiring process including interviews, background/reference checks, the offer letter and employee onboarding activities. Here are some communication strategies:

  • Job description length – If you want more qualified candidates to apply, then you generally need to describe the position in more words than found in one short paragraph. However, your job listing should not be a novel either. Look to recruiting metrics available in an in-app ATS dashboard to help you start to diagnose which of your job listings are performing best when it comes to organic search results…this could be a partial clue into which of these descriptions have a more optimal, keyword-savvy, length.
  • Career-focused content – Include pages within your jobs site that share Q&A narratives about what candidates can expect from the hiring process. Incorporate video and images as often as possible as it makes it easier and more entertaining for job seekers to process the information presented.
  • Clear application instructions – Take another look at the actual directions listed at the start and end of your application process. Do they set expectations that additional information may be collected later, if applicable? Could they be lengthened (or shortened) to be more effective?

By heeding these guidelines for converting more job applications, your organization can make strides toward improving your hiring efficiency.

Talent As A Critical Resource

in /by

The following blog post is adapted from a speech given by Harlan Schafir at the Collective Alternative Executive Speaker Series on September 17, 2015.

 

Many organizations are growing, and so is their need for talent. The problem that many employers are beginning to face is in finding and retaining that talent. Today, I’d like to talk about staffing our organizations to meet the demands of growth and turnover–or simply, talent management.

An organization’s growth in this decade and beyond will be determined by how its leaders respond to the challenges associated with talent management. Talent has become and will remain the #1 critical resource for businesses in this decade. And for the foreseeable future, I can think of no issue more threatening to the growth of SMBs than this one.

The following quote I recently read sums it up nicely:

“The changing workforce is influencing the way companies do business, suggesting that workforce stability will be an employer’s competitive edge.”-Roger E. Herman, CSP, CMC

Today’s Workforce

Demographic shifts have placed vital demands on talent. And while the dynamics of the talent market have changed over time, the impact of this change is now upon us in full force.

But if the demographics were changing, how did we not see it before now? Did we fall asleep?  Let’s look back over the last 8-10 years, beginning right about the time the recession started.

Through The Great Recession of 2008-2009 and the slow recovery that followed, the vast majority of organizations were trimming their workforce, attempting to do more with less, and trying to just keep their businesses solvent. So the focus for most leaders was on increasing sales–this was the constraint to growth.

The Workforce and Hiring Since The Recession

YearBusiness ClimateMillennial WorkforceHiring NeedsHiring Concern
2007-2009Sales Declining22%LayoffsNone
2010-2014Sales Flat, ModestSteady IncreaseSlight IncreaseLow
2014-2015Sales GrowingSignificant increaseSignificant IncreaseHigh

At that time, Millennials were entering the workforce, but studies showed that many were just taking jobs to have jobs. Although their percentage of the workforce was slowly increasing, hiring was stagnant. So many organizations hired one, maybe two Millennials and that was it. There simply was not enough hiring taking place for Millennials to make their mark on organizations, and so the dynamics in the workplace and how these companies operated really didn’t change.

It was only recently that hiring increased significantly as sales have continued to grow and show stability following the recession and slow recovery.

2011-2015 job openings talent

And as companies go to the market to hire, the makeup of the talent pool has changed significantly since before the recession.

A New Generation

Through the recession, the Baby Boomer generation continued its reign as the largest generation represented in the workforce, but many left the workforce in the years immediately following it.

baby boomer talent decline

In the first quarter of 2015, the Millennial Generation became the largest percentage of workers in the U.S. labor force (Pew Research Center).

workforce generations talent

That’s important because that reality essentially flips the labor market on its head within the span of a decade. Think about it.

Today, in a recovered economy–which really only took hold in early 2014–sales are up, companies are growing, and hiring is increasing. Instead of adding one or two Millennials to the payroll, they’re adding several. Suddenly, this new generation of workers accounts for a larger percent of the organization’s workforce. By 2020, the Millennial Generation will represent nearly 50% of all workers in the U.S. (SHRM).

Now the unique needs, values, and skills of these new workers must be fully considered. Their impact on an organization’s culture must be considered. To ignore them is to lose them, and to lose them is to incur the costs of rehiring.

Times they are a changin’. Talent has become and will remain the #1 critical resource for businesses in this decade. And for organizations to succeed, I believe leadership style and culture must adapt to address it.

Read Part 2: New Day, New Talent, New Culture

ExactHire provides hiring and employee onboarding solutions to assist organizations in attracting, hiring, and retaining talent. To learn more about how you can leverage our SaaS solutions to optimize your talent management efforts, contact us today!

Feature Image Credit: Oklahoma Pumpjack by Jonathan C. Wheeler (contact)

Trending: Reverse Job Fairs

in /by

Money makes the world go ‘round. And time is money.  So it is no wonder that companies and job seekers alike look for ways to save time and money in finding the right employer-employee match. A newer fad that seems to be catching on in the recruiting world is a trend referred to as Reverse Job Fairs, or RJF.

What Is A Reverse Job Fair?

Job seekers set up booths with science-fair like flair. Stacks of printed resumes, posters of accomplishments, degrees, pictures, recommendations, achievements, and samples of individual works can be displayed around the main attraction, the job seeker. All the while, hiring managers and recruiters can walk around and see what type of talent is available.

  • Employers Come to Candidates

    A divergence from the normal job fair, where HR professionals display information about their company and wait for candidates to act interested and approach their booth, this approach offers a different perspective. RJFs display the job-seeker’s assets and allow the HR/ recruiting role to peruse the stock of potential candidates.

  • Spotlight On The Candidate

    The time is now. As the job markets continue to become more competitive and companies are fighting over qualified candidates, this approach allows you (the job seeker) to present yourself in a way that highlights all your best assets and abilities.

  • Where Are RJFs?

    Many colleges are already setting these RJFs up for seniors and recent graduates to help them land the proper job that can launch their careers. Most colleges host industry-specific RJFs or organize them with a common theme in order attract many employers. Having a focused theme also yields a pool of qualified candidates with desirable traits.

  • How Much Does it Cost to Attend?

    Time is the biggest investment here. Not only in the time a job seeker stands at a booth, but in the time invested before the RJF. Like most things, you get back what you put into a RJF. Spending time to prep the booth, materials, and presentation are worthwhile for the job seeker.

  • Results

    Hiring managers and recruiters agree that RJFs offer them a good bang for the buck, so to speak. Being able to scan over 100 potential candidates in a few hours and dig in deeper to the most qualified candidates saves a lot of time.


ExactHire offers small- to medium-sized businesses the opportunity to save time and money with hiring technology. Applicant Tracking, Reference Checking, and Onboarding can all be automated and streamlined with the use of our cloud-based solutions. To learn more visit our exacthire.com or contact us today!

 
Image credit: DAY 255 (TEXT ADDED) by WEST MIDLANDS POLICE (contact)

5 Steps To Assess Employer Brand For Small Biz Owners

in /by

As a leader of a small business, you are likely familiar with the importance of brand as it relates to your business’s profitability and growth. Your consumer brand represents who you are as a business to your customers and prospective customers; this includes how you stand apart from similar businesses, and what your goals are in delivering your product or service. A bad brand is a bad business; where one goes, the other will quickly follow–most business owners understand this.

But what about your employer brand? What is this, and how does it affect the health of your business?

Your employer brand is essentially the same as your consumer brand; however, an employer brand represents who you are as a business to your employees and prospective employees. In other words, your consumer brand makes and fulfills (hopefully) a promise to individuals with the goal of gaining their continued business, and an employer brand makes and fulfills (hopefully) a promise to individuals with the goal of gaining and keeping their talent through employment.

Your Employer Brand Right Now

Though the word “brand” is sometimes cast in a negative light, building a brand is a universal practice for businesses–even if it’s not realized by the business itself. Negative connotations associated with brand likely come to mind when we confuse it with the marketing strategies and tactics used to promote the brand. So putting aside marketing strategies and tactics–logos, slogans, messaging, materials, advertisements, et al.– consider these three questions as a quick and dirty way to assess your employer brand:

(Note: These can be used to assess your consumer brand, too, with a few tweaks.)
  • What is the purpose of our business?
  • How is working at our business different than other businesses with similar purposes?
  • How do people feel about our business before, during, and after working here?

By answering these questions and, more importantly, asking your employees to answer these questions, you will have the building blocks of your employer brand. It is vital that you complete this before creating a strategy to strengthen and grow your brand. If your brand (what you are) is not in alignment with your brand marketing (what you are promising to be), then you will be misleading your job applicants and laying the groundwork for a bad brand image–that means low sales for your business, and low morale/high turnover for your employees.

5 Steps to Assess Your Employer Brand

  1. Develop a brief survey to determine the essence of your current brand using the three questions above
  2. Distribute the survey to all employees and business stakeholders in a way that allows for anonymous responses
  3. Collect and compile the responses to identify common brand perceptions
  4. Identify perceptions that are negative or threatening to your business
  5. Incorporate the assessment insights into a prioritized continual improvement plan

ExactHire provides hiring technology for small to medium-sized organizations. Our SaaS solutions include HireCentric ATS and OnboardCentric which can streamline your hiring and onboarding processes, while providing an exceptional experience for new employees. To learn more about how you can enhance your hiring process through the use of our software, contact us today!

Keepin’ a Line in the Water for Unemployed Passive Job Seekers: Part 3

in /by

This is the final part of a three-part series on how your organization can attract and hire top talent by targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers as part of your overall talent recruitment strategy. Warning: The fishing references are thick.

Even if you write the most motivating, enticing job description and job seekers are excited about an opportunity with your organization, there’s no guarantee that they will take action–especially if they are the elusive Unemployed Passive Job Seekers. This doesn’t mean that they won’t return to you on their own some day, but you can increase the chances that they do by staying connected. In today’s digital world, there are countless ways to do this. Here are three effective ones:

Employee Referrals

You’re probably familiar with the good ol’ fashioned Employee Referral. It goes something like this:

  1. Management representatives decide to hire for a new position
  2. They send an email out or drop by your desk to say: “Hey, we’re hiring for a new Office Paper Coordinator. If you know anyone who’d be a good fit, let us know, or tell them to apply.”
  3. You likely forget to share the news, or you overlook a great candidate.

Obviously, you can see the flaws inherent in this ol’ fashioned method…Enter Digital Employee Referrals.

Some of the more sophisticated Applicant Tracking Systems offer a feature that greatly simplifies and enhances the process of Employee Referrals by taking the process digital. And let’s face it, even Sig Hansen of The Deadliest Catch and the rest of the Alaskan crab fleet use fishing technology these days.

Digital Employee Referrals work by providing each employee with a custom URL to the open position (For example: http://exacthire.hirecentric.com/jobs/20138-11900-Bob-The-Builder). They can create this link by visiting the organization’s career portal. Then, from that same location, they can instantly share the position to their networks via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and email. Now, when any applicant applies via an employee’s unique link, the application is automatically populated with that employee’s name as the referrer.applicant tracking system | employee referral integration

And when an employee incentive program is built around this feature, employees are further encouraged to reach out to their network. The results are impressive!

Learn the concept by checking out how ExactHire’s HireCentric ATS handles it!

Job Notifications

Many job boards provide this feature for organizations. The idea is that an interested job seeker creates a profile with the job board, and then the job board pushes out an email or text with links to new job opportunities based on criteria the job seeker sets. This is a nice feature that gets the job done, but there’s one issue: it’s “junky”.

By junky, I mean that many times these notifications only contain one or two listings among twenty that actually appeal to the job seeker, and it requires effort to parse through the murky waters and find them. You can’t afford to rely on this approach alone with an Unemployed Passive Job Seeker. You need to grab their attention.

Fortunately, some applicant tracking systems–like ExactHire’s HireCentric platform–provide job seekers the opportunity to sign up for job notifications from your specific organization. In fact, the notifications sent regarding your company’s jobs can even be filtered by job category and state, according to the job seeker’s preferences. This is important because it ensures that your passive job seekers need only filter through your jobs that are most likely to bait their interest…not ALL of your jobs. No junk here.

Social Media

As you know, Social Networking Sites have transformed the way the world communicates. Information has never traveled so fast–a good thing as it relates to facts, a bad thing, often, as it relates to opinions…but I digress. The point is, that through social media, organizations have the ability to update followers and friends in real-time. They even have the ability to interrupt…if they do the work to build trust with their followers. What do I mean?

You, as a Twitter user, can follow 5,000 businesses. You can check your feed once a day and scroll through all their updates; it’s an open relationship that doesn’t require anything from either side–an “all you care to eat” buffet. Now, let’s say that from the very beginning an organization promised you something in exchange for following them. For example:

“Connect with us on LinkedIn to be the first to learn of new job opportunities with ExactHire!”

“Follow us @goExactHire for your chance to win 1 of 52 prizes that we’ll be rewarding to our most active followers each week this year.”

“Like the Exacthire page and earn the chance to receive exclusive promo codes for the purchase of your favorite beer.”

With a simple promise–it doesn’t have to be beer discounts–an organization can increase their chances of earning a crucial thing: followers who enable notifications for your account. This means that the followers value your content so much, that they want to be interrupted by it. This is the holy grail for social media marketing, and it can be nicely leveraged for recruiting through the use of an applicant tracking system, as well.

Imagine the unemployed passive job seeker who’s having lunch when a notification flashes on her phone via Twitter:

“Can’t Miss #JobOpp. Family Friendly Company Offers Flex Hrs. Benefits. Part or Full Time. Students, New Grads, Unemployed–All should apply btly.exacthire”

You’ve interrupted and intrigued her. She’s back on the hook. Now reel ‘er in!

Heading Back To Port

Competition for top talent is fierce. Everyday there are countless organizations looking to land the big catch. As hiring professionals, we must be willing to go to new places and try new techniques to hire top talent. This includes: going after individuals who are not actively seeking a job; leveraging technology to cultivate interest in your organization; and staying connected with job seekers who express interest in your organization.

By expanding your view of where talent exists, and then using creative tactics to go get them, you will outsmart your competition and position yourself to land the big catch–along with all the rewards that come with that. And that’s no fish tale!

Read More ExactHire Blogs

…for helpful, relevant, and occasionally witty takes on HR trends and topics.

 

How to Lure Unemployed Passive Job Seekers: Part 2

in /by

This is the second part of a three-part series on how your organization can attract and hire top talent by targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers as part of your overall talent recruitment strategy. Warning: There are still a lot of fishing references.

Setting Sail For New Waters

Imagine a passive job seeker–employed or unemployed–who one day, on a whim, visits a job aggregator like Indeed. He might search for a certain type of position, or one in a particular industry, or one with a particular salary range. Perhaps he discovers some exciting results. Maybe he clicks on one and begins reading about a particular company’s work culture and gets excited. He might think “Wow! This sounds like an awesome place to work!”

But the timing is not right, any number of different factors may steer him off course: he is still enrolled in school; he is committed to a few short-term projects; he is not physically able to meet the job requirements at that time; he’s unsure about childcare arrangements. What happens to this opportunity? Does it close when the browser is closed? Does that excitement die with the job seeker as he returns to “passive job seeker mode”?

It doesn’t have to.

An organization can continue to interact with once-interested job seekers–even passive job seekers–by providing these individuals with a way to stay connected, and then making sure to use hiring software to proactively communicate with them. Organizations can also get creative with their job descriptions to increase the likelihood that these passive job seekers are motivated to act immediately and apply for an open position that excites them–right when they see it.

Get ’em While They’re On The Hook

Try tweaking your job descriptions so that job seekers are motivated to apply right then and there. This might be as simple as using your applicant tracking system to allow individuals to begin the application on the same page as the job description, or offering job seekers the chance to apply with Indeed or LinkedIn. Fishermen call this setting the hook.

Don’t let them think they’ll be wasting their time if they apply. If you wish to actively source Unemployed Passive Job Seekers for certain positions, then job descriptions should be written in a way that is not only inclusive of applicants with diverse experience, but that provides those applicants with confidence that they are qualified for the job.

Put yourself in the unemployed passive job seekers’ shoes and tell them what they need to hear. Let’s revisit their motivations mentioned in part one of this series as a guide:

They hold a part-time job.

Perhaps the position can be “part-time to full-time” for the “right candidate”. Or emphasize benefits for full-time employees. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: One can keep both jobs or go full-time and gain benefits–he/she has options worth exploring.

They do small contract jobs/projects.

Again stress the benefits of a full-time position. Depending on the type of position, it may make sense to include language such as “weekly/bi-weekly pay checks”, “consistent hours”, “flexible work schedule”. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: A job seeker that works on a project basis may face inconsistent work or unpredictable pay. She may also want to keep a few projects alongside full-time work, so mentioning flexible hours keeps that option open.

They are stay-at-home parents.

As with the others, you really need to stress benefits–especially family health care and flex-spending accounts for childcare. “Flexible work schedule” or “work from home” are also terms that might encourage a stay-at-home parent to consider working full-time. Of course, salary will also be important if the cost of childcare threatens to exceed earnings. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: The cost of childcare is a big item for families considering dual employment, as is time with children and time needed to maintain a household in general. Yes, a parent could earn enough to cover childcare expenses, but if he misses out on attending after-school activities or ends up spending all his free time on household chores, maybe a full-time job isn’t the right choice. You need to address those needs–offer attractive wages and flexible hours.

They have specialized experience in an industry that is not hiring/growing.

This individual has looked and looked, but her job is just not out there. Again, get creative with your job description. If your position is for an oil rig mechanic, but you’ve had great luck hiring former airline mechanics, then write a job description with a heading like: Need Experienced Airline Mechanics For Growing Industry. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: Some individuals have a decade of experience, a flawless attendance record, and glowing recommendations, but they’re trained for a job in an industry that is not growing. You need to open their eyes to new opportunities that require their unique skill set and experience.

They are in school or training.

For these job seekers, post far ahead of your anticipated start-date. Offer part-time to full-time transitions or internships. Tuition reimbursement is a great incentive too. Just be sure to specifically target your message to individuals who have returned to school too–not just your 20 year-old college student. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: Whether the job seeker is in her early twenties with minimal work experience or is an experienced worker seeking to re-train or make a career change, it’s important to provide comfortable, attractive transitions for students. Their investment in education will be an investment in your organization.

They are discouraged.

 Job descriptions or career pages that tell the story of current employees–their path to success at your organization– can encourage the discouraged and light a path for the job seeker to follow. But reaching these individuals is difficult, so it’s especially important to use social media as a channel to promote your open positions to these job seekers. Imagine the out-of-work teacher who wistfully explores #ClassroomInnovations, when suddenly an exciting job opportunity drops into her feed and encourages her to act. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: This is probably the most difficult passive job seeker to attract. One has tried and tried, and now he or she has become disillusioned with even the idea of searching for, let alone finding, the right job. You have to interrupt this person with your exciting opportunity, and this is best done via social media.

They are ill or disabled.

Post your open positions early and, of course, include the start date. Specifically message to the ill or disabled, reassuring them that this opportunity will be available and applying now does not necessarily mean working now. Or, if it is an immediate opening, mention that assistive technology is available to help disabled individuals do their jobs. Offer flexible hours or begin with part-time, transitioning to full-time. Top talent is top talent, regardless of whether they’ve been on the sideline for a bit. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: Those who are genuinely ill or disabled may find it hard to focus on a job search when they are focused on getting healthy. But if you have flexibility in your start date, and are in a position to offer part-time hours initially, attracting these individuals can be fulfilling in more ways than one.

 

Hopefully these tips spark some creative ideas of your own. The key is to put yourself in the job seekers’ shoes and write with their motivations and needs in mind. And as with any type of communication: the more personal, the better.

But…what if they still don’t bite?


Check back next Wednesday to learn how you can land the big catch by keeping a line in the water and trying out a few new fishing holes.

Read More ExactHire Blogs

…for helpful, relevant, and occasionally witty takes on HR trends and topics.

 

Landing The Elusive, Unemployed Passive Job Seeker: Part 1

in /by

This is the first part of a three-part blog series on how your organization can attract and hire top talent by targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers as part of your overall talent recruitment strategy. Warning: There are a lot of fishing references.

The Deadliest Catch is a documentary series on The Discovery Channel. The show chronicles the lives of fishermen in the treacherous Bering Sea. They are on the hunt for one of the most coveted seafoods in the world–the Alaskan King Crab. The work is perilous, but the rewards for a big catch are impressive.

Finding and hiring top talent to fill your organization’s open positions is not a deadly job, but the rewards for catching the right candidate can be every bit as impressive. To make that happen, human resources departments need a talented crew, the right equipment, and–most importantly–a captain who knows where to fish.

And sometimes the biggest catch can be made in places you least expect.

A Check of The Weather Before We Set Sail

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Labor released its latest jobs report. It indicated that the unemployment rate had risen by .1% to 5.7%. This was widely celebrated as a good thing. Why is an increase in the unemployment rate a good thing?

To answer that, we need to first look at the definition of the unemployment rate according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

 

Unemployment Rate: The number of unemployed (people who are jobless, actively seeking work, and available to take a job) as a percentage of the labor force (the sum of the employed and unemployed).

 

Nice. So this means that if you are unemployed, but not looking for a job, then you are not factored into the unemployment rate; therefore, an increase in the unemployment rate can mean one of two things:

  1. More people have lost their job AND they are currently looking for a new one
  2. More people–who were unemployed and not looking for a job– are still unemployed, BUT they are now looking for a job.

The experts are cheering because they believe #2 describes the nation’s current unemployment situation. So the weather seems to be improving, and the fish are ready to bite. But what if there was a way to catch these fish even before they were ready?

It’s possible. But to do that, we have to leave the safety and comfort of our job board shores, chart a course for new waters, and go fishing for an exotic species of job seeker.

Employed Passive Job Seekers

A Common Species

Individuals who have a job, but who are open to other job opportunities, are commonly referred to as Passive Job Seekers. These individuals may keep an updated resume on LinkedIn or maintain an active job board profile on Glassdoor. They are prepared to leave their current company if a better opportunity comes along, but they are not heavily motivated to go look for that opportunity.

Think of these as healthy fish that just aren’t hungry. They’re a protected species too, so let’s leave them alone. Poaching isn’t nice. We’re fishermen, not pirates. Well, not today at least…not until we have to fly the skull and crossbones in search of our next unicorn.

Unemployed Passive Job Seekers

An Exotic Species

Now for the sake of this discussion, let’s label another set of individuals as Passive Job Seekers. Let’s include individuals who do not have a full-time job and are not actively looking for one, but who are open to full-time job opportunities. These individuals are similar to Employed Passive Job Seekers in terms of their motivation to actively search for a job opportunity; however, they are facing conditions that preclude them from holding a full-time job. These are the Unemployed (or Underemployed in some cases) Passive Job Seekers.

Let’s think of these as healthy fish that aren’t looking for food because the waters are too turbulent. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re not hungry. It’s just that the waters are all muddied up and they’re not going to bite unless you catch their eye with a flashy lure–your employment brand.

Identify An Unemployed Passive Job Seeker

Skilled fishermen know every detail about the fish they seek. They know where the big catch will be and what motivates them to bite. A skilled recruiter must be the same way when it comes to sourcing candidates for jobs.

Here are several reasons why Unemployed Passive Job Seekers cannot actively look for a full-time job:

  • They hold a part-time job
  • They do small contract jobs/projects
  • They are stay-at-home parents
  • They have specialized experience in an industry that is not hiring/growing
  • They are in school for further training
  • They are ill or disabled
  • They are discouraged

As you can see, none of these reasons is “just plain lazy” or “unemployable”–though that may be the case in some instances. The thing is, many talented workers are “unemployed and not looking” for good reason, or for reasons outside of their control; and while they may not be looking for a job right now, they could be interested in a position with a shiny organization that catches their eye.

Start Your Fishing Trip

If your organization is looking to hire additional employees–especially in an industry that has not been hiring for a while–targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers is a great way to increase your pool of quality applicants and land the big catch.

Now that you’ve identified this exotic species of job seeker, you’ll need tips on how to lure them in. Check back next Wednesday to learn how!

Read More ExactHire Blogs

…for helpful, relevant, and occasionally witty takes on HR trends and topics.

 

Portfolio Items