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Mobile Recruiting Strategy Fails – When Your Organization Isn’t Prepared

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You built a mobile recruiting presence, the applicants came…but then your organization wasn’t ready. Or, maybe you’re well on your way toward social recruiting Shangri La and you sense that a few hiring managers may be late to the party. In this blog, I’ll review five mobile recruiting strategy fails encountered when a business is not prepared in the hopes that you can avoid the same mistakes.

1 – Failure To Get Buy In

Even if you’ve already put a few mobile-friendly recruiting elements into play, or if you continue to evolve your social media content calendar to include career-related advice, you will still struggle if the rest of the team at your company isn’t prepared to buy into and participate in the new talent acquisition model. Start by educating them with statistics that paint a picture of this trend–no, this new way of doing business–to get their attention.

According to a 2015 survey by SHRM, 65% of employer respondents indicated they had sourced candidates from social media in the past year. And if it’s not your organization regularly leveraging the power of professional networking sites like LinkedIn or career community-focused networks like Beyond.com, then you can bet your competitors are.

Skilled workers who are willing and able to participate in the workforce aren’t as easy to come by these days. For example, in October 2015, recruiting difficulty reached a four year high for the 19th consecutive month according to SHRM’s Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) Report. Your organization must utilize the latest resources available in order to grab its share of scarce talent.

2 – Failure To Be Candidate-Centric

Remember when Tom Hanks’ character told Meg Ryan’s character that she needed to take it “to the mattresses” to save her business in the movie You’ve Got Mail? As you may recall, the dialogue was actually a reference to the famed Godfather; however, I like to mention the former, more recent movie because it represented how (at the time) email was a revolution in the dating game. It changed the face of courtship forever.

So now has social media and the proliferation of smartphones and tablets forced the evolution of talent acquisition. Take it to the mattresses. Be candidate-centric…maybe not in the same context that a staffing agency might because you have to fill a specific job rather than amass resumes for the future, but in a way that empowers your company to find the candidates where they are…on the networks and devices they are using. Don’t make it difficult for candidates to research your company online; and do make it easy for them to share jobs and positive career-related content on social networks when they want to chat with their peers about what they heard about working at your organization.

3 – Failure To Know Your Candidate Personas

If you fail to identify your target applicant audience across various job categories, then you will miss the mark when it comes to selecting specific social networks, mobile job posting apps and even customizing the applicant interface for your jobs portal to optimize your user experience (UX).

And while the thought that “mobile is coming” often conjures images of my favorite Stark family characters warning that “winter is coming” along with an onslaught of white-walkers in the binge watch-worthy Game of Thrones, the extent to which your organization needs to plan out its mobile and social strategy is dependent on the types of jobs you offer and the demographics and preferences of the top talent filling those positions. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center Report on U.S. smartphone use, it is lower income smartphone owners who are the most likely to use a phone during a job search.

Translation: The mobile candidate experience will make or break your recruiting success when it comes to your less specialized and entry-level positions.

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In fact, according to the report, “compared with smartphone owners from households earning $75,000 or more per year, those from households earning less than $30,000 annually are nearly twice as likely to use a smartphone to look for information about a job — and more than four times as likely to use their phone to actually submit a job application.” So ask yourself what percentage of your recruiting efforts focus on that population and then take appropriate action.

This insight doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels if you manage HR at a professional office setting with higher income levels such as a physicians group or an engineering firm. Mobile is coming and the statistics on usage in the job seeker space will continue to climb across all income brackets.

4 – Failure to Communicate Internally

In your haste to reach out to candidates in their own space and ensure that your applicant tracking system is mobile responsive, did you miss explaining the consequences a more savvy candidate hiring experience will have on your internal stakeholders? If you’re not catching my drift, think about whether the following comments elicit a grin…or a chagrin.

  • Have you engaged hiring managers in the process of revamping your recruiting process? If not, then the shorter, concise job descriptions you may want to use may irritate them since they don’t understand why you are condensing details about their department’s opportunity. (The answer of course would be due to the shorter attention spans and impatient click behavior indicative especially of mobile job viewers).
  • Ever since social media has inserted itself into the selection process, the next generation of candidates who used to place phone calls to hiring managers and HR staff are now inviting employers to connect on social media; or, they are simply tweeting at your organization’s Twitter handle with specific job questions. With this increase in inbound activity comes the heightened responsibility for employer representatives to be ready to respond in the same manner solicited. And, for your organization to have documented policies on how you handle social media inquiries (using the best hashtags BTW) and candidate social screening.
  • Have you documented details on which social platforms and external job boards you use to post which types of positions? After all, what works for attracting manufacturing-minded machinists will probably fail miserably at securing interest from content marketers.
  • Have you discussed how to approach scenarios in which you may need to privately source talent for a position that is not yet open? If individuals in management but outside of recruiting are involved, a lack of coaching to show constraint when it comes to covertly posting future jobs can spell disaster for many…especially the existing employee who has not yet received the termination memo.

5 – Failure To Enable A Talent-Focused Culture

When was the last time you paid a placement fee to an external recruiter? Not something you want to do for every open position, huh? While there is certainly a time and a place for such engagements, in the meantime you should be focused on maximizing awareness for your job opportunities via in-house resources. The right approach starts with making sure that your existing employees, vendors, clients, alumni and friends know about the amazing roles available with your organization. The best approach kicks it up a notch (like Emeril) and incentivizes crowdsourcing behavior with a socially savvy employee referral program.

Make it easy for individuals to share your job listings with their networks using a unique permalink (URL address with an individual identifier) that tracks their referral activity and rewards them when their candidates are hired. Then, when it comes to amplifying the reach of your latest career-related content, share examples of suggested wording for social posts so that your co-workers can quickly copy and paste to spread your message (for ex., if they are outside of human resources and don’t necessarily want to spend time/thought on crafting their own version of a message). Also, consider whether any rigid social media policies or limited access to certain websites will limit your long-term hiring objectives by handcuffing your employees’ talent-focused social behavior.

This is the first post in a series of blogs about mobile recruiting fails. Stay tuned for the next post which will examine what happens when the technical aspects of your mobile-friendly recruiting experience don’t align with the rest of your hiring process.

ExactHire’s HireCentric applicant tracking system is a mobile responsive software application for your job posting and recruiting needs. Contact us for details today.

Image credit: FAIL Stamp by Hans Gerwitz (contact)

5 Steps To Getting More Qualified Applicants

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Finding the right candidate from a small pool of applicants is no easy task. Many times, hiring managers must settle for the “best available”, and sadly this often leads to new hires that simply don’t pan out. Before you know it, that hiring manager is looking to fill the same positions each year; effectively making them the “turnover manager”.

Turnover is inevitable at some point, but great hiring managers seek to minimize it by hiring individuals who are a fit for both the position and the company. This is not easy, as it requires searching for applicants who possess “something special” that cannot be easily found by parsing resumes or sometimes even by conducting an interview. So when these individuals are found, it’s important to not lose them.

The following steps will help your organization develop an applicant pool that consistently delivers more qualified applicants and, over time, minimizes employee turnover.

1. Maximize Channels

Believe it or not, many hiring organizations–of all sizes–are not promoting their open positions through all available channels. While being on every channel may not be practical, collaboration between Marketing and HR is vital in order to maximize awareness of job openings. Good recruiting software will include tools that easily leverage an organization’s existing channels, while also unlocking dozens more. And the best recruiting software will automate these job postings to multiple channels with just one click.

2. Promote Your Authentic Employer Brand

There is nothing worse than a job description or career page that appears generic–and I’m not just talking about the cheesy stock photography. Employers who want to hire and retain the best talent must work hard to cultivate and promote an enviable employer brand. This employer brand should be based on the foundation of a positive, authentic work culture that permeates all aspects of an organization–including the job descriptions and career page.

employer brand management

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3. Provide An Applicant-Friendly Experience

With wide awareness of your organization and its job opportunities in place, it’s now time to focus on where the rubber meets the road: the application process. This is the time period where an organization begins building a relationship with applicants. And the first and most important component in any relationship is trust. By providing an applicant-friendly experience that imbues the positive qualities of your employer brand, an organization can go a long way to building this requisite trust. From there, make it easy by:

  • Providing transparency (let applicants know what’s ahead)
  • Staying on track (meet the expectations you set with applicants)
  • Utilizing online applications (yes, some companies still ask for hard copies)
  • Automating duplicate entries (no one wants to enter the same information twice)
  • Making it easy to apply for multiple or future openings (an ATS can help with this)

4. Express Why You (The Hiring Organization) Want To Stay Connected

Inevitably, there will be some very good applicants that simply cannot be hired. How a hiring manager deals with these applicants will determine whether or not a talent pool for future hiring can be developed. An applicant status message of “Thank you for your interest. Please check back for future job openings” will simply not cut it.

While many HR professionals may feel that a canned “rejection” message is all they have time for, a little more effort at this point can save a lot of time down the road. Tell those qualified, “something special” applicants exactly:

  • Why you found them impressive
  • The types of opportunities that may exist at your organization in the future
  • How you would like to stay in touch with them (and give them options for this).

5. Stay Connected With Your Applicant

Assuming you’ve implemented the above, the final step is to simply follow through with what you said you would do. And this is done by going back to Step 1 and, where possible, segmenting communications for the the “something special” talent pool. Here are some examples of what that could look like:

  • Personalized invitations to apply for specific positions before they open
  • E-newsletter specifically created for previous “something special” applicants
  • Storing applicant information in an Applicant Tracking System for easy re-apply
  • Brief, personalized emails that include company updates
  • LinkedIn/Facebook group for prospective hires (Ex. “ACME Future Directions”

Getting More Qualified Applicants Begins With Building Relationships

Developing relationships with previous applicants is key to creating a high quality talent pool for hiring. These relationships do not need to include frequent interaction, but they must be marked by consistent value and sincerity. In this way, a growing organization is never challenged to find “something special” in a sea of “meh” applicants. And that, in turn, will go a long way toward minimizing employee turnover and its associated costs.

 

ExactHire provides hiring solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses that are seeking to hire the best talent for their organizations. To learn how ExactHire can assist you organization, contact us today!

 

Feature Image Credit: New York – Overhead Traffic Lights by Pete Bellis(contact)

Why More Is Not Always Better – Recruiting Talent

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Is the old adage, “Less is more.” really true? Nowadays, new jobs are posted EVERYWHERE! You can find them on job boards, social media, industry specific sites, and even in the newspaper still…I think. This means that MORE applicants are likely seeing your openings, which can also mean MORE applications to review. Hiring can be super stressful when there are too many applicants to review for a position. Here are a few things to remember to make sure you don’t make the mistake of having too many applicants:

  • Be Specific in Job Post

    One of the easiest and obvious ways to reduce the number of candidates is to be extremely specific about what you are looking for in a candidate. Let the applicant know exactly what the required skills are for the position, the location of work, amount of travel and any other requirements that the position may entail. This will hopefully discourage unqualified job seekers from applying and keep you efficient while sorting through the candidates. Beware not to “weed” out everyone though!

  • Be Selective in Where you Post

    Not all jobs need to be on all social media pages and every job board. Depending on the level of job, you could use a basic site such as indeed.com or careerbuilder.com.  Other jobs could be posted on theladders.com if it is an executive level position. Finally, consider posting on industry specific sites to help narrow down the field– for example www.hcareers.com for positions in the hospitality industry.

  • Be Concerned with Screening

    Did you know that you can use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to ask “Knock Out” questions? ExactHire’s HireCentric ATS allows questions to be added to the application process to make sure the candidate will fit your exact needs. This will help you streamline your recruiting process and save yourself time (and hassle!)

Sometimes less IS more, especially when you’re looking to quickly hire for a high skilled position in a competitive job market. Time wasted on posting, sorting, and vetting could be the difference between making the perfect hire and having to settle for an OK candidate. Use these three tips to optimize your hiring process and add top talent to your organization.

“Time wasted on posting, sorting, and vetting could be the difference between making the perfect hire and having to settle for an OK candidate.”

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To learn more about ExactHire’s hiring technology, please contact us today for your free demo.

Feature Image Credit: Full of Work by reynermedia(contact)

Talent As A Critical Resource

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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)

Engaging Applicants – New Economy New Rules

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It’s March in Indianapolis, Indiana. That means two things: wildly fluctuating temperatures (March 6: 2℉…March 11: 65 ℉); and basketball (this year will mark the 7th time since 1940 that Indy has hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four). It’s through hosting events like the Final Four–and that spectacle in Speedway–that Indianapolis earned the nickname “Amateur Sports Capital of the World.” However, increasingly, the word “amateur” is becoming unnecessary.

Last week, I had the privilege of listening to three leaders in the Indianapolis professional sports scene. Rob Laycock of the Indiana Pacers, Dan Plumlee of the Indianapolis Colts, and Tom Dunmore of the Indy Eleven spoke at New Economy New Rules–a monthly event organized by TechPoint. The event seeks to introduce new ideas about how business is done today and how it will be done tomorrow, often with an emphasis on technology as a catalyst for change. Accordingly, the discussion topics at this event were less about on-field action and more about evolving technologies that enhance the fan experience and fill seats.

The talk was exciting for me in my career as a digital marketer–these guys have metrics on everything–and eye-opening from my perspective as a sports fan–who knew they could track bathroom traffic at stadiums in real-time?! But how can Human Resources departments–large and small–incorporate technology into their operations?

Start With A Clear Destination

Before adopting new technology, an organization should first have a clear understanding of its business objectives and goals.  From there, it’s a matter of exploring and selecting technologies that will provide employees with value-added assistance in meeting important objectives–those that will directly impact business goals.  In varying degrees and ways, each sports organization uses technology to meet important business objectives. However, all three emphasized the importance of using technology to engage the community, with the goal of cultivating passionate, loyal fans to fill their seats.

In the world of Human Resources, our organizations can use technology to engage job applicants and fill our “open seats” with passionate, loyal new hires too. Let’s explore how this can be done by taking a look at how these sports organizations engage and cultivate fans.

Engaging Applicants-More Than Filling Seats

A common theme throughout the conversation was that, yes, the goal is to fill the seats, but focusing on gross tickets sales as the sole indicator of success is a mistake. For these organizations, it’s more about building relationships with fans for the long haul. In fact, Mr. Laycock likened it to dating, wherein a team gradually develops a closer, stronger relationship with a fan; the end-goal is to gain and maintain a fan’s lifelong loyalty, which is hopefully expressed through annual ticket purchases.

For HR Departments, we are looking to find the right match for our organization too–although this is speed dating, and we have many significant others, and…well let’s just stop the metaphor there. The point is: we want to attract talented people to our organization who stay and become passionate brand ambassadors. These individuals will value both our organization and the relationship they have with it.

Does your hiring process seek to find, hire, and onboard individuals who will be passionate, loyal fans of your organization? If not, you’ll be looking to refill your seats real soon, and your organization will suffer for it. To avoid this, consider investing in an Applicant Tracking System that streamlines the hiring process and increases applicant engagement through  automated job postings to multiple job boards, integrated social media sharing, and timely, personalized applicant status updates and follow-up requests. By utilizing this technology, you’ll provide a more welcoming hiring process for the applicant and have more time to meaningful interact with job candidates–your future fans.

Engaging Applicants-Highlight Star Players

With the right perspective on what your hiring goal is (hiring passionate, loyal fans of your organization) and a strong foundation of hiring technology in place (a robust Applicant Tracking System), you will be ready to attract top talent to your team. To do this, you must impress job seekers with how awesome it is to be a part of your team. It’s important that you do this in a way that is–and is perceived to be–authentic. There’s no better way to do this than to highlight your star players.

Pat McAfee of the Indianapolis Colts has over 300,000 followers on Twitter. His tweets inform, entertain, and ultimately galvanize the Colts fan-base. The content isn’t always about his place of employment, but this works to the Colts’ advantage as it helps in reaching new fans–especially younger ones. Do members of your team have a platform from which to tell their story?

engaging applicants as fans

McAfee engages fans through Twitter.

Job seekers need to experience it to believe it. If your organization is only providing a list of “Why ‘ABC Corp.’ Is A Great Place To Work”, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to engage job seekers who are looking to bring their talents to a special place. Highlight your current employees via your website and social media to illustrate not just what your organization is about, but who it’s about. If you already employ passionate, loyal fans of your organization, then you’ll likely attract the same.

Engaging Applicants-A FANtastic Experience

FANtastic Experience
This is FANtastic!
Courtesy of totalprosports.com

 

We know that an Applicant Tracking System can provide an HR Department with the time and features needed to make a positive impression on job applicants. But what happens after you’ve hired and filled the open seat? What is the new hire’s experience?

Onboarding a new hire is equivalent to welcoming a new fan to their first game. The Pacers, Colts, and Indy Eleven don’t stop engaging fans once the ticket is sold. They continue strengthening their fan relationships with the goal of cultivating life-long fans. These organizations use technology to accomplish this where it makes sense, but these are simply tools to convey a sentiment: you belong and you are appreciated.

How does your organization provide a fantastic experience for new hires? This question, of course, is part of the larger topics of  “work culture” and “employer brand”. But a simple way to create a pleasant experience for your new employees is to provide them with a highly organized and personalized onboarding experience. And again, this can be accomplished with the help of technology…Onboarding Software.

Just as a new fan’s first-game experience should not be marred by long waits at the gate, concession stand, and restroom; a new hire’s first day should not be marked by completion of forms, redundant tasks, and an office supply scavenger hunt. Onboarding Software can streamline the common tasks associated with the onboarding process and eliminate the need for new hires to fill out stacks and stacks of forms.

When your organization’s new employees are not swamped with an endless number of mind-numbing tasks or confused about what form is needed next, they are free to interact with new colleagues and begin building a relationship with your organization. This also provides the organization with the opportunity to be creative with how it welcomes and orientates new employees. An onboarding like this will show appreciation for new hires, and it contributes to their sense of belonging.

New Economy New Rules

In today’s competitive economy, finding and hiring talented individuals to fill your open seats (and stay in them) is vital for an organization’s continued growth and profitability. Successful organizations like the Colts, Indy Eleven, and Pacers invest in technology to efficiently reach business objectives, HR departments can do the same by embracing technology as a tool to improve the hiring and onboarding processes. It’s important to know that an investment in hiring technology will certainly create efficiencies in operations; however, more importantly, it will support a powerfully engaging experience for applicants and new hires–one that will cultivate passionate, loyal employees–and fans–of your organization.

 

ExactHire offers hiring technology that helps small to medium sized organizations scale for growth. Our HireCentric Applicant Tracking System features social media and job board integration to maximize an organization’s recruitment operations. Additionally, our Onboarding Software helps ensure that new hires enjoy a FANtastic experience with your organization.  Learn more by contacting a member of our team today!

 

Image credit: Game Over by Andrew Malone (contact)

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

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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!

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How to Lure Unemployed Passive Job Seekers: Part 2

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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

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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.

 

5 Ways to Get Your Recruiting Emails Noticed

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Are  you constantly sending out recruiting emails that receive a lackluster response? Here are five ways you can grab the attention of that uber-qualified employee and get them on the track to working for you!

 

Specific Subject Lines

Subject lines are the little previews that help the recipient decide to open the message or not. By sending emails with a personalized and clear subject line, you are more likely to gain your target’s attention.

Introduce Yourself

Do not spend a paragraph explaining what you are doing before you explain who you are to the recipient. If you are lucky enough to have a highly qualified candidate take interest in your efforts, you will want to prove you are a real person and that you truly are interested in them specifically.

Describe the Open Position

Do you really think that this person is going to respond to you now, when they don’t even know what the open position is all about? It may seem obvious, but you have to very briefly describe the opportunity. If you have any hopes of getting the right person into the company, you need to be realistic about the position and include that short synopsis information in your initial email.

Connections to the Candidate

Using connections is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and that is because it works! Just like an applicant that comes by referral might get an interview, you might get some attention if a mutual acquaintance introduces you first.

Wrap it Up

Remember, you want this person to work for you because they he or she is awesome. That probably means that he/she is also busy. So spit it out and say goodbye. Make sure you tell the candidate how you plan to follow up. You may want to leave it open, but most likely you will want to ask to speak in person or over the phone soon. This way you can answer any questions or ease any concerns he or she may have about pursuing a new job.

 Following these simple steps will help you achieve a greater response to your recruiting emails. Good luck on your hunt for talent!

 

Looking for a better organized way to keep track of your applicant management efforts? For more information about our recruiting software solution, please visit our resources section

 

Image credit: Standing out by MaxIFaleel (contact)

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