Tag Archives: Recruiting

LinkedIn Taking the Place of Headhunters

linkedin-questionsThe most common way that companies hire is through referrals. The New York Times stated in an article that “the referred candidates had a 40 percent better chance of being hired than other applicants.” The site LinkedIn has allowed companies to look up multiple referrals through the internet; without even contacting another person. It has become the new hiring landscape for many businesses. LinkedIn has digitally replaced the tasks provided by headhunters. Headhunters can also be extremely expensive for companies; so cutting this cost is beneficial and headhunters even use LinkedIn too.

However, now headhunters have another job; their roles have switched to become more exclusive and expensive. Headhunters wouldn’t still be in existence if LinkedIn took over all of the recruiting efforts. Most of the time the applicants that the distinguished companies are looking for already have jobs and aren’t even searching for another position. One interview with Dan Martineau, conducted by the Business Insider stated, “Most of the time – probably 85 percent- we recruit people who don’t want to leave their jobs.” All the different sites that are currently available are simply tools for the recruiting process. Recruiting still relies on some sort of human interaction and building relationships; companies need to take advantage of that. The reason why some companies still pay the high cost of headhunters is because they can provide results that LinkedIn can not.

Pre-Employment Testing Vs. Applicant Tracking Systems

Test-with-bubbleMany companies go through the issue of hiring the wrong people. They become more reliant on background tests and pre-employment testing to ensure they are hiring the top qualified applicant for the job. They can screen applicants by using cognitive tests, personality tests, background tests, drug tests, emotional intelligence tests, and talent assessment tests. Employers create and administer tests that are associated with the certain job title. For example, if you are applying to an HR position, an employer would assign you a test based on the tools and skills you should know if you are applying to that position. This is completely different from a regular background test; because it goes beyond personality testing. The employer can then confirm that the applicant is paralleled to what they state on their resume. These are known as Talent assessment tests. All of these types of tests can be administered online or they can be given during the hiring process in the office.

These tests differ from applicant tracking systems. An applicant tracking system is a software application that allows businesses to manage resume data and all applicant information. The submitted information is accessed through both internal information and from information posted on job boards. They are typically cloud-based programs that can sort and align resumes accurately with job descriptions. The main benefit to ATS is that there is one primary database for a company’s hiring efforts. It allows them to organize and manage human capital.

The combination of having an applicant tracking system and pre-employment testing will help companies accurately hire the right candidate. The only downfall is that these systems can be costly and time consuming for companies that aren’t big enough to manage them. They make the the hiring process easier mostly for larger companies. The medium and smaller sized companies usually chose one of the two systems to help them with their hiring process; because they need to dedicate their time to growing the company.

 

 

Differences in Hiring Between the Generations

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The baby boomers, generation X’s, and generation Y’s all have differences in their working habits and should be treated differently within the workplace; especially when it comes to hiring. Depending on the different generation, the employer has to attract him or her to their business based on that generation’s working style and habits. Establishing a hiring process generated for the different generations not only can increase productivity, but also increase job retention.
The baby boomers are known to be loyal to one job and have a longer job retention. The baby boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964, who make up about 20% of the American public. This is a large portion because after World War II, there was a spike in the birth rate. They appreciate having stability within their workplace and remain loyal to their employers. They tend to prefer an organization that has a strong sense of community and one that has a lot of support within the organization.

People who are a part of the generation X are typically attracted to organizations that provide a stable and flexible work environment. The generation X includes people who were born between 1965 and 1980, and make up about 48 million Americans. Most of them are now reaching into their 30’s and 40’s and over 60% of them attended college; which makes them more educated than the baby boomers. They tend to appreciate autonomy and freedom within the workplace. Generation X’s also are usually attracted towards jobs that provide them with a lot of life balance and time to have fun within their work activities.

Generation Y’s , or the millennials, are more fitted to work in teams; they like collaboration. The millennials are people who are born between 1980 and 2000 and are just starting to emerge in the workforce. This is a fast growing population in the workforce and organizations need to learn how to fit their needs. Not only are they team oriented, but they also are very achievement based. Unlike the baby boomers they are not likely to stay at one job their entire life; which makes job retention more difficult. They do not enjoy meaningless and busy work; they enjoy productive jobs.

A good recruiter must be able to identify all of these differences in order to effectively hire and retain their employees. They also cannot rely solely on benefits in order to make these generations happy. Recruiters and employers should be able to adjust the way that they treat and manage each of these different types of generations. However, we still have to remember that not everyone is the same and that it is important to really get to know each employee and how they like to be managed. This may seem like a rigorous and time-consuming, but it will surely increase productivity.
http://legalcareers.about.com/od/practicetips/a/GenerationX.htm
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/baby_boomer.asp

Writing a Captivating Job Description

ID-100111821Quality job descriptions attract quality people. If your company’s job descriptions don’t stand out from the typical page-long bullet lists that oversaturate Craigslist, you’re not going to catch the attention of the most qualified individuals for an open position. While writing a compelling job description will require more thought than writing the ordinary bullet list-styled description, the payoff will be worth the extra time you put in. Your company will receive applications from talented, creative individuals; the type of people who ignore boring job descriptions out of fear that the work environment will be equally boring.

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6 Steps toward Making Better Hiring Decisions

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The effects of a bad hire on a firm can be devastating. Not only does a poor hiring decision result in wasted time and money, it can be detrimental to morale in the workplace. A recent Robert Half International study in which over 1,400 CFOs were surveyed found that 35% of participants felt morale was “greatly” affected by poor hiring decisions. The CFOs also concluded that supervisors spend 17% of their time overseeing incompetent employees. That’s almost one day per week!

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Common Résumé Lies: What to Look For

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When it comes to the particular details that job seekers may lie about, some of them are complete fabrications meant to pull the wool over the employer’s eyes, while others may tweak the details just to give them a little bit of an edge. They’re most likely trying to appear more desirable to a prospective employer, banking on the fact that many employers never check references or verify statements made on résumés or during interviews.

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Reference Checks: Painless & Effective (Part 2)

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So you’ve done your prep work, you’ve initiated the call, and you’ve laid the ground work by introducing yourself, your company, and your open position (see yesterday’s post). Now what? How do you direct the conversation and get what you need to form a fuller picture of the candidate? Let’s return to the call…

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