Engaging the Next Generation of Talent

Every year, Gen-Zers are making up a larger percentage of the workforce — but many talent acquisition teams are still struggling to find, engage, and hire the right early career talent for their roles.

Traditional sourcing tactics are showing increasingly diminishing returns with the newest entrants into the workforce, at a time when most recruiting teams are being tasked to do more with fewer resources.

How is Gen Z approaching the job search? How are members of this generation perceiving the job market given the current macroeconomic climate? How are they choosing to engage with companies in selecting their next role? And given all that, what can you do to hit your early career hiring and diversity goals in an efficient way?

Join this discussion with William Tincup of RecruitingDaily and Tammy Hart of RippleMatch to hear takeaways from a recent Gen Z survey data, and learn best practices from organizations that are leading the way in early career recruiting.

What you’ll learn:

• Gen Z’s current attitudes and perceptions toward the job market
• The top channels Gen Z is engaging with today in their job searches
• Gen Z’s top criteria when selecting their next opportunity

This will be an insightful, fun discussion that will leave you with immediate takeaways to help you re-engage your Gen-Z candidates.

See you there!

Can’t make the live session? Register now, and we’ll send you the recording and slides when it’s over. 

The post The Gen Z Impact: Navigating a New Era of Recruiting appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Despite the headlines about tech layoffs, the war for top talent is more competitive than we’ve experienced in decades. Job seekers have more power over when, where and how they work – including how they engage with prospective employers during the recruitment and hiring process. 

Companies are competing furiously for talent, and while some companies have adapted to this highly competitive landscape, others are falling behind in terms of competitive offerings and a new level of authenticity needed to attract the best talent. But, one thing remains blatantly clear: a strong employer brand is a deciding factor for prospective employees.

Now more than ever, companies need a well-defined employee value proposition (EVP) to showcase they’re a values-driven organization focused on more than just profits. Coupled with a strong engagement strategy to target this message to prospective employees and a commitment to a positive and smooth candidate experience, EVPs will be a key ingredient to winning the ongoing talent wars.

What is an EVP and Why is it Important?

Defining and building an employer brand is not a task that should be taken lightly – it’s a meaningful way to showcase what your brand stands for, and can impact many facets of the business. While it’s often mistaken for sentiment about company culture and employee engagement, it is far more about what the employer offers to its employees; much like a product value proposition is to the consumers who purchase said products.  

The EVP is how businesses market their value to new talent and retain current employees. It’s the benefit employers offer to employees about why they should come work for their company. Think about the standard interview question “Why should we hire you?” and turn it around: “Why should you choose us as your employer?”

Your EVP sends a consistent message to customers, partners, the community, etc., about who you are as a company and what you represent. Strong employer branding exercises will consider a combination of company identity, mission, values and workplace culture. However, a succinct, impactful EVP will be the differentiating factor to elevate the brand above countless other companies vying for the candidate’s attention. 

If you don’t have an explicit and authentic EVP you’re communicating strategically to prospective employees, you could be missing out on the right talent to drive your business. Surprisingly, even though most people recognize EVPs as critical to a healthy talent acquisition strategy, 41.4% of companies still don’t have one established. So, the problem is not necessarily that companies don’t realize the importance of EVPs. The disparity lies between knowing it’s important and actually investing in creating one, which leads us to believe establishing and implementing an EVP is the main barrier. For the organizations that may have an EVP, they are often slung together in a few slides and don’t have the foundational research needed to be in tune with reality.  

How to Create an EVP

First, an EVP is part of a much larger discussion around employer branding. It’s not just what you can offer to employees, it’s what your company stands for. Here are just a few steps you can take to establish and implement your own EVP: 

Introspection:

Ask yourself what your company has to offer an employee. Why would they want to work for you versus another company with similar pay and benefits? What can you do for them in the long run? If this proves to be challenging to answer, consider asking existing employees via surveys, focus groups and interviews what they find most valuable and rewarding about working for the company. This is also a great time to reflect on areas of company culture that can be improved upon to attract more talent in the future, while creating a better overall experience for existing employees in the process.

Boil it Down:

Boil the answers down into a few simple sentences or a short paragraph, explaining what you offer employees. It’s easy to just mention good company culture and competitive pay, but it’s more constructive to make it unique to your specific company. Does your company offer flexible work hours (appealing to parents) or unlimited PTO (appealing to millennials)? Is the company involved in any community or charitable organizations? How can you demonstrate the company is a people-first organization with a focus on employee well-being and development?

Establish and Market:

Once the EVP is finalized, establish it within your company first, leading by example and ensuring it’s aligned with current organizational goals and culture. Next, develop assets to market it externally as a part of your employer branding and awareness efforts, careful to strategically target key types of job seekers who can become the future employees you want. It is important to target candidates both on and off the job boards so you are not only targeting active job seekers but also trying to reach them during their daily lives. To stand out, it is important to be proactive about bringing your message to them versus completely relying on the job boards to deliver the best hires. Evaluate the results regularly and tweak as necessary to make sure it’s authentic and resonating with internal audiences and external candidates. To answer ‘why should someone want to work here,’ an EVP is not something that should remain static. Just as the dynamics of the job market continuously change, companies should be aware of the evolving work environment, their employee sentiment, and tweaks to their values as time progresses and cultures and priorities evolve. 

When you break it down, EVPs aren’t as daunting of a task as they might seem, and can make all the difference in your hiring practices. 

The job seekers of today have different priorities and it is still critical to understand this is an employee-dominated market.  It’s not enough to just skate by, you need to stand out. Today, millennials have changed the workplace and Gen Z candidates are rapidly entering the workforce  looking for more than just a paycheck and simple benefits. They want to work for a company that has a mission and purpose, but also puts them first. Strong, authentic EVPs build trust, transparency and excitement about an employer brand – and in the end, will encourage the strongest candidates to apply regardless of the type of workers you need to power your business.

The post Without a Strong Employee Value Proposition, You Can Kiss Top Talent Goodbye appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Skills-based hiring continues to trend.

As you know, skills-based hiring focuses on screening candidates based on their capabilities rather than education or employment history. In today’s hiring environment, if you’re not hiring for skills, you’re missing plenty of potentially high-performing job candidates.

The Benefits of Skills-Based Hiring

When it comes to the benefits of skills-based hiring, the results speak for themselves. In a survey of more than 2,700 employers by TestGorilla, they found dramatic improvements in hiring practices and outcomes when employers shifted to skills-based hiring, including:

• 89% reduction in the cost-to-hire
• 91% reduction in the time-to-hire
• 92% reduction in mis-hires
• 91% increase in employee retention
• 91% increase in hiring diversity

A skills-based hiring strategy also creates a better job-fit for employees, which produces greater job satisfaction, employee engagement, and performance appraisal ratings. Those with high job-fit also tend to better adapt to challenges, seek upskilling, and develop transferable skills.

Shifting Hiring Requirements

In an effort to fill spots in several industries, LinkedIn launched a program guaranteeing job seekers an interview with recruiting teams if they can pass a skills-based test. Look for expansion of this type of strategy in the future.

For years, companies have practiced “degree inflation,” demanding four-year college degrees for positions that didn’t require them. This kept many skilled workers out of the talent pool due to the high cost of higher education. This disproportionately impacted those in lower-income communities, especially people of color, leading to a lack of diversity in the workforce in upwardly-mobile positions. With fewer diverse candidates in entry-level jobs, fewer diverse candidates were being promoted upward in companies.

That’s changing.

A review of job descriptions by the Harvard Business Review showed that employers have started to reduce degree requirements by more than 45% for mid-level employees and about a third for high-skilled positions. Job ads showed a marked shift towards skills rather than specific degrees.

Companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and GM have all shifted their hiring practices and offer some high-level positions to employees without college degrees in an attempt to widen the talent pool and attract different types of candidates. Today, about half of the jobs at IBM do not require a four-year degree.

There’s also a greater emphasis on finding candidates with transferable skills that will help them grow within the organization and upskilling current workers to provide more opportunities for internal movement.

Continuing Need for High-Quality Employees

Employers need workers with the right skills and many are desperate to find quality candidates. Despite some companies cutting back, there are still 11 million job openings in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, turnover continues to be an issue with monthly layoffs, separations, quits, and discharges topping 11.5 million monthly.

Employees Want to Develop New Skills

The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania reported that nearly a third of tech workers, for example, say skills and self-improvement are what they value most about their job. 92% of professional says having access to professional development is important or very important.

Current employees are also seeking more upskilling opportunities to stay ahead of changing work environments. A study by Amazon and Workplace Intelligence showed that seven out of ten employees say they do not feel prepared for the future of work.

By providing opportunities for employees to adapt and learn new skills on the job, employers can retrain and retain workers at a higher level.

More Opportunities for Skills Development

One piece of good news for employers and job seekers is that there are more opportunities for skills development than ever before.

Colleges are offering online courses and boot camps in greater numbers than in years past. The number of massive open online course (MOOC) platforms has risen, offering free courses and unlimited participation. Many employers have started their own training and certification programs to attract the next generation of workers.

Skills-Based Hiring Will Continue

Hiring based on skills is on the rise and will remain that way into the future. Employers need to reassess their hiring practices to see whether they are leveraging this growing trend.

The post Why Skills-Based Hiring is on the Rise and Should Remain that Way appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Modern organizations have to process a staggering number of applications to build a shortlist for each open position. Businesses receive an average of 250 applications for each corporate-level role. The best of these applicants are usually interviewing with more than one company at any time. It is, therefore, in the best interest of businesses to quickly find the right candidates and confirm their employment to prevent losing them to a competitor. 

Why Businesses Should Focus On Optimizing Hiring Pipelines

As businesses compete more aggressively for talent, experienced and motivated candidates are in high demand. Recent research has revealed that 57% of job seekers lose interest in a job if the hiring process is too lengthy. The longer the consideration process is, the higher the chance the applicant will go elsewhere. The best move for these organizations is to optimize their hiring processes to quickly gather the information they need and make a decision. 

Businesses that keep the hiring process short and optimized also experience significant economic benefits. The average American employer spends approximately $4,000 and 24 days on a single hire in labor, software, and outreach costs. These numbers can add up quickly for companies that look to expand or need to manage high turnover rates. Optimizing the hiring process can reduce this cost by freeing up resources such as recruitment personnel and meeting rooms. Hiring managers are also often pulled away from their regular job to interview promising candidates, so reducing the time spent on hiring gives them more time to focus on high-value business activities. 

4 Ways to Spend Less Time Hiring

Identify and Automate Repetitive Tasks

The first step for businesses that wish to eliminate inefficiencies is to identify areas that are ripe for modernization. Hiring teams must report tasks that they find repetitive and time-consuming. These usually include essential steps such as providing candidates with visitor and check-in information, vetting resumes for basic qualifications, coordinating interview schedules, and more. 

HR teams now have access to digital tools that can help them save time when organizing interviews and finding the best candidates. AI-powered tools can scrub resumes and weed out applicants who don’t have the appropriate qualifications for the position even before hiring teams do their initial reviews. Once a shortlist is produced, visitor management software can help hiring teams find the best room for the interview, send the relevant information to candidates and recruiters, and optimize the registration process once the candidate arrives at the office. This can significantly improve the candidate experience—and can position a business as an employer of choice for talented candidates. 

Build Talent Pipelines Ahead of Time

Businesses often know their expansion plans and can anticipate their staffing needs. However, there is often no standardized process to track openings and applicants across business departments. Instead of merely posting job descriptions on job boards as necessary, businesses can build talent pipelines to help them fill open positions faster. Candidates who interview for one position can sometimes be directed to other roles where they might also be a fit.

Keeping records of past applicants and making them accessible across business silos can make it easier for recruiters to build a strong shortlist of candidates early in the hiring process. Recruitment teams must avoid waiting until there is an open position to fill before they build a pipeline that can deliver highly qualified candidates to them ahead of time. 

Streamline the Interview Process

There are many things to consider when planning an interview. Hiring teams must develop the interview questions, form an assessment rubric, find an appropriate location for the interview to take place, find interviewers who are available, and choose the best time for both the interviewer and the candidate. These processes can be streamlined by making this information easily accessible to all team members. Even better, providing this information on an integrated platform also makes it easy for the point person to convey relevant data to the candidate. 

Track Time Spent on Hiring

Once effective and efficient systems are in place, hiring teams may assume that the work is done. However, as tools modernize and new solutions are introduced to the industry, hiring processes can be optimized further. Companies must build a culture of constant improvement. The easiest way to do this is to improve recording and reporting. Hiring teams should track exactly how much is spent on each part of the hiring process. This can help business leaders identify areas of inefficiency and account for recruiting costs better. 

The hiring landscape is unlikely to get any less competitive in the coming years. Businesses must use all the tools at their disposal to ensure that their hiring practices are effective and efficient. Modern software can help businesses reduce hiring costs, focus on high-value activities, and fill open positions faster. Companies that wish to hire the best candidates must put the best practices in place to attract and retain them more effectively.

The post Are You Spending Too Much Time on Hiring? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

A Criminal Record Does Not Automatically Equal Dangerous

Let’s clear the air. It’s crucial not to assume the worst in someone simply because they hold a criminal record, but rather to keep well away from any discrimination and give them a second chance. A criminal record doesn’t automatically mean someone has a murder or theft conviction. They may have been charged with possession of marijuana, which is now legalized. They may have been part of a protest and ended up on the wrong side of the law.

There’s a strong wave of opinion promoting upping our efforts in second-chance hiring. We should be open to employing those with criminal records who find it tough to obtain gainful employment due to their criminal record status. However, the issue bothering many employers is the stigma associated with employing someone with a criminal record. Are we putting our current staff in danger? Are they trustworthy and reliable? Of course, much of this sentiment is a narrative playing out in the employer’s mind rather than the actual reality of the situation.

Why Pursue a Second-Chance Hiring Strategy?

Let’s divide this into two thought directions. One direction is more altruistically concerned, while the other deals with the positives of the second-chance workforce.

The Altruistic Mindset

Altruism is defined as a selfless concern for the well-being of others, even at risk or cost to ourselves. With the stigma around hiring those with a criminal record so prevalent, it does seem like there are risks to second-chance hiring. As humans, we do, however, like to give people a second chance and provide opportunities for those who find it challenging to find employment due to their circumstances.

It is important to point out that much research and gathered statistics point to the fact that most US citizens who are the not-so-proud owners of a rap sheet have yet to actually be convicted of a serious crime. They are perpetrators of misdemeanors, possibly even once-off moments many of us without criminal records have been through often but have managed to get away with.

Offering candidates a second chance because they deserve it is good enough. Of course, rigorous interview processes and screening, as you would for any potential employee, are essential.

A Potentially Motivated Workforce

Obtaining gainful employment is not easy for those with a criminal record. They have to work far harder to gain employment, and often, the job they get is below their skill level.

When you employ someone in this situation, they are more likely to be more motivated to keep their job, making sure they are an asset to the company. Previously incarcerated citizens or those with a bad track record tend to want to alienate themselves from their past. They are eager to build their careers and write a new, more positive chapter in their lives. As the employer, you will have an employee who is highly motivated and eager to learn and develop.

Just a quick online search, and you’ll find many success stories of second-chance employment candidates who have thrived and moved up through the ranks in a company. Let’s not be naive, though. There are, of course, many for who it has yet to work out, but isn’t this the case with any other potential employee?

Industries that Could Benefit from Second-Chance Hiring

It’s important that don’t see second-chance hiring as only trade and labor based. As recruiters, we should screen potential candidates based on their expertise, skills, and motivation. Many candidates with a criminal record have incredible intellectual knowledge and skills to add to the workplace.

However, there is still a deficit and many opportunities available in the labor sector. According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, about 3.5 million workers are “missing” from the workforce, nearly three years after the pandemic took hold of the world. There are opportunities aplenty, and embarking on a second-chance employment strategy could help alleviate the huge labor force deficit.

You know, the typical movie scenario. We’ve all seen it; the notorious hacker turns good and helps the government unearth the devious plots of the enemy with a few swift clicks of the computer keyboard. While this is part of the cinematic world, it could be a reality for many, taking skills used for ill gain and turning them into positives, adding value to businesses and, yes, governments too. Data capturing, research and many remote work opportunities could be an excellent fit for those who might not fair so well in a person-to-person office environment.

Second-Chance Hiring, Looking Ahead

The positives far outweigh any perceived negatives around second-chance hiring. With rigorous screening systems and interview processes in place and stigmas about criminal record holders put aside, there is an untapped workforce of just over 77 million eager to fill positions and grow in their careers. Second-chance hiring should be given the chance it deserves.

The post The Benefits of Second-Chance Hiring appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Brilliant women of all races, sexual orientations, and disabilities navigate bias and question unfair treatment in the workplace daily. They’re keen to lean into their strengths, gain leadership positions, and are fueled with the ambition to succeed. But there are still pipeline challenges and workplace environments holding them back.

According to LeanIn.Org CEO, Rachel Thomas, “Women leaders are not only underrepresented. They’re more likely to be investing in good people management, fostering inclusion on their team, and showing up as allies.” She says that from their research, they’ve seen that “business results are better when there are more women and more diverse leadership.”

This article will examine the state of the pipeline for women and answer questions about the current situation. We also look at the call to action for recruiters and businesses to address the root cause and the reaction, known as the “Great Breakup.”

Cracks in the Leadership Pipeline: Gender and Hiring

The ‘leadership pipeline’ that we’re referring to is the steps taken to “get to the top.” The broken rung on the ladder to the top makes up the foundational issue in the state of the pipeline.

A Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org, surveyed and interviewed 33 participating organizations and more than 40,000 employees. The 2022 report concluded the following stats that continue to see men outweigh women at management levels:

• For every 100 promoted men from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women are promoted
• 40% of the women surveyed said it was commonplace for other people to take credit for their ideas
• There was a 2% drop from 2018-2022 in female employees in technical roles, with only 16% of the position share going to women
• Women are repeatedly “stretched thinner” than men in leadership, with 43% of women leaders burned out, compared with only 31% of men at their level
• 40% of women leaders say their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work isn’t acknowledged

Understanding the “Great Breakup” in the Workplace

The Great Breakup in the workplace is a reaction to the state of the pipeline and the “broken rung.” It refers to a trend of women, particularly those in leadership positions (but also young, ambitious women), leaving their places of employment and seeking new opportunities. Ten percent of women leaders quit their jobs in 2021, with only around 8% of male leaders.

A range of factors affecting women drive this “Great Breakup”:

• The desire for greater work-life balance (flexibility, well-being)
• Underrepresentation of females in leadership
• Dissatisfaction with pay gaps
• Career advancement opportunities elsewhere
• Prevalence of gender discrimination
• Bias in the workplace limits their ability to advance
• Lack of DEI

The Bad News of the Great Breakup

The result of the Great Breakup is a significant loss of female talent and expertise in the corporate world, which can have negative consequences for both individual women and the organizations they leave behind.

Can The Great Breakup Have a Positive Impact?

Certainly! When people stand together to say “enough is enough,” eventually, they’re heard. And women have been chanting this phrase for decades. The Great Breakup allows women an opportunity to pursue careers that better align with their values and goals and to create more inclusive and equitable work environments.

Enough is Enough! What is a Recruiter’s Call to Action?

The Great Breakup in the workplace will hopefully see attitudes and expectations shift when it comes to promoting or hiring female leaders or young women in leadership. It calls for employees to repair the “broken rung” as the root cause of inequality and create a more supportive, unbiased, and empowering workplace for everyone. Companies need to recognize, incentivize, and reward the valuable contributions of their leading ladies. It’s in their interest to foster an environment that gives credit where it’s due. Without change, companies risk losing the future generation of woman leaders too.

As a recruiter, it’s vital to learn how to build a more inclusive candidate pipeline and represent companies that desire to build diverse teams, no matter the field. When you find these businesses, build solid relationships so that you can direct young, ambitious women to the environments they want without compromising their work-life balance.

As a recruiter, you’ll come across many influential female leaders. They are the ones who are willing to drive the shift. Learn from them, present them to employers when they’re suited to the job, and stand behind the trends that push for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The post “It’s Not Me, It’s You”: Understanding the Great Breakup in the Workplace appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Is your language advancing your organization’s approach to recruiting, hiring, and advocating for all genders? Or are you hurting your brand without even knowing it?

Keep reading to learn more about the impact of your brand on gender.

What is the Impact of Brand on Gender and Sex?

We know that word choice is essential to a product or service’s perception. It’s no different for your organization’s brand and how the brand impacts views on gender and sex.

First, let’s understand the difference between gender and sex. Sex is typically categorized as female or male; however, organizations should keep in mind that sex includes variations in biological attributes (and how individuals express those attributes).

Gender, on the other hand, “refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people.”

According to the Association of National Advertisers, “[w]hile many brands are embracing LGBTQ+ inclusivity in their marketing, tackling gender nonconformity authentically can still present a challenge or missed opportunity for some. However, this is a necessity for brands existing in the now and moving into the future gracefully.”

Not only is this an opportunity for brands and branding, younger generations demand it. According to Gallup, “35 percent know someone who prefers a gender-neutral pronoun and 59 percent believe forms should include options beyond the binary (‘man’ and ‘woman’).”

And as far as the workplace? Deloitte has found that Gen Z will surpass Millennials in population numbers while taking the torch as the most diverse generation in U.S. history. Further, “[a]s Gen Zers are about to step onto the world stage, the impact of their entry will be swift and profound, its effects rippling through the workplace, retail consumption, technology, politics, and culture. Radically different than Millennials, this generation has an entirely unique perspective on careers and how to define success in life and in the workforce.”

And this “swift and profound” entry includes employers’ brand and branding, causing employers to question how and when to market to different sexes and genders – without being “insensitive and outdated.”

Why are Language and Branding Important in the Hiring Process?

Job seekers respond differently to language and branding, including as it relates to job searches – causing some applicants not to apply at all. For example, studies show that “gender-coded language” in job ads deters female applicants. Specifically, in an oft-cited LinkedIn study, if the word “aggressive” was included in a job ad, 44 percent of women and 33 percent of men would be discouraged to apply.

Additionally, LinkedIn found that 92 percent of hiring professionals believe that soft skills are more important than hard skills, including job ad language such as leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability.  However, 61 percent of women associate soft skills with the female gender, 52 percent of men associate soft skills with the male gender, and more than 55 percent of c-suite professionals associate soft skills with the male gender.

As you can see, language can impact genders and sexes at all levels of a company – from the job seeker to the hiring manager to the c-suite executive. But, which companies are doing a good job of being more descriptive about the specific job candidate they’re looking for – whether through job descriptions, job ads, or other employer branding language?

For example, Aubrey Blanche, the Global Head of Diversity & Belonging at Atlassian, stated that when it came to using truly inclusive language, they “focused on bringing in more balanced teams as it relates to gender, race, and other underrepresented backgrounds . . . [they]  discovered that we had used language that subtly biased on job ads in favor of white and male candidates, and [technology] helped us more closely align our language to our culture and message more inclusively to a broader set of candidates.”

Promoting an inclusive brand is not always an easy task. Employers must pay attention to language (and reactions to language) across all sexes and genders. However, paying attention to your employer brand’s terminology when recruiting and hiring talent can help you attract more diverse talent while setting a more relevant tone for your employer brand.

The post How Your Language Hurts: The Impact of Brand on Gender appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Hiring mistakes aren’t the only reason startups fail to succeed, but they play a significant role. Here are eight of the most common errors companies make when hiring for startups and how to overcome them.

1. Hiring by Resume, Not Experience

Experience will be a determining factor in success, but it requires the right kind of experience. While interviewers will want to examine a resume and a candidate’s background, it’s more important that they have the experience startups need. Just because someone has a degree or worked somewhere else, it doesn’t mean they can hit the ground running.

Another hiring mistake startups often make is hiring for a particular skill. While that skill may be essential, they must have a depth of experience beyond that skill as well. Employees must be able to juggle multiple roles and responsibilities within startups.

2. Ignoring Red Flags

It’s also easy to ignore the red flags that emerge when talking to candidates, especially if they have the skills the startup needs. It can be tempting to ignore the warning signs that come up and figure it won’t matter if they can get the job done. It does matter.

While companies need to make sure they are treating candidates fairly and without bias, hiring the wrong person can undermine a startup, especially in the early-growth stages.

3. Hiring Within Your Network

When starting a business, it is common for a founder to recruit a few people they know and trust. As companies expand, however, they need to go beyond their personal networks to find qualified workers. Hiring friends and family members can make it difficult when it comes to managing them, especially if it’s not working out.

4. Going Too Big, Too Fast

Many startups want to come out of the gate strong, so they go on hiring sprees even before they are ready. Often, startups are looking to grow in size to show investors that they are serious. Other times, ego proceeds profits.

Hiring for startups should be methodical and aligned with strategic goals. Lean and agile teams have guided some of the world’s best startups.

5. Mismanaging High-Volume Hiring

When it is time to grow, startup hiring often includes bringing on board a large number of employees at the same time. High-volume hiring can be a challenge and hiring mistakes are common.

Prioritize the essential, non-negotiable skills, then look for the right cultural fit. Even when companies need to hire people quickly, they must meet the startup ethos to be successful.

6. Ignoring Cultural Fit

Cultural fit is critical for all hires. Startups often have limited resources when they’re growing, so anyone startups hire has to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Employees must be OK with having to clean the workplace, go buy supplies, take out the trash, run to the post office, or do anything else that comes up.

Hiring for startups also needs to focus on agile and flexible workers. It’s not uncommon for startups to pivot or change priorities as the company evolves. Startups can’t afford to hire workers who can’t adapt quickly when situations change.

7. Hiding Negative Information

Employees want to work for startup founders that are passionate and driven. However, it’s easy to let passion obscure potential roadblocks. During the interview process, make sure to talk about the upside but also discuss any potential negatives about the job.

Employees need to know the reality of the job. They’ll find out soon enough. If a company hasn’t been honest or neglected to tell them negative information, they may not stick around.

If they need a “perfect environment” to thrive, they aren’t suited for a startup.

8. Waiting for Unicorns

While startups need to find key individuals that will drive the company forward, waiting for that unicorn to walk in the door is not a good idea. If unicorns do exist, they’re exceptionally rare. Don’t postpone hiring for key positions hoping to find this mythical individual that may never emerge.

Hiring for Startups

Finding the right employees is challenging in any environment. For startups, it’s essential. Large companies can overcome hiring mistakes, but hiring the wrong people can slow down or cripple startups before they start to gain momentum.

Avoid these common hiring mistakes and improve the odds of startup success.

The post 8 Common Hiring Mistakes Startups Make and How to Avoid Them appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Incentivizing Existing Employees Instead of Recruiting

Hiring during a recession is certainly more difficult, as employers search for capable and available candidates who often overlook such opportunities while they wait for the economy to pick up again.

An uncommon approach to recruiting in 2023 could be to focus less on job seekers and more on talent retention—by providing better incentives than the competition for current employees, organizations could ensure a steady pool of talent ready for new responsibilities, regardless of the economic climate.

Tasia Duske
CEO, Museum Hack

Focusing on Entry-level

Typically, it is a lot easier to hire people during a recession. Since a lot of businesses want to minimize their costs by cutting down their workforce, it means that there are a lot more candidates than there are open positions. Hence, even if you simply stick with your current recruiting approach, you should be able to pool a significantly greater number of applicants compared to normal.

However, while recruiting talent is easier during a recession, retaining talent is much harder. During this time, there is a lot of movement since people are constantly seeking companies that offer better pay or a better work environment.

To address this, our recruiting strategy for 2023 would be to hire more fresh graduates or candidates with minimal experience. Since not a lot of companies are willing to hire these types of candidates during a recession, we’ll face no shortage of applicants, and we can make sure that they will stick with our company in the long term.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Proving Your Company Is Recession-proof

People often transition from one industry to another during economic downturns. They see that certain industries suffer the most during recessions, and on top of that, never bounce back. Lots of people have left print journalism because of declining revenues and resources. Lots of people left the real estate and retail industries during the Great Recession. Many others left the food-and-beverage industry during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As one industry diminishes in terms of manpower, others show signs of growth. Consumer habits also change a lot during a recession—and many of those changes become permanent, often bolstering entire industries. If you’re in a space that shows signs of being recession-proof, the public is going to notice. Job seekers, in particular, are going to notice—and they’re going to want to apply for jobs at your company. You can use that to your advantage.

Brittany Dolin
Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Viewing Recessions as Opportunities

While some companies are starting layoffs and hiring freezes, others see it as an opportunity to bring in skilled staff members. On the verge of an impending recession, a large number of Silicon Valley businesses are suspending hiring and implementing mass layoffs.

For instance, in a note, Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, stated that the layoffs would continue throughout 2023. Tech behemoths like Apple, meanwhile, see the economic downturn as an opportunity. For instance, Apple hired top engineering talent during the economic downturn following 9/11, which allowed the company to introduce the iPhone and iPod in the following years. Business executives must therefore see the recession as an opportunity for long-term growth and act accordingly.

Brian Clark
Founder, United Medical Education

Increasing Digital Marketing and Virtual Tool Usage

It is not necessarily easier to hire during a recession, as there is likely to be more competition for fewer jobs. During a recession, it is important to focus on recruiting the right talent who are driven and have the skills to help your business succeed.

My recruiting strategy in 2023 is to focus more on digital marketing to reach out to a broader candidate pool, and use targeted outreach to find the best talent. Additionally, I will be utilizing virtual recruitment tools to streamline the interview process and enable more efficient decision-making. I will also be leveraging data-driven insights to ensure that my recruiting strategy is aligned with my business goals.

Tawanda Johnson
HR & DEI Consultant, Sporting Smiles

Optimizing the Candidate Experience

The candidate experience will continue to be a deciding factor in competitive hiring. Over the past year, we saw that candidate experience was a critical, deciding factor in the overall success of the recruitment process.

From recruiting to screening to interviewing, providing constant communication, and building a positive candidate experience can make a significant difference in the candidate’s perception of a company and their decision to accept a position.

As the labor market continues to be in turmoil in the coming year, hiring teams will need to build brand-rich candidate experiences that include opportunities to demonstrate their skills through ethical, science-based job previews and/or simulation assessments and offer personalized feedback—as close to real-time as possible—while also providing an opportunity for the candidates to experience what the job is really like.

Eric Sydell
EVP of Innovation, Modern Hire

Leaning into Remote Hires With Diversity and Inclusion

It can be easier to hire during a recession, as there may be a larger pool of unemployed or underemployed individuals looking for work. When there’s a recession, people are more likely to take whatever job they can get—even if it’s not perfect for them or their needs—because they need the money.

This means that companies can find great talent at a lower price point than usual. However, it also depends on the specific industry and job market conditions. Recruiting strategies are constantly evolving and can change depending on economic conditions. We are focusing more on virtual recruiting and remote hiring due to the shift towards remote work. Additionally, we aim to build a diverse and inclusive workforce as part of our recruitment strategy.

Kimberley Tyler-Smith
VP, Strategy & Growth, Resume Worded

Involving the Extended Team in the Process

During a recession, the job candidate pool gets bigger, which is both good and more challenging. An attractive job opening will generate more interest, more candidates and a bigger pile of resumes and cover letters to wade through. You will probably need more people to sift through all of the applicants.

Finding the standouts becomes more labor-intensive, so you will need to devote more resources and personnel to assist you in compiling the best group of candidates. Sometimes, you may need to ask non-managers to help you with that. Call on your top producers to help you, as they know better than anyone else what skills are required to excel at your company. Seek feedback and assistance from them. Hiring during a recession typically calls for more manpower.

Juan Pablo Cappello
Co-Founder & CEO, Nue Life

Finding the Pros and Cons

Yes, it’s a great time for individuals who have taken the plunge to explore something new, such as freelancing or side hustles. This is how startups are born.

Right now, we are seeing Microsoft investing $10 billion in OpenAI but laying off 10,000 staff at the same time. Freelancing opportunities work well during recession times for those who take the brave decision because it pays well and, for the employer, it’s a low-risk strategy.

On the employment side, hiring during a recession can be tricky, and it really depends on the situation. Companies may have limited resources and budgets, so they may have to be more selective in whom they hire. On the other hand, there could be a large pool of qualified applicants, which gives employers plenty of options to choose from. Ultimately, it’s important for companies to carefully assess their needs and figure out what hiring approach works best for them.

Harman Singh
Director, Cyphere

The post Is It Easier to Hire During a Recession? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

It’s no surprise why: neurodiversity hires have been found to benefit workplaces in myriad ways. Neurodivergent describes a person whose thinking is atypical due to their brain and mental makeup. These cognitive abilities are assessed on a spectrum. In a culture that increasingly favors diversity of perspectives, neurodivergent candidates contribute talents and skills workplaces may lack without their presence.

An increasing amount of people in the U.S. identify as neurodivergent, with some studies estimating that up to 15-20% of the country’s population is neurodiverse. This rise is, in no doubt correlated to increased awareness around autism and neurodivergent tendencies. The U.S.’s criteria for diagnosing autism, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, adapts as new studies are conducted. In recent years, more neurodivergent individuals, including children, have gained access to special government-sponsored programs as the manual has broadened to encompass them.

Attracting Diverse Candidates

Before interviews occur, companies are encouraged to advertise their desire to onboard neurodivergent employees on their career pages to attract candidates. The best way to achieve this is to create a mission statement that expresses your organization’s commitment to DEI. A candidate’s first contact with your company will likely be through the marketing department as they investigate your organization’s mission. The first impression your company should make is that all are welcome, including neurodivergent applicants. Candidates that are on the spectrum can be discouraged from applying to job listings that do not offer concessions based on physical and mental abilities. If adjustments can be made to the interview process or the job at hand, it is worth noting this in the job description, along with the DEI policy and stances your company stands by.

Neurodiversity can vary significantly between candidates. Recruiters are encouraged to adjust their hiring practices to not only attract neurodivergent talent but ensure the hiring process accommodates their needs rather than create obstacles to their success. One way to discover what works best for a candidate who self-identifies as neurodivergent is to schedule a short phone call where the recruiter can walk that candidate through the application process and inquire if any portion stands out as an obstacle for the candidate. For example, if the candidate flags they would have trouble with a Zoom interview, the recruiter can offer a phone interview instead.

Interview Processes Should be Accommodating

The key to this process’s success is to operate as though no two neurodivergent candidates are alike because they are not. First and foremost, recruiters and hiring managers should seek to understand each individual candidate, by asking about their preferences before proceeding. For instance, some candidates will likely thrive in an environment free from distractions. So, for in-person interviews – a quiet, clutter-free room will be best. Likewise, if multiple stakeholders are needed to sign off on a new hire, interviews should be conducted individually instead of in a group setting.

Multiple options can be offered to neurodivergent candidates for them to choose the one they are most comfortable with. A concession can be given to a neurodivergent candidate interviewing for a non-client-facing role if interpersonal skills are not a strong suit of theirs. In this case, an interview can take shape in a series of tests that evaluate the skills a candidate will need on the job while forgoing the added pressure of a face-to-face interview where their nature may hold them back. Asynchronous interviews can also be offered to allow a candidate to take their time with the process and present prospective employers with a version with themselves they are comfortable sharing. A written assessment can be given to applicants who express that their personality and skills will best be shared through a written medium rather than verbally.

Put Yourself in their Shoes

A little goes a long way in helping candidates feel seen and valued by prospective employers. This is especially true for neurodivergent talent, who have traditionally been overlooked when recruitment processes are built out. Hiring managers should take a step back and ask if their job listings and recruitment materials are truly inclusive to the most marginalized amongst us.

At the end of the day, the candidate who can perform a job’s duties should be hired, so questions and tasks should provide candidates the ability to demonstrate their capabilities. This can work in favor of a neurodivergent candidate who can excel at a technical skill but may have difficulty answering abstract questions in a formal interview.

If your company already has neurodivergent talent, this is an excellent opportunity to bring them into the process and get a first-hand opinion on what they found challenging about the hiring process or what adjustments could be made in the office to accommodate them.

The post Accessible Hiring Practices with Neurodivergent Talent appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Hiring managers and HR professionals might be surprised at the relevance of NFL hiring for their own recruitment strategies.

Individual Performance and Qualifications Have to be Placed in the Context of a Larger System

Owners, coaches, and other leaders are focused on finding the right fit for the type of organization they’re trying to build. If a team runs an innovative and explosive offense (like the Kansas City Chiefs, for instance), it wouldn’t make sense to hire a staid offensive coordinator who doesn’t want to experiment or take risks. It’s also vital to hire coaches that fill a gap in the staff and add value. If you already have an excellent running back coach and your ground game is stellar – while you’re struggling to put the ball in the air – it might not make sense to hire an offensive coordinator with extensive experience coaching running backs.

Of course, there are exceptions – the offensive coordinator might be a great pick for other reasons. But the overarching point still holds: a new hire has to be a good fit in terms of skills, experience, and temperament. The same principle applies to any hiring process – by ensuring that a new employee is synchronized with the rest of your team, you’ll amplify the team’s strengths while reducing the likelihood of conflict. At a time when two-thirds of company leaders say the organization’s culture is even more important than its strategy or operating model, finding people who complement your existing workforce and share your values is critical.

Assess Candidates Systematically and Fairly

Belichick found himself at the center of a major controversy about representation among head coaches in the NFL last year. On January 24, 2022, Belichick texted Brian Flores (the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins) to congratulate him for landing a job as head coach of the New York Giants. There were just two problems: First, Flores hadn’t, in fact, been selected for the job (which was going to Brian Daboll, hence the confusion). But even more disconcertingly, Belichick texted Flores two days before he was scheduled to interview. When Flores sued the NFL for racial discrimination, these messages were part of the lawsuit, as they suggested that the Giants were only interviewing him to avoid falling afoul of the Rooney Rule – which requires teams to interview at least one diverse candidate.

Fairness and objectivity should be integral to any organization’s hiring process, especially at a time when DEI has never been more important. Beyond the fact that the perception of fairness and representation is crucial – three-quarters of candidates report that a diverse workforce is a key factor when evaluating job offers – companies should never make hiring decisions on the basis of limited information. Every candidate’s application should be given equal weight and selections should be made on the basis of their likelihood to succeed in the role.

Objective tools such as pre-employment assessments can mitigate the bias that often creeps into conventional approaches to hiring (such as resumes and unstructured interviews), while a consistent set of criteria for all candidates will hold everyone to the same standard. No matter what strategies and resources you use, respect candidates’ time and focus on providing an excellent hiring experience. This is what the Giants failed to do when Flores interviewed for a job he knew he wasn’t going to get.

Make Your Hiring Process as Holistic and Data-Driven as Possible

One of the most significant resources NFL coaches have is access to a vast amount of data. For a potential defensive coordinator, teams can analyze everything from points and yards given up to turnovers to fourth down stops. For an offensive coordinator, they can examine total passing and rushing yards, red zone success percentage, points scored, and countless other indicators of performance. But the most incisive analysts go beyond top-line numbers and consider potential coaches holistically, which means asking questions such as: what injuries did they have to work around? How difficult was their schedule? How did their numbers improve or deteriorate over the season (or over longer time horizons)?

Like NFL coaches, hiring managers have never had more access to data about candidates. But data by itself only gets you so far – you have to be capable of extracting the signal from the noise and determining how well candidates will perform on the job. In some cases, this means balancing a sparse resume with impressive performance on certain projects or assessments. In others, it means taking a close look at how unique skills could transfer from industry to industry. Every candidate should be evaluated as an individual.

Final Thoughts

The most successful hires in the NFL will be the coaches who build on an organization’s existing strengths, provide skills and perspectives that are missing or underemphasized on the sidelines, and have a record of adaptability and success in the League. These are all fundamental characteristics that hiring managers in any industry should be focused on.

The post What Hiring Professionals Can Learn From the NFL appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Studies also show that diversity hiring helps organizations:

• Expands their talent pool
• Increase skills, talents, and experiences
• Improve innovation and creativity
• Improve problem-solving capabilities

Harvard Business Review research shows that more diverse organizations are significantly better positioned for companies looking to grow and expand into new markets. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are also important to employees. Nearly three-quarters of employees agree or strongly agree that diversity in the workplace is essential.

Implementing and Ensuring Diversity in Hiring Strategy

In today’s job market, companies need to refine their hiring strategy if they want to attract a diverse pool of candidates.

Companies need to assess the marketplace and set realistic diversity hiring targets. This brings diversity to the forefront and helps organizations evaluate their current and future needs. How companies achieve those goals often comes down to how they communicate.

Setting clear expectations, objectives, and goals should be a top priority for organizations that want to improve workplace diversity.

Avoid Poor Communication

So, how do organizations avoid poor communication? Here are a few areas to evaluate to get started.

Review Job Ads

Poor communication can enter hiring practices inadvertently. To attract diverse talent, businesses need to be aware of how this happens. For example, Hewlett Packard’s tracking showed that men tend to apply for jobs if they have 60% of the qualifications. However, women tend to apply only if they meet 100% of the qualifications.

So, the more job qualifications listed, the fewer women are likely to apply. Stick to the core, must-have requirements, and avoid the laundry list to attract more diverse candidates.

Candidates from different countries may also have different skills, training, or degrees. So, requiring a specific educational background may discriminate against candidates that have different backgrounds.

Check Brand Messaging and Reputation

If companies have a poor reputation when it comes to diversity or send the wrong brand messages, diversity hiring is going to be an uphill battle. Take proactive steps to foster diversity within the organization. Review branding to ensure the images and messages used appeal to diverse candidates. For example:

• Is there true diversity within your organization?
• Do pictures of team members on websites or job boards reflect a diverse staff?
• Do time off policies include more religious holidays or important events for diverse employees?
• Are pay scales within the organization equitable?

Improve Listening Skills

Cultural groups may communicate differently, so it’s crucial to ask probing questions and listen carefully to the answers. Understand that when two people from different cultural groups are talking, the process may be slower and require follow-up questions to extract additional information.

This also helps to overcome any potential language barriers that exist.

For example, business communication styles in Western cultures tend to be direct, while other cultures tend to be more discrete in how they communicate. Active listening skills will be essential to avoid confusion.

This is especially important for employees that have to communicate in a language that is not their native language. They may be subject matter experts but have difficulty communicating in a second language.

Be Aware of Body Language

Different cultural groups have different norms for body language. Job applicants in the U.S. are coached to have a firm handshake and maintain eye contact with the hiring manager. Yet, many Far East countries perceive a strong handshake as aggressive. In some cultures, a limp handshake is a standard. Eye contact also varies across different groups. In some countries, strong eye contact is considered inappropriate and even confrontational.

There are plenty of other cultural differences when it comes to body language and gestures. Nodding is seen as a sign of acceptance or agreement in Western cultures, and in other cultures, a nod may signify acknowledgment rather than agreement. The OK sign and thumbs up may be perfectly acceptable in the U.S., but they are seen as extremely offensive and insensitive in some cultures.

HR teams and hiring managers need to be aware of these cultural differences and how they communicate when interviewing. So, next time a candidate doesn’t look you in the eye or offer a firm handshake, don’t judge them based on body language alone.

Help Diverse Hires Succeed

Some workplaces may struggle to successfully integrate diverse employees into their organization. This requires effective communication with current employees and the onboarding process for new hires.

Current employees need to understand the value of diversity in hiring and develop an appreciation for cultural differences. This is especially important for managers that may have to adapt their communication style to use inclusive language and account for cultural practices and norms. It can be easy to offend someone unintentionally by using the word words or communication styles.

New employees may need a mentor to help them navigate the existing cultural differences. Workplace norms that are taken for granted may be foreign concepts to those from different cultures. Mentors can help new hires better understand expectations and provide new hires with a person they can go to when they have questions or concerns without judgment.

Hiring and Retaining a Diverse Workforce

In most cases, improving hiring diversity and retaining a diverse workforce can be summed up in one word: Respect. When companies show respect for different cultures and genders, they provide a more positive, inclusive culture. That starts with the way leaders, managers, and team members communicate with each other and demonstrate respect.

The post Diversity in Your Hiring Strategy: The Importance of Communication appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Chipotle is gearing up and announced they’re looking to hire 15,000 restaurant workers — about a 15% increase in their total workforce. The company is looking to staff up existing restaurants and overcome the quick-serve industry’s consistent challenges with turnover.

Is This Mass Hiring Strategy a Smart Move?

This sounds like great hiring news for those looking for restaurant jobs, but is it a good move for the company?

Many companies in 2021 and 2022 worried about finding qualified workers and over-hired. Mass hiring also turned into mass layoffs in several industries in the latter part of 2022 and the start of 2023, especially in the tech sector.

Hiring fast and scaling quickly can be a recipe for trouble, but the company says there’s a method in its madness within the Chipotle hiring process. The company has an aggressive plan for expansion that would nearly double its stores nationwide to 7,000. They’re hiring en masse now to find those with leadership potential to be team leads and store managers.

Chipotle has found the best candidates for management come from within the company. More than 90% of management roles were internal promotions in 2022, including 100% of regional VPs, 81% of team directors, and 74% of field leader positions. To find tomorrow’s leaders, they need to hire and evaluate today’s workers.

Upskilling and promoting from within are increasingly part of the trends for frontline hiring within many industries today.

What Happens When Busy Season Ends?

Despite the company’s desire to grow, expansion takes time. It’s impossible to construct and open thousands of stores between now and the end of the busy season. Will Chipotle be looking at its own mass layoffs when the burrito season ends?

Maybe. Maybe not. When you consider that turnover rates at Chipotle for hourly crew members average more than 140% annually and turnover for salaried workers and managers can run between 31% and 49%, it may be a smart plan.

The company currently has 100,000 employees. If turnover’s that high, they might easily need to add 15,000 new workers a quarter just to stay on par. With such a significant amount of turnover, Chipotle can evaluate workers during the burrito season and then likely absorb most if not all of the workers that want to stay with the company.

Continued Industry Shortages

The National Restaurant Association says the industry still needs about 450,000 workers. Despite nearly across-the-board wage increases in the QSR and fast-food industry, hiring continues to be a challenge. A growing number of jobs outside the restaurant industry are also hiring workers from a similar talent pool.

While other restaurants may not be hiring at the same rate as Chipotle, the Association’s recent survey of operators showed that 87% would hire additional employees if they could find qualified workers.

The post Chipotle’s Hiring Surge: What Happens After Burrito Season? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

However, their collaboration directly impacts the whole hiring process and recruiting budget. Want an example? Calculate the cost of an open vacancy posted on job boards for an extra month, and add the time devoted by each participant in the process to measure how important productive cooperation is. Wow, huh?!

And it’s not just that. Here’s a list of metrics you can improve by establishing effective communication between these parties:

• Time of hire 
• Cost of hire 
• Quality of hire
• Market reputation 
• Quality of candidate’s feedback

Hiring managers tend to minimize their role in reaching the results in the metrics mentioned above, delegating everything to a recruiter. If they worked as one team and shared trust and responsibility, the recruitment process could reach another level.  

With a clear and detailed request from an HM, a recruiter knows precisely how to begin sourcing and to attract relevant candidates. Doing so allows the company to fill the position more quickly, ultimately saving money. 

Everyone wins when a recruiter and an HM are on one team and have a common goal of finding the best candidate. Let’s imagine what a cost-effective recruitment process can look like and outline effective communication between a recruiter and a hiring manager:

Requisition 

 This is where everything begins. Recruiters don’t come up with new positions, they receive requests from hiring managers. And the more detailed and specific it is, the easier it’ll be to find the right fit for those requests.

Here is how my team and I simplified this process at Belkins. When our departments started to grow really fast, we decided to try hiring cards. What’s that and how do they look?

When an HM requests a new position, they fill in the hiring card that includes:

• A detailed list of hard and soft skills
• Education requirements
• Years of experience
• Future responsibilities
• Typical work schedule and daily tasks
• The teams and roles candidates will collaborate with
• A stop-list of companies candidates worked in
• A list of the most desired companies for sourcing candidates
• Link to the test task
• The main reason and purpose we are opening this vacancy
• Budget limits, bonuses, and other critical financial issues.

Having this list, our team of recruiters can perform laser-focused search and deliver the best candidates. Moreover, we always keep the hiring card in front of our eyes during the first interview. Thus, all the information is in one place, so we don’t need to juggle multiple files.

But to make it go like clockwork and eliminate miscommunication, this process has gone through many iterations and improvements. The biggest problem was that the HM could edit the card in the middle of the hiring. Once we opened the position, it turned out that some new details were not approved by C-level. After this case, we subscribed to a service that automizes the approval process.

You can take it into account to standardize and speed up your recruiting. This may not be a perfect fit for small startups, but if your company is more than 100 people and fast-growing, it’s an essential step to consider. Automatization moves your requisition step to a new level.

Intake Meeting 

This step is crucial to align all hiring details. While discussing the requirements and responsibilities, a recruiter and HM come up with valuable insights for the job description and improve it.

To make it highly productive, I recommend recruiters cover these topics:

• • What is the purpose of a new hire? What value do they bring to the team? This point empowers the recruiter to better present the role during the first interaction and write the vacancy description. It will also be helpful to ask an HM to describe a role as if they present it to a candidate.
  • What are the KPIs for this role, and what do you expect from the candidate during probation? This is one of the most popular questions candidates ask recruiters during the first round of interviews. It’s great when the recruiter voices such details to give the candidate a bigger picture.
  • What are the growth opportunities and career paths for this position? Candidates should have additional motivation to accept your offer. Career perspectives are that factor. So to provide them with a clear understanding of what to expect after months and years at your company, an HM should mention this during the intake meeting.
  • Ask to describe what soft skills are critical for this role. What are the must-have and nice-to-have hard skills? The purpose of this question is pretty obvious, but when the HM list them personally during the meeting, the recruiter obtains more detailed information to better prepare for the interview.
  • What technologies or tools should a perfect candidate know (must-have and nice-to-have)? This detail lets the recruiter filter resumes of candidates that don’t match the desirable tech stack and ask more specific questions about tools proficiency.
  • Indicate your red flags and describe a candidate you’d never hired for this role. This way, the recruiter will know the behavior and professional details to pay attention to and skip unsuitable personas.
  • Is there anything regarding this position that can alert the candidate (like a late evening working schedule or lots of monotonous work)? It’s essential to outline all specifics that might sound negative to candidates. No other person knows that better than the hiring manager. To save time on further nonproductive interviews, include this topic in the intake meeting. Knowing all possible red flags for candidates, recruiters can articulate them better in front of the person.
  • What kind of personality might not pass probation for this role? Possible case: a highly creative individual is applying for a role where the processes are very regulated.

The main goal of this meeting is to articulate everything to simplify the work for recruiters. Clear communication and proactive involvement of both parties will ensure the success of your teamwork; otherwise, you’ll waste your time.

Here’s the actual case from my experience. Once my recruiting team received the requirements for the Assistant role. While discussing the details with the HM during the intake meeting, we realized that this position was also managerial and not just assisting. The precise title was more likely Manager or Coordinator. After fine-tuning the name of the role, we quickly closed the vacancy.

Resume Screening 

Recruiters often do the first screening and make a short list of candidates. HM should plan their involvement in this process and help a recruiter. This is especially important when candidates apply for highly creative roles and have portfolios that need a professional opinion. It usually takes time, but the hiring team should do their best to act quickly and maintain a smooth candidate journey. 

We included the HM in the process of reviewing the portfolios when hiring graphic and UI/UX designers. This is how it works:

• A talent sourcer or junior recruiter collects portfolios and attaches more details about the candidates to the applicant tracking system.
• They create a task for hiring managers with deadlines to review the portfolios.
• The hiring manager — the creative director in our case — comments on each applicant; estimates the content quality and their professional skills.
• The recruiters have a list of qualified candidates with whom they can book the first interview.

It really saves time for recruiters, because relevant candidates are already filtered.

Recruiter Interview and the Preliminary Feedback 

To provide the hiring manager with all the necessary specifics on candidates, recruiters should collect ultimate feedback on the applicant. My team streamlined this process by incorporating a feedback form in our applicant tracking system. To make the hiring process flexible, we customized it for each role’s specific soft and hard skills.

I also recommend creating your checklist, including all critical points discussed during the intake meeting. Thus, all recruiter feedback will be transparent, comprehensive, and accurate for an HM. This way, you will avoid spending extra time for the additional meeting to discuss candidates.

Also, make a short recap of the interview or record it so that an HM can see what you were talking about. Sometimes an HM asks candidates questions they have already heard from a recruiter, which is unacceptable and only makes the interviews longer. So having a customized system that tracks all the details from interviews, including feedback from recruiters and HMs, is the best way to make the hiring process smooth for everyone.

Skills Assessment

In my company, we omit this stage only for the head and C-level candidates: for such positions, we make more time for interviews and ask more specific questions to assess the hard skills. For the rest of the applicants — especially those whose work implies much creativity and profound analytical skills — our HMs provide pilot tasks.

I recommend ensuring the relevant task is added to the hiring cart. This way, recruiters won’t miss it and won’t confuse it with other test tasks.

The next step is assigning the task review to the manager. It’s among their top interests to check it out as fast as possible, so usually, recruiters don’t have to wait too long for feedback. But things happen: busy day, too many side tasks, lots of important meetings. HMs can accidentally forget the skill assessment task. So to get this process clear-cut, recruiters can notify managers by themselves or implement a tracking system that sends notifications automatically after the test task is completed.

Finally, applicants should receive detailed feedback. This is a good way to establish your reputation in the labor market. Even if they get rejected, find the right words to share your appreciation for their time and give insightful advice that will help and inspire them to improve. Always find time for this vital step, and warn your HM in advance that you will need detailed feedback from them.

Hiring Manager Interview 

Here are the most time-saving pieces of advice for recruiters:

• Book a slot in the hiring manager’s calendar in advance. For example, book preliminary slots next week in the morning/evening/noon. When a recruiter has a good candidate, they can suggest alternative slots and avoid pushing busy hiring managers to find free slots in their calendars. So easy.
• Provide managers with your personal feedback after the introduction interview. Give them a recap of your conversation, its record or main outlines.
• Prepare a feedback form or a checklist for the hiring manager, considering the role requirements.
• Assist an HM when evaluating and comparing candidates.
• After the meeting, provide an HM with detailed feedback on their performance. How good were their questions? How professional were they acting? Were they too harsh or too nice? Communicate on the moments hiring managers could improve before the next appointment.

I join as many HM’s interviews as possible to see how everything goes, what they talk about, feel their mood, etc. It helps me improve candidate selection from my side and the hiring skills of managers who don’t have deep recruiting expertise. We often discuss interviews and can clearly see a positive dynamic in their quality.

Final Interview

Depending on the company’s size and management style, HM interviews close the hiring series. However, some positions require a final interview with the CEO, founder, or co-founder. Thus, the final decision is made by them.

An HM chooses 1-3 top candidates and recommends them for a final interview. Regarding the appointment, no changes here. The whole process looks pretty much the same as the HM interview. Founders and C-level executives fill in the same feedback forms and make interview recaps with recruiters.

This extra step helps double-check the hiring manager’s feedback because sometimes when the team is rushing to close a hot position, they want to hire the first good candidate they stumble upon.

Candidate Feedback

Do your best to turn candidates who didn’t pass the interview into your ambassadors. Later they will say to their friends something like, ‘I wasn’t hired by this company, but their team is great; it was the best interview process I ever had. They specified why my portfolio didn’t match their requirements and what I should improve.’ Such positive reviews from the candidates who didn’t make it bring priceless value to your employer brand. Furthermore, some candidates will get inspiration from communication with your team, will improve and come back again.

Here are a few tips to make the best of this step:

• Explain to all the participants (hiring managers, founders, CEOs) the importance of giving a detailed feedback. They should know that the employer’s image in the labor market is as critical as our image for our customers.
• Give the participants a strict time limit for giving feedback.
• Ask to outline the strongest sides of the candidates.
• Ask to describe the moments the applicants need to work on.
• Once again, give a brief recap of their hard skills, focusing on their pilot task.

The recruiter usually consolidates all the data and crafts solid feedback, considering the things mentioned above. The HM should be ready to support them and rely on their experience in putting it the right way.

Making an Offer

Even though a recruiter and HM already had an intake meeting, it is good to have another one before “closing” the candidate and finalizing responsibilities, salary increases, and growth opportunities within the team. Sometimes things may change depending on a candidate and current business situation. 

Making a decision is always challenging, but be sure you send the offer or other feedback shortly after the interview. One day, you may lose a candidate because you spent too much time discussing the job offer internally. So it is worth having a well-organized process between HM and recruiter, hiring policy, and salary range templates.  

Final Thoughts

A hiring campaign is like any other project. It requires an engaged team, clear goals, and efficient communication. The hiring manager is the one who initiates the hiring process, and a recruiter plays the role of the project manager by setting up the team, coordinating KPIs, and keeping everyone on track to achieve the end goal. 

As clearly noted, the initiator and project manager must work together, sharing responsibilities instead of acting as a client-vendor relationship. Mutual support and trust make communication effective and a successful hiring process. 

The post When a Recruiter and a Hiring Manager Come Together appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

But in recruiting, you have to slam those suckers.

It’s no secret that candidates are currently king. They hold the lock & key to an increasingly unpredictable job market, particularly when sealing job deals.

From the beginning, your conversations and every interaction you have with your candidates will impact your relationships with them.

i.e., you have to get it right.

That’s exactly why Larry Anderson, Master of Recruiting, HRTX Alumni, and Talent Acquisition Manager at Slalom, walks us through 7 steps guaranteed to help you hone your strategy and close more candidates – even in this challenging landscape.

A few things we’ll cover:

• Building a buying atmosphere
• How to “trial close” throughout your recruiting process
• The “Debrief” and why it’s important
• Ensuring you candidates want to work with you and actually want the job you’re trying to find them
• “If I (x), will you (y)?”

And more, of course.

When One Door Closes…

So should another. And another. And another.

See you there.

If you have any questions, please contact us directly.

The post 7 Steps to Close More Candidates appeared first on RecruitingDaily.