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.

Regardless of the subtle differences, recruiting strategies should be designed to attract candidates where they are in life and tailored to their unique preferences for job hunting. Employers who want to maintain, build and attract a multigenerational workforce need to understand their audience, the best messaging and medium for recruiting.

Organizations eager to learn how to recruit across generations and attract top candidates should take the following topic tactic for each generation into account. 

Recruiting Gen Z 

Gen Z includes individuals born between 1997 and 2012, and though many are just beginning to enter the workforce, this segment will balloon over the next few years. Therefore, recruiting Gen Z has quickly become a priority for recruiters.

To successfully recruit and attract GenZ, recruiters should consider: 

• Content marketing – Leverage social media channels to boost the company’s presence. Developing helpful content about core values, the company’s mission, non-traditional benefits, retreats and social events for the potential candidates will pique this generation’s interest and allow recruiters to connect organically. However, once engaged, recruiters should personalize communication through email, social and text. For many in this generation, candidates need to visualize how their personal and professional lives can blend. Through content marketing, recruiters can intentionally showcase the company and how candidates can add value with their unique perspectives and experiences.

Recruiting Millennials 

Millennials are candidates born between 1981 and 1996. As technology continues to evolve, this generation of tech natives and early adopters of the newest tech trends are assets to today’s workplace. 

To attract Millennial candidates, recruiters should consider: 

• Hiring timelines – Millennials tend to value communication and feedback, especially during the interview process. Many within this generation value faster interview processes and frequent check-ins. Recruiters should communicate with this generation during each stage of the hiring process to keep candidates engaged. Engagement steps might include creating communications triggered by each recruitment step and being clear about the next steps and expectations. This generation values personalized communication and engagement through text messages, emails or direct messages from social sites like LinkedIn to build rapport quickly. With immediate and constant communication, talent acquisition teams can build rapport among millennial candidates, garner interest and attract top talent.

Recruiting Gen X 

Generation X includes individuals born between 1965 and 1980. As more boomers retire, candidates within this generation are starting to take on more senior-level roles and fill top leadership positions, making Gen X recruiting key to business succession. 

To add more Gen X candidates to the talent pipeline: 

• Clearly define career paths – Collaborate with human resource personnel and research the career path of past candidates who are still with the organization. As a generation that values transparency, Gen X wants to know what it takes to succeed in the role and how others progressed before them. Although some within this generation can be skeptical about opportunities through social media, recruiters can build credibility with direct, one-on-one communication through these channels. 

Recruiting Boomers  

Baby Boomer candidates were born between 1946 and 1964, making them some of the most experienced talent, particularly in leadership positions. 

To find more Baby Boomer candidates, recruiters should consider: 

• Direct communication – Individuals within this segment care about the day-to-day aspects of the position and generally less about company culture, therefore when communicating with candidates, recruiters should explain why a candidate’s experience makes them an ideal candidate for the job, what they stand to gain from the opportunity and present a comprehensive job description. Through direct phone or email conversations, recruiters and candidates within this generational pool can further discuss opportunities for leadership positioning, mentorship and relationship building.

Recruiting for a multigenerational workforce cannot be taken with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Before recruiters deploy their strategies, they should identify the talent they need and want. Then, develop and target the messaging to the audiences based on their unique needs, how they communicate and what they want from a job. By considering and prioritizing a candidate’s generational nuances, recruiters can successfully build a multigenerational workforce to withstand the future.

The post Generational Recruiting: Know Your Audience  appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

A growing trend is for recruiters and career coaches to collaborate. These collaborations allow recruiters to access expertise from experienced professionals in the field. This relationship is beneficial for both parties, as the recruiter obtains a qualified lead and the career coach receives exposure for their services.

There are a few key benefits both sides receive when collaborating.

Help Candidates Prepare for Interviews

When a candidate contacts a career coach to learn how to prepare for an interview, the coach will sometimes offer tips and tricks to make the process more enjoyable or helpful. By partnering with recruiters, career coaches can connect the candidate to a recruiter who may be able to provide additional interview preparation resources. This helps the candidate better prepare and increases the chance of them being hired while providing the recruiter with a highly qualified lead.

In return, when a recruiter comes across a candidate that might not be prepared enough to face employers but could improve, the recruiter could farm out the work to career coaches. The candidate will likely return in a better position to be connected.

Help Lost Candidates Find Their Focus

Many recruiters face the grind of dealing with candidates who don’t know what they want yet. Candidates regularly expect recruiters to have all the answers to their career questions, but recruiters know that’s not always the case. By partnering with experienced career coaches, recruiters can offer candidates a place to find focused advice and guidance on going about their career change.

These partnerships also help increase the chances of referrals being sent back to the recruiter if they are able to send clients over with greater confidence and preparedness.

Increase Chances of Hiring Qualified Candidates

Recruiting firms are often tasked with finding highly qualified candidates for a company. It can be difficult to find top talent, so many recruiters look to career coaches who specialize in helping candidates land the perfect job. By partnering up with these professionals, recruiters gain access to an experienced network of professionals who are connected to the latest trends in the job market and can offer insight into what employers are looking for. This helps recruiters find qualified, motivated candidates more quickly and reduces the time and effort it takes to fill a position with a great candidate.

Provide Continuing Support After the Job Has Been Secured

This can be an added benefit of the referral partnership or a new feature that recruiters will need to work with their clients on. Once a candidate has been placed in the position, it is important to make sure they are properly retained and supported.

By working with career coaches, recruiters can provide continuing support for the successful candidate during their transition into the new job. This can help ensure they remain engaged in their work and grow within the company while reducing turnover rates.

Work with Multiple Career Coaches to Maximize Results

There are many career coaches out there, so it can be beneficial for recruiters to work with multiple professionals. This will give them a broader reach and access to more experienced resources who can offer advice and guidance in different industries. Working with multiple career coaches also offers the potential to get greater value from referrals as they come from different sources.

Recruiters and career coaches have much to gain by partnering together. When recruiters tap into the services of career coaches, they increase their chances of finding qualified candidates and help improve the quality of referrals sent back to them.

You’ll need to work smarter by integrating your new career coach partners into your tracking system and outbound workflow to ensure you attribute referrals correctly, but the extra workload is more than worth the new qualified leads you’ll receive.

By leveraging experienced career coaches, recruiters can provide greater support for successful job seekers during the transition. Ultimately, these partnerships can help both sides achieve their goals while providing better results for clients.

The post How To Gain Qualified Leads From Career Coach Partnerships appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

While the global shift to remote work has widened the pool of candidates, it has also widened the competition for organizations looking to hire the best talent. And although your competitors may be able to offer candidates higher salaries or better benefits, this doesn’t automatically mean your organization is out of the running. 

In the highly competitive global IT marketplace, there are three keys to ensuring your organization can attract (and retain) the best talent. 

Define Audiences and Create Candidate Personas 

The first thing talent acquisition teams should prioritize is knowing their audiences and intentionally thinking about the different candidate personas they are trying to attract – not only today, but also in the future. 

It’s critical for talent acquisition teams and hiring managers to take the time to explore the different cultures related to the various markets they are operating in and to understand what messages and incentives resonate with the different types of people they are trying to draw into the organization. 

What is important and engaging for a software developer in India won’t necessarily be considered important or enticing to a software developer in Bulgaria. The same principle applies to nearly every other position and region across the board. 

There is also a large talent pool that has yet to enter the workforce, and hiring managers should already be thinking about that audience and positioning their organization to get in front of that talent. 

One example of how an organization can create a pipeline of new talent getting ready to enter the workforce is with a structured internship program. If a college student interns with an organization, does a good job and has a positive experience, that employer is effectively creating a talent bench of people who are ready to be hired as soon as they graduate. 

Develop Employer Brand and Showcase Culture 

When trying to attract and retain the best talent in the competitive global IT sector, one of the most important actions an organization can take is publicly showcasing its employer brand and company culture in a truthful, authentic manner. 

Social media is one of the easiest, most effective ways to do this. A strong social media presence that provides visibility into your organization’s inner workings, corporate social responsibility, mission and values, learning and development opportunities, diversity and team bonding activities allows potential candidates to get a glimpse into what it might be like to actually work there. 

When it comes to attracting younger talent and those who have recently entered the workforce, your organization’s social media brand presence is not only important, it’s critical. In fact, 58% of Gen Z and Millennial jobseekers with work experience search for information about potential employers on social media, and 48% have applied to job opportunities they found on social media, according to a study conducted by The Harris Poll. 

It’s clear that when it comes to hiring, Gen Z and Millennials are turning to social media, whether it’s to find job openings or to assess what your company culture is like, but they’re also willing to get involved in company social media if employers simply ask. 

Organizations can establish an employer brand ambassador program with existing employees to exponentially amplify their social media presence. Crowdsourcing social media efforts within your organization has a multitude of benefits including generating higher-quality content, increasing audience reach for that content and bolstering engagement levels. 

Employer brand ambassador programs also have the added benefit of capturing the magic moments behind the scenes of your organization that make it a unique place to work, from feel-good stories about managers who specially recognized a team member, to fun inner-team traditions like weekly trivia, to special moments of hilarity or kindness during virtual happy hours. Your organization’s employees are uniquely positioned to showcase your brand in a way that no one person or team could ever demonstrate on their own. 

Talent acquisition teams should also ensure they are working closely with their organization’s marketing team to help maintain the organization’s brand identity across all platforms and channels. From Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn and Glassdoor, the content that’s being posted by and about your organization is a reflection of your overall employer brand. 

Research has shown that the majority of candidates who are seriously considering a job offer will look at their potential new employer’s social media profiles for any potential red flags before making a decision about whether to join the company or not. 

Prioritize and Personalize Candidate Experience 

Finally, the last and arguably most important piece of the puzzle in helping organizations solve their global IT hiring challenges is ensuring the best possible candidate experience. This helps distinguish your organization from other companies out there vying for the same talent and also because the candidate experience is essentially the brand experience at the end of the day. In fact, 78% of candidates say the overall candidate experience they receive indicates how a company values its people. 

Candidates have reported withdrawing from the recruiting process because of the candidate experience. The top three reasons: 

• • Disrespect during interviews 
  • Poor rapport with the recruiters 
  • The hiring process simply took too long 

A negative candidate experience also has potentially harmful ramifications for your brand. According to research, 72% of candidates with a negative experience will tell others about it or post about it online. That’s not the kind of word-of-mouth any employer brand wants to spread about their organization. 

So, how do we perfect the candidate experience? The first step of this long, holistic process requires meticulously and carefully reviewing the entire journey – starting from the moment an individual decides to apply for a role at your organization, all the way up until their first day on the job – and looking at what’s happening at each stage of the process. 

Organizations should ensure the process is as easy, accessible and straightforward as possible. Is it simple for them to apply online, or does your organization require them to go through ten steps and provide excessive amounts of information? If the answer is the latter, talent acquisition teams should refine the process. 

Throughout the entire candidate journey, frequent communication is key. Candidates should be updated along every step of the process and kept in the loop on the next steps or thoughtfully and timely informed of why they are not right for the position. 

The interview stage is where your hiring team really has the chance to shine. The candidate’s resume and experience should be thoughtfully reviewed in advance by all team members conducting the interview. This shows the individual you are genuinely interested in them and appreciate and value their time. As well, specific questions based on their experience should be asked, and the team should also give the candidate a chance to provide feedback and ask any questions they may have. 

A survey conducted in the U.S. suggests that as high as 93% of job seekers experience anxiety as a result of interviews. A great candidate experience can be a good way of relieving stress among candidates, enabling them to focus on showing your team their best qualities and skills. 

Final Thoughts: Solving Global IT Hiring Challenges 

In today’s candidate-driven global market, candidates often have their choice of job offers. That’s why it’s crucial for an organization’s hiring managers and talent acquisition teams to prioritize knowing their audience, developing their employer brand and perfecting the candidate experience. When these three components work together in perfect harmony, your organization has the best chance of hiring the right candidate for the job and attracting the right talent to your company. 

The post Tips for Overcoming Hiring Challenges in the Global IT Industry appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

The solution is to adopt inclusive job descriptions and communication practices. While it seems complicated, we can break it down to the fundamentals. This means that your job descriptions should contain these three aspects:

• • Role overview and description
  • Overview of daily tasks, performance indicators and deliverables
  • Inclusive benefits, including diversity statements or mental health, PTO benefits or other accommodations for employees

Most importantly, remember that thoughtful job descriptions are often considered the best ones. The time, effort and care you invest in crafting the perfect job description will make a significant difference for the candidates. The results – engaged and diverse teams and more inclusive workplaces. 

Impact of Inclusive Job Descriptions 

It matters what you say and how you say it. Organizations often unintentionally use discriminating language that actively discourages candidates from applying for open roles. Job descriptions with exclusive, gendered or racial language send a message that the position is limited to specific groups of people. 

Instead, language that promotes diversity and inclusion and is welcoming to all is essential to attract and retain employees. Here are some crucial reasons why inclusive job descriptions truly make a difference: 

Prevents Candidates from Self-Selecting 

Companies frequently use terms like ‘ninja’ or ‘rockstar’ and adjectives like ‘dominate’, ‘outspoken’ or ‘confident’ to describe their ideal candidate. Although it might not seem like it, these terms are gender-coded and discourage female candidates from applying for the job. In another example, terms like ‘digital native’ are ageist and exclude those who were not born during the internet and social media era. 

Similarly, having many essential requirements also deters applicants. It makes it harder for regular candidates to see themselves in such positions, and they don’t end up applying. This leads to candidates self-selecting themselves out of the recruitment even before the formal process begins.

You might already be aware of the famous study which found that women don’t apply to jobs in which they don’t meet the criteria 100%. On the other hand, men apply even if they meet 60% of the requirements. This finding is supported by more recent research by LinkedIn, which reported that women are more selective when applying for jobs. 

Inclusive job descriptions avoid using such terms that might prevent applicants from applying and stick to the role and performance-based neutral terminology. According to research by LinkedIn, men and women both relate most positively to strong performance-based descriptors. 

Targeting a Larger Candidate Pool

Job descriptions with biased language are bound to limit your candidate pool as candidates exclude themselves without applying. They are also unlikely to share the application with their friends and acquaintances if they don’t believe in your commitment to DEI. 

Research by McKinsey reports that candidates are unlikely to pursue jobs in an organization they perceive as non-inclusive. 44% of women, 45% of ethnic or racial minorities, and 50% of LGBTQIA+ respondents said they decided against pursuing or accepting a job because they believed the organization would not be an inclusive workplace. Overall, non-inclusive practices cause you to lose 39% of potential applicants. 

The job description or ad constitutes your first point of contact with the candidate and is crucial in demonstrating your organizational values and employer brand. Using inclusive and role-specific language motivates candidates to apply for the job and share the opening within their social groups. 

Sets the Tone for Candidate Communication 

The JD is one of the first documents that the candidates and the recruiters will use and evidently defines future communication. Job descriptions are designed collaboratively to provide insight into the role and are used across departments.

Not everyone knows everyone in the organization. And JD will act as a point of reference to navigate candidate communication within the department and the organization at large. Getting the job description right is important as it determines how managers and supervisors interact with new hires. 

If these descriptions are riddled with gender-coded and biased language, it can also add to the inherent biases of the employees. For instance, if the job description has a long list of ‘must-haves’, it creates unrealistic expectations of the candidate among managers and colleagues. This impacts recruitment as hiring managers will reject employees who don’t meet such strict requirements. It also affects employee performance reviews and satisfaction in the long run.

In contrast, inclusive job descriptions allow hiring managers to engage meaningfully with the candidates and hire them for their skills. In addition, they learn how to convey feedback and constructive criticism to the employees while nurturing their growth. 

Conclusion

Job descriptions determine how you talk about your candidates and the role they are set to fill. When these documents include exclusive and biased language (age, gender, sexuality, disability or socioeconomic status), it makes candidates feel unwelcome.

It also paints you as an employer that does not value diversity and inclusion. This will prevent candidates from applying, limiting your talent pool and hampering diversity growth in your organization. 

Inclusive job descriptions include language that does not discriminate against people based on age, gender, sexuality, race or socioeconomic status. It allows candidates from all backgrounds to visualize themselves in the role, encouraging them to apply.

Consequently, you reach a large number of talented candidates who believe in your company and values. Lastly, an unbiased JD ensures inclusive communication within the company at all levels, creating an inclusive workplace at large. 

Are You Ready to Upgrade Your Job Descriptions? 

To create belongingness and inclusivity in your organization, you must establish best practices to eliminate unconscious bias from your descriptions and other communications. By investing time and effort into revamping your job descriptions, you will attract more diverse and engaged candidates.

If you want to optimize and streamline your job description management process, JDXpert can help. To know more, request a demo today!

The post Why Building an Inclusive Workplace Begins With Job Descriptions appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

If you were applying for a position, having the preferred experience, which generally meant having the right job title on your resume, was the key to having your application taken seriously, and more importantly, for you to have a real chance of landing the job.

The big focus on job titles was part of the military-like command-and-control management style that permeated so many organizations (especially in the United States) from the 1950s well into the 1990s. It was defined like this:

In the more traditional command and control structure, all of the decisions in an organization are made at the top. The CEO makes decisions, which are passed down through a chain of command, and everyone in the organization is lockstep in line with those decisions, doing exactly what they’re told without the freedom to make judgment calls of their own or offer feedback.

While the command-and-control approach to management may work in small organizations where the CEO knows all of the employees and work that needs to be done, it actually breaks down in larger organizations.

One of the big problems with command-and-control was that decision making frequently broke down the lower in the organization you got.

In large organizations, the CEO simply cannot be aware of everything that goes on. By trying to make all of the decisions at the top, they may fail to take into account factors at the frontline of which they’re unaware. Top-down decision-making also becomes problematic when a manager runs into something unexpected at the frontline.

When that frontline manager doesn’t have the authority to make a decision regarding the issue, they have to send it all the way back up to the top of the organization. Then, when a decision is reached, it has to come all the way back down the organization to the frontline. This wastes an enormous amount of time and inhibits the organization’s ability to respond to issues in a timely fashion.

Although command-and-control management hasn’t been totally discarded, the focus has changed a great deal in the new, post-pandemic world of work. Job titles may still have some importance, but they are nowhere near as relevant as they once were.

Back in 2016, Forbes predicted that that the old ways of working were changing and that organizations that wanted to get ahead of the curve needed to change too, As Forbes put it:

The old working world is going away, and the organizations that are fastest to get the memo and shift their cultures are the ones who will keep growing and innovating over the next 30 years. The organizations who pretend it’s still 1955 will lose talent and lose customers. We have to wake up and realize that our ability to snag talented people and hang onto them is our only sustainable competitive advantage — but it’s an incredible benefit to have.

Yes, part of the culture shift Forbes describes is about a stronger focus on retaining talent given how much harder it has gotten to recruit and hire that talent today, but there are two other elements that have emerged in the 2022 workplace that are equally important.

One is a focus on employee skills rather than their previous job title, and the other is building a culture where workforce agility, defined by SHRM as “An organization’s ability to alter its direction or … to swiftly adapt to the changing needs of customers, employees and the marketplace” as is a critical element to both developing and retaining talent.

Recent research from Fuel50, an AI Talent Marketplace technology company, described this workplace shift in a LinkedIn newsletter post titled The Move Towards a Skills-Based Talent Strategy: Why it Matters. Here’s how they put it:

“In today’s world of work, the tides are changing. Technology is continuing to evolve at rapid rates, and organizations are finding it harder to predict and prepare for the future. This is exactly why workforce agility has now become imperative to organizational success, growth, and future readiness. A skills-based talent strategy – where the focus shifts from jobs to skills – enables organizations to respond to change more efficiently, helping to boost their agility, adaptability, and nimbleness.”

The Transition to Skills-Based Workplaces Makes a Lot of Sense

They also described the big shift from traditional role-based or job-based workforces, where employees are put into positions based on education, credentials and experience, to a skills-based approach where tasks are assigned based on people’s skills instead of their previous roles. A recent report made this case as well, bluntly describing the challenges most organizations are now facing:

We all know the world of work is continually evolving. In fact, strategies that may have worked just a few years ago aren’t as fit for the work environment we have today. The rapid changes in technology over the past decade have boosted digital adoption in all aspects of work. As a result, experts predict that 50% of workers will be displaced by technological automation in the next five years and 40% of skills will no longer be relevant.

These workers will need to reskill to stay competitive in the job market or may even need to change the direction of their careers altogether. Forbes says this is what has led to many organizations developing a skills-based talent strategy.

Here’s my take: It can be difficult to wrap your head around the seemingly sudden shift from a roles-based workplace to one that is focused instead on skills and agility. But, it also makes a lot of sense when you dig into it, because the notion that organizations can simply continue to just churn through people and then crank up the recruiting to find more again when needed is not only costly to their employer brand but also terribly expensive and counter-productive.

That’s Just Not the Way to Build a High-Performing Workforce Anymore

The Harvard Business Review saw the skills-based approach coming back in June of 2021, and they made it clear then that this was a train that was gaining speed and that leaders would do well to jump onboard right away. They pointed out that:

Evaluating employees and new hires based on their skill sets instead of their work history can help level the playing field — and help companies realize the talent they already have. It also makes talent pools more diverse and often makes hiring more effective.

This is the future of hiring and development. To get ahead of it, companies need to start weaving learning into their company cultures. Organizations slow on the uptake will be left behind and forced to deal with unsatisfied and unmotivated employees and significantly less innovation overall. At a time when talent is the number-one commodity in business, companies can’t afford to remain stuck in old mindsets.

Well, the future of hiring and development is here.

The true game-changer comes when leaders connect skill-building to internal mobility. Prioritizing employee development is now a non-negotiable for organizations to drive retention and engagement. Employees are looking for ways to grow their skill sets and plan their careers, and the best way to facilitate that is through internal opportunities.

People want a career path they can count on, and employers want more agility to move workers around as workforce needs continue to change. A skills-based approach that recognizes the power of more internal mobility that helps both workers and the needs of their organization is the modern way to build a better business.

The post If You’re Not Hiring for Skills, You Probably Aren’t Keeping Up With the New World of Work appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

However, many U.S. businesses need help attracting top talent, even in the freelance market. If your company is struggling, here are five major issues that could make independent contractors hesitant to join your team.

Getting Paid on Time is a Hassle

A recent report found that 74% of freelancers get paid late, and 59% are owed upwards of $50,000 for completed work. Overall, the issue of timely, simple payment is probably the top pain point of freelance workers. 

In addition, freelancers always have the looming threat of a client possibly disappearing and not paying them for finished work. 

Unfortunately, there’s yet to be a perfect solution for this. However, companies can introduce automated payment processors to eliminate the human factor and make payment schedules more reliable. 

Alternatively, working with a service like Solar Staff can offer peace of mind for both sides because a mediator can handle all payment issues and smooth the process for each party. Involving a mediator implies “freezing” money on their account so that the freelancer is sure they will be paid for the job and is not left without the deserved money.

They Don’t Feel Like They Can Set Boundaries

There’s an all-too-accurate joke that reflects how many contract workers feel: “I didn’t want to work a 9-5, so I started freelancing, and now I work 24/7.” 

Freelancers often feel insecure and unable to say no to a client when asked to work overtime or go above and beyond the agreed-upon tasks because the client has their money. This leads to a terrible work-life balance, extra stress and unbilled work hours.

The solution here is twofold. First, companies should set up clear, transparent billing systems that include contract clauses for overtime. Second, escrow services can also help freelancers feel like their money isn’t “held hostage” unless they complete hours of unplanned work. 

Companies can also utilize time management services to correctly budget working hours, eliminating confusion or miscommunication.

Admin Tasks Are a Burden

According to in-house data, 58% of contractors say administrative tasks take too much time. The same pool of contractors cited proper documentation as the number-one most annoying activity related to their work. 

Without access to professional assistance via software or accounting departments, freelancers are left to create and manage invoices, perform all reporting tasks, accurately record taxes and manage other documentation manually.

Only 40% of contract workers use dedicated invoicing software, while the rest create their invoices by hand, and 73% have to pay at least $20 for a tool to assist them with invoicing and documentation.

Offering an easy, user-friendly service or app that removes the burden of paperwork would go a long way toward attracting top freelancers. In fact, 67% of freelancers would readily pay for a tool that eliminates administrative obligations, so any company that solves this issue will have a competitive advantage.

Inflexible Deadlines and Unclear Expectations

Companies and contractors may have differing views on a reasonable deadline. If neither party is willing to compromise, this can cause significant problems. 

Often, the root of the issue is that each side has different expectations for the outcome, and there needs to be more clear understanding. Additionally, deadlines may shift if the project has complex goals, making it hard for both sides to keep track. 

Solving this problem is relatively easy. First, companies should set clear deadlines and expectations immediately so the contractor knows if they can provide what you need within that time frame. Second, there should be a list of acceptable reasons to extend a deadline, and both sides should agree. Using a freelancer-specific tool puts all this communication in a single, accessible place.

Communication Barriers Make the Work Complicated

Differing time zones and languages can often cause freelancers only to accept local work. For instance, 42% of freelancers in Indonesia say language barriers are the problem they face most often.

In addition, different cultural backgrounds can sometimes lead to complications. Some cultures expect working past a deadline; others may prefer tight, consistent communication and some may need more emotional motivation to complete a project. 

This is why it’s essential to have written agreements that clearly state a project’s goals, deadlines and expectations. It’s also critical to have a staff member with good emotional intelligence and a similar cultural background to most of your contractors to help smooth communications.

Shore Up Your Weaknesses to Attract Top Freelancers

According to Upwork, the U.S. freelance market earned $1.3 trillion from 2020-2021, and the number of skilled workers continues to climb. Independent contractors are highly educated, motivated and optimistic about their career prospects, so the companies that address freelancers’ concerns will be able to attract top talent and close the talent gap sooner.

The post 5 Reasons Freelancers Might Not Want to Join Your Team appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

• • Ask Your Clients for Referrals
  • Reach Out to Conference Presenters/Hosts
  • Check Expat Hubs
  • Host a Pink Slip Party
  • Use Social Media to Source Passive Candidates
  • Check Retirement Communities
  • Find Appropriate Facebook Groups
  • Do an Audit of Past Candidates
  • Use Online Billboards
  • Recruit Diverse Talent at Historically Black Colleges
  • Engage College Faculty
  • Hold an Open House

Ask Your Clients for Referrals

One of the best ways to source great candidates is to call your clients (and competitors of your clients) to see who else they use in your space. 

Who is the best person they have dealt with outside of your company in the role that you are seeking? If you approach someone with a compliment that you have heard that they are great at their job, you will find the discussion starts a lot easier!

Ineke McMahon, Director, Path to Promotion

Reach Out to Conference Presenters/Hosts

I always review professional association annual conferences and professional developments for the speaker line-ups. 

Generally, these sessions host colleagues in the field who showcase their expertise and share their best practices. In this reach, you might also receive generous referrals to other potential candidates. Conference presenters tend to be well-resourced.

Diane Fennig, Senior Consultant, The Gallagher Group 

Check Expat Hubs

One of the best ways of picking up above-average talent is to hunt for expat enclaves online. A bit of Googling will likely locate an expat or transplant group for your city/country/etc. and these groups are usually filled with various experts that are often looking for work but having a hard time finding one due to visa restrictions or something similar. 

If you’re willing to put in the extra time to get them online and operational, then these expat groups can be a substantial source for qualified candidates.

Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms

Host a Pink Slip Party

If you are looking for one creative way to source candidates that are available and actively looking, then host a party. The Pink Slip party is an open call to viable candidates who have been laid off, let go, or are considering their options from their current location.  

By shaping a business social scene, you and your team can connect with potential team members in a more meaningful way before a traditional interview process occurs. Here’s how you do it: 

• • Create a call to candidates through social media promotion. 
  • Check the resumes submitted and invite the candidates who better align with the role of the party. Notify those who do not.
  • Communicate with individuals on the team that’s hiring to be in attendance.
  • Create an intentional atmosphere where the company’s culture & sense of community can be experienced.
  • Consider food and drinks. It is a social event. 

If you want to source ready and available candidates and get buy-in from them, create a unique experience—throw a party.

Khalilah “KO” Olokunola, Chief People Strategist, khalilaholokunola.com

Use Social Media to Source Passive Candidates

Hiring managers and HR professionals have a hugely demanding role to play, in that they need to be constantly on the lookout for new talent, maintain their current supply and ensure that they keep hiring processes and systems up to date. 

One of the most creative (but still underutilized) ways to source passive candidates is via social media. Potential new hires are typically relaxed when scrolling social media and are more likely to curiously engage with a job posting. 

Of course, the difficulty lies in being able to pinpoint the exact type of candidate suitable for the role, but with more precise targeting and testing of variables, this can quickly become a go-to creative method for hiring the best candidates.

Tracey Beveridge, HR Director, Personnel Checks

Check Retirement Communities

Resourceful recruiters will find unlimited, untapped talent in retirement communities.

 Having retired, many seniors are more bored than they expected to be. This is especially true after being so isolated during the pandemic. With benefits such as four-day workweeks and remote work (great for those who love traveling), going back to work for them is more attractive than ever.

While you may have to invest in training them in newer technologies, you’ll have experienced talent eager to re-enter the workforce. Sourcing candidates creatively means looking beyond job boards and going into retirement- theirs.

Raina Kumra, Founder & CEO, Spicewell

Find Appropriate Facebook Groups

A company I worked with was having a hard time finding dozer operators for their mining sites. A lot of these candidates are not on LinkedIn or other traditional job sites, especially specialized ones. 

There are, however, multiple Facebook groups focused specifically on dozer operators. One of these groups has over 7,000 members, and some of them are pretty active. So, beyond being able to source candidates directly, you might also get help from the group members in terms of referrals.

Atta Tarki, Founder & Author, ECA Partners

Do an Audit of Past Candidates

The number of times I’ve seen hundreds of excellent candidate profiles go to waste simply because they weren’t accepted for the position they applied for is, quite frankly, shocking. 

Many companies do at least a version of this, by asking candidates to sign up to their employment portal so that they are kept in mind for future opportunities, but I would recommend a more hands-on approach where candidates are filed into various buckets for future role opportunities. 

There are various bits of HR software that can do this, but I don’t see them used to their full potential all too often. Finding new candidates is always a challenge, so why do that when you can mine the ones that you already had some contact with?

Kate Kandefer, CEO, SEOwind

Use Online Billboards

One creative way to source candidates that we just recently started using is online billboards. 

We are trying to catch candidates’ attention by posting a generic job announcement on an online billboard. This job announcement will feature our benefits and direct them to the link to view our job postings.

Lindsey Hight, HR Professional, Sporting Smiles

Recruit Diverse Talent at Historically Black Colleges

One creative way to recruit diverse talent is to host career days with on-site interviews at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to encourage students to apply for jobs at your organization. 

Not only does this allow recruiters to target a diverse channel and access underrepresented populations, but it also allows recruiters access to the next generation of talent entering the workforce and opens up an entirely new pool of potential candidates.

Dr. Shirley Knowles, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Progress

Engage College Faculty

Engaging with local university or college deans and professors can provide you with both student and alum candidates. 

These faculty members have built and maintained relationships with students and business leaders in their fields. They know the students’ work ethic and abilities. Once you have established a trusted relationship, they will encourage their students to apply with you. 

As alumni often maintain relationships with their department faculty even after graduation, they may reach out to see if they know anyone hiring. Networking in this way provides an inexpensive way to recruit talent.

Andrew Adamo, VP, Bullion Shark

Hold an Open House

Tech companies are more than businesses; they’re brands (or, at least, they should be). People want to see the behind-the-scenes magic. How are apps developed and tested? Who came up with that genius code? What new and cool perk have you added to the office? 

Reach out to local colleges, coding camps, and competitors and let them know you’re offering a sneak peek into the inner workings of your company. Promote the event on social media so even customers can get in on the fun. Then, at the end of the tour, let everyone know you’re hiring and encourage them to apply, or spread the word to someone who’s looking. 

Rob Reeves, CEO & President, Redfish Technology

The post 12 Creative Ways to Source Candidates In 2023 appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

According to LinkedIn, about 70% of the workforce is considered passive. In case you’re new here, that means they’re employed but potentially looking for a job change.

The kicker is you won’t find passive candidates in your applications. They have no idea who you are, probably don’t know anything about your company, and they don’t want the job you’re offering.

Well…they don’t want it yet. 

You Just Live in It

This is where you step in.

Engaging passive candidates takes a specialized level of communication, mindset, and proactive nurturing that doesn’t necessarily apply to their active peers. But it’s not impossible.

Lauren Kessler, Regional Talent Acquisition Manager at Slalom and Passive Candidate Whisperer, is giving you 60 minutes of in-depth training.

In this on-demand webinar, Lauren will outline six proven steps to help move your most sought-after passive candidates to active opportunities.

What You’ll Learn:

1. Where to Find Passive Candidates
2. Messaging: Get them excited about the company, not the role
3. Offer the Networking Call
4. Ask! And respect if they aren’t interested
5. A Casual Process: offer casual next steps that benefit the candidate
6. Keep in Touch

Patience Is the Process

But it’s worth it.

Staying sharp with nearly 70% of the active workforce makes sense – whether for the role you have open now or one they’ll (more than likely) be looking for later.

Dust off your passive contact list, give it a big ole hug, and enjoy the webinar.

The post 6 Steps to Move Passive Candidates to Active Opportunities appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

But they are hard to reach. And as we all flap around bottom-first in this never-ending twister of a job market, candidate communication is becoming more and more unpredictable.

Add the passive factor to that hiring storm, and you can kiss Kansas goodbye and say hello to obstacles like 81% of your emails being trashed before they’re even read—simply because they’re not mobile-optimized.

We Know a Guy

Marc Hamel, Principal Sourcer at Amazon, will teach you email techniques that will help you foster relationships with your most sought-after passive candidates and turn them into active hires.

He has strategy, he has vetted processes, he has mad respect for your already employed future employees, and he has loads of templates, research, and data to back him up.

A Glimpse of What You’ll Learn

• Knowledge of current market data to help you craft messages in the most effective and fruitful way.
• Actionable information to quickly improve messaging strategies.
• A/B tested message results and successful templates.
• Unique tools to equip you with needed platforms for creating impactful messages.
• and more…

You Have the Tools

Marc demonstrates how to optimize them so you can use your brainpower to bring home those passive candidates.

The post Trash the Spam: Strategic Email Practices that Nurture Passive Candidate Relationships appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

According to LinkedIn, about 70% of the workforce is considered passive. In case you’re new here, that means they’re employed but potentially looking for a job change.

The kicker is you won’t find passive candidates in your applications. They have no idea who you are, probably don’t know anything about your company, and they don’t want the job you’re offering.

Well…they don’t want it yet. 

You Just Live in It

This is where you step in.

Engaging passive candidates takes a specialized level of communication, mindset, and proactive nurturing that doesn’t necessarily apply to their active peers. But it’s not impossible.

Lauren Kessler, Regional Talent Acquisition Manager at Slalom and Passive Candidate Whisperer, has offered us 60 minutes of in-depth training on December 13th.

Lauren will outline six proven steps to help move your most sought-after passive candidates to active opportunities.

What You’ll Learn:

1. Where to Find Passive Candidates
2. Messaging: Get them excited about the company, not the role
3. Offer the Networking Call
4. Ask! And respect if they aren’t interested
5. A Casual Process: offer casual next steps that benefit the candidate
6. Keep in Touch

Patience Is the Process

But it’s worth it.

Staying sharp with nearly 70% of the active workforce makes sense – whether for the role you have open now or one they’ll (more than likely) be looking for later.

Dust off your passive contact list, give it a big ole hug, and see you at the webinar.

Can’t make the live event? No worries! Register now, and we’ll send you a copy of the video and slide deck after the session. 

The post 6 Steps to Move Passive Candidates to Active Opportunities appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Using a built-in five-star rating system, the feature uses natural language processing to rank candidates for roles. The ratings give recruiters “a clear picture of each candidate quickly,” the company said.

Dave Barteh, HiringSolved’s executive vice president of Sales and Marketing, believes the feature will speed up placement by prioritizing candidates over jobs. The solution removes roadblocks in areas such as institutional knowledge and experience, he said, enabling recruiters to feel confident in weighing how a candidate ranks for a particular role.

“By automating the connection between candidate and role, Candidate-to-Job Matching reduces the time spent sourcing from the ATS or CRM, and allows recruiters to build a shortlist in seconds,” HiringSolved said. That, In turn, allows recruiters to concentrate on connecting with candidates and providing a better experience.

The Matching Era

Recruiting and hiring remain difficult tasks for American HR leaders. There are nearly 11 million jobs open in the country, according to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Over the last few years, recruitment platform providers have shifted their focus toward matching candidates with jobs, connecting prospective employees to new opportunities using the employees’ data.

​“Recruiting and staffing are people-driven businesses, but historically the process has started with the job and worked to find candidates,” said Barteh. Candidate-to-Job Matching, flips the approach.

​HiringSolved links recruiting databases, simplifies recruiting workflows and delivers data insights to help talent acquisition professionals match the right people to the right roles more quickly. The company claims its approach cuts sourcing time by 25%.

In September, Sense, a provider of AI-driven talent engagement solutions, acquired Skillate to provide AI-powered hiring services including candidate matching, job distribution, job description assistance, and talent relationship management.

The post HiringSolved Unveils Candidate-to-Job Matching appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Moving to largely virtual workspaces offers an abundance of new opportunities, ranging from global market expansion to the cost-efficiency of switching from an in-person to a fully remote workforce.

However, digital transformation doesn’t always come easy for HR and recruiting departments. Every transition is always riddled with its own complexities, especially when your line of work directly affects an entire organization. In this article, we’ll offer tips to help HR and recruiting teams navigate this transition and continue implementing their skills in a new, digital business environment.

Maintaining Communication in the Midst of Transformation

One of the biggest challenges when transitioning into the digital sphere is maintaining effective communication. HR teams not only need to keep in touch with each other — without any in-person meetings, for remote teams — but also keep their stakeholders in the loop about new internal processes and how to reach out for HR support.

Determine what channels you’ll use to support your traditional HR processes. For instance, if you once accepted reports of employee disputes in your physical office, you could implement and share an email form or chatbot that does the report intake for you.

In this example, your new digital communication channel can actually save your team a massive amount of time. Choose digital alternatives that increase your efficiency, but aim to consolidate your communication channels as much as possible to ensure your team doesn’t have to jump between too many platforms during their work day.

Speed Up Recruitment With Modern Technology

While communication can be difficult during digital transformation, recruitment can actually become easier and more effective than ever. Virtual recruitment software is reducing the amount of work that needs to be done early in the recruitment process, so recruiters can focus on making the best hiring choices toward the end.

Virtual recruitment funnels in larger volumes of applicants than ever before. However, while this would have been difficult for recruiting teams to manage in the past, companies can continue leveraging technology to screen resumes, shortlist the best candidates and maintain their standards of hiring without having to manually sift through every application.

AI-driven recruitment software can support virtual hiring even further. As job candidates make their way through the interview process, AI can analyze data, sentences and even facial expressions to help you identify the best fit for your team.

Embracing Social Media in the Hiring Process

Social media apps have become popular marketing channels for many digital teams. By embracing paid social media ads and choosing the channels their candidates are using, companies can stand out to potential applicants rather than getting drowned out by other listings on a job search site. However, this isn’t the only opportunity for recruiters to use social media in the hiring process.

As more companies are affected by digital transformation, using social media platforms, especially LinkedIn, for direct outreach has become key to winning the best candidates. Incorporate outreach messages to job seekers into your social media marketing strategy.

LinkedIn even allows you to screen each potential applicant’s background before you reach out, so you don’t waste your time recruiting anyone who’s a poor fit.

When hiring for some departments, like marketing or journalism, asking applicants for other social media handles, like those on Instagram and Twitter, can also be appropriate to gauge communication or content creation skills.

Enhance Employee Motivation

HR teams are often faced with declining motivation in their workforce when digital transformation first occurs. On top of having to learn new technologies, employees may struggle to return to their typical level of productivity when they enter a new working environment.

However, going digital doesn’t have to make employee management harder. With the right digital workforce technology, you can keep employee motivation, engagement and happiness at an all-time high.

For example, employee recognition software can reward team members, who receive points when they complete certain tasks or goals (like recruiting KPIs or sales contracts signed). Once enough points are compiled, they can trade them in for a reward of their choice, whether that’s a gift card, work perks, swag or other real-life prizes.

Enter the Future of HR and Recruitment

Digital transformation is inevitable in every field, and it can help HR and recruitment teams work far more efficiently than ever before. However, navigating the transition requires your department to tackle the difficulties that you may face with the right technologies.

HR teams must identify the communication tools that can replace their in-person communications, as well as find software that can keep their employees productive and engaged. Recruiters, on the other hand, should embrace software that automates parts of the recruitment process and identify the social media channels that can help them stand out to their ideal candidates.

The post How HR and Recruitment Are Impacted by Digital Transformation appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

The Importance of Onboarding as a Valuable Experience 

Providing a seamless onboarding experience is the key to retaining international talent. As one statistic on employee onboarding mentioned, 93% of employers believe that a good onboarding experience is critical in whether the employee will stay with the company.  

Onboarding training is a perfect opportunity for employees to get introduced to a new environment and understand the changes they will have to face. While for employers, it is a series of well-crafted processes where they can share all the tools and resources to help new members succeed.   

Today, new hires expect not only a thoughtful and positive onboarding experience but one that is tailored and personalized to the individual. After all, every new employee is an investment the company makes, so going the extra mile to ensure a flawless user experience can payout in the long run. When hiring international recruits, HR professionals need to consider a couple of extra things beyond paperwork and workflow systems to make onboarding a success.    

Implement a Buddy or Mentor System 

Starting a new job can be challenging, even more so when working in an international organization. Assigning the new employee with another coworker can help them feel more welcome and provide guidance. A mentor can help the new hire feel more settled and create a collaborative learning environment.   

Social Integration to the New Company and Team 

Take the time to schedule a meet-and-greet with the new employee. Introduce them to key stakeholders, team members, and coworkers and create more social networking opportunities across different departments.  

International hires might need more strategic socializing to integrate and feel connected to their colleagues. If your organization carries out virtual onboarding, establish clear communication via digital channels at mutually convenient hours.   

Cultural Awareness Training 

One way to foster an inclusive environment is to allow the new hire to share more about their country and culture. An introductory presentation will make the new employee feel closer with their coworkers and bring light to any cultural differences, which may offer new perspectives and experiences.    

A company with a global workforce needs to bring awareness of different cultural and work etiquettes to create a common cultural framework. It can integrate a new hire and build strong professional relationships with people from different cultures.  

Personalized Onboarding and Training   

Taking a one-size-fits-all approach to onboarding will not provide a unique and valuable employee experience, as every new hire is different. Onboarding should be the same for every employee for the traditional aspect of it, such as sharing of: 

• • Role information and expectations 
  • Documentation
  • Benefits packages  
  • Technology protocols 
  • Company structure
  • Work policies & procedures 

Companies can pay attention to the personal preferences of an international employee and customize their training based on their: 

• • Language and Communication Preference 
  • Meeting Etiquette 
  • Professional customs 
  • Work habits 
  • Any areas of concern 

Personalizing training will make the new employee feel special, valued and supported, leaving them with a good impression of their employer.  

Regular Check-Ins  

Regular communication is vital during the onboarding and training period. International employees can feel isolated, so setting up periodic check-ins can make them feel welcomed and alleviate any anxieties.

Facilitating check-ins is also an excellent opportunity to gather feedback and gauge how new employees cope with their workload and new environment. These face-to-face or virtual meetings are a perfect way to see what’s working and make adjustments to the onboarding process.    

Conclusion 

A robust and effective onboarding program is the key determinant in improving an organization’s retention rate. A company’s success depends on the selection, onboarding and training processes for new hires, even more so for a dynamic and diverse international workforce. 

The post Tips for Successful Onboarding and Training an International Workforce appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

That’s a lot of responsibility to bear. As a result, many recruiters find themselves working around the clock to find the ‘perfect hire.’ To do this, they often fall into perfectionist-styles of thinking. They start to think of their work in black-and-white terms — it’s either perfect or a failure.

Many content creators talk about being concerned by their perfectionistic tendencies. They find it hard to write, think and deliver on time as they are constantly worried their work isn’t good enough.

For recruiters, there’s all that and an added element of stress: the culmination of their work comes down to a single decision that can’t be easily ‘edited’ after it’s made.

Below we’ve gathered some of the best tips for avoiding perfectionism as a recruiter to help those who may find themselves constantly worried about making the right decisions. 

Remember, the less your mind is focused on getting everything right and the more engaged it is in the process, the better hiring decisions you will make.

Lower Your Expectations (In a Good Way)

An issue that might arise throughout the interview and recruiting process is the weight of high expectations. It is not unusual for human resources professionals, after months or years of interviewing applicants and recruiting new workers, to create a list of criteria they expect to see from prospects.

While this list may have some reasonable items, problems emerge when unrealistic criteria unrelated to the role creep in, especially when applied before even beginning to judge whether or not they fulfill the requirements of the positions they are interviewing for.

For instance, have you ever found yourself rejecting candidates who don’t match every single criterion?

You have got to learn that while the ability to identify the most promising prospects is certainly valuable, it should not be used in a way that sets an unrealistic bar of excellence. Keep your reasonable criteria, but remember that they aren’t set in stone. They’re guidelines to help you narrow down the hiring pool — not eliminate every candidate!

Trust Your Instincts

You should trust your instincts. 

HR and the recruiting process are very human-centered professions. And there’s nothing more human than our instinctual feelings and emotions towards other humans.

In a way, learning when to trust your instincts is an art form. A very individual art form that is learned over time. While basing decisions solely on a gut feeling isn’t the smartest option, incorporating it into the hiring decision is important.

Plus, if you feel stuck when making certain decisions, it helps you ‘get out of your head’ and progress without constantly second-guessing yourself. You’re in talent acquisitions for a reason — usually because you connect with and understand others easily. Trust yourself and avoid the perfectionist trap.

Learn to Analyze Mistakes in a Healthy Way

Mistakes aren’t the end of the world. You have to be willing to learn from your failures if you want to go forward and increase the quality of your hiring decisions. 

It may seem at odds with what’s written above, but analyzing your past work in detail, such as hiring interviews, stumbling blocks and time-sinks, can reduce the feeling that you have to be perfect to move forward. 

You’ll learn to view your job as an iterative learning process, one that moves with small steps instead of reaching instant perfection.

Think about it this way: Gallup reports that in America alone, businesses lose more than $1 trillion each year as a result of employees voluntarily leaving. At this scale, it’s inevitable that you won’t always make the ‘perfect’ match between employer and employee.

Perfectionism can often be stopped in its tracks by analyzing what went wrong and mapping out new ways of avoiding those issues in the future. Once you’ve done everything you can to learn from previous mistakes, there’s no need to overthink it. You’ve done the best you can.

Keep Communication Simple

The following formula can be used to avoid overthinking:

Efficiency and Speed > Perfectionism

Getting something done at a high standard doesn’t mean it has to be done inefficiently and slowly. This applies particularly to your internal communication processes.

For example, forbid the use of powerpoint style presentations to convey information internally, such as pitching a new hiring strategy. While colorful, engaging, and all-around beautiful slides would be nice, this would take up hours — or days — for an employee to create.

Instead, opt to communicate in plain text. It’s quicker, more efficient, and prevents employees from becoming obsessed over getting every little design detail ‘just right.’

Recruiters who agonize over every little formatting detail of a message should adopt simple communication processes when engaging with job candidates. Consider this: earlier this year, Criteria’s Candidate Experience Report revealed that more than half of all job candidates surveyed had given up during a recruiting process as a result of poor communication.

A quick way to help remove the need for endless little tweaks and decisions is by leaving a post-it note on your computer that reads: “Content is primary. Design is secondary.” Read it often.

Practice Forgiveness

As an recruitment professional, you (hopefully!) see people as they are: only human. And you recognize that humans make mistakes. When it comes to small mistakes, such as a misplaced comma or an email sent too early, you forgive people quickly.

However, pause for a moment and ask yourself: “Why don’t I practice the same level of forgiveness for me and my work?” If you show others kindness and respect for not achieving perfect results all the time, why can’t you show the same to yourself?

Learning to forgive yourself is a big step toward reducing perfectionistic thinking. Plus, it gives you a clear mind to begin implementing how to analyze your mistakes in a healthy way.

Forgiveness is vital for this process, as if you look at your previous work and you’re blinded by your perfectionistic thinking, you’ll find yourself stressing and worrying about the past, as well as the future!

Conclusion

The simplest advice is often the most effective. Take a breather, refocus and get back to work without worrying about the little things.

Then, step back and remember: it’s okay to leave little imperfections behind and focus on the things that matter—their essence—the things that affect the final result. Knowing when to declare “that’s good enough!” is an essential skill in preventing perfectionism from controlling your life. Learn to keep things moving forward, as it is crucial for generating results and pushing oneself to greater heights. 

The post People Aren’t Perfect: How to Avoid Perfectionism When Hiring appeared first on RecruitingDaily.