Yesterday we released our 2012 Job Forecast, including some of our employment predictions for the New Year. But, before we jump into the future, let’s take a look back at the most read posts of 2011:

#1 – Workplace Bullying and Your Employees: What Can You Do?
Published April 20, 2011 by Amy Chulik, contributing editor for The Hiring Site 

A newly released CareerBuilder survey reveals that workplace bullying is still happening. We share 6 tips to help your company work toward a bully-free workplace.

#2 – Search and Review Candidates – Faster and More Efficiently with ResumeFlip
Published July 14, 2011 by Stephanie Gaspary, editorial director for The Hiring Site

Easily flip from one resume to the next with CareerBuilder’s enhanced Resume Database. You’ll view full, complete resumes – the way candidates want you to see them – instead of just generic-looking resume summaries.

#3 – 10 Global HR Trends for 2011 and How to Manage Them
Published March 17, 2011 by Amy Chulik, contributing editor for The Hiring Site

Howard Wallack, the Director of Global Member Programs for SHRM, discussed 10 global HR labor trends for 2011 at HRPA 2011 and how companies can best manage them.

#4 – Emerging Media: The Best Opportunities You Aren’t Taking Advantage Of
Published August 31, 2011 by Andrew Streiter, VP of sales at CareerBuilder

As job seeker behavior changes, so too does your recruitment strategy. Learn how today’s recruitment experts use emerging media to find the best talent.

#5 – Recruiting for Tomorrow Today: 4 Key Reasons You Need a Talent Pipeline
Published March 17, 2011 by John Smith, SVP of sales at CareerBuilder

If you want to remain competitive in today’s market, you can no longer rely on “business as usual” when it comes to your recruitment efforts.

#6 –4 Things Great Companies Do To Develop Their Leaders
Published January 26, 2011 by Mary Lorenz, contributing editor for The Hiring Site

What turns ordinary employees into superior leaders? Learn the four essential characteristics the top 20 best companies for leadership share.

#7 – The Pros and Cons of Behavioral Interviewing
Published March 2, 2011 by Jennifer Way, guest contributor for The Hiring Site

Behavioral interviews are one of the biggest leaps forward in recruitment, but that doesn’t erase the responsibilities that come along with this type of interview.

#8 – How Can Job Seekers Get Résumés Out of Your Trash and Into Your Heart?
Published September 15, 2011 by Amy Chulik, contributing editor for The Hiring Site

An overview of your most agonizing résumé errors here. After all, by letting job seekers know what you don’t want, you are also shedding light on what you do want.

#9 – A Recruitment Strategy Without Data Isn’t A Strategy At All
Published May 5, 2011 by Jason Lovelace, VP of sales at CareerBuilder

Gone are the days when employers could simply put an ad in the local paper in hopes people apply. Today recruitment requires strategy, the key to which is data.

#10 – Might As Well Face It, You’re Addicted To… Work?
Published January 4, 2011 by Amy Chulik, contributing editor for The Hiring Site

A new CareerBuilder study examines signs of work addiction and explores ways workers can find a happy medium between work and personal time as we dive into 2011.

So there you have it – 2011 in review. Looking forward, what would you like our writers to focus on for 2011?

“We want an ad so compelling that makes someone say, ‘That seems like a cool company. I want to check that out.’” – Jay Goltz

While discussing ways companies can bring in better quality candidates and eliminate hiring mistakes during his recent webinar, Hire With Purpose, small business expert Jay Goltz suggested companies pay more attention to the content of their job postings.

While it might not seem like it, job postings play a major role in the hiring process. After all, consider how much time you take to scan a resume – that’s probably about the same amount of time a job seeker takes to review a job posting. In other words, you have mere seconds to grab – and keep – a job seeker’s attention, so what you say – and how you say it – matter.

With a little effort, however, you can turn your ordinary job posting into one that truly stands out in the eyes of job seekers, drives more applications and leads to better hires. All it takes is knowing what to include – and what to avoid – when creating your next job posting. Consider the following tips:

DO THIS: Utilize keywords as often as possible. NOT THAT: Get keyword-happy.
The more keywords your job posting contains that are relevant to the position – and that job seekers might use to search for jobs – the easier it is for search engines to find it; in effect, the higher it will appear in organic search results. Look at your job posting and consider where you can substitute keywords job seekers might use in their searches. (For example, instead of saying, “The person in this position will be required to…” say, “The Marketing Manager will be required to…”) Just don’t flood the posting with so many keywords that you lose the message.

DO THIS: Go traditional with job titles. NOT THAT: Advertise for “rock stars” or “rainmakers.”
Not only are these terms nondescript, but job seekers aren’t searching for these terms. Stick to advertising for more traditional job titles, which will increase the ability for your postings to show up in search results on job boards, search engines and social media sites.

DO THIS: Think beyond healthcare and 401(k)s. NOT THAT: Leave out “Free Bagel Fridays”
What may seem like small perks are really a window into your company’s culture. And that, for job seekers, plays a major role when considering potential employers. While you should definitely still include traditional benefits like healthcare and retirement, remember that the little things count, too – and are often what differentiate you from any other organization. In fact, when considering which benefits to include in your posting, seek the advice of those who know best – your current employees.

DO THIS: Break it up. NOT THAT: Pile everything into one block of text.
The challenge with creating any job posting is finding a way to maximize what small amount of space you have in order to ‘sell’ your company to a prospective applicant. And again, most applicants are probably skimming your job posting for relevant key words – at best. Make the most of the space you have by creating categories (such as “qualifications” and “responsibilities of the role”) and utilizing bullets (to list required skills, responsibilities and company benefits, for examples). The easier the job posting is to read, the more likely a candidate is to read the posting in full and recognize whether or not he or she is truly qualified for the position.

DO THIS: Show. NOT THAT: Tell.
Text alone won’t grab job seekers’ attention. Create a visual experience. CareerBuilder data finds that job postings that include logos bring in 13 to 21 percent more applications. The number goes up to 34 percent when the job posting is accompanied by a recruitment video. Why? Videos help you communicate your employment brand more clearly than any other medium, because potential recruits get to “see, feel, and hear” what it’s truly like to work at your organization from the employees and leaders themselves.

DO THIS: Address the elephant in the room. NOT THAT: Leave salary information out.
Research shows that job seekers are turned off when companies fail to include salary information in their postings, so reference compensation information whenever possible—even if it is only a salary range or a statement such as “competitive pay,” “salary negotiable” or “compensation commensurate with experience.” It’s important that you let job seekers know your organization understands that money is, if not everything, at least pretty important.

DO THIS: Proofread. NOT THAT: Assume candidates don’t hold you to the same standards as them.
If you wouldn’t give a resume with a mistake in it a second look, why should job seekers treat a less-than-perfect job posting any different? Even the best, most thorough writers aren’t immune to the occasional typo, so proofread your postings yourself – or better yet, ask a colleague to check for errors that you might have missed.

DO THIS: Double- (or triple-) dip. NOT THAT: Post your job under one industry and call it a day.
If applicable, associate your job posting with multiple industries to increase visibility. Many professions can be cross-posted, such as public relations, accounting, web design and programmers, just to name a few. Doing so allows candidates to pull up your job posting in more searches – just make sure the industries are relevant to the position.

Got any do’s and don’t's of your own to share?

Tomorrow, on Veterans Day 2011, we take time to honor the scores of men and women who have fought for our freedoms. While we often honor our military veterans with words, how can we make a difference by taking action on some of those words? A great way for businesses to take the lead on this is by hiring a veteran. This Veterans Day is an opportune time for all of us to take a closer look at the strengths veterans bring to the workplace and discuss ways to help tackle the challenges many face — and a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,800 hiring managers helps us do just that.

What kinds of challenges are veterans facing?

Well, as of October 2011, more than 850,000 veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1 percent — well over the national average. This problem isn’t going away, but instead becoming more of a challenge: According to whitehouse.gov, more than 1 million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.

Veterans’ skills are often highly specialized, and it is sometimes difficult for them to determine how to translate those skills to those that employers are seeking in a civilian workplace environment.

Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, has some advice for veterans struggling to reconnect and adapt to a civilian workforce:

“The survey shows that employers recognize the unique value military experience can bring, but that they don’t always understand how military skills fit into corporate America. Veterans will need to clearly make that connection in their resume, cover letter and job interviews as they enter this new chapter of their careers.”

New job resources for veterans

Resources are popping up everywhere to help veterans adjust to their new civilian lives and find jobs. In New Brunswick, NJ, for example, veterans are learning to release stress, heal, and adapt to civilian life through music classes, and CareerBuilder has recently launched a job site matching military veterans and employers, EmployVets.com. Exclusively for veterans returning to the job force, the site includes a tool for discovering how one’s military skills translate to the civilian world, career advice and resources, and much more. Sites like VETransfer are aimed at helping veterans with an entrepreneurial streak start their own businesses by connecting them with financing and equipping them with the necessary resources to get their venture started.

Veterans who believe they have a skills gap hindering their job search can also participate in the CareerBuilder Re-Employment Initiative, a paid internship program aimed at helping veterans and unemployed job seekers bridge the IT skills gap. This paid program will consist of several weeks of classroom training followed by up to six months of on-the-job, hands-on training with an assigned CareerBuilder software developer. Interested?  See the job description and apply here.

For veterans coming off active duty: How can you increase opportunities for employment?

• Speak their language. Two in five employers (41 percent) reported it can be difficult to decipher how military experience fits into civilian positions. It’s important to highlight specific military skills and spell out how they are relevant to the responsibilities listed in the employer’s job ad. For example, if you served in the infantry, there are many relatable skills for police or security guard positions or for training roles within organizations.
• Advertise your experience. More than one-in-four employers (27 percent) said one of the biggest challenges in recruiting U.S. veterans for open positions is that veterans don’t always market their military experience. Include your military experience with a bulleted list of accomplishments that shows how you put your knowledge into action.

Government initiatives

The White House is doing something about the employment challenge veterans face — and many businesses are following suit. President Obama has just announced several initiatives to help unemployed military veterans, including the Veteran Gold Card, which gives the more than 200,000 unemployed 9/11 veterans access to enhanced services like six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling at career centers across the country.

He is also currently urging members of Congress to pass two provisions to the American Jobs Act that will provide tax credits to businesses that hire military veterans: 1) The “Returning Heroes Tax Credit,” which provides firms that hire unemployed veterans with a maximum credit of $5,600 per veteran, and the “Wounded Warriors Tax Credit,” which offers firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.

Some businesses are taking the lead

More good news: Despite battling a higher-than-average unemployment rate, those returning from military duty and re-entering the workforce may find better employment prospects over the next year:

• One in five (20 percent) employers reported they are actively recruiting U.S. veterans to work for their organizations over the next 12 months
• 14 percent of employers are actively recruiting members of the National Guard.

Which industries offer the best options for veteran hiring?

Employers are planning to tap into the technical and communications skills and leadership abilities of U.S. service men and women. More than one-third of employers plan to hire for Information Technology positions, which topped the list of hot areas for hiring U.S. veterans.

• Information Technology – 36 percent
• Customer Service – 28 percent
• Engineering – 25 percent
• Sales – 22 percent

Why hire a veteran?

We’ve talked in the past about the multitude of reasons your business should be hiring veterans, and as President Obama said when referring to veterans’ wide range of skills, “This is exactly the kind of leadership and responsibility that every American business should be competing to attract.”

With their military background, extensive training, specialized skills and breadth of experience, veterans bring many unique elements to the workforce.  A few that you may not have considered:

1. Trustworthiness: Many military personnel have achieved some level of security clearance, demonstrating that he or she is recognized as a trustworthy person.
2. Background checks: With an honorable discharge, service members are essentially certified drug-free, and they have already had to go through rigorous background checks to be admitted into the military.
3. Dealing with high stress-situations: Veterans know the importance of deadlines, and they’re accustomed to being in high-stress situations and trained to deal appropriately and effectively. Though civilian workplaces offer different types of pressures, there’s likely nothing you can throw at them that’s more high stress than situations they’ve encountered while serving.
4. Tech savvy and international awareness: Veterans, because of the necessity to be aware of global affairs, are often one step ahead of many other workers when it comes to IT knowledge or the latest business trend or international security issue — not to mention IT training and hands-on skills.

CareerBuilder asked employers who have hired U.S. veterans or members of the National Guard to list the top attributes military personnel brought to their organization.

The following assets topped the list:

• Disciplined approach to work – 66 percent
• Ability to work as a team – 65 percent
• Respect and integrity – 58 percen
•  Leadership skills – 56 percent
• Problem-solving skills – 54 percent
• Ability to perform under pressure – 53 percent
• Communication skills – 45 percent

 What veteran job initiatives have you read about — or are you a part of — that are exciting to you? Is your business taking steps to hire veterans or help them re-acclimate to the workforce?

Is your recruitment process based on what you know about job seekers…or what you think you know about job seekers?

If there’s one thing over 15 years of in-depth research on job seeker behavior and perceptions have taught us, it’s that now, more than ever, experience matters when it comes to the ability to drive quality candidates to apply for your open positions.

A recent CareerBuilder and Inavero study revealed that top talent wants to engage with prospective employers and experience what it’s like to work for their company before they decide to apply to a position – and they’re increasingly utilizing emerging technology to do it.

How do job seekers really see you? Three questions to ask
If you’ve never taken a step back to consider the experience you offer candidates – from their perspectives – it’s time to do so now.  Below are three forms of emerging media candidates utilize today to find opportunities and research potential employers. In effect, they also provide employers the opportunity to interact with and engage with job seekers on their terms. The following exercises will help you see the experience you’re providing candidates – from their point of view.

• Are You Mobile Friendly? Try searching for jobs at your company from your mobile device. Is your company’s career site “mobile-friendly” and easy to navigate? Are the pages easy to view and read? Can you easily search for and retrieve opportunities and information about your company? The rate at which people are using mobile devices to exchange information is growing exponentially – and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. If you don’t have a ‘mobile-friendly’ website that enables easy navigation and viewing, you’re missing out on a crucial opportunity to reach the growing number of job seekers who search for – and share – opportunities and information on their mobile devices.

• Do You Engage on Video? Enter the term “work at [your company]” on YouTube. Then do the same for your competitors. If you were a candidate, which company would capture your attention more? As the fastest-growing medium for consuming content, videos have an ability to engage candidates and tell a more complete story that is unmatched by any other medium. They are also easy-to-create and can live on nearly any platform by which job seekers search for jobs (job boards and search engines, social networks, company websites, etc.). From “day in the life” videos” to employee testimonials, video gives companies an edge in offering job seekers a peek into the experience of what it’s really like to work for an organization.

• Are You Social? Enter the term “work at [your company]” on Google. If you were a candidate, would you be impressed by what comes up? Now do the same for your competitors. How does your company stand out in the social space? (Or does it stand out at all?) Social media is where all of the above come together. Social networking is now the number one reason people go on the Internet, providing employers the opportunity to reach job seekers where they are truly engaged. What’s more, they can utilize social media to reach job seekers on their mobile devices and share video content with them as well (as discussed earlier).

Perception is reality when it comes to your employment brand. Only when you take a step back and truly evaluate the experience you’re offering candidates the way they see it – especially as it compares to your competitors – can you then move forward and create a more compelling reason to drive candidates to your company.

Beth Prunier is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where she is responsible for sales strategies and revenue growth within the Enterprise Sales Group. This includes field sales people as well as in inside sales team in Chicago. In her role, she covers a variety of Fortune 5,000 companies located throughout the Northeast.

Exclusive webcast: Join CareerBuilder’s Area Vice Presidents Chuck Loeher and Beth Prunier on Tuesday, December 6 at 11 am CST for Future of Recruiting: Are You Prepared for What’s Ahead? In this complimentary webcast, recruitment experts Loeher and Prunier will discuss the changing recruiting environment, how employers are responding and what you can do now to position your own firm for long-term, sustainable growth. Learn more or register here.

A few months ago, Amber Naslund (or @ambercadabra, as some of you may know her), VP of Social Strategy for Radian6 , hosted “Social Media for Small Businesses,” a webinar encouraging small businesses to take a look beyond likes, fans and followers and rethink the way they view how they’re using social media to help reach their business goals. Amber talked about how small businesses can apply the lessons of the book she co-authored with Jay Baer (@jaybaer), “The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social” to engage customers and employees and see bottom-line results.

The webinar was chock-full of great info — so much, in fact, that the session not only answered many participants’ questions, but brought to surface many more. While Amber did a fantastic job answering questions during the webinar, you all had even more dilemmas to be solved.

What better way to address your specific follow-up questions, we thought, than to ask our resident queen of social media, Jenny Weigle (@jennyweigle), CareerBuilder’s Social Media Manager extraordinaire? Jenny, a pro on all things social media-related, tackles your questions with panache. Read on:

Social Media & Small Businesses: Q&A with Jenny Weigle, CareerBuilder’s Social Media Manager:

Q1: Social Media is very useful for product-related companies… But how can you compare these efforts to service-oriented companies like IT professional services/consulting companies?

Jenny: Social media provides a platform for businesses to showcase what is unique about their products or services. Consulting or professional service companies can use social media to have an ongoing dialogue with their audience to better enhance the services they provide.  These companies can also use social media to join in on the conversation in their industry and work to establish their employees or executives as thought leaders. Think of social media as one more tool to help build relationships.

Q2: Do B2B companies have different social media “rules” as opposed to B2C?

Jenny: The “rules” aren’t that different, but your audience is. Sometimes it’s challenging to get a B2B audience to engage with you through social media. At CareerBuilder, we have found that our B2B accounts see increased engagement when they are more personalized. For example, on our @CBforEmployers account, Amy is the admin and we’ve added her to the profile picture and bio so that the audience knows there is a person behind this account. In my professional opinion, people are more likely to engage with another person than with a company or brand.

Q3: How would a business find comments about themselves out on the vastness of the Web?

Jenny: Two websites to start your search on are SocialMention.com and Search.Twitter.com. Try typing in your company name, and don’t forget to consider various spellings of your company or brand, even if they are incorrect. You can also try searching your company’s leadership names as well to see if they are being mentioned in conversations. Some other great resources are: CrowdBooster.com, YourOpenBook.org and Topsy.com. If you have a budget, tools like Radian6 can provide even more in-depth monitoring and reporting.

Q4: How would you know if there is a negative comment out there about your business?

Jenny: If you’re not monitoring your social media or online initiatives, then you probably don’t know if there are negative comments about your business. Start of by utilizing the resources mentioned in Q3. Then, if you come across negative comments, decide how you want to respond to them. Keep in mind that your response will most likely be public.

Q5. Do you have any suggestions for convincing company leaders of the benefits of social media when they view it as potentially “unprofessional”?

Jenny: People could be talking about your company or industry on social media, and chances are they already are. Business leaders have an opportunity to be part of that conversation through social media, instead of just being on the outside of it.

Q6. How do we build trust and perceive credibility?

Jenny: You can build trust in many ways. One way is not to remove negative comments from your social media account. Instead, respond to the person and start a dialogue to address the issue. While the conversation may be public, it will also show your other fans that you are listening and taking their concerns seriously.

Another way to build credibility is to offer your professional advice, free of charge. Don’t use your social media accounts to sell, sell, sell. Use them to show customers and potential customers that you are the expert in your field.

Q7. How do you feel about outsourcing social media management?

Jenny: Companies have many reasons to outsource social media management, and this could prove to be very successful for a company.  Social media is about being authentic, and the most authentic spokesperson for your company would typically be an employee of your company. If you do choose to outsource, make sure the person acts as an extension of your team.

Q8. How do you make the time when you already have little time to accomplish all the other tasks you have?

Jenny: Using tools like CoTweet or HootSuite allows you to manage many platforms at once. I always advise people not to start a social media account if they can’t keep up with it on a regular basis. To me, this is like opening a hotline for your business but only having someone occasionally available to answer the phone.

Q9. I was just hired to be the voice of a health care company. I am finding it hard to give life to a relatively very stiff field. Any suggestions?

Jenny: Take a deeper dive into the health care industry by finding people who are very passionate about their field. Ask to shadow them for a day, and then post updates and pictures on your social media accounts. Invite them to be part of a task force that you can tap for ideas on what to post on the health care company’s social media accounts.

Q10. If we use social media for business with customers, clients, and coworkers, how do we keep our personal life and friends private?

Jenny: Every business should create a social media strategy, plan and goals.  These items should be documented and shared with company leaders.  The strategy should only focus on the business, so it is the responsibility of the administrator to make sure that each post reflects the strategy and plan they put in place and that these accounts are maintained separately  from personal accounts.

As you get your business accounts started, you may want to reach out to your personal network and inform them about your new social media presence as a way to build your foundation of followers.

Q11. If you have limited time to keep up with social media, which one would you choose to do (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)?

Jenny: I would choose the one that your target audience is most active on. How do you determine that?

There are a number of ways. Here are a few:

• Survey your clients.
• Conduct research on the Internet.
• Participate in chats or groups on each network.

Don’t open a social media account without taking the time to learn about your audience and what conversations are taking place.

Q12. I’m a small B2B manufacturing business who sells to factories and people who have been around for 30+ years. These aren’t folks who would even know how to spell social media. The industry is very low tech and not technologically oriented; how would you approach this?

Jenny: As mentioned in Q11, I would do some research to find out if your target audience is on these platforms and what is being said about your business/industry. It’s possible that you’ll discover very little and may decide that it’s not worth opening a social media account for your business at this time. You could, however, also view this as an opportunity to be a trailblazer and the first person in your industry represented on social media.

Q13. What is the life span of a twitter post?

Jenny: Depending on how many people your users are following in their own accounts, it could be mere seconds. This is why it’s important to be active and consistent on Twitter. There are many studies out there with varying results on this. Overall, the life span isn’t very long, and you shouldn’t rely on one tweet to get your message out. Reword and rephrase the message so that you can send out multiple tweets on the subject.

Q14. I just started a new company, how can I use social media? Wow, where does one begin?

Jenny: A good starting point would probably be to read “The Now Revolution.”  Use the sites I recommended in Q3 to research the conversations taking place about your competitors. Use this information to decide which social network you want to be active on first. Also, be sure that your social media strategy is in line with and part of your overall marketing plan and goals.

Q15. We’re a non-profit construction trade association; we’re trying to make the most of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.). But, our members don’t seem to be participating… how do we address this?

Jenny: What do your members want to hear from you?  What’s important to them? What would it take to get them to engage with you on social media?  What kind of value are you bringing to your members through social media? If you haven’t asked them these questions, then you could do so through a survey, or post one question at a time on your social media account. Also, review your analytics. Just because they might not be commenting on posts doesn’t mean that they’re not viewing or sharing them. Bit.ly provides a great way to track your clicks and other analytics on the links you’re promoting through social media.

Q16. We have a unique opportunity — how do we get our message, such as recruiting sales reps, out to the social media?

Jenny: It’s important to first learn the behaviors and perceptions of your target audience before embarking on any sort of recruitment marketing campaign – that is, any sort of successful recruitment marketing campaign. Have a plan before you jump in. Remember that you are trying to foster a relationship with current, prospective, and even unknown candidates, and it’s something that you continually need to be working on. If you’re not consistently engaging with people, you’re going to see your existing fan base decrease.

Social media is really just an extension of what you’re doing today, so taking elements of your existing strategy that are successful and applying them to social media is the easiest way to start. For example, if internal referrals are a really great source of hires for your organization, take that internal referral program and spread the word on Facebook. Engage your existing employees on Facebook and provide easier ways for them to share openings or career opportunities at your company with their Facebook friends. We’ve seen a lot of organizations post up job openings on their Facebook wall and then encourage people to share that with friends who they think would be a fit, and they get a lot of really good applications that way. So, that’s one way to take something that’s a tried and true recruitment practice and apply it to social media.

Have a lot of engaged Twitter users? Don’t simply tweet out jobs, but also link to interesting articles about something fun /exciting/positive/interesting your company is doing right now. Work on building those relationships and putting a personality behind your online social media accounts. On Twitter, Facebook, or other online networks, post reasons about why it’s great to work for your company, pictures from employee gatherings/events, or testimonials from employees. And of course, give job seekers an easy way to see/apply to the job posting for your open sales reps positions on these various networks.

Many of the companies that we at CareerBuilder have worked with who are successful in social media have become that way by getting to the root of their story. Finding those little elements that are unique about your company’s culture, and really bringing those to light on the page, is the easiest way to engage and get started.

Lastly, check out our free eBook on social media recruitment, and check out blog posts like 10 Steps to Getting Started with Social Media.

Q17. What have been some effective ways restaurants have used social media?

Jenny: There are many unique ways that restaurants have embraced social media; this article by TheNextWeb.com highlights a few of them.

Q18. What is the best way to start marketing via social media?

Jenny: As I mentioned above, start by formulating your social media strategy, plan and goals. Align these with your overall marketing plan. Ask yourself key questions: What do your customers want to hear from you? What are your goals on social media? What is the added value that you are bringing to your customers through social media?

What other questions are burning a hole in your social media-filled heart? Let us know in the comments — and Jenny just may be able to give you the answer you’re seeking.

Last week, recruiters were treated to a webinar that delved into the inner workings of the staffing experience from the perspectives of the client, the job seeker, and internal staff. In Opportunities in Staffing: The Client, Job Seeker and Internal Staff Perspective, presented by Leah McKelvey, Director of Corporate Marketing for CareerBuilder and Eric Gregg, CEO of Inavero, talked about not only how job seekers and clients, but also your own employees, perceive your firm, based on the more than 14,000 respondents in the 2011 Opportunities in Staffing Guide (yep, it’s the most comprehensive study of its kind in the staffing industry).

Potentially scary, right? Considering stats like “38 percent of U.S. clients surveyed indicated they have also worked with a staffing firm as a job seeker,” it can be — but reports like these are a great opportunity to find out where your firm is falling short and work to make positive changes.

REMEMBER: You can also get your complimentary copy of the 2011 Opportunities in Staffing Guide, view the slides, or listen to the recorded session yourself.

2011 Opportunities in Staffing Webinar Highlights:

Did you know?

• Your brand is more personal and transparent than ever, as evidenced by the recent death of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the very personal ways in which he was remembered, not only by customers, but by his own staff. How your brand communicates with its clients, job seekers and staff can make a huge difference in how your firm is perceived.
• Nearly half of your employees have worked for one of your competitors.
• Nearly half of your employees have had an interaction with a staffing firm prior to becoming an employee of your firm (either as an internal employee, as part of their job search, or as a client.)

The Employee Experience

How happy are your employees?

On a more alarming note, temporary and contract recruiters and sales/account executives had the lowest scores (27 and 32, respectively); staffing firms should be paying careful attention to this, as these are the two audiences carrying your brand message and talking to staff — and they’re the least engaged.

Driving loyalty and retention with your staff

When it comes to the factors that best predict retention in staffing, survey results found the following six values to be most vital:

• Optimism: “I believe my staffing firm will change for the better next year.”
• Pride: “Our firm’s client satisfaction is significantly higher than our competitor’s.”
• Community: “I enjoy working with my colleagues.”
• Valued: “I am completely satisfied with my current salary.”
• Appreciated: “I receive recognition when I do my job well.”
• Growth: “I am given the training opportunities I need to improve and grow professionally.”

So, where are staffing firms excelling — and faltering?

Staffing firms were found to be doing a great job of making employees feel proud of their firm and their job. On the other hand, they scored much lower when it came to making employees feel valued and appreciated. The lowest rating employees gave on the “feeling undervalued and unappreciated” scale involved them feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to complete in most weeks. How can your firm help alleviate this?  Keep in mind that your staff probably won’t take action on feeling overwhelmed if they know they won’t continue to feel that way in the future. As an employer, then, you can improve morale by reassuring your staff that the tough times will pass, letting them know why things will get better, and reinforcing that message on a continuous basis.

During the webinar, Gregg talked about how Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, helps employees progress without feeling completely in over their heads. Hsieh. Gregg said, has found that employees are more successful when the company gives them a path with shorter-term goals, and gives smaller advancements but more often so employees know they’re progressing toward something and growing in ways they can be proud of.

Something to consider for your own business?

What do staffing employees love/hate most about their job?

Love: Co-workers
Hate: Politics within the organization; management causing any barriers to the job seekers they serve

Love: Talent –- they love the mission of finding jobs for talent. Management must continue to pull people back to that mission.
Hate:  A lack of acknowledgment from candidates on how hard they’re working on their behalf can be frustrating.

The Job Seeker Experience

Building job seeker awareness

The top resource for job seekers when searching for jobs is national or local online job boards (57%), followed by local newspaper online classifieds (33 percent) and Craigslist (33 percent). Only 22 percent of job seekers use a staffing or recruiting firm in their search, and only 2 percent start their search with a staffing or recruiting firm. How, then, can staffing firms become more talent centric in working with those looking for jobs?

How job seekers currently become aware of staffing firms:

• Referral (25%)
• Online Ad (22%)
• I was called by a recruiter (13%)
• Traditional Media Ad (11%)
• Industry event or career fair (7%)

To get job seekers talking about you (in a positive way), consider how you’re treating job seekers:

1. Identify those who love you – help them tell their story
2. Do something surprising – worth talking about. What about a handwritten letter?
3. Give them a reason to be proud of being in the community
4. Make it valuable for the person referring and the person receiving

Responsiveness of Recruiters: Good news/bad news

The good news: Candidates think recruiters will be more responsive than organizations. But on a scale of 1 to 10 (from extremely dissatisfied to extremely satisfied), staffing firm 3.6 responsiveness rating only slightly edges out organization responsiveness’s dismal 2.3 rating, meaning there’s still much work to be done.

The job seeker experience is more important now than ever

Candidates are usually working with at least one or two firms once they engage with the industry. The biggest factors to choosing a staffing firm largely stem from economic concerns: The potential to become permanent (59 percent); the salary of the assignment (55% percent); the job’s proximity to their house (35 percent). It’s clear from the survey that candidates would rather receive bad news from a recruiter than no news at all: The NPS of those who were interviewed and turned away is -1 percent, while the NPS of those who were interviewed and never heard back from a recruiter with news is -29 percent.

Why should you care about detractors to your firm? Well, compared to promoters, detractors are twice as likely to quit an assignment before completion, four times less likely to refer you to other job seekers or hiring managers, and nearly three times less likely to accept a future assignment from your firm.

The Client Experience

Though the staffing market includes most organizations in the U.S., the penetration of staffing firms is equivalent to that of the original 13 colonies. Yikes! Between 70 percent and 80 percent of all U.S. organizations don’t use a staffing firm. Why? Many haven’t been educated as to value of staffing firms, or may have been told things that aren’t accurate.

Though 73 percent of clients said they were aware of a firm like Kelly Services, no staffing firm brand is top of mind with more than 9 percent of clients.

How can you improve this statistic?

• Be likeable.
• Do something surprising and worth talking about.
• Identify the right people – they’re not always your largest clients.
• Ask!
• Encourage referrals by making it valuable for the person referring AND the person receiving.
• Take advantage of mobile — 72 percent of clients now own a smartphone. 9 of 10 respond to email on their smartphone, and 4 of 10 use it to review applicants, and 3 of 10 use it to view your website.

What clients say will get your firm in the door: The inside scoop

• Getting a recommendation (49%)
• Sharing hiring trends for their region or industry (32%)
• Provide useful salary information (26%)
• Recognition of staffing firm/have heard of it (25%)
• In market — the rep calls when I need to hire  (18%)
• Building a relationship at an industry conference (18%)

Better client, job seeker and staff experiences

As we start to reset the expectations of what it’s like to work with a staffing firm, Gregg noted, people will want to work with us, and we will be re-setting the bar. Some companies are doing unexpected things to set themselves apart and delight, like the firm that offered unemployed job seekers the opportunity to get an outfit for an interview cleaned for free.

You must also understand, as a staffing firm, the culture of your client. Can you go to different events they’re hosting or see them speak at conferences? The more you start to hear their messages and understand their mission and culture, the more in demand your services will be.

Download your FREE copy of the 2011 Opportunities in Staffing Guide, listen to the webinar again, or check out the whole slideshow here for the full scoop.

What surprised you most about 2011′s Opportunities in Staffing Guide results?

As the carved pumpkins of Halloween were being given their final touches and trick-or-treating hosts were filling up their baskets for throngs of excited children, stores across the U.S. were already looking ahead to winter holidays — and many employers had already lined up their seasonal staff for the busy time ahead. Yes, seasonal hiring is in full swing, and though employers expect to hire at similar levels this year as last, according to a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,600 employers, a year’s time has brought more perks in pay, 29 percent of retailers planning to have extra hands on deck around the holidays (a moderate decline from 2010), and nearly one-third of employers planning to turn some seasonal staff into full-time, permanent members of their team.

INFOGRAPHIC: ‘Tis the Season for Holiday Hiring: What Employers Predict This Year Will Bring

Sales, customer service, technology, shipping, and administrative support are all hot areas for holiday hiring this season — let’s take a closer look at what else is happening:

Retail and hospitality outlook

As mentioned above, nearly three in ten retailers will have extra staff on hand to help this holiday season, a moderate decline from last year, and 10 percent of hospitality companies will add seasonal staff this year, the same percentage as last year. What do the similar patterns in seasonal hiring from last year to this year mean for the economy?

As Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, explained:

“Employers are keeping the status quo for holiday hiring as economic uncertainties shake consumer confidence,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “While retail has the lion’s share of seasonal jobs, you can also find opportunities in various industries and corporate roles.”

Where is seasonal hiring happening industry-wide?

Many different types of companies are hiring for seasonal staff this year, in various functional areas where they need help the most during the holiday rush. Across all industries, popular areas for recruitment this holiday season include:

• Customer Service – 30 percent
• Administrative/Clerical support – 16 percent
• Shipping/Delivery – 15 percent
• Technology – 12 percent
• Inventory management – 10 percent
• Non-retail sales – 9 percent
• Accounting/Finance – 8 percent
• Marketing – 8 percent

Better pay is on the way

While the number of seasonal staff being brought on for the next few months may not look all that different than last year, one thing near and dear to many workers’ hearts has changed: what they’re getting paid. More than half of employers (53 percent) reported they will pay $10 or more per hour to seasonal staff, up from 48 percent who said the same last year. Fourteen percent will pay $16 or more, up from 9 percent last year. How does your business compare when it comes to pay — are you paying more or less this year?

Seasonal hiring: Still going strong

While there tends to be a mad rush to secure a seasonal job once the leaves start to change, many employers are still recruiting for candidates deep into the snowy underbrush of the winter holiday season:

If you’re still recruiting for seasonal staff, you may want to check out WorkinRetail.com, which connects retail job seekers with employers looking to fill retail positions from in-store to corporate and everywhere in between. It’s the perfect place to recruit for seasonal retail candidates when you need to find the right people fast.

From seasonal to all-season employees

Nearly one-third (30 percent) of employers who are hiring seasonal help plan to transition some employees into full-time, permanent staff, meaning there is a lot of room for workers to make their mark this season and secure a great job. Workers looking to turn their seasonal gig into a full-time, permanent position should consider the key traits employers are seeking for seasonal-to-permanent staff.

Many of the things employers are looking for revolve around employees being proactive, offering help above and beyond what is asked, and, believe it or not, simply showing interest in a full-time gig. When you look at the below criteria a bit more closely, most of the items mentioned are things all kinds of employers are looking for in their employees.

To stand out as a candidate for a long-term opportunity, hiring managers recommended the following:

• Provide above and beyond customer service. Offer help instead of waiting to be asked for it. – 66 percent
• Let the employer know up front that you’re interested in permanent employment – 49 percent
• Proactively ask for more projects – 45 percent
• Ask thoughtful questions about the organization – 39 percent
• Present ideas on how to do something better or try something new – 34 percent

Employers’ biggest seasonal hiring turnoffs

What are the biggest turnoffs for employers when interviewing for seasonal jobs? A lack of flexibility or expressed interest, unawareness of the company or brand, and discount-job-shopping top the list, according to employers surveyed:

• Someone who is unwilling to work certain hours – 70 percent
• Someone who isn’t enthusiastic – 63 percent
• Someone who is more interested in the discount than anything else – 40 percent
• Someone who knows nothing about our company/products – 36 percent
• Someone who shows up wearing clothes or merchandise from a competitor’s store – 22 percent

Read the full press release, send a snapshot to your co-worker with our seasonal hiring infographic, or snag the right seasonal candidates.

Do these results fall in line with what your organization is planning for seasonal hiring this year?

When (almost) alone in a room with American business magnate and investor Warren Buffett, what do you ask him? CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” this morning to talk about just that. Buffett, Ferguson and a few other business leaders met last evening during Buffett’s stop in Chicago for an event for Junior Achievement, and discussed everything from U.S. job creation and the outlook for our nation’s economic recovery, to philosophies on business and the housing market.

This was the first time Buffett and Ferguson had gotten a chance to meet. On “In the Loop,” Ferguson shared a couple of highlights from their discussion:

• Long-term predictions: Buffett believes that, while the U.S. is going through tough times right now, we will bounce back, the unemployment rate will come down and we’ll find ways to create jobs for everyone in society.
• Short-term predictions: Right now, Buffett is focusing his closest attention on the housing market. He believes that when the housing market returns, we’ll see a broad range of industries related to housing or down the system from what housing creates. He thinks the housing market bouncing back is a lot closer than many of many people think.

See what else Ferguson had to say about his discussion with Buffett:

The current skills shortage — and why we should care

Ferguson said our current skill shortage is a longer-term issue that, though it won’t be changed overnight, must be addressed now.

As a result of a long and deep recession, technology evolution, and globalization, we’re in a position where we have a lot of jobs — and not enough workers with the right skills to fill them. “We have to re-skill a lot of Americans into new industries, and it’s not something that happens in 3 or 4 months — companies have to participate in it and government has to incent it. If we don’t start investing in it now, we’re going to look back 2 years from now and say, ‘I wish we’d started that,’” Ferguson said.

In industries like information technology, health care, and engineering, Ferguson pointed out that we’re seeing a mismatch in skills.  There are more job postings for some types of IT jobs this September than last, for example, but they’re staying open longer because there’s an undersupply of people in the U.S. who have the right skills for those jobs.

The key, Ferguson said, is to reskill people into various areas of those industries and help provide employment in the long term for them — but as he stressed, it will take all of us working together to do it. The positive news is that broad-based areas like customer service, marketing and sales are starting to make a comeback — a good leading indicator, Ferguson said, of the underlying health of the economy, and a sign that we may see better job creation as we move into 2012.

What do you see happening for U.S. economic recovery as we begin to prepare for 2012?

As we move through still-uncertain economic times, it’s not a surprise that many companies are looking for new ways to main a competitive advantage. The more surprising thing to learn may be that nearly a quarter of employers (23 percent) expect to hire for executive-level positions over the next six months, according to CareerBuilder’s new nationwide executive hiring forecast of more than 2600 hiring managers and human resources professionals.

Which industries plan to hire for executive-level positions most over the next six months?

• 35 percent of IT companies
• 25 percent of health care companies
• 24 percent of sales companies,
• 23 percent of professional and business services, financial services, and leisure/hospitality companies.

Introducing: HeadHunter.com

With this increasing need in mind, CareerBuilder has launched HeadHunter.com, a job search and recruitment site dedicated to helping experienced management and executive-level professionals easily find relevant career opportunities matching their advanced skills and talent.

Employers who use HeadHunter gain the ability to:

• Attract candidates serious about their next career move
• Choose from prescreened resumes that fit their specific requirements
• Enjoy an ad-free experience with no entry-level job seekers and no hassle

“Companies have a perpetual need to attain competent, agile senior leadership. At no time is this more important than during an uncertain economic recovery. HeadHunter.com is designed to highlight opportunities for talented professionals looking for jobs on multiple levels of an organization – from senior managers and department directors to vice presidents and C-level officers.”

To learn more about posting jobs or viewing resumes on HeadHunter, visit the employer info page, call
(877) 218-1309, or contact your CareerBuilder account representative.

What do employers want in an executive-level candidate?

Education

It’s not only experience that’s in demand when it comes to executive-level candidates; many employers are looking just as closely at a candidate’s education (and, as seen below, sometimes more important):

• One in five employers look for a candidate with an MBA, comparable degree, or higher level degree when recruiting executive-level positions.
• While prior industry experience is an important asset for many employers, 47 percent would still be willing to hire a candidate without it

The executive hiring forecast confirms that, for the most part, the right experience comes with age. According to employers, the average executive is 41 or older. Forty-five percent of executives are between 41 and 50-years-old and 29 percent are older than 50. Twenty-six percent of executives are age 40 or younger.
Other leadership qualities:

• Proven ability in addressing problems with effective solutions (74 percent)
• Adept at motivating others (63 percent)
• Can act with speed and agility in a changing market (55 percent)
• Creativity (52 percent)
• Emotional Intelligence (46 percent)
• Experience in different areas (44 percent)

By Russell Glass, CEO of Bizo

As hiring professionals, we’ve all been there. Your teams need support, but you don’t have the budget or resources to hire the desired people. Perhaps you find yourself in a hiring position, but can’t find the candidates that fit the bill. The difficulties of being a hiring manager are not characteristic of one particular industry or field. Everyone, from President Obama to the store owner next door, is faced with the difficult decisions that surround job creation and hiring.  So what do we do?

Location is Not a Barrier

As the CEO of Bizo, a fast growing company in the technology industry, I have a simple solution, “in-shoring.” Here at Bizo, we not only hire the most highly-skilled people, but we also hire them just about as fast as we can find them –wherever we can find them.  Bizo is just one of the tens of thousands of businesses that are in the same position.  We realized early on, that to successfully build our company, we needed to hire only the best people. However, hiring people solely based in the local San Francisco Bay Area was a significant limitation—and sacrificing quality talent was just not something that we were willing to do. At the same time, we didn’t feel that we could build the right tight-knit culture we wanted by off-shoring to countries like India, Belarus or other far-away lands.  The solution? Again, a simple one: use powerful, effective and inexpensive collaboration and communication technologies like Skype, Google Docs, Dropbox, instant messaging, and web conferencing to manage our company’s remote workforce and “in-shore.”

What does it mean to “in-shore”?

In-shoring is a simple idea that offers a plethora of significant benefits to everyone. At Bizo, we’ve built a culture that enables our teams to work together efficiently. By doing so, we’ve managed to:

• Build an infrastructure to hire incredible talent regardless of where they live in the country
• Lower our average cost per employee so we can hire more of them
• Establish networks around the country that fuel our ability to hire more great people

Today, our 45-person company is represented in 10 states around the country, including one person in Hawaii. It is my belief that better companies are built with a diverse foundation, and “in-shoring” has the potential to alter the landscape of this country’s job market.  If the laid-off auto worker in Detroit, the high school student in Little Rock or the former textile marketer in Greensboro, sees that there are jobs available to work for high growth Silicon Valley technology companies if they only had the right skills, they will go out and acquire those skills.

Bringing Jobs to the People

Job seekers need to believe that if they take the initiative to get new skills, there will be a job available to them.  This way, they will have the incentive to acquire the relevant skills they need to be successful.  Leading a technology company in Silicon Valley, I believe that I and others in a similar position have a responsibility to do our part to create and fill jobs in this country. This is simple economics.  If the economy thrives, we will be more successful and our children will be more successful. Ultimately, that’s why we all work in the first place, isn’t it?

With expanded education opportunities, a focus on “in-shoring” and continued innovation and next generation technologies, we can overcome the structural challenges that we face today and lead the world in high technology job creation for decades to come.

So what does “in-shoring” look like for your company?

Russell Glass is CEO of Bizo, a business-to-business marketing firm. Glass is a serial technology entrepreneur, having founded or held senior positions at four venture-backed technology companies. Other than business data, Glass’ passions include golf, anything in high def, and Duke basketball. Follow Glass on Twitter at https://twitter.com/glassruss.

Do you realize…

…one in two job seekers want to find and engage with companies in social?
…80 percent of companies use social media to recruit?
…12 percent of job searches are done via mobile devices?
…54 percent of job seekers are more likely to apply to your job at your company after they follow you on social media?

Yesterday, CareerBuilder’s Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Branding, Jamie Womack, along with CareerBuilder Area Vice President Andrew Streiter discussed these very findings in the featured webcast, Going Social: How to Leverage Social Media In Your Recruitment Strategy. 

In addition to these findings, they also gave practical tips for employers on the best ways to leverage emerging media to strengthen employment branding and recruiting efforts, including…

…the latest tools, trends and techniques for attracting top talent
…what emerging media are and what they mean for your business
…how to integrate emerging media into your current recruitment strategy

Missed the webcast? Download it now at www.careerbuilder.com/GoingSocial.

Keep the conversation going – use #CBGoSocial on Twitter…

During the webcast, participants were urged to join in the conversation by following and posting the hashtag #cbgosocial on Twitter! Visit Twitter and search #cbgosocial and put in your own two cents!

Related articles:

• Think Like a Marketer to Capture Top Talent
• Emerging Media: The Best Ideas You Aren’t Taking Advantage Of
• Why Video? 6 Benefits of Making Video Part of Your Recruitment Mix

Earlier this month, Target retail stores and its online site were overrun with activity from customers desperate to own a piece of squiggle-patterned luxury at a bargain price. On Sept. 13, famed Italian house Missoni launched a line exclusively for Target, and everybody wanted in. The Internet traffic caused Target’s website to crash, and the Missoni line was essentially sold out in a few hours. If you visit the website today, you will see most items are listed as “out of stock.”

It’s interesting that even in today’s economy, when many people are tightening their purse strings and have less disposable income, they still turned out in droves to spend on this collection, which, while affordable, is not comprised of necessities. People are even taking advantage of the craze by reselling the items on eBay at outrageous prices!

The consumer enthusiasm was (and still is) certainly driven by hype and Missoni itself, but Target did a lot to ensure that the line would be well-received. Though they made some mistakes , there are still nuggets of information to be mined from this situation – namely, building excitement without creating disappointment. How can you apply the good pieces of Target’s tactics to your recruitment strategy?

1. Create a buzz. Target released news and information about the Missoni collection months before it officially launched. They also included photographs of the entire line and pricing information. People started to get excited and planned their purchases. You can create a similar buzz about job openings by posting the information in several places and heightening the excitement. For example, if you have several marketing positions to recruit for, you can start tweeting and posting about them via social media. Sample post: “I’ve got a few excellent marketing positions coming soon! Limited-time offer, check back for updates! Going live 9/25.” This simple post gets people who are interested in those positions interested in your Twitter feed. They’ll start paying closer attention, waiting for the date when you post the opportunities.
2. Instill a sense of urgency in candidates. Target let consumers know that the line would only be available in limited quantities, for a limited time. You should let candidates know that the job opening will be filled quickly. Set a deadline, and stick to it. This is useful because it enables you to see which candidates can adhere to deadlines; it also lets candidates know that the job is desirable and there is significant competition. (If you’re worried about not getting enough candidates, you can always repost or extend the deadline later.)
3. Follow through on your marketing. Target has made it clear that, despite the high demand, they won’t be ordering any additional Missoni goods beyond additional scheduled shipments. They are sticking to the limited-quantity collection they advertised. If you set a deadline for applications, make sure you also set a deadline for yourself to go through them and respond to people. If you phone interview people, respond to them quickly about in-person interviews and so on. Instilling a sense of urgency but not following through on that promise will only serve to annoy some candidates.
4. Handle the resultant attention with aplomb. Target has been responding to customer feedback, but some customers are still dissatisfied because of delayed shipments and order cancellations.  If your number of applicants is much larger than anticipated, don’t panic. Send a note to each applicant letting him/her know you received his/her application, and that there was a high volume of applicants. Let them know that if they don’t hear anything by a certain date, then they should assume that the position has been filled by another applicant. That should alleviate disgruntled applicants.

“Diversity is included in everything we do – it’s a critical part of our mission. It’s so ingrained in what we do that we don’t even really see it.”

These were some of the words spoken by Cmdr. Brent Mitchell, Director of Marketing and Advertising for the Navy Recruiting Command, on day two of the recent ERE Expo in Hollywood, FL. During his “The Navy’s Record Year” keynote, Cmdr. Mitchell discussed many facets of the Navy’s recruitment successes and challenges — many of which translate not only to the entire military, but to employers in general. Below are some highlights about the Navy’s specific recruiting challenges, growth/success metrics, and tips that may inspire other employers or recruiters:

What’s it like to work for the Navy? A workplace snapshot

• 284 ships in commission
• 3700+ operational aircraft
• Personnel deployed: 52, 585
• Then (1992): 550,000 active duty; 406 ships
• Now (2011): 328,266 active duty, 203,796 Navy civilians, 102,080 reserves
• Navy recruiting command: Hiring 45,000 people a year, consisting of 42,079 enlisted, 3,989 officers, and 4,220 NROTC applications
• Hiring 45,000 people/year

Should be easy to reach their goals with such a great brand, right? Not so fast. “Lots of people have reservations about recruiting for the Navy,” said Mitchell. The reasons are widespread, but many stem from either physical concerns, fear (war and high-risk situations often pop into people’s minds) and cultural elements. Some of the most common concerns include those offered from the audience: “I hate push-ups; “I can’t swim” (the point, as Mitchell jokes, is to stay on the ship, not to fall off of it); “I’m going to have to cut my hair”; and “Where will I work, geographically? I have to leave home.”

Some of these are real concerns, and Mitchell acknowledges that they are a barrier the Navy deals with all the time. He went on to address other challenges the Navy faces both internally and externally.

Some of the Navy’s current recruitment challenges:

• Complex Mission: The Navy has what they call a “FIT” standard for talent — they need the right person, doing the right job, at the right time. In the old days, Mitchell said, you took a test to determine that you were morally and physically qualified, and then you were “in,” your job was chosen, and you were sent to it.Now, they have “gotten away from sending a general product downrange,” as he calls it, and it’s top-notch quality being sent off to boot camp. When you go to boot camp, you know what you will be doing after, and you’ve had all the security, financial, and background checks already done and the physical screenings taken care of.But this FIT element, Mitchell added, is like finding a blade of grass in a haystack, it results in frustration on part of applicants and recruiters, and it can be a strain on the most valuable resource — time.
• A shrinking population of qualified and interested youth: Mitchell asked audience members for a show of hands as to how many of their family members were in the military. Overall, he got about 50 percent raised hands; fewer, he said, than he would have gotten years ago. It used to be that entire families would consider the military as line of work — that 70 percent in that same audience would have raised their hands. Interest and military participation as a family tradition has dwindled, and with it a portion of the Navy’s target market.In addition, the skill sets for which the Navy is recruiting are intense; 98 percent of nuclear power plants, for instance, are run by Navy-trained officers — and this requires finding a very technically astute individual. Not easy to find, especially when two-thirds of the market (17- to 24-year-old males) isn’t even qualified to join the Navy.
• Navy Awareness lags all other services: In many ways, Mitchell said, the Navy is invisible to America. You can’t get on naval bases without an escort in most cases, if there’s even one near you — which makes it difficult for people to penetrate the barriers and get to know what the organization is really like. In addition, they have their own language of sorts — they use particular words for things that the general public isn’t necessarily familiar with, and they’re an insular, close-knit community. Kind of like an exclusive club, really — but this rep doesn’t do much for raising awareness.
• Resource reductions and the changing economy pose a moderate risk in the near term: Marketing for complex jobs is difficult, Mitchell pointed out. The Department of Defense has taken a $26 billion reduction, so trying to make decisions on whether to spend money on recruiting or equipment needs can prove to be quite challenging.
• There’s a high demand for professional skill sets in the private sector: The Navy also struggles with people relatively immune to unemployment — people with very specific skill sets and an advanced level of education, like doctors, chaplains, and dentists. With a shortage of Roman Catholic priests in the U.S. and many parishes in need of them, for example, it’s hard for the Navy to justify taking them away — and it can cause quite a dilemma.
• A sense of identity and awareness among the public: The Navy has suffered from the lack of a clear identity and awareness among the broader American public. News reporters and the public at large believe the Navy is manned by generals and soldiers, and they don’t know what service actually entails or what kind of impact the Navy has on their daily lives. Without this foundation, it’s difficult for the general public to support Naval efforts.This hurts when it comes to getting the right people in the door. There is currently a 7 percent female interest in the Navy, compared to an 18 percent male interest in the Navy. There’s a steady decline for female interest, though the Navy has more and more jobs opening for females — it’s a problem of perception versus reality. Not only does the Navy want more female recruits — it needs them. They’re about to onboard their first female submariners, which is huge.

How the Navy has overcome some of its biggest challenges:

As Mitchell shed light on how the Navy has tackled some of these challenges and achieved a record year for recruiting, it struck me that many employers face the same types of recruiting challenges — and that the solutions were often ones that translate outside the military environment.

• A supportive work environment: Mitchell talks about his early days of being a recruiter, when employment was only 3.8 percent in Phoenix. The district missed their recruitment goals by a huge margin, and he says the one thing that helped turn things around was visiting the sailors in their stations and examining their work environment, and listening to what bothered them. Many things were in disrepair, and it bugged them; they didn’t feel the pride and professionalism they had felt before. After a year of this, the district started to make its recruitment goals again.
• Ensuring quality of talent: Putting great talent in your open positions does, as we all know, make a huge difference in the business. Measure enlisted quality by 1) high school diploma graduates and 2) how they score on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) — Mitchell describes the latter as the SATs for the military. Eighty-eight percent score on the upper tier for this test, and 98 percent of enlistees have a high school diploma (77 percent is the minimum). Their recruiters must be doing something right: Their new hire program is holding at 11 percent attrition — as Mitchell said, “that takes a lot of time and attention and effort.

• Recruiters who get it: The Navy dubs their recruiters “Sailors on recruiting duty” — and for good reason. Although the brand image of the military recruiter isn’t that great (Mitchell mentioned the common perceptions being someone who’s stressed, running toward a quota and will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to sign the bottom line), “It’s anything but.”

  Their recruiters are actually high-performing sailors in the fleet who have done very well and qualified to become recruiters. They do three years of recruiting duty, then go back to the fleet to work alongside the people they brought into the Navy. In other words, if they recruit bad people, they’re stuck working with bad people. The Navy is a small community, Mitchell stressed that “we can get tough with each other with one phone call and one email, and we do. If you send a bad product (recruit), the fleet’s going to tell you. We’re picking our own team.”

• Better communication efforts: The Navy has adopted a multi-channel approach to fuel awareness. When it comes to the Navy’s communication efforts, Mitchell tells his colleagues, “It’s not one thing; it’s everything.”

  1. A simpler website. Whereas before, their website was full of internal language and buzzwords (sound familiar?), they realized potential candidates didn’t understand much of the language and fancy job titles and terms they were using — only internal employees did. This was hurting recruitment efforts. Now, the website is written from the point of view of someone who’s never been in the Navy. Users of the site want to understand what they would be doing in simple, straightforward terms, as complicated job titles no one understands causes many to lose interest.“Do you like solving puzzles” makes much more sense to a potential recruit than “Cryptologist.” “We have to put it in the language of our target market. Try to navigate your own website from someone who doesn’t speak your internal language,” said Mitchell. And he made a great point — once these candidates come into your organization, they’re going to learn to speak your language.

  2. Branding. As the Navy realized they suffered from a lack of identity and awareness, not only from the general public, but within their own organization, they decided to go down the pathway of branding.Prior to 2009, Navy’s communication efforts focused exclusively on short-term goals. i.e. recruiting prospects. The organization has had four different recruiting slogans since the inception of an all-volunteer force, all targeted to prospects ages 18-24 focused on a “what’s in it for me” proposal (do you remember the “Navy. It’s not just a job. It’s an adventure” or “Accelerate your life” campaigns?) They realized that these campaigns were very inward-focused, but they weren’t cohesive with what the Navy was about as a whole. They didn’t speak to older workers, Navy family, or retirees — and that’s a big part of the organization. Now, their mission statement is, “America’s Navy is the global force that protects the world by whatever means necessary 24/7.” This has been adapted into many different campaigns, but the message is true to their mission across the board.

• Diversity-focused engagement: Mitchell says they view diversity as a strategic imperative — and that it’s not just about race or ethnicity. “Your Navy forces should look like the population and the people it serves.” The Navy has initiated many diversity-focused efforts — but as Mitchell said, when asked what portion of his budget was reserved for diversity recruiting, he answered: “All of it.” “Diversity is included in everything we do – it’s a critical part of our mission. It’s so ingrained in what we do that we don’t even really see it.”But how did they get to this point — a point in which diversity just happens?The truth is, it takes a lot of outreach. They partner with various affinity groups like the National Society of Black Engineers, groups which are primarily student-focused and engineering-based, and they engage with them on a national, regional, and local level. This way, they start putting the Navy into students’ consideration process early on. The Navy also lets some of these students explore Navy jobs actually experiencing time with the Navy on the ships. They’re able to talk to people and ask them anything — and they tend to get honest answers about what they do and don’t like about their job, and to get the inside scoop from employees who are really proud of what they do. After all, is there a better way to get a real sense of an organization and its people than by talking to them?The Navy has also created focused diversity marketing and advertising campaigns. Mitchell recognizes that building trust takes time. As he put it, “you can’t ‘surge’ trust.’” They start early and often. “As we’re out there in the community, building trust is continual. With that, I have to make investment decisions that may not give me an immediate return on my investment. You have to start the investment early — that’s how you get top quality people.”

• Evolving technology: The military’s IT is the largest Intranet in the world, Mitchell said, but it’s built for security, not designed to be mobile or have 4G connectivity. “It’s designed around our primary business lines, but it doesn’t fit recruiting.” Yet, the recruiting command has made huge improvements. “We just armed our recruiters with laptops and mobile connectivity, and a biometric thumb device. Now, when signing paperwork, candidates sign with a thumbprint rather than a signature. This allows us to get to near real-time processing.” Sometimes, it’s the small process adjustments and simplifications that can make a huge difference in your recruiting (on both sides of the interview chair).
• Social media engagement: “We had a great plan. Be ready to change your plan. We have a saying that ‘no plan survives first contact with the enemy,’” Mitchell said, laughing. Initially, they had created 15 Facebook pages focusing on different elements of the Navy. Recruiters were already connected and wired, so Mitchell had them respond to inquiries and comments. The problem? Some did, but some also left — and when they did leave without anyone to take their place, that hurt engagement on the pages. They had to retool their plan, and “Now, I have 50 core recruiters at headquarters who respond to social media. Now, questions don’t go unanswered and engagement happens.” Of course, there’s good engagement (Recruiter to candidate: Here’s where you go to find out info, and if you have more questions, get in contact with me) and bad (Go to the website), and encouraging the good engagement is an ongoing process. NavyforMoms.comis one of their most successful social media efforts, with 1,222 new members per month,  more than 10,000 discussions on site, and a true sense of community and Navy mothers helping each other — it’s taken on a life of its own.

Mitchell included a great quote from Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, part of which stated, “Many of our organizations have focused on leaders as communicators. Now, we have the chance to be leaders of communicators.” In social media, this couldn’t be more true — and organizations that get this are way ahead of those that don’t.

Times continue to change, and, from what Cmdr. Mitchell said at the ERE Expo, the Navy is learning to change along with them.

How do you think your organization could adapt some of their success strategies in your own organization — or how have you?

It all started innocently enough. Justin over on The Work Buzz, CareerBuilder’s job seeker blog, tweeted a link to The Oatmeal’s 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling graphic, and he was immediately bombarded with résumé spelling pet peeves from job seekers and employers alike, which he then included in a post about readers’ most egregious job seeker spelling crimes. That turned into me asking all of you on Twitter for the top three things that make you toss a résumé in the nearest trash can (or at your office neighbor).

The result? You fired at me from all directions with your most agonizing résumé errors — and I’ve included them below. There are those resumes that make you go hmmmmm (thank you, C+C Music Factory), but then there are those that make nails on a chalkboard a preferable torture — the latter of which is our focus today.

I’d like to talk about job seekers’ most aggravating résumé mistakes here, not because I want to make job seekers feel bad, but rather to empower them with advice from people who would actually be sitting on the other side of an interview. (Hint: That’s where you come in.) The more honest information you can share with job seekers about what you are — and are most certainly not — looking for, the more it will help both parties get what they want out of the recruitment process (and stop wasting each other’s time). Below is a collection of the tweets I received from some of @cbforemployers’ Twitter followers about their top resume pet peeves; not surprisingly, spelling, formatting, and unexplained employment gaps topped the list.

 Your top nails-on-a-chalkboard résumé mistakes:

@OSGCORP Lack of details & presentation, if resume has different fonts and misspelled words.

@AaronBahls Spelling! Formatting issues! and Job Hopping!

@mtATL When a candidate has little experience but a 3+ pg unformatted resume filled with nonsense & fluff

@prettylady1205  bad grammar, misspelled words

@DCC_Careers  Comic Sans! Background Images, and Headshots including marital status, visa status, blood type, eye colour, etc.

@hplumley Typos in the resume and / or cover letter, incorrect use of apostrophes.

@Amanda_McDaniel A bogus cover letter. Who needs ‘em?!

@NSagal 1. Spelling errors 2. Major formatting issues 3. Objective/Cover Letter that doesn’t match current job

@NicolaFranklin 10 pages of dense text; spelling/grammer errors; repeated applications for wildly varied job roles/levels…

@CobellRecruit  I would look past a resume that has misspelled words, has no contact details and, really bad formatting!

@Thiru_VM Its purely on the requirement 1. Salary range 2. Lack of skills 3. more break ups in career

@Jolive61 poor spelling, lots of different jobs with short tenure.

@KanthawalaYusuf  1) unreadable / fancy fonts, 2) very lengthy resume, 3) insufficient relevant data.

@BrianLoof  1. Spelling errors 2. Paragraphs instead of bullet points 3. Novels instead of resumes. Thanks for asking!!

@MorrisMelanie  typos!

@AimeeTRUJobs  Typos &/or incorrect use of words, poor grammar. Stuff that’s easy enough to fix. Spell check, people!

@DianneMHarrison Spelling errors, spelling errors and spelling errors

@SusanStrayer 1) typos & grammar errors 2) clearly created 4 another job 3) reads like job descript. w/ no details on what they act. did.

@PuppetRecruiter * objective &/or skills/expereince irrelevant to the job *wrong employer name * extensive spell/gramm errors

OK, so… now what?

By letting job seekers know what you don’t want, you are also shedding light on what you do want. They want guidance, direction, and advice — and some may need a little tough love, too. So feel free to add to this list in the comments with your personal list of worst offenses. But while you’re at it, remember that while getting stock of what not to do is essential, it’s also really valuable to job seekers to get clear, specific information about what you’d like to see more of on their résumés. What tips do you have to help job seekers improve their résumé game (and make it easier for their job history to stop ending up as a dartboard)?

They’ll appreciate you for it — and you’ll appreciate the end result.

So… about the other night. It was great. We really connected on a deeper level. No topic was off the table — we talked about our experience, turn-ons and turn-offs, and what makes us tick. We were brutally honest with each other.

You know, in the #cbjobchat. Remember? For one glorious hour (quick plug: It’s the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. CST — except for last night, because of the Labor Day holiday), we covered job seeker experience. Are experience requirements flexible? What are acceptable reasons for job seekers to have employment gaps — and what won’t you stand for? Should the candidate’s first job as an ice cream company mascot really have a place on a job seeker’s resume? And do you care whether a candidate was terminated or laid off?

We covered these questions and more — much more, actually. I tried to squeeze as many highlights in as I could, so you could see what your peers are saying (and job seekers can get some great tips), but I want to hear from all of you. What do you agree or disagree with? What do you have to add from your own employer, recruiter or job seeker experience, when it comes to experience?

#cbjobchat: All About Job Seeker Experience

Q1: How much leeway is in a job posting? Are experience requirements flexible?

(What job seekers said):

@Hansell_Gretel: if I really want the job, if I’m > 80% of them I will still apply & hope they love me enough to make an exception!

@CaressaCrawford: personally, if I meet half the requirements I’ll apply #jobseeker #cbjobchat

(What employers & recruiters said):

@SGaspary: Some experience requirements are negotiable, but be reasonable and ready to explain.

@kbaumann: Most job postings are straightforward. If you have the experience, apply. If you’re close…apply.

@Jeffrey_PHR: As a recruiter I can tell you #jobseekers do not adhere to work experience requirements, but recruiters do.

@creativevp: if i can make a connection btwn the skillset it takes to do a particular task then i am willing to be flexible.

@kbaumann: Job postings can be very subjective. It’s about the right fit. Exceptions can be made. Pay attn. to the posting. Requirements are usually mandatory; preferred qualities are more flexible.

@SalarySchool: My experience is that experience requirements tend to be more flexible with internal hires, or if the market is really tight. I have seen cases where that “director” job turns into a “manager” job to get the right person into the position.

Q2: What are OK reasons for job seekers to have a break in employment, if their skills meet the job requirements?

@khairyalonto for #Employers , ok reasons could be post-grad education, giving birth, even getting laid off, etc. It’s the “why” that matters.

@kbaumann: You have to be able to explain the gap in employment. “I was finding myself” isn’t an answer. Fill the time w/volunteer exp.Ok reasons for gaps: Deployment, family, etc. It’s not so much about the gap. It’s about what you did/accomplished.

@iJobSeek Relocated.

Q3: Should there be a cutoff point for experience or is all experience relevant?

@TomBolt Most companies will want to know all employment in last 6-10 years or last 3 jobs. Most valuable experience on resume is the most recent.

@lunarising As far back as ‘exp required’ requests or at least 5-6 yrs

@JLLCareersAUS Not all experience is relevant. But giving us details on your career path will also help us get an idea of your progression.

@mtATL depends on the relevancy and the experience requirements, though 10-15 years is usually a good cut off in general.

@khairyalonto #Employers won’t have time to go through everything. #jobseekers should share relevant experience that will help get an interview.

@JLLCareersAUS Last/current job is the most important. We prefer to speak w/ 2 companies though.

(And, from the job seeker perspective:)

@TheJobFactor I think we should give less importance to experiences which are not required for the applied job.

@PuppetRecruiter I want to see ALL in 10 yrs not just ‘relevant’, let employer detrmine what is/isn’t relevant, explains gaps!

Q4: How much does a termination or layoff influence a hiring decision for #employers?

@mtATL #Employers It can be a negative influencer. Candidates need to be prepared to talk about what happened. #tricky

@SalarySchool It can influence mgr, but if you have a good track record, you can easily address. Get great former boss ref’s

@TomBolt Layoff not a killer, but be prepared to explain the circumstances and what you have done since if still unemployed.

@khairyalonto for most #employers, termination is a red flag, but getting laid off really shouldn’t be. Finding out the behaviors is key

JLLCareersAUS  Termination/layoff: depends on the reference checks. Crosschecking with a 2nd/3rd reference helps us make a decision.

Bonus Q&A (aka unchartered territory):

And, as all good conversations do, we sidetracked a bit and delved into side topics (but great ones). Here are a couple of exchanges between #cbjobchat participants worth highlighting:

On age discrimination:

@edjalberts Does a “mature” future employee have a chance in the digital world? & how to NOT be discriminated due to age?

@abalderrama @edjalberts In digital jobs your skills(and portfolio) CAN (not always, sadly) outweigh bias. Let the work prove your worth.

On cross-country relocation:

@caligirl62011 Any advice for cross country relocation job seekers? I am not looking for $$ to relocate or interview-just a new job.

@danielkjacobs @caligirl62011 For my last job, I said I was willing to relocate at my own expense in my cover letter. Then negotiated relocation #CBJobChat

SalarySchool @caligirl62011 If you are going to be in the area for any period of time, mention that. e.g. ” will be in NYC for the summer.”

@abalderrama @caligirl62011 Mention your willingness to relocate at your own expense in your cover letter. They’ll know you’re serious.

Check out the highlights from past chats:

August’s #cbjobchat – Job seekers’ toughest interview questions
July’s #cbjobchat — Your most cringe-worthy hiring mistakes
June’s #cbjobchat — Your biggest lessons in candidate search
May’s #cbjobchat — All about the interview process
April’s #cbjobchat -- All about the application process

 So tell us — what advice do you have for job seekers that we missed?

These were some of President Obama’s words in his Presidential Address to Congress just a few days ago, as he stressed the need for Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. Many of us watched, or tweeted about it, or argued about it over dinner — and some of us, like CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson, were discussing hopes for the speech to come before it happened.

The purpose of the American Jobs Act, President Obama said, is simple — “to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working.” So what exactly did President Obama say to explain that would happen? I’ve recapped the highlights here of what Obama says the American Jobs Act will do if passed:

What President Obama says the American Jobs Act will do (in his own words):

• Lead to new jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, for first responders, young people, and for the long-term unemployed.
• Provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers or raise workers’ wages, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business.
• Provide a jolt to an economy that is stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and their services.
• Cut payroll taxes cut in half next year for all small business owners. (If you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut).
• Repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools.
• Put people to work right now fixing roofs, and windows, and installing science labs and high-speed Internet in classrooms all around this country.
• Put thousands of teachers in every state back to work.
• Give companies extra tax credits if they hire America’s veterans. As Obama explained, “We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.”
• Give companies a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. President Obama: “We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work.”
• Extend unemployment insurance for another year.
• Provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief to small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle class.
• Cut away the red tape that prevents start-ups from raising capital and going public

Other points of emphasis:

• Obama stressed that we can’t grow the economy and create jobs by both keeping tax loopholes for all companies, and giving small business owners a tax credit when they hire new owners — we must choose.
• He also acknowledged that the American Jobs Act addresses the urgent need to create jobs right away — but that we have to look more into the future and make a lasting impact in order to make America competitive “for the long haul.”
• He wants to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes place not in other countries, but here in the United States.
• “The people who hired us to work for them — they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months (until the next election).” He mentioned, as we have before, that some people are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, or day to day – they need our help, and they need it now.

Before he ended his speech, Obama brought up Abraham Lincoln, and talked about how, in the middle of a civil war, Lincoln was also a leader who looked to the future. He was a Republican president who was able to mobilize government, Obama pointed out — leaders of both parties followed the example he set. Obama’s message in this comparison was clear — now is not the time for politics, but for putting them aside to make changes necessary for a better economy. But how successful was he in his plea?

Watch President Obama’s Address to Congress in its entirety:

How do you think we can create more jobs and make long-term economic improvements?

Well, September’s arrived, in all its changing leaves and apple picking and perky back to school-ness. But while we’re eyeing fall hayrides, relationships, report cards, or menu overhauls, let’s savor the last of the warm summer breezes, sit on the porch swing with a cool drink, and take a moment to enjoy August’s workplace news, trends, and gossip. After all, quite a lot happened in the last month — let’s take a look:

Klout is getting more and more buzz — but when it comes to your recruitment, what kind of impact should Klout have on your decisions (if any)? We took a closer look at the pros and cons. While you trying to improve your real-life clout by rubbing elbows with Michael J. Fox or Tony Hsieh at 2011′s SHRM conference, you just might have missed SHRM’s best presentations. Don’t worry, we’ve got some of them for you here. And hopefully you didn’t miss our monthly #cbjobchat, but if you did, you missed a lot of great exchanges about tough interview questions — not to worry, though, you can catch the next one on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m. CST. Join us!

Speaking of interviewing, we went ahead and created an entire ebook dedicated to the subject, From Q&A to Z: The Hiring Manager’s Complete Interviewing Guide (PDF). It’s free, it’s all for you, it’s all about interviewing... go nuts. And while interview questions can run the gamet from great to horror-inducing, resumes have their fair share of memorable moments, too, from statements about the Moonwalk to deadly animal bites.

While we’re on the subject of deadly things, have you thought about your personal brand as a recruiter — and how not having one may actually be really damaging for your business? If not, it’s a good time to start — there are some really easy ways to get your name out and legitimize you with interested candidates.

As an employer or recruiter, finding new ways to brand your company is essential — and many companies are turning to online video. Did you know it’s the fastest-growing medium for consuming content? All types of companies are investing in video to help them attract better candidates, brand themselves as an employer of choice, and more — you can download our free video, Streaming Talent, (just by answering a few questions) to find out how it can improve your own recruiting.

Shortly before July’s BLS numbers came out, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss job expectations versus job creation; the industry with the biggest skill shortage right now; the area hottest in wage growth, and more. When we did see the BLS numbers, we cringed a little. But then we realized the sky probably isn’t falling, so we hid that Chicken Little costume in the depths of our closets (you know, just in case). With finding quality workers a challenge for many employers, and unemployment still such a big issue, there are two worker groups that bring unique skills to the workplace and shouldn’t be overlooked: veteran employees and older workers.

We found out that while employers do value IQ, many are listening to their hearts (cue Roxette) and favoring emotional intelligence more strongly. But where does emotional intelligence matter most?

Many workers are also listening to their wallets — and finding them filled with empty promises (INFOGRAPHIC). Though the financial situation is improving for many, many workers are still living paycheck to paycheck — but there are still some things (cough Internet cough) they’re hesitant to give up.

 What did we miss? What was your favorite (or most cringe-worthy) August workplace news moment?

Not only is video a dominant form of communication; it is proven to be influential, as well.  Consumers are not just viewing content, but absorbing it, and letting themselves be swayed by it. When it  comes to recruiting, potential and current employees are the customer, and the companies they choose to work for are the products they invest in.

With that in mind, employers need to consider the way users consume information as they evolve their recruiting strategies. Between employee testimonials, executive interviews, facility tours and special event footage, online recruitment videos help answer the following crucial questions job seekers have when deciding to apply for a position.

Why should you invest in using online video for recruitment? Consider the following benefits:

1. Increase your ROI: As technology gets more sophisticated, producing and housing online videos becomes increasingly cost-effective – even more so when you consider the high level of engagement and interest online videos generate over static text. You can also get a lot of mileage out of these videos by distributing them over multiple channels – and encouraging employees to share them with friends and over social media.
2. Stay competitive: As video increases its dominance as an online communication tool, recruiters who stick with text-based career sites and even text-oriented social networks will find themselves overshadowed by competitors who are using this medium to reach potential employees.
3. Widen your audience reach: As noted earlier, 178 million internet users watched online video for an average of 16.8 hours per viewer in June 20111.  Video’s popularity as a source for information is only growing, and it is reaching wider audiences on a broad scale, representing the opportunity for employers who use this medium to reach out to a larger, more diverse candidate base.
4. Strengthen your employment brand: No other medium so completely enables you to showcase your organization and truly make it stand out. Videos help you communicate your employment brand more clearly than any other medium, because potential recruits get to “see, feel, and hear” what it’s truly like to work at your organization from the employees and leaders themselves.
5. Get higher response rates: According to CareerBuilder internal data, job postings with video icons are viewed 12 percent more than postings without video. On average, CareerBuilder customers receive a 34 percent greater application rate when they add video to their job postings.
6. Eliminate irrelevant candidates: Videos allow outsiders to decide for themselves if they are a fit for your organization – by enabling them to “meet” your employees and executives, tour the facility and get a feel for what life is truly like at the organization. A good recruitment video covers the most crucial questions job seekers have about why they should apply for your organization. Once job seekers understand what it means to work and be successful at your company, those who do not possess the relevant skills or see themselves as a cultural fit will be dissuaded from applying. As a result, they’ll effectively weed themselves out (saving you the trouble of doing it later).

Already using video in your recruitment mix? What other benefits have you seen for your organization?

Job seeker behavior has changed remarkably in the past few years. So why hasn’t your recruitment strategy?

In this competitive market for talent, it is imperative that employers be at the forefront of what job seekers find accessible. With today’s emerging technologies job seekers have come to expect a more interactive experience when it comes their job search. In order to meet the needs and desires of top talent, employers have to meet them halfway.  The smartest employers are taking advantage of today’s emerging media to connect with job candidates where they work and play, and deliver a more interactive and engaging job seeker experience.

Two forms of emerging media employers need to take advantage of right now are mobile and online video technology. Not only are mobile and video technologies surprisingly easy to implement into your overall recruitment efforts, but they are a must for any employer who hopes to remain competitive in the new recruitment landscape.

Mobile: The New Desktop
According to the latest findings from Pew Research Center, 83 percent of Americans currently own cell phones, nearly half of whom (44 percent) use their mobile devices to get access to the internet. This finding highlights the opportunity mobile devices offer employers to reach job seekers anywhere, at any time. The opportunities to use mobile technology for recruiting are vast, ranging from mobile-friendly websites that enable easy job searches on the go; to quick response (QR) codes that point smartphone users to job listings; to text alerts informing candidates about recruiting events and opportunities.

Regardless of size or industry, every company needs to take advantage of mobile recruiting opportunities. Increasingly, job seekers are using their mobile devices to receive job alerts, search jobs and research companies. It won’t be long until this behavior is commonplace, and those companies that do not embrace this technology are losing out on candidates every day.

Video: An Underutilized Advantage
For all of its power to influence and engage people, video is one of the most underutilized recruiting tools out there today. One thing CareerBuilder has seen consistently throughout our 15 years of research on job seekers is their desire to work for companies that care about their employees, work for the greater good and are at the forefront of innovation. Video enables companies to get this message across better than any other medium, because it enables candidates to really see and hear what the true employee experience is like. The evidence supports this finding, too: According to CareerBuilder internal data, job postings with video icons are viewed 12 percent more than postings without video. On average, CareerBuilder customers receive a 34 percent greater application rate when they add video to their job postings. At the same time, only 10 percent of job postings include video, underscoring a major opportunity for employers to take advantage of this technology and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Dispelling the Myths of Emerging Media
Change can be intimidating, but companies that fail to embrace these emerging media are only cheating themselves out of the opportunity to reach the growing number of qualified candidates who utilize this technology for their job searches. If what’s holding you back is the fear that implementing these technologies is too expensive or simply more trouble than they’re worth, consider the following popular misconceptions about emerging media.

Myth 1: It’s expensive. It’s surprisingly inexpensive to send text messages, create QR codes or create a mobile-friendly career site. Likewise, video is also inexpensive to produce, and it can be as easy as creating a video yourself and posting it (for free) on YouTube. It may not be the most polished video, but it’s a way to start the process and see how much feedback it generates.  From there, you might decide to invest in a more streamlined production process to get an even better return. Implementing mobile and video recruiting efforts can be an investment, but when you look at the return, cost should be an afterthought.

Myth 2: It’s too complicated. Mobile technology can feel like somewhat of a black hole for employers; however, integration with mobile devices is surprisingly simple, and the time it takes to build a mobile website is minimal. The same can be said for video. As mentioned above, uploading video onto any online platform – from a video-sharing site like YouTube to the company career site – is increasingly easy.  When in doubt, consult a third party expert to help you navigate these technologies for the best possible ROI. You won’t regret it.

Myth 3: It’s a trend. If there’s one thing to take away from this article, it is that emerging media, such as mobile technologies, social networking and video, is not going away. Consider the following statistics:

• In 2010 alone, the worldwide mobile phone market grew by 18.5 percent.
• More than 5 billion text messages were sent on a daily basis in the U.S. in 2010
• In the last quarter of 2010, smartphone sales surpassed that of PCs, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).
• During the course of 2010 CareerBuilder saw over 400 percent growth in job searches on our mobile career site, and the number of job seekers storing resumes on their phones using CB’s iPhone App increased by over 350 percent.
• Web pages with video are 53 times more likely than pages with just text to show up on the first page of Google results
• Internet video is now 40 percent of consumer Internet traffic, and will reach 62 percent by the end of 2015.

These are just a few of the findings that underscore both the reach and power of emerging media, as well as the need for employers to adapt their recruiting efforts to keep up with mobile usage trends. As these technologies become the norm for candidates as they search for jobs and research companies, employers need to adjust their recruiting efforts accordingly to remain competitive. In other words, you might not be taking advantage of emerging media, but your competitors are. Don’t get left behind.

Andrew Streiter is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is responsible for developing human capital strategies for organizations ranging from Fortune 1,000 companies to mid-sized businesses throughout the US.

Exclusive webcast: Join CareerBuilder Area Vice President Andrew Streiter and Jamie Womack, CareerBuilder’s VP of Corporate Marketing, on Tuesday, September 27 for Going Social: How to Leverage Social Media In Your Recruitment Strategy, wherein they discuss the best ways to leverage emerging media to strengthen your employment brand and find the best talent for your organization. Learn more or register at www.careerbuilder.com/GoingSocial

Recently, CareerBuilder released its new e-book,Streaming Talent: Using Online Video to Create a Virtual Candidate Experience, Differentiate Your Company and Recruit Top Talent. 

Video may have killed the radio star, but don’t judge it too harshly. When it comes to recruitment, more employers are finding that video is an increasingly powerful resource.

Online video is the fastest growing medium for consuming content, and companies are investing in video to help them attract better candidates, brand themselves as an employer of choice, differentiate themselves from their competitors and create a more efficient recruiting process.

Learn the secrets to their success with this quick-and-easy guide to creating and promoting your own online recruitment videos.

• See the latest findings about the influence of online video in decision-making
• Understand the benefits of implementing online video into your recruiting efforts
• Learn best practices for creating recruitment videos
• Overcome the challenges to creating recruiting videos – before you even start
• See real-life examples of recruitment videos from top employers

13.9 million Americans are currently looking for work, according to BLS statistics. It goes without saying, then, that making a positive impression with potential employers is of utmost importance to job seekers. Despite good intentions, however, the reality of these efforts sometimes falls short of the goal. While it’s clear that many of us have made a résumé mistake at one time or another in our job-searching experiences, as well as a few blunders during the interview itself — some mistakes are more, ah, memorable than others. Then again, some of them may not turn out to be mistakes at all. Let’s weigh in on results from a just-released CareerBuilder study of more than 2,600 employers nationwide — revealing the most unusual résumés they’ve seen seeing.

Resume reviews: Faster than you (should) brush your teeth

Turns out that nearly half (45 percent) of human resource managers said they spend, on average, less than one minute reviewing an application. Less than one single minute! While this comes as n surprise to those with the responsibility of hiring, it is quite the shock for many job seekers who think you’re spending hours poring over the intricate résumé details they worked so hard to perfect.

Not to fear, however: In that less than one minute’s time, human resource managers can retain quite a lot of the absurdities that come across their desk. When asked to recall the most memorable or unusual résumés they’ve gotten, human resource managers and hiring managers shared the following gems.

Employers’ 15 most memorable résumés:

1. Candidate said the more you paid him, the harder he worked.

2. Candidate was fired from different jobs, but included each one as a reference.

3. Candidate said he just wanted an opportunity to show off his new tie.

4.  Candidate listed her dog as a reference.

5. Candidate listed the ability to do the moonwalk as a special skill.

6. Candidates – a husband and wife looking to job share –submitted a co-written poem.

7. Candidate included “versatile toes” as a selling point.

8. Candidate said that he would be a “good asset to the company,” but failed to include the “et” in the word “asset.”

9. Candidate’s email address on the resume had “shakinmybootie” in it.

10. Candidate included that she survived a bite from a deadly aquatic animal.

11. Candidate used first name only.

12. Candidate asked, “Would you pass up an opportunity to hire someone like this?  I think not.”

13. Candidate insisted that the company pay him to interview with them because his time was valuable.

14. Candidate shipped a lemon with résumé, stating “I am not a lemon.”

15. Candidate included that he was arrested for assaulting his previous boss.

To hire — or to run?

Let’s keep in mind that while unusual résumés may be something some hiring managers guffaw over or use to perfect their free throw shot, smart recruiters and employers know that strange can sometimes lead to a successful employee. Don’t be so quick to write off a candidate who, upon further inspection, may simply be thinking outside of the normal résumé confines.

For example, maybe the candidate who included first name only was just being particularly cautious about his or her employer finding out that one of their star employees was job hunting. And the candidate who survived a bit from a deadly aquatic animal? He or she could have a fantastic sense of adventure and survivor instinct that may play well with your company culture. The candidate who wanted to show off his tie may simply have been making a genuine attempt to get your attention with humor. And the candidate who sent a lemon with the “I am not a lemon” wordplay? Clever, memorable — and probably someone you want to give a second look. In today’s extremely competitive hiring environment, a candidate who is willing to take a risk and be creative may be someone who will make the right risks at your company, brainstorm creative solutions to your business challenges, and be a huge asset to your bottom line.

That candidate who does a great moonwalk, though? While an impressive feat, to be sure, likely not one that will do much for your business (unless you are in the dance business, in which case I retract my hasty statement).*

*Also see: Candidate had shakinmybootie in email address.

And obviously, examples like No. 15 are a more serious matter altogether.

When trying to decide whether a résumé is unforgettable — or simply one you want to forget — consider the following factors:

• Is it relevant to the job?
• Is it clear and coherent?
• Is it smartly executed?

If your answers are “yes,” you should strongly reconsider tossing what some would consider a brilliant business move into the trash. Wouldn’t you rather a candidate work to get your attention, rather than blast out the same boring résumé to you and a dozen others? And hey, it’s not as if these candidates are lying to you on their résumé; if anything, they’re guilty of revealing too much.

Creativity solely for the sake of creativity isn’t always a winner, but if that creativity cleverly touches upon your company or open position, or a candidate’s skills in relation to the position at hand, you might not have such a lemon on your hands, after all.

As Rosemary Haefner (@haefner_r), vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, points out: “In a crowded job market, a stand-out résumé can be the difference between getting the interview and being lost in the pile. But job seekers need to ask themselves if they’re standing out for the right reasons.”

So tell us — what’s the most unusual résumé or job tactic you’ve come across? Was it worth giving the candidate a second look?

CareerBuilder continued our monthly #cbjobchat Twitter chat last Monday night (quick plug: It’s the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. CST)– so if you skipped the trainwreck that was the Real Housewives of New York Reunion Part II, you might have caught it! If you didn’t, do not fear — we’ve recapped the best bits of the chat for you.

This month’s chat was all about tough interview questions. Candidates aren’t strangers to them — those questions that seem to flow effortlessly from an interviewer’s mouth, but that leave candidates themselves speechless, or trailing off into a long, random story about sixth grade camp and s’mores and that cute girl with the pigtails and the camp counselor who told them to never be afraid. Never. Be. Afraid! Wait, now where was I? Ah, yes. Tough or scary interview questions — employers have to deal with them too (just on the other, less scary side). So this past Monday night was the perfect opportunity to merge the two worlds together, to share advice and give everyone the opportunity to learn a little more about the other side’s experience.

For those who aren’t familiar with #cbjobchat, we aim to bring together both job seekers and career experts to discuss today’s most pressing recruitment process questions.When job seekers had questions, you all didn’t hide your feelings. But job seekers had some opinions to share with you as well. Let’s dig in:

Chat Highlights:

Q1: How do you explain an involuntary departure, such as a layoff or firing? Do employers care about a layoff vs. being fired?

The general consensus here was that honesty is the best policy — layoffs have become more commonplace and job departures less stigmatized.

@KaraSingh Be honest. Keep it short and professional. If the hiring manager wants to know more they will ask.

@V167 Honesty is the best policy, but you have to remember to not insult a former boss or job regardless of the outcome.

@MatthewTForrest Seems like the stigma that was once there isn’t there for the most part. Just be honest about your situation.

@ChangePR Agreed. Layoffs are far too common nowadays anyway & honesty is always best policy.

Q2: How should job seekers explain leaving their current job without badmouthing a boss, and still sound sincere?

Experts advised candidates to look forward and stress how they can contribute to their full potential at a new company/in a new role. Recruiters need real reasons, but an employer wants to know what you are looking for in the future. Above all, candidates should not bash a former employer. Diplomacy is the way to go.

@mtATL Be positive about your old job, but focus on the direction you are looking to go. No need for badmouthing.

@michaelranaii If you badmouth your old company, who’s to say you won’t bad mouth ‘this company’?

@KaraSingh Say you’re looking for a position that will challenge you to your full potential.

All about the application process

If you were betting on job numbers, and you bet that 18,000 new jobs were created last month, thinking we’d have a repeat of June, you’d be wrong. But it’s probably a bet you’d be happy to lose, because in July, we added 117,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “The Employment Situation” summary for July 2011. This jump followed two months of very little growth (in May and June).

Despite this growth and landing above Wall Street expectations, we’re still below the number needed to really make a dent in the unemployment rate — but it’s an improvement. So, the sky isn’t falling — and let’s just say we’re cautiously optimistic, yes?

Other details from this month’s “The Employment Situation” summary:

• Net growth explanation: 154,000 jobs were created in the private sector, but with a loss in government jobs of 37,000, we saw a net increase of 117,000.
• May and June’s low growth numbers have also had positive net revisions of  56,000.
• The labor force, at 152.3 million, did not change much in July.
• The unemployment rate was little changed but we did see improvement, from 9.2 to 9.1 percent. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that this lower rate was due to more individuals dropping out of the employment search (labor force participation fell from 64.1 percent to 63.9 percent).
• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 10 cents to $23.13. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.3 percent.
• Neither average weekly hours or the number of temporary employees rose; as The Economist points out, both are indicators of future labor demand.

Hiring by industry

We saw job gains in health care, retail trade, manufacturing, and mining. Specifically:

• Health care employment grew by 31,000 in July. Ambulatory health care services and hospitals each added14,000 jobs over the month. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has grown by 299,000.
• Retail trade added 26,000 jobs in July. Employment in health and personal care stores rose by 9,000 over the month with small increases distributed among several other retail industries.
• Manufacturing employment increased by 24,000 in July; nearly all of the increase was in durable
  goods manufacturing. Within durable goods, the motor vehicles and parts industry had fewer seasonal
  layoffs than typical for July, contributing to a seasonally adjusted employment increase of 12,000 jobs.
• Mining employment rose by 9,000; virtually all of the gain (+8,000) occurred in support activities for mining.
• Professional and technical services continued to trend up in July, with a gain of 18,000 jobs.
• Employment in construction, transportation and warehousing, information, leisure and hospitality, and financial activities changed little in July.
• Government employment continued to trend down in July, with a loss of 37,000. Employment in state government decreased by 23,000, due almost entirely to a partial shutdown of the Minnesota state government.
• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 10 cents in July to $23.13. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.3 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 8 cents to $19.52.

See what CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson had to say yesterday on CNBC’s Squawk Box program about job creation, the biggest skill shortage we’re facing right now, and more.

What do you think about July’s BLS job numbers?

On CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson discussed job expectations versus job creation; the disconnect caused by the structural mismatch between available jobs and available skills; the industry with the biggest skill shortage right now; and the area hottest in wage growth.

Check out what else Ferguson has to say about the state of jobs in America:

“What words come to mind when I say “Gen Y”? Aaron Kesher asked the many SHRM 2011 attendees packed into the room.  “Entitled!” shouted one person. “Job hoppers,” chimed in another. Soon, many in the room (many of them non-Gen Yers, with some Gen Y members sprinkled in) were shouting things like “smart,” “resume builders,” “technically savvy,” “stereotype,” “comfortable with change,” and “creative.”

Obviously, we all have specific words and phrases and ideas that match how we perceive Gen Y to think and behave in the workplace. Gen Y, made up of those born between 1980 and 2000, has their own notions of themselves, too. In Aaron Kesher’s “Why Y? Plugging Into a Generational Powerhouse” session at SHRM 2011, Kesher encouraged all of us in the room to rethink our notions of what we think Gen Y is all about, to consider the strengths they bring to today’s dynamic workplace, and to use this knowledge and understanding to more successfully recruit and retain Gen Y workers.

“Do not doubt that this generation will change the face of the American workplace as their parents did,” Kesher said. “In the next five to 10 years, Kesher said, the number of Gen Yers in the workforce will increase dramatically.”

As the number of Gen Y workers is only getting larger, it’s about time we as a collective workplace learn more about Gen Y so that we can understand them, appreciate their unique strengths, and more successfully integrate them with other generations in the workplace.

What is work from a Gen Y Perspective?

• Work ethic: Job loyalty, for a long time, was shown by how long you stuck around and paid your dues — and older generations still think in line with this. Gen Y, on the other hand, says, “I show you love by how hard I work, not how long I stick around.”
• Tech savvy: It’s not so much that Gen Yers are tech savvy, Kesher pointed out – they’re tech dependent.They’re the generation that’s come of age with the explosion of technology, so it’s natural that they would be comfortable with it.
• Communication and teamwork: Gen Y is not necessarily entitled; they just feel comfortable asking for what they want. When it comes to communication, you can often count on Gen Yers to spread out the message fast and often. We need to realize, Kesher said, that throughout Gen Y’s public education, the majority of the work was done in groups, and that their role wasn’t usually as the leader of a group – instead, many were “equal” team members. Therefore, many Gen Y members function fairly well as a group and as “team players,” but some struggle in standing out as individual, assertive leaders.
• Money:  Employers, listen up: Gen Y is talking to each other about the money they are (or aren’t) making at your organization. They are comparing how competitive your salary is with your competitors — and they’re not afraid to share their findings. One audience member mentioned recently hearing Gen Yers discussing openly the job offers and bonuses they were getting — and she was shocked.  After all, discussing how much money you make is one of the last great American taboos — yet Gen Y seems more comfortable with discussing this sort of information.
• Recognition: Gen Y is a generation of the “there are no losers – everyone’s a winner” mentality. “But they didn’t make that up (boomer parents),” Kesher pointed out, to a round of laughter. Gen Yers don’t care how it gets done – they just want to get it done. And they want to be told they did a good job once they do it; recognition is very important.
• Diversity: “Why do only white people work here?” might be something a Gen Y worker thinks while viewing a company site or sitting in the lobby while waiting to be interviewed and noticing the lack of diverse employees. Gen Y doesn’t embrace diversity – they expect it — and if your company says you believe in diversity, but then a Gen Y worker shows up and all workers look the same – they will think you’re not living up to your diversity message. This generation has grown up with a greater awareness of and comfort with diversity of all kinds. From home lives, to school experiences, to messages absorbed from pop culture, they often don’t see what all the fuss is. This can manifest as difficulty in understanding why others struggle with issues around differences. A question of whether gay marriage should be legalized, for example, is a non-issue for many Gen Y individuals — and this shift ties into a larger cultural shift in general.
• Work versus life: “I love my job, but I love my life more” — that’s something you may hear a lot of Gen Yers say. One of the critical issues that will need to be ironed out at work in the future, Kesher said, will revolve around workplace flexibility. We’re increasingly seeing workplace flexibility issues evolving in the workplace, and Gen Y workers in particular (though they’re not alone) want to know how they can maintain their relationship with work while still having the flexibility to live the life they envision. As mentioned above, Gen Y has no problem with work, or with the idea of working hard — it’s just that their job will never be the whole of their identity. They raised with the imperative to “follow your dreams!”, and their job and life may intersect in new ways than we’ve seen in past generations. “Gen Y,” Kesher stressed, “doesn’t want a job – they want a life that hopefully includes a job.”
• Being green: This is the generation that’s leading the green movement – so give them the power to build, make changes, and become leaders in your organization’s (existing or non-existing) green movement.

Why worry about Gen Y?

Ensuring that the different generations working together under one roof actually work well together is a big concern for many employers. After all, if knowledge isn’t able to be sufficiently shared from generation to generation, older generations will eventually retire — taking with them decades of experience. In addition, workers who work well together are likely to be happier, more productive, and better brand ambassadors for your company.

To effectively work with Gen Y workers, Kesher said, you don’t need to change who you are – just your approach. In a great reverse example of this, an audience member told the story of her (as a Gen Y worker) learning to compromise with a Silent Generation worker. The older worker, she said, took a long time to respond to emails, but whenever she had a printed piece for him to look at, he worked much more quickly. After figuring this out, she started printing out  her emails to him and putting them on his desk – and now his turnaround time on feedback to her is much faster. It’s small steps like this that can make a big difference between two generations that don’t always see eye to eye — or medium to medium.

By learning the “why” behind this generation’s interests, ideas, and behaviors, you will understand how Gen Y workers function best in the workplace, and you will be better prepared to recruit and retain them. Here are some ideas to get you started, courtesy of Kesher:

6 ways to more successfully recruit Gen Y:

1. Have fun. Use the media to get your company message out there. Gen Y is all over social networks, and as mentioned above, they are very comfortable with technology, so get in front of them on various mediums — and get creative in your efforts. Speak their language; what have you learned about the things that matter to them that you as an employer are able to provide? Connect work to their lives; how do the two successfully intersect in your work environment? Are you able to offer workers a great work/life balance and opportunities for them to enrich their lives outside of the office walls? Show them.
2. Challenge them. Gen Y workers are attracted to a challenge, so by providing your employees with interesting work that asks them to get outside their comfort zone and take risks, and lets them make mistakes and fail, you are likely to get these workers’ attention.
3. Give them opportunities. Do you give your employees multiple paths to explore when taking on a project, or find ways for their work to have an impact on the organization as a whole? Demonstrate to job seekers that you encourage employees to do work that is meaningful and and makes a difference outside of your organization. Do you give employees opportunities to further their training, brush up on their skills, or learn new disciplines outside of their current role to help them grow both inside and out of work?
4. Support their lifestyle. Recognize the importance their life outside of work has to them, and understand that they have often strong, close connections with their families (Kesher gave the example of parents calling to ask why their son or daughter got a bad review example, or dropping off a resume for their child — it happens more than you might think). Offer flexibility in your benefits, and realize that for many Gen Y workers, the line between work and personal life has blurred. Work happens at home, and vice versa — does your organization support a flexible workplace?
5. Embody diversity. Show it, don’t just talk about it! Demonstrate to potential employees how diversity integrates with your organization’s mission – but be authentic. Job seekers can see right through empty words; be true to your values by actually being a diverse workplace.
6. Reinforce your mission. Show job seekers the “why” – why is the work your organization does important to the rest of world? What is the larger context of the projects you take on, or of your core business? Reinforce your mission constantly, and help workers find connections to others in the organization through social media, your website, or in-person interactions.

… And 5 ways to retain them:

1. Make them feel at home the first day. This does not mean simply showing them the employee handbook, their cubicle, bathroom code, and then leaving them alone. Plan on a longer orientation duration than in the past. Establish personal connections with employees — and continue building those relationships throughout your employees’ tenure.
2. Give them feedback. They want more rather than less, and they want it sooner rather than later. Recognize everything employees are doing, and give them honest and open feedback. Waiting five years to get to the next step in an organization isn’t realistic anymore, Kesher pointed out — so provide them with the tools they need for success and career advancement. Give employees more chances for lateral development by helping them learn new skills, get new certifications, and expand their knowledge base.
3. Allow them to fail! Define clear expectations for tasks and projects, give them incremental goals along the way, and find ways to connect the work they’re doing to their personal values and goals. Let them stretch their boundaries, make mistakes, and learn from them — and most of all, listen to your employees. They want to give you input, so make it easier on them by asking for it where you can, and being available as a resource and mentor.
4. Again, listen. Pay attention to them (they’re going to talk to you a lot), be aware of their personal goals, and lead horizontally. They’re living in a world of connectedness and entitled communication; hierarchy isn’t as built into their mindset as it is in generations past. Try to be their leader without looking down on them.
5. Connect with them. Get to know them and what they’re all about (and hey, maybe even their helicopter parents, too). If you want respect from Gen Y workers, you have to give it. Many Gen Y workers feel misunderstood by their peers or their leaders; by working to connect with them and encouraging other employees to do the same, you will begin to chip away at the negative Gen Y stereotypes that are actually hindering generational progress in the workplace.

 Moving forward, together

During the session, a Gen Y professional raised her hand and pointed out that as an HR professional, she’s noticed a lot of overly negative critiques of Gen Y workers. She wondered why we couldn’t focus on the positive traits of Gen Y to hook into as a great resource — a great point, and one that Kesher drove home in his presentation.

After all, every time we think another generation doesn’t have something we have, Kesher said, we’re stereotyping. Every generation has boundaries and a work ethic — they may just happen to be different than ours.

But isn’t the fact that such a multitude of perspectives, ideas, backgrounds and behaviors exist what makes the workplace so great?

It’s the question on everyone’s mind (no, not “What are William and Kate talking about this very instant? or “Why did Michelle Obama eat a burger?“), but — where are the jobs? CareerBuilder’s just-released list, pulled from CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal data from the past six months, gives us some insight into just that.

The latest Supply and Demand Portal data reveals industries and positions where, for a multitude of reasons, there is a growing gap in the number of workers needed to fill job openings. We’ve already seen evidence that  47 percent of employers plan to hire full-time workers in the last six months of this year — and some U.S. regions are more promising more than others. By understanding the labor demand in particular markets and the ways in which talent pools grow or shrink depending on that demand, you can more effectively guide your recruitment strategy in terms of employment brand, compensation and overall advertising strategy.

CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal helps you be smarter by giving you real-time access to 1) the availability of active talent for any position (supply), and 2) where you will find the most and least competition for that talent (demand).

As CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson says:

“The Supply & Demand portal enables employers to gain valuable market insights to develop more productive and cost-effective recruitment strategies. More than one-third of human resource managers we surveyed said they currently have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates, a trend that continues to grow as the economy recovers and job prospects improve.  While the U.S. still has a very competitive job market, there are areas within technology, health care and other fields that have a growing deficit in talent.”

So, without further adieu, the hottest industries with growing demand for workers:

1. Cloud Developer
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 0.32 active job seekers for every job opening (in other words, there are three open positions for every one available job seeker).
     
   • Average Salary: $100,000
     
   • What Gives? Career opportunities in this space have multiplied with the exponential growth of data and the corresponding need to store and manage it.  Demand will continue to grow as companies look to increase capacity and function without having to build new infrastructure.
2. Business Intelligence Analyst
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 1.01 active job seekers for every job opening
   • Average Salary:  $98,000
   • What Gives? This hybrid position that combines technical know-how with business and market insights is becoming increasingly critical as companies place a greater emphasis on business analytics.  Companies are using the value they have in their existing data streams and warehouses to make smarter business decisions and create better tools for customers.
3. Registered Nurse
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 0.38 active job seekers for every job opening
     
   • Average Salary: $65,000 
   • What Gives? A staple on lists of worker shortages, nursing is one of the most challenging areas for recruitment. In addition to a growing demand for healthcare services, enrollment in nursing schools is trending down due to a lack of nursing faculty.
4. Quality Engineer
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 1.05 active job seekers for every job opening. 
   • Average Salary:  $68,000
   • What Gives? The manufacturing sector is making a comeback as the economy recovers and exports grow stronger to meet the needs of emerging markets.
5. Truck Driver
   • Supply v Demand: 1.37 active job seekers for every job opening 
   • Average Salary:  $41,000
     
   • What Gives? While life on the road has distinct advantages, extended time away from home, long hours on your own and dealing with traffic are among challenges that can make these positions hard to fill.
6. SEO Strategist
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 1.75 active job seekers for every job opening
     
   • Average Salary:  $70,000
     
   • What Gives? With high Internet penetration in markets across the globe, there is greater need for individuals who can bring more traffic to company websites by elevating their ranking in unpaid and paid search engine results pages.  Companies with a large Internet presence are bringing these skills in-house to build effective and relevant sites.
7. Health Care Administrator
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 2.25 active job seekers for every job opening
     
   • Average Salary:  $88,000
     
   • What Gives? An aging population and more than 30 million newly insured Americans post-health care reform are fueling the need for more medical services and professionals who can keep operations flowing smoothly.

More about the data:

• CareerBuilder’s Supply & Demand portal pulls data from national employment resources like CareerBuilder.com, Wanted Analytics and EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.), accessing more than 45 million jobs, 40 million resumes and 140 million worker profiles.
• Based on the number of available jobs and available candidates, the portal identifies occupations and corresponding markets with the greatest supply and under-supply of candidates.

You can check out the full report here.

 Is your company looking for employees in any of these fields — or where are you having a challenging time finding workers?

In anticipation of tomorrow’s BLS unemployment report, CareerBuilder’s CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning to discuss job market trends; causes of current economic uncertainty; in which job areas we’re seeing the most improvement — and much more:

According to CareerBuilder’s Mid-Year Job Forecast:

• Nearly half of U.S. employers (47 percent) plan to hire new employees in the second half of the year, up from 41% in 2010.  The number of companies hiring specifically for full-time, permanent staff rose to 35% from 28% last year.
• Customer Service, Information Technology and Sales remain the top three areas where companies say they will hire first in the back half of the year.
• More than one-third (35 percent) of employers are concerned that key talent will leave their organizations as the economy improves, a trend that has become increasingly evident over the last six months; 18% of employers reported top workers left their organizations in Q2 2011, up from 14 percent in Q1 2011.

What’s your take on the newest job forecast results and on what Matt had to say about the market?

There’s good news (Justin Timberlake may save MySpace!), disappointing news (we’ll probably never get Friendster back), and news that makes us want to hug a stranger on the street: Despite ongoing concerns over threats to economic growth, CareerBuilder’s 2011 Mid-Year Job Forecast shows that employers remain positive in their hiring expectations for the remainder of the year. (It’s OK, you can hug that stranger on the street; we won’t judge.)

Just how positive are employers about the future of hiring, you ask?

Well, nearly half of employers (47 percent) plan to hire new employees from July through December of this year, up from 41 percent in 2010, according to the survey conducted by Harris Interactive© of more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals. (See the infographic here.)

Things are looking pretty good in other areas, too: The percentage of companies hiring is also higher than last year in some instances:

• Companies hiring full-time, permanent employees –  35 percent this year, up from 28 percent in 2010
• Companies hiring part-time employees – 15 percent this year, the same as 2010
• Companies hiring contract or temporary employees – 12 percent this year, up from 9 percent in 2010

Which jobs are hottest for hiring?

The top three job areas in which businesses plan to hire first are those that involve being on the front lines with customers, and those that drive innovation. Customer service still claims the No. 1 spot for recruitment, with information technology slightly edging out sales this year for the No. 2 ranking on the list:

1. Customer Service  |  23 percent
2. Information Technology  |  21 percent
3. Sales  |  20 percent
4. Administrative  |  15 percent
5. Business Development  |  11 percent
6. Accounting/Finance  |  10 percent
7. Marketing  |  9 percent

As CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson stressed, the U.S. is seeing job creation across the board, and though some factors may prevent a huge acceleration in hires, hiring activity doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon:

“Last year, certain sectors or departments in companies were producing jobs.  This year, the U.S. is seeing job creation in all industries, functions and company sizes,” said Ferguson.  “Our survey, listings on CareerBuilder.com, and conversations we have with employers on a daily basis all indicate that hiring activity will sustain and improve in the months to come with a diverse mix of jobs.  While higher energy prices, debt, inflation and other factors may deter a significant acceleration in hiring, employers have encouraging news for the millions of Americans who are looking for jobs.”

Hiring by region: Where are employers hiring the most employees?

There’s more news to make us look forward to the year progressing: All regions are trending above 2010 in hiring prospects for the second half of 2011, with the South leading the way in optimism:

• South: 38 percent are planning to hire full-time, permanent employees, up from 27 percent last year
• West: 35 percent, up from 28 percent last year
• Northeast: 34 percent, up from 29 percent last year
• Midwest: 32 percent, up from 28 percent last year

Two trends to watch for in the second half of 2011:

1. Employee Turnover:
   • The competition for specialized talent is expected to intensify as employers recruit and try to retain top performers for hard-to-fill, in-high-demand positions in areas like health care and technology.
   • More than one-third (35 percent) of employers are concerned that key talent will leave their organizations as the economy improves, a trend that has become increasingly evident over the last six months.
   • Eighteen percent of employers reported top workers left their organization in the second quarter, up from 14 percent in the first quarter. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as CareerBuilder’s 2010 forecast revealed that 25 percent of all workers planned to leave their organizations within a year.
2. Shortage of Skilled Workers:
   • Fifty percent of employers reported there is a shortage of skills within their organization, up from 48 percent last year.
   • The biggest shortages were reported in the areas of Information Technology, Customer Service and Communications.
   • More than one-third (36 percent) of human resource managers reported they have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates, up from 32 percent last year.

What happened in Q2 2011?
This past quarter, 29 percent of employers added full-time, permanent headcount, up from 24 percent last year. Eleven percent decreased headcount (same as Q2 2010), while 59 percent made no change in staff levels (compared to 64 percent in Q2 2010) and 1 percent were unsure.

What will happen in Q3 2011?

• For eight consecutive quarters, actual hiring exceeded what was originally anticipated, indicating that employers tend to be more conservative in their hiring projections than in their hiring behavior. Looking forward, 26 percent of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in the third quarter (only 21 percent planned to do so in Q3 2010), but if trends persist, the actual hiring number may come in higher at quarter end.
• Eight percent expect to downsize staffs.  Sixty-one percent anticipate no change, while 5 percent are undecided.

To get in-depth survey results and further predictions for the second half of 2011, download the full forecast, or for a quick snapshot, check out our handy-dandy infographic.

Have you ever compared the experience job seekers go through when searching for a job to the experience you go through when, say, buying a car? Believe it or not, the two experiences are more closely linked than you may realize. We have specific reasons for deciding to go through with a car purchase — or walk away from it — and the same is true for job seekers considering your company as a future employer in their job search process.

The experience you provide job seekers through your recruitment process is something they will evaluate, engage with, and accept or reject, ultimately deciding whether or not to “make a purchase.” A new CareerBuilder and Inavero study of more than 4,500 workers demonstrates that that decision can happen at any point in the job search process, from the time they first start thinking about searching for a new job to the moment they have your offer letter in front of them — and everywhere in between.

The job seeker/employer relationship: It’s complicated

Today’s job search experience looks drastically different from several years or even several months ago, and it continues to evolve. Now, although job boards still have a prominent place in the job search, the job search experience has become much more complex. When job seekers embark on a job search, they are actively using five specific methods to find their next job: Search engines; vertical sites (job boards and aggregators); social media; corporate and career sites; and user-generated content sites. They are using these five platforms in different ways and with varied intensity as they move through four distinct phases of the job search — Orientation, Consideration, Action, and Engagement.

To effectively build and manage your company’s employment brand, reach a large segment of the many job seekers you’re missing out on, and continue to position yourself as a visible and desirable place to work in today’s rapidly changing world, you must have a diversified recruitment strategy that incorporates these five platforms — and you must understand the mindset and behavior of job seekers as they move through the four stages of the job search process.

Job seekers have changed — have you?

The CareerBuilder and Inavero study takes you through a job seeker’s typical job search experience as it happens in today’s recruitment environment, a time in which job seekers are hungry for information and have a wealth of online resources at their fingertips. Long gone are the days of faxing or mailing a resume and simply waiting passively to hear back from an employer — today’s job seeker is much more hands-on.

By learning what job seekers are thinking and doing as they move through four distinct job search phases (Orientation, Consideration, Action, and Engagement) and crafting your strategy to align with those thoughts and behaviors, you’ll be equipped to reach the best candidates for your open jobs, position yourself as a strong and desirable brand, and ensure your approach is consistent from phase to phase.

The Four Phases of the Job Search

Phase I: Orientation — This phase consists of a job seeker’s self-evaluation and evaluation of the market. Ninety-seven percent of job seekers reported self-evaluation as one of the first five things they did when starting a search.

Phase II: Consideration – During this phase, the job search moves from a solitary to an interactive, social experience. Job seekers are seeking to validate the brands in their consideration set by posting on social media platforms and user-generated content sites, and collecting opinions from members of their online social and professional networks in order to narrow their focus to a handful of jobs.

Phase III: In this phase, a job seeker is going through the action of applying to jobs.

Phase IV: In this last phase, job seekers are interacting with employers and actively interviewing. Although the majority of research on a company is completed pre-interview, job seekers are conducting social research in this last phase by having personal conversations with employees of your company or close family and friends.

(Learn about the job seekers’ mindset and behavior during each of the four job search phases here.)

The importance of a great recruitment experience

Job seekers today are largely dissatisfied with the current hiring process offered by companies. Only 10 percent of respondents said companies they have reached out to have been responsive. The impact of this is immense: Nearly half (40 percent) of job seekers strongly agree that a poor application experience impacts their job decision. In fact, it might surprise you to find out that more than one in 10 people turn down a job at least once a month.

Bad experiences during and after the application process can easily negate the work and strategic investment in media you’ve made to bring the best talent onto your team.

Begin to create a more candidate-centric recruitment process by adding a human touch:

• Communicate with candidates when at all possible, and let them know where they stand as the process moves from phase to phase.
• Unplug cumbersome technology and flawed screening filters, and provide feedback and coaching.
• View all candidates as a customer or potential future customer, client or employee.
• Get the most out of the resources you’re investing by being responsive — in the long run, you will get better quality talent, protect your employment brand, and maintain a better reputation with clients (who once may have been your candidates).

Getting them to say “yes”

Job seekers are using a wide range of methods to find the right jobs, and by gaining a large presence through these methods, you will deepen your talent pool, engage and create trust with candidates early on, find more diverse candidates for your open positions, and, ultimately, improve your bottom line. Start thinking of your recruitment experience as a consumer product — and start
getting more job seekers to consider your brand, like what they see, and say “Yes.”

For details on job seeker behavior and mindset within the four job search phases and our recommended strategies for best connecting with job seekers at each point in the process, download the full report or learn more about adding the right platforms to your recruitment mix.

Editor’s Note: This five-week series is dedicated to examining the five most common Ps of a typical marketing mix and assessing how they relate to recruitment. Today’s post focuses on placement, and next Tuesday will cover the concept of promotion. For a look at assessments on product, price and people, view my previous posts.

In marketing, placement involves getting your product or service in front of your target customers. This means selecting the right stores and determining the best place to display it – like the end of an aisle or rack, with a special stand-alone display, or within a check-out counter. The act of distributing the product and ensuring consistent supply within key markets is also involved. Marketers must estimate how much demand they can create in a certain area and supply the right amount of product to meet anticipated demand. Often, pricing strategies fluctuate with changes in placement, thereby adding another layer of complexity to strategy. Logistics – the act of physically transporting a good – must also be considered. As demands grow, additional distribution channels and manufacturing sites closer to where the product is sold are often needed to minimize transportation costs and increase speed to market.

In recruitment, talent acquisition strategists employ these same principles to sell their product: jobs. We plan placement strategies to support regional hiring – say when a new location opens or during periods of growth. To hire, a national job advertisement is often posted, along with state and local advertisements, to source talent already residing in a specific market. Other times, if the role is specific or highly specialized, job ads will be placed on niche boards to reach a defined audience of the workforce. Some geographic areas have less supply of specialized talent, so relocation costs are paid to overcome talent shortages and secure the right candidate for a job. Recruiters attend career fairs at colleges and universities known for strong academic programs to put their product in front of graduates who will have skills and education applicable to a role at the company. Other times, recruitment can resemble a commission sales model and a staffing agency is paid to help fill a job. Similar to a rebate offered to reward consumers for purchasing a good, recruitment marketers may also offer a signing bonus to candidates who accept certain jobs.

So how do you put your product in front of the right candidates at the right time?

One way is to rely on outside data. For instance, a tool like the Supply and Demand Portal shows where labor pressure is highest for key positions across the country. It helps recruiters see where the most jobs are posted for that type of position and where the most candidates reside to fill those positions. With this information, you can see where supplemental sourcing is required to successfully fill a job.

For example, say you are looking to fill a position for a software engineer in the Pacific Northwest – specifically Washington. According to data, it is harder to recruit for this job in Washington and Oregon, and the demand for talent there is significantly higher than in the Northeast. Knowing this, you will need to supplement your placement strategy to get your message out in new channels, reach a wider geographic audience, and consider paying relocation in order to effectively compete for top talent. The data also shows it is easier to recruit software engineers in New Mexico, Florida, and Louisiana; therefore, a targeted campaign could be run in those markets to attract qualified candidates to move and meet the need in Washington. Hosting job fairs at relevant universities and working directly with local IT professional groups are two simple ways to take your message straight to the audience you need to reach. Use social networks and display ads to target online messages to people in specific markets, too.

Another way to be successful in this area is to get to know the profile of your target talent inside and out. Most product and service providers know their customer (person who buys the product) and the consumer (person who ultimately uses the product) down to the nuances of their behavior. Marketers use a VALS model to understand the psychographic attributes that impact decision-making within their target audience and place products based on what that analysis reveals. An acronym for values, attitudes, and lifestyles, VALS (according to www.strategicbusinessinsights.com) asks you to bucket your customer into one of eight categories that best describes their motivation:

• Innovators
• Thinkers
• Believers
• Achievers
• Strivers
• Experiencers
• Makers
• Survivors

Recruitment marketers should think seriously about what motivates candidates when shopping for a job – or even better, which deep-seeded switches can turn on a passive candidate’s desire to make a change.

Is it desire for recognition and status, opportunity for greater pay or benefits, emphasis on work-life balance, or an employer committed to activism? Without knowing what is most critical to your ideal candidate, how will you know which qualities of your product (job and culture) to play up?  Collect this information through surveys of staff in a specific role or division. Also, purchase insights from people outside your organization, or gather anecdotal insights from ongoing interactions with candidates.

Try this exercise: Choose any opening and envision your ideal candidate. Which of the eight VALS categories does this person fit into best?  Next, use a site like Pinterest, or cut pictures out of a magazine to create an inspiration board of what specifically defines your ideal candidate. Focus on strong motivators and the characteristics of successful placements you’ve made for a job or location in the past. Think about hobbies, family profile, issues they might support, and pop culture (websites, movies, TV). Understanding what values, attitudes, and lifestyle will be a match for this job and geographic area can help you place your message in the right spot and obtain a hire that is less likely to turnover. Use what you gather to re-write the job posting so it emphasizes what is important about the job or your company. Run that job ad in geographic markets and niche sites where your desired talent lives, works, and plays. Vary the images on your branding so they reflect the lifestyle of the applicant you seek to reach – consider using your own people that fit the profile. Choose the top three defining characteristics and feature those on social media sites when promoting the opening.

Bottom line: Not all positions and the talent needed to fill them are alike. Tailor your message to your audience and play on the strengths you know will appeal to ideal applicants. After all, quality is far preferred over quantity when it comes to sourcing candidates that stick.

Earlier this month, I discussed the ways mobile marketing efforts can enhance a company’s recruitment efforts.

For instance, not only does mobile marketing provide a fast, convenient way to alert job seekers to opportunities and stay in touch with them, but it also helps you stand out among those who aren’t yet using mobile means to reach job seekers…just to name a few.

Now, if you’re ready to take that very special next step in your recruiting efforts, here’s your quick-and-easy guide to the various mobile recruiting techniques you can try:

Four Opportunities in Mobile Recruitment

Quick Response Codes: QR (quick response) codes are barcode-like squares that, when scanned with the camera found on most mobile devices, direct users to a specific mobile website.  For recruitment purposes, they’re an easy way to direct job seekers to your careers site (just take it from Ernst & Young). Here are a few quick ways to get started:

• Cre­ate a QR code for your com­pany job board and print it on com­pany promo cards to dis­trib­ute to attendees at career fairs and networking events.
• Embed QR codes on company brochures, business cards, presentations, hand-outs, and other promotional items to drive prospective candidate to your careers website.

And thanks to the many free QR code generators online that let you simply type in a destination URL, creating QR codes is surprisingly quick and inexpensive.  (Note, however, that because not everyone has a smart phone that responds to QR codes, you should always pro­vide mul­tiple avenues for the dis­sem­i­na­tion of information.)

Text Alerts: Recruitment SMS alerts enable you to alert job seekers to new and open opportunities in real-time.  You can also use SMS notifications to communicate other recruitment messages, including the following:

• When a candidate has made it to the next round of the application process.
• When companies require an interview.
• When career events take place, according to where the candidate lives.

Companies like AT&T are using this technique already. Anyone can sign up on the careers section of AT&T’s website to join the company’s Talent Network and receive hot job leads via text message based on location and job type.

Mobile-optimized Websites: ERE’s Dr. John Sullivan recently argued that one of the reasons corporate careers sites are going the way of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric is because they aren’t keeping up with mobile trends.

With over 300 million Americans using mobile phones – and mobile search up 130 percent over the past year – it’s increasingly important that organizations optimize their careers site for easier mobile viewing. Otherwise, they risk missing out on the millions of job seekers who are searching jobs and companies from their phones.

Creating an optimized version of your website should be simple and relatively inexpensive. Keep the content simple and focus on the most important content. Hyatt has optimized its mobile site to enable potential candidates to search for jobs, view mobile video from YouTube, link to the company’s various social media sites and read up on company information.

Apps: AT&T, Raytheon and Deloitte are just a few of the companies that have successfully implemented smartphone apps into their recruitment strategy.  While customized apps are ideal for bigger companies with a steady opening of jobs, employers of all sizes benefit from apps if the websites that advertise their jobs on have apps.

For instance, any organization with postings on CareerBuilder.com can potentially be found by job seekers using CareerBuilder’s job seeker app.  Additionally, employers can now use the new CareerBuilder for Employers app on their ends to find candidates, review their resumes and contact them - from anywhere at anytime - directly from their iPhones.

Have you made changes to your recruiting strategy in light of the current mobile trend?

Editor’s Note: This five-week series is dedicated to examining the five most common Ps of a typical marketing mix and assessing how they relate to recruitment. Today’s post focuses on price; the remaining concepts – people, placement and promotion – will run in sequential order every Tuesday over the next few weeks. For a look at the assessment of product, check out my post from last week. 

A number of factors contribute to the final price of a good or service, including the cost of materials or labor to produce the final product, overhead and distribution costs, and desired profitability. Other things like discounts, commission, and marketing costs to acquire a customer impact the bottom line as well. To learn from marketing, consider what it will cost a candidate to accept your job offer.

Seldom is a career opportunity a perfect match for a candidate. In most cases, there may need to be a trade off of desired benefits or a minor sacrifice of one benefit for another. Most job seekers bargain with the variables when deciding whether they will apply for a job. For example, a job may require a longer commute but offer greater advancement potential. Or, a company with a stronger brand reputation may offer a smaller starting salary than a lesser-known company.

Understand the price a candidate may have to pay to accept a particular job so you can proactively emphasize the redeeming qualities of the opportunity that offset costs. Don’t overlook how helpful it can be to share information about the realities of a job. For example, say you know your target talent has between five to eight years of experience and prefers urban living; but your job is in a suburb that requires relocation or a 50 to 60 minute commute. Address it!  While it’s unrealistic to include this type of detail in a job advertisement, social media is the ideal forum to elaborate on things beyond essential qualifications and job functions. Seek out employees who have a reverse commute and get them to share their perspective on Facebook. They can give details about taking public transportation and shortcuts they’ve found that make the commute manageable. Whatever the topic, this is just one of the ways to remove obstacles that could prevent your target talent from applying to and accepting your job.

Try this exercise: Before you can effectively anticipate the costs that might accompany a job or working at your company, you must fully understand the profile of your target audience. As you’ll learn later with the remaining Ps, the nuances that define your ideal candidate are incredibly important in the placement and promotion of your recruitment message. Make a list of observations about your current workforce. What similarities exist among your staff? Are these characteristics among departments or do they change as you move from entry-level to senior leadership positions? While this may seem simple at first, the patterns you observe can start to shape how you seek out and tailor your message to attract the right fit for a specific job.

Bottom line:  Nearly every decision – from purchasing a product to accepting a job – involves trade-offs. Resist the nature to be arrogant about what your company can and cannot offer a potential applicant. Seek out information, both about your ideal candidate and the specific position, to understand what financial and personal costs might affect your ability to attract and retain the best people for the job.

What other ways do you think price impacts recruitment? Share your thoughts below!

Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of such Facebook games as “Farmville” and “Mafia Wars”, Marriott International, Inc. just unveiled its “My Marriott Hotel” game on Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reported recently.

But rather than simply build buzz, “My Marriott Hotel”, which simulates the experience of managers at the fast-paced hotel restaurant, is ultimately being used as a recruitment tool.

Marriott follows in the footsteps of Siemens, whose “Plantville” is designed to give users a feel for what being manager of a bottling facility, vitamin factory or train-building plant is like, and Home Depot, which offers games on its Facebook page like “Cart Hustle” and “Paint Misbehavin” to engage potential employees.

These companies, however, are just the latest in a long line of employers who now use virtual technology as a recruitment tool.

For instance, as I reported last year, staffing firm Kelly Services uses Second Life to give job seekers an interactive experience, while MITRE Corporation enables job seekers to download a 3D video game that gives players a better understanding of the company’s campus and how the interview process works.

The trend of using video games as a recruitment tool actually goes back several years: According to the Entertainment Software Association, an estimated 70 percent of major domestic employers used these “serious games” to train employees in 2008.  That figure is estimated to increase to 80 percent by 2013.

It seems as if the practice is working in these companies’ favor, though. According to a recent study from the University of Colorado Denver Business School, “organizations which use video games to train employees end up with smarter, more motivated workers who learn more and forget less.”

(For the record, though, what these companies are doing will never have anything on Oregon Trail. That game ruled.)

And while the obvious downside to using video gaming techniques to train is the time and money involved in setting it up, but it’s worth noting that with today’s technology, it’s much easier and much less expensive to execute today than it was even a few years ago.

What do you think about using video games as a recruitment tool? Worth the investment or overrated?

Editor’s Note: This five-week series is dedicated to examining the five most common Ps of a typical marketing mix and assessing how they relate to recruitment. Today’s post focuses on product; the others – on price, people, placement and promotion – will run in sequential order every Tuesday over the next five weeks.

Raise your hand if you remember Marketing 101! If you’re like most talent acquisition professionals, the principles of marketing are hazy. A few Ps here, a DMA or two there. Most recruiters know enough to be dangerous, and it doesn’t matter much for day-to-day talent attraction anyway, right?

Think again.

Follow the typical marketing mix and apply it to recruitment – you’ll find there are an astounding number of similarities. The techniques used to effectively sell a product or service work just as well in selling a career opportunity. As such, the most successful social recruiters view talent acquisition through a marketing lens.

For my next handful of posts, I’d like to focus on the five most common Ps of marketing and tie to them into recruitment. And since each concept holds significant value, it’s only fair to give them the appropriate coverage, breaking tips and exercises into a series that will run over the next five weeks.  

Today’s focus: Product

In traditional marketing, a product is the physical good or service offered to a consumer. The attributes of the product are the accompanying benefits the product boasts. These attributes – function, design, packaging, ease of use, and warranty – are weighed against costs to determine if it is desirable for the purchaser. The purchase is influenced by the seller’s overall brand identity and word-of-mouth reputation as well as the influence of other consumers on the customer (e.g. a child may influence a parent’s toy purchase).

In recruitment marketing, your product is a job. The attributes of that job – pay, working hours, essential job functions, supervising staff, full time vs. part-time or contract – are all considered by a candidate. The decision to apply for the opportunity is impacted positively or negatively by the company’s employment brand and word-of-mouth opinions of current and former staff. And, like a product, there are influencers in an applicant’s life that factor into the decision to apply for or accept a job offer. For example, the impact on family is considered when a lengthy commute disturbs work-life balance.

Just like any product, your jobs compete for mindshare among qualified talent. Before going to market with a product or service, companies work to thoroughly understand the competitive landscape and develop a defendable position that differentiates them from alternatives. You must do the same for your job and workplace. The things that make you different from other employers will be the cornerstone of your employment value proposition and social media messages.

Try this exercise: Visualize the last advertisement you saw for a food product. What are the three things you remember the most?  It could be the taste, packaging or health benefits. These memorable images or qualities are what make the snack appealing. Apply this to recruitment by defining two or three things you want candidates to remember about your job opportunity or company. It could be philanthropy, continuing education, or commitment to innovation. Once you have two or three solid attributes, emphasize these in your social media messaging so candidates remember what you have to offer.

Bottom line:  Present job opportunities and culture in terms of the benefits. Be honest about the limitations of your company and stay true to its employment brand promise. Your product’s features, core benefits, and differentiators from those you compete with for talent should be the basis for social media messages and inspire former and current employees to validate the claims with their own testimonials. Individual social proof is the closest you can get to a satisfaction guarantee.

How else will you effectively utilize the concept of product for your business?

You probably remember them from high school: The dreaded (or anticipated) “Most likely to/Best” lists. Best eyes: Sandy K. Funniest: Alex S. (you totally thought you had that one in the bag). Most likely to forget their kids at the grocery store: Lauren D. (yes, this one actually exists). Most likely to succeed: ??? This one, as many other results looking back, may not have panned out the way everyone thought it might. From the time we were filling these “popularity”-type lists out (or ducking from the paper airplane printouts of them being hurled at us), the way many of us define success, or perceive those most likely to achieve personal or professional success, has changed — and over time, so has the world around us.

Much is different since high school (including, hopefully, your hair style and taste for greasy squares of cafeteria pizza). And in the workplace, over the past few decades or even the past few years — the path to success, at least professionally, has become more open to diverse workers. The makeup of the U.S. civilian labor force has changed significantly, with women accounting for half of all workers and companies becoming both racially and ethnically diverse.

CareerBuilder’s 2011 Diversity in the Workplace Study surveyed more than 2,500 diverse workers to get a better grasp of how their work experience has evolved as their numbers in the U.S. workforce have grown. Much of what we found may surprise you. The study targeted the top 20 markets in the U.S. based on population, and the results for six diverse segments — African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women, workers with disabilities, and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) workers.

The survey findings point to continued inequalities between diverse and non-diverse segments in pay, career advancement and feelings of discrimination. At the same time, certain diverse segments ranked higher than non-diverse workers in compensation, reflecting a movement toward better equality in the workplace.

So, with that said, here’s a “Most likely to” list that hopefully won’t cause those high school-esque butterflies, but will instead make us all take a hard look at how far we’ve come toward workplace equality — and where we’re still falling short.

Compensation

Most likely to earn $100,000 or more:

LGBT workers, who lead the pack at 18 percent, outpacing non-diverse workers by 1 percentage point. Women were the least likely to report making $100,000 or more at only 6 percent, along with African Americans and Hispanic workers at 8 percent.

Most likely to earn less than $50,000:

Disabled workers. Among all segments, workers with disabilities were the most likely to report earning less than $50,000 at 58 percent, followed by women at 52 percent and Hispanics close behind them at 51 percent.

Discrimination

Least likely to feel discriminated against in their current job?

Asian workers, at 11 percent, were least likely to feel discriminated against in the workplace — and trended below non-diverse workers who were asked this question, 14 percent of whom said they felt discriminated against.

Most likely to feel discriminated against in their current job?

African American workers. When asked about their experience as a diverse worker, 25 percent of African American workers said they felt discriminated against in their current job — the highest of all segments asked. The next-highest group was disabled workers, 22 percent of whom reported feeling discriminated against, followed by women (19 percent) and LGBT workers (18 percent).

Career Advancement

Least likely to hold a management position?

Asian workers. Higher salaries don’t always mean higher titles, as survey results reinforced. Because while Asian workers were among the highest segment as far as earning six figures, they were the least likely to report holding a management position (only 11 percent did). Women and African Americans were right behind, with only 15 percent from each group reporting that they held a management position.

Conversely, 26 percent of non-diverse workers reported holding management titles, the highest percentage of all segments, followed by 22 percent of LGBT workers.

Plans to change jobs

Most likely to change jobs once the economy improves?

Asian workers (47 percent), African American workers (43 percent) and disabled workers (42 percent) are the highest segments to report a plan to change jobs once the economy improves. Nearly two in five of all diverse workers (38 percent) plan to make a move with an improving economy. Despite ranking lower in pay and title, women and Hispanic workers are the least likely diverse workers to pursue new positions, at 31 percent and 35 percent respectively.

What does the report tell us?

Well, while old high school lists may be good for a laugh, CareerBuilder’s 2011 Diversity in the Workplace Study results give us a landmark that we can use to consider how we’re educating about and treating all types of workers in our own workplaces, and gain new perspective on the larger diversity picture as it stands. And much like Debbie N.’s feathered mullet Best Hair award, it’s promising to think that we will look back on this several years from now and marvel at how different things “used to be” — and how much better they are now.

As Dr. Sanja Licina, Senior Director of Talent Intelligence & Consulting at CareerBuilder, says, “While companies have made strides in creating an inclusive workplace for all workers, there is still work to be done, especially n the areas of hiring, compensation and career advancement.”

Read the full report for other interesting details about discrimination, pay, and why some diverse workers don’t market themselves as such when looking for a position — or check out the infographic for a snapshot.

What are your thoughts on the report findings?

Information Age business leaders make critical decisions daily in an ever-changing world. They have access to more data than ever before, which is only accelerated by Internet search, social media and mobile technology.

Harnessing this information can offer companies great insight into the habits, preferences and behaviors of their current employees, job candidates and competitors. Data can answer some of your company’s biggest questions, such as:

• Where do the job candidates who have the skill sets to drive the long-term success of my company live and work?
• What are the best, most cost-effective ways to engage my employees?
• How strong does my employment brand compare to those of my competitors?
• How do both candidates and current employees perceive my company?
• Why are candidates applying for positions with my competitors instead of with my company?

Announcing Data Not Just for Data’s Sake - Thursday, June 23^rd – 1:00 p.m. CST

Join talent intelligence and recruitment experts Will Emmons and Jason Lovelace for this free webcast, as they review the latest talent intelligence available today and assess how leaders can use this data to make smarter business and hiring decisions and gain a competitive advantage.

Learn more or register for free for this exclusive webcast here.

Presented by:
Jason Lovelace, Area Vice President, CareerBuilder, LLC
Will Emmons, Area Vice President, CareerBuilder, LLC

Related Posts:
A Recruitment Strategy Without Data Isn’t A Strategy At All
The Secrets to Their Success: What Smart Companies Understand About Talent Intelligence

Do you ever wonder how companies like Google, Best Buy, P&G, Harrah’s, Dell, Starbucks and Sysco – to name just a few – consistently rank on Best Places to Work and Most Desirable Employers lists? It’s not just the fancy perks like free gourmet meals, stock options, on-site fitness facilities and flex schedules. (Well, not just that, anyway.)

The secret to their success is data.

These companies are able to position themselves as best places to work because they rely on data to inform all of their recruitment decisions. They gather data on everything from job seeker and employee perceptions, behaviors and desires (including even the above-mentioned ‘fancy perks’ employees want most) to industry trends and talent supply and demand. They then analyze this data to understand where to focus their recruitment efforts to get the best return on their investment.

Harrah’s, for example, used metrics to evaluate the effects of its health and wellness programs on employee engagement and the bottom line. Starbucks and Best Buy have established metrics that can precisely identify the value of a 0.1 percent increase in engagement among employees at a particular store. Sysco implemented analytics to identify which workforce factors influence employee satisfaction and how they correlated to higher revenue, lower costs, higher retention and stronger customer loyalty. The company then applied these findings to identify what actions by management will have the greatest impact on the business. Similarly, Google used talent intelligence to identify eight effective leadership behaviors, which the company now uses as criteria when considering performance reviews and staffing decisions.

Six Habits of Highly Successful Employers
The above are just a few examples of how companies rely on data to understand both current and potential employees and use this intelligence to position themselves as desirable places to work. So how can you create a similar experience with data to see bottom-line results? Consider the following key concepts that companies who successfully recruit with data get right.

1. They accept data as a crucial element of their business strategy. Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., attributes the success of Harrah’s marketing efforts to collection and analysis of data, an effort that has permitted Harrah’s to go from “what we think to what we know.”  As my colleague Jason Lovelace noted in his post last week, companies have long used data as the basis for their marketing efforts to build their consumer brand and increase customer engagement and loyalty. Now, today’s best employers are applying the same efforts to their recruitment processes.
2. They understand that talent intelligence is an investment. Unfortunately, the data employers and recruiters need to support their hiring and recruitment decision making is often inconsistent, redundant and of poor quality. More than 75 percent of companies who participated in Taleo and Human Capital Institute’s recent Talent Intelligence Study revealed that they did not have access to the talent data they need to make important business decisions. Smart employers understand that the time and money they invest in data up front will result in a greater return and save them time and money associated with recruitment over the long haul.
3. They understand that having the right data is only half the equation. Knowing how to apply that data is the other (crucial) half. Not only do the aforementioned companies gather data on job seekers, employees and the industry overall, they go the extra mile to ensure they implement it. They understand that no matter how good their data is, if they do not use it and apply it to their recruitment efforts, it’s utterly useless.
4. They set measurable goals. As with any business strategy, you need to start with a solid goal in mind. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or confused by the sheer abundance of data out there, so having a focused goal is crucial to help you narrow your efforts and stay focused. Again, data is an investment. Part of that investment should include finding a trustworthy data expert who can help you decide which data points to focus on to meet your goals, and later help you evaluate and create a strategy around this intelligence.
5. They know that data is not one-size-fits-all. All businesses are unique and have unique needs. Again, there are data experts who specialize in helping employers understand which types of data will help them meet their own unique goals, taking into account the various factors that affect their organization and its recruitment efforts.
6. They accept that there’s always room for improvement. No matter how efficient your current process is, there is always room for improvement or enhancement. Oftentimes, employers turn a blind eye to data because they do not want to face the possibility there are challenges to their recruitment process. While ignorance may be bliss, it comes at a price. Smart employers believe there’s no such thing as “negative” data: Every piece of information data reveals an opportunity to enhance their strategy and make them even stronger as an organization.

Bottom line: Data without context is meaningless.
Perhaps Jonathan Rosenberg, Google’s very own SVP product manager, said it best when he wrote, “Data is the sword of the 21^st century. Those who wield it well, the Samurai.”  Getting the competitive advantage in today’s market isn’t just about having the strongest data (or the sharpest sword, if you will), but knowing how to use it as well. After all, data is only as strong as what you do with it. And those employers who understand this concept will have a competitive advantage – both now and in the longer term – when it comes to attracting and retaining their greatest business asset: their employees.

Will Emmons is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is responsible for sales strategies and revenue growth within CareerBuilder’s Enterprise Sales, Strategic Accounts Group, and Integral Accounts Group.

Exclusive webcast: Join CareerBuilder’s Area Vice Presidents Will Emmons and Jason Lovelace on Thursday, June 23 for Data Not Just for Data’s Sake, wherein they discuss adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape.  Learn more or register here.

Wikipedia defines frienemies as “either an enemy disguised as a friend or a partner who is simultaneously a competitor and rival.”   Think about it: In your experience, are recruiting and HR enemies disguised as friends, rivals, or true business partners?

Over the years, I have witnessed many organizations in which HR and recruiting are indeed frienemies. In other words, the relationship on paper is good, but there is an undercurrent of something you can’t quite put your finger on. I’ve often wondered, “Was that a dig just now?” as someone offered a comment that could have really been either a compliment or a jab.

Let’s examine the differences between friends and frienemies in more detail:

Friends…

• Protect one another’s interests
• Respect each other’s differences
• Value one another’s contributions
• Support and reinforce the efforts of the other
• Respectfully disagree
• Encourage direct communication

Frienemies…

• Shift the focus off the other person’s accomplishments
• Devalue the other person’s function
• Downplay the other person’s contributions
• Undermine the other person’s efforts
• Circumvent direct communications and favor gossip or tattle-tailing
• Plague new ideas with negativity

Frienemies in action

I’ve listened in on many meetings where one party talked about what was wrong with the new hires recruiting had brought on, or a manager mentioned that HR was not responding to some need. Such is the life of “frienemies,” as they just can’t help themselves.  They sabotage you and secretly (or maybe not so secretly) enjoy it.

I’ve also witnessed many organizations where these two parties work powerfully in tandem. High levels of accountability and consistency are hallmarks of this type of environment, so it’s no surprise that these organizations happen to be the highest performing ones.

The potential for conflict between HR and recruiting is high, even though they often share a reporting structure. This is due in part to fundamental differences between the two groups:

1. Each focuses on different skill sets.
2. Often they are blended into the same hierarchy, typically under an HR umbrella, implying that greater value belongs to HR.
3. HR may have more authority than recruiting.
4. Recruiting is typically more operations-focused.
5. HR is about administration and compliance.
6. Recruiting is about selling an employment value proposition and company culture.

Most of the time, someone who is really good at HR rarely favors recruiting, and vice versa. This is because recruiting is more sales oriented, where HR is more administration oriented — and these are completely different skill sets.  There is no good or bad; they are just different.

I will confess that I have my own biases. I started out strictly dedicated to talent acquisition. I would have made a terrible HR generalist. The thought of having to handle compensation and benefits was enough to send me into the fetal position in a corner. And here’s the key: You don’t want me doing that work — it’s not what I’m best at. The value I bring to an organization is in selling their employment value proposition to the market and figuring out who should work for them.

How can HR and recruiting work better together?

Organizations that are most effective understand and value the differences between HR and recruiting.  They don’t elevate one and cripple the other; they work in partnership. What does that look like in real life?

• At an organizational level, this means that how we bring people into an organization matches how we evaluate their performance over time. It means that the promises we make on the front end are fulfilled post-hire. Both departments have to work together to ensure a consistent process and experience, from the first time we speak with a potential candidate through the last day of employment.
• Day to day, it boils down to how a recruiter and an HR generalist each does his or her job. When a recruiter is hiring a new employee, he or she thinks about the fit for the long haul. The recruiter doesn’t set unrealistic expectations for an employee that creates employee relation problems later. The recruiter thinks it all the way through and supports the efforts that happen after the offer is accepted.
• From an HR perspective, the generalist coaches the manager to separate management and hiring issues. They don’t allow the recruiter to be surprised by sudden staff changes or a change in the urgency of the need. They sound a warning when the manager is about to make a decision without involving the recruiting department that impacts how talent is brought on board.

Both functions working together can be a powerful engine to move an organization toward their performance goals. Being frienemies is a handicap, and undermines both efforts. It can unknowingly encourage operations to dismiss or even ignore all of recruiting and HR’s efforts.

It’s a choice you must also make. Have you chosen to be  “frienemies” with your recruiting or HR colleague — or true business partners?

Building an integrated recruitment strategy is a much different task today than it was three years ago. Human Resources executives have had to quickly adapt to a changing marketplace in which search engines and social media are becoming more effective platforms to source the best talent.

But how can organizations use those platforms most effectively? And more importantly, how do they utilize business intelligence to map out a recruiting strategy that takes account of a rapidly evolving market for hard-to-find skills?

Announcing Your Company in 2020: Capturing Talent to Fuel Future Growth

Recruitment strategy experts John Smith and Hope Gurion discuss the how’s and why’s of adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape, including practical, easy-to-apply tips and advice.

Presented by:
John Smith, Senior Vice President, CareerBuilder, LLC
Hope Gurion, Chief Development Officer, CareerBuilder, LLC

Related Posts:
Recruiting for Tomorrow Today by John Smith
Doing More With Less Through Talent Pipelining by Hope Gurion

Content strategist Mike Loukides recently wrote, “The future belongs to the companies who figure out how to collect and use data successfully.”

While he may have been referring to marketing data, he could easily have been referring to recruitment. After all, recruitment essentially is just another form of marketing. Why do advertisers create focus groups? Administer surveys? Study consumers? They take the time to gather information on their consumers, analyze it, and use it to inform their marketing strategy and ultimately keep them ahead of the competition in the eyes of their target audience.

When it comes to recruiting, the importance of data to inform key decisions is no different. It is crucial that hiring managers and recruiters understand their target audience – who they are, what they value, how they approach their job search – in order to ensure they are reaching this audience with the right messages, at the right times and through the right channels.

Gone are the days when recruiters and hiring managers could get away with simply putting a job ad in a local paper, hoping people apply. Today, recruitment – that is, the efforts that attract, engage and retain the highest quality of employees – requires a strategy, and the key to that strategy is data.

And with more job seeker and employee data available than ever, employers today have no good reason not to use data to inform their recruiting efforts. In fact, ignoring this data is downright detrimental to their organizations, considering that the competition for attracting and retaining the best talent is more intense than ever.  Today’s savviest employers are already using data as part of their recruitment strategy, and the trend is only increasing; those who are not quick to embrace data will simply fall behind.

Data 101
Perhaps I should back up a bit, though. When I refer to ‘data,’ I’m referring to the years of research gathered from various job seeker, employee and employer surveys and tracking tools – all of which enable employers to make the most informed decisions around how to best grow their organization.

Still skeptical about the power and importance of data? Try me. No matter how baffling, how complicated or how seemingly obscure, there is almost no question regarding your recruitment process data cannot help you answer.  Even questions you didn’t know you had may be answered through data analysis. Take the following:

• Employment brand: What are the messages I’m sending to candidates? Does the way I perceive my corporate culture differ from the way others perceive it? How can I change this? What messages do I need to send to attract the candidates I want? Data can inform the way you communicate your message about your employer brand and prove yourself as an employer of choice – enabling you to better attract and retain top talent.
• Talent drain: Which companies do my employees typically leave to come work for me? Where do they go when they leave? Is there a pattern here? Am I targeting the right candidates? Who am I competing with for candidates? What do they offer that I don’t, and can I change this?
• Supply and demand: Where are my ideal candidates located? Which area of the country? Do I need to consider non-local candidates and offer relocation services? How can I convince qualified local talent to stay and work for me?
• Relocation: Are job seekers willing to relocate? Are workers of a certain age or education level more likely to relocate than others? Are certain areas of the country more attractive to job seekers than others?
• Compensation: Is the salary I offer competitive? Does it prevent candidates from applying to my organization? How does it compare to current trends in terms of industry, location and company size?
• Diversity: How can I attract a diverse set of workers? What do job seekers with various skills, experience and educational backgrounds seek in a potential employer? What are the messages I need to communicate to attract these different groups? What can I offer at my organization to promote and implement diversity?
• Applicant drop-off: Am I attracting the right candidates, but losing them during the application process? Is there a way I can simplify the application process to ensure candidates complete the application process? What prevents people from applying to my positions?

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface…

There is so much power in recruitment data as far as what you can find out about job seekers, employees, and, ultimately, your own organization, it’s nearly impossible to justify not using it as part of your recruitment process. While the idea of implementing data into your recruitment strategy may seem overwhelming, it will ultimately save more time and money than ever once you see all the possibilities data intelligence opens up for you. Even better: you will continue to reap the rewards long after you’ve put your strategy in place.

If it helps, think of it this way: In the simplest of terms, the question you’re ultimately answering is, “How can I most efficiently attract and retain the talent who will help my organization grow?”

Otherwise, if you’re not using data, it’s all just guesswork.

Jason Lovelace is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is responsible for sales strategies and revenue growth for companies ranging from Fortune 1,000 companies to midsized businesses throughout the U.S.

Join CareerBuilder’s Area Vice Presidents Jason Lovelace and Will Emmons on Thursday, June 23 for Data Not Just for Data’s Sake, an exclusive webcast about adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape. More information about the webcast and details on how to register will be posted soon.

I remember once walking across my college campus and noticing several groups of people snickering. I looked up to find the target of their stares: A girl walking ahead of me. She was wearing a flouncy miniskirt (which was very cool at the time) and she was completely unaware of the attention of the groups of people around her — attention brought on by the fact that the back half of her skirt was accidentally tucked into the waist of her underwear for the entire world to see.

Similarly, many organizations today are completely unaware that they are exposing their hiring “underwear” to the world.

There’s no real “getting away” from the public eye now; just ask any celebrity who just been caught picking their nose in public, only to have a picture of it published in the media that very day. Still, companies need to be much more aware of what is going on around them and how their actions are viewed by others before getting out into the public eye.

The Internet power shift

Candidates and employees have more power than ever before to use social media to reveal and comment on company behavior that used to stay locked behind company doors. Bad behavior is coming to light more often. And I think it’s a positive change; it’s time for us to be held accountable for proper hiring practices. Too often, we have swept poor hiring tactics under the rug, and those in authority didn’t really care about their actions, as there were no immediate or tangible consequences.

Are you a manager who is notoriously rude during interviews? Do you ask inappropriate questions?  Are you just plain lame in an interview setting? Or has your company asked someone to come in seven times for interviews, forcing the candidate to use up his or her entire vacation time, and then refused the candidate a  job offer?

It’s time to ask ourselves how this behavior would make us feel if we were in a candidate’s shoes, particularly in our current economy, as many people looking for jobs are frustrated, worn out, and looking  for a place to vent their frustrations. Turns out they don’t have to look very far — candidates with even just a little savvy can create YouTube videos, tweets, or blog post rants bemoaning their experience in seconds.

How much would it change the game if, in addition to candidates having the ability to spread negative company experiences, specific managers’ reputations were available to savvy candidates (typically the ones we most want to hire)? I propose that they already are. Anyone can do Google or LinkedIn research and find people to speak with, profiles, articles, and more that reveal how the manager truly behaves. We just aren’t thinking about that in a grand sense yet. I think we should.

I like the idea of candidates asserting themselves a bit and owning the fact that they are a primary decision maker in our hiring process. We should be partnering with them to find ways to make the process better — not inciting people to poison the candidate market from which we need to hire.

I’m not trying to tell you the sky is falling. Individuals have a remarkable way of being reasonable when a company makes a mistake or admits its flaws. It’s those who have been abused that we need to worry about. As the old adage goes, “no one will sue someone they like.” I think the same is true for potentially embarrassing rants and raves online. Good and reasonable people with whom we have positive relationships are not likely to scold us in public. The best managers and companies — those who embody a great place to work — will build fan clubs of people who want to work there now or in the future (including people who didn’t get the job for which they just interviewed.)

Transparency brings an unfamiliar level of accountability when it comes to hiring people. It may feel uncomfortable, but in the end, it’s going to make the whole process better for everyone.

After all, it’s always a smart idea to turn and check the mirror before you walk out in public.

It’s dangerous — and often inaccurate — to generalize generations’ workplace preferences and behaviors. Many hiring managers, however, are still clinging onto generational stereotypes, particularly of the oft much-hyped Millennial generation (those workers born between 1980 – 1995) — stereotypes that Millennials themselves have moved well beyond since first entering the workplace in the last several years.

In How the Recession Shaped Millenial and Hiring Manager Attitudes about Millenials’ Future Careers, Alexandra Levit and I examine various research initiatives to determine how the attitudes of Millennials toward their career paths have changed as a result of the economic downturn, how these attitudes compare to the way hiring managers view Millennials’ career paths, and what hiring managers can do to better understand this generation of workers. Many of our report conclusions have been drawn from The Future of Millennial Careers research study, which was commissioned by the Career Advisory Board, presented by DeVry University, and conducted by Harris Interactive among 500 Millennials age 21-31 either employed or planning to seek employment, and 523 hiring managers age 18+ who interact with Millennials at work.

While Millennials and hiring managers can generally both agree that Millennials tend to have certain commonalities, like digital comfort and impatience with certain established processes, there is also much disparity between how Millennials view themselves and how they are viewed by their bosses. This can result in a frustrating situation for both parties — but by learning to truly understand Millennials, hiring managers can create a smoother workplace environment for the multiple generations currently working within it, as well as improve one-on-one relationships with their valuable Millennial workers.

Pre-recession to the present

The oldest Millennials blazed into the workplace in the early 2000s, many of them unabashedly demanding flexibility, seamless communication and desirable assignments right away — and from this, many employers formed their opinions on Millennials right then and haven’t since wavered. However, the recession appears to have caused a shift in Millennials’ attitudes toward achieving immediate career success, as watching hiring freezes and mass layoffs occur, or being affected by them themselves, caused many Millennials to recognize that having a good job was not just a given, but instead something that must be earned. Now, as the economy is picking itself back up post-recession, Millennials have a much different idea of what they need to do to succeed, and more of them are taking the initiative to prove their worth to employers on a daily basis while honing their soft skills in the long term.

Millennials and hiring managers: Different worlds?

While the recession appears to have pushed many Millennials to form more realistic expectations about career advancement, many hiring managers don’t yet see a change in Millennials’ expectations and are still of the belief that Millennials are driven by unreasonably high pay in return for minimal effort. Many hiring managers remain very cynical of the efforts Millennials are making, and believe that this generation continues to have a sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations of their own career growth and success.

Millennials also believe doing work that is personally meaningful to them and achieving a sense of accomplishment are just as important as earning a high salary for a successful career. In fact, 30 percent of Millennials identify meaningful work as the single most important measure of a successful career. Millennials are also feeling a need to pursue higher education, obtain transferable skills, and hold a variety of jobs in order to get ahead in their careers. Mistakenly, however, hiring managers commonly believe Millennials’ desire to earn a high salary primarily drives their job and career decisions. Forty-eight percent of hiring managers rank high pay as the number one way Millennials measure their career success. In contrast, only 11 percent of hiring managers say Millennials consider meaningful work as the number one measure of success.

Let’s take a closer look:

Disparity in Education

Millennials: Seventy-nine percent of Millennials responded that they had completed at least some college to date, and 65 percent ranked education among their top three preparation activities for getting ahead in the workplace (40 percent of all Millennial respondents ranked “getting the proper education” as the most important choice they could make to prepare for future careers).
Hiring Managers: Meanwhile, only 28 percent of hiring managers cited “getting the proper education” as the most important method for future success (though 55 percent did place it in the top three). Preferable to education was “learning transferable skills” — 62 percent of hiring managers listed this as one of the top three steps Millennials can take today to prepare for the next 15 years. Nearly two in five hiring managers (39 percent) said “setting goals with managers” should be in the top three.

Why? With the passing years, more and more young people are getting advanced degrees. Because managers used means other than getting higher degrees to get ahead in the workplace themselves, however, they may not view education as a key step for Millennials to advance their own careers. And, as managers have more work experience than Millennials, they are able to view the career path from a different perspective as far as ways to achieve workplace success.

Tips for managers: Investigate the learning opportunities available to your employees and make specific recommendations as part of each individual’s development plan. Help your employees set realistic and achievable goals for their future, and provide a path for building transferable skills in their daily roles that makes sense to both you and them.

Disparity in Millennials’ career motivations

Millennials: Millennials equate a successful career with doing meaningful work; in fact, 71 percent reported this as among the three most important factors defining career success. Nearly a third (30 percent) believed it was the most critical factor.

Hiring Managers: Only 11 percent of managers reported that meaningful work was the most important factor contributing to Millennial success, while almost one-half (48 percent) of managers said high pay was in fact the most critical factor in defining career success.

Why? Older generations grew up in a different time, when work rules were defined and enforced by the employer, and the primary purpose of work was to provide a paycheck, not to feed the well-rounded employee who increasingly struggles with work/life balance in a technology-driven world. Though pay is still important to many employees, work expectations have shifted over the years as our culture has evolved, and employees want different things from their “work life.”

Tips for managers: Match your Millennial employees with a mentor who is able to help guide their career path and offer advice along the way. In addition, be open to your workers’ proposals to create a work environment that is meaningful to them and enables them to do their best work, such as telecommuting or flexible scheduling, if they have presented clear advantages to the organization in saving time and money and effectively addressed any concerns you may have. In the long run, it may result in a situation beneficial to both your organization and your employee.

Key challenges for Millennials

Millennials are currently faced with two key challenges:

1. They must overcome the pervasive stereotypes managers have about their generation.
2. They must identify and address areas that impact their ability to work effectively in the professional world.

As older generations tend to hold opinions of Millennial employees that sharply diverge from the attitudes Millennials have about themselves, it’s important for managers to work with the various generations in their workplace to set a positive example and work to increase understanding of this generation. While research showed us that Millennials and their managers agreed that compared to older generations, Millennials are more likely to exhibit an inability to receive criticism as well as ineffective communication skills, these weaknesses must be viewed as a learning opportunity for both parties.

Moving forward, together

Millennials and their managers have come a long way in understanding one another – though there’s still a long road ahead. That road, however, is more quickly paved by each group doing their part to move forward and understand the other.

Millennials, for example, must be proactive in seeking mentorship from senior leaders, setting goals with their managers, and participating in company-sponsored training opportunities.

In addition to the tips mentioned above,  managers can also start taking steps to better understand and effectively work with Millennials:

• Give timely and constructive feedback.
  
• Keep an open mind and learn from young professionals.
  
• Teach by example to set expectations.
  
• Implement two types of training into your organization: The first, a session or course on inter-generational dynamics that provides Millennials and their managers with concrete strategies to build a better sense of community within their teams. The second, soft-skill training provided by the organization for Millennial hires that includes instruction on 1) assimilating into a new workplace culture; 2) working with team members assertively and diplomatically and how to receive and process feedback; and 3) approaching a supervisor to seek mentorship and set long-term career goals. This type of course would also help Millennials combat misperceptions about their generation and teach them strategies (like reverse mentoring) that use their digital comfort, ability to multi-task, and multiple other strengths in a positive way.

As managers become more open and tolerant, and Millennials continue to adjust their expectations and make visible and appreciated contributions to organizations, we will continue to see a wider understanding of the Millennials generation – as well as the great additions they can make to a rapidly changing work landscape.

Read the full report here for more statistics, thoughts from both Millennials and managers, and advice on managing the Millennial generation, or listen to my recent discussion with Lisa Johnson Mandell.

About The Career Advisory Board
Established in 2010 by DeVry University, the Career Advisory Board is a panel of leading career experts and authors from business and academia who provide actionable advice for job-seekers. The Career Advisory Board generates proprietary research and commentary, and creates tools, insight and resources to prepare job-seekers for success. Its members include executives from CareerBuilder, Cisco, DeVry University, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft Corporation as well as nationally recognized career experts.

As we just discussed here on The Hiring Site, the hiring outlook for this past month was the strongest it’s been in three years — which is great news. But, while in some industries employers also have plenty of candidates to choose from, in the health care field, the demand for services is rising so quickly that there aren’t enough health care workers to fulfill the growing demand. And this year alone, the first wave of more than 70 million baby boomers will turn 65 and 30 million more Americans will be will be insured, adding to the need for jobs like nurse practitioners. So, how are companies dealing with this challenge? A newly released CareerBuilder study of more than 1,000 health care workers gives us some insight into the job challenges these workers are facing, and includes advice to help organizations continue to retain top talent. You can also download the survey report in its entirety.

What did health care workers tell us?

1. A lack of career advancement opportunities is the top challenge health care workers face in their current positions.

What’s most challenging for health care workers — a) the sometimes-stressful environment? b) The lack of time for lunch breaks? c) The scrubs they must wear? No — it’s d) none of the above. In reality, more than half (51 percent) of health care workers cited a lack of advancement opportunities as the top challenge they faced in their current job. As patients are workers’ first priority, and as work overload was second in line as far as challenges cited, with 40 percent saying it was their biggest challenge, workers need management to help them make career advancement a priority as well. With so many balls for health care workers to juggle,  it’s important for health care organizations to provide career advancement programs and opportunities, to make those opportunities known, and to support workers’ efforts to take advantage of them by making it easier for them to do so.

3.    Tenure rates for nurses are low across various health care organizations.

Analysis of CareerBuilder databases revealed that registered nurses have a median tenure of 1.4 years. This is much lower than the 4.4 years that wage and salary workers had had with their current employer (according to a 2010 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study). Offices of physicians see the lowest nurse turnover, with a median job tenure of 1.57 years, while nursing care facilities have the highest ,at .97 years tenure. Falling in the middle were kidney dialysis centers (1.23) and home health care services (1.17). Operators of certain health care facilities may have a harder time retaining employees because of the difficult nature of the work.

3. Nurses are more concerned with doing their job well in a good environment than with the amount of money they make.

Nurses are the segment of the workforce hardest to recruit and retain — and with a median 1.4-year tenure, what factors are nurses struggling with, that, if resolved, might make a difference in workplace satisfaction? When nurses were asked about their biggest workplace challenge, salary was not at the top of the heap — they put salary as fifth (35 percent) on their list of biggest workplace challenges. Topping their list, though, was a shortage of needed staff (49 percent) and, as many health care workers across the board stated, a lack of advancement opportunities (49 percent). It’s not a surprise, then, to hear about nurses going on strike just last month over staff shortages.

4.    A wide disconnect exists between benefits offered by employers and what employees say their organizations provide.

In the CareerBuilder survey, health care professionals were asked if their current or most recent employer offered a number of different programs to their health care employees. Of the 10 programs listed, in-house skills training was the only program said to be offered by more than 50 percent of the survey-takers. Below are the full results:

• In-house skills training (57 percent)
• Education reimbursement (43 percent)
• Technology training (43 percent)
• Flexible work schedules (42 percent)
• Cross-training (40 percent)
• Opportunity to mentor others (37 percent)
• Autonomy in position (33 percent)
• Opportunity for innovation (24 percent)
• Performance-based incentives (22 percent)
• Sign-on bonus (8 percent)

In addition to the somewhat alarming statistic that nine of the 10 factors were said to be offered by fewer than half of the respondents’ workplaces, there also appears to be a disconnect between what employers are offering and what employees believe they offer. For instance, more than half (57 percent) of health care employees said that in-house skill trainings were offered by their employer; however, an even higher number of employers (68 percent) indicate that they provided this type of perk — meaning a lot of employees left in the dark about the trainings their employer provides. This disconnect illustrates that while health care organizations may be offering valuable perks, these programs are not always being messaged effectively to employees.

5.    Patient to staff ratio is strained, leaving workers spread thin with little time for career development.

We’ve heard before about health care workers’ desire to be heard — and survey data supports that idea. However, because workers are so tied down in managing their daily duties, there’s often little to no time left to focus on professional development. Nearly six in ten (57 percent) of health care workers said that the health care professional-per-patient ratio is getting worse, allowing less time for professional development and career advancement and requiring more time on day-to-day duties.

How can employers better support their employees?

It’s clear that money is not the only thing on health care workers’ minds — just like workers in many other professions, they seek opportunities for advancement in their careers, professional recognition, and benefits. They also need both the support of management and a robust enough staff to make this more easily attainable.

Although salary and benefits are important, lower-cost factors such as mentoring, career-path planning, training and support also greatly influence health care employees to apply to and stay at a job. With health care organizations battling for top talent and facing high demand for positions, it’s important for employers to take the temperature of their staff to best meet their needs, as well as keep a finger on the pulse of job seekers.

There’s no overnight solution, but it’s important to develop and nurture an environment where your employees can thrive. Talk to your employees about their biggest needs and challenges, and create a plan to help them more effectively meet these challenges. Find ways to communicate to your employees about the career advancement, training  and benefits programs your organization offers, and find ways to make it easier for them to participate. And if your organization doesn’t offer these initiatives, keep in mind you’re likely missing out on a lot of talent willing to sign on with organizations that are. Giving your employees ways to continue to learn and advance in their careers will give you a distinct advantage over your competition, and your employees will have another reason to grow with your organization, rather than look for the nearest exit.

What do you see as a solution toward fixing the turnover issues that ail so many health care organizations?

Shane Creamer and Simon Parkin of Granite Consulting, a recruitment consulting firm based in Canada, spoke at February’s HRPA 2011 conference, Canada’s conference and trade show focusing on HR issues and trends, about 10 recruitment trends businesses can expect as 2011 progresses. So, what, according to Creamer and Parkin, will many businesses, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, see more of as this year continues?

Labor Market Trends

Creamer and Parkin started by sharing their observations on labor market trends in Canada. Canada currently has a 7.8 percent unemployment rate, and they discussed the effects of an aging population on a constantly changing workplace (something U.S. businesses can identify with as well); over 50 percent of the Canadian workforce is 40 years old.

We know companies are hiring again; as Creamer and Parkin put it, “the ice is coming off the market” and the economy has gained back jobs lost in the recession. As we’ve discussed here on The Hiring Site, employee morale should not be a trend, and the recession has made many candidates and workers less loyal and trusting of employers. Many employees, Creamer and Parkin said, are continuing to feel uncomfortable with their current employers, but aren’t willing to trust any new organizations recruiting them.

Among other things, companies will have to focus more on the retention of their own talent (as highlighted in the latest hiring forecast, many workers are already looking for greener pastures), and there will be a shift away from traditional career paths and work values as the generational differences in the workplace become more pronounced.

So, what else is ahead for 2011?

Top 10 Recruitment Trends of 2011

#10   Talent becomes more mobile in a stronger economy:
“More mobile” doesn’t equate to more workers using smartphones to look for jobs (though indeed more are) — no, it means more of your employees will be moving to other companies. As more new positions are created this year, companies will experience higher turnover (as mentioned above) and will have to recruit to backfill that lost talent. We will see more candidates countering or turning down offers as the competition for talent continues to heat up. It’s important for employers to remember that, in or out of a recession, top talent will always have job options.

Companies don’t necessarily have the luxury of time as they might think they do; candidates (or even their own employees) are out there talking to other companies all the time. Are you keeping the retaining and recruiting of your talent top of mind?

#9 Recruitment In-sourcing vs. RPO:
This trend is toward selective, not full, recruitment process outsourcing. We will see outsourcing occur more often in the recruitment of high-volume, repetitive roles, and for the function of candidate sourcing only. There will be more RPO growth in the U.S. than Canada; more Canadian markets are focused on building internally. More executive recruitment functions are moving in-house, which is reflective of a growing transparency in the market. Increasingly, candidates can go online and see for themselves who holds which recruiting or leadership positions at a company,for example, rather than being forced to stay in the dark or play the guessing game to get in contact with the correct person.

#8  Gen Y Recruitment:
Gen Y recruitment is nothing new — but it’s evolving. You’ve likely read at least a handful of blog posts or articles lamenting the impact of Gen Y on the workplace or pigeonholing members of Gen Y into a defined set of characteristics. And this knee-jerk reaction isn’t terribly surprising, as employers are simply struggling to figure out how to make so many contrasting generations work harmoniously together in the workplace. But as Creamer and Parkin point out, it’s not fair to restrict this generation of workers into the whole “this is what Gen Y’s about” bucket. Just like members of other generations generally have some commonalities based on the society and culture they’re grown up with, you can’t necessarily throw them all into a bucket with a clear label. It’s important that employers remember people in Gen Y are not all the same, either.

So what general observations can be made about Gen Y workers?

• Gen Y members were raised in a technologically sophisticated and stimulating environment and they’re generally accustomed to instant gratification.
• Gen Y workers likely bring distinct values and expectations of what relationships with employers, managers and the workplace should be like.
• These workers face rising tuition costs and escalating personal debt.
• Nearly a third of Gen Y members have a blog, and they share intimately with their online networks.

Speaking of blogging, the job search experience has become increasingly social, and it’s not uncommon for candidates to blog about their experiences with a company during the interview process. The thoughts on a company, positive or negative, once online, can be extremely powerful. Companies must be aware that individuals have the opportunity to broadcast their experiences to a very wide audience, and that that message has the ability to spread very quickly. Negative company sentiment can spread very rapidly, but the impact can be very long-term. Tread carefully and

Recruit Gen Y candidates by using the right key messages and proper mediums:

• A company can no longer tell candidates “work hard and the rewards will come” – Gen Y wants a more definitive timetable tied directly to specific rewards.
• The traditional corporate recruitment promise of a long-term career isn’t as much of a selling point to this age group, so focus on the growth opportunities you can offer them.
• This generation tends to be largely peer influenced. Have current Gen Y employees out there on the front lines of your recruitment efforts, leading the information and interview sessions with your candidates.

Employers are smart to learn more about Gen Y, but to keep an open mind about what they find. Gen Yers bring a lot to the table; learn how to view their differences as strengths for your business — and don’t assume that one experience with a candidate or employee is indicative of the behavior of an entire generation and let it dictate your recruitment process.

#7 Talent Management:
Twenty-five percent of new hires regret taking their new job within first year, according to a study by Deloitte. There is a larger focus on talent management as we move through 2011, as well as on internal talent movement. Many companies are focusing on building talent versus buying talent, and talent retention is also of course top of mind for many employers.

#6 – Growth of Contingent Labor in Canada:
In 2010, more than 1 million Canadians held contract roles for an organization. Now, one in every eight positions in Canada are contract or temporary. Canadian organizations are beginning to build an effective talent strategy around contract labor.

#5 – Talent Pipelining:
We’ve spoken at length about the importance of building a talent pipeline (and here and here), as it helps employers get more return out of their recruitment efforts using the fewest resources, build a stronger employment brand, and create better relationships with candidates. As Parkin and Creamer stressed during their presentation, talent pipelining needs to be built into the recruitment process for key roles, as the push of relevant content and information to “nurtured” candidates helps build a company’s employment brand and increase passive candidates’ engagement and trust. The emergence of candidate sourcing/research teams is also an increasing trend.

Creamer and Parkin add that many companies are also looking beyond the typical ATS to customer relationship management platforms (CRMs).

#4 – The Globalization of Recruitment:
I recently wrote about global HR trends for 2011, and as Creamer and Parkin discussed during their presentation, recruitment no longer has a solely local focus. Companies are looking internationally for new talent pools and hard-to-find skill sets. With this change comes adjustments to vastly different cultures and multiple languages — something that many companies are still sorting out. In a nutshell, recruitment is getting much more complicated and specialized.

#3 – Candidate-Centric Recruitment Process:
It’s no secret that many candidates are dissatisfied with the current hiring process offered by companies. As Creamer and Parkin joke, it’s as if employers are sending the message, Dear Mr./Mrs. Candidate. Thank you for taking two hours out of your busy life to apply to us online. Your resume has been sent to a virtual black hole, and no one from our company will ever verify that you actually exist. Expect never to hear from us.

As we’ve stressed in the past, treat candidates like you would a client or customer — in a very real sense, they are your customer (and down the line, they may in fact be in a position to do business with you). They also have a large network of friends and colleagues who will likely hear about their experience with your organization. And while you may have to let them down, letting them down is better than not responding to candidates at all.

A poor or lengthy recruiting process can really hurt your organization’s chances of bringing the best talent onto your team. Just as candidates must sell themselves to you, you must sell your company to candidates. What’s your employment value proposition; how are you attracting, engaging, and retaining quality talent?

Begin to create a more candidate-centric recruitment process by adding more of a “human touch” to your process. Communicate with candidates when at all possible, and let them know where they stand as the process moves from phase to phase. Unplug cumbersome technology and flawed screening filters, and provide feedback and coaching. View all candidates as a customer or potential future customer, client or employee.

#2: Social Media for Recruitment:
Social media: It can be really overwhelming. Most of us are familiar with the major social media platforms — and they are playing an increasing role in recruitment as companies realize they must diversify their recruitment efforts to stay on top. Mobile technology is emerging as a recruitment channel, as companies are also realizing the power of texting and mobile apps for recruitment. Even location-based social networking sites like Foursquare have growing possibilities for businesses and recruitment. Tablets like the iPad are also becoming more popular for work use as these devices increase the business applications offered, and companies are beginning to examine the power of tablet applications to help strengthen their employment brand and company profile.

Video interviewing is a trend that more and more businesses (and candidates) are starting to pick up on, and platforms like Skype, the largest network on the Internet, are also becoming more popular for use in interviews or for virtual meetings.

As Creamer and Parkin remind us, social media is just another factor in your recruitment success — it’s not the be-all, end-all answer. Using these mediums can be powerful — but the content you put out and the messages you are sending to candidates and employees must be relevant.

#1 — The Demand for Experienced Recruiters:
Recruiters today are being asked to do more with less, making it increasingly difficult for them to be successful. The demand for experienced recruiters is high — and the recruiter of yesterday has changed to reflect a demand for those who have an in-depth knowledge of the company for which they’re recruiting. “Generalist” has morphed into “Specialist,” “Administrator/Processor” into “Trusted Advisor/Consultant,” and “Gut Feeling” decisions to “Results/Metrics-Driven” ones. Successful recruiters are getting closer to the business and doing a lot of leg work to get results.

Let us know — What recruitment trends listed here are you seeing in your own business?

“There’s an evolution going on,” says Jennifer Prosek, author of the new book Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth, in reference to today’s workforce. “If you look at what new entrants into the workforce are looking for in terms of jobs, lives, careers and what we’re taught about the world of work have changed.” 

As the CEO of public relations and financial communications consultancy CJP Communications, Prosek has noticed that today’s workers want more responsibility, and today’s employers should be receptive to that desire.

Her philosophy is that deciding who to hire is less about finding a great employee and more about finding a great business partner – or, rather, a fellow entrepreneur. “The new generation of workers expects more responsibility early on,” Prosek told me. “They’re fearless and aren’t as willing to stick things out and do things just because their bosses say they should.”

While Prosek drew on her own experiences to write Army of Entrepreneurs, her observations are not limited to what she sees going on at her organization: a recently released Career Advisory Board study indicates that there’s an overall discrepancy between what hiring managers think Millennials value most as they enter the workforce (higher pay) and what Millennials actually say they value most (meaningful work).

It is crucial that hiring managers today understand the shift that has taken place in workers’ attitudes, especially if they expect to build their army of entrepreneurs.

Recruit now. Hire later.
While “any employee can be entrepreneurial,” Prosek says hiring managers should keep an eye out for “people who exhibit excitement about bringing their own ideas to life” when trying to identify potential entrepreneurs – which, by the way, is all the time.

Hiring managers need to take a proactive approach to recruitment and constantly be on the lookout for the next entrepreneur; otherwise, waiting until a hiring need opens up couldresult in a panicked hire.  “Panicked hires typically aren’t successful, particularly if you’re building a typical DNA [for your employment brand]. Everyone you hire is a reflection of that brand.”

Not only can a panicked hire be a costly mistake for employers, Prosek says that panicked hiring doesn’t reflect well with employees, either. Employees can sense when they’ve been hired out of desperation, which significantly lowers their excitement about the company; whereas employees who are courted over a period of time by prospective employers go into their new jobs feeling special “because they are.” 

Prosek says recruiting candidates early on and staying in contact with them is key to building that talent pipeline – and ensuring they will feel special when the time comes to actually hire. Some of the ways employers can keep candidates engaged include sending them quarterly company updates via email, going to career fairs and networking events, and, not least of all, utilizing social networking. “If you have social media presence and blog, these things make it incredibly easy to stay in touch with your talent pipeline.”

Build an army of brand ambassadors.
But perhaps the most important factor in this strategy is an employer’s current employee base. “My whole book is about giving responsibility to your employees, asking employees to be brand ambassadors. The right employees love this activity and can be more successful at it than managers.”

And while offering rewards like cash bonuses can effectively generate participation in employee referral programs, monetary incentives are not the only option here.  Giving employees ownership over the responsibility of bringing in new employees – and, essentially, helping to grow the business – can go a long way in motivating them. 

Recognition is key here, too. Employers tend to forget how much value employees place on getting recognized for their efforts and contributions to the business, Prosek says, but it is absolutely essential. “People do not necessarily understand how the business works all the time. Once they understand that, and how they fit into it, they’re engaged on a whole other level,” she says. “When you teach people the business, magic happens.”

Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of the award-winning international public relations and financial communications consultancy CJP Communications (CJP). Her new business book, Army of Entrepreneurs: Create and Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth, is available now. Visit http://www.armyofentrepreneurs.com/ to learn more.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Authored by John Thedford. Thedford is CEO of La Familia Pawn and Jewelry, a chain of high-end pawnbroker shops with locations throughout Central and South Florida, and he is the author of Smart Moves Management: Cultivating World-Class People and Profits. For more information, visit www.lafamiliapawn.com.

A company without good employees is like a shark without teeth … very ineffective and bound for extinction. Here are some strategies that can help you hire and promote the best people for your business.

Being a business owner requires a strong commitment to success and attention to detail. Tasked with many responsibilities, entrepreneurs have to maintain a vigilant focus on the key processes that drive their operations. Based on my own experiences, I believe the trickiest part of running a company is the hiring process. Why? Because people are complex creatures with unique attributes, and hiring the right employees is imperative to the success of your endeavor. In other words, when it comes to hiring, the stakes are high.

The “right” people are the core of your strength. Inversely, the “wrong” people will make you weaker and less effective. In the end, you’ve worked hard to start your business, and you need to create an environment where everyone functions on the same page and works toward the same goals. How do you accomplish this? Take hiring — and the development of superior talent — very seriously, and have a process in place that gives you the best chance of hiring and retaining employees who will help you realize success.

A Strategic Path to Success

Through trial and error, I’ve learned that business success isn’t a model; it’s an equation of compatibility and chemistry among employees, customers and investors. Creating a strategic path based on this philosophy will pay major dividends because an engaged employee will provide exceptional customer service and make so much money for themselves and for the company that your shareholders will marvel at the outcome.

Ask yourself a simple question. Who do you want representing your business? Remember that you’re looking for specific attributes, and you need someone who fits comfortably into your company culture. An Ivy League graduate with the wrong skill sets for your particular venture brings little value to the table, no matter how well-educated that person might be. And a bad hire can be costly; the industry rule of thumb suggests that hiring the wrong person costs you three times his or her annual salary. A $50,000 employee costs you $150,000; a $150,000 employee costs $450,000. That’s for starters. There’s also lost opportunity cost … plus lost business, potential customers and momentum. And now you’re back to square one, looking for a replacement.

In order to avoid these setbacks, it’s important to understand that a successful hiring process begins with a clear understanding of the critical traits that are required to get the job done. Those who seek to complete the type of work required to operate your business possess a set of core competencies that define and highlight their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Once you determine which specific attributes best suit your needs, you need to learn how to identify them when selecting new hires or promotable candidates.

Identifying Core Competencies

Each business requires its own set of core competencies that management feels will help maximize growth and profitability. The key is that everyone involved in the hiring process understands the selected competences, asks the right questions to gain better insight into the thoughts and tendencies possessed by candidates (both new hire and promotable), and makes the right hiring decisions that will ultimately strengthen the overall staff.

At La Familia Pawn & Jewelry, we’ve developed our own set of core competencies that fall into the following categories: intellectual, personal, interpersonal, management and motivational. Based on a comprehensive interview and a temperament questionnaire that we require every candidate to complete, we feel confident determining if a person possesses the right mix of desired traits. When analyzing motivational competencies, for example, we want to consider the following factors:

• Energy — Exhibits energy, strong desire to achieve and appropriately high dedication level.
• Passion — Exhibits dynamism, charisma, excitement and positive “can-do” attitude.
• Tenacity — Demonstrates consistent reward of passionately striving to achieve results.

Specific interview questions we include to help determine if a candidate possesses these motivational competencies include:

Energy

1.     How many hours per day have you worked, on the average, in the past year?

2.     What motivates you?

Passion

1.     How would you rate yourself (and why) in enthusiasm and charisma?

2.     Describe the pace at which you work – fast, slow, moderate – and the circumstances under which it varies.

Tenacity

1.     What are the challenges you have faced and overcome?

2.     What will references say is your general level of urgency?

By developing your own set of core competencies, you can begin to incorporate hiring strategies that give you the best chance to hire the people you need in order to succeed. And once you get these individuals into the fold, you need to hold it all together with strong leadership and a positive, motivational work culture.

As any good employer knows, the key to running a successful business is people.  People are what got your business where it is today, and they are the determinant of your future success.  As you begin to think about how you plan to rebuild and grow your organization following this time of economic uncertainty, the people you bring in to your organization will inevitably play a crucial role in that strategy. 

What you have to keep in mind, however, is that today’s market has drastically changed – thanks in part to things like advances in technology and changing job seeker demographics. The harsh truth is that if you want to remain competitive in this market, you can no longer rely on “business as usual” when it comes to your recruitment efforts.  What you need is a more proactive approach to recruitment. You need a strategy that not only brings in qualified applicants, but keeps them engaged and interested in opportunities with your organization. You need a strategy that keeps you top of mind with top talent. In short, you need talent pipelining. 

A talent pipeline is a community of qualified, interested candidates with the skills and experience that meet your organization’s unique needs. With a talent pipeline in place, you get to take control of the recruitment process.  You don’t have to go back to square one and wait for applicants to come in every time you have a hiring need – you already have an existing database of relevant applicants at your fingertips.

Why Talent Pipelining? Why Now?
Historically, when people had hiring needs, they would put an ad in the local newspaper, post a job on the internet, visit a career fair or ask for employee referrals, then simply wait for the candidates to flow in. This reactive approach, however, is no longer sufficient. Here are four reasons why you need to start building a talent pipeline today.

1. Recruitment is – and always has been – an ongoing effort. Even if you are not hiring right now, you should constantly be on the lookout for ways to attract and engage top talent. Consider how much time, money and frustration you would save if you already had a pool of qualified, relevant and interested applicants on hand once a hiring need does open up. This is one of the major benefits to building a talent pipeline. The effort you put in now to recruit for the future will lead to fewer hiring mistakes and a greater return for all involved in the hiring process.
2. The way candidates search for jobs has changed. Today’s job seekers are more resourceful than ever. They know what they want in an employer – great benefits, flexible work options, career development opportunities – and they know how to get it. In addition to job boards and personal referrals, job seekers use social and professional networking sites, online referral programs and talent communities to research prospective employers. They also want to be wanted: They crave constant engagement and interaction with prospective employers. This is where you as an employer have to be resourceful and proactive in your recruiting efforts, utilizing every tool at your disposal to connect with job seekers – from your company careers site and employee referrals to social media and mobile marketing .
3. The competition for top talent will only get more intense as the job market opens up. Research shows that employees tend to leave organizations following times of economic or organizational change, and employers are already seeing signs of this phenomenon today: A recent CareerBuilder survey showed that 40 percent of employers worry about losing workers as the economy improves. Think about it: If you’re competing for candidates against a company that has already built a relationship with those candidates, who do you think has the advantage when it comes to getting those candidates in the door? Building a talent pipeline helps you stay front of mind when you find yourself with a need to hire, keeping valuable candidates from slipping through the cracks, and giving you an edge over competitors who do not put forth the same effort to engage candidates. 
4. Recruitment resources are still lean. Talent pipelining enables employers to save overall time and costs associated with hiring. Think about it: How often has an immediate and frantic need to hire led to a regrettable hiring mistake? How much money goes down the drain in lost productivity when hard-to-fill positions remain open? Even if you have staffing agencies to help sort through irrelevant applications and screen candidates, consider how much you could save if you simply didn’t need to rely on them at all? You don’t – not if you already had a pool of qualified, interested candidates at your fingertips, sourced from your talent pipeline.  Fortunately, new technologies and social media tools, as well as the increasing popularity of mobile, provide employers more opportunities than ever to get in front of job seekers and keep them engaged at very little cost.

Engagement: The Crucial Next Step
It’s important to note that building a talent pipeline is not just about getting candidates interested in opportunities with your organization, but about keeping them interested for when future opportunities open up.  This next step – engagement – is often where employers run into trouble.  It’s not enough to simply build a pipeline, but to keep candidate engaged so that a month, six months or even a year down the road, when you are ready to hire, you know you’re hiring the right people.  

The strategies by which you go about building that your talent pipeline will vary based on your organization’s unique needs, but the engagement factor must always be there. Not only will you save time and money overall, but you will end up with a better quality of people, turning out a better quality of product and service.  Simply put, building a talent pipeline is one of the best investments your organization will ever make.

John Smith is a Senior Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is charged with developing recruitment strategies for CareerBuilder’s Fortune 500 clients.

Join CareerBuilder Senior Vice President John Smith and Chief Development Officer Hope Gurion on Tuesday, April 26 at 1 p.m. EDT for Your Company in 2020: Capturing Talent to Fuel Future Growth, an exclusive webcast about adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape. Click here for more information or to register.

Are you keeping up with talent supply and demand in your market? As the most recent BLS Employment Situation Report revealed, 192,000 jobs were added in February 2011 — but how many candidates are applying to those 192,000 jobs? By understanding the labor demand in particular markets and the ways in which talent pools grow or shrink depending on that demand, you can more effectively guide your recruitment strategy in terms of employment brand, compensation and overall advertising strategy.

CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal helps you be smarter by giving you real-time access to 1) the availability of active talent for any position (supply), and 2) where you will find the most and least competition for that talent (demand).

The following information from Supply and Demand Portal shows examples of hot industries where there is a growing demand in the number of workers needed to fill job openings, based on data from the last six months.

1)      Nurse Practitioner: .23 active job seekers for every position
This year, the first wave of more than 70 million baby boomers will turn 65 and join Medicare – equating to approximately one every eight seconds. At the same time, there are more than 30 million newly insured Americans as a result of health care reform, driving the need for more medical services. Couple this with an increase in retail health clinics and a deficit in primary-care physicians, and you’ve got a huge need for nurse practitioners to help fill the gap.

2)      Database Administrator:  .26 active job seekers for every position
From the explosion of sites like Twitter and Facebook, to the evolution of the smartphone’s presence in both our home and work lives, the world’s dependence on sophisticated technology is getting more prevalent every day.  Companies, in turn, are using technology to make better business decisions and create new solutions for clients that live up to their ever-changing needs — and they need people who can effectively manage data to help create those solutions.

3)     IT Security:  .59 active job seekers for every position
Although it’s a concern when individuals like you, me or Ashton Kutcher get hacked, IT security is especially sensitive for companies, as they have to not only protect their own sensitive information, but that of their clients. It’s not surprising, then, that IT security jobs are often hard to fill, requiring candidates who need to be experts in various aspects of IT such as programming, hardware, network and database expertise.

4)      E-mail Marketer:  .69 active job seekers for every position
The way people consume information is becoming more and more selective — as are their e-mail spam filters and propensity to hit that worn-down “Delete” button on the keyboard. With all the noise coming at people from every direction, it’s now harder for companies to grab consumer attention — and e-mail marketers who know how to cut through the clutter and help them get in front of their target audiences are in high demand.

5)      Financial Adviser:  1.2 active job seekers for every position
With the after-effects of the recent recession still being felt, people are looking for guidance on how to build financial security after depleting their short-term savings, tapping into retirement funds and losing home equity. And with millions of baby boomers on the verge of retirement age, the demand for financial advisers to help build retirement plans is about to become even bigger.

6)      Environmental Engineer – 1.25 active job seekers for every position
“Green jobs” or “green-collar jobs,” otherwise known as jobs focused on environmental preservation, are all the rage. Green jobs are expected to grow at the rate of a whopping 1.3 million jobs per year through 2030, and, fortunately for green employers, more and more job seekers are seeking out employment with environmentally conscious companies. In addition, federal, state and private funding is fueling openings for those able to develop solutions for pollution control, recycling, waste management and other public health initiatives.

7)      Sales Engineer:  1.72 active job seekers for every position
As the economy begins to bounce back, companies are once again expanding their sales forces to increase revenue — and are relying on sales engineers to help close and manage deals around more sophisticated products. These experts are a key part of the sales process, as they compare solutions to competitor offerings, and troubleshoot any issues along the way.

8)     Social Media Manager:  1.78 active job seekers for every position
Social media (rapidly becoming known as simply “media”) moves quickly — and so does the need for those able to manage it. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have seeped into just about every aspect of both our personal and professional lives — and more and more companies are “getting it” and jumping on board to engage people in their brands, build relationships, market products and reach more individuals in new ways. To do this successfully, companies need people with social media savvy and strategic delivery — and fast.

9)      Compliance Analyst:  2.52 active job seekers for every position
These days, companies are being held under greater scrutiny and must meet with more stringent local, federal and state regulations. Health care and financial firms in particular need people who can understand relevant laws and help to establish policies and training programs.

10)  Writer (technical and other):  3.31 active job seekers for every position
From chip manufacturers to software companies, technical writers are needed to clearly explain new products, upgrades and features that are often very specialized. The race to stay on the cutting edge matched with increased investment in new technologies drives continued demand for this technical skill set.

More about the Supply and Demand Portal

How does it work?

The portal pulls data from national employment resources like CareerBuilder.com, Wanted Analytics, and EMSI, in turn getting access to more than 45 million jobs, 40 million resumes and 140 million worker profiles — meaning a ton of rich, relevant data turned into meaningful intelligence. Based on the number of available jobs and available candidates, the portal identifies occupations and corresponding markets with the greatest supply and under-supply of candidates.

The portal can also help your business understand:

• Where to open a new business or school
• Top markets with greatest supply of candidates for a particular position
• Top markets where demand for talent exceeds supply for a particular position
• Top employers hiring for the talent you need for a particular position
• Location intelligence through heat maps
• Common job titles for a given skill
• How to better hire for emerging or hard-to-fill positions
• How market saturation may be impacting compensation trends

By using talent intelligence to stay on top of trends in the current labor market, you’ll have a more clear sense of where to find your talent (and your competitors) — and stay one hire ahead.

Simon Sinek was one of the keynote speakers I was most interested to see at HRPA’s 2011 Annual Conference and Trade Show, Canada’s conference and trade show focusing on HR issues and trends — and he didn’t disappoint. Sinek has a way of getting people’s attention when he enters a room — and I can attest to the many HRPA attendees (including myself) focusing intently on his words as he began his Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action keynote on that still-early Thursday morning.

Don’t hire  people who need what you have, but who believe what you believe. This was one of the points driven home by Sinek over and over again. As he says, “people who don’t believe what you believe work for your money” — and their time with your company likely won’t last long. People who believe what you believe, however, will work for you with their blood, sweat and tears.

Sinek teaches leaders and companies how to inspire their people—by finding the purpose, cause or belief that drives them. I’d like to share some highlights from his keynote speech, but I recommend that you also watch his TED talk (below).

On Starting with “Why”

All the great and inspiring leaders and organizations in the world all think, act and communicate the exact same way, Sinek says — and it’s the complete opposite to everyone else.  All companies function on three levels: 1) What you do, 2) how you do it, and 3) why you do it. The problem, he says, is that most organizations don’t know “why” their organization exists. The “why” does not mean “to make money” — that, he says, is a result. The “why” is your purpose, your cause, or your belief. He calls this concept of what, how and why The Golden Circle. The Golden Circle theory explains why some organizations are able to inspire — and others aren’t. Innovative companies are not defined by what they do; they are defined by why they exist.

As Sinek pointed out, Steve Jobs is brilliant at giving context and talking about why Apple’s products matter. Inspiring companies work from the inside out — the “why” drives them. Rationally speaking, he says, Macs aren’t better, but people will defend the brand and culture to the death because Apple inspires people through the way they talk about their company. Lehman Brothers , on the other hand, was very good at what they did, but there was no sense of community and trust, and that made all the difference.

On how we hire

On the importance of the HR profession Sinek says, “If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.” Why do we care more about someone’s resume and about how much money they’ve made for our competitor, Sinek asks, than in what they believe? How do you know a candidate is not passionate about interviewing but about working for you?

On engaging employees

During his talk, Sinek asked how many of us loved our job. Ninety percent of people don’t, he said. Ninety percent! Now imagine how many of your employees that equates to. Although it may seem like common sense, it’s important to remember that people who come to work excited about their jobs do better work, and as Sinek points out, it’s cyclical: Happier employees will treat their kids and spouses better, and then their kids and spouses will be happier, and they will come to work the next day happier and treat their colleagues and customers better.

How can you help employees love what they do a little more?

On roaming the halls

Are your executives roaming the halls to talk to employees? If they aren’t, Sinek said, they can’t hear or see the impact of their decisions. And even if it’s not a “physical” walking of the hallway, are your leaders out there in the online world, listening to what employees want? Are they reaching out to employees and asking what matters to them? We’re detached from the impact of our decisions; we use polls and hire outside companies to find out what employees think — instead of simply asking them.

Sinek used the example of Stanley Milgrim’s shock experiment from the 1960s to illustrate the danger of people being separated from seeing the impact of their decisions. If leaders can’t see or hear how their decisions are impacting their employees, how many of them will stop themselves from making decisions that negatively affect or hurt those employees before it’s too late (or know that they are hurting employees in the first place)?

On being a great place to work

• Take great people and help them to do extraordinary things.
• Hire those who believe what you believe and wake up every single day and compete against yourselves.
• Worry about doing what you do better and how to do it better next week, and next month, and something remarkable will happen.
• Stating what do you in company vision statements = who cares? Sinek says your company vision statement should be about why you do what you do; it should be about what you believe.

Fortune’s best companies to work for aren’t doing anything differently, Sinek says — they make the list because people WANT to be there. To lead means you have to have followers, a follower is someone who volunteers to go where you’re going. Somebody who chooses to be a part of whatever is it you’re building — not because they have to but because they want to. Employees want to surround themselves with the people and products and brands that prove to the outside world who they believe they are.

Do your employees want to go where you’re going?

Coca-Cola doesn’t do it. Neither does McDonald’s, for that matter. Or AT&T. In fact, none of today’s most recognizable – and successful – brands wait until their sales are down to increase their marketing efforts. They know that the key to creating long-term customer loyalty – through good times and not-so-good times – is staying top-of-mind with consumers and standing out among the competition.

This concept is no different from recruiting.

Smart companies do not wait until they have a need to hire to begin recruiting talent. For them, building a talent pipeline – a database of qualified candidates upon whom they can quickly and easily call upon when hiring needs do arise – is a constant, high priority effort.

Today, human resources departments and staffing organizations are faced with the unenviable challenge to deliver high quality candidates with fewer resources at their fingertips to assist them.  The need to “do more with less” has become today’s business mantra.

Fortunately, talent pipelining provides the perfect opportunity for companies that want to get more return out of their recruitment efforts using the fewest resources. Talent pipelining is a more proactive approach to recruiting, requiring companies to think about their future hiring needs and create a plan to recruit candidates based on those needs.

While the time and effort required up front may seem daunting, building a talent pipeline pays off huge dividends in the end, ultimately saving you time and costs associated with time-to-hire. Consider, for instance, how much time you would save if, instead of starting from scratch any time a position opens up, you already have a pool of relevant, qualified candidates from which to pull. Or – and perhaps more importantly - consider the hiring mistakes you could avoid by eliminating the pressure to make a hasty hiring decision.

Unfortunately, most companies either do not have a talent pipelining system in place or, for lack of time and resources, fail to utilize their current systems in a way that delivers the most benefit.  Below, I’ve outlined four steps for creating a talent pipelining system that will truly help you do more with less.

Four Steps to Creating an Effective Talent Pipeline

1. Make the commitment: Creating an effective talent pipeline begins with making a commitment. Employers need to get buy-in from everyone involved in the hiring process. It’s important that everyone sees the value in being proactive and cultivating relationships with candidates that could be valuable in the future.
2. Assess your current process: It is crucial that you objectively evaluate what about your current process is working and what is not, in order to ensure you are getting the most value. This is where data intelligence comes in.  Data intelligence, such as talent surveys, provide valuable insight into all kinds of candidate behavior, from how they search for jobs to what they value in an employer to what motivates them to apply –or not apply – for certain jobs over others. This intelligence informs employers as to where to allocate their recruitment dollars most effectively.
3. Practice constant engagement: It is not enough to simply collect resumes and connect with candidates, but you must keep them engaged. With the rise of social media, the opportunities for engagement are limitless. For example, post content such as photos and video on your company’s career site or social networking pages that keeps them informed about the culture of your company, and encourage them to ask questions about the same. Or provide links that let them opt-in to receive information about upcoming career fairs or available opportunities that arise via e-mail. And don’t forget to recruit your current employees to refer candidates and act as brand ambassadors. Whatever means you use, the goal here is to keep candidates interested, informed and excited about opportunities with your company.
4. Create a measurement system: The only way you’ll know for sure if your pipelining system is working is by constantly measuring your results. Some questions to consider: How often do candidates apply to our opportunities? How many candidates turn into successful hires? Where did these candidates come from? Understanding where your talent is coming from will help you focus your recruiting efforts and build the most effective talent pipeline.

In a recent CareerBuilder survey, employers named finding the right talent to fill open positions as one of the greatest hiring challenges they face today. As the economy recovers, the job market opens up, and hiring needs increase, this challenge will only grow. The time to start building your talent pipeline is now. Waiting until you have a hiring need is simply waiting too long.

Hope Gurion is the Chief Development Officer at CareerBuilder, LLC. She is in charge of identifying and growing new business ventures for the company.

Join CareerBuilder’s Chief Development Officer Hope Gurion and Senior Vice President John Smith on Tuesday, April 26 at 1 p.m. EDT for Your Company in 2020: Capturing Talent to Fuel Future Growth, an exclusive webcast about adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape. Click here for more information or to register.

On this 100th (!) International Women’s Day, when women all over the world are celebrating the countless accomplishments of women or being honored themselves, I thought it would be fitting to share results of The White House’s just-released report all about women, called Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being. It was prepared for the White House Council on Women and Girls — a council created in 2009 by President Obama to “enhance, support, and coordinate the efforts of existing programs for women and girls.”

A report nearly 50 years in the making

This is the first Federal report that focuses on the progress of women in the U.S. since John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women issued 1963′s Peterson Report, which primarily focused on workplace discrimination and issues of workplace inequality — and which helped lead to the Equal Pay Act.

Fast forward from 1963 to 2011 — how have things changed?

Why women’s issues are important (and not just for women)

President Obama himself has stated that the social and economic issues facing women are not just women’s issues; many of these issues can end up affecting entire families.  The report gives a picture of women in America today by focusing on five areas: demographic and family changes, education, employment, health, and crime. Although I’d like to share findings on education and employment specifically, it’s worth perusing the report (PDF) for yourself to get a better sense of how various gender comparisons all fit together in the big picture. Women have achieved so much — and this report reflects that. Unfortunately, in some areas, there is still much progress to be made. Let’s take a closer look.

Women and Education

When it comes to educational achievement in particular over the last few decades, women have made huge strides. This holds true across racial and ethnic groups, and, in some cases, the educational achievements of women have significantly outpaced those of men over the last 40 years.

Highlights:

• Perhaps not surprisingly, high school education rates of women have substantially increased. Between 1970 and 2009, the percentage of women with at least a high school education rose from 59 percent (about the same as men) to about 87 percent (slightly more than men).
• Over the years, we’ve seen a huge surge in the number of women who have paved out careers for themselves and embarked upon that institute of higher learning known as college. The percentage of women ages 25-34 with at least a college degree has more than tripled since 1968, and women earned about 57 percent of all college degrees given in 2007-2008.
• In 2008, women accounted for 59 percent of graduate school enrollment.
• When it comes to doctoral degrees, the tables have completely turned in the past decade alone. In 1998, more doctoral degrees were conferred to men than to women. A decade later, it’s the opposite.

The science and tech gap

While women do earn the majority of degrees overall, they earn fewer degrees than men in science and technology. In the college level of engineering and computer sciences, women possess fewer than 20 percent of degrees earned. The good news is that the lack of women in these fields has not gone unnoticed; women in the tech field, for instance, are banding together and starting conferences, investing money and resources, and engaging in professional networking. These efforts aren’t without criticism, though — some believe that instead making efforts to differentiate themselves, women in these types of fields should be integrating themselves more forcefully into male-dominated events and circles. What do you think?

Women and the Workplace

Over the past several decades, women’s role in the workplace has changed dramatically. But where are women currently excelling – and where are we falling short? Let’s take a look.

Highlights:

• The earnings gap between women and men has narrowed over the years – but it’s still there. Among full-time wage and salary workers, women’s weekly earnings as a percent of men’s have increased from 62 percent in 1979 to 80 percent in 2009.
• Although we’ve seen older persons either staying in or going back into the work force since the 2008 recession, according to the report, the labor force participation rate of persons ages 55 and older began to rise in 1996 for both women and men, but that pace has slowed in recent years.
• Speaking of the recession — during the past four recessions, the unemployment rate among women rose less than the rate for men. This can be attributed to men’s concentration in more cyclically sensitive occupations, like manufacturing production and construction, compared to women’s concentration in more rapidly growing fields like health care.
• Women are considerably more likely to work year round than they were in past decades. In 2009, 75 percent of women worked year round, up from 51 percent in 1968.
• In May 2004, about 30 percent of wage and salary workers reported having flexible schedules that allowed them to vary their work hours to some degree. (That’s likely increased since then, with the larger focus on flexible scheduling that’s developed). What exactly the flexible schedules entailed, the report didn’t say, and it would be interesting to find out percentages of employees working from home or exploring other alternative scheduling with their employers now that 7 years have passed.

So, what do the findings tell us?

Well, as we’ve seen above, women have accomplished a great deal in the realms of education and employment since the 1960s — or even the 1990s. Yet, on average, women still earn less pay than that of men, and few women are venturing into the fields of science and technology. But the fact that this report leaves out legal issues of inequality which were the main focus of the Peterson Report of 1963 is a huge difference in itself, in only 47 years’ time. In addition, this report lays bare the findings that women are not equal in the aforementioned areas — but are there explanations involved that have more to do with lifestyle and culture than with unfair business practices?

And as author and history teacher Stephanie Coontz points out in her article on CNN International, the 1963 report cataloged the once-common practice of establishing quotas on how many women were admitted to educational institutions or sought-after jobs — an issue which has, at least in theory, gone away. Yes, discrimination against women still exists, and yes, some institutions’ or individuals’ mentalities may still be back in 1963. But this White House report chronicles just how big of a leap we’ve taken forward in such a short time.

How far do you think women have come when it comes to the workplace? Have you witnessed many of these changes over the years? Let us know in the comments!

Want to get involved with International Women’s Day? Find events here.

Behavioral interviewing, for those not familiar, is a method of questioning that requires the respondent to answer with a story of how they handled a specific circumstance. It’s designed to get the candidate to reveal how they responded to a real life work situation so we can understand how they might respond to a similar situation if they were hired.

What are the inherent pros to this interview style?

1. We get real-life examples to help us assess how someone will perform in the future. I love behavioral interviews —I never tire of hearing the stories people tell and what they did or didn’t do to solve a problem. There is always something we can learn from what a candidate states or doesn’t state in an interview answer.
2. We can get into deeper detail than other interview questions. With a couple of probing questions beyond an initial response, you can reveal some important details about a candidate that may not come out in other interview formats. For example, you can get specific details about a candidate’s real contribution to a project, or find out how they dealt with an unpredictable circumstance.
3. The focus storytelling enables almost all candidates to interview more effectively.   Let’s face it: Interviewing is scary for most people. Some people will always be better storytellers than others, but it’s in every human’s DNA to be able to convey a story. Even candidates who are naturally shy or introverted —tendencies that inhibit their ability to sell themselves — can come alive when you ask them a behavioral interview-style question. It is much more comfortable and easy for a candidate to tell you a story than respond to a firing squad of questions.

Behavioral interviewing isn’t a perfect method, however — it has weaknesses which often become all too apparent when it comes to the actual asking of the questions.

Consider the following to keep your behavioral interviews on track:

1. Questions must be designed with behavior in mind. Behavioral interviewing is certainly the best predictor of future behavior, but if we don’t design the questions correctly, the information we receive may not enable better decision making. Even if you think your behavioral questions are designed perfectly, consider whether they will elicit the behavior you are seeking to measure.
2. Don’t ask leading questions. If you tell the candidate what you are trying to discern before you ask the actual question, it’s like giving them the answer on a test. For example, making a statement like, “Team work is very important here” before you ask a question about a candidate’s work experience on a group project is a bit leading. They already know what you are assessing.  Try to stick to questions without leading with qualifying statements.
3. The interviewer must still control the interview. Asking this level of open-ended questions (questions that require a thoughtful answer beyond a simple yes or no) can send you “down a rabbit hole” in many situations. Candidates are nervous in interview situations and have a tendency to ramble on or focus on details that are not relevant to the information you are seeking. You must be able to re-focus the discussion and stay on track.
4. The storytelling technique is another excellent way for an interviewer to relay information to a candidate. Candidates, like anyone else, have a tendency to hear what they want to hear as opposed to what you intend them to hear. If you want to make a point they will remember, consider telling anecdotal stories that will help a candidate truly understand what the position is about and what kinds of results you are looking for.

All in all, behavioral interviews are still one of the greatest leaps forward in the history of recruitment, but that doesn’t eliminate the responsibilities that come along with conducting this type of interview. When using behavioral interviewing techniques, be direct and upfront to ensure a quality interview.

What challenges have you found with behavioral interviewing – and how have you addressed them?

Jennifer Way is a human capital management consultant with more than fifteen years of global recruiting experience. She specializes in serving high volume recruiting environments with innovative solutions that address three areas: executive/strategic recruiting, recruiting process, and recruiting technologies.

CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC Power Lunch late last week to discuss findings from the Young Presidents’ Organization’s Global Pulse CEO Confidence Index, a survey gauging opinions of CEOs on the future of the economy. He also talked about changes in job activity on CareerBuilder’s site and answered questions about job creation for 2011 and which industries and regions are doing the most robust hiring right now.

YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), a global network of 17,000 CEOs under the age of 50, surveyed 2,256 CEOs across the world representing companies of all sizes (1,144 respondents were in the U.S.) to measure economic sentiment. The Global Pulse CEO Confidence Index found, among other things, that the hiring outlook is improving both here in the U.S. and abroad.

Watch Matt’s full interview on CNBC Power Lunch:

Let’s take a closer look at a few key findings from the YPO survey:

1. CEOs are more growing more confident in the economy.

• Global confidence rose 2.8 points to 64.7.  The U.S. index rose 3.6 points to 63.5, the highest since the survey began in July 2009.
• 61% of CEOS said economic conditions have improved compared to six months ago, up from 46% last quarter.
• 67% expect economic conditions to improve over the next six months, up from 60% last quarter.
• The emerging markets are the most bullish while the European Union has been the least optimistic, though confidence levels are rising there as well.  Lower confidence levels in countries like Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal are tied to sovereign debt problems.  Latin America is the most optimistic.

2. The hiring outlook is improving domestically and internationally.

• The YPO employment index rose 1.9 points to 59.0 in the U.S. Hiring expectations were positive across all sectors, including construction, which prior to this point has lagged production and services.

3. Companies expect stronger sales this year

• The sales confidence index for the U.S. rose to 68.5 from 49.2 in July 2009.   Production and services companies remain enthusiastic about the pace of the sales in 2011.  Construction is growing more confident.

4. Firms of all sizes expect to boost capital spending.

• The investment confidence index for the U.S. rose 1.5 points to 59.7.

How do these results compare to what you’re seeing at your own organization?

“The way in which we understand great workplaces is based up on relationships in the workplace,” says Michael Burchell, corporate Vice President with The Great Place to Work® Institute . “So a great place to work is one that has a high degree of trust between employees and leaders, a great deal of pride between employees and their work, and a great deal of camaraderie between employees and other employees.”

Burchell would be the person to ask. Not only is The Great Place to Work Institute the company behind the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, but he – along with colleague Jennifer Robin, a Research Fellow at the institute – literally wrote the book on great workplaces.

Their recent collaboration, The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It, and Why It Matters, draws on 25 years of case studies and testimonials from employees working at the best workplaces in the U.S. to answer the question, “What is the business value of creating a great workplace?” 

And with so many employers today struggling to both find qualified talent to fill open positions and retain their top performers, the timing for this book could hardly be better. 

Trust, Pride and Camaraderie: A Winning Formula
Looking at the over two decades worth of research on great workplaces, one thing is glaringly evident: Culture is king. “When we talk about a great workplace, we’re really talking about a culture – a culture of trust, pride and camaraderie,” Robin says. The Great Workplace aims to show leaders how they can create that culture by building relationship with employees based on those three elements – trust, pride and camaraderie. 

“Pride and camaraderie are a lot of fun to build, whereas trust is a bit harder. It takes a lot of persistence and it takes a lot of deliberate thought to try to develop relationships with people,” Robin says. And that’s where managers tend to run into trouble. “We often hear [from managers], ‘I’m a working manager. I have my own set of responsibilities, and I don’t have time to add anything to my plate.’”  

But what managers need to understand – and what the authors emphasize throughout the book – is that the extra time and effort they put into building those relationships now will have a huge payoff later on. One need only look at the list of companies highlighted in The Great Workplace – Google, General Mills, Microsoft, to name a few – to understand that, business-wise, creating a great place to work simply makes sense.

“The research we’ve done on the business benefits are pretty clear and compelling that great workplaces just do better financially,” Burchell points out. 

But there’s more than just the financial impact to consider, too. “I think there are two issues here – a head and a heart issue,” Burchell says. Certainly, there are many leaders who want to build a great place to work because it makes sense financially; however, for many other leaders, creating a great workplace is simply the right thing to do.  “Leaders have a huge opportunity to have a huge impact on a lot of people. And so the question there is, ‘What kind of legacy to you want to leave?’”  

Creating a Great Workplace: It’s About Knowing Who You Are
There’s a reason this book is called The Great Workplace and not The Best Workplace: There’s no such thing.  “There are companies on the [Best Places to Work] list I wouldn’t necessarily want to work for – and not because they’re not fantastic companies, but because they’re not a fit for me,” Robin says.  And that’s totally okay. What makes them great companies is that they have a clear grasp on who they are and what they value – and they actively seek out employees who share these values. 

“Great companies know who they are and they’re able to communicate it through their managers, their leaders, their employees, their new recruits – in a way that helps people decide ‘do I want to work there?’ first, and second, ‘here’s how I could contribute, and here’s how I could grow and thrive as well,’” says Robin. 

Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin are the authors of The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It, and Why It Matters, now available on Amazon.com.

Just a couple of years ago, the world watched as Wall Street began to rapidly unravel, and we continued to watch as the weeks and months to follow showed further signs of trouble and revealed cracks in our economy that many of us hadn’t the slightest idea existed. When what we were going through was finally officially labeled as a recession, many employers had already thinned out staff levels, cut back budgets, and slashed benefits. Consequently, businesses were forced to “do more with less” (you know, that phrase you’ve heard 1,000,001 times by now.)

No money, no problems?

Faced with fewer resources, many companies decided to roll up their sleeves, get creative, and find new and inexpensive ways to communicate with their clients and job candidates. Some of those inexpensive ways of communicating included Web-based tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, and they were really starting to take off. Not surprisingly, many human resources professionals were suddenly tasked with taking them on, in addition to all their other responsibilities.

Without proper methods of tracking candidates found through sites like Facebook and Twitter, however, HR managers and recruiters were spinning their wheels and wasting a lot of valuable time. In fact, according to a recent CareerBuilder study, 60 percent of recruiter time was being wasted on non-value-added activities, the majority of recruiters weren’t measuring ROI, and candidate tracking was often only 25 percent accurate due to ATS limitations. Executives were expecting HR to perform miracles through social media — and it wasn’t happening.

While HR was focused on time and cost to hire candidates, business executives were stressing the need to convert HR data to business intelligence.

Now what?

CareerBuilder realized companies needed a solution that accomplished both parties’ objectives — and soon after, Talent Network was born.

Okay, but what is it, exactly?

Talent Network, a custom career site that helps employers build their own pipeline of talent,  enables employers to connect the dots of all the things they are doing to attract job seekers, engage interested candidates, and measure the success of their efforts. Let’s break it down:

Awareness

Talent Network builds awareness for your jobs through five key areas:

1. Social — Add a link to your Talent Network on social sites all over the Web, including Facebook (via CareerBuilder’s Work@ employee referral system) and Twitter.
2. SEO — Turn your internal job terms that may be abbreviated, vague or full of company lingo into title descriptions that job seekers instantly understand, and in turn, show up in more search engine results for job seekers looking for your open position.
3. Mobile — Your Talent Network site is mobile-enabled, giving you instant reach to people searching for jobs on their mobile devices. Tap into a market with explosive growth.
4. Career Site – Get a designed, hosted and supported career site, drive your target candidates there, and track your progress.
5. Job Distribution —CareerBuilder’s partnerships with sites like Indeed.com help you gain strong referral links to your jobs.

Engagement

Interact with candidates who have expressed interest in your business or open positions and give them a more satisfying experience.

• With the click of a button that exists on sites all over the Web, potential employees can arrive at and join your talent network, stay keyed into your available job opportunities, and get personalized alerts with jobs at your company that most match their interests and experience.
• Capture job seekers’ information before they leave your site, welcome them to your community, and start connecting with them on a deeper level.
• Send members of your network tailored job recommendations and customized messages. You can even send automated communications when you need to get a broad message out to many people at once.

Measurement
Quality measurement matters. Drive informed business decisions with accurate and in-depth information about your Talent Network’s search traffic, job interactions, and candidate conversions; in other words, gain the most insight available about members of your network.

A Better Way

How does Talent Network solve some of the biggest recruitment and business challenges companies are facing? Let’s take a look:

Old way: Potential candidates are gone before you can get them to take any action on your website.
Talent Network: Encourage visitors to leave a footprint before leaving your website.

Old way: You’re missing out on job search traffic because your jobs are hidden behind your ATS.
Talent Network: Expose and search engine-optimize your jobs, driving relevant candidates to your job openings.

Old way: Your recruiters keep contacts in their own databases, which creates a lot of one-off lists.
Talent Network: Keep all recruiters’ candidate contacts in one location.

Old way: You know who your target candidates are, but you’re struggling to reach them.
Talent Network: Take advantage of the custom SEO landing pages developed exclusively for your organization, and get in front of those elusive candidates.

Old way: You’re not really sure where your website traffic is coming from.
Talent Network: Get detailed, helpful insight into where your visitors are coming from, as well as what they’re doing once they get there.

Still have questions? Learn more about Talent Network:

Watch a short video or view product demos

Visit the Talent Network page

Read the press release

Feel free to post comments and questions here as well, and we will do our best to answer them.

This post originally appeared on TLNT, an HR blog about “The Business of HR,” with news, insight, and topical information from experts and thought leaders in HR, talent management, and all areas related to HR and managing a workforce.

As the nation’s economy begins to stabilize following one of the deepest recessions felt across the globe, employers are shifting their focus from cost containment to growth and have begun to hire again.

They have also taken on the challenge of repairing employment brands which may have been affected by tough decisions around layoffs, compensation reductions or negative press tied to financial hardship. In a recent CareerBuilder study of more than 2,700 hiring managers, 70 percent of employers said they are taking measures today to strengthen their employment brand to prepare for when the economy turns around.

Employers are facing new market realities and need to reassess their go-to-market game plan for expanding their talent bench. Through an “Applicant Experience Survey” of more than 1 million job seekers over the last year, Personified, the talent intelligence and consulting division of CareerBuilder, gathered information on what job seekers said motivates them to apply, what deters them and how elements of the recruitment process impact their perceptions of a potential employer.

From the survey and other Personified research came a rebuttal of six common myths around talent acquisition that are important to keep in mind when planning recruitment strategies for 2011.

Myth #1 – The top competitor for talent is in your industry. Personified looked at a variety of companies, tracking who applied to their jobs and where else those candidates applied. On average, in 80 percent of the cases, the top competitor for talent operated outside of the company’s industry.

Tip: Expand your reach beyond industry borders to build up your talent pool for hard-to-fill and high volume positions. Use social media, niche sites and targeted advertising to connect with other workforce segments with comparable skill sets.

Myth #2 – I can wait until social media is better tested before incorporating it into my recruitment plan. Waiting will likely translate into a competitive disadvantage. One-in-four job seekers expect companies to have a presence on social media today. More than half become fans or followers of a company through social media because they would like to work there.

Tip: Master one social medium before going to other platforms. Promote the unique benefits of working at your company, cite awards received, include employee testimonials, highlight jobs and keep an open dialogue with visitors.

Myth #3 – The top motivator for applying to a company is salary. While compensation is one of the first things job seekers will look for, it is often not included in job ads. When asked which factors were most influential in getting the candidate to apply to a recent job posting, location topped the list followed by the company’s reputation and whether the industry itself was considered desirable. Interesting assignments also made the top five, ranking higher than benefits and work-life balance.

Tip: In the wake of a recession that was fraught with uncertainty, emphasizing the stability and longevity of the company and positives about the industry is a necessity. You also have to really sell the position if you want a top performer, presenting exciting opportunities and specific examples of a work experience they won’t find anywhere else.

Myth #4 – When a job seeker speaks to a company recruiter or hiring manager, they typically walk away with a better perception of the company. One-in-five job seekers (22 percent) who recently spoke to a representative at a potential employer didn’t feel the person was knowledgeable about the company and position. Twenty-five percent didn’t think the representative was enthusiastic about the company being an employer of choice.

Tip: From the recruiter to the hiring manager, the greatest ambassadors of your employment brand are your current employees. Regularly survey new hires and job applicants to identify where improvements can be made in verbal and written communications.

Myth #5 – The failure to acknowledge an application won’t impact the company image. Some 38 percent of job seekers reported they have a worse opinion of an employer who didn’t respond to their application. Another 30 percent stated they were less inclined to buy goods or services from companies who don’t acknowledge applications.

Tip: If limited resources and large volumes of applications prohibit a customized response, at the very least, set up an automatic reply with a quick note on the time frame of hiring, so the candidate knows you received his/her application and is aware of your hiring timeline.

Myth #6 – The main deterrent from applying to a job is typically content-related. While the content of a job advertisement is undoubtedly critical, the main cause for drop-offs in the application process is often technology-related. Nearly one-in-four (23 percent) of job seekers reported that they recently quit in the middle of applying to a position because the link didn’t work. Some 20 percent cited a computer/Internet connection issue.

Tip: Triple check links on your company career page, online job sites, social media pages, etc. to make sure the connection is live and leading to the right information.

GUEST CONTIBUTOR: Co-Authored by Mary Delaney, President for Personified, a division of CareerBuilder, and Sanja Licina, Ph.D., Senior Director of Talent Intelligence and Consulting for Personified.

What do drive-in movie theater dates, Hypercolor t-shirts, and Justin Bieber-inspired haircuts have in common? They’re all trends that have passed through our lives over the years (or, in some cases, are still in our lives). New trends seep into our everyday existence all the time, and the world of hiring and the workplace is no exception. A new CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive survey of more than 2,400 hiring managers and 3,910 workers nationwide identified 10 key trends in business, hiring, work culture and job search to watch out for as we kick off a new year.

Let’s get right to it – here are the 10 top hiring and workplace trends to keep an eye on in 2011, according to survey results:

1) Shifting Business Directions: A whopping 42 percent of employers said their company has changed business directions as a result of the recession. The majority of these employers kept their core business, but added new revenue streams – although 27 percent of those who shifted direction said they changed their core business altogether or expanded into areas that will eventually become their core business.

2) Working Leaner: Thirty-five percent of employers said their current staffs are smaller than pre-recession levels. Of those employers, most don’t foresee adjustments to headcount in 2011, with 57 percent reporting that they have become used to handling the workload with less people.

3) Changing Jobs: Workers are becoming more optimistic about their job prospects in 2011. Fifteen percent of full-time, employed workers are actively seeking a new job, and 76 percent said that although they are not actively looking, they would change jobs in 2011 if the right opportunity came along.

The majority of workers aren’t necessarily focused on a bigger paycheck, either. Sixty-eight percent said affordable benefits are more important to them than salary.

4) Creating New Functions: Along with more traditional job opportunities, employers are adding new functions within their organizations in response to popular movements. Jobs centered around social media, green energy and health care reform are just a few of these “emerging” roles being added in 2011, and hiring managers reported that “cyber warriors,” whose roles are to protect Internet sites from security breaches or fraudulent activity, are in high demand as well.

5) Video Interviewing: With smaller recruiting staffs facing larger numbers of job applications, employers are turning to technology to help find the right candidates. Six percent reported they have conducted video interviews with potential job candidates, while 11 percent plan to do so this year.

6) Less Moonlighting: While making ends meet is still a challenge for many U.S. households, fewer workers are reporting the need to work more than one job. In addition, only 12 percent plan to take on second jobs in 2011, compared to 19 percent in 2010.

7) Taking a Global Perspective: Nearly one in five U.S. employers (18 percent) reported they will be hiring for their operations in other countries in 2011, while 5 percent stated they will likely recruit workers from other countries to work in U.S. locations.

8 ) Relocating Talent: Of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found new jobs, 23 percent relocated to a new city or state. For those workers looking to relocate this year, good news: 33 percent of employers said they would be willing to pick up the moving tab for select candidates this year.

9) Promoting Without Pay: Forty-one percent of employers are concerned about losing their top talent as the economy improves. While the majority of employers plan to increase salaries for existing staff in 2011, 39 percent will not be providing raises. As a gesture of recognition to employees without pay increases, however, 13 percent are offering higher titles.

10) Going Casual: Employers are becoming more relaxed about set schedules and dress codes as they work to enhance the typical work experience. Fifteen percent reported they will allow for a more casual dress code, and 33 percent expect to offer more flexible work arrangements like telecommuting and alternate schedules in 2011.

Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, offers his take on the trends:

“The recession produced fundamental shifts in how companies and workers view the market. “Businesses are becoming more agile and changing direction. They’re operating leaner and recruiting for opportunities in emerging areas. Workers are transitioning to new fields, are more open to relocation and are more apt to consider opportunities outside of their current employers.”

Which trends do you foresee most aligning with your business direction in 2011?

This post originally appeared on Snelling Staff Services’ Hire Education Blog, an up-to-date hiring resource for employers and job seekers.

Your Clients and Candidates: Closer than You May Realize

It might seem strange to those in the staffing industry to directly compare their candidates to their clients, as many staffing firms view the recruiting and business development functions areas as two distinct entities that don’t impact one another.  Your candidates, however, are much more linked to your clients than you may realize. They are even, in many situations, one and the same: New research released in CareerBuilder and Inavero’s 2010 Opportunities in Staffing Guide reveals that 46 percent of staffing firm clients have also worked with a staffing firm as a job candidate.

If you have worked in the staffing industry for a long time, you’ve probably had the following experience: You have a great candidate (we’ll call him Joe), who is an IT professional focusing on Java. A few years ago, you placed Joe in a contract position with your client. You’ve kept in contact with Joe periodically over the years as he has accepted different positions across the country (like you do with all your great candidates).

One day, Joe e-mails you and says he’s now in the position to hire people himself and is looking for IT staffing help. I hear this story all the time, especially within the IT sector. It’s no surprise that 54 percent of IT clients surveyed in CareerBuilder and Inavero’s study said they once worked with a staffing firm as a job candidate.

What is the key factor in creating an environment that makes clients and candidates want to keep coming back to you? My suggestion is to first focus on delivering an exceptional candidate experience.  If you get this right, the referrals — from both candidates and clients — will come.

The Top Five Drivers for Job Seeker Loyalty and Referrals

The 2010 Opportunities in Staffing Guide identified the top five drivers for job seeker loyalty and referrals. Excel in the following areas and you will be well on your way to creating a unique experience for your candidates that will keep your company and personal brand top of mind:

1.Deliver great service. As you can see by the chart to the left, service was the number one driver for satisfaction with job candidates when working with a staffing firm. What processes do you have in place to ensure that you are providing the best experience and differentiating your firm from your competitors? How quickly does it take you to get back to people when they contact you? What “surprises” do you build into the process to go above and beyond? Think about ways you can make working with you more memorable.

2. Connect people with the best-fit jobs. There is a misconception that job seekers are not satisfied with staffing firms unless they receive a job.  Although attaining a position does drive satisfaction, it is not necessarily the first thing job seekers care about. Stay focused on the interactions candidates have with your staffing firm along the way to that placement. Candidates may very well alter their opinion of you (for better or for worse) as you work to make connections between them and your clients.

3. Be professional at all times. Not many people would argue the point that staffing professionals have a tough job. The stress of the position and volume of communication you receive can sometimes test your patience. Remaining professional at all times, however, is essential to creating a long-term referral network. You might speak to 25 people a day about their job search, but the job seeker on the other end may have only have spoken to you. Make that call memorable — in a good way.

4. Always be responsive in communication. There aren’t many things worse than never hearing back from someone. When someone is in a job search or unemployed, the stress of unresponsive communication is compounded. Job seekers are looking for progress, or at least a realistic view of their chances. Focus on setting proper expectations with your candidates and just say no when you cannot place them.  Hearing “no” is better than silence.

5. Promote your strong reputation. A strong reputation is based on the compiled experiences and interactions a person has had with you or your firm.  Technology makes it easier than ever to share these experiences.  Encourage candidates to share their experience through your referral network, Facebook page, or within review sites — these testimonials will help spread the word about you and your business successes.

Your candidate and client experiences are definitively linked. With the progress of social media and real-time communication, it is easier than ever for people to share both their good and bad experiences.  Focus on providing the best experiences possible for the job seekers you serve. Not only will this create more opportunities for candidate referrals in the short-term, but it will also position you as the “go-to” person when it comes to staffing when that candidate becomes a client.

Access a complimentary copy of CareerBuilder and Inavero’s 2010 Opportunities in Staffing Guide here.

Eric Gilpin is president of CareerBuilder’s Staffing & Recruiting Group. He has more than 10 years of experience in the staffing industry, and is responsible for developing sales teams and strategies to help clients meet their goals and promote the staffing industry overall. With people development and industry awareness as priorities, Gilpin is focused on technology, social media, and product design as key growth drivers for the staffing and recruiting industry.

If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s year-end,”top ten” lists.  

Not to discount the role family time, seasonal light displays, gift-giving and Charlie Brown all play in creating an overall sense of merriment this time of year, but I’d be willing to bet that top ten lists have a lot to do with what makes this season so merry and bright. Because for everything that divides this country throughout the year – religion, politics, the necessity of airport patdowns, Jacob versus Edward, etc. – December marks the one time of year we can all seem to agree that there’s nothing we, as a country, can’t – or won’t – categorize, list, judge, rank…and then blog about. 

So in the spirit of the season (and not wanting to miss out on one of America’s favorite pastimes), I’m proud to announce The Hiring Site’s very own year-end top ten list:

The Hiring Site’s Top 10 Most-Read Blog Posts of 2010:

1. How to Craft a Candidate Rejection Letter or E-mail (Yes, You Have Time To Do It) Time was not on the side many overworked hiring managers this year, but that’s no excuse to leave a candidate hanging. While you probably don’t want to write a candidate rejection letter any more than a candidate wants to receive one, there’s a good reason why you should. Fortunately, there’s also a way to do it that won’t eat up valuable work hours. We provide both.
2. Will the Real Candidate Please Stand Up? How to Spot a Fake Resume Thanks to a rise in websites like CareerExcuse.com and FakeResume.com, it became even easier for job seekers to falsify information on their resumes. Here we give tips for making sure you don’t fall victim to fakes.
3. Job Creation Up, Unemployment Rate Down (But There’s a Catch…) Little did we know at the time, but June 2010 – the topic of our monthly summary of the unemployment situation report – would later be identified by economists as the month the recession officially ended. 
4. Social Media Recruiting Made Easy: A New (Free) eBook If you haven’t visited this post since February (or at all) be sure to go back and download our popular eBook on social media recruitment, Will Tweet for Talent: A User’s Guide to Talent Recruitment through Social Media, which has since been updated with more current facts and figures.
5. The HIRE Act — What Does It Mean for Your Business? In March of this year, President Obama signed into law the HIRE Act, which allows businesses that hire unemployed workers certain tax credits. We broke down the basics of the law to show what the HIRE Act means for both you and your organization overall.
6. CareerBuilder Unveils Its New Big Game Commercial (With a Little Help from You) Adding a little levity to our usual fare, we asked you to vote on which CareerBuilder ad you wanted to see during the Big Game – the very ad that results in one of CareerBuilder’s biggest traffic surges of the year and – more importantly – increased exposure for CareerBuilder customers.
7. Perceived Risks Don’t Negate Proven Rewards of Social Media Recruiting While it’s fun to focus on the benefits of social media recruitment, in June we took a moment to address – and clarify – the realities and misconceptions of its potential risks.  
8. How Does Your Company Promote Employee Wellness?  Sure, it helped that we sweetened the deal by adding the chance to win an iPod nano – but it was refreshing to see the huge response from employers who actively promote their employees’ well-being.  Although only one person won the iPod, everyone who read both this post and our follow-up post walked away with some great ideas for promoting wellness at their own organizations.
9. BLS Employment Situation Report for July – Channeling “Groundhog Day”? July marked yet another month of slow but sure – but definitely slow – progress, when we did our monthly summary of the Labor Department’s Employment situation report. (Five months later, can we not say the exact same thing? Maybe we are living Groundhog Day.)
10. “What Happens if the Owner Dies?” True Tales of Interview Questions That Stumped Hiring Managers When we challenged readers to share the most difficult interview questions they’ve ever gotten – from job candidates, the only thing more surprising than the questions our readers submitted were the surprisingly insightful lessons they gleaned from their experiences.  

What’s Ahead for 2011?
But let’s not dwell too much on the past…Here’s a peek of the topics we have in store to cover for 2011:

• Building a talent pipeline for today and the future
• Using talent intelligence to make smarter decisions and strengthen business operations
• Emerging media and recruitment: Strategies and best practices
• Employment branding: Taking it to the next level
• The new rules for succession planning and retention
• New recruitment trends: Do they live up to the hype?

Anything we’re missing? What topics do you want us to cover in 2011? Tell us in the comments section below!

This post originally appeared on TLNT, an HR blog about “The Business of HR,” with news, insight, and topical information from experts and thought leaders in HR, talent management, and all areas related to HR and managing a workforce.

Post a job, sift through the resumes and interview candidates. Signed, sealed, delivered – you’ve hired someone and they’re ready to work.

It’s hiring in its most basic form, but not so fast – what happens when that candidate doesn’t show up? Or doesn’t fit in with the team? The list of “what if’s” could go on and on.

Unfortunately, poor hires are a common business hazard. So much so, that according to CareerBuilder research, more than two-in-three companies said that a bad hire adversely affected their business in the last year.

The cost of bad hires
The cost of these bad hires is stunningly high as well; nearly one-in-four hiring managers said that one, just one, bad hire cost their business more than $50,000 in the last year, while four-in-10 said a bad hire cost them more than $25,000. With the recession slowly easing and companies beginning to add to strained staffs, losing valuable resources from the fallout of poor hiring choices is something that many organizations simply cannot afford.

One of the resources lost when a bad hire is made is time, plain and simple. Bad hires cost time as the company has to recruit and train another worker.

They’re also a major factor in turnover, which leads to lost time; According to the Harvard Business Review, 80 percent of turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions. In addition, poor hires can have a negative effect on employee morale, which can lead to lost productivity and more.

The CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,400 employers also found that of employers who made a bad hire, 36 percent said they think they made a mistake hiring someone because they needed to fill the job quickly. It makes sense that often when you need help, you need it as soon as you can get it. Hiring the wrong talent for a position, though, can leave you even further behind the second hand.

How to keep hiring on track
With the seriousness for hiring the right candidates so clear, especially as companies finalize recruitment budgets for 2011, many are taking strides to avoid hiring someone who isn’t a good fit. How can you stay on track next year?

Continue reading on TLNT.com

Brent Rasmussen is president of CareerBuilder North America, and in his role, he heads the day-to-day operations of the North American division. An accomplished strategist and industry veteran, Rasmussen drives the innovation, expansion and ongoing revenue growth of CareerBuilder.com the U.S.’s largest online job site, and CareerBuilder Canada. Prior to joining CareerBuilder, Rasmussen served as manager of Business Services for Xerox Corporation.

GUEST CONTIBUTOR: Co-Authored by Andrea Briggs, Project Manager, Talent Intelligence and Consulting for Personified, and Sanja Licina, Ph.D., Senior Director of Talent Intelligence and Consulting.

With many organizations claiming that workforce diversity is important in today’s business world, the mystery remains as to why diversity and diversity initiatives are still lacking in many of today’s workplaces.

The latest evidence of this comes in light of a recent study by Personified, which indicates that while many employers and workers agree on the positive impact diversity has on their organizations, many employers are unsuccessful in their diversity efforts.  For this study, conducted in September 2010, we surveyed nearly 500 hiring managers and 2,000 employees nationwide to find out how workers and employers perceive diversity and its effect on both organizations as a whole as well as day-to-day business.

Perception Versus Reality
One of the major findings of the survey was that respondents believe a diverse workforce  benefits  their day-to-day work and the organization overall. Yet, despite the perceived benefits of diversity, evidence suggests that diversity and a focus on diversity initiatives are still lacking at nearly half of all organizations.  Only 54 percent of survey respondents agreed that their organizations were diverse, and at least a quarter of hiring managers believe their organizations are unsuccessful in achieving the diversity efforts they set forth.

None of these findings are to suggest, however, that employers aren’t trying to diversify their workforces, because many are. But like any other business initiative, successfully achieving diversity requires a long-term investment of time and resources. Unfortunately, too few employers make this initiative a priority.  

One of the reasons for this oversight is that very few organizations have a definition of diversity that extends beyond race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation; however, diversity encompasses so many other factors. For the purpose of the survey, for example, we defined diversity as “the variety of differences between people in an organization, encompassing race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, sexual orientation, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more.” 

Creating a more meaningful definition of diversity is an important first step to targeting various groups and creating a strategy around recruiting a diverse set of qualified candidates.  Far too often, we see employers use a uniform advertisement, highlighting only one recruitment message; yet, the same message is not going to resonate with a wide variety of candidates.  By creating multiple messages to speak to many different people, employers can make a substantial impact on their ability to recruit diverse candidates.  For example, additional Personified  survey research shows that advancement opportunities are significantly more important for African-Americans and Hispanics over Caucasians, and for younger age groups over older ones. 

Another reason it is important for employers to keep diversity front of mind when creating their recruitment message: our survey found that 35 percent of job seekers have applied to an organization mainly because of its commitment to diversity.  Yet over half of hiring managers revealed that they rarely or never discuss diversity initiatives in their recruitment efforts.

These findings suggest that organizations miss an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competitors for an entire third of the job seeker population by failing to discuss their diversity initiatives in their recruitment efforts. 

Mean What You Say
When it comes to diversity, however, it’s not enough for organizations to simply say they value it; they must actually show it. Otherwise, they risk losing highly qualified talent.  According to the survey, a remarkable 30 percent of workers said they would leave an organization they did not feel was diverse enough.

This finding underscores the important role that a company’s commitment to its diversity initiatives plays in its ability to retain top talent. 

Even more disheartening is that over 10 percent of the hiring managers surveyed say their organization does not measure their success in achieving diversity initiatives at all. This finding represents one of the major roadblocks employers encounter when implementing diversity initiatives: they fail to assign objective measurement to these efforts and thus have a difficult time understanding whether their efforts are effective. 

Achieving Diversity: What Does Success Look Like?
So what does it mean when organizations successfully “achieve diversity”? 

When we speak with clients in terms of successful diversity efforts, we’re really referring to two things: not only providing equal opportunities for all groups, but also building a workforce that is truly representative of the clientele they serve. In other words, organizations shouldn’t just recruit people who fit certain standards of diversity, but focus on building a team of people who truly understand customers and clients across different groups, with various backgrounds and experiences. 

Especially now, as the economy recovers and businesses become more financially stable, it is crucial that organizations refocus on their diversity efforts. Not only does today’s qualified talent demand it, but people from different backgrounds, different education and skill sets have a lot to bring to the table in terms of innovative ideas and game-changing perspectives. They will be the drivers who help move these organizations forward.

The business world is as competitive as ever, and if employers plan to stay ahead of the curve, they need to realize that diversity is just like any other business initiative, wherein if they invest the right amount of time, energy and resources, they will see the impact of these efforts in their bottom lines. Otherwise, they will find that as society becomes more diverse, they simply won’t be able to keep up.

Andrea Briggs is Project Manager, Talent Intelligence and Consulting for Personified, a division of CareerBuilder. Briggs works with numerous clients to improve the efficiency of their recruitment strategies. With both a professional and personal commitment to diversity, Briggs completed her Master’s thesis on racioethnic diversity and how it affects team interaction, and has a publication in the Journal of Management examining team demographic diversity and its relationship to performance.

Sanja Licina, Ph.D. is Senior Director of Talent Intelligence and Consulting. Dr. Licina directs the talent management consulting efforts for Personified. Under Dr. Licina’s leadership, Personified has assisted thousands of organizations in leveraging business intelligence to make strategic cross departmental changes in their organizational initiatives. Dr. Licina is an employment expert who is often asked to discuss the state of the job market, hiring practices and workplace issues by trade groups and publications.

We may never have the technology that enables us to truly read job seekers’ minds (if only Steve Jobs would channel some of his energy into recruitment and human resources, right?), but darn it if we don’t keep trying…The latest attempt comes courtesy of job aggregator SimplyHired, which recently released a survey profiling today’s job seeker – where they go to look for jobs, what they look for in employers, and what they’re willing to negotiate. 

As expected, the findings are consistent with previous CareerBuilder studies (like this one here) and so, by that same token, include some interesting and useful takeaways for employers.  I’ve included my top 10 below…

Top 10 Takeaways of the Latest Job Seeker Report

1. The “beggars can’t be choosers” attitude has to go: Despite the perception that it’s a buyers market for employers right now, but there are still some things job seekers aren’t willing to settle on: nearly half of job seekers (46 percent) are unwilling to settle when it comes to healthcare, and 24 percent said the same of salary. Other all-or-nothing items included commute, 401(k)/retirement options, and vacation time.
2. The Internet rules when it comes to searching for jobs: A remarkable 86 percent of job seekers search for jobs online, with job boards leading the way as the main go-to source for job listings, followed closely by company career sites. Networking, staffing agencies and recruiters rounded out the top five. Interestingly enough, however, when it came to finding a job, job boards came second to networking, a finding that is consistent with other surveys that indicate that employee referrals are among the most effective recruitment resources.
3. Don’t put all your eggs in the social media basket: For all of its hype (albeit well-deserved hype), social media still isn’t on the radar for over a third of job seekers (36 percent). So while it’s certainly advantageous for employers to utilize sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter (the top three social networking sites job seekers look for jobs), social media should only serve as part of their overall recruitment mix.  Otherwise, as these results indicate, using social media alone prevents companies from reaching a significant portion of potential candidates. 
4. Job seekers want love more than they want money. Want good employees? You better have a good offer on the table – and that doesn’t just mean salary.  An astounding 83 percent of job seekers would rather have a job they love than a job that pays well, according to the survey. When asked what would make a job a job they “love,” 37 percent of job seekers said the work itself.  The people came in as the second most popular workplace motivator, with pay coming in third. The lesson? Sell the job, sell the opportunity, and sell your culture first. Then talk pay.
5. Green looks good on you. Over half of job seekers (52 percent) stated that they prefer to work for green companies. And if ‘green company’ gives you visions of solar-powered computers and cubicles fashioned out of moss, it’s actually much simpler than you think: Recycling is the most popular eco-friendly initiatives employees look for in potential employers. Reducing energy use and using less paper tied for the second spot, followed by purchasing green products and carpooling/rideshare options.
6. Choosy moms choose flextime: Of the working mothers who participated in the survey, 43 percent named flextime schedules as the most important working mother program, making it the most desired benefit for working mothers. Child care services and telecommuting tied as the second most preferred benefit, followed by parental leave (for things like child sick days), compressed workweeks and job-sharing.
7. Opportunity knocks out the competition for new grads: For 40 percent of new graduates, the most important thing to them in their first job is opportunities to learn and develop their career. Salary and benefits is most important for 25 percent of new grads, and work/life balance is tops for 17 percent.  Rounding out the top seven ‘must-haves’ were finding a great mentor, testing possible career paths, challenging work, and growing a professional network.
8. Older workers are in the last place you’d expect to find them: If you’re targeting older workers, one place to advertise your jobs might be on Facebook. The number of workers 55 and older on Facebook has increased 922 percent since 2009, according to iStrategyLabs.
9. Healthcare is a must-have.  Forty-six percent of job seekers say they won’t compromise when it comes to healthcare/insurance. Salary was the second most popular non-negotiable, followed by commute/transportation, 401(k)/retirement options, vacation time and stock options.
10. Most job seekers will go where the jobs are, maybe. While 22 percent of job seekers are willing to relocate for a job, nearly the same amount (19 percent) would refuse the job.  The rest, however, say it depends on one of three factors: the offer (for 37 percent of job seekers), the location (18 percent) or the company (4 percent).

Do any of these findings surprise you? What fascinates of confuses you most about job seekers today?

For more information, download the complete report here.

I recently attended a brunch linner lunch seminar hosted by the Business Marketing Association of Chicago which featured the findings of a study called Talent 3.0:  Solving the Digital Leadership Challenge — A Global Perspective. This seminar was particularly interesting to me, because while it’s common to hear about the importance of employees learning about new technologies to stay relevant in a changing workplace, it’s not as common to hear about how the efforts to do so are actually playing out in the real world. The clashes of technologically adept employees versus those who are having a difficult time embracing new technologies are real, and it’s vital that we talk about them now in order to figure out how to move forward.

So, Digital Walks Into a Workplace…

With more and more consumers and clients embracing new technologies, companies across the board are investing more in all things digital — including their platforms, media and employees. And this is great, right? After all, employees adapt to changes in the workplace all the time: that water cooler with 10 confusing options, the new guy who sings Scorpion tunes in his cubicle, the announcement about the new office and the new (huge) commute. So why should adapting to technology be any different?

Technology in the workplace isn’t just a change to adapt to — but a  potential ticking time bomb for many employees. While we all might not enjoy Scorpion tunes, we can easily ask said employee to stop singing them (or don our trusty headphones). We can’t, however, just ask technology to stop affecting the way we work. It’s making its way into more and more aspects of the workplace, it affects the way people do their jobs, and it complicates the already complicated blend of different generations trying to work together as a team. It also puts a spotlight on the fact that some employees are digitally savvy — and some aren’t. Some are willing to learn, and some are fighting it. Some have a wealth of experience in addition to stellar business skills, while others can work their way around digital media in their sleep. How can we all work together to achieve a common goal while juggling our differences in digital expertise?

A Multi-Generational Workplace Meets Technology

As Forrester Research found, the technology generation gap is widening, largely due to Gen X and Gen Y’s rapid integration of mobile and social behaviors. In almost every online behavior, Gen Y leads the adoption curve. Gen X isn’t far behind of Gen Y in terms of adoption rates, though they specialize in maximizing the functional benefits of technology. Both Gen X and Gen Y outpace baby boomers and mature workers in almost everything technology-related.

This can complicate a workplace situation in which many different generations are working together to reach the same goals. Workplaces are more multi-generational than ever, with Gen Y, Gen X, baby boomers, and mature workers all working under the same roof and struggling to make themselves heard. When it comes to technology, many younger workers don’t think their older counterparts can keep up with them, while many older workers think their younger co-workers lack the experience and work ethic they themselves have.

Organizations, meanwhile, are looking for their leaders who possess classic business management and leadership capabilities  to lead the business through cultural and structural shifts — but at the same time, they need to develop future leaders who will have the ability to operate in technology-driven environments. Add to this the need to bring in new employees who already have digital capabilities, and organizations can have a real challenge on their hands.

Real-Life Workplace Troubles

We’re already seeing these complications in real workplace situations. Recently, William K. Marimow, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, was demoted to a reporter position; he was told by the company’s new management that despite Marimow’s national reputation as an outstanding print journalist, he didn’t have the background in digital media necessary to continue to lead the paper.

Some companies, however, are wading through these changes more successfully. The authors of the Talent 3.0 study have created 10 suggestions to help organizations successfully build a digital  workplace and thrive in a digital world.  Below, I’ve touched on each of them:

1. Build a comprehensive digital strategy that is shared broadly and repeatedly across the organization.
As the authors say, “You will never reach your destination if you do not know where you are going, how you are getting there and who is on the bus.” A well-articulated strategy that supports the core strategic drivers of your business will help your organization identify and prioritize new business opportunities and anticipate emerging competitive threats. Make sure everyone’s on board — including the CEO and senior execs.

2. Embed digital literacy across the organization.
They’re not just talking marketing campaigns and flashy e-mails to employees, but about internal communications to employee groups and external communications to vendors, suppliers and shareholders. It’s about doing product and market research and initiating multi-regional, 24/7 real-time collaboration. Your organization needs to work to seamlessly integrate your chosen technologies across most all of your business activities and processes.

3. Renew focus on business fundamentals.
Technology and rapid innovation means competition coming at your organization from all sides, at any time. Technology also brings a demand for more transparency to your products and services, and it’s important to continue to focus on the quality of those. The best digital strategy won’t succeed if you suffer in other areas of your business.

4. Embrace the new rules of customer engagement.
Customers are now in control more than ever before, with multitudes of research at their fingertips. Marketing today is less about pushing your brand messages and more about brand intimacy and building relationships through dialogue with customers. Strive to listen and inspire and remember that even though some interactions may be through digital platforms, respect, relevance and responsiveness are still of the utmost importance.

5. Understand global differences in how people access and use the Internet.
People in different parts of the world access, adopt and consume technology very differently, and successful organizations will prioritize geographic opportunities when executing digital initiatives and building teams, and localize programs where needed to account for cultural and lifestyle differences.

Your leaders must be willing to dive into data and learn about the technology advances that enable these initiatives, as well as help to define the most meaningful issues for your business.

7. Focus on the customer experience.
Putting the customer at the center of your decision making enables you to break down those organizational silos and overcome operational and resource barriers that can hinder your technology-driven initiatives.

8. Develop leaders with skill-sets that bridge traditional and digital expertise.
People with both business savvy and digital expertise are in short supply and high demand. Your organization should, in the short term, focus on building a team with the right mix of skills and a diverse group of viewpoints and approaches who can help you think through your opportunities and challenges.

Experienced senior-level employees who didn’t grow up with digital technologies must be willing to take a leap of faith and invest time and energy into learning about them and the opportunities they bring to your organization, while up-and-coming digital leaders must learn to look outside of their digital comfort zones, collaborate with people across your organization in various functions, and build those classic business management capabilities.

9. Pay close attention to cultural fit when recruiting digital leaders.
Web-centric and Web-enhanced cultures, although similar in many respects, are still worlds apart. Your organization must find and empower leaders who can advance digital objectives, given the pace, values, intensity, structure, decision-making process and role of digital in the business.  “Start-up” workers, used to a free-flowing and highly intense culture, generally have trouble adjusting to a corporate environment with more formal processes and slower decision-making. The same can be said for employees from traditional backgrounds who get hired at a start-up; they often struggle to adjust to the intense pace and fast decision-making start-ups are known for.

As these examples highlight, it’s important to assess candidates’ cultural fit within your organization, which can depend on many factors, including the way your business is organized and the pace of activity and degree of senior-level support for digital initiatives. At the same time, your organization should take a look at itself and identify and address those elements of your culture that stand in the way of the collaboration necessary to drive digital initiatives. How is your organization holding itself back?

5. Understand the motivations of your top talent.
The best digital talent is in high demand, and they are often drawn to a certain type of company culture. To optimize your chances of attracting — and retaining — your best people, it’s important to have  a clear digital strategy, strong C-level sponsorship, and an entrepreneurial culture that values experimentation and creativity and encourages employees to contribute.

I’ve summarized these ten guidelines in this post, but you can read them in full, as well as the complete Talent 3.0 study, here (download the PDF).

What do you see as your organization’s biggest challenge right now in an increasingly digital and multi-generational workplace?

The American Staffing Association’s Staffing World 2010 conference, taking place at the Venetian Casino Hotel Resort in Las Vegas, NV, is well underway. Throngs of recruiting and staffing professionals have been mingling and networking, attending professional development sessions like keynotes and workshops, browsing exhibitor booths (like CareerBuilder’s — yes, that’s a shameless plug), and generally having a great time while learning more about how to not only adapt but thrive in our rapidly changing workplace. And we want to share some of those learnings with all of you.

New Economy, New Attitudes

We all know businesses are rethinking their strategies, doing more with less, and thinking creatively to get ahead in today’s  economy. What’s worked in the past won’t necessarily work now, and everything from the role of contingent workers to the attitudes of Gen Y in the workplace are shifting. As ASA says on their site, “The “Great Recession’ reset the global economy to a ‘new normal.’” We’re all figuring out how to adjust as the dust settles, and conferences like this are an opportunity to share ideas and push the conversation forward.

Although I’m going to post more videos in a subsequent post, you can find all of CareerBuilder’s videos from Staffing World here and peruse them at your leisure — and be sure to follow along with the conference tweets with hashtag #sw10.

Here’s the first video I wanted to share — it features Bruce Tulgan, keynote speaker at Staffing World 2010 and founder of Rainmaker Thinking Inc. In the video, he talks to CareerBuilder about what we’re dealing with right now: a highly uncertain business environment,  a high-pressure workplace and a high maintenance work force. Although he focuses on what this combination means for staffing firms and talent, much of his advice can really be applied to any business:

What’s your take on what Bruce has to say?

“Employers are at an advantage in our current economy.”
“Candidates will take any offer you make because they need a job.”
“It’s an employer’s market — candidates can’t expect to make what they used to.”

Heard any of these statements lately? Think they’re true yourself and are abiding by this philosophy — or know a company that is? Well, companies with this mentality may be in for a rude awakening, as the idea that all unemployed workers in our current market will “take anything” just to get a paycheck is a misconception. Evidence of this is shown in the survey just released by Personified, CareerBuilder’s talent consulting arm, among 925 unemployed U.S. workers. The overwhelming majority of unemployed workers surveyed who have received a job offer since unemployment have rejected the offer because the offer was too low. In fact, 17 percent of unemployed workers surveyed have received at least one job offer since they’ve become unemployed, and of those people, a whopping 92 percent rejected the offer. More than half (54 percent) reported that they did so because the offer was more than 25 percent lower than the salary they had earned in their most recent position.

Many unemployed workers are looking for the right job

Although many unemployed workers are eager to start earning a paycheck, not all of them are willing to jump at the first thing they can get. And really, as an employer, would you want them to? I mean, sure, you may need to hire people quickly, but you still need to find quality employees who  truly want to work for your company and are going to stick around. Otherwise, you’re just getting warm bodies who are going to walk right back out that door once they find something better (or with better pay, or prestige, or opportunities, or — well, see below).

Job offers not paying off for other reasons, too

While insufficient pay was the number one reason unemployed workers turned down a job opportunity, workers had other things to say about the jobs they were being offered — and the companies offering them.

Other factors cited include:

• A long commute
• A lower title
• The position was outside of their field
• Little room for career advancement
• A poor hiring process.

“Rather than jumping on the first job offer that comes their way, workers are assessing which opportunities really make the most sense for them in terms of compensation and long-term potential,” said Mary Delaney, President of Personified.

While the above factors are not always in a company’s hands, there are certainly things employers can do to improve the hiring experience for candidates and enrich the opportunities of the job position in question. And while it may be true that a job is better than no job, and desperate times call for desperate measures, and (insert cliché phrase here), many unemployed workers are looking for not just a job, but a job that suits their lifestyle and long-term goals — and they’re willing to wait a bit to find it. And didn’t our parents always tell us, the best things come to those who wait?

How often are the hunters hunting?

Speaking of waiting, some unemployed workers aren’t spending much time looking for jobs; 18 percent reported they spend five hours or less per week searching for a job. While it’s true that some of those workers may also have inflated expectations of what’s out there in terms of jobs, thinking they can get the job of their dreams without much or any effort, this appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

Many are treating job searching like the full-time job it often is: Thirty percent of those surveyed allocate more than 20 hours a week, and 62 percent apply to an average of more than ten jobs per week. The amount of time unemployed workers are spending searching for jobs also trended by education and pay levels; see full details in the press release here.

If you mean it, they will come

Candidates and employees, whether in an up or a down economy, deserve to be treated with respect — and even in a down economy, they still need to know you fit into their goals and have their future in mind. If you’ve tried working the numbers every which way, made sure your compensation strategy is solid, and just can’t pay more than you’re offering, you’ve at least made the effort — and that’s when you can focus on making your company offerings shine in other ways. Start with your employees — the things they love about their job are likely the same things a potential employee will love about it, too. It’s not always about the money — and a candidate may really want to work for you because of the great career advancement you offer or your awesome company culture or your stellar reputation. Everyone is different, and that translates to different motivations. Our own readers on The Hiring Site shared the factors — both abstract and tangible — that make their company special and sell their ideal candidates on the job.

It’s the companies with the “candidates will take whatever they can get” mentality, the ones who take advantage of the situation unemployed workers are in by grossly undercutting what workers are worth, who need to adjust their way of thinking.  Otherwise, they’re going to be left with a lot of empty seats where employees briefly sat before moving on to that job they really wanted.

Thoughts? Completely disagree or see it from another angle?

What’s Niche?

Let’s start with the word “niche.” What does it mean? Is it something you snack on with cheese? (Example: “A little niche would really amplify the flavor of that Gouda.”) A compliment you give to nice fella who pointed out to you that you had stray toilet paper dangling off your stiletto heel? (Example: “That was so niche of you to notice — let me buy you a coffee.”) Or a quick fix for that scraped knee you got while chasing after the ice cream truck and… failing to catch it? (Example: “Quick! Put some niche on it to stop the bleeding and chocolate cone cravings!”)

No, but all are good guesses. We sometimes talk about niche job websites, as several of them are associated with CareerBuilder, but we don’t always define what “niche” really means. So here, I want to break it down for you in the case that you’re not familiar with them, tell you about some of our niche job sites, and talk a bit about why these job sites are an important way to complement the ways you’re reaching candidates.

Niche Job Sites — A Definition

The word niche, in the manner we’re using it here, is most simply defined by Merriam-Webster as “a specialized market.” Niche can also mean “a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted” — which is also related to what we’re talking about.

How so? Well, niche job sites are those websites dedicated to a specialized market — whether that market is health care or retail or Gen Y folks — and the people who frequent a certain niche job site are attracted to it because they identify themselves as a great fit to that job site’s specialized market.

A website focused solely on a particular market + job seekers interested in that market seeking out and flocking to that website = a pretty great way of connecting the right candidates with the right types of employers. You might say these Internet users have “found their niche.”

Finding a Niche — Why It Works

These days, job seekers have more choices than ever before when it comes to where they’re able to find jobs online. The Internet is huge, and one way to narrow in on job listings is by going to very specialized sites.

For example, if I want the latest celeb gossip, I don’t always go to a huge news site. I might look at celeb gossip while I’m on a big news site or click on a celeb gossip item of interest, but more times than not, I’ll go to a blog that focuses exclusively on celebrity gossip ’round the clock when I’m really looking for my gossip fix, rather than a site that’s focusing on many different types of news coverage. This way,  I don’t have to sift through all the unrelated stories to zone in on what I want. My celeb gossip blog is dedicated to giving me exactly what I want, when I want it. It’s easy, it’s content-rich (yes, I realize we’re talking about celeb gossip here), and it cuts down on time.

Niche job sites work essentially the same way, as job seekers are going to these sites to connect with employers who are in their field and offering the type of job they are looking for. Niche sites are specific — which is why both job seekers and employers are drawn to them. They enable you to cut down on time sorting through unrelated candidates applying to your jobs, and focus only on those candidates in your specialized market.

CareerBuilder’s Niche Job Sites

CareerBuilder has launched several of its own niche job sites – some of which have been around for a bit (like WorkInRetail.com), and some which are brand new (like MiracleWorkers.com). These niche job sites are all very different as far as the specialized market on which they focus, but they have a common thread: They bring job seekers and employers who are looking for each other together in the online place that caters most to their specialized market needs.

What Can CareerBuilder’s Niche Sites Do For You?

If you’re looking for extra, exclusive exposure to those job seekers in your specialized industry or market, posting your jobs on a niche job site may be the perfect solution for you:

• As an employer, you can post your jobs on any of these sites to get in front of the exact type of candidate you’re looking for, whether that’s a line cook, a contract consultant, an employee fresh out of college, or a physical therapist.
• Our niche sites are a great way to complement the other ways in which you’re currently reaching your target audience; as there isn’t a lot of overlap between CareerBuilder.com’s audience and the audiences on our niche job sites, you’re significantly extending your reach to your particular market.
• Post your jobs directly on your niche site of choice, and enjoy access to a large pool of job seekers serious about the types of jobs you’re listing. It’s like a special interest group for jobs!

Below, I list each of CareerBuilder’s niche sites so you can get a little more familiar with them.

Sologig.com

Sologig.com is a niche CareerBuilder job site that connects your company with consultants, contractors, contract-to-hire, per diems, and other seasoned professionals geared toward the IT/Engineering fields. Sologig is perfect to use when you’re looking for more short-term or part-time help, particularly in IT or Engineering. On average, 62 percent of job seekers classify themselves as IT/Engineering professionals. (Access Sologig.com)

JobsOnTheMenu.com

JobsOnTheMenu.com specializes in corporate, management and hourly restaurant and food service jobs. Job seekers range from experienced servers, to district managers. to those just starting a restaurant career — but all are in the restaurant and food service business. (Access JobsOnTheMenu.com)

CareerRookie.com

CareerRookie.com is dedicated to the complete collegiate solution. This job site connects students and recent graduates seeking internships, part-time jobs and entry-level positions with the employers looking for them.
(Access CareerRookie.com)

WorkInRetail.com

WorkInRetail delivers both hourly and salaried candidates to fulfill your company’s retail hiring needs. Need an hourly sales rep, retail manager, or executive? WorkInRetail’s got you covered. (Access WorkInRetail.com)

MiracleWorkers.com

Miracle Workers, launched in July 2010, is a niche job site connecting health care organizations to qualified nurses, physicians, CNAs, pharmacists, social workers and many other types of health care professionals. (Access MiracleWorkers.com)

Questions about niche job sites or success stories to share?

While it’s widely understood that employee referrals are one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to recruit new employees…what’s not always easy to comprehend is why so many company-sanctioned employee referral programs fail don’t meet their full potential.

Recognizing the great business benefit of having a well-designed employee referral programs, CareerBuilder wanted to create a resource that would enable employers and hiring managers across all industries and organizations to create and build a program that would benefit not only their hiring process – but their business overall.

Introducing our new eBook, Referral Madness: How Employee Referral Programs Turn Good Employees Into Great Recruiters and Grow Your Bottom Line, with such advice as:

• What employee referral programs mean for business
• Three essential elements of any successful employee referral program
• Easy, inexpensive ways to get your employees involved
• Potential pitfalls and how to avoid them

We consolidated the best in advice, solutions and best practices to create one comprehensive (20 pages, y’all!), easy-to-read guide.

Think of it as your anti-business book business book. Download Referral Madness for free today!

I know, I know…Walgreens only just started selling candy corn, so while it might seem premature to break out These Are Special Times just yet, it is time to start thinking about the winter holidays, at least in terms of hiring.

If you’re in the customer service, retail sales, administrative/clerical, hospitality, shipping/delivery, inventory, technology or accounting/finance industries, you probably already know you’re going to require extra help during the holiday season, so why not start now? It may seem early, but consider this: How overwhelmed do you become around the holidays – both personally and professionally? Start planning now for the hectic hiring season to avoid having to make any last-minute, hasty hiring decisions – and your holidays will be that much brighter.

Treat yourself this holiday…Follow these 7 tips for hiring seasonal workers:

1. Avoid the Holiday Rush. Remember in the beloved holiday classic Jingle All the Way when Arnold Schwarzennegger and Sinbad’s characters get into a fight over a coveted TurboMan doll? Well, (even if you say you don’t) think of your ideal holiday employee as that Turbo Man doll. While most companies are waiting until November to post openings and seek out top talent, you can give yourself a leg up on the competition by starting your search now – and reaching more qualified candidates before other seasonal employers have touched them.
2. Avoid an Ambush. With so many job seekers competing for one position, you may find yourself getting overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications coming in – and unqualified ones at that. In order to cut down on time spent mining resumes, consider attaching filtering questions to your job postings to screen out unqualified candidates from the beginning (a service that’s provided free to CareerBuilder clients, btw).  
3. Seek Out Warmth. Personality accounts for a lot with seasonal hires. When interviewing, keep in mind that the candidates will likely have to deal with angry and annoyed holiday shoppers who expect stellar customer service. He or she must be able to stay calm and professional in these situations. Asking behavioral interview questions will help you determine how a person tends to react in stressful situations.
4. Go Back to School.  Whether home for the winter break or staying on campus, college students – with their flexible schedules and high energy – make ideal candidates for seasonal positions.  Bonus: If you like what you see during the holidays, you can probably count on them to return for work when you’re ready to take on extra help during the summer, too.
5. Consider Retirees. There is an extremely large job market for retirees, and businesses are quickly finding that they make excellent full- or part-time candidates. For starters, they’re available in an increasing abundance and, like college students, have flexible schedules. Best of all, they provide years of valuable work and life experience that they can apply to several different positions.
6. Check References – In the best interest of your company, it is important with seasonal hires that you double check their references. Candidates who are available for temporary work should have previous employers listed as references who can attest to their performance, professionalism and character.
7. Think Less Temporary…and More Employee – Finally, while you might be thinking of these employees as temporary, it’s crucial to remember that the impression they give outsiders of your brand isn’t.  Treat them just as you would a full-time employee. You also never know which of these employees you will want to bring on full-time later on, so look for employees who not only meet the qualifications of the position, but who fit in culturally, as well.  Happy hiring, y’all!

Due to factors like a struggling economy and advancing technology, more and more workers have been going back to school to advance or brush up on their skills and make themselves more marketable. With this in mind, we were curious as to what skills employers expect candidates to have in this economic climate, and what they’re willing to teach on the job. So, for The Hiring Site’s August contest, we asked all of you to answer the following question: “In an interview situation, what skills do you expect candidates to have already, and what are you willing to teach on the job?”

By responding, not only did five lucky winners get a free class of their choosing from CareerBuilder Institute (a $50 value each), but they provided some interesting answers as to which skills employers expect candidates to possess (or that they think can’t be taught), and which skills they’re more willing to work with employees to develop after the candidate’s already been hired. Let’s take a look.

What did readers have to say?

Answers were all across the board as far as what is expected of candidates when they walk into the interview, and seemed to depend on which level or type of position was being considered, which makes sense. Some commenters  said skills like people management, verbal and interpersonal communication, and punctuality can’t be taught; candidates either have them or they don’t.

Many also said they expect candidates to come into an interview with certain skills, but that they’re willing to develop those skills once a candidate’s on the job, whether through classes, mentoring or internal training.

I’ve included some of our commenters’ own words below (full list here). With which statements do you agree or disagree? What can be taught on the job — and what should candidates have (or take classes to learn) before trying to score a job with your company? And what are you doing to develop your own employees’ skills?

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Expects:
For our entry-level positions, we expect candidates to already have basic computer skills (Microsoft Office), good communication skills, solid work ethic, customer service, and common sense. We don’t plan to teach a new employee any of those things.

Will train:
We will train them on their specific job, our policies, and our company culture.  –Debbie

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Expects but will train:
Depending upon the level of the position (indiv. contributor, manager, and mgr. of mgrs.) we recruit and select for essential competencies (both behavioral and technical) and accept the challenge of developing the preferred competencies. –Jim
——————————

Expects:
We require proficient computer skills; Microsoft Office. For our customer service positions, we expect them to have some customer service experience.

Will train:
We will train advance skills especially in Excel.  We will train on – how to deal with difficult customers, adapting to change, etc – more in depth customer service situations. –Erica

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Expects:
The process begins with the scheduling of the interview, when I call the candidate I begin by telling them who I am and where I am calling from (during this process I am actually analyzing phone etiquette).

During the actual interview I look for a candidate that has good listening skills; communication skills, writing, basic computer knowledge and of course the ability to clearly answer questions asked. I also expect for a candidate to be punctual and dressed properly.  –Maria

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Expects:
During the interview, I would expect the candidate to have the basic qualification to perform the job effectivelly. Analysis, people management – these are the skills which can not be tought to anyone.

Will train:
However, if I can prefer to teach some technical skills such as MS excel, creating presentations or working on a particular tool. –Devendra

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James gives a candidate’s point of view:

Expects himself to have:
Punctuality-Be on time for work, at all costs – 4 minutes early is late.
Courtesy-If you ‘have’ to be late Phone in immediately, so that your supervisor can know you are not just slack.
Treat your co-workers the way you expect to be treated. If you do, they will treat you the same.

Expects to be trained in:
As to what do I expect the Company to ‘train me in’. The policy/procedures expected by the company [these sometimes change from company to company, sometimes branch to branch].

If the need is for operating machinery, then, the employer should be aware of what I ‘already’ know, and be willing to encourage and assist in expanding my potential for success of the whole company. –James

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Expects:
When a candidate is offered a new job, they will need to communicate with a large number of new people all at once, and fit into an organization. Communication – mainly verbal/interpersonal – is not a skill that can be easily taught on the job in most cases. –Katie

What are you doing to train and develop your own employees to help them stay competitive?

What have companies been doing in response to tough economic times? Eating their feelings with lots of ice cream. Well, believe it or not, many companies have been busy digging into social media — and some are finding hidden treasure. According to a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,500 employers and 4,400 workers, 35 percent of companies have been using social media to promote their company in some way. Let’s take a look!

Of this 35 percent of companies:

• One-quarter (25 percent) of these employers said that they are using social media to connect with clients and find new business.
• 21 percent are using it to recruit and research potential employees.
• 13 percent are using social media to strengthen their employment brand.

And it’s not just those Fortune 500 companies getting into social media, either. Businesses of all sizes and industries report using social media to promote their companies:

• 29 percent of organizations with 500 or fewer employees
• 38 percent of companies with 501 to 1,000 employees
• 44 percent of companies with more than 1,000 workers

• The leisure and hospitality industry topped those surveyed, with 57 percent in that industry saying they use social media to promote their business. Leisure and hospitality was followed by 48 percent in the IT industry, 43 percent in the retail industry, and 41 percent in the sales industry saying the same.

Managing your company’s social media strategy

So, a lot of businesses — of all sizes — are trying their hand at social media. The bigger question (and the one some of  you may be asking yourselves) is, how are businesses managing all of this? We know involvement in social media doesn’t happen magically; it takes people and time and dedication. And, judging by survey results, there’s no one way of doing it:

• 43 percent of employers report that their marketing department handles social media outreach
• 26 percent say public relations handles it
• 19 percent report that human resources does it.

How many people are involved? (Enter “How many social media experts does it take to fix a light bulb” joke here):

• One-quarter (25 percent) of employers have 1 – 3 people communicating on behalf of their organization.
• 11 percent said that more than six people communicate for their company via social media.
• 7 percent report that 4 – 5 people handle the work.

The most troubling stat? A whopping 57 percent said they didn’t know how many people were involved in managing their company’s social media strategy (and I’m guessing many didn’t know who was doing it, either). While this may be common, it’s important for companies to have a plan before they jump headfirst into social media (and if you’ve already made that jump, it’s never too late to clean up your process). You might want to check out our social media e-book that covers the A to Zs of social media for businesses, and then, when you need a quick refresher, read about best practices for using social media for recruitment.

A word on risks and guidelines

Some businesses are avoiding social media altogether because of potential risks involved, but as research has shown, the perceived risks don’t outweigh the proven rewards — and people are going to talk about your company whether you have a social media presence or not (hint: it’s better to be involved in social media so you can listen, participate and respond). If you have a plan, set realistic goals, and create social media guidelines, you can minimize those risks even further. Social media guidelines not only help you set up and communicate company expectations of social media use to your staff, but also encourage learnings and knowledge about best practices. There’s a full list of companies’ social media policies here for you to reference.

What do workers want?

Workers report that they’re using social media to do more than connect with friends; they’re also using it to research jobs and companies. Want to get inside workers’ heads to find out what they don’t like about your social media use — and what will make them flock to your company’s pages on social media sites? You’re in luck: CareerBuilder’s survey talked to more than 4,400 workers and got all the juicy details:

What workers most want to see on a company’s page on social media sites:

• Job listings (35 percent)
• Q&A or fast facts about the organization (26 percent)
• Information about career paths within the organization (23 percent)
• Evidence that working at the company is fun (16 percent)
• Employee testimonials (16 percent)
• Pictures of company events (12 percent)
• Video of new products/services (10 percent)
• Company awards (9 percent)
• Research or studies that the company has conducted (9 percent)
• Videos of a day on the job (8 percent)

Workers’ biggest turnoffs when encountering a company on social media sites:

• Including the company’s communication reading like an ad (38 percent)
• Failure to reply to questions (30 percent)
• Failure to regularly post information (22 percent)
• Removing or filtering public comments (22 percent)

What can employers take from this?

By knowing what the people potentially interested in your company want, you can start making your company pages more engaging and interactive (some great tips here).You might get some great inspiration by reading about what companies like Old Spice did to engage social media users, or you might take a closer look at your own company story to find a unique way to speak to job seekers on their level and tell your story.

It may also be wise to read up on social media recruitment etiquette to learn how to play nice with other businesses, stay away from the social media traps many businesses fall into, and avoid backlash from candidates and even your own employees (ahem, avoid being one of those businesses thought of in the “workers’ biggest turnoffs” above).  It’s clear that workers don’t want to talk to a boring, “corporate,” faceless brand — so use the information above to hear what they’re saying and inject a little extra personality into your online brand.

With multiple reports lately discussing how employers are having difficulty filling open positions – despite the high unemployment rate – now is the perfect time to invest in an employee referral program (ERP) – whether that entails creating one from scratch or enhancing your current one.

Referrals make up 26.7 percent of all external hires, making referrals the number one resource for them, according to the 2010 CareerXRoads Sources of Hire study. 

Not only are well-structured ERPs one of the best ways to generate new hires, but they’ve also been shown to increase retention, lower costs, boost morale, and essentially make your job easier. Take a look…

The Top 10 Reasons to Build Your Employee Referral Program:

1. More bang out of your budget – A robust employee referral program can help lower your cost per hire.  The 2006 DirectEmployers Recruiting Trends Survey showed that employee referrals produced the highest ROI of any other sourcing method. According to Staffing.org, companies spend an average of 16 cents for staffing for every dollar of compensation recruited, but a study of Lincoln Financial Group, whose employee referral program accounts for 55 percent of all external hires, revealed that the company boasts a much lower staffing cost ratio of 10.9 cents per dollar.
2. The possibility of actually getting through that “to do” list.  ERPs can cut down significantly on the time you spend sourcing and screening candidates, as they essentially outsource this job to your employees, whose own discretion helps ensure you don’t spend time sorting through irrelevant applicants (see #3).  And by holding on to the resumes that don’t turn into immediate hires, you won’t always have to start from scratch when new positions open up (see #4).
3. A better quality of candidates – Who better to recommend candidates who fit the culture of your company than the very people who live it every day? Because your employees already know what it takes to be successful at your company (and because no one in his right mind would refer a candidate who could reflect badly on him), employee referrals eliminate the need to weed out unqualified applicants.
4. Make that a steady supply of quality candidates – While not every employee referral will lead to a hire, a well-designed employee referral program will help you build a generous pool of qualified resumes from which to pull as more positions open up.   
5. Less turnover – Employers with robust ERPs tend to have a lower rate of turnover. One reason for this? Hires produced through ERPs tend to stay with the organization longer because they enter the organization with already established social connections and a better understanding of the culture. ERP hires are also 3.5 times less likely to be terminated than hires produced through other sources.
6. Your employees will have a new appreciation for their job - and yours – ERPs provide employees with a sense of ownership in – and deeper respect for – the hiring process. Employees value meaningful work and a sense of connection to their company even more than they do high salaries, according to the 2009 10th annual Deloitte Best Company to Work For survey. Giving them a chance to participate in the hiring process is a way to foster that sense of connection and the feeling that they are making a positive contribution to the company. 
7. A better-looking employment brand – ERPs turn your employees into brand advocates. If they’re telling friends about job openings at your organization, they are essentially sending the message, “This is a great place to work.” Not every referral will turn into a hire, but it does contribute to the notion that your organization is an employer of choice.   
8. A boost in competitive intelligence — A more indirect – but equally beneficial – result of implementing an employee referral program is that it gives your employees an excuse to proactively seek out and network with other professionals, who can be a resource for gaining knowledge, sharing best practices and, of course, generating more referrals.
9. You’ll stop resenting the time your employees spend on Facebook.  With the widespread use of social networking sites to connect with other industry professionals, your employees today have an even wider range of connections by which to source qualified, trusted candidates for you.
10. Your new employees will pay it forward – According to the American Journal of Sociology, referred workers tend to outperform their non-referral counterparts and are more likely to refer future employees.

As you and I both know, it’s not always easy to juggle time and resources to learn about the newest thing in the social space. But while you may have not even dipped your toe into Twitter, Facebook, or any other social networking site, it’s still beneficial for your business to be aware of the newest tools and observe how others (including your competitors) are using them.

The buzz around location-based social networking

For this post, I’ll be focusing on location-based social networking sites; namely, Foursquare,  Gowalla and Loopt (BrightKite, Google Latitude, and many other services are also in the space), as a lot of attention is being given to these types of sites. Brian Solis describes location-based social networking as “a universe where physical and online activity merge to improve experiences and relationships between people and also between people and businesses, services, and locales.” Simply by using these sites, businesses are already building relationships with potential candidates and strengthening relationships with employees — and there’s a lot of potential for the future.

Keep in mind, although we’re talking about location-based sites, you may be able to use the ideas in this post for that next “big thing” in the social media world; it’s all about getting creative and thinking about how you can use the new tools you discover in the social space for recruitment, engagement and retention. Before you know it, your business may be ready (or have a sudden need) to participate in something new, and by learning about  social networking sites as they emerge, you’ll be one step ahead when you do.

Location-based social networking: What is it?

Although the sites I mentioned above all work a bit differently, location-based social networking sites, or “lo-so networks,”  allow users to “check in” at venues through mobile devices, to let people in their network know where they are at any given moment — or find out where their friends are staking claim.

Essentially, it’s social networking meets gaming — users interact and compete for prestige through badges, points, items or other awards (both virtual and real-life awards). Right now, these sites are primarily for businesses like bars, restaurants, retail stores, and tourist destinations (TV networks, magazines, and foodie guide Zagat also make up the list of top brands on Foursquare) — but that’s likely going to be changing soon, as evidenced by Foursquare’s message to us at CareerBuilder when we tried to claim our business on Foursquare: “While we’re working the kinks out of our system, we’re trying to limit foursquare specials to places where people meet, socialize and linger. Think: cafes, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, museums, theaters, etc. But stay tuned! We’ll be expanding the system soon, and you’ll be one of the first to know when we’re ready for all types of business!”

How can businesses use these sites for recruitment?

Right now, the capabilities for granular recruitment through location-based services aren’t robust — but future possibilities are vast. And in the meantime, it’s smart to get familiar with these sites, gain a presence — and get creative. Every medium you use to promote your brand and expose others to your business equals another touch point between you and the users you want to reach.

1. Loyalty programs

If you’re like me, you get to a store counter, frantically fish for that “Buy 10 coffees and get one free!” paper card in your wallet, and, after a fruitless search, dejectedly get a new paper card and start the whole process over again — no free coffee obtained. Good news: Many businesses have been using location-based services to test these types of loyalty programs — but instead of a little paper card, you get your stamp by checking into their place of business.

For instance, users on Foursquare can accumulate points for checking in and become Mayor of a certain location — and many businesses are now awarding the Mayor of their location (a title that changes hands all the time) with specials or certain privileges for their patronage. Similarly, users on Loopt Star is Loopt’s mobile rewards game where users compete to become “Boss,” and are awarded with special offers and free music for checking in at venues.

Other businesses are giving significant discounts to a user’s order when they check in for the very first time — a great way to welcome new users and say “Thanks for your business.” Still, most businesses on Foursquare aren’t offering specials (only around 3 percent are) — so the potential for your business to get in the space and make yourself stand out is huge.

2. Contests and Scavenger Hunts

Contests are a great way to promote user engagement. Some companies are doing raffles, in which every user who checks in gets entered to win a prize. Other businesses are creating scavenger hunts for users — like SPIN magazine and SXSW’s recent team up for a musical hunt.

Something similar could be done as a team-building event for employees — not only are scavenger hunts a fun event, but employees can participate in a little friendly competition and get to know co-workers they may not come into contact with on a daily basis. Games like this allow employees to come together as teams or interact with customers in a new fashion. They also have a lot of potential for increasing employee engagement and recognizing employee achievements  (and, ahem, recognition is one of the top things employees said they wanted in CareerBuilder’s Mid-Year Job Forecast).

Geotoko is a site that just launched for mobile-based contests and sweepstakes that supports multiple location-based services. So, if you’re a business running a contest, you can maximize your reach by opening it up to Gowalla obsessives and Foursquare devotees all at once.

Another advantage of contests? Competition promotes teamwork among co-workers, and are a great supplement to other things you’re doing to onboard new employees and help them get to know the veteran employees.

3.Listening, observing and communicating

Foursquare recently introduced analytics tools — which allow businesses to monitor activity and adjust specials or engagement accordingly (like the P.C.C. Natural Markets, who used the tools to find out a lot of their Foursquare visitors were coming in for a specific type of organic donut).  Foursquare is also  currently testing Staff pages, which will allow employees to interact directly with customers.These pages have major potential for businesses to promote their  company culture, let their employees’ personalities shine, and put a personal spin on their “business” face.

Many companies are getting creative and finding ways to communicate with their users to increase traffic to their business and enrich their relationships with users and the user experience itself. Rev. Dave Davis, executive pastor of Glen Ellyn, Ill.’s Parkview Community Church, says if a person checks into the church on Foursquare, they are greeted by a message welcoming them to the church. He adds that by reaching out to the younger generation in particular, speaking their language, and trying to reach them at their spot, they are more likely to visit your spot. (And he seems to be on to something — according to recent Forrester research, nearly 70 percent of location-based service users are 19-35 years old, and 70 percent have college degrees or higher.)

Imagine what businesses could do if they were able to identify candidates specifically and reach out to them? Even at this point, though you don’t necessarily know which users, if any, are interested in a job with your company, location-based sites are a great way to start building relationships and listening to what users want. For instance, when people check into your venue, they can give feedback or leave a “tip” about it for others to see when they check in. This is a great way for you to find out what people do and don’t like about your brand and make adjustments quickly when needed. Taking this even further, some businesses see who’s checking into their business on a location-based service and then follow up with a personal message on Twitter — taking one touch point and expanding that relationship to another medium.

Quick Tip: Aside from finding a user’s Twitter handle on his or her Foursquare profile, you can search for your business name and Foursquare check-ins on Twitter to find out who’s checking into your business on Twitter by going to search.twitter.com and typing in “at Company Name”  4sq.

4. Search engines and Foursquare

Foursquare is now reportedly in talks with major search engines, which could change the game for businesses and recruitment, as businesses would be able to gain presence on search engines through more people “checking in” and causing their business to trend in search. What implications could this have? If a business attracts more Foursquare users and conversation around that business increases, more search engine users will see that business’s name — and the buzz around it — online while searching. This would help businesses build a stronger employment brand, expose it to a larger audience of candidates (some of whom may not have been aware of the business — or even of Foursquare — before), and get more people applying to jobs there. The addition to search engines would eliminate the need for people to be part of Foursquare to see a business’s activity on the site — meaning larger reach. At the same time, giving a site like Foursquare exposure on search engine results would increase their user base: A win-win.

How much of an impact would this move have? That remains to be seen — and as I see it, significant potential lies in the staff experience of a business being displayed in search results. How much information about the business would be given in results? Would users see comments made via “tips”? Would businesses have an option to show “staff” check-ins with commentary in results? Would there be filtering options? If so, candidates could see which businesses had the most positive staff comments and experiences, as well as how active the employee community was for that business. What speaks better to a strong employment brand than happy and engaged employees?

5. Employee Orientation/Onboarding

In “4 ways Foursquare can improve your workplace,” Sharlyn Lauby talks about the potential of using Foursquare for employee orientation, as Harvard and other schools are already testing out. College and universities are using Foursquare to orient new employees and get them acclimated to surrounding hot spots — so why shouldn’t workplaces try it too to help employees learn their way around the office or surrounding area? Workplaces with big campuses could orient new employees to the campus and surrounding area with an orientation “game”; employees could receive points for visiting  places like the gym, cafeteria, and library, and check off various venues to complete their orientation.

Any type of business could get new employees acclimated by leaving “tips” on Foursquare or other location-based sites for hot spots to eat or grab a coffee near work, getting employees familiar with the area (and helping local merchants in the process). This could also enhance the candidate experience; those who use location-based social networking sites may not only see you as active on these sites and learn a bit about your company, but could also see you leaving tips or recommendations of other places to visit in the area. This could in turn help to make your business’s location more attractive to potential candidates (it could be that one factor that makes someone want to commute a bit farther to work for you).

6. Event Marketing

Event marketers are using location-based sites to to drive participation in their events and create lasting word-of-mouth buzz about their business; Cynthia Rowley launched a new bridesmaid collection with the help of Foursquare and gave attendees at the launch unveiling a gift when they checked in. The restaurant AJ Bombers created huge buzz and the restaurant’s biggest sales days ever by creating an “I’m on a boat!” badge and having users check into a “boat” location for a restaurant event he threw. Difficult? No, it just took a couple of days of planning,  a bit of creative thinking and a willingness to experiment.

Chris Bruzzo of Starbucks says in a recent New York Times article that the company hopes to use Foursquare for things like invitations to special events, photo sharing (which some location-based sites currently support), and online reputation scores.

What kinds of events could you use location-based services to promote? One possibility may be to encourage users to check-in at your booth at a job fair, for instance. This could also be a way to quickly see who visited you, and even follow up with a short thank-you message or targeted communication.

Guidelines to keep in mind

• Make sure your business is listed on each network by making an initial “check in” to your business, even if you’re not yet able to “claim” your venue (this way, others can still find and check into your venue).
• Different sites have different options for customization — customize and brand yourself as much as you can depending on that site’s capabilities. For instance, you can create a banner ad on Loopt — giving you significant potential to brand your business, get your message across to Loopt users, and even insert unique messages like job opportunities or upcoming events. And on Foursquare, you can create to-do lists of places for users to explore in your area.
• Make sure employees understand your social media guidelines, are aware of your social media efforts, and know how to use the tools and successfully interact with users.
• Determine your goals with this, just like any emerging social media tool. Do you have the resources and the time? What is  your purpose?
• As Jonathan Carroll of Gowalla advises, don’t leave fake reviews or tips, don’t put up poorly designed ads, and don’t forget to monitor activity. “Chances are if someone has a gripe or praise with their check-in, it’s a real-time thing: The patron is probably still there… so the business has a chance to make the experience even better.” Good point.
• Get leaders involved so they understand the platform and can appreciate the application from a communication as well as a “bottom line” perspective.
• These services may be virtual, but many say the key to success is providing users with real-world value. Think about what kind of value you can bring to customers, potential candidates, and your employees.

Other advantages to participating in location-based social networking sites

• Increase your brand exposure and raise awareness of  your business (Note: Many user check-ins are also posted on Facebook and Twitter, not just the location-based service itself, so you’re automatically gaining exposure to your users’ entire networks.)
• Show potential candidates you’re savvy and interested in engaging with them.
• Give potential candidates the opportunity to notice and learn about your company.
• Connect with local candidates; users are using these sites to check in at venues in the area where they live.
• One more touch point to reach both potential candidates and your own employees.
• Vast potential to increase loyalty by customers/users and recognize that loyalty with incentives.
• Communicating with consumers at point of entry, service, or sale can be very valuable.
• See for yourself what your customers and potential candidates are doing.
• Strengthen your brand. We know that people now are much more likely to research products and services on their own, learn from their own observations, and listen to the feedback and opinions of peers rather than experts. Location-based sites are a great example of this in action.
• Empower your employees while enriching user experience. As Shelley Bernstein, Chief of Technology for the Brooklyn Museum, says, they used Foursquare to create a multi-faceted experience for museum goers. One of the prongs of their three-faceted campaign involved asking their staff for their opinion on the best stuff in the neighborhood, and then leaving “tips” at these venues for Foursquare users to find. It’s a great way to engage your employees, who enjoy having some input into the experience — and the users they come into contact with may include customers, potential candidates, and even other employees. Get them involved as much as possible.

What critics are saying

Ad Age points out recently released Forrester research on location-based startups that says these applications are still too small for major marketers, as only 4 percent of U.S. online adults have ever used location-based mobile apps like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt. In addition, 84 percent of respondents to the survey say they are not familiar with these apps at all.

However, sites like Foursquare are adding around 100,000 users every week, and some say now is the time to make those early adapters your brand ambassadors. One commenter even argues that “early adoption by marketers will increase the quality of venue content and number of available offers, driving mainstream consumer adoption.”

As Yan-David Erlich points out in a recent Mashable post, “Ultimately, the location-based social networks that will thrive in the long-term are the ones that design their user experiences around users’ real motivations. The checkin, as a stand-alone act, is fundamentally empty. It begs to be put into context.” What that context plays out to be, exactly, remains to be seen. And a lot of what happens will likely be a result of businesses like yours experimenting in the space — and making your voice heard.

The bottom line

While many people claim to be “social media evangelists, experts, or (insert superior-sounding word here),” the truth is, there’s a lot about social media that we’re all still kind of figuring out. As Sean Corcoran of Forrester Research states in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “The reality is the space is still very much a Wild West.”

It’s smart to experiment with these sites now while the user base is still relatively small (compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook), and see what sticks, knowing that the returns at this point may not be huge.

It’s important to remember that these tools often serve to complement what we’re already doing. Depending on your particular business, you may just be considering now to get involved in any kind of social media, or you may be on the cutting edge of new applications. Either way, the beauty is that you can find what fits for you, and make the most of it. Reach out to new (virtual) faces. One of those virtual faces just may become your next star employee.

Is your business getting involved with these emerging sites — and if so, how?

Last week, I talked about the pros and cons of rehiring former employees, and mentioned that the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act is one of the major reasons employers should be looking at hiring unemployed workers (which could include former employees). But let’s explore further why the bill is so important — both for unemployed workers and the employers hiring them. After all, as a CFO, controller, business owner, vice president of human resources, hiring manager, accountant, or anyone else with a stake in your business’s bottom line, the HIRE Act could have a significant impact on your business.

What is the HIRE Act?

The $17.5 billion legislation, signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010, gives a potential tax exemption and credit to businesses that hire unemployed workers. Specifically, the HIRE Act grants businesses that hire workers unemployed 60 days or longer an exemption from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll taxes for each worker for the remainder of 2010. Additionally, if workers are retained for one year, participating businesses  get a tax credit of $1,000.

The maximum value of this incentive is $6,621 per qualified employee, which equals 6.2 percent of the Social Security FICA maximum wage cap of $106,800.

The goal:

The HIRE Act aims to provide hiring incentives to stimulate the economy, restore some of the jobs lost in the latest economic recession, and put Americans back to work. The average unemployed worker has been unemployed for ten months, so the Act is in effect targeting those job seekers who have been having difficulty finding work for quite some time.  The HIRE Act calls on employers like you to hire unemployed workers and work to retain them.

Keep in mind, recent graduates who are unemployed or working part-time can qualify — so if you’re seeking out new grads or are a start-up looking for fresh talent, you should also be looking into the HIRE Act.

The two major tax incentives of the HIRE Act

No. 1:

Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax exemption, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers between Mar. 19, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010.

• This reduced tax withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits, and as an employer, you will still need to withhold the employee’s 6.2-percent share of Social Security taxes, as well as income taxes.
• The employer and employee’s shares of Medicare taxes would also still apply to these wages.

No. 2:

For each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional retention credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

Significant savings

Let’s say you hire an employee and pay them a $60,000 salary. Normally, you would have to pay 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax, or $3,720. With the HIRE Act, your business wouldn’t have to pay that $3,720, plus you have the potential of an additional $1,000 tax credit if that employee stays with your company for one year.

Finding the right employees with the HIRE Act

Not only are you helping stimulate the economy and employ people who need work, but you are also potentially saving a significant amount of money that will impact your bottom line. Instead of looking at hiring as an expense, the HIRE Act encourages employers to think of  hiring as an investment.

While the HIRE Act helps making hiring “cheaper,” the quality of your new hires is still paramount; you and I both know that cost savings plus a bad hire is actually more expensive in the long run. This is why CareerBuilder is focused on targeting the right people within that group who would be a good fit for your organization.

CareerBuilder currently attracts more than 9 million unique visitors each month who meet the qualifications as set by the HIRE Act. We go even further by helping you find the qualified workers who are the right fit for your particular culture and business needs. After all, you might need one employee or 100 — but it’s important that you find the right employees to stick around and grow with your business.

The Fine Print: Criteria needed for a business to receive benefits of the HIRE Act

• New employee/s must be hired between Feb. 4, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
• The payroll tax exemptions are effective for wages paid between Mar. 19, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010.
• The newly hired employees must have been unemployed during the 60 days prior to starting work, or worked fewer than 40 hours for someone else during that 60-day period (and the employer must get a statement from each eligible new hire certifying this fact).
• New hires filling positions qualify, but only if the workers they are replacing left voluntarily or for cause.
• Family members or relatives do not qualify.
• Businesses, agricultural employers, tax-exempt organizations and public colleges and universities DO qualify to claim the payroll tax — although household businesses and federal, state and local governments l do not.

HIRE Act — How are businesses reacting?

It’s a bit of a chicken versus egg argument; it’s hard to say at this point whether the HIRE Act is causing employers to hire more, or businesses are catching on to it after they have already hired. Regardless, any businesses are taking advantage of the new legislation. And although the HIRE Act expires Jan. 1, 2011, President Obama is working to extend it. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury:

• From Feb. to May 2010, an estimated 4.5 million workers who had been unemployed for eight weeks or longer were hired — meaning all of the employers who hired these workers are eligible for the HIRE Act payroll tax exemption.
• Newly hired workers whose employers are eligible for the exemption constitute 12.2 percent of all workers who were unemployed for eight weeks or longer since the law took effect.
• If the 4.5 million newly hired employees who are eligible for the exemption are employed for the rest of the year, their employers would be (collectively) eligible for an estimated $5.1 billion in payroll tax savings.

Find out more about the HIRE Act

While we’ve covered a lot of the basics here, you’ll still want to investigate further to find out how your business can qualify. Here are some additional resources:

• Find out more about the HIRE act and what it may mean for your business on the IRS’s website (VIDEO).
  
• Read up on the IRS’s questions and answers page for employers.
• Read the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent report on the HIRE Act’s progress thus far.
• Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Affidavit (PDF; to be signed by new employees who qualify)

GUEST CONTIBUTOR: Co-Authored by Carisa Miklusak and Keshet Lemberg
This post originally appeared on Carissa’s Blog – Making Sense of the Social Media Jungle. An inquisitive problem solver by nature, Carisa Miklusak is an entrepreneur, consultant and speaker by trade. Connect with Carisa’s social media profiles, on Twitter and Facebook or join her LinkedIn Resource Community.

When it comes to finding the best employee for a position, many organizations are now turning to alternate routes. Our complex and competitive business landscape has created an imperative need for a well positioned employment brand. Businesses traditionally relied upon industry contacts, expertise, job boards, and third-party recruiters to uncover the best match, but today the majority of corporations are also embracing social media as a leading recruiting tool.

In order to successfully utilize social media as part of a recruiting strategy, it is first necessary to understand how your target audience is using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites to land jobs. The most obvious reason job seekers use social media is to source companies for open positions. For example, TwitJobSearch is a social media job search engine that candidates rely upon as a resource to find open positions that are not always posted on job boards or company sites. Moreover, job seekers use online media to verse themselves in the culture of a target company. Job seekers study company pages on social media sites to gather insight about the company’s culture via photos, videos, and information provided by the corporation. Companies such as MTV Networks have successfully built their presence on social media sites by encouraging users to ask questions, offer info, and seek advice. Through its Facebook page – MTV Networks Careers – the entertainment leader sparks engagement with users, responds to questions, and posts open positions.

Lured by news, rumors, and trends, people are drawn to online media sites by the appeal of industry chatter. Professionals with social media know-how realize that industry chatter is an extremely valuable resource for gaining new and important information that can make them better candidates in the interview process. Job seekers in search of firsthand user-to-user information can easily connect with current and ex-employees through social media outlets. A directory of people organized by area of expertise, profession, and hundreds of other categories is available to the public on Twellow, the yellow pages for Twitter. LinkedIn provides similar information. Candidates also use social media sites to scope out recruiters and hiring managers to determine if they are a compatible match, and to gain helpful information for potential interviews and conversations. To find excellent advice that is pertinent to a specific situation, job seekers follow and connect with job search experts in the social media sphere. Many such experts exist offering daily advice. Ideas, tips, leads, news, informative articles and best practices can be accessed at the touch of a finger by using Twellow’s job search to find people to follow who send out helpful information. The vast array of social media tools now makes it possible for bold job seekers to attempt to engineer their own opportunities instead of waiting to be uncovered by recruiters and hiring managers. Some follow employees at their target company until news of a fitting open position arises while others network their way into new positions by engaging in strategic conversations with potential leads.

By understanding why job seekers use social media to land jobs, companies can leverage their activity to more effectively and efficiently recruit new employees. When using social media as part of a recruiting strategy, it is important to create a consistent and automated method for uncovering the social identity of job seekers. Sites like TiVo makes job opportunities accessible across major social media platforms so that anyone can post, direct message or update their status. Corporations can benefit from the opportunity to build relationships with candidates in their target audiences by maintaining an official company presence on social media sites. By following relevant people and igniting conversations, organizations can begin to create a healthy level of influence over their brand – a clear best practices in the social media sphere. Moreover, companies can determine what type of information fuels the jobseekers’ interest by listening to the candidates and then provide that content on their social media platforms. In order to avoid an influx of irrelevant offers to their job posts, however, it is necessary for businesses to refine their searches by specifically targeting candidates by location, career interests, and other top candidate profile credentials.

Through social media platforms, companies can connect to talent anywhere in the world and access personal information about top industry leaders. Social media is as valuable resource for organizations of all kinds and sizes to build employment brands and make the right candidate connections. It is equally as productive for job seekers, creating a platform where companies and talent alike can connect directly with multiple stakeholders in their target audience.

The last thing you might expect to hear when walking into a presentation about how to inspire creativity from your employees is: “Tell your employees to think inside the box”…and yet, that’s pretty much the advice Disney’s business program consultant, Scott Milligan, had for the audience when he presented at SHRM 2010 in San Diego last month. 

“We tell our cast members to think INSIDE the box,” Milligan boasted to the audience of HR professionals during his presentation, “Disney’s Approach to Inspiring Creativity”. (“Cast members,” by the way, is Disney’s term for employees.) After all, he reasoned, how creative is it, really, to tell people to “think outside the box” anymore? (Finally, someone said it!)

The other surprising thing about this idea of “thinking inside the box” is that it seems awfully practical and structured for a company that prides itself on the very idealistic notions of making magic happen and dreams come true, etc…And yet, this structured approach works for Disney.

Thinking inside the box, Milligan said, provides companies guidance and direction, helps them avoid wasting resources and keeps everyone focused.  But what is the box? As Milligan explained it, the box is your company’s organizational identity – who you are or what you intend to be – and it encompasses four things:

• Your Customers – Who are they? What do they need from you?
• Your Vision – What do you want to be?
• Your Mission – What do you want to do?
• Your Essence – How do we want people to feel when they experience your product or service?

Find Your Essence
A lot of companies, Milligan believes, leave essence out of the equation – and that, he explained, is an unfortunate oversight, especially when it comes to recruiting: In order to find the best people, hiring managers and recruiters must understand their company’s essence in order to seek out and identify the very people who share that essence.

As an example, he cited how Disney makes it a goal to create happiness for people. Milligan then challenged the audience to find their own companies’ essence, and look to that when hiring employees. 

(When considering your company’s essence, it might help of it to think of it in terms of how blogger Derrick Daye defines essence: ”…the heart and soul of a brand – a brand’s fundamental nature or quality. Usually stated in two or three words, a brand’s essence is the one constant across product categories and throughout the world.”)

Structure, Not Confinement
Again, while you might think that a company that tells its employees to think inside the box would be fostering a culture of confinement, discouraging creative thinking by setting up rules and restrictions, the box model actually serves the opposite purpose for Disney – and it can do the same for others as well.

“Within that box, companies can expand their identity,” Milligan said, explaining how the box model has enabled Disney to expand its brand identity - from being merely about cartoons to also encompassing live action features and then expanding to theme parks, hotels and resorts and then even on to cruise lines – all while staying focused on the mission to enable “magic” to happen.

What do you think? Does your company think “inside the box” as well? Is essence something that you talk about or communicate at your company? How does it play into attracting and engaging employees?

Sorting through all the fabulous feedback we received after asking readers to share what their companies are doing to promote employee wellness, we noticed a few shared characteristics among the various initiatives readers discussed.

Below are seven standout traits that a vast number of these wellness programs share, with examples of how – in our readers’ own words – companies’ employee wellness programs embody these traits.

1.       They Don’t Focus Solely on Weight Loss

• “Our approach to exercise is very ‘functional,’ meaning it’s not intended to help you ‘look’ a certain way but to help you feel better all the time and to do your job, at work or at home, with energy, full range of motion and injury-free.” – Dave Parmly
• “Pressley Ridge believes wellness goes beyond the typical medical and stress concerns, but also into mental and personal growth as well. That is why Pressley Ridge offers Employee an Assistance Program at no cost to employees. This is a confidential assistance to employees and dependents 24 hours/day on a toll-free number and face-to-face professional counseling sessions and access to their website with a wide range of tools, resources and information. “ – Phillip Novak
• “My organization promotes wellness through Farmer’s Markets, healthy competition (Like the Biggest Loser), smoking cessation programs which are no cost and they cover any cessation programs like the patch, gum and lozenge. Additionally, they promote a healthy mind through increased awareness and programs. There is an entire website through the company that is dedicated to healthy mind, body and habits.” – Raina

 2.       They Have Buy-In from Leadership

• “Our company gives a very generous discount on the cost of our benefits for employees who participate in the wellness program…But perhaps the most important thing our company does to promote the wellness program is that is it embraced by our CEO and senior leaders within the company. Wellness is not viewed as an ‘HR initiative’ but as a core part of who we are as a company.” - Noreen
• “We have partnered with a local gym and our Senior Leaders are on board. We are trying to get as much employee participation as possible, to let them know that we care about their healthy work environment!” – Tori Hinote
• “Our CEO understands the importance of weight loss and healthy weight maintenance to offset the costs associated with healthcare – both now and in the future.” – Donna Cornwell

3.       Employees Are Never Far From Resources

• “We have an onsite fitness center with a trainer that provides continuous fitness challenges, boot camps, etc. We also have a physician’s assistant who works on site full time so we have immediate access to the seasonal ailments and we have our prescriptions delivered to the office.” – Janet J.
• “Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider conducts voluntary annual blood draws onsite at our headquarters. They also arrange for branch associates to visit their local lab to have the screenings performed.” – Recruiter
• “Our company provides free access to on-site exercise facilities. We also provide access to education on exercise, diet, cooking, lifestyle and behavior modification (including a stop smoking program).” – Mark

4.       They Sweeten the Deal with Incentives

• “We offer a Creating Wellness Program to employees…Those who participate for 6 months then receive $25/month in wellness bucks (for gym memberships, yoga, Pilates, etc.) as a reward for continued involvement.” – Rick Thompson
• “Recently, we sponsored an 8 week fitness challenge and gave away an Ipod Touch for the winner… This year, our grand prize drawing will be for either a gym membership, Fitness equipment or a Nintendo WII with WII ACTIVE.” – Jenny
• “Each quarter employees are asked to set a Health Improvement Goal. We pay them $50/Qtr for meeting their goal…We have had tremendous success with this approach.” – Kimberly
• “Our company has a $300 wellness credit toward health insurance premiums for non-smokers and then provides programs for employees to quit smoking.” - Ally

5.     They’re Not Limited By Smaller Budgets

• “We have researched local ‘healthy’ vendors such as local gyms, Jamba Juice, Whole Foods, etc. and invited them to come onsite to talk about their products. It’s been working out great and it’s no cost to the company!” – Stefan
• “Although our wellness budget was reduced to ZERO this year, we continue to come up with new and interesting wellness initiatives… We are even offering cost-effective prizes, like jean days and premier parking!” – Holly
• “Our company just started our official ‘Steps to Wellness’ Program… The employees complete a “scorecard” with several tasks and turn the completed card in for a chance at a “Day Off With Pay”. The more staff who enter, the more days off we will raffle.” – Sue K
• “We have…raised funds to assist with our program by producing a cookbook that we sold.” – Mary Wicker
• “One really fun wellness initiative that my company implemented is building an employee vegetable garden…We just started the garden project this year and participation has been huge. This is a really fun project and is relatively inexpensive!” – Kathryn

 6.       They Assign Measurement to Gauge Success

• “We work with our insurance carrier to hold an annual health fair each year that consists of blood work for a variety of areas and each employee is given the results that day. The results are discussed with health coaches from our insurance carrier and given advice as to how to improve results in any areas that reflect a health issue. These statistics are used to determine where we need to concentrate our efforts to best improve the wellness of our employees…Since we have implemented the program our data from the health screenings have shown improvement each year which in turn helps to keep our health insurance cost down.” – Mary Wicker
• “In the year 2009 our corporate headquarters developed a 3 component program to get the employees premium costs down and in the long run, help them develop healthy life habits… This year the Myers Lawn and Garden site is conducting their 2nd annual health fair since the first one in August of 2009 was so successful…Employee participation is growing and the savings are too for both the employee and the company.” – Lee Herman
• “The goal is overall health of our employees. If we can prove that we have lowered healthcare costs and possibly insurance premiums for our employees, because of healthier lifestyles, we have been successful!” – Tori Hinote

7.      They Empower Employees

• “The company promoted wellness with the staff by also ‘promoting’ US…For example, I had always wanted to be a nutrition education writer, a secret desire of mine…The company decided to start putting out a monthly newsletter in the club for our members and not only was I asked to be a columnist, but I was asked to be the editor as well. Our whole staff took part in the newsletter, writing about their known specialty in the field. This tactic was most rewarding for me, as I had the chance to really reach a long time goal of mine. This made me feel like I was on top of the world, how do you get more ‘well’ than that?” – Renee S.
• “List Innovative Solutions is extremely active in the community…and encourages its employees to do the same by sponsoring the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Program…this allows our employees to be active and also give back at the same time.” – Jennifer Bonner
• “We encourage all employees to offer ideas on the ‘Healthy Life’ bulletin board so everyone gets a chance to bring something to the table!” – Dustin Shay

As I stated in my earlier post on readers’ company wellness programs, it’s great to see how many organizations take an active interest in their employees’ health – not just for employees, but for the companies themselves, as wellness programs can help employers cut costs related to healthcare, turnover and lost production.

What do you think? Care to add an “8^th habit” that makes your own company’s wellness program successful?

Sorting through all the fabulous feedback we received after asking readers to share what their companies are doing to promote employee wellness, we noticed a few shared characteristics among the various initiatives readers discussed.

Below are seven standout traits that a vast number of these wellness programs share, with examples of how – in our readers’ own words – companies’ employee wellness programs embody these traits.

1.       They Don’t Focus Solely on Weight Loss

• “Our approach to exercise is very ‘functional,’ meaning it’s not intended to help you ‘look’ a certain way but to help you feel better all the time and to do your job, at work or at home, with energy, full range of motion and injury-free.” – Dave Parmly
• “Pressley Ridge believes wellness goes beyond the typical medical and stress concerns, but also into mental and personal growth as well. That is why Pressley Ridge offers Employee an Assistance Program at no cost to employees. This is a confidential assistance to employees and dependents 24 hours/day on a toll-free number and face-to-face professional counseling sessions and access to their website with a wide range of tools, resources and information. “ – Phillip Novak
• “My organization promotes wellness through Farmer’s Markets, healthy competition (Like the Biggest Loser), smoking cessation programs which are no cost and they cover any cessation programs like the patch, gum and lozenge. Additionally, they promote a healthy mind through increased awareness and programs. There is an entire website through the company that is dedicated to healthy mind, body and habits.” – Raina

 2.       They Have Buy-In from Leadership

• “Our company gives a very generous discount on the cost of our benefits for employees who participate in the wellness program…But perhaps the most important thing our company does to promote the wellness program is that is it embraced by our CEO and senior leaders within the company. Wellness is not viewed as an ‘HR initiative’ but as a core part of who we are as a company.” - Noreen
• “We have partnered with a local gym and our Senior Leaders are on board. We are trying to get as much employee participation as possible, to let them know that we care about their healthy work environment!” – Tori Hinote
• “Our CEO understands the importance of weight loss and healthy weight maintenance to offset the costs associated with healthcare – both now and in the future.” – Donna Cornwell

3.       Employees Are Never Far From Resources

• “We have an onsite fitness center with a trainer that provides continuous fitness challenges, boot camps, etc. We also have a physician’s assistant who works on site full time so we have immediate access to the seasonal ailments and we have our prescriptions delivered to the office.” – Janet J.
• “Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider conducts voluntary annual blood draws onsite at our headquarters. They also arrange for branch associates to visit their local lab to have the screenings performed.” – Recruiter
• “Our company provides free access to on-site exercise facilities. We also provide access to education on exercise, diet, cooking, lifestyle and behavior modification (including a stop smoking program).” – Mark

4.       They Sweeten the Deal with Incentives

• “We offer a Creating Wellness Program to employees…Those who participate for 6 months then receive $25/month in wellness bucks (for gym memberships, yoga, Pilates, etc.) as a reward for continued involvement.” – Rick Thompson
• “Recently, we sponsored an 8 week fitness challenge and gave away an Ipod Touch for the winner… This year, our grand prize drawing will be for either a gym membership, Fitness equipment or a Nintendo WII with WII ACTIVE.” – Jenny
• “Each quarter employees are asked to set a Health Improvement Goal. We pay them $50/Qtr for meeting their goal…We have had tremendous success with this approach.” – Kimberly
• “Our company has a $300 wellness credit toward health insurance premiums for non-smokers and then provides programs for employees to quit smoking.” - Ally

5.     They’re Not Limited By Smaller Budgets

• “We have researched local ‘healthy’ vendors such as local gyms, Jamba Juice, Whole Foods, etc. and invited them to come onsite to talk about their products. It’s been working out great and it’s no cost to the company!” – Stefan
• “Although our wellness budget was reduced to ZERO this year, we continue to come up with new and interesting wellness initiatives… We are even offering cost-effective prizes, like jean days and premier parking!” – Holly
• “Our company just started our official ‘Steps to Wellness’ Program… The employees complete a “scorecard” with several tasks and turn the completed card in for a chance at a “Day Off With Pay”. The more staff who enter, the more days off we will raffle.” – Sue K
• “We have…raised funds to assist with our program by producing a cookbook that we sold.” – Mary Wicker
• “One really fun wellness initiative that my company implemented is building an employee vegetable garden…We just started the garden project this year and participation has been huge. This is a really fun project and is relatively inexpensive!” – Kathryn

 6.       They Assign Measurement to Gauge Success

• “We work with our insurance carrier to hold an annual health fair each year that consists of blood work for a variety of areas and each employee is given the results that day. The results are discussed with health coaches from our insurance carrier and given advice as to how to improve results in any areas that reflect a health issue. These statistics are used to determine where we need to concentrate our efforts to best improve the wellness of our employees…Since we have implemented the program our data from the health screenings have shown improvement each year which in turn helps to keep our health insurance cost down.” – Mary Wicker
• “In the year 2009 our corporate headquarters developed a 3 component program to get the employees premium costs down and in the long run, help them develop healthy life habits… This year the Myers Lawn and Garden site is conducting their 2nd annual health fair since the first one in August of 2009 was so successful…Employee participation is growing and the savings are too for both the employee and the company.” – Lee Herman
• “The goal is overall health of our employees. If we can prove that we have lowered healthcare costs and possibly insurance premiums for our employees, because of healthier lifestyles, we have been successful!” – Tori Hinote

7.      They Empower Employees

• “The company promoted wellness with the staff by also ‘promoting’ US…For example, I had always wanted to be a nutrition education writer, a secret desire of mine…The company decided to start putting out a monthly newsletter in the club for our members and not only was I asked to be a columnist, but I was asked to be the editor as well. Our whole staff took part in the newsletter, writing about their known specialty in the field. This tactic was most rewarding for me, as I had the chance to really reach a long time goal of mine. This made me feel like I was on top of the world, how do you get more ‘well’ than that?” – Renee S.
• “List Innovative Solutions is extremely active in the community…and encourages its employees to do the same by sponsoring the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Program…this allows our employees to be active and also give back at the same time.” – Jennifer Bonner
• “We encourage all employees to offer ideas on the ‘Healthy Life’ bulletin board so everyone gets a chance to bring something to the table!” – Dustin Shay

As I stated in my earlier post on readers’ company wellness programs, it’s great to see how many organizations take an active interest in their employees’ health – not just for employees, but for the companies themselves, as wellness programs can help employers cut costs related to healthcare, turnover and lost production.

What do you think? Care to add an “8^th habit” that makes your own company’s wellness program successful?

“How isn’t it?” Is more like it…Two weeks ago, we asked you to share with us if and how your organization promoted employee health and wellness.  Aside from giving you the chance to brag about how your organization could easily give Jillian Michaels a run for her money in the fitness coaching department, we also wanted to give you the chance to share with each other creative – and often cost-effective – ideas for promoting employee wellness.  

As it turns out, many of you have not just one or two, but several initiatives in place to help employees focus on improving their health – an effort that is as much a benefit to your company as it is to your workers: If implemented correctly, company-sponsored wellness programs effectively reduce company healthcare costs, employee turnover and incidences of employee absenteeism, according to Dr. Steven Williams, Director of E-Media Innovations and Business Development at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), who recently presented on this topic during the Annual SHRM Conference in San Diego last month. 

So what are you doing to promote employee wellness (and, in effect, cut costs)? Let’s take a look at the results…

READERS’ RESULTS: THE TOP 15 CORPORATE WELLNESS BENEFITS

With so much great feedback, it was nearly impossible to list all the initiatives individually, but several, listed below, were shared by a lot of you (see the full list of comments here):

1. Contests – most particularly, those inspired by TV’s “The Biggest Loser,” complete with some pretty lucrative awards (including iPods and hundreds of dollars in cash) – were among the most popular ways employers are motivating employees to get healthier.
2. In-house Weight Watchers programs offered for free or at a discount
3. Rewards systems where employees can exchange points earned through activity for “prizes” such as spa certificates, health club discounts, or gift cards toward sports apparel shops
4. Health living newsletters sent to employees on a weekly or monthly basis, complete with healthy living tips, exercises and recipes
5. Online tracking programs where employees can easily log and assess their progress toward a specified goal
6. Healthier snack alternatives to typical vending machine fare
7. On-site fitness facilities where employees can work out solo or participate in classes (often for free)
8. Organized sports teams or walking/running groups
9. Cash or discounts toward healthy purchases, including  fitness gear, weight loss programs, smoking cessation programs, or participation in community run/walks
10. On-site health fairs that include health assessments, massages and free, in-person consultations with community health professionals
11. Smoking cessation programs
12. Partial to full-paid health club membership fees
13. Free health screenings and assessments, accompanied by professional advice for understanding and improving the results
14. Employee assistance programs to help employees better their work/life balance, and providing help with everything from legal consultation to financial planning to stress management to childcare referrals.
15. Regular “lunch-and-learn” sessions where local wellness professionals present on healthy lifestyle topics

THE BEST OF THE REST – Here, in your own words, some other interesting perks that stood out:

• “We are getting rid of one of our coke machines and replacing it with a cooler that will hold 100% fruit juice.” - Sarah Benedum
• “We have onsite showers for those who go out for a run during the day or bike to work.” - Kathy
• “We’ve initiated walking groups, Weight Watchers, heart-healthy cooking demonstrations, team fitness challenges, and even a Salsa dancing class.” - Robert
• “For the month of July we have a ‘submit a healthy recipe’ contest planned. At the end of the [company’s summer-long] walking challenge, the recipes will be compiled into a book and distributed to our employees.” - Raelene Neumann
• “We have a Holiday Weigh In which runs from Thanksgiving week to the day after Super Bowl. The goal is to maintain or lose weight during the most challenging time of the year.” - Jane
• “Our agency sponsors an annual Wellness Day complete with…a spa corner featuring makeovers and massage and free organic vegetable plants for all participants.” – Rachel S.
• “One really fun wellness initiative that my company implemented is building an employee vegetable garden.” - Kathryn
• “The company promotes healthy living by providing health conscious snacks such as granola bars, fresh fruit, nuts and more. Water, protein shakes, fruit juice and sports drinks are also readily available at no cost to employees.” - Melissa
• “Our Fun Committee regularly organizes events for holidays, birthdays and, well, just for fun. Hat Day, High-Five Wednesday, Hula Hoop contests, Wii competitions - random, silly but fun and stress relieving.” - Carol
• “The company donates 40% of the fundraising amounts for [community] events that their employees choose to participate in, this allows our employees to be active and also give back at the same time.” – Jennifer Bonner
• “We…have drop-off and pick-up for our dry cleaning and a mechanic who comes on site to take care of things such as oil changes and other maintenance issues. Things like dry cleaning and auto care may not sound like a wellness issue, but when it keeps you from making additional errands with our already overloaded schedules, it reduces stress.” - Janet J.

Anything you want to add to the list? Feel free to do so in the comments section below. Otherwise, check out even more reader results in my follow-up: The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Corporate Wellness Programs.

SAS. Nordstrom. Google. Whole Foods. What do all these companies have in common beyond their brand recognition? They all made the 2010 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For. And this year at the 2010 SHRM Annual Convention in San Diego (#SHRM10), Michael Burchell, Ed. D., vice president for Global Business Development, Great Place to Work® Institute returned to talk about what exactly these 100 company’s do to make the list (last  year his talk focused on the 50 Best Small and Medium Companies to Work For in America).  He noted that any company has the potential to make one of these two lists, regardless of industry, employee demographics, location or work status.

Commonalities between companies that make the list
Burchell started his presentation asking, “What is the difference between a good place and a great place to work?” following that up with, “It’s not about what you do, but how you do it.” Through his company’s 20-plus years of research on this topic, Burchell found the one thing all these companies have in common: TRUST. These companies are all places where employees “trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with.”

The Three Components of Trust:

1. The relationship between employees and management.
2. The relationship between employees and their jobs/company (pride).
3. The relationship between employees and other employees (camaraderie).

Building this kind of trust enables companies to reap positive business benefits and increased productivity through increased caliber of employees, increased quality of products and increased levels of risk taking and innovation.  It’s an investment, but a worthwhile one.

Having this kind of trust also decreases costs by lowering turnover (best companies typically have a voluntary turnover of 9% or less) and lowering resistance to change.  Surprisingly, it also lowers health care costs: Employees who feel trusted – and trust their companies in return – tend to have healthier lives outside of work because they leave work at work, leaving them with more to give to their personal life (family and community). This also means that when they are at work, they show up because they want to and are ready to contribute because they have the perception the company offers a special and unique culture where “we are not like others.”

Building Trust
Trust between employee and company (and vice versa) begins during the pre-hire stage; although the treatment employees get on their first day of work really sets the stage for future trust. Employees who feel welcomed and appreciated generally foster a genuine level of trust much faster than those employees who are just shown to a desk to begin working right away. Makes sense, right? You’d be surprised how many companies overlook these little details. Burchell continued by saying that employees who have the opportunity to interact with senior leadership very close to their hire date are better informed and feel true value and connection immediately.

Best Companies to Work For also…

• Motivate
• Empower
• Listen
• Thank
• Develop
• Care
• Celebrate
• Share

Common Benefits that Best Companies to Work For Offer:

• Job sharing
• Telecommuting
• Compressed work weeks
• Flexible scheduling
• Phased retirement
• Paid sabbaticals
• Child services
• Dry cleaning
• On-site mailing
• Free beverages or snacks
• Personal travel experience

And while this list of perks is impressive in and of itself, what truly makes the difference is how the company communicates these employee benefits, supports them and enables employees to take advantage of them. One example given was Goggle’s TGI Fridays – and yes, it does revolve around food, but not exactly in the way you might think. Each and every Friday employees are invited into cafeterias for an agenda-less meeting where employees get to talk with Google’s CEO and senior leadership team about anything. And as you’d expect, not all questions hold the same weight but all questions are valid and go back to the idea of trust. This practice also shows employees that they are valued as a part of the business, not merely people who work for the company. This is also a time for the leadership to reinforce the company values and make everyone feel connected. Google’s success is unquestioned, but did you know they have also created a pool of quality applicants that is so extensive, they may never have to actively recruit ever again?

The Hidden Benefit to Being  a Best Place to Work
Earlier, I mentioned the benefits a company gains by striving to be a best place to work – such as higher productivity and profitability - but there’s also this other (kind of huge) perk: Once word gets out that your company is a great place to work, you’ll really start to see more qualified applicants applying to your open positions.  I’m talking about people who understand your company’s unique culture and want to be a part of it because they feel a connection to your values.

While much of this information may not seem new, it is wonderful to see so many companies really trying to step up their game to become a best place to work. Remember, employees are your greatest asset, and they leave every night. What are you doing to ensure they return? If you build around this model, everyone benefits. Hiring gets easier. Top talent is retained. Production increases. Profits grow. Build a best place to work and you build a foundation for ongoing success.

Explore our previous Building the Best Place to Work article series to gain insights on our five basic building blocks and other tips for creating the best working place. As always, we welcome your feedback in the comments section of this post. Tell us more about your own recruitment and employee engagement experiences as you try to build a company that your employees call a best place to work.

According to a Personified survey of 250,000 job seekers, nearly 60 percent of job applicants reported they never received a response from the last employer they applied to for a job.

With millions of job seekers applying to hundreds of thousands of jobs every day, it’s increasingly challenging for you, the employer or recruiter, to provide applicants with useful information about your hiring process. In fact, the “black hole” applicants enter once they apply to a job is considered by most to be the biggest challenge in recruitment today.

What are the consequences?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this absence of contact and communication leaves job seekers lost, frustrated, and lacking the information they need to manage their job search and career path. They don’t know who they’re up against, how they compare to other applicants or where the hiring process stands.

We’ve talked about this application black hole and the importance of communicating with applicants before, and while personal communication is ideal, it can be very time consuming to respond to candidates individually, particularly when the volume of applicants has increased in light of the recession.

But by not communicating with candidates, you are:

• Tarnishing your employment brand — frustrated candidates will start to think of your company negatively,  and will likely share their frustrations with others.
• Disrespecting candidates and showing them you don’t care about their needs in the application process.
• Making it difficult to maintain engagement with the talent pool into which you’ve invested so much money.

So, what can you do?

It’s apparent that employer/recruiter communication to candidates is very necessary — but often isn’t happening because of time or resource limitations. With this in mind, what can you do to protect your candidate relationships — and your company’s reputation?

Introducing hireINSIDER

hireINSIDER is working to solve the No. 1  issue facing employers and recruiters today: How can I communicate with candidates during the application process, when the time and resources necessary often don’t exist in a tough economy?
CareerBuilder’s new hireINSIDER solution serves both sides of the “black hole” problem by letting candidates know how they stack up against other applicants for a job, while also reducing the burden on you to provide constant, relevant communication to those whom have applied.

By getting an inside peek into the qualifications of other candidates, job seekers are able to better assess if they are a viable candidate for your job and the likelihood of you contacting them.

How?

Currently, hireINSIDER includes four key products, two of which are for candidates, and two of which are for employers.

A quick breakdown:

Job Competition Report –

• This report gives applicants a better understanding of who they are competing with for a job position.
• The report aggregates user-generated information (like education level, years of experience, and average current salaries) from applicants for a particular job listing.

Hiring Status Report —

• In exchange for sharing at which stage they are in the hiring process, job seekers receive an update on how many others in the aggregate applicant pool reported they were contacted by you, interviewed, hired or not contacted at all.
• Candidates can see if an you have made any actions on the job posting and, from there, evaluate his or her chances of getting an interview.

AppView —

• You, the employer or recruiter, can a deeper understanding of the type of talent applying to your open positions with AppView, a report that provides a real-time snapshot of the candidates whom have applied to your open positions.
• Quickly compare applicants (through metrics like current and desired salary, employment status and education level), ensure you are attracting the right candidates and become aware of changes you can make to your live job posting to enhance results.

Branded Job Competition Report –

• Get in front of job applicants with your company’s custom branding while they are using hireINSIDER data to evaluate their chances for a position.
• Job applicants who use hireINSIDER will get the higher-detail premium version of Branded Job Competition Report, wrapped in your customized branding and full of helpful, contextual communication provided by you.
• Let your applicants know what to expect from your hiring process, other roles that may be suitable for their profile, and more.

“hireINSIDER benefits employers who may not have the time or resources to respond to an increasing amount of applications in a tough economy.  By providing the feedback that job seekers need, it helps to alleviate the negative impact that a lack of response can have on a company’s employment brand,” said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America.

If you want to find out more about how hireINSIDER can help your company manage your application process, call 866-438-1485 or send an e-mail to hireINSIDER@careerbuilder.com.

Care to offer some insight?

Earlier this week, my colleague over at our job seeker blog, The Work Buzz, Kaitlin Madden, told me about an article she’s working on about what constitutes a deal breaker for hiring managers or recruiters.  So I thought I’d help her out by asking for your feedback…

What do you consider a deal breaker…during an interview? On a resume or in a cover letter? During salary negotiations?

That is, what’s the one thing a candidate can do – or, rather, has done – to immediately take him or herself out  of the running for consideration?

Got any stories to share?  Maybe a few words of wisdom? (It could end up working out in your favor…After all, the more we educate job seekers on the behavior that they should avoid – or altogether abolish – the more head- and heartache it’ll save everyone in the end…) 

Please give us your thoughts in the comments below!  (Got something to say, but don’t want to leave it as a comment? Feel free to email me your stories instead!)

Would you hire this guy? Would he think you would hire him because he’s wearing a funny hat and glasses and has the confidence of 1,000 vuvuzela-blowing fans at a World Cup game? He just might: As we’ve mentioned in the past, job seekers tend to do some unconventional things in hopes of getting a job — and although we’re starting to dig ourselves out of the recession, recent economic times have still led some job seekers to resort to, shall we say,  unusual measures to try to stand out from the competition. And those unusual measures just may be working.

Unusual Job Tactics — Trend on the Rise?

Nearly one-quarter of hiring managers (22 percent) reported in a new CareerBuilder survey that they are seeing more job seekers try unusual tactics to capture their attention this year compared to last year. This is up from 18 percent of hiring managers who said the same in 2009 and 12 percent in 2008.

“While we are seeing positive signs in the job market as employers gradually add headcount, competition is still high for open positions,” said Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder.

“As a result, more candidates are turning to unconventional tactics to attract the attention of hiring managers. While these tactics may work occasionally, they still need to be done with professionalism. That way, candidates are remembered for what they can offer an organization and not just for an unusual antic.”

When Strange May Actually Be Smart

While doing strange things to get a job may have gotten a bad rap in the past, it’s not all “Thanks for your time; these gentlemen will escort you out” on the employer end. Some hiring managers look at candidates who think outside the interview walls and see an innovative new employee in their future; nearly one-in-ten (9 percent) said they have hired someone who used an unconventional tactic to get their attention.

But what really works and what flops? As Ferrara mentioned above, candidates are wise to show what they can offer to an organization when considering an unusual approach. Otherwise, it’s just an empty attention grabber — and employers will likely see through it right away.

When asked what unusual job tactics made them go from “Whaaaa?” to “You’re hired,” here are some incidents they shared:

• Candidate brought in a DVD of his former boss giving him a recommendation.
• Candidate applying for a casino table game position came into my office and started dealing on my desk while pretending to talk to players, which showed me her guest service skills.
• Candidate sent in a letter that explained how to solve an issue our company was having with a certain type of technology.
• Candidate who was a prospective teacher brought in a box of props to demonstrate her teaching style.
• Candidate came prepared with unique business cards featuring our logo and a self-introduction brochure.
• Candidate wrote a full business plan for one of our products with his resume submission.
  
• Candidate created a full graphics portfolio on our brand.

Have you had a job seeker try to get your attention by doing or saying something out of the ordinary? Did it work?

Workplace Flexibility — It’s Not a Trend

More and more businesses are talking about the importance of workplace flexibility in today’s society – and the White House even dedicated a recent forum solely to the topic. As the forum stressed, we need a 21st century workplace to meet the demands of a 21st century work force. A report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors found that more flexibility in the workplace leads to happier employees, more family time, and higher employee retention and productivity – as well as more competitive and profitable workplaces.

One of the more interesting discussions in The Hiring Site’s contest history recently unfolded around the very idea of workplace flexibility, as we asked all of you the following question for our May contest (and gave away some cool stuff — congrats to our winners!):

“Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?”

You were all more than a bit divided on the subject; opinions ranged from “This would NOT be a good environment at ANY company!” to “Yes! Thinking outside the box is what keeps America growing.” I’ve rounded up some of the highlights below (you can read the full list of comments here).

“I think ROWE is a fantastic way of boosting employee morale and engagement, and it can be used as a “perk” for some employees (it works for me!)” –PJ

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“It’s a good concept for companies without strict production deadlines.” –Donna

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“I think that the staff on my team would enjoy this freedom. I even believe some of them may produce the results in order to have the freedom. I do also believe that I need some one here 8-5 to take care of clients who have that expectation of us. It’s a great concept, but I’m not sure how I can make the logistics work in my 5 man team.” –Stacy

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“While I think this would be a great concept in several work environments; the concept would not work in our setting; we are in the business of providing 24/7 care to our patients. The level of staffing that is needed depends on the number of patient we have to take care and the level of the care that each patient requires.” –Lara

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“I think the best part of a ROWE would be the work life balance that it creates. As a working mom I can imagine how helpful and ideal a ROWE would be.” –Bernadette

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“In the field of corrections, this is not possible. You cannot monitor an inmate population from the grocery store. There is also no quantitative way to measure remote job performance… Most people are not able to handle the organizational issues and self-motivating actions this would require.” –KCI

“We treat all our colleagues as adults and they all manage their own time. We have no handbook. We have no time clock. All but one of our people work from a home office or on client sites. We do not track how much time is spent in either place (except for billing purposes.) Our turnover is basically zero in the last several years – not just in HR District Office, but in Higbee Associates as a whole.” –Lynn

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“I love the concept! Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work in our business, which is retail. We might be able to use it for back-office/administrative functions, but I believe there has to be some face time in order to foster teamwork.” –Lise

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“On the surface this appears to be a creative way to bridge the gap between generations and work place expectations.” –Kim

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“It is pretty hard to mentor someone that is not around on a consistent basis. This will undermine the relationship and make it harder to give feedback.” –Denise

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“Working set amounts of hours is really not about results, but about doing something because it is supposed to be done this way. If people could be more tied to the outcome of their work then more people would be happier with their careers. Its a great idea whose time may come down the road.” –Noelle

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“It sounds fantastic and I would love to be able to do it! But, I think that we (Americans) are used to a certain mindset in the workplace and that is the harder (usually more hours) you work the better employee you are. It would be hard to change that mindset in all of your employees and this could in turn create some resentment.” –Jen

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“Unfortunately adopting such a paradigm shift in culture would possibly cripple an organization who still follows workflows and corporate driven goal setting they built decades ago. Many newcomers are all for it and working smarter is. Not looked at as valuable as sitting at your desk looking busy from 9-5. Anyone else’s company still in a time warp?” –Steve

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“The flexibility to manage your time as you need would create less stress in a job and in life. In turn this makes you more productive. More productive means more money, and money is always the bottom line.” –Brad

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“The ROWE concept is a great one but measures would have to be in place to ensure excellent service. Customers want/need (pay) to have access to their vendors so making sure the correct results are delivered would be a challenge. It really requires drilling down to the specific results the organization wants to achieve and being able to understand what your customers want/need/are willing to accept. Companies would also need to have technology and communication (practices) infrastructures that would support the diversity of schedules and patterns brought on by this approach.” –Charles

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“I think more companies need to expand their thinking and rewards structure, sometimes money isn’t really the bottom line and quality of life is much more appealing.” –Gytahnna

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Your Biggest Concerns

From what I gathered in your comments, many of the concerns or challenges you expressed in your comments regarding ROWE boil down to physical presence and time elements — the need for employees to be physically in the office and during certain times, whether for meetings, teamwork building, customers, last-minute projects, ongoing deadlines, the ability to mentor, the desire to keep an eye on employees’ progress, or something else. The founders of ROWE have detailed answers to many of the same questions and concerns you have all expressed — you can determine whether or not their answers satisfy you.

ROWE — Who’s Doing It?

Some of you also asked at which companies ROWE was currently in place. Companies like Best Buy, Gap Outlet, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, and Fairview Health Services’ (their IT department) have adapted a results-only work environment. You can read about one employee’s ROWE experience here.

And as for the concern that with ROWE, employees won’t show up for meetings, answer calls, or meet deadlines, Eric Severson, VP of HR for Gap Inc., says, “That just doesn’t happen. People need feedback on projects and will come to meetings to get sign-offs. Some people still work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, and that’s fine. ROWE is your choice.”

ROWE or not, workplaces are constantly changing — and we enjoy discussing those changes with you. Any additional thoughts about ROWE?

Be the hero and surprise your team with three months of breakfast treats from Wolferman’s, or singlehandedly caffeinate your employees for all of Q3 2010 with a 3-month Dunkin’ Donuts coffee subscription. And even if you don’t win either of those, you have a chance to win your own copy of “Why Works Sucks and How to Fix It.”

Entering is Easy:

Simply answer the question, “Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?” in the comments below — and you’ll automatically be entered to win!

What’s ROWE all about? Read on to find out — and then enter to win for your chance at free swag!

What’s ROWE?

At a SXSW Interactive panel this past March, I listened to the founders of the ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) movement, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, speak. After hearing more about ROWE and the well-known companies who had successfully adapted a results-only work environment, I was intrigued — and like many others, I had a lot of questions.

The concept of ROWE is, at its face, simple. People should have control of their own time — not the companies for which they work. In a results-only environment, the only thing that matters is results – not how many hours you’re at the office.

• As an employee, you own your time 24/7.
• Unlimited PTO as long as the work gets done.
• Go to the grocery store on a Tuesday at 10 a.m. if you need to.
• No more mandatory meetings.
• No more permission-granting from your employer, but instead, performance guiding.
• Employees are trusted with their time.

As Ressler and Thompson say, “Work isn’t a place you go — it’s a thing you do.” They are quick to stress that ROWE is not the same as flex time, telecommuting, job sharing, or employees to work from home a couple of days per week — those options, they say, are not enough.

From www.gorowe.com:

In a results-only company or department, employees can do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done.  You make the decisions about what you do and where you do it, every minute of every day.

Here’s a video explaining ROWE, featuring employers who have adapted it:

The CEO of Girl Scouts of San Gorgonia Council, who pioneered ROWE for the organization when she came on board as CEO, recently wrote an article about her take on ROWE and workplace flexibility.

The Benefits?

According to stats on Ressler and Thompson’s website:

• ROWE teams report an average increase of 35% in productivity by eliminating waste from systems and processes, which increases employee capacity.
• ROWE teams also experience up to a 90% decrease in voluntary turnover rates.

Other benefits:

• Talent retention and attraction — Ressler and Thompson argue that companies in a results-only environment have a competitive advantage, as many candidates willing to be paid less money and have more freedom rather than work in a company with a traditional structure and more money.
• Optimization of space — Employees are working remotely much of the time.
• Elimination of wasteful processes — Employees will not be wasting a company’s time, money, and resources.

Challenges?

This may all sound too good to be true — so in our follow-up post, we’ll address some of the challenges companies who choose this route face, as well as some of your proposed challenges.

As employees of companies of all sizes (or as candidates looking for your next job), we at The Hiring Site want to get your thoughts. If nothing else, with work/life lines blurring more and more and more workers demanding (or at least requesting) flexibility and freedom in the workplace, it’s an interesting concept to start discussing.

How to Enter:
Simply answer this question in the comments below: “Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?”

Once you submit your answer, you’ll automatically be entered to win.

What Can you Win?

• One of you will win a 3-month breakfast club subscription for your team
• Two of you will win a 3-month Dunkin’ Donuts coffee subscription (that’s 2 lbs./month of regular or decaf, whole bean or ground, however you want it!)
• Four of you will win a copy of “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It” by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson.

Contest Details:
Entries will be accepted from 12:00 a.m. CST on Monday, May 17, 2010 until 11:59 p.m. CST on Friday, May 21, 2010.  Each account may only submit one answer for consideration; subsequent entries will not be considered. Spam responses will not be considered. The winner will be picked at random and notified via e-mail the week of May 24, 2010. Please read the full list of official contest rules and regulations.

Just answer this question: “Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?”

Want to hear more about ROWE? Listen to Ressler and Thompson on NPR, in a three-part story about result-only work environments.

Last week, I challenged readers to share the most difficult interview questions they’ve ever gotten – as interviewers. 

From the blunt (“What don’t you like about working for your company?”) to the bizarre (“If you walked into a room filled with jars and I was one of the jars, what would I have to contain to stand out from the others?”), the only thing more surprising than the actual questions our readers submitted were the surprisingly insightful lessons they gleaned from those questions.  

So without further ado, I present The Hiring Site readers’ nominees for the most difficult-to-answer interview questions they ever received from job candidates…and what they took away from the experience:

• “What is your company’s mission statement?” Seems like an innocent enough question, but Christina Thais was still relatively new to her company when a candidate asked her this during a phone interview, causing her to go blank. Another reader, Angie, had a similar experience when a candidate asked her to describe the company’s corporate culture. Since then, Angie writes, she has “taken the time to really think about how to communicate our corporate culture to future candidates.” Lesson learned: Both Christina and Angie’s experience highlight how important it is to ensure your employees understand the company vision, mission and values and constantly look for opportunities to communicate these things. Not only will the constant reminders keep you and your employees accountable for upholding these values and objectives, but the ability to recite these things off the bat is a sign to candidates that you actually “walk the walk.”  
• “What don’t you like about working for your company?” After being asked this question, reader Jessica writes, “I now prepare myself with potential similar difficult questions that may come up during the interview process.” Lesson learned: Alas, you can’t anticipate every difficult question that’s going to come your way, but you can anticipate that difficult questions will come up, and when they do, your best bet will be to simply tell the truth.  After all, if you’re dishonest or bend the truth, you risk the chance of setting false expectations for the candidate. A sugar-coated answer might help you fill the position, but it won’t stay filled very long. [Side note: This is also a good attitude to have if you, like one reader, Bridget, ever get a question like: “If you walked into a room filled with jars and I was one of the jars, what would I have to contain to stand out from the others?” “I’m still not sure how to answer that question,” Bridget writes.]
• “So what’s in it for me?” Another reader, NL, remembers being “appalled” when a potential candidate for an entry-level receptionist position asked this, the second in a line of questioning that began, “Why should I accept an offer to work for this company? Obviously, you’re not Google, with candidates sending you flowers, balloon telegrams or banging on your door to get it in.” Lesson learned: Not only did the candidate’s attitude reveal that she would not be a good fit for the company and that “phone screens are essential!” but it also seemed to confirm what NL already knew: It’s more than okay to not be Google. “Considering that every other candidate had heard about us prior to even applying…we are doing something right.”
• “Will you be keeping in touch? WILL you?”  It’s easy to forget how heavily candidates depend on that post-interview phone call from you…until one of them actually says so. Such is what happened to one commenter, J., who was met with bitter disbelief after promising to keep in touch with one candidate, who had apparently been (falsely) told one too many times by recruiters that she’d be called back.  Lesson learned: The confrontation taught J. ”that a response to a candidate is not a courtesy, it’s an essential part of the process and should never, ever be overlooked or taken lightly. We are dealing with real people with real lives and very real concerns and challenges. Every one of them deserves respect, and a response.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
• “How many healthy choices do you offer in your vending machine?” When Eileen Hershkowitz received this question as well as many others about various working conditions at her company that promoted a healthy lifestyle, she realized that the candidate was seeking affirmation that her company not only talked about employee wellness, but truly executed that in its culture. Lesson learned: Eileen writes, “The candidate really had a valid point in my mind and made me re-think how important areas such as break rooms, and choices in vending machines and/or cafeterias can affect how your employees view your organization in the commitment to its most valuable resource.” In other words, it’s in the every day things things companies do – not just through quarterly bonuses, annual awards or periodic celebrations – that communicate to your employees that you sincerely value their efforts, support them and want to ensure their success. 
• “What are the specific steps you as my manager take to ensure my success in this position, and what are your procedures for preparing for my termination if I’m not?” After getting this question at the end of a sales position interview, reader James was understandably thrown off guard. After all, not many people ask about the firing process; however, James wrote that it made him consider how his accountability practices play into his goals for his team’s performance.   Lesson learned: “Interviews (especially for sales positions) need to include detailed expectations for success and ‘how’ the candidates will be held accountable for that success so that he/she knows exactly what will be expected of them should they get the job.”
• “Why isn’t anybody that works at your company happy?” Sure, it’s not the most eloquently phrased question, and perhaps a tad on the presumptuous side, but when a candidate  threw this question to one anonymous reader, rather than take offense and immediately dismiss the candidate, the interviewer instead took the opportunity to find out where the candidate had gotten such an impression and clarify any misconceptions about the company. Lesson learned: The interview process provides an opportunity to find out how well your company is executing its employment brand, and give insight into how to better execute it. 
• “What do you do if he (the owner) dies?” Despite its bluntness, reader Brett found this question to be smart once he realized that the candidate was thinking long term, and was concerned about the company’s viability should he be hired. Brett writes that this question “made me start to think – we prep for a lot of things like talking salary & benefits because we think about what we’d want to know… but you never know who’s sitting on the other side of the desk and what their wants/needs are…”  Lesson learned: Brett brings up a good point about the importance of doing the right research to understand candidate attitudes, behaviors and perceptions when recruiting and trying to sell your company to candidates.

The overall lesson?
At the very least, questions like these can give you insight into how an individual thinks and his or her motives for taking a job, as well as a glimpse into their soft skills, what kind of employee they will make and how, if hired, they would potentially sell your company to others, to name just a few additional benefits.

At the most, these questions can help prepare you for future interviews and give you insight into something about your company that needs to be addressed (see “Why isn’t anybody who works at your company happy?” above) – whether it’s better communication about the company mission statement, or the fact that you need to better manage or build your external employment brand.

What about you? Any questions of your own to add to the list? And if so, did you learn from the experience?

If you can tear yourself away from KFC’s Double Down sandwich or the latest episode of Glee long enough, take a few minutes to check out what you’ve missed this past month in the wonderful and sometimes wacky world of recruitment.

We found reason to be optimistic with CareerBuilder and USA Today’s Q2 2010 hiring forecast results, and BLS released March’s Employment Situation report, which revealed that the economy saw its largest job gain in three years. And hey! Things are even looking up for college graduates in terms of the job outlook.

While we’re talking about better news in hiring, I should probably mention that we just released our new how-to-hire e-book, CareerBuilder’s Ultimate Recruitment Guide. Download a copy for yourself — or your team — now.

What are workers spending their tax refunds on this year? Is it that trip to see grandma in Wyoming? A new lifetime supply of bathroom tissue? You may be surprised. On that note, a new CareerBuilder survey found that the majority of employers are doing something to become more environmentally friendly, or “green” –investing in bathroom tissue made from recycled tissue, perhaps?

Jim Greenwood, CEO of Concentra, Inc. shared his thoughts on being a CEO — a Chief Encouragement Officer, that is — and talked about Concentra’s workplace culture, the importance of giving colleagues an opt out, and much more.  Another leader, Martha O’Gorman, chief marketing officer at Liberty Tax Service, talked with us about why employees should be left to do their jobs, when humor’s appropriate in workplace culture, and why the company doesn’t believe in traditional national advertising.

Do you want colleagues — or ex-colleagues — rating you anonymously and gaining control over whether that next employer wants to hire you? A new social networking site, Unvarnished, thinks you do. Speaking of the power of employee referrals, we revealed how a personal phone call from George Lopez to Conan O’Brien helped Conan decide to sign on to Team TBS.

Lastly, we discussed AOL’s success in employment branding, and why you need to know who you are — and who you aren’t — as an employer.

Here’s some other employment news that’s been making us gasp, cringe, or smile this past month:

• Sooooo… did we mention our new recruitment e-book is out? We might have.
• Some companies send you back to school.  Other companies school you on social media best practices, university-style.
• Why the job hoppers who make you hesitate may actually make the best employees.
• You’d probably gasp if you got this kind of e-mail from a potential intern. Amirite?
• The best culture attracts the best talent — here’s 10 ways to get in on the action
• Top Employee, anyone? Five ways food and restaurants are mixing in an awesome culture.
• Sometimes, your employees need to feel empowered to get on that bike and fall off. And learn to get back up. And, you know, fall off again.
• Speaking of bikes, some of you may want to bike to a nearby establishment to see what a  “jobless recovery ale” is like. Taste the happy… ?
• Would you pay Donatella Versace to judge your skills and that skirtyougotforlike$10shhhh — for charity?