Hiring right now is not easy. We have been in a candidate-driven market for a few years, but I haven’t felt it as much as I have this past quarter. Hot jobs to recruit on, check. Great candidates, check. Interest from both sides, check… then the deals somehow fall apart. What is happening? Welcome to today’s candidate-dominated market!...
Background checks are still part of the fabric of the all-American hiring process. Many companies still require one before any job offer is valid. A typical background screening includes verification of employment, education, criminal check, and sometimes bankruptcy.
I’m willing to bet that the majority of people reading this have a red mark next to at least one of the following fouls:
Search projects are a lot of work in a market where human capital (candidates) are harder and harder to find and attract. As a Life Sciences recruiter, I am literally making phone calls all day, every day… My opening line is usually “Am I catching you at the right time? Am I interrupting you?” 90% of the time people stop what they are doing, and give me 5 minutes of their time, which turns into a 30 minute conversation, followed by a scheduled follow up call--all because they want to continue the conversation and learn more.
Headhunting is an art form-a practice of concentration, research, process, and communicating my reason as to why I'm disrupting someone’s day. Should I apologize in advance for 'interrupting' your day in order to help ‘disrupt’ your career and improve your life? I don’t think so! ...Here's why:
The biggest reason companies decide to work with recruiting firms is to get access to top talent to hire-people they cannot find on their own. As much as we (recruiters) may like a particular candidate, if our client can get the same quality person on their own, they would not need us. Therefore, our goal is to look for very specific professionals-people with direct industry experience and solid success, doing the same functions the clients need.
After recently surviving my son’s college football recruiting decision, it occurred to me how many similarities exist between that recruiting process and what I do daily, advising my job recruits on opportunities. Keep in mind this round of college recruiting wasn’t my first rodeo: I have an older son who is also playing D1 Football, so you would think I was better equipped to navigate the waters this time around. The truth is that while you are in it, it is hard to see through the “razzle dazzle”. Having an outside advocate by your side is a great key to success. We were lucky to have had several, and both my boys ended up with great opportunities. Some others going through the process were not as lucky.
It’s a candidate-driven job market… Top talent is tougher to find these days, as candidates have more options than ever, including: receiving multiple job offers, counter-offers, sign-on bonuses, stock options, and more... To attract and retain this coveted talent pool, we recruiters must educate our clients on what will make A-level candidates turn their heads.
“Why are you being so picky?!”... I was recently talking to a friend who is currently single and has been unsuccessful in the dating scene. She is quite the catch, and I am not just saying that because she is my friend. I remind her ad nauseam that her endless list of “need-to-haves” are without a doubt the reason she cannot find “Mr. Right”. I’ve witnessed her trials and tribulations firsthand, as we walked through her Match.com profile. Somehow there was something ‘wrong’ with each guy who reached out to her. Too short, too tall (imagine that!), too young, didn’t have a good job (or at least her idea of what a good job is). You name it, she had an excuse for why he wasn’t the right person.
This situation made me think about the job I have and how similar hiring is to dating. And just like my friend, sometimes employers are far too picky when it comes to looking for the right candidate.
You’re a hiring manager working with a search firm, your recruiter sets up an interview and right after the candidate calls them to tell them how it went… Ever wonder what job candidates say about you? The interview? How you positioned the opportunity?
Here are a few things we’ve heard:
Do you turn down job applicants professionally and appropriately during your recruitment process?... In today's Information and Technology Age staying in contact with your job applicants is easier and more important than ever. Yet it seems as if few employers do this. Here are some steps the website the balance recommends:
Tom Cruise said it back in 1986 when he was crazy cool, not just crazy (did anyone else watch the Scientology documentary “Going Clear”? Let’s just say it was “interesting”)… Fast forward to 2016. Hobson Associates just wrapped up their 43rd fiscal year. Like a fine wine, we seem to get better with age. One way we got better this past year was our SPEED.