Archive for February, 2010
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Facebook: A Powerful Corporate Recruiting Resource: In just about every business, the potential value of Facebook has been kicked around. Corporate recruiting is no different. There are 350 million users on this site – the most popular social networking platform on the web – and it’s still growing aggressively. So, the upside is only going to grow. Add to this the fact that there’s a robust application development community outside Facebook, which provides a steady stream of fresh, innovative thinking, and you can see the wide range of possibilities for professionals in our business.
Read the article >>
Three Characteristics of an Effective Corporate Recruiter: Introduction: For such a common discipline, the methods of evaluation are strangely varied. Most major companies have at least one corporate recruiter, but there is little consensus on how to decide whether the person playing that role is effective … which means figuring out how to define a “good” corporate recruiter becomes a murky affair at best.
Read the article >>
Five Ways to Supercharge Your Corporate Recruiting Practices: Corporate recruiters have always struggled to gain a seat at the strategic table. A support unit, it doesn’t seem like there’s a way to link what this department does to achieving company objectives. But, without an efficient corporate recruiting team that’s plugged into the needs of every aspect of the business, success can remain elusive.
Read the article >>
Three Characteristics of an Effective Corporate Recruiter: Deep Business Acumen: You may have been a corporate recruiter since Jimmy Carter occupied the oval office and know all the tricks to this sometimes difficult profession. But, if you’re a recruiter … who hasn’t adopted a business approach to your role … your days numbered. Business acumen is more important than ever before, especially with lean organizations that often leave hiring managers pressed for time. If you don’t have a strong knowledge of the industry and a broader view of where your industry fits into the broader business landscape in which you’re recruiting, expect your usefulness to be called into question fairly quickly.
Read the article >>
Generation Gap: The Looming Challenge: Today’s workforce is comprised of four generations, each of which has a distinct way of looking at the world and approaching its careers. Rapid advances in technology over the past 40 years have done more than change the tools of the office – they have fundamentally altered how people interact, which in turn has shaped worldviews. The gradual progression that preceded the PC revolution (and the internet revolution after it) is now a relic, and corporate recruiters and hiring managers will have to develop the skills necessary to connect with a variety of candidates who prefer specific styles and even use vastly different language.
Read the article >>
Tags: Top Stories
Posted in Week in Review | No Comments »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
There is no substitute for sales skills in the corporate recruiting business. If you can’t sell a client not just on a company but on an offer, you’ll lag your peers and your employer will question the value you provide. Sell well, on the other hand, and everything you do will come with an implicit return on investment.
To refine your sales skills, of course, you’ll need to draw on everything we’ve discussed this week. Deep industry knowledge, cultivated and managed relationships, an understanding of the competitive business landscape, the ability to relate to both candidates and hiring managers … all of this feeds your ability to complete hiring transactions.
But, that’s not all.
You need to believe in what you’re selling. Candidates will sense immediately whether you are trying to fill reqs or draw them into an exciting business environment. Along the way, you’ll need to demonstrate keen negotiating skills and the ability to overcome objections.
(more…)
Tags: candidates, Corporate Recruiting, HR outsourcing, HRO, human resources, outsourcing recruiting, recruiting outsourcing, relationships, ROI, sales, salesmanship, selling, STREAM
Posted in Strategy | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Relationships have always been the backbone of the corporate recruiting business. From hiring managers to talent pools, recruiters have always had to have large networks that are also deep. To a certain extent, this characteristic has fallen victim to the social media wave that has consumed the world, with LinkedIn connections and Facebook friendships increasingly replacing the occasional phone call or lunch. The connection lasts forever – every name is only a search away – but it’s becoming too easy to neglect the people you’ve known for years.
Nonetheless, social media tools do have their advantages. You can reach people easily in different markets and industries around the world, and digital relationships can become incredibly powerful. To make them work, you need to invest in them as you would a face-to-face relationship. Tweets, e-mails and status updates directed at specific people in your network can keep them warm, even if you aren’t able to make an in-person connection as often as you’d like. The best move is to balance your engagement. Where possible, mix physical encounters into your digital relationships. Make a phone call, occasionally, instead of sending an e-mail.
(more…)
Tags: BYTE, Facebook, LinkedIn, relationship management, relationships, social media
Posted in Strategy | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
You may have been a corporate recruiter since Jimmy Carter occupied the oval office and know all the tricks to this sometimes difficult profession. But, if you’re a recruiter … who hasn’t adopted a business approach to your role … your days numbered. Business acumen is more important than ever before, especially with lean organizations that often leave hiring managers pressed for time. If you don’t have a strong knowledge of the industry and a broader view of where your industry fits into the broader business landscape in which you’re recruiting, expect your usefulness to be called into question fairly quickly.
Some of the reasons for the increased importance of industry knowledge are obvious, such as being able to understand position descriptions and skill and competency requirements more quickly and thoroughly. And, this helps ease the pressure on hiring manager schedules. Among the reasons for knowing your industry cold, however, this is the least compelling. Here are three reasons you need to amp up your industry knowledge to be a successful corporate recruiter:
(more…)
Tags: Corporate Recruiting, HR outsourcing, human resources, outsourced recruiting, outsourcing, recruiting outsourcing, talent acquisition, talent market, talent pools, TMR
Posted in Strategy | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
For such a common discipline, the methods of evaluation are strangely varied. Most major companies have at least one corporate recruiter, but there is little consensus on how to decide whether the person playing that role is effective … which means figuring out how to define a “good” corporate recruiter becomes a murky affair at best.
The inability to reach a definition and subsequently define an evaluation framework translates to an inability in most companies to make their corporate recruiting departments effective. As a result, they have trouble hiring corporate recruiters and making the investments that existing teams need most.
Fortunately, the definition of “good” in the corporate recruiting space is changing, giving the profession a chance to assign fresh meaning to what has been nebulous for so long. The ease with which candidates can find, apply for and follow up on positions has led to the need for a corporate recruiting transformation, in which the talented recruiter focuses on high-touch, high-impact candidates, while the administrative aspects of the position are outsourced. The commodity, in the future, will not be allowed to consume the skills of the talented.
(more…)
Tags: Corporate Recruiting, outsourced recruiting, recruiting outsourcing, relationship management, relationships, ROI
Posted in Strategy | 4 Comments »
Saturday, February 20th, 2010
Tags: Generation Gap
Posted in Series Index | No Comments »
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Four Ways to Improve New Product Launch Recruiting: New products require new talent. A venture into a product or service line can be fertile territory for sales and company value growth, but it can be risky. In addition to needing new capabilities – from research and development through sales, support and relationship management – you face competitive factors that weren’t an issue in the past. The most effective way to boost your odds of success while mitigating risk is to secure the best talent for your new product or service line.
Read the article >>
Generation Gap: Retirement Deferred: The old rules of interviewing are gone. Once upon a time, it was considered bad form not to send a “thank you” note after an interview. No self-respecting Baby Boomer would ever allow himself to forget this step. Yet, Generations X and Y don’t think in terms of paper any more, and the Millennials have been raised entirely on the internet. Further, even if they thought about sending a note, the world moves too quickly. Several rounds of interviewing may occur within the span of a few days, making it virtually impossible for a mailed letter or card to arrive before the next round of talks.
Read the article >>
Generation Gap: The Looming Challenge: Today’s workforce is comprised of four generations, each of which has a distinct way of looking at the world and approaching its careers. Rapid advances in technology over the past 40 years have done more than change the tools of the office – they have fundamentally altered how people interact, which in turn has shaped worldviews. The gradual progression that preceded the PC revolution (and the internet revolution after it) is now a relic, and corporate recruiters and hiring managers will have to develop the skills necessary to connect with a variety of candidates who prefer specific styles and even use vastly different language.
Read the article >>
Use “Accordion Capacity” to Handle Busy Periods: Every business area struggles to figure out just how many employees are enough. For corporate recruiters, usually required to operate lean, this can be particularly vexing. It’s possible to get temporary help to take the sting out of temporary surges in activity (e.g., sourcing for a special project or initiative), but the returns are usually compromised by the limited support they can provide and the time necessary to train them on internal processes and tools.
Read the article >>
Facebook: A Powerful Corporate Recruiting Resource: In just about every business, the potential value of Facebook has been kicked around. Corporate recruiting is no different. There are 350 million users on this site – the most popular social networking platform on the web – and it’s still growing aggressively. So, the upside is only going to grow. Add to this the fact that there’s a robust application development community outside Facebook, which provides a steady stream of fresh, innovative thinking, and you can see the wide range of possibilities for professionals in our business.
Read the article >>
Tags: Top Stories
Posted in Week in Review | No Comments »
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Job-seekers are losing faith in job boards. It may be a function of the recession, as so many people are applying for a paucity of open positions that the norm has become to hear nothing back after sending hundreds of resumes. But, the seeds of discontent were sown earlier. Even during hiring booms, comparatively few candidates found their way into the hiring cycle through these websites. This has prompted a surge in “direct access” applications, with many job-seekers sending their resumes directly through corporate websites.
And make no mistake about it: this tendency is strongest with post-Boomers.
Generations X and Y, the first to experience the power and promise of the internet early in their careers (or younger) have come to see intermediaries as inefficient and unnecessary. Pair this with the dissatisfaction they’re feeling with the job boards, and it’s easy to see why they are growing to prefer a straight shot to the companies for which they want to work. The result is an increased workload for corporate recruiters, as corporate websites yield more resumes than they did in the past.
(more…)
Tags: Baby Boomers, BYTE, Gen X, Gen Y, Generation Gap, Generation X, Generation Y, generations, HR outsourcing, HRO, outsourced recruiting, outsourcing, recruiting outsourcing, workforce
Posted in Strategy, Transformation | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The old rules of interviewing are gone. Once upon a time, it was considered bad form not to send a “thank you” note after an interview. No self-respecting Baby Boomer would ever allow himself to forget this step. Yet, Generations X and Y don’t think in terms of paper any more, and the Millennials have been raised entirely on the internet. Further, even if they thought about sending a note, the world moves too quickly. Several rounds of interviewing may occur within the span of a few days, making it virtually impossible for a mailed letter or card to arrive before the next round of talks.
Yet, many corporate recruiters still believe in thank you notes. This practice may symbolize a more human time in workforce management, but its day has passed.
(more…)
Tags: Baby Boomers, BYTE, Corporate Recruiting, Gen X, Gen Y, Generation Gap, Generation X, Generation Y, generations, HR, HR outsourcing, HRO, human resources, Millennials, outsourced recruiting, outsourcing, STREAM, workforce
Posted in Process | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Worries about the exit of the Baby Boomers from the workforce may not be as immediately catastrophic as everyone thought. The generation that has defied tradition time and again isn’t stopping with the approach of its golden years. Longer, healthier lifespans are making Boomers realize there is little reason to slow down as they get older. Rather than exit the workforce completely when they reach retirement age, many are pursuing active alternatives to full-time employment. They may not sit at a desk for a full day every day, but they will remain in the office.
The experience chasm that will come with the Boomer’s exit from traditional full-time employment will require more than the rapid maturation of Generations X and Y. Even if the Gen Xers in the workforce are able to fill the shoes left empty by its predecessor generation – and even accomplish more – the leadership, management and experience shortage will remain substantial. Gen Y employees will have to draw on talent and skill to compensate for a lack of experience as they face challenges traditionally encountered by much more seasoned professionals. Yet, employees will have support from lingering Boomers.
A mix of commitment, interest and energy is likely to keep the Baby Boomers in the office, at least part-time, for quite a while. This is a generation that has come to value loyalty in the workplace, and it will not be comfortable leaving gaps in companies that have become as familiar as family members. Additionally, Boomers have come to view work as more than a paycheck: rather, than retire, they’ll stay active in the workplace, using the decades during which they “saw it all” to help younger employees develop more quickly into increasingly demanding roles.
(more…)
Tags: Baby Boomers, Corporate Recruiting, Gen X, Gen Y, Generation Gap, Generation X, Generation Y, generations, HR outsourcing, Millennials, outsourcing, recruiting outsourcing, talent management, talent pools, TMR, workforce
Posted in Process | 2 Comments »
