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8 lessons you can learn from business leaders

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:32:53 GMT

Lessons learned in business introduction

Whether you’re a junior member of the team or at management level, a continual learning attitude and understating business lessons is key to career success.

If you want to fast-track your progress up the career ladder, it’s important to look to your true business leaders and learn from their actions. Not only will this encourage you to carry yourself like a workplace leader, but it will also highlight differences between good and bad management . This is especially important when one wants to see great success in business. Although businesses fail, being equipped with the write business lessons can avoid risk and increase the likelihood of success.

Here are eight key biggest lessons to learn from business leaders.

1. How to motivate people

Watching your leaders, or considering past experiences with your manager, can give you great insights into the right things to say and do to motivate colleagues or direct reports. You can learn life lessons they've learned in business and understand how to avoid bad habits in the long run to maximize the success for any company.

What’s important to remember is that every person is different with different core values and a sense of their own path – and their motivational drivers can change from week to week, depending on workload levels. While one person might benefit from tough love, others may require a gentler approach. Great leaders take the time to get to know their team members’ personalities and motivators, and how they each react to different communication styles.

Motivating people is a key skill for any successful business leader to succeed. One of the life lessons we can learn from business leaders is the importance of creating a strong culture that fosters a sense of purpose, passion, belonging, and accountability. By aligning employees' goals and values with the company's mission, leaders can inspire them to take ownership of their work and strive for excellence. In addition, effective leaders recognize the power of recognition and rewards, which can help to incentivize and motivate employees to achieve their goals. By cultivating a culture of positivity and growth, business leaders can build a motivated and engaged workforce that drives innovation and success.

Although there are many life lessons learned in business, another important life lesson we can learn from business leaders is the value of stepping out of one's comfort zone to achieve success. Leaders recognize that complacency can be a major obstacle to growth, and they encourage their teams to take risks and embrace change. By fostering a culture of experimentation and learning, business leaders can help their employees overcome fear of failure and develop resilience. This not only motivates employees to push themselves to new heights, but it also enables the organization to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. Thus, business leaders understand that by creating a culture that encourages stepping outside of one's comfort zone, they can create a motivated and dynamic workforce that is poised for success.

2. How to nail your organisational skills

Organisational skills are critical for most roles, and it’s important to learn what works for you from the outset so you can be as productive as possible.

Business leaders – often the busiest or having the fullest plate compared to most staff members – will have many techniques about how to remain organised. Not all of these will work for you as we all have different styles of working. But having conversations with your manager and other leaders about how they stay organised – on a day-to-day level and when work gets incredibly busy – can quickly teach you about which approaches you’d like to try out and assess if they helped you stick to schedule.

RELATED: What are soft skills?

3. How to have difficult conversations

Most people don’t enjoy having difficult conversations at work and find the situation awkward. However, these are unavoidable for managers, and it’s crucial to know how to approach these conversations delicately.

Good business leaders take a diplomatic approach to difficult conversations and allow the individual to have their say. Talking through problems rather than dictating a change is more productive and will allow you to build better rapport with your team members.

4. How to say ‘no’ tactfully

Business leaders often negotiate with partners, clients, and third-party providers – it comes with the territory. At times, this means having to say ‘no’ to requests.

Good leaders know how to approach these situations in a way that doesn’t cause upset or worse, ruin relationships. This is especially significant when your a business owner. For instance, rather than saying, “We can’t do this for you”, they might say, “We will review our current workloads and priorities and come back to you next week with a proposal to move this forward”. When it's your own business saying no and managing expectations are important lessons learned and often come naturally as you progress through your own personal development.

5. How to embrace change

Any workplace-related change can be unnerving, particularly when it’s significant. But the responsibility falls on the leader to guide their team through any changes, whilst boosting productivity and ensuring everyone feels comfortable within their role.

A great leader will welcome times of change as an opportunity and provide the groundwork for their team members to be creative, innovative and resilient. These are business lessons learned over time.

It's also important to stay up to date with business news, customer insights

6. How to accept criticism

Criticism can be difficult to hear, even when it is constructive. Business leaders often receive the most criticism at work because they’re ultimately accountable and responsible for the business performance and the performance of their team. But a great leader knows how to accept feedback, learn from their mistakes, and use the experience to their advantage for a successful outcome next time.

7. How to treat people as individuals

Individual differences – and therefore experiences and insights – are what drive businesses forward to develop innovative new idea. The most effective workplace leaders embrace, and are highly considerate of, their employees’ unique personalities and working styles.

If you can learn how to do this as a manager, you’ll be rewarded with a team that’s motivated, feel comfortable sharing their input, and is committed to success.

8. How to be empathetic

Empathy is grounded in understanding rather than judgement, and it’s a trait shared by some of the most successful business leaders. In fact, studies have shown that empathetic leaders are rewarded with higher-performing teams, better quality work output and more loyal team members. Empathy is ultimately the ability to understand others’ emotions, so as you progress in your career and work with all sorts of people, you’ll need to continually develop this important interpersonal skill just like any other skill you learn and get better at on the job. Applying empathy to employees, as well as customers problems will take you far.

Source: https://www.pagepersonnel.com.au/advice/career-and-management/career-progression/8-lessons-you-can-learn-from-business-leaders

How to build a professional network for career development

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 22:40:13 GMT

The changing job market requires professionals to be adaptable and continuously learn new skills to stay competitive.

Networking can help navigate this dynamic landscape by providing access to job opportunities, industry insights, and mentorship.

In this article, we cover:

What is networking?

All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.
- Bob Burg

Networking is not just a single action but a process involving multiple elements working together. It's not primarily about making sales ; selling may naturally follow from successful networking efforts.

When you network, you're part of a larger team where everyone plays a valuable role. Your network comprises the people you've connected with through work and personal interactions. Building strong relationships is at the core of networking because these connections often lead to valuable referrals. Behind every referral is someone who vouches for your credibility, building trust in your abilities.

Professional networking goes beyond collecting business cards; it fosters genuine connections and creates a mutually beneficial ecosystem. A strong network is invaluable for established professionals, offering many benefits beyond job hunting, such as access to industry insights, mentorship, and career advancement opportunities.

How to build a professional network

Identify your goals

Defining your career aspirations and areas of interest is crucial to building a robust professional network. You can tailor your networking strategy to align with your career objectives by identifying your goals.

For example, if you're interested in shifting industries or pursuing leadership roles , you can focus on connecting with professionals in those fields. This approach ensures that your networking efforts are focused and effective, helping you build a network that supports your career goals.

Leverage existing connections

Reconnecting with former colleagues, classmates, and professional acquaintances is an excellent way to expand your network. These individuals already know you and your work, making it easier to establish a connection.

Additionally, seeking introductions from senior leaders or mentors within your current company can help you connect with influential individuals in your field. These connections can provide valuable insights, mentorship, and opportunities for career advancement.

Informational interviews

Informational interviews offer a wealth of industry insights and networking opportunities. Start by contacting professionals in your interest and expressing your desire to learn from their experiences.

Prepare thoughtful questions to guide the conversation, listen actively, and express gratitude for their time. Keep in touch with interviewees to maintain connections and share updates on your progress. These interviews are valuable resources for exploring career paths and expanding your professional network.

Expanding your network reach

Participate in industry events

Attending conferences, workshops, and industry gatherings relevant to your field can provide high-quality networking opportunities.

These events offer a chance to meet like-minded professionals, learn about the latest industry trends, and establish yourself as a thought leader. Focus on events that provide targeted networking opportunities, such as roundtable discussions, workshops, or networking receptions.

This approach ensures that your networking efforts are focused and effective, helping you build a network that supports your career goals.

Engage with professional organisations

Joining industry associations, alumni networks, or leadership councils can help you increase your visibility and connect with like-minded professionals.

Participating in committees or volunteering for leadership roles can further enhance your networking efforts. These opportunities allow you to demonstrate your expertise, build your brand, and establish yourself as a leader in your field.

Cultivate an online presence

Optimising your LinkedIn profile with relevant keywords and accomplishments can help you establish a professional image and attract potential connections.

Sharing thought leadership content and engaging in industry discussions online can also help you build your brand and establish yourself as an expert.

Building a solid online presence can help you expand your network reach, connect with like-minded professionals, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

Second, participation fosters professional growth by granting access to valuable resources and opportunities. Engaging in online communities like industry forums, Slack groups, and niche social media groups can provide access to a pool of individuals with common interests, facilitating meaningful connections.

Thirdly, it allows individuals to showcase their expertise, amplify their brand, and expand their horizons by connecting with diverse people. Additionally, active involvement helps individuals stay current with industry trends, fostering personal growth and career advancement.

Lastly, online communities enable building lasting relationships and friendships, enhancing networking experiences.

The art of effective networking

Make meaningful connections

Networking has its rules, mainly centred around being a connector. A connector is someone others turn to for help. Networking isn't about you but the value your connections can offer.

Focusing on helping others deepens relationships and creates goodwill. Networking is about who your connections know and the potential value they bring. Keep in mind that different industries have different norms. Observing interactions at events can help tailor your approach. Being too aggressive can deter people, so adapt your tone to suit the industry's nature.

Research individuals beforehand and find common ground for conversation. Focus on building genuine relationships and offering value to your connections. By prioritising quality over quantity, you can create a network that supports your career goals and offers long-term benefits.

Be a master communicator

Honing your elevator pitch to articulate your career goals and expertise succinctly is essential for effective networking. Practice active listening and ask insightful questions to demonstrate a genuine interest in your connections. By being a master communicator, you can establish a solid first impression, build rapport, and establish a connection that supports your career goals .

Here are ten questions you could ask that demonstrate genuine interest and curiosity and get a conversation started and going:

What got you interested in your line of work?
Could you tell me about a moment in your career that stood out?
What's the best part of what you do?
How do you see our industry changing soon?
Have you ever faced a tough challenge at work that you overcame?
Any good reads or resources that have inspired your approach to your job?
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting in our field, what would it be?
Is anything exciting happening in your projects lately?
How do you balance your job and personal life?
What networking tips do you swear by for making meaningful connections?

Body language is universal

Body language is aessential aspect to effective communication during networking events. Positive body language can convey confidence, engagement, and interest. It can also help establish a connection with the other person, making the conversation more enjoyable and productive. On the other hand, negative body language can convey disinterest, discomfort, or lack of confidence.

Here are 10 steps to being aware of your body language and consciously displaying positive body language during networking events:

Maintain eye contact with the person you're speaking to. This shows attentiveness and confidence.
Wear a genuine smile to convey warmth and approachability. It helps in creating a positive atmosphere during conversations.
Use non-verbal cues such as nodding to show you're actively listening and engaged. It encourages others to continue sharing.
Keep your body language open by avoiding crossing your arms, which can signal defensiveness or disinterest.
Minimise fidgeting or restless movements. This conveys nervousness or lack of confidence. Instead, try to maintain a relaxed posture.
Subtly mirror the body language of the person you speak to to establish rapport and build a connection.
Respect personal space boundaries and avoid standing too close, as it can make others uncomfortable.
Use appropriate hand gestures to emphasise points or express enthusiasm, but avoid excessive or distracting movements.
Before attending networking events, practice your body language to become more aware of your non-verbal cues.
Ask for feedback from trusted individuals on your body language to identify areas for improvement.

Approach people

Networking can be daunting, but the right approach is a valuable tool for building meaningful connections and advancing professionally.

Here are actionable steps to help overcome fears, focus on helping others, and cultivate authentic interactions, ensuring that each conversation is a mutually beneficial exchange:

Acknowledge any fear of talking to new people, but don't let it control you. Remember that each conversation is an opportunity to help someone in ways they may not even realise they need.
Approach conversations with courage, focusing on how you can assist the other person rather than your fears or desires.
Avoid desperation by genuinely focusing on the needs of others. This will shift the conversation away from what you can gain and how you can contribute.
Engage fully in conversations by actively listening, nodding, agreeing, commenting, and asking thoughtful questions. This demonstrates your interest and investment in the interaction.
Do not dominate conversations with stories about yourself. Instead, maintain a balanced dialogue in which both parties have an opportunity to contribute.
Be genuine and authentic in all interactions. Authenticity fosters trust and attracts others to you, leading to meaningful connections.
Maintain consistency in your behaviour and interactions. People appreciate knowing what to expect from you, which builds trust and reliability over time.

Tell your story

Storytelling is a powerful tool in networking. It can help create a personal connection with others, establish credibility, and make a memorable impression.

Individuals can showcase their skills, values, and achievements by crafting compelling narratives about their career journey.

Here are some actionable steps towards great storytelling with networking in mind:

Tailor your story to resonate with your audience's interests, values, and needs.
Share genuine experiences and emotions to establish credibility and build trust.
Focus on the key aspects of your career journey, highlighting relevant skills, values, and achievements.
Use vivid details and compelling anecdotes to make your story memorable and engaging.
Rehearse your story to ensure clarity, coherence, and confidence in delivery.
After sharing your story, follow up with a clear purpose, whether seeking further discussion, collaboration, or referrals.

The power of follow-up

A study by LinkedIn found that connecting on LinkedIn and sending personalised follow-up emails within 24-48 hours can help you maintain the momentum of your initial connection.

Briefly recap your conversation and offer to connect them with relevant resources. Following up after a networking event is essential for building long-term relationships and establishing yourself as a valuable connection.

Nurturing your network for long-term success

Become a resource

Offer your expertise and knowledge to support your network members. Recommend them for opportunities or make relevant introductions. By becoming a resource for your connections, you can build long-term relationships, establish trust, and establish yourself as a valuable connection.

Maintain regular engagement

Stay connected by sharing industry updates and congratulating them on their achievements. Schedule periodic coffee chats or virtual meetings to maintain relationships and demonstrate your commitment to building a solid network. By maintaining regular engagement, you can build long-term relationships, establish trust, and establish yourself as a valuable connection.

Reciprocity is key

Networking is a two-way street. Be genuinely helpful and supportive to build trust and long-term connections. By practising reciprocity, you can establish a mutually beneficial relationship that supports your career goals and offers long-term benefits.

Competition can be healthy

When faced with competition in a networking setting, consider this scenario:

You're one of several fishbowl salespeople at an event with 1000 attendees. Being yourself naturally attracts those with whom you share a connection or interest. It's essential to recognise that there's enough opportunity for everyone present.

Rather than pursuing every potential lead, focus on those who resonate with you. Look for individuals who could become long-term partners, providing ongoing business beyond just one transaction.

Ask yourself: Do I genuinely enjoy this person's company? Could we see ourselves collaborating for years to come?

Networking is a marathon, not a sprint. For sustained success, prioritise building relationships based on mutual trust and compatibility.

Where to find people to network with

Finding people to network with is simpler than you might think – they're everywhere! Here’s how:

Begin engaging with those closest to you, such as friends and family.
Practice delivering a concise elevator pitch highlighting your interests without dominating the conversation. Instead, focus on learning about others by asking genuine questions and showing interest in their experiences.
Use everyday situations, like waiting in line at the bank or chatting with fellow gym-goers, to practice your networking skills.
Consider joining community associations, Chambers of Commerce, or trade organisations and attend trade shows to connect with like-minded individuals.
Remember to be approachable, friendly, and genuinely interested in others beyond what they can offer you. As you engage with more people, networking becomes more natural and enjoyable.

Three questions to ask every person to guarantee a follow-up meeting post-networking

Towards the end of a conversation, once you have all the information you can get about someone, ask the following questions:

Are you looking for new clients/prospects at this time?
What sets you apart from your competition?
What does your ideal client look like?

If this is the case, let them know you have some people who could use their services or need their help.

Ask if they might be interested in getting their details. If it’s a yes, arrange a meeting time and follow through on your promise to help. When you show up for your meeting, pass on that referral or the name of a great contact to them.

Doing so creates trust and a relationship, proving that you can and will help when you can. This makes them want to do the same for the other person, and you are now truly part of their network.

Grow your career with Airswift

85% of all jobs are filled through networking , highlighting its importance in landing jobs.

A strategic professional network is crucial for career advancement, providing access to opportunities, mentorship, and industry insights.

However, building and maintaining a solid network can be challenging, with time management and introversion being common obstacles. To overcome these challenges, prioritise networking activities that align with your career goals, leverage existing connections, and allocate time for networking activities.

Whether you're looking to advance your career, explore new opportunities, or stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends, Airswift has the expertise and resources to help you succeed. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can support your professional growth.

Source: https://www.airswift.com/blog/professional-networking

Upskilling 101: Transforming Employee Potential Into Performance

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 06:32:56 GMT

If you’re considering introducing upskilling as a tactic within your business but aren’t quite sure if it’s worth the investment, we’re not here to just tell you why it is — we want to show you.

Come along as we explore the fundamentals of upskilling, the myriad benefits it offers to both employees and businesses, and actionable upskilling tricks designed to maximize employee performance.

Understanding Upskilling in the Workplace

Upskilling is the process of training employees on new knowledge, skills, or competencies.

Usually, upskilling focuses on learning and development strategies that improve specific job-related proficiencies. The goal is to enhance worker capabilities, which build their expertise, effectiveness, and flexibility — which makes it a powerful tool for staying abreast of industry trends, and adapting to evolving technologies and market demands.

That said, let’s dive deeper into more of the benefits of this training tactic.

Why Bother with Upskilling?

We mentioned how upskilling is critical for growing the flexibility of your team, which matters as consumer demands, economic developments, groundbreaking technologies, and other changes transform the business landscape practically weekly.

In addition, there are some other big business benefits of prioritizing upskilling for your employees:

Improve Employee Retention (And Save)

A 2023 Deloitte study found that workers who feel stagnant at their current employer are 2.5x more likely to quit within the year . However, those who see a path for growth are 3.3x more likely to stay. That’s cold, hard proof that investing in the upskilling that creates upward mobility in the workplace has a huge impact on keeping employees around.

And you do want to keep them around — if nothing else, because replacing employees can get pricey !

Boost Productivity and Performance

Training workers in diverse and deep skill sets has a way of unlocking their potential, empowering them not only with the tools to become more productive but also the confidence and morale boost to push harder.

Foster Company-Wide Innovation

Upskilling helps businesses develop a culture of adaptability. When workers feel safe to learn and experiment, you’ll suddenly see innovation springing up all around you, enabling your company to develop more unique offerings, hit the market creatively, and above all boost your bottom line.

Enhance Your Customer Reputation

Did you know that businesses that prioritize employee friendliness are more likely to be perceived as “good” than those where it’s obvious money is the only motivator?

Move your business into this category of companies by really leaning into upskilling and being vocal about the success of your program.

7 Upskilling Tricks to Turn Potential to Performance

The way that you choose to create and administer an upskilling program will be pretty unique to your industry, company, and team — and there are a lot of guides out there that can help you get started. (In fact, we have one for upskilling middle management here .)

But what about all those unique tips that can help you enhance your process along the way?

Those are what we’re focusing on in this section.

Think About Upskill As Early As Hiring

Want to be especially forward-thinking? Then recruit and hire with upskilling in mind. This means prioritizing employees who already possess a versatile skill set, as well as a mindset that makes them capable of adapting to evolving business needs — rather than hiring based on experience in a strict segment of job requirements.

This approach ensures that the workforce you build is entirely agile and able to pivot effectively in response to changes within the organization or external market conditions.

Identify Where Upskilling Will Have the Most Impact

Assess your company’s existing roster of skills (did you know that text marketing is in?) and technological capabilities (are you using the best tools to make sure your email marketing is heard ?).

Really digging into your various departments and processes is the single best way to find the areas where you may be falling short of both industry benchmarks and customer expectations. With that, you can develop training that answers those weaknesses, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

Focus on Strengths, Not Weaknesses

Research shows that when employees can utilize their strengths, they are 6x more likely to be engaged at work !

So as you explore opportunities for upskilling, consider leveraging your employees’ innate talents and strengths as a guiding principle. This is in contract to focusing on skills training that solely addresses weaknesses. You may find the need to close some of those gaps, but centering them may have a negative impact on performance and morale. It’s clear most companies stand to gain more by enabling workers to develop in their areas of strength.

Ask for and Use Employee Feedback

Gather (and apply!) team feedback both before and after upskilling commences.

Beforehand, you may want to know things like:

Which skills do you believe would enhance your productivity and efficiency in your current role?
What skills are you personally keen on developing or expanding?
Are there any specific technologies or software programs that you believe could optimize our operational processes?

This increases excitement and helps you build learning modules around the right things.
You should also check in with employees anytime they’re undergoing upskilling to make sure it’s as productive as possible, asking questions like:

How engaging was the format and length?
How well did the presenter/training program convey the information?
Do you feel you advanced your skills in your chosen area?
Would you feel comfortable acting on the skills you learned right away?
Do you prefer more or less collaboration?
What would you change?

Provide Lots of Learning Formats

As we’ve touched on, the concept of flexibility is core to upskilling. That’s why it should also be introduced even when it comes to actually implementing the training your workers will use to level up their learning.

Here are several different ways you can deliver upskilling sessions. Mix and match based on team needs and the topic you’re covering:

Host “lunch and learns” where an external or internal expert teaches a topic
Create one-on-one mentorship programs
Send employees off to relevant conferences
Pay for professional development courses that already exist
Hold “shadow” days to immerse employees into roles that expand their skills
Invest in an employee training platform

Personalize with Pathing

Career pathing involves laying out all the transitions, promotions, and other shifts an employee can move through based on their current role and skills. It’s great for giving employees insight into what kind of growth they can expect within a company which leads to, you guessed it, retention!

You can follow a similar pattern by building a path through your upskilling program based on each worker’s skills, roles, strengths, and what they would like to learn. This gives folks going through the program a sense of personalization and control, which should really help boost engagement and completion.

Commit to Iteration

The truth is that the requirements for many roles are regularly evolving.

Take a look at IT outsourcing , which has become quite popular in our post-COVID remote world. It requires IT managers to become experts in things like async communication and cybersecurity, skills they probably never needed to prioritize when working with in-office teams.

Just like those requirements evolve as times and trends change, so should your upskilling program to keep up.

Start Building a Learning Culture with Upskilling

A learning culture , which upskilling is an indicator of, is an amazing thing to build at a company.
It creates engagement, a community of people who actually care about each other and the company, and several other great business benefits such as better retention, creativity, and beyond.

You can begin to build a culture of learning at your business when you apply the above tips to pursue successful upskilling.

Good luck!

Source: https://gethppy.com/productivity/upskilling-101-transforming-employee-potential-into-performance

Recruiting for Startups: 5 Reasons You Have Trouble Hiring Talent and How to Fix Them

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 06:02:41 GMT

In today's highly competitive job market, attracting and retaining top talent is a struggle for companies of all sizes. However, for startups, the challenge of hiring talented individuals can be even more significant. Despite the potential for innovation and growth, without an established brand or reputation and facing relentless competition and limitations, startups must work harder to convince potential employees that they are a worthwhile investment.

In this article, we will explore the five most common reasons why startups have trouble hiring and offer practical solutions to address each of these challenges. By understanding these issues and implementing the solutions provided, startups can level up their hiring game, ensuring their success in the long run.

1. Everything falls on the founder/CEO

If you are a CEO of a startup, chances are you’ve probably taken on multiple roles and responsibilities. And this is pretty common, especially in the early stages. However, taking on the role of an HR manager and handling the entire hiring process takes your precious time and focus away from critical tasks such as strategy development, managing key partnerships, or product development. Not to mention the stress, decreased productivity, and the feeling of being overwhelmed that comes with trying to do it all which can eventually reflect poorly on your company’s success.

That's why delegating hiring responsibilities is an important step for a CEO who wants to build a strong team while also focusing on their core responsibilities. Here’s how you can do it effectively:

Identify a hiring manager : You can delegate the responsibility of hiring to a designated hiring manager or HR manager who has experience in recruiting and selecting candidates. This person can take over the majority of the hiring process, from reviewing resumes to conducting interviews, and make recommendations to the CEO.
Involve current employees : You can involve current employees in the hiring process by delegating tasks such as reviewing resumes, conducting phone screens, or participating in interviews. This can not only help the CEO save time but also give current employees a sense of ownership and involvement in the recruitment process.
Hire a recruitment agency : You can hire a recruitment agency to handle the entire hiring process, from sourcing candidates to conducting interviews and negotiating job offers. This can be an effective way to delegate hiring responsibilities and ensure that the company is attracting top talent.
Use automated hiring tools : You can also use automated hiring tools such as applicant tracking systems, which can help to streamline the hiring process and reduce the workload on you as the CEO. These tools can be used to find candidates, screen resumes, schedule interviews, and track candidate progress, freeing up the CEO's time to focus on other tasks. This just might be one of your best options but more on that later.

2. Lack of employer branding

When a startup is in its early stages and hasn't yet developed a strong employer brand, it falls on the CEO to pitch the company's vision and mission to each potential candidate. This can be a challenging task, as the CEO must not only communicate the company's goals and values but also convince the candidate that they will be a valued member of the team. That’s why establishing a company's employer brand is critical.

By establishing a strong brand, the company communicates its values, culture, and vision to candidates before they even apply for a position. This can help attract candidates who share the company's values and are excited about the prospect of joining the team. Additionally, a strong employer brand can help differentiate the company from its competitors and establish the startup as an attractive employer in the industry.

In addition to attracting new employees, a strong employer brand can help to retain current employees. When employees feel that they are part of a strong, positive culture, they are more likely to be satisfied with their job and stay with the company long-term.

How do you work on your employer branding?

There are many ways in which you can contribute to a well-developed employer brand, but we’re going to point out a few we believe are the most important, especially in the beginning:

Define your values : Start by defining the values that your company stands for. These values should be at the core of your employer brand and should be reflected in your company culture, messaging, and actions.

Develop an employee value proposition (EVP) : An EVP is a statement that communicates what your company offers to employees in exchange for their skills and talents. This can include things like career development opportunities, a positive work environment, and competitive compensation and benefits.

Create a strong company culture : Your company culture is a key component of your employer brand. Focus on creating a positive, inclusive, and supportive environment where employees feel valued and motivated.

Leverage social media : Use social media to showcase your company culture , values , and EVP . Share photos and stories that highlight your team's accomplishments, events, and community involvement.

Offer competitive compensation and benefits : Offering competitive compensation and benefits packages can help to attract and retain top talent.

3. Not clearly defining hiring goals

Another common issue that startups face when hiring and that makes finding the right talent difficult is not clearly defining their needs and goals. Without clear definitions of the type of candidate they're looking for, the role they want to fill, or the offers they can make, startups risk making poor hiring decisions or not attracting the right talent.

There are three factors you should consider in order to hire successfully.

Defining the Goals of Hiring

One of the first steps you should take to ensure successful hiring is defining your startup’s goals. This includes determining how many positions you need to fill, what specific skills or experiences you are looking for, and what you hope to accomplish by hiring new employees. By clearly defining these goals, you can create a hiring plan that aligns with your business objectives.

Some questions you should consider when defining your hiring goals as a startup include:

How many positions do we need to fill?
What skills and experiences are necessary for these positions?
What specific roles do we need to fill?
What are our business objectives, and how can hiring new employees help us achieve them?

Defining Candidate Personas

Once you have defined their hiring goals, the next step is to define candidate personas. A candidate persona is a detailed description of the ideal candidate for the role, including their skills, experience, personality traits, and even their goals and motivations. By creating candidate personas, you can better understand the type of person you are looking for and tailor your hiring efforts accordingly.

Some questions you should consider when defining candidate personas include:

What are the necessary skills and experiences for the role?
What personality traits are important for success in the role?
What motivates the ideal candidate?
What are their career goals and aspirations?
What are their preferred work environments?

Creating Your Offer

Finally, you need to determine what your company has to offer to attract and retain top talent. This includes looking beyond just salary and benefits and considering other factors that can make your company an attractive place to work. As a startup, you can offer unique opportunities for growth and development, a positive company culture, a flexible work environment, and other perks that appeal to the ideal candidate.

Thoroughly defining these elements creates a clearer hiring strategy that is more likely to attract the right candidates for your business.

4. Not building talent pools

In the early stages and especially in the very beginning, startups operate with limited resources and have a small team of employees. As the company grows and expands, it becomes necessary to hire more people to meet the increasing demand and workload.

If your startup is not prepared for this growth, it may struggle to find and hire the right people quickly, leading to delays in meeting business goals and objectives, missing out on potential profits and hindering its growth. This can also result in overburdening the existing employees, leading to burnout and turnover. And nobody wants that.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to avoid all of that – by building talent pools .

Talent pools are essentially a group of potential candidates who have already expressed interest in working for a company or have the required skills and experience needed for the company's future roles.

By building a talent pool, you can proactively identify and engage with potential candidates before you even have a specific job opening. This can save time and resources during the hiring process since you already have a group of qualified candidates to choose from.

Additionally, having a talent pool allows you to quickly fill any urgent hiring needs that may arise due to unforeseen circumstances. You can quickly identify and recruit top talent, reduce hiring costs and time-to-hire, and ultimately support the company's growth and success.

5. Lack of resources

Ah, yes, if only you had more money, everything would be so much easier. This is actually the issue that most of the other problems can be rooted in, not just hiring. Well, the reality is that the resources are pretty limited, especially in the beginning, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways you can make your hiring process much easier and more effective.

It’s not (all) about the money

Maybe you can’t offer your candidates ultra-competitive salaries. But you can show them how working with you can benefit them in other ways and make them feel important and contributing. Providing other benefits like special perks, flexible work arrangements, stock options, health benefits, casual work environment, professional development, and education – all of that can provide a high-rewarding and beneficial experience for new employees without you having to stretch your budgets.

Divide and outsource

Secondly, we know how great it would be if you could just hire an HR team and let them run and worry about everything. And one day, not only will you be able to but you’ll have to. But until then, there are other ways you could compensate for not having a team.

For example, cross-training your employees to handle some of the hiring tasks as we already mentioned in the previous section will definitely make it easier for you and make them feel more engaged so it is a win-win right there. You also might want to consider outsourcing some of the HR or recruiting tasks if your budget allows you to.

Where do you go from here?

While it may seem overwhelming to tackle all the hiring challenges at once, start by focusing on one area at a time. Make a plan by setting clear hiring goals and timelines, allocate your resources , and track your progress . It is important you take your time with the hiring process and do everything thoroughly. And we can help you with that.

You see, we were once a startup just like you, dealing with the same issues and frustrations, but aware that almost every startup faces these problems. We saw the struggle that every start-up founder and CEO had to go through to find the talent their company needs.

That is why we decided to create a tool that would offer everything a company on the rise might need to hire the best talent. A cost-effective solution that would help businesses manage the entire recruitment process from start to finish. And not only just to kickstart their growth but to maintain it long-term.

So, until you put together your HR dream team, IceHrm can help you make your recruitment process streamlined and efficient right from the get-go - build your employer brand from scratch, source and attract high-quality talent, create resourceful talent pools, and establish strong relationships with your potential candidates. In fact, it can help you do it all:

Build a powerful career site that aligns with your values
Create and manage job postings
Create candidate personas and tailor your outreach efforts accordingly
Quickly screen and filter resumes with automated tools
Schedule interviews and communicate with candidates
Build valuable talent pools
Collaborate with team members on hiring decisions in a single platform
Track your hiring metrics and progress with insightful analytics
Keep track of everything in one place

Kind of like having an HR team doing all the manual labor for you and leaving you with making the strategic decisions. After all, while a CEO's involvement in the hiring process is essential, their energy should be focused on company growth and decision-making, rather than dealing with administrative processes and tasks that can easily be automated.

Check out IceHrm's Recruitment module to understand how we can help you reduce hiring costs and attract top talent into your organization.

Source: https://icehrm.com/blog/recruiting-for-startups-5-reasons-you-have-trouble-hiring-talent-and-how-to-fix-them/?a=1

Managers' Impact on Your Bottom Line

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 06:33:21 GMT

We’ve all heard the saying “People don’t leave companies—they leave managers” over and over and over again. It’s a cliche because it’s mostly true—and provides an easy way to talk about how important managers are to a company’s culture and an employee’s experience .

But that phrase also understates the importance of good managers to a company’s bottom line because of their impact on retention and engagement. In fact, there’s a wealth of new research showing what a critical role effective management plays—and what’s also getting in their way. Let’s dig in.

A good manager delivers real returns

Managers are a vital link in your organization; holding onto the good ones improves your organization. But managers have an even greater role in organizational turnover, engagement, and performance than we knew—until now.

Managers boost retention rates

New research from Bonusly , in partnership with Lighthouse, shows that having a supportive manager more than doubles employee retention. Having a manager who is just going through the motions, on the other hand, drops the retention rate of employees by more than half. Even having a manager who tries, but is just too busy to be fully supportive, hurts retention rates by more than 25%.

Imagine if you could cut your turnover rate in half—how much money would that save your organization? And how much better would employee morale be as well? Since many companies are currently struggling with employee retention as more than half of employees say they intend to leave their current jobs, this new revelation could help drive a lot of improvement.

Managers drive employee engagement

Managers also have an outsized impact on team and employee engagement. Recent research from Gallup found that a stunning 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the team’s manager. That’s right: nothing else has as significant of an impact on employee engagement levels as their manager.

With the high ROI of employee engagement on your company’s bottom line (and the estimated $7.8 trillion cost of lost productivity due to disengaged employees), just one manager’s impact can make a huge difference in your company’s productivity and profit.

Organizations that want to increase employee engagement (which should be… all of them ��) must focus on supporting manager engagement to get the best results.

Managers create high-performing cultures

Managers are also the secret ingredient in high-performing cultures . By enabling their team’s performance (not just managing it) and providing coaching, motivation, and feedback, they drive high levels of performance that even the best high-level leadership can’t on their own.

What gets in the way of enabling effective management

The data is clear: managers are the key to higher performance and a stronger bottom line. But managers today are struggling: more than half are burned out, according to Microsoft research , and managers facing exhaustion are 1.8 times more likely to leave their company.

Organizations need to develop more effective ways to support and enable managers, so they can support and enable their teams in return.

Here’s what you should be doing to better serve and support your managers.

Lack of training

How do people become managers in the first place? In many companies, they’re individual contributors who are promoted because they’re great at that role, and they’re expected to jump into people management with little or no training. No wonder that only 48% of managers strongly agree that they have the skills needed to be exceptional at their job.

You need to train every new manager on how to hold effective 1:1s , how to give frequent and specific feedback , how to enable performance instead of just managing it, and how to hold difficult conversations with employees, among other vital tasks. Expecting them to know instinctively how to do these complex, challenging things right off the bat is a recipe for failure.

Lack of time

Managers have incredibly full plates post-pandemic. They’re tasked with managing employee mental health, juggling hybrid and remote employees, and dealing with major organizational changes that affect their teams. In fact, 51% of managers told Gallup that restructuring and reorganizing of teams has been a major complication for them post-pandemic.

And while they’re dealing with all of these critical people management tasks, they also aren’t given nearly enough time to truly address them. McKinsey research found that nearly half of managers’ work time is devoted to non-managerial work: almost a third is spent on individual contributor work, and nearly one-fifth is spent on admin tasks.

Without the necessary space in their schedules to coach their direct reports, develop a deeper connection with them, and help them find a sense of mission in their roles, managers can’t help your organization’s engagement levels effectively. Getting that low-value work off their plates is an essential initial step.

Investing in enabling and supporting managers

While the crisis of overworked and burned out managers is very real, it’s also solvable, fortunately. But it requires organizations to take manager engagement and enablement seriously, and to invest in both.

Those investments can help form a “virtuous circle,” where managers who feel their company and leaders support and invest in them have higher levels of engagement. In the Bonusly/Lighthouse report, for example, managers who said their company offered technology that supported their performance on the job were 37% more likely to understand their job expectations and responsibilities, which is a key element of engagement.

On the other hand, the managers who said their company didn’t use modern, helpful tools to support them on the job were almost twice as likely to say the company’s culture prevents them from doing their best work.

Supporting your managers means helping them do what they do best: coaching, enabling, and supporting their people.

Takeaways

Managers are truly the strongest drivers of performance, productivity, and profit at your organization, thanks to their outsized impact on employee retention and engagement rates. Invest in giving them more training, tools, and time accordingly, and you’ll have a much more effective and engaged organization as a whole.

Source: https://bonusly.com/post/managers-impact-on-your-bottom-line

It’s Not You, It’s Us… How to Deliver Constructive Candidate Feedback

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:56:22 GMT

One of the fundamental areas of recruiting that many companies seem to struggle with is candidate experience .

It can often seem like a leaky bucket, trying to ensure the whole process is considered and positive – but if there’s one area to look to patch immediately it’s around feedback .

Providing constructive feedback to candidates isn’t just a nicety anymore – it’s a necessity. Yet, too many companies resort to vague rejections like “pipped to the post by another applicant” or, even worse, ghost candidates entirely. This not only frustrates job seekers but also tarnishes the company’s reputation.

In order to stand out and foster a positive candidate experience, recruiters must embrace a more structured and compassionate approach to feedback. Enter the A, B, C method: Actionable, Balanced, and Compassionate feedback.

Pioneered by SocialTalent’s candidate experience expert, Andrew MacAskill , this powerful strategy can revolutionize the recruitment process, turning even unsuccessful candidates into advocates for your company. Let’s see it in action!

The Importance of Feedback

Feedback is a critical part of the candidate experience. As Andrew puts it:

“People can tolerate a no, but only when they’ve been told why.”

Constructive feedback helps candidates understand why they may have fallen short and how they can improve. Over time, this builds goodwill and can even turn unsuccessful candidates into true advocates for your company. According to Lever , talent is 4x more likely to consider your company in future after getting robust feedback.

It can seem like a tall order for over-stretched TA teams to provide bespoke feedback but when you understand the ‘why’ behind it and implement a repeatable structure, it becomes a lot more manageable.

Learn more: Has a Positive Candidate Experience Become the Exception?

The Impact of No Feedback

The practice of ghosting candidates, or providing vague feedback, is unfortunately very common.

This behavior can leave candidates feeling uncertain and frustrated, leading them to second-guess themselves and suffer a confidence crisis. This is especially detrimental when candidates are out of work and urgently need employment. And think of how negatively those applicants will view your brand after – screening, interviewing, and being part of a hiring process is an intense commitment, you have to respect what candidates are putting themselves through.

Moreover, feedback that is too vague, such as “other candidates were a better fit,” offers no actionable advice. It merely confirms the outcome without providing any guidance for improvement. This type of feedback is almost as unhelpful as no feedback at all.

The A, B, C Approach to Feedback

To avoid these pitfalls, recruiters should follow their A, B, Cs…

1. Actionable Feedback

Actionable feedback is concrete and provides specific guidance on what the candidate can do to improve. For instance, if a candidate lacks certain technical skills, inform them directly. This type of feedback empowers candidates to take steps to enhance their qualifications and better prepare for future opportunities.

2. Balanced Feedback

Balanced feedback includes both positives and areas for improvement. This approach ensures that candidates understand their strengths while also being aware of their weaknesses. Quality feedback is rounded and allows a candidate to see a complete picture.

3. Compassionate Feedback

Compassionate feedback is delivered with empathy and respect. It acknowledges the candidate’s effort and time investment. Compassionate feedback can help mitigate the disappointment of rejection and maintain a positive relationship between the candidate and the company.

Learn more: Our Guide to the Perfect Candidate Experience

Implementing the A, B, C Approach

1. Prepare in Advance

Before the interview, develop a framework for evaluating candidates. This ensures that you have specific criteria to reference when providing feedback. Note both the strengths and weaknesses observed during the interview process.

2. Be Specific and Constructive

When giving feedback, be specific about what the candidate did well and where they need improvement. For example, instead of saying “you need to improve your technical skills,” specify which skills are lacking and suggest resources, courses, or actions they can take to improve.

3. Deliver with Empathy

Always deliver feedback with empathy. Acknowledge the candidate’s effort and thank them for their time. Let them know that their application was appreciated and that the feedback is intended to help them succeed in the future. On a podcast with SocialTalent CEO Johnny Campbell, Andrew made a plea with recruiters to:

“Never forget what it feels like to be on the job market.”

A Framework for Feedback: The 3+3 Policy

In tandem with the A, B, C approach to feedback, Andrew also advocates for a 3+3 policy – three things a candidate did well, three things to improve. It helps keep feedback actionable, balanced, and compassionate. Here’s how to implement it:

Three Things the Candidate Did Well:

Highlight specific examples of what the candidate did well during the interview.
Reinforce positive behaviors and skills that the candidate demonstrated.
This helps the candidate understand their strengths and feel valued.

Three Areas for Improvement:

Identify specific areas where the candidate can improve.
Provide actionable suggestions on how to address these weaknesses.
This guidance helps the candidate prepare better for future opportunities.

Conclusion

Providing constructive feedback to candidates is not just a courtesy; it’s a crucial part of the recruitment process that benefits both the candidate and the organization. By adopting the A, B, C approach and following the 3+3 policy, recruiters can offer feedback that is actionable, balanced, and compassionate.

This practice not only helps candidates improve and prepare for future opportunities but also builds a positive reputation for the company. Candidates who receive thoughtful feedback are more likely to become advocates for your organization, even if they were not selected for the position.

Source: https://www.socialtalent.com/blog/interviewing/constructive-candidate-feedback

How to Boost Your Placements With Enriched Candidate Data in 4 Easy Steps

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 06:12:13 GMT

With the number of jobs being created decreasing by a staggering 23% year-on-year in Q1 of 2024 , it’s no surprise that the recruitment agencies are trying to find a way to keep thriving – and as Firefish users have noticed an increase in quality applications per job, it seems that the market becomes, once again, candidate-rich. With lots of talent available and not that many jobs to place them at, you need to adapt your strategy and qualify your candidates better and faster than ever, so you can keep making placements and thrive regardless of the market situation.

Candidate Data Enrichment

An abundance of candidates in the market is forcing agency owners to keep their candidate data active and rich, so they can have the right candidate ready at the right time. There will be a lot more people looking at every single job that appears, so you need to have candidates ready to be placed at all times. This means that when a new job comes along, you will have the perfect candidate already in your database, which gives you a better chance of success against your competitors who start looking for candidates only after getting a new role.

What’s more, knowing exactly what candidates you’ve got in your database and how ready they are to be placed gives you an advantage when doing your business development. Instead of empty promises, you can show your prospective clients that you’ve already got warm candidates waiting for them.

How to Enrich Your Candidate Data

Knowing how vital data enrichment is is one thing, but how do you actually do it – and have your recruiters be on top of it?

Step 1: Determine the makeup of your current database

You can’t have an engaged database if you don’t know what data is in it – and how engaged your candidates are. You need to focus on the data that brings value to your agency and fits the profile of the jobs you’re currently recruiting for. Make sure you look at:

Last active date à Your CRM should show you the last date a contact has been active within the system. You don’t need to carry dead data in your database.
Engagement score à The right CRM will rank your candidates by their engagement in their candidate portal.
Last placement date à It’s vital to know when was the last time you placed the candidate, the role you placed them in, and their reason for leaving.

Step 2: Divide your candidates into relevant talent pools

Once you have your rich candidate data it's time to put it to work: Divide them into relevant talent pools based on your chosen criteria, such as experience, industry, salary expectations, or location. With these, you will have active pools of candidates ready to be placed for different types of roles – and communicating with them will be a piece of cake. Instead of spending hours drafting personalised emails to each candidate (or worse – sending a generic one to all of them!), you’ll be able to send communications to similar types of candidates alerting them of new roles or updates for their industry without losing the personal touch.

Step 3: Diversify your communication

The next step in enriching your candidate data is to make sure you’re using different channels of communication and touchpoints to ensure maximum engagement. Agencies using multi-channel communication to contact candidates place 4 times as many perm roles and 3 times as many contract roles as those who only focus on one channel for everyone . Whether it’s via text messages, targeted mailshots, job alerts, or content updates, make sure you’re keeping your candidates engaged with your agency whilst maintaining clear ICP profiles in all of your communications. Consider channels like:

LinkedIn Chrome Extension
Candidate Portal
SMS Messages
Web Forms

If you want to learn how to create a candidate data enrichment plan from start to finish, explore the interactive article here …

Step 4: Embrace thought leadership

One of the best ways to engage your candidates is to provide them with advice and support without expecting anything in return (at least not immediately…). If you paint your agency as the expert in your field via engaging thought leadership content that benefits your candidates, they will not only be more inclined to trust you, but also more likely to engage back when you actually do have a great role for them. Make sure you’re sending them nurturing content, such as:

CV writing tips
Interview advice
Job market insights

When they see you care about them at any time, they won’t ignore your message when you actually send them information about a great new role you’ve got that’s perfect for them!

Source: https://blog.firefishsoftware.com/candidate-data-enrichment-strategies

Do You Need a Career Coach? 8 Signs The Answer is Yes

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 06:19:26 GMT

You're feeling stagnant in your career, and decide it's time to pursue new opportunities . You send out dozens of resumes daily but don't hear anything back from recruiters. At this point, you might start wondering: Do I need a career coach ?

Career coaches are specialists in career development, resume building , interviewing , and negotiation . Their mission is to help individuals make career-related decisions and achieve their full potential and goals.

It's no surprise they're often the first experts people seek out when they're struggling with their career path. But what about you—do you need a career coach? Given that this service demands both a financial and time commitment, it's important to make sure it's the right choice.

Below, you'll find eight signs you might need a career coach—plus, answers to common questions about their role that have probably already come to your mind.

Looking to advance your career? Browse these amazing open jobs on The Muse »

What does a career coach do?

Career coaches help workers identify and overcome career-related problems. “A career coach supports professionals by giving them the specific tools, structures, vocabulary, and action plans they need to engage in their careers with agency,” says Eloïse Eonnet, Muse career coach and founder of Eloquence .

A big part of what career coaches do is listen and guide professionals toward solutions and goals. “They often act as a mirror, sharing what they see, which helps create clarity and opens up opportunities,” Eonnet says. “Coaches will help reframe an unhelpful mindset, build structures to thrive, and get practice in to help integrate new learnings.”

They often offer practical assistance too. For example, they can help you with resume writing, LinkedIn profile updates , cover letters , job seeking, and interview preparation.

Is it worth working with a career coach?

Hiring a career coach can be helpful at any career stage. Their professional guidance and support comes with many benefits for those who are struggling with self-confidence, assertiveness, productivity, or difficulty in reaching their goals.

Eonnet highlights some of the benefits of hiring a career coach based on the feedback of clients:

More time saved
Feeling of clarity and control
Better vocabulary to talk about yourself
More confidence
Desired goal achieved faster
Feeling of deeply supported and less loneliness
More focus and energy

To be sure you're making the right decision to invest in this type of service, you may want to try overcoming any career challenge by yourself first. “I’m always an advocate of trying on our own first! We learn so much about ourselves when we do, about our strengths and limitations,” Eonnet says.

But if you've already tried and are still dissatisfied with your career or are stuck with the same problem, it’s time to consider professional advice. “The journey isn’t always easy, but it helps us work through career challenges which feels empowering and good. A career coach helps us gain agency, clarity, self-understanding, direction, and the needed tools to thrive,” she says.

8 signs you need a career coach

When it comes to career-related challenges, some signs are more obvious than others that it's time to seek external help. For example, if you've been unemployed for months you may reach this conclusion faster than someone who is employed but feels stuck and unsure of their next steps.

Here’s how to know if you need a career coach:

1. You're not being called for interviews

If you've been applying for jobs, sending out dozens of resumes per day, and still aren't getting called for interviews, it may be time to book a career coaching session.

Perhaps your resume isn't standing out in the bunch or isn't optimized for applicant tracking systems (ATS) . Or maybe you're applying for multiple jobs without tailoring your resume for each specific role.

A career coach will help you get to the root of the problem and work towards a solution. As these professionals often have experience in hiring and recruiting, they know exactly what recruiters are seeking in candidates.

2. You're having difficulty crafting your resume

You need a job, but resume writing is not your forte. Maybe you've been employed for a long time and have lost your touch. Or maybe you're a recent graduate trying to write a resume with no experience and don't know what to add.

If you've already searched for all the available resume writing tips and still find yourself staring at a blank Google Docs page, it's a sign you should hire a career coach. Together, you can work on finding the right vocabulary to express your experiences and accomplishments, identifying keywords related to your field, and highlighting relevant skills for the job you want.

3. You're feeling stagnant in your career

If you're feeling stuck on the corporate ladder to the point where you lack motivation and it's affecting your productivity, you've likely tried looking for solutions but don't know exactly where to start or what to do. In this scenario, it's worth considering hiring a career coach.

When we feel out of options, we tend to develop tunnel vision and can't see anything besides what's right in front of us. Bringing in an external party is a way to find solutions we cannot see by ourselves and break this cycle.

4. You're not doing well in job interviews

Your resume is getting selected, but for some reason you're not surviving the interview. “Perhaps you keep not getting past the first round of interviews despite being a great fit for the roles—you notice a pattern that you can’t get past and can’t figure out the solution,” Eonnet says.

Maybe it's your confidence, or perhaps you're unprepared for some tricky interview questions. Either way, a career coach can help figure out exactly what's going on and provide you with advice and tools to fix it. (These 30+ tips on how to prepare for a job interview can also come in handy!)

5. You want to negotiate a promotion or pay raise

You like your company and the work you do. However, it's been a long time since you got a promotion. You'd like to negotiate a pay raise, but have never done this before and are afraid it will cause some friction between you and your boss.

There are career coaches who specialize in negotiation, communication skills, and confidence building. With their professional help, you can work on a plan to get your promotion and find the right tone to approach your superior with your request.

6. You want to change careers but don't what to do

Another situation where a career coach could be exactly what you need is when “you know you’re unhappy or unsatisfied with your current job, but have no idea what else you could do that would make you happier,” Eonnet says.

It's normal to feel a bit lost and afraid to leave behind an established career to pursue something new. A career coach can guide you through this process, helping you assess what brings you discomfort in your current job, your passions, or your motivations—basically everything you need to find out where you want to go and how to get there.

7. You're exhausted by the job search routine

Job hunting can be tiring and stressful (and here's how to keep going when it's getting you down ). “You feel exhausted and lonely in a job search, with the feeling that you are not making any progress,” Eonnet says.

What can a career coach help with in this case? First, they can provide support and structure to your job search. This alone can make you feel less lonely and more motivated. Besides that, with their guidance, you're likely to achieve your goal—that's to find a job—much faster, putting an end to this exhausting routine.

8. You're overwhelmed by your responsibilities

A not-so-obvious situation that screams “I need a career coach” is feeling overwhelmed with too much on your plate. “For example, you may have a fulltime job and a family to care for, but you are also actively job hunting and need a streamlined action plan that will save you time and brain space,” Eonnet says.

What a career coach cannot help you with

A career coach cannot help with mental health-related problems. If you're experiencing burnout, depression, anxiety, or any mental health issue due to work, it's important to seek support from a licensed therapist.

“A career coach is not a therapist,” says Eonnet. “They typically do not help with mental health and personal matters, and are most likely going to suggest other forms of support for those issues.”

How do I find a career coach?

Career advice and coaching websites are among the best places to find a career coach. For instance, The Muse's Coaching services Coach Connect is a platform where you can find coaches based on your needs. You can filter your search by specialty, cost, and the type of coaching service you're seeking.

Another option is to look for career coaches on LikedIn and other social media platforms. Just make sure to do a thorough research to guarantee you are, in fact, hiring a qualified and licensed professional.

Source: https://www.themuse.com/advice/do-you-need-a-career-coach

Fantastic Feedback Tips That Will Save Your Candidates From Sitting In Radio Silence

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 05:49:12 GMT

It’s a great feeling when you think an interview has gone well. Unfortunately, that post-interview buzz can soon turn into bitterness if a meeting is followed by radio silence. Over the weeks, candidates will switch from feeling inspired to feeling outright overlooked. Worse, they’ll have no way of knowing why. This awkward waiting game, and the disappointment that comes with it, is a large part of the reason why 77% of job candidates think that interview feedback should be a legal requirement. Yet, four in five of those individuals report never having received any kind of interview feedback. Not even a simple no! As well as burning bridges with candidates who might otherwise have considered you in the future, a lack of applicant feedback can build you a bad reputation. The question is, how exactly can you give great feedback without spending hours on this task?

Consider Interview Stage

A simple rule of thumb is to tailor your levels of feedback to each category of interview rounds. Ultimately, no one expects you to offer an essay of feedback for every person you interview. That would be a full-time job in itself! But, it doesn’t take long to give a simple answer, and the time you take here should increase as your interview rounds slim down. For example, a good feedback format could be –

First round of interviews: A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Second round of interviews: A small paragraph explaining your decision.
Third round of interviews or beyond: A conversation or longer written form outlining strengths, weaknesses, and reasons for not moving forward.

Think About Formats

Feedback format matters, especially once you reach rejections in the third round of interviews or beyond. Your two main options will most likely be –

A phone call or in-person interview: A five or ten-minute conversation with the applicant when you provide feedback.
Written feedback: An email or feedback form providing detailed, written comments.

Ultimately, both options have their strengths. Spoken feedback is typically faster to deliver (though you should still take some time planning what to say!), making it ideal for a broader range of third-stage applicants. However, by your fourth, fifth, or even sixth interview rounds, if you intend to have them, a mixture of both written and spoken feedback might be useful for candidates who can then return to your comments as required.

Be Specific

Good feedback should never centre around generalisations. After all, a candidate can’t do much with an unclear piece of advice like ‘be more passionate’. Instead, you should always try to think of specific points and reasons for your decisions. This helps to avoid ambiguity and ensures that your feedback offers true value.

Admittedly, this can be a difficult goal to achieve, especially after you’ve conducted multiple interviews that may have blurred into one. But, you can make your life easier by writing up feedback shortly after an interview, or even ensuring easy-to-access candidate profiles that you can update as and when. As well as helping to aid your decisions, this gives you something solid to look back on when compiling feedback, meaning that you could stick to specifics like answers given, body language, or even how well a candidate does at explaining their skill sets and experience.

Provide Actionable Advice

Along the same lines, you should make sure to always provide actionable advice, otherwise your attempts to keep even rejected candidates onside may end in confusion. After all, your purpose for providing this feedback is to offer true value to promising candidates. Comments like ‘I didn’t like…[enter behaviour here]’ are ultimately useless, and will also sour relations by seeming inherently negative.

By instead delivering your feedback in a more forward-thinking actionable way, you can make things seem far more positive and valuable overall. For instance, instead of just calling out a behaviour, offer a solution, or a potential way around it, such as ‘I wasn’t sure about the way you spoke about your experience with this company, but I think you could improve that with specific examples of what you did there, or the skills you utilised.’ This way, candidates go away feeling like the time they’ve spent with you was worthwhile, and you may even find that they return to you stronger for another role in the future.

Include Positives

Of course, any chance of a candidate coming back to you fades away if your feedback focuses solely on negatives. Even if you make those points actionable, this can create resentments that may push candidates to disagree with or discard your feedback altogether. What’s more, a completely negative piece of feedback would be inaccurate considering that candidates who receive this benefit will have already gotten quite far in your recruitment drive.

That’s why it’s important to focus on the positives as well as the negatives. By this, we don’t mean that you need to dress feedback up as a somewhat cliched ‘feedback sandwich’. Simply don’t be afraid to point out good things, like the skills or qualifications you were impressed by, the things you liked throughout the interview, or even something as simple as the quality of a candidate’s outfit choices. After all, these positives will have played just as much a part in your decision as the bad stuff. This addition is therefore vital for providing a complete feedback picture and making sure that candidates are more receptive to any suggested improvements.

Say it Right With HireHive

Candidates who go far in your recruitment drive can spend as long as six weeks trying to impress you overall. Feedback is a great way to say thank you. It can also ensure positive relations after rejection and the potential for a stronger candidate if that person applies again.

HireHive can simplify the feedback process by allowing you to create complete candidate profiles for every interview attendee. The use of scorecards and feedback from every member of your team via one simple platform can ensure high-quality feedback for half of the work.

Fantastic feedback has never been simpler. Start your free trial of HireHive today.

Source: https://www.hirehive.com/fantastic-feedback-tips-that-will-save-your-candidates-from-sitting-in-radio-silence/

5 Best Strategies for Recruitment Agency Owners in a Softening Job Market

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 05:38:40 GMT

In today’s softening job market , it’s crucial that you and your recruiters are more strategic about your relationships with clients. In order to keep the relationships you currently have and build new ones, your approach as an agency owner needs to pivot from simply providing the recruitment services your clients ask you for to becoming the experienced advisor and expert in your field. With over 65% of recruiters and business owners valuing the ability to quickly shift and adapt to change these days, it’s crucial that you prove to your clients that your agency is exactly that.

Knowing not only the ins and outs of recruitment, but also the general economic landscape is key to positioning yourself on the market. Here are our 5 main tips for adjusting your services to the current market:

Take charge

Times where you could be a simple order-taker and provide your clients with exactly what they asked for are over. In the current landscape, strategic thinking and leadership abilities are as much – if not more – important as the knowledge of the recruitment industry itself. Your biggest focus should be to get ahead of the game and provide input others can’t. It is crucial to continue to build lasting relationships with clients and potential clients as an expert, so you are the first they think of when the market turns. Be adaptable and flexible - in today’s market, this can help to unearth any opportunities available.

Utilise technology and data

With the increasing use of technology in the recruitment process, such as AI , you need to be proficient in using tools like applicant tracking systems, social media, and other digital platforms to reach a wider pool of clients and candidates. It is crucial that you have a strong online presence , too. This includes having a user-friendly website and active company and personal social media accounts. By automating as much of your typical work as possible , you’ll be able to increase your and your team’s efficiency, spot mistakes faster, and adjust your strategy on the spot, accelerating the growth of your agency.

You should also leverage data to gain insights into trends in the job market to support the points that you’re making with clients. It’s also important from a business perspective that you can see the data that is going to help navigate the current market changes and help you adapt.

Focus on niche industries

In a softening job market, it can be tempting to cast your net wide and try to appeal to as many industries and companies as possible. However, this approach is not always the most successful - it does not allow you to be the expert that companies are looking for. If you claim to know everything about every market, chances are, you aren’t a real expert in either of them. Instead, focus more on your niche. Diving deeper into your area of expertise to see what new opportunities are there or starting to look at verticals in relation to your niche is the way to go. For example, you may recruit sales professionals into a certain industry such as construction - and if this market starts softening, you should look into related industries that would still accept your candidate base.

Diversify your offerings

One of the biggest mistakes recruitment agencies make in a softening market is sticking to their usual recruiting methods. This can be a dangerous game, as industries and companies that were previously hiring may not be doing so at the same rate anymore. To combat this, it is important to diversify your offerings. Instead of focusing solely on permanent placements you may want to consider offering temporary or contract work as well. This will help you tap into a wider pool of potential clients or offer more services to your clients that you already work with – and continue growing as a result!

Know the general economic landscape

Adding value by providing insight into the current economic situation and the fluctuations of the market will become crucial in showcasing your expertise and proving to your client that you’re not only recruiting for them, but you can advise them on how to go about recruitment and what steps are realistic.

By positioning your agency as a trusted advisor to your clients on all things recruitment and the marketplace you can become the go-to agency when things do start to take a turn for the better again. It also allows you to give them confidence in the current marketplace – there may be a bigger talent pool to work in just now, which would allow your clients to get ahead of the curve before the market for candidates tightens.

Source: https://blog.firefishsoftware.com/recruitment-strategy-softening-market

7 In-Demand Green Skills Right Now

Tue, 28 May 2024 23:34:07 GMT

Every major change in the world impacts the labor market, and climate change is no exception. As environmental crises escalate and new challenges emerge—like meeting the 2030 emission reduction target —companies are pushed to invest in sustainable practices. To navigate this shift, it's important to have a workforce equipped with the necessary expertise. That's where green skills come into play.

Literacy and technical knowledge in green practices are poised to become prerequisites for many roles. This presents a crucial moment for workers: a chance to upskill and adapt. For some, it could even be an opportunity to reposition or pursue a career change .

But what exactly are green skills, and which jobs require them? Read on to find out.

What are green skills?

Green skills encompass the knowledge and abilities needed to make business practices and industrial processes more sustainable. “People with green skills are able to act in ways that promote ecologically friendly practices,” says Jessica Munday , co-founder, people culture manager, and former head of HR of Custom Neon .

“These green skills span a wide range of competencies,” she explains, and aren't confined to industries directly involved with environmental practices. As the fight against climate change requires a collective effort, companies across all sectors are actively embracing green practices—and you should consider developing them too.

7 in-demand green skills you should consider

“Businesses need to be able to follow environmental laws and society's expectations for eco-friendly behavior in order to build an efficient and sustainable economy,” says Munday. This translates directly into a rising demand for a variety of green skills, “from soft skills like environmental consciousness to technical knowledge of sustainable building techniques,” she adds.

Below, we break down seven sustainability skills that companies are seeking right now:

1. Environmental law expertise

Understanding environmental regulations and their impact is crucial for various green careers. Environmental lawyers play a key role in ensuring companies' compliance, but this knowledge can also benefit professionals in sustainability consulting, environmental policy analysis, and even certain roles within green building or eco-conscious product development.

Find environmental lawyers jobs on The Muse

2. Carbon footprinting

You've likely heard the buzz about carbon footprinting. It's basically a way to measure how humanity’s actions affect the environment. It takes into account both the direct emissions of carbon dioxide (think car fumes) and the indirect ones (like the energy used to power your lights at home).

No wonder, right now, knowledge in carbon footprinting is one of the most important skills for green jobs out there.

According to The Global Green Skills 2023 Report by LinkedIn, “skills in carbon accounting, carbon credits, emissions trading, impact assessment, and sustainability reporting are among the fastest-growing green skills in the U.S. and the European Union (EU).”

3. Green building skills

The construction industry is poised for change, and its workforce will need to develop the so-called green building skills to keep up. These include waste management and reduction, implementing sustainable methods and materials for retrofits, and optimizing energy usage, for example

4. Renewable energy

Essential as it is, energy production often generates greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming. This reality makes skills in renewable energy more important than never, “especially for solar and wind farms,” says Munday.

As a part of the effort to reduce carbon emissions while keeping traditional industries alive, knowledge of renewable energy is also needed in the engineering and the construction markets. “Energy-efficient design is being used in an increasing number of engineering and architectural projects,” she adds.

5. Sustainable agriculture

Another major industry adopting sustainable practices is agriculture and food production. Expertise in sustainable agriculture includes, but is not limited to, waste reduction, organic farming, and permaculture.

“As more ecologically friendly food production techniques are adopted by the agricultural industry, there is an increasing demand for ecologists and sustainable farmers,” says Munday.

Find agricultural jobs on The Muse

6. Climate data analysis

According to The Future of Jobs Report 2020 , data analysis is in the top three jobs in the U.S. with increasing demand across industries. This includes the sustainability sector, where data analysts play a critical role in evaluating climate data to make informed decisions for a greener future.

Find data analysts jobs on The Muse

7. Environmental awareness

Environmental awareness is an essential soft skill to have if you want to succeed in a sustainability-driven industry. Think about it this way: To excel as a doctor, being empathetic and valuing human life is just as crucial as having the technical knowledge, right?

The same goes for people trying to get into the green industry. It's important to educate yourself. Find reliable sources that cover the current state of the environment and become more mindful of the effects human action has on the planet.

Jobs that require green skills

“Opportunities are being created in a range of jobs due to the rise in demand for green skills,” says Munday. LinkedIn's Global Green Skills 2023 Report highlighted 34 green jobs and roles that require sustainability skills, across many different industries and levels of education, including:

Policy advisor
Architectural manager
Construction administrator
Business engineer
Director of interior design
Heating and air conditioning engineer
Construction inspector
Transportation engineer
Winemaker
Geographic information system officer

You could also pursue an entry-level job with tasks related to sustainability. According to the Linkedin's Report, these are some green jobs in the U.S. that offers opportunities for workers without prior green experience:

Solar consultant (50.5% hires with no green experience)
Waste management specialist (49.7% hires with no green experience)
Environmental technician (32.9% hires with no green experience)

Ready to kickstart your green career? Check out open jobs on The Muse »

Developing your green skills

As you can see, the demand for green skills is on the rise, and soon they could become indispensable for many jobs. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, it may be time to start upskilling.

You can develop your green skills by taking online courses or pursuing traditional education, like post-graduation programs. This is especially valuable if your degree aligns with industries shifting towards sustainability or offering green job opportunities.

It's worth noting that green jobs require more than just technical expertise. Soft skills like creativity, innovation, leadership, and adaptability are equally important. These are transferable skills valuable in any role, regardless of your job title and industry.

Source: https://www.themuse.com/advice/in-demand-green-skills

Common Interview Mistakes and What To Do Instead

Mon, 27 May 2024 03:44:12 GMT

A job interview is one of the first impressions employers get of you. It's a chance to further elaborate on your skills, experience and qualifications relevant to the role you're interviewing for. By knowing interview etiquette, you can avoid common interview mistakes and increase your chances of getting hired.

In this article, we share 14 of the most common interview mistakes and what you should do instead.

Why is it important to know common job interview mistakes?

Knowing common job interview mistakes is important to better prepare for your interview. Knowing these mistakes can help you think of strategies to show interviewers that you are taking the interview seriously and can act appropriately in professional settings. Learning what to do and how to behave during an interview can help employers see you as a confident and qualified candidate.

Common job interview mistakes

It is easy to fall into a defeated mental place when making an easily avoidable job interview mistake, which can be a complex state of mind to turn around. Here are common mistakes people make during interviews and what you should do instead:

Arriving late or too early
Inappropriate attire
Using your cellphone
Not doing company research
Losing your focus
Unsure of resume facts
Talking too much
Speaking poorly of previous employers
Not preparing for common questions
Focusing too much on yourself
Having no questions to ask
Asking overly personal questions
Poor body language
Neglecting to follow up

Arriving late or too early

It's important to arrive at your interview on time or slightly early. The earliest you should arrive is 10 or 15 minutes early so the interviewer can finish their work and feel prepared to talk to you. Arriving on time shows the interviewer that you are punctual and value their time.

Inappropriate attire

Always look professional for an interview, even for a company with a casual dress code. Wearing formal business attire shows employers that you are serious about this role and have a sense of professionalism. Feel confident and prepared by choosing your outfit and ironing it well in advance.

Using your cellphone

Rather than looking at your cellphone in the waiting room, read over your resume to prepare for your interview. Before meeting the interviewer, make sure your phone is completely turned off. This can help you stay focused and free of distractions during the interview.

Not doing company research

As soon as an employer reaches out to you for an interview, you should research the company extensively. Learn who their clients are, what they specialize in and what their work culture looks like. Be able to discuss specific details of projects listed on their website. Prepare to answer the question, "Why are you interested in our company?"

Losing your focus

Make sure to sleep well and eat a nutritious meal before your interview. It's important to appear refreshed and focused in your interview. Make sure to listen to everything the interviewer says so you know which questions to ask them and what information you should share. Make an effort to appear enthusiastic about the position. Use active listening skills to show you're interested in what the interviewer is saying.

Unsure of resume facts

Get to know the details of your resume before your interview. Know things such as prior employment, previous tasks and important dates. Bring a printed copy of your resume in a professional-looking folder, so you can read it over while you wait for your interview. You could also bring an extra copy for the interviewer if they need one.

Talking too much

Practice answering interview questions succinctly. Only include information relevant to the interviewer's question and the role you're interviewing for. Keep talking about your personal life to a minimum and keep the conversation professional. Give the interviewer a chance to speak and use nonverbal cues such as nodding and eye contact to show them you're listening.

Speaking poorly of previous employers

Instead of speaking poorly of previous employers, share what you learned from your work experiences. Focus on the skills you developed and what you plan to do in your new role. If they ask you questions such as, "Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult coworker" or "How do you handle working with people you disagree with?" try to find a way to answer these questions positively. This shows interviewers that you have conflict-resolution skills and can work well with others.

Not preparing for common questions

Before your interview, search for common questions for your particular job title and other general interview questions. Prepare answers for each of these questions. Having responses in mind can help you appear more confident and qualified. Practice your responses by asking a family member or friend to do a mock interview with you.

Focusing too much on yourself

Rather than solely focusing on how this role can benefit you, consider the value you can add to the company. This shows interviewers that you are committed to their company's mission and goals. Explain what you contributed to your previous roles and share what qualities help you collaborate with your coworkers.

Having no questions to ask

At the end of your interview, the interviewer will likely ask you if you have any questions for them. Before your interview, come up with a few questions to ask the interviewer. Ensure these questions aren't answered by their website or social media pages. When it's time to ask your questions, ensure this information wasn't already covered in the interview. Throughout your interview, you might even be able to make a mental note of some questions you want them to answer at the end.

Asking overly personal questions

Make sure the questions you are asking the interviewer are professional and appropriate. Save learning more personal details about the interviewer for later if you get the job. Focus on questions about the company and, if you want to ask questions about the interviewer, make sure they are related to the company or the role in question. Here are some helpful questions you can ask during an interview:

What is the company culture like here?
How would you describe the management style here?
What is your favorite aspect of this company?
What are the company's most important goals right now?
What would my average workday look like in this role?
Who would I directly report to?
Can you tell me a little more about the team I would be working on?

Poor body language

When you enter your interview, greet the interviewer with a firm handshake while making eye contact. Say something like, "Hello, I'm [name]. It's very nice to meet you." Then, once you sit down, ensure you sit up straight in your chair. Practice keeping a good posture before your interview. Make sure to keep regular eye contact throughout the interview and smile to show your enthusiasm about the job. Use head nodding and other cues to show you're listening as the interviewer speaks.

Neglecting to follow up

After the interview, send the interviewer an email or neatly handwritten note. Thank them for their time and reiterate your interest in the role. Share something specific about the role that makes you excited about this opportunity. Include something you learned during the interview to show that you were paying attention.

Source: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/job-interview-mistakes

Navigating the Shift: A Step-by-Step Guide to Transitioning to a Skill-Based Organisation

Wed, 22 May 2024 03:08:17 GMT

The relentless pace of technological change and evolving market demands compels organisations to adapt. Hierarchical structures, once the norm, are giving way to a new paradigm: the skill-based organisation. This approach prioritises identifying, developing, and deploying the unique talents and competencies of your workforce. The result? Increased agility, innovation, and a sharper competitive edge.

While technology plays a supportive role and tools like SAP SuccessFactors Talent Intelligence Hub can aid, transitioning to a skill-based model requires a strategic, multi-faceted approach. Here's a roadmap to guide you through this transformation in seven key steps:

Step 1: Taking Stock of Your Workforce

A successful journey begins with a clear understanding of your current state. Conduct a thorough analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your existing talent pool. This includes both technical skills and soft skills, like communication and problem-solving. Technology can streamline this process, but the goal is to gain a deep understanding of your workforce's capabilities and areas for development. Evaluate your organisational structure as well. Does it hinder or promote a skill based career and development? Are roles clearly defined? Are tasks assigned strategically?

Step 2: Charting Your Course

Transitioning to a skill-based organisation requires a clear vision. What do you hope to achieve? Is it to enhance innovation, improve efficiency, or boost employee engagement? Having well-defined objectives will guide your overall strategy. Next, identify the critical skills that are essential for your organisation's success. This should encompass both technical and soft skills, ensuring a well-rounded approach to talent development.

Step 3: Building the Framework for Success

To effectively manage and develop skills across your organisation, establish a strong framework. This includes creating detailed profiles for various roles and projects, specifying the required skills and proficiency levels. The framework should be adaptable to accommodate changing business needs and the evolving skillset of your workforce. While platforms like SAP SuccessFactors Talent Intelligence Hub can be instrumental, the core focus should be on creating a system for ongoing skill tracking and development.

Step 4: A Continuous Learning Culture

A skill-based organisation thrives on a culture that values continuous learning. Encourage your employees to adopt a lifelong learning culture by providing access to training resources, facilitating mentorship programs, and fostering cross-functional collaboration. Recognise and reward skill development and application. This also means that you will be helping the employees by promoting a skill based career development for them.

Step 5: Reimagining Talent Acquisition and Management

Move away from traditional hiring practices that focus on degrees and titles. Instead, prioritise assessing candidates' skills and their potential for growth. Competency-based interviews and assessments will be key in identifying the best fit for your evolving needs. Redefine career paths to be more flexible and skill-based. This empowers employees to navigate their own development journeys, acquiring new skills to take on new roles and challenges.

Step 6: Matching Skills to Projects

Ensure projects and roles are allocated based on employees' skills, interests, and development goals. This strategic approach creates high-performing teams with the right mix of expertise to achieve optimal project outcomes. Consider using talent marketplace tools like SAP SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace to personalise the project allocation process and empower employees to explore growth opportunities. Additionally, encourage cross-functional teams to leverage diverse skill sets, drive innovation, and enhance knowledge transfer throughout the organisation. SAP SuccessFactors Dynamic Teams can streamline the creation and management of these teams, ensuring clear goals and effective collaboration.

Step 7: Measuring Success and Adapting for the Future

Transitioning to a skill-based organisation is an ongoing process. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of your efforts. Track employee engagement, skill acquisition rates, and project success to gauge the effectiveness of your strategy. Continuously collect and analyse feedback from all levels of your organisation to identify areas for improvement. Take on an iterative approach, refining and adjusting your strategy based on the valuable insights you gather.

By following these steps and encouraging a continuous learning culture and development, you can open up the full potential of your workforce. A skill-based organisation empowers your employees, strengthens your adaptability, and positions you for long-term success in the ever-changing business landscape.

Unsure how to effectively transition to a skill-based organisation?

TalenTeam has the expertise and experience to guide you through every stage of the process, ensuring a smooth and successful transition. Contact us today and let’s get you started!

Source: https://talenteam.com/blog/navigating-the-shift-a-step-by-step-guide-to-transitioning-to-a-skill-based-organisation/

5 tips to overcome nerves and ace your next job interview

Mon, 20 May 2024 00:13:49 GMT

Have nerves ever got the best of you in a job interview?

There’s no denying that job interviews can be stressful, but overcoming interview nerves could mean the difference between you landing your dream ethical job and missing out!

So here are five practical steps you can take to overcome your nervousness and ace your next job interview:

Before the interview

1. Meditate

The reason being nervous can have such a detrimental effect on how well you do in an interview is because your thoughts are divided between answering the questions and trying to hide your anxiety. By taking some slow, deep breaths and even going so far as to meditate before the interview you can help to slow down your mind so you can focus on the task at hand.

If you have visions of sitting cross-legged on the floor, chanting for hours, don’t worry.

Meditation can be as simple as taking one or two minutes to focus on your breath and still your mind. You can do it standing, sitting, lying down, driving – whatever is comfortable for you. There are some great 10-minute meditation videos on YouTube that you can use if you’ve never meditated before. But, if all else fails, just focus your awareness on your breathing.

You can then practice this again as you are traveling to your interview – on a bus/train/tram, in a car or on a bike!

2. Prepare yourself

One of the main causes of interview stress is being under-prepared. Preparation isn’t just about practicing your interview answers, although that can be important. Preparation means making sure you aren’t leaving anything up to chance. Think about reviewing this simple checklist before your next interview:

Re-read the position description, your application and CV before heading to the interview. That way if you’re asked specific questions about something you’ve written in the application, you can bring it to mind quickly and answer confidently.
Practice answering out loud. You might feel a bit silly talking to no one but practising answering out loud is really important . The first time you answer a question out loud you will probably find that you get a bit tongue tied and lose your train of thought. Isn’t it better to do that at home by yourself than in front of an interview panel?
Prepare your questions for the employer beforehand. You will always be asked in an interview if you have any questions for the panel – make sure you’ve prepared at least one or two before you go in. It has the bonus effect of showing your interviewers that you’ve done your research and you’re interested in the role.
Plan your route. If you’re taking public transport, make sure you know where to get off, and have alternative options so you don’t get stuck if the buses/trains aren’t running that day. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive before the interview just in case there are any delays.
Eat breakfast/lunch before you arrive. You need fuel for your brain so don’t go into an interview hungry. On the flip side, try not to eat too big a meal or foods high in sugar before the interview so you avoid a sugar crash in the middle of your interview.

During the interview

3. Memory tips and tricks

The memory institute has some great tips and tricks for trying to remember stories, speeches and even jokes that could apply in a job interview. For example, you might use a mnemonic device like the LOCI method to recall your prepared examples to a particular question. This is where you identify key words throughout an example of your past work and then associate them with various physical locations to aid memory. You then simply take a journey though those locations in your mind to help you recall that example.

4. Take your time

If you’re particularly nervous, take a deep (subtle) breath before answering the interview question to give you time to gather your thoughts. If you think the silence will be awkward you can say “That’s a good question” or “Let me think about that for a moment” to give you time before launching into your answer. It’s okay to take your time, and it’s also okay to ask for clarification if you think you may have misunderstood the question.

5. Smile

It sounds almost too simple, but smiling can make a huge difference to your mental and physical state – even a fake smile can work! According to Psychology Today :

Smiling activates the release of neuropeptides that work toward fighting off stress. Neuropeptides are tiny molecules that allow neurons to communicate. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, excited. The feel good neurotransmitters dopamine, endorphins and serotonin are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well. This not only relaxes your body, but it can lower your heart rate and blood pressure.

So don’t hesitate to unleash a big smile whenever you start to feel a bit nervous in an interview!

Source: https://www.ethicaljobs.com.au/blog/5-tips-to-overcome-nerves-and-ace-your-next-job-interview

Employee development program: Learn how to create a growth-focused strategy

Wed, 15 May 2024 01:23:30 GMT

Development matters to employees, especially amidst today’s rapid advances in technology. In fact, 67% of professionals say they get less training than they want on new AI tools, and 41% of employees agree they’ll look for a new job in 2024 if they don’t get the training they need. (1)

At the same time, more and more managers report that they don’t have the skills to meet the demands of the modern workplace. (2) That highlights how essential employee development programs are for companies that want to support their team leads and foster future organizational leaders.

If you’re still not convinced that you should prioritize development, consider this: According to LinkedIn’s recent Future of Work Report, AI will likely change the skills required for our jobs by 65% by 2030. (3)

A well-constructed employee development program is indispensable for organizations that want to upskill their best talent, promote internally, engage team members, and future-proof their companies. Still, development programs take collaboration at every level to be effective.

In this in-depth guide to creating an employee development program, we’ll cover:

What an employee development program is
How it differs from employee development plans
Why implementing one matters
Seven steps to establishing an effective development program
‍

�� Align development programs with employee needs

Our Competency Frameworks integrate with Leapsome Learning, allowing you to design courses based on the skills your employees need.

�� Learn more

TalentLMS and Vyond , 2024
Gallup , 2023
LinkedIn’s Future of Work Report , 2024
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What is an employee development program?

An employee development program is a training curriculum that organizations design for all staff members or a specific department or team. While every company may create employee development programs to address different issues or gaps, some classic examples include:

Orientation and onboarding
Management training
One-time training related to specific topics or events
Regular, company-wide professional development workshops and conferences

The great news is that you can create an employee development program about anything you need to address at a department or company level. For instance:

Building a time management training program if your employees need help organizing their time effectively.
Designing a finance-related program to help employees understand their compensation package and manage their money.
Starting a mentorship program for women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups as one of your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
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Employee development programs vs. plans: What’s the difference?

An employee development plan, unlike a program, is an individualized path that companies create on an as-needed basis

It can be confusing to distinguish between employee development plans and programs. You might even wonder whether the difference matters, but it does — because creating a personnel development program is much more costly than setting up an individualized plan.

An organization might create an employee development program to address recurring issues or challenges like onboarding or leadership . For instance, managers may notice that many employees report the same hurdles, like a long learning curve with specific tools or a need for mentorship. As a result, they might decide to create a development program to address these concerns.

On the other hand, a manager or team lead may create an employee development plan for a specific group of team members or individuals. Think of a performance improvement plan that leadership might implement for employees who don’t meet workplace expectations. Alternatively, a team lead and their report may work together to create a plan around that employee’s specific goal, like improving their communication or writing skills.

So, breaking it down, employee development programs:

Exist for all employees, a specific department or team, or a certain subgroup of employees
Are created once to address recurring needs and challenges
May run on a specific schedule, where applicable
Likely won’t need much managerial or leadership oversight

In contrast, employee development plans:

Exist for an individual or a select few people
Are created to address a particular challenge or meet a particular goal
Can be implemented on an as-needed basis and don’t need to follow a specific structure
May require more managerial or leadership involvement
‍

⭐️ Create a culture of development for your people

Whether you’re designing a development program or an individualized plan, Leapsome Learning has the courses, paths, and automated workflows you need.

�� Learn more

The benefits of an employee development program

Leapsome’s Competency Framework feature helps companies create more clarity about the professional skills team members need to advance

Demonstrating your employee development program’s return on investment (ROI) to your organization’s leadership isn’t easy. However, creating one is well worth it. Development programs can help you:

Increase employee engagement and boost retention rates — Professional development is a key driver in employee engagement and retention . That’s because the right training equips employees for their current roles and helps people establish and work towards specific career paths and opportunities.
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Build a more diverse and equitable culture — If you want to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace, creating an employee development program is a great place to start. Doing so closes skills gaps between employees who belong to underrepresented groups and their peers. Listening to team members from diverse backgrounds is essential to helping you determine what kinds of training you should prioritize.
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Instill a growth mindset — If you want your business to expand and thrive, you need a driven team that wants to grow together. Development programs help create a solid foundation for an ecosystem of learning and advancement . Still, you must develop your programming in collaboration with managers , leadership, and team members so everyone is involved.

7 steps to establishing an employee development program that helps employees thrive

With a step-by-step plan, putting together an employee development program doesn’t have to be a daunting task

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It’s often the managers’ job to initiate the process of creating development programs for employees, so if your organization hasn’t created a structured process or roadmap for such a program, you might not know where to start. In that case, we recommend following the subsequent steps to establish a successful development program.
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��️ Start your development planning on a firm footing

Use Leapsome’s AI-powered Competency Framework to generate a growth roadmap for every role in your organization — with only three inputs.

�� Learn more

1. Take stock of your company & departmental OKRs

Use a platform like Leapsome Goals to create company and team OKRs to inform your development programs

If you’re in a managerial or leadership position, avoid creating a personnel development program in reaction to a problem. You’ll have much more success and get company-wide support for your professional development initiatives if you base them on your company goals, objectives, and key results (OKRs).

Connecting your employee development program with your OKRs helps align company goals and initiatives to ensure you’re moving the needle forward effectively.

Another reason to bring development into your OKR review and iteration process is that it’s already collaborative. So, it’ll naturally prompt you to work with leadership, team members, and even cross-departmental stakeholders to ensure your ideas are meaningful and realistic.

That way, when it’s time to implement your OKRs — which in this case would include creating a training program — you’ll have the support and backing you need.
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2. Do a needs analysis to identify skills gaps

There are a few ways to go about performing a needs or skills gap analysis for your employees, but here are a few methods you can use:

Analyze previous employee surveys and questionnaires — Make sure you evaluate the answers to open-ended questions as well as responses where employees rated their experiences on a Likert scale from one to ten.
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Review data from previous exit interviews — Get valuable insights into why your previous development initiatives may have failed and how you can improve them in the future.
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Revise the core competencies listed in your current job descriptions — Are those qualifications still sufficient for the role, or do they need to be modified or added to in any way to make your employee development program more relevant?
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Ask for direct observations from managers — Managers can speak directly to gaps they notice in team members’ performance. They may also identify soft skills that could make internal operations more efficient.
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‍ Study previous performance review and performance objectives data — Performance reviews and objectives can help determine where employees need to develop in line with their current roles and aspirations.
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3. Ask employees for feedback

Leapsome Surveys makes gathering employee feedback easy with customizable templates and AI tools that summarize data quickly

If your organization is dedicated to helping staff members better themselves professionally, regular employee feedback should be part of your development programs. And you need to ask about the right things, too.

Here are some questions we recommend including in an employee survey about development:

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with our current training programs? Can you explain why?
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What do you value about our current training programs? ‍
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What soft skills would you like us to prioritize in future development programs? Choose as many as you’d like:
— Time management
— Collaboration
— Leadership
— Critical thinking and problem solving
— Creating a more inclusive, equitable work environment
— Innovation
— Flexibility and adaptability
— Empathy
— Assertiveness
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How often would you prefer development and training to happen? Please choose only one:
— Once a month
— Once every three months
— Every six months
— Once a year
— As needed
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What learning methods or modules do you prefer? Please rank them from one to eight, with one being your most and eight being your least preferred:
— Video training
— Webinars and lectures
— Simulated environments
— Podcasts and audio
— Online articles and resources
— Structured courses with learning modules
— Role-playing
— Print resources like textbooks or manuals
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Where do you prefer to learn? Please rank them from one to five, with one being your most and five being your least preferred:
— With an instructor, in-person
— With an instructor, remotely
— A hybrid of in-person and virtual training
— Online, but self-paced
— Offline, but self-paced

As you process employee feedback, keep an open mind and think critically . You won’t be able to approach all knowledge or skills gaps with the same solution. For instance, even if most of your employees prefer online, self-paced training programs, that may not be the best way to address your team members’ needs.
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4. Evaluate your training options against your available resources

Now that you’ve collected executive, managerial, and employee feedback, you should have some sense of the training options that would work best for your employee development program.

However, before deciding which type of training to implement, assess the resources you currently have at your disposal. These include:

‍ Budget — First, determine how much it would cost to train one employee. Then, multiply the number of employees you’ll be training by the cost of that training to determine your total expenses. If your calculations show you’ll go over your current budget, talk to your leadership team to determine if there’s a workaround or ask them to adjust it.
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‍ Time — Consider how long it’ll take for employees to learn and gain confidence with their new skills, and ensure you’re using their time wisely. If your employees find training too time-consuming, it may demotivate them and make them feel it’s only interfering with their other duties. You may ultimately favor a short, hour-long webinar or single-day seminar to minimize the impact on employee schedules.
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‍ Return on investment — It can be challenging for managers and HR professionals to prove that training programs boost metrics like productivity and profitability. However, employee development tends to positively impact job satisfaction and engagement, improving output and enhancing business performance. That means you can use your engagement scores to indicate a good return on investment.
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5. Report your training plan recommendations to stakeholders

Securing stakeholder support is essential before proceeding with any employee development programs. Keep in mind that stakeholders likely don’t have as much visibility over your team and employee training needs as you do, which means they may be more invested in staying under budget and minimizing their time commitment. Be sure to anticipate these or similar questions from your leadership team and other stakeholders:

Are we already offering similar training on that subject?
Can we combine these training sessions?
Does this training need to be provided company-wide, or is it only applicable to a select group of employees?
Would it be possible to conduct this training session 100% remotely?
Do we already have an in-house expert who could lead a short training, rather than having to pay an external expert?
How long will it take for employees to achieve proficiency after the training?
Will this training be mandatory? And if not, how will we motivate employees to complete it?
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6. Design incentives for employees to complete your program

Employees will want to know whether your company’s training sessions and personnel development programs are mandatory. Even if they find your courses useful, some team members will need extra motivation to complete them.

For instance, we recommend making your training and development program part of your employee competency frameworks and promotion criteria . Employees should know they’ll have to complete specific training before advancing to another role.

As an additional incentive, consider setting up a rewards and recognition program for employees who complete certain training milestones and demonstrate proficiency with their new skills. You could even harness the power of healthy competition and design a contest around one of your training programs, for example, by dividing your trainees into teams and seeing which group accumulates the most points on quizzes.
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7. Make space for practice & mentorship

Employees need time for practice and mentorship before they can become proficient with a new skill

It doesn’t matter if your employee development program focuses on nurturing hard skills or soft skills — team members need time to practice. Think of training sessions as introductions to skills rather than exhaustive courses. Indeed, people will need time to grasp all the applications of the learning material.

With this in mind, managers should anticipate that it’ll take staff a few months to build proficiency with their new skills. That means incorporating those months into your employee development program’s timeline.

You should also reinforce any training with coaching and mentorship . Ask team members who have more experience with a certain skill to check in with your trainees. Peer-to-peer mentorship is particularly important for skills like coaching, leadership, and communication, which often require more interpersonal guidance, exchange, and experience to improve.
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Upskill your workforce the right way with Leapsome

Leapsome’s Competency Profile shows soft skill assessment scores, as well as how peers, direct reports, and managers rate someone’s performance

Well-designed development programs are a win-win for companies. While they may require organizations to invest time and resources upfront, they empower employees with the competencies they need to advance professionally. Not to mention, they enable businesses to lay the right foundation for future leadership.

Still, you can’t create robust development programs for your employees without collaboration, transparency, and data.

Thankfully, Leapsome has the customizable templates, automations, and analytics you need to design an engaging employee development program. Our AI-powered Competency Frameworks enable you to generate a customizable skills matrix for every role within your organization with only three prompts, saving leadership time and energy. It also seamlessly integrates with Leapsome Learning for customizable course creation — and our Learning Marketplace , which offers a wide range of high-quality pre-built courses you can incorporate into learning paths. What’s more, in-depth data from Leapsome Reviews and Goals mean it’s simple to track development and measure the impact of your training programs.

With Leapsome’s holistic suite of people enablement tools, it’s never been easier to take a data-based, people-centric approach to employee development.
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�� Develop better employee development programs by leveraging data and collaboration

Leapsome gives you access to the data you need to identify skills gaps and create more effective training programs.

Source: https://www.leapsome.com/blog/employee-development-program

In Search of Agility

Wed, 15 May 2024 01:14:19 GMT

Why does it take so long to get things done around here?

Everybody wants agility. Everybody thinks they understand it. Nobody actually has it. Leaders know this. And employees know it too. Gallup finds that 18% of U.S. employees say their company is agile.

What agility really defines is a desire -- a desire to move faster, change faster, and deliver faster in response to a marketplace that is moving, changing, and demanding more than ever before.

But the concept of agility alone doesn’t help leaders identify the challenges to speed and innovation in the modern organization .

Here are the three biggest challenges to agility:

1. Ambition Colliding With the Matrix

In most workplaces, every person is juggling an ambitious to-do list. They have a lot to get done in a day, a week, a quarter. If people are talented, they are even more ambitious. But the reality is this: Over eight in 10 U.S. employees are matrixed to some extent.

That means that, in nearly all organizations, the people someone needs to get their to-do list done have different priorities than they do. One person’s No. 1 priority is another’s No. 10; that person’s No. 1 is another’s No. 10. Someone needs to meet with a client, while someone else needs them to decide on a plan for a future event. A team can’t proceed on a project until they get signoff from a stakeholder, but that stakeholder is troubleshooting a production line issue.

This mismatch of combining ambitious lists with matrixed collaboration means less gets done.

The solution? Leaders must ensure alignment of priorities across teams, fostering a collective focus on what’s important. When matrixed teams have the same priorities, they are ready, present and able to get much more done.

Only about two in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that the leaders in their organization have a clear direction for the organization. A leader’s responsibility is to align priorities between disparate teams and identify low priorities to cut.

2. Decision-Making Too Far From the Customer

Agile workplaces focus on and prioritize creative solutions for the customer.

An employee working in an agile workplace understands the customer, knows the customer’s problem and has the authority to solve it. They have permission to get the work done; they don’t have to ask 20 people for approval first. If the answer is, “I’ll have to get approval from my supervisor,” an organization isn’t agile. If the answer is, “Let me fix that for you now,” it’s agile.

For teams to move faster, the decision point needs to be moved closer to the customer. Leaders should identify decision points and decide if they can move them closer to the action.

Why doesn’t this happen? Because moving decision-making down the organization means giving responsibility and ownership -- and therefore risk -- to others. Real power is the power to fail and make mistakes. People often give up their own agency and pass it on to their supervisor if they are afraid of making a mistake.

Shifting responsibility to someone else may avoid mistakes, but it won’t build a creative or courageous workplace culture. Leaders have to create a culture where it is OK to try and fail .

3. Waiting for “Perfect”

Employees might want multiple levels of approval for another reason: They aren’t sure the final product is perfect. Fear of not being perfect can lead to endless cycles of minor improvements or repeated checks for validation from leaders. Both of these habits slow productivity.

Embracing the concept of the “Minimum lovable product” encourages teams to release imperfect but functional products, inviting the customer to help co-create the final version. It means taking the mindset that the customer will help us find “perfect.”

When done well, this strategy can lead to unexpected innovation. Teams aren’t on the hook for thinking of everything; instead, they can focus on listening to and responding to customers -- the very thing an organization needs to become more agile.

Putting It All Together

Modern organizations often approach work like a relay race, with one person running while others watch, eagerly waiting for their turn. However, a more effective approach is comparable to a football play, where every player is in motion at the same time. They are all doing different tasks, but those tasks work together toward a single outcome.

Aligned priorities across roles, teammates empowered to make decisions, and real-time adjustments made in response to changing conditions -- when a team has all three elements, they aren’t talking about “agility,” they’re getting work done.

Source: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/611675/search-agility.aspx

Tips for Staying Positive While Job Searching

Wed, 15 May 2024 01:14:16 GMT

It is easy to become frustrated or disheartened during a job search, particularly if you’ve been unemployed or job hunting for an extended period. However, it is important to try to remain positive throughout.

Feeling positive will help motivate you to continue with your search. Also, your positive attitude will come across during interviews and networking opportunities, increasing your chances of making a strong first impression.

Tips for Staying Positive During a Job Search

Here are 12 tips for remaining upbeat and enthusiastic during your job search.

1. Get Organized

Take time to get organized. Having everything you need for a job search ready will make the process much smoother. Have your resume and LinkedIn profile updated, gather some references you can use, get an interview outfit ready to wear, and put a plan for organizing your job search in place.

If you haven't started job hunting yet, spend time getting set before you start. If you're in the middle of a job hunt, but not having much luck, set aside time to make sure your resume is updated and enticing to prospective employers, your LinkedIn profile is polished and professional , you're connected to the right people, and you have references ready to endorse your credentials.

Review our 30 Days to Your Dream Job series to ensure you've covered the basics you need for an effective job search, and to break your search into manageable steps.

2. Create a Daily Job Search Routine

If possible, treat your job search like a 9-5 job. For the time being, consider your job search as your full-time job. Wake up early, take a lunch break, and end your job search activities before dinner.

Creating a regular routine and keeping your job search organized will keep you focused and motivated. Also, setting a start and end time to your job search forces you to stop thinking about your job search in the evenings, and spend time focusing on other important aspects of your life, like your friends and family.

3. Find Time to Not Think About Your Job Search

It’s easy to have your job search always in the back of your mind. However, excessive worry about your job search only increases your stress and keeps you from enjoying other aspects of your life. Set aside time each day to forget about your job search and do something you enjoy, like going for a walk or to the gym (exercise is an important way to de-stress!) or going or a movie.

4. Focus on Your Positives

When job searching , it is useful to make a list of your best qualities, skills, and accomplishments. This list will help you when crafting your cover letters and when practicing for an interview . Keep this list where you can see it, and review it regularly. Remembering what makes you a successful job candidate and a talented, unique person will help boost your confidence during the job search process.

5. Set Reasonable, Concrete Goals

At the start of each week, make a list of specific, manageable goals that you would like to achieve. Perhaps you’d like to write five cover letters that week or go to three job fairs. By focusing on small, achievable goals, you will feel more accomplished throughout your job search.

6. Spend Some Time Networking in Person

Even though you can successfully network online, nothing beats in-person networking. A cup of coffee with a former colleague, client, or friend may get you job leads that you wouldn't have otherwise known about. On a similar note, don't be shy about asking your friends and family for job search assistance . The more people who know you're seeking employment, the better your chances of getting hired quickly.

7. Volunteer

Helping others is a good way to help you feel more purpose-driven. Find a volunteer organization that is related to your personal interests, or even to your career. Volunteer organizations also provide networking opportunities. The time you spend volunteering can bolster your resume and count as part of your job searching "work schedule."

8. Join (or Start) a Job Search Club

Joining an organization of other job seekers will provide you with much-needed support. A job club can help you stay on top of your own job search, and may even provide you with job search tips and job leads. Look to networking sites , your local library, or your college career center for possible clubs.

9. Celebrate Small Victories

It is easy to focus on the negative during a job search, such as the interview you didn’t land or the job you didn’t get. Instead, focus on even the smallest wins. Be proud of yourself for getting a phone interview , even if you don’t get asked for an in-person interview. Pat yourself on the back when you make a new LinkedIn connection or someone comments on your blog post. Celebrating the small wins will help you to focus on the positive.

10. Move On Quickly

If you apply for a job or interview for a position, it is easy to become fixated on waiting for a reply from the employer. Yes, you should keep track of the jobs to which you apply, and you can contact the employer if you do not hear a response in a week or two. However, if you don't receive any response, or if you do not get the job, move on. Simply cross that job off of your list and focus on the next opportunity.

11. See Everything as an Opportunity

It’s easy to become tired of writing cover letters, going to interviews, and networking . However, try to think of each activity as an opportunity that will only make you a better candidate. If you are interviewing for a job, you don’t think you want (or don’t think you will get), try to think of the interview as a chance to network and to work on your interview skills . Think of each cover letter as the chance to hone your writing and editing abilities. Simply thinking of tasks as opportunities rather than chores will put you in a positive mindset.

12. Focus on What You Can Control

You can’t control whether or when an interviewer will call you back, or whether those networking contacts you emailed will provide you with any leads. If you feel yourself worrying about something that is out of your control, do something that you can control, such as writing and sending out a cover letter, or attending a networking event .

By focusing on what you can do to help your job search, you will worry less about what is out of your hands. Even though it might seem like it's taking forever, once ready to start your new job it will be worth all the effort you put into getting hired, and the time you spent dealing with a difficult job search.

Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/top-tips-for-staying-positive-while-job-searching-2062215

Automation and AI in HR Processes: A 2028 Perspective

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:46:56 GMT

In the last couple of years AI took place, changing the way how HR works. In four years time, the HR functions and processes would be even more advanced. We believe in an increase of system efficiency, less human errors, and more time for HR professionals to focus on strategic tasks.

With this article we explore how 2028 would look like with more prominence of automation and AI in HR processes.

The Role of AI and Automation in Different HR Functions

Below are five key HR functions that will be impacted by AI and automation. Let’s find out the different benefits of incorporating AI in HR.

1. Recruitment and Onboarding

Recruitment and onboarding processes are already significantly impacted by AI and automation, and this trend is expected to continue and evolve in the future. Here are some changes we can expect:

Automated resume screening:
AI-powered applicant tracking systems (ATS) will scan resumes for keywords and qualifications, streamlining the initial screening process.
Predictive analytics for candidate selection:
AI algorithms will analyse large datasets of past hires and their performance to identify patterns and traits associated with success in specific roles. This will give recruiters an idea of which candidates will likely succeed in a given position.
Chatbots for candidate interaction:
AI-powered chatbots will handle routine queries from candidates, provide information about the company and job openings, and schedule interviews through conversational interfaces.
Virtual Reality (VR) for onboarding:
VR will create immersive onboarding experiences, allowing new hires to virtually explore the company culture, facilities, and workflows before their first day on the job.
Personalised onboarding plans:
AI algorithms can analyse new hire data, such as their skills, experience, and personality traits, to generate personalised and automated onboarding process.
Automated training modules
AI-powered Learning Management Systems (LMS) will deliver personalised training modules based on employees’ role, skills level, and learning progress.

2. Employee Engagement and Retention

What if employees could use communication platforms and training methods based on their personal career goals, skills, and current abilities? This would foster engagement and help retain those employees in the long term.

Predictive analytics can help spot attrition risks early, in this way organisations can take action to keep employees happy and reduce turnover. AI algorithms also help manage workloads, preventing burnout by keeping things balanced.

Furthermore, employee engagement AI will play a major role in promoting organisational culture and diversity initiatives by analysing feedback data, and fostering an inclusive work environment conducive to engagement and retention.

3. Performance Management

AI and automation revolutionise traditional approaches by offering transformative capabilities. These technologies enable organisations to implement real-time performance, monitor systems that analyse large sets of data to provide accurate insights into employee productivity, work quality, and goal adherence.

In 2028, managers will be able to leverage AI algorithms to identify patterns and trends in data performance. It will allow more informed decisions regarding performance improvement and resource allocation.

We can also expect personalised feedback system, enhancing motivation and engagement. The availability of automated performance evaluation processes will streamline administrative tasks, freeing HR managers' time to focus on coaching and development initiatives.

4. HR Administration

What if HR managers can process and streamline in less than half of the time they are investing now? AI supports HR in automating routine administrative tasks such as payroll processing, benefits management, and time tracking.

In the future, we’ll see AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants providing immediate support to employees, answering queries, providing information on policies and procedures, and facilitating self-service options for tasks like leave requests and expense reimbursements.

Additionally, AI-driven predictive analytics will help forecast future workforce needs and trends, allowing organisations to optimise staffing levels and talent acquisition efforts.

5. Learning and Development

AI and automation are revolutionising learning and development (L&D) processes, offering personalised and efficient solutions. AI-driven platforms analyse data to identify individual employee learning preferences, strengths, and areas for improvement, providing customised learning courses.

Personalised content includes engaging training modules, videos, and quizzes. AI algorithms track employee progress and performance in real time, providing instant feedback and recommendations for further learning opportunities.

Automation streamlines administrative tasks associated with Learning and Development. such as scheduling training sessions, managing enrollment, and tracking compliance, Helping, Learning and Development professionals saving their time and focusing on more important tasks.

Which Challenges HR Professionals Will Have to Consider?

Despite the numerous benefits, integrating AI and machine learning in HR came with challenges. Concerns regarding data privacy and the risk of algorithmic bias continue to be central topics of discussion. Organisations have to carefully navigate these issues, ensuring transparency in their AI systems and continuously monitoring it.

The Road Ahead

As we look to the future, it’s clear that AI and automation will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping HR practices. We are expected to move towards improving the human element of HR, using technologies to facilitate more meaningful interactions and personalised experiences for employees.

The integration of automation and AI into HR processes will fundamentally change the field, bringing about efficiencies and insights that were previously unimaginable. As these AI and HR automation trends continue to evolve, we are looking at an exciting time for HR.

Source: https://talenteam.com/blog/automation-and-ai-in-hr-processes-a-2028-perspective/

Tips for Staying Positive While Job Searching

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:46:50 GMT

Tips for Staying Positive During a Job Search

Here are 12 tips for remaining upbeat and enthusiastic during your job search.

1. Get Organized

Review our 30 Days to Your Dream Job series to ensure you've covered the basics you need for an effective job search, and to break your search into manageable steps.

2. Create a Daily Job Search Routine

3. Find Time to Not Think About Your Job Search

4. Focus on Your Positives

5. Set Reasonable, Concrete Goals

6. Spend Some Time Networking in Person

7. Volunteer

8. Join (or Start) a Job Search Club

9. Celebrate Small Victories

10. Move On Quickly

11. See Everything as an Opportunity

12. Focus on What You Can Control

Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/top-tips-for-staying-positive-while-job-searching-2062215

Approvals Made Easy: Solving the Problem of Job Requisitions for Recruiters

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:46:49 GMT

Are you a recruiter who's feeling overwhelmed with job requisitions? You're not alone! Job requisitions can be a real headache for recruiters, especially when they're dealing with multiple requisitions at once. In this article, we will explore some common challenges recruiters face when it comes to getting approvals of job requisitions and how the approval process can be optimized to be as simple and effortless as possible.

Understanding Job Requisitions

Before we get into it all, let’s first understand what job reqs they are. A job requisition is a formal request made by an organization to fill an open position . The request contains all the details of the position, including job title, job description , required qualifications, salary range, and other relevant information. The requisition is usually created by the hiring manager or the recruiter and serves as the foundation for the entire recruitment process. After it has been created, it has to be reviewed and approved by the relevant stakeholders before the hiring process can continue. The job requisition is then used to advertise the position and attract candidates.

If you are reading this article, you already know the importance of a well-written job requisition as a starting point of the recruitment process . By specifying the exact job description and setting certain standards for a particular position, job requisitions help streamline the recruiting process and make better budgeting and forecasting decisions, as well as making sure that all parties involved in the process are on the same page. This leads us to one of the biggest problems in the process of approving job requisitions – communication.

The main problem with job requisitions

As a recruiter, you understand the importance of filling job vacancies on time. However, before you can start advertising the position on job boards and attracting candidates, you need to get approval for the job requisition – and that is where the main problem lies.

The approval process typically involves multiple stakeholders and layers of bureaucracy. For example, you might need approval from the hiring manager , HR , finance, and even the CEO . Each of these stakeholders may have different priorities and requirements, which can lead to delays and misunderstandings.

If the communication and cooperation between recruiters and other stakeholders involved in the process are not streamlined, efficient, and overall easy, the whole process can be very time-consuming and frustrating – especially for recruiters . Moreover, job requisitions often require a lot of paperwork and documentation, such as job description s, salary ranges, and candidate profiles . Gathering all of this information can be time-consuming, and it's easy to miss a critical detail that could cause further delays.

Your typical approval workflow

Let’s picture this hypothetical situation. A need for a vacancy at a department within your company has been identified and a job requisition has been created by the hiring manager and sent your way. Or you created it yourself based on their demands. Great. Now comes the hard part – getting it approved by the relevant stakeholders.

First, you have to identify the approvers. Who are they? How many of them are there in the process? If it is just one, lucky you. But most of the time, that is not the case as there are often several stakeholders on different levels of management that could be difficult to get a hold of. Especially in large companies.

Let’s say you identified them. Now is the time to send them the job requisition you have prepared but they don’t reply right away. Sometimes you wait days or even weeks for their reply, followed by a ton of back-and-forth emails between them requiring some modifications to the requisition or just having questions and you trying to address them. Along the way, you most likely need to remind them to take action, since they have a lot of other things going on, and keep track of all the parties involved to be up to date with the approvals you got and the ones you did not. Sometimes handling multiple requisitions simultaneously and tracking all of it through endless Excel spreadsheets and dozens of emails and forms, trying to keep up with everything.

Does this scenario sound familiar? This kind of workflow can be very tiring and ineffective and leads to the frustration of several involved parties, especially the recruiter , and at the same time unnecessarily prolongs the overall time to fill the position.

What can you do to streamline the hiring process?

So, what is the solution to this nagging problem? Well, there are several important factors that play a part in the approval process of a job requisition .

Clearly defining the process, standardizing the requisition form, defining the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and establishing good communication with the approvers, setting timelines, and carefully documenting everything are critical to a good and efficient job requisition process.

However, these are some general and logical guidelines to optimize the requisition approval process, leaving you with the difficult task to make sure everything goes to plan. But there is one thing that can really change the game and streamline the whole process immensely without you having to worry about everything. And it is pretty simple – automation!

How TalentLyft can help you get approvals as fast as possible

Imagine having software that lets you create, manage and approve all requisitions in one place. And everyone who takes part in the process has access to it and immediately knows what they have to do based on the stage the requisition is in without you having to do anything. Well, that’s exactly what TalentLyft does with its Job Requisitions feature.

By doing research on quite a few different companies and talking to recruiters about the process they have to go through every time an approval is needed, we realized that all of them experience the same troubles over and over again.

By carefully identifying their pain points we tailored our tool to meet recruiters’ needs and address all of the common problems with job requisitions.

From creating job requisitions, customizing approval workflows, and sending the reqs for approval to tracking the status of each requisition in real-time and discussing the requisitions with the approvers, you can do it all in one place with no more than a few clicks.

Create a job req with all the relevant information fast and easy

TalentLyft lets you create a Job Requisition from scratch based on the usual necessary information such as Head count, Salary , and Reason for Hiring and send them for approval right away to the approvers you have previously determined. You can also add any other details you believe are relevant to the approvers.

Set the approval workflow and forget about it

If there is an established approval workflow in your company, you can set it to be the default workflow for any future requisitions so you don’t have to worry about it again. Every time you create a job requisition, the proper workflow will be picked automatically. If needed, you can always create an additional one for a certain position.

Resolve any issues right away - hassle-free

Approvers will receive a link to access the board where they will see all the requisitions they need to approve along with all the details necessary. If they have any additional requests or questions, they can leave a comment on the req which everyone involved in the process can see and address, including the recruiter, hiring manager, and other approvers.

Keep track of all requisitions on one page

The tool lets you see all the requisitions that have been created and their current status which shows what stage of the process they’re in along with the approvers that have or have not granted their approval, and the ones that are still pending.

With the ability to create, customize, and track job requisitions in one centralized location, you can save time and reduce the risk of delays, errors and miscommunication, and streamline the job requisition process to help yourself and your organization increase efficiency and productivity.

Most importantly, it lets you focus your efforts on finding and hiring the best talent for your team rather than wasting time and effort trying to manually get everything done.

The Job requisition is our Pro feature that is also available as an add-on for all Starter plans. Contact us or book a quick demo to see Job requisitions and other TalentLyft’s amazing tools in action.

Frequently asked questions

What is a job requisition and its significance in recruitment?

A job requisition is a formal request to fill a position, detailing the job description, qualifications, salary range, and more, serving as the cornerstone of the recruitment process.

Why is the approval process of job requisitions often challenging?

Approval involves multiple stakeholders with different priorities, leading to potential delays and communication breakdowns, making the process time-consuming and complex.

What are key elements for an efficient job requisition approval process?

An efficient process includes a clear definition, standardized forms, well-defined stakeholder roles, effective communication, set timelines, and thorough documentation.

How does automation revolutionize the job requisition approval process?

Automation through platforms like TalentLyft streamlines the process, allowing the creation, management, and approval of requisitions in one place, enhancing efficiency and productivity.

What features does TalentLyft offer to simplify job requisition approvals?

TalentLyft offers features for creating requisitions, customizing approval workflows, real-time status tracking, and centralized communication, ensuring a smooth and efficient approval process.

Source: https://www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/481/approvals-made-easy-solving-the-problem-of-job-requisitions-for-recruiters

8 Ways to Find Out What a Hiring Manager is Looking For

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:46:47 GMT

Have you ever seen a job description or an advertisement that seemed to speak directly to you? Something that made you think, “How did they know that? Were they in my house watching me struggle? Yes! I need that!”

You were the target audience!

So, what’s that got to do with your job search? Well, you might not immediately see the correlation, but as a job seeker, you’re marketing yourself and your services. You’ll find more success if you look at job searching through that lens and understand the needs of your target audience—the hiring manager—rather than focusing solely on your own needs.

Focusing on a hiring manager’s needs is an excellent way to gain a competitive edge in your job search. And we’re not talking about just looking at the posted job requirements but diving deeper into the immediate challenges, long-term goals, and specific dynamics the hiring manager focuses on.

How to Uncover a Hiring Manager’s Needs

Before reaching the interview stage , set yourself up for success with some research and analysis . Then, carry that research into the conversation. You’ll be better able to demonstrate that you are the solution the hiring manager seeks.

1. Conduct Thorough Company Research

Do you want to look like a casual applicant willing to take any job or someone dedicated to this specific position at this company? You’re likely pointing to the second option, which is terrific. Why? Well, that’s one of a hiring manager’s most essential needs. They need to find a good hire and avoid posting the same job ad again in a few months.

The time and effort you put into research can make all the difference in how you present yourself. This is one way to communicate that you’re eager to find an excellent career fit , rather than accepting the first role that comes along.

Start by exploring the company’s mission, vision, culture, and recent developments. You’ll find insights into what the company and the hiring manager need in a future employee. For example, did the company recently release a statement about focusing on sustainability ? If you value the same, that’s a signal that you can build longevity there.

It would be best to research beyond the company’s website to analyze its ongoing projects, press releases, and social media. If you can speak knowledgeably about these things, you’ll better convey your interest in a long-term relationship.

2. Analyze the Job Description Carefully

Job descriptions are a wealth of information —if you know how to decode them. Look for repeated themes or keywords. These often hint at crucial areas where the hiring manager needs a strong performer. Don’t just skim through the job requirements; dive deeper and remember that, even though HR likely smoothed this out, it still communicates the hiring manager’s needs.

For instance, if “ leadership skills ” are mentioned repeatedly, it’s clear the hiring manager is looking for someone capable of taking the lead on projects or within the team.

Also, pay attention to the “nice to have” skills. These could provide insights into future projects or plans for the role. And tailoring your responses to highlight these skills can help the hiring manager picture you in the role.

3. Network With Current or Former Employees

What’s a day in the life like in this role? Connect with current or former employees on platforms like LinkedIn to get your answer. You can get an inside scoop on the company culture , the role’s day-to-day responsibilities, and even tips on the company’s interview process. Their perspective can help you understand the unspoken culture or expectations not listed in the job description.

But ensure that you approach this strategy respectfully. Always express gratitude for their time and insights, and don’t press them for information or put them in an uncomfortable situation.

4. Reflect on the Hiring Process

Often overlooked, the hiring process can also give you insight into the hiring manager’s needs and work style. For example, the structure of interviews can give you clues about what the hiring manager values.

For instance, a structured, formal interview may suggest that the hiring manager prefers a more traditional, corporate candidate. On the other hand, a casual, conversational interview could indicate more focus on cultural fit .

Similarly, the questions asked during an interview can hint at the qualities they seek. Are they asking many questions about teamwork, or are they more focused on your achievements? Do they seem more interested in your technical skills or your problem-solving abilities?

5. Incorporate Thoughtful Questions Throughout the Interview

Once you head into the interview, put all that research to work. If you tend to reiterate what’s on your resume, try to update your approach. Instead, treat your interview as an opportunity to create a dialogue with the hiring manager.

Rather than waiting for the end to ask questions, prepare a list of questions that you can naturally weave into the conversation. But make sure your questions aren’t quickly answered by looking through the website or social media . Instead, ask targeted questions about the hiring manager’s daily challenges.

For instance, you could ask questions like:

Could you share a bit more about the current challenges this department faces?
What has been the team’s most significant accomplishment in the past year?

6. Inquire About Urgent Objectives

Hiring managers are looking for problem-solvers , and they often need problems solved quickly. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to understand their priorities ahead of time. So, during the interview, you might try asking about this directly. You can ask, “What is the immediate need or most pressing objective for this role in the coming months?”

By addressing this directly, you can connect the dots on how your experience aligns with the hiring manager’s objectives. Suddenly, not only can you meet their needs, but you can do it quickly if you’re brought on board.

7. Ask About Upcoming Changes

Try to find out if the role is vacated due to recent turnover or if growth is on the horizon. For instance, there may be updates to the department or deliverables.

Consider asking, “Are there any significant changes or projects on the horizon for this team or department?” The hiring manager will appreciate your forward-thinking and interest in the company’s future.

8. Determine How the Hiring Manager Defines Performance

Understanding which traits the hiring manager looks for outside of daily performance can help you align yourself with their needs. Consider asking the hiring manager to share an example of someone who excelled in the role.

Frame your question like this: “Could you describe someone who previously held this position and did exceptionally well? What specific achievements or qualities set them apart?”

Their answer will provide significant insight into the skills, behaviors, and achievements they value most. For example, if they mention that a previous employee was excellent at collaborating with other departments, you’ll know that strong interpersonal skills are highly valued. Or, if they mention someone great at problem-solving during unexpected situations, you’ll understand the importance of resilience and adaptability in the role.

Strategizing Your Job Search

Once you uncover a hiring manager’s needs, you can present yourself in a way that has them saying, “Oh my gosh! That’s exactly what I need to fill this position!” With some research and targeted questions, you can set yourself apart from the competition as the ideal solution.

If you're ready to access a steady stream of flexible job opportunities, FlexJobs can help! With remote, hybrid, and flexible jobs posted daily in over 50 career categories, our jobs database has something for everyone! Take the tour to discover how a FlexJobs membership can support your career goals.

Source: https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/uncover-hiring-managers-needs/

One simple question that will reframe interactions with a tough boss (and not get you fired)

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:21:24 GMT

“Does everyone on the team deserve to be here?”

This question was posed by the person who went on to become tech design leader Eve Binder’s boss at a large company. And of course, they were hired.

You’ll deal with bad bosses at all stages of your career. Luckily, the experience is temporary—one of you will eventually move on. Your best move while stuck together? Reframe it as a learning experience of what not to do once you become a leader.

Binder sharpened her skills in confrontational questioning. “When asked to do something I didn’t agree with, I wouldn’t ask why—that felt aggressive,” she says. “Instead, I would ask, “What do you expect the impact to be?”

This is a tool called the Socratic method—you ask provocative questions to stimulate critical thinking. It helped Binder understand her bosses’ motivations and solve their thorny problems.

This bad-boss experience helped Binder flourish as a leader. In her current role as senior design manager, she reframes prescriptive comments from executives, such as “I want you to do this,” into exciting opportunities, such as “How can we make this moment feel more celebratory?” This gives her team members a chance to formulate their own solutions and become more invested in the final product.

For every after-hours emailing, credit-stealing, and gaslighting boss , there’s an opportunity to learn what not to do once you’re the person in charge.

MANAGE YOUR MANAGER

A field guide to taming all types of bosses.

The micromanager
Problem: They want to be a part of every step of your creative process.
Solution: Specify exactly what you’d like feedback on, so it doesn’t get unwieldy.

The scorcher
Problem: They’re sarcastic and shred your work to bits.
Solution: Get personal. Tell them it feels deflating. They may see it in a different way, as if they are being humorous.

The transient
Problem: They give you wishy-washy feedback.
Solution: Set regular check-ins, and create a shared document of your goals. Refer back to those goals during your check-ins.

The rebel
Problem: They want to change the company overnight.
Solution: Offer insights into other coworkers in the office and how they might be able to help.

The young one
Problem: They have less experience than you.
Solution: Explain the inner workings of the office, and processes that could improve, and seek their fresh perspective.

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/90856183/30-ai-tools-you-can-try-for-free

Success Tips for Passive Job Seekers

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:21:12 GMT

You may love your job so much you think you'd never consider leaving. Even in the best job situations, though, it's smart to prepare for the unknown.

Companies can behave in unexpected ways. Your employer may reorganize its structure or lay off workers for financial reasons. Management can shift, and employee responsibilities along with it. You could suddenly find yourself with a new boss who isn't as pleasant to work for as your old supervisor. Or, your personal circumstances could change and make your current schedule unmanageable. There are even valid reasons to quit a job you love .

So, even if you are happy with your current role, it's a good idea to engage in a passive job search.

Active vs. Passive Job Searching

Active Job Search

This scenario occurs when someone is intently looking for a new job. Active job seekers post their resumes on job boards , conduct searches, and apply for jobs regularly. They might use LinkedIn, social networking sites, and apps to expedite their searches for a new position.

Active job seekers also network , attend job fairs and industry events , and contact connections about potential job opportunities. Finally, they may utilize a recruiting agency or send letters of interest to specific employers.

Passive Job Search

In a passive scenario, someone currently employed is open to hearing about new career opportunities but does not actively seek out and apply for specific positions. A passive job seeker waits for employers to reach out with opportunities.

Passive job seekers may (and should) keep their resumes and LinkedIn profiles up to date. They may also engage in casual networking with colleagues and friends at other companies and set up job alerts and accounts on job-search websites. Even when their job position is stable, passive seekers know they can do certain things to make their next job change easier if they ever do decide to move on.

Ready for the Unknown

If you engage in a passive job search, you will be prepared to spring into action at any given moment. Your resume and social media presence will be current. Plus, your regular alerts and browsing will give you a sense of the opportunities and salary available within your industry. If your circumstances change, you can quickly and easily convert your passive job search into an active one.

Top 10 Tips for Passive Job Seekers

Passive job seekers who invest a little time in staying job-hunt ready will save a lot of time (and stress) getting up to speed when they need to start looking in earnest. Here are tips for becoming an expert passive job seeker.

1. Be an Active LinkedIn User

Build a robust LinkedIn profile including education, experience, volunteering, skills, certifications, and associations. Your LinkedIn Profile is the online version of your resume, so be sure to proofread it carefully.

Once your profile is set, connect with everyone you know. The operative word is "know"—don't connect with random people who aren't in a position to help you. Do join relevant LinkedIn groups , however. There are job-search groups, company groups, alumni groups, college groups, and networking groups. Groups are a good source for networking contacts, job-search advice, and job listings. Since you're not actively job searching, set email notifications to a weekly digest to avoid getting buried in messages.

2. Write Recommendations

Write LinkedIn recommendations for connections whose work you'd like to recognize. Some of them will return the favor, which will strengthen your profile. You can choose which recommendations you'd like to highlight on your profile, providing visible references for potential employers.

3. Tap Into Social Networking

Don't stop with LinkedIn. Facebook is a personal networking site, but also useful for keeping in touch with former colleagues. Twitter and Instagram accounts can help you expand your base of connections and establish your personal brand online.

Here are some best practices for using each social tool for career purposes:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

The stronger your social presence, the more likely you are to be tapped by companies using social recruiting to find candidates for employment.

4. Build a Career Network

You don't have to spend a lot of time networking, but do take the time to add connections to your network regularly. Look for networking events for your industry in your area. The bigger your network, the more opportunities you'll have when you're job searching.

5. Stay Connected to Your Network

Don't build a network and forget about it. Post status updates on Facebook, tweet now and then, and post interesting links to your social pages. If you have a blog that's appropriate for professional connections to read, feed it to your pages. Your connections will know you're there, and you won't have to work to build a presence when you most need to.

Once a week, send an email, LinkedIn, or Facebook message to a few connections to ask how they're doing. Staying in touch reminds them who you are and shows that you care about how they're doing. If you're interested and engaged, your contacts will be more likely to give you help when you need it. Have an occasional cup of coffee or lunch with those connections you're able to meet in-person.

6. Check Out Companies

Do you have a company you would love to work for if the perfect job came along? Have a list of target companies ready and check out their websites every so often to read the latest news and see what jobs are available. You can also set up company-specific email alerts on job-search sites like Indeed.

7. Check Job Listings

Speaking of job search engines , check in once a week to run a few job searches (or set email digests) using your skills, job title, and/or the location where you would like to work. You'll see, at a glance, a list of open jobs that match your background.

8. Update Your Resume

Have an updated resume ready to go. Each time you change jobs or your educational status changes, update your resume. This way, you'll always have a current copy ready when the need arises. Write a cover letter draft for a job that is a close match to your expertise. You'll then have a template ready to customize when you start applying for jobs.

9. Be Interview-Ready

Don't use up all your accrued vacation or personal leave time if you can avoid it. Keep some in reserve in case an interview for that dream job comes along. Have an interview outfit ready to go so you don't have to scramble to find something to wear. Also, have a list of employment references ready. Some companies require references along with a resume and cover letter as part of the application process.

10. Review

Review these steps every few weeks to make sure that your passive job-search techniques are working. Is your LinkedIn networking growing? Are you remembering to reach out to your connections? Do you have a sense of what jobs you qualify for and what jobs are available? On a related note, are your skills and certifications current so you're qualified for positions of interest? Are you ready to interview if you get an invitation from an employer?

Staying prepared for a job search will smooth the process when you have to start looking. If you're keeping up an effective passive search, your dream employer may even find you when you least expect it.

Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/top-tips-for-passive-job-seekers-2062188

Expert Job Search Techniques

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:21:10 GMT

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What Should You Look Out for in a Modern Workforce Management Solution?

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:21:07 GMT

Whether you’re managing a team of scattered employees worldwide or you need to stay on top of employee leaves, a traditional workforce management solution no longer cuts it.

It’s time to move on from traditional time-tracking methods, creating employee schedules, managing multiple shifts, and adhering to geographic cultures. That’s why solutions like WorkAxle have become so prominent.

In this article, we’ll touch upon the inadequacies of current solutions and why adopting a modern workforce management solution is crucial.

The Current State of Workforce Management Solutions

While traditional workforce management solutions were heavily dependent on existing data and age-old practises, the need of the hour is a solution that offers comprehensive features, like real-time scheduling, AI-enabled forecasting, and mobile accessibility.

These solutions streamline administrative tasks and enable data-driven decision-making, fostering greater efficiency and productivity.

Organisations also want to partner with companies that offer easy adoption and reduce the time-to-value of subscribing to a particular solution. This renders old solutions ineffective as they take much time to install and are often associated with long learning curves.

The Benefits of Modern Workforce Management Solutions

Below are 7 key benefits of workforce management tools.

1. Understanding sociocultural dynamics

A workforce management tool like WorkAxle is trained using advanced analytics and AI-driven algorithms to understand the language, cultural norms, generational differences, traditions, religious holidays, and social dynamics within a specific location, country, or workplace.

For example, when it comes to the Middle East, WorkAxle supports the Arabic language, allows for dynamic prayer breaks and auto-adjusts employee time cards, and supports facial recognition with hijab to honour cultural and religious traditions.

By leveraging this information, scheduling, training, and communication strategies can be accommodated to suit various cultural backgrounds and preferences.

2. AI-based demand forecasting

Are your employees overburdened? Or are you facing difficulty managing your staffing needs? This calls for a modern workforce solution that helps with AI-based demand forecasting.

Through sophisticated machine learning algorithms, these solutions analyse vast datasets to identify patterns and correlations, enabling organisations to anticipate fluctuations in demand with greater precision. Moreover, these algorithms' real-time updates and continuous learning capabilities allow for agile adjustments, ensuring alignment with current market conditions.

WorkAxle also allows you to factor in your business performance and schedules to anticipate staffing needs. This results in improved resource allocation, customer satisfaction, and business profitability.

3. Access to intelligent scheduling

These solutions allow you to see what your entire team is working on and their weekly schedule. They also provide different views to build or modify your schedules at a shift or individual employee level.

WorkAxle’s predictive guidelines ensure you stay legally compliant while building these schedules. Moreover, you can set rules easily to customise schedules based on different variables and switch employees to different shifts, when needed.

The tool also identifies the right talent to make informed scheduling decisions based on skills, certifications, and employee availability.

4. Beacons to reduce time theft

Beacons are small Bluetooth devices that automatically log employee arrivals and departures, eliminating manual clocking discrepancies. They are usually deployed in workplaces to combat time theft by tracking employees' physical presence in specific locations.

These beacons are integrated with workforce management systems like WorkAxle. Employers can ensure accurate timekeeping through geofencing and proximity detection, preventing unauthorised breaks or extended absences.

Real-time alerts notify managers of irregularities, enabling prompt intervention. By enhancing accountability and transparency, beacons boost productivity and streamline payroll processes, ultimately contributing to a more efficient and equitable work environment.

5. Manage leave and absence

Modern workforce management solutions can track and manage employee absences and leaves of all types. Whether you have 10,000 employees or hundreds working in different locations, these solutions help comply with legal requirements, company policies, and collective bargaining agreements.

WorkAxle provides self-service portals where employees can take control of their schedules with leave, time off, and shift change requests. Managers can then review, approve, or deny these requests based on pre-defined policies.

These solutions also automate accrual calculations, ensuring accurate tracking of leave balances and entitlements. Real-time dashboards and notifications inform employees and managers of leave statuses, reducing confusion and administrative overhead.

6. Increase efficiency and reduce costs

Small things like managing schedules efficiently, reducing time theft, and inculcating sociocultural dynamics into your way of working can lead to major cost savings in the long run.

Advanced algorithms ensure optimal staffing levels leading to cutting unnecessary labour expenses. Compliance features prevent costly penalties and legal issues. Overall, these solutions empower organisations to make data-driven decisions, maximising efficiency while minimising expenses.

7. Strengthen your community

Instead of having your files stored in data silos or having to use multiple communication tools, a workforce solution provides an in-built messaging tool that allows your employees to meet, call, and chat.

Document sharing also becomes possible, and you can set rule-based permissions to allow selective access to confidential documents. This helps everyone stay on the same page and allows your team to stay connected wherever they are.

Workforce Management Case study: How a Retail Pharmacy Group Saved 31% on Employee Wages?

One of the largest pharmaceutical and medical groups in the Middle East, with around 25,000 employees and mobile workers in around 1400 locations, came to WorkAxle with a unique problem.

They wanted to allow and track prayer times and detect time theft. Earlier, they used Oracle, multiple apps, and paper systems to track everything. But this process was complex and they found they needed a better system in place.

To develop that, one vendor said they’d require two and a half years. WorkAxle did that in just five months.

The result? 31% cost savings on employee wages, 74% time savings in timecard management, and 10% reduction in employee turnover.

If you want to gain similar results by adopting a modern workforce management solution, you can count on TalenTeam to make a seamless transition with WorkAxle WFM solutions. Schedule a call with us today.

Source: https://talenteam.com/blog/essential-features-of-modern-workforce-management-solutions-in-2024/

How To Help API Employees Advance Into Leadership Roles

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:21:04 GMT

Asians and Pacific Islanders are well-represented in U.S. corporations overall, but not in leadership positions.

The theme for API Heritage Month this year is “advancing leaders through opportunity.”

For Asian and Pacific Islander workers, heavy representation in the corporate workforce hasn’t translated into higher numbers of API corporate leaders. McKinsey found API representation drops substantially the higher you rise in a company, with women experiencing the greatest decrease.

Here’s what companies can do to help API workers advance into leadership roles:

1. Increase representation

In a recent study by Momentive and AAPI Data, only 26% of Asian and Pacific Islander employees surveyed strongly agreed that “there are others like me in leadership positions at my workplace.” Only 26% strongly agreed they “have support to take on leadership opportunities at work.” For workers overall, including Black, Hispanic, and white employees, 41% said they had others “like me” in leadership positions and 43% reported having the support to take leadership roles.

When asked if they want to be “considered a leader at work,” only 29% of Asian and Pacific Islander employees strongly agree — not surprising, when you consider the lack of support for taking on leadership roles.

This gap in experience is especially pronounced for East and Southeast Asian employees. When McKinsey asked whether their company provides all employees with the mentorship and coaching they need to be successful, only 27% of East Asian employees and 32% of Southeast Asian employees agreed, compared to 44% for white employees.

Creating a culture of equity starts with support from the very top.

First, management must acknowledge the lack of representation for Asian and Pacific Islanders in leadership roles and have the courageous curiosity to delve into dismantling commonly held assumptions, such as the model minority myth. API employees themselves have diverse cultural, historical, and lived experiences, so leaders must commit to listening, and use both employee survey data and employee resource groups (or similar groups) to understand the individual needs of API employees.

Revolutionizing Employee Retention Report

Employees at Robert Half International created five employee network groups, including APEX (Asian Professionals for Excellence), and since their inception, more than 50% of their over 6,000 U.S. employees have participated in events sponsored by these groups.

“We’re providing guidance and expertise toward professional development, leadership, and innovation — and ultimately diversifying our pipeline of talent,” says Katherine Spencer Lee, chief administrative officer at Robert Half. “As a company, we’re committed to helping these organizations continue to thrive, and we encourage teams to get involved as a way to connect with the community and expand their networks.”

Merck’s API resource group — the Asia Pacific Association (APA) — actively promotes mentoring for its members, 50% of whom are women. Part of Merck’s efforts focus on connecting the next generation of API leaders with senior staff who also identify as API.

Being able to connect with leaders who share their background is highly valued by participants. One Merck employee and APA member shares:

“I think it’s great an API-specific mentoring program exists — getting direct, applicable guidance from Asian leaders at all levels from the organization helps everyone involved. My fear with general mentorship is the challenges that Asian employees face may not be faced by those from other backgrounds and may cause a disconnect.”

2. Push for fair pay and promotions

For workers at the typical U.S. workplace, API women are less likely to feel that pay and promotions are fair. On average, API women still only earn 80 cents for every dollar that white, non-Hispanic men make, with larger pay gaps for specific ethnic API subgroups.

In a market study of part- and full-time employees from July of 2022, only 46% of Asian and Pacific Islander women said promotions practices were fair and 50% reported fair pay.

Get Our Latest Research -- Overcome Common HR Challenges

In a study by Harvard Business Review and UKG, only 51% of employers surveyed stated that they have pay equity programs in place. The study also found differences in perception of fair pay, with API women experiencing the greatest gap: 40% of white male employees believe their organizations have succeeded in achieving pay equity for all employee groups, while only 25% of white women, 23% of Black or African American women, and 16% of API women agree.

Employers can make a big difference.

At great workplaces, API women are having a much-improved experience, with a 58% increase in API women reporting fair pay and a 93% increase in reporting their job has meaning, according to a survey of 1 million employees.

What accounts for the stark difference between a typical workplace and a great workplace?

Great workplaces communicate the full value of their compensation, support managers in being a part of pay policy rollouts, work to build pay transparency across their organizations, and connect employees’ work to purpose and a company mission.

3. Focus on well-being

Managers must learn about the specific challenges that API employees navigate outside the workplace.

As owner of Sweet Mango Therapy Group, Christine R. Melendres, LCSW, specializes in supporting high-achieving young professional API women who struggle with anxiety to find clarity and reclaim self-worth.

“Asian and Pacific Islander communities have suffered great distress,” Melendres says. “They have been a target of a rise in racism and discrimination since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of overt racism and microaggressions, these incidents have had a notable effect on the Asian and Pacific Islander community’s mental health.”

One of the factors harming the well-being of API employees is a missing sense of belonging — and not just at work.

Four in five Asian and Pacific Islanders “don’t feel they truly belong in the United States” per a national survey of more than 5,000 U.S. residents. This insecurity has been underscored by violent mass shootings, such as the attack during the Lunar New Year in Monterey Park, California.

“Belonging in the workplace is an employee’s sense that their uniqueness is accepted and even treasured by their organization and colleagues,” says Tony Bond, chief diversity and innovation officer at Great Place To Work®. “Belonging is an accumulation of day-to-day experiences that enables a person to feel safe and bring their full, unique self to work.”

Identity and background are essential context for understanding the barriers employees face in the workplace.

Research from Great Place To Work found that young API mothers are 33% more susceptible to experiencing burnout compared to their white, male colleagues. The gap increases even further when workers are hourly versus salaried, revealing how different factors can combine to create worse outcomes for employees.

The solution? Be flexible and meet the individual employee where they are.

When managers acknowledge the current and generational trauma API employees and their families experience, they create psychological safety, one of the essential building blocks of trust in the workplace. One example of how to do this is to create culturally relevant spaces within the workplace for sharing stories and experience of API employees.

At Great Place To Work, an employee resource group called APIary offers a safe space for participants to explore and redefine the narratives that shape their experience in the workplace.

“As an executive leader in the business, I know first-hand this is crucial for developing leaders to reach their full potential at Great Place To Work,” says Erika Koh, EVP, global licensing and development and the executive co-sponsor of APIary.

“APIary members were given the autonomy to identify a gap in our current professional development programming and to bring in a licensed psychotherapist with similar lived experiences as an external resource, creating a space that helped the members to recontextualize the generational trauma into resiliency and promoting attention to self-care. The resulting focus on a thriving mindset strengthens them as a community and as individuals within and beyond the workplace.”

Addressing the opportunity gap

Great workplaces ensure that current and prospective employees — not just those within the API community — have full access to the pathways that lead to development, recognition, and promotion. When leaders understand how to support well-being, address the lack of representation in all levels of the organization, and close the API pay gap, API employees will have the conditions necessary to develop into the future leaders every business will need.

Survey your employees

Curious about what your employees need and expect in the workplace? Benchmark your employee experience using Great Place To Work Certification™.

Source: https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/how-to-help-api-employees-advance-into-leadership-roles

Strategies for Change Management in HR Technology Adoption

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:54:18 GMT

When we think of adopting a new technology, we look forward to reaping the benefits, be it improved productivity, lesser costs, or fewer human errors. But getting the buy-in from everyone in your organization is not an easy task.

If users don’t adopt or adapt to the new technology, the result is money, effort, and time all going down the drain, especially when dealing with large-scale technology or software like ERPs.

In this guide, we’ll share the top 6 strategies you can use for the organizational change management process while adopting a new technology.

6 Strategies for Change Management in HR Technology Adoption

Instead of hoping that your employees adopt the new technology, here are some strategies that will encourage them for the upcoming change and make new HR technology adoption successful.

1. Properly Deal With Employee Resistance to Change

Properly Deal With Employee Resistance to Change

Image source

Believe it or not, creating a strategic change management plan for employee resistance could get half your job done when it comes to technology adoption. Here are some tried-and-tested tips that will help employees go through the process smoothly:

Assure employees that the new technology is not going to take their jobs or make them harder. Clearly outline the benefits for them.

Create a culture of acceptance by being transparent about why this new technology is necessary.

Get employees to participate in discussions about how to implement the technology. The more they participate, the more they will be willing to adapt and engage.

Have a Q&A session where employees can ask questions about the new technology, and relevant personnel can allay their queries and doubts.

2. Create a Detailed Roll-Out Plan

Instead of launching your technology in a haphazard manner, build a detailed roll-out plan that involves the following elements:

Key dates/milestones: On what date are you planning to kickstart the new technology? Is there a particular time period when you want your users to leave the old way of working/software?

Deployment strategy: Will you roll out the new technology to every department in your organization? Or are you planning to start with the people or departments who you know would be eager to adopt and succeed? (P.S. We recommend the latter option)

Creation of training material: Will the vendor provide any training material? Or would you be responsible for creating it? Would you be accounting for different learning styles and tech savviness while creating this material?

Success strategy: How will you ensure everyone participates and engages? Can you set up any incentives?

3. Aim to Provide Contextual and Personalized Training

One of the biggest risks to change management is the lack of customized and contextual training. For example, just sharing a random presentation or screenshots won’t cut it. After all, you don’t want your employees to be more confused at the end of the training because they don’t find the connection to their work.

Instead, provide training based on the different departments, roles, the different features they could use for their roles, how they can track success, etc.

You can even provide learners with content in different formats to suit their style of learning and maximize engagement.

4. Make Training Engaging

To get more people to take part in training actively, you can employ some or all of the following strategies:

Set up interactive and game-based training. You can set challenges for employees to complete and fun quizzes where everyone can participate and compete.

Create a change leadership team that can guide the entire process and come up with innovative training ideas.

Use adaptive learning technologies to customize each step of the training based on the feedback you receive.

Praise employees who actively participate and incentivize them with rewards kike small gift cards, merchandise, or public company-wide recognition so more people are encouraged to follow suit.

Utilize AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) applications, if possible.

5. Implement Change in Phases

How many times have you given up on something because it looked scary or intimidating? Many times, employees resist the new technology because it feels overwhelming.

Instead of asking them to shift to the new technology all of a sudden, you can implement the change in phases. For example, if you’re adopting a SAP SuccessFactors for your HR team, you may want to first start with implementing the system for certain functions like recruiting or L&D and then scale up to include every other function.

6. Track User Progress and Course-Correct

By setting up an evaluation at regular intervals, you can find actual problems with the way the technology is working or perceived problems that might be plaguing some users.

You can even set up quizzes at each milestone to figure out whether your users are actually learning or not. If not, you might need to modify your training material or raise feedback to find the exact issues they are facing.

Pro-tip: Remain open to employee feedback throughout the evaluation cycle. Employees who feel they are heard will be more engaged and happier with the new technology than those who feel their concerns are brushed off or not valued.

Conclusion

Your technology’s success will depend on how well employees accept and adapt to this change. That’s why you need a solid plan or roadmap to minimize the disruptions and deal effectively with employee’s resistance to change.

While adhering to the strategies given in this guide, also make sure that you involve stakeholders in every stage of the process to get varied inputs and ideas.

If you are keen on adopting software like SAP SuccessFactors at your organization, reach out to us at TalenTeam and get an effective organization transformation and implementation partner as well.

Source: https://talenteam.com/blog/strategies-for-change-management-in-hr-technology-adoption/

Time Management Tips for Job Seekers

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:54:16 GMT

When searching for a new job, it can be easy to get distracted or feel down after not getting a position you wanted.When searching for a new job, it can be easy to get distracted or feel down after not getting a position you wanted.

When negative emotions occur, you can get thrown off your routine and you may even end up missing the job you want as a result.

Part of a successful job search is to know how to manage your time to give yourself the best chance of success.

Whether you’re unemployed or you have a job but want to change careers, the ten time management tips covered in today’s article can help you have a more successful job search.

Time Management Tips for Job Seekers

Set Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Goals
Managing your time well includes knowing what success looks like. Set goals for yourself on daily, weekly, and even monthly timeframes. A daily goal may be to find one job that interests you, weekly may be to apply for one new job, and monthly may be to get one new interview. Above all, goals should be measurable and realistic.
Apply During a Set Time Period Each Day
This tip is especially important for job seekers who currently have a job (don’t apply to a new position during work hours!), but it’s applicable for anyone. Create a schedule for your day and apply to positions during a set time period. The structured and dedicated time for a specific type of activity will help you more productively engage.
Treat Your Search Like a Job
If you have a job, you have to be there on time, accomplish your goals, and show improvement. Your job search should be treated the same way. Think of it as a part-time or full-time job to put in the time and mindset necessary for success.
Research Companies Before You Apply
Save yourself time by not pursuing positions that may end up being a bad fit for your personality and skill set. Look into companies by reviewing their website or briefly search for employee reviews to get an inside look before you apply.
Create a Custom Template of Your Resume and Interview Responses
Save yourself time by doing work on the front-end of your search to create customized templates of resources you’ll be using again and again. Rather than taking stock answers from job websites, make up your own that you can adapt to any interview.
Know When to Take Breaks
Don’t underestimate the power of taking a break. You can be more productive and engaged when your mind is ready to work, and taking a break during your daily search can be the boost you need to make more effective use of your time later.
Stay Focused on Your Goal
It’s easy to get distracted when you look at dozens or hundreds of jobs a day. You may see one that looks interesting or fun, but isn’t quite aligned with your skills. Keep yourself focused on your goal and be realistic so you don’t waste time pursuing a job you’ll end up not wanting or one that doesn’t match your talents.
Be Personal and Digital
Most job seeking is done online now, but don’t be afraid to carve out time during your week to get some face time. Embrace networking with friends and colleagues—it’s often time well spent.
Know Yourself
No one knows you better than yourself, so take time before you begin your search to analyze how you work best. Will you be most effective in short bursts? Set a 30-minute timer whenever you have a job-seeking task, and limit yourself instead of spending three hours.
Take Time for Your Emotions
Looking for a new job can be an emotional experience, especially if your search goes on longer than you would prefer. Manage your time well by taking time to enjoy success or think and plan through setbacks to keep yourself on track throughout the entire process.

Some job seekers will find the right new position in one day, while others may take one month or more.

Source: https://careerlink.com/careerhub/time-management-tips-job-seekers/

How to Deal With Ghosting During a Job Search

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:53:19 GMT

You put in all the effort crafting your resume and cover letters, and even rehearse for interviews, all in the hope of landing that dream job. But in the midst of this carefully planned journey, there's one sneaky challenge that often goes unspoken - ghosting.

Ghosting isn't just limited to personal relationships; it creeps into professional interactions too. It can leave job seekers feeling confused, frustrated, and questioning their own worth.

As disheartening as it may be, it's unfortunately a part of today's job hunting landscape. Yes, it shouldn't be, but it's crucial not only to understand what ghosting in a job search means but also to know how to navigate through it without letting it derail your career path.

Ghosting: What It Means

Ghosting, a term that originally gained traction in the dating world, has found its way into the professional sphere, painting a picture of silence and unresponsiveness. In the context of a job search, ghosting refers to the sudden and unexplained cessation of communication from the employer’s side.

You might have had what you thought was a promising interview, the hiring manager even hinted at a follow-up, but then...nothing. No calls, no emails, and no job offer. It's frustrating, isn't it?

This can happen at any stage of the job search process. Maybe you submitted your application and heard nothing back, or perhaps the communication just dried up after the interview.

You know, the frustrating thing about ghosting is how it leaves you hanging with no closure, unanswered questions, and a whole lot of speculation. It's like going on a great first date only to never hear from the other person again.

That abrupt silence can really bring you down and make you doubt yourself. Job seekers get stuck in this whirlpool of self-doubt. But in the next sections, I am going to dig into why ghosting happens during job searches, how to spot it, and most importantly, how to handle it and keep moving forward in your quest to find the perfect job opportunity.

Reasons Job Seekers Are Ghosted by an Employer

Let's explore a few reasons why this might happen during your job search. From market fluctuations to the importance of networking and personal branding, understanding the details behind this situation can give valuable insights and help you navigate the complexities of the job market with more confidence and success.

Let's dive in and uncover the factors that could contribute to this.

Overwhelmed Recruiters
Recruiters juggle numerous tasks daily, from interviewing candidates to liaising with hiring managers. Sometimes, the sheer volume of their workload means that your application or follow-up email might fall through the cracks.
This is definitely not an excuse for recruiters, but imagine having a job for six recruiters when the team only has three! That's when the unfortunate trend of ghosting candidates tends to set in.
Changes in the Job Opening
Company needs evolve, and sometimes a job opening you applied for might be put on hold or even closed without notice. It’s frustrating, but it's something out of your control.
Because of the current market situation, companies might experience mini hiring freezes. These could happen for a few weeks, multiple times throughout the year. Consequently, delays in recruiter responses may occur as they are also waiting for feedback or updates from their hiring managers.
Candidate’s Fit for the Position
Employers are on the lookout for the 'perfect match.' If they find a more suitable candidate, they might move forward without informing other candidates. It's a harsh reality, but it does happen.
A lot of companies hesitate to provide feedback because they're afraid of legal issues or negative social media reactions from candidates. Even though you might be open to feedback, there are candidates who might argue, yell, or even threaten you if you share your feedback with them.
I still remember receiving some really nasty emails (back when I was starting out) with people telling me I should die or go f* myself — all because I was giving feedback to candidates who weren't a good fit for the role. It's just crazy, isn't it?
Internal Candidates or Referrals
Sometimes, internal candidates or referrals from current employees leapfrog external candidates. Not fair to other candidates, but these things are happening.
Lack of Feedback or Follow-Up from the Candidate
If you didn't respond to a recruiter's message in time or missed a follow-up, they might think you've lost interest and move on to other candidates. So, here's the thing - even if you feel like this company is totally ghosting you, it's worth checking your spam folder for any emails from them. Trust me, it's actually pretty important when you're looking for a job.
You'd be surprised how many people have told me they missed job opportunities just because they overlooked their interview invitations.

These are just some of the reasons why job seekers get ghosted. There are actually many others which I've covered with more details in the Job Search Guide: Be Your Own Career Coach .

Signs an Employer Is Ghosting You

Now that we've looked at the why, let's talk about the signs of ghosting. It can be a gray area, but here are some red flags that might indicate you’ve been ghosted.

Lack of Communication Post-Interview
If the silence is deafening after what you thought was a promising interview, it might be a sign of ghosting. It’s common courtesy for employers to provide feedback, but alas, not everyone plays by the rules.
Delayed or No Responses to Follow-Ups
You’ve sent a courteous follow-up email, but crickets. It’s a frustrating sign that you might have been ghosted. If you haven't received a response to your email within 72-96 hours, it's probably a good idea to move on.
Change in the Tone or Frequency of Communication
If the once enthusiastic emails have dwindled or become formal and terse, it might be a sign things have changed.
Job Posting is Removed or Re-Posted Without Communication
It stings to see the job you applied for re-posted or removed without a heads-up from the employer. It’s a clear sign something’s amiss.
Just a quick note, job posts on LinkedIn or other job boards are often automatically re-posted. So, don't jump to conclusions if you see one. If you want to confirm whether the role was actually reposted, take a look at the company's career page and check the date the role was posted.
Lack of Transparency or Vague Responses
When your questions are met with vague responses or total silence, it might be time to face the ghosting music.

These sections aim to shed light on the perplexing ghosting phenomenon and help you recognize the signs early. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be better prepared as you navigate your job search journey.

Ways to Cope and How to Respond

Maintaining Professionalism

It's totally understandable to feel frustrated or disappointed when you get ghosted, but here's the thing: it's super important to keep your professional game on point in all interactions. You never know when you might bump into these folks again - the world is smaller than you think!
I cannot stress this enough: you absolutely should not go and share your frustration publicly. You never know where those recruiters and people from that company will end up, and trust me, it could seriously impact your future opportunities. Therefore, be cautious about the messages you put out there.

Expanding the Job Search

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you’re facing ghosting, it's a signal to widen your job search. Apply to multiple positions, explore different companies, and consider various industries. The more options you have, the less impact ghosting will have on your morale.

Seeking Feedback Constructively

If possible, seek feedback from your interactions. While not all employers will respond, some might provide invaluable insights that can help you in your next interview. Approach this with a humble and open mind.
If someone referred you, try reaching out to them and ask for their feedback on the situation. They might have insider information about the freeze or other things that the recruiter may not be willing to share with you.

Practicing Patience and Understanding

The hiring process can be long and tedious. Sometimes delays happen that are out of your or the employer’s control. Practice patience, and understand that there are various factors at play. Stay hopeful and keep the momentum going in your job search.

Networking and Building Relationships in Your Industry

Networking is a powerful tool to avoid and overcome ghosting. Build and nurture relationships within your industry. Attend networking events, engage in online communities, and don’t hesitate to reach out to old colleagues or mentors. Through networking, you might discover unadvertised job opportunities or gain referrals, which can significantly reduce the chances of being ghosted.

Ghosting During a Job Search

Ghosting is an unfortunate reality in the job search process, but it's not a reflection of your worth or capabilities! This experience, as disheartening as it can be, provides an opportunity to build resilience, expand your network, and refine your job search strategies.

The coping mechanisms and proactive steps discussed in this article aim to equip you with the tools and mindset needed to navigate the murky waters of job search ghosting. Remember, every no or non-response is a step closer to that coveted yes.

Keep a positive outlook, continue honing your skills, and never underestimate the power of persistence and a professional approach in landing your next job opportunity.

Source: https://newsletter.jobsearch.guide/p/how-to-deal-with-ghosting

Expert Job Search Techniques

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:53:16 GMT

Effective job search techniques and tips to help you get the job you want.

In today's competitive job market it is essential to equip yourself with the best tools available to make your job search as productive as possible. From searching for a job to applying for the job and going for an interview, we've got it covered.

3 Ways to Improve your Job Search Technique

Jump-start your job search and keep it on track with a job search strategy that works.

1. Focus on quality not quantity

Job search techniques that will save you time and reduce frustration include focusing your job search on those jobs that match your skills and experience. Avoid a machine gun approach, hoping something will hit the target. Rather spend your time developing excellent, targeted job applications for those jobs that you are a good fit for.

Use the right keywords in your online job search to get relevant results. Don't miss out on possible job-opportunities while ensuring targeted results. Learn more at 5 top job search hints .

2. Optimize your job application

This practical job application checklist will help you to submit an accurate and complete job application. Job application mistakes can sabotage your job search, these application tips will prevent that from happening.

3. Check your online presence

Today's employers are likely to search your social media as part of the hiring process.

Be smart and make sure your online details present the right image before you begin your job search. Your online checklist .

5 job application and job search techniques to get the results you want

A job search can be challenging and at times overwhelming. This practical advice will make sure you optimize the time and effort you put into your job search.

1. Write a resume that gets results

Your resume is an essential job search tool and it needs to be both informative and pertinent to make the right impression. These resume resources are critical to a rewarding job search strategy.

A large number of companies use Applicant Tracking System software to filter the resumes they receive online. Knowing how to write a resume that beats the ATS will ensure that your resume gets seen and considered for the position. How to create a resume that gets past the ATS.

2. Include a convincing cover letter

Submitting a customized cover letter for each job you apply for is essential if you want your resume to get the attention it deserves. Find out how to write a persuasive cover letter using these practical cover letter tools and resources.

3. Follow up on your job applications

It is a good job search technique to follow up on your application and resume when you have not received a response. If a reasonable period of time has passed without any feedback, it's advisable to proactively contact the employer to find out the status of your application.

This way you know what is happening with your application and you send the message that you are a serious and motivated job candidate. Follow up email .

4. Collect quality job references

References are a key part of your job search. Find out how to ask for a reference , and how to create a professional resume reference page .

Always send a thank you for the recommendation email or letter. For job seekers who have little or no work experience, a character reference letter can be used. Don't neglect references as they are vital to a successful job search strategy.

5. Get networking

Networking is the one of the best job search techniques to find "hidden" job openings and more than half of all jobs are found through networking.

This networking cover letter sample is a good place to start.

Use it along with these job networking tips to increase your chances of job search success.

Once you've landed the interview you want to prepare as well as possible to maximize your chances of success. This interview preparation checklist takes the job candidate through every step to prepare for your interview.

Source: https://www.best-job-interview.com/job-search-techniques.html

The 7 Main Drivers of Remote Employee Motivation

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:33:09 GMT

Remote work has gained acceptance across industries. As this trend grows, maintaining remote employee motivation has become an essential aspect of effective management.

In this article, we explore the unique challenges remote workers face, the pivotal role motivation plays in driving their productivity and job satisfaction, and strategies to boost their motivation. We’ll highlight the seven primary factors influencing remote employee motivation, helping team leaders and managers make a positive impact on remote employees.

What are remote employees?

Remote employees are workers who are not physically present in a central office or work location. They work remotely, often from home, using communication and collaboration technologies to stay connected with their colleagues and complete their work tasks.

There are different types of remote employees, and the nature of their work and relationship with their employer can vary. Here are some common types of remote employees:

Full-time remote employees

These are employees who work entirely from a remote location, such as their home, and have a long-term employment relationship with their employer.

Part-time remote employees

These are employees who work remotely part-time, while also working from a physical office or other location. They may work a set number of days per week or on specific projects.

Freelancers

These are self-employed professionals who work remotely for multiple clients on a project-by-project basis. They may work for short or long periods and typically invoice their clients for their work.

Digital nomads

Digital nomads are remote workers who work while travelling the world. They may move from place to place, often working from coworking spaces or coffee shops.

Contract workers

These are remote workers who work on a contract basis for a set period. They may work on specific projects or provide services for a set period.

Remote work is increasingly being seen as the future of the modern workplace due to its numerous benefits and the rapid advancements in communication and collaboration technologies. This work model allows employees to work from any location, promoting a better work-life balance and flexibility, while also enabling organisations to tap into a global talent pool and reduce operational costs.

How does motivation impact remote worker productivity and job satisfaction?

Motivation plays a crucial role in enhancing productivity and job satisfaction among remote employees. As more organisations transition to remote work structures due to evolving technological capabilities and current world events, the dynamics of motivation in a remote setting become a central part of strategies for managing independent contractors .

Productivity

Productivity is directly influenced by an employee’s level of motivation. Highly motivated employees are typically more focused, efficient, and diligent in their work, leading to higher levels of output and quality.

In a remote work setting, motivation becomes even more critical as employees often need to manage their own time and tasks without the physical presence of a supervisor or the structure of a traditional office environment.

Motivation encourages self-discipline, a critical trait for remote workers. It helps employees to set a structured schedule, adhere to deadlines, prioritise tasks effectively, and stay focused amidst potential distractions at home. Also, motivated employees are more likely to take the initiative to solve problems, be innovative, and proactively tackle skill gaps , which can significantly affect productivity.

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction refers to the degree to which an employee feels positive or happy about their job. Motivated employees tend to have higher job satisfaction because they find purpose and value in the work they do.

In a remote setting, where the lines between personal life and work can often blur, job satisfaction is particularly important in preventing burnout and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Motivation can increase job satisfaction in remote work in several ways. Firstly, it can drive employees to accomplish their tasks and meet their goals, providing them with a sense of achievement. Secondly, motivation can help employees see the bigger picture, understanding how their work contributes to the organisation’s overall goals, which can make their work feel more meaningful.

Lastly, a motivated remote employee is more likely to engage with their peers and superiors virtually, leading to a better sense of belonging and happier work relationships.

Remote employee motivation challenges

The shift to remote work poses unique challenges to maintaining employee motivation. Here are some of the main issues:

Isolation and loneliness

Remote work can lead to feelings of isolation, particularly for employees who live alone or who thrive on social interaction. This lack of social contact can negatively impact motivation and overall job satisfaction.

Work-life balance

While remote work can improve work-life balance due to the elimination of commuting, it can also blur the lines between work and personal life. Employees might find it difficult to switch off from work, leading to burnout and reduced motivation over time.

Communication challenges

Communication is more complex in a remote setting. Misunderstandings are more common, and the lack of face-to-face interaction can make it harder to build relationships with colleagues. This can lead to feelings of disconnect and lower motivation.

Lack of visibility

In a remote environment, employees may feel they’re not seen or recognised for their work. This lack of recognition can lead to decreased motivation.

Distractions at home

Distractions from household chores, family members, or other non-work related issues can interfere with an employee’s ability to concentrate, reducing their productivity and motivation.

Access to resources

Remote employees might not have the same access to resources and tools as they would in an office environment. This can make their work more challenging, affecting their motivation levels.

Technology challenges

Issues like poor internet connection, software or hardware problems can disrupt work, cause frustration and affect motivation.

Maintaining discipline and structure

Without the structure of a traditional office environment, some remote employees might struggle with time management and maintaining a regular work schedule, which can impact productivity and motivation.

7 main drivers of remote employee motivation: overcoming motivation challenges

Emphasise communication

Effective communication is a crucial driver of remote employee motivation. Transparent, regular, and open communication channels help employees feel connected, supported, and engaged. Utilise a mix of communication tools like email, video conferencing, and instant messaging platforms to ensure clear and concise exchanges of information.

Encourage virtual team meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and casual interactions to foster relationships and build trust among team members. By promoting a culture of open communication, you can address any concerns and provide necessary feedback to keep employees motivated and aligned with company goals.

Show confidence in your team

Empowering your remote employees and showing confidence in their abilities can significantly boost their motivation. Trust them to manage their tasks, set their own schedules, and make decisions without excessive oversight.

Encourage autonomy and delegate responsibilities, while providing the necessary support and resources to accomplish their goals. Recognising and appreciating their work regularly can further reinforce your confidence in their abilities, leading to increased motivation and commitment.

Offer a performance-based bonus

Implementing a performance-based bonus system can be an effective way to motivate remote employees. By rewarding high-performing individuals and teams, you create a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, driving employees to excel in their roles.

To ensure fairness, establish clear performance metrics and objectives that align with the company’s goals, and regularly communicate progress and expectations. This approach can not only improve motivation but also foster a results-oriented culture within your organisation.

Provide learning opportunities

Remote employees, like their on-site counterparts, need opportunities to grow and develop their skills. Providing access to online courses, webinars, workshops, or mentorship programmes can help employees enhance their expertise and stay current in their field.

By investing in their professional development, you demonstrate a commitment to their growth and future within the organisation, resulting in increased motivation and loyalty.

Encourage self care

Promoting self-care and work-life balance can have a positive impact on remote employees’ motivation and overall well-being. Encourage them to establish a dedicated workspace, set boundaries between work and personal life, take regular breaks, and engage in physical activity.

Also, consider offering flexible work hours or mental health days to help employees recharge and manage stress. By prioritising self-care, you create a supportive work environment that enables employees to maintain their motivation and productivity in the long term.

Foster a sense of belonging

Creating a sense of belonging within remote teams can significantly contribute to employee motivation. Organise virtual team-building activities, informal social events, or interest-based groups to help employees connect and develop relationships beyond work.

Encouraging a strong sense of community can lead to greater job satisfaction, employee engagement, and overall motivation.

Provide technological support and tools

Ensuring remote employees have access to the right technology and tools can greatly impact their motivation and productivity. Invest in reliable hardware, software, and collaboration tools to facilitate efficient and seamless remote work.

Additionally, offer technical support to address any issues and ensure employees have the necessary resources to perform their jobs effectively.

Common mistakes to avoid when managing remote employees

In addition to the guidelines we provided above, managers and team leaders should be aware of a few common mistakes made when managing remote workers. Avoiding these mistakes can contribute to a thriving remote work environment:

Overlooking the importance of trust

Trust is a cornerstone in managing remote employees effectively. Micromanagement or insisting on rigid work hours can erode trust and demotivate employees. Instead, focus on output and trust your employees to manage their tasks effectively within their flexible schedules.

Lack of regular check-ins

Not touching base frequently enough can make remote employees feel disconnected and undervalued. Regular check-ins offer an opportunity to provide feedback, discuss progress, solve problems, and maintain a solid connection.

Ignoring team building

With remote work, the lack of face-to-face interaction can hinder team cohesion. Failing to organise activities for virtual team bonding could lead to a disconnected team, lowering morale and productivity. Virtual social events and activities can promote a sense of camaraderie and belonging.

Insufficient recognition

Just because employees are out of sight doesn’t mean their efforts should go unnoticed. Failing to acknowledge their hard work can lead to decreased motivation and job satisfaction. Regularly appreciate their contributions to make them feel valued and motivated.

Neglecting individual needs

Treating all remote employees the same without considering their unique needs, work styles, or personal circumstances can hinder motivation. It’s crucial to acknowledge the individuality of each employee, taking into account their different time zones, work preferences, or home environment.

Lack of technological support

Insufficient technical support or not providing necessary digital tools can cause frustration and disrupt work. Ensuring that your team has the technology and the support they need is crucial for maintaining productivity and motivation.

In summary

In conclusion, to thrive in the remote work landscape, organisations must prioritise remote employee motivation.

By focusing on communication, confidence, performance incentives, learning opportunities, self-care, belonging, goal-setting, recognition, technological support, and open dialogue, companies can create a supportive and productive work environment that benefits both remote employees and the organisation as a whole.

Source: https://inside.6q.io/drivers-remote-employee-motivation/

How to Get a Job: 10 Effective Tips to Land Your Next Role

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:33:05 GMT

Make the most of your job search with these best practices, whether you're switching careers or looking for your first job.

Looking for a new job? Or perhaps your first job ever? There are certain practices to consider when applying for jobs that can help you stand out from other candidates with similar educational or professional experiences.

In the past decade, a boom in technology has influenced the economy, including the largest growth and adoption of internet usage since the late 1990s. The types of jobs available have shifted as a result, as well as the ways we search for them in the digital age. These days, many people turn to Google for advice on their job search , and LinkedIn and other job sites to find job openings.

It’s a good time to apply for jobs and to build the skills you’ll need in your dream career. This article offers effective tips and best practices for getting a job.

How to get a job

There are many ways to get a job. Approaches vary depending on the type of job you’re after, and the industry and competitiveness of the job. Some may find networking and personal connections effective in their job search, but many people rely on the traditional approach of applying to and interviewing for a job. The process can be daunting, but these strategies can help you gain clarity and confidence as you embark on your journey.

1. Reflect on your career aspirations.

While you might try to sit down and apply for any job that you’re qualified for, taking the time to assess your career hopes and dreams can be a more satisfying and productive way to start a job search. Thinking about what makes you come alive can help you narrow down your search to target specific roles and careers.

Envision your career future. Here are some questions that can help you:

Are you passionate about a certain cause or industry? (Perhaps you get excited about supporting theatre arts or are interested in finance in emerging markets.)
Do you want to become a leader of a team or organization, or do you prefer to be a creative and independent producer?
What salary goals do you have? Do you aspire to earn a six-figure salary?
Do you value team cohesion and collaboration?
What kind of lifestyle do you want?
What skills do you bring to a job role? (For example, do you have a knack for persuading people through spoken or written communication, or are your skills more suited for patient care?)

2. Research potential industries and job roles.

Next, think about the types of industries or roles that you either have experience in or that pique your interest. Research everything you can about the food and beverage industry, for example, if that’s a business area that interests you. Have you considered a career in IT , data analysis , marketing , or UX design ?

Say you have a degree in marketing; are you interested in pursuing a career in that field? If so, do you want to work for an agency or in-house for a company or non-profit? What type of marketing do you hope to specialize in—perhaps social media marketing , digital marketing , or content marketing ? Drill down in your search to understand the different roles you could play within a field or industry.

If you’re thinking more about your lifestyle, consider remote jobs , jobs that let you travel , or jobs better suited for introverts .

3. Identify your transferable skills.

Once you have a better idea of your career goals and what types of jobs you’re interested in, think about how your experiences can apply to these roles. Identify your transferable skills , including technical skills and workplace skills you have acquired in your personal and professional life.

If you are seeking your first job, your transferable skills might come from extracurricular activities, volunteer work, or daily life (for example, taking care of children or siblings). For those switching jobs or changing careers , you can mine previous work experiences for technical skills like data analytics or data entry, and workplace skills like leadership, creativity, and critical thinking.

Build the right skills for the job you want

Peer into the future. Do the jobs you’re applying for fit into your desired career trajectory ? If not, and your transferable skills are not enough to propel you forward, consider building your technical skills to eventually land a job that aligns your skills with your lifestyle and offers a steady paycheck.

With Coursera’s professional certificate programs, you can build the right skills for in-demand jobs in just a few months—no degree or experience required.

4. Build your social media presence.

Now, more than ever, people are finding jobs on LinkedIn. In fact, eight people are hired every minute on LinkedIn [ 1 ]. A majority of recruiters (around 87 percent) use it during the hiring process, especially when vetting candidates [ 2 ]. Your LinkedIn profile should reflect your current resume, along with links to projects, videos, and content you worked on. A professional, friendly profile photo helps recruiters put a face to the name, while a bulleted list of accomplishments using keywords can boost your credibility.

Though posting on LinkedIn is not necessarily going to get you hired, sharing and liking posts creates engagement and can help you get noticed by potential employers. If you decide to post, consider sharing pictures and summaries of projects you worked on, or articles that demonstrate your industry expertise.

You can even reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn by sending a request to connect or messaging them using InMail. When crafting your message, explain who you are, what you’re looking for, and why you’re hoping to connect with them.

Finally, clean up your presence on other social media platforms. Delete any incriminating photos, such as smoking weed, imbibing alcohol before age 21, or any other activity that could be perceived as unprofessional. Keep your pages private for additional security.

5. Conduct informational interviews.

Breaking into a new industry or field can be difficult, especially if you’re unsure whether that career is right for you. That’s where informational interviews come in. Job seekers can conduct this type of interview to gather insight into a prospective field or job role.

Here’s how an informational interview works:

Decide what you want to know.
Reach out and request a meeting.
Develop a list of questions to ask.
Get to know your interviewee.
Send a thank-you note.
Keep in touch.

Informational interviews build relationships, provide interviewing practice, and even open up future opportunities, especially if you make the effort to keep in touch with your interviewee.

6. Tailor your resume.

For each job you apply to, the best practice is to customize your resume to the job description. Recruiters and hiring managers like to see that you’ve understood their ethos, tone, and overall language and can speak it, too—meaning that your resume reflects their specific jargon (“creative briefs,” rather than “creative requests”). Your experiences should match the role’s requirements, and sometimes you’ll need to highlight or even omit certain skills and experiences. Always double-check your resume for spelling and grammar errors.

Crafting your resume to demonstrate you are an ideal candidate is not enough. These days, applicant tracking systems (ATS) filter job applications, so you must make sure to strategically include exact keywords and phrases from the job description on your resume.

7. Write a customized cover letter.

This might sound like a lot of extra work, but you don’t necessarily have to write an entirely new cover letter for each job application. However, each cover letter you submit should definitely reflect your enthusiasm for the specific job you’re applying for. You can create a basic cover letter template for each type of job, and mark the places where you’ll tailor information to fit each job.

For example, if you are applying to three types of jobs, such as communications consultant, social media specialist, and marketing analyst, you can create three separate cover letter templates. In each template, list out specific skills and experiences relevant to each job type. Then, when you’re customizing your cover letter for the job, swap out your interest in one company for another, and tweak your language to fit.

8. Prepare for the interview mindfully.

The interview process can be intimidating. It is helpful to remember that an interview is a two-way street—while it may seem like you are proving your worth to an employer, it is also an opportunity to assess whether the employer and role will be fulfilling for you. Preparing for an interview can help you feel more confident, so you’ll present yourself in the best possible light.

To prepare, consider writing down or saying out loud your responses to the most common interview questions. Reflect on the role’s responsibilities, the skills needed to perform the role, and questions a hiring manager might ask to determine if you are the right fit. The role may require several interviews.

If your interview is virtual, and many initial screenings are, you might consider practicing mock interviews with a friend to ensure your tone and body language expresses your enthusiasm properly over the internet. Plus, small adjustments to your setup can make a difference. Clean up any clutter in your background, and make sure your internet, camera, and microphone are reliable and ready long before your interview begins.

If you expect the interviewer to ask structured behavioral questions, a good practice is to write down several STAR (situation, task, action, result) scenarios and describe them aloud. For panel interviews , try to remember each person’s name and make eye contact with each interviewer while you are speaking.

Job-specific interview questions

Some jobs have very technical skills and responsibilities, for which recruiters will ask questions to gauge a candidate’s ability to perform them. Here are a few guides with interview questions for specific jobs, including project managers , back-end developers , scrum masters , data analysts , UX designers , and IT and marketing roles.

9. Send a thank you email.

Always, always send a follow-up email to thank your interviewers for their time. The best practice is to write a couple of sentences about any highlights from your conversation that resonated with you, and to reiterate your enthusiasm. This simple act of courtesy and gratitude doesn’t require much time but can help solidify a hiring manager’s decision to hire you.

10. Negotiate salary and benefits.

Congrats! After the applying, preparation, interview(s), and thank you emails, you got the job. Now, it’s time to negotiate your salary and benefits. Check sites like Glassdoor for data to confirm that your salary expectations are appropriate for the industry, company, and job role.

These days, it is culturally acceptable and even expected that you will negotiate. Chances are, the job letter comes with salary information. A good rule of thumb, when in doubt, is to negotiate 10-20% above their initial offer, in addition to the benefits package. Often, these packages will be similar for every employee of a company, but year-end bonuses, signing bonuses, and paid time off (PTO) may vary. Do your research, and feel free to clarify any questions with the hiring manager before accepting a job offer.

Next steps

To build new skills for your career and prepare for your dream job, consider earning a Professional Certificate from Coursera. When you join the Coursera Plus community , you get unlimited access to over 7,000 courses, Projects, Specializations, and Professional Certificates taught by top instructors from leading universities and companies.

Source: https://www.coursera.org/articles/how-to-get-a-job

The Future of Recruiting: Priorities and Investments for 2024

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:32:59 GMT

With all the headwinds recruiting teams have seen in recent years, how do they perceive the coming year and what investments will they make going into 2024? The good news is that HR decision makers and recruiters are both realistic and optimistic for the future of recruiting.

Recruiting outlook

Based on data from the 2023 Employ Recruiter Nation Report , more than half of talent professionals (57%) believe within the next 12 months, hiring new employees will be at least somewhat challenging, mostly because there are not enough quality candidates (58%), because of competition from other employers (46%), fewer recruiters or recruiting resources (43%), and more employees leaving the organization (41%).

The challenge of not enough quality candidates is anticipated more within SMBs (63%) than at large enterprises (48%); however, more than 4 in 10 recruiters from enterprise companies believe they will have more open roles to fill (42%) versus 23% at SMBs.

Recruiting volatility

When it comes to fluctuations in the coming year, recruiters have mixed opinions. While one in three recruiters do not believe the next 12 months will be volatile in recruiting, half of all talent acquisition professionals do think hiring will be turbulent into 2024.

The future of recruiting

At the same time, HR decision makers are extremely optimistic about the future of recruiting. An incredible 86% of talent practitioners shared that they are positive about what the future of talent acquisition holds, while only 8% are not. So, while volatility is expected, optimism remains.

Where talent teams plan to invest in 2024

Investment outlook

One important consideration for talent acquisition teams is the ongoing investment made to their function. The good news: investment in recruiting will likely increase or remain stable in the coming year.

Over the next 6 to 12 months, an overwhelming majority of talent acquisition professionals expect to either increase (61%) or keep their recruiting spend the same (29%). Spending increases are more likely expected in medium-sized companies (70%) versus 58% at enterprises and 47% in small businesses.

Talent teams that plan to increase their recruiting spend will most often do so by increasing their budgets for new recruitment technology purchases (50%), expanding existing recruitment technology stack (47%), new recruiting team role hires (47%) and job advertising (47%), investing in additional team training (46%) and investing in recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) (43%).

Technology investments

From a technology perspective, more than half (59%) of the budget increase will come from AI-powered recruiting tools, followed by diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives (50%), candidate relationship management (CRM) (48%), applicant tracking systems (ATS) (47%), career site (39%), sourcing technologies (36%), job boards (34%), and offers and onboarding (30%).

No matter where each organization falls, continued investment should be a priority to help recruiters feel more supported in their roles. Business and talent acquisition leaders must support recruiters in reducing manual tasks through recruiting AI and automation technology, so recruiters can do what they do best — focus on the human aspects of recruiting.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives

Candidates today are emboldened more than ever to seek out roles and companies that match their own values. They want a supportive and inclusive workplace culture that affords equal opportunities to each team member and makes people feel included in the success of the business. In a competitive hiring environment, companies must clearly communicate their commitment to DEI and demonstrate program effectiveness to attract top talent.

And when it comes to investment for 2024 hiring initiatives, three quarters (75%) of HR decision makers reported that their organization will place more emphasis on diversity hiring.

Recruiters who have been successful in attracting talent indicate they focus on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts of their organization. This enables recruiters to connect with candidates who recognize the value of these initiatives in the workplace.

Specific areas for improving diversity hiring

Looking to 2024, talent teams report that the top three areas their company has specific goals to improve in diversity recruiting are race/ethnicity (47%), gender (44%), age (36%), and LGBTQ+ (26%). But there still is a long way to go. With nearly one-third of talent teams indicating they have no specific goals, it will take continued focus and consistent efforts to improve DEI for the long-term.

Businesses that have a wide diversity of representation in employee ability, gender identity, ethnicity, neurodiversity, familial status, and personal beliefs are more likely to succeed in their industries compared to others that don’t.

It’s become a key metric for success that it’s now an evaluation category for the Fortune 500 list, reminding companies just how important it is to consistently improve their organizational DEI — and proving that the best lead by example.

Recruitment process outsourcing

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provides a different approach to recruiting. RPO is when an organization outsources or transfers some or all of its recruitment process to an external partner.

An RPO provider acts as an extension of an organization’s talent acquisition team and offers scalable resources to fill open roles quickly and efficiently. The RPO team works directly with the internal HR team, hiring managers, and the business to define recruitment success and executes against agreed upon objectives to achieve successful outcomes, including time to fill and quality of hire.

According to Employ data, 55% of HR decision makers are considering outsourcing recruitment in 2024. And while RPO is not for everyone, a growing number of companies are looking to RPO to ensure they stay competitive in an unsteady job market.

One of the main benefits of working with an RPO provider is that it frees up internal resources so that the business can focus on other strategic talent acquisition priorities. RPO teams also ensure internal talent teams have real-time information and data on requisition health, and other key performance metrics, including time to hire, quality of hire, recruiting efficiency, source yield, and daily activity to keep the business in the know and able to report on recruiting effectiveness.

Move forward with confidence

Talent teams have tackled unimaginable challenges caused by global events, labor market changes, and economic conditions. Looking forward, the opportunity for talent acquisition is limitless. And it’s why talent acquisition professionals remain optimistic for the future.

As your team forges ahead, leverage the latest in industry research and insights to do so with confidence. Download the 2023 Employ Recruiter Nation Report: Moving Forward in Uncertainty .

Source: https://www.jobvite.com/blog/the-future-of-recruiting-priorities-and-investments-for-2024/

9 Bad hiring practices you need to change today

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:32:56 GMT

Bad hiring practices have a habit of infiltrating the system while everyone is busy running their business. And the results are more far-reaching than you might think.

Not only does it make a bad impression about your company in potential recruits, it also costs a lot of money down the road.

Here are a few ways to fix a broken system for restrictions on your recruiting.

1: Not being able to re-evaluate a home

In each role of an employee, a company must re-evaluate the open position and make the necessary platform. Look for tasks that are no longer relevant, disable those that should belong to someone else, and add details to the job.

If you’re willing to take this position any other way, now is the time. Don’t wait until you have a new employee in this role before making changes at work.

2: Badly written job postings with no requirements

Take some time to rewrite the job description – don’t just return old job postings. You have to make sure it’s short, catchy, and accurate. The equipment and requirements that the job will require should be clearly stated.

Be concise, thoughtful and descriptive; Do not list every task on the person. A detailed job description should help keep unlined resumes safe through confetti business rules.

Leave only the essentials in the post. No PhD is required to fulfill this role – don’t make it a mandatory requirement. To get the right attention without discouraging candidates for various qualifications, make sure you only tap into their essential components.

3: Forgetting to ensure job descriptions are gender neutral

Small changes make a significant impact on recruitment practices. It goes a long way toward ensuring that all common candidates are recruited, including “blind hiring” or gender-equal interview requirements to all recruitment practices.

Small details in job descriptions can send subtle messages about what recruiters dream of for a role. Using tools like Textio can help create inclusive, gender-neutral job descriptions.

Don’t know if your hiring practices are fair to give candidates by gender a fair chance? If some episodes have not expired.

4: Not including the salary range for a role

Every job has a salary range; There’s no need to be shy about it. Be frank during phone calls/pre-items or gauge salary range in job description. You have saved your time and the candidate’s time.

Benchmarking salary ranges also has the advantage of taking advantage of salary resentment among co-workers.

5: Ignoring internal candidates

Your current employees are our greatest asset. They already know about your systems and use them on your products. Whenever possible, try to promote your children ahead of time.

Be sure of posting assets internally before opening open positions to external candidates. Give your best and brightest a chance to shine in a more challenging role. No employee likes to be handed over for a position they are qualified but considers fit.

The benefits of doing this are twofold: A small room enclosure is always easier than an older room enclosure. And promotion from their goals creates a positive work environment where employees find room to develop their careers.

6: Your interview apps are outdated

Interviews must be conversational. Potential employees are not prosecuted – don’t question them.

Without a good discussion, you can never learn a candidate’s true personality. That means stepping out of the script to get them to really come out about what they’re looking for in their next role and get them excited about the opportunity.

Stop asking tricky questions like, “A penguin wearing a fedora is walking through that door right now.” What does he say and why is he here?” As funny as this is, does it help you understand the person you’re interviewing?

Try to eliminate questions that allow unconscious biases in the decision-making process. Your last bad hire is using consumers to be useless. Get rid of the robotic command narration and start real conversation like real people trying to ask that they can’t code together.

Finally, always be on time for your interviews. You set an incredibly bad example when you pass. As a hiring manager, how can you insist on punctuality if a candidate’s first impression of him or her doesn’t reflect that expectation?

7: How to neglect to check the interview records of the interviewers

We worry that managers don’t know how to manage, so we train them to live great. We are aware that it is not a skill that comes from the director’s expression. But why is everyone successful?

Source: https://gefapower.com/en/9-bad-hiring-practices-you-need-to-change-today/

5 Simple Ways To Maximize Your Job Search

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:32:21 GMT

A job search can be stressful and overwhelming, especially in the middle of a pandemic. You may even question whether it makes sense to continue to apply for positions. Yet, the rapidly changing work environment may also bring about new opportunities. Whether you’re looking for a new job or considering a full-blown career change, these tips will help you maximize your efforts during these trying times.

Adopt a creator mindset

Even amid a pandemic, it's possible to find professional fulfillment. Successful people understand that there is only one person responsible for their career. That person is you. It's easy to blame external factors for our failures and disappointments, but ultimately you can create the life that you want. Instead of thinking the world is out to get you, expect the universe to support you and bring you opportunities during your job search. Consider this quote by Rumi, “Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor." Once you embrace a creator mindset, you’ll realize that everything you are experiencing is meant to make you a stronger, better human being.

Clarify your goals

The first order of business is to set goals for your job search. Without having a destination in mind, you will lack focus and won’t know where to invest your time. A big mistake job seekers make is applying to every position under the sun. Focus on quality over quantity. Rather than just dedicating a specific number of hours to your job search, develop measurable milestones. Consider establishing concrete commitments on a daily or weekly basis for tasks such as:

PROMOTED

Sending out X number of resumes
Researching X companies of interest
Reconnecting with X former colleagues

Take small steps and be consistent in your efforts.

Harness the power of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a crucial component of any job search. About 95% of recruiters utilize LinkedIn as a primary sourcing tool to find top-tier talent. If you’ve been in the same career for a while—particularly with the same company—chances are you have been neglecting your LinkedIn profile. Now is the time to brand yourself effectively using these techniques:

Your headline is one of the most important fields for LinkedIn’s search algorithm. Don’t just list your job title—that’s what 99% of people are doing. You’ll never stand out to recruiters and hiring managers that way. Instead, use all 120 characters to highlight strategic keywords, the value you bring and metrics where applicable. For example, instead of “Finance Manager," change it to "Finance Manager at Dell | Financial Planning and Analysis | Auditing | Managing $30M in Revenue.”
If you don’t have a photo, add one! Preferably a high-quality professional headshot (not one that looks like a mugshot or where you cut your spouse out of the picture from your cousin’s wedding). Why is this so important? According to LinkedIn , merely having a photo results in up to 21x more profile views and 9x more connection requests. It also goes a long way in making you look trustworthy and approachable.
Get active! Posting and commenting on LinkedIn will generate attention to your profile faster. Also, join groups. One user increased the number of people looking at her LinkedIn profile by 425% just by starting and participating in a few group discussions.

Practice video interviewing

Given the current climate, you will likely be interviewing via Zoom, Skype or some other video conferencing software. Don’t underestimate how unpredictable technology can be. Look for a location where you can control your lighting and surroundings. Test your internet speed to be sure it’s fast enough and use a wired ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi. Consider using an external microphone and webcam for better quality and do a complete run-through at least the day before your interview. The number one thing recruiters say they hate to see in a video interview is distractions, so take steps to remove interruptions. Remember to look into the camera, smile and have a positive attitude. Ultimately, preparing for a video interview is the same as preparing for a face to face meeting. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will feel.

Consider a career pivot

Are you having trouble finding a position in your current line of work? Maybe that’s the universe’s way of letting you know that it’s time for a career pivot . Make a list of your transferable skills. Perhaps you can utilize them in a new industry. Some examples could include creative, leadership, problem-solving or analytical skills. Another option could be starting a business or looking into non-profit work. You could also set yourself up as a freelancer or contractor. View this as a chance to finally find a purpose and a paycheck.

Remember, a recruiter can tell when a job seeker is just submitting their resume to "see what happens" versus someone who has done their homework and is genuinely excited about the position. So choose carefully. Apply for roles where you know you can knock it out of the park. Do your research, organize your time and, most importantly, don't give up.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2020/09/06/5-simple-ways-to-maximize-your-job-search/?sh=31e1eb1a349f

7 Effective Tips for Creating an Ideal Candidate Profile

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:32:19 GMT

Have you ever wondered what the secret is to make better hires? Finding an ideal candidate can certainly feel like an uphill battle.

You’ve likely experienced the disappointment of bringing aboard someone you believed to be a dream hire, only to discover too late that they completely missed the mark.

While it’s true that bad hires can slip through the cracks, it doesn’t have to be this way.

What if I was to tell you that there’s a recruitment tool you can use to help you select an ideal candidate each and every time you hire? One that’s relatively straightforward to use, and has a high success rate?

It’s called a candidate profile, and it has the power to change your hiring game for the better.

If you haven’t come across one before, you’re probably curious to learn if it’s really worth trying out. Well, let’s just say there are few recruitment tools that are as effective, easy-to-implement, and budget-friendly as a candidate profile.

Already intrigued? The following guide will teach you everything you need to know about candidate profiles. It will not only explain what a candidate profile is and why it’s a valuable recruitment tool, but it will also arm you with expert tips to create one to use for your next hire.

What is a candidate profile?

Are you deep in the hiring process? The first step to finding the right person for the role is visualizing your ideal candidate. Luckily, a candidate profile can help you do just that.

To help you come to a better understanding of this term, it’s helpful to think about a tool called a “customer profile”. Used by marketing and sales teams, a customer profile is a description of what the best possible customer looks like for a given product.

For example, it may include their age range, their interests, their gender, what they do for a living, their purchasing behaviors, pain points, professional skills, and their social media usage, among other notable qualities.

The purpose of this description is to allow the marketing and sales teams to create a character profile of the people that they are targeting. Chances are, they might even give this individual a name.

For instance, the customer profile may be Sam, a 34-year-old mom who shops online, has a part-time job as a sales assistant, loves watching true crime documentaries, and is the primary shopper in her household. The better that the sales and marketing team understands this individual, the better they can advertise to her.

When it comes to hiring, candidate profiles serve a very similar purpose. This is an opportunity for the hiring manager to determine what type of person they are looking for.

While you may already know what position you want to fill, the next step is understanding what type of candidate you would prefer for that role. The hiring team can work together on creating this vision of the ideal candidate. Here are some of the things you may want to include:

Personality traits
Preferred hard skills and soft skills
Work experience and education
Nice to have attributes and key skills
Must have qualities (qualifications)
Success traits
Long term career goals

Using all of the above will help you filter out the better candidates from the more average applicants. You can use a candidate profile during the recruitment process to find job candidates that suit your company’s culture . Creating one will give you a full picture of the type of person that’s best to fill your open position.

However, there’s one important thing to note here. When you’re creating your candidate profiles, you need to steer well clear of demographics. The reason is that it’s against the law to base hiring decisions on aspects of a person’s background.

While it’s perfectly fine to highlight the specific personality traits that are your must-haves, you shouldn’t be taking into account a person’s race, age, religion, or sexuality among other crucial factors.

According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , “an employer may not base hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information”.

The recruitment process should always be based on merit. In other words, a person’s ethnicity, or other demographic traits, should never define your hiring decisions. However, their skills, educational background, and work experience should.

The fact of the matter is that everyone should have the opportunity to work for professional organizations. Hiring managers need to keep this rule in mind when they have an open position to fill.

Things to include in an ideal candidate profile

The value of a candidate profile

Now that you have a better understanding of what a candidate profile is, let’s talk about why it’s important. Having the ideal candidate profile prepared will make certain aspects of the recruitment process easier. For that reason, your team can benefit greatly from this step. Before you get started creating a candidate profile, let’s take a look at a couple of the reasons they matter.

They make it easier to write job descriptions

Needless to say, writing a detailed description of the role you wish to hire for is the key to finding ideal candidates. With that in mind, knowing exactly what you want will make all the difference. Regardless of the job boards you tend to use, you want to perfect this element of the hiring process.

Well-written job descriptions include a variety of information including personality traits, hard skills, soft skills, job duties, nice to have qualities, and any other key traits and skills your dream hires should have. The more you know about the right candidates for the position, the easier this step will be.

Of course, the most detailed job descriptions also include additional information relevant to the role. For instance, you may want to include any professional development opportunities that will be open to successful candidates, or company perks that they can look forward to.

Adding in these extra details to each job description will go a long way in attracting the right candidates.

They help refine your sourcing strategy

Sourcing the right candidates is no small feat. Once you’ve finished creating a candidate profile, you will have a solid foundation to build upon. That information can help you determine how you will start your candidate outreach.

While you may usually follow a standard step-by-step process when it comes to posting job descriptions, it’s worth spending some time refining your sourcing strategy. After all, your idea of the perfect candidate for a job may affect where you advertise the role and the wording you use.

Believe it or not, research suggests that experienced employees prefer different means of communication to newcomers . So knowing how to best target people will mean that you can get the top candidates applying for the position.

How to create an ideal candidate profile

Ready to get moving? Creating an ideal candidate profile is a craft. If your recruiting team is new to this, they may need some pointers along the way. Since this tool will help to shape the selection process, getting it right is essential. So, before you start your hunt for your next hire, take the time to draw up this description. Here’s what you need to know.

7 tips for creating an ideal candidate profile

1. Describe the unique qualities of the role

Attracting high-quality candidates doesn’t have to be challenging . When creating an ideal candidate profile, you need to identify the qualities of the role. Of course, each position is unique and, as such, requires a specific set of key traits.

While you may have filled similar vacancies before now, don’t make the mistake of thinking that any two positions are ever the same. You won’t be looking for the exact same person, but someone who is similar.

For example, if you are looking for a sales team member, the main job duties may include meeting new clients, talking to them about products or services, and becoming their main point of contact.

In that case, you know that the ideal candidate will be a people person who has a ton of natural charisma. These, as well as other qualities that are considered soft skills and hard skills that are relevant to the role , should be a real priority when you’re hiring new candidates.

A useful way to pinpoint precisely what tasks, hard skills, soft skills, must-have qualities, nice to haves, success traits, and other qualities you’re seeking is to conduct a job task analysis . It’s regarded as a relatively straightforward way to improve the quality of your job posting, and in turn, find an ideal candidate.

2. Define your company’s identity and culture

Company culture has become a hot topic in recent years. A massive 88% of job seekers say that company culture is important when finding a job . There’s a reason for this strikingly high statistic.

New employees don’t only want to know what the role entails, they also want to know whether they’ll fit into the organization . So, when you’re creating an ideal candidate profile, you should take the vibe of the workplace into consideration.

Having a better understanding of your company’s identity will help you along the way. You can look back at the business values or the shared company vision. All of these details matter more than you might expect. When you’re painting a picture of potential candidates, you should consider how they will fit into the structure of the business .

88% of job seekers believe company culture is important when finding a job, according to Jobvite

3. Assess your top performers

Next up, look at the successful employees that you already have among the ranks of your business. This is especially important when it comes to filling similar vacancies.

Your top performers are likely to be current employees to whom you offer leadership opportunities. When you’re writing up an ideal candidate profile, you can look at their personality, soft skills, and other qualities. It’s likely that you will want new candidates to be similar.

While you can’t expect perfection from a new employee, you do want to get the creme de la creme to apply. Take a look at the first-year performance of some of your best employees for reference. This record is what you’re trying to emulate. When you’re finding your new hire, you should look for a potential candidate whose traits give them the potential to follow a similar path.

Alongside your hiring team, take a moment to list these and other traits. For instance, you may list attributes such as intelligence, hard-working, dedication to the role, and willingness to learn new things as must-haves. Once you have a well-rounded view of what great candidates bring to the figurative table, you can use it to add some color to your ideal candidate profile.

4. Define hard and soft skills

The perfect new hire for a job needs to have a good mixture of hard skills and soft skills . When you’re coming up with this list, you can split it into two sections: ‘nice to haves’ and ‘must haves’.

Put simply, these are the success traits that you will need from potential employees. If you’re hiring for a sales manager, a hard skill might be organization, while a soft skill might be strong public speaking skills.

As you start to visualize the person that you need for the current job vacancies, you can pepper in some of these skills. Try to be as detailed as possible. The more in-depth you go, the better you will understand how to find the right candidate.

Struggling to figure out what hard and soft skills new candidates need? Try asking your hiring team some pertinent questions. For instance, you may ask, ‘What success traits does the new hire need?’ or ‘What skills will they use for their day to day duties?’.

5. Know your candidate demographics

When you start bringing together all of the above information, you can create an ideal candidate profile from scratch.

The next step in this process is to know your candidate demographics. As we have already mentioned, this doesn’t apply to legally-protected traits, such as age, gender, race, and sexuality. However, you can use other traits to start to get an idea of what quality candidates will look like.

You may be able to put potential employees into different categories depending on their demographic. For example, you could have two ideal candidate profiles for a specific role. One might be a more experienced worker with a greater understanding of what the job entails, while the other might be new to the field but have a flair for learning. Being open-minded to the different candidate profiles will help you during recruitment.

6. Bring all your research together to build a candidate profile

Now that you’ve spent some time considering what the ideal candidate will bring to your company, the next step is building the profile.

Think of this like story-telling. You want to flesh out candidate profiles with as much color and detail as possible. You’re creating a character so be descriptive and add in anything that you think is important to the role.

You will need to work as a team to get this right. Collaborate and write a detailed description of the best candidates you can imagine. You will include everything from ‘must haves’, to ‘nice to haves’, to the innate traits that would work well for the role. The managers in charge of this new role will be able to reflect on this description when advertising it.

7. Keep the candidate profile at the forefront of your mind at every stage of the recruitment process

The candidate profile comes into play during the entire recruitment process — from the moment that you post on job boards to when you find the perfect candidate. You may find that your team members can use this profile when they are writing the job description, as well as during the interview process.

The aim of the game will be to find candidates that most closely match the profile that you have created along the way.

Ahead of making this all-important hiring decision, you will know what types of candidates you prefer. In the simplest terms, that will mean that the hiring process is faster and more efficient. Armed with a vision of the ideal worker, you can quickly filter out candidates that won’t make the cut, saving you time, energy, and effort.

Final thoughts

Now that you’re well-acquainted with candidate profiles, it’s time to set the wheels in motion. This is the part where many human resources and business leaders fall down. They understand what candidate profiles are and why they’re worth making, but can’t always create them for each hire.

It’s understandable that you want to avoid adding another task to your never-ending to-do list. But think about how high the stakes are and how expensive and time-consuming it will be to re-do the hiring process in a few months if you get this wrong.

By spending a few hours putting together a candidate profile, you’re significantly elevating your chances of finding an ideal candidate for the important roles you’re trying to fill. Hiring the right people will help lead your business to success. As the late Robert Half, founder of the eponymous employment agency once said, “Time spent on hiring, is time well spent."

Source: https://vervoe.com/ideal-candidate-profile/

The evolving role of technology in recruitment

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 03:49:52 GMT

The evolution of technology in recruitment has significantly transformed the way companies attract, engage, and hire top talent.

Many innovative tools and platforms, from AI-powered candidate screening systems to sophisticated recruitment software, have driven this transformation.

These are designed to streamline processes, automate time-consuming tasks, enhance efficiency, and ultimately deliver better hiring outcomes.

In this blog, we will discuss the role of AI in transforming recruitment practices. We will also cover the many benefits of using recruitment technology, including streamlining and automation, facilitating remote recruitment, and providing data-driven insights.

Lastly, we’ll delve into the challenges recruitment technology presents to the sector and the latest AI developments. This covers advanced candidate matching systems, gamified assessment tools, video interviewing software, recruitment marketing platforms, and future tech for recruiters.

To understand the true impact of technology in recruitment, we should really start at the beginning. So, before we delve into the latest developments in tech, let’s start by taking a closer look at the rise of technology in recruitment!

The rise of technology in recruitment

Historical perspective on the use of technology in recruitment

The recruitment industry has a rich history, with its roots dating back to ancient times. However, the arrival of technology significantly transformed the way recruitment is conducted.

In the early days, recruitment was a manual process, heavily reliant on physical job advertisements, paper CVs, and face-to-face interviews. The birth of social media and the digital revolution marked a significant turning point, making recruitment a lot more interactive.

The 1970s saw a shift in the recruitment landscape , with agencies transitioning from working with job seekers to working for companies. Large corporations began outsourcing their recruitment processes, marking the beginning of the modern recruitment industry.

Shifting from traditional methods to tech-driven strategies

The rise of the internet in the late 20th century brought about a seismic shift in recruitment strategies . The traditional methods of newspaper advertisements and walk-in interviews gave way to online job portals and email applications.

Advancements in tech have led to cloud-based recruitment technology and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) , which automated, improved, and streamlined the recruiting process.

Today, technology has revolutionised how employers and recruiters find potential candidates. The shift from traditional methods to tech-driven strategies has been facilitated by a host of innovative platforms and tools designed to enhance efficiency and deliver better hiring outcomes.

The role of AI in modern recruitment practices

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed HR and the recruitment industry, reshaping traditional practices and introducing new efficiencies.

AI helps automate data collection and analysis, enabling recruiters to efficiently process large volumes of information and identify potential red flags or discrepancies.

This has significantly reduced the time-to-hire and improved the quality of hires.

AI recruitment can also minimise hiring bias. By focusing on objective criteria, AI provides a more comprehensive and fair assessment of a candidate’s background. This has led to more diverse and inclusive workplaces, which are known to foster innovation and drive business performance.

Moreover, AI has revolutionised the candidate sourcing and pre-selection stages of the recruitment process.

AI-powered tools can sift through thousands of resumes in a fraction of the time it would take a human recruiter to identify the most suitable candidates based on the job requirements. This streamlines the recruitment process and ensures that no potential candidate is overlooked.

AI is also transforming the way recruiters engage with candidates. AI-powered chatbots, for instance, can provide real-time responses to candidate queries, improving the candidate experience and freeing up recruiters to focus on more strategic tasks.

Overall, AI is playing a pivotal role in modernising recruitment practices, driving efficiencies, reducing bias, and enhancing the overall quality of hires. As AI technology continues to evolve, its impact on the recruitment industry is set to grow, offering exciting possibilities for the future.

How AI and new tech for recruiters are transforming the hiring process

The role of AI in candidate sourcing, screening, and engagement

AI has technology in recruitment and here’s how: AI-powered recruiting uses algorithms to locate specific keywords in an applicant’s resume , thus helping hiring managers in intelligent candidate screening. This process, often referred to as ‘semantic search’, goes beyond simple keyword matching. It understands the context and the intent behind the words in a resume, allowing it to match candidates to job descriptions more accurately. This has significantly reduced the time-to-hire, with some companies reporting a 70% reduction in hiring time . Moreover, AI’s role in candidate screening extends to the evaluation of a candidate’s soft skills, such as communication and teamwork.

By analysing a candidate’s language use, tone, and speech patterns, AI can provide insights into these crucial yet often overlooked aspects of their profile.

The use of predictive analytics in making informed recruitment decisions

Predictive analytics is a powerful tool that is revolutionising the recruitment industry. By analysing historical data, predictive analytics can help recruiters make more informed decisions about which candidates are likely to succeed in a particular role. This streamlines the recruitment process and ensures the best candidates for each role are selected.

Predictive analytics works by identifying patterns in past recruitment data and using these patterns to predict future outcomes. This could include predicting which candidates are most likely to accept a job offer, which will perform well in a role, or which candidates will likely stay with the company in the long term.

One of the key benefits of predictive analytics is that it can significantly improve the quality of hires. By accurately predicting a candidate’s potential for success and fit within the organisation, predictive analytics can contribute to higher employee retention rates.

Hiring candidates who are more likely to thrive in their roles enhances job satisfaction, engagement, and long-term commitment.

Moreover, predictive analytics can help companies forecast hiring needs based on growth projections and employee turnover rates. This allows companies to proactively source candidates and reduce the time to fill critical roles.

The role of chatbots in improving the candidate experience

Chatbots are transforming the recruitment process, particularly in the initial stages. These AI-powered tools can provide instant responses to candidate queries, provide updates on the application process, and schedule interviews.

They can even interact with candidates in real-time, answering queries and providing information about the company and the role. This improves the candidate experience and allows recruiters to focus on more complex tasks.

Chatbots can analyse resumes and profiles, match candidates to suitable roles, and provide immediate feedback. This automation reduces manual effort for recruiters by automating repetitive tasks such as sending reminders, providing application process updates, shortening time-to-hire, and ensuring only the most qualified candidates proceed to the next stage.

The benefits of using recruitment technology

Streamlining and automation

Technology in recruitment has the power to streamline administrative tasks, freeing up valuable time for recruiters. With the help of AI and automation, tasks such as scheduling interviews, sending follow-up emails, and updating candidate information can be handled efficiently.

This allows recruiters to focus on more strategic aspects of their role, such as building relationships and developing effective recruitment strategies.

Facilitating remote recruitment

With the rise of remote work, technology has made it possible to recruit candidates worldwide. Video interviewing tools, virtual job fairs, and online onboarding programs have made recruiting, hiring, and onboarding candidates remotely easier.

This expands the talent pool and allows companies to hire the best candidates, regardless of their location.

Providing data-driven insights

Technology in recruitment also provides valuable data-driven insights that can help improve the recruitment process. For instance, analytics can provide information on the most effective recruitment channels, the average time-to-hire, and the quality of hires. These insights can help recruiters make informed decisions and continuously improve their recruitment strategies.

In conclusion, the use of technology in recruitment offers numerous benefits, from streamlining administrative tasks and enhancing employer branding to facilitating remote recruitment and providing data-driven insights. As technology continues to evolve, its impact on the recruitment industry is set to grow, offering exciting possibilities for the future.

The challenges of using technology in recruitment

Potential for bias in AI recruitment tools

While AI has the potential to reduce human bias in recruitment, it’s not entirely free from bias itself. AI algorithms are trained on data that may contain inherent biases, and these biases can be perpetuated and even amplified in the recruitment process.

For instance, if an AI tool is trained on data from a company that has historically hired a certain demographic of candidates, the tool may favour similar candidates in the future, potentially excluding qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds.

One example is when a hiring manager favours candidates with a specific education (a Harvard graduate over one from Oxford).

Suppose the AI algorithm is taught that these are the only worthwhile candidates. In that case, it will exclude more qualified candidates if they don’t graduate from Harvard.

In this way, unconscious bias can easily be trained into an AI recruitment tool.

The risk of over-reliance on tech and loss of human touch

While technology can streamline the recruitment process, there’s a risk of over-reliance on these tools at the expense of human interaction.

Recruitment is not just about matching skills to job requirements; it’s also about building relationships and assessing cultural fit , which requires human judgment. Over-reliance on technology can make the recruitment process feel impersonal for candidates, potentially impacting a company’s employer brand.

Challenges in keeping up with rapidly evolving technology trends

The pace of technological change presents another challenge. As new tools and technologies emerge, recruiters need to update their skills and knowledge to stay ahead continually.

This requires ongoing training and development , which can be time-consuming and costly. Additionally, implementing new technologies can disrupt existing processes and require significant change to management efforts.

Thinking machines are as smart as people

We tend to think machines and AI-powered tools are as intelligent as humans because they work so well. But they are only as good as their most recent update or how well they process data that day. We need to be aware of our own inherent bias of thinking machines are as smart as we are.

How many times has Google Maps taken you the wrong way, and you followed it because it told you to, even though you knew it was wrong?

While we can rely on AI technology in recruitment to help us in many ways, we need to remember that it doesn’t have the complex thought process humans do. It will never truly understand how years of experience in several different roles and fields can make a candidate a better choice for a position over someone that has followed a linear career path.

AI doesn’t understand nuance. Recruitment technology should always assist us, not replace human intelligence.

While technology offers numerous benefits in recruitment, it’s important to be aware of potential drawbacks. By understanding these challenges, companies can take steps to mitigate them and ensure that they leverage technology effectively in their recruitment processes.

The latest developments in recruitment technology

Candidate matching systems

Advanced candidate matching systems, also known as applicant tracking systems, or ATS are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using AI and machine learning to match candidates to job vacancies with greater precision.

These systems can analyse a wide range of data, including skills, experience, and even personality traits to find the best match.

These systems can analyse a wide range of candidate data beyond just skills and experience. It can also look at personality traits, cultural fit, and even career aspirations. This comprehensive analysis allows for a more holistic assessment of candidates, leading to better matches and ultimately better hiring outcomes.

ATS are highly scalable, making them suitable for companies of all sizes. They can handle large volumes of data and can be used to screen thousands of resumes in a short time. This makes them particularly useful for large-scale recruitment drives.

Gamified assessment tools

Gamified assessment tools are a new trend in recruitment technology. These tools use game elements to assess a candidate’s skills and abilities in a fun and engaging way. They can provide valuable insights into a candidate’s problem-solving abilities, creativity, and teamwork skills.

This recruitment technology is an interactive way to assess an applicant’s technical knowledge and soft skills, making the process more enjoyable and attracting top talent. It can also help to differentiate a company from its competitors, enhancing its employer brand.

Some people can talk a big game, but don’t always have the skills to back up what they say they can do. While other candidates may lack the ability to sell themselves in interviews but are very technically skilled and highly qualified. Gamified assessment tools give recruiters and employers a chance to see for themselves what candidates are capable of.

They can also provide a more objective assessment of candidates, unlike traditional interviews, which can be influenced by unconscious bias. Gamified assessments provide a standardised measure of a candidate’s skills and abilities.

Video interviewing software

Video interviewing software is becoming a standard tool in the recruitment process, especially with the rise of remote work. Platforms like HireVue , Harver or even Teams allow recruiters to conduct live interviews with candidates anywhere in the world, but they can also record interviews for later review and use AI to analyse candidate responses.

Video interviewing software is particularly beneficial for remote onboarding. It allows companies to conduct interviews, provide company orientations, and even conduct training sessions remotely. This is especially important for onboarding a global workforce, as it allows companies to reach candidates regardless of their geographical location. This not only saves time and resources but also allows companies to tap into a wider talent pool.

This technology can also play a significant role in boosting diversity and inclusion, by allowing companies to interview candidates from all over the world, eliminating geographical barriers and opening opportunities for people who are restricted to working from home due to medical reasons, carer responsibilities or physical limitations.

Recruitment marketing platforms

Recruitment marketing platforms are emerging as a key tool in attracting top talent. These platforms allow companies to create engaging employer brand content and distribute it across multiple channels, including social media , email, and job boards. They can also track the effectiveness of recruitment marketing campaigns and provide insights to improve future efforts.

By distributing content across multiple channels, recruitment marketing platforms help companies expand their reach and engage with a wider pool of potential candidates. Whether it’s through social media, email, or job boards, these platforms ensure that a company’s brand and job opportunities are visible to as many people as possible.

Recruitment marketing platforms also provide valuable data and analytics that can inform recruitment strategies. They can track the performance of different content types, channels, and campaigns, providing insight into what works best for reaching potential candidates. This data can be used to refine recruitment strategies and make them more effective.

The future of recruitment technology

Looking ahead, we can expect to see further advancements in recruitment technology. For instance, augmented reality could be used to provide virtual office tours, giving candidates a more immersive experience of the company culture. Additionally, blockchain technology could potentially be used for verifying candidate credentials, ensuring the authenticity and accuracy of the information provided by candidates.

The latest developments in recruitment technology are set to revolutionise the recruitment process, making it more efficient, effective, and candidate-friendly. As these technologies continue to evolve, they will undoubtedly shape the future of recruitment.

Conclusion

The role of technology in recruitment has seen a significant evolution, transforming the way companies attract, engage, and hire top talent. From advanced candidate matching systems and gamified assessment tools to AI recruitment tools, chatbots and recruitment marketing platforms, technology is reshaping the recruitment landscape.

These technologies offer numerous benefits, including increased efficiency, improved candidate experience, and enhanced ability to reach a wider pool of candidates. They also provide valuable data and insights that can inform recruitment strategies and decision-making.

In this context, working with tech-savvy recruiters becomes a strategic advantage for both candidates and companies. Technology recruiters , adept at leveraging the latest recruitment technology, can streamline the hiring process , ensuring that companies find the right fit efficiently. They utilise technology in recruitment to its fullest potential, from AI recruitment tools for intelligent screening to tech for recruiters that assists with candidate engagement and onboarding.

For candidates, these recruitment agencies offer a seamless and engaging experience, often enabled by AI and other innovative technologies. They ensure that candidates are matched with roles that align with their skills, experiences, and aspirations, thereby improving job satisfaction and retention in the long run.

However, while the benefits of technology in recruitment are clear, it’s equally important to maintain a balance with traditional, human-led strategies. Technology can support and enhance the recruitment process, but it can’t replace the human touch. Personal interactions, intuitive judgement, and relationship-building are central to recruitment and still play a crucial role.

As we move forward, recruiters should embrace the opportunities that technology offers, while also recognising the value of human connection. By striking the right balance, they can leverage the best of both worlds to attract the best talent.

In the ever-evolving world of recruitment, staying abreast of the latest technologies and trends is key. It’s clear that technology will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the recruitment industry. However, it’s the combination of technology and human insight that will truly drive success in recruitment.

This post was written by: Charlotte Bosley-Plumb, Content Marketing Coordinator

Source: https://www.airswift.com/blog/technology-in-recruitment

The Benefits and Challenges of Blind Recruiting

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 03:49:51 GMT

Blind resumes may reduce unconscious bias and strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Guided by their ideals, modern job seekers are passionate about a diverse and inclusive workspace. Seventy-six percent of job seekers take into account the employer brand when evaluating potential employers, making this a critical factor for businesses to consider. Strategically integrating a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) philosophy your recruitment efforts can help attract the best talent.

Studies demonstrate that a diverse workforce is beneficial in multiple ways, from attracting top talent to retaining employees and generating superior economic results. A recent study conducted by McKinsey illustrated that 366 public companies in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity had 35% higher financial returns than their industry average. A 2018 study from North Carolina State’s Poole College of Management uncovered a valuable insight: Fostering diversity has an immensely positive impact on companies, driving measurable increases in innovation as evidenced by product development, patents created, and citations.

“From research, it is clear that a more diverse workforce resembles your customer base more accurately; it allows for different ideas from different backgrounds. Bottom line, it is good for a business,” said Azmat Mohammed, director general of the Institute of Recruiters, in a 2016 interview with Fast Company . “A more diverse workforce makes more money, they’re more profitable, they’re more harmonious in terms of being a team, so the benefits are all there.”

Unfortunately, diversity continues to be an issue for businesses, particularly the tech industry. A 2021 examination of Fortune 500 companies discovered that 57.8% of directors are occupied by white men, indicating a marked lack of diversity in the workplace. Despite its size and power, even Google continues to grapple with the issue of diversity, particularly among Black employees in the U.S., who only comprise 8.7% of their workforce according to recent demographic data .

Unconscious bias, wherein judgments are made about applicants based on prohibited variables such as gender or race without even being aware of it, is a major contributor to this challenge. A groundbreaking report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that, even with equivalent qualifications and backgrounds, resumes featuring "white-sounding" names elicited almost 50% more phone calls than resumes containing "Black-sounding" names. To make matters worse, a 2017 study found that male and female managers were twice as likely to hire men over women.

What Is Blind Recruiting?

In today's ever-evolving landscape, there are various recruitment strategies that prioritize diversity. One such example is blind recruiting, an effective technique to eradicate hiring bias and promote inclusivity. This technique involves removing certain components of a candidate's personal information in order to protect them from potential bias that could lead to an unfavorable outcome.

By eliminating recruiter bias—both intentional and unintentional—highly qualified individuals can be chosen for a job based on their competencies.

Prejudice is an ingrained and inescapable part of being human. According to Psychology Today, bias "is a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone." Biases can be a valuable tool to navigate life, yet in certain contexts, they may foment discriminatory harm against vulnerable individuals who are underrepresented.

Unchecked bias erodes the accuracy of hiring decisions and undermines any semblance of fairness in the talent acquisition process. By leaving out certain information that may spark bias from human resource teams, blind recruiting is a great way to reduce prejudice in the hiring process.

How Did Blind Recruiting Get Its Start?

Way back in 1952, the Boston Symphony Orchestra was one of the first to adopt a pioneering method, as reported by The New York Times . In order to promote inclusivity, the orchestra utilized partitions during auditions so that every performer could be judged solely on their talent and not their appearance.

This made a dramatic transformation of the hiring process throughout the industry, with blind auditions becoming standard. In the late 20th century, a National Bureau of Economic Research published a study revealing that the ratio of female musicians in top U.S. orchestras increased drastically from less than 5% in 1970 to 25% during the 1990s.

As technology advanced in the 2000s, a variety of tech startups revolutionized HR by introducing blind hiring practices that made it easier for teams to be inclusive and diverse. These vendors develop their technology to operate in tandem with existing applicant tracking systems, which are generally not equipped to remove candidates' identifiable information.

Realizing the sheer amount of highly skilled coders whose resumes had, unfortunately, been disregarded by hiring managers due to their lack of attendance at a prestigious college, GapJumpers founder Kedar Iyer created software that conceals candidates’ names, faces, and other personal information from employers in the early stages of recruitment. By doing so, he aims to minimize any existing bias. GapJumpers has reported a drastic 40% increase in the likelihood of diverse applicants receiving first-round job interviews due to its use.

Fortunately, companies do not need new tech tools to implement blind hiring.

Eradicating unconscious bias can be a daunting challenge. Giving talent acquisition teams the opportunity to blind hire could help them put prejudice and partiality aside, allowing for more objective hiring decisions. By utilizing this practice, recruiters are able to objectively search the candidate pool to find the best fit for each position. To make diversity recruiting efforts as seamless and efficient as possible, consider the following steps:

Equip employees with the knowledge of how hiring bias works and its consequences on individuals and organizations.
Remove names and other personal information from job applications and resumes to ensure anonymity.
Establish a reliable recruiting process that is in accordance with all hiring equity regulations.
Consistently monitor your metrics to ensure superior results.
Utilizing blind recruiting software or an applicant tracking system to ensure the best candidate is hired for the job.

Blind Recruitment Is Not the Perfect Solution

Although these statistics are encouraging, implementing blind hiring is not without its shortcomings. An apt illustration is that traditional recruitment processes only obscure a candidate's personal information during the initial screening phase. Face-to-face interviews limit employers' ability to remain unbiased, as they will be exposed to a candidate's name, gender, and ethnicity. Utilizing a blind hiring method when it comes to resume screening could potentially produce more diverse initial interviews; however, employers may still face the same obstacles in achieving true diversity within their hires.

Despite its popularity, blind hiring may not be as successful of a strategy as initially assumed. Recently, the Australian Government's Behavioral Economics Team (BETA) published a report that highlighted an effort within the nation's Public Service to amplify women in senior positions. This was achieved by deemphasizing gender information from job applications. Unexpectedly, the trial yielded results that were opposite to those anticipated. Adding a masculine name to an applicant's background was proven to decrease their chances of being selected by 3.2%. A female candidate was 2.9% more likely to receive an offer when her name appeared on an application.

The results of this initiative have generated grave skepticism regarding the validity of blind hiring practices. Contrary to expectations, those who conducted the study realized that masking applicants' identities during their initial screening procedure actually had an adverse impact on diversity rather than a positive one. Consequently, employers ought to be mindful when employing blind hiring as a means of fostering diversity.

As employers search for ways to build their workforce from a broad pool of candidates, they must consider if blind hiring will actually yield the outcomes they desire. With the ever-changing climate of the contemporary workspace, there is a greater need to go above and beyond just one interview in order to ensure that you are hiring individuals who fit your company's culture. If you are able to disregard unconscious bias while selecting new employees, and instead focus on their talent, skill set, and additional qualifications that the individual may bring to your workplace that are unique or different from others in the office, then you will be rewarded with a successful diversity hire.

Diversity is paramount not only for social justice and creativity, but research supports that it's also beneficial to the bottom line of any business, including those in the global mobility industry. A team with a wide range of worldviews can inform and educate employees and clients, and uncover new customer segments. This kind of global reach is vital for businesses in the mobility industry.

Source: https://www.worldwideerc.org/news/global-workforce/the-benefits-and-challenges-of-blind-recruiting#:~:text=Blind%20resumes%20may%20reduce%20unconscious,a%20diverse%20and%20inclusive%20workspace.

Understanding the Toll of Compassion Fatigue on Workplaces

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 03:48:29 GMT

Compassion is a vital emotion in a professional setting, helping to build and strengthen team relationships and business collaboration worldwide. However, the physical and emotional strain of consistently supporting colleagues can be taxing, especially amidst the various challenges facing the UK economy.

In this article, I’ll explore the repercussions of compassion fatigue in the workplace and offer insights into how businesses can provide the necessary support to help their employees avoid growing feelings of fatigue and helplessness.

What is compassion fatigue?

The term “compassion fatigue” was first introduced in 1992 , in the realm of medical professionals. It described the adverse health effects and deteriorating patient outcomes resulting from healthcare workers’ excessive exposure to trauma.

However, its scope has broadened to include individuals in various challenging roles beyond the medical field.

Compassion fatigue can affect anyone whose job-related stressors and triggers permeate their daily thoughts, mood, and overall well-being. Some individuals describe the feeling of becoming so saturated with distressing scenes that a psychic numbing can occur.

Several additional factors contribute to compassion fatigue, including the ongoing strain of the cost-of-living crisis, the uncertainty stemming from global conflicts, and the constant presence of social media in our lives.

How does it physically and emotionally affect individuals?

Compassion fatigue can have both a physical and emotional impact on individuals. Firstly, acts of caring and feeling decrease, and these are substituted by an outward detachedness. Individuals become more task, and less emotion, focused, and may start to isolate themselves, engaging less with their colleagues and teams.

In the short term, compassion fatigue can manifest as various physical health issues, including headaches, migraines, as well as gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Over the long term, it heightens the risk of developing cardiovascular problems, obesity, and diabetes.

Mood swings, ranging from moderate to severe, become commonplace, disrupting an individual’s ability to think clearly, regulate emotions, and sustain a sense of hope. All these factors combined can contribute to the emergence of stress-related mental health concerns, like anxiety or depression.

How does it impact workplaces?

In the absence of supportive measures from leadership, the repercussions of compassion fatigue in workplaces could be significant. Firstly, many experiencing the condition struggle with unmanageable negative emotions, like anger, irritability, and reduced tolerance.

These often lead to interpersonal challenges, making it difficult for employees to maintain positive relationships with their colleagues and fostering a sense of disconnection from their workplaces. Cognitive functions like clear thinking, sound judgment, and effective decision-making may be compromised, affecting the ability to focus on tasks.

Work behaviors and routines may become increasingly erratic. Some employees may exhibit increased absenteeism, take more sick days, or spend less time in the office. In contrast, others might invest extra hours working to catch up, or they may carry work home as they struggle to concentrate and find themselves less productive during regular office hours.

Supporting employees in times of need

A crucial step in addressing compassion fatigue is to implement training programs that acknowledge and address the emotional toll of work roles. Consider inviting mental health experts to run in-house employee seminars, which delve into topics like stress responses, emotional resilience, and self-compassion.

This approach welcomes discussions about emotional well-being and makes them an expected part of the workplace culture.

Leaders should also scrutinize and eliminate behaviors that may exacerbate employee anxiety or stress. For instance, if bosses respond to emails at 10:00 p.m., an unwritten expectation may emerge that others should follow suit.

Encouraging leaders to remove work emails from their phones and endorsing similar practices within their teams can help establish consistent, much-needed cutoff times for work-related activities.

Highlight the value of breaks during the workday, emphasizing the importance of self-care activities like taking a refreshing outdoor walk and enjoying a proper lunch break instead of hastily eating at your desk.

These seemingly minor adjustments encourage employees to recharge, prioritize self-care, and shift their focus away from factors that contribute to negative behaviors.

Research indicates that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is highly effective in treating compassion fatigue, as chronic exposure to suffering can influence negative thought patterns. Employers may want to consider incorporating emotional well-being support, like CBT, into their employee benefits packages to assist those already grappling with emotional wellbeing challenges.

CBT therapists can also help employees recognize lapses in self-care and boundary setting, enabling them to understand and respond to their symptoms or experiences differently over time. This can significantly enhance their overall well-being and quality of life.

The good news is that there are practical measures you can employ to tackle compassion fatigue, both for yourself and your team, to rekindle emotional well-being within the realm of work.

For many, compassion fatigue is a transitory phase, a clear sign that your body and mind are desperate for a recharge and a healthier work-life balance.

When businesses heed these signals and respond accordingly, they can help employees rebuild enthusiasm for their work and, most importantly, their capacity to reconnect with others.

By Marc Holl, Head of Primary Care, Nuffield Health .

Source: https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/compassion-fatigue-workplaces/

10 Transferable Skills for Your Resume [Full List & Examples]

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 03:48:27 GMT

Transferable skills are a set of skills, such as communication, computer literacy, and problem-solving, that come in handy for many jobs and across several industries.

As a job-seeker, the benefits of transferable skills are numerous.

Not only do transferable skills improve your employability, but they also make it considerably easier for you to change jobs or even a career down the line.

So, all of this begs the question - what are the most in-demand transferable skills in the market? And how can you let hiring managers reviewing your resume know that you possess them?

In this article, we’ll answer those questions and more! Here’s what we’re going to cover:

10 Transferable Skills for Any Profession
How to List Transferable Skills on Your Resume
4 Benefits of Transferable Skills

Let’s dive right in!

10 Transferable Skills for Any Profession

There are many transferable skills out there, but not all of them are going to be as helpful in your job search.

Below, we’re going to cover 10 of the most in-demand transferable skills for employers worldwide:

#1. Communication

Communication is arguably the most important transferable skill of them all.

Whether you’re a writer who needs to communicate a message to your readers, a marketing specialist who needs to communicate an advertising campaign to your client, or an office worker who must communicate with a colleague to complete a task, communication skills are vital.

Communication is a multi-faceted skill that includes several skills, such as:

Oral and written communication
Non-verbal communication
Active Listening
Presentation
Public-speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Discussion

#2. Management

Management skills are usually associated with management positions, but that’s not actually the case. In reality, practically any type of professional can benefit from strong management skills.

In a nutshell, management skills involve being able to effectively handle people, resources, and processes, including your time, plans, projects, and so on.

Here are some of the most in-demand management skills:

People management
Project management
Time management
Risk management
Logistics
Action planning
Conflict Resolution

#3. Computer Skills

By 2016, over 70% of US jobs required medium-to-high-level digital skills.

This means that computer and technical skills are an asset to have even if your job isn’t centered around technology. As such, the more computer skills you master, the higher your chances of getting a better job.

Here are some valuable computer skills for every professional:

Office suites (MS Office, iWork)
Social media
Database management
Web (Internet savviness, basic HTML, CMS)
Troubleshooting
Equipment installation and configuration
Fast Typing

#4. Leadership

Leadership includes both the ability to manage and inspire others. Managers are not always great leaders, but leaders almost always make good managers.

People who’re good at leading are emotionally intelligent, good communicators, and natural-born influencers. They can motivate others to reach their full potential and work together towards common goals.

Some soft skills related to leadership include:

Relationship-building
Motivation
Creativity
Commitment
Strategic thinking
Coaching

#5. Problem-Solving

Simply put, problem-solving means you’re able to identify problems successfully, find the root cause behind them, and come up with creative solutions.

Considering there isn’t a single job where you won’t face problems in one way or another, problem-solving skills are a great asset to have. When it comes to managerial, professional, and technical positions , problem-solving skills are essential.

Problem-solving is a set of skills that includes:

Research skills
Analytical skills
Critical thinking
Decision-making skills
Attention to detail

#6. Collaboration

Collaboration entails working well with others, addressing problems collectively, and putting a group’s goal ahead of personal goals.

You don’t necessarily need to be working in a team to make good use of collaboration skills. Practically every profession out there requires that you collaborate with people to some extent and, in many cases, work with them toward a common goal.

This is exactly what makes collaboration so important.

Some important skills linked to collaboration include:

Respect
Conflict resolution
Teamwork
Curiosity
Emotional intelligence

#7. Creativity

Creativity is typically associated with professional fields such as arts and crafts, architecture , or marketing .

In reality, though, creativity is essentially about how you view situations and solve problems. Being creative means thinking outside of the box and approaching tasks and challenges inventively.

This probably explains why the World Economic Forum predicted that, by 2020, creativity would be among the top three skills required from workers.

#8. Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills refer to how well you can understand and get along with other people.

In addition to people-related roles, interpersonal skills also come in handy for individual-focused positions.

Take, for example, writers. To be a really good writer, you need to be able to:

Understand and communicate with your audience
Collaborate with your publishing team
Understand what people are like

Just like most other transferable skills on our list, interpersonal skills are multi-faceted. Here is what they consist of:

Teamwork
Communication
Networking
Empathy
Openness

#9. Organization

Organizational skills are a set of soft skills that help you keep track of information, materials, and even your time in such a way that you can tackle short and long-term tasks efficiently.

Organizational skills are among the top skills recruiters are looking for in 2024, primarily because they help employees be more productive, save companies time and money, and facilitate a more positive work environment.

Here is what organizational skills consist of:

Physical organization
Planning
Scheduling
Prioritization
Goal setting

#10. Adaptability

Adaptability means being able to adjust to change.

No matter where you work, change is inevitable, whether it’s a change in management, work duties, responsibilities, or even schedule.

If you’re adaptable, you’re more likely to face challenges, unfamiliar environments, or changes in your personal and professional life with a positive attitude.

Most importantly, you’re also more likely to tackle such situations successfully.

How to List Transferable Skills on Your Resume

You may have plenty of transferable skills to land you the job of your dreams, but unless you know how to add them to your resume, the hiring manager won’t be able to tell.

Below, we’ll walk you through how to add your transferable skills to your resume the right way:

#1. Identify Your Transferable Skills

A national survey of displaced workers found that 57% of them can’t identify their transferable skills with a high degree of confidence.

If you feel the same way, here’s what you can do.

First things first, you should think about what your last role and the role you’re seeking to get hired for have in common.

Let’s assume, for example, that you’re going for a career change from sales to copywriting.

The two roles both require you to possess the following skills:

Written Communication - Both roles involve communication via text. A salesperson needs to send cold emails, while a copywriter has to write newsletter emails.
Persuasion - A copywriter needs to create copy that drives sales, while a salesperson needs to be persuasive in person.
Creativity - Both roles require the person to be creative in their tasks.
Computer skills - Both jobs require some degree of computer knowledge. For a salesperson, that’s using Customer Management Software, while for a copywriter, that’s publishing content online.

Pretty simple, right?

Alternatively, you can also review the job description of the job you’re applying for and identify what kind of skills are required for the role.

Finally, once you’ve identified all your top transferable skills, all you need to do is add them to your Skills section and you’re good to go!

#2. Include Your Top Skills In the Resume Summary

The resume summary is a short (three or four sentences long) paragraph positioned at the top of your resume that includes:

Your profession and years of experience
Your top skills (i.e. hard skills or soft skills)
One or two noteworthy achievements

And it looks something like this:

Done right, your resume summary should catch the hiring manager’s attention, show them you’re a relevant candidate for the role, and get them to read the rest of your resume in more detail.

So, the resume summary is your first chance to describe your transferable skills.

Here is an example of how you can include transferable skills in your resume summary:

Example:

Creative and communicative customer support agent with over 6 years of experience seeking a junior-level role in Sales. Skilled in collaborating with others, managing my time effectively, and adapting to different situations. Improved customer retention by over 20% in my previous role by being more empathetic, open, and communicative with customers.

#3. Back Them Up In Your Professional Experience Section

Last - but not least - you should use your work experience section to prove that you actually possess all the transferable skills you mentioned under your soft skills and in your resume summary.

After all, anyone can claim they have the transferable skills for the role - not everyone can prove it.

To convince the hiring manager that you possess the transferable skills you listed in your resume, follow our tips below:

Focus on your achievements instead of your responsibilities. More often than not, hiring managers know exactly what your responsibilities consisted of in previous jobs. What they want to know is how you made a positive impact with your achievements . So, once you’ve decided which transferable skills to include in your resume, write down some achievements from your previous roles that can help back them up.
Make your achievements quantifiable. Speaking of achievements, you want to make them as quantifiable as possible. After all, data and numbers are always much more efficient in convincing hiring managers that your achievements are legit but that they can also bring a lot to the table.
Use action verbs and power words. Using the same words (e.g. accomplished) will make your resume look dry. Instead, check our article on the best action verbs and power words to make your achievements more impressive.

Remember the sales to copywriting career change example we mentioned above?

Here is how the candidate would describe their transferable skills for the copywriting role:

Example:

Created and presented a pitch deck that secured a $500,000 deal for company X.
Boosted sales for the most underperforming product by 40% by developing educational material for prospects.
Created and edited sales materials, scripts, and technical documents for accuracy and consistency.

The example above effectively highlights and proves the candidate possesses transferable skills like communication, creativity, presentation, and persuasion, all of which are essential for a role in sales.

4 Benefits of Transferable Skills

You’re probably wondering what exactly is it that makes transferable skills so important for employees and employers alike.

Here are their most noteworthy benefits:

Increased employability. A 2018 Mckinsey & Company report found that the need for transferable skills will increase sharply in the next decade, while the need for manual and repetitive tasks will decrease.
Guaranteed flexibility. Employers can depend on employees who possess a variety of transferable skills to perform well in various situations and face different challenges. As for you, possessing transferable skills means that changing jobs or even careers will be much easier for you.
Career growth. You’ll be more likely to get promoted if you possess some of the transferable skills we’ve mentioned above.
More diverse opportunities. 1 in 5 workers changed their line of work entirely over the past year, with half of those changes being permanent. With strong transferable skills, you can make a career change (if you choose to) without being worried about setbacks.

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap! By now, you should know everything there is to know about transferable skills and how to leverage them to advance your career.

Before you go and put our tips into practice, let’s go over the main things that we covered in this article:

Transferable skills refer to a set of skills that you can transfer from one job to another and from one industry to another.
Out of the many transferable skills out there, hiring managers are particularly on the lookout for creativity, communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
How you add transferable skills to your resume matters. Make sure to include only the ones that are relevant to the position you’re applying for and that you back them up with achievements in your work history.
Some of the top benefits of transferable skills include higher employability, increased flexibility, and more career opportunities.

Source: https://novoresume.com/career-blog/transferable-skills

Employee Engagement vs. Employee Experience

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:03:27 GMT

As employee wellbeing and retention climbed to the top of many companies’ focus areas in the past few years (hello, tight labor market! ), buzzwords like employee experience and employee engagement have been flying around, often interchangeably.

But those two important terms have different meanings—and the differences are vital to understanding if you want to create a better environment for your employees.

So what do you need to know about employee experience vs. employee engagement? And how should you improve and measure your improvements in both areas? We’ve got your complete guide for HR pros who want to put their people first.

What is employee experience?

Since employee experience is a broader topic, let’s tackle this one first. Employee experience is the complete journey that an employee takes with your company, from the moment they hear about an open position through hiring and onboarding onto their full career at your organization.

Employee experience is how your people interact with your brand: are you living up to your brand promises as an employer? Or are you falling short by putting employee needs to the side, either because it’s not convenient or because you’re stuck doing things the way your organization has always done them?

One critical thing to note about employee experience is that this is where the employer has control and influence. Employee experience covers things like the office where your people work, the policies that let them work flexibly, the compensation and benefits you offer, and the onboarding you direct new employees through.

A great employee experience spans the whole employee lifecycle, and requires thinking carefully about each employee touchpoint to optimize them for your people. Even seemingly small touchpoints can have a major impact on the employee experience, like giving remote and hybrid employees a stipend to set up their home offices ergonomically and comfortably or offering healthy snacks in the break room.

Employee experience is about feeling cared for and valued, and there are so many ways to improve it:

Creating a culture of respect
Effectively onboarding new employees
Holding regular team-building exercises
Generally improving your company culture so your workplace is a more positive place to be

--> Anything that improves your overall culture and how employees experience their workplace (both physically and emotionally) will boost your employee experience. Check to see how your culture stacks up with our new company culture quiz !

What is employee engagement?

‍ Employee engagement , on the other hand, is how employees connect with the work they do, the purpose of your organization, and the people around them. You can’t increase engagement by upgrading your office or holding a single team-building exercise—engagement comes from finding meaning and value in your work.

Engagement can be harder for organizations to address because employers can’t directly deliver engagement like they can a better experience. You must provide employees with opportunities for growth, meaningful work towards a mission, and plenty of autonomy, and let them take it from there.

Employee engagement is about feeling recognized, connected, and positively challenged to grow, and there are also so many ways to improve it that also boost your employee experience:

Building a culture of recognition
Increasing transparency in your organization
Creating stronger connections between employees
Breaking down organizational silos to make working across functions easier

Anything that helps employees connect more to the purpose of your organization and their colleagues and leaders, and do their best work towards that purpose, will boost your employee engagement.

How employee experience and engagement connect

Employee engagement and employee experience are not the same thing, as we’ve just seen—but they are deeply interconnected in several ways.

First, it’s hard to have an engaged employee base if your employee experience is poor. (It’s not impossible, if your people are truly committed to your mission to do good in the world or your community like in a nonprofit or healthcare, but it’s a whole lot harder.)

A good employee experience is the baseline of employee engagement. It’s much easier to feel engaged if you have a comfortable working environment and everything you need to get your job done.

But engagement goes above and beyond that employee experience. You can have a terrific employee experience with all the perks and benefits an employee could dream of, but if they’re overworked, lacking autonomy, and don’t see a path to progress, they’re going to be disengaged—and they’re also likely going to leave.

How to measure employee experience and engagement

You should be measuring both engagement and employee experience regularly to see how your organization stacks up—you can’t improve what you don’t measure! And a great way to measure both is to simply talk to your teams. Employee surveys is a great way to do this.

An annual employee opinion survey is a great start if you’re not already conducting one. But you should also add in pulse surveys throughout the year—only measuring once per year makes your progress much slower.
‍

Questions to include about employee experience may include:

What three words would you use to describe [company]?
Do you feel like you belong at [company]?
What do you like most about [company’s] culture?
What do you like least about [company’s] culture?
Do you have a clear understanding of what is expected of you in your current role?
Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your job well?

Questions to include about employee engagement:

How satisfied are you at [company]?
Do you feel you’re able to have a positive work-life balance?
Have you received recognition or appreciation for your work in the last seven days?
How much autonomy or decision-making power do you have in your job?
Do you feel able to grow and develop your career at [company]?
Have you and your manager discussed learning and development opportunities?
‍

And with all surveys, don’t forget the most important part: actually acting on the feedback you received, and telling employees how you did it! If employees keep spending their valuable time responding to your surveys, sharing their opinions and thoughts, and nothing significant ever changes in their experience at your company, that’s frustrating. It can be frustrating enough to actually lower engagement—because they feel ignored and unseen.

And yes, sometimes acting on this feedback can be challenging, especially regarding engagement. It’s tempting to just address the surface issues and hope that your shiny new software or internal branding solves everything, but it’s not realistic. Putting in the difficult work to create a truly engaging environment for employees pays off: highly engaged organizations have 23% higher profitability and 18% higher productivity, among many, many other benefits.

The takeaway

Employee experience and employee engagement are two different, but deeply entwined, components of any successful workplace. Understanding their differences gives you a greater sense of how they work together to create a company where employees love to spend time, do their best work, and stay to build their careers. And that’s the foundation of a thriving company.

Looking for more ways to build a company culture where employees perform at their best every day and become a magnet for top talent? Bonusly can help—check out our solutions for HR leaders like you and schedule a demo .

Source: https://bonusly.com/post/employee-engagement-vs-employee-experience

10 Things Every Job Seeker Should Know Before Starting Their Search

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:03:26 GMT

Start your job search off on the right foot. Here's what you need to know.

Job seeking is never fun, of course, but a well-prepared job seeker is more likely to find the process less stressful. Looking for work is not a science and there are many factors that come into play, but in conducting a job search in today's current market, there are a number of things that everyone will be happier to know from the outset.

1. Use your network.

Let's start with something that may be out of your control. More and more positions are being filled without being advertised. You would have a hard time conducting a job search now without hearing about networking and how important it is, and that's especially true in the market as it stands. A referral is more likely to get the position, simply because HR staff are busy and why not hire someone who already has an advocate within the company? Since informal hiring is happening on a greater scale, if you're currently looking for work, remember that you are always looking for work. That 4th of July cookout? Perhaps your volleyball teammate knows of an opening that would fit your skill set. Don't focus only on the old ways of looking for a job – get out, get to know people, and treat every interaction as a potential opportunity!

2. Clean up your act on social media.

Companies often Google search a candidate before hiring , and social media can be an immediate red flag. Before starting your job hunt, clean up your Facebook! Many people respond to this advice defensively, feeling that it's Orwellian to have your actions monitored even on social media, but the truth is, once it's out there, it's hard to remove it. Review your privacy settings and if it's questionable, maybe leave it off the Internet.

3. You are going to need a strong resume.

Standards for resumes change all the time and just because it worked three or ten years ago doesn't mean your resume will work now. Since a vast majority of positions that do make it out to job boards will be using online applications, the look of your resume matters far less than the content. It certainly should still be attractive and easy to read, but color and artistic flair are just going to confuse the computer screens. In fact, some of the ATS software doesn't read serif fonts at all, so your amazing career background is not even reaching a person just because your font isn't one the computer recognizes. Keep your resume simple! Content is key in the digital age, not the visual bells and whistles.

4. Be mindful of the ATS.

Another element that will impact how likely your resume is to get past the applicant tracking software is your use of keywords. When advice columns tell you to utilize keywords or to read the posting, they mean it! If the ad states you need experience with x, y, and z, then be sure X, Y, and Z are on your resume if you have that experience! It may be more work, yes, but sending out a resume to be rejected by a robot isn't an effective use of your time, either.

5. Focus on your accomplishments.

Another resume tip: If you are applying for a position as a nurse or as a sales manager, we all have a basic understanding of your job description. Sending in a resume with a generic list of nursing or sales responsibilities isn't going to make you stand out. Why are you the perfect nurse? What makes you different from the other 200 sales managers applying for the position? The answer is simple: accomplishments. Did you create a new training module for new nurses on HIPAA compliance? Was your sales team the first to tap into that challenging market? These are the key points to focus on in your resume. While the job description details can hit the keywords, they should not be the meat of your resume. What makes John Smith different from Joe Jones? John was the first sales manager in the region to secure a contract with Google. That's worth noting!

6. Get a feel for the company during the interview.

So you've gotten your resume updated and it's working. You started getting interview calls! The first interview you go on if you've been out of the job hunt for a while may feel very different. First of all, you may be expecting to go in and meet with one person, only to be greeted by an entire department. Team interviews are more common because it's not just about the job. It's also not about how you do with one person, but how you fit with the team. Work is collaborative, so why would interviews not be? This can take some getting used to, but remember, no matter how badly you want or need this job, if you don't feel comfortable with the interview team, do you really want to work there long-term?

7. Be patient post-interview.

The interview is done. They'll call in a week, right? Very likely, they will not. Not only will it take a while to hear back – if you do – but the interview process takes longer than it used to take. If you go into the interview thinking that will be it, you may be surprised when they tell you the next step is another interview – and then there are three or four more steps. In fact, companies are often now having candidates and finalists come in for trial periods. Sometimes it's an hour and sometimes it's a full day of shadowing. It may feel time-consuming, but in the end, the goal is that you have found something you will be able to do for a while, and the company has found someone who will want to stick around.

8. Keep an open mind.

The hard truth is that this is a terrible job market for job seekers. The salaries are lower in general and more positions are being reduced to freelance or part-time. The work you have always loved may not have the same title and may be shared by a team now. Instead of viewing this as a negative, though, consider the opportunities. Maybe you like sales, but always wanted to do some consulting. With the market as it is, you may be working harder, but you will also be able to open yourself up to new things. And new things bring new skills and connections. The lower salary is an adjustment, but less hours means volunteer work or pursuing that entrepreneurial idea you've had. In the end, that may be a blessing.

9. Keep it all in perspective.

Another difficult reality is that this means it's even more competitive. It's not unheard of to show up for an interview and realize you're interviewing with other candidates for the same job. You may think you are one of five who was called for an interview, only to discover they are interviewing 100 people – out of 500 applicants. Keep it all in perspective, but again, chances are if you don't get the job, another position just opened when the candidate they selected left their position for this one.

10. It's not personal.

The final thing it's helpful to know, and probably the most important, is that it's not personal. It's very hard not to get discouraged. You may go on hundreds of interviews, send out thousands of resumes, and still be waiting for that call. Friends and family will offer advice and say things like, “The right job will come along,” but it is hard to believe it sometimes. You're not alone – and the truth is that it only takes one. For every rejection, remember it's just not the right fit. It's not you. Someone suggested keeping a tally – every application or every interview that's a no, mark it down. When you reach 100, start over, but chances are, as much as it may seem endless, it's unlikely you will reach 100 without an offer. It will feel like it's inevitable, but the job is out there. Somewhere a hiring manager is looking for someone just like you. Jobs aren't that different from dating, though, and all those frogs you have to kiss? They're the interviews that don't pan out for whatever reason. This is the hardest piece of advice to believe, but it's imperative because some days, it does seem like there's no end. If it gets really hopeless, allow yourself a day off from the search to do something that makes you happy. Then dust yourself off and get back out there.

Source: https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/10-things-job-seekers-should-know-before-starting-job-search?irclickid=Tta1D5WLxxyPWrzyw8x3kVkfUkHzgczlqScsTE0&utm_source=impact_affiliates_19020&irgwc=1&pt=yZcA5YTzqIRnQ

5 Tips to Celebrate Employee Success and Improve Retention

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:02:30 GMT

Engaged and motivated workers are key to a company’s success. Prioritizing recognition and celebrating the achievements of in-office and remote teams can boost employee morale and improve collaboration, which can increase job satisfaction and retention.

According to a Robert Half survey of more than 300 hiring managers who work in the administrative and customer support fields in the U.S., their greatest challenges are:

Hiring and training staff (20%)
Adopting new technology and tools (20%)
Employee engagement and productivity (17%)
Retaining valued employees (14%)
Managing support requests/workloads (14%)
Managing customer expectations (12%)

Leaders also told us where they are investing and increasing spending to improve customer service levels:

Training and tools to help employees optimize technology (64%)
Leadership training for managers (62%)
Mentoring or coaching for individual contributors (54%)

5 ways to show your gratitude

Celebrate important milestones. Hold a virtual or in-person celebration to recognize achievements. Arrange for treats to be delivered to virtual participants.
Publicize it. Acknowledge employees’ contributions in a certificate or an email and copy key executives. Feature top performers in the company newsletter for more exposure.
Give the gift of time. Consult with your HR and legal departments for this one, but if approved, encourage team members to log off early on a Friday to show your appreciation for their efforts and offer additional time off or extra vacation days for jobs well done.
Provide new opportunities. Ask employees to mentor others and introduce new leaders to management. Promote from within and encourage team members to pursue growth opportunities in the company.
Offer a monetary reward. Award a one-time bonus or financial incentive to individuals or teams who meet specific goals or metrics.

11 Steps To Take if You're Unsure of Your Career Path

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:02:28 GMT

Determining your career path is an important first step in a successful career. Clearly identifying your path can help you focus your time and energy where it matters most. With a little effort, you can be well on your way to a rewarding profession. In this article, we explore tools and tips for discovering your best career path.

Why do you need a career path?

A career path is a direction created from the positions you hold as you grow in your field. Clearly defining your career path can mean spending your time and energy on work that you are passionate about, resulting in:

Increased job satisfaction
Higher earning potential
Job security

How to find your career path

Here are 11 steps you can take if you are unsure of your career path:

1. Consider how you spend your free time

Think about your hobbies and how you spend your downtime. Few people can turn their hobby into a full-time career, but identifying the things you love about your hobbies is a great first step when looking for a career path. For example, if you are an avid reader, you may not be interested in becoming a writer or editor . But your love of literature and desire to share that interest may make you an outstanding teacher.

To really dig deep into your hobbies, try this exercise:

Create a list of your favorite pastimes. This includes things you do for fun, activities you do to take care of yourself and volunteer positions.
List everything you love about each pastime. For instance, an avid runner's list may include things such as being outside, reaching goals and spending time with other runners.
Note common themes among your hobbies. Examples of themes include competition, goal setting and creativity.

2. Identify your strengths and weaknesses

Writing out your skills and weaknesses can help you identify common themes in your life. When listing your strengths, be sure to include technical and soft skills . Technical skills include things like proficiency in computer programming languages and mechanical skills. Soft skills include traits such as being detail-oriented and being an excellent team leader. Your list of weaknesses should be similar, listing activities you struggle with or standard work tasks you don't enjoy such as filing or typing.

Once you have a list of your strengths and weaknesses, check for common themes. For example, if you are detail-oriented, love math and excel at spreadsheet design, then an accounting job may be perfect for you.

3. Look at your previous jobs

List all the jobs you have had and describe the pros and cons of each one. Again, look for common themes across the list. If you are entering the workforce with limited employment history, consider listing your volunteer activities in this section.

4. Visit a career resource center or library

Most college campuses provide a career resource center that contains a library of books, magazines and online materials. Use the materials at the center to learn about job responsibilities, preferred skills, educational requirements, training and career trajectory. If you don't have access to a career resource center, you can find many professional journals and career-centered books at your local library.

5. Team up with a career counselor

If you prefer a one-on-one approach, find a career counselor or coach to guide you in your search. A counselor can help you find careers that best match your skills and preferences. Career counselors can introduce you to professionals in your field and guide you to internship opportunities. Besides guidance on your career path, career counselors will help you write your resume and improve your interview skills.

6. Take a personality test

Personality tests can be helpful when you are unsure of your career path. Personality tests can help you identify strengths, weaknesses, your optimum working environment and preferred tasks. There are many personality tests available for free online. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) are two free personality tests that may provide a deeper understanding of both your personality and career path.

7. Take a career aptitude test

There are many career-aptitude tests available online designed to help people who are unsure of their career path. An online search for career-aptitude tests will reveal many options, and most are free. These tests can help you focus your career options and can be helpful to your research by finding what you're best at.

8. Learn about potential careers

If you have a passion for a particular subject, research your field of interest by reading books and professional journals. You can also look for many free online classes available on just about any subject.

9. Spend time with industry professionals

Once you have an industry or job to focus on, talk with people in your desired role. An interview is a great way to understand the day-to-day tasks, career growth possibilities, educational requirements and successful traits of someone working in your dream job. If possible, spend time with multiple people in your preferred industry to see various roles and perspectives.

If the interview has piqued your interest, try shadowing a professional for a day. Job shadowing allows you to experience a professional workday and coworker relationships and work environment .

10. Take part in an internship

Although they rarely include pay, an internship is a great way to gain valuable industry experience. Internships also allow you to experience a career option for a short period. If you realize that a career option isn't for you, you can try something new in a short time.

11. Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to explore career options. Volunteer work gives you an insider's view into a career path and connects you with like-minded individuals. Volunteer opportunities are easy to find online. Search via location, industry, cause or skills required to find volunteer options in your preferred field.

Prepare for interviews with practice questions and tips

Tips to remember

Here are some essential tips to remember when exploring career options:

Think of career path options as opportunities. Every path you investigate is a chance to learn something new about yourself.
Be patient during your search. Choosing a career will probably take more time than you expect, so try to remain patient.
Keep an open mind when exploring options. Your research may reveal unexpected paths, so stay open to alternative possibilities.
Follow a path that aligns with your values. A satisfying path often reflects priorities in other parts of your life, such as close family relationships.
It's never too late to change paths. Explore projects you are passionate about and see if they can lead you to a new career.

Source: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/unsure-of-career-path

Setting Your Hiring Team Up for Success: A Guide

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:01:30 GMT

Small business leaders have a lot on their plate today. From focusing on generating sales and business growth, to headcount planning, to tracking team goals and employee well-being, there is no end to their responsibilities.

One business area some small business owners likely don’t spend enough time, resources, and energy on as they could is their hiring team’s recruiting technology stack.

“There are so many innovative tools and techniques that can advance recruiters through every step of the hiring process , yet I still come across so many manual processes,” Boston Consulting Group Global Head of Talent & Recruiting Amber Grewal shared with People Managing People.

Aside from putting the right people in place to own their recruitment processes, the best way small business leaders can empower hiring team members to work smarter is to give them a best-in-class hiring solution that can replace manual spreadsheets and disconnected tools .

5 ways to empower your small business hiring team today

Providing your hiring team with the right technology is just one of several ways your small business leadership can set your HR personnel and hiring managers up for success daily. Here are five expert tips and tricks that can ensure your hiring team has everything they need to attract, engage, and interview top talent for open positions quickly and efficiently.

1) Define clear roles and responsibilities for the entire hiring team

You may have one or two dedicated human resources team members to handle hiring tasks. Or maybe you have HR generalists who divide and conquer all recruiting activities.

Regardless of your specific hiring team setup, you can ensure everyone on the hiring team knows their distinct duties and what success looks like in their day-to-day and long-term by:

Designating a hiring team leader who can assign roles based on other recruiters’ experience
Providing training to help team members better understand the ins and outs of recruiting
Encourage knowledge sharing so everyone can write interview questions and job descriptions

As an SMB leader, you can’t be everywhere all the time. That makes delegation vital to recruitment success.

Finding the right, long-term hiring team leader can be the difference between regularly hitting headcount goals and losing out on top talent due to inefficient processes and management.

2) Set aside budget for a leading applicant tracking system (ATS)

Before your hiring team starts to research ATS options , they need to know how much they can spend on the solution. This can prevent them from considering options that are outside your budget. The best way to decide on the ideal price point for a small business applicant tracking system is to factor the investment in your annual business plan and audit your current recruiting tech.

To learn which existing recruiting tools you should get rid of in favor of an ATS, ask yourself whether given solutions in your tech stack save your team time or prevent them from moving quickly. Any system that streamlines your hiring process can stay. Any platform that slows you down can likely go.

3) Help your hiring team connect critical tools to the ATS solution

Your hiring team has shortlisted ATS options and spoken with you and other decision-makers at your SMB. A top-rated, easy-to-use applicant tracking system is now included in your HR tech stack. If you’ve invested in a powerful small business recruiting software provider, like JazzHR, you know you can connect other popular hiring tech you keep directly to the ATS in minutes. For example, with our solution you can help your hiring team sync core HR tools included in the JazzHR Marketplace.

That means you can integrate tech that helps you carry out background and reference checks, share pre-employment assessments, conduct video interviews, and execute several other daily tasks.

Just as importantly, you can connect popular job boards and aggregators to JazzHR.

Once set up, your hiring team can use our one-click posting functionality to streamline posting publication and promotion — an activity that typically takes a lot of time to complete for each open role.

4) Check on recruiting and hiring progress, and ask about concerns

Make sure to touch base with your hiring team regularly to see what they’re working on. Learn about big wins and opportunities tied to their daily work.

A great way to catch up on the progress they make every week or two and with specific requisitions is to request and review the latest recruiting performance data.

With JazzHR, recruiters and hiring managers can create custom HR reports featuring insights tied to their sourcing efforts, hiring speed, recruiting workflows .

You can also connect JazzHR to workforce management technology so you can track quality-of-hire data that shows how productive new hires have been.

JazzHR reports can be scheduled to be sent to your inbox on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. After analyzing them, you can see if your recruiters and hiring managers need any support.

5) Ask each hiring team member how you can better support them

Speaking of support, this tip is fairly simple. Just be there to assist your hiring team as needed.

You may not be able to check in with HR specialists and hiring managers daily. However, connecting with them weekly can show you’re committed to providing them with the resources and technology they need to attract and engage top talent effectively and streamline repetitive and manual tasks.

Source: https://www.jazzhr.com/blog/hiring-team/

Build real self-confidence: These tips get beneath the surface

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:01:27 GMT

Self-confidence is easy to spot but hard to develop. Everyone wants to be self-confident. But many don't know how to start building it. It takes effort and a willingness to move outside your comfort zone to gain confidence. You build it piece by piece, starting with noticing what you already have and appreciating your wins, no matter how small. It doesn’t happen overnight.

You may not realize it, but people want to see you succeed. And more than ever, there are resources to help you become the most authentically confident version of yourself. We’ll discuss what self-confidence is, how to build confidence, and tips for improving your self-improvement journey.

Understand Yourself Better: Big 5 Personality Test

Learn how to leverage your natural strengths to determine your next steps and meet your goals faster.

What is self-confidence, anyway?

Confidence is hard to define, but self-confidence generally refers to a sense of comfort with yourself and your instincts and a belief that you can trust your own abilities, knowledge, and judgment.

Confident people welcome new challenges because they know that they are reasonably up to the challenge. And their self-worth doesn’t hinge on the outcome. They'll try their best and are motivated to pursue their goals without overthinking or internalizing too much.

They approach things in life without uncertainty and nerves.

Rather than being judgmental or hostile toward other people's success, confident people celebrate others and feel genuine happiness for them rather than envy or comparison. They are inspired to learn what they can about how others succeed. They don’t rationalize others’ successes or their own failures.

They may not be positive all the time, but they do keep a growth mindset . When they make a mistake, they usually can see the humor and are more likely to respond with laughter and easily overcome insecurity or shame.

People can be confident in specific areas of their lives, too. Some are more confident in their athletic abilities than their cooking expertise. Others could be confronted with a lack of confidence in certain academic subjects.

The areas where people feel self-confident often represent what they’re most passionate about in life .

What are the benefits of developing self-confidence?

Building self-confidence promotes personal growth that positively influences both your professional and personal life. Here are four benefits that self-confidence can bring:

Healthier relationships

Self-confidence is infectious. It makes those around you feel more confident and comfortable when communicating with you.

Self-confidence is about appreciating and trusting yourself. When you know and accept your strengths and weaknesses, you can better appreciate and support the people around you.

While confidence is great for loving others, it also helps you show love to yourself. Your confidence could encourage you to leave a toxic relationship that hurts your well-being or to take up a new hobby that’s just for you. In the end, you're improving your wellness and practicing self-care .

More professional success

With any job or task you must tackle, your self-confidence will hype you up for the big moments. Self-confidence flexes your sense of self-efficacy , which is the mark of both a good leader and a worker.

Self-efficacy impacts your choices, perseverance during unexpected challenges, and trust in your knowledge and intuition . You won't waste time going back and forth worrying over your abilities or what others think of you. Your self-confidence will project strength to those around you, who may perceive the ease with which you perform.

Easier transitions

Life is full of new beginnings, and they aren’t as daunting when you're confident in yourself. You can better believe in your abilities when testing your limits and trying new things, which will help you discover new things about yourself .

Confident people also make life decisions more easily. Their confidence spills over into their decision-making process , making new adventures exciting, not scary.

Greater resilience

Even confident people can't avoid mistakes or failure. It's part of life, and no matter how much your confidence encourages you, you aren't immune. Instead, your self-confidence will help you accept responsibility and understand that you're constantly learning throughout life, an essential part of self-improvement .

Self-confidence doesn’t come from one action and persists despite the bad moments. After acknowledging that you make mistakes, your self-confidence will help you bounce back faster. You’ll know you've done your best and can view it as a learning opportunity.

3 downsides of excessive self-confidence

As the adage goes, “Everything in moderation.” An excessive level of confidence could create the following problems:

Missed opportunities

You may turn down projects that could build connections with colleagues, co-workers, or managers because the work seems too simple or beneath your skill level. You might miss out on skill-enhancing opportunities because you don’t want to admit you also have room to grow.

Burnout

You may feel so self-assured in your ability to take on numerous tasks that you spread yourself too thin and make a habit of overworking . When you overload your schedule, you’ll likely interrupt your workflow, burn yourself out , or deplete the quality of your finished work, which could cause problems at work.

Relationship issues

You may lack self-awareness and the emotional intelligence to read cues from those around you, like body language or verbal cues, making you appear arrogant or conceited. Too much self-confidence could distract you from appreciating the value of your partner or colleagues.

Are self-confidence and self-esteem the same?

We often use self-confidence and self-esteem interchangeably because they’re closely related. Self-confidence is most genuine and durable when it derives from healthy self-esteem. While they share similarities, there are distinct differences between the two.

Self-confidence is outward-facing. It's what you put out to the world and what people around you see. Self-esteem is inward-facing and only sometimes noticeable from the outside. Your confidence can come from knowledge and experience, whereas self-esteem is more about knowing yourself and valuing your self-worth.

Low self-esteem or low self-confidence can cause self-doubt and unhealthy self-talk and negatively impact your mental health, well-being , and performance.

Our increasingly virtual world also affects our self-esteem. The image you present to the world online demonstrates your self-confidence, whereas the way you feel about yourself inwardly is a more accurate reflection of your self-esteem.

When the image and the reality don’t align, this can adversely affect both self-confidence and self-esteem , especially when comparing yourself to what others post on social media.

Often, people tend to rely on their self-confidence for happiness in life. Instead of working on their self-esteem, which is about knowing and loving yourself, strengths and weaknesses, and developing an internal sense of worth, people work on their projected image and how others perceive them.

This focus on projected confidence in order to seem successful can backfire without also developing self-esteem. People may not realize you have low self-esteem, but eventually, those you connect with will see through your self-confidence.

It’s crucial to note that self-confidence won’t endure without healthy self-esteem. It’ll be shaken when you find yourself in unfamiliar terrain. But with both, you’ll thrive. When your self-esteem is steady and your well-being is good, your self-confidence shines brighter.

If you love and value yourself, you’ll embrace your strengths and weaknesses in any situation, and your self-esteem will motivate you to be a more confident person.

How to build confidence

Everyone can learn how to be more confident in different, powerful ways. What may work for some may not work for all, and that's okay. Remember that you can always start small with little steps before taking bold strides.

Here are eleven ways to help build self-confidence:

Stop comparing yourself to others
Celebrate and reflect on your wins
Embrace your failures and view them as learning opportunities
Step out of your comfort zone
Treat yourself with respect
Have positive self-talk or affirmation sessions
Track your progress
Pursue passions that make you happy
Allow yourself to be curious
Think about your big goals
Stand up for yourself
Read books, follow people on social media, or listen to podcasts that encourage self-confidence

What are some tips to be more confident?

Building your confidence takes time and involves plenty of ups and downs. As you put in the work toward being confident, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Be proud of yourself

Hard work deserves to be recognized. Maybe one of the ways that you're becoming more confident is by making more eye contact with people .

You should also celebrate your smallest victories however you'd like. If a big bowl of ice cream will do that for you, go for it. As you track your progress, make sure to think back to where you started. Think about how that version of you would be proud of where you are today.

Don't be afraid to open up

It can be scary to be vulnerable with new people and within your surroundings. But as you're learning new things and stepping outside of your comfort zone , don't be afraid to let yourself open up. Be present with where you are and what you're doing. As you grow, you can acknowledge your fear and worries, but don't let that prevent you from exposing yourself to new things.

Be specific

You have to hone in on yourself to figure out what aspects you want to be more confident in. Where do you lack confidence? Where are you super confident? Identifying these aspects will help you be specific with your goals.

Once you have a plan, you won't feel as overwhelmed . Discover what would give you confidence and start making purposeful actions towards obtaining it.

Go forth with confidence

Even though self-confidence comes from within, your community can help you build it. Reach out to friends and family for words of affirmation and encouragement to boost your self-esteem.

You can also ask someone you trust to act as an accountability partner. They’ll point out when you’re being self-defeating and check in on your progress regarding confidence-oriented goals.

And when you start meeting those goals, you’ll better understand how to build the confidence you need to be a better version of yourself.

Source: https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-build-confidence

From Job Boards to AI: A Look At How Technology Has Changed the Recruitment Process

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 23:42:50 GMT

Recruiting top talent has never been an easy task, but with advancements in technology, the recruitment process has been completely transformed. From posting job listings online to using AI (artificial intelligence) to analyse resumes, technology has completely changed the way companies attract and hire new employees - and for the better!

In this blog post, we'll explore how technology has impacted the recruitment process, and discuss the benefits and challenges of using recruitment software. Whether you're a hiring manager or a recruiter, understanding how technology has changed the recruitment process is essential to staying ahead of the curve.

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The evolution of recruitment technology

Recruitment technology has come a long way since the early days of posting job openings in newspapers and waiting for applications to come in through the post. With the advent of the internet and digital communication, recruitment technology has advanced significantly, transforming the way that companies find and hire top talent.

In the early days of the internet, job boards such as Monster and CareerBuilder emerged as a primary means for employers to reach job seekers. These job boards were instrumental in revolutionising the recruitment process, allowing companies to post job openings and reach a wider audience quickly and easily. However, job boards had their limitations, particularly when it came to candidate screening and matching.

As such, the rise of AI has led recruitment technology to become more sophisticated, offering new solutions for candidate screening removing bias. AI-powered tools, such as predictive analytics, can analyse candidate data to predict which candidates are most likely to be successful in a particular role. This technology has transformed the way that companies identify and select candidates, making the recruitment process faster and more efficient.

Another major development in recruitment technology is the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS). These systems allow companies to manage the entire recruitment process, from posting job openings to tracking applications and conducting candidate assessments. ATS have become essential tools for recruiters, allowing them to streamline the recruitment process and keep track of candidate data in a centralised location.

In recent years, recruitment technology has placed a greater focus on addressing issues related to bias and diversity and inclusion - and at Applied, we’ve taken this to a whole new level, building our entire system around this idea of fair hiring. Our software includes features such as anonymised applications, which remove candidate-identifying information to help to reduce unconscious bias in the selection process and increase diversity in hiring.

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The significant impact of technology on candidate sourcing and screening

The advent of technology has had a significant impact on the recruitment process, particularly on the way companies source, screen, and interview candidates. Here, we will explore the ways in which technology has transformed these aspects of recruitment:

Applicant tracking systems have streamlined the screening process, allowing hiring managers to quickly filter through applications based on keywords, education, and experience.
AI-powered software can analyse resumes, cover letters, and online profiles to identify candidates who are the best fit for the job. This can save recruiters a significant amount of time and effort, while also improving the accuracy of candidate selection.
Applied also facilitates the use of cognitive and behavioural assessments to measure a candidate's aptitude, personality, and values. These assessments can help identify candidates who are the best fit for the job, and also reduce the risk of bias in the selection process.
Video interviewing tools have made it possible for recruiters to conduct remote interviews with candidates from anywhere in the world. This has made the hiring process more efficient, as recruiters no longer need to spend time and money travelling to meet candidates in person.

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6 benefits of using recruitment software for companies

Recruitment software can bring numerous benefits to companies, making the hiring process more efficient and effective. Here are 6 of the key benefits of using recruitment software:

Streamlined recruitment process: Recruitment software automates many tasks, including resume screening and scheduling interviews, freeing up time for recruiters to focus on more important tasks.
Improved candidate quality: Recruitment software can help identify the best candidates for the job by matching their skills, qualifications, and experience with the job requirements.
Reduced bias: Recruitment software can help reduce bias by removing identifying information from resumes and using objective criteria to evaluate candidates.
Increased collaboration: Recruitment software can help facilitate communication and collaboration among recruiters and hiring managers, enabling them to work together to identify and hire the best candidates.
Enhanced candidate experience: Recruitment software can provide a positive experience for candidates, from the initial application to onboarding, improving the company's reputation and increasing the likelihood of attracting top talent.
Improved data tracking and analysis: Recruitment software can help track key metrics, such as time-to-hire and cost-per-hire, enabling companies to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve their recruitment strategies.

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4 challenges of incorporating technology into the recruitment process

While technology has brought significant improvements to the recruitment process, there are also challenges that companies may face when incorporating it. Some of these challenges include:

Resistance to change: Some HR professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers may resist adopting new technology and processes, especially if they have been using traditional methods for a long time.
Cost: Implementing new technology can be costly, and companies may be hesitant to invest in new systems if they are unsure of their ROI.
Integration with existing systems: Recruitment software and other technology must be integrated with existing HR systems to avoid redundancy and inconsistencies.
Data privacy and security: With the rise of technology, data privacy and security have become a growing concern. Companies must ensure that their recruitment software and systems are secure and protect sensitive candidate data.

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Future trends in recruitment technology

As technology continues to evolve, so does the recruitment process. Here are some of the exciting future trends in recruitment technology that we predict:

AI and machine learning: AI and machine learning technology can help automate repetitive tasks and streamline the recruitment process, including candidate screening and matching. It can also help reduce bias in the selection process.
Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR): VR and AR can be used to create immersive job simulations and provide a realistic preview of job duties and work environments, allowing candidates to make informed decisions about job fit.
Mobile recruiting: With the growing use of mobile devices, mobile recruiting is becoming increasingly important. Mobile recruiting can include features like text message updates, mobile-optimised job postings, and mobile-friendly application processes.
Social recruiting: Social media platforms are becoming a popular way to source candidates and build employer brand awareness. Recruitment software can integrate with social media platforms to enable recruiters to identify and engage with potential candidates.
Predictive analytics: Predictive analytics can be used to analyse recruitment data and predict candidate success and retention rates. This can help companies make data-driven hiring decisions and improve their recruitment strategies over time. Of course, we already have this as part of our process here at Applied, but we predict this technology will only become more widely used and reliable.

These trends are just a few examples of how technology is continuing to transform the recruitment process, and it's important for HR professionals and recruiters to stay informed about new developments and opportunities for innovation.

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The role of recruitment software in the hiring process

Recruitment software has become an integral part of the modern hiring process, allowing companies to streamline and automate various aspects of recruitment. It provides a centralised platform for managing candidate information, job postings, and communication with candidates - and can also help with resume screening, candidate assessment, and interview scheduling. With the use of recruitment software, companies can significantly reduce the time and effort required for recruitment and ensure a more efficient and effective process overall.

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Source: https://www.beapplied.com/post/how-has-technology-changed-the-recruitment-process

5 Simple Ways To Maximize Your Job Search

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 23:27:16 GMT

Adopt a creator mindset

Clarify your goals

Sending out X number of resumes
Researching X companies of interest
Reconnecting with X former colleagues

Take small steps and be consistent in your efforts.

Harness the power of LinkedIn

Your headline is one of the most important fields for LinkedIn’s search algorithm. Don’t just list your job title—that’s what 99% of people are doing. You’ll never stand out to recruiters and hiring managers that way. Instead, use all 120 characters to highlight strategic keywords, the value you bring and metrics where applicable. For example, instead of “Finance Manager," change it to "Finance Manager at Dell | Financial Planning and Analysis | Auditing | Managing $30M in Revenue.”
If you don’t have a photo, add one! Preferably a high-quality professional headshot (not one that looks like a mugshot or where you cut your spouse out of the picture from your cousin’s wedding). Why is this so important? According to LinkedIn , merely having a photo results in up to 21x more profile views and 9x more connection requests. It also goes a long way in making you look trustworthy and approachable.
Get active! Posting and commenting on LinkedIn will generate attention to your profile faster. Also, join groups. One user increased the number of people looking at her LinkedIn profile by 425% just by starting and participating in a few group discussions.

Practice video interviewing

Consider a career pivot

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2020/09/06/5-simple-ways-to-maximize-your-job-search/?sh=4a8aabfe349f

20 Ways to Improve Empathy and Relationships at Work

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 05:32:03 GMT

In the busy, fast-paced world of business, it may be surprising to learn just how important empathy is when it comes to your personal level of performance and how well you can interact and work with your co-workers.

Low levels of empathy can cause many problems in the workplace – it can leave you feeling distant from your colleagues and it can also lead to a failure to listen and work in harmony together. GetCRM put together an infographic that outlined the many excellent practices backed by science that you can implement into your daily life to boost your empathy levels.

Many studies have shown that empathy plays a key role in improving your relationships at work and can also lead to a fuller, happier level of life each day. If you’ve been struggling to connect with your peers at work or find your working relationships aren’t as strong as they could be, you may want to implement these tips and strategies to boost your empathy levels:

Allow others to speak

Everyone can have moments when they are so preoccupied with getting their viewpoint across that they neglect the act of listening and learning from someone else. Give your co-workers the time and platform they need to speak and get their point across and you will find a stronger bond develops and you also have the chance to experience a point of view different from your own.

Identify your own behaviors

We all have certain biases and behaviors in life which can affect how we interact and respond in certain situations. For example, if you’re often stressed and annoyed or find you feel from distant from people it can drastically hinder your ability to form strong relationships. By putting in the effort to analyze your personal biases, you can gradually overcome them and be a lot more open and welcome in your daily life.

Get to know people personally

Although not all people click on a personal level, forming meaningful friendships with colleagues can make it a pleasure to turn up to work each day. Whether it’s having deep and personal conversations together or even something as simple as using a person’s name when speaking to them, connecting with co-workers on a personal level will significantly improve how you work together.

Experience new things in life

Often when it comes to empathy the solution won’t necessarily have anything to do with how you are at work; instead, the problem may lie with how you are outside of the workplace. Many travelers can attest to the intense personal benefits of traveling around the world and experiencing new people and cultures. Do something unique and interesting with your time off and see how your perspective on life changes.

Empower yourself with knowledge

In order to best understand how you work you need to cultivate your knowledge and become as smart and wise as you can possibly be. Take the time in your life to learn new things whether it’s studying a book on empathy or watching an interesting documentary to broaden your perspective on life. This will gradually sharpen your knowledge of your own mind and allow you to implement the right strategies to become a better, wiser person.

Source: https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/improve-empathy/

2024 HR Trends: Expert Insights for All Employers

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:37:39 GMT

There are certainly many “evergreen” HR trends (an oxymoron, but bear with us) your human resources team and C-suite are already well aware of and have taken action on.

These likely include:

Implementing a more human-centric approach to building a strong company culture
Prioritizing employees’ mental health and their work-life balance in a disruptive period
Boosting employee retention by training and promoting top performers company-wide
Offering flexible working hours, particularly for those working remotely/in hybrid roles
Ensuring the employee experience is a positive one by improving the work environment

And these 2023 HR trends will certainly remain a top focal point for HR leaders in 2024.

That said, there are certainly a growing number of other, more recent (and urgent) workforce-related events, patterns, and shifts that will impact your HR function’s efforts to empower your workforce to thrive in the workplace (virtual and/or in-person) in the year ahead.

7 HR trends to know about in 2024

Here are some of the top HR trends today — more specifically, ones from the latest edition of Employ’s Recruiter Nation Report , which features in-depth recruiting and hiring data as well as expert “people” insights for CHROs and their teams — you should know heading into 2024.

1) Talent acquisition will continue to adapt to ongoing uncertainty

What better way to kick off our HR trends list than to share one from a fellow Employster?

Employ SVP People & Talent Corey Berkey detailed how all companies — from SMBs to enterprises — will continue to evolve their talent acquisition processes and priorities in 2024.

That’s mainly due to lingering concerns about a recession and further tightening budgets.

Two specific ways in which Corey envision’s TA teams altering their approaches in the year ahead? Eliminate any inefficiencies, and enhance their existing recruiting methods .

“As businesses have adjusted hiring plans in reaction to economic conditions, talent acquisition teams have felt the impact,” said Corey.

“Navigating a full requisition load with less tools or supporting resources forces teams to change their approach.” (Translation: Work smarter, not harder.)

Corey added how employers of all sizes and across industries are now “seeking ways to flex their recruiting practices and zero-in on high-quality candidates , working to drive higher initial candidate quality.” These are efforts that will “shape talent acquisition … into 2024.”

2) The “do-more-with-less” hiring approach will (mostly) stick

No business division — whether it’s human resources, marketing, sales, or support — wants to have to do their jobs with limited budget and resources. And yet, in today’s business climate, that’s what ongoing economic uncertainty requires most (if not all) teams to do.

That includes talent acquisition functions of today’s human resources teams.

“Whether companies are growing or slowing, talent acquisition teams are being asked to do more with less based on the current economic uncertainty” WorkTech Founder and Principal Analyst George LaRocque shared for our 2023 Employ Recruiter Nation Report.

“Yet, while the economy may have been cooling … the available talent and required skills remain more complicated to find than ever,” said George.

“Today’s recruiting challenges are the same as those previously associated with competition during times of strong economic growth.”

3) Orgs of all sizes will renew their focus on diversity recruiting

H3 HR Advisors Cofounder Steve Boese and CEO and Principal Analyst Trish Steed insisted employers will spend their time, resources, and energy on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in 2024 and the years ahead. Specifically, with a concerted focus on diversity hiring.

“Making increased commitments to diversity hiring is an important first step,” the duo noted.

“But, they also need to back up statements with actions, like using modern recruiting technology to facilitate blind screening and interview reviews, creating more diverse internal hiring teams, and publishing diversity hiring goals, and progress towards achieving these goals.”

Updating impact descriptions and career sites with messaging that relays your efforts around DEI certainly go a long way in proving your dedicated to making progress, Steve and Trish added.

However, proactive efforts to make ongoing strides with DEI — including with diversity hiring (e.g., implementing a skills-based TA approach to hire a broader array of underrepresented talent) is what will show your company truly cares about creating a more diverse, fair, and welcoming workplace.

4) Differentiation from other employers becomes a focal point

The Great Resignation led to a scarcity of talent actively looking for new work during the global pandemic. But, the market has since shifted. (And drastically, to say the least.)

Now, there’s a surplus of professionals aiming to join new companies. And yet, many job seekers remain selective regarding which employers they consider speaking with and joining.

Guidewire Software VP and Global Head of Talent Attraction Ian Creamer noted how, despite a sizable number of active candidates exploring new career opportunities, HR/TA must still ensure their open roles and employer brand at large stand out from other orgs looking to hire.

“There is so much uncertainty in the market,” said Ian.

“The expectation of hiring managers and leaders is that the tide of layoffs should equal much easier access to talent, and that’s not always the case. We hire in the technology space, and truly top talent remains as hard to hire as ever.”

Ian added that “candidates are still showing up with multiple offers already in hand,” making it difficult to convince top-tier talent his company engages for open roles to accept their offers.

5) The use of artificial intelligence in TA continues to grow

Notice that the “AI-is-a-trend-crowd” has grown increasingly silent since early 2023? That’s because artificial intelligence is, in fact, here to stay.

And it’s an “HR trend” all talent teams should investigate further, as there are undoubtedly several use cases for leveraging the advanced tech.

Restaurant Clicks CEO Brian Nagele remarked how arguably the top initial use case for TA teams is to leverage AI’s bias-reduction capabilities.

(Ideally, by onboarding a leading recruitment platform that already has AI recruiting functionality baked in to help make bias-free hiring decisions.)

“Many human resource departments are becoming aware of the (sometimes) unintentional biases which occur during the hiring process,” said Brian.

“The beauty of using artificial intelligence to review resumes is that the software is blind to the physical appearance of any applicant.”

Brian added how leading AI tech used by HR professionals today “focuses on recognizing candidate qualifications to filter through top talent.”

This, in turn, can help reduce potential hiring biases and ensure HR functions solely c onsider talent based on their skills, expertise, and other qualifications .

6) Companies will prioritize candidate experience improvements

Despite not having as many recruiting resources as they’d like for 2024, NXTThing RPO Founder Terry Terhark said CHROs will ensure their teams will stay focused on the work at hand.

But, that doesn’t solely mean refining and streamlining TA processes. It also entails making sure each job seeker their recruiters engage for openings have a strong candidate experience.

“ Companies still need to pay attention to the candidate experience , their employment brand, and the speed of their recruitment process” to outcompete other orgs for top talent, per Terry.

Of all the latest HR trends featured here, improving the CX is really a perpetual task for TA teams. However, as Terry can attest, job seekers are increasingly “picky” with employers.

Provide a consistently enjoyable hiring experience, and you’ll “win” more top talent.

7) Analytics will continue to play a pivotal role for hiring teams

Given data is now an indispensable asset for all HR/TA teams, HRU Technical Resources Talent Acquisition & HR Analyst Tim Sackett said it shouldn’t be a shock that using analytics to drive recruiting and hiring decision-making will remain a strategic imperative for employers.

“ Organizations with world-class recruiting functions are measuring the funnel ,” per Tim.

“It is imperative that TA leadership and your executive team understand the recruiting capacity that your team can deliver. You only get that by measuring the [recruitment] funnel.”

Lighthouse Research & Advisory Chief Research Officer Ben Eubanks also believes actionable talent analytics is something employers of all types and across sectors must utilize daily.

“Recruiting has seen some massive swings in recent years,” Ben declared.

“The one thing that we consistently see … is that employers prefer hiring practices that deliver predictability. Anything we can do to streamline talent acquisition activities, take a more proactive approach, and make data-informed decisions is going to deliver a higher degree of predictability.”

Source: https://www.lever.co/blog/hr-trends/

The Future Of Recruitment: How Technology Is Changing The Industry

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:30:14 GMT

Summary: Technology continues to help improve operations, including the recruitment process. Read here to know how to leverage technology for your hiring needs.

The Digital Revolution In Recruitment

Before the internet, recruiters often placed job ads in newspapers while candidates applied in person or faxed resumes. However, the recruitment landscape has radically transformed over the years. New trends have emerged as companies improve their recruitment processes. The need to stand out and attract the best candidates with increased efficiency has opened the doors for new hiring tools and strategies. Whether through recruitment outsourcing or utilizing an employer of record , companies have leveraged these methods to land top global talent.

However, most of all, integrating technology has revolutionized how organizations attract, assess, and hire employees. It has become an indispensable tool in the recruitment toolbox, from AI-powered applicant tracking systems to virtual interviews.

Read below to know how technology has shaped the recruitment industry and how to leverage it for a better recruitment experience.

How Technology Influenced Today's Recruitment Industry

Undoubtedly, technology has empowered organizations to streamline hiring efforts and attract the best talent. These advancements have more than just enhanced efficiency and speed in recruitment. They also created a paradigm shift in candidate expectations and the hiring landscape.

Here are some key technological advancements shaping the hiring efforts of today's businesses.

1. Application Tracking System

Application tracking system (ATS) platforms have become an integral part of modern recruitment processes. They reduce the time and effort required to look for suitable candidates because they automate candidate data collection, storage, and analysis.

With this technology, recruiters can efficiently manage large volumes of applications and identify top candidates—significantly enhancing the overall hiring experience.

2. Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning

As with other business processes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms enable intelligent automation for data-driven decision making in recruitment. For instance, some recruiters now use AI-powered chatbots to engage with candidates. These chatbots can help answer frequently asked questions or schedule interviews, providing a seamless candidate experience.

On the other hand, Machine Learning algorithms can help recruiters analyze vast amounts of data, determine patterns, and predict candidate success easily. With this technology, companies can enhance the accuracy and efficiency of candidate selection.

3. Video Interviews And Assessments

With the rise of remote work and global talent sourcing, video interviews and assessments have become integral. Gone are the days when people had to attend interviews and take tests in person. Instead, most companies now use platforms with video interviewing capabilities to save time and resources while ensuring a more inclusive hiring process as they conduct virtual interviews.

Additionally, AI-driven video assessments can evaluate candidate skills and cultural fit, providing valuable insights for decision making. This way, you can ensure a globally competitive team of employees.

4. Social Media And Online Presence

Social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, have become powerful tools for recruitment in the past decade. With over 4 billion active social media users , employers have leveraged these platforms to proactively source talents, engage with potential candidates, and showcase their employer branding.

Moreover, professional networking sites let recruiters access vast candidate pools. It also allows them to conduct targeted candidate searches based on their required skills, experience, and qualifications.

5. Data Analytics And Predictive Hiring

Besides ATS platforms, recruitment analytics and predictive hiring have become integral in the hiring process. These technologies enable recruiters to identify trends, measure the effectiveness of their recruitment strategies, and optimize their processes for better outcomes.

Meanwhile, recruiters use historical data for predictive hiring models to forecast candidate performance and retention. Organizations can make informed hiring decisions and choose the best candidates while increasing retention rates.

How To Effectively Implement Technology In The Recruitment Process

As mentioned, today's technology can significantly improve the recruitment experience. Incorporating these advancements into the recruitment process can significantly enhance efficiency and help you attract top talent to drive your business forward.

Consider these actionable tips, strategies, and best practices to help you effectively utilize technology in your recruitment efforts.

1. Evaluate Your Recruitment Needs

Before anything else, you must identify your recruitment requirements. Determine the pain points and challenges your team experiences in your current recruitment process. Then, assess which areas can benefit the most from technology intervention, such as resume screening, candidate engagement, or data analytics.

2. Choose The Right ATS

An ATS platform can do wonders for recruitment, allowing for a streamlined process. As such, select an ATS that aligns with your organization's needs. Consider one that can integrate smoothly with your existing systems. Ensure that it provides robust features for resume parsing, candidate management, collaboration, and reporting.

3. Optimize Your Careers Page

Consider revamping your organization's careers page to make it mobile-friendly and user-centric. As of 2023, 6.9 billion people own a smartphone—about 86.11% of the global population. As such, optimizing your careers page for mobile phones becomes imperative to ensure a seamless and inclusive experience, especially for candidates who only have handheld devices.

Also, consider using chatbots or virtual assistance to respond promptly to candidate queries. Incorporating these tools into your careers page can provide instant support and answer common questions, reducing the likelihood of candidates opting out of your application process.

4. Leverage AI-Driven Sourcing Tools

AI-powered tools can help you scour the vastness of the internet and social media platforms for potential candidates who match your desired qualifications. These tools can save time and effort in candidate sourcing while expanding your talent pool.

5. Implement Video Interviews

Embrace video interviewing platforms that allow for remote interviews. There are many video interview platforms available. Some companies may even go the asynchronous communication route, wherein candidates must record themselves using a webcam answering premade questions. With this, you can accommodate candidates far from the office, making the hiring process inclusive.

However, ensure clear communication with candidates about the process, technical requirements, and expectations before implementing video interviews. Whether synchronous or asynchronous, it's best to give them a clear picture of how the interview will go. Take it a step further and provide guidelines on preparing for a successful video interview.

6. Use Pre-Employment Assessment

Integrate pre-employment assessments, such as cognitive, skills, or personality tests, into your process to evaluate candidates objectively. With them, you can streamline the hiring process, as you'll only need to move forward with the candidates who pass your requirements, significantly narrowing your list.

You can also leverage AI-driven assessments to identify top performers accurately.

7. Embrace Data Analytics

In today's digital world, data is one of your organization's most crucial assets. You can use it to improve your recruitment process and track and measure key metrics like time to hire, cost per hire, and source of hire. With this information, you can identify bottlenecks and optimize recruitment strategies.

8. Personalize Candidate Experiences

Utilize technology to personalize candidate interactions. Take automated emails, for example. You can tailor your messages to specific stages of the recruitment process and provide timely updates on their application. This way, you can ensure a seamless and engaging candidate journey.

9. Use Social Media To Promote Your Employer Brand

As mentioned, social media is a powerful tool to help widen your reach and tap into a broader talent pool. So, use these platforms to showcase your brand and engage with potential candidates. For instance, share your company culture, employee testimonials, and job postings to enhance your employer image and attract top talent.

10. Train Recruiters On Technology Usage

Your recruiters are responsible for the recruitment process. As such, train them on your tech tools and platforms. Ensure they are well versed in leveraging ATS features, conducting video interviews, and utilizing assessment tools.

Leverage Technology To Hire The Best Candidates

The hiring process before technology was tedious—companies needed to place ads in newspapers, and candidates had to apply in person. However, the age of technology has changed the recruitment industry over the years. With the new advancements above, companies can increase the efficiency of their recruitment process while landing the best talent worldwide.

Today's technology continues to evolve as companies find ways to enhance their recruitment processes further. So, regularly monitor these recruitment tech advancements and stay informed about new tools, platforms, and trends to help your business thrive in today's increasingly digital and competitive world.

Source: https://elearningindustry.com/ld-plays-leading-role-employee-recruitment-retention-and-motivation-heres-why

Your Employees Are Already Using Generative AI: Here Are Guidelines to Help Them Use It Responsibly

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:29:38 GMT

Do you know how your employees are using generative AI at work? There’s a good chance that more people are using generative AI (GAI) than you think, and most of them are doing it without your knowledge or permission.

A recent survey found that more than 40% of professionals have used ChatGPT or other generative AI in some capacity at work. However, 68% admit they’re using it without their boss’s knowledge. This suggests a level of uncertainty around how companies might perceive using such technology within the workplace.

In the face of this uncertainty, what are you doing to provide clarity and ensure your employees are using generative AI productively, safely, and responsibly?

Experiment with generative AI so you can tap its benefits

You can’t blame people for being interested in the recent buzz around generative AI given the simplicity of new user interfaces for using AI to create high-quality text, images, and videos in a matter of seconds.

Generative AI applications such as OpenAI's ChatGPT , Google's Bard , Midjourney , and others have many potential applications across a wide range of industries, including HR, sourcing and recruiting, software development, marketing, sales, and fashion. It can help improve productivity and creativity by automating tasks such as writing marketing copy, writing/debugging code, taking notes during virtual meetings, drafting and personalizing emails, improving job descriptions, creating slide presentations, and much more.

You'd be smart to encourage your employees to experiment and work with generative AI as it can measurably impact worker productivity. An MIT study of 444 white-collar workers showed productivity increases with the use of ChatGPT for writing and editing tasks along the lines of marketing, grant writing, data analysis, and human resources.

ChatGPT users were 37% faster at completing tasks (17 minutes to complete vs. 27 minutes) with roughly similar grades (level of quality), and as the ChatGPT users repeated their tasks their work quality increased significantly faster.

A new study from researchers out of Stanford and MIT found that the use of a GAI-based assistant increased productivity by 14% on average, with the greatest impact on novice and low-skilled workers who were able to complete work 35% faster with the tool’s assistance. They also found that AI assistance improved customer sentiment, reduced requests for managerial intervention, and improved employee retention.

The use of GAI raises concerns about privacy, security, accuracy, and ethics

The use of generative AI also poses some challenges and risks that need to be addressed by companies and their employees. Without proper guidance, employees could be using GAI solutions like ChatGPT in ways that are unwise or unethical. Some of the areas of caution include:

Privacy : Your employees may be using personal data to generate content, such as candidate information, customer data, employee records, or your company’s intellectual property. You may have recruiters entering resumes or LinkedIn profiles into ChatGPT to generate personalized messaging or job matches, and this raises concerns about data protection and compliance with regulations such as GDPR. Employees need to be aware of the data sources and permissions required by GAI systems and ensure that they do not violate any privacy policies or laws when using them. For example, Samsung employees leaked confidential company information to ChatGPT when trying to find a fix for source code and defective equipment and when asking the chatbot to create meeting minutes.
Security : Employees may inadvertently share sensitive information with the wrong people, and GAI systems may be vulnerable to hacking or manipulation by malicious actors, such as cybercriminals or state-sponsored agents. Your employees need to be careful about the security and reliability of the GAI systems they use, including the risks of exposing your company to data breaches through the use of malicious ChatGPT Chrome extensions .
Inaccuracy : Generative AI systems may generate content that is factually incorrect or inconsistent with the input data or the intended purpose. This is because GAI systems may “hallucinate” or make up information that is not supported by the training data or the real world. Employees need to verify and validate the content they generate or consume using GAI systems and correct any errors or inconsistencies. This would be in line with the common ethical AI principle of human agency/oversight. If your company hasn't already developed its own ethical AI principles, this is something you should be looking into.
Ethics : As they clearly state, generative AI systems may generate content that is biased, offensive, or harmful to certain groups or individuals. For example, GAI systems may reproduce existing stereotypes or prejudices in the training data or generate content that is inappropriate or misleading for the intended audience or purpose. Employees need to be mindful of the ethical implications and social impact of the content they generate or consume using GAI systems and avoid using them for malicious or fraudulent purposes.

To get the most from GAI, educate and empower your teams and evaluate its impact

Given the seriousness of potential harm, it is imperative that companies provide guidance on the responsible and acceptable use of generative AI while reaping its benefits. Here are some steps you can take to create guidance for your employees on the responsible use of GAI:

Educate : Provide your employees with basic knowledge and awareness of what generative AI is, how it works, what it can do, how to get the best results (for example, prompt engineering ), and what the potential benefits and risks are. This should include clear guidelines on what data can and cannot be used, who can access it, and how it should be protected. You can use online resources, webinars, training workshops, your L&D platform, team meetings, and newsletters to inform your employees about GAI, its applications, and responsible use. As fast-moving as the GAI space is, be prepared to keep updating your communications and training. For example, OpenAI just announced that ChatGPT users can now turn off their chat history , allowing users to choose which conversations can be used to train OpenAI’s models.
Empower : Encourage your employees to explore and experiment with generative AI systems that are relevant and useful for their work. You can provide them access to trusted and secure (nonpublic) GAI platforms or tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT API or Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service , and support them with feedback and guidance on how to use them effectively.
Evaluate : Monitor and evaluate the performance and impact of generative AI systems on your employees, business outcomes, and customer satisfaction. You can use metrics such as quality, accuracy, relevance, diversity, novelty, efficiency, and engagement to measure the value and effectiveness of GAI systems for your work.
Enforce : Establish and enforce clear policies and standards for the responsible use of generative AI systems by your employees. You can use codes of conduct, ethical principles, best practices, checklists, or audits to ensure that your employees comply with the legal and ethical requirements and expectations when using GAI systems.

In my current company, I worked with a multidisciplinary team that included representatives from global data protection, IT, legal, marketing, sales, and other business units to create a living document of guidance on the safe and responsible use of GAI. We used this as a basis for delivering global training on the topic. I highly recommend you take a similar approach so that you can benefit from the perspectives and expertise of multiple, disparate stakeholders.

Don’t overreact to the challenges of GAI and miss the opportunities

I think it’s important to emphasize that companies should not be overly reactive to concerns about generative AI and block their employees from using it productively and assume that eliminates their risk. Even if a company does choose to block ChatGPT and other forms of GAI at work, it may not actually prevent employees from being able to access and use GAI tools, which they can continue to do through mobile devices and personal laptops/computers depending on their work setup.

Knowing this, even if a company chooses to block public-facing generative AI solutions at work, it’s still critical for companies to provide helpful guidance that enables their employees to use GAI safely and responsibly while reaping the benefits it brings. This, in combination with providing their employees with private and secure GAI solutions, can enable companies to leverage the full potential of GAI while mitigating potential risks, providing a win-win situation for both the company and its employees.

Final thoughts: Embrace the possibilities GAI offers even as you manage its risks

The arrival of widely available generative AI is a watershed moment with regard to AI’s impact on people and the world of work.

On one hand, it offers tremendous opportunities for innovation and improvement in various domains and tasks. On the other hand, it requires careful consideration and management of the potential challenges and risks. It is crucial for companies to create guidance for their employees on the responsible and acceptable use of GAI.

By following the steps outlined above, you can create guidance for your employees on the responsible use of generative AI that will help them achieve their goals while avoiding potential risks and negative consequences.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-acquisition/guidelines-for-using-gai-responsibly

Unveiling the 4 Crucial Skills AI Can’t Replace in Recruitment

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:28:24 GMT

It’s time to dive into a topic that's been buzzing around the recruitment world lately – yes, AI and its impact on our jobs. Considering that ‘recruiter’ made the list of 20 jobs AI could potentially replace , it’s not surprising a lot of us feel worried. The good news is, only 14% of professionals are concerned that AI will replace them in their role – and there are reasons for that. There are essential skills we possess that machines, no matter how advanced, simply can't replicate. So, put those worries aside, and let's explore why our roles are safe and sound.

While AI excels at processing data, it struggles to comprehend the complexities of human behaviour, emotions, and nuanced communication. From the power of emotional intelligence to the art of effective communication and the ability to influence your candidates and clients on a human level, there are lots of unique abilities you possess that make you indispensable in the recruitment landscape. So, worry not – your boss is not about to replace you with a robot.

Building relationships with candidates and clients

You know what they say: "It's all about who you know!". As recruiters, our superpower lies in forging strong connections with candidates and clients. One thing that AI can’t compete with is our humanity, and the adage “people buy from people” will be of vital importance to recruiters in the AI era. We're not just matching keywords; we're building rapport, trust, and loyalty with the people we interact with.

In a competitive market, having authority as an expert in the industry who’s always willing to support their clients and candidates is the one thing that sets you apart. Candidates feel comfortable sharing their aspirations and concerns with us because we understand them at a deeper level and as recruiters, we are very much invested in the outcome of their job search. Our clients work with us best when we are not just sending CVs but are working collaboratively to improve their hiring processes and further build their company culture. These relationships can't be replicated by lines of code and algorithms.

Prospecting

Sure, AI can crunch mountains of data and find potential candidates, but it lacks that special intuition we possess. Effective prospecting involves more than just matching keywords – it's about understanding the context and recognising true potential.

We're like treasure hunters, discovering hidden talents that algorithms can't see. While AI algorithms can analyse vast amounts of data and identify potential candidates based on predefined criteria, they lack the human intuition and contextual understanding needed to uncover those rare candidates that really impress clients.

Think about it – AI might present a list of candidates with impressive qualifications, but we can evaluate the intangibles, the "X-factor" that will make a candidate a perfect fit for a specific role. Our ability to see beyond the resume and understand a candidate's true potential is a skill that makes us indispensable.

Evaluating the cultural fit

Of course, you could teach AI the core values of your client’s business – but it still won’t be able to evaluate whether the prospective candidate fits within those values solely based on the data available in their CV. 35% of recruiters believe that AI could overlook unique talent – and they’re not wrong.

Knowing whether a candidate aligns with a company's values requires an understanding of what they are really like as a person, something that AI simply isn’t able to do as it requires a human-to-human conversation and really digging into the detail of what makes them tick. We're not just looking at skills and experiences; we're diving into the candidate's personality, motivations, and work ethic to determine if they'll thrive within the company culture. And let's be honest, no algorithm can read between the lines of a candidate's actions and reactions during an interview as we can. Our gut feeling combined with experience helps us make those critical cultural fit decisions that will impact the company's success.

Negotiating with clients and candidates

You could obviously utilise AI to come up with data-driven arguments, but the actual negotiating part is not something AI can do for you.

Negotiation is an art that all successful recruiters have mastered. It’s not always about crunching numbers and we all have plenty of examples where the most logical argument isn’t the one that always wins. Being able to understand the emotional complexity of a human’s decision-making process and then say the right thing at the right time to make an impact is something that (for now) is beyond the reach of AI.

Source: https://blog.firefishsoftware.com/why-ai-cant-replace-recruiters

The art of writing the perfect recruitment ad

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:28:22 GMT

As a recruiter, or at least as someone who has spent a lot of time sleuthing around job boards, you’ve likely seen – and probably even written – a lot of recruitment ads. If you spend some time looking at enough job ads, you’ll likely begin to notice a very formulaic and recycled style that many recruiters stick to .

They will typically list the job requirements, what experience and education the applicant needs , and finish it up with a nice, un-welcoming call to action or overly intimidating “next steps” section. Many job postings read like a boring old job description – no personality, and no real appeal to the applicant’s desires.

That’s because many recruiters simply do not understand that job postings are all about marketing. You’re selling your company and your vacant position to the millions of people searching for jobs every day. That means that you need to approach your job ad like you would for any marketing piece. It should be creative, engaging, personal, and laser-focused on the needs and desires of your target audience: candidates.

Before we get into how to write the perfect recruitment ad , I have a bit of a confession to make. There’s no such thing as the perfect job ad. Not in the sense that you can create an incredibly convincing ad and then just keep replicating that formula over and over again. Instead, creating the perfect recruitment advert is all about figuring out what is right for each specific job you’re advertising and the people you’re targeting it to, and crafting a killer job posting that no one will be able to resist.

With that in mind, let’s get started.

Recruitment ad best practices

Before we get into specific best practices for writing a recruitment ad , it’s important to note a few overall goals you should be striving for when writing your job post. Generally speaking, your job ad should accomplish the following:

Make a great first impression for readers
Stand out from the crowd
Increase the likelihood that the applicant will hit the “Apply Now” button
Be engaging and easy to read
Offer enough information that the reader can pre-screen themselves
Be friendly, yet professional
Be easily skimmable and readable on mobile

Keep each of these points in mind when you’re crafting the language for your next recruitment advertisement.

And now for some best practices!

1. Know your target audience (your candidates)

Apologies if I sound like a broken record here, but by far the most important step in writing a recruitment ad is getting to know your target candidate. That means before you put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard), you should be talking with your colleagues. This will help you determine what your ideal candidate looks like, who they are, what they want, where they hang out and what you can say to them to make them want to work for you.

In marketing, this would start with creating a persona, or an imaginary, ideal candidate that you’re pitching your job opening to. Let’s call him Doug.

Do some research into who Doug is and what he wants. Is Doug looking for a hip and cool place to work? Play up your modern , downtown office. Does Doug value a close-knit team atmosphere? Tell him about your company culture and the team he’d be working for. Is Doug young and just starting out? Let him know about your great benefits package , retirement savings plans, and growth potential.

The more you know about Doug, the better equipped you will be to write a recruitment ad that he’ll want to see. And if Doug is happy and wants to join your company, then you’ve just landed yourself the ideal candidate!

2. Don’t forget about search engine optimization

Despite the fact that most job searchers almost exclusively use the web to search for their next opportunity, many people forget to write their recruitment ads so that they’re found by search engines. Getting your job ad found by people searching for the position you’re promoting is only half the battle, but it’s also the very first step in the recruitment process. If Doug can’t find your ad because it’s not optimized for search , then you’re not getting to the second half of the battle.

So, it’s important for recruiters to do a bit of research into what keywords are typically associated with their vacant position. Find out what job searchers are typing into search engines to find similar postings to yours, and include those keywords into your recruitment advert. This will make you easier to find, and also forces you to use language that your candidates already know.

3. Nail your company description

Now that we’ve gotten the general best practices out of the way, let’s get into some specifics.

The first thing that job seekers should see when they open your recruitment ad is a compelling paragraph about your company. This is your first impression, and you should make sure that it’s a great one. Don’t just copy and paste your boilerplate company description into this section either. If you can find the exact same company description in a bunch of other places across the web, then it’s not personal enough to earn the top spot in your perfect recruitment ad.

Instead, take your company description and make a connection between the organization, the job, and the candidate. Talk about your company mission and values, and tell readers how the position fits into that vision. Job seekers want to be inspired by what you’re doing and they want to know how they will fit in.

Let’s look at an example.

Unlike recruiting agencies, we don’t sell people.We offer growing businesses an entirely new option they’ve never seen before – without expensive, salary-based placement fees. Instead, we help them market themselves as a great place to work to attract, engage, and hire the right people. We provide everything they need to consistently hire great people quickly and cost-effectively – including a complete and advanced virtual hiring team, recruitment technology, paid advertising, coaching, training, and all of the hires they need – all for a flat monthly fee.What’s in it for me?By joining us, you’ll get to be part of a disruptive new category at the ground level and help growing organizations scale their teams and truly establish their organizational culture.

Talent Acquisition Specialist @ Pivot + Edge

This company description clearly outlines the values, goals, and vision of the organization. Readers get a clear insight into the company’s overall goal, and how they intend to get there. And, even better, the applicant knows exactly how they will fit into that vision of the future.

Relevant: How to draft an equal opportunity employer statement for your recruitment ad

4. Get people excited about the job overview

After you’ve wooed your prospective candidate with your company description, you can now start pitching your job opening. This is a more high-level summary of the core characteristics of the job. More specific job responsibilities come further down in the recruitment advert.

Distill the job down to about 4-5 core attributes that describe what the candidate will be doing, who they’ll be doing it with, and what the impact will be. That last point is particularly important. Most people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. By pitching the benefits of your vacant job – both to the candidate and to others – and tying it back to your company vision, candidates will feel a deeper connection to what you’re advertising.

Be sure that you write this section in an engaging, snappy, and compelling way, while also conveying the most pertinent information. Using subheads and bullet points is a great way to make this section accessible and fun to read for your candidate.

Here’s a simple example.

Shopify Plus is making enterprise commerce simple. We give high-growth, high-volume merchants the scalability, reliability and flexibility they need. Shopify Plus is helping power commerce for companies like Tesla, RedBull, GE, L’Oreal, Victoria Beckham, UPS and many more. We believe large merchants should love their commerce platform and we work hard each day to make that happen. We are in hyper-growth mode, and this is where you come in.As an Offline Marketer, you will be responsible for owning and executing small- and large-scale events globally for Shopify Plus. You will either be leading or supporting various offline marketing initiatives from owned events to industry trade shows. You will be working cross-functionally within the Plus team and Shopify’s core team to lead the strategy of fully-integrated offline marketing campaigns.

Offline Marketing Manager @ Shopify

I’ve included the company description into this example as well to demonstrate how the recruitment ad flows from a high-level description of the mission and direction of the team and then jumps right into where the applicant fits in. The candidate knows what the goal is and what will be expected of them if they hit “Apply Now”.

5. Describe the compensation and perks package

By now, Doug should be feeling pretty jazzed about your company and how he fits into the team. Next up comes the good stuff – money, benefits, and perks. You don’t have to get too fancy with how you present the salary (if you even do), but the benefits and perks section is where you can really take advantage of how well you know Doug and his lifestyle.

Rather than just writing a laundry list of benefits and perks that your company offers, make a list of the top 10 and explain how they will improve Doug’s day-to-day life. Have a really cool, downtown office? Talk about how great it is to walk into a gorgeous office in the heart of the action. Do you offer free parking or transit? Tell Doug how much he can save each month on transportation cost.

Take some time to find out what Doug wants, and what you can offer him, and really drive home the fact that your company will help make his life more enjoyable, on top of paying the bills.

6. Get the job requirements section over with

Next up in your job ad is the boring old job requirements section . Hey, it can’t all be leg-twitchingly exciting.

The job requirements section contains critical information that your candidates will read in order to pre-screen themselves for the position. This is where you list things like required experience, education, skills, characteristics, language and location requirements, and so on. Essentially, this is the part of the recruitment ad that will start to weed out the underqualified candidates. When well written, a good job ad will leave you with a smaller pool of high potential candidates.

Because this is essentially just a list of requirements, keep this section short and concise. List your core requirements in bullet points, and only include what a candidate absolutely must have to be successful at the job.

Many organizations are beginning to move away from this type of rigid job requirements section because it can have the unwanted side effect of deterring candidates from applying, even if they may be suited for the job. Use your discretion as to how you want to approach this part of your recruitment ad. Having a strong handle on what your team needs and who they’re looking for will help guide what information to include or exclude.

Here’s an example of a standard job requirements section.

‍Web Designer / Developer @ Klipfolio

‍ Preferred skills and experience:

Knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Proficiency with design & prototyping tools (Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc)
Exceptionally strong aesthetic sensibility.
Experience designing for multiple contexts such as mobile, desktop, tablet and TV.
Self-motivated and detail-oriented.
Solid communication skills and the ability to articulate the rationale for design decisions.
Awareness of the latest trends and technologies used in the world of web design and development

7. Round it out with a full list of job responsibilities

At this stage, Doug will have learned about your company, been enticed by your elevator pitch for the job role and pre-screened himself in the job requirements section. If he’s still feeling good about his prospects for landing this job, then Doug will likely want to know a bit more about the job.

The final major section of your recruitment advertisement expands on your elevator pitch to describe in greater detail what a successful candidate will be responsible for should they be hired. Use active language in this section to get Doug excited about what’s he’s going to be doing. A great way to do this is to start each bullet point with a verb.

For example: “Driving revenue growth through cost-effective marketing campaigns.” List out each of the major job responsibilities that Doug can expect to take on, and write them in a way that makes him excited to get started.

Here’s an example from the job posting at Klipfolio. Note how the writer keeps this section short and sweet, while still presenting a lot information and responsibilities.

‍Web Designer / Developer @ Klipfolio

‍ Responsibilities:

Create – from concept through iteration to production – beautiful and engaging web experiences with strong graphic and motion components that reflect and positively extend the Klipfolio brand to the web site
Responsible for the look and feel, layout, visual appearance and the execution of entire design for the Klipfolio website
Work with the marketing team in coming up with creative designs and developing landing pages for various campaigns
Present designs and collect feedback from peers and executive level stakeholders
Run A/B test and conversion rate optimization throughout the website

8. Explain the next steps

Once you’ve presented a holistic overview of your company and the job, the final step in your recruitment ad is to explain the process. Tell Doug what he can expect to happen after he hits “Apply Now”. Will he be getting a call or an email shortly? How long will that take? What is the interview process like ? When can he expect to start if he’s selected?

Be as detailed as possible in this section. This will give your candidates the ability to plan their schedules accordingly. This way they can be fully involved in your hiring process. But, if you’re going to give them an overview of what to expect, be sure to follow through with it. The last thing you want to do is break a promise to a high potential candidate.

Always remember, there is a lot of personal weight and emotion behind hitting that “Apply Now” button. Candidates should be treated with the same respect your treat any co-worker. That means clear communication, flexibility to their schedules, and following up on what you promise.

To give you an example of a great “next steps” section, let’s go back to our friends at Pivot + Edge.

What can I expect when I hit ‘Apply’?We’ll ask you to provide your details and answer a few quick qualifying questions, and then submit a short video introducing yourself. If you’re curious why we require a video, it’s because part of the job is coaching our customers to do the same, and if you’re not comfortable with video, you’re likely not a fit for our team. We’ll be collecting applications until Thursday, January 24, and we will be in contact with you around that time to discuss next steps. We appreciate the interest of all applicants and we want you to know that we will be in touch no matter what. What does the interview process involve?Once we’ve reviewed your application and scheduled a time to chat, the first step is a conversation with Jess Martin. After you go through the initial small talk that conversations between strangers inevitably start with, she’ll let you know that she’d like you to drive the conversation. To be successful in the people business, you have to be able to engage others in conversation, ask great questions, actively listen, and ask more questions. That’s exactly what she’ll be looking for in you. Assuming you demonstrate a strong ability to discover, control and close, she’ll arrange a time to meet up and see if we are the right fit for each other. We’re not just interviewing you at every step. We want you to interview us and ask questions as well.What is the target start date for this role?We’re motivated to hire for this role now, though worst-case scenario we’d like to have our new teammate onboard by mid February.

Talent Acquisition Specialist @ Pivot + Edge

There is absolutely no ambiguity about what to expect when you hit “Apply” in this recruitment ad. Taking the time to nail this final section will go a long way helping you seal the deal with our buddy Doug.

Source: https://recruitee.com/articles/perfect-recruitment-ad

Finding Fluidity: Hiring for a Skills-Based Culture

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:26:19 GMT

As uncertainty persists and market demands continue to shift, the people we hire today may very well need to be reallocated or reskilled tomorrow. This was certainly the reality that emerged during the pandemic. In order to meet changing customer needs, companies across all industries adjusted their talent strategies to accommodate business change — from enabling new operating models to addressing compliance and safety concerns to reassigning people to new business units or regions.

While the initial global shock of the pandemic is behind us, we’re still operating in an environment of uncertainty where change is the norm. Businesses are now recognizing that they need a talent strategy that allows them to harness and capitalize on change for growth. This starts with analyzing your existing workforce from a different perspective to make hiring decisions that allow you not only to operate in a state of fluidity — but fully embrace it.

For many companies, a mindset shift is in order. Instead of seeing your workforce as a static group of people assigned to specific roles, it’s important to view it as a collective mix of skills, perspective, experiences, and technologies that work together to drive your business.

Minding the Gaps

What does headcount tell you about how equipped you are to handle business challenges? Not much. The truth is it doesn’t matter how many employees you have; what counts is what they bring to the table.

You need visibility into what matters. Analyzing the attributes of your total workforce allows you to identify strengths, such as where you have an abundance of expertise, and weaknesses — that is, where you have gaps.

This is especially critical in a change environment. When executives change course, HR leaders need to know exactly how their workforce can proactively respond. A headcount view of the workforce doesn’t get you there.

Once you understand where you are long and short on skills, you can fill the gaps one of several ways, the first and most effective being via internal mobility. According to Deloitte , organizations that promote employees vs. hire externally are 32% more likely to be satisfied with the quality of new hires. Meanwhile, external hires are 61% more likely to be laid off or fired within one year and 21% more likely to leave.

An internal-mobility approach results in the quickest reaction time to adapt, offering a big competitive differentiation in highly commoditized industries. But with a traditional headcount-based view of your workforce, it’s impossible to achieve.

Building talent. Filling gaps, though, isn’t just about moving talent. It’s about growing it. Internal upskilling and reskilling programs allow you to cultivate your existing talent, adding new capabilities to your workforce without adding heads. Combined, mobility and upskilling/reskilling also give employees access to new opportunities, increasing retention and their value to your organization. This in turn creates a stronger employer brand that will help you attract new talent.

An effective strategy is a cross between building and buying talent. Forward-thinking talent acquisition and HR teams are starting to partner with outside companies that can expertly source and train untapped, early-career talent. They’re working with numerous stakeholders to cultivate people’s skills specifically for hard-to-fill or fast-changing positions, especially tech and digital roles.

Buying talent. As for the buy approach, today adding headcount is expensive and difficult, especially as competition for talent ramps up. It’s also a bit of guessing game into the skills you need now, and those you need in the future. It’s critical to understand the future state of your mobility and upskilling efforts to proactively address gaps with external hiring efforts.

A fluid view of the workforce gives you the ability to do this. With a clear sense and real-time view of the skills you’re adding internally, you can make more informed buying decisions that can help you move your business forward.

Creating a Strategy of Fluidity

1. Look for candidates with fluidity-friendly traits.

First, candidates should be avid learners with a growth mindset. This is a non-negotiable trait that ensures a good fit for both your company and the individual. Second, employees should be critical thinkers. They should be excited by challenges and passionate about finding better solutions than the status quo.

It’s now crucial to find talent with basic technology skills, no matter what position you’re filling. People should be comfortable with and excited by the potential to use new technologies in their work lives. And lastly, as individuals move into new roles and contribute to new projects, being strong communicators and collaborators will aid in their success.

2. Re-think the job description.

Skills and capabilities are more important than specific requirements. Don’t limit your search only to those who have held the exact role you’re filling. TA needs to view a new hire’s skills in not just the context of the role but in the context of the entire organization.

Let’s say you need a Java developer. Old methods would say, “You must have been a Java developer for 3+ years in our industry within the last five years.” A skills-based approach might say something like, “You should be an avid programmer with experience in Java, but ideally have broad full stack experience, as well.” You’ll still end up hiring someone with a Java skill set, but the person might not technically have been a “Java developer” in a previous role and can offer more to your company in the future.

Just like this description suggests, the job description should make it clear that you’re looking for someone who has developed a mastery of certain skills but still has a desire to continue broadening the application of them.

3. Set expectations upfront.

When determining fit, a good place to start is a candidate’s career trajectory. One red flag might be if someone left a high-change environment (such as a start up) in search of a role with more defined parameters.

Another must-do is to position the opportunity as more than just “this job.” Explain what an assignment-based culture looks like, how the role will likely change over time, and use real employee examples to give someone a sense of the person’s future with you.

At the same time, assessments can play an important role in helping you determine both hard and soft skill sets. It is important to identify those who can start adding value from their first day from a tactical perspective but also possess the aptitude and qualities that signal their potential.

The aftershocks of the pandemic have taken the form of many changes, both big and small, that impact business operations: extreme highs and lows in business demand, the acceleration of digital operations, supply-chain disruptions, to name a few. The reality is that the talent you have today isn’t enough to compete tomorrow. The future industry leaders will be those that find a way to proactively address weaknesses before those weaknesses begin to limit their growth potential.

Source: https://www.ere.net/articles/finding-fluidity-hiring-for-a-skills-based-culture

7 Signs You Need to Level Up your Outbound Recruitment Strategy

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:20:25 GMT

Current recruitment challenges

According to ManpowerGroup’s recent Employment Outlook Survey , the global talent shortage has reached its highest level in the last 16 years. The gap between the number of job openings and people quitting their jobs hit a record-high this March, with 76% of employers around the globe struggling to find talents in 2022.

The entire talent acquisition industry experiences considerable pressure, which is unlikely to change in the years to come. Additionally, things get even more difficult when it comes to filling tech roles, especially senior and executive positions.

In this light, publishing a job listings on different sources and waiting for candidates to come to you may not be enough, to say the least. When three out of four employers have hiring difficulties due to the shortage of supply in the talent market, it is time to take stronger action; it is time for outbound recruiting.

Outbound vs inbound recruiting

An outbound recruitment strategy focuses on actively seeking out and contacting specialists instead of waiting for them to apply for a job. This includes sourcing them from professional and social platforms and building personalized communication. For many recruiters, outbound hiring is a self-reliant way to take control of talent pipelines.

On the other hand, inbound recruiting is a relatively passive way of attracting talents. This strategy relies on improving recruitment marketing, employer branding, and positioning through social media, career sites, and job boards. This technique is designed to attract a constant flow of incoming candidates to apply for a company’s open positions. In other words, it is more of a slow burn. Additionally, while the company works on its inbound strategy, it still needs candidates right now, sometimes even yesterday.

Thankfully though, with effective outbound recruitment, this is no longer a problem, but simply a task to accomplish. Although, achieving this requires having the right technical equipment; for example, a special outbound recruitment software for sourcing and candidate engagement. Luckily enough, that is exactly what AmazingHiring has been designed to do. It has proven to be a perfect assistant for tech recruiters who want to proactively find the best tech candidates in the shortest amount of time.

7 signs you need to level up your outbound recruitment strategy

Unsure whether you or your team needs to level up your outbound strategy? Here, we have prepared a checklist of signs that might help you decide:

1. You work in tech or any other candidate-driven market.

IT and data specialists are the most sought-after by recruiters, globally. The number of open tech roles continues to grow every year while 80% of developers are not looking for a new job. There are more roles to fill than candidates available on the market. So, it’s no wonder why most tech specialists don’t need to do anything in order to end up buried in recruiters’ emails and job offers.

Though, apart from just finding a candidate, tech recruiters need to evaluate their skill set and experience, along with many other aspects, to decide whether, and how, to approach them. So, as you can see, one needs to break a sweat if they want to close a position — or use an outbound recruiting method.

AmazingHiring makes outbound hiring much easier. It provides its users with access to 70+ social and professional web sources and advanced tech-specific search options.

2. You struggle to predict your talent pipelines’ metrics.

Do you know how many applicants you will have next month? What if other companies begin a more active style of candidate hunting? What if one of your coworkers suddenly resigns? Even without any “black swans”, it’s pretty hard to predict pipeline numbers when a recruiting process relies solely on applicant flow. Especially if your company is not yet well known.

Outbound recruitment, however, puts you in control. It empowers you to find the candidates you need, when you need them.

3. You need more qualified applicants.

No one expects all candidates to be able to check off every single bullet point in a job description. However, sometimes you just cannot afford to even consider under-qualified candidates for certain roles. Particularly, if the role requires a hire that is ready to hit the ground running. The problem with inbound recruitment is that you cannot be sure that those who apply will have relevant experience.

On the contrary, with an outbound recruitment approach, you can target best-fit talents and engage with them. Plus, with access to AmazingHiring, you can build accurate search queries based on multiple parameters and filters (location, skill set, job title, past or current company, and many more).

#1 Playbook: The Ultimate Guide to Sourcing on Social Media

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4. You wish your time-to-hire was shorter.

Sometimes, you end up with far fewer applicants than you expected. Sometimes, candidates postpone interviews and calls or hold off on making a decision due to a multitude of reasons. Sometimes, your hiring performance metrics can vary from vacancy to vacancy, making you feel like you’re losing control.

Then again, outbound hiring is the best way to shorten this period without affecting candidate experience. This can be achieved by investing in outbound recruiting platforms.

5. Your company desires to strengthen its culture of diversity & inclusion in the workplace.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are undoubtedly one of the most important recruitment trends in 2022; yet, it is one of the hardest to pursue as well. Outbound recruiting can come in handy when addressing diversity gaps. You can target minorities in your search or use blind hiring techniques to eliminate any unconscious bias.

AmazingHiring, with its gender filter and blind hiring mode, can help here too.

6. You are not fluent in reading the candidate market.

The talent market can be volatile. It responds quickly to any changes or trends happening within the industry. Not knowing what your candidate market looks like, and not following its ever-changing current, could easily result in a waste of time and resources.

Outbound recruiting strategy goes hand in hand with market exploration. Insights from the talent pool’s aggregated data can help build the most successful search strategy you’ll ever use.

With AmazingHiring’s Talent Intelligence feature , you can get access to all vital talent market measurements visualized in real-time dashboards.

7. Your recruitment team consists of 5+ members.

When a company’s number of recruiters gets bigger, team collaboration becomes crucial. Most likely, at some point, they will start targeting the same candidates — and if it is a tech recruitment team, that will inevitably happen sooner than later.

The outbound recruiting method includes transparent prospect management, talent mapping, and other practices that help facilitate efficient work on one candidate market.

Do any signs ring a bell?

If some of the signs listed above sound familiar, implementing an outbound recruiting strategy might significantly upgrade your performance. But even if you can relate to just one characteristic, we still suggest giving it a try.

After all, outbound recruitment is not only about sourcing — it is also about shifting your recruiting paradigm from passive to proactive. And that can be a game-changer.

If you feel like you could use some help building an outbound recruiting strategy, you can start with AmazingHiring. Our all-in-one tech sourcing automation platform has successfully helped companies and organizations with sourcing tech talent and building meaningful candidate relationships for many years.

Source: https://amazinghiring.com/signs-you-need-to-level-up-your-outbound-strategy/

Change How You Feel About Change: 4 Tips on How to Embrace It

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 03:19:22 GMT

When change happens so fast it makes you dizzy, you usually have two choices: You can curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and wish everything would stay the same. Or you can view change as an exciting opportunity to evolve and grow.

Futurist April Rinne , author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change , falls squarely in the latter camp. “I’m going to ask you to fall in love with change,” April told her Talent Connect audience earlier this month. “When you do that, you can improve your tolerance for uncertainty and harness the unknown to drive positive change.”

As anyone in the talent world knows, the workplace has experienced head-spinning uncertainty and change over the last few years. Only a generation or two ago, employees often stayed with a company for life. But last year, April noted, 22% of workers were in their jobs for less than one year and 33% were there for less than two years. LinkedIn has transformed the paper resume, which may one day soon join the ranks of the mastodon . And then there’s AI , which is poised to change . . . well, everything.

Whether you love or hate it, change is inevitable. So why not learn to embrace it? Here are four tips from April to help you do just that.

1. Consider your ability to embrace change a valuable skill

“In a skills-first world, embracing change is the No. 1 skill we need,” April said. “And it comes from the inside out.” The reason people struggle with change, she explained, is that a lot of things happen that we can’t control — which can feel scary. When we have a say in creating change, we tend to view it positively.

“But when we embrace change, we create newness and growth,” she added.

2. View change with hope, rather than fear

If you’re experiencing change you don’t want or didn’t see coming, there are still ways to flip your perspective to become comfortable with it.

“One of the most important factors in whether we love or hate change, whether we embrace it or resist it,” April told the audience, “is if we see it from a place of hope or fear.” Fear shuts us down and makes us anxious. “In contrast, hope lights us up,” April said. “Hope brings in creativity and signals an openness and willingness to try new things.”

She explained that she’s not talking about “naive hope” but “hope that’s done its homework” and knows what’s at stake — yet still believes a more equitable, sustainable world is possible.

3. Exhibit curiosity

If hope seems too hard, April suggested, try curiosity . Ask questions. Find out what the change entails. Consider how it might make your life better. And if your culture has traditions that help navigate uncertainty, lean into those. In Japan, for example, there’s the concept of wabi-sabi , which celebrates impermanence, imperfection, and the transitory nature of all things. Concepts like this can help people navigate change.

“My point,” April explained, “is simply that curiosity and culture can go a long way toward hope and driving change.”

4. Adopt a “flux mindset” rather than a “growth mindset”

In 2006, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck introduced the idea of the " growth mindset ,” which described people who believe they can grow through hard work and input from others.

“Professor Dweck's research and insights are phenomenal,” April told the audience. “But a growth mindset doesn’t really address how we deal with constant, relentless change and uncertainty.”

For that, she said, we need a “flux mindset.” She described this as the ability to see all change — good, bad, expected, unexpected, and especially the stuff you don’t control and just wish would go away — as an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.

“I’m talking about falling in love with how rich and complex and extraordinary change can be,” she said, “and the fact that every single day you can improve how you prepare for and navigate it better.”

Final thoughts: How embracing change applies to the new world of work

April pointed to the “career ladder” — a steady, predictable progression upward based on work experience — as a place where change is already underway. Over the past few decades, she explained, this ladder has crumbled because employers have been “shredding the social contract” and workers have sought more flexibility and autonomy.

She urged people to adopt “portfolios” instead. These include all of a worker’s experiences and skills, including those (such as parenting) not typically found on a resume. For workers, they offer flexibility and future-readiness that ladders do not. For talent pros, they “vastly open up where you look for talent,” she said. “They help you find talent that’s agile and adaptable and can work across sectors and silos.”

All of this, of course, involves change. “But a world of flux opens up a new world of opportunity for how we see ourselves, each other, our careers, and our culture,” April concluded. “A flux mindset is your foundation for making change work.”

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/learning-and-development/change-how-you-feel-about-change

Your CV could be stopping you from landing your dream job. Here’s why.

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 03:10:05 GMT

On average, employers look at your CV for 6 seconds .

And you thought kids had a short attention span!

That’s just six seconds in which you need to get across all of the information needed to land yourself an interview and potentially score your dream job.

If you think that’s unfair, consider that the job you’re applying for might have more than 100 other applicants, and some actual person is reading every application!

So if you’re not landing interviews for the jobs you want, part of the problem could be the way your CV presents you . Here are five simple things that you can do to make sure your CV stands out from the pack:

1) Get the basics right

According to a US study of professional recruiters, there are three areas that employers will focus on in the six seconds they are deciding if you are a fit for the job or not.

So, while there are many different ways that you can write a CV – all of them acceptable – at the very least your CV should prominently include:

a) Your name and personal contact details

Include your email, home address and a phone contact.

b) Your recent relevant work history

Make sure it’s in reverse chronological order, with your most recent experience first, including start and end dates for each role. Include a job title and employer name for each role, as well as a short summary or dot points of your responsibilities and achievements in the role. If you have volunteer roles to include, put these in a separate section.

c) Your education and/or qualifications

Again, make sure they’re in reverse chronological order, with your most recent qualifications first, including start and end dates for each item. If you’d prefer not to reveal the dates of your qualifications, it’s acceptable to leave them off.

It’s these three points that will get the most attention so make sure they’re outstanding before you focus on anything else.

You might also like to consider a “career goal” or “career objective” at the top of your CV. This is a one or two sentence summary of broadly where you see your career going; given you’re applying for an ethical job, this is also a good place to mention your values. But make sure the statement doesn’t conflict with the job you’re applying for!

You could also include a list of awards; achievements or hobbies if you think they are relevant or help to give a sense of who you are.

2) Keep your layout simple and easy on the eye

This usually means a neatly laid out, black and white, A4 document, with bold headings that is easy on the eye.

If you have an eye for design, using colour can help make titles in your CV stand out, but beware: unless you are a designer (ie: you’re 100% sure of what you’re doing!), don’t use more than one colour and one font or any sort of non-white background – it will only make you stand out in all the wrong ways.

A reader’s eye will naturally fall to the upper middle area of a page so include your most important/relevant information there. That might be a “career goal” statement, your most recent job, a list of skills , or your qualifications. Choose carefully – you only have one chance to make a first impression.

3) Keep it short and simple

Employers may receive hundreds of applications for a role so keeping your CV short and to the point will be greatly appreciated.

At the same time, it’s better to take up more space than to leave off important information that might make a difference to your chance of an interview.

The main focus should be on making your CV “scanable” so that employers can take in as much information as possible in those six seconds.

Dot points and short sentences are much quicker to read than big blocks of text.

Got more to say? Save that for your cover letter and key selection criteria responses.

Most CVs are two or three pages – if you need more than four pages, you should probably take some things out.

4) Tailor your CV for the job you’re applying for

Is your six month stint flipping burgers at McDonald’s when you were 16 years old really relevant to the job you’re applying for? If not, leave it out.

Employers will generally focus on your most recent two jobs, so spend most of your energy making sure that the responsibilities and achievements you list under these roles are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

To be as relevant as possible, read the position description and pick out key words that the employer uses so they can easily make a connection between your experience and what they are looking for.

For example – if they’re looking for someone who “works autonomously” or “works well in a team” highlight this experience in previous roles.

While it’s much more time-consuming to change your CV for each role rather than just sending your standard generic one to each employer, it’s really worth the effort in the long run!

5) Proof read, proof read and proof read again…

…and get a friend or family member to proof read too!

It might not seem that harmful to have a typo or two buried in your CV but if an employer has received hundreds of applications from highly skilled applicants, that misplaced punctuation could see you on the ‘no’ pile before you know it – especially for roles where written communication is important.

After slaving away on a CV for hours, it can be easy to overlook small errors, so make sure you get a fresh set of eyes over it before you send it off.

Source: https://www.ethicaljobs.com.au/blog/your-cv-could-be-stopping-you-from-landing-your-dream-job-heres-why

When Blind Hiring Advances DEI — and When It Doesn’t

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 03:02:28 GMT

Inspired by the results of the famous orchestra study — where symphony orchestras began hiring more women by having people audition from behind a screen that concealed their gender — some major organizations are now using a “blind hiring” strategy to help achieve goals related to diversity. The typical blind hiring process involves stripping information from job application materials before review that could signal applicants’ memberships in specific groups and cue discrimination. Though not yet widespread, this de-biasing strategy is gaining traction: A recent survey of over 800 U.S.-based HR practitioners indicated that about 20% worked for organizations that used blind hiring and about 60% were familiar with it.

What many practitioners may be unaware of, however, is the large span of new research on blind hiring that has been published since that orchestra study in 2000. Over the past two decades, the efficacy of blind hiring as a strategy to boost hiring outcomes for members of historically disadvantaged groups has been tested in the “field” — that is, in real hiring decisions in real organizations — in various settings across Europe, Canada, and the U.S. By understanding the results of these recent studies, decision-makers in organizations can now determine, at a very granular level, whether a blind hiring strategy is likely to help or hinder their organizations’ efforts to diversify pools of new hires.

What Is “Blind Hiring”?

As a decision-making strategy more broadly, “blinding” involves blocking evaluators from receiving potentially biasing information about a target of evaluation until after an evaluation is complete. Blind hiring policies typically implement this strategy at the initial screening stage of the hiring pipeline, when hiring managers or other decision-makers decide which applicants to interview and which to screen out of the pool.

Organizations using blind hiring policies single out information conveyed in job application materials like resumes and application forms that is irrelevant to the job but could cue unconscious biases in managers. They then strip that information from materials before they are reviewed. Names, for instance, communicate nothing about people’s skills but often communicate their gender and/or race; receiving this information can lead decision-makers to unconsciously favor applicants of certain groups, like white people . Thus, an organization concerned about this type of discrimination might use a blind hiring approach, removing applicants’ names from their materials before letting managers see them. Other types of information, like college graduation years (which communicate age) or hobbies (which can signal social class), are similarly candidates for blinding.

The logic underlying a blind hiring approach is simple: Discrimination against members of certain groups cannot occur at a given hiring stage if evaluators at that stage cannot discern applicants’ group memberships. Accordingly, decision-makers tasked with increasing the diversity of new sets of hires in their organizations may wonder whether a blind hiring approach could help them achieve that goal.

The State of the Science

Over roughly the past two decades, careful academic studies exploring the efficacy of a blind hiring approach have been undertaken across Europe, Canada, and the U.S. In these studies, researchers have compared the proportions of job applicants from disadvantaged groups who are selected for interviews — at organizations in both the public and private sectors — when application materials are blinded or evaluated in the normal fashion. Generally (but not entirely), these studies have found that more applicants from disadvantaged groups advance to the interview stage when a blind hiring approach is used.

In one study in the public sector in Sweden, researchers found that more women and ethnic minorities were selected for interviews when their applications were anonymized versus when names were maintained. Another study in the Swedish public sector found that women who uploaded their credential information to a database used by potential employers were more likely to receive interview invites when their gender information was blinded. And in the Netherlands, researchers found that people of non-Western origin, who represent a traditionally disadvantaged, Dutch job-seeker group, were more likely to be advanced to interviews for public sector jobs when application materials were evaluated in a blind fashion.

Across the Atlantic, a comprehensive study by the Canadian government explored whether blinding information, including applicants’ names and also their citizenships, addresses, educational institutions, and religions, would impact interview selection rates for minority applicants to the public service. Results indicated that, while non-minority applicants were selected for interviews at a slightly higher rate than minority applicants under the traditional process, minority applicants were selected at a higher rate under the blind process. And in the U.S., a study in a restaurant chain indicated that older workers were more likely to be advanced to the interview stage when they submitted applications online, which blinded applicants’ ages.

Some studies, however, have been less positive on the effects of blind hiring. For instance, employers in France were less likely to select applicants from minority social groups for interviews when applicants’ names were blinded versus when they were provided on materials. Consistent with this finding, a large study in Germany found that blind hiring only boosted interview rates for job applicants from minority groups when employers tended to discriminate against applicants from those groups under a traditional process. For employers who were more likely to interview applicants from minority groups under a traditional process, however, the use of a blind hiring policy negated that tendency, leading to worse interview selection rates for applicants from minority groups.

Viewed together, these recent studies suggest that a blind hiring process often helps, but may sometimes hinder, organizations’ goals related to diversity. Informed by these findings, decision-makers should ask themselves three questions to understand whether a blind hiring policy is right for them.

Question 1: Does my organization systematically under-select applicants from traditionally disadvantaged groups for interviews?

Research suggests that blind hiring only boosts interview rates for members of traditionally disadvantaged groups when used by companies that typically under-select applicants from these groups for interviews. This makes sense intuitively — blind hiring will only help if there is bias to eliminate. Thus, if decision-makers are operating in organizations that are failing to diversify pools of new hires overall but are succeeding at diversifying pools of interviewees, adoption of a blind hiring policy to govern the initial screening stage will not help diversity hiring efforts. Instead, they should focus on solutions that address biases during interviews and selection decisions afterward.

Conversely, in organizations that have a history of selecting mostly members of advantaged social groups (e.g., men, white people) for interviews, using blind hiring at the initial screening stage could help.

Question 2: Is the job in question one where being from an advantaged group predicts having the preferred credentials?

Blind hiring blocks unconscious biases by ensuring that decisions about whom to interview are based on credentials alone. However, due to systematic inequities in access to resources and opportunities between groups in society, members of traditionally advantaged groups are disproportionately likely to attend prestigious undergraduate universities, secure sought-after internships, and achieve a post-graduate (e.g., master’s) degree . Thus, if the job being hired for is one where people with fancy credentials are especially likely to be selected for interviews — for example, a management position — members of advantaged groups may still have a leg-up under a blind hiring process, even though discrimination is seemingly blocked.

In these cases, adopting a blind hiring policy to support diversity hiring goals may backfire. Instead, decision-makers might consider either broadening the span of “preferred” credentials for a position, or incorporating applicants’ social identities into interview decisions, so that complicated credentials can be evaluated through the lens of the hurdles — or privileges — applicants may have experienced along the way to achieving them.

Conversely, if interview decisions are based less on having fancy credentials and more on straightforward evaluations of relevant skills and experience — for instance, if the job being hired for is an entry-level position — the discrimination-blocking benefits of blind hiring will likely lead to greater interview rates for members of disadvantaged groups.

Question 3: Are complementary de-biasing strategies being used at other stops along the hiring pipeline?

Say you have a job where, in the past, members of disadvantaged groups have been under-selected for interviews, and group membership doesn’t predict applicants’ likelihood of having the “right” credentials. This job would clear the hurdles in questions one and two and could seem like a good match for a blind hiring approach. Even in this situation, however, a blind hiring approach on its own might not lead to more diversity in the ultimate pool of hires. Blind hiring can only be fully leveraged at the initial screening stage if paired with other de-biasing strategies operating before and after initial screens.

One complementary strategy that should be paired with a blind hiring approach is targeted recruitment of members of disadvantaged groups, such as through pipeline programs at HBCUs. This strategy pairing addresses the fact that discrimination reduction in interview-selection decisions may not boost the diversity of interviewee pools if few members of disadvantaged groups apply in the first place. Blind hiring policies should also be paired with de-biasing strategies at the interview stage, since interviews are generally conducted in an unblind fashion. Indeed, in some of the studies described above, blind hiring boosted interview selection rates for members of disadvantaged groups but did not ultimately increase their likelihood of getting job offers after interviews. One especially promising strategy to reduce discrimination at the interview stage involves the use of structured interviewing , which keeps interviewers focused on job-related questions only and reduces the impact of homophily — our natural preference for people who are like us — on interview assessments.

By asking themselves these three questions, decision-makers can determine whether a blind hiring approach to the initial screening process will help or hinder their efforts related to diversity in hiring overall. And even for those organizations that do not clear these hurdles, a blind hiring approach can still be leveraged if modified carefully. For instance, an organization might still wish to use a blind hiring strategy even though the job being hired for is one where being from an advantaged group predicts having the “target” credentials, like a graduate degree or an Ivy League pedigree (question two). In this case, organizations can consider using a “blind-then-see” approach — hiring managers can form initial evaluations of applicants based on credentials alone, then learn information that was blinded, like demographics, and re-weight their initial appraisals, re-considering applicants’ credentials through the lens of the hurdles they may have had to overcome to achieve them. Research suggests that a blind-then-see approach like this can reduce bias in favor of members of advantaged groups while still preserving the benefits of a blind, initial look at qualifications.

The key takeaway is that blind hiring is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In some cases, it may even be detrimental when it comes to goals related to hiring more applicants from disadvantaged groups. However, the state of the science surrounding blind hiring suggests that, for the right jobs in the right organizations, this strategy can open the door to the achievement of diversity-related hiring goals.

Source: https://hbr.org/2023/06/when-blind-hiring-advances-dei-and-when-it-doesnt

4 Benefits of Competency-Based Recruitment and Hiring

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 03:01:38 GMT

Hiring teams base their decisions on many factors, most significantly a candidate’s experience, qualifications, and core competencies. Core competencies are the unique traits, attitudes, and behavior patterns that enable employees to succeed in that particular role. Experience and expertise are easy to assess. But competencies are not always easy for talent acquisition professionals to identify and are often overlooked in traditional hiring processes.

Empower your recruiters and hiring managers to make smarter hiring decisions with a competency-based system. A competency-based recruiting system standardizes core competencies for every role to help recruiters and hiring teams better understand the qualities of a best-fit candidate.

Employee #CoreCompetencies can help you eliminate bias, find better candidates, and retain your top talent:

Examples of employee core competencies for an executive assistant include attention to detail, problem-solving, and organization. A human resources generalist position requires candidates who are excellent communicators and self-motivated with great time management skills.

This system prioritizes candidates whose competencies best fit the role and reduces or eliminates requirements for formal education and years of experience. Its benefits range from eliminating bias to decreased employee turnover rates. It also helps your team make better choices about who they hire.

Let’s take a closer look at five of the benefits of competency-based hiring during the recruitment process and beyond.

1. Competency-Based Systems Eliminate Bias

Workplace diversity statistics show that 76% of employees and job seekers said diversity is important when evaluating job offers. But if your hiring process is biased, you’re missing out on outstanding candidates and failing to build the diverse workforce candidates expect. Excluding candidates based on experience and education results in a much less diverse candidate pool and, consequently, a less diverse workforce.

Did You Know?

Hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for education and more than two times more predictive than hiring for work experience. - via McKinsey

Competency-based interviewing and scoring allow recruiters and hiring managers to focus solely on the strengths and behaviors they know will make the candidate successful. In addition, it increases fairness by ensuring hiring teams evaluate candidates based on the same competency standards via a structured interview process.

Minneapolis College found that when they stopped requiring bachelor’s degrees and a minimum number of years of experience in recruiting, their candidate pool became more diverse. They increased workforce diversity by 6%, with new hire retention rates of around 90%.

2. Competency-Based Systems Increase Candidate Quality

Competency-based systems for recruitment help hiring teams set benchmarks for candidates, which increases the quality of the candidates they interview. A candidate with the right mix of core competencies who lacks the educational background you’re looking for is often a better fit than one with fewer competencies and the right education. That was the result for Minneapolis College, where eliminating some requirements brought in candidates with more relevant skills than top candidates found via their traditional hiring methods.

First, to set the standards, evaluate employees who have been particularly successful in each role, using resume data, performance reviews, peer evaluations, and other information. Then identify core competencies that those employees share. Finally, create a list of proven employee competencies required for each role to include in future candidate evaluations.

Recruiters can use benchmarks to write accurate job descriptions and speed up the selection process. In addition, core competencies help recruiters screen candidates more efficiently, weeding out candidates unlikely to be a good fit and surfacing those who may have been overlooked.

3. Competency-Based Systems Improve Employee Retention

Reduce the chances that you’ll lose your best people with competency-based hiring. Companies that hire based on skills are 98% more likely to retain their high performers. They’re also 107% more likely to put candidates in the right roles. In short, choosing candidates based on what they’re best at makes it more likely that you’ll hire the absolute best person for every role.

Competency-based recruiting and hiring have a ripple effect, leading to other positive outcomes that strengthen employee retention :

More effective training and development programs that target skills gaps
Better decisions about internal hiring and promotions
Offer competitive compensation based on skills
Evaluate performance accurately and give specific, helpful feedback
Set clear expectations and goals centered around strengths

4. Competency-Based Systems Improve Organizational Performance

Your entire company thrives when you make hiring choices that take competencies into consideration. Hiring for skills over formal education or experience is proven to have excellent results. It helps improve productivity, build company culture, and increase agility and innovation.

Companies that focus on hiring and assigning duties based on their people’s skills and strengths are:

Up to 41% more productive
79% more likely to provide a positive employee experience
49% more likely to provide an inclusive environment
52% more likely to innovate
57% more likely to effectively anticipate and adapt to change

Competency-based recruitment is key to improving employee retention, removing bias from the hiring process, and hiring high-quality candidates who contribute to organizational success.

Source: https://blog.clearcompany.com/benefits-of-competency-based-recruitment-hiring

Some employees are destroying value. Others are building it. Do you know the difference?

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 05:22:47 GMT

More than half of employees report being relatively unproductive at work. New research into six types of employees shows how companies can re-engage workers while amplifying the impact of star performers. The pandemic has forced major changes in how, when, and where people work. It has also bedeviled employers. Due in part to new hybrid and remote-working models, companies are struggling to find objective ways to gauge employee effectiveness—a critical challenge as labor costs have increased and worker productivity has declined. 1

According to new McKinsey research, employee disengagement and attrition could cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million a year in lost productivity (see sidebar, “Methodology”). Over five years, that’s at least $1.1 billion in lost value per company (Exhibit 1).

These are big numbers that strike at the heart of value creation. To address the problem, corporate leaders first have to grasp that their workforces are not monolithic when it comes to employee experience and that the tactics to increase performance require a more segmented approach. Leaders can then apply differentiated strategies to groups of employees that boost levels of satisfaction and commitment, performance, well-being, and, ultimately, retention and engagement.

Our latest research identifies six distinct employee groups, or archetypes, across a spectrum of satisfaction, engagement, performance, and well-being. These workers range from the highly dissatisfied and actively disengaged—who comprise more than 10 percent of an average organization and who we believe are destroying value—to a group at the other end of the spectrum that we call “thriving stars.” At about 4 percent of an average organization, these super-engaged workers not only perform at high levels themselves but also appear to spread their positive engagement and commitment to others. In between these two poles is a vast middle of workers who experience varying levels of engagement and satisfaction that affect their performance and sense of well-being.

For leaders engaging with these new survey findings, it’s important to note that respondents’ self-reported performance is a useful and revealing way to measure performance, but it’s not the only one. With hybrid patterns here to stay, 2 executives should seek to provide the best possible experience regardless of working model, including offering structure and support around activities best done in person or remotely. This includes helping managers measure performance based on outputs and objectives completed rather than on input factors such as time spent or location.

The central challenge for organizations is to move as many workers as possible away from the highly dissatisfied group (which is probably larger and more destructive than most C-suites realize) and toward greater engagement and commitment. Such a strategy would give workers the opportunity to develop their skills , reducing dissatisfaction and attrition rates and bringing clear financial and organizational benefits over the long term.

In this article, we describe the six worker archetypes that we believe are present in every organization and how big a slice of the workforce pie each archetype represents. We then analyze how the factors that shape a company’s employee value proposition (EVP) and employee experience affect satisfaction, commitment, and performance. And we suggest actions companies can take to augment these levels across their workforces.

Employee archetypes and the satisfaction spectrum

In our prior research on talent trends since the Great Resignation began, we focused on factors that drove people out of work and how companies could retain them amid a uniquely challenging global economic environment . 3 Here, we expand our inquiry to look at the engagement factors that enhance employees’ satisfaction, performance, and well-being, which are crucial components for sustained organizational performance.

Our latest survey data revealed that the higher the level of satisfaction and commitment experienced by employees, the higher their self-reported performance and well-being. 4 The opposite is also true. The lower the level of satisfaction and commitment, the lower an employee’s self-reported performance and well-being.

We looked at 12 factors that affect employees’ satisfaction and commitment levels and found that nearly two-thirds of the total cost to companies from disengagement is captured by the top six factors (Exhibit 2). For most companies, a significant number of employees are experiencing at least one of these factors, driving dissatisfaction and disengagement and, ultimately, lower self-reported performance. Put simply, these engagement factors have become disengagement factors for a large portion of the workforce.

In each of the six archetypes, satisfaction and commitment levels are influenced by a specific combination of EVP factors, mostly coming out of those top six factors. These distinct groups, which we describe next, are important for organizational leaders to understand so that they can create tailored retention and engagement strategies that move employees from the least engaged part of the spectrum to the most engaged (Exhibit 3).

1. The quitters: Headed for the door (or already gone)

We estimate this group to be around 10 percent of the workforce in a typical organization.

The quitters are not necessarily the lowest performers in an organization, but they may be some of the least satisfied and committed. Eventually, those feelings can affect their performance and cause them to leave.

One of the biggest risks that employers face is that their high performers or niche talent begin to feel undervalued. While it is inevitable that some in this group will depart, employers should do everything they can to re-engage niche or formerly high-performing talent who have become disillusioned and fallen into this segment.

One exception in this cohort is a small percentage of individuals who may have been satisfied but have been offered a better position at another company. These are typically highly coveted top performers who don’t necessarily leave because there’s anything wrong but because they feel they can do better. Some of these workers can be persuaded to stay and re-engage, bringing disproportionate value to the organization and their coworkers.

Actions companies can take:

Identify high potential and high-performing workers who may be exploring other options. While enticing counteroffers may deter them from leaving, more effective actions should ideally come before that point.

Strong people leaders who are connected to their teams can keep a pulse on morale, helping to make people feel valued and ensuring that the organization’s compensation packages and benefits are on par for the market average. Also, they can ensure that career paths are clearly designed, with meaningful changes to role type or scope of responsibilities.

2. The disruptors: Actively disengaged and likely to demoralize others

We estimate this group to be around 11 percent of the workforce in a typical organization.

Of the six segments, the actively disengaged group has the potential for the largest negative influence. This is not necessarily because of their behavior but because of how an organization treats them, coupled with the perception of their peers.

The disruptors are second only to the quitters in their dismal satisfaction and commitment rates, but by staying and either “ quiet quitting ” or loud quitting (that is, openly expressing their negative feelings about work), they model a lower level of performance. These employees aren’t disruptive in the positive sense of accelerating change at an organization. Instead, they are productivity and energy vampires, sucking the motivation out of work and workers around them. They also create more work for others and can undermine morale—especially when companies issue blanket pay raises or rewards.

According to equity theory, solid performers lose motivation if they feel that others who are not pulling their weight receive the same rewards. 5 It isn’t lost on high performers when their actively disengaged colleagues receive similar rewards and benefits for a fraction of the work. This feeling of inequity will eventually truncate the efforts, motivation, and commitment of an organization’s best people. Conversely, when peers hold one another accountable, research shows that productivity can increase. 6

Actions companies can take:

These disengaged employees lost trust in the organization over time and began to behave in a counterproductive way. Yet employers should reject the notion that these individuals are inherently toxic; rather, it’s their actions that are having a toxic effect on the workplace.

Leaders should both address those who are already in this category and prevent strong performers from falling into it.

Employees already in this group may feel that their needs are not being met, so they rebel and start a vicious cycle that reinforces their behavior within the organizational ecosystem. Career development and advancement opportunities are essential for employees in this group to see that the organization is investing in them and that they have a positive future. Showing a deeper connection between the work they are doing and a higher purpose is also important. Employees with a higher sense of purpose at work are less likely to leave or disengage, McKinsey analysis shows . 7 Lastly, managers can ensure that the compensation package meets the bar for the market average.

If these strategies don’t work, companies can offer a change of scenery. Shifting people’s roles, teams, or their network of collaborators may give them the fresh start they need to re-engage and be fulfilled. They might be assigned a coach or mentor or given a performance-related plan to track improvements. If none of these interventions are effective, it may be just a matter of time before some people leave.

At the same time, leaders can protect their best performers from feelings of inequity for carrying such a heavy load while the most disruptive workers are behaving counterproductively. Here, four actions can help: ensure that the performance management system recognizes and rewards high performance ; make sure that managers are trained in providing individualized praise and public recognition for a job well done; connect the work that star performers are doing with a higher organizational purpose; and provide star performers with advancement opportunities that reflect their high performance and potential.

3. The mildly disengaged: Doing the bare minimum

We estimate this group to be around 32 percent of the workforce in a typical organization.

Mildly disengaged workers, who report below-average commitment and performance levels, are neither satisfied nor actively disengaged and disruptive in a way that harms the organization. They do put in the time and effort to fulfill minimum job requirements, but they are not proactive, lagging behind in well-being and self-reported performance. Leaders should not expect these workers to make sacrifices for the company over their personal lives.

This group’s sagging productivity—along with the financial costs associated with the previous two archetypes—can cost companies dearly in lost value. Taken together, these three groups comprise more than half of a typical organization’s workforce. Still, most of these employees can be re-energized to significantly improve their engagement and commitment, yielding a big performance boost.

Actions companies can take:

To elevate performance in this group, employers can target similar EVP factors as for the disruptors, while adding flexibility . This means considering not just where a job is done but also how and when it gets done. Autonomy is crucial to these employees. As workers who are dissatisfied but still doing the bare minimum, they may recapture their zest for the job with the help of an increased sense of agency. If they are micromanaged, they may further disengage and risk falling into the actively disengaged group.

However, if leaders offer these workers opportunities to develop, with a solid compensation package and autonomy over their work, they can cross the threshold toward engagement. This can bring clear financial benefits to the company while increasing the morale of a core contingent of workers.

Interestingly, when employees are dissatisfied and seeking recognition for their value, compensation acts as only a temporary motivator for retention.

4. The double-dippers: A growing phenomenon

We estimate this group to be around 5 percent of the workforce in a typical organization.

Double-dippers, who are uniquely dispersed along the satisfaction spectrum, are full-time salaried workers who hold two or more jobs simultaneously, likely without their employers’ knowledge. This phenomenon is present across our multinational survey sample, particularly among those working in mostly remote settings.

These employees, also known as “polyworkers,” sound like bad news on the productivity front, but are they? Our analysis indicates that the answer is “it depends.” These workers are almost evenly split between those who are engaged and contributing and those who are disengaged and chipping away at an organization’s collective efforts. While these workers may hold two or more jobs, their reasons for doing so vary depending on where they are on the satisfaction spectrum.

Actions companies can take:

Mandating a return to the office is unlikely to be the solution. Double-dipping, especially from the lens of juggling multiple jobs and managing workplace relationships, is unsustainable or undesirable for the majority of the workforce.

Leaders are best served by focusing on the dissatisfied double-dippers. Inadequate total compensation and a lack of career development and advancement opportunities emerge as the two key motivators for this group. Because many double-dippers may be working more than one job out of necessity, improving compensation levels to the market average or adding benefits can go a long way toward reducing this behavior. For example, workers could be offered transportation passes, meal stipends, and on-site or subsidized childcare.

To further address these issues, managers can work alongside HR leaders to carefully map career paths and role responsibilities. This can help to ensure that workers don’t feel trapped in roles without advancement opportunities or in jobs that lack clarity of scope.

5. The reliable and committed: Going above and beyond

We estimate this group to be around 38 percent of the workforce in a typical organization.

On the positive side of the satisfaction spectrum, this archetype represents the organizational core: reliable performers who execute on business-as-usual activities. Because they are satisfied and committed, they will go above and beyond for their employer. For example, they help their peers by sharing ideas for projects on which they’re not formally staffed while also performing activities that promote the organization, such as volunteering for extra work.

Actions companies can take:

This group has all the right ingredients for sustained strong performance if mixed the right way. To uncover the hidden gems in this group who need the right elements to take their work to the next level, companies can consider re-creating the conditions that work best for their high performers.

Individuals in this archetype are motivated by meaningful work , flexibility, and a workplace environment that has supportive coworkers who are open to collaboration (and that nips toxicity in the bud). Additional compensation won’t further motivate this group, but unfairness will demotivate them.

6. The thriving stars: Creating value and elevating others

We estimate this group to be around 4 percent of the workforce in a typical organization.

The thriving stars are the top talent in your organization: these are the rare employees who bring disproportionate value to the company. They achieve high levels of sustained well-being and performance because of a virtuous cycle of factors. They create work–life balance because they are adaptable and resilient . They have found meaning and purpose at work, allowing them to achieve stellar performance not just for themselves but also for the people around them. Thrivers can have a hugely positive impact on performance and productivity by, among other things, creating psychological safety and trust in a team setting .

While natural ability limits the number of people who can be stars, the right conditions can help organizations uncover workers who have the right traits and motivation to get there. One important caveat: this group’s status puts them at elevated risk of burnout from having a higher workload. This is a particular peril as it relates to doing creative activities, having feelings of inequity from picking up the slack for others, and being overly requisitioned on projects, leading to the burden of over-collaboration. 8

Actions companies can take:

It is crucial to protect these value creators and drivers of innovation from the deleterious effects of the actively disengaged. Moreover, high performance without high well-being is likely hard to sustain. Companies can take actions that balance both; otherwise, trading one for the other will likely catch up to these workers in the long run.

To prevent burnout and create sustainable conditions , managers can limit both the number of projects these stars are deeply involved in and those for which they are asked to provide input. Tapping into meaning and purpose also helps the EVP for these employees.

Employee groups and the working model: A case study

To understand the organizational conditions that can help improve the performance of all employee archetypes, we focused on the thriving stars and how they believe they fare under various working models. (Thriving stars represent a small portion of the workforce, but their influence is outsize.) We wanted to understand what proportion of these stars works in hybrid, remote, or in-person settings and how each model motivates them.

We found that thriving stars are more likely to flourish in hybrid and remote-working models than in the mostly in-person model. All other factors being equal, this suggests that the working model has an impact on people’s ability to balance satisfaction, commitment, well-being, and self-reported performance (Exhibit 4).

The groups that are disengaged (that is, the disruptors and the mildly disengaged) feel that they are performing below average, their well-being is suffering, or both. The reliable and committed tend to fare better and find balance in a hybrid environment, as mostly in-person work negatively affects their well-being and mostly remote work affects their perceived performance. The thriving stars report similar levels of performance and well-being across models, yet there are more of them in hybrid or remote models.

Our data show that 45 percent of thriving stars work remotely, compared with 36 percent in hybrid environments and only 19 percent in person. As some of our past research has shown , this might indicate significant talent advantages to providing employees, particularly an organization’s best talent, with autonomy and flexibility in how they work. 9

If leaders believe that thriving stars provide a contagion effect in elevating the morale and performance of those around them (analogous to concerns about the potential negative effects of disruptors), they may want to consider ways of increasing connectivity between those top performers and the broader organization. Strategies include supporting purposeful in-person presence or dedicated moments of virtual collaboration and mentorship.

Thriving stars’ preference for remote and hybrid work creates a conundrum for leaders who may not be comfortable with virtual interactions or a virtual-collaboration model, but recognize that increasing the in-person presence of top performers risks undermining the flexibility and autonomy these employees cherish.

However, rather than mandating more in-office time in rigid or mechanistic ways, leaders can look at this new reality as an opportunity to engage with their thriving stars and to think through how to amplify their impact via mentorship, collaboration, and interaction with others across working models. This approach also increases the likelihood that their high engagement and performance levels remain sustainable over time.

The challenge for leaders and managers is learning how to measure employee effectiveness without a bias toward presence. In our State of Organizations research , we found that only 15 percent of managers said they are comfortable managing remote and hybrid teams. 10 As disruptive technologies like AI and generative AI change the nature of work, humans will be focusing more and more on innovative tasks that require creativity, collaboration, judgment, alignment, and team problem solving (and the correspondingly high levels of trust). Better to be ahead of the curve.

To address the challenge of high dissatisfaction and lower productivity among employees, companies can work to keep thriving stars satisfied and engaged while also creating the same conditions for other types of workers. It’s not possible to alter the behaviors of all of the disruptors and mildly disengaged. But leaders can identify those employees who are more likely to respond to thoughtful interventions, including career development opportunities, flexibility, and a greater sense of purpose. This strategy can reduce costs from lost productivity and build a more resilient and engaged workforce.

Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/some-employees-are-destroying-value-others-are-building-it-do-you-know-the-difference

7 Lesser-known ways HR technology can influence your business

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 04:24:16 GMT

Leveraging the latest technology in human resource management can be game changing for your organization, offering immediate benefits like convenient access to HR documents, integrated employee information and powerful workforce analytics.

But there are several lesser-known benefits many employers just don’t think about when first considering upgrading their HR technology.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of seven surprising ways that implementing new HR technology can influence your business for the better.

Take a look, and let us know in the comments which of the following benefits would matter most to your organization.

1. Simplify seasonal hiring

Does your business bring in workers seasonally, sometimes rehiring the same employees year after year during busy seasons?

The right HR platform can make seasonal recruiting and hiring much easier. Employee data is stored and saved in your system, simplifying the process of reaching back out and reactivating employment – no repetitive data entry required.

Once on board, your technology can also streamline scheduling, time tracking and payroll for your seasonal hires and their managers.

2. Increase benefits program enrollment

Not only can an HR information system (HRIS) simplify the way you manage your benefits program with quick and secure online enrollment, but your HRIS may also help you achieve greater benefits utilization.

An easier enrollment process naturally encourages this increase for many employers. And automatic enrollment reminders sent to new hires can make this happen with little additional effort on your part.

If your system provides you with utilization analytics on the back end, technology can also help you make better decisions about your benefits program design in the future.

3. Support benefits selection with artificial intelligence (AI)

Many HR platforms enable you to provide a personalized, AI-powered bot to support your employees through the benefits selection process.

Using this AI, your employees can get answers to many common benefits questions on demand. And having a responsive, one-on-one resource to walk your employees through their selection process may help them feel more comfortable making choices and enrolling for benefits online.

4. Automate training sequences

Another thing that HR technology can do really well is support your employees’ training and development. Your human capital management (HCM) system can automatically put the right training modules in front of new users – and you won’t even need to think about it.

Training sequences can be set up by:

An employee’s ZIP code (to account for any location-specific training needed)
Role (to satisfy job-specific training requirements)
Job site
Supervisor status
Length of employment (to account for new-employee training)

Again, your HCM system can completely automate the task of getting the right training in front of the right employees at the right time – upon hire and throughout the tenure of every employee.

5. Improve employee perceptions

Today’s employees are career consumers , and they’re shopping for a satisfying employee experience with your company. Your HR technology can greatly influence how your team perceives you as an employer:

Do your employees see you as clunky or cutting-edge?
Is your communication with employees transparent or opaque?
Is information easy to access when needed (e.g., W-2s, paystubs)?
Is it cumbersome or quick for your employees when they need to update their home address or add a new child to their health benefits?

Furthermore, by helping your managers stay on top of onboarding, training and performance management, your HRIS can also improve the dynamics between your supervisors and their direct reports. Research has shown that an employee’s interaction with their manager is one of the most important factors for success. To create an excellent employee experience, you must have an effective manager experience, and the right HCM software can play an important role in that.

6. Manage your costs

Using technology in human resource management can be part of an effective HR strategy to help you maximize productivity and manage risks – which may ultimately translate into greater cost efficiency.

If you have a lean HR department, it can be advantageous to choose an HR technology platform with built-in support services to help keep your costs in check. Some cloud-based systems allow you to buy only what you need, which in theory may help you find a solution with a more favorable entry price for your company’s budget and stage of growth. However, you’ll want to make certain that any HR platform you select comes with the level of support you need to get the most from it. Otherwise, extra fees for add-on services you might need along the way can add up quickly and negate any potential savings.

And because business needs can change over time, it’s a good idea to go with HR software and services that easily scale up or down with your company.

7. Get more time to connect with employees

A core benefit of using technology to streamline repetitive processes is that it can help HR leaders focus more on strategic initiatives and planning. As a result, you may find yourself in a position to be more intentional with how your spend your time and engage with people throughout your organization. With the right HR technology, you should be able to offload many of your day-to-day tactical and transactional activities, and build the trust and connection with your employees that will move your company forward.

That may translate into more check-ins with department heads, more welcome calls to new employees, or more events and trainings in which you can personally participate. But at the end of the day, HR is relationship-driven work and, surprisingly, technology can help you stay true to that.

Wondering what you should look for in an HR technology solution? What about how you can determine which platform would be the best fit for your organization? Our free e-book is a great place to start: HR technology: How to choose the best platform for your business .

Source: https://www.insperity.com/blog/lessor-known-ways-hr-technology-can-influence-your-business/

Job Description Writing Tips For HR Professionals

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 04:09:48 GMT

The process of recruiting new members into your company is one you do not want to get wrong. Any mistakes here could lead to a bad hire, the cost of which is often quite high.

This is why every aspect of the recruitment process needs to be done right. That includes something as “insignificant” as creating your job description.

Table of Contents

What is a Job Description?

A job description is any content accompanying a job posting that clearly details the essential requirements of an open position. It tells applicants what the job position is , what duties they would be expected to perform, what responsibilities they are expected to fulfill, and the skills required to fill the post.

A great job description helps ensure that the job application attracts suitable candidates. This improves the quality of candidates interviewers have to deal with, thereby making the process much easier and more efficient.

Components of Great Job Descriptions

Great job descriptions contain a number of key elements that set them apart from other descriptions. Missing any of these elements in your description is a sign that it still needs some more work. Below are these key components:

Job Title

Of course, your job description should have your job title written clearly. This is the first filter that helps you keep out those candidates that are unfit or unqualified for the job.

Your job title should be brief and reflect the content and scope of the job. It should give potential candidates a hint about what the job is and what to expect of them. For example, Librarian, Copywriter, Sales Manager, Full-Stack Web Developer, etc.

About the Role Section

While the title provides a sort of “bird’s eye view” picture of the job, the role section provides a “binocular-like view”. This is where you give an overview of the job, letting candidates know about the role and the responsibilities that come with it. It is essentially a summary of the entire description .

Job Duties and Responsibilities

This is where you fletch out the details about the role and provide a list of significant duties to carry out by the candidate. This part of the description points out the essential nature of the position a candidate is applying for and the responsibilities that come with it.

The job duties and responsibilities section helps further filter the crop of potential candidates, weeding out unfit ones and leaving only their capable counterparts.

Basic Requirements

This section contains the requirements for the position, telling potential candidates the minimum required level of know-how required to hold the job. This would often include educational requirements, work experience, technical knowledge, skills , and key competencies.

When creating your job description, make sure to list out every single requirement for the position to ensure that applicants have a clear understanding of what they are.

This way, candidates who do not meet any of these requirements don’t even bother applying in the first place. And even if they do, these requirements make it easy to screen out such candidates before the actual interview.

Preferred Qualification

After basic requirements, preferred qualifications are a great addition to a job description. Unlike basic requirements, preferred qualifications are not must-haves. Instead, there are requirements that would increase the chances of a candidate getting the job.

In short, candidates who do not meet these requirements still get considered for the job, but those who do are more likely to get it.

Things to include in this section include advanced degrees or professional certification, additional years of experience, additional skill set, proficiency in using advanced software or gadgets, etc.

Conclusion

The job description you create greatly affects the quality of candidates you have applying for the position. It also determines how smoothly your recruiting process will go.

A great job description should contain all the components mentioned above. Need some more help with the recruitment process? Sesame HR can help you with recruitment, onboarding, and other talent management solutions.

Source: https://www.sesamehr.com/blog/job-description-tips/

How to Optimise Your Recruitment Strategy to Attract and Retain Gen Z Talent

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 03:49:17 GMT

The workforce is evolving, and with it, the methods of recruitment. Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, are now entering the job market in force. With over 61 million Gen Z individuals set to enter the job market by 2025 , which will make up 25% of the workforce, as a recruiter, understanding how to attract and engage Gen Z candidates is crucial for finding the best talent for your clients. In this blog, we'll explore key strategies and tips to help you connect with and recruit Gen Z candidates effectively.

Gen Z, having grown up in a digital era, brings a unique set of values, communication styles, and tech-savvy prowess to the table. Their affinity for flexibility, purpose-driven work, and rapid communication channels has reshaped the recruitment landscape. So how – and why – your strategy should change when addressing Gen Z candidates? If you think this is all too much hustle, think again – because Gen Z candidates differ from any others you’ve recruited so far. As this digital-savvy cohort comes of age, you must tailor their strategies to resonate with Gen Z's desire for authentic and transparent employer branding. An astounding 70% of Gen Z candidates prefer to work for companies whose values align with their own – and who shout about it online. The era of generic recruitment tactics is fading; instead, an approach that emphasizes personalised engagement, technology integration, and diversity and inclusion is paramount.

But what does mean for your recruitment strategy – and can you make the needed changes without spending days on restructuring your whole recruitment process?

Embrace digital recruitment platforms

Gen Z are digital natives, and they are most active on various online platforms. They bring a unique set of values, communication style and tech-savvy prowess to the table. To attract them, you must have a strong online presence.

Use platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter to share job openings, engage with potential candidates, and showcase your clients' success stories. Make sure you stand out amongst your competitors by keeping your content relevant and engaging and make sure to spread your content across different platforms to cast the net as wide as possible. Think about where Gen Z’s spend their time online – it won’t be as much LinkedIn as it will be Instagram, TikTok, or even Twitter, make sure you adjust your choice of platforms to their liking and utilise the type of content that performs best on these platforms.

Leverage video content

Video content is a powerful tool to engage Gen Z candidates. Create informative and engaging video job descriptions, virtual office tours, and employee testimonials. Short, visually appealing videos are more likely to grab their attention and give them a sense of what it's like to work for your clients. After the TikTok takeover, 73% of consumers prefer to learn about services and products from short videos above any other type of content – so use it wisely!

If you haven’t started to use Tik Tok you might be missing a trick here. Gen Z candidates will likely be spending a lot of time on Tik Tok compared to other generations - so why not give it a go? You could snap up the talent that your competitors are missing out on! Creating TikTok content might be intimidating at first, but this TikTok recruitment guide will help you get started.

Craft compelling job descriptions and adverts that really sell your client

Gen Z candidates value authenticity and transparency. Did you know that 95% of Gen Z candidates believe that companies should get involved in bigger, worldwide issues ? When creating job descriptions for your clients, focus on clear and concise language. Highlight the company's mission, values, and culture. Gen Z candidates are more likely to apply if they can see how they can make a meaningful impact and align with the company's values.

As Gen Z candidates tend to be more socially conscious it’s important to highlight your client's corporate social responsibility initiatives, such as sustainability efforts, community involvement, or diversity and inclusion programs. Show that your clients are committed to making a positive impact in the world.

Another thing Gen Z candidates are ambitious about is growth opportunities. Emphasise opportunities for professional development and growth within your client's companies. Highlight mentorship programs, training initiatives, and career advancement prospects in job adverts.

Streamline the application process

Gen Z candidates appreciate efficiency. Simplify the application process as much as possible. Make sure your agency invests in a modern and user-friendly website that offers easy access to job listings, resources, and a simple application process.

Remember that Gen Z candidates are mobile-first. Ensure that your website is optimised for mobile and that your application and registration forms are easy to complete from one - this can really put off a Gen Z candidate from applying for one of your roles they see when scrolling on their phone if they then have to log on to their laptop to apply later.

Showcase your client’s work-life balance

Work-life balance is essential to Gen Z candidates. If your clients offer flexible work arrangements or remote options, make sure to highlight these in your job descriptions. 70% of workers believe that a good work-life balance is vital when choosing a new job – and 57% say it’s a deal breaker that would make them turn down the job. Be open to discussing flexible scheduling during the recruitment process to meet their needs. Gen Z candidates grew up witnessing burnout and inflexible work arrangements for older generations and there is a lot more awareness on mental health these days.

Communication is key

Gen Z candidates prefer clear and frequent communication. Keep them updated throughout the recruitment process and be responsive to their inquiries. Make sure you personalise your interactions and take the time to understand how your candidate prefers to be communicated with. Make sure to provide feedback after every interview, even if they don't make it to the final round. This is key with any generation of course and it can really set you apart from your competitors.

Attracting Gen Z candidates requires adapting to their unique preferences and values. By embracing digital platforms, focusing on transparency, and catering to their needs, you can connect with this generation effectively and help your clients find the best talent for their organisations. Remember, understanding and respecting Gen Z's expectations and priorities will set you on the path to success in today's competitive recruitment landscape.

Source: https://blog.firefishsoftware.com/recruiting-gen-z-candidates

Building an Enterprise Talent Management Strategy: A Guide

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 02:46:42 GMT

A comprehensive and integrated talent management strategy is critical for the success of any organization. Particularly for C-suite executives at enterprises who need to collaborate with one another regularly to discuss both sides of talent management:

Talent acquisition : Attracting qualified candidates through savvy recruitment marketing and passive sourcing, and turning the best-fit prospects into new employees
Workforce empowerment : Ensuring high performance for all staff members by aligning their KPIs with business goals, and working to develop (and retain) said employees

In short, the effectiveness of your talent management strategy has long-term implications for your bottom line, employee productivity, and overall growth. The challenge for business leaders such as yourself is to strike the perfect balance in terms of resource allocation. That is, you need to:

Set your entire TA team up for success to make sure they’re able to consistently add premier prospects to their talent pool, advance those individuals through their recruitment funnel, and help hiring managers decide which ones deserve job offers
Enable managers and human resources to help new hires hit the ground running from day one, regularly engage employees to ensure they have everything they need to thrive, and monitor their contributions to organizational performance over time

It’s clear talent management includes a lot of moving parts.

That said, your C-suite can establish a strong talent management system that addresses both sides of the talent coin, so to speak, by keeping your TA and HR leaders in the loop regarding workforce planning efforts (and changes) and providing them with world-class tech that helps them hire high-quality talent at scale and ensure all employees help the org realize the desired business outcomes.

What a strong talent management strategy looks like

What’s needed to build and sustain a well-oiled talent management machine today is straightforward:

On the human resources side , HR “must partner with executive leaders to manage future talent risks while addressing workflow risks,” according to Gartner.
On the talent acquisition side , TA must “be an ambassador for the company who shows others why they would want to be part of the team ” and use “effective recruiting strategies [that] … help [them] find the right people,” Forbes contributor Kimberlee Leonard recently wrote.
On the people managers side , team leaders must “ expand career development beyond those employees who are considered ‘high potential,'” per MIT Sloan Management Review contributors George Westerman and Tony Gigliotti.
And on the executive leadership side , C-suites must enable all three aforementioned stakeholders to succeed with these respective tasks on their plates and achieve OKRs assigned to them to ensure a steady stream of strong talent “enters the door” and is empowered to excel in their respective roles.

Before your enterprise can realize this vision, you first need to implement a holistic, sound, well-coordinated talent management strategy. Once you do, you can realize substantial benefits, including:

Increased employee engagement and satisfaction

When employees know they’re valued and have opportunities to learn and grow within the company, they’re more likely to be engaged and satisfied with their work . Plain and simple.

And this increased engagement leads to higher productivity, better customer service, and improved overall performance.

The key is ensuring you regularly address issues with and constantly improve your company culture — an oft-forgotten element (and a critical one at that) of successful talent management strategies.

“ Company culture is often a leading driver in whether an employee feels like they’re a good fit with the business or if they choose to look for employment elsewhere,” human resources expert Jordan Nottrodt recently wrote for HRMorning. “Offering competitive wages is not enough.”

Improved workforce efficiency and communication

A major advantage of establishing linkages between your TA and HR systems (more on that shortly) is your newfound ability to centralize processes and streamline communication channels.

This, in turn, enables human resources generalists, people managers, and (you guessed it) executives such as yourself to coordinate and collaborate more effectively.

That’s because info related to both active candidates, new hires, and existing employees can be easily and securely shared across teams.

Increased efficiency as it relates to syncing insights tied to prospective hires and current staff members can lead to better decision-making (e.g., TA using quality-of-hire data to inform sourcing improvements). Moreover, it can help shorten hiring cycles and contribute to smoother onboarding experiences — both of which positively impact employee satisfaction and time to productivity.

Better employee retention rates across each team

A well-executed talent management strategy reduces turnover rates by creating a strong employee value proposition (EVP). When employees understand the long-term professional and personal benefits of staying with the company, they’re less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere.

It’s when candidates of interest and current employees don’t feel connected to your org’s mission and values that you and others on your C-suite need to alter your EVP and talent management approach.

“Is [your company’s purpose] the reason potential employees are interested in getting to know your organization ?,” Prescient Strategists Managing Partner Dr. Curtis Odom wrote for Forbes. “Does it energize your current employees? Are you doing your best to encourage curiosity and a willingness to go the extra mile? If the answer [to these] is no, redefining your purpose is a necessity.”

Ensuring only the “right” talent is engaged and hired

One of the most critical aspects of a robust talent management strategy is attracting high-quality candidates who are well-suited for job openings and deemed likely culture-adds to the business.

By combining TA and employee growth efforts, your org can create clearly defined career paths and development opportunities that effectively showcase the potential for advancement and learning.

These long-term initiatives around career mobility and learning programs are essential in attracting top-tier talent who would be more inclined to remain with the company for a longer tenure.

By providing opportunities for continuous learning and skills upgrades, your company can boost its resilience and ensure long-term success. Meanwhile, your workers are able to reskill and upskill — something many likely have long desired and that will set you apart from other employers.

The key components of a modern — and successful — talent management strategy

To realize the above benefits of a talent management approach, your must ensure your org has:

A highly scalable and repeatable talent acquisition approach

Aside from well-defined processes and routinely optimized recruiting tactics and techniques, your TA teams also needs an advanced applicant tracking system (ATS) built specifically for enterprises to streamline the end-to-end hiring process and build a strong candidate pipeline.

Only with such a recruitment platform in place can all your talent specialists see real-time statuses of all active opportunities, understand what actions are needed to advance these individuals in their funnels, and make data-backed decisions using actionable, always-up-to-date candidate insights.

A concerted focus on ongoing employee development

As noted, key element of a successful talent management strategy is a perpetual workforce training program. Your e-staff must invest in learning and development initiatives to enhance organizational capabilities and institutional knowledge, bridge critical skill gaps, and support professional growth.

“Access to … comprehensive skills data can help leaders make much better strategic decisions about talent management,” RedThread Research Cofounder and Principal Analyst Dani Johnson told SHRM.

A dedicated strategy around performance management

A strong performance management process helps gauge employee performance and provide timely feedback, fostering open communication channels and driving continuous improvement.

Work with your human resources team to identify critical success factors, establish clear performance expectations, and facilitate employee evaluations.

Only when this is executed can you and other business leaders and managers capably discern strengths and areas for improvement in terms of your existing human capital.

Refining your talent management processes

At the end of the day, to fully reap the benefits of talent management, your must integrate your talent acquisition and HR systems to realize more structured processes, enhance cross-functional comms, and improve data-driven decision-making.

Here’s how an integrated approach can be implemented:

Ensure strong collaboration among executive, HR, and TA teams

Enhancing communication across the org is a ceaseless endeavor. Nevertheless, your C-suite must be the ones to drive an ongoing dialogue with TA and HR teams to ensure they’re aligned on key goals, challenges, and needs so they can plan their recruiting and evaluation efforts accordingly.

Regular meetings and data-sharing can promote transparency and encourage collaboration.

Connect key human resources and talent acquisition tech

With a best-in-class enterprise ATS at the center of your TA tech stack, you can then connect said system into your HCM and HRIS for seamless data transfer and real-time synchronization.

That means recruiters can access data tied to performance reviews and quality of hire, which can tell them which employees who were once passive prospects they sourced turned into low- and high-performing employees. In turn, these insights can help them adjust their sourcing approach.

Develop a competency framework for each business role

And finally, implement a uniform set of metrics to assess employees’ skills, knowledge, and abilities across teams. This type of framework can serve as a foundation for performance evaluations, training programs, and succession planning, fostering consistency and cohesion across HR and TA.

Source: https://www.jobvite.com/blog/talent-management-strategy/

How To Strategize Your Job Search

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 02:34:52 GMT

When you’re hunting for a new job, the biggest challenges are always knowing where to start, how to get organized, and figuring out the most effective way to approach your job search. In this article, I share a helpful structure and approach that can maximize your ability to land the right new job.

Identify your job goals—and share them with your network

Start by thinking critically about what you are searching for in your next position, and create a document outlining what is most important to you. Here are the key elements:

Outline a list of the job titles, industries, and companies you are targeting.
Identify what is important to you in your next role.

PROMOTED

List your must-haves: are they location, industry, salary, health insurance, flexible PTO?
Identify those things you would be willing to forgo, understanding that in such a competitive market, there will likely be things you have to compromise on.

Once this document is complete, share it widely with your network. Send it in an email to close friends, family members, former coworkers, and anyone else who may be willing to help you with your job search. People can’t help you if they don’t have a clear understanding of what you’re looking for. Ask if they know of any companies that match this description and find out if they’re hiring—or, most important, if they can make a referral.

See the resource section at the end of this article for an example of a “Job Search Goals” list, written for an event planning job.

Organizing your job search

The key to an effective job search is building a sustainable schedule in which you balance searching for a job with self-care so you don’t go completely crazy and burn yourself out. Staying organized is essential to this process.

Start by creating your own version of this sample Job Search Spreadsheet .
Use this document to keep track of roles you’re interested in, if you’ve been referred, whom it is you’re talking to at each place, if you have any pending action items, etc. Being able to quickly see the progress you’ve made for each job in a single spreadsheet is much more efficient than trying to find information buried in many different email messages.
Another tool I’ve created is a template for a Job Search Weekly Plan , which includes a balance of searching for jobs in online job boards with different, but equally important job-search tactics such as talking to friends and acquaintances about possible job opportunities, professional networking, etc.
Once you’ve got a plan in place, create weekly recurring calendar events at specific times to make sure you’re staying on track—and stick to it! Here is a sample Google Calendar to customize.
Make it a weekly goal to have live conversations with people about your job search. Reach out to people in your network and outside of your network for advice as well as to find out where they are connected and how they might be able to help.
Prepare for interviews even when you don’t have one scheduled, especially if you have to go through technical interviews. It takes the pressure off if you get an interview scheduled with a quick turnaround. Write out answers to possible interview questions.
Conduct mock interviews, record them, and listen to how you answered so you can figure out where you can improve.

Finding and applying for the jobs you want

The old method of finding jobs online and clicking the “apply” button is often very unsuccessful. Looking at LinkedIn and seeing hundreds of people applying to a single role can be very discouraging. Whenever possible, leverage your own network for referrals.

Start by using Google’s job search tool to find the jobs you want to apply for. Google will pull results from all the job boards on the internet. To look up job postings, for example, type in “Events Manager Jobs in San Francisco” and it will curate postings from LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, etc.
Once you find a job you want to apply for, this is where the networking comes in. Use LinkedIn to find connections. Look up the company name on LinkedIn, click on “See all X number of employees that work here,” and filter results by your 1st- and 2nd-degree connections. You need LinkedIn Premium to do this, because without it, only the first few people at the company will be shown and you’ll get a message saying, “You need to upgrade to premium to view the rest.”
If you have any 1st- or 2nd-degree connections at the company, it’s best to start there. See the next section of this article on how to request introductions.
Another great tip for your job search is to leverage groups like Albert’s List on Facebook, both for referrals, but also for helping you get connected to a Job Search Mentor.

Asking for an introduction to a company connection

It is very important to get a warm personal introduction to someone at the company you are interested in. Here are some general guidelines when seeking an introduction:

Send an email to your contact requesting an introduction, and always include a link to the job description.
Wait until they reply before you send a resume (unless it’s someone you know well and are certain their answer will be yes).
If it’s a job you really want, don’t wait! It’s okay to ask more than one person for an introduction and go with whoever answers first.

Of course, it goes without saying, you should always be willing to return the favor in the future.

Sample message if it’s someone you know personally

If you have any 1st-degree connections on LinkedIn, contact them and ask them to refer you to the job. Sample message:

Jim, I’m interested in applying to the [insert job title and link to job posting] role I saw listed at [insert company name]. Would you be willing to refer me for this position? I can send along my resume. I’ve included a brief note about myself and my expertise you can forward along as needed. Thanks!

Sample message if a 2nd-degree connection works at the company

Start by reaching out to YOUR connection for an introduction to their connection, as this is typically more effective. Sample message:

Hey Tina, how well do you know [2nd-degree connection name] over at [company name]? I see a job posting there I am interested in applying to, and I’m wondering if you know her/him well enough that you’d be willing to make an introduction or pass along my resume.

When you have 2nd-degree connections but don’t know your connections well enough, here is what you can say. Sample message:

Hi, Molly. I came across your profile as I was looking at a job posting for [job title and link] at [company name]. I noticed we have many connections to people I attended school with, so I thought I’d reach out and see if you’d be willing to chat about the company and maybe pass along my resume as well. Thanks so much!

Sample message if you don’t have any connections to the company

If you don’t have any connections to the company at all, use LinkedIn to see who works at the company. Click on as many people as possible and read through their biographies and job titles. Aim for folks that are on a similar career level or only slightly more senior. Senior level folks are busy and less likely to answer. If they “view” you back on LinkedIn, it opens up doors to a conversation. Always send a LinkedIn inmail, and don’t request a connection without an explanation. Sample message:

Hi Robert, I came across your profile as I was looking at a job posting for [job title and link] at [company name]. I am particularly interested in [company name] and would love the opportunity to chat with someone who works there and learn more about the product and culture. It seems like it’s a great fit for my skills and background and what I’m looking to do. Any chance you might be willing to chat and perhaps even pass along a resume for me? Hope you are doing well. Appreciate it.

APPENDIX OF HELPFUL RESOURCES

Sample Job Search Goals

Give your friends, family, and network the tools to help you with your job search by clearly outlining what you are seeking. These are just examples of what the parameters were for me when I was job searching:

Job titles

Event Manager
Community & Events Manager
Sr. Events Specialist
Event Marketing Manager
Field Marketing Manager
Corporate Events Manager
Event Coordinator

Industries

Tech/software companies

Potential target companies

Databricks
Google
Twitter
Square
Sendoso
Salesforce

Company details:

Companies over 100 employees in size
Decent amount of funding
Diverse executive team (women and people of color in leadership)

Target needs from job:

Local to San Francisco office
Flexibility to work remote sometimes
Reasonable salary expectations
Good healthcare and parental leave policies

Sample Job Search Spreadsheet

Create your own version of the Job Search Spreadsheet sample that I’ve created. Use this spreadsheet to track the different jobs and the current stages as well as action items in your interview process. Look at this daily so you can keep track of whom you need to follow up with and what your action items for the day are. This is especially helpful for keeping track of the names of different people in the process—who referred you, who the recruiter is, the name of the hiring manager, etc.

Sample Job Search Weekly Plan

Browsing jobs (60 min. every other day)

Browse jobs using Google’s search function.
Add jobs to your “Job Search Spreadsheet.”
Check jobs on Albert’s List on Facebook.
Use LinkedIn to look up who you know there, and message those people for an intro.

Company searching (60 min. every other day)

Make a list of companies your friends work at or have other close connections to.
Visit the company website and see what open jobs they have, and add them to your list if you want to apply.
Read about companies and make a list of ones you are most interested in:

Applying for jobs (on demand)

Adjust resume to match positions
Write cover letters
Submit applications online (last resort)

Networking (30 min., 2x per week)

GOAL: Connect with 2 people per week (1 friend + 1 stranger)
Reach out to friends to talk about jobs/their company 30 min. per week.
Reach out to people on LinkedIn that are in your field at companies you are interested in.

Check in with your accountability buddy (weekly or every other week)

Assign someone to help keep you accountable. Check in with a friend once a week for 30 minutes and go over what you’ve done the last few weeks for your job search.

Interview prep/interviewing (60 min. per week, even when an interview is not scheduled)

Have a friend conduct a mock interview.
Prepare answers to all the most commonly asked questions, especially “Tell me about your background,” “What makes you want to work for this company?” and “Tell me about a time when …”
Research the company thoroughly. Review each page of the company’s website (including customer case studies), Glassdoor, LinkedIn company page, and TechCrunch; do a Google search on the company; watch YouTube videos by the company or its CEO; and try to talk to a customer if you can.

Conclusion

Job searching, especially during a pandemic, can be especially discouraging and disheartening, but hopefully by adapting some of these tools and adding strategy to your search, you can feel like you’re making progress.

Setting small but achievable weekly goals, blocking your time on a calendar to help keep yourself accountable, leveraging your network for introductions and practice interviews, and planning time for personal interests like hobbies or exercise can help you keep the motivation going as you job search and interview.

Having a solid strategy for your job search is important to maximize your success of finding a new job. With the tools and solutions suggested in this article, you will be better prepared to organize that job search. Best of luck!

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2020/11/16/how-to-strategize-your-job-search/?sh=7fd92de539d4

The 6 skills every future leader needs

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 03:26:08 GMT

In this new and unpredictable world, relying on generic, traditional leadership approaches won’t be enough to keep up with the evolving demands of businesses. The world of work is forever changed, creating a need for better tools for leaders and managers to use to drive success. Organizations are becoming increasingly flat and networked, with dispersed workforces operating in hybrid, remote and in-person working arrangements. Old methods of managing people and leading teams are no longer effective.

By 2025, 75 percent of the workforce will be Millennials , with Gen Zers swiftly entering the workforce and on track to becoming the most diverse generation in U.S. history . Millennials want flexibility, career progression, meaning and purpose in their work. While these perks also appeal to Gen Zers, they will approach the workplace differently than their earlier counterparts, looking for personalized career experiences with a focus on connection and a commitment to social and environmental equity.

These structural and generational forces are heavily shaping what effective leadership looks like. As the future remains uncertain and employees increasingly seek to elevate and personalize their work experiences, organizations must reevaluate their talent development strategies, dusting off what is generic and outdated. It’s imperative to equip leaders with the skillset to fulfill the demands of a more human-centric approach to work, meeting the new post-pandemic expectations of employees while bracing for the effects of global warming and the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence.

While 83 percent of employers believe developing leaders at all levels is crucial, only 5 percent of companies have integrated leadership development into their business . No wonder 63 percent of Millennials feel their leadership skills are not being fully developed, with 71 percent reporting they will leave their job within two to three years if they don’t get access to leadership development and opportunities to grow .

The good news is that humans are biologically wired to grow, learn and become the best versions of themselves. If organizations offer leadership development programs focusing on the necessary skills for leading the future of work, they can greatly increase their success across critical metrics such as innovation, time to market, customer loyalty, employee engagement and retention.

Neuroscientists have discovered surprising information that gives us a new understanding of how to bring out the best in others and create an optimal work environment. Here are the six critical skills that future leaders must develop to meet the challenges and expectations of a shifting workforce.

Key skill #1: Managing people

Organizations often promote individuals to leadership positions based on their prior accomplishments rather than their ability to lead and manage others effectively. Gallup found that “only 18 percent of managers demonstrate a high level of talent for managing others—meaning a shocking 82 percent of managers aren’t very good at leading people .” It’s no surprise that this has implications for your talent. More than half (57 percent) of employees say they have quit a job because of a bad boss, and of those who stayed, one-third seriously considered leaving . And a whopping 84 percent of U.S. workers say poorly trained managers create a lot of unnecessary stress, even stifling innovation and risk-taking .

The good news is that managing people is a skill and can be learned with proper training and coaching. Leading today’s multigenerational and dispersed workforce requires a mindset shift—making the critical pivot from star performer to facilitator and realizing that success is now measured by creating the conditions for others to do their best work.

Leaders need to become authentically curious about their people, discovering what drives their sense of purpose, assessing their capabilities and providing the right support to accelerate their performance and confidence. The best people leaders tailor their approach and stay nimble to the different needs of their employees.

A one-size-fits-all to managing others won’t work in today’s hybrid world. For example, if a leader with a more directive style approaches all employees the same way, regardless of developmental level and tenure in the organization, they will likely get responses that range from appreciation to complaints of micromanagement. On the other hand, a hands-off style can leave some employees feeling overwhelmed while others thrive. A critical skill is the ability to accurately assess each employee and deliver the right kind of support, flexing as they grow and develop over time.

Key skill #2: Coaching for impact

Employees today expect their managers to act as coaches, not bosses. Appealing to them will require frequent check-ins and a personalized career experience beyond the one-and-done performance review. Research shows that for employees who check in at least weekly with their managers, 43 percent report being highly engaged, compared to 29 percent for those who don’t .

But not all check-ins are created equal. Leaders must be adept at wearing different hats throughout the day—sometimes of a coach, a mentor, a teacher, an adviser, or a leader—to best respond to the needs of an individual employee or team. Successful people leaders correctly identify what each employee needs, distinguish between different coaching styles, and use them to guide employees to achieve and exceed their potential. They understand skills training is best suited to employees who are new to career, new to organization or new to role. They set clear expectations and provide training on the skills needed for the employee to succeed. Over time, the best people leaders slowly reduce skills coaching and dial up clarity coaching , where they help cultivate the independence and confidence of the employee, leading to high levels of autonomy and trust.

Key skill #3: Increasing emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) has always been important, accounting for 80-90 percent of competencies that differentiate top performers . In fact, it’s twice as predictive of performance than IQ . EQ is consistently listed in “top 5 skills” lists, but as AI and other technologies proliferate, Klaus Schwab, the Chair of the World Economic Forum, believes EQ will become even more important for organizational success .

Self-awareness is the key that unlocks potential and is “the bedrock of emotional intelligence.” Donald Clifton’s research found that self-awareness was the single characteristic that great leaders share. You cannot learn to be a great leader without understanding yourself first. Leadership development programs must include critical topics like self-awareness and self-regulation, giving leaders the tools they need to understand and manage their own emotions in all kinds of settings. This includes understanding their core values, sense of purpose and personal history of triggers.

But that is only half of the equation because leaders are also responsible for cultivating the emotional intelligence of their people and teams. One study found that 75 percent of derailed careers are related to emotional competencies like self-regulation and empathy, so leaders must play a vital role in developing this critical skill in others.

Further, leaders need the skill to manage the collective EQ of their team or group as workplace conflict is often the result of clashing values, workstyles or triggers. “Reading the room” by observing and understanding the team’s collective mood is critical to moving them to a more productive place. When EQ on a team is high, the workplace is more empathetic, inclusive and harmonious, leading to higher productivity and engagement for all. It’s no wonder that studies show an ROI as high as 1000 percent for EQ training.

Key skill #4: Creating high-performing teams

The majority of today’s work is done in teams and neuroscience reveals that high-performing teams achieve neural synchrony. A common misconception among new leaders is that combining intelligent, talented and motivated people is enough to create a high-performing team. However, several studies show that this talent equation doesn’t always add up. Google’s Julia Rozovsky stated , “We were pretty confident that we’d find the perfect mix…for a stellar team. We were dead wrong. Who is on a team matters less than how the team members interact.”

Regardless of their composition, all teams go through a predictable process of learning how to work together. Understanding how teams develop over time allows leaders to assess where their teams are and develop the right interventions to help teams succeed. Did you know that teams typically follow one of two paths? One is increasing connection and productivity leading to peak performance and the other is a slide into dysfunction and learned helplessness. The path is ultimately determined by what happens in those early meetings, and something the leader can greatly influence.

Harvard’s Amy Edmondson identified psychological safety as a critical aspect for building high-performing teams. Leaders play a key role in creating the conditions for people to feel comfortable being themselves and taking chances without fear of judgment and repercussions. In fact, “leaders can influence nearly every one of the top factors associated with high psychological safety,” finds a report by Workhuman.

Leadership development programs should give leaders the skill to build and rebuild great teams through creating psychological safety, monitoring team development and providing the necessary interventions to keep the team on the path to peak performance.

Key skill #5: Leading effective change

Leading change is a crucial aspect of a leader’s role. Yet, many need more skills and support to lead change effectively. A Harvard study found that 50-70 percent of all change initiatives fail, while 29 percent of organizations report their initiatives launched without support. The good news is that leading change effectively is a learned skill.

Humans are biologically wired to resist change. Our brain instinctively sees change as potential danger until enough information proves otherwise. In the absence of a clear narrative, our brain creates its own, opting to base it on the worst-case scenario since doing so is most likely to protect us.

When change fails, it’s usually not because it was ill-conceived or poorly designed but because leaders did not communicate effectively or lead appropriately, triggering even more resistance. When leaders understand the biology of change, they can do a much better job leading people and helping them become more adaptive and resilient.

Finally, change does not happen in isolation. Organizations often launch multiple initiatives simultaneously without considering how they may affect their employees who in the end, will play a significate role in determining the success or failure of these initiatives. I share with my clients that every organization should consider having a “change controller.” Much like an air controller that works to avoid clashes by coordinating flights coming in and out, future leaders will need to look at changes coming in and out in the organization, function and team levels to avoid clashes, failure and employee burnout .

Key skill #6: Driving execution and accountability

Driving execution and accountability is part of every leader’s job description. But executing a vision and inspiring results can be challenging without the proper training. A study from Franklin Covey, an organization dedicated to developing leaders, found that poor leadership execution accounts for 80 percent of strategic failures. To improve strategic failures, leaders need the right training to drive execution and accountability in their organization.

It is important to distinguish between a company’s strategic goals, which drive the organization’s progress, and its operating goals, which involve the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. Only 5 percent of employees report being aware of or understanding their company’s strategy and 61 percent of senior executives acknowledge their organizations need to do better at bridging the gap between strategy and day-to-day implementation. The key is to make a clear distinction and communicate it frequently to employees so they can understand the direct link between their work and how it contributes to the company’s overall objectives.

Leaders who can inspire their teams to achieve results are the ones who are successful. Reporting and measuring these results is crucial for the organization’s overall benefit. Future leaders need to be skilled at establishing a series of interconnected measures that span from the highest level of the organization down to the lowest. Leaders must frequently measure and analyze data to better understand their execution effectiveness so their organizations can remain agile and competitive in uncertain times.

The future workplace is shaped by socioeconomic and technological trends, resulting in a more interconnected, flat, multi-generational and human-centric environment. To succeed in this landscape, future leaders must demonstrate mastery of the six critical skills required to lead tomorrow’s workforce. Organizations must facilitate the appropriate training, learning resources, and opportunities to practice the skills of tomorrow today.

SOURCE https://www.talentmgt.com/articles/2023/10/04/the-6-skills-every-future-leader-needs/

6 Job Search Tips That Are So Basic People Forget Them

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 03:13:19 GMT

The irony of job search advice: There’s so much available that you don’t have to spend more than four seconds Googling before you land on some nugget of wisdom or another.

Yet, at the same time, there’s so much available (some of which completely contradicts other advice you’ll find) that it can easily overwhelm you. Which, in fact, is probably the exact opposite outcome you’re looking for when you go sleuthing for genuinely useful counsel in the first place.

So let’s do this: Let’s boil things down to a short list of sound, timeless job searching tips that’ll help you fine-tune your strategy so that you may sail through the process (or at least cut out some of the unnecessary time and frustration).

1. Make Yourself a “Smack-in-the-Forehead” Obvious Fit

When you apply for a job via an online application process, it’s very likely that your resume will first be screened by an applicant tracking system and then (assuming you make this first cut) move onto human eyeballs. The first human eyeballs that review your resume are often those of a lower level HR person or recruiter, who may or may not understand all of the nuances of that job for which you’re applying.

Thus, it behooves you to make it very simple for both the computer and the human to quickly connect their “Here’s what we’re looking for” to your “Here’s what you can walk through our doors and deliver.”

Pro Tip

Study the job description and any available information you have on the position. Are you mirroring the words and phrases in the job description? Are you showcasing your strengths in the areas that seem to be of paramount importance to this role? Line it up.

2. Don’t Limit Yourself to Online Applications During Your Job Search

You want that job search to last and last? Well, then continue to rely solely on submitting online applications. You want to accelerate this bad boy? Don’t stop once you apply online for that position. Start finding and then endearing yourself to people working at that company of interest. Schedule informational interviews with would-be peers. Approach an internal recruiter and ask a few questions. Get on the radar of the very people who might influence you getting an interview. (More on that here .)

Pro Tip

By lining up with people on the inside of the companies at which you want to work, you will instantly set yourself apart. Decision makers interview people who come recommended or by way of a personal referral before they start sorting through the blob of resumes that arrives by way of the ATS.

3. Remember That Your Resume (and LinkedIn Profile) Is Not a Tattoo

Yes, your new resume is lovely. Your LinkedIn profile, breathtaking. However, if they don’t position you as a direct match for a particular role that you’re gunning for, don’t be afraid to modify wording, switch around key terms, and swap bullet points in and out. Your resume is not a tattoo, nor is your LinkedIn profile. Treat them as living, breathing documents throughout your job search (and career).

Pro Tip

If you’re a covert job seeker, remember to turn off your activity broadcasts (within privacy and settings) when you make edits to your LinkedIn profile. If your current boss or colleagues are connected to you on LinkedIn, they may get suspicious about all the frequent changes.

4. Accept That You Will Never Bore Anyone Into Hiring You

Don’t get me wrong—you absolutely must come across as polished, articulate, and professional throughout your job search. However, many people translate this into: Must. Be. Boring.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Realize that few people get hired because they had perfect white space on their cover letters , memorized all of the “correct” interview questions or used incredibly safe, common phraseology ( i.e., clichés ) throughout their resumes. All of this correctness is going to make you look staged and non-genuine. Instead, give yourself permission to be both polished and endearing. Memorable, likable candidates are almost always the ones who go the distance.

5. If You’re Not on LinkedIn, You Very Nearly Don’t Exist

Considering that more than 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary search tool, this is not an understatement. If you’re a professional, you need to not only be on LinkedIn, you need to be using it to your full advantage. Don’t believe me? Think about it this way: If tomorrow morning, a recruiter logs onto LinkedIn looking for someone in your geography, with expertise in what you do, and you’re not there? Guess who they’re going to find and contact? Yes, that person’s name is “not you.”

Pro Tip

If you figure out how to harness the power of no other social media tool for job search, figure out LinkedIn. It’s (by far) the best resource we have available today for career and job search networking, for finding people working at companies of interest, and for positioning yourself to be found by a recruiter who has a relevant job opening.

6. Your Thank You Matters

I once placed a candidate into an engineering role with a company that manufactures packaging equipment. He was competing head-to-head with another engineer, who had similar talents and wanted the job just as badly. My candidate sent a thoughtful, non-robotic thank you note to each person with whom he’d interviewed, within about two hours of leaving their offices. The other candidate sent nothing.

Guess why my candidate got the job offer? Yep, the thoughtful, non-robotic thank you notes. They sealed the deal for him, especially considering the other front-runner sent nothing.

Pro Tip

Consider crafting, original, genuine thank you notes (one for each interviewer) the moment you get back to a computer, following the interview. The speed with which you send the notes, and the quality, will make an impact.

And finally, remember that the interviewer cares much more about what you can do for them than what you want out of the deal. Certainly, they’re going to care a bunch about what you want once you establish your worth. But during the interview, you must demonstrate why you make business sense to hire, period.

Now, go forth and show your job search exactly who is the boss.

SOURCE https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-job-search-tips-that-are-so-basic-people-forget-them

12 Tips for Companies Looking to Hire Employees in 2023

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 02:49:57 GMT

Owing to a number of factors, many companies are struggling to hire new talent using conventional recruitment strategies. The Great Resignation phenomenon, whereby employees are leaving their jobs at an alarming rate, is one of the principal reasons. In addition, the low unemployment rate of 3.9% means workers can be more careful about choosing an employer.

According to the Bureau of Labor, the United States is short by over 11 million workers to fill vacant positions. And it’s not just about filling positions but also finding talented people who can grow and contribute to the company in meaningful ways.

Hiring managers need to understand these new trends to recruit the best talent possible, even if there aren’t as many candidates available.

What are the top 5 trends at the workplace in 2023?

Many factors will affect the future of work, including new technologies and social trends. As a result, various trends could shape hiring strategies in 2023. Below are five of the most significant trends recruiters should consider when looking to hire.

1) Wages will become more competitive

The economy is picking up, and unemployment rates are falling. As a result, companies will have to compete for the top talent by offering higher wages, better benefits, and more perks.

According to a recent survey by Deloitte, purpose-driven firms grow three times faster than their competitors. Employees want to work for companies with meaningful core values and clear organizational goals. By utilizing this strategy, employers can increase staff retention by 40% .

2) The focus will be on mental health and well-being

As more people come forward with mental health issues, employers will realize that they need to do more to support employees struggling with disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Some employers have started investing in programs that promote wellness among employees, not just physical wellness but also emotional wellness. These programs include meditation classes and mindfulness training.

3) The rise of AI and automation will change the nature of jobs

The rise of AI and automation means that companies will rely on technology more than ever before. People will need to take advantage of these technologies to focus on other tasks or projects instead of doing them manually.

AI-assisted collaboration will become even more prevalent in 2023 with advances in natural language processing (NLP) systems that enable us to communicate more effectively with our colleagues through tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and others.

4) Employees will expect more flexible work environments regarding location and hours worked

The growth of remote work means that employers need to create an environment where employees can work from anywhere instead of solely in the office every day.

Video conferencing will be a necessity for many companies as it becomes even easier to connect with colleagues worldwide from any location. . This trend will be enabled by faster networks, better quality video and audio, and improved security measures that encourage online collaboration through video conferencing applications such as Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts Meet (formerly Google+ Hangouts On Air).

5) Workplaces will become more diverse and inclusive

In 2022, workplaces will be more diverse and inclusive than today. Zora Aly identified more men working at “female” positions 6 years ago. You will see more men in nontraditional roles, like nursing and teaching. Women continue to rise in business and politics rapidly.

Companies will need to have diverse teams to keep up with the changing workforce needs. Inclusive workplaces will become even more critical as millennials make up a 75% of the workforce by 2025 , more than ever before and expect employers to provide benefits that meet their needs.

12 recruiting strategies when looking to hire employees

The recruiting process has changed significantly over the past few years, and so have the needs of hiring managers. Candidates are now more discerning about where they want to work and what type of culture they want to join before accepting a new job.

And when candidates do accept an offer, they’re looking for opportunities that align with their values and goals, which can make it harder for companies with no clear identity in terms of corporate culture or mission statement (or lack them altogether).

So if you’re looking to hire new staff, consider the following 12 recruitment strategies.

1) Incentivize referrals

One way to attract top talent is by incentivizing referrals. When employees are rewarded for referring someone who gets hired, it encourages them to spread the word about your company. For example, you can offer a $1,000 bonus to any employee whose referral is successful and remains for a minimum of 90 days.

Employees feel more valued and are more engaged when rewarded for their hard work and loyalty. In addition, if employees believe in your company culture, they will be more willing to refer people who fit that culture.

For this strategy to work, you need to clearly understand your company culture and make sure all employees are aware of it. You also need to ensure that your referral program is structured to align with your organization’s overall recruitment goals and maintain staff engagement.

2) Take a new approach to employee value propositions (EVPs).

Ensure that every open position has a detailed description explaining what the job entails and what skills are required for applicants to succeed. This way, potential candidates understand the expectations if they joined your team, making their decision easier when choosing between companies. t.

Your EVP is the promise you make when hiring someone about what they can expect from working at your company, including compensation, benefits, and growth opportunities. Make the job package clear the moment an applicant submits their resume. Be transparent about compensation and benefits packages before making offers so that candidates know what they’re signing up for. Update your EVP often to keep it fresh and relevant for potential employees.

3) Partner with local colleges and universities

To attract the best people who may not have considered you before or are interested in making a career change, consider joining forces with colleges and universities. These institutions offer great resources for finding talent that might not otherwise be available through traditional channels, such as career fairs and networking events on campus. One way to reach out to students is through your alumni association; another is through local university career centers.

If you’ve got a specific job opening, ask around at local universities. Chances are, someone knows someone suitable for the role. Or even better, maybe an intern would be interested in working for your company part-time or full-time after graduation and would love the experience and to strengthen their resume.

4) Create an onboarding program

An effective way to keep new employees engaged is by starting an onboarding program. Onboarding programs help new hires learn about your company’s culture and processes to get started quickly. They also allow new hires to ask questions about anything they don’t understand.

Hiring new employees can be stressful, so it’s crucial they get off to a good start. First, an onboarding program ensures that your new employees feel comfortable in their roles and know what is expected of them from the outset. Then, integrate new hires into your culture using online learning modules, training videos, and mentorship programs accessible at any time, so they don’t fall behind.

5) Offer flexible work arrangements

If you want to hire top talent, you need to ensure that your company culture aligns with what those employees want from their jobs and lives overall. One way to do this is by offering flexible hours and remote work opportunities so people can balance their personal and professional lives.

Some employees may want to take care of family members or other obligations outside of work hours, so you must allow for this flexibility. It will ensure that everyone can balance their personal lives with their professional duties without feeling overworked or stressed about their responsibilities at home or work.

6) Encourage employees to share their experiences

These days, customers are demanding more transparency from companies than ever before. With so many resources available online for customers to read reviews about businesses, some companies feel pressure from consumers who want to know what it’s like working at their company before applying for jobs there.

You can combat this pressure by encouraging your current employees to write testimonials on sites like Glassdoor or LinkedIn about how much they love working at your company and why they think it’s such a great place to work. These testimonials will help potential applicants feel confident that they’re making an excellent choice to apply with you if they see positive reviews from current employees.

7) Develop a recruiting strategy that includes social media and networking events

Social media sites are great places to post information about available positions at your company. These posts allow anyone who sees the post to apply for the position online or by phone.

You can also develop a recruiting strategy that includes networking events where people in your industry meet for lunch or dinner to network and share important information specific to their industries.

8) Offer competitive benefits packages

When you’re hiring new employees, it’s essential to consider how you will support them when they’re on the job. If you want employees to feel motivated, engaged, and happy at work, you need to offer them a good benefits package.

Employees want more than just a paycheck. They look for excellent health insurance, paid time off, retirement plans, and other benefits. If you don’t offer these essentials, they may find them elsewhere. A good benefits’ package can help employees feel appreciated and valued by their employer. It also helps them take care of themselves and their families, reducing the number of sick days they may otherwise take.

9) Invest in employee training and development

When hiring people, it’s essential to invest well in their training and development. These programs will help them grow as individuals, but will also ensure they’re equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in their jobs.

10) Hire people who fit your culture and values

Culture fit is a vital factor in retaining employees because it affects how they perform on the job and their overall job satisfaction. When hiring someone new, ask yourself what kind of personality you want on your team? What type of work ethic do you expect from your employees? Do you want someone outgoing or quiet? Do you want someone who is a go-getter or more laid back? These questions can help determine whether an applicant will fit your organization.

11) Offer tuition or student debt assistance programs

If you’re looking for ways to help reduce turnover among entry-level employees, consider offering tuition reimbursement or student debt assistance programs. Some companies offer tuition reimbursement programs that reimburse employees for college expenses, including textbooks and fees related to coursework taken online or at traditional schools. By offering such programs, employers can provide employees with financial relief while also helping them achieve their career goals after graduation.

12) Offer employee wellness programs

Another way to attract and retain good employees is to offer benefits packages that incorporate health and fitness. Today, small businesses can offer many benefits that larger corporations cannot. For example, a gym membership or subsidized healthy meals.

You can also provide discounts to your employees on health products and services from local businesses or vendors. Benefits aren’t just about money; they’re about making people feel valued as part of the team. When employees feel valued, they stick around longer and perform better at work with a better state of mind.

Example of How to Create a Hiring Strategy for 2023

As the hiring manager of a company looking to hire staff quickly, I would create a hiring strategy to meet this goal. The first step is to define the strategy.

You can create a strategy using analytics from past jobs to determine which ones had the most applications, then use this data to make better decisions about how many people apply for each job role. For example, you can discover which past posts worked best by looking at average response rates, average time until response, and the average number of applications for each type of job description posted.

How Applicant Tracking Software Can Improve Your Hiring Process

I need to get as many applicants as possible through well-written job descriptions to select those most likely to fit the company’s needs and positively impact the team (and who are also available).

Top 6 Job Ad Examples to attract applicants

The second step is defining how I would go about getting enough applicants. One way is through using GrabJobs’ automated posting feature, which allows recruiters to post jobs on multiple platforms at once with just one click!

How to Post on Multiple Job Boards with One Click

You could use this tool for all your open positions at once or just for certain positions if you want more control over where the openings are posted. In addition, this tool would allow you access to hundreds of thousands of potential candidates in just minutes!

15 Best Employment Portals for Posting Part Time Jobs

This feature saves recruiters time manually entering data into an application portal each time someone applies for a job opening.

Conclusion

In today’s competitive job market, employers need to offer more than just a paycheck to attract top talent. To beat out the competition and land the best staff, employers must be creative and innovative with their hiring strategies.

The future of recruiting will be one of the essential factors in determining the success of your business. The hiring process is never easy, but it is challenging when you are trying to find the best talent in an already competitive environment.

SOURCE https://grabjobs.co/recruitment-platform/tips-for-compaines-looking-hire-employees/?fbclid=IwAR1ZmLHu3Qp7IkTFOwGogGLExkheVbtxgAK810BTTxZoWLgsMjVEJ6METXA

Employers, Don't Just Say "Apply": The Secret to a Better Call to Action in Your Job Ad

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 02:45:12 GMT

While it may seem counterintuitive at first, simply writing "apply now" on your job advertisement does little—or nothing—to convince your ideal candidate to send in their resume and move forward within your application process. Why? That's because the candidates of today have seen that before already, hundreds of times from competing employers for very similar roles, even when they're not actively looking for new jobs. By not differentiating your job ad in a truly remarkable way, you've essentially doomed it to get lost in the background of a very noisy, competitive, and oversaturated job market in which everyone is vying for a limited number of quality candidates and actual job applications are at an all-time low.

If ever there was a time to differentiate your organization from the masses, it's right now. So how do you make your job postings truly stand out in the eyes of potential candidates? Simple: by not asking active candidates or passive candidates to do something for you first, and instead giving them something of value in return for their time.

So which hiring call-to-actions bring job seekers the most value right now? Let's explore some in this blog post.

1. Company Culture is Core

A Glassdoor multi-country survey found that 77% of adults consider a company's culture before applying for a job there, and over half of respondents asserted that company culture is more important than salary when it comes to achieving overall job satisfaction (and that level rises up to 65% for younger job seekers in the U.S.). It also said that 73% of applicants would not apply to a company unless its values aligned with their own.

And it doesn't end at the application stage. A separate 2021 MIT Sloan study review revealed that a toxic work culture is the biggest factor that leads people to quit and is "10 times more important than compensation in predicting employee turnover."

So there are two key things companies need to do in order to attract (and retain) target talent: 1) find multiple ways to communicate their company culture to potential employees and 2) ensure that they are living up to those promises and expectations in real-life, or face the long-lasting consequences on public workplace review sites and social media when ex-employees reveal the truth.

The Better Call-to-Action: Host "Meet our Workforce"/"Meet our Hiring Managers" events to give job seekers an inside look at their future workplace and the people they'd potentially be working alongside. Talk about all the things that make your company culture unique and desirable, and provide ample examples of how they manifest in everyday work life.

To make the event as accessible as possible for a diverse group of candidates with different school, life, and work schedules, we recommend hosting these events virtually also that qualified candidates can join them from their preferred devices and locations. The big advantage of this approach is that you can use a combination of live and recorded elements to cut down on costs and organization time while still delivering a unique and personalized candidate experience at every session. Just be sure to rotate between hiring and attending staff depending on the ideal candidates you want to pursue, and leverage the power of your employees' professional presences and brands to further attract talented people in their spheres of influence to your organization.

2. Talk About Team Dynamics

Nobody works in a vacuum, and current team dynamics are a crucial part of how well someone can perform their duties at any role. While providing prospective candidates insight into your organization's structure from the job posting itself is a good start (particularly for the department that is hiring), giving them an insider's view of how work gets accomplished is even better.

The Better Call-to-Action: "A Day in the Life of an XXXXXX at [Your Company]" events are outstanding examples of company informational sessions that go beyond simple job descriptions and answer a lot of questions for active candidates currently considering whether or not to fill in your application form.

You could host these in a virtual webinar format so multiple candidates (both passive and active) can attend at once, sharing questions and answers through chat and audio in real-time. Use a virtual hiring event platform (like Brazen's!) to collect attendee resumes and interactions so you can follow up with them after the event with relevant content and updates that would keep them engaged with your brand and recruitment team longer. It's a great way to stay top-of-mind while preparing job hopefuls for the dynamics and realities of each job function, further qualifying them for your specific recruitment process.

3. Career Development Opportunities

People want to work for places that not only see their current worth, but which are willing to invest in their future potential as well. So when writing your job requirements, don't only focus on a job seeker's experience in terms of should be able to accomplish today, but what your organization can give them an opportunity to do tomorrow. This is specially true for jobs with complex experience requirements or specialized educational backgrounds that can significantly narrow your talent pool right off the bat.

Rather than try to find the one candidate that fulfills all of your requirements, center your hiring process around showing –not telling– how a job at your organization can help further advance their careers. And what better way to do that than straight from the source?

The Better Call-to-Action: Appeal to candidates' aspirational goals by putting the benefits and professional growth programs you offer at the forefront of your recruitment ads. That means drafting your job opportunities with the objectives of your potential applicants' personas in mind, using direct and simple language aimed at maximizing clarity and reach.

Include your current employees' input about the professional development offerings that have been most (and least) impactful to them via feedback surveys and candidate-facing testimonial videos, to further enhance the job search experience with positive employee stories meant to engage and inspire. Use these findings in your benefits planning to get a good idea of what is most important to your target demographics. Collect quotes regularly and circulate video, visual, and written content across your content management system to further promote your employer brand on all relevant strategic communication channels, such as your main careers website, private professional groups, online job boards, job posting sites, and company social media outlets.

Thing Big, Win Big

The entirety of your company mission, vision, and brand cannot be reduced into a single application form, nor should it be. But that also doesn't mean that you shouldn't put your creativity to work and actively find new avenues to promote your amazing company culture to anyone willing to listen.

So do your best to markedly improve your audience's job search experience by telling them exactly what they want to know before applying (such as job position salary range, start times, responsibilities, resources, etc) and ADD even more value with the information that they didn't know they needed (but are totally glad they got!) at different stages in the process. Bonus points for using new TA technologies to further the reach, accessibility, and user-focused convenience of your job advertising and employer brand awareness campaigns.

If you do, you'll find that most job applicants reward this type of transparency and honesty with less ghosting , more "likes", follows, organic referrals, and long-lasting engagement that leads to bigger hiring wins and better retention results over time. And isn't that what every TA professional wants out of their CTAs?

SOURCE https://www.brazen.com/resources/the-secret-to-a-better-call-to-action

5 Reasons to Partner with a Recruitment Agency

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:13:43 GMT

Find out how teaming up with a recruitment agency can speed up your job search. From hidden opportunities to expert guidance, here's why this is a game changer.

Access hidden job opportunities:

Recruitment agencies often have access to vacancies that are not publicly advertised. This helps job seekers access more job opportunities, including positions that may be a great fit but are not widely known.

Suitable jobs:

Recruitment agencies take the time to understand job seekers' skills, qualifications and career goals. They connect candidates with positions that match their strengths and aspirations, increasing their chances of finding the right job.

Expert career guidance:

Job seekers can benefit from the expertise and advice of recruitment consultants who specialize in their field. These experts can offer valuable insights, interview coaching, and advice on how to optimize resumes and cover letters.

Efficiency and time saving:

Recruitment agencies streamline the job search process. They manage the process, including finding positions, applying, and scheduling interviews, allowing job seekers to focus on preparing for the interview and making a strong impression.

Industry connections:

Recruitment agencies have extensive networks and relationships with employers across many different industries. Being represented by a reputable agency can build a job seeker's credibility and increase their chances of being considered for a job opportunity. By partnering with a recruitment agency, job seekers can gain a competitive edge in their job search, access valuable resources and support, and ultimately find suitable positions that matches their career goals and aspirations.

By partnering with a recruitment agency, job seekers can gain a competitive edge in their job search, access valuable resources and support, and ultimately find positions that align with their career goals and aspirations.

Things you should learn if you're looking for a new job

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 01:39:23 GMT

When looking for a new job, it's important to equip yourself with a variety of skills and knowledge that are relevant to the position you're interested in. Here are some key things you should consider learning:

1. Technical Skills:

Depending on the industry and role, you might need specific technical skills such as programming languages, software proficiency, data analysis tools, or design software. Research the job requirements and focus on acquiring the relevant technical skills.

2. Soft Skills:

Soft skills are essential for any job. These include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, adaptability, time management, and leadership. Employers value candidates who can effectively work with others and navigate various challenges.

3. Industry Knowledge:

Understand the trends, challenges, and opportunities within the industry you're aiming to enter. Stay updated on the latest developments, technologies, and best practices relevant to that field.

4. Networking Skills:

Building a strong professional network can greatly benefit your job search. Learn how to network effectively, both in person and online, to connect with industry professionals, potential employers, and peers.

5. Resume Writing and Interview Skills:

Craft a compelling resume that highlights your skills, experience, and achievements. Additionally, practice your interview skills to confidently communicate your qualifications and suitability for the job.

6. Online Presence:

Create and maintain a professional online presence, including LinkedIn and personal websites/portfolios if applicable. Showcase your accomplishments, skills, and projects to potential employers.

7. Project Management:

Familiarise yourself with project management principles. Many roles involve managing tasks, timelines, and resources effectively to achieve goals.

8. Language and Communication Skills:

Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential across many roles. The ability to convey ideas clearly and professionally is highly regarded.

9. Problem-Solving Skills:

Develop your ability to analyse complex problems, generate creative solutions, and make informed decisions.

10. Emotional Intelligence:

This involves understanding and managing your own emotions as well as understanding and empathising with others' emotions. It's particularly important for roles that involve teamwork and leadership.

Remember that the skills you need can vary depending on the specific job and industry you're targeting. Research the job descriptions and requirements of your desired positions to tailor your learning efforts accordingly.

Top 10 issues that job seekers face

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 03:34:28 GMT

Job seekers often encounter various challenges during their search for employment.Here are the top 10 issues that job seekers commonly face:

1. Limited Job Opportunities:

Finding suitable job openings that align with their skills and qualifications can be a significant hurdle for job seekers.

2. Competition:

The job market is often highly competitive, with numerous candidates vying for the same positions. Standing out among other applicants can be a challenge.

3. Lack of Experience:

Many job seekers face difficulties when they lack the necessary experience required for certain roles. This can make it challenging to secure employment in their desired field.

4. Unclear Career Path:

Some individuals struggle with identifying their career goals and determining the right path to pursue. This uncertainty can make job searching more challenging.

5. Resume and Cover Letter Writing:

Crafting an effective resume and cover letter that highlights relevant skills and experiences can be a daunting task for job seekers.

6. Interview Preparation:

Preparing for interviews, including researching the company, practicing responses to common questions, and showcasing their qualifications, can be a source of anxiety for job seekers.

7. Networking:

Building a professional network and establishing connections within their industry can be difficult for job seekers, especially for those who are introverted or new to the job market.

8. Lack of Feedback:

Job seekers often struggle to receive constructive feedback on their applications or interview performance, making it challenging to improve and refine their approach.

9. Salary Negotiation:

Negotiating a fair salary can be intimidating for job seekers, particularly if they are unsure of industry standards or lack confidence in their negotiation skills.

10. Emotional Resilience:

T he job search process can be emotionally draining, with rejections and prolonged periods of unemployment taking a toll on job seekers' confidence and motivation.

While these challenges may seem daunting, you can overcome them with perseverance, continuous learning, and seeking support from career resources and networks. Remember, each hurdle presents an opportunity for growth and improvement.

What to do when you lose motivation at work

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 03:30:09 GMT

Losing motivation in your job or workday can be a common experience for many professionals. Whether it's due to a lack of interest in your work, feeling overwhelmed, or simply feeling burnt out, it's important to take steps to regain your motivation and stay productive. Here are some tips to help you get back on track:

1. Take a break: Sometimes, all you need is a short break to recharge your batteries. Take a walk, grab a coffee, or simply step away from your desk for a few minutes to clear your mind.

2. Reconnect with your purpose: Remind yourself of why you do what you do. What motivates you to come to work every day? Focusing on your purpose can help reignite your passion for your job.

3. Set small goals: Break down your tasks into smaller, more manageable goals. This can help you feel a sense of accomplishment as you complete each task, which can boost your motivation.

4. Seek support: Talk to a colleague or mentor about how you're feeling. Sometimes, just talking about your struggles can help you gain a new perspective and find solutions to your problems.

5. Learn something new: Take on a new project or learn a new skill. This can help you feel more engaged and interested in your work.

6. Celebrate your successes: Don't forget to celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small they may be. This can help you stay motivated and focused on your goals.

Remember, losing motivation is a normal part of the work experience. By taking steps to regain your motivation, you can stay productive and engaged in your job.

Advice for people looking for work

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 03:02:24 GMT

Finding work might be challenging, but with the right approach and strategies, you can improve your chances. Here are some pieces of advice to consider:

1. Define your career goals:

Before you start your job search, it is important to define your career goals. This will help you focus your job search and ensure that you are applying for jobs that align with your long-term career aspirations.

2. Update your resume and cover letter:

Your resume and cover letter are your first impression with potential employers. Make sure they are up-to-date, well-written, and tailored to the specific job you are applying for.

3. Network:

Networking is an important aspect of job searching. Attend industry events, join professional organisations, and connect with people in your field on social media. This can help you learn about job opportunities that are not advertised publicly and can lead to referrals or recommendations.

4. Use online job boards:

Recruita is dedicated to reducing your barriers to finding work, by partnering with local businesses to list as many jobs as possible on our job board. Make sure to regularly check our website and apply for jobs that match your skills and experience.

5. Prepare for interviews:

Once you start getting interviews, it is important to prepare for them. Research the company and the job you are applying for, practice your interview skills, and be ready to answer common interview questions.

6. Follow up:

After an interview, make sure to follow up with the employer to thank them for their time and express your continued interest in the job. This can help keep you top of mind and show that you are serious about the job.

Job searching can be a challenging process, but by defining your career goals, updating your resume and cover letter, networking, using online job boards, preparing for interviews, and following up, you can increase your chances of finding the job you are looking for.

Redundancy Rescue

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 02:37:05 GMT

Are you worried about being made redundant in the near future?
Can you survive a few months without your main source of income?

Redundancy has become a serious issue in the Resources Industry, and often we aren’t prepared for losing our main source of income.

What can you do right now to prepare your family for a redundancy?

Communication is the key to surviving hard times and a redundancy can put a lot of pressure on your family and have lasting effects on your relationship if you aren’t prepared to communicate.

There can be a lot to deal with.

Are you prepared financially to undergo a few months without an income?
Do you have realistic expectations on how long it will take to land another job?
Do you know what to do with a severance package or have you been left in the lurch with no payout?

These are all legitimate questions you should be discussing with your family in preparation of what may come. By preparing for the worst, you’ll be much more prepared and able to recover quicker than those that are unprepared.

So what can you do to prepare?

Update your CV
Understand today’s job market (especially if you have been in your current position for a long time – times have changed A LOT!)
Know your family’s expenses
Find your money leakages and plug the holes
Find extra money, sell some unused items
Learn how to manage your creditors the right way
Make the decisions as a family
Say NO to unnecessary spending

In today's more unpredictable world, it's good to prepare, and understand what to do when things don't go to plan.

Resumes Tips

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:08:53 GMT

Your resume (sometimes called your “CV”) is your most important sales tool when applying for a job. It doesn’t matter how qualified you are, or how much experience you have - if your resume is poorly presented or badly written, you’re going to have trouble getting the job you want - or even an interview. Rule No. 1: Always spell-check your resume and get someone to check it before you send it out.

How should I order my resume?

Generally, it’s always good to present the information on your resume in this order:

Contact details: Make sure you include your name, email address and a contact phone number on your resume. You don’t have to include your home address, although there might be some situations when doing so would be a good idea.

Opening statement: Your opening statement should start with one sentence about who you are and what you bring to the job, then describe the skills and attributes you have that suit you to the job.

List of key skills and experience: Your resume should include a list of between 10 and 15 skills that link your experience to the job you’re applying for. If the job you’re applying for was advertised, either the ad or the position description may provide a list of skills and experiences that are essential for doing the job. It may also provide a list of “desirable” skills and experience. Your list of key skills & strengths needs to respond to all of the items on the “essential” list and as many items as possible on the “desirable” list.

Employment History/Volunteering work/Work Placements: List in chronological order starting with the most recent and working backwards. There is no need to go back more than 10 years unless the role previously was relevant to the job you are applying for. List the name of the company, the position you held and list your responsibilities in bullet format (easier to read)

Education/Certificates/Tickets/Qualifications: It is perfectly acceptable to list the last school you attended but there is no reason to list every qualification/subject you passed unless it's relevant. List the most relevant qualifications first and in bullet points. If you have won any awards, then list those too.

Referees: Unless you can guarantee 100% that the referees will be saying something good about you, don’t list them. These days it's perfectly acceptable to state “References can be provided upon request”.

Do I need to change my resume for each application?

You need to tailor your resume to every job application so that it responds to the specific requirements of the job you are applying for.
You might not need to change much, but you do need to make sure your opening statement, your key skills and your personal attributes all respond to the needs of the role, based on the job ad (if there was one) and the research you’ve done into the job.
You should also tailor your resume to show how your work experience specifically meets the needs of the job you are in.

How to tailor your resume

Use your opening statement to link your experience and education to the organisation and the requirements of the job
Listing your most relevant key skills first
Including examples of achievements that meet the advertised requirements of the job
Including specifically relevant keywords and phrases throughout your resume

Remember, your resume should effectively showcase your qualifications, experience, and accomplishments in a way that captures the employer's attention and demonstrates your fit for the job.

BEYOND GRADUATION

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 07:19:32 GMT

Blogging is a great way to stay engaged with site visitors and keep your site content relevant and fresh. Here are great reasons to start blogging today.

1. It’s an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

2. Show customers your personality

When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

3. A terrific form of communication

Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

4. Supports SEO

Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post, you’ll make it extra easy for search engines to find your content.

CLASSROOM LIFE

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 07:15:11 GMT

Blogging is a great way to stay engaged with site visitors and keep your site content relevant and fresh. Here are great reasons to start blogging today.

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic, invite an expert to write about it. Having a variety of authors in your blog is a great way to keep visitors engaged.

You know your audience better than anyone else, so keep them in mind as you write your blog posts. Write about things they care about. If you have a company Facebook page that gets lots of comments, you can look here to find topics to write about.

“This is a Quote, Write about something you know, If you don’t know much about a specific topic, invite an expert to write about it‟

Don’t forget to add images

Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

YOUR FUTURE IS NOW

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 07:09:39 GMT

Blogging is a great way to stay engaged with site visitors and keep your site content relevant and fresh. Here are great reasons to start blogging today.

It’s an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

EXAM BEST PRACTICES

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 07:09:39 GMT

Blogging is a great way to stay engaged with site visitors and keep your site content relevant and fresh. Here are great reasons to start blogging today.

Write about what you know

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic, invite an expert to write about it. Having a variety of authors in your blog is a great way to keep visitors engaged.

Speak to your audience

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