Thursday, July 31, 2008

MONSTER- Wrong Job Campaign in China - PART II

Here are more up close shots and a brief description of the type of jobs they covered. There was also a firefighter/window cleaner bus ambient as well.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

MONSTER- Wrong Job Campaign in China - PART I

This is a series of videos displaying the ambient components to the "Wrong Job" campaign for Monster that ran in China.

It was an excellent way to stir up attention on the street and allow Monster to reach out to their target in a non-traditional manner. This took place around the end of December 2007 and January 2008.

What positions within your own industry could take shape in this kind of campaign?

Monster.com Wrong Job - Surgeon


Monster.com Wrong Job - Air Traffic Controller


Monster.com Wrong Job - F1 Racecar Driver


Monster.com Wrong Job - Hockey Players


Monster.com Wrong Job - Referee

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

GENERATION - Ten Things Every Recruiting Professional Should Know About Millennials


The newest demographic in the job market is the “Millennials” (those born between 1980-2000). This young generation is being analyzed now more than ever and it is important to find out what makes them unique and what they are seeking from employers. This article highlights key things that this generation can contribute to your company, such as their loyalty, ability to multi-task and confidence. In order to reach the younger generation is it important to keep these tips in mind when developing your recruitment strategy.
Check out the link below:

Monday, July 28, 2008

RETAINING - 15 Questions to Ask Employees in Their First 60 Days


Here is an article from the HR Specialist that notes on how continuing communication between yourself and new hires can assist in determining factors leading to turnover. By maintaining this dialogue you gain insight to both the employee's satisfaction and review along with information regarding who influences your new hires most.
This reflection and evaluation can also play into gaining strength in the bond between your company and the younger generation by building this exchange between the two. As noted on various blogs, Generation Y / Millennials are actively seeking to have their voice heard and this is one of the many potential ways to meet that need.

Does your company currently have a system like this in place?
What actions are taken following these evaluations?

http://www.thehrspecialist.com/hrs_articles/homepage_featured/8128/15_Questions_to_Ask_Employees_in_Their_First_60_Days.hr

Friday, July 25, 2008

GENERATION - Myths About Older Workers


Here is a short post about myths and realities about older workers.

It debunks the myths that older works can't learn new skills, don't stay on the job long, are more expensive, take more sick days, and that they can't adapt to changes very well.


Thursday, July 24, 2008

GENERATION- Talkin' 'bout the Silent & Boomer Generation


(Perhaps The Zimmers, whose average age is 80, are a little too busy recording to apply...)

Though the late Silent (1925-1945) & Baby Boomer (1946-1964) generations are retiring from their lifelong careers, they are not necessarily leaving the workforce. Some don't always have the money to stop working and some are looking to continue learning or are simply unwilling to remain idle in their retired days. This is opening up a work force that may not be solely focused on money but the social aspects of their jobs. More websites are popping up online that are specifically targeting the older generation but don't limit yourself to an online approach!

With the ability to target households with direct mail and with researching specific geographic demographics you have the potential to find this older generation and approach them with traditional media. Get your message into their hands with invitations to career fairs and open houses, slip into the mailed coupon envelopes or reach out to them with a postcard direct mail detailing what your company can offer them.

Certain industries have seen a decline in applicants from the younger generation that they had been pulling from up until now; though once redefining their target candidates they opened up a door to a whole new applicant flow. While some industries are having problems with key employees retiring, turn this to your advantage and seek out this potential workforce.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

INTERNET - HR and Search Engine Optimization

While hunting around for how to improve career page hits from search engines I stumbled across this great whitepaper.
This details 10 vital tips for improving your company's exposure of the career page. The tips span from layout of the web pages to the order of job details.

Although you might not have absolute control over your layout and design of your web page for careers, there are still things you might be able to influence to increase your hits. Check it out and see how it could apply to your company.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

ALTERNATIVE PRINT - Another example of speaking directly to your target



This is another great example of reaching out directly to your targets in an involving manner that develops a connection while possibly weeding out candidates that don't have the passion towards their work that you are searching for.

London's Lunar BBDO agency posted these in their hunt for dedicated typographers. The text is a mix of Zapf Dingbats, Webdings and Wingdings. Upon the release of these ads, they received 30 responses. By approaching their recruitment in this manner they were able to dramatically shorten their search and found their candidate.

via: http://www.creativepro.com/article/if-you-can-read-this-you-re-hired

Monday, July 21, 2008

COLLEGE RECRUITMENT - College Recruiting Strategy and Planning Approach


This article mentions great items to keep in mind when determining your plan for college recruiting for the fall.

The include your companies needs, researching your competition and where they are hitting, determining what areas will provide the most diverse candidates, and your event planning.

They are brief but they point out key items to keep in mind when planning.


Friday, July 18, 2008

HR - Recruiting Passive Candidates in Tough Economic Times


This may be more along the lines for once you get candidates on the phone but this article lists several important points to keep in mind that can be applied when in conversation with your audience as well as points to hit on in your ads.

In tighter economic situations those that already have a job are much more inclined to remain at their current position while those applying may not be the highest quality candidates you are after. They then discuss ways to turn conversation to your favor if it seems like rejection is heading towards you as an answer to your offer from passive candidates.

How do you draw appeal from quality and experienced passive job seekers?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

CANDIDATES- Go Green With Your Career

The following article makes mention of candidates and their interest in environmentally productive careers and some of the influences towards this stance as given by current events.
As more and more article pop up about "Going Green" are you seeing any kind of change in the work place?


If your company is able to use the terms of being a "Green Company" you may be able to reach out to potential clients that share your company's goals by posting to these sites:

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

NON-TRADITIONAL - Fueling your recruiting resources


Despite the rising gas prices, most of your potential candidates are still filling up their cars to go to work. Tap into the community surrounding your location by letting candidates take your message in hand, literally. Advertise on the gas pumps and you are gaining exposure in the community you want to draw from and you are almost guaranteed exposure with your potential targets. This would not necessarily work for highly targeted candidates but hourly positions or gas stations located near competition that could be frequented by your audience.

There are other options aside from the actual nozzles; they could also run on the board that sits above the station you are at, on the sides of the individual stations or on the private radio that runs for the station.

There are lots of options when using a gas station as a potential recruiting tool.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

INTERNET - 100 Million Job-Related Searches on Google in June!


Job hunting on Google is at a high and it's time to take advantage of this. Searches for jobs are in the millions each month, but is your career website popping up on these lists? Search engine optimization and marketing are great tools to boost your site in the rankings. By taking advantage of SEO and SEM you can grab the attention of employees at their beginning of their job search. With Google’s new tool, you can run your own searches to see who is looking for jobs in your area.

via: http://www.ere.net/2008/07/11/100-million-job-related-searches-on-google-in-june-2008/#more-3318

Run your own search:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Friday, July 11, 2008

RECRUITMENT VIDEO - HEB's Leadership Program

http://workatheb.com/leadertrain.html

HEB created a video to explain what to expect of their leadership program along with the benefits that the program offers. This video uses a variety of levels of employees including the Houston and San Antonio President and those on the retail level of experience.

Using this testimonial design in combination with the youthful layouts and music really helps the video break away from some of the traditional videos that are produced for internal distribution. This video assists in showing the diversity of the company both in jobs available and the employees working there.

There are two main ways we have come across videos being displayed. They include embedding the video on your website or uploading to a site like YouTube and then embedding the link that them connects to YouTube.

Using YouTube to help display your video has the potential to give you needed feedback. Allowing people to post comments gives them a voice and a discussion can be started. You have the potential to have added testimonials in your comments section. YouTube does allow for comments to be screened before being posted allowing you to eliminate spam or inappropriate comments. If constructive negative comments are submitted, whether you allow them to post or not, you are able to use information like that to better improve programs.

Younger generations want to be heard and interact with their employers, begin this conversation now.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

INTERVIEWS - Second Life


via: http://www.adsoftheworld.com/

This is an example of an alternative interview an agency held. I am going to try and give an overview of Second Life sometime soon. (It is kind of like The Sims but on a massive interactive scale.)

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

BLOGS - Houston Police Department Blog

http://www.hpdcareer.blogspot.com/

Blogs are a terrific way to create an open conversation with your candidates. They allow you to create the topic of a guided discussion and allow your audience to interact by leaving comments and questions.

The Houston Police Department currently has an excellent example of a blog in which they update frequently and respond to comments quickly and consistently. The Houston Police Department has done a great job allowing an inside glimpse at what is going on in training and letting new recruits to post their experiences.

In some cases, it is the lack of awareness of what is to be expected of them that drives candidates to resist applying or quit soon after getting themselves into a job. By creating videos/blogs/forums and opening a conversation with your candidates, there is a crucial exchange of information that helps candidates to make an informed and more powerful decision. With this informed decision, you help to eliminate the candidates that run through training and quit shortly after because the job turns out to be more than they expected. Let your candidates make the decision to apply after viewing all the angles they can and help to save your company time and money.

Blogs are a perfect chance to showcase testimonials for working for your company and they also help in involving current employees. Open up a conversation with your candidates today and start building a relationship with potential long-term employees.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

PRINT - McDonald's Sweden


Perhaps this is a little bolder than most HR departments would place...
This was for a McDonald's campaign in Sweden.

Headline: We don't hire Turks, Greeks, Poles, Indians, Ethiopians, Vietnamese, Chinese or Peruvians.

Body Copy: Nor Swedes, South Koreans or Norwegians. We hire individuals. We don't care what your surname is. Because ambition and determination have nothing to do with your nationality. McDonald's is one of the most integrated companies in Sweden, with as many as ninety-five nationalities working for us. Join us at mcdonalds.se

Monday, July 7, 2008

GENERATION - Retaining Gen Y Talent: 6 Key Tips On How Keep Your Millennial Employees From Leaving

We all hope you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
We had a great BBQ with employees and family on the 3rd. It was a great chance to see everyone.
This is a short but informative article on retaining your Gen-Y talent; it covers what they are needing from you whether it be mentoring, a certain level of expected respect to be given or the limitations on advancement and how Gen Y views them.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

RESEARCH - Study: E-Mail is The Most Effective Form of Direct Response


Direct Partners, New York conducted a survey of large US corporations and found that e-mail proved to be in the lead for popularity of direct response marketing.

These finding restate the previous results of a MarketingSherpa study that reported high ROI in e-mail marketing.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

NON-TRADITIONAL - As Gas Price Rises Jobing.com’s Gets Better Exposure Per Gallon


Employees willing to turn their cars into mobile billboards are getting a nice reward, free gas courtesy of Jobing.com. These vibrantly colored cars have received coverage from a variety of news stations and papers giving the planned exposure an added bonus.
Here is a description of the car wrap program:
http://phoenix.jobing.com/about_careers.asp?abPage=mobile

via:

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

NON-TRADITIONAL - Monster.com - Stuck in the wrong job?


This is a set of print and ambient material simply displaying toys that are in the wrong location. Although, I don’t think I am a fan of the foosball ballerina ambient... (You should interact but not get in the way of your audience! Who playing as red if one of the team can't kick?)
I really like the bagged soldiers ambient and would love to see how these were distributed.