RECRUITING - Building the Right Team, With the Right Stuff, in the Right Way

This is a great article that touches on the steps that should be considered when searching for a new candidate to join your team.

Read more - Power Team

The problem recruiters run into by expediting the hiring process is basing decisions primarily on hard skills and job description, that is, hiring the resume instead of the candidate. Key elements should be considered when selecting an addition to your team. This includes performance objectives, behaviors, values, character traits, and soft competencies. When it comes to the hiring process it is important that recruiters evaluate the company and its employees. This could include benchmarking the top performers or key traits of the company's best performers. Gathering this information puts you in control of the hiring process and improves your company's chances of developing that "dream team"-one that you specifically targeted due to the results of your company performance research. Have you found these steps to be successful in your hiring process? Let us know your experiences.

INTERNET - The Candidate's Virtual Experience

Elaine Rigoli has a blog posted on ere.net that I came across the other day. This is an excellent article on how your company can better present itself to candidates. It covers virtual/interactive approaches, your career site, internal employee movement and job expectations. This also offers up some very good examples of what companies have running right now.

Read More - The Candidate's Virtual Experience

I do agree with the statement on virtual job fairs being without value unless new information is being introduced to candidates. To defeat this in a real-time interactive way, why not host online Q&A session between candidates and current employees. Let the questions be asked and answered fully. Topics might come up that you never realized held so much interest for your candidates. It offers a learning tool for both your company and your candidates.

BRANDING - The Recruiting Animal: Your Communications Need A Consistent Tone

This is a short and direct post about the importance of maintaining your brands image. It makes a good point about the branding of a company carrying over to those who act as the companies voice.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever been surprised by a company because of one face they display and being met with something completely different?

Maintaining the overall company environment is extremely important when recruiting and retaining candidates. Make sure requirements are clear and the atmosphere of the company is clearly displayed to help eliminate the short term turnover.

Read more - Brand Consistency

ONLINE - YouTube tosses 10-minute limit to show full TV episodes

Read more - Don't Bore Your Audience

This might not reach out to recruitment yet, but I wanted to offer a word of warning for those creating recruiting videos should the 10 minute limit be eliminated for general postings.

Just because the time limit is there doesn't mean your candidates have the patience to sit through a 20 minute recruiting message.

Keeping the videos short and focused help to drive points home without losing the attention of your audience. Most candidates are looking for a straight forward delivery of information reviewing who the company is, what they can offer them and how the candidate can contribute. Think more along the lines of TV commercials and don't try to shove too much information into one video. Split the topics up and let candidates choose what to watch based on what is important to them. If you are interviewing people, let each have their own one minute video and in the video description leave a clear explanation of who they are and what they do. This lets your targets have a clear path to the information they are seeking and helps to cut back on the amount of people who give up half way because they have to sift through loads of information to find what they want.

It is a little different once you have your candidates in the door and sitting with you as you display an employee video, though it is nice to try and limit those to 10-15 minutes so they don't get distracted.

GENERATION - Keep Pace with Older Workers

I came across this great article about working with the older generation and what an asset they are to a company and it also offers things to keep in mind when they are a part of your workforce. The article also covers how to work with challenges encoutered as well. Is it a great write up and well worth the time spent reading.

Read more - Keep Pace with Older Workers

ONLINE - Great online post - Want Ads Don’t Have to Be as Dull as Dirt

I came across this posting today:

Want Ads Don’t Have to Be as Dull as Dirt
Here’s a want ad for a coder we’re looking for at iFractal. Skills are the price of entry; but interviewing is all about fit.

Funky Code Medina
You know how to rock rapid development. You know PHP, MySQL, CSS, HTML, and Javascript. (And you know all the rest of the letters of the alphabet.) You know the difference between group programming and group think. You think about users, and not the Kurt Cobain type. Server-side means more to you than “May I take your order.” You like clients and client-side code, too. You know Web 2.0 user interface like the [you know the cliche...and we're not looking for cliche].
You know versioning. You get teary-eyed when you hear the words “I’m a Mac.” You’re a code freak, but not a freak. And by that, we mean you can have all the tattoos and piercings you want. You just can’t wear a beret and act like a coding artiste. You like to work fast, but meticulously. You know web standards, coding style standards, and the old standards like “That’s Amore.”
You learned all that tech weenie stuff at a prestigious school. Or in your parents’ basement. It doesn’t matter…but you know that stuff like some people know their favorite pair of jeans. Dogs and small children like you. You have friends beyond your guild in World of Warcraft. You’re curious, you’re smart, and gosh darn it, people like you.
We’re looking for you. If you know why we titled our request, that’s bonus points. If you don’t know why, that’s equally great. What we want is a really great coder who will fit here.
We have a consulting firm in Rittenhouse that does stuff for companies that you know. Companies that advertise on your TV (or on Hulu, if you’re more into that). We think things up, we build them, and they like it. We don’t mess around and we don’t delay. We like to see our ideas get used right away.
Now we have a big idea that we’re rolling out. Seems like a crazy time to be expanding, right? Not us. We thought up a big idea and we’re gonna rock the market. And you’re gonna rock the code.
So, get on your fixie, stuff your Mac into your Timbuk 2 messenger bag, and roll on over. We’re gonna ask you some hard questions. But if you are able to snatch the pebble from our hands, Grasshopper, we can guarantee that you’ll be working with some of the smartest people you know.

Oh. We pay for lunch, too.

If you know someone who fits the bill, here’s the link to get to us.
Posted on October 17, 2008 by Frank Roche Filed Under Recruiting

via: http://www.knowhr.com/blog/2008/10/17/want-ads-dont-have-to-be-as-dull-as-dirt/

VIDEO - Kid Rock Warrior Video - National Guard

INTERVIEW - Y Bother? A Look At Generation Y

ERE interviewed leading professionals in the recruitment industry about recruiting Generation Y. What are your thoughts towards recruiting Generation Y?

via: ere.net

PRINT - Driving a Concrete Truck for A&A Ready Mixed Concrete Inc.

Headline:
DRIVING A CONCRETE TRUCK
IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE
Sub Head: TOUGH ENOUGH? CALL (760)415-9997 TO APPLY.
WWW.AAREADYMIX.COM

This is a more aggressive way of reaching out to the target audience by separating them from the average person. While some previous ads mentioned on the blog pursue candidates with puzzles and in jokes this is a much more aggressive approach by actively separating your candidates from other people by make a strong statement.
I do wonder if these ads changed the perception of the company after running though.
Have your ever run something quite so bold? What kind of response did you receive from your candidates? What about current employees?

PRINT - Client Services and Copywriters needed for www.mbrworldwide.com

These are a few more advertising and marketing agency recruitment ads.

This is for the agency: http://www.mbrworldwide.com/.

The ads really tailor themselves to humor within their specific job need.

If you were hiring for engineers, talk with them and find out what day to day things pop up and how you might be able to put some of their humor into your ads. What do your RNs encounter daily that are part of the job? Finding a slice of life that people can relate to can really jump into creating a connection with your intended targets. If general job seekers don't get the joke? They aren't supposed to and you can divert your focus to those that are real potential employees.

PRINT - Pivana Dubai Copywriter

Here is a different approach for a copywriting ad from Pivana Dubai. The simple design helps the small amount of copy hold quite a bit of weight. I will post another copywriter posting tomorrow.

PRINT - Creative JWT Art Director and Account Handler in Alternative Display Ad Layout

In an effort to grab eyes with a non-traditional help wanted ad, the ad agency JWT created their ads to look like personal classifieds. The style of the placement seems to jump a little more with the art director placement but either way, those perusing the general classifieds might have a little enjoyment at the surprise waiting to catch them off guard. Even small ads have the power to catch your audience and make them pause for a moment to grab a double take and take in your message a little slower and more attentively. What are your thoughts?

PRINT - www.8rewardsroad.com Classified Ad

I stumbled across this tonight and thought I would share it. Though the ad is old it is still a unique approach in the design and layout of the ad. It is more risque than most would be willing to display but perhaps in the market they run in and for the industry it fits the market. This is a great take for a perspective on recruitment ads. The text is a bit fuzzy and I will keep looking for a clearer version.

From the best I can read, here is the text:

MEMO

8rewardsroad.com

From: Big Boss Man

To: Miss Lee, HR

Subject: Creative Suite (account Executives) Multinational Bank & PNCG for ball-breaking clients

---------------------------------------------------

Miss Lee,

(??) your memo on the shown subject.

Please:

• Refrain from referring to us as a "largely singles - interactive agency". We are Singapore's Top 10 Interactive Agency"
• Remove "9ish till late-ish" under "working hours".
• DO NOT refer to our clients as "ball breakers".

Do mention under "Employee Benefits":

• Flexible working hours.
• Free beer, pizzas (?) & cab rides home (when working late).
• Free "Clients from Hell, vol. 1" DVD and (??)selling Handbook.

Important!

Minimum 2 years' experience in an interactive or ad agency

Excellent multi-tasking Project Manager

Creative and resourceful thinker

All applicants must e-mail resumes to: Ichang@8rewardsroad.com

Applications close 17 February 2007.

Top 10 Interactive Agency

*Voted by Clients in Marketing Magazine's Agency of the Year 2006 Rankings

PRINT - Sony Ericsson

I found the placements online a while back and meant to post them earlier. These placements were created for Sony Ericsson. It is a nice way to connect the product closely tied to the employees and connect them to it in an engaging and visual manner.

What kinds of products do you produce that could be used to form a connection between your company and potential candidates? What conversations could be spurred?

Come see us at HR Southwest 2008 : Reach for the Stars of HR!

Are you attending the Ft. Worth HR Southwest 2008 trade show?

Stop by booth #404 and visit with members of our Patriot Advertising team on October 14th-16th.

From 9am-5pm on Wednesday Patriot Advertising will be available for questions. Find out more about who we are, what all services we offer and how we can help you in your recruiting needs.

Put a face to our blog!

We are going to be attending the after hours sponsored by the Dallas Morning News. Sit back and relax; tell us what you are needing and let's figure out a plan to find the quality recruits you are hunting for.

If you miss us during those times we will also be around on Thursday from 9am-1pm.

Come find us and see how we can help you!

Patriot Advertising, Inc. @ HR Southwest 2008

Booth #404

Wednesday 9am-5pm

Thursday 9am-1pm

INTERNET - Zurich Financial Services Group recruitment website

http://www.bsrecruitmentsolutions.com/bsrecruitment/video.htm

This is a recruitment site that utilized video in a little bit of a different manner than I have seen so far. (I came across this a while ago but had been having difficulty viewing the video. It seems to run much smoother now.)


You start up by meeting a recruiter at a cafe and they display different types of humorous jobs and after you make your way through the videos you meet with a recruiter from their company and it takes on a bit more serious and informative role.


Take a look and let me know your thoughts.

PRINT - PerceptGulf adds a little twist to the recruitment ad when hiring for multiple positions

Perceptgulf came up with a nice way to seperate the different divisions that they were hiring for by taking a product integral to their industry and dividing the areas out that make the item up.

Visually it is a nice way to convey all the positions are equal coming together to create something great. If you find yourself running laundry lists for recruitment ads, why not think about different ways to represent your openings?

It might mean setting aside a little extra money to run larger more noticable ads (but not as often) and in the end it will probably be worth it by being more notable than a smaller text list of positions. Try to remain consistant when sending your message out but don't be afraid to reach out with new direction.

This was a nice fresh and new direction taken to display divisions for:

• Copy - writer, proofreader
• Art - art director, graphic designer
• Production - co-ordinator
• Client Servicing - (can't quite make out the first one...), account manager, account executive

What are your thoughts on this approach?

NONTRADITIONAL - SAIT Polytechnic - "Knack for finding money"

This was a great nontraditional way to really reach out to candidates, active and passive, in an unsuspecting way. One side of the card looks like a Canadian bill while the other carries the message that equally reaches out to candidates and remains consistent with the brand of employer. What innovative ways can your company reach out to people that stay within the boundaries of your industry or field but still reach out beyond the traditional methods?

PRINT - Creative Non-Traditional Resignation Letter for IKEA

Click to enlarge the image.

I came across this the other day and it really stood out. It is an upbeat and informative move taken by IKEA in a fun non-traditional way. They created a fill in the blank resignation letter. When a candidate comes across it, they really can't help but read through the ad as they fill in the blanks for themselves. They clearly learn some of the benefits IKEA offers and have an active participation with the placement. There are also multiple forms that this could take in a campaign. What are your thoughts on approaching candidates in this manner?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRIOT ADVERTISING, INC.!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

PATRIOT ADVERTISING, INC.!

Another year older and still going strong.

Patriot is always a great place to work hard and play hard.

Our redesigned website will be going live at five today!

Check it out and tell us what you think!

http://www.patriotadvertising.com/

Our Blog Design might change to match the new design as well.

Patriot Salute to Heroes Golf Tournament - October 6, 2008

Monday will mark the 2nd Annual Salute to Heroes Golf Tournament at Cinco Ranch Golf Club in Katy, TX. Profits for this event will be donated to the Katy VFW and the Salute to American Heroes Foundation.

Events to look forward to include: Longest Drive, Closest to Pin, Putting, Blackjack and more!

We have a great selection of prize to reward the contests and raffles including: Drivers, Putters, Rescue Woods, Wedges, Golf Bags, Gift Cards, University of Houston Football Tickets, and an Autographed Roy Oswalt Jersey!

We are looking forward to spending a great time with all attending!

For pictures from last year's tournament check out the golf section of our main website.

http://www.patriotadvertising.com/golf.html

(We will do our best to post on Monday...)

PRINT - Riyad Bank

Riyad Bank does a nice job engaging and challenging potential candidates with this campaign. If the piece is hard enough or engaging enough those that fall into your audience might take more time to review and solve your challenge or participate with your material. What challenges could you face your candidates with or what kinds of questions would help separate your staff from other companies? Open the dialogue and hear what they have to say!

PRINT - HCC Group Hiring "Copyrighters" and Art Directors

Similar to previous campaigns but not quite as exclusive to those who might not be in the know are there HCC Group ads for a copywriter and art director. For the copywriter it stands out for the blatant misspelling and the art director is a little more subtle with the use of Comic Sans, a font most run screaming to the hills from. (see: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/bancomicsans)

Although most that come across this might tilt their head in trying to figure out what is so special about the simple layout and text, those few who stop and chuckle get the joke and continue reading through the ad to see just who is looking for "copyrighters" and art directors.

via: www.adsoftheworld.com

NONTRADITIONAL - More of the Awesome Campaign From Jobsintown.de

There is now a continuation of the sharp visual campaign from jobsintown.de.

Great photography and great placement sure to generate a bit of buzz.