The PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: The Employment Point

Well, we have finally seen the end of the WWE (wrestling) Match...uh, I mean, 2012 Presidential Debate! One thing that each hopeful kind of mulled over; the employment-aspect. Are we sure that we are going to be in an economy where we (as individuals) can thrive?

The Mule and the Pachyderm bicker back and forth of grandiose ideas that each side may have, but ultimately...what's the deal? What is going on guys? We hear a lot of jobs training, tax incentives, labor unions and let's not forget about the off-shore drilling; however, neither side is strumming the right chord as far as the employment economy goes.

What's Trending Now?

• Rapid growth of self employed
• Explosion of the social media world (skills for sale market)
• The emergence of job titles that relatively did not exist a year ago
• Rejection of the ideas of a traditional employee
• Fast growth of the social entrepreneur
• Employees whom follow a skills path in lieu of a career path
• Companies (not just virtual) that allow workers to work remotely (even in other countries)

Every year, the economy changes. Work is harder to find, as it is definitely not as easy as some of our parents or even grandparents have lived through. No longer can you just walk up to a place of work and hand your resume to someone; we now live in the days of job board posting, panel interviews, phone interviews, web/video interviews...you get the gist. So let's see if the GOP or the DEMOs can get their act straight and get the ball moving on securing stable working environments.

Elections are only a couple of weeks away guys!

Is A College Degree More Important Than Experience?

An age-old question; which is more important to an employer or company, having a college degree under your belt, or having the knowledgeable experience only gained by being in the workforce/profession of your choice?

There's truly no right or wrong answer to this question. You have to think of it in terms of what field you are thinking of traveling down, for instance; if you choose to be an attorney practicing criminal law, a medical physician looking to be a neurologist, or even a counselor in marriage and family well-being, then there is no doubt that you will need a degree for your long road. Now, if you are a graphic designer, or even find yourself in as an entry level or junior draftsman, experience is a much more relied upon skill.

In countries like the UK (Britain), the United States, Canada and some other places experience does tend to be more important than a degree or university education. In other countries, a degree is more important and experience is secondary. First the person needs to have proper qualifications (i.e. degree) and then experience comes as a secondary matter. I personally have been on countless interviews in the past and even read through position/job descriptions and requirements; many of which will state one of the following:

• Experience needed
• HS diploma or equivalent applicable
• Bachelors Degree required
• Bachelors Degree or relevant experience required
• No experience, no degree needed
• (X) amount of years experience required

So what are applicants and future job seekers supposed to really think of their future as far as education, dream pursuing, entrepreneurship and life goes? There definitely are some things that cannot be taught in a classroom, such as on the job experience; while in the same breath, other things can ONLY be acquired while in a classroom setting or online studies.

As others have indicated, it depends on the job and the organization. In some cases, if one doesn't have the degree, then you would not even be considered for an interview. In other cases (here's a SECRET), the employer puts many more qualifications in the job "requirements" than he/she is really requiring. Particularly if one has a lot of experience in a particular area, it generally doesn't hurt to apply for a job that requires more education than one has. Be sure to emphasize how extensive your experience has been and how well you can apply that experience to the benefit of the employer. There are some questions that applicant should be prepared to answer: 1) Are you willing and able to get degree required? On your own dime/time? 2) Why do you think such a degree is important (or not important)? 3) Why don't you have the required degree? 4)Do you think that your not having degree will affect your relationships with others in the job situation - both those who do and those who do not have the degree? Applicants may want to bring up and address these issues on their own if the interviewer doesn't bring them up. If you can answer them in a positive way to allay interviewer's fears that you are not qualified enough. If possible, check with a friend with the degree about possible problems. This could also be a good reality check.

 

The Hiring Manager's Guide to Working WIth Recruiters

If you have dealt with recruiters or if you yourself is a recruiter, then you are well aware that recruiting is a team effort. It works the best when the parties that make up the team move quickly and effectively through the tedious process to get the job done. No doubt that this is much easier said than done, but why don't we take a look at the three primary members of this brilliant team:

1. The CANDIDATE
2. The RECRUITER
3. The HIRING MANAGER

Any of these three parties fails to perform as expected, then this "decorated" process turns to suffering - and can break down completely under certain circumstances. This can lead to all types of problems and frustrations that relate to the successful acquisition of a new employee.

On top of that, you risk wasting time and money — as well as creating bad blood with respect to the candidate — if the hiring process is mishandled. Fortunately, most recruiters I come in contact with understand the necessity of driving the process forward and making things happen as quickly and as smoothly as possible. On the other hand, most candidates are simply looking to explore a given opportunity. But because candidates exist outside of the company, they do not fall under the expectations of organizational processes or expectations. Oh boy. This leaves us with the hiring managers, who can be a real problem if you are looking to be a more successful recruiter. If you the recruiter want to be more effective, you will need the full and ongoing cooperation of your hiring managers. Those individuals, in conjunction with the interviewing team they appoint, will be the people who will most influence your ability to be successful in building great organizations.

Hiring Managers: Here’s How to Get the Most Out of Your Recruiting Partners
According to Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” This is the essence of teamwork, and that is just what recruiting has become — an exercise in teamwork, with people working together to hire the best employees and build the best companies. With this in mind, and in order to be assured that we are operating in a smooth and effective manner, ask the following:

• Let me know when you have a position open as soon as it has been approved. The sooner you let me know that a position has been approved, the sooner I can meet with you, the sooner I can clearly understand what you are looking for in the candidates you want to hire, and the sooner I can begin my work in sourcing these candidates. Good candidates are not easy to find, so the more running room I have to develop an intelligent sourcing plan, the better off we’ll be.
• If I call or email you, please respond. I understand you are busy. So am I. What I’m probably most busy with is trying to do all that is required to fill your position. I know that running your organization is a top priority, but hiring is a major part of running a business, and I need you to be responsive to me when I reach out. That’s how a good and productive team works.
• Please respond to resumes quickly. Most candidates have a very short shelf life and little patience for organizations that do not respond quickly. Talent is tight and good people can go to a number of other employers in a flash. If I get a resume in front of you, please respond as quickly as possible so I can move the process on to the next step. I am not just concerned about whether your answer is “yes” or “no.” What makes my life very difficult is no response at all, and being stuck between a hiring manager who is not reactive and a candidate who is calling me looking for an answer to a simple question: “Does the manager want to see me or not?” Please do not put me in that position, because it makes all of us look foolish.
• Please see that your interviewing team is ready. The candidate interviewing experience is critical to the ongoing success of the organization. Remember that prospective employees of today can become the customers or partners of tomorrow. They can refer others to your jobs. Be sure your interviewing team is ready to do a world-class job in all candidate-facing activities. This means they should have reviewed and understood the position for which they are interviewing and read the candidate’s resume before the candidate arrives. The team should be prepared to discuss the candidate with you after the interview is completed.
• Inform me as to what you see as the next step in the process. Please get back to me with your thoughts, ideas, or questions right after the interview has taken place. Be advised that I can, in most cases, keep the candidate warm for a reasonable time, but I can’t say or do anything without hearing from you. Once again, make us all look good by being responsive and moving quickly as this is in everyone’s best interests.
• Be sure to only ask questions that relate to the position. We live in a highly litigious society, and as your partner in the hiring process, it is my job to see that we never have a legal problem as a result of inappropriate questions being asked. Please remember that all questions asked should pertain only to the candidate’s experience as it relates to their ability to perform the duties of the position for which they are interviewing.
• Remember to sell the company. Whether or not the candidate joins our organization is far more in your hands than in mine. But if you want to have the candidate join our company, you will have to sell it to the candidate. If the candidate is interviewing elsewhere, that is exactly what the competition will be doing. Be sure to let the candidate know why they should be seeing us as their next place of employment, and what some of the advantages are at our company. Remember, we always want the choice about whether to move forward or not to be our choice, not the candidate’s.
• Please help me to close the candidate if I make that request. Landing a candidate is not always an easy thing to accomplish. As the marketplace tightens and top talent becomes harder to find, candidates will very often have multiple offers. I will do whatever I can to pre-close the candidate, get them prepped for an offer, and everything else necessary to make things happen. However, at times I will need a bit of help to make things happen and close the deal. If I call you to set up a meeting or phone call to lay out a capture strategy (see my article entitled How to Develop a Capture Strategy), please work with me on this. Together, as a team, we have a far better chance of successfully landing the candidate.
• Leave the offers to me. Extending offers is a big part of my job, and I know exactly how to do it. Extending an offer is asking for the sale, and it has to be done at the right time, in the right way, and under the right circumstances. Please let me handle it as I see fit. (By the way, if you are the one who determines compensation, let’s talk, because low-balling the candidate is a catastrophe of major proportions!).

Effective Employee Referrals? Really?!

They say the way to get places these days is by knowing people. They also say that conversation is better by the water cooler than through emails. This could very well prove to be true, especially in the business world. So who exactly are they and how do they know so much?
Employee referrals are possibly more effective than we are led to believe. CareerXroads now brings forth evidence that hires from employee referrals are under-counted. Over the years we have all accepted that the average number of hires from employee referrals was somewhere in the ballpark of SHRM's 24% (for non-exempt positions) to about a third.

“Referrals permeate the recruiting process more than we think,” says recruiting consultant Gerry Crispin, a CareerXroads, principal.

Big or small, two-thirds of the respondents offer a bonus for every referral hire. Most common (44%) is $500 for a non-exempt hire. One-in-five will pay $1,000 and a few more (28%) will pay that for difficult to fill non-exempt positions.

Interesting concept that's widely happening at many companies. Hmmm, do you know anyone that you would like to refer to your current company? Their just might be a bonus in it for you.


via: http://www.ere.net/2012/01/31/employee-referrals-may-be-even-more-effective-than-we-think/

How far would your employees go to help save the company?

Employees for an airline have released a calendar of themselves to help raise money and boost interest in the company. Would your employees do something like this to save your company?
via adrants.com:
http://www.adrants.com/2010/11/unemployed-flight-attendants-launch.php