Career Fair Understandings

What better opportunity to meet a potential candidate face to face and to get a first impression, than at a career fair! True, first impressions are like movie auditions (an act to make yourself look better than you are to land that gig), but these are still a great way to meet great candidates and possible NEW hirees. That all being said; these events can become extremely tiring, and even inevitably hectic if you do not have the proper preparation at the helm. Lack of screening, tons of resumes, and the chaos of the day can take athe grandest of productive ideas and make it a complete cluster-bomb. If you want to take advantage of career fairs without acquiring a giant headache, here are some tips from Dr. Erica L. Fener, to keep your search focused and successful.


Make sure all YOUR paperwork is prepared in advance. Job seekers will be trying to get all of their documentation in order, and it is equally important that all of your ducks are in a row as well. Make sure the job fair organizers have created an accurate description of your company or group and that your booth’s location has been correctly listed. If possible, post the kinds of jobs you are seeking to fill in the career fair’s online forum before the event begins.

Make sure your staffers know what’s up. The people representing your company help ensure that specialists in your field,  not people without the qualifications you are looking for, fill out your application. Make sure that whoever is staffing your booth knows exactly what you are looking for and can speak at length about your organization, the positions you are looking to fill, and what the hiring protocol is.

Make your hiring protocol crystal clear. Because the number of people attending job fairs can be quite large, it can be tempting to blur lines and allow for exceptions to your normal hiring procedures to accommodate the sheer volume of potential applicants. Employers, however, should adhere to their standard hiring practices at a career fair for everything, from the type of applicant you are looking for to how positions are pitched to prospective employees, from what application procedures and resumes will be accepted at the fair to when people can expect to hear back from you. Having a solid outline of how the day will go keeps you from missing a great opportunity or taking on dead weight.

Take a look at the college angle. If the career fair is happening at an academic institution, use that venue to your advantage. Prepare a list of appropriate majors and minors and other academic requirements for the positions you want to fill. Is your company willing to offer internships as well as regular jobs, and are some of the applicants too young? Have a stack of business cards on hand so that you can network today for future assets and employees. In addition, be sure that any of your current employees who are alumni of that particular school are present (if possible) to discuss the transition from college life at that institution into the outside workforce.

Make your booth look awesome. Exciting graphics and pictures of what your company is doing and fun, company-based giveaways, and demonstrations keep people’s attention and attract stronger applicants who may not otherwise have considered your group. Of course, make sure career fair etiquette is in effect — be presentable, on time, and ready to talk.

Personalize the experience. Obviously, not everyone who comes to your booth will be hired the same day as the career fair, or any time for that matter. However, you still should recognize the individual merit of each potential applicant. Spend some face time with each visitor, even if you believe the person is someone you would never hire. Potential applicants who get a good vibe from your company may surprise you on paper, or may become clients and customers in the future.

Remember courtesy counts. Some career fair participants are not as polite as they should be. Stand, rather than sit, at your booth. Shake hands with applicants even if you are afraid of germs and illness (hand sanitizer is usually omnipresent at career fairs). Although office concerns may weigh on your mind, put the phone away. You wouldn’t hire someone who was texting the entire time you were speaking; that’s a two-way street. While there may be pressure to eat quickly at career fairs, make sure that you eat at the appropriate time and in the appropriate place. Unless absolutely necessary, do not leave your booth unmanned. And while colloquialisms may make you seem more relatable to younger applicants, keep conversation polite and vulgarity to an absolute minimum.

Avoid the temptation of the hard sell. You may be very excited about your company, the career fair, and potential employees and job seekers. However, there is such a thing as overkill. Be informative without being domineering. Ask questions when in doubt (e.g., “What are your interests academically?” or “Have you ever considered going into this field?”). Being friendly is great. Being scary is not.

Problematic Hirings of The Newly Graduated

For anyone that has graduated from a university/college, you have first-hand knowledge that it is not an easy task to locate and land a job. Even if you do indeed land one, there's no guarantee that you will be employed for very long. According to the New York Post; this new-grad-group does not have a good image, as they are being called “The Worst Generation,” citing research that shows these new group members as being very narcissistic and with a high sense of entitlement. Many of these newbies come straight out of college, expecting to be in prime position to be atop of the ladder in whichever field they are in. High-dollar salaries, nice lifestyle, and paid time off...a lot of paid time off.

Sadly, it's not completely their fault, as I can attest; many professors, counselors and whathaveyou, will instill in students that they will be asssited in locating/landing a position of high-caliber once they graduate and are also telling the students of how much of an excess of money that CAN be made. What they fail to fully translate to a language that graduation-ready, money-starved students can understand; is that the potential to do so is out there...NOT as soon as you throw that cap in the air and hang up the gown.

"This group was raised to expect, receive, and question everything. This sense of privilege has caused many in this group to lack patience in developing professionally; an unconcern with “paying their dues”; and a different perception of how “work” should work. Research also shows that they often feel entitled to a level of respect and rewards that aren’t in line with their actual ability and effort levels, and so they might not get the level of respect and rewards they are expecting. They feel cheated and might try to obtain rewards they feel they are entitled to through unethical means. For example, they are more likely to manipulate performance data to achieve higher bonuses." quoted from Raghav Singh. He continues with, Census data shows that the likelihood of 20-somethings moving to another state has dropped well over 40 percent since 1980. While there is plenty of demand for workers in skilled trades, many prefer to stay unemployed and few are willing to do this kind of work even though those jobs can pay far more than working in retail or as a waiter or waitress. Having been told by their parents and even icons like the late Steve Jobs to “follow their passion” or “do what you love,” many do just that when it comes to picking a college major, leading to a situation where far too many have degrees that are not particularly valued by employers.

Despite the fact of the highlighted turbulence that befalls the new grads of this generation; they still do have the mindset to make it in the workforce, and the skillset that many employers are looking for and can work with.

Using LinkedIn to Recruit Passive Candidates? Yep!

It’s a fact that companies are still filling 80% of their jobs with active candidates – candidates who are actively seeking other employment. Yet, most of the A-playing talent is found within the passive pool, a much smaller pool. How in the world will you be able to hire quality passive candidates if they are not applying for jobs? The most valuable and effective tool for finding and communicating with passive candidates is LinkedIn!

After reading this tidbit of interesting information; how many of you have been in or have known someone in that very same position? They are brought onto a job into a position that is more or less meant to be a mere stepping stone for what they truly want? Honestly; how many of us can say that we have never been at that same position?

LinkedIn is one sure-fire way to locate those prime-candidates that are not actively seeking other employment. It's as if you are walking around outside the local restaurant, not paying attention, and "OH!" there is a $20 bill that is off to the side, stuck in a bush. Now, you weren't looking for a $20 bill, and oh what an odd occurence that you have found one minus the effort. LinkedIn is your bush to find your $20 bill...uh...candidate.


The quoted first paragraph is from Strategic Advisor, Jennifer Millman.

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.

 

Creating Mobile Recruiting Apps = Time Wasted

Recents statistics from a company calling themselves comScore show the mobile Internet audience is using Facebook nearly an hour more a month than they’re using it on a desktop.

With the many apps now on hand (physically) in the mobile world; users have the option to either use the downloaded app version, or the mobile version. This data has confused many industry commentators, with many bloggers writing that applications are “winning the battle.” This interpretation is in fact wrong. 

Notice these happy-gents all showcasing their mobile devices with the Facebook logo? Yes, well these five blokes are a tiny bit of the many that probably believe that a mobile app would better produce results for recruiting. On the contrary: your mobile recruiting strategies should have nothing more important than offering your candidates an optimized mobile website, and here’s why.

Facebook, Twitter, etc. are channels. We all “browse” media through these social channels. The people and businesses we follow within social channels curate web content, which we discover and consume. The Twitter and Facebook apps are our preferred window to consume the web; not only do these apps direct us to new content, they fetch it and display it for us in one place.

Frequently we click links on Twitter from our mobile app. The webpage loads in our Twitter app. We do not take the URL and open a web browser and read the content. Social channels are the true “browsers.” We do not have to search or have a pre-conceived idea of what we are looking for. Instead we browse the social channel and when we see something we like, we order up more content by tapping the hyperlink.

Empowered with the knowledge that Twitter and Facebook apps on our mobile are the new browser, and knowing the enormous volume of users and time spent consuming these channels, what do you feel matters when it comes to mobile recruiting optimization? As recruiters wishing to reach a market it is very simple: a mobile-optimized career site/recruitment campaign coupled with social media activity puts your message in front the audience.

Check out the top mobile native apps: Instagram, Angry Birds, Facebook, Twitter, Ebay, etc. As a user I expect to return to these apps frequently either for fun or social interaction or new content. Looking for a new job at a single company is not a repeat process. The effort and reward of downloading an app to work at just one company does not add up. The native app will attract downloads from those doing additional research, those really interested in your firm, but these people have probably already applied for a job. Unless your employer brand creates incredible hunger and has millions of people desperate to work for you, an app in AppStore or Android is unlikely to deliver high ROI when it comes to talent attraction.

The mobile site is becoming a must-have for candidate marketing. The mobile application is typically better positioned to assist the selection and onboarding process.

(via: David Martin's article)

A Suitor for MONSTER.com!

Monster CEO and Board Chairman Sal Iannuzzi said, “At a certain price, anything’s for sale.” As to the buyer, Iannuzzi told Bloomberg it is less important and he said at the time, “The real issue is we know we have value, and we know we can go around and look for opportunities to get that.”

Apparently, the social-networking monster (no pun intended), LinkedIn, is considering purchasing the grossly-popular job board/search engine, Monster.com/Monster Worldwide. According to sources close to the situation, LinkedIn and Silver Lake Partners are two of “a broad range of strategic and financial buyers” who are weighing Monster as a potential acquisition target. Now, LinkedIn is only one of many suitors looking to acquire Monster Worldwide. An acquisition by LinkedIn has been rumored as Monster’s stock price continued to produce less than desirable notice. The social network for professionals competes directly with some of Monster’s products (notably the job posting and resume search business) but some Monster’s other technologies like the semantic search product SeeMore and Facebook networking platform, BeKnown might be an attractive piece in addition to an influx new customers.

Would You Hire Him? Someone Did

Bennett Olson, a normal Minnesotan man looking for a job, decided to take his campaigning for a position one step further.

Bennett recently placed his happy-go-lucky, grinning face along with the words "HIRE ME" upon a large digital billboard in hopes of gaining the attention of a potential employer. Lucky for him, this wild idea actually brought on several interviews and ended up landing him a job! He paid $300 to have his ad rotate with others for 24 hours, and during that 8-second flash of his face and website; within a day's time, it seemed to have made a big enough splash to snag a position. Way to go Bennett; now I wonder if that same campaigning would work on government electoral votes?



via: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/minnesota-mans-desperate-hire-me-billboard-actually-works-140177

A Grocery FRESHER Website

If you are familiar with western-states, Arizona, Nevada, and California, then you are probably well-acquainted with the chain of grocery stores populating these great states. Fresh & Easy, which was founded in 2007, has launched a newer, fresher look to its website talking about jobs within the British-owned grocer.

On the Fresh & Easy homepage, not the careers home page — the words “A Great Place to Work” (in lieu of “jobs,” “employment,” or “careers”) will swing you on over to the careers page, which includes videos, a q-and-a about the interview process, a blog, and more.

Fresh & Easy is recruiting employees and interns on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Spicing up your company website seems to produce a heavier flow of traffic to your business. Whether it is creating new and improved ads, or even a simplistic yet developed career page; updates are always looked upon as keeping up with the times and an interest in your establishment.


via: http://www.ere.net/2012/02/02/grocer-freshens-up-website/

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/

Video Resumes

The use of video resumes continues to grow and the quality of those using them is greatly improving. Does your company allow potential employees to show off their qualities, abilities and interests this way?