Lessons From the Field: a Conversation With Networking Expert Van Allen
When you are a networker, you meet a lot of other networkers. If you meet enough networkers, you tend to meet some that do it well -- and these people can definitely teach you a thing or two. If you're lucky, some of those connections will turn out to be more than just Rolodex fodder. Such is the case for me with Van Allen. I've known Van for well over a decade. He's a consummate networker --...
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Transform Your Recruiting Strategy By Taking a Look at the Numbers
Imagine you are in charge of global online toaster sales at Amazon.com. Your job is to sell as many toasters as possible. Do you sell more toasters when customers can buy with one click of a button, or when they have to fill out a long payment form? The answer is obvious, right? Customers buy more when you make it easy for them – when all they have to do is click a button. Recruiters...
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12 Ways Recruiters Are Like Great Salespeople
A few weeks ago, right after the HR Tech Conference, I teamed up with iCIMS and SmashFly on a #TChat to discuss the similarities between recruiting and sales. Then, just last week, I heard Stacy Zapar, reigning guru of social recruiting, share her tricks for using the social world to be a better recruiter. I'd heard most of these tips before, but in a different context. See, as a marketing...
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The Entrepreneur's Path Is Rarely Straightforward
I had never heard the word "entrepreneur" until I went to college in California in the '80s. As a kid, I wanted a career in international business because I spoke French and thought jobs in finance sounded cool (my father and both grandfathers were commercial bankers). The only other career I seriously considered was being an ambassador or diplomat, which also seemed like a natural way to...
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Is Twitter DM the new InMail?
Twitter recently announced that it's getting rid of the character limit on direct messages, and this is pretty big news. The character limit was the one flaw preventing direct messages (DMs) from being a fully functioning form of communication between Twitter users. With that limit gone, Twitter is finally catching up with the likes of Facebook, email, and LinkedIn when it comes to connecting...
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Want to Be a Teacher? Here Are the Top 25 Best Places for Educators in the U.S. [Infographic]
Before I started my illustrious career as a recruitment/hiring blogger, I was a teacher in Hartford, CT. (Full disclosure: I was not a very good teacher, hence why I didn't last long.) According to a new analysis from personal finance tech company SmartAssest, I was lucky enough to be teaching in the ninth-best metro area in the nation, where the average salary for a K-12 teacher is $70,786....
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4 Recruitment Mistakes That Are Costing You Candidates
The talent shortage is creating a lot of competition for candidates. There simply aren't enough qualified workers to go around, and candidates have many options to consider when looking for their next opportunities. Is your organization investing a lot of money and time into recruiting, only to lose your top-choice candidates at various stages in your recruitment process? If you want...
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The Worksheet That Will Help You Hire the Right First Employee for Your Small Business
Today's question comes from a busy professional: My business is growing, and I know I will need to hire help soon. People have suggested interns or office support – but my business relies a lot on my own skills. I have thought about partnering with or hiring someone who does essentially what I do, so I can expand based on this expertise. What skills should an individual have to...
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Get Ready — Gen. Z Is Coming to the Workforce
A brief perusal of recruiting industry literature will show that, while millennials are still a hot topic, the anti-millennial hysteria seems to have died down quite a bit. Perhaps that's because the millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce. We don't have the luxury of sitting around and wringing our hands about whether or not millennials represent the downfall of civilization...
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Millennials Vs. Older Gens, Part 2: Interview Prep for Candidates of Different Generations
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how millennials prepare for their interviews and the best ways that we recruiters can help them be successful in that endeavor. Given that they make up such a sizable portion of the workforce, it's understandable why millennials get so much attention in the labor market. Today, however, we're going to shift focus and talk about workers over the age of...
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10 Probing Questions Candidates Should Ask Their Interviewers, Part 2
For job seekers, interviews can be nerve-wracking. The employer has something that you desperately want -- your dream job -- and you can't force them to give it to you. All you can do is gently persuade them you are the perfect candidate. It's no wonder you're nervous. The problem is that these nerves can send you into your shell. This is a flawed self-preservation strategy, especially in the...
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Explanations Go a Long Way on Resumes
Leaving off pertinent information is why so many resumes go in the trash. It's difficult to balance out the amount of information presented in a resume. With the shorter attention spans today, it's important to get to the point. You don't want to bog the reader down with reams of useless information -- but you also need to make sure you include vital information that demonstrates why you are...
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9 Signs You're Interviewing a Top-Performing Employee
Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA! Today's Question: At your company, what will get someone hired on the spot? The answers below are provided by members of...
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5 Ways for Virtual Companies to Convey Their Cultures to Candidates
Whether it's a traditional office or a virtual one, every single company has a culture. The thing is, brick-and-mortar businesses generally have an easier time building and sharing their company cultures, thanks to the fact that employees all show up to work together every day. That's not to say that it's virtually (pun intended) impossible for a virtual company to have -- and promote -- its...
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Embrace Interview Stress
The sweaty hands, the racing heart, the knots in your stomach -- and lets not forget the lightheadedness and blabbering. People report many physical symptoms of interview stress. Interview anxiety has become such an accepted phenomenon that there is almost an expectation that you will experience it. In fact, people who don't experience interview anxiety often say they feel like freaks -- like...
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4 Signs of a Star Career-Changing Candidate
The average job tenure today is about five years. No recruiter in their right mind, then, should expect to find candidates who want to stay at a company for life. In fact, given the prevalence of job hopping these days, most recruiters would probably find it a little strange if they came across a job-for-lifer. While the job-for-life may be dead, many employers still expect candidates to...
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8 Reasons to Work With Freelancers
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter Q&A! This Week's Question: More and more people are becoming freelancers every day. We want to know how this trend is impacting businesses. Do you work...
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6 Things I Learned About Job Satisfaction From Interviewing More Than 500 People
As full-time videographer for career exploration startup PathSource, Justin Thach has had the unique opportunity to talk with all kinds of people about their career paths, from doctors, lawyers, and CEOs to professional baseball players, animal breeders, and video game designers. Through these conversations, Thach has gleaned six crucial insights about what makes a successful and genuinely...
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Why Is It So Hard to Ask for Help at Work?
The question invites a lot of semi-baseless pop-psychology theorizing, but it's one worth asking nonetheless: Why is it so hard to ask for help -- especially in the office? My hunch is that, in part, asking for help feels so difficult because of our American bootstraps culture, which perpetuates the nasty myth that the best way to get anything done is to do it by yourself, with as little...
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The Difference Between Resumes and CVs
Most people believe that the terms "resume" and "CV" are interchangeable, but that is far from correct. Unfortunately, these crucial documents aren't discussed very often in school, so as we make our way out into the workforce, we are forced to do some research and figure it out on our own. Resumes and CVs are both documents that elaborate on your career path, but there are major differences...
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5 Tips for Writing Job Descriptions That Don't Suck
In the past, hiring managers had their pick of candidates to choose from. Even with ho-hum job descriptions, you average hiring manager often found themselves inundated with job applications from eager job seekers. Not so anymore. Ask any recruiter, and they'll tell you that today's talent market isn't what it used to be. Sure, there is a wealth of potentially amazing job candidates to...
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The Top 10 States for Telecommuters
There's never been a better time to work from home. Half of all workers in the U.S. have jobs that could be accomplished via telecommuting, and the number of employees who telecommute has grown by 103 percent since 2005. "Telecommuting is popular because it alleviates or eliminates many of the pain points people associate with work," says Kristin Thomas, director of employer outreach at...
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How to Use Behavioral Interview Questions to Check References
Checking references is a waste of time -- usually. After all, who in their right mind would risk giving you the name of a reference that might say bad things about them? Naturally, candidates only offer references whom they believe will compliment their work, honesty, and reliability. Verification of employment dates and job titles can be obtained by contacting the human resources...
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Need a Top-Notch Employee? Hire a Veteran
Chances are, your company is currently hiring to fill an open position -- perhaps even multiple positions. If not, the transitional nature of today's employment market means the odds are pretty good that you will be soon. Now, imagine if you could target a segment of candidates whose unique combination of aptitude and attitude pretty much guarantees that they'll to be valuable...
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How to Dress for a Client Meeting [Infographic]
As recruiters, we meet with a lot of clients from a lot of different industries. As a result, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out how to dress when heading to a client meeting. An outfit that says "serious and professional" to one client may say "stuck up and stuffy" to another! Uncertain of what to wear to your next client meeting? Follow the client's lead! For example, when meeting...
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4 Questions You Shouldn't Ask Candidates
Employee engagement starts with the hiring process. Some professionals, no matter how great they look on paper, will never be engaged in the work environment. Why? Because their career goals and motivations are radically different from the employer's goals and motivations. And if an employee isn't passionate about their work, they won't be happy. In fact, 53 percent of U.S. and Canadian...
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Losing Talent Faster Than You Can Replace It? You Need to Build Better Teams
You can't always blame the war for talent for your hiring difficulties. As uncomfortable as it may be to admit, losing talent faster than you can replace it could it be a sign that something is wrong with your team. Take an honest look at your team and ask whether your retention rates, productivity, and/or engagement levels are below accepted norms. If they are, then there is a real chance...
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3 Benefits of Offering an Employee Learning and Development Program
The talent shortage has organizations struggling to find and retain top-tier talent. There simply aren't enough qualified candidates to go around, and HR professionals are getting more strategic about how they approach recruitment and employee retention. However, organizations can get so caught up in the "here and now" that they often overlook longer-term strategies that can have significant...
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6 Ways to Immediately Filter Bad Resumes
Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question on jobs data you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA! Today's Question: How do you efficiently wade through the sea of resumes you receive for any given job posting? The...
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The 4 Keys to Managing Your Contingent Workforce
A new study from Ardent Partners -- sponsored in part by vendor management system provider Fieldglass, Inc. -- has found that contingent workers account for 35 percent of the total workforce. Moreover, the "2015-2016 State of Contingent Workforce Management Report" asserts that, in the very near future, contingent workers will skyrocket to 50 percent of the total workforce. What this means is...
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Where Recruiting and Marketing Intersect
The typical job description for a recruiter includes evaluating candidates, building applicant sources, arranging interviews, managing employee relocations, and many other tasks and responsibilities. While "marketing experience" may not often make it to the list of required qualifications, the ability to sell is an unwritten "must have" when it comes to recruiting -- especially in today's...
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Hiring Remote Workers: 5 Challenges You'll Face
There are many advantages to the in-person job interview. Not only do you get to see how your potential employees carry themselves, but you also have a face-to-face view of how they respond to various interview questions. You can see if they're punctual where traffic and commute times are concerned, and you can get (or not get) that elusive "gut feeling" about whether or not they'd be an asset...
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3 Tips for Bouncing Back After Failure
The ability to bounce back from failure is in the DNA of successful professionals and entrepreneurs, many of whose careers have been littered with setbacks at every stage. Failure is cyclical. It will happen again and again in your career -- even in the midst of successful projects -- and your ability to quickly accept and push on from failure will define your career. If you want to be...
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Is It a Good Idea to Be Friends With Your Boss?
Do we like our bosses? According to a recent survey from Spherion Staffing Services, the vast majority of us do: 74 percent of surveyed employees said their relationship with their boss was "excellent or good." But that doesn't mean our bosses are our friends. Spherion found that a slight majority (51 percent) of employees say that their bosses are not their friends, and that only 46...
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How to Recruit Millennials When You're a Boomer-Centric Company
It's no secret that members of the youngest (and now largest) generation in the workplace can cause their older managers some serious aggravation at times. Gen. Y's expectations about work are often at odds with what more veteran employees have come to understand as "appropriate" for the office. Still, there's a slow shift happening in corporate America. As companies realize that formal...
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How to Find a Low-Stress Career
We live in an era that's much more sympathetic to work-life balance than previous years, and that means it's a good time to step back and take a holistic view of your career. You don't need to settle for being a life-long slave to the corporate machine -- you can hop from career to career, depending on your tastes, whims, and lifestyle. Sure, you still need to earn money, but you have much...
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How to Capitalize on Evolving Cultures in Creative Businesses
The inherent complexity that underpins today's digital products seems to have put an end to the age of the arrogant leader with the killer instinct. In past decades, it was this person who ruled so many creative businesses. During this time, there were only a few crafts that came together to make a magazine, an ad, a film, or a product. There was time for the individual genius to conceive and...
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Beware: Tools That Make Recruiters More Productive Also Make Them More Accountable
Ten years ago, candidates' resumes were still stored in those huge filing cabinet, similar to the ones you might see when visiting a dentist's office. Although some people still use the paper method, the advent of the applicant tracking system has helped a lot of recruiters become more productive. This was the beginning of not only increased productivity and efficiency, but also more...
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How to Find, Hire, and Manage Freelancers Devoted to Your Business
A little more than one-third of the U.S. workforce is freelancing -- and honestly, companies should be thrilled. Hiring contractors, with their flat or on-commission fees, can decrease payroll spending by at least 20 percent. Moreover, freelancers give you the chance to introduce a new personality with different ideas to the workplace, which can inspire employees to refresh their commitments to...
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10 Productivity Tips to Improve Your Work Life
There's something really disheartening about reaching the end of a workday and feeling as if you didn't accomplish much. What many people fail to realize is that it is the little things you do -- or don't do -- each day that impact productivity more than any major crisis situation. If you would like to get more done on any given day, take a look out these ten productivity tips. 1. Be a...
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Can College Prepare Students for the Uncertainties of the 21st Century Economy?
In some circles -- populated by the kind of people who make totally-off-the-mark lists like "10 Worst College Degrees to Earn in 2015" -- the results of educational software company Instructure's latest study may be seen as a sort of vindication. These people have been saying for years now that colleges -- especially certain (usually liberal arts) degree programs -- don't adequately prepare...
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How Your Coworkers' Perceptions Affect Your Career
I often talk about the fact that other people's perceptions of us are, unfortunately, more important than our intentions. Today, I want to discuss the impact of those perceptions on your career. The truth of the matter is that your inner intentions are not known to the outside world -- unless you make an outward gesture. Even then, however, people can't see into your mind. How they perceive...
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Can't Find Skilled Candidates? Grow Your Own
The Manpower 2015 talent shortage survey showed us that 38 percent of managers can't find the talent they need, which is the highest percentage since 2007. Salespeople, engineers, technicians, skilled-trade workers, and IT professionals are proving to be the most difficult employees to find. However, employers have known -- or should have known -- about these talent shortages for some time...
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Millennials Vs. Older Gens, Part 1: Interview Prep for Candidates of Different Generations
When I started my career as a recruiter, I thought it would be a given that people would know how to prepare for interviews. As we all know, however, that is not always the case. As part of the hiring process, my colleagues and I typically call our candidates to help prepare them for their interviews. This is not only an opportunity for us to impart some institutional knowledge about our...
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6 Ways to Stay Motivated When the Job Search Gets Tough
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter Q&A! This Week's Question: The job search can be terribly demotivating. After months and months of firing off resumes and maybe even landing some...
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The 5 Keys to Building a Flexible Work Policy That Works
In a recent survey from FlexJobs and WorldatWork, 80 percent of companies said they offer flexible work arrangements to employees. This may not be surprising, given that both employees and employers can benefit from flexible work arrangements. Employees like the freedom and work-life balance of such arrangements, while employers can reap the many rewards that come with building a more...
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Recruiters Are Getting Smarter About Premium Fees: 3 Ways to Cut Your Recruiting Costs
Employers are paying direct hire recruiting agencies premium fees for top talent -- sometimes as much as 30 percent of the first year's salary or more. Now, recruiting leaders are getting smarter about who gets these premium fees. It's no longer just about the position they need filled. Hiring managers are now considering agency performance, business unit goals, and more when they're...
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Have You Just Been Laid Off? The Sky Is Now the Limit
A recent report from CNBC reveals that there has been a surge in layoffs in the U.S. This employment report showed a 43 percent increase in job cuts in September (58,877) from August (41,000). Thankfully, there don't seem to be any signs of an impending economic downturn. Even so, a significant number of Americans -- perhaps more than half a million every year -- will at some point find...
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