Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Recruiting

We know Talent Acquisition. We can help create strategic talent acquisition plans and processes to market, source, recruit, hire, and retain top talent. This category features insights specifically on Recruiting.

  • What does Culture have to do with a Job Fair?

    What does Culture have to do with a Job Fair?

    A friend of mine once shared with me a story of leaving a job to pursue one that seemed like a great opportunity. Soon after taking the new job, she discovered the culture was a nightmare. The company owner had terrible temper and was not necessarily following appropriate guidelines for the business they were in. Needless to say, it was not a culture fit for her and she moved on to find another job. When determining your next career move, culture should definitely be a considering factor.

    In the next few weeks, we will be talking about culture on The Point Blog. What do job fairs and culture have in common? More than you realize. Although it may be cliché to say it, but when you have an opportunity to interview or interact with a potential employer, you are sizing them up, just as they are you. Job fairs are one opportunity to determine culture fit.

    Here are a few do’s and don’ts to help prepare you for your next job fair (including factoring in culture fit):

    Do:

    • Research the company (including mission, values, products & services, available jobs and hiring managers). Check out company websites and hiring manager LinkedIn profiles to help you get started.
    • Bring copies of your resume.
    • Dress for success (and take a bath!)
    • Prepare an elevator pitch – Don’t have one? Check out Networking During the Holidays to help you develop one.
    • Ask questions – remember you’re not only there to find a job but to also determine culture fit.

    Don’t:

    • Bring your mom – unless she is applying too, leave parental units at home.
    • Forget to follow-up – that includes applying for the job you are interested in online and/or sending a thank you note when applicable.

    Read more of our culture related blogs here (& stay tuned for more blogs about culture!)

  • Top 10 Recruitment Quotes

    Top 10 Recruitment Quotes

    10. “Recruitment IS marketing. If you’re a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as a marketer, you’re in the wrong profession.” – Matthew Jeffrey, Global head of sourcing and employment brand at SAP

    9. “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.” – Red Adair

    8. “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” –Jim Collins, Good to Great

    7. “Hire character. Train skill.” –Peter Schutz

    6. “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.” –David Ogilvy, advertising executive

    5. “Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.” –Henry David Thoreau

    4. “Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions, and a healthy dose of curiosity.” –Richard Branson

    3. “Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture.” –Howard Schultz

    2. “What is a modern recruiter? Someone who is honest first, knowledgeable second, consistent third, humble fourth, helpful fifth, and personable sixth.” –Steve Levy, Principle: Recruiting, Talent, and Social Media Consultant at Outside-the-Box Consulting.

    1. “Nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies.” – Lawrence Bossidy, Former COO of General Electric

  • Targeting Passive Candidates

    Targeting Passive Candidates

    Recruiters everywhere are struggling to fill open positions these days. According to an August 2018 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of job openings is 4.6%, while the rate of unemployment is 3.6%. Basically, there are more open jobs right now than there are people to fill them.

    Organizations are having to rethink their recruiting strategies in order to attract qualified candidates. Part of this revised strategy includes targeting passive candidates, or people who aren’t actively looking for a new job. So how do you attract candidates when they aren’t even job hunting?

    • Offer employee referral bonuses. Current employees are often your best resource for great talent. They’re going to refer people that they feel are qualified, team players, and hard workers. Afterall, they may have to work with them. If your organization already has an employee referral program, make sure you advertise it to your employees. Send out a reminder to all staff that the program is in place, send out regular updates on what positions are open, and recognize the employee when you make a hire as a result of their referral.
    • Use Linkedin to promote your company and to connect with potential candidates. Make sure your company page on Linkedin is up-to-date and speaks to your company culture. Then start looking for people to connect with that you feel could be an asset to your organization. Reach out to them and let them know that you were impressed with their profile and have some potential openings that you think they may be a good fit for. You may not get a response, but then again you might. And even if they aren’t interested, they may know someone who would be.
    • Attend networking events. Networking is a great way to both get your organization’s name out there as well as to connect with people who may be in the same industry and looking for a new opportunity. Events may include tradeshows, conferences, and local meetups. A few great resources to find events in your area include Eventbrite and com.
    • Sponsor local events. In addition to attending networking events, a great way to get your name out there and garner interest from potential candidates is to sponsor local events. This gives passive candidates an opportunity to see who your organization is and what you do. And it may just peak their interest in your organization. Bring recruiting materials with you that you can hand out and take the opportunity to strike up a conversation with attendees who stop by your sponsor table.

    According to Linkedin.com, 70% of the global workforce is made up of passive talent. What is your organization doing to get their attention?

  • 4 Keys to Communication to Create Optimal Candidate Experiences

    4 Keys to Communication to Create Optimal Candidate Experiences

    Candidate experience isn’t just about getting people to apply for your opening positions.  It is also about getting them to continue to or start buying your products and services.  In a recent candidate experience study by IBM,  “candidates who are satisfied with their experience are twice as likely to become a customer of the hiring organization compared to unsatisfied candidates (53 percent vs. 25 percent).”

    So you may not care if an unqualified applicant applies for your openings, but you definitely want everyone to continue or start buying from you.

    With this in mind, communication is the most critical piece of positive candidate experience.  In order to create a positive experience these things need to be present:

    1. Informative Communication. Many applicants find that their application goes into a “black hole” and they never hear anything.  Candidates should be informed if they have been screened out for a job and why.  A rejection may seem like bad communication, but in reality, no communication is much worse.  Make sure you follow-up and inform candidates after every step of the process (application, phone screen, assessment, interviews, etc.) as to whether or not they are still in the applicant pool and why or why not.

    If candidates are screened out, inform them of other openings with your organization that may be a good fit for them, if this is in fact the case.  Definitely don’t do this if you do not have openings that are a fit for them because this is misleading and unauthentic (see #4).

    2. Differentiated Communication. If you’ve done a good job of informing candidates, the next step is to go beyond using the boiler plate emails that your ATS provides. Customize the communication to reflect your culture and brand.

    3. Diverse Communication. One way to differentiate your communication with candidates is to diversify it. Let candidates hear from someone other than the recruiter or hiring manager.  This could come from someone in the job they are applying for, someone who is at the same stage in their career, and/or someone who fits their demographic profile.

    Video is a great way to differentiate and diversify your communication.  Take short clips of people throughout the organization talking about what they do and what they like about their jobs and the organization.  Use these on your careers site but also make use of it in customized emails/newsletters to candidates you are trying to target as well as those who are already in your pipeline.

    4. Authentic Communication.  If you’ve differentiated and diversified your communication, you’re stepping in the right direction of displaying authentic communication.

    Make sure your communication materials do not convey something your organization is not.  No organization is all sunshine and rainbows, so make sure your candidate communication is realistic, honest and authentic.  If you don’t have pool tables in the breakroom along with endless snacks, don’t act like you do because you’ve heard that is the way to attract millennials to a workplace.  If you’re organization’s demographic isn’t diverse as you’d like, don’t hire actors or use stock graphics to populate your careers page.  Actually use people who work in your organization.

    Make sure you know who and what you are as an organization and what you are striving to become.  Tell candidates about this throughout the process.

     

    What do you do to communicate effectively with candidates to build a positive experience for them?

     

  • A Terrible Answer to an Interview Question

    A Terrible Answer to an Interview Question

    I recently conducted an interview with a job candidate for one of our clients. During the session, the young lady answered all of the questions perfectly. As the conversation was coming to a close, I had one final question. I asked, “Why did you make the transition from your last position to your current one?” The resume was stellar, the interview had gone well so far, but her answer allowed me to easily make the decision to not recommend her for a call back. Her answer, you ask? “I was just late too many times, and they had to let me go.” I paraphrased, but that was the gist.

    In my recruiting role, it was easy to discard the resume. However, my career coach heart wanted to scream “please, don’t use that answer ever again!” I will give her points for honesty. However, I could not in good conscience recommend her for the position.

    So, if I were her career coach, how would I guide her in answering the question? That’s simple. First of all, I would find out why she had trouble with being on time. There is always a root cause. Then, I would ensure she has made adjustments or has the resources she needs to always be on time moving forward.

    As far as how to answer the question, I would recommend that she address the question before it is ever asked. Early on in the interview, I would recommend a dialogue like this:

    “You’ll notice I transitioned to a new role 6 months ago. I would like to be up front and share that I had some personal issues (share if possible) that prevented me from consistently getting to work on time with my previous employer. I’m thankful that my current employer provided me with a new opportunity. I have not missed a day or been late since. And, I can assure you, if I’m chosen for this position, punctuality will be a priority.”

    Want to read more about how to prepare for an interview? Check out these posts from The Point Blog:

    3 Tips for Eliminating the Stress of a Job Interview

    How to Answer the Interview Question “What is your greatest weakness?”

    Authenticity and the Job Interview