Tuesday September 30th, 2008
It's Not Just Gen Y

Yes, our poll this month asks about the young and their strange habits. After all the talk last week about Gen Y's antics on the internet and with communication devices, someone is talking about the older generation and their problems with social networking awkwardness!

This quote from yesterday's Salon update says it all:

• For years, college students have been opting out of future employment via boobie-flashing, obscene status updates and the pictorial remembrances of keg stands past on their social-networking pages -- "Ladettes glorify their shameful drunken antics!" screamed one typically British headline in the U.K.'s Daily Mail -- but now, the voices of reason, the beacons in the online wilderness, the adults who once clucked their tongues over the follies of youth, are lining up to humiliate themselves on Facebook.

Permalink  Comments (0)

Friday September 26th, 2008
Generation Y: Full of Youth & Promise?

This week's recruitment industry news has been full of Generation Y. Let's here what you think about the issues raised and the generation behind the issues.

Permalink  Comments (1)

Tuesday September 23rd, 2008
CU L8er -- Not

The introduction to this Wall Street Journal article says it all:

• After interviewing a college student in June, Tory Johnson thought she had found the qualified and enthusiastic intern she craved for her small recruiting firm. Then she received the candidate's thank-you note, laced with words like "hiya" and "thanx," along with three exclamation points and a smiley-face emoticon.
• "That email just ruined it for me," says Ms. Johnson, president of New York-based Women For Hire Inc. "This looks like a text message."
• Hiring managers like Ms. Johnson say an increasing number of job hunters are just too casual when it comes to communicating about career opportunities in cyberspace and on mobile devices. Thank yous on paper aren't necessary, but some applicants are writing emails that contain shorthand language and decorative symbols, while others are sending hasty and poorly thought-out messages to and from mobile devices. Job hunters are also using social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to try to befriend less-than-willing interviewers.

It's often occured to me that the "job search tips" we're given in high school and toward the end of university are deeply, deeply inadequate. Most young adults haven't developed the social skills to network in real life without exploiting their parents' contacts.

And strangely, we do tell them about "building relationships" with recruiters, with former employers and with colleagues, but we also don't tell them "relationship" is not synonymous with friendship.

Not that the rules are at all clear for anyone. In this article, it's the hiring manager who doesn't want to be "friended" on Facebook. In a study I posted about earlier this month,  it was hiring managers who were using social networking to vet candidates.

I really do think that recruiters need to play a larger role in grooming candidates, especially young people. Good manners, decent communication skills, and setting realistic expectations are all skills to be learned. It may just be that recruiters are the only qualified teachers.

Permalink  Comments (1)

Friday September 19th, 2008
If a Pension Plan Doesn't Attract You...

A naughty starlet will! Seven short days until we close the current month's poll. So go, click already. It's still more fun than a Cosmo Quiz.

Permalink  Comments (0)

Tuesday September 16th, 2008
Employment Managers Love Facebook

Sync Blog recently reported on a CareerBuilder.com survey of American hiring managers and their use of Facebook.

Of the 3169 hiring managers who were surveyed, 22 percent said that they screen potential employees using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Of those 22 percent, a little over 1/3rd of them have found content that made them drop the candidate from consideration for jobs for content ranging from drug-taking, excessive drinking and sexual promiscuity.

Do you check candidates out via social networking sites before you send them on to your clients? How often has a Facebook profile or a MySpace page made you change your mind?

Permalink  Comments (1)

Tuesday September 16th, 2008
Gen Y Job Satisfaction Low, Low, Low

According to a 2007 study by the Conference Board, job satisfaction among workers under the ago of 25 is at a record low. Fewer than 4 out of 10 working members of Generation Y say they are satisfied with their current jobs.

According to Marshall School of Business faculty member Kirk Snyder, “the economic toll associated with these increasingly lower levels of job satisfaction among Gen Y is significant, immeasurable and preventable.”

Snyder has just completed a three-year research project on communication and connection in the workplace.

Accoding to both Snyder's and other studies, lower levels of job satisfaction are associated with decreased employee commitment, productivity and retention.

Recent studies of this nature have all concluded with a need to focus on improving communication in the workplace as a means of retaining Gen Y talent. That is also the strategy behind studies I've blogged over the past months about retaining older workers past typical retirement age.

In the rest of our lives, given the explosion of text messaging and cell phones and crackberries, it feels to me like everyone is communicating all of the time...not necessarily the way we want them to communicate, but communicating nonetheless.

Why would this massive cultural phenomenon fall apart in the workplace when it holds together in the social and family aspects of our lives?  

Permalink  Comments (5)

Monday September 15th, 2008
Canadian employment market not doing too badly, according to new survey

In a survey of 1700 employers across Canada, most say they expect a "positive hiring climate" between now and December. 20% predict they'll increase their payrolls in the next 3 months, while just 7% predict a decline.

The employment rate is expected to stay at 6.2% in 2009, which is only a slight increase from the current 6.1%.

(It's worth noting that economists say that an unemployment rate of 5% is ideal: a healthy economy has to have at least a few people who are 'between jobs' - when the employment rate dips below 5%, businesses suffer because they can't find enough people to fill vacancies.)

Not all the experts agree that the outlook is positive: job creation numbers are dwindling, and that can be a sign of recession.

Of course, whenever a for-profit organization releases the results of a survey, those results should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Manpower Canada is in the staffing business, so the last thing they're going to do is release a bunch of results saying that the job market is going to crash and burn in the next 3 months.

However, the survey does say that 70% of employers don't expect their staffing levels to change in the near future, which is at least a little better news than we're hearing from the US lately.

Read the report here.

Permalink  Comments (0)

Friday September 12th, 2008
Back to School Blog Out Week Part 4

10 Questions for hiring managers that will make the difference

As recruitment professionals you've all asked questions similar to the ones below or at least a variation there of.  What's important to recognize is the "phraseology" of the question itself.  In many of the questions below the question is important, but almost more importantly is how the question is set up. 

Strong questions beg for strong answers and a strong set up to a question lets the recipient know that something is coming.  In essence what you're saying with a set up is, "I have something to say, I really want an answer.  I need you to pay attention and think about this."

When consulting with a hiring manager you need to leave that meeting with a lot of information to do your job to the best of your ability.  Asking all 10 of these questions, plus the standard questions you will need may be a bit much.  We suggest mixing in 3-5 of these questions while consulting with a hiring manager.  If you are successful, expect hiring manager comments like:

"Wow, I never really thought about that before.  You're really making me think."

"I really feel supported by recruitment on this, thanks."

1. Knowing what you know now, would you have taken this job at that stage of your career, why?

2. How do you see this particular role evolving over the next two years?

3. Every job description is a wish list.  What are the actual "must have" vs. "nice to have" for this position?

4. Can you tell me about a candidate you hired in the past that looked great on paper, interviewed perfectly but was ultimately a bad hire?  What did you miss during the interview?

5. You seem to know exactly what you want in a candidate.  Can you tell me what you don't want to see in a candidate?

6. What are your views on work life balance and what do you genuinely expect from your employees that may affect their work life balance?

7. Would the members of your team consider you a mentor or a manager?

8. Will you know the right candidate when you meet them? 

9. Would you mind if I spoke to someone on your team who is currently doing this job for a "day in the life" overview?

10.   Which of these two statements is true to you:

• "I look for candidates with great technical skills."
• "I look for candidates that are a great fit for the organization."

Permalink  Comments (0)

Thursday September 11th, 2008
Is Fat a Recruitment Issue?

How many hours will you spend sitting around today?

All of us are chained to our desks for longer and longer periods of the day and that fact is evident in our waistlines.

Employees in call centers especially, often complain about weight gain within just a few months of starting their careers. They just don't have the freedom, or the space, to wander around the office while talking on the phone or to stand a stretch between calls. Offering those opportunities for movement, I think, could give companies an edge in the ability to recruit and retain talent.

It's not hard to see why employers should be "movement friendly." Lack of activity leads to weight gain and ill health costs employers money in terms of number of sick days and the increased risk of long term disability.

A new study also shows that if employers implement a program to help their employees manage their weight and improve their health risks, they recover a short-term return on investment (ROI) of $1.17 per dollar spent. That's according to a study in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Walk and talk meetings, bicycle lockers and movement breaks are all part of a healthy work culture that supports employees in taking care of their own health. If you were going to choose between working at a call center that worked to support your continued good health in a largely sedintary job and staying at a call center that doesn't, which would you choose? Communicating the advantage of a health-conscious culture, should be part of how the recruiters sell a new job to potential candidates.

Permalink  Comments (5)

Wednesday September 10th, 2008
Back to School Blog Out Week Part 3

Just to contradict myself, I have another tip to add to yesterday's learning lesson.

While most corporations have budgets for employee training and professional development, seminars, courses and conferences are not the only places to access information and insights about the recruitment industry.

Independent recruiters don't have the budget to attend industry events. That doesn't mean that they fall behind. Instead they go about reading, reflecting and making critical analyses independently. These are all certainly tools all of us must develop and use on our own.

Permalink  Comments (0)

Tuesday September 9th, 2008
Back to School Blog Out Week: Part 2

Today, subscribers to Head2Head's Recruiter newsletter will get an insight into how independent recruiters often maintain "a learning edge" over corporate recruiters. Next week, subscribers to our HR newsletter will learn how Generation Y is preparing itself for challenges on the HR horizon. Subscribing from our web site is a simple process, all you have to do is select the newsletter you want to receive and enter your email address.

The simplicity is part of today's tip for keeping your learning edge sharp:

Automate whatever tasks you can to focus on relationships.

It is always easier to let someone teach you something than it is to seek out opportunities to learn. The interview really is everything when it comes to learning and a good interview creates a relationship.

To keep their focus on relationships, independent recruiters automate whatever non-relationship building tasks they can. They set up Google alerts to get regulatory updates in their in-boxes, their email accounts that receive résumés have auto-responders, all the documentation they use on a regular basis are in template form, up-to-date and filed appropriately for immediate use.

These automated efficiencies clear up time for phone calls, networking and relationship maintenance. That emphasis on personal conversation ensures that recruiters can learn everything possible from whomever they meet and apply that information immediately. In this way, learning becomes an on-going and integral part of every recruiter’s day.

Permalink  Comments (0)

Monday September 8th, 2008
Back to School Blog Out Week!

September, for those of us who went to school for a long, long time, is the season for new beginnings. It is also a time for new pens. And new ideas!

So, I thought I would spend this week talking about on-going education for recruiters. Today, while I wait for you to respond to our August Poll , I am going to start with a little lecture about the Work Foundation.  The UK-based not-for-profit org investigates the nature of work, its meaning in our lives, how we respect it and degrade it. They are the Zen masters of thoughts about work and I think we can all learn a lot from them.

In particular, I'd like to point you to their research into The Rise of Meaningful Work and what that entails for both employers and employees. Here is a quote from the abstract:

• Employers have a role in enabling the search for meaningful work by providing high quality jobs for people. But employers cannot create meaning and should not try to. It is up to individuals to find work that is meaningful for them. However, employers are capable of destroying meaning through exploitation, disrespect, and poor organisation of work.

Permalink  Comments (0)

Tuesday September 2nd, 2008
The Complimentary Blog Network

Permalink  Comments (0)

About the Authors

Paul Dodd
Co-founder and President
Head2Head Canada

Paul has one simple goal: To help companies hire great people - and get the most out of every recruiting dollar they spend. That's why he's recognized as one of the best recruitment-industry thinkers in Canada.

Links

Archives

Tags

Tag Cloud

RSS Feed

RSS Feed