Do You Love Your ATS? Your Candidates Probably Hate It
According to research from Capterra, which offers software-buying advice for businesses, roughly 75 percent of recruiters and hiring professionals use some sort of ATS or similar recruiting software. For the most part, recruiters and hiring pros are happy with their software: Capterra also found that 94 percent of them say their hiring software has been a net benefit for the hiring...
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Is World Domination Really Necessary? (Should I Keep My Business Small?)
Who ever said that all businesses must grow exponentially to be considered healthy? No one, that's who. And yet, there is still the popular notion that every startup should aim to be the next Starbucks or Facebook. Entrepreneurs who dare walk in to the Shark Tank with modest growth ambitions are often deemed heretics. Investors and the marketplace overall have a shared thirst for...
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8 Career Trends for 2016
With the New Year here in full force, many employees are setting their sights on new goals, new jobs, and new careers. One question I keep hearing is "What's new in 2016?" Let me answer that with a quick rundown of eight important career trends we'll see in 2016: 1. Multiple Careers It's becoming more and more common (and acceptable) for employees to switch jobs every 3-5 years....
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3 Ways to Create an Ideal Candidate Experience
Everyone has a favorite recruiting horror story. Mine is the one with the candidate who finishes their interview only to be abandoned in a windowless room. Stick tight, someone will be right by to take you to your next interview, they were told – but, alas, no one ever came. The candidate was eventually forced to sheepishly meander through the hallways until they could locate an HR...
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How to Use Mobile Apps for Your Recruitment and Candidate Marketing
Thanks to advances in the tech sector, the process of finding, recruiting, and hiring great candidates in the labor market has been accelerated in recent years. Social media, for example, has made it a lot easier for companies to identify and reach out to candidates. The adoption of social media in the recruiting process has gone hand and hand with another development: the rise of mobile...
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Top 10: Recruiting Bloggers You Should Follow
Welcome to Top 10, Recruiter.com's weekly rundown of the best of the best in recruiting! Every Friday, we release a list of some of our favorite people, things, and ideas dominating the industry. From awesome tech tools and cool companies to great books and powerful trends, no stone in the recruiting space will be left unturned. This Week: Top 10 Recruiting Bloggers You Should...
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2 Simple Ways to Further Personalize Your Marketing Outreach
When a new company attacks a market, it often takes a niche approach. The company tries to speak to an audience that is currently underserved by existing players with a message or feature that resonates. Whether you call it the "thin edge of the wedge" or establishing a "beachhead," the logic is that every group – all the way down to the individual person – has slightly different...
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Being Liked Vs. Being Respected – You Don't Have to Pick Just One
This or that, black or white, yes or no, one or the other – not everything can be define in such simple terms. "Being liked" and "being respected" in the workplace are neither polar opposites nor absolutes. Unfortunately, we often guided to believe that you can only pick one. This is not entirely true. You can have both – perhaps not at the same level, but the fact remains that...
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5 Ways to Keep Your Eyes on the Prize as an Entrepreneur
When you're an entrepreneur, it is easy to get distracted and lose motivation as you are building your business. Whenever you switch on your computer or watch the news, you probably see all kinds of success stories about other entrepreneurs, and that may cause you to question your own approach and goals. You may begin to compare yourself to these people and wonder when – if ever – you'll...
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Let's Stay Together: One International Company's Approach to 'Holistic' Culture
Doug Smith is president of EDSA, a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – but when he started at the company 28 years ago, he was just a lowly entry-level employee. "I started here my first job out of school, and I'm still here," Smith says. Smith's story of rising through the ranks at EDSA is impressive, but isn't exactly unique: According...
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The New Age of Onboarding: Why It's Time to Ditch the Classroom
If you're looking for new ideas about how to onboard your employees, you may need to take a step back. This is especially true if you're still onboarding in a classroom or classroom-style setting. Many companies still like to run their new hires through a number of classroom exercises before they get down to work, but this process is outdated and costly. There are newer, better methods for...
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9 Ways to Give Your Employees Great Perks on a Limited Budget
Perks and benefits are an all-too-often neglected resource for boosting productivity and morale among employees. You might think that you have to give up a significant portion of your profits in order to create a "cool" place to work – and, yes, plenty of mandatory benefits that can get expensive – but the perks that are most attractive to talented employees can be the easiest and...
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Dealing With a Toxic Employee? That Might Be Your Fault
Everyone has heard about the "toxic employee." There are books about this person. You pay consultants to show you how to deal with them. There are websites, articles, and social media posts dedicated to them. But how and why do employees become toxic? There are a lot of possible answers to this question, but I want to talk about one in particular today: The Toxic Customer I think it's...
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Today's Students Are Eying Careers in Finance and Tech – but Are Their Predictions Right?
A new survey from WikiJob, a job forum for students and recent grads, has found that many of today's young workers think the finance and tech industries are their best bets for high-paying careers. According to the survey, which polled more than 1000 college students and recent graduates, 39 percent of young workers believe that the banking and finance industry will pay the highest...
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How to Find the Right Office for Your Startup: a Case Study
Finding an office for your startup can be a difficult process. It's imperative to select a space of the correct size, in the right neighborhood, and at a manageable price. A technology startup headquartered in San Francisco recently contacted us at TheSquareFoot about finding an office space for its growing New York City team. Before coming to us, the team was operating out of a...
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3 Ways to Turn Your Hobby Into a Small Business
Yesterday, I explored a few questions you need to ask yourself before you decide to give it a go and turn your hobby into a small business. You may find your hobby liberating and stimulating right now, but if you turn it into a job, you may find all the positive aspects of your hobby turning into stressful commercial baggage. Hence why I encouraged all potential entrepreneurs to do some...
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5 Things to Consider When You're Hiring A New Employee
When it's time to fill a much-needed position at your company, it can be difficult to find that perfect-fit candidate to take on the role. All applicants have varying skill sets, different experiences, and certain strengths and weaknesses. Out of this diverse group of applicants, it is your job to find a person whose overall background and traits will not only benefit the company, but also...
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5 Ways to Get Past the Resume and to the Real Candidate Underneath
The world of social media has created a new kind of problem for recruiters: Every one is out there actively trying to make themselves look good, and it's easier than ever to do that now. In addition to the typical acts of embellishments, exaggeration, and resume padding, the rise of websites like FakeResume.com and CareerExcuse.com have introduced an entirely new level of lying to the mix:...
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3 Questions to Answer Before Turning Your Hobby Into a Business
Does your job feel like a nine-to-five grind? That may be a sign that you need to make a change. A career change can be a great way to alleviate boredom and reengage yourself. The problem, however, is that making a career change often means you have to start at the very bottom and work your way up. If you've already climbed the ladder in your current career, the prospect of heading...
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The Best Places to Work for Medical Sales Professionals [Infographic]
We have good news for those of you in – or looking to join – the line of medical sales: MedReps.com has just released the results of the "Fifth Annual Best Places to Work in Medical Sales Awards." Topping MedReps's list are Johnson Johnson, Medtronic, and Stryker. Just what makes these companies great places to work for medical sales professionals? According to the professionals...
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7 Signs of a Passive Candidate Who Is Ready to Move On
It can be hard to get an edge in the passive talent recruiting game: As soon as you poach a star from another company, it seems one is poached from you! Fortunately, you can solve this problem. All you have to do is spend more time in the passive recruiting "sweet spot" than the competition does. By "sweet spot," I mean a very special 28 percent of the passive talent market that is...
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4 Ways to Shake Up Your Performance Management Process
It's easy to talk about shaking up your performance management process, but when it comes to actually doing something about it, many employers fall short. Why is that? The answer is simple, really: Employers get busy, and they get stuck in their ways. Lacking the time to take on a comprehensive overhaul of their performance management processes, many employers just decide that their...
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A Subtle Destruction: Are Microaggressions Invading Your Multigenerational Workforce?
They may not be easy to spot, but their impact can be significant. In addition to the personal sting that results, microaggressions contribute to a decline in U.S. workforce productivity that results in an annual loss of between $450 billion and $550 billion, according to Gallup. These slights are often difficult to identify, but we are becoming increasingly aware of them and the negative...
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Turn Your Smartphone Into a Professional Development Powerhouse
Professional development opportunities are important to today's workforce, especially the millennials who comprise a significant portion of the contemporary talent market. When it comes to such development, more and more employers and employees are pushing for self-directed, informal learning opportunities instead of the more rigid formal programs that used to be the standard. Indeed,...
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Why Payroll Is Such a Bummer — and What You Can Do About It [Infographic]
Payroll is a necessary component of any business. Simply put: You can't run a company without paying some people to work there. The problem is, however, that payroll can be a tremendous pain. A new infographic from HR software purveyors Namely points out that a quarter of payroll leaders spend more than half their days on mundane payroll activities and that payroll mistakes cost employers...
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Stop Sabotaging Your Career by Using This 5-Step Business Plan
Do you want to change careers, advance in your field, or find a better work environment? Is this a dream, wish, or goal? Planning is the critical element that differentiates between wishing, dreaming, and doing. "A dream without a goal is a wish; a goal without a plan is just a dream." - Larry Elder Managing your career is a job in itself. In fact, your career is basically a business,...
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5 Trends for Talent Acquisition in 2016
As we head into 2016, I believe that most employers – whether hiring in local markets or nationally – will experience increased difficulty in recruiting. This challenge will be driven mainly by a growing demand for high-quality candidates across all levels and types of positions. Everyone involved in hiring will need to move faster, because unemployment is low and the demand for skills is...
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How to Refocus Your Employer Brand (Hint: It's Not About You!)
Ask yourself this question: What is employer branding, and who is it for? If your answer was something like, "Employer branding is for me, the recruiter or hiring manager, and it's meant to help me promote our company to candidates," then I have bad news for you: You're wrong. Many people are under this misconception, but the fact is that effective employer brands are...
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Can't Afford Competitive Health Benefits? Now You Can
For large companies, identifying the right health plans and benefits options to offer employees can be pretty simple: Just bring in an HR and benefits consultant to collect and analyze the right data, and – presto! – your expert consultant will help your organization pick the right plans in no time. If, on the other hand, you run a startup or small or medium-sized business (SMB),...
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The Top 25 Flexible Jobs With the Most Growth Potential in 2016
"One of the things people don't realize about flexible jobs is that they exist in practically every career field," says Brie Reynolds, director of online content at FlexJobs. "Most of them are jobs you'd recognize – but there's still a feeling that flexible and remote jobs are only for certain professions, like writing and consulting." To help dispel the myth that flexible work –...
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The Ins and Outs of Applying for a Small Business Term Loan
When most people are in the market for a small business loan, they think of a 3-5 year term with monthly payments. The problem with the business lending industry is that many business lenders are offering bad credit business loans. Small business term loans are very different from what the majority of the industry offers. My company, Ventury Capital, helps businesses access capital for...
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4 More Vital Questions to Ask Before Your Next Interview
Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of asking and answering certain questions before you even set foot in the interview room. If you really want to gain an edge over the competition, you'll need to do some serious research on your potential employer – and that means doing more than just skimming the company's website. The best kind of background research you, as a candidate, can...
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4 Lessons Recruiters Can Learn About Attracting Talent From Marketers
As the economy improves and the job market shifts, so too should recruiters' tactics. Job seekers these days are all mushy-gushy about company culture and career development. It's no longer realistic to simply post on career pages and job boards and expect that to be enough to attract candidates to your company. So, what should recruiters do? The answer is simple: They should take a few...
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4 Interview Questions That Reveal More About Your Job Candidates
One of the best interview questions I've ever heard is: "What kind of manager do you not like to work for?" My business provides staff for events and hires event managers, so I have to conduct a lot of interviews. This question is one of my regulars, because it allows me to weed out the difficult staffers and uncover a candidate's leadership abilities. The best candidates in the job market...
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4 Vital Questions to Ask Before Your Next Interview
As if it's not enough that you have to answer a load of tough questions at your next interview – and devise some good questions of your own to ask – you now find out you have to ask a few questions before even setting foot on the prospective employer's premises! No matter how frustrating it may seem, I can't apologize for putting you through this exercise. Walking into an interview...
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Ready to Promote an Employee? Read This First
If you've found the perfect person to take on more responsibility at your company, then it's your responsibility to make sure they're equipped to handle their new role. Many employees – especially the development-oriented millennials – expect their employers to train them as they climb the corporate ranks, but very few employers actually do. Be the company that defies expectations and...
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5 Hiring Experts on Their Favorite Hiring Software
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: There are plenty of software solutions out there. From the trusty ATS, to psychometric assessments, to talent pipelining...
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Student Loan Repayment: The Ultimate Perk for Attracting Millennials?
There has been a lot of speculation about what, exactly, millennials want from their employers. Professional development? Meaningful work? Corporate social responsibility? All of the above? According to a new survey from benefits administrator Peanut Butter, Inc., it's time to add one more thing to that list: student loan repayment. Peanut Butter's "Millennial Benefit Preferences" study...
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Cultural Fit – the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly?
One of the many reasons why The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is such a legendary film is that it does not present its central issues in black and white. It is a film in the best tradition of the 1960s, when filmmakers were not afraid to show that the world is often gray: the Good are not that good, the Bad are not that bad, and the Ugly are not that ugly (Eli Wallach would have loved this). The...
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5 Things You Need to Know About Implementing Personality Assessments
Personality assessments can do everything from foster connections between colleagues to build powerful teams and determine how well candidates fit within your established culture. That being said, it can be quite tricky to actually integrate these assessments into your hiring process, especially if you've never dealt with them extensively. If you're in need of some guidance when it comes...
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4 Clever Ways to Get Interview Feedback From Unresponsive Employers
We always encourage our readers to obtain interview feedback after failed job applications – no matter how painful that might be. Why? Because when you put aside the negative emotions it might rouse in you, interview feedback can show you where you can make improvements to your interview technique, which will increase your chance of getting hired the next time around. Acquiring and...
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Entrepreneurship Advice: Whose to Take and Whose to Ignore
When you start your own business, everyone has an opinion. Your brother-in-law thinks you should hire his kid. Your neighbor thinks you should solicit investments from his friend, who is apparently a venture capitalist. Log into your social media accounts, and you become even more inundated. Put the word "entrepreneur" in your bio, and you'll find yourself spammed with advice from...
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Making a Virtual Hire? Here Are 7 Cautionary Steps You Should Take
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: Telecommuting and flexible work are all the rage, and many of today's companies make use of distributed teams in order...
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4 Major Recruiting Mistakes and How to Fix Them
There's something therapeutic about empathizing with others over shared awful experiences while recruiting for talent – especially if you can also share solutions to prevent those experiences from recurring. Below, you will find some of the major recruitment mistakes that are often committed out in the field, along with some approaches to fixing the mistakes. If you're experiencing a...
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Expert Interview: Lawyer Jane Woodcock Shares Her Unlikely Career Path
Ed. Note: Jane Woodcock is head of the personal injury department at the U.K.-based law firm Hudgell Solicitors. Here, she speaks to Simon Wilson, a senior solicitor at the firm, about the unlikely path that lead to her law career. If you're interested in a career in law, you'll definitely want to see what Woodcock has to say. Our American readers should also note that, given that the...
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How to Build a Strong Resume: A Guide for Students
Great resumes don't just happen: They are carefully orchestrated. Anyone who has talked to me or read any of my writings on hiring should know that I think attitude should be a major consideration in the hiring process. The logic behind this is simple: The skills needed to be successful in a position can be taught, but attitude cannot. Furthermore, bad attitudes can be destructive to an...
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3 Tips on Landing an Automotive Engineering Gig
Dirty, dull, and dated: That's the perception many still have of the auto industry, but that picture is very far from reality. Today's auto industry is truly high tech and offers diverse career opportunities, especially in engineering. From electrical systems to sound engineering, the expertise needed to design and manufacture cars and trucks is vast. Vehicles are now one of the most...
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Culture Q&A: No One Spends 30 Years at the Same Company — Except Happy Employees
The job-for-life is dead! As our own Kazim Ladimeji has pointed out many times, job hopping is the new normal, and the average worker only spends about 4.4 years at a given job. In short: Nobody stays at the same company for their entire career anymore. Thanks to the rise of telecommuting, the way the Great Recession radically reshaped the economic landscape, and the shifting desires of...
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