New data shows that on average Gen Y users have 16 co-workers as friends. (The study also found that half have more than five employees as Facebook friends.) So when they’re away from work, they’re still connected to their workplace. Gen Y users aren’t intentionally using their Facebook for business. They are listing their past and current jobs – companies and title to inform their “friends”.   Meanwhile, they are likely connected to great potential candidates!  As a networker you have the ability to reach out to this generation by friending them directly or by contacting a friend of a friend in order to help reach this audience.

Gen Y spends an average of 23 minutes on the site per visit and they are connected to around 80 pages, events and groups. They are “liking” things and joining groups of interest or even their workplace and products produced by their company. Same basic principle applies to social networking as in business — 80% of Facebook interaction comes from 20% of the fans. Get fans and give them valuable information and content.  You will have the potential to reach millions of talented candidates. It is not necessarily a direct link but connections and conversations can be made through Facebook. Simply put, you can drive great referrals by taking some time to think about those in your own network whose extended network which could be quite valuable to you.  Really key though is to think about the target audience – make sure what you are pushing out makes sense and is relevant.  If you aren’t cognizant of being a “spammer”, this could backfire, so it’s important to think before you hit enter! 

Dave Barbato, CEO of Talent Retriever, whose recruitment consulting firm was an early adopter of Facebook as a candidate referral source has been sharing this insight with his clients and prospects.   “I still often get odd looks from old line HR and Recruiting pro’s I speak with – those avoiding the use of Facebook as a recruiting platform will be sorry.” And this statement couldn’t be truer in our social media crazed world. Although recruiters and hiring managers are using other social sites such as LinkedIn, they should realize the platform for Facebook is still the largest and has the potential to grow out to an even bigger network. So – the takeaway — although it is not a recruiting “platform”, the referrals and connections being generated by smart usage of Facebook are invaluable.

Twitter has also emerged as a social network powerhouse with over 175 million users. Tweeting, replying, mentioning, and re-tweeting are becoming common words in our everyday language. But what is the significance of these social networks, besides distractions and ways to procrastinate? Well, social networks play a major role in how businesses market and people find jobs. LinkedIn is becoming the online resume for individuals; where they can put their past and present work history, post recommendations, references, network, and reconnect with colleagues, and former employees. With over 135 million users, LinkedIn is becoming a primary search network for job recruiters and active job seekers. It is beginning to replace websites such as Monster and Career Builder, which have been used in the past by candidates.

Google+ is the most recent addition to the social media website craze. Google launched its “+” pages in early June 2011 to a selected few thousand people. Soon after the summer it went public, and almost instantly went from thousands of users to millions. Just recently, in November of 2011 Google+ introduced the Google+ Business Page. This opened the door for even more opportunities for small businesses and recruiters. Adding friends to your “circle” of networks and giving you the ability to reach many by sharing content. Its Google’s “social layer” that adds part social network and part social search. With this we are going to see Google+ users adding business pages of interest to their circle.

Small businesses are opening up their own Facebook business pages and Twitter accounts and are promoting themselves in hopes to get as much exposure as possible. Just by simply following a business or liking their Facebook page, you could land yourself a job. Social media should be your New Year’s resolution! In 2011 alone, 8 million Americans found their current job on Twitter, 10.2 million found a job on LinkedIn, and an astonishing 18.4 million found jobs on Facebook. If that isn’t convincing enough, than I’m not sure what is!

These social media sites have become crucial to most in the business world, whether you are on the consumer or client slide. We are evolving into a technical savvy world, where all of these websites can be accessed with one click of a button. We are living in the “information overload” age so it would only be wise to take full advantage of these social media websites. As a job seeker or even just a candidate, the opportunities within these sites are endless; you wouldn’t want to miss out.  You have the ability to network with thousands of people a day; share ideas, pictures, and interests. So why wait? Get on the social network bandwagon and start connecting!

To help managers see how their interview and selection process is focused, as a candidate would see it from the outside, I run them through a scenario. I challenge them to put themselves in the role of a candidate.  You are a candidate, happily employed with a company, but perhaps open to exploring a better opportunity (however you would define “better”).  A recruiter calls you on a Tuesday and describes a position to you that he or she is working on.  You see it as an interesting opening with a company on your target list.  You are an excellent fit and the opportunity would be a good next step in your career.  You find out that there will be three rounds of interviews over a three-week period.  Each will require you to take a half day out of work.  You will have to take two assessments and a drug screen before you will even get to meet with the first manager. Would you do it? If you would then I would proffer that you are not very happily employed and may be downright subconsciously desperate to make a move.   

Now think about the people you are looking to attract.  Are they the unemployed candidate who can come in anytime without disruption to their day? I am guessing you, as a hiring manager, are looking for the top performers who would influence your organization by immediately contributing at a strategic or tactical level.  You know them; they are the heads down industry thought leaders that generate revenue by bringing new energy and innovation wherever they go. They are the talent everyone would want to have. 

Now, you being that currently employed heads down leader in your space, would you be attracted by an interview process as described above?  Would you commit to taking that much time out of work when you are already employed and happy?  What is the interview process like that you have set up at your company?  What was it like when you interviewed? What did you tell people in your circle about your interview experience?  Does everyone in your interview process really add value?  Is everyone in your process an experienced interviewer? Is your process inefficient and set up to turn off the top talent you are always saying you want to attract? 

It amazes me how many clients voice their concerns over why they cannot seem to attract the same level of talent as Hubspot or EMC or Microsoft.  The difference may be those are the companies people want to work at.  They are turning away talent. They have a solid reputation as a “good” company.  If you are not an employer of choice, you are competing for top talent against those companies.  To compete, you need an efficient and effective interview and selection process.  Once word on the street is you have an inefficient practice, mired in levels of interviews and inappropriately timed assessments, you had better be one of those companies that people are knocking down doors to get into.

A good recruiter can help you establish an efficient and effective process that will ensure a positive interviewing process.  They can work to ensure the candidate experience is a professional, efficient, and thorough process.  They can help manage expectations on both sides (candidate and hiring manager).  A professional recruiter can work with hiring managers to ensure every step of the recruitment process is a well choreographed dance and candidate is managed and “sold on the opportunity” throughout the process.  As I mentioned in a previous post, your recruiter is an extension of your company brand, make sure you are working with a good one.  Your recruiter can be invaluable in acting as an intermediary and work to ensure an acceptable offer is extended, and manage the candidate through the notice period.  The caveat being they have to be a professional recruiter acting on the best interest of your company not just looking to close the deal to get a large commission.  A professional recruiter will ensure the opportunity is right for the candidate and the candidate is right for the company.  Yes, this means at times advising candidates and client companies to walk away.

Passive candidates are just that… passive, “not participating readily or actively”.  That doesn’t mean someone isn’t interested in making a change, but people are busy.  Making a concerted effort to search for a new job is often in the back of someone’s mind, but actually making the time to do so is another story.  Searching for a job takes work.  So –imagine having the “perfect” opportunity land in your lap.  No searching boards, no networking, no redoing the resume…. A great candidate can be enticed to speak if you approach them the right way.

 Here are a couple things to keep in mind:

 Be Relevant
If you are going to approach someone, you should have a good reason for doing so.  Do they have expertise in your industry?  Would it be a career step up for them?  If you are approaching passive candidates with opportunities that are irrelevant you are certain to come across as sloppy and self-serving – an immediate turnoff.  Which brings me to my next point.

 Review
Before you reach out to a passive candidate, take some time to research them.  Find out more about their current company and what they have been doing there. Look at where they went to school.  Do you have a common connection that you can reference when approaching them? 

 Balance
Understand that before you jump in and start qualifying a candidate, you must engage with them and gain their further interest in what you may have to offer them.  Think in their shoes.  They don’t want to waste their time, so ask some key questions to help determine what their hot buttons are and then align what you can offer.  If it is not a match, complete the conversation cordially and see if there is anything you can do to help them. Who knows – they may even refer you to another candidate.

 Relationship Building
Passive recruiting is extremely time-consuming.  It takes research, multiple outreaches and often a number of conversations.  Approach it as building a relationship with each person you reach out to.  You are networking with new people, maybe now is the right time for them to make a move, or maybe it isn’t.  Use this time you have invested to create a new and lasting contact.  You may find in 12 months they approach you with renewed interest.

 Respect
Follow through – if you say you are going to do something, do it – whether that means sending them information on your company, setting up a time to meet for coffee or connecting to them on LinkedIn.  Employment brands can be destroyed by the people representing them if one is not mindful.  People remember the negative, so as a representative of your company, keep your word for the sake of the company’s reputation as well as your own.

 One final note – Beware!  Candidates often go from being passive to active pretty quickly.  A call about one job often is the motivator to them moving forward on a full blown search.  If you are recruiting passive candidates, make sure the recruitment process goes at a steady pace.  Not too slow, not too fast. 

 Taking on passive recruitment is a tall order, but a necessary recruitment strategy when building a world-class team.  As you look at 2012 plans, I urge you to consider a holistic approach to hiring – surely your competitors are doing so!

Obviously, the ideal interview ends with positives all around.  A stellar candidate will get a great job at an outstanding company. And the hiring manager doesn’t have to deal with hours, weeks, even months of interviewing.  Rarely does it go that easy, but there are ways to ensure the positivity of an Interview Experience from all sides.

Much is written about the do’s and don’ts pertaining to a candidate, but what about the To Do List for a hiring manager? The reality is — for an interview process to be successful — both hiring managers and candidates must be at their best. When both parties step it up for an interview, the interaction is maximized.

First impressions are huge. That goes for both the hiring organization and the candidate. What you expect from a candidate is what your company should expect from hiring managers. As a representative of your company, arriving on time for the interview is just as important as the candidate being prompt. Top performers want to work with other top performers. A negative first impression could be ultimately a deal breaker for a desirable candidate.

Appearance is also key. Those involved in the interview process should be appropriately dressed. Of course, they can (and should) reflect the corporate culture style, but everyone should be neat and professional. 

Communication is also crucial. Make candidates feel welcome. Set their expectations. It is quite common to not want to commit to who they will be meeting in case you do not want to move forward with a candidate and have them meet others.  That’s fine – just leave the door open.  It’s OK to say “I may have you meet with our Director of Marketing – will need to check on her schedule and see about timing.” 

Finally, it is not uncommon — as a matter of fact, it’s human nature — to feel like you are being “interrupted” by having to conduct an interview.  Some may not be good at hiding this, but you must keep it in check. It may be apparent you’re rushing through an interview. If you are a part of the process, commit.  You can effectively interview in a limited amount of time.  Be organized, have an agenda of what you are going to cover and spend a couple minutes before the meeting preparing.  Review the job requirements and the resume.  Jot down some questions. If the candidate is rambling on and  throwing you off schedule, it is OK to politely ask them to wrap up that answer so you can move on to keep to the time you have allotted. Let them know you just want to be sure you get through all your questions.  On the flip side, make sure you give them the floor. It is easy to get carried away talking about your company and yourself – great to show passion for what you do, but remember why you are there. 

Organizations often fail to realize that threats are not just coming from competitors and the other usual suspects, but can be internal mistakes that are easily averted.  In short, take the hiring process seriously.  Ensuring you find, hire, and can retain and protect the best people is a great foundation for sustaining a great company regardless of size.

So, you just graduated from college and you’re sitting on your mother’s couch watching TV, it finally hits you! You need to start thinking about your next plan of action for the future. I’m not talking about your weekend plans but your career direction and plans. Even though you may be out of school, your college holds valuable resources from which you can benefit.

College students who have graduated or soon to graduate face one of the toughest job markets in history. It’s very competitive out there, especially for recent grads because they’re going to be competing against many people with college degrees plus experience and even a large population of more seasoned professionals.  Because of this, career counselors are encouraging grads to stay connected with their school’s alumni.

Have you ever thought about how your school’s alumni association can help you?  Despite the tough economic times, alumni associations can provide a variety of services for students even after graduation. One of the great benefits for recent grads is networking. Alumni are scattered about the US, and typically alumni associations supply listings of alumni (often free) according to location, graduation year or occupation. The alumni connection can often provide the “in” you need for job and career assistance.

Often a great job – the job you want rather than the one you’ll settle for – is found through networking. By networking, you might access information relative to discovering hidden gems – “jobs no one is advertising.”  Many jobs are filled before they are even made public. Possibly a position of interest is known by “an insider” because they work in the very company that you are targeting. Maybe they just have helpful information that will aid in focusing your search in industries that are currently growing.

Networking is so valuable because it is personal. An employee, friend, relative, professor, or alumni in the industry who introduces you on paper or in person to a hiring manager is a trusted referral. They often offer a voice of confidence in your qualifications as a good candidate for a position. Hiring managers will most often grant an interview when given a strong backing of recommendation. Even if the position is not a fit, you have made a new connection.

Even if graduation is years away, it is key to remember to take the advantages of your school’s alumni association and what it has to offer.

Status Quo

I call candidates who are currently employed all day long. What is painfully apparent from my call is that candidates often don’t see their value when they are at the top of their game. They are heads down being good at doing what they do. They don’t feel they have time to look. Personally, I get calls from other companies and other agencies trying to recruit me all the time. Of course, I listen. Why wouldn’t I? I am good at what I do and seen as someone who can add value to an existing team. This is EXACTLY when I should be listening to opportunities. That does not mean that I am taking days off work to interview though. When I am at work, I am 100% devoted to my job as everyone should be. If you are not, stop wasting your employer’s time.

When I engage a potential candidate the common response is “I am happy where I am and not looking”. When you follow up and ask for referrals to others, the response I get 99 % of the time is my all time favorite, “I don’t know anyone.” What exactly does that mean? Can someone explain it? Of course you know people. So am I doing something wrong? The more accurate answer is, “You, Mr. Recruiter, have not demonstrated to me why anyone in my very valuable network would benefit from being put in contact with you.” That is what they are really thinking.

In being close-minded from the start, it is not possible for you to make a fair judgment as to how my opportunity may potentially benefit you. Perhaps taking five minutes of your day to speak could be beneficial – if not now—potentially in the future. This is a great way to build a relationship with your recruiter and keep you top of mind. And honestly, you could not possibly make the call that everyone you know is truly happy in their job or would not explore a better opportunity. If that were the case no one would ever switch jobs. In fact, the people who are employed and happy in their job is EXACTLY who I want to speak with. They tend to be the candidates that are desirable to many employers.

Paradigm Shift

I would offer up perhaps a more open-minded response. When you are approached by an employer about an opportunity, it means they see the value in what you can potentially offer. They see you bringing something to the table that may not exist on their team currently or that they are looking to augment with some additional fresh talent. Do you realize how much power that gives you? Anytime someone comes to you to discuss an opportunity, you are in the driver’s seat. That does not mean you abuse the opportunity or the person calling. That means you should keep an open mind and at least listen.

If you are currently employed, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You do not have to act out of desperation because you have been laid off and you need an income to keep the family fed. The opportunity presented has the potential to be better than what you currently have. I don’t know too many people who would not want to improve their current situation. Of course, the position may turn out not to be right for you, but who knows? The best candidates are always looking to improve themselves personally and professionally. Top talent are continuously evaluating themselves, their job, profession, life, personal relationships and asking, “How can I make this better?”
Let me leave you with perhaps a more open minded response. “I am currently employed and happily so. I would be open to at least hearing about your opportunity and together determining if this opportunity would be better than my current position. I am at work currently, but would be happy to spend ten minutes with you after work to explore it. If at the end of our discussion I do not feel it would benefit me, collectively let’s determine who in my network would benefit from exploring the opportunity.” This response will at a minimum position you as a forward thinking person that is open to improving your situation if the opportunity is right. If it turns out not to be a “better opportunity” — as you define better (not the person reaching out to you) — then at a minimum, you have taken this time to give your thoughts on what would be attractive to you – leaving the door open for the future. My caveat to this post is to make sure you know how your recruiter is compensated and be wary of recruiters who “sell” to you rather than explore with you. There is a VERY big difference there. A high-quality professional recruiter will want the opportunity to be win-win-win (candidate-employer-recruiter).

Understanding your business problem

Starting at the beginning.  How much time is your recruiter willing to invest in understanding why your opportunity is available?  Do they get into the business problem you are looking to solve by hiring or do they just gloss over it?  Are they content with “he or she has an opening” and switch immediately into “order taking” mode?  (One of my favorite mentors in this business coined that phrase.) By “order taking”, I mean just covering what the job description says you are looking for.  A good recruiter will spend a significant amount of time trying to understand the business case for hiring.  Hiring a new employee, in some cases can be a $200,000 investment, taking into account candidate salary, benefits associated to the candidate, manager and staff interview time, administrative staff time, diminished production time due to the investment in interviewing, and potentially an agency fee.  The decision to hire should not be taken lightly.  Ensure your recruiter takes the time to understand what business problem will be solved by the hire.

Candidate Identification

What does your recruiter do to find his or her candidates?  How upset would you be if you hired someone and paid a $23,000 fee to an agency then found out they found your new hire on a pay site that you had access to and could have found on your own?  A true recruiter will spend time with you to develop a profile to determine what the best fitting applicant should “look like.”  For example, will they be working autonomously or as part of a team? These are two completely different profiles.  Often the best candidates out there are still employed.  Although there is a 9.7% unemployment rate the top talent you are looking for likely does not fall into to that number.  The very best people are working, or are back to work quickly.  If you want the BEST people you want you be able to find and engage with them. A good recruiter will face that challenge head on for you by recruiting that top talent not sourcing job boards.

Employment Branding

How will a recruiter sell your opportunity and company?  Will they be passionate about your position?  A good recruiter is an extension of your marketing efforts.  A good recruiter, if they never worked with your company before, will want to talk with marketing so they understand the best way to sell the company.  A good recruiter will want to become a business partner with you.  The recruiter in some cases may be the first introduction a candidate has to your company — a weighty responsibility.  A bad recruiter can have a toxic effect on your company’s recruiting effort.  A candidate’s experience with your recruiter and the hiring process will influence their perception of how the company treats its employees.  A bad recruiting experience, I can assure you, will get much more buzz in the applicant’s network than a good one.  A bad candidate experience will taint a majority of people that are in his or her network, as well as potentially reach people a couple of rings out who may get word of the poor experience.  What are people saying in the market about your company’s recruiting experience?

Interview and Selection Efficiency

Many managers can’t find the right person because their interview and selection process is a turn off to the best and most highly desirable people.  Top talent does not want to have to jump through hoops to make a career change.  A good recruiter is a valuable resource in helping you transition a candidate through the interview process to a hire.  Is your interview process such that it will effectively balance establishing a candidate’s qualifications and profile while remaining efficient?  Many companies have a non-strategic “process” established whereby candidates may see inefficiencies in regard to assessments, four rounds of interviews with ten people all asking the same twenty questions all with veto power, in essence a disqualification focused interview process.  A good recruiter can help you define an efficient interview and selection process. This is a big one for me because a good recruiter can add so much value in this area. Unfortunately, this where a majority of managers refuse to take guidance.  Hiring is most likely not the core function of the line managers charged with hiring for their departments, so their experience and/or knowledge of latest trends, etc. may be limited.  A good recruiter will be involved in hiring scores of people in a given year.  Who do you think will have more experience in efficient hiring?  Managers are hired because they are good at their core business function. If I want to know how to code, I will come to you, if you want to staff, trust the person that does it for a living. Unless that core business function is staffing, put the ego aside and take some friendly advice.  That is part of the value we can add to the process. We are of course still speaking about a professional recruiter.

Great Expectations

For a number of hiring managers the management of candidate expectation is a foreign concept.  This is where most candidates are lost. The “great unknowns” — don’t know how long it will take for the next interview, how long will it take to make a decision, what has to happen to select a candidate, how long will it take to get an offer, how much will the offer be –  can lead to a quick exit for top candidates.  Uncertainty will cause insecurity and questions. It takes a lot of time and skill to keep a candidate interested.  Think about this fact.  The absolute most interest and motivation a candidate will have in your position is while they are interviewing with you.  The very second they walk out of your door that interest begins to wane.  A good recruiter will handle this for you.  If the recruiter is not asking YOU these questions to begin with, how can they possibly be managing a candidate’s expectations?  Communication is key. The best talent is successfully hired-and lost – based on the effectiveness of the communication during the interview and selection process.

Deliver the goods

You were lucky enough to find your man Flint.  (That’s an old school reference.)  The selection process is complete.  So we’re done, right? Not so much. You must not take it for granted that the process ends at the handshake.  Emotions run high at the offer and notice period.  One manager is going to get a new hire.  An employee has to give notice – that means looking their manager in the eye and saying essentially, “you were not good enough to keep me.”  One manager is going to lose an employee.  Perhaps your selected employee is having second thoughts, getting nostalgic and feeling some uncertainty surrounding leaving their comfortable job for the unknown.  When they give notice assume there is going to be a counter offer.  They can come in many forms and at many different times – counteroffers do not necessarily happen at the time notice is given.  Don’t be lulled by the candidate who says, “Oh, I would never take a counter offer ” or “my company never makes counter offers.”  You have to test it with a scenario.  What does your recruiter systematically do to ensure the candidate you selected will be delivered?  What does your recruiter do to manage the candidate through the notice period when all of his or her friends are trying to convince them to stay?  There are easy ways to avoid candidate loss after the selection is made.  Make sure this is being covered by your recruiter or you may be back to the beginning of the whole process.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, not all recruiters are created equal. If you are not satisfied with the service you are getting, you have many options.  Don’t settle.

Increasingly, companies are turning towards a unique solution, particularly in these times of uncertainty.  Working as an extension of your company, an outsourced recruiting partner is quite valuable.  Whether you fully outsource or augment what you already have in place, they will get to know your culture, take the time to understand your business goals and help you to streamline your process to ensure optimal hiring. 

A properly managed outsourced recruitment solution offers many benefits that can improve your business. 

Decrease Time to Hire
Due to the efficiencies that are brought into the mix with an outsourced provider, you will save time.   You will avoid the need for hiring, training and retaining an internal team.  While streamlining your recruitment process, you will also see the development of best practices which will cut out time in the process, leading to less lost candidates and the ability to bring the most desired talent on board more quickly. 

Increased Candidate Quality
Because contingency fees are not involved when working in this capacity, it automatically sets up a more pleasing scenario for a candidate.  Candidates often say they feel like they are just a dollar sign and being bullied into jobs that just don’t feel right.  Not only isn’t this the case, but because of the approach of many outsourced partners, you will be able to receive honest and open feedback through this unbiased intermediary. 

Reduce Cost
Outsourced recruitment decreases not only your direct recruiting costs, but also can save on recruitment search tools and advertising.  Additionally, you will be able to cut back or even completely eliminate those skyrocketing third party agency fees. 

Flexibility and Customization
Often, outsourced recruitment programs can be customized and offer flexibility.  As your needs evolve, many programs can usually be adjusted to coincide with changes.  A solid recruiting partner will not be static.  They will provide continuity of the team and at the same time be able to bring on professionals with varied subject matter expertise as needed.

Whether you are an emerging company, a mid-sized firm or a Fortune 500 organization, you have options!  I encourage you to take a look at your current situation and don’t be afraid to get creative on your approach to strategic and effective hiring.

1)  Build a Linkedin Profile (Web 2.0 Resume)

Linkedin profiles are replacing the resume. Linkedin offers you the ability to quickly look at employment history, accomplishments, and recommendations (references). You can search for people you have in common and perhaps get a more complete and honest assessment of the person as an employee than may be received through traditional reference checking process. Up to 80% of offers are coming through networking.

What to include:
• A professional picture of yourself
• Finish the profile as completely as possible
• For each position you have held, describe achievements and significant contributions. Be specific.

2) Build out your connections

• Current and Past Supervisors
• Current and past Coworkers
• Current and Past Vendors
• Current and Past Support staff or people you supported
• Family and Friends
• Friends and advisors to Friends and Family
• If in school or recently graduated-Classmates/Professors/Advisors/Deans/Alumni
• Join Professional Groups
• Connect to industry leaders-you want to be in their circle
• Write recommendations and ask people to do the same for you
• Join TopLinked and Open Networkers Groups
• Build your network so it is working for you when you are not working on it.

3) Maximize Your Efforts

• Become active in discussion groups
• Answer questions asked by other members
• Add links to external articles you comment on or publish
• Add relevant industry books that you are reading to your profile-Amazon section
• Update your status regularly-updates are published to your network’s home page
• Stay current and publish thought provoking information that others can benefit from
• Consider using the simple WordPress Application for Blogging!