The Hiring Site

HELP WANTED: 9 Things to Avoid with Job Postings

2008-11-21T01:44:42Z

In concluding this series of tips and tricks to make the most of your job postings, I thought I’d run through some things you might want to avoid. Not to end on a negative note, and some of these may seem rather elementary, but one can never be too careful, because we’re talking about the process of attracting your next employee. You want to make sure the candidates you attract are the right fit, so it’s vitally important your job posting is perfect. Otherwise, you’ll end up with someone who’s not qualified, and will find yourself having to let them go and start all over again.

Avoid the nine items below to increase search relevance and success, and attract better candidates. Doing so, along with the other suggestions we’ve made, will help ensure you get the most out of your job posting efforts. So beware of the following:

1. Keyword abuse – By all means, make sure you include the key words for the position throughout the posting. But don’t appear as though you’ve lost your grasp of sensible communication by pasting “senior copywriter” 42 times within the job description in the hopes that the plethora of references will improve search results. Doing so will drive away candidates, rather than attract them.

2. Being too broad – Narrow your focus. Stay on target and give details, details, details! Make sure candidates know exactly what job it is you’re posting. By just creating a general posting for “attorney,” you reduce the relevancy for search success. Include areas of expertise, industry niches, and other data that zooms in on the position’s specifics.

3. Multiple job openings in one posting – In this economy, we’re all trying to get more bang for the buck. But rather than getting more traffic when advertising more than one opening in a single posting, what you actually get is more confusion and fewer responses. It makes things too crowded and reduces search engine success by having too much unrelated information.

4. Unrecognizable abbreviations – We all know what RN and CPA stand for … But what about HSG&SP/S SU or C/D OP ACHF? Chances are, job seekers will be much more likely to search for the titles “Housing & Special Services Supervisor” or “Computer & Data Operations Assistant Section Chief.”

5. Trying to use HTML in title – Don’t get fancy—save the HTML for the job description.

6. Bad combinations – Combining keywords with a slash (/)or dash (–) without using a space between can prevent your job titles from being read properly by search engines. So if you have a secretary/clerical position available, make sure it’s spelled out as Secretary / Clerical.

7. Ineffective job titles – Some job posters use the title function as a marketing ploy or jumble things up rather than just providing the straight forward position title that job seekers want to see. Don’t put “Will 2008 Be a Year to Remember?” or “*$*$*ONE OF A KIND OPPORTUNITY!!!*$*$*” in the job title line. Just stick with the facts, and basic, fully spelled-out job titles.

8. Typos – Nthing shws unprofesionalism more so then when your job pasting has typos or grammatical errors in it. Given that thes is your first pont of contactw ith a potential job canddiate, you want to make a good first impersonation. Don’t just rely on spellchecker (a few would have passed the test in this paragraph). Read, re-read and read again.

9. Clutter – Like typos, a cluttered job posting doesn’t make much of a first impression. It’s fine if your desk is a mess, but make sure your posting looks “clean” before opening it up to the job-seeking public.

When it Comes to their own Benefits, Many Employees are Missing the Boat

2008-11-20T22:11:32Z

As it’s open enrollment season for U.S. businesses, millions of employees from Seattle to Baton Rouge are making important decisions about health care and benefits that will affect them and their families in 2009. However, surprisingly, millions of employees still aren’t participating in these decisions.

If your employees knew they were throwing money away, would they change their course? A newly released CareerBuilder.com survey reveals that nearly a quarter of workers (23 percent) do not take advantage of the new and potentially cost-saving measures being offered by their respective companies.

Paying the price

The survey of more than 6,100 U.S. workers and more than 3,000 HR managers and other hiring professionals found that the cost to workers for missing out on benefits can actually be quite high. More than half of the employers surveyed (52 percent) reported that missing open enrollment costs workers $250 or more in out-of-pocket expenses and 20 percent of employers said it equates to $1000 or more in lost money for workers.

“Open enrollment ensures that eligible employees are not missing out on significant amounts of helpful benefits and wallet friendly programs,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. “In a challenging economy, many people are being prudent about how they can save money by cutting back on exorbitant personal expenses, but also need to be aware of cost-saving benefits at work that are easily available to them.”

Rosemary offers the following tips to pass on to your employees:

Be proactive: Interested in saving money on public transit or getting consumer discounts at local stores? Ask your employer about benefits they may not offer. Some perks are free to the company and other benefits options may provide tax savings.
Keep benefits on your radar: When your work piles up and you’re burned out, it may seem easier to ignore emails and communication for HR regarding open enrollment. Employees who monitor these communications and sign up for benefits changes are taking advantage of the easily accessible opportunities to save money and improve their personal bottom line.
Speak up: The HR department is there to help employees, so be sure to make your voice heard. If you have specific questions about your benefits plan or deductions, reach out to your HR department for clarification. This will help you decide what benefits are best to keep and which are best to remove from your plan.

Additionally, Workforce.com relays these tips from MetLife to help employees empower themselves and learn how to best take advantage of the benefits offered to them.

It’s always important to be aware of company benefits, but in light of current ecomonic conditions, it’s particularly vital that employees are not only aware of benefits - but are active participants - before companies close the door on this year’s open enrollment.

When Creating Your 2009 Recruitment Plan, Think Broad

2008-11-19T09:23:43Z

Like most business professionals in Q4, I’m in the throes of finalizing my Marketing budget for 2009. The trick in figuring out how to spend the money I do have is creating the right marketing mix. Some things are easy – we should continue and increase programs that make us money. Some things are more challenging – figuring out the right branding vehicles which are notoriously difficult to measure. Each line item is an important part of my marketing mix.

Believe it or not, I have this conversation all the time with corporate recruiters, CPOs, CMOs, CEOs and line managers. But, we don’t talk in terms of how to best market the company and its products. We speak about the recruiting mix – what is the best way to express the company’s brand and what are the best vehicles to capture the most qualified job seekers. The concept of marketing mix and the concept of recruiting mix are basically the same things.

The first question I ask when discussing the recruiting mix is if the company has an employee referral program. For the money, this is absolutely the first place you should begin the search for new employees. Assuming you have engaged employees, you should put recruiting into their hands. Their friends and acquaintances are most likely as engaged as they are. I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but as a general rule, I think it is a good one to follow. Also, remember that if monetary compensation is the carrot, make sure the stick is sufficiently long for payout, for example don’t payout until the referred employee has been with your firm for at least three months.

Once we have discussed that, we usually turn to other ways to express the employment brand of the company. A plain job description posted in five different places online is not likely to deliver the highest number of applicants. But, postings that express your company’s personality and brand will do much better. Using the internet to target job seekers is another excellent way to fill out your recruiting mix from banner ads to e-mail. Each of these tactics can easily be targeted and then measured for effectiveness.

Events should also be part of the mix. For example, a job fair or career fair in your major market cities may be a great way to create a larger brand presence – especially as we see more and more job seekers turning out for career fairs across the country. What about college? Some of your excellent future employees are hitting the books or cheering on the football team at homecoming right now.

So, as you think through your planning for 2009, think a bit about your recruiting mix. Did last year’s plan work for you? If so, keep some of the most effective pieces and try some new things. Were you unhappy with last year’s recruiting efforts and communication? If so, rip up last year’s plan and start fresh. Regardless you’ll need a mix of activity to truly maximize your efforts and satisfy your company’s hiring needs.

In the Elevator with Too Much Fragrance

2008-11-18T18:23:29Z

While leaving the office yesterday, I entered the empty elevator on my way to the ground floor and parking lot. Suddenly, one floor away from my destination, the brass doors parted and a woman entered who was wearing enough perfume for about 18 people. Normally, I would just try to ignore the uncomfortable barrage of fragrance, but yesterday was different, because I’m just getting over a chest cold, and my cough reflex is pretty sensitive. Seconds after she boarded, an attack on my olfactory senses sent me hacking. I don’t think the offending excessively flowery-smelling fellow employee realized that she had irritated my nervous system, but I’m rather confident that her entrance into the elevator was the stimulus of my coughing fit.

For the record, this is an issue with both men and women. My dad is actually one of those guys who really enjoys cologne on the rare occasion that he gets to dress formally. For him, dressing up isn’t just a suit and tie–it’s suit, tie, and COLOGNE. The family has intervened a couple times, but some additional restraint would still be helpful.

Apart from sharing the story, I’m writing this to ask how you think managers should handle “strong fragrance” issues in the workplace. It seems like a sensitive issue because people wearing the cologne or perfume must not realize that it is SO noticeable for the people around them. I really hope that you have some real life stories to share below.

Regarding the elevator offender, I’m thankful that I sit at least a floor away from her desk. I really don’t know what I’d do if I had to sit next to her—could I handle eight or more hours of that fragrance every day? Would it drive me insane and impact my quality of work? Would I write recurring blog posts like this and bore the readers? Would I quit? Hey, maybe extreme fragrance is a technique that managers could use to get underperforming workers to quit (just kidding).

I suspect that if this were someone reporting to me that I’d eventually address the issue. It’s just not like me to let a small thing like this fester and become a big problem so that everyone makes a, well, big stink about it. Ignoring the problem seems like it would eventually turn into a gossip issue with co-workers, which, in turn, would impact the team’s performance.

Have you ever had to deal with this kind of issue in your workplace? If so, how’d you approach it and what was the result?

Talking Technology and Innovation Breakthroughs with CareerBuilder.com CTO, Eric Presley

2008-11-17T16:24:03Z

Eric Presley recently spent some time with CNET’s Dan Farber to discuss how innovation breakthroughs are helping users find jobs, both online and through mobile technologies. Dan and Eric also talked about CareerBuilder.com’s place in the rapidly evolving recruitment marketplace. Eric explained that job seekers essentially want a service to be able to read their resume and provide back relevant jobs - and discussed in detail how CareerBuilder.com has the technology to provide that service.

A few highlights:

What we are doing to stay ahead of our competition

Why we focus on core metrics like applications to jobs, not page views or time spent on site, to measure success

How job seekers look for jobs - and what they don’t want

Our product developments over the years, including our Recommended Resume technology, which has helped job seekers find jobs specifically tailored to them since its inception five years ago

Size and scope of CareerBuilder.com’s operation, and more on our international expansion

Our involvement with social networking sites - and our own networking niche, BrightFuse.com

The future of CareerBuilder.com’s mobile technology development

How our search and technology is more capable than our competitors’

[See post to watch Flash video]

“At CareerBuilder.com, we really invest in our technology and we believe that our search technology and our recommendation engine technology are real market leaders, and that it really helps job seekers be efficient in their process of looking for jobs.”

Whoops… 5 Tips for Managing Your Leadership Mistakes

2008-11-17T11:26:34Z

Nobody likes mistakes. They can be honest, embarrassing, unforgettable or costly. But everybody makes them. Esteemed English writer Alexander Pope etched the phrase “To err is human” into everyday vernacular because everyone, from the mailroom to the boardroom, knows that nobody’s perfect. While that is easy to accept, it’s difficult to admit—no one wants to claim they made an error in hiring the wrong candidate or that their business model was flawed.

As a leader, you don’t want to look like an idiot want people to view you as being capable for your position, and mistakes can threaten that—especially the big ones. But protecting the image of always being right can be the biggest leadership mistake to make.

In his book Failing Forward, John Maxwell looks at making mistakes in a positive light if handled in the right manner. He writes, “In life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with your problems. Are you going to fail forward or backward?” The concept of failing forward is that you may stumble with your mistakes, but as long as you do not land on your back and stay there, progress is being made. You can use errors to the benefit of your leadership role, team and overall vision by taking these appropriate actions:

Own Up
The initial response of making a mistake is to cover it up, or blame someone or some other outside factor. But those actions almost always magnify the mistake long-term. In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company did away with its original, famous soft drink formula, and replaced it with New Coke. Remember that? There was an immediate outcry—even outrage—from consumers with the move. Instead of pointing fingers at rivals or market conditions regarding the fiasco, Coca-Cola admitted they neglected to consider the emotional attachment to the original drink, and employed a simple strategy to correct it. Sergio Zyman, a key player in the new brand, explained the process to Forbes magazine and summed it up as so: ”Ate a big slice of humble pie and brought Classic back 77 days later.” It takes courage to admit to those you are leading that you were wrong, but it is the first and most important step for moving back in a positive direction.

React and Repair Together
Once you realize and admit a mistake has been made, don’t let it worsen. Brainstorm with your team on how to correct the problem as quickly as possible. It can be disheartening to have someone you are leading offer the solution for the issue you might have caused, but if it protects your vision, it will be an easier pill to swallow. Don’t lose sight of the fact that you assembled a team because you couldn’t achieve your vision alone. Fixing your mistake with the help of others will quickly get you back towards realizing it.

Learn/Educate
“Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way… unless it is a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from,” observes satirist, and possible Minnesota Senator, Al Franken. As the leader, communicate what oversights and miscalculations led to the mistake, and discuss with your team what new information was gleaned and can be applied to upcoming strategy-making and challenges. No matter who errs, everyone should learn a valuable lesson from it.

Keep Perspective
Keep the mistake in perspective and your eye on the big picture. Just because the mistake, at the time, seems catastrophic, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end is near. It’s just another step in the process of reaching your goal. In fact, it may even spurn new ideas that would not have been realized otherwise. Don’t aim for perfection with your team, but instead aim for making progress with both right and wrong actions. As renowned ad man Leo Burnett once said, “To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is to swear off having ideas.”

Move On Fearlessly
As you get past your mistake, do not move forward with a sense of fear for making another one.
Management expert Peter Drucker explains, “The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, for the more new things he will try.” Communicate that philosophy so that there is no hesitation in your team’s efforts. That way, when future mistakes do occur, they will be kept in a positive light rather than a burden that weighs everyone down.

Unless your “team” happens to be the Chicago Cubs, and your name is Steve Bartman…

New Research on Hiring Mistakes Calls for a Change to the Old Way of Thinking

2008-11-14T15:05:45Z

Funny Jason Ferrara, VP of Corporate Marketing at CareerBuilder.com, should talk about how data-driven recommendation engines change our lives, because the sudden disappearance of the “recommended for you” feature on my iTunes store homepage seems to have completely disrupted mine.

In the past few months, I’ve come to rely very heavily on this feature for quick, easy help with everything from creating party mixes to adding a little variety to my workout playlist. It was like having a music-savvy friend – there when I needed it, always with a list of new music it knows I’ll like – only better because I could download the music right away, and I know it can never judge me for owning the occasional Miley Cyrus song.

But now it’s gone. Inexplicably, gut-wrenchingly gone. I know I should exercise more patience when not so long ago I didn’t even know about this feature, but now that I’ve seen it and experienced how easy it makes my life, taking the time and effort to ask friends for recommendations or (heaven forbid) searching for music myself suddenly seems like so much…work.

While crawling the Web in the midst of my temper tantrum mounting frustration, I found something that made me recall something else about Jason’s post - this recent survey by The Recruiting Roundtable estimating that 50 percent of all hiring decisions are wrong. (Fifty percent!? I mean, I knew the number was up there, but…) And that’s not a mistake businesses can exactly afford to make right now.

Anyway, in his post, Jason mentioned how, in the recruiting world, recommendations can streamline the hiring process. After seeing the survey, and knowing that employers already feel they can’t find enough qualified candidates, I wonder if part of the problem is that people making hiring decisions are too often overwhelmed by the pressure to quickly get a warm body through the door, forcing them to make decisions before they’ve had the chance to thoroughly sort through the most qualified applications.

That, it seems, is where the exclusive recommendation technology that Jason mentioned comes into play. Hiring managers and recruiters benefit from saving time with a streamlined process for pinpointing ideal candidates, just like Recommended Resume (R2) aims to do. Now is the time to get smarter and more innovative about the way you hire, and with the CareerBuilder.com patent-pending technology out there to help, there’s no reason not to take advantage of it.

Using R2 is easy and, dare I say, revolutionary. For those of you with Resume Database access who aren’t using R2 recommendations, or those who just need a refresher, I’ve got a recommendation for you. Watch this three minute “how to” video and quickly advance your capability to locate the best candidate for your open position. I guarantee you’ll wish everyone had this game changing technology. But lucky for us, they don’t. And while you may not know what to do with the freed up hours you typically take manually seaching through resumes, give yourself some extra time getting to know candidates face to face. You’ll drastically reduce your probability of making a costly hiring mistake.

Alreay an R2 user? Let us know what you think or tell us what we can do to make your resume seach experience even better.

HELP WANTED: 5 Tricks for Making Job Posting Magic

2008-11-14T21:58:43Z

With your job posting, you’ve got the basics down, and your job description is top-notch—selling the position, your company, and providing the right information to ensure only qualified candidates will apply. But is it getting enough expressions of interest (EOI)?

Currently, the market has an overabundance of good talent, which means you want to make the most of the opportunity you have in attracting the best candidates. With a few tricks up your sleeve, you can add a little magic to your job postings to make them even better. While you don’t want to create an illusion that misleads a candidate for the sake of improving the amount of response, these tricks will enhance the presentation and attraction of your job opportunity:

Expand Your Location
Rather than just narrowing in on your exact location, make sure you include surrounding cities and metropolitan areas. For example, if your job opening is located in Marietta, Ga., you should mention Atlanta as well as the surrounding North Atlanta suburban areas. Likewise, Dallas-based companies should include nearby communities in the Metroplex. Wherever you are, make sure neighboring communities are part of the search criteria. Not only does it broaden your market, but it lets candidates pinpoint your location and helps them determine potential commuting time.

Discuss Compensation
For many, the primary factor in deciding whether or not to respond to a job posting will be how much pay the position offers. But often times, companies are reluctant to reveal exactly how much the wages will be. So do you show them the money? (By that we mean disclose it). While the exact hourly wage or annual pay may not be fully determined, you should reference compensation information whenever possible—even if it is only a salary range. Don’t leave them guessing or risk disappointing them with a figure that’s unexpectedly low for the job. Especially make mention of the fact the salary is higher than the industry average, if that’s the case. At the very least, let the job seeker know that you understand pay is a vital piece of information by having a benefit statement, such as:

“Great pay—higher than industry average, commensurate upon experience, bonuses paid each quarter, opportunities for additional commissions.”

Show Off Your Brand
First impressions, while not always accurate, certainly make an impact. Incorporate your brand identity by including logos and/or slogans in the job posting which can increase applications by 13 to 21 percent. Doing so adds credibility of being an established, professional company, and not a recruiter—as some job seekers are leery of working with a third party—or a questionable entity. Branding also enhances recognition by the job seeker who may see your logo either in the market place or while looking for future job opportunities. Show off who you are to increase your visibility and put candidates at ease.

Associate with Multiple Industries
Cross the lines of industry that surround your job description. If you are a pharmaceutical company wanting to recruit a sales manager, link your posting to multiple industries, such as sales and marketing, healthcare and pharmaceutical. Many professions can be cross-posted, such as public relations, accounting, web design and programmers just to name a few. Doing so allows candidates to pull up your job posting in more searches. Just make sure it makes sense.

Encourage Online Applications
A recent CareerBuilder.com study found that enabling online applications increased the total amount of applications by more than 25 percent. As mentioned previously regarding spicing up your job descriptions, if a job seeker is online looking for a job, chances are they are more apt to apply by that method as well. Make it an easy proces, which will in turn make the process of managing applicants easier for you, limiting the amount of calls and mail inquiries you receive on your end.

Every Day Should Be Veterans Day at the Office

2008-11-11T17:54:02Z

Today is Veterans Day. Yesterday, CareerBuilder.com released the results from its annual Veterans Day survey, wherein nearly one in five U.S. Veterans say it took them six months or longer to find a job after getting out of military service.

Considering all the reasons to hire veterans, including their extensive training and work ethic, this news is disappointing. But then, about 20 percent of the 6,842 U.S. workers surveyed believe the biggest obstacle to getting hired for a civilian position is employers’ inability to understand how military skills can fulfill qualifications for civilian positions.

While nearly 20 percent of the employers CareerBuilder.com spoke with reported plans to actively recruit veterans over the next year, what’re the other 80 percent doing? Certainly, the lack of a college degree is yet another challenge for veterans, but it’s no accident that companies like GE, Johnson Controls, USAA and Home Depot actively recruit military veterans. They recognize that hiring these workers isn’t so much about good will as it is about good business.

Not only do these workers bring with them valuable qualities like integrity, loyalty, discipline, teamwork, and leadership, but according to the US Chamber of Commerce, over 90 percent of military personnel have had background checks for various levels of security clearances. Additionally, veterans are trained to work with cutting-edge technology (roughly 60 percent of veterans can speak in one computer code, compared to 2 percent of the rest of the population). Oh, and then there’s this: companies who hire veterans may benefit from a federal government tax credit as high as $2,400 per veteran hired. That doesn’t suck, right? For more advice or information on hiring veterans, try the Department of Veterans Affairs or HireVetsFirst.

What about you? What are your experiences with working with veterans? Are you doing anything in honor of Veterans Day today? Tell us!

Making Social Networking Part of Your Recruiting Mix

2008-11-13T17:56:23Z

Most of the marketing conferences I attend these days are heavily focused on social and/or professional networks. These online communities are places where you can do any number of things from share pictures and reminisce about college days to “meet” and interview potential employees. The two big sites out there in this space are Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook prides itself on being a “social” network and LinkedIn is a “professional” network (don’t call it “social” when talking to their team).

And, at most of these conferences, someone on a panel or on the stage says this, “The lines have blurred between your social life and your work life.” In fact, I just said that on a panel a few weeks ago… Anyhow, it is true. If you are out there, you are out there. And, ultimately you control your destiny – as do those folks you are thinking about hiring.

You should absolutely be using FaceBook, MySpace and LinkedIn to gather information on those people you are thinking about hiring. These sites are a window into the personality of your prospective employees. And, it is all public based upon the individual’s security setting of choice. You may feel like you are snooping, but you aren’t. The fact is, the info is out there and you should use every bit you can find.

Social and professional networking has blossomed as part of the recruiting mix. To this end, we at CareerBuilder.com wanted to understand more clearly the power of the network. We currently have a great partnership with Facebook that enables us to help you target the right type of employee. In turn, we have learned much about the demographics of the Facebook user and what may appeal to them. CareerBuilder.com also built BrightFuse, a professional networking site for the masses. BrightFuse is a labor of love that turned into a great place to not only meet people and share interests but also network about job opportunities. Its relaxed atmosphere is more focused on the organic networking experience and not the high-powered, network-at-all-costs mentality.

Social and professional networking is not a fad. Whether it is BrightFuse, LinkedIn, Facebook, or any of the other networks that seem to pop up every day, you should be embracing social and professional networking in your recruiting mix. Generation Y has and if you are specifically looking for that generation, they live online. Give it a try. It is fun to reconnect with old friends, make new ones and find that next top [enter your desired job title] person.

And just to prove the point that this new form of networking is extremely easy, check out the sites where I currently house profiles (you may need to have an existing account to access info):

· Jason Ferrara on Facebook

· Jason Ferrara on LinkedIn

· Jason Ferrara on Brightfuse

Intrigued? Want to learn if we have any shared acquaintances? Join my network or “friend me” as they say. You never know, we may have more in common than you think.

Need some extra help in regards to exactly what this whole social networking thing is? Check out this common craft video; Social Networking in Plain English.