Blog

I’m never sure what to say on Remembrance Day (or Veterans Day if you’re born in the U.S.A). Living in Europe, in a country that remembers the war in a way most Americans can’t, drives home the fact that saying Happy Remembrance Day is extremely inappropriate. What is appropriate? Giving thanks. Honoring vets with words, poppies, and ceremonies is the appropriate thing to do, but hiring veterans is a much more practical way to give thanks. There are currently 21.4 million veterans in America; over 720,000 of them are without a job. Each year, about 7,600 Canadian Armed Forces personnel leave the Canadian Armed Forces, including approximately 1,000 personnel released for medical reasons beyond their control. Finding meaningful employment is a key factor in making a successful transition to civilian life. Today I’d like to share some links that explain why hiring vets is great for your company, how to go about hiring vets, and highlighting those companies that make hiring veterans a priority.

Looking to Hire? Consider a Veteran – Martin Birt Great explanation of why hiring vets is beneficial for companies with a focus on Canadian veterans and businesses. “In the next year some 5,000 exceptional candidates will be entering the job market. Many of them will be mission focused and extraordinary team players, guided by ethical obligations including integrity, loyalty, courage, honesty, fairness and responsibility.”

Resources and Tips to Source Military and Veteran Candidates – Dean DaCosta This is the most useful article I’ve read about how to go about hiring vets, and the resources available to (US) companies that hire veterans. “More than 200,000 service members leave the military every year. Over 80% of military jobs have a civilian counterpart, meaning of the 200,000 getting out, over 160,000 will come out with skills and experience directly relevant to civilian jobs. All you have to do is identify and hire them.”

Military Vets Excel in IT, Companies Find – Tracy Mayor Struggling to find IT talent? Hiring veterans may be the solution you’ve been looking for. "Veterans possess the drive, self-discipline and problem-solving skills that are essential for working as an IT professional." - Jim Kuhn, SVP of USAA's project delivery group

5 Fortune 500 Companies Transforming The Job Market for Veterans – Laura Lorenzetti Learn about the innovative approaches these Fortune 500 companies take to hire veterans. “Starbucks established an internal development network that will match veterans and military spouses with the right roles within the organization.”

Military-Civilian Connecting Military Veterans with Civilian Careers Lucy Jensen founded Military-Civilian to connect employers with military veterans and their spouses. Lucy’s blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter provides a wealth of information, as well as job postings for vets. Visit Military-Civilian if you are looking to hire more veterans, or if you, or someone you know is a vet in search of a civilian career.

Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of social media, which has completely changed employer branding and recruitment. Companies now use social media to ensure their brand visibility across the web, but also to recruit their best hires.

With millions of people now using social media, it’s only logical that companies start to recognize its potential in areas other than marketing – a recent survey by Jobvite found that 94% of recruiters are already using or planning to use social media for better candidate evaluation.

If you want to add social media to your recruiting process, here are eight mistakes you should avoid at all costs:

1. Lack of defined audience

Before you start posting, you first need to define your target audience and make sure that your social media strategy will fit your future goals. Having a target will help you in growing your social presence and find candidates that represent niche professions, boasting unique skills and competencies. Establish your target audience by analysing where they spend time and researching your competition.

2. No defined social media strategy

This is a vital mistake that can cost you a lot of time and trouble. Even though social media are full of recruiting opportunities, without a strong plan and a clear vision of your recruiting goals, you’ll simply get lost. You cannot cover all social media outlets, unless you have enough staff to take care of those accounts – a badly managed social media account won’t attract anyone!

3. Not building relationships

Even if you don’t get immediate results, you should never just give up on social media. Don’t assume that online communities are out there looking for a job – social media gives you a great opportunity for establishing your brand identity and building a relationship based on trust. When the right time comes, you’ll be able to use this relationship to recruit some real talents.

4. Lack of relevant content

Even if people are interested in your company, they won’t be once they receive a series of generic messages or status updates. It simply looks like spam and everyone hates spammers. Your posts should always be created with a specific audience in mind – a job category or profession. Make your posts relevant to build online relationships.

5. Not targeting passive candidates

Connecting to passive candidates is a problem encountered by every recruiter, and social media can be really helpful. Unfortunately, some hiring managers don’t recognize its potential and never build close relationships through social media. If you target passive candidates with your content, you can be sure that when talents start looking for a job, they might already have your company in mind.

6. Posting only about job openings

Focusing exclusively on job postings, you will simply undermine the main advantage of recruiting through social media. Engage people with your brand – offer interesting news from your target industry sectors and create a dialogue with your audience. Ask for their opinion and share things you find interesting.

7. Lack of profile picture

Your account is just as important as the things you post. A common mistake is a lack of profile picture – it simply doesn’t inspire trust and shows you’re inexperienced when it comes to social media. Your picture should reflect the sector you’re targeting – if you’re hiring high-level executives avoid things like selfies.

8. Not enough information

Another important aspect of your profile is your bio. If you leave it empty, you’re sending the wrong message (especially if you combine it with a default profile picture) – no one will be interested in what you’ve got to offer. Provide some professional and personal information to help candidates make sense of who you are as a person. The language of your bio and posts should always reflect the interests and preferences of your target audience.

Keep your mind open, post interesting content, and represent your company well. You’ll be rewarded with quality talent in no time.

Kelly Smith is a dedicated tutor and writer. Currently, she develops her passion at Career FAQs, one of the leading providers of career and educational resources in Australia, where she provides career advice 

Ripped from the headlines (Buzzsumo), we’re bringing you the hottest (most shared on LinkedIn) social recruiting articles of the week. I don’t know about you, but I love using Buzzsumo to see what’s trending on the internet. Personally, I use Buzzsumo to find out about the latest social media releases, HR Tech news, and social recruiting articles. Then I share these articles here with you our beloved readers. Although I’ll probably have to find a new link loving strategy now... According to Buzzsumo, here are the most shared social recruiting articles this week: The first is actually targeted at job seekers, not employers or recruiters, but it’s an interesting reminder that job seekers also struggle with social recruiting best practices!

Social media use says what resume can't to recruiters The next article is a must read for employers.

5 Reasons Why Your Social-Recruiting Strategy Isn't Working Abby Perkins’ tips are blunt and to the point. I’m not sure that I agree with her third point, You’re Sticking to the Basics, as it actually serves many employers well to keep their social recruiting simple. But her fourth point, You’re Being Reactive Not Proactive, is bang on!

Apparently it’s trendy to be critical of employers and their use of social media...

Employers Love Social and Mobile Recruiting--But They Don't Know How to Do It (Infographic) This one comes to us from Inc. (no wonder the engagement is sky high!) The information presented is mostly taken from Jobvite's latest recruiting survey results. Jobvite inspired infographics are another hot trend this week and Sharlyn Lauby’s first page Buzzsumo post proves it! Recruiters: Target Your Audience [infographic] 

Next up: How Social Media is Changing College Recruiting This article is specific to sports recruiting and doesn’t transfer much to other fields of recruiting, but it’s a very interesting piece. Did you know that if handled incorrectly, the universities can face serious penalties and sanctions from the NCAA (over social media posts concerning recruiting), even if the communication comes from someone outside the university athletic department?! The Social Tester got a lot of engagement with yet another post blasting recruiters.

How to Help Your Recruiters Create a Great First Impression The article warns employers that “some recruiters are creating a bad first impression of [their] company.” Eep! Oh, and guess who made it on to Buzzsumo’s first page for social recruiting... We did!

The Jobcast blog’s post, Social Recruiting Lessons Inspired by Facebook Rooms, made it. Barely. But we’re still pretty happy about it. Enjoy these links and stay social. PS. I did not include three other pieces of content that were on Buzzsumo’s front page because 2 of them  had nothing to do with social recruiting and the other was in a language that I do not speak, and therefore could not vet.

Facebook recently released a new app for iOS called Rooms. Like forums, message boards, and chat rooms, the app allows users to connect with each other based on shared interests. Each "Room" is a feed where users can share photos, commentary, video, and links specific to that Room’s theme. Similar to your Facebook News Feed, but tailored to your particular interests. Facebook Rooms may or may not catch on, but either way the app is indicative of two growing trends in social media: A renewed focus on connecting over common interests, rather than common friends, and diversified feeds. Here's how these trends can help you rethink your social recruiting:

Your candidates’ common interests matter

One of the most attractive things about rooms is that it aims to bring people together based on their common interests, because really, when it comes to being social online, what you want to talk about is often more important than who you’re talking to. Each of the app’s Rooms is dedicated to a specific topic such as photography, technology, or even, social recruiting!

Taking this emphasis on interest-based communities into account, when planning your social recruiting strategy, can really help you step up your game. Joining online communities related to your field or that of the candidates’ you wish to recruit is a great way to discover and connect with potential hires. You can also start a community yourself and use it as a means to both engage the general public (potential customers), and scout top talent. e.g. A company that builds data visualization tools could start a Beautiful Data Room, Facebook Group, Twitter chat, etc...

Diversified social media strategies are more effective

Different Social networks have entirely different purposes. Sharing pics of your daily espresso to your Facebook Time Line = clutter, those same pics + a filter shared to Instagram = gold! With the acquisition of apps like What’s App and Insta, Facebook has shown that they understand that different social networks demand different types of content and vice versa. Rooms, with its content specific feeds, is a perfect example. The social recruiting takeaway here is that when it comes to social recruiting you must tailor your efforts to each different platform that you use. If you have a visually appealing brand, like Lululemon or Starbucks, then you’ll definitely want to make Instagram a part of your employer branding and recruitment strategy!

The same cannot be said when it comes to sourcing. It’s very unlikely that a candidate will broadcast their skills on Instagram (unless they happen to be a photographer or model), that’s just not what the network is about. But, it is much more likely for potential hires to share information about their skills and work experience with Facebook’s graph due to the type of prompts Facebook gives its users. So, when it comes to sourcing, you’ll want to spend more time mining Facebook’s graph for talent than searching Instagram. Choosing the right networks for the job at hand is essential for effective social recruiting. Here are some examples of the different ways that recruiters tailor their efforts to the big three social networks:

If you’re interested in trying Rooms for yourself you can get it in the (American) App Store for free. Then, join our Social Recruiting Room with this invite:

Have you tried Facebook’s latest app? Do you even want to? Let us know in the comments!

This Week's Link Love is going to be a little different because Facebook recently released a new app; Facebook Rooms. Not only is Facebook's latest app big news in the social media world... it’s also really, really fun. I’ll admit, I’ve been a little annoyed with Facebook since the release and forced adoption of Messenger, but Rooms is awesome and definitely worth a download. Its major strength is that, unlike Facebook, Rooms is an app for connecting with people based on interests alone.

If you're into photography the VSCO Room is awesome! I don’t know about you, but as much as I love my friends, I don’t always love their hobbies.  Your Facebook news feed is populated based on the content that your friends share. For me, that means a lot of fashion, tech gadgets, and emo looking musicians… No thank you! I’m about as interested in these posts as my friends are in my posts about proper squat form, and who won last nights TUFF fight. Facebook’s new app is a lovely alternative that allows you to create “Rooms” based upon common interests. These Rooms resemble a Facebook Timeline but instead of a random assortment of content, the entire feed focuses on one specific topic. To join a room you need to use QR codes which you can get via invite or by searching #rooms on Instagram and Twitter.

We recently created a Room for Social Recruiting, which you can join by installing the app, then using the “invite” pictured above. If you're not reading this on your phone, email the image to yourself and save it to your phone's photo library so that the Rooms app can access it.

This room is dedicated to anything remotely related to social recruiting, so if you have blog posts, comments to share, or questions to ask, please join us. Hope to see you there! More on Facebook Rooms: Straight From the Horses Mouth:

The Rooms Blog

3 Reasons to Pay Attention to Facebook Rooms

The Future of Anonymity on the Internet is Facebook Rooms Facebook Rooms is a fun little app, and we think it may even have recruiting potential, but more on that next week! For now we want to know: Have you tried Facebook Rooms? If so, what do you think? Let us know in the comments. Or in the Social Recruiting Room!

There’s no doubt about it – telephone interviews are quick, easy and can tell recruiters a great deal about the candidate. In other words, they’re a perfect method for initial candidate screening. There are several things, however, that every recruiter should know before picking up the phone and initiating the first contact with a potential candidate. Here are a few pointers on how to improve your telephone interviews.

The first minutes of the call

If you’re calling a candidate, it usually means that you believe the might be qualified for the job. The first minutes of every telephone interview are essential for establishing a relation – especially if it’s a cold call and the candidate doesn’t expect you to contact them.

After a short phase of background information checking, you can proceed to fish for all the information that you need to ensure that the candidate is really qualified for the job. You need to provide a wealth of appropriate information to capture the candidate’s attention and make this conversation worth their time.

Figure out what drives candidates

In order to conduct an efficient phone interview – especially with “passive candidates” – you’ll need to have a clear idea about what interests them and motivates them when it comes to their professional growth. Sometimes those points can be found in their resumes under Career Objectives, but most of the time, you’ll have to figure them out.

In order to gain this knowledge, it’s best to situate your candidate pool to a specific market segment – data from demography, geography and psychography are essential here. Find out what it is that drives them and use it to inform your call.

Know what you’re offering

Captivating a candidate’s attention isn’t easy – remember that it was their killer skills that brought them to your attention, so the candidate will likely be in contact with other hiring managers.

Your proposition needs to stand out and be interesting – the right presentation of the position may lead to an interview and a job offer. Sell it well and you’ll see your candidate’s tone change from mildly-annoyed-for-being-disturbed to curious and engaged.

Understand the skills in question

There’s no point in you calling a candidate if his or her skills present no value to the position you’re offering. Make sure you know very well which skills are essential to perform the job and how they relate to general career goals of candidates.

Networking opportunities

Even if you’re in the middle of your call and already know the candidate’s skills don’t match the requirements of the job offer, don’t hang up the phone. These candidates might not themselves be fit for the job, but they might know someone who’s both qualified and looking for interesting career opportunities.

Every phone call – including a conversation with a qualified candidate who refuses your offer – can be transformed into a viable networking opportunity, allowing you to connect with other professionals and gain referrals in the process.

Telephone interviews offer a completely different dynamic of interaction than traditional face-to-face meetings, so it’s important that you know how to make the most of them.

Clearly, every phone call offers a chance for building your candidate database and improves your understating of the market.

Monique Craig is an Australian blogger and marketing specialist, who works for Oneflare, an Australian online marketplace, which connects customers with service providers.

This week has been an absolute dream for social recruiters. Mostly because of all the buzz around Jobvite’s 2014 Social Recruiting Survey. In fact, almost all of this week’s article are in response to it.

So I should probably go read it now…

Jobvite’s 7th Social Recruiting Survey

This survey is a font of knowledge for anyone in the business of hiring.

It’s full of interesting tidbits about how today’s job seekers are using social media, and how recruiters are responding.

Jobvite’s survey is free, but you must give them your info in order to access it… and it’s really long!

If you don’t have all day, then check out:

How Recruiters Are Using Social Media in 2014

This article is a summary of Jobvite’s survey, highlighting the most salient of its findings for you so that you can save a little time and effort.

For a more visual summary have a look at MediaBistro’s blog post:

73% of Recruiters Spending More on Social Networks

This article is full of beautiful, sharable graphics. Like this one…

Job Seekers Rely on Facebook, But Recruiters Prefer LinkedIn

It seems like everyone’s on a Jobvite kick this week! This article from Human Resources Online interprets the results from Jobvite’s survey to better understand the social media disconnect between recruiters/human resources and job seekers.

The author shares some interesting thoughts and ideas about the survey, instead of just summarizing its findings.

What Everybody Ought To Know About Social Recruiting

Identify, Follow, Share, And Engage, these are the key factors for effective social recruiting according to Alexandra Vornle.

Her article is a wonderful follow up to all this research as it provides simples steps for anyone looking to make their hiring process a little more social.

Is Your Social Recruiting Cart Before The Application Horse?

Or, if your application process sucks, then no amount of social recruiting can save you.

Katrina Collier’s article is an excellent reminder that the process of directing candidates from your Facebook job ad to the application “landing page” is as important as the ad itself.

She goes on to provide some excellent tips for improving this part of the recruiting process.

It’s a must read!

For more great advice about improving candidate experience, I highly recommend our recent article:

3 Tips For Improving Candidate Experience From a User Experience Designer

Happy link loving and stay social!

Candidate experience is at the heart of effective recruitment strategy. Experience is what converts job seekers into applicants. 75% of jobseekers say that the look and feel of a job posting influences their decision to apply (Source: HireRight) and 30% of these candidates will leave the job posting without applying. The application process itself is also a key factor considering that another 30% of the applicants left will abandon your job post without completing their application! (Source: Smashfly) These drop-off rates may have something to do with almost half of jobseekers rating their experience as poor, or VERY poor (Source: MysteryCandidate) Oh, and not only does poor experience result in an immediate loss, but it also negatively affects application potential as over 60% of candidates who have a positive application experience with a company will go on to recommend that company to their friends. (Source: Forbes) Conversely, candidates who have a negative experience will actively discourage their friends from applying for a company’s jobs! Why such dismal numbers? User experience is hard. User experience is hard to get right even if you are a tech company with a whole team dedicated specifically to user experience. I think it’s safe to assume that most HR departments do not have such a team. That’s why I asked former Jobcast designer Leif Parker to share some tips for improving your candidate experience. Leif specializes in user experience. His job is to use design to influence how users navigate a site and how they experience that site all with a goal of improving conversion rates.

Here are his 3 tips for improving candidate experience:

Determine Your USP

Your USP (unique selling point) is what sets you apart from other employers. It’s what makes your organization different and better. This could be your company culture, flexible work options, or an awesome vacation package. Your USP needs to be clearly communicated to candidates on your career-site landing page (where job seekers first land on your site), through your employer branding, and in your job posts. Think of Every Possible Action Consider what actions a jobseeker might take on the road to becoming an applicant and the results of those possible actions. If, for example, you are a design firm in Austen, chances are that the candidates you want to attract are Googling “Design jobs in Austen.” Make a list of the most common actions you come up with. It might look a little like this:

• Google Search

• Facebook Search

• Visit Company Facebook Page

• Visit Company Website

• Click on Job Post

• Apply to Job

• Upload Resume

• Connect on LinkedIn

But a lot longer! Now curate this list. Find a way to cut out any and all actions that are unimportant or redundant. For example, if your application process requires a candidate to fill out five pages of information about themselves, then don’t require that they also attach a resume… Or better yet, give them the option to auto-fill their application using “Apply with LinkedIn”. Cutting out actions that candidates must take to apply for your jobs will improve their experience by making it shorter and easier.

Imagine Common User Flows

A user flow refers to a series of actions a user makes. Normally when designing Leif would recommend considering the following three user flows:

• New User

• Common User

• Power User

To make this tip work for recruiting, think about the most common ways jobseekers find your job postings and go from there. If potential hires find you via ads on job-boards, Twitter, and referrals, then assess those users’ actions to understand what their common user flows are. For example: A jobseeker that found your company on Twitter typically clicks on a job posting that you tweeted, then navigates from that job posting to your “About Us” section, then returns to the job posting, and applies for the job. Whereas a jobseeker who found out about your company through a referral typically Googles your company, and then emails your hiring manager directly rather than going through the typical application process.

Sketch out typical user/candidate flows and pay attention to what specific actions must be available in order to facilitate the application process. Then follow the different flows. This will show you if there are any roadblocks in your candidates’ way, or if there are any gaps that need filling in to make the application process easier. Candidate experience will determine both the quality and quantity of applications you get, so make sure you give it the attention it deserves.

It’s time to get your learn on with this week’s top articles!

When Performance Reviews Simply Aren’t Enough – Anna Carroll “For the average Millennial, feedback is indeed ‘the breakfast of champions.’ ” – Click to Tweet

I agree with this statement 100% and I’m willing to bet most of my fellow Millennials would too. Anna Carroll’s excellent article explains the importance of real-time feedback especially in regards to GenY. Oh, and hot tip: If you don’t have time for a constructive feedback conversation, just use emojis!

But First, A Single Source Of Business Truth – Kevin Grossman “It’s time to answer the talent analytics call!” According to Kevin, HR and recruiters need to step-up their data game, as it is essential for moving away from a reactive hiring model to a more effective, organized, and proactive one.

#HRTech Gossip - ToddRaphael Because who doesn’t love being in the know?! This blog post shares a little of what Todd Raphael picked up at the HR Technology Conference in Las Vegas.

4 Tips to Drastically Improve Your Career Site Now – Shannon Smedstad “Whether it’s a consumer or career site, you have to give users just the right amount of information to know what to do next.” This post gives excellent advice for improving candidate experience by putting the jobseeker first.

101 Super Effective Ways to Reward Employees – By Peter Economy According to a poll conducted by Maritz Research, employees who are recognized on the job are:

• 5 times more likely to feel valued

• 7 times more likely to stay with the company

• 6 times more likely to invest in the company

• 11 times more likely to feel completely committed to the company

Sooo… You should definitely read Peter’s article! Have a lovely Wednesday and stay social!

The relationship between the Human Resources department and technology has always been pretty rocky. From HR’s frustratingly slow adoption of tech to clunky, verging on totally unusable applicant tracking systems, the couple has long standing history of getting on each others nerves. Jobcast’s founders, Johnny Oshika and Ryan St. Germaine have been working in the field of human resources/recruitment technology for about 14 years now, so they’ve seen it all. Their first company, BCjobs.ca, began as a simple online job-board focused on connecting British Columbia’s jobseekers with employers. Not exactly revolutionary... except back then it actually was! When BCjobs.ca started they were met with disbelief and criticism. No one believed them when they said that the Internet would shortly become jobseeker’s primary tool for finding work. In fact, in the early 2000s BCjobs.ca’s biggest competition was the help-wanted section of the newspaper! Oh, how things have changed. BCjobs Inc runs Western Canada’s largest job board. It receives well over 1 million page views per month, and now offers employers résumé searching technology and social recruitment. Speaking of social recruiting… When Ryan and Johnny launched the Jobcast Social Recruitment App they were met with familiar feedback. The team was told by the tech savvy that there was no way anyone in HR would ever use social media for recruiting and that the human resources department was so stuck in the dark ages that they would never come around. And for their part, HR seemed to live up to this stereotype by meeting the suggested adoption of social recruiting with skepticism and disbelief. But the proclamations that no jobseeker would ever use social networks were so highly reminiscent of HR’s previous attitude towards job-boards, that they did not deter Ryan and Johnny from launching Jobcast. Today social recruiting is an essential part of most company's hiring strategies and Jobcast has over 18, 000 active users. Jobcast is used by all kinds of amazing organizations from Logitech to Canada Post to Bumbershoot Magazine. In 2014, I can comfortably say that Human Resources and Technology are finally giving their union the respect it deserves. According to a recruitment technology survey performed by SoftwareAdvice.com, in 2014, 91% of recruiters use recruiting technology, and 95% of them find HR Technology easy to use, and most recruiters agree that recruitment technology improves key performance. (SoftwareAdvice has a bunch of HR software reviews up on their site in case you're curious about ATS options.)

When it comes to social recruiting statistics according to Jobvite 14.4 million American job seekers would credit online social networks for their current/most recent job, 73% of companies successfully hired a candidate with social media, and 94% of companies are using social to recruit.

According to the Information Service Group, things are just going to get better. Their 2014 survey on HR Tech trends paints a bright future for the happy couple. The survey predicts:

• Improved User Experience

• Advancements in cloud technology

• Social and mobile experience for user and candidate

We're very much looking forward to all the cool new advancements going on with recruiting technologies. Jobcast's roadmap gets more and more exciting as we continue to roll out new features and make improvements to our app's user experience thanks to suggestions from our awesome users. Jobcast users can look forward to some exciting updates for 2015! As for HR & Tech...Will they still argue about the value of Facebook, or time to adopt, of course, but it looks like human resources and tech have finally recognized that they make a pretty fantastic team! Will they still argue about the value of Facebook, or time to adopt? of course, but it looks like human resources and tech have finally recognized that they make a pretty fantastic team! Of course! But it looks like human resources and tech have finally recognized that they make a pretty fantastic team.