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Hiring Great Talent: How Do You Decide? #TChat Preview

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(Editor’s Note: Want details from this week’s #TChat Events? See the Storify slideshow and resource links and more in the #TChat Recap: “Hiring: A Winner Every Time.”)

Think back for a moment.

What factors tend to drive your organization’s hiring decisions? Impressive candidate credentials? Hiring manager preference? Behavioral interviews? Gut instinct?

Now tell me — how successful has that method been?

Studies indicate that hiring by intuition fails as much as 75% of the time — so clearly there’s no easy answer. However, a more deliberate, structured approach can significantly improve the odds of finding a long-term fit.

What approach works best? That’s the focus of our conversation this week at #TChat Events. Leading the way are two HR professionals who understand the value of a solid hiring methodology: Chris Mursau, Vice President at Topgrading, and Jean Lynn, VP of HR at Home Instead Senior Care.

Sneak Peek: Smart Ways to Hire Better Talent

To frame this week’s discussion, I briefly spoke with Chris in a G+ hangout — where we talked about why it’s so tough for companies to find and keep the talent they need…

This topic touches all of us in the world of work, so we hope you’ll join the #TChat crowd this week and add your perspective to the conversation!

#TChat Events: Smart Ways to Hire Better Talent

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Tune-in to the #TChat Radio show

#TChat Radio — Wed, Feb 19 — 6:30pmET / 3:30pmPT Tune-in to the #TChat Radio show Our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman talk with Chris Mursau and Jean Lynn about how companies can be more effective at hiring top performers. Tune-in LIVE online this Wednesday!

#TChat Twitter — Wed, Feb 19 — 7pmET / 4pmPT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin and our guests will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community.

Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as Dr. Nancy Rubin moderates a dynamic live chat focused on these related questions:

Q1:  How do we identify and attract high-performing employees?
Q2:  What processes and technologies impact quality of hire?
Q3:  Hiring via “gut” feel alone usually fails, so why do we keep doing it?
Q4:  Do reference checks really influence a candidate’s viability?
Q5:  How should employers communicate their culture to candidates?

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, and in our new TalentCulture G+ community. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Games and Data and Talent — Oh My! #TChat Preview

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(Editor’s Note: Looking for a full review of this week’s events and resources? Read the #TChat Recap: “Game On: Playing to Business Strengths.”)

Two of the hottest trends in the world of work today are “gamification” and “big data.” But what do these concepts really mean to you?

For some Leaders and HR professionals, this looks and feels like buzzword territory. But others are starting to recognize how game-based tools and big data intelligence can truly transform talent strategy. In fact, some of today’s most innovative organizations are actually combining these techniques — creating powerful new solutions that improve management decisions, as well as business outcomes.

New Paths To Better Talent Choices

The truth is, gamification, big data and advanced analytics are creating a perfect storm that is rapidly redefining employee acquisition and retention. These emerging trends are central to the future of work. And that’s why they are our focus this week at #TChat Events.

As our community explores the connection between games, big data and talent strategy, we welcome two experts:

• Guy Halfteck, Founder and CEO of Knack, a company that combines cutting-edge video games, big data analytics and behavioral science to help companies identify and recruit top talent. (Connect with Knack on Twitter)

• Mark Howorth, COO at Panavision, and former Partner and Sr. Director of Global Recruiting at Bain & Company.

To kick-off the discussion, I spoke briefly with Guy in a G+ Hangout recently about how big data shapes the human side of business:

For a deeper look into Guy’s perspective on this topic, you may also want to watch his recent appearance at The Economist forum “The Ideas Economy: Human Potential 2012”

#TChat Events: Games + Big Data + Talent Management

Our guests this week are seasoned innovators who deeply understand the strategic implications of gaming and data. This promises to be a fascinating discussion for talent-minded professionals everywhere. So please plan to join us, and bring your ideas, questions and concerns!

#TChat Radio — Wed, Sep 18 — 6:30pmET / 3:30pmPT

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Tune-in to the #TChat Radio show

Our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman talk with Guy Halfteck and Mark Howorth about how games are emerging as a highly effective, reliable way to select, recruit and retain employees. Follow the action online, and dial-in LIVE with your feedback and questions!

#TChat Twitter — Wed, Sep 18 — 7pmET / 4pmPT

Immediately following the radio show, we’ll move the discussion to the #TChat Twitter stream, where Dr. Nancy Rubin will lead an open chat with the entire TalentCulture community. Anyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we address these questions:

Q1: Why is gamification becoming more important to the world of work?
Q2: How can gaming data improve recruiting and hiring decisions?
Q3: What are some real-world use cases of successful workplace gamification?
Q4: How can business leaders best deploy games in the workplace?
Q5: How can companies use gaming technology to improve employee engagement?

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Hiring Interns? Choose Wisely (Infographic)

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“Good Enough” May Not Be So Good

If you’re looking to add value to your company, taking on an intern who’s only “good enough” just doesn’t cut it. Of course, every internship applicant isn’t going to knock your socks off with stellar skills, experience, and a fresh perspective. But what should you expect?

Let’s face it: Hiring interns can be a challenge. Although candidates may look good on paper, interviews often reveal a whole different story. Some students and recent graduates may stumble into your office lacking any knowledge or interest in your company. Others may offer attractive skills or experience, but want a hefty salary. And others may balk at an entry-level role that seems uninspiring.

What To Do?

Building a strong internship program starts with a long-term vision. It’s about finding talented young candidates who demonstrate potential to transform into full-time hires. What should you look for on you mission to find a rockstar? Consider the “best” and “worst” profiles in the following infographic from InternMatch, an online platform that specializes in connecting intern candidates and employers. It highlights some fascinating statistics about Millennials (aka Generation Y):

  • 89% say that constantly learning on the job is important
  • 40% think they’re smarter than their boss
  • 40% say they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance
  • 50% prefer unemployment to working at a job they hate

What Have You Discovered In Hiring Interns?

Do you agree with these statistics? What traits matter most when you hire interns from today’s pool of young talent? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

InternMatch Infographic Best and Worst Intern Candidates

Class of 2013 Goes To Work #TChat Recap

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Written by guest blogger, Katie Paterson

The HR community is so generous! This week at the SHRM conference in Chicago, as well as in online #TChat discussions, you’ve helped Achievers and TalentCulture spotlight issues and opportunities facing the next wave of graduates who are entering the workforce.

The ideas flowed freely throughout the week, from the moment we started pouring margaritas at our #SHRM13 booth! Below are summary points about key #TChat topics, followed by resource links and a Storify highlights slideshow. Thanks to everyone for contributing such useful insights!

Social Tools For Job Seekers

LinkedIn received resounding support as the top social hiring hub. Twitter earned some votes as a secondary portal, with other major players like Facebook and Google+ mentioned in supporting roles.

An interesting sidebar thread touched on tools for showcasing professional portfolios. Pinterest was mentioned as a smart choice, as well as tools designed specifically for portfolios, such as Seelio.

Onboarding Improvement

Mentoring received popular support as a way to strengthen employee indoctrination. Workplace “sherpas” are a natural, easy way to introduce new hires to company culture, workgroup standards, and individual responsibilities. And #TChat-ters agreed that this practice is effective for both recent grads, as well as workforce veterans.

“Buddy systems” were also mentioned as a way to connect new hires with one another as they move through the new-hire experience together. Seasoned employees can offer organizational context, but new hires can bond as they learn from each other, in parallel.

Performance Evaluation Frequency

I think @ValaAfshar said it best:

The #TChat community universally applauded continuous constructive feedback, and @Achievers couldn’t agree more. Several chat participants pushed the concept further — indicating that those who are responsible for providing for feedback should also ask for feedback and suggestions, in return.

Why Recognize Employees?

This point might be preaching to the choir, because #TChat-ters were emphatic about recognizing great performance. But it’s noteworthy that two kinds of benefits were mentioned:

1) Human motivation: Many responses focused out how important it is for individuals to hear about their progress — especially when they meet or exceed expectations.

2) Business advantage: Other comments focused on the fact that recognition helps align employees — reinforcing and redirecting work to keep everyone moving together toward organizational goals.

Improving Retention

To engage recent hires, you recommended multiple ways of involving them in the organization. We couldn’t agree more! Offering meaningful work, fostering an inclusive team environment, and tying individual contributions to a broader mission keeps employees engaged and coming back for more.

It’s important to ask for opinions, provide opportunities for growth, and demonstrate consistently that employees are valued. If you inspire passion in your employees, they’ll reward you — not only by remaining loyal, by being your most consistent and vocal ambassadors.

For more information on what motivates the graduating class of 2013, check out Achievers’ latest whitepaper.

#TChat Week in Review

WED 6/12

#TChat Sneak Peek:  Kevin W. Grossman examined the emotional factors that drive employee engagement in a teaser post: “Feeling The Future Of Work: #TChat Meets #SHRM13.”

SAT 6/15

#TChat Preview: Our Community Manager, Tim McDonald, introduced the week’s topics and special #SHRM13 events in his post, “Stronger! #TChat Preview #SHRM13 Edition.”

SUN 6/16

Forbes.com Post: In her weekly Forbes column, TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro, offered advice about how companies should attract and retain next-generation talent. Read “Smart Leaders Engage Tomorrow’s Workforce.”

MON 6/17

Margarita Monday Meet-up: #SHRM13 attendees timed-out with Meghan and Kevin at the Achievers booth, while hearing about the latest research on “The Class of 2013: Understanding the Needs of the Future Workforce.” If you missed this event, we invite you to attend the Achievers webinar on June 26 (or on-demand after that date).

WED 6/19

#TChat Twitter: #TChat-ters came together on the Twitter stream for our dynamic weekly idea exchange. If you missed the real-time Twitter action, or would like to review highlights, watch the slideshow below:

#TChat Twitter Highlights: “Looking Forward: Class of 2013”

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Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about the Class of 2013, or future workforce opportunities and challenges? We’d love to share your thoughts. Post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week we’re tackling a big topic — literally! Big Data in HR! Stay tuned for details this weekend. And remember: starting next week #TChat Radio moves to Wednesday nights at 6:30pmET — back-to-back with #TChat Twitter!

Until then, the World of Work conversation continues each day. Join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, or on our new LinkedIn discussion group. And feel free to explore other areas of our redesigned website. The gears are always turning at TalentCulture, and your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

See you on the stream!

katieprofile.lpeg(Author Profile: Katie Paterson is the Social Media Community Manager at Achievers, where she is focused on building an online community of Human Resources professionals who want to learn how engaged employees can impact business results. She is passionate about the world of social media, its impact on the workforce, and how it can be integrated into the our lives personally and professionally.)

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

 

Does Your Hiring Process Speak For Your Brand? #TChat Preview

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(Editor’s Note: Are you looking for a full review of all posts and events about this week’s topic? Read the #TChat Recap “Hiring Is Hard: May The Best Brand Win.”)

Think back for a moment about when you accepted your last job offer.

What helped you make that decision? Did your impression of the recruitment process help seal the deal? Chances are, the answer is yes.

It may be easy for employers to overlook the impact of a positive candidate experience — especially in rough economic times, when a large pool of qualified talent is readily available. But when a company goes the extra mile to create a supportive hiring environment, several advantages follow:

1)  It’s easier to attract and acquire top performers; and
2)  The entire candidate pool sees the corporate brand in a more favorable light.

That second point is increasingly important these days, in a world where brand image is fueled by social media’s transparency and reach.

So, what should employers do to improve the candidate experience? That’s our focus this week at #TChat forums. We’ve asked two experts to lead the discussion:

– Elaine Orler, president of talent acquisition consulting firm Talent Function;
– Gerry Crispin, staffing strategist and co-founder of CareerXroads.

#TChat Sneak Peek Videos

To kick-off this week’s conversation, both guests joined me for quick G+ Hangouts. First, Gerry explained briefly why the candidate experience has become a focal point:

And then, Elaine highlighted some fascinating statistics that illustrate just how influential the candidate experience can be:

#TChat Events: The Candidate Experience Is Everything

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Listen to the #TChat Radio show

No matter what side of the hiring table you’re on, this should be an interesting week! Please join us and add your thoughts to our ongoing conversation…

#TChat Radio — Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30pmET / 4:30pmPT – Elaine and Gerry join our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman, for a LIVE 30-minute discussion to examine this topic up-close.

#TChat Twitter — Wednesday, June 5 at 7pmET / 4pmPT – We welcome anyone with a Twitter handle to join our open, online community, as we exchange ideas live on the #TChat stream.  Elaine and Gerry will lead us through this week’s questions:

Q1: Why is the candidate experience so critical to organizations today?

Q2: What should organizations be doing to improve their candidate experience?

Q3: Is everyone in the enterprise responsible for their employer brand? Why or why not?

Q4: What can business leaders do to establish a quality candidate experience, inside and out?

Q5: How does HR/recruiting technology make or break the candidate experience?

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our new LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Employer Brands: Big-Company Ideas for The Rest of Us

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Recently on a trip to Seattle, I had an opportunity to visit Amazon.com headquarters — one of the many remarkable corporate campuses located in that region. I’d never explored a “corporate campus” before. But I’ve always been extremely eager to get a first-hand experience after reading many articles about the concept. This was my shot.

Needless to say, I was impressed! But it isn’t just the size of this sprawling facility that blew me away. I was also struck by the branding that is present throughout the environment. It made me think about the whole “employer branding” thing.

Branding From the Inside Out

I know HR practitioners struggle to implement a strong public brand that will attract and recruit top-notch external candidates. It’s one of HR’s primary functions in today’s world of work. But what about the internal brand? It’s also vital to retain talent that is already onboard. What are we doing to keep existing employees engaged and loyal to our organizations? Competitive compensation isn’t the only way to stop an employee from walking.

You may not be an enormous company like Amazon, Google, or LinkedIn. You may not have deep pockets for internal branding initiatives. But you certainly can be inspired by the way the “big boys” cultivate their brands, their work environments, and their corporate cultures. What’s more, you can leverage and adapt some of those heavy-hitter concepts to fit your organization’s circumstances.

Four Key Questions

1) What’s the vibe in your workspace? When I think about world-class employer campuses, one of the most notable characteristics is that many workspace options are available. Yes, I said OPTIONS. Their offices are not set up with jail-like cubicle rows, and an occasional office or conference room here or there. They have open spaces, co-working options, lounge areas, and unique personalities. Perhaps you don’t have the space or budget to create luxurious common areas, but there are plenty of ways to create an open environment that seems welcoming and non-restrictive.

2) Are you committed to internal recruitment marketing? While riding in one of Amazon’s elevators, I noticed a vibrant poster promoting a department that is recruiting Software Engineers. One side of the poster showed a man sitting at a computer with the saying, “This is what it looks like to work on my team.” The other side showed an imaginative, creative, fun scene surrounding the man at the computer with the saying, “This is what it FEELS like to work on my team.” Below that, removable tags featured contact information for the team manager. I absolutely love that. Amazon is huge, so internal communications like that can make it easy to recruit for internal candidates who wouldn’t otherwise know about your team. Makes sense for a company that large, right? Here’s the kicker — even  in small organizations, employees say that they aren’t aware of other jobs or openings. This can be a huge issue, especially since many employees leave their company because they feel like they have no internal mobility options. That situation might not be true — their perception may simply come from lack of information.

3) Are you too scared to adapt? I understand the phrase, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” And that phrase is perfectly reasonable. If your company is functioning fine, there is no reason to fix it. But what about offering more options? Compensation isn’t the only thing that can retain your employees. Sometimes other options can be the deciding factor: telecommuting; flex work; tuition reimbursement; on-going training; co-working; employee engagement initiatives, and so on. Your competitors are coming out with really cool options to retain their employees. Don’t let them beat you out because you were too scared to adapt to the changing world of work.

4) Is it a place of hierarchy or community? There most definitely needs to be order within an organization, but top down communication doesn’t really work as well as it did in the past.  Employees want their voices to be heard — they want to make suggestions, they want to contribute, and they want to build relationships. I have worked in an organization where the president and directors are extremely open to two-way communication. They make it very easy to initiate a conversation — even to the point where interns aren’t scared to make suggestions or casually chat with one of the company’s leaders. It has created a strong sense of community — which has helped position the company as a progressive work environment.

Your employer brand isn’t just about convincing external candidates that your organization is a great place to work. It’s also about making sure your current employees love working there — so much so that no other company or job offer seems more attractive.

(To read Ashley’s original post, visit The Social HR Connection blog.)

High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap

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Epic Times in HR Innovation

For geeks in the TalentCulture community, this was a red-letter week. We saw an impressive spectrum of innovative technology solutions roll through the HRO Today Forum in Philadelphia.

As planned, TalentCulture founders, Meghan Biro and Kevin Grossman were on-hand each day — sharing photos, updates and color commentary, live on the #TChat stream. It was like opening a virtual window into the state of HR innovation — and along with it, a perfect springboard to discuss promising “world of work” technologies and best practices.

I dialed-in from a distance, and couldn’t help feeling drawn to the energy of the iTalent innovation showdown (which Connect6° won, by the way), as well as the enthusiasm of #TChat-ters who openly exchanged ideas about HR tech at our Wednesday Twitter discussion. (See complete highlights in the Storify slideshow near the end of this post.)

Key Takeaway: Seek Balance

So, did we reach consensus about technology’s role in acquiring and nurturing talent? Did we agree on what matters most — high tech or high touch?

Wait. That’s not the right question. This isn’t a zero-sum game. Instead, shouldn’t we ask something more useful? Try this:

How well are we balancing the natural tension between “high tech” and “high touch,” for best results in our organization?

Truth is, there will never be a “final answer.” In an ever-changing business environment, we’ll always be seeking true north. A commitment to continuous improvement can help. But even with constant recalibration, it’s easy to miss the mark. So, for future reference, maybe we should tuck this tiny nugget of #TChat advice into the back of our minds:

Whatever helps us go THERE should be good. Thanks for the reminder, Zachary!

#TChat Week-in-Review

SUN 4/28

Forbes.com: TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro, set the stage for the week in her post: “HR Technology: A Revolution for the World of Work.”

MON 4/29

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Watch Tim’s G+ Hangout videos in his #TChat Preview

Meghan on Monday: To start the week, Meghan expanded on her Forbes commentary in a message to the TalentCulture community: “HR Tech as High Art and Deep Science.”

#TChat Preview: Our community manager, Tim McDonald, outlined the theme and key questions in a preview post: “Live From the Edge of HR Innovation,” featuring brief video interviews with four of the five finalists in this year’s HRO Today Forum iTalent Competition.

WED 5/1

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Listen to the radio show recording now

#TChat Radio: In a special 1-hour “open mic” roundtable live from the HRO Today Forum social media lounge, Jessica Miller-Merrell (Blogging4Jobs), Matt Charney (Talemetry), and a variety of other conference attendees talked with Meghan and Kevin about the changing role of HR, and technology’s role in supporting that shift.

Partner News: Speaking of innovative HR technology, we announced a partnership with Achievers this week — our first formal business alliance in TalentCulture’s 3-year history. Exciting stuff. Learn more in “TalentCulture + Achievers: Better Together!”

#TChat Twitter: Our expanding community gathered around the #TChat Twitter stream, as Achievers Community Manager, Katie Paterson, led us in a real-time exchange of ideas about innovation in HR practices and technology. The feed lit-up with great ideas and interaction throughout the hour. Watch highlights below:

#TChat Twitter Highlights Slideshow: “Live From the Edge of HR Innovation”

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Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

SPECIAL THANKS: Again, thanks to the HROToday Forum social media team for sharing their perspectives live from the conference, and thanks to Achievers Social Community Manager, Katie Paterson, for spearheading this week’s #TChat Twitter conversation. You brought insight, humor and energy that everyone could feel.

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about HR Innovation or related issues? We’re happy to share your thoughts. Just post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week, education and social learning advocate, Angela Maiers, returns to talk about how our nation can prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s business and technology leaders. Stay tuned for a “sneak peek” video in our preview this weekend!

Until then, as always, the World of Work conversation continues each day. So join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, or on our new LinkedIn discussion group. And feel free to explore other areas of our redesigned website. The lights are always on at TalentCulture, and your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Image credit: Pixabay

Is Employer Branding Best Practice or BS? #TChat Preview

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Originally posted by Matt Charney on MonsterThinking Blog

The average worker today has more brands to deal with than a Texas cattle rancher, but one that most never really give a whole lot of thought to, at least compared to the ubiquitous (if ambiguous) concept of “personal brand” is that of employment branding.

Which makes sense; after all, many talent acquisition and HR professionals don’t pay a whole lot of attention to it, either, with many companies often outsourcing or ignoring this brand management function.  By contrast, other employers spend millions of dollars a year building and managing carefully crafted and focus group tested campaigns that look more like a Super Bowl ad than a classified employment listing.

With practitioners seemingly split on the importance, or even existence, of employment brand, it begs a few questions: which side are you on?  What side should your company be on?  And, most importantly: does it matter to the workers to whom these efforts are targeted in the first place?

We’ll be exploring these questions, and their implications for the evolving world of work, in tonight’s #TChat: “Is Employer Branding BS?” No matter which side of the fence you’re on (or, like most, neutral or undecided), if you’ve ever visited a company career page or read an industry blog (like this one), you’ve been exposed to employer branding – that is, if it really exists.

Join moderator Meghan M. Biro (Twitter: @meghanmbiro) of @talentculture along with #TChat co-hosts @kevinwgrossman @monsterww @monster_works and @focus tonight at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT and let us know: is employer branding B.S.?

#TChat Questions & Recommended Reading (07.12.11)

To help prepare, and inform, your participation in tonight’s conversation (or even if you can’t make it), here are the questions we’ll be discussing, along with some recommended reading designed to give you background – and perspective – on employer and company culture branding.

Tonight’s sure to be a lively discussion; we look forward to seeing you (and your brand) for #TChat at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT!

Q1. What’s your definition of company or employer brand?

Read: The Employer Brand Experience by Dr. Jesse Harriott & Doug Hardy

Q2. How does employer brand differ from a consumer brand?  Personal brand?

Read: Why Employer Branding Matters More Than Ever by Bob Kelleher

Q3. What makes a strong employer brand?  A weak one?

Read: The Taylor Guitar Story: Fine Tuning A Successful Corporate Brand by Bob Taylor

Q4. How does employer brand play into talent acquisition?  Retention?

Read: Attract the Right Candidates With Consistent Company Branding by John Rossheim
Q5. What effect does social media have on employer branding?

Read: How to Use Social Media To Build Your Brand by Susan Kuchinskas

Q6. Who controls employer brand: the company, employees, public, etc.?

Read: Tactical Corporate Transparency: Build Your Brand From The Inside Out by Shel Holtz & John C. Havens

Visit www.talentculture.com for more great information on #TChat, as well as other great resources on careers and hiring.

Monster’s social media team supports #TChat’s mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate — the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”

Trends from The HREvolution Frontlines: #TChat Preview

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Originally posted by Matt Charney, one of #TChat’s moderators, on MonsterThinking Blog

No one grows up wanting to be a “human capital strategist” or a “talent acquisition consultant” or, really, any of the litany of titles that add to our profession’s mystique of mistaken identity (at least for those professionals who aren’t HR professionals).

Because no one really knows what HR does. And, most of the time, that includes HR itself.

See, for people in the people business, there are some instances where HR is seen as, by employees at least, more of an antagonist than an ally. If employees work in a global company, it’s likely they couldn’t pick their HR business partner out of a line-up.

And it’s easy to ascribe blame to a faceless group who many employees think are responsible for their career development and job satisfaction. Particularly when that group writes policies and governs things like promotions and compensation.

If employees could really see what HR does, if they could put a face to the signature on their annual reviews, they’d likely be surprised.  And maybe, just maybe, they’d understand that HR and talent professionals are just like them, a diverse group of people from a confluence of backgrounds.

People whose careers happened more by happy coincidence than careful planning. People whose professional passion and purpose is to help improve the work, lives, and working life of their employer’s employees.

But the HR trenches have a protocol. HR is rarely visible, by necessity, design or choice, and operates beyond closed doors and self-service HRIS, employee relations resolutions and miles of red tape.

While HR professionals are rarely understood, the truth of the matter is, they’re also not fully appreciated for doing the mission critical work they do. It’s not an easy job, but it’s an important one, and one that touches the lives of every employee, every day. That goes for you, too.

The HR and recruiting professionals converging on Atlanta this weekend for the third HREvolution represent a cross-section of specialties, companies and geographies. They also share a belief in transparency, in sharing best practices, solving problems and driving real change, not in a theoretical vacuum, but on the front-lines Monday morning, at an office near you. Hope you’re paying attention.

According to the official website, HREvolution “is an event for human resources professionals, recruiters, and business leaders to come together and talk about the problems facing businesses today. This is where thought leadership and action meet.”

Another big surprise that’s very un, well, HR: “The format for HREvolution encourages interaction and every participant has the opportunity share ideas and opinions in an open manner.”

Obviously, #TChat shares a similar online format and supports HREvolution’s mission of facilitating interactions and creating an open, democratic platform where all voices are heard. That’s why tonight’s #TChat theme is: “Trench HR: Trends on the Frontlines from HREvolution.”

As always, we’ll be joined by a diverse group of employers, job seekers, HR thought leaders and social media mavens.  We’ll take a candid look at HR perceptions vs. realities from a variety of perspectives, and explore some of the topics and themes that are on this year’s HREvolution agenda.

Join HREvolution presenter Kevin W. Grossman as he leads tonight’s discussion before heading to Atlanta.  If you weren’t one of the 150 people lucky enough to get tickets, don’t worry. Tonight’s #TChat is a way to make your voice heard about the issues that matter to both HR professionals…and the employees they support.

Help shape the HREvolution conversation with tonight’s #TChat at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT and let HR and recruiters know what’s really on your mind…and what should be on theirs.  And maybe, just maybe, see the real people behind the policies.  We’re pretty cool.

Trench HR: Trends from the Frontlines of HREvolution: #TChat Questions and Recommended Reading (04.26.11)

To get you thinking and to help you get ready to #TChat, here are tonight’s questions, along with some recommended reading to help inform, and inspire, your participation in tonight’s conversation about trench HR and trends affecting the front-line – and the bottom line.

Q1: Employees: What does HR need to do differently to be an effective people manager and business partner?

Read: Employee Engagement: Top Trends in 2011 by Kevin Sheridan

Q2: HR Pros: What can employees do differently to be a better business partner and collaborator with HR?

Read: HR: 10 Things Employees Want Most by Issie Lapowsky

Q3: Is HR finally seen as a strategic executive partner in business today?  Why or why not?

Read: Finding A Seat at the Table by Ed Newman

Q4: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing HR today?  How can it be overcome?

Read: Superstar Leadership: Workforce Culture Damage Control by Meghan M. Biro

Q5: How is technology today improving the HR and talent acquisition functions?

Read: Recruitment Strategies: Virtual Recruitment Tools and Tactics by Melanie Berkowitz

Q6: Is education and intellect enough to be a great people manager? What about emotional intelligence?

Read: For Good or Ill Will Come the EQ Skills by Kevin W. Grossman

Q7: What’s your biggest HR pet peeve? What about your biggest HR thrill?

Read: Top 5 Recruiter Lies (And How to Avoid Them!) by Matt Charney

Visit www.talentculture.com for more great information on #TChat and resources on culture fatigue and how to overcome it!

Our Monster social media team supports the effort behind #TChat and its mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate – the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”

We’ll be joining the conversation live every Tuesday night as co-hosts with Kevin Grossman andMeghan M. Biro from 8-9 PM E.T. via @monster_works and @MonsterWW. Hope to see you tonight at 8 PM ET for #TChat!

The Psychology & Influence of Interviews: #TChat Preview

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Originally posted by Matt Charney, one of #TChat’s moderators, on MonsterThinking Blog

The more the candidate sourcing and selection process changes, with the vast evolutions in the tools and technologies employers use to find and engage talent, the more the interview process, the most integral and involved component of the hiring process, stays the same.

This is too bad, really, considering the crucial role interviews play in talent selection. No hiring manager’s ever made a decision based on a cleverly sourced candidate. They care about whether or not this potential new coworker is going to get along, help the team, and be the kind of person they want to spend the majority of their waking life with.

By the time you get to an interview, generally, you’ve ostensibly got the skills on paper to play the part. But obviously, a resume doesn’t tell the entire story, and if it did, this whole recruiting thing would be a whole lot easier. After all, the best candidate isn’t always the most qualified. An interview’s not about asking questions; it’s about finding fit.

And while recruitment has progressed from the transactional back offices of “Personnel” to the strategic front lines of talent acquisition, while social media proliferates and job seekers become increasingly savvy, interviewing looks a lot like it always has: questions, answers, and a lot of reading between the lines.

This week’s #TChat, “The Psychology and Influence of Interviews,” will explore the implications of technology, the economy and the constantly changing tides of talent supply and demand on interviewing best practices on both sides of the table.

The Psychology and Influence of Interviews: #TChat Questions and Recommended Reading (04.19.11)

Join us on Twitter for #TChat tonight at 8:00 ET/5:00 PT as employers, recruiters, job seekers and thought leaders weigh in on what it takes to stand out from the competition and transform an interview into an offer in today’s job market.

Here are the questions we’ll be covering, along with some recommended reading to help inform, and inspire, your participation in the #TChat conversation.  But don’t worry.  We’re not judging you on your answers.  We’ll leave that to the professionals.

Q1: What are some of the ways in which interviews have changed the most for job seekers?  For employers?

Read: Job Interview: Tips for the Virtual Interview by Charles Purdy

Q2: What strategies can candidates use to influence the outcome of an interview before or after the interview itself?

Read: Closing the Deal: Interviews as Infiuential Sales Presentations by Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter

Q3: What’s more important to assess in an interview: skills, grit or culture fit? Why? What about Emotional Intelligence?

Read: The Job Interview Culture Checklist: 7 Steps to Evaluate In Your Next Job Interview by Hank Stringer

Q4: How do interviewing best practices change for an interview with HR/recruiting vs. hiring manager?

Read: Advice for Tackling The Different Types of Interviews – by Monster.com Career Experts

Q5: What can candidates do in an interview to better assess the company/opportunity as well?

Read: Own The Interview: 10 Questions To Ask by Larry Buhl

Q6: What’s the most valuable piece of interview advice you’ve ever been given?

Read: The Best Piece of Interview Advice You’ll Ever Read by Lance Haun

Q7: How can technology help companies and candidates improve their interview and selection process?

Read: Benefits of Video Interviews and How To Make Your Video Better by Rusty Reuff

Visit www.talentculture.com for more great information on #TChat and resources on culture fatigue and how to overcome it!

Our Monster social media team supports the effort behind #TChat and its mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate – the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”

We’ll be joining the conversation live every Tuesday night as co-hosts with Kevin Grossman and Meghan M. Biro from 8-9 PM E.T. via @monster_works and @MonsterWW. Hope to see you tonight at 8 PM ET for #TChat!

What Social Recruiting IS and IS NOT: Welcome to TC, Jeff!

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Hello all,  Jeff Waldman here.  As my first post, I am sharing the latest article from my blog. I look forward to becoming the newest contributer to Talent Culture and hope you all enjoy my writing!

I’ve been itching to write something about social recruiting… why? Because people who should be all over social recruiting and leveraging it as a strategic practice to build kick-ass organizations just don’t get it.

Hmmm… “the Jeff Waldman brainstorm session”…

I took a blank piece of paper and jotted down any idea that came to mind when I asked myself why people don’t really get it. I wrote a few things down, then put the piece of paper away and did some other work, came back to it a few hours later and wrote a few more things. Here’s a bit of a summary of what I came up with.

  1. HR, who supposedly is responsible for attracting and recruiting new talent has absofrickinglutely no clue how to utilize social recruiting. And…. they should.
  2. Forget about technology for a second, it’s been my experience that HR is not very good at being proactive with building talent pools and pipelines, and integrating workforce planning, succession planning and talent management functions into the day to day business. Note: if you’re not strategic then spending any amount of time using social recruiting is a complete waste of time!!!  In fact, it’ll more of a detriment to what you’re trying to do, building and developing a recognizable and solid employer brand.
  3. The role of HR in most organizations, regardless of what HR people say their role is, is really nothing more than reactive, administrative in nature, and frankly viewed as a cost centre. No wonder why I cringe when I see the way over-priced Masters in HR program that York University recently started offering… I still haven’t seen anything in their course curricula that has anything to do with real business.
  4. There are obvious demographic characteristics associated with using technology —- e.g. “I’m 50 years old, I don’t want to touch social media….. it’s a foreign world to me so I’ll let one of our junior 20 something year olds figure it out… let me just continue doing my thing as I’ve always done it”!!

These were the common themes, and there are many other points that came to mind but the key thought is this:

All social recruiting really is, is a highly effective tool to proactively and strategically support the business attract and hire the best talent out there…. simple as this! The principle of talent attraction is not new one bit, but HOW someone does it is new….. TECHNOLOGY.  By the way, in addition to social recruiting being highly effective it is extremely cost effective, which in this day and age, never hurts the bottom line of your organization.

What Social Recruiting is Not…

Don’t forget that the core purpose of social media is engagement… conversation, interaction, consistent and constant dialogue, finding common interests globally, sharing, collaborating, caring and relationship building. However, I see on a daily basis people/companies that I am following “pushing” content out without really caring about the conversation and dialogue.  They are missing out on a huge opportunity that is literally served up to them on a silver platter. Why would I care what a company says if they have never shown any interest in what others are saying and doing? I value reciprocity, and pushing 100% of the time does not demonstrate reciprocity whatsoever.

Here’s an example that I think you’ll recognize. You’re following company X and you see a tweet on Twitter from this company that they are hiring a Marketing Manager… they include the link to the job posting that takes you to their website. That’s it… they may tweet about this job more than once. You then take a look at the history of this organizations’ tweets and you notice they are of the same variety, and they have only tweeted 15 times during the past year. Everything is pushed content. What’s different about how this company is using Twitter versus putting a job ad in Craigslist or Workopolis? You guessed it….. NOT A FRICKING THING… This is NOT social recruiting!!

The Point…

Social recruiting is not rocket science. It’s just a really effective way to proactively and strategically build the most talented and best organization possible. However, and I hate to break this to you but hard work is required on an ongoing basis in order to reap the benefits that social recruiting has to offer. All of those descriptive words that I used earlier to describe what social media should be are things you need to employ when using social recruiting.

The principle of building relationships have never changed, and never will. The tactics you use to do this though have changed, and technology is that change. If you want to compete with companies that “get it” then you better start fully embedding social recruiting into your day to day activities.

Be proactive, be strategic, be smart and help your company achieve their business objectives. Technology is not a scary beast that can never be mastered and learned. Find someone in your organization that understands the finer points of social media who can give you a demo of each of the primary social media tools (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).

Then leverage the desired technological platform(s) to engage, converse, talk to, share with and reciprocate with other people…. you’ll be amazed how quickly and effectively you’ll meet and connect with people you would never have met otherwise. The senior executives of your organization will hail you as a hero to being “the one” who single handily increased the level of your workforce talent while reducing real costs associated with HR. They will LOOOOOOVE YOOOUUUU!!

The New Old World is the Power of Network: #TChat Recap

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This is personal.

As it is for anyone right now looking for work.

A recent Monster+HotJobs poll found that 98% of American workers are “primed and ready” to look for a new job in 2011, their optimism buoyed by a recovering employment and economic picture.  (Read the entire pre-TChat post from @MattCharney at Monster Thinking here. Kudos to Matt and his moderation last night!)

And anecdotally speaking, one of my old background screening clients told me yesterday that business has spiked dramatically the past 3-4 months.  It’s across the board of industry and positions, but it’s primarily churn hiring — a musical chairs if you will — which validates the exodus chanting of late.

Combine that with the folks who have been out of work looking for work and you’ve got one heck of a job hunting mob.

Torches lit, walking arm in arm, resumes spellchecked (well, some spellchecked), outfits dry cleaned and pressed, breath mints in mouths, smart phones in hand ready to taser their respective employees and references alike…

This is the new old world of job hunting and hiring, and its landscape is familiar yet radically stranger than it’s ever been.

Here were the questions from last night’s #TChat:

  • Q1 – Jobseekers: What do you think of when you hear about “old world” job hunting?
  • Q2 – Jobseekers: What is the freshest new idea that you’ve used in your job search and has it worked for you?
  • Q3 – Jobseekers: From your experiences, how would you describe how companies are hiring today?
  • Q4 – Recruiters: What are some of the most egregious “mistakes” jobseekers are making?
  • Q5 – Talent Managers: What can jobseekers and employees do to better manage their careers?
  • Q6 – All – Which matters more to candidates and recruiters: the job or the possibilities of what the job might lead to?

You can read the transcript here from the many fine folk who participated last night.  Lots of great recommendations, many tried and true, and many more that were kind of new.

But for me, new old world is all about the power of “network” — and not just the online connections either.  You have to get on the phone, on the Webcam, and meet in person as much as possible.  This goes for both job seekers and employers.

You must maximize your network investment. Meaning, invest in building one out first. Then pay it forward and pay it back.  We are all informal mentors to each other.

Great question from last night:  Doesn’t anyone do informational interviews anymore?  That’s a great way to network as well.

Here are the top contributors from last night:

  1. @talentculture – 263
  2. @HRMargo – 92
  3. @dawnrasmussen – 91
  4. @meghanmbiro – 86
  5. @jillianwalker – 84
  6. @JeffWaldmanHR – 80
  7. @IanMondrow – 77
  8. @KevinWGrossman – 76
  9. @juliaerickson – 52
  10. @levyrecruits – 46

The greatest single predictor of one’s success and happiness during a time of challenge, every single time, is one’s social support network.

Torches lit, walking arm in arm.  It’s time to light up the business world, kids.



The New (Old) World of Job Hunting & Hiring: #TChat Recommended Reading

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Originally posted by Matt Charney, one of #TChat’s moderators, on MonsterThinking Blog

A recent Monster+HotJobs poll found that 98% of American workers are “primed and ready” to look for a new job in 2011, their optimism buoyed by a recovering employment and economic picture.

The war for talent is on — and the rules of engagement have changed. Job seekers are mobilizing, and employers are fighting to hire and retain the best employees, in a new and fast-changing landscape.

But what does it take to succeed in this new world of job hunting and hiring?  With the rise of emerging technologies such as mobile job search platforms, more powerful search engines, and the new ubiquity of social media in talent identification and acquisition, it’s clear the tools of the job hunt game have changed.  But have the rules changed?

It’s easier now than ever before for job seekers to position themselves, and their “personal brands,” so employers can find them. Employers can also target and connect with top talent at the speed of the Tweet.  However, the most important elements of the hiring process remain, for all intents and purposes, unchanged.

“Old school” job hunting and hiring hallmarks such as a well formatted traditional resume, a firmly established (offline) professional network and the ability to sell skills and experience in an interviewremain the most important considerations in the job hunt process, and the most powerful tools in the job seekers’ arsenal.

Join #TChat tonight, brought to you by @TalentCulture, @MeghanMBiro, @KevinWGrossman, @monster_works, and @MonsterWW – They will be joining the #TChat conversation live every Tuesday night with from 8-9 PM ET, 7-8 PM CT, 6-7 PM MT, and 5-6 PM PT as we explore what’s changed, what’s stayed the same and how job hunters, and the companies looking to hire them, can not only survive, but thrive, in the new (old) world of job search.

#TChat Recommended Reading: 1.11.11

This background reading isn’t mandatory to get in on tonight’s #TChat action, but we suggest checking out these articles by top career advice and talent management thought leaders and explore the possibilities (and pitfalls) of the evolving world of the job hunt and hiring:

5. How Technology is Changing the Recruiting Landscape by John Rossheim

4. The Rules of the Game Have Changed: Insights into Today’s Jobseekers by Nicole Williams

3. 11 Smart Career Tips for 2011 by Kathryn Ullrich

2. Recruit from the Inside Out: Establish A Relationship with a Talent Acquisition Partnerby Meghan M. Biro

1. Job Searching in a Coffee Shop by Peter Gibbons

Our Monster social media team supports the effort behind #TChat and its mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate – the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”

Hope to see you tonight @ #TChat!

To read more, please visit www.monsterthinking.com/

Interviewing: #TChat Preview

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Our last #TChat before Thanksgiving was all about assessments.

What was resoundingly clear was the fact that face-to-face interviews were preferred when making hiring decisions, as opposed to using assessments from last week’s chatters. We are still weighing the verdict and will simply keep exploring this.

So Meghan and I decided that the in’s and out’s of interviewing would be the topic for the next #TChat tomorrow, 11/30/10, from 8-9 p.m. ET & 7-8 p.m. CT & 6-7 p.m MT & 5-6 p.m. PT. Remember we welcome global input! Join in from wherever you might be

We’ve got a great group of savvy recruiters, careerists, human resource folk, fascinating leaders, media mavens and hiring managers in our greater TalentCulture community, so we look forward to a festively raucous Twitter discussion on the subject.

Because most “hiring” professionals don’t know know how to objectively interview very well at all.  I would argue that some of the worst hiring decisions are made via interviews.  Yep, I said it.  So bring it.  Plus, most job applicants don’t prepare, at all, for their interviews.

Just ask a few of our resident career experts, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter and Chris Perry and others….We love this stuff.

We’ll also throw in a shout or two for emotional intelligence (our first #TChat topic) and how that plays a role in interviewing today.

Wherever you stand on interviews and interviewing, there are best practices to follow and we hope to unravel those mysteries in our next #TChat.

Use your favorite Twitter client of choice to follow the lively #TChat hashtag or use to TweetChat and log in with your Twitter handle.

We’ll see you there!  Come subjectively unprepared.  You know, like for an interview.

Assessments: A Satisfying Success! #TChat Recap

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I’m full, and Thanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet.

Full from the knowledge and wisdom shared from many fabulous participants and nearly 1,000 tweets in last night’s #TChat all about assessments.  You can see all the stats and transcript here.

The premise for last night was:

There are a variety of companies who provide a myriad of different kinds of assessments.  Many are reliable and valid. And some maybe not so much. The point being, we want to know what kind of analyzing techniques you and your organization uses, for whom, and why, and what results you’ve seen to date.

By no means was this valid scientific sampling of the workplace, but what was interesting was that for the most part, no one uses pre-employment assessments.  We saw Wonderlic pop up and maybe there was one or two others, but otherwise our participants use development assessments like DiSC and MBTI (Myers Briggs).

In fact, those where primarily the main two that kept coming up over and over (although StrengthsFinder came up a few times now that I’m reviewing). Considering the list I posted in the promo, even development assessments aren’t used much.

There was some confusion early on in #TChat about whether or not folks used the DiSC and/or MBTI for recruiting/hiring, which is a no-no, but I’m pretty sure it was clarified that they were not.

When I asked about emotional intelligence assessments, I received nothing but crickets chirping.  That bummed me out.

Here’s a sampling of the questions we asked (although not all were numbered):

  • Q1: Does your org use assessments for recruiting, hiring and developing employees? Why or Why not?
  • How do you screen when hiring? Only interviews and reference checking? Industry and position specific?
  • Q2: What other types of assessments do you use? (emotional intelligence, personality, talent and skills-based, etc.)
  • Any job seekers on this chat who have recently taken a pre-employment assessment? If so, what?
  • Q3: Assessments a money sink? What’s the ROI and do any of you measure?
  • Are there internal assessments to measure first 3-6 month productivity/development?
  • Q4: Besides mainstream assessments already mentioned, why aren’t many others used in hiring and development?
  • Since last week was about emotional intelligence, anyone used MHS EQ-i, TalentSmart, etc.? Results?

Most everyone was in agreement that “retention” is the primary measure of ROI on any type of assessment. But what was resoundingly clear (and probably because we had a lot of recruiting folk on the #TChat), was the fact that face-to-face interviews were preferred when making hiring decisions.  That could be the topic for the next #TChat — the in’s and out’s of interviewing candidates for roles? We think yes.

A special thanks to Dr. Charles Handler from Rocket-Hire for joining us and sharing his assessment insight (@RocketHire).  I learned about face validity again, something I haven’t heard since my college psych days.

Also, thank you to @HRMargo, @LevyRecruits, @IanMondrow, @sbrownehr, @CyndyTrivella, @jkeithdunbar, @KateNasser, @ValueIntoWords, @AliciaSanera, @tlcolson, @BillBoorman, @AvidCareerist, @heatherhuhman, @dawnbugni and everyone else who participated!

TalentCulture captain Meghan M. Biro and her savvy team, the TC community and little ol’ me, are very grateful for you all.  Thank you again for participating. We look forward to next week already!

Here are some insightful #TChat tweets from last night. Have a bite! Happy Thanksgiving!

Culture Brand: Create Magical Distinction to Attract the Very Best Talent

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I’ve been thinking a lot about brand abandonment lately. My next series of thoughts immediately go to how creating and maintaining a brand-based corporate culture can help businesses avoid brand abandonment, and help recruit and retain the very best talent.

I will refer way back yonder back to my post on building culture, which requires a company to establish several modes of interaction with employees, job seekers and customers. These modes of interaction – transactional, transformational and tacit – build trust with employees and candidates, enable competitive advantage, and may even facilitate the establishment of a social community within a larger organization.

A company that sees the benefits of building a brand-based corporate culture has a very distinct advantage in the hiring marketplace. Say you are running a small business. How do you attract talent? By creating a strong, desirable culture brand. A recent post at the Wall Street Journal speaks to the steps a small company might take to attract talent: communicate your success, share your excitement about the business’s potential, make a point of linking that potential to the applicant’s interests. Link corporate culture and brand with your people and the magic really starts.

Think you can’t compete on benefits and salary? Remember that your brand and culture are your biggest attractions. As Tim Hackett writes at MonsterThinking, most candidates want to work for a brand they admire. People love Nike because it’s cool, IBM because it’s a leader, Google because it’s an innovator. We can’t all work at those places, but we can observe their brands and cultures, and learn. Be your brand, treat people well, and don’t waiver or abandon your position.

Treating people well and running an ethical business is the secret sauce for really good brands. Bill Taylor says brand is culture, and culture is brand in a recent article at Harvard Business Review. When there’s a tight link between the two forces, customers will know, employees will know, job seekers will know. No risk of brand abandonment in this scenario: it’s baked right into the workplace culture as a foundation.

As the economy rebounds, employees may become restive. Job seekers may start flooding well-known brands with resumes in the hopes that finally someone will open the envelope, click on the email, or even a tweet. Your best defense, as an employer, is to have culture and brand in place. Be irresistible to your employees. Be desirable to candidates. Be your brand, revel in your culture, and never abandon either. The price is just too high.

Perils of Brand Abandonment: Strive for Shiny, Fresh and Authentic

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Brand is something that cuts both ways in the recruiting business. Candidates have personal brands – we talk about that a lot on the TalentCulture blog – and companies have brands. A company’s brand directly relates to it’s workplace culture. An excellent (and disturbing) article by David Lee on ERE.net has me thinking about the perils of brand abandonment – those moments when people, or companies, stop paying attention to the messages they’re sending out when they are hiring and retaining talent.

Brand, the way I talk about it with candidates, is a shorthand way of presenting yourself to others. It’s more than an elevator pitch, but it relies on the same idea: a condensed and polished presentation of a few key facts about you and why you’d be a good employee. As I’ve written here, a personal brand should present your skills, interests, personality attributes and values in a coherent manner that will be compelling and authentic to recruiters and hiring managers.

For companies the process isn’t that different. An organization/workplace may start with a mission statement, then move on to values and objectives, but the point of the exercise is the same: to create a compelling, credible, and authentic collective persona – a culture brand – that is compelling to customers, investors and valuable employees. Of course, we know workplace culture is so much more than a mere mission statement. Healthy organizations strive to make their brand consistent on all angles.

But sometimes, when you’ve worked to establish your brand, you start to believe the shorthand version. You drink the Kool-Aid. You stop listening, stop monitoring how people react, and stop thinking about the value of your brand.

Lee’s article describes a survey in which candidates describe horrific, dispiriting experiences they had with prospective employers. Read the article for particulars, but the net is this: treating candidates poorly at any point in the recruiting process leaves them with a bad impression of your company. It’s brand abandonment, and it’s completely avoidable.

Brand abandonment is a real risk for career seeking candidates as well.

Here are a few points of risk:

Social Media and TMI

Social media can be the enemy of brand for a job seeker. We’ve all heard the stories of candidates being screened out for Facebook and Twitter posts. Don’t put anything on social media you wouldn’t tell your grandmother. The not-cool grandmother. I’m not saying do not be authentic and interesting. If your not-cool grandmother does not accept your unique personality well then – perhaps we can ignore her. I want you to be you! Just be thoughtful. Protect yourself here.

Poor Interview Technique

Talk about what you can do for the employer. In an interview situation you need to reinforce the links between your brand value and the company’s brand, without being narcissistic. Don’t reveal details that aren’t relevant. You may have been an Eagle Scout, but that was then and this is now. Listen, don’t just talk.

Improper (or no) Follow up

It is absolutely imperative to follow up with a thank you note. Unless part of your personal brand is being rude, there’s no excuse for not saying thank you. No scented pink paper, check your spelling, sum up the key takeaway of the interview – What you learned about the company, why you’d be the right candidate, why it’s the right company/fit.

Check Your References Before the Interviewer Does

Don’t count on the boss you had three jobs ago for a great reference – make sure you’ll get one by making a call and running through what you need in a reference and what he or she is comfortable saying. Don’t trust your brand to someone else: make sure you’re on the same page before you hand out names and phone numbers.

Brand is a responsibility. It takes care, constant monitoring and periodic refreshes. You are your personal brand. And companies need to stay present and take full responsibility for their brand behaviors by being consistent and sensitive to the messages they are sending career seekers about their workplace culture. Bottom line: Use what you’ve got to keep it shiny and fresh.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

VIP Treatment for Hiring Managers and Recruiters: College Campuses

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Today’s guest post is by our talented colleague and friend  Karla Porter.  Karla is the Director of Work Force Development and Human Resources for a chamber of business, industry and economic develop­ment agency in Pennsylvania and blogs about Human Capital & New Media at karlaporter.com You can follow her on Twitter @karla_porter for “all things human capital, career, recruiting and new media… maybe more.”

In 2008, college students and their parents were wearing out their worry beads thinking there would be little hope for a long time for graduates and no way to pay students loans for many years to come. Post graduate enrollment increased with students thinking they might as well stay in college rather than face unemployment or have to deal with underemployment. At least that way they could stave off student loans a while longer.

At the same time, in one of life’s ha ha I fooled you moments, employers coming out of recessionary shock realized the economic woes were going to be a chronic case of global acid reflux not a mere blip on the radar, but they couldn’t necessarily hold out on hiring any longer. What to do?

In many companies the answer has been to help manage budget cuts by hiring recent college graduates with the aptitude to do the job at entry level salaries, rather than seasoned professionals with track records that command heavyweight salaries.  At the very least, hiring managers are much more willing to interview and seriously consider recent graduates than perhaps they have ever been. Whether it will prove to be a wise business decision in the long run or not, it’s the hand many hiring managers and recruiters have been dealt.

So, why not enjoy the VIP treatment college and university career services centers are delighted to bestow upon you in order to help place their grads, especially in these times of a tight job market? Get to know the players, build rapport with them and they’ll turn into a team of willing assistants for you. It might even help ease the pain of a “light” placement fee for third party recruiters or a smaller bonus for in-house recruiters.

Here are some tips to tap into talent – even if you don’t have a budget to get out to on-site campus recruitment events. I’ll use computer science/engineering majors as an example.

Do you have any tips you would like to share for tapping into fresh college graduate talent? Interested to hear your stories and examples.

5 Marketing Lessons from Crack Dealers

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Disclaimer: I have never used illegal drugs and I do not advocate the use of illegal drugs or controlled substances illegally. Drugs and the repercussions of their use, do irreparable harm to the user, their families, their coworkers and the community at large. Stay clean, stay sober or stay home.

One of the things I love about teaching Sanera Camp is I get to hear the awesome ideas the recruits come up with. This was one of them.

Earlier in class this week, we talked about building relationships versus push marketing and how technology has helped us do that better than ever because the new tools allow us to share information across wider audiences. We also talked about the shift in mindset from protecting our information to sharing our information so more people can get to know us, our level of expertise and what it would be like to work with us.

Then this conversation broke out:

Person 1: Alicia, I was thinking that drug dealers are a great example of this.

Everyone else: A combination of silence, belly laughs and dropped jaws.

Me: How?

Person 1: Well, they’ve given out samples for years and years and it works. Their prospects know what it tastes like, what it feels like and the quality of the product.

Person 2: You’re right! I never thought about it before.

Person 1: Look at it. It’s a successful, multi-billion dollar industry that has world wide distribution. The use of illegal drugs has increased, not decreased even though it’s against the law. Their clients know where to find them, know how much the product costs and they tell everyone else about it. It’s perfect word of mouth advertising.

Person 3: But what we’re selling isn’t addicting.

Person 2: But can’t we make it addicting? If we give out some of what we have to offer, won’t people want more?

They are right. It’s hard to find a better example of how giving things away can drive revenue. But Person 3’s observation is pivotal – certainly one advantage the drug dealers have over us is that their product is physiologically and sometimes immediately addicting. So what can we do to drive our revenue without breaking the law and harming others?

How To Market Like a Crack Dealer

1. Know your target customer

Who wants your product/service? Better yet, who craves it? Who needs it so badly that the moment they get it, they will have an insatiable desire for more of it?

2. Analyze your market

Where does your target market hang out? What kinds of activities are they doing?  Is it in a certain zip code, metaphorical “corner,” in an industry meeting or somewhere online?

3. Make distribution easy

Ensure your target customer knows who you are and where to find your products/services. Make the purchasing process as simple and seamless as possible. You will jeopardize your chance of closing a sale if you make them:

  • Talk to lots of people
  • Click too many times online
  • Give too much personal information
  • Look at too many options

4. Give away the right samples

Here are some examples of things you shouldn’t give away:

  • Cheesy tchotchkies that people are going to throw away. If you’re going to give away promotional items, make sure they are things your prospects will use and value.
  • Proprietary information. Enough said.
  • Low quality products. I know this sounds obvious, but come on. How many of you have received a sample and discovered that it was someone’s attempt to get rid of their non-selling inventory? It’s happened to all of us. You will be associated with your samples. What do you want people to say about you?

Some things you should give away:

  • Consumables – when they run out, they will want more from you.
  • Useful, actionable information. This is not limited to service industries. If you are in retail or a product-driven environment, you have valuable information to share about your store, your products, care of your products, upcoming sales, etc. Err on the side of education & information vs. “selling.”
  • A piece of what you want them to purchase. Giving “everything” away eliminates the incentive for your prospects to want more.

5. Give them to the right people

If you give everything away, you won’t make money. Be selective. Find the influencers, the people who will spread the word and give to them.

It’s pretty unconventional, but think about it. Any lessons here you can apply to your own business?

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Special thanks to Nora Frost, Denise Sample and Rob Hatton for their creative ideas and discussion. Keep the conversations going!