Why Big Data is A Big Deal for Recruiting & Hiring
Posted on September 12, 2013 Leave a Comment
Big Data is a big deal these days. And for good reason. “Recruiting is becoming a science”, to use LinkedIn Talent Management VP Dan Shapiro’s words, as more and more companies are highly investing in the latest technologies. While we’re all interested in what the future holds for the use of Big Data in recruiting, here are my thoughts about its role in the hiring process and the greatest challenges it presents for recruiters.
Resumes in Real Time: Dynamic Data & Digital Dirt
Posted on September 3, 2013 1 Comment
You’ve probably heard that recruiters hate reading resumes, or are too inundated with them for candidates to really stand out, but that’s not necessarily true. Recruiters hate looking at resumes of unqualified applicants. Any talent acquisition professional doing a search for a hard-to-fill role requiring direct sourcing will tell you that, in fact, finding the perfect resume – or its proximity – is one of the most thrilling parts of the job.
Problem is, it doesn’t happen very often. As far as most line recruiters are concerned, if you don’t look good on paper, you don’t look good for a job, no matter how good a job you’d actually do.
In the Key Of Me (Circa 2006): My First Ever Blog Post
Posted on July 31, 2013 Leave a Comment
I was doing some digging on the Way Back Machine recently and came across this, my first ever corporate blog post, with the depressing dateline of Thursday, December 16, 2006. That means I’ve actually somehow been doing this closing in on 7 years now, which is simultaneously scary and depressing – much like this post, my first realization that creative writing and corporate America weren’t mutually exclusive concepts.
Because literally hundreds of posts later, my writing style hasn’t demonstratively improved (even if the content itself has increased in sophistication and relevancy). In fact, it’s just become sanitized as B2B blogging has moved from bleeding edge to absolutely ubiquitous – a trend I’ve had to follow, by necessity.
But this existential essay I wrote when I was 24 proves the maxim that not only is youth wasted on the young, but tone, voice and style are all wasted on content marketing. Hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane from way back in the day, when I actually used to look like the guy in the picture on the right.
This post originally appeared on the Kenexa blog, but it’s not there anymore, much like my hairline in aforementioned photo.
+K This: Klout for HR & Recruiting
Posted on July 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
If you’re doing the obvious stuff when it comes to social media recruiting or engagement (Facebook fan pages, branded Twitter account, blog, etc.), you’re fighting an uphill battle.
It’s a crowded space out there: after all, if there’s a fundamental reason for social media’s appeal as a business and marketing tool, it’s the truism that everyone’s on it.
And with upwards of a billion users speaking dozens of languages updating millions of closed, interdependent communities (which is, pretty much, the definition of that ‘network’ part of ‘social networks’), it can be hard to make your voice heard.
Searching Without Seizures
Posted on July 25, 2013 Leave a Comment
If you’re like most sourcers or recruiters, you’ve probably got about another twenty tabs already open on your browser in addition to this one. Fifteen of those, at least, will be hooked up to candidate databases like job boards, an ATS, or LinkedIn. Keeping all these windows open only makes sense (even if it makes browsing a bit slower).
After all, remembering all those passwords and usernames, much less using them to log in every time, is both a huge pain and a huge time suck. Tabs make it at least a little big easier to look at candidates side by side from different sources, even if their results (not to mention candidate relevance and ranking) display completely differently.
Armageddon and the War for Talent
Posted on July 23, 2013 Leave a Comment
People have been foretelling the end of time since pretty much the beginning of it, and most of them are crazy – the ring a bell, stand on the corner in Times Square with a sandwich board and sackcloth kind of crazy.
But then again, some of those people are the foundation for major world religions, so this is a pretty high risk, high reward statement:
In 2020, HR as an independent function will no longer exist. At least not in North America.
This Form Is To Get Your Information To Give To Our Sales Guys
Posted on July 19, 2013 Leave a Comment
Note: I’ve written a lot of landing pages in my time. And while the text may change, the subtext remains the same:
Thanks for clicking that display ad. You’re in the .002% of impressions that actually convert, sucker. Not only did you use the same really obscure search term our SEO people told us we should bid on, but you also happen to have been bored enough to answer our crappy call to action floating somewhere in your sidebar. Clearly, with that sort of time on your hands, you are exactly the sort of decision maker we are looking for.
5 Big Fat Lies Recruiters Tell Candidates
Posted on July 18, 2013 1 Comment
Most recruiters are honest and upfront with job seekers. Largely caring and committed, recruiters often genuinely care about every candidate, even if they don’t necessarily always show it. But many of the most common put-offs, while usually well-intentioned and largely innocuous, are as integrated into the recruiting process as applicant tracking systems and reference checks.
The good news? Avoiding these worst practices instantly translates into an improved candidate experience and an easy win for your employment brand.
How To Create A Blog Post in 10 Easy Steps
Posted on July 11, 2013 2 Comments
There are a few common misperceptions when it comes to creating blog content.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a writer to blog, nor do you need to actually have anything to say.
After all, you’re creating digestible, disposable content that’s probably going to get skimmed.
That is if anyone actually reads your stuff (and chances are, they won’t…particularly if it’s a corporate blog).
But if the fact that blogging remains the least time effective and most labor intensive form of online communication doesn’t dissuade you, or if you’re solipsism is sated by any byline, here are 10 steps to creating a blog post.
Not Another HR and Recruiting Post
Posted on July 5, 2013 1 Comment
I started this blog as a way to kind of aggregate all the content I put out on other sites in my day job, which, in hindsight, probably wasn’t necessary because, well, I’m a writer who hates to write and has about the same level of output as Harper Lee (although obviously not in quality).
I kind of regard myself as a blogger, because it’s an easier self-identifier than, say, “content marketing whore,” so the other day, someone asked me a question that, frankly, I’m surprised I hadn’t been asked before.
So do you actually have, like, a real blog besides all that corporate stuff?
Snark Attack 