5 Recruitment Tips that Treat, Not Trick

Your company is great, right? You serve a worthwhile cause and do many exciting things. So why don’t more people want to volunteer with you? Halloween is a great time to ask: are we scaring away potential volunteers?

Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc., the internationally-renowned volunteerism training and publishing firm, notes that there are many things organisations do or say that can “haunt” prospective recruits.

She offers these five simple recruitment tips to en-”treat” volunteers without “tricking” them:

1. Don’t just ask for “help” or “volunteers.” This vague approach leaves everything up to the prospective volunteer’s imagination…and YOU ought to be frightened at that. Design a different recruitment message for each specific assignment you need to fill, including an appealing job title. Give potential recruits enough information to be able to say “that’s for me.” Challenge people and they’ll rise to the occasion.
2. Specify up front how many hours a week or month a volunteer assignment requires and for how long you hope the volunteer will remain in the position. Be honest. Then someone who applies to become a volunteer already knows what you expect. (Besides, you may surprise some people by being reasonable and flexible).
3. Be perceptive about what someone might fear about your work and address these things in your recruitment message. Is personal safety a concern? Note the well-lighted adjacent parking lot or the buddy system you use. Are there unknowns about how your facility looks? Add lots of photos showing bright spaces and smiling faces. Might there be some out-of-pocket costs? Explain your reimbursement policy.
4. Talk about the training you give all newcomers, so that no one has to worry about not being skilled enough or unprepared. Assure prospects that they’ll be supported while learning how to be a good volunteers.
5. Show that volunteering can be fun! It’s ok to enjoy community service activities…or the other participants…or the experience itself. If people are going to choose volunteering for you in their spare time, it ought to sound like something that they wouldn’t want to miss.

Article by Energizeinc.com

“Technology is slowly but surely changing just about everything in our lives, especially how we work. These days, most employees not only do a large amount of their work on a computer, but many work remotely, learn new skills in online courses, and even find jobs via social sites and web-based job hunts. All of these things must be managed and developed through those working in human resources, and over the past few decades technology has had a pretty profound effect on how these departments operate.

Read on to learn more about the impact of the latest technologies on human resources that could just change how you get hired, learn job skills, access business information, and even use the Internet in your off time.

1. Employment simulations are taking the place of face-to-face interviews.

   

   Computers are certainly a major part of just about any workplace setting these days, but did you know that they could soon be the determining factor in whether you get a job? Employment simulations are becoming increasingly popular ways for HR departments to screen potential job candidates all over the world. The simulations work by asking candidates to participate in an online video game of sorts that simulates the real work environment, allowing employers to more accurately assess how a worker would do at a given company. While they’re obviously not applicable to every industry, some proponents say that they can help remove many hiring biases and help those who are truly the most qualified get a position. As an added bonus, they can also make HR departments more efficient. Of course, there’s been plenty of criticism of them as well, as many point out that the programs don’t account for social and interpersonal skills that are necessary to be successful in the workplace.

2. Resumes are pre-screened by computers.

   

   Once, HR departments pored over resumes by hand, but that’s no longer entirely common, at least not up front. Many companies now use automated resume screeners to do the work for them, and it’s no surprise as many report getting up to three times the numbers of resumes every year as they have employees in the entire company. These computer tools scan through resumes stored in an online database, looking for applicants to match to job openings. While this is a pretty efficient way of getting through a large number of resumes, it does have some drawbacks. Scanners are usually programmed to look for key words and phrases for a given position, and a resume that doesn’t contain them, even from a qualified applicant, may be overlooked. Resume screening by computer hasn’t eliminated the human element from hiring, however. Someone still has to choose and program in those key terms and scan the resumes that the program picks out as the best, but it’s clear that technology is having a major impact on this area of HR.

3. HR departments are checking out the web when hiring.

   

   Technology has also changed how HR departments and hiring managers deal with checking out employees. Once, a call to a few references would have sufficed as a good check on the character of an employee, but these days it’s commonplace for potential employers to do an Internet search, especially on social media, for information about employees. As individuals have become more careful about what they show publicly online, some HR departments are getting a little too personal in their exploration of online data, even going so far as to ask for passwords to sites like Facebook to learn more about a candidate. Recent legislation could put a stop to that, but even with these limitations, online data about an individual will likely always play a role in the hiring process in the modern world.

4. Training can be done anytime, anywhere.

   

   Training used to require employees to be on site and in a meeting for several hours at a time to learn essential workplace skills, but new technology has made it possible to train employees anywhere in the country, at any time, using limited resources. Basic tech tools like web conferencing, Skype, and Google Hangouts make it possible for training professionals to speak to a large audience of employees located just about anywhere with Internet access, all at once. There are also numerous programs and services that make it simple for HR to combine PDFs, PowerPoints, documents, and videos into comprehensive training programs that can be completed by employees on their own time, perhaps even before they arrive for their first day of work. Because these materials can be distributed quickly and easily, it saves companies money and HR departments time, as well as helping employees become more productive more quickly.

5. Recruiting new employees often takes place online.

   

   The web not only plays a role in how potential employees are assessed, but also in how they’re found in the first place. Technology has made it simple, and sometimes preferable, to do recruiting and hiring through an online portal. Openings can easily be posted online, both on larger job sites and on those targeted towards those with a very specific skill set. Recruiting is also becoming a tech-centered task. Not only is the web used to seek out qualified candidates through social media and employment sites, but some recruiters are also reaching out to job seekers through their mobile devices, a strategy that many believe is smart given the widespread use of such devices. While traditional networking and recruitment strategies are still valuable in HR today, the web is playing an increasingly larger role in how the best talent is found and attracted to a given business.

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There are many advantages to hiring a career coach and several reasons why you might need one, but the first thing you need to do is to establish what you need a career coach for. Denise, of amazingpeople.co.uk has come up with her own checklist to help people decide whether they really need to hire a career coach and how they can benefit from the process.

Career coaches can be invaluable in helping you achieve your career goals but how do you know whether you need a career coach or not? Simply ask yourself these questions…

1.    Career exploration and discovery

A major reason that people work with a career coach is because they have become disillusioned with what they are doing – perhaps they have come to a career crossroads and want to change careers, they’ve always had a burning desire to work in a different field, or they’ve simply lost enthusiasm for what they do. A career coach can help to take you back to basics to rediscover what it is you enjoy about work, what your natural strengths are and how to make more of these in your working life.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you happy in your current job?
• Are you working to your full potential?
• Do you feel secure in your job?
• Do you understand your natural abilities and talents?
• Can you describe your top skills?
• Do you know how to best use your qualifications and experience?
• Do you know what your values are?

The more times you say no, the more you could benefit from working with a career coach.

2.    Job search support

Another area that career coaches can help with is the whole process of looking for jobs. Depending on the coach you choose, this can cover everything from CV advice to Interview techniques, to researching the unadvertised jobs market. Sometimes just having someone to guide you through these areas can make the job searching process more bearable and infinitely more productive.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you happy that your CV will get you to interview?
• Are you confident in applying for jobs you see advertised?
• Do you know how to research potential job markets?
• Do you understand about the unadvertised job market?
• Are you confident you can sell yourself at interview?
• Can you motivate yourself through rejection?
• Can you negotiate effectively when you are offered a new job?

Again, the more times you say no, the more you could benefit from working with a career coach.

3.    Career management

You may enjoy your job and the company you work for, but want to make more of it. Perhaps you’ve been overlooked for promotion and you’re unsure how to progress your career. Gaining confidence by increasing your profile at work can help you achieve the success you desire and deserve.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you making the progress you want within your career?
• Are there opportunities for promotion or development within your company?
• Do you have a plan to get there?
• Do you have someone to use as a mentor/advisor to deal with difficult work situations?
• Do you know how to get yourself ready for promotion?
• Do you know how to increase your profile at work?
• Do you understand how to get the best out of conferences and other networking opportunities?

To find out more about career coaches, take a look at the International Coach Federation’s website at www.coachfederation.org. To learn more about Denise’s work, visit her website at www.amazingpeople.co.uk.

Working from home is awesome. But it can also be highly distracting. One recent study found that more than 40% of employees who work from home pull double-duty watching TV or a movie. More than a quarter nap or cook dinner while on the clock, and 20% play video games on the company dime, according to a Citrix survey.

So it’s no wonder many bosses still oppose the work-from-home concept. But times are changing. From 1980 to 2010, the percentage of workers who work from home nearly doubled, according to some estimates, as digital tools have made doing so exponentially easier.

The Internet education portal OnlineDegress.com pulled research from sources including Stanford University, Microsoft and CareerBuilder.com to create the infographic below. It provides a comprehensive overview of how common working from home has become and how businesses and employees are adapting.

Check out the following infographic for the full picture, then share your opinion in the comments — how often should employees be allowed to work from home?

For the Inforgrafic source here

For those new to freelancing and contracting, though, working from home can be a blessing and a curse, as although all of your good intentions may lead you to think you will work extra hours early in the week, distractions and no one to look over your shoulder can lead to very little work being done – and all freelancers know the dangers of missing a deadline.

In order to be as productive as possible when it comes to working in your own home you should first set up a dedicated office space and make sure you do all of your work there. On cold days or when you feel unwell it may be tempting to work from the sofa or even your bed but this can lead to you feeling less motivated or, on the flip side, end up making you associate your entire home with work.

Read the full Article here

It has been an unfortunate consequence of the recent economic turmoil that companies have had to make redundancies. This is always a worrying time for the employees involved and many ask us for advice on the best way to reflect this on their CV…particularly if it has happened more than once.

We turned to leading career coach Aimee Bateman for her insight…

“Firstly I just want to say, in my opinion as a recruiter who ‘sells’ people to companies and companies to people, that there is NO stigma whatsoever related to redundancy in this day and age.

Unfortunately companies make redundancies due to falling profits, increased competition and sometimes just poor management and overspending.

I have seen the most talented and remarkable people (some who earn six figure salaries) lose all confidence in their abilities following redundancy but there is no reason to. I appreciate it is easy to slip into negative thoughts but stay positive, focused and surround yourself with good people.

I am often asked ‘How to I deal with this on my CV?’ Well, the best way to deal with it is to be totally open about it and follow these steps…

• Add your contractual end date to your CV. Never make it look like you are still there and then explain you have left when you are at interview stage. This just causes questions about your honesty. Even if you tell them that you just haven’t updated your CV. I personally wouldn’t have a problem with that, but I know so many HR managers and employers who have been put off by this.
• Provide a ‘Reason for Leaving’. I would add a section under the position, which explains why you left the company. I know some career coaches disagree with this, but I promise you this is the first question every employer asks me when I send them CVs of people I am representing. ‘Thanks Aimee but why did they leave that company?’ If you don’t answer their questions, then they will make their own assumptions, which will sometimes be the wrong one!!
• Add a sentence or very brief description of the details surrounding your redundancy. Maybe your department was relocated, or there was a merger.
• Mention if others were made redundant. Was it the whole department? Did the company need to downsize by 100 employees? Ensure the person reading your CV understands the entire situation behind the business decision.

Now if you have been made redundant more than once, please follow the same steps. Continue to be open and honest and do not feel ashamed.

If you wish to address your feelings and explain the situation then you can do this briefly at the end of your cover letter or include it in the ‘About Me’ section of your CV. Please note that you may not need to if you follow all the steps above.

If you do decide to however, please remain positive and make sure you do not come across as the ‘victim’, even though you may feel like one and understandably so. Employers will love your honesty and your ability to keep bouncing back. In fact, say those exact words! Tell them in your cover letter, that you know you have been made redundant twice, three times, but you have so much to give and you are not going to give up. If I read that in a cover letter, it would really impress me!

So that is my answer to that question. Stay open and honest and focused on all the value that you have still to give. Please don’t underestimate the impact this tough situation is going to have on your character. You will be stronger and more self aware than ever before…yeah, tell that to your next employer!!”

Aimee Bateman runs a recruitment and coaching consultancy, and has been the recruitment advisor on a number of TV programmes on both BBCI and BBC3. She is also the founder of Careercake.com – a resource aimed at helping passionate people improve their careers.

We’ve seen a significant growth in users’ mobile activity since the beginning of the year. The growth is so great that the reports suggests that one in six visits coming to our site is from a mobile device.

Much of the browsing experience has taken place using our mobile friently template> To see the mobile site in action visit http://chooseyourjob.co.uk/mobile Great activity were recorded there in July, this is incredible! However, the conversions are not matching the volume of traffic. The desktop computer is still delivering three times more applications per visit than the mobile. So, exactly how important are mobile sites and apps?

I’m a firm believer that the mobile will not replace the desktop computer until candidates are educated, after all, it took a while to persuade job seekers to use job boards rather than newspapers when job hunting. We also need full desktop to mobile integration. There are no tools available which allow you to upload your CV directly from your phone so; you can only apply to jobs through the chooseyourjob.co.uk site or app if you are already a registered candidate.

Although, it is exciting to see the changes in candidate activity and the move from desktop to mobile I don’t think mobiles will ever take over from the desktop, similarly to how LinkedIn will never take over from online job boards. It’s a fascinating time for the recruitment sector in regards to technology advances but it’s important that we don’t get carried away and ensure our main services are still delivering.

My advice to SMEs would be to build a simple mobile version of your site. This will ensure you stay ahead of the competition and provide your users with a suitable platform to browse your site from your mobile. Apps aren’t appropriate for all companies but they are definitely useful tools if you want to provide push through notifications to mobiles. Keep an eye on mobile innovations and carefully track your audiences’ behaviour so you know how important mobile is to your business.

There are a lot of advice available to help job seekers use social media platforms to enhance their job hunt, but many people are unsure on how to get started..

Career coach Steve Nicholls, one of our regular gust contributors, often helps job seekers to get started on LinkedIn and Twitter and build confidence before they move on to more serious social job hunting. Here he offers some simple advice for those who aren’t sure where to begin…

“I like to focus on is how you can practically leverage the various platforms to your own benefit. With many job decisions being close run affairs these days, it’s often that extra 2 or 3% which can tip the balance in your favour. It’s these subtleties that I focus in on. I’d be interested to hear if any resonate with you.

LinkedIn still dominates as a source for both recruiters and candidates, although there are other options appearing on the web. From a candidate’s perspective then, I seem to come across the same issues or shortcomings on a LinkedIn profile: Photograph…. Dear oh dear! Some are either taken with a mobile phone (fine , but think of what it actually looks like to a stranger), or with an expression that can literally be scary! I suggest a neutral “smile” dressed in appropriate clothing. It’s great that you love your spouse by the way, but a photo with half their head in it? Well, you get my point I’m sure.

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However, it is important to know where to draw the line. There are certain things co-workers need not know about each other, including religious and political views as well as personal issues, but some folks just can’t seem to keep their mouths shut. And don’t forget – a casual conversation can easily turn into office gossip, which again can easily turn around to the one who spreads it – including yourself.

To avoid risking your professional image, here are 10 things to never share or discuss with your co-workers:

1. Salary information
What you earn is between you and Human Resources. Disclosure indicates you aren’t capable of keeping a confidence.

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Here is a common mistake to watch #6   Leaving out information 

Whether it’s by choice or just forgetfulness, some people leave previous jobs off their CV meaning a gap in employment. It’s better to not let your employer guess what you were up to as they will always think the worst. Even if you weren’t working, there may have been transferable skills you picked up that will help your chances.