Aurelia Butler

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    HelloFresh: Solving a Global Talent Challenge with Upskilled Talent Engagement

    HelloFresh is a global meal kit delivery company that operates in 18 countries. This gives them a unique challenge when it comes to talent acquisition: they need to find local talent with niche skills to support their complex distribution and logistics.
    In this article, we’ll explore how HelloFresh has solved this challenge by upskilling their talent engagement team. We’ll also share five actionable tips from Carolina Guillen, Head of Global Talent Marketing and Engagement at HelloFresh, on how you can engage your own talent team in employer branding.
    The Talent Challenge of Global Logistics
    HelloFresh is headquartered in Berlin and New York, but they operate in eighteen countries worldwide. The core business model of delivering meal kits remains the same from country to country. However, the logistical problem of storing, packaging, and shipping ingredients so that they arrive fresh at a customer’s door in all of these different markets creates a unique hiring challenge for Guillen and her team.
    Different countries have different regulations governing food safety, food storage, shipping, and so on. This means that HelloFresh needs to fill roles locally in supply chain, fulfillment, and technical specialist areas to meet these requirements in each market.
    “We often need to find local talent that comes with a very specific skill or certification,” says Guillen.
    In short, there’s a lot of work to be done in talent acquisition and talent engagement. And that got Guillen thinking: could we engage this team to activate our employer brand?
    How HelloFresh Upskills Their Talent Engagement Team
    The talent engagement team at HelloFresh comes from a background in traditional sourcing and recruiting. However, Guillen has started to upskill them with marketing and project management skillsets.
    “Our main goal is for them to be delivering 360 solutions for top-of-funnel needs,” she says. This means that they’re responsible for developing event, talent community, and referral strategies. They’re also involved in developing strategies for reputation management and social media marketing.
    This approach creates alignment between Guillen’s employer branding team and the people who put it into action throughout the recruitment and hiring process. Talent acquisition has a say in what they’re being asked to do and also participates in developing strategies for employer branding.
    Moreover, upskilling these employees into comb-shaped experts with new skill sets gives them more flexibility to grow into the career they want at HelloFresh.
    In the episode, we asked Guillen for some actionable tips you can use to engage your recruitment team in employer branding work.
    Here are her 5 Ideas for Recruitment Team Engagement:

    Create a content strategy with talent acquisition in mind. Your talent acquisition team members have very direct control and influence on the candidate journey, so they can help you build pieces that are aligned with your employer brand.
    Fall in love with your candidate, not your brand. We put a lot of energy into developing an employer brand, but sometimes that makes it difficult to take a step back and see what’s working. “From my point of view, it’s much more beneficial to be a critic of your brand,” says Guillen. Instead, fall in love with your audience and build content that is made just for them.
    Don’t be afraid to reuse content. Developing quality content takes energy and focus. But when you’ve got something that works, how can you be sure it’s getting in front of the right people? And how can you get the most ROI for your efforts? Guillen recommends rehashing and recycling your campaigns and the pieces of content you create. You can get a lot of extra value by changing formats or platforms. One thing they’re doing at HelloFresh, for example, is transcribing videos they made earlier to use as the basis for new series of blog posts.
    Every good story needs a hero. Use stories about real people to tell the story of your company and to connect with candidates on a personal level. “When you can tell a story that is authentic and relatable, it really resonates with people,” says Guillen.
    Build for scale by making “recipes.” This will help you document your processes and make it easier to replicate them in the future. “We’ve created a lot of playbooks and templates that we can share with our team,” says Guillen. “This helps us to scale our efforts and make sure that everyone is on the same page.”

    To follow Carolina Guillen’s work on employer brand, follow her on LinkedIn. For help creating data-driven, actionable strategies you can use to make real change in your company, talk to us.
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    How to Use Your Employer Brand to Reduce Hiring Costs

    The success of every company hinges on its people. But attracting the best talent isn’t always an easy feat. Companies often invest significant amounts of money into the bottom of the recruitment process — job boards and recruiters. But at Flexa, we’ve found that a great employer brand can reduce hiring costs whilst attracting the high-quality candidates your company needs to grow.
    At its simplest, employer branding is a combination of:

    Your employee value proposition (EVP), which will probably centre around your working environment and flexible working policies

    Your company culture

    Your employees’ voices.

    And then, importantly, knowing exactly how and where to shout about all this hard work!
    Here’s how it’s done.
    1. Identify your Employee Value Proposition
    A strong employer brand is built on authenticity, transparency, and a positive reputation. Start by working out what you want to be known for, what you represent, and what you can offer employees that other companies can’t (this is your EVP). This is the perfect time to identify any areas for improvement that don’t reflect positively on your brand. It’s never too late to shake up company culture to attract and retain a happy team.
    When setting out your EVP, make sure to be authentic. There’s no point in making promises you can’t keep, as this only leads to disgruntled new hires later on.
    Once you’ve identified your EVP and what makes you unique, you can start shouting about it.
    2. Leverage social media
    Social media is an indispensable tool for employer branding. Create a strong presence on relevant platforms (at Flexa we love LinkedIn) and consistently share content that reflects your company’s culture, values, and employee achievements. Engage with potential candidates through relevant hashtags and participate in industry discussions (hosting your webinars can be a great way to draw people in). By utilizing these platforms effectively, you can reach a broader talent pool and reduce reliance on expensive recruitment agencies or job boards by having talent excited to be part of your company when you are ready to hire.
    3. Encourage employee advocacy
    There are no better advocates for your company than those who already work for you. They’re your biggest ambassadors and the most authentic marketing tool. Encourage employees to share their positive experiences and wins on social media; and amplify their stories through company channels and website testimonials. At Flexa, our team often posts about how they’re making the most of flexible work.
    By leveraging employee voices, you can tap into the networks of trusted employees whilst giving potential candidates an invaluable window into your world, so they can make an educated decision about whether you’re the right fit for them.
    Remember though, this needs to be authentic: people are smart; they can tell when someone has been told to post something nice about a company. The real stories from real employees will have a much more significant impact!
    4. Shake up your success metrics
    Many companies will measure their employer brand’s success using applications and hires alone. But your employer brand is far more extensive than that, so you need to evolve the marketing metrics you use to measure it.
    Employer brand is a strategic marketing effort. Therefore, when starting out, consider measuring the success of your efforts using metrics like reach (impressions/profile views on company and employee pages), engagement (company saves/likes/subscribes/ speculative interest), and audience relevance (diversity/geography/ skills of candidates coming through the pipeline).
    Lower down the funnel, you need to measure applications and hires, as well as things like alignment and diversity. If you focus on getting maximum relevant reach to start with, you will drive down your ultimate cost to hire.
    5. Foster positive candidate experiences
    Treating candidates with respect and providing them with a positive experience during the hiring process can significantly impact your employer brand. Maintain clear communication throughout the process, provide timely feedback, and offer a smooth and efficient application process. Even if a candidate is not selected, leaving them with a positive impression can lead to recommendations or future applications. This approach helps build a strong employer brand and reduces the need for extensive and costly recruitment efforts in the future.
    6. Don’t just focus on employer brand when you’re hiring
    An employer brand doesn’t just need your attention when you’ve got roles to fill. If you want to build a strong talent pipeline, you need to have a true focus on your employer brand all year round.
    Rather than forcing applications reactively when you have vacancies, focus on proactively nurturing relationships with potential candidates and engaging with passive candidates online, on platforms like Flexa, and at networking events and conferences all year round. Maintain regular communication with these individuals using the free channels at your disposal. Being consistent in these efforts will pay dividends when it comes to bringing great talent through the pipeline and reducing your cost to hire.
    Employer branding should be an essential part of your talent attraction and marketing strategy. If you’re not doing it, take a few steps to get started. It’s easy once you know how.
    By Beth Carter, Head of Growth at Flexa.
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    Unlock the Power of ChatGPT in Recruitment: How to Increase Efficiency

    To dive into game-changing sourcing and recruiting practices using AI, Talk Talent to Me went live with these top leaders in New York and San Francisco:

    Director of Talent Sourcing, Activision Blizzard, Justin Ghio
    VP of Talent and Culture, Humane, José Cong
    Director, Talent Acquisition, Employer Branding & Awareness, PandoLogic, Jenny Cotie Kangas
    Chief Technology Officer, Hired, Dave Walters

    Time is precious so we’re sharing the top tactics from the workshops so you can start cutting down on time-consuming, redundant tasks. This frees you up to focus on what’s most important – the human-centric aspects of recruiting that maximize impact. 
    Need to get started ASAP? Get straight to our free template with the top tech candidate personas and resources for crafting your ideal outreach sequences!

    Change your approach: speed > experience
    José Cong suggests taking on an analytical perspective. Earlier this year, he did an A/B test with his team. “A” was his most experienced recruiter with over 25 years of experience. “B” was a coordinator he coached on ChatGPT. Five months later, “B” was outperforming the recruiting veteran at a 3X pace. 
    The team even recently closed their first two principal-level engineers (the highest level you can get as an IC). To him, that was not a coincidence. He saw a pattern. 
    José’s coordinator was taking his guidance a step further, dropping in the resume, job description, and manager notes into ChatGPT. He asked the tool for guidance on how to approach and hold a conversation. It was working.
    Augmented over artificial
    This experience reinforced to José that AI was trainable. In fact, he says, “I hate the terminology ‘artificial intelligence.’ It’s augmented intelligence. If we think about it from that perspective, we’ll be less intimidated by it and more open-minded. This will allow us to do what we do best. We’re in the people business. Our job is not to write a great email or come up with a list of candidates if we get to a place where we are recognizing great talent.”
    José believes talent teams now have the ability to craft a message so individuals see something different than what they’re getting and it makes them stop. He calls it the “aha moment.” 
    Focus on relationship-building
    To José, the challenge is getting to that “aha” email. He says, “How do we personalize it? How do we make it representative of our brand? How do we figure out the best way to make that connection? And once we do that, how do we initiate the conversation? Once we have them on the phone or on video, that’s the feature allowing us, as recruiters, to not waste months trying to figure out how to become an expert in a subject we don’t know.
    For a recruiter, it’s not about how many candidates you get through or how many closes. We judge ourselves in terms of the quality of people.” 
    He wants recruiters to spend time developing relationships instead of searching mindlessly through LinkedIn. A tool like ChatGPT handles the remedial work that will eventually burn us out. 
    ChatGPT in action: Intake to email
    Acting as a new recruiter, Justin Ghio demonstrates how to use ChatGPT to:

    Get closer to knowing what good looks like
    Build trust with a hiring manager
    Sound like a quality recruiter to a candidate (in a job field you may know nothing about!)

    What ten questions should I ask a hiring manager about this role?

    Linking to a job description for a Director of Product, Justin asks ChatGPT what ten questions to ask a hiring manager for the role. He points out the results are cookie-cutter questions. So, the next step is to make these more product-focused. He says, “This is where you can really see the power of it. 

    This AI technology is not output-based. It’s input-based. We are always going to be the input to make this technology powerful. Don’t be scared that it’s going to take your job. You are the key that unlocks its potential.”
    Now, with these 10 questions, you might go into the intake meeting and get all the answers. But, you still don’t know much about this rec. 
    Hiring managers want to know: Do you know about this role? Can you sell it to candidates?
    Write me a Boolean string.

    Again, tailor it to the role:

    Justin doesn’t recommend copying this output and launching it into LinkedIn, a CRM, or an ATS. Instead, he considers it a solid starting point. 
    “At Activision Blizzard, we work off buckets to create booleans. This gives you the ability to extend and find candidates quickly. Everything you know about [the company] and everything you learned from the hiring manager based on the questions you got, you then superimpose on the search to continue making it compelling.”
    Then, you might take a deeper dive into who your company is up against.  
    What companies are the main competitors?

    Write a candidate a compelling email
    By now, you’ve: 

    Completed the intake meeting and have good notes.
    Acquitted your target and know what good looks like 
    Evaluated core competitors

    Next, it’s time for outreach. Justin requests a compelling email to a potential candidate. 

    The result is a standard email but Justin wants you to ask yourself: How many quality pieces of iteration can I get done in the next five minutes? 
    Again, ChatGPT offers a starting point. Justin explains it isn’t about getting an entire email. “Maybe it’s to get the first four sentences,  the hook, or a good subject line.”
    Next, he requests something more interesting and creative. 

    “For [Activision Blizzard], which is in the creative space, this is where we see the dividends pay off because the verbiage will change thematically.”
    From here, continue optimizing.
    Make it more concise.

    Justin tells his team, “If you copy and paste this, then send it out, you’ll get a meeting from me on your calendar. But if you’re using bits and pieces, it will help accelerate. 
    Again, in the creative space, it’s really hard to come up with compelling messages for game developers and figure out what will stick. We have to use [tools] to give us a leg up.”

    Justin praises how ChatGPT “points out the key responsibilities, which are parlayed from the job description we fed it. This is extremely helpful and saves time. It allows us to show up to the first meeting with a good candidate instead of making it a two-week process.”
    Using AI in an equitable way
    Establish guidelines
    Justin explains that at Activision Blizzard, AI is “never a decisive step. It is only a guide. We believe any system we have that has automation doesn’t use any simplified output as a determinant factor. It uses it as an indicative factor. 
    It is not deciding anything, but simply giving us inference and the ability to iterate and ideate quicker. There’s power in the ability to draw inferences from candidates.”
    Justin offers further insight with this scenario: 
    “We are familiar with the DEI statistics about candidates not applying for a job when they don’t meet 100% of the qualifications. Let’s take the flip side of this as an example. Let’s say Person A didn’t add technology to their resume because they used it in one project. But their peer, Person B, wrote it on their resume. We can discover, because of AI, there’s a correlation and you should ask Person A about the technology Person B included on their resume. 
    It’s giving that inference to make an even better call. That could be the missing link between an instant reject and a potential hire.” 
    Justin believes the best results come from following guidelines around ChatGPT in combination with your “personal flair and stylistic input.”
    Be intentional
    In the case that AI does have some evil in it, José and his team “go out of [their] way to make sure [they] are investing time and effort into cycling through various demographics. I think that is the best of both worlds. You’re hopefully automating something that will take away the unconscious biases.
    Just in case it wasn’t untrained with AI, you have to be intentional about making sure you’re targeting underrepresented individuals. The best thing is you can do it at a much higher rate.”
    Use a bias checker
    Jenny Cotie Kangas points out that generative AI is trained on everything from the Internet before 2021. She says, “If you’re using it for content generation, it’s really important to have a bias checker like Textio to make sure you’re not biased against people at scale.”
    Tip: Install WebChatGPT, an extension allowing you to integrate post-2021 information into ChatGPT searches.
    A CTO’s take on ChatGPT
    Hired CTO, Dave Walters sees his team using ChatGPT more and more. He says, “We’re finding more opportunities to leverage it and make our lives more efficient. I embrace it.”
    That’s not without caution though.
    At Hired, Dave and his team are trying to “get ahead by setting policies and procedures for when it should and shouldn’t be used, and what you should and should not do with it.
    I recommend getting policies in place so teams know what to do and what not to do. Don’t let that policy be ‘don’t use it.’ You will fall behind. It’s inevitable. People will use it anyway so find the safe ways to implement it and the ways that will benefit your employees, team members, and company.”
    ChatGPT prompt ideas for talent professionals
    How else can ChatGPT help talent pros? Just ask it! Jenny says, “You can ask generative AI to be your consultant to help you figure out where you can use it.” Here’s a simple example for talent acquisition leaders: 

    “I have ChatGPT build my project plans for how I handle the day. If I need to respond to an email, I can take the email and ask it to draft a response.”
    Write a better business case
    Bring ChatGPT a specific situation. Let’s say you’re not getting the candidates you need from your job board advertising. If you need to request more budget, Jenny recommends developing a use case by asking ChatGPT to help you write a compelling argument.
    Support your talent acquisition strategy
    Legislation changes quite often and talent professionals need to stay in the loop to optimize their TA strategy. Jenny explains, “The Colorado Equal Pay Act says to put pay and benefits on a job advertisement. If I’m looking at that with my talent acquisition strategy as just Colorado, I’m missing the bigger picture. Take the block of information about the Colorado Equal Pay Act and take CCPA and New York’s Local Law 144. 
    Then, ask ChatGPT to give the meta implications of these laws to scale that instead of looking at the tiny aspect of a specific piece. That is what we should be using to build talent strategies.” 
    Sharp vs non-sharp questions
    Now that you have some questions to ask, let’s cover how to ask AI effectively. Jenny emphasizes, “You have to ask the right, sharp question to get the answer.” Here’s her example:
    “What is AI?”
    This is a non-sharp question, which will just present a broad response not specific to your individual use case. “Think of generative AI as having all the hats. To get it to respond more precisely, you want to call out the specific hat you need it to wear.” 
    This is what Jenny considers a sharp question, modified to be specific for a stronger output:
    “As a Talent Acquisition leader considering leveraging ChatGPT in my day-to-day, what are some things I should consider choosing to begin?”

    Interested in crafting better candidate outreach? Try our free template. More

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    Early Career Hiring, Using AI in Recruitment, & More: Talk Talent to Me June ’23 Recap

    Catch up on the June 2023 episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast featuring recruiting and talent acquisition leadership who share strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. Plus, tune in to a few special episodes recorded live to share insights and tips on leveraging AI for recruitment. 

    Software engineering to talent acquisition with Tony Kochar, Director of Talent Acquisition at Hearst
    Early career hiring with Ben Siegel, CEO and Co-Founder of Abode 
    Using ChatGPT and generative AI with Jenny Cotie Kangas, Director of Employer Branding and Awareness at PandoLogic and Dave Walters, Chief Technology Officer at Hired
    The advancement and impact of AI with Justin Ghio, Director of Talent Sourcing at Activision Blizzard and José Cong, VP of Talent and Culture at Humane 
    Staying innovative with Daniel Benavides, Director of Talent at Recursion

    1. Tony Kochar, Director of Talent Acquisition at Hearst
    Tony leverages a background in software engineering to bring technical expertise to talent acquisition. Find out what motivated this pivot and what he considers the best use of ChatGPT.  Tony also shares his take on when it’s necessary to insist on working on-site, drawing on data around remote work and productivity. 
    “You have to believe in the companies and you have to believe in the people you are representing and recruiting, your candidates.”
    Listen to the full episode.

    2. Ben Siegel, CEO and Co-Founder of Abode
    Ben’s company, Abode, began as a corporation hiring students to mow lawns for $25 an hour. It has since evolved into a thriving company helping other organizations attract and retain early career talent. This talent group is largely comprised of Gen-Zers. Ben, a Gen-Zer himself, explains what this generation of jobseekers wants and debunks common misconceptions older generations have about them.
    “You can boil everything [Gen-Z jobseekers] want down into four main things; transparency, connections, respect, and expectations.”
    Listen to the full episode.
    3. Jenny Cotie Kangas, Director of Employer Branding and Awareness at PandoLogic and Dave Walters, Chief Technology Officer at Hired
    Live from NYC, this episode delves into generative AI and its role in the world of talent acquisition. Jenny shares how she is conceptualizing AI and leveraging it best, why you don’t have to be afraid of generative AI, and some examples of how to use ChatGPT as a talent professional. Dave shares his thoughts as a tech leader on implementing workplace AI policies and why it’ll be important. 
    “One of the things to remember is, [with] any sort of generative AI, you have to ask the right sharp question to get the answer.” 
    Listen to the full episode.
    4. Justin Ghio, Director of Talent Sourcing at Activision Blizzard and José Cong, VP of Talent and Culture at Humane
    In the next installment of AI in recruitment (live from San Francisco), guests discuss why we should embrace AI. Justin demonstrates how to maximize the potential AI in recruiting. José reiterates why AI is the future and how he and his team use it responsibly. 
    “I hate the terminology ‘artificial intelligence’; it’s augmented intelligence. If we think about it from that perspective, we’re going to be less intimidated by it and we’re going to be more open-minded.”
    Listen to the full episode.
    5. Daniel Benavides, Director of Talent at Recursion
    In this episode, Daniel reminds talent professionals to stay innovative throughout their careers. He says, “You are never too busy to be innovative!” Daniel offers the inside scoop into Recursion’s inclusion model and strategy. He also discusses the company’s employee resource groups and why they are a real community. 
    “I can only speak to my lived experience – I can’t speak to the experience that our [Latinx or Black employees] have – so being able to have an ERG that is focused on that pillar or that marginalized group is key so we can ensure our policies are more inclusive.”
    Listen to the full episode.
    Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?
    Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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    Awareness to Action: How to Build a Fair and Inclusive Hiring Process (VIDEO)

    How do you eliminate bias from the recruitment process? Watch this on-demand webinar to hear experts discuss key findings and data from Hired’s 2023 State of Wage Inequality in the Tech Industry report. Get the approaches used by leading companies to overcome biases, creating a fair and inclusive hiring process.
    Hear from:

    SVP People Strategy, Hired, Sam Friedman
    Director of Talent Acquisition, Cedar, Mike Aldous
    Director of People Enablement, Remote, Amanda Day
    Lead Talent Acquisition, GTM, International, Sonatype, Heidi King-Underwood
    Founder & CEO, Hustle Crew, Abadesi Osunsade

    Read an excerpt of the conversation here and scroll down to access the full webinar. 
    What are commercial benefits to employers adapting to progressive times wanting all employees of all backgrounds to thrive? What do those policies look like?
    Amanda Day
    It’s not surprising to any of us here that diversity can translate into better performance and commercial benefits. I think it includes things from better financial performance, higher productivity of your teams, better employee retention, and higher engagement. There are so many areas this touches on and I think it’s talked about a lot but it can’t go without saying how important that is and how impactful it can be on business success. 
    We also tend to see younger generations not as keen to work for a company not promoting interest and commitment to diversity. That’s really important to consider when you’re looking at attracting and retaining top talent. 
    As for policies, there are so many to approach. It’s really about building a culture in which everyone feels welcome and included. They feel encouraged to speak and you ensure there’s psychological safety. 
    Diversity goes hand in hand with inclusivity. That doesn’t just mean having a diverse group of people. Inclusivity is something else you have to continuously work on and work toward. Make sure people know their voices can are heard and they have a place for sharing. 
    Increased transparency is always really important. It could be having conversations in public channels and public documentation instead of doing a DM or a private email. It can help ensure everyone gets an equal chance to contribute.
    At Remote, we try to make sure even though we’re across different time zones, everyone is always able to contribute and share their perspectives and insights. That’s how we’re going to achieve our best outcomes and be the best that we can be. 
    Mike Aldous
    When I think about the people policies benefitting both the company and the employee, the first that comes to mind is obviously the opportunity or the ability to hire remotely. The industry Cedar is in, which is healthcare, impacts everyone. Our goal is to engage with fifty percent of patients in the US in the next five years, and fifty percent of all patients is fifty percent of everyone in the United States. That’s a really diverse population.
    Cedar has been fortunate to have headquarters in New York City and we have the opportunity to hire people remotely across the US. This allowed us to connect with more underrepresented people for these various opportunities. 
    Second, as the voice of healthcare providers, it’s our job to make patients feel welcomed and confident through their healthcare journey. Every patient is different and has a unique background. To design a product that works for everyone, you need to hire a diverse workforce.
    If we don’t build for the patient’s needs, we risk them seeking care elsewhere or worse avoiding healthcare entirely. 
    We encourage people to block time in their day for childcare and for carpools. Our parental leave policy is sixteen weeks for all parents. We have a lactation support policy to ensure new parents can meet their responsibilities. Those are a few things Cedar’s thinking about. 
    Sam Friedman
    From a diversity perspective, we’ve seen transparency in our every day helps. So, what does your calendar look like? Even as the head of HR, I try to keep my calendar open and have blocks for people to see.
    I do go pick up my son and I am currently nursing my child. I have those blocks on my calendar. If it’s coming from the executive team, hopefully, it means other individuals in the company feel empowered to have that on their calendar too. 
    One thing we are working toward over the last twelve months and have seen a large shift in is being transparent with our salary bands. If we are hiring you to do a job, regardless of where you are or what experience you bring, we want to make sure we’re paying you appropriately. Introducing those salary bands has been a critical policy.
    Watch the full collaborative panel discussion to discover: 

    How to create job descriptions and interviews to invite a diverse range of candidates
    Types of bias affecting hiring decisions
    Strategies for building a more inclusive definition of cultural fit
    How to use technology to reduce bias in the recruitment process More

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    Building a Career at Capital One

    When first starting out, you’re going to want to look for an employer that enables you to perform and gives you the tools you need to grow. For Chesdin, a product manager at Capital One, these were the very same elements he noticed when he was introduced to the company.

    Over a cup of coffee with a Capital One associate, Chesdin learned about our Management Rotation Program (MRP), where recent grads gain business acumen and leadership skills by working with two separate teams, each for a one-year stint. Chesdin—who wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to do with his career—was intrigued by the opportunity to try two different jobs with the same company. 

    He successfully applied to the MRP and started in 2020. 

    “Capital One brought me in and hired what they’ve deemed is a good person with a lot of potential,” said Chesdin, now a product manager. “This place will help you grow and build a solid foundation for an incredible career.”

    Finding career direction

    Chesdin was nervous to start his first rotation as a project manager and analyst for a cybersecurity team. He had no tech background and was afraid of making mistakes.

    His team and manager quickly squashed those fears. They explained their work to Chesdin and were always available for simple and complex questions. Chesdin grew confident enough in the position to help the team plan and mobilize an education program to help Capital One customers improve their cyber security. 

    “There’s a culture here where people want to put you in a situation where you can be great,” Chesdin said. “People respond well when you show a willingness to learn.”

    During Chesdin’s second year with the MRP, he worked as a product manager for a software engineering team that handles a messaging platform for texting and emailing customers. He helped manage projects that improved the quality of messages to customers’ phones.

    He realized—through his time in the second program rotation—that he wanted to continue working on products that help with customer care. So when Chesdin’s time with the MRP ended in 2022, he accepted a position as a product manager for a Capital One team that manages the platform our agents use when speaking to customers.

    “In two years, I figured out some things I did and didn’t like. Both of which are so helpful,” Chesdin said. “It was a big accomplishment for me to finish the MRP and have such a clear idea of what direction to take for my career.”

    Investment for the future

    Chesdin has continued learning well past graduating from the MRP in 2022.

    He regularly sets up Meet & Greets—casual conversations with colleagues across Capital One—to learn about people’s careers and job fields. He blocked off work time to study for and earn certifications in Amazon Web Services and product management. 

    Chesdin also volunteered at a Capital One diversity, inclusion and belonging summit, where he answered questions from high school students and shared how he has found a fulfilling career at the company.

    “Anytime I had a class, a certification I wanted to study for, or any type of learning, my managers and team were all in on me doing it,” Chesdin said. “I haven’t found just a job, but a career. It’s exactly what I was looking for as a student.”

    Head over to Capital One’s profile to learn more about the company and browse open roles, upcoming events, and more. More

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    What Are Software Engineering Recruiters Looking For on Applications?

    As you will begin to notice in your job-hunting adventures, no two application processes are the same. When you’re preparing to apply to more than one company it is important to adjust your strategy accordingly.

    Application processes tend to vary by company, industry, and job level. It could be difficult to know how to make these adjustments as an entry level applicant. One question that’s often asked from candidates is: What are recruiters looking for and how can you impress them?

    At our Job Searching event in January, we invited a panel of industry experts to answer these questions as it pertains to the world of Software Engineering. In our discussion with Tony Burdett, Global University Relations Leader at the NCR Corporation, Heidy Garcia, Early Careers Recruiter at Expedia Group, Iona AlGhafli, TRACK Hiring and Onboarding Lead at General Motors, and Lei Young, Emerging Talent Strategist at Dell Technologies, we learn what it takes to get a job offer at their companies.

    Resume Storytelling

    When it comes to putting together your resume, it’s best not to overthink things. In our recent virtual event, Tony Burdett spoke about how “your resume is kind of like the story of who you are.” He emphasizes prospective candidates to concentrate on the top half of their resumes and really make an effort to make that part shine. If you are someone without much experience to write about, here is what Burdett suggests.

    In addition to your engineering-related experiences, you’ll also want to list all the languages, skills, and tools you’ve worked with and be able to relate that knowledge back to your experience. Are you comfortable with JavaScript and list that as a skill on your resume? Then you must be able to talk about where you learned it and where you’ve applied it as well. As Tony Burdett said, it’s all about the “storytelling” aspect of your resume and how well you can discuss your capabilities and the experiences where they’ve come into play.

    Research the Company You’re Applying To

    When you’re first starting your career, you are going to be very eager to find a job. This being the case, you might make the mistake of applying to multiple companies at once without looking into them.

    While this might seem like you’re saving time, in the end, recruiters can tell if you want a job for a paycheck or because you’re actually passionate about the position. For Iona AlGhafli of General Motors, she believes that what interests potential employees about a company is one of the most important questions that will be asked in an interview. It’s at this time when the recruiter can really get a good understanding of whether or not the candidate is actually passionate about the opportunity.

    If you’re applying for a software engineering position, it is critical that you arm yourself with knowledge regarding that department and the recent applications or projects they’ve worked on. Maybe there is a developer whose work you admire or maybe there is a software they work on that no other company is working with. Whatever the case may be, just make sure you have concrete examples to reference during the application process.

    Make Use of Every Opportunity to Meet & Learn

    The companies our panelists work for (Dell Technologies, General Motors, the NCR Corporation, Expedia Group) are always giving potential candidates a chance to meet and learn a little more about them. In addition to virtual events hosted right here on WayUp, these companies are oftentimes frequenting college campuses for career fairs, info sessions, and more.

    Every recruiter we’ve spoken with encourages students and prospective employees to find and attend as many of these events as possible. On the one hand, it gives you an opportunity to meet with recruiters face to face and make your first impression. On the other, it also gives you an opportunity to see if the company is a good fit for you and gives you something to talk about when you’re interviewing.

    Whether it’s to get a leg up on the interview and application process or to see if you like an employer, company-sponsored events are incredibly conducive to getting a job that fits you.

    Communication is Everything

    Before, during, and after the application process, it is important to communicate in a very professional manner. The first thing you want to make sure you’re doing is being responsive. Whether it’s to schedule your interview or to thank the recruiter for their time, communicating promptly will show them that you are engaged and highly interested in the position. 

    Tony Burdett recommends that applicants think of who they’re talking to as “people that might be potential networking contacts for the future” and to always leave the door open. 

    After an interview, it’s best practice to reach out and thank the hiring manager and/or person you spoke with. However, only reach out once! We know how stressful it can be waiting to find out whether you got a job or not. Don’t let this stress cause you to trouble the recruiter with repeated emails asking about the status of your application as this could make things go south.

    How to Negotiate an Offer

    If an offer is made, there are four things you can do. You can accept, deny, negotiate, or ask for more time to consider. While those first two options are straightforward, it’s when you negotiate or ask for more time that you need to choose your words wisely.

    When you negotiate, it’s best to have another offer to use as leverage. Otherwise, you need to explain the reasons why you think you’re entitled to more money, whether that has to do with your experience or what you’re going to contribute to the company.

    According to Iona AlGhafli, candidates should attach the offer they’re asking to match to their negotiation email. AlGhafli states that it’s important to “own the process” and not to beat around the bush or be indirect. 

    In the case that you want some more time to make your decision on an offer, it is best to ask the recruiter how long you have rather than decide for yourself.

    Don’t Stress Yourself Out

    One of the last pieces of advice we got from our panelists, and this is something they unanimously agreed on, is not to let the application process stress you out. While it can be a nerve-racking endeavor, try to look at it with excitement instead of dread! It might seem like it at the time, but this is not the biggest decision in your life. Job opportunities will come and go, but the right one always finds you eventually!

    One way to increase your chances of finding that perfect match is by keeping up with us on WayUp. Whether it’s our virtual events, blogs, or job boards, we’re here to help you get that offer. Stay tuned for more career tips and ways to land the job of your dreams! More

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    How to Manage Inbound Applications & Rethink Talent Sourcing Analytics: Tips for Recruiters

    Experiencing an overwhelming volume of inbound applications? In a new episode of Talk Talent to Me, LTK’s Global Head of Talent and People Analytics Shally Steckerl shares the importance of balancing application friction and how to optimize the applications coming in (especially when it’s become so easy to apply). 

    With Shally’s insights, let’s explore how to think about talent sourcing analytics in a new way and manage a flood of applications. 

    Handling too many inbound applications

    Shally has noticed a recent increase in candidate volume on LinkedIn. Reflecting on this, he says:

    “It’s more people clicking on jobs. But compared to the per capita click per job per person, it’s gone down. It used to be that a hundred people would be looking for jobs and fifty of them would be clicking on jobs a day. Now, it’s ten thousand people looking for jobs, [and] more like a thousand people clicking them. 

    There’s more indiscriminate clicking. We get the same person applying for dozens of jobs and [LinkedIn’s] Easy Apply doesn’t seem to really be a good idea anymore because we have too many applicants too quickly.” 

    Tools like this enable low-intent candidates and result in a “fire hose of candidates,” which usually means fewer fits for a role but more work for the recruiter. Seeing how much time and money this wastes, Shally encourages talent professionals to shift to a big-picture view. 

    Related: Connect with a curated pool of highly qualified tech candidates on Hired.

    Evaluate your hiring tools

    Shally points out teams may be spending a lot of money on a tool “where only a quarter of one percent of the people is getting hired.” Can you relate?

    Related: How to Secure Approval for New Tech Tools (Free Template)

    “There are other tools where I’m spending less and getting more hires per capita. I need to think about that and try to improve the conversion of quality from LinkedIn by essentially decreasing the volume.

    All the different aspects of recruiting start to come under the microscope and into question. Are they a good return on investment? As a recruiter, you want all the money to spend on all the tools because you don’t know what’s going to work. But when it’s your budget, you really start to look at what you’re spending your money on in a different way.”

    Related: Get Internal Approval for Recruiting Tools: A Step-by-Step Playbook

    4 Ways to better balance the hiring process

    Over the last few years, there’s been a lot of talk about how important it is to reduce friction in the application process. That might include:

    Removing the cover letter 

    Not asking applicants for information already on their resume

    Making the job application process mobile-friendly

    But then the floodgates open.

    Shally believes there needs to be a balance when it comes to reducing friction. “You want to reduce friction so you’re not making it inordinately awkward and difficult to apply. [At the same time,] you don’t want to reduce friction to the point where people can indiscriminately apply.”

    So what can you do to achieve a balance? He suggests the following strategies.

    1. Advertise jobs more selectively

    “You could use, for example, programmatic advertising. This would spend your advertising dollars on destinations producing the outcome you want. Rather than looking for the outcome to be an indiscriminate number of applications, now we need to measure the source based on the percentage of interviews it generates.

    Let’s say Source A has a hundred applicants but produced five interviews. Source B has ten applicants but also produced five interviews. Source B is producing higher quality per capita so I need to look at that.”

    2. Prioritize outcomes over activity

    “Activity refers to clicks and applies, which are really not relevant anymore. The outcome would be an interview or other results downstream. At the very least, you should be looking at which ones are making it to the interview because that’s a good indicator.” 

    More on this later… 

    3. Improve job description readability

    A few tips to keep in mind:

    Make job descriptions more gender-neutral. 

    Make job descriptions interesting and appealing. 

    Structure the order of information and how much information is present. 

    Make job descriptions shorter (without removing the interesting parts).

    Keep your company brand, mission, and vision apparent without excess text and long lists of bullet points.

    Shally says you might say, “‘If you’re interested in this kind of job, you landed in the right place.’ or ‘This is the kind of job for people like this. If this is you or you are someone who does this, then this is the job.’ 

    Then you have a little bit about what’s exciting about a job, the requirements to qualify the candidates, and the nice parts. Somebody will read that and know they’re in the right place and check those boxes. All the details need to be succinctly visible on the page.” 

    You’ll also have people looking at the job and realizing it’s not a fit for them. They might actually opt out after looking at the minimum qualifications or because they don’t align with the mission. This provides an effective filter to reach the right people. 

    4. Enhance employer brand

    It’s also possible you have a high volume of applicants because people are just looking at the job and have no idea what your company does. Address this by creating an employer branding campaign to make more people aware of what your company does. 

    “That way, they don’t have to determine that from the job posting itself. Candidates instead focus on reading the job requirements to see if they’re a fit.”

    Related: 8 Ways to Hire Faster & Build a Better Employer Brand

    Rethink your hiring metrics

    In this episode, Shally emphasizes a focus on the quality of a hire over the activity numbers game. When evaluating the best sources, he likes to compare which source led to the most amount of interviews. 

    So, why the interview? Why not go further back or ahead? 

    Once you get a candidate and a hiring manager to agree to meet with each other (whether they actually do or not), consider it a win. This is still a positive indicator of quality according to Shally. Where things tend to no longer depend on a recruiter’s ability to attract people is beyond the interview. 

    “Before the interview, we can’t measure quality because all we know is they applied – unless you want to look at every resume.

    Anything beyond the interview is out of the control of the recruiter because the hiring manager is the one conducting the interviews to determine the actual hiring of a candidate.” 

    Let’s consider the end of the funnel – the number of job offers. Here, you’re “looking at the quality of the entire process. That’s not just the source of the applicants. It’s the source of the interview experience, compensation, employment brand, hiring manager competencies as an interviewer, background check, and market conditions. These things don’t need to be tied to that source.

    You would be crediting a source for an offer when, in reality, there’s more to the offer than the source. However, there’s not much more to the interview than the source.” 

    Level up your talent sourcing  

    Want more insight into reaching high-quality candidates in a flood of applicants? Download this eBook to uncover 8 ways to prevent and/or handle an overwhelming amount of inbound applications.

    If your team needs some temporary or long-term help sourcing candidates for tech or sales roles, Hired can help! As an extension of your team, Hired Sourcers shortlist, screen, and manage communications to keep the process moving. Learn more about Hired Technical Sourcing services.

    Want more insights just for recruiters?

    Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping recruitment and talent acquisition—straight from top experts themselves. More