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      in Talent Acquisition

      Using Data-driven Hiring to Edge out the Competition

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      When times are good, and business is booming, companies can afford to make a few mistakes and sweep a few imperfections “under the rug.” And that’s okay. No process is perfect. However, when business slows down and it’s time for spring cleaning, what was swept under the rug comes to light.
      In other words, during periods of quick growth, companies tend to sacrifice quality of hire for speed. The effects of these decisions surface most clearly when the pace slows down. That can be a sobering moment for companies that stop and take stock of the decisions that worked for them and the ones that worked against them. Recruiting efficiency is an area that is quickly and clearly exposed when this happens. The inefficiencies and the lack — or absence — of sound hiring practices can be seen in cost per hire, turnover, and retraining costs.
      To find improvements in any process, businesses look at data.
      Data, data, everywhere
      We’re not talking about boiling the ocean, but there is meaningful information that can be gathered and put to use everywhere in the recruiting process. Hiring leaders who do not operate with this mindset leave money on the table, which again, is easy to measure in terms of increased cost per hire, decreasing retention, or unsustainable retraining costs.
      Without data measurement, organizations cannot optimize for “all-weather” efficiency.
      Smashfly CMO Lori Sylvia goes all in on the importance of measuring talent data when she says, “If you can’t measure it, it didn’t happen.”
      This is not a call to recruiters to build sophisticated data models, but rather to critically think about how data can help determine who they should be hiring for and how they can best appeal to them.
      Knowing that data is all around us, the question needed to make use of it is: “What data points are the most meaningful to me for this process?” Here are a few tips for recruiters — of all levels — to make leveraging data easy, impactful, and second nature.
      Ask yourself who fits into the talent pool for your business
      The last part is important here. Someone may check all the boxes for the job description and still not succeed at your organization. It can come down to various factors, like culture, level of training, the ability to multitask, or teamwork. Whatever the reason is, hiring success depends on going a level deeper into the candidate profile than the resume.
      Let’s go over an example where the goal was to reduce the number of conversations and increase the quality of conversations with candidates. Brendan Browne, VP of Global Talent Acquisition at LinkedIn, was looking for candidates to fill an engineering role. They took a quality-affinity approach that measured the candidate’s qualifications (their quality) and how highly they thought of the company (their affinity). The criteria for affinity included asking three yes/no questions:

      Do they follow the company?
      Do they share relevant content on their profile?
      Do they have a meaningful first-degree connection?

      Upon reaching out to candidates who ranked higher in affinity, the team experienced a 57% increase in the response rate.
      There was nothing highly technical about the process. It just came down to the team figuring out what data points from each candidate were meaningful to collect. It’s an easy exercise that can be applied across companies and roles.
      Take a microscope to your outreach
      Keep track of your messages. Recruiters shouldn’t shy away from testing new copy, subject lines, and time of day for their candidate outreach. It’s the most obvious yet overlooked metric to gauge the effectiveness of your outreach. Doing this enough will give you a sense of what tone is resonating most with your candidate pool.
      To have reliable data, one cardinal rule is to test one thing at a time. For example, measure how two different groups react to a different subject line or call-to-action alone rather than changing both at the same time.
      If your message has reached a point where you feel it is well and truly optimized and it’s still not meeting your goals, shift your focus to identify weak spots in the candidate journey. There may be moments where engagement is dropping off for enough candidates, signaling a trend to address with an alternative approach — and then measure the success of.
      Think about who else is talking to your dream candidate
      Chances are, the competition is also talking to the same candidates as you. Keeping tabs on competitor hiring activity can help inform your hiring strategy. Think about what the hiring experience is like for the candidate when they talk to you, versus the competition. Check out competitors’ job descriptions and ask yourself:

      How do they communicate the employer value proposition to prospective candidates?
      How candid are they about the salary and benefits they’re offering?
      How much of the company culture and company values shine through in the description?
      How easy or intuitive is the application process?
      Do they show the prospect genuine gratitude for their consideration?
      What would I look to improve in this experience?

      Doing this, even once in a while, helps make sure you’re not falling behind the competition and gives you an opportunity to raise the bar by brainstorming and implementing improvements to your candidate experience.
      Being data-savvy is simply knowing how to answer your biggest questions
      For recruiters, useful information is everywhere. The easiest way to benefit from a data-driven mindset is not to overthink it. Simply start asking questions about any aspect of your recruiting process, and then take measurements to uncover answers.
      The more confident you are about the data you have on talent, their affinity for your company, and your competition’s practices, the better your process will be in finding and appealing to the best candidates.
      Shannon Pritchett is Head of Community at both hireEZ and Evry1 (which she co-founded in 2021). As a talent acquisition leader, she remains passionate about connecting companies with their most valuable asset — people.
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      in Employer

      Learning & Development, Soft Skills, Cybersecurity & More: Talk Talent to Me July ’23 Recap

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      Catch up on the July 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. 

      Learning and development with Christina Pinheiro, VP of People at Sibros
      Soft skills with Stephane Rivard, CEO & Co-Founder of HiringBranch
      Why cybersecurity is so important for individuals and companies with Jane Frankland, Cybersecurity Expert and Founder of The Source
      The difference between talent attraction and talent acquisition with Victoria Myers, Global Lead for Talent Attraction at Amdocs

      1. Christina Pinheiro, VP of People at Sibros
      In this episode, Christina discusses what sparked her passion for helping people and creating a positive employee experience, which ultimately led to a career in HR. She shares her thoughts and views on the impact of learning and development, and what that looks like at Sibros through their Lunch and Learn sessions. She tells listeners about her favorite session on Interview Bias, and what she thinks about anonymizing parts of the interviewing process. 
      “I really emphasize on the benefits of continuous learning and [how] attending these sessions contributes to personal and professional growth.” 
      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Stephane Rivard, CEO & Co-Founder of HiringBranch
      Stephane shares how his company HiringBranch is revolutionizing hiring by creating a platform where candidates can showcase their abilities in real-time simulated scenarios. He highlights the importance of soft skills and explains how HiringBranch’s assessment works, breaking down the types of skills they assess in candidates. Plus, hear his insights into the AI recruitment revolution, which may just be paving the way for a more accurate and effective way of finding the right talent.
      Related: ChatGPT in Recruitment: How to Unlock its Power & Increase Efficiency
      “What [the HiringBranch platform] does, especially for high volume jobs, [is give] you a standardized way to evaluate everyone.”
      Listen to the full episode.
      3. Jane Frankland, Cybersecurity Expert and Founder of The Source
      Jane is a tech entrepreneur, author, speaker, advisor, and founder. She has identified several discrepancies in the hiring process and in this episode, she shares her advice for ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace from the get-go.
      “We have a real problem with wellbeing [in the cybersecurity industry]; with mental health, with brain health, with stress and burnout. It’s absolutely horrific. It’s at a higher level than healthcare workers at the moment.”
      Listen to the full episode.
      4. Victoria Myers, Global Lead for Talent Attraction at Amdocs
      In this episode, we dive into the fascinating field of segmented recruiting marketing. Victoria explains Amdocs’ forward-thinking, long-term approach to talent attraction and acquisition and how they are bringing it to life through their newly-developed AI-driven talent marketplace. After listening, you’ll understand the difference between talent attraction and talent acquisition, what a successful proactive sourcing model looks like, and why you should always try to do work you love!
      “At the end of the day, the best experience in the world is giving someone an offer and them saying, ‘Yes, I accept.’ That is rewarding work right there!”
      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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      in Employer

      Unlock the Power of ChatGPT in Recruitment: How to Increase Efficiency

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      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

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      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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      in Employer

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

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

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      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

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      in Employer

      AI in Talent Acquisition, Talent Sourcing Analytics, & More: Talk Talent to Me May ’23 Recap

      by

      Catch up on the May 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. 

      AI in talent acquisition with Justin Ghio, Director of Talent Sourcing at Activision Blizzard

      Talent sourcing and people analytics with Shally Steckerl, Global Head of Talent Sourcing and People Analytics at LTK 

      Hiring and building a successful team with Erica Maureen Carder, Head of Talent Lifecycle at Wellthy

      1. Justin Ghio, Director of Talent Sourcing at Activision Blizzard

      AI is taking every industry by storm and tech recruiting is no exception. Justin encourages talent professionals to view AI in recruitment as a tool to enhance productivity and hiring processes. He explains everything he knows about AI in the talent sphere, why it is misunderstood, and how to make it work for you. Read this blog to dive deeper into the episode.

      “AI can’t do everything from start to finish for me. What it can do is give me 10 options to look at faster than I can think through one option.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Shally Steckerl, Global Head of Talent Sourcing and People Analytics at LTK 

      Shally shares why we need to find talent-sourcing tools other than LinkedIn, the importance of balancing application friction, and how to optimize the applications coming in (especially when it’s free to apply). He tells us why he considers the interview set-up to be the first marker of recruitment success – and why recruitment success should not only be based on the number of hires.

      “You want to reduce friction so that you’re not making it inordinately awkward and difficult to apply but you also don’t want to reduce friction to a point where people can indiscriminately apply. There’s that fine balance.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      3. Erica Maureen Carder, Head of Talent Lifecycle at Wellthy

      For Erica, finding the right kind of employees – ones prone to growth and seeking out challenges – is fundamental to success. She talks about why this individual attitude is the number one thing she looks for in prospective hires. She also shares what makes for capable employees and why there are no perfect candidates out there.

      “If you have employees that are stagnant, guess what? They are not going to be engaged.”

      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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      Too Many Inbound Job Applicants But Not Enough Qualified Ones? 8 Tactics to Solve It

      by

      As a recruiter, talent acquisition specialist, or hiring manager, you may have experienced an overwhelming number of inbound job applicants. Sadly, with the ease of online job submissions, many of the candidates won’t meet the requirements but apply anyway. While a high number of job applicants could be described as a “good” problem, it creates new problems when the majority are poor matches. 

      This makes the recruitment and hiring process challenging and consumes valuable time, especially on lean teams or in startups without dedicated recruiters, to sift through resumes to find qualified candidates. Fortunately, there are a few strategies and tactics to handle too many inbound applicants to a job but not enough qualified ones.

      In this eBook, we’ll cover 8 ways to prevent and/or handle it when you have a flood of inbound candidates. But first, ask yourself…

      Do You Need to Post Jobs Online?

      There’s no rule that says you need to list your open roles on your site or within other channels, especially if you:

      Don’t have the capacity to handle an overwhelmed inbound pipeline

      Your company has had a reduction in force (RIF) or layoffs in the last six to 12 months. The optics of open roles, especially if they’re similar to eliminated ones, is bad for your employer brand and employee morale. 

      Only have a few roles to fill due to internal changes or attrition

      Outbound Candidates are 5x More Likely to Be Hired than Inbound

      According to a 2022 article, companies saw greater success in hiring outbound candidates versus inbound candidates. Why? As one SVP of Talent said about inbound, “It’s the lowest-quality and lowest-ROI channel you have because of the sheer volume and lack of strategy involved.” 

      Advice from LTK’s Global Head of Talent Sourcing and People Analytics on Too Many Inbound Job Applicants

      In a new episode of Talk Talent to Me, LTK’s Shally Steckerl reflects on the recent increase in candidate volume he sees on LinkedIn:

      “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, but 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.

      The Big Picture Point of View of Too Many Inbound Job Applicants

      Shally’s solution includes reducing friction just the right amount so there’s a balance in how easy it is to apply for positions. He suggests strategies including improving job description readability, enhancing employer brand, and prioritizing outcomes over activity. 

      In fact, Shally emphasizes a focus on the quality of a hire over the activity (clicks and applies) numbers game.

      So, what exactly should you be doing to reach those quality candidates in a flood of applicants? Use this eBook to uncover 8 ways to prevent and/or handle an overwhelming amount of inbound candidates. More