Recruiting

Subterms

    Latest story

    125 Shares139 Views

    New Research Exposes the Dog-Eat-Dog World of Big Tech Recruiting

    by

    A recent study from Switch On Business delved into the dynamics of talent recruitment and retention in the competitive tech industry.
    It provided detailed insights into the transfer of talent among rival tech giants like Google, Meta, IBM, Amazon, and Apple. For instance, it showed that 26.51% of Meta’s workforce has previously worked at another tech giant. At the same time, the study highlighted how Apple’s recruitment policy is driven by poaching staff from Intel, Microsoft, and Google.
    The main takeaway for tech recruiters is straightforward: There are so many opportunities to bring in talent from rival firms. However, recruiters must take a proactive and creative approach to capturing and holding the attention of highly skilled professionals who know they are in high demand.
    You can find the full details of the study in the charts below, as well as some tips and advice on becoming a more successful tech recruiter.
    The challenge of being a big tech recruiter
    Recruiting top talent for big tech roles presents many challenges.
    Firstly, the demand for tech talent far exceeds the supply, creating a severe talent shortage. The competition is fierce, with tech giants and startups vying for the same pool of candidates. This scarcity forces recruiters to think creatively and proactively reach out to passive candidates who may not actively seek new opportunities.
    The rapid pace of technological innovation means that the skills required for these roles are constantly evolving. Keeping up with these changes and accurately assessing a candidate’s proficiency in emerging technologies is now an essential part of any big-tech recruiter’s job.
    Then there’s the critical issue of diversity and inclusion. To satisfy big tech’s commitment to diversity, recruiters must actively seek out underrepresented talent and ensure their hiring processes are inclusive and unbiased.
    Why big tech recruiters should be headhunting from rivals
    Recruiters for big tech companies target talent from rival big tech firms for several reasons, including:

    Industry-Specific Expertise: Employees from rival firms come with relevant industry knowledge and technical expertise, reducing training time and allowing for a smoother transition into new roles.
    Proven Track Record: Professionals from other big tech firms have a proven track record of success in high-pressure, innovative environments. They’re the kind of people who can hit the ground running.
    Cultural fit: Having worked in similar corporate environments, these individuals are more likely to adapt quickly to the culture of another big tech firm. They’re also more likely to stay long-term, which is good for them, the company, and a recruiter’s bonus structure.

    How to entice big tech talent away from rival firms
    Software engineers, coders, and data analysts are never short of offers. As any recruiter will tell you, big tech recruitment is the epitome of a buyer’s market.
    So, if recruiters want to poach the best talent for their clients, they need to understand what that talent is looking for.
    Here’s a list of top tips for recruiters on the hunt for big tech talent:

    Understand the Candidate’s Motivations: Research what motivates candidates. Ask about career advancement, better work-life balance, exciting projects, or a more attractive compensation package.
    Personalize Outreach: Customize communications to show that you’ve done your homework about the candidate.
    Highlight Unique Opportunities: Emphasize unique opportunities that the candidate might not have in their current role, like working on cutting-edge projects or a more relaxed corporate culture.
    Offer Competitive Compensation Packages: Be prepared to offer add-ons to compensation packages, including benefits, bonuses, stock options, and relocation expenses.
    Stress Cultural Fit: Show how the candidate’s values and work style align with your company’s culture. This is often as important as a big salary.
    Prepare for Counteroffers: Be ready to negotiate if the candidate receives a counteroffer from their current employer because this will happen.
    Be Patient and Persistent: High-caliber candidates often require a more extended courting period. Be patient, keep the lines of communication open, and regularly check-in.

    Recruiting for big tech roles is a complex process defined by talent shortages, evolving skill requirements, and intense competition.
    Recruiters must adapt and employ innovative strategies to identify and attract the best candidates in this ever-evolving landscape. It’s not an easy job. But those who master the process will smash their targets and make some very nice monthly commission payments.
    Ashley Murphy graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Manchester. He began working as a freelance content writer in 2015. He covers technology, business and careers for Switch on Business. 
    Share this post: More

    More stories

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Employer

      HelloFresh: Solving a Global Talent Challenge with Upskilled Talent Engagement

      by

      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.
      Share this post: More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Employer

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

      by

      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

    • 75 Shares149 Views

      in Talent Acquisition

      The Rise of Passive Candidate Recruitment

      by

      The global talent shortage is a major challenge for businesses of all sizes. In the United States alone, there are currently 11 million open jobs. This means that there are more job openings than people are looking for work.
      One way that businesses are addressing this challenge is by targeting passive candidates. Passive candidates are people who are not actively looking for a new job, but who might be open to a new opportunity if the right one comes along.
      There are several reasons why businesses are targeting passive candidates. First, the pool of passive candidates is much larger than the pool of active candidates. This means that businesses have a better chance of finding the right talent by targeting passive candidates.
      Second, passive candidates are often more experienced and qualified than active candidates. This is because passive candidates are typically already employed and have been successful in their current roles.
      Third, passive candidates are more likely to be a good fit for the company culture. This is because passive candidates are not actively looking for a new job, so they are more likely to be happy with their current situation.
      Atlas World Group’s Approach to Passive Candidate Recruitment
      Atlas World Group is a global logistics company that has been struggling to fill key positions in IT and technology. In order to address this challenge, they have shifted their focus to primarily targeting passive candidates.
      Atlas’s approach to passive candidate recruitment is two-fold. First, they use LinkedIn Recruiter to target passive candidates who have the skills and experience they are looking for. Second, they leverage the social media of their current team members to share job openings with their networks.
      The Benefits of Targeting Passive Candidates
      There are several benefits to targeting passive candidates. First, it allows businesses to reach a wider pool of potential talent. Second, it gives businesses the opportunity to build relationships with passive candidates before they are actively looking for a new job. Third, it allows businesses to target passive candidates who are a good fit for their company culture.

      Start by building a strong employer brand. Passive candidates are more likely to be interested in your company if they have a positive impression of your brand.
      Make it easy for passive candidates to learn about your open positions. Your job postings should be clear and concise, and you should make it easy for candidates to apply online.
      Personalize your outreach. When you reach out to passive candidates, take the time to personalize your message. This will show that you are genuinely interested in their skills and experience.
      Highlight your company culture. Passive candidates are more likely to be interested in a company that has a strong culture. Be sure to highlight your company culture in your outreach materials.
      Offer opportunities for growth. Passive candidates are often looking for opportunities to grow their careers. Be sure to highlight the opportunities for growth that your company offers.

      Conclusion
      The global talent shortage is a major challenge for businesses of all sizes. However, by targeting passive candidates, businesses can increase their chances of finding the right talent. Atlas World Group is a great example of a company that has successfully implemented a passive candidate recruitment strategy. By following Atlas’s example, businesses can overcome the challenges of the global talent shortage and find the right talent to help them achieve their goals.

      To follow Kelly Cruse’s work in employer brand, connect with her on LinkedIn. For help identifying the values and culture you want to create in your company, get in touch.
      Share this post: More

    • 200 Shares169 Views

      in Employer

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

      by

      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

    • 163 Shares179 Views

      in Employer

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

      by

      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

    • 200 Shares189 Views

      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

    • 188 Shares169 Views

      in Employer

      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

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Employer

      How to Use AI in Recruitment: Insights from Activision Blizzard’s Talent Sourcing Director

      by

      Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is taking every industry by storm and tech recruiting is no exception. In a new episode of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast, Activision Blizzard Director of Talent Sourcing Justin Ghio encourages talent professionals to view AI as a tool to enhance productivity and hiring processes. 

      Any recruiter or TA professional knows how precious time is… and how time-consuming the talent search can be. AI helps free up recruiters and TA teams to focus on what they do best: relationship-building and delivering exceptional candidate experiences.

      With Justin’s insights, let’s explore how AI empowers recruiters and TA professionals.

      AI meets Talent Acquisition & Human Resources

      While AI can feel overwhelming and even a bit scary in such people-centered roles, Justin assures talent professionals it’s not something to fear. 

      He says, “I feel the perception is ‘It’s going to take my job. It’s going to replace everything I’m doing.’ But currently, it’s more about how you can make it work for yourself and understanding its limitation. I think that’s something we’ve realized: it can’t do everything from start to finish for me.”

      Justin encourages TA professionals to focus on “how to use it to speed up processes and ideation without replacing what we do best.”

      Reflecting on AI in HR tech, Justin explains it’s being “sold as something so much broader and bigger in our industry versus the incremental steps. AI is never going to close a candidate… or talk to an international candidate about types of credit cards to open while they’re abroad to build credit in the US. Those are human conversations. Those are things we still have to broker. We use the technology to get us to those conversations, but not impede them.”

      So, how exactly can AI help you? 

      Justin shares a few ways AI supports talent activities: 

      Enhance candidate sourcing

      Uplevel candidate communications

      Let’s review some examples of how talent professionals and AI might join forces. 

      1. Enhance candidate sourcing with AI

      Justin finds the underlying AI’s natural language processing technology to be quite useful. Gone are the days of having to write developer and programmer and engineer. AI knows those are the same. 

      Simply write “software developer” and anyone with the title “programmer” or “engineer” will surface too. “You’re saving time that scales out infinitely across your user base and second to second for recruiters.” 

      Related: Hired Releases 2023 State of Software Engineers Report

      The same goes for sending a message, then clicking “Contact Attempt One.” You probably don’t need to do both of those actions so rely on a machine that knows If the user sends an email, it moves the candidate to “Contact Attempt One” If they reply, it moves it to “Bonded.” Ditch the notepad and tally list on your desk. Justin encourages you to “lean on the AI to manage a lot of that minutia.”

      Activision leans largely on AI for skill adjacency to target mid and entry-level candidates. “We’re able to see a match score based on someone’s skill rating. AI is looking at peers of individuals at organizations and based on skills they have, helps me understand the questions I need to ask. 

      AI will verify the individual has a particular skill or that we need to confirm it because someone who worked there has this skill, but they don’t have it on their resume. The days of someone forgetting something on their resume will hopefully be forgotten as we move and the technology matures.”

      While Justin believes Boolean search will still be a differentiating skill set, he does think: 

      “Those who don’t use AI technology to speed up the iteration process will be left behind. I think the people who will continue to be the best Boolean searchers are the ones who can use AI to get 60-80% of the way there. 

      Add the special sauce

      Then, they put their special sauce on top and allow it to become uniquely their version of that boolean. This will continue to allow people to be great at those sub-skills in the world of sourcing.”

      And by “special sauce,” Justin is referring to the human touch. 

      After all, he says “Nobody’s excited about being the best phone screen scheduler. People are excited about being really memorable on the phone. They’re excited about being really punctual with getting things on the books with candidates and having meaningful conversations where candidates feel like they’re being respected, heard, and being given opportunities in the organization.”

      2. Uplevel candidate communications 

      Those human moments are what make working in recruiting or talent acquisition special.  “At Activision, we look at how to leverage technology to help us do more of what we’re best at…You’re better at a lot more dynamic parts. You work with candidates very well.” 

      Related: Find your next opportunity in TA with Hired’s Tech Recruitment Collective

      When it comes to making the case for this technology internally, Justin says the key is “understanding where that point of finality is – where that stopping point of what the technology is or isn’t.”

      You want to capture how to leverage it to a certain point. “Our philosophy isn’t to use it to send all emails. It’s used to write ten rough copies. Then, take two or three of them and customize them.” Use AI to deliver something in five minutes which typically takes an hour.

      When evaluating AI tools, how can talent professionals ensure they are being fair and equitable to candidates?

      Justin advises you to consider these three questions: 

      How does this work? 

      Why does it work this way? 

      What happens if I want to change it?

      It’s essential to grasp the underpinnings and leverage them in a use case applicable to your environment. “There should be an underlying human element. Being able to author rules over top of the machine is really what I would have people ask vendors about,” Justin says.

      Embrace collaborative intelligence

      Justin views AI as “an invaluable tool to help us accelerate the ideation already happening in TA.” Recognize that AI is not a replacement for human expertise but a powerful tool to augment and accelerate recruitment processes. Think of AI as your strategic ally. It works best in collaboration with human expertise. 

      Unlock its potential to drive efficiency, increase productivity, and attract top talent quickly. With the right approach, it can revolutionize recruitment while preserving the invaluable human touch that defines successful hiring. 

      Start plugging in those prompts and questions keeping in mind you now “have a jumping-off point. It’s really for that starting block, not the ending.” 

      Interested in unlocking the power of AI in recruitment?

      Learn to use game-changing sourcing and recruiting practices with AI. Join the Talk Talent to Me workshop on Wednesday, May 24 at 6 pm PT at the Minna Gallery in SoMa. Top talent leaders in San Francisco will explore what AI means for the talent world and how you can use it to create powerful candidate experiences. More