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    How to Avoid Job Scam Tactics on Social Media

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    Job scams have become increasingly sophisticated, targeting unsuspecting job seekers with a variety of deceptive tactics. Cybercriminals exploit the vulnerability of individuals seeking employment, often using fraudulent job postings, phishing emails, and social engineering techniques to lure victims into sharing sensitive personal information.
    A new report from Heimdal reveals key insights into the growing threat of job scams. Based on an analysis of 2,670 social media posts and comments from victims in 2023 and 2024, the report highlights common scam tactics, targeted industries, and key red flags job seekers should be aware of.
    These findings provide important insights for job seekers, as well as businesses and platforms working to counter these scams.
    Key findings of the study

    Most targeted industries: The finance and IT sectors are the hardest hit, accounting for 35.45% and 30.43% of scam cases, respectively. The healthcare industry follows at 15.41%.
    Remote work risk: Remote positions are increasingly targeted, with 43% of scam posts mentioning remote jobs, followed closely by on-site (42%) and hybrid roles (15%).
    High-value roles: Managers and entry-level candidates are the primary targets, with 35% of scams focusing on managers and 34% on entry-level roles.
    Contact methods: Email is the top method scammers use, responsible for 30.75% of cases, followed by social media (20.19%) and websites (19.79%).
    Scam characteristics: The most common job scam tactics include suspicious contact information (41.1%), unrealistic salary offers (25.7%), and misleading job descriptions (10.6%).

    Red flags for job seekers:
    The study identified several red flags commonly associated with job scams, including:

    Upfront payment requests (25.08%)
    Phishing attempts (18.81%)
    Requests for confidential information (17.49%)
    No interview process (15.84%)
    Fake job offers (12.21%)
    Poorly written job descriptions (10.56%)

    Emotional impact on victims:
    In addition to financial losses, job scams are taking a significant toll on victims’ mental health:

    35.29% of victims reported experiencing distress,
    followed by 23.53% reporting anxiety,
    and 9.41% expressing anger.

    Preventive measures:
    The report highlights several strategies job seekers can use to avoid falling victim to scams, including:

    Checking company reviews (26.96%)
    Verifying company information (22.87%)
    Consulting trusted friends (19.46%)
    Verifying email domains and checking company websites for legitimacy.

    To protect themselves from job scams, job seekers should be vigilant and exercise caution when applying for jobs. It is important to verify the legitimacy of job offers, avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments, and never share personal information with unknown individuals or organizations. By staying informed and taking proactive measures, job seekers can minimize their risk of falling victim to these deceptive schemes.

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      in Employer

      How to Attract China’s Top Grads: Unveiling What Makes Your Company Tick

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      China’s a goldmine of young talent, but competition for the best is fierce. How do you stand out as an employer in the face of a crowded market? Link Humans analyst Sveta Karniyenka has broken down the key drivers for entry-level talent, giving you the edge you need.
      Forget just offering a good salary. Today’s grads crave more. They want to develop, climb the career ladder, and feel valued. Here’s your 4-pronged attack plan, based on Link Humans’ research:
      1. Learning & Development: Sharpen Their Skills, Sharpen Your Edge

      Mentorship Matters: Fresh grads are eager to learn from the best. Implement a formal mentorship program pairing them with seasoned pros. Watch their confidence and expertise soar.
      Training that Sticks: Don’t waste their time on generic programs. Invest in targeted training relevant to their roles and career aspirations. This shows you’re committed to their long-term growth, not just filling a seat.
      Embrace On-the-Job Learning: Tasks aren’t just tasks; they’re learning opportunities. Provide opportunities for them to shadow senior colleagues, participate in cross-functional projects, and tackle challenging assignments.

      2. Career Progression: Show Them the Path, Not Just the Door

      Clear Career Paths: Don’t leave them guessing. Outline clear career progression paths within your company. This transparency demonstrates your commitment to their long-term future.
      Internal Mobility: Don’t stifle ambition. Encourage movement within departments so they can explore different areas and discover their true passions.
      Succession Planning: Integrate entry-level talent into your succession plan. Knowing they have the potential to climb the ladder is a huge motivator. Link Humans highlights this as a key factor for attracting top talent.

      3. Management & Organization: Culture Counts

      Empowerment, Not Micromanagement: Give them ownership of their work. Trust them to make decisions, and provide the support they need to succeed.
      Flat Hierarchies: Break down silos and encourage open communication. Young talent thrives in environments where they can easily access senior leadership and have their voices heard.
      Work-Life Balance is Non-Negotiable: China’s hustle culture is real, but burnout is a recipe for disaster. Promote a healthy work-life balance with flexible work arrangements and clear boundaries.

      4. Benefits & Perks: Sweeten the Deal, But Don’t Forget the Basics

      Competitive Salaries & Benefits: It’s all about the package. Offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance, paid leave, and retirement plans.
      More Than Just a Paycheck: Think beyond the traditional. Offer perks like gym memberships, free lunches, or even onsite childcare. These demonstrate you value their well-being and go the extra mile for employee satisfaction.
      Social & Teambuilding Activities: Foster camaraderie and a sense of belonging. Organize team outings, social events, and volunteer opportunities. These create lasting memories and build strong professional relationships.

      Remember: It’s a Two-Way Street
      Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. Be transparent in your job descriptions about your company culture and career development opportunities. Highlight success stories of past entry-level hires who’ve thrived within your organization.
      Leverage the Right Platforms:
      China’s digital landscape is vast. Target your recruitment efforts on popular platforms like WeChat, Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese counterpart), and job boards like 51job and Liepin.
      By implementing these strategies, you’ll transform yourself from just another job opening to a magnet for China’s brightest young minds. Remember, it’s an investment in your company’s future. A highly motivated, skilled, and loyal workforce is the backbone of any successful organization.
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      in Workplace

      Overthinking is Not a Disorder, it’s a Superpower

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      Most of us are no strangers to experiencing feelings of overwhelm and disruption caused by our own thoughts, commonly understood as overthinking. Research shows we are becoming more anxious as a nation, and it’s no wonder, given the various external factors such as the cost-of-living crisis and global political conflict that have taken place over the past couple of years.
      While a certain amount of overthinking can be constructive, it has the potential to quickly consume us and, in extreme cases, can have a detrimental effect on our mental health and work performance. Overthinking can also lead to tensions within teams, causing you to over-analyze actions of yourself or others or check up on people more frequently. Let’s face it: nobody likes being micro-managed.
      While many factors influence our individual causes of overthinking, it’s easier to stay in control when we have a deeper understanding of why we are overthinking.
      Firstly, how do we define ‘overthinking’?
      Research shows that overthinking – whether it’s in our personal or professional lives – can have serious effects on our well-being and mental and physical health. There’s a fine line between what constitutes constructive critical thinking to make more informed decisions versus overthinking. Critical thinking typically revolves around a clear purpose, driven by logic and with a clear outcome, while overthinking tends to be the polar opposite of this, with many different outcomes and possibilities that make it difficult to see the clear path.
      What causes our brains to overthink?
      Overthinking is often triggered by change and uncertainty – of which we have all experienced a lot over the past few years. And as we all continue to navigate change in an ever-evolving workplace, a whole new set of anxieties have begun to settle in for both leaders and employees. For example, an increase in virtual communication tools has removed the ability to read the expressions and body language of co-workers, leaving room for uncertainty around interpersonal relationships with co-workers.
      Outside of the day-to-day, ongoing global layoffs have resulted in heavier workloads, more ambiguity, and greater uncertainty, leaving some to obsess about all possible scenarios and outcomes beyond their control. Many leaders are now also concerned and anxious about how hybrid and “return to office” policies will impact their workforce.
      When we allow ourselves to overthink, it can feel like a weakness. Your inner critic can be harsh but is also usually trying to protect you – often from fear of failure or shame.
      How can we identify when we are overthinking?
      Understanding overthinking is key to managing it. By identifying when it happens, you can rationalize your thoughts to manage the outcome. Overthinking tends to manifest itself in three main ways: rumination, worrying, and decision-making.
      Rumination involves repetitive thinking or dwelling on negative feelings, which might result from a situation at work when made a mistake or forgot something important. The memory of this is triggered in our brains causing ‘flashbacks’ that can come through at any time of day or night, stopping us in our tracks or disrupting our concentration.
      Worrying, in the context of overthinking, is spending more than necessary time considering things that are in the future. It’s helpful when it leads to action, but most of the time, we tend to worry about things that are out of our control.
      The more practical and in-the-moment way we can overthink is when making decisions. This can happen when we want to make the best decision possible, so we exhaust all possibilities to make sure we do, causing us to overthink the details that are often insignificant in the bigger picture.
      What techniques can we use to help manage overthinking?
      If you think you’re a serial ruminator, what are your ruminating thoughts telling you that you care about? What can you do about it? For example, if you are continuously thinking about a mistake you made at work, instead of punishing yourself, try to focus on what it has taught you. Feeling remorseful is natural, and shows how much you care. This is why we talk about ‘learning from our mistakes.’
      When worrying, there are a couple of different approaches that have been proven successful. The first is allowing ourselves time to let our worries run free, writing them down to get them out of our head, seeing if we can do anything about them now, and if not, leaving them until our next “worry time.” The second focuses on the “here and now.” There are many techniques that can help us get out of the past or future, such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, and journaling – some work for us and others don’t.
      When faced with a decision, a way to avoid overthinking is to settle on an option as soon as the desired outcome is achieved. Ask yourself, does this decision solve the problem or achieve the outcome? If the answer is yes, job done. It’s not always easy, especially for important decisions that require a higher level of thought, but for day-to-day decisions, this technique can be highly effective. Forcing ourselves to be satisfied and see the positive benefits of the decision and the time saved can help us do it more often.
      Understanding what drives our overthinking and employing the right techniques to address them is an ongoing process in our personal and professional development. And sometimes, having an unbiased external party to act as a sounding board, like a professional coach, can help us reflect on our thoughts, understand their impact, and recenter ourselves for a positive path forward. It’s all about developing an understanding of what makes us tick and how to best use it to our advantage.
      By Sinead Keenan, Chief Innovation Officer at EZRA,
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    • 125 Shares139 Views

      in Talent Acquisition

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

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      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. 
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      in Talent Acquisition

      Getting Ahead in the War for Talent

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      Navigating a world in the throes of rapid change as we are in today is a challenging feat. The war in Ukraine, energy price spikes, higher borrowing rates, and chronic inflation affect consumer and business confidence domestically and internationally. The impact on organisations – employers and employees alike – is enormous, and we must adapt to survive.
      Recruiters have long grappled with the ever-shifting tides of uncertainty as the employment sector often resembles a wild rollercoaster ride. From the disruptive onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic to the subsequent post-pandemic boom, the rise of the ‘Great Resignation,’ and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, recruiters have weathered these storms with varying degrees of confidence.
      The UK recruitment sector is optimistic
      Against this backdrop, including concerns about a possible recession, a recent survey of 2,500 industry professionals by independent research firm Dynata on behalf of recruitment firm Monster shows that UK recruiters are optimistic about the future, with 87% looking to hire in 2023.
      Also, on the positive side, 92% of recruiters are confident (45%) or very confident (47%) of finding the right candidate. This sounds high, but UK recruiters are less confident than their compatriots across Europe or the USA. Why is this? It’s because The UK is facing a unique set of circumstances, including Brexit, that have created significant economic uncertainty.
      Nevertheless, recruiters across all sectors still believe that they can scope out the terrain of roles, define them with precision and assess candidates through the interview process, according to our survey. However, addressing the talent shortage is still the number one task facing industry professionals across the UK, Europe and the USA, and a constant challenge persists: the need to identify, interview and secure candidates faster than the competition.
      UK recruiters struggle to access talent as the skills gap widens
      The same survey highlights how amidst this battle for talent, 51% of UK recruiters claim that finding candidates with the necessary skills is the most significant challenge they will face in the next three years. The report reveals that finding candidates with the right skills is the biggest obstacle to recruiting in 2023, with 29% of recruiters indicating that the skills gap has widened compared to a year ago. 86% of recruiters “sometimes” or “very often” struggle to fill vacancies due to this. Of the 87% of recruiters looking to fill vacancies, 44% are replacing or backfilling roles, while 43% are hiring for net new job requirements. Only 13% of recruiters anticipate hiring freezes.
      The UK’s battle for talent is intensifying
      Across all sectors, accessing quality candidates is getting harder and is especially difficult in automotive (57%), leisure & hospitality (46%), education (45%), and insurance (45%) sectors. The survey also found that recruiters are searching for radically different soft skills from candidates from different generations. For instance, 13% of Gen Z recruiters are searching for dependability, compared to 57% of Boomers. In contrast, 40% of Gen Z recruiters seek managerial skills, compared to 17% of Boomers.
      To survive in 2023, recruiters must develop new strategies for success
      To thrive in this challenging environment, recruiters must forge new strategies for success. The reliance on traditional approaches is no longer sufficient; embracing innovative technologies and solutions becomes imperative to match talent with opportunities effectively. Casting a wider (digital) net offers recruiters many opportunities to engage with potential applicants.
      The battle for benefits
      To help them secure top talent, recruiters may need to engage in a “battle for benefits” to attract the top talent.
      The demand for flexibility takes centre stage in 2023, with 53% of candidates expecting more flexibility in where they work and 39% expecting more flexibility when they work. However, the survey reveals a disheartening reality: only 25% of businesses offer genuine flexibility to new hires.
      To succeed, recruiters must balance the demands of employees and employers and address candidates’ extended benefits wish list. As flexible options, including increasingly a four-day week, become standard in many industries; salary is no longer the primary determining factor.
      The top five benefits employees are seeking in 2023 are remote flexibility (50%); flexible work schedules (49%); skills training/learning and development (45%); salary protection/fair compensation (44%); and healthcare benefits (41%) according to the survey.
      Improving search techniques
      In addition to honing the quality and range of benefits they offer, firms need to improve their candidate search techniques. Our survey found that only 24% of UK recruiters leverage online recruitment sites, tools, and new technologies to engage talent – far lower than recruiters in the USA and Europe – and are less confident of finding suitable candidates. This means that 76% of recruiters should improve their search methods or face being left behind in the battle for top talent.
      Matching your benefits offerings to your candidate’s requirements and improving search techniques will go a long way to helping businesses find and recruit the individuals that will ensure the business survives and prospers in a challenging economic environment.
      By Rod McMillan, Marketing Manager, Monster UK.
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      in Workplace

      How Startups Can Create an Unbeatable Culture

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      It’s undeniable that there are many benefits of great work culture, although they can be difficult to pin down as each organization has its own unique mission, history, and personality. Albeit extensive, it’s almost impossible to create a ‘one size fits all’ list.
      A strong team is the driving force of success. In the early days, attracting talented individuals and aligning them all with your company’s ideals is crucial. But just as important as finding a great team is holding onto that talent. There is no point in onboarding a team of great people to just lose them around the corner.
      Almost 40% of job hunters say that a “positive working culture” matters to them, so nurture one, and shout about it.
      According to PwC’s 2021 Global Culture Survey, 72% of business leaders say that culture helps successful business initiatives, and 67% argue that culture is more important than strategy and operations.
      Providing a great working culture and an environment, whether it’s remote, hybrid, or in-person, that staff genuinely want to be part of will make them think twice about looking elsewhere. Being a great place to work is a powerful tool for plucky young companies competing with more established businesses with the capital to offer bigger salaries. It boosts morale, productivity and, perhaps most importantly, builds trust. All of this naturally leads to longer, more fruitful tenures.
      Become unbeatable
      Today’s startups come in all shapes and sizes. Businesses born in the pandemic may have continued with remote working, transitioned to hybrid, or maybe back in office right now. Almost 40% of people now work from home at least once a week, and as the demand grows, startups will have to adapt.
      For remote startups, providing time for people to get together is a great way to break free of work-related Zoom and Teams calls and kick-start real interactions.
      In-person get-togethers naturally build relationships in ways that aren’t always possible virtually. Even though there are costs involved with getting these events together, the bonds forged are priceless, and it still costs much less than having a permanent office space.
      Re-imagining work perks
      Everyone enjoys a work perk, but it’s time to provide benefits that are meaningful. We organized a study asking for the most desirable bonuses people think about when looking for a job or deciding whether to stay in their current role. The results showed that fewer people valued typical new-age perks, such as games rooms and pool tables, beer on tap, and sleeping pods.
      We found that:

      70% of people valued the option to work remote/hybrid
      33% said free lunches reigned supreme
      33% also wanted to be involved in employee share schemes

      Share schemes are a great way to get people literally invested in the success of the company beyond just their day-to-day job. By offering bespoke schemes that have different vesting schedules, the required time or performance can be adapted for specific conditions.
      Employee share schemes have been around for a while, yet their benefits are only just being noticed. In fact, the number of companies with an employee share scheme has gone up by 80% in the last decade.
      For startups, having a large cash pool to dole out flashy rewards, hefty bonuses, or invest in pay rises is not realistic. So it’s important to instead be creative. And while everyone may love a day in lieu of heading out for lunch, these don’t foster an unforgettable culture.
      Instead, startups can capitalize on what they do have and give employees skin in the game. Not only does this give a deeper sense of commitment from the company but can also be a great, and often very tax-efficient way to give congratulations to the whole body of a business, creating a sense of unity. Providing a gift which, with their continued hard work, and granted the company is successful, could amount to a life-changing sum.
      Adobe’s recent acquisition of Figma for £20bn means that those employees with a 0.1% share could be banking more than $20,000,000. Although those numbers are rare for such a young company, Figma was only founded in 2016, demonstrating a high-level example of the potential returns from success.
      What we did
      I truly believe that retention begins at the recruitment stage. In competitive sectors, the reality is that applicants will have interviews with multiple businesses simultaneously. For cash-strapped startups, a great culture can be their secret weapon.
      Interview stages are just as much about the candidate liking you as you liking them, so, we prioritize honesty and transparency over expectations. I also ensure I personally meet all final-stage applicants to ensure that they are a good fit culturally for the team. And that the people we onboard are aligned with the ethos and mission at Vestd.
      Establishing this trust leads to more fruitful relationships between colleagues at all levels. Startups benefit from less obvious hierarchies, but the fact that ideas from lower down have fewer hoops to jump through doesn’t always mean that they will filter up. By providing safe spaces, through catch-ups and one-to-ones, startups can quickly nurture an open culture where people feel free to contribute.
      At Vestd we also have invested in twice-yearly in-person meetups. As a remote business, our company retreats are a time for team building and connecting with one another on a human level. On top of this, it shows our staff that we are willing to invest in experiences and their self-development, as well as performance.
      And, of course, we give equity to all our employees.
      For startups, tight on cash and time, getting the most from building a good culture can make all the difference. Implementing an equity scheme is a great way to not only supplement liquid cash for incentives but also incentivize staff to make the most of longer tenures, resulting in unbeatable work culture.
      By Ifty Nasir, founder and CEO of Vestd.
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      in Talent Acquisition

      5 Automation Habits of Highly Effective Recruiting Teams 

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      In a talent-short market, having a consistently engaged talent pool sets recruitment firms apart from their competitors. Thankfully, cutting-edge automation tools are helping recruiters to engage, nurture, and, ultimately, place top-level talent into new roles at the pace and scale demanded by their clients. In fact, according to Bullhorn’s aggregated data, agencies that use automation have a 64% higher fill rate and submit 33% more candidates per recruiter than those completing tasks manually. How are firms making the most of automation to see these incredible results?
      Here are five habits of Bullhorn customers who leverage automation to create an engaged talent community that is excited to work with them in the short and long term.
      1. Engage regularly with talent
      According to our recent survey of 2,000 candidates, the number one reason talent becomes frustrated with recruiters is poor communication. Automation enables recruiters to manage communications more effectively and to keep candidates informed at every stage of the process.
      Many firms already use automated emails, surveys, and text messaging in the recruitment process. However, recruiters need a tightly integrated tech stack to guarantee that they’re able to gather handy information across every channel, as this is essential for personalization and for generating reliable talent insights.
      Recruiters can send occasional feedback requests through automated messages to new hires, those nearing the end of their contracts, or people that have been in a job for a while. These timely interactions will ensure recruiters stay top of mind and will pay dividends once candidates start looking for new jobs – without the burden of conducting manual ‘busywork’.
      Furthermore, AI-based automation can significantly improve the matching process by intelligently recommending candidates for jobs and jobs for candidates. This is particularly useful for temp or contingent workers, whom recruiters can quickly redeploy into newly available positions as soon as their contracts end.
      It’s also important to note that most recruitment firms have numerous candidates in their databases with whom they don’t engage regularly. Using AI, you can stay in touch with them over time and give them content by suggesting jobs, articles, and tips. It’s also a way to notify them that you want to keep their personal data in your database. However, under GDPR, you need to delete their data if they request it since candidates have the “right to be forgotten”.
      2. Improve data health
      Recruitment teams will always have to collect, store, and analyze data in order to succeed – and it’s something to avoid doing manually, especially on a large scale, as siloed, error-filled data can create just as many problems as unified, clean data can solve.
      With the right automation, recruiters can streamline data management and compliance tasks. These include anonymizing candidate records and updating job, company, and contract status for all the records within the applicant tracking system (ATS).
      Declutter your ATS by using automation to identify outdated records, people with no contact information, or records without activity to speed up searches. To make sure you are GDPR-compliant, your ATS must have all its processing activities governed by a contract under EU legislation.
      Don’t forget that internal reminders are an integral part of data collection – remind recruitment teams to send an early message to new contract starters to get feedback on their well-being and work conditions. Unlike traditional recruitment methods, automation simplifies mass communication with candidates.
      3. Stay organized
      Automating simple tasks within the ATS like notes and alerts gives recruiters back valuable time to spend on building candidate and client relationships. With so many candidates competing for so many vacancies, this solution is invaluable for staying organized.
      It also helps recruiters to set interview reminders and let applicants know whether they’ve been accepted or rejected. Importantly, if a candidate has been offered a position and it falls through for whatever reason, you can contact other suitable job seekers and fill the job quickly if your database is up to date.
      4. Streamline onboarding
      The ability to automate paperwork eases the process of onboarding talent. This is especially relevant for recruitment firms working across different locations and industries, where there might be different laws on taxes and compliance. Companies also have different policies on harassment, pay, benefits, company culture, and other aspects they want extra documentation on.
      A well-defined, automated onboarding system tailors processes to different types of hires and mitigates hiring risks. Back-office mistakes not only distract from an employee’s productivity, but mistakes like worker misclassification also carry the potential risk of fines and penalties.
      5. Scale up marketing
      Automating marketing campaigns to candidates and clients across channels like web, mobile, email, and social media is extremely helpful. Equally helpful is the ability to automatically personalize your content to better communicate with specific groups and ensure everyone receives relevant and interesting offers.
      Determine the segmentations you want to use in your marketing workflows and create lists. This will help to target specific contacts with relevant content. The workflow doesn’t just engage prospects initially but is critical to establishing a sustained interaction with them. As a result, you can expect better engagement scores (and closing ratios) from clients or candidates who are actively being nurtured, instead of those who aren’t.
      Nurturing sales prospects with valuable content enables a recruitment agency’s sales team to focus on engaged leads while automatically engaging with not-ready-to-buy prospects. Some of the metrics to track include engagement score (points are added to prospective candidates’ profiles on the database each time they engage with content), pipeline revenue (income generated through lead conversions), and new lead close rate (the percentage of leads that turn into conversions).
      By Jason Heilman, Senior Vice President, Automation, AI, and Talent Experience, Bullhorn.
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      in Workplace

      What Candidates Want Most, According to New Research

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      The labor market continues to favor candidates. With more than 11.4 million job openings and two positions for each unemployed person, according to the latest BLS data, most organizations are scrambling to keep up with the rapid volume of hiring. Workers are leveraging this power to secure new jobs, higher wages, and better benefits. According to Employ’s 2022 Job Seeker Nation Report, 45% of workers are actively looking for a new job within the next year and one-third feel comfortable quitting a job without having another lined up.
      With worker confidence at an all-time high, companies continue to see significant turnover and face a tight labor market in acquiring new talent to fill those open roles. Forty percent of workers have reported high employee turnover at their organization and the same number report increasing workloads as a result and higher rates of burnout.
      Employers must adapt quickly to this reality and align their workplaces with the expectations and preferences of job applicants today. Or they may struggle to attract top talent for their business going forward. According to Employ’s latest report, here’s what candidates want most from employers today.
      Higher Compensation
      Job seekers are well-informed and know what they want from employers. At the top of their priority list is higher compensation, with half believing they could make more simply by switching jobs. Applicants also want more transparency during the hiring process, so be open about the salary or hourly pay for a role. A whopping 82% of candidates reported that they wanted compensation listed in a job description. For companies that can’t compete on salary, stay competitive by competing on speed, transparency, and responsiveness.
      Remote Work & Flexibility
      The shift in the job market has shown that most candidates want the option to perform their jobs remotely, with 65% believing it’s important in their decision to accept or reject a job. The report also found that nearly half of workers are willing to accept a lower salary to work remotely, and 30% said their ideal workplace setup is 100% remote.
      Although there’s an increased desire for more workplace flexibility, company culture also remains critical. More than half of workers believe that culture is just as important in an increasingly remote work environment, and one-third of workers who left a job in the first 90 days said it was due to poor company culture.
      Overall, it’s essential to set the expectations for remote work policies at the beginning of the hiring process and reiterate them during each step—this helps to inform candidates to make the best decision for their needs.
      A Positive Candidate Experience
      High-quality talent is increasingly difficult to find, and it is even more challenging to convert top candidates into applicants. That’s why a seamless, positive candidate experience in every interaction is key to attracting and converting top talent. Candidates want an easy, fast, intuitive application process, and they want technology that will match them to the right roles and answer their questions throughout the recruitment process.
      According to Employ’s report, 35% said the most frustrating part of the job search was dealing with non-responsive employers and hiring managers. They also want recruiters to focus less on cover letters, resume gaps, and their social media pages, and work to shorten the feedback loop.
      In addition, candidates want an honest look at the daily responsibilities of the role, what the company culture is like, and how much the position pays. Increased transparency during the hiring process helps accurately manage expectations and can help more quickly find the right candidate for the role.
      Companies that fail to be transparent during the hiring process may struggle to retain talent. The latest Employ report revealed that one-third of new hires surveyed leave jobs within the first 90 days due to misaligned expectations, poor onboarding experiences, and bad company culture.
      Mental Health Support
      While the pandemic inspired 63% of workers to focus more on their mental health, employers have been scaling back on making these resources and benefits available to workers. In fact, only 40% of workers say that their employer provides mental health benefits or resources—the lowest level in the past three years.
      The need for mental health resources has never been greater. Increased workloads for employees, especially if they do not receive the compensation to reflect additional work, is taking a toll on workers. Companies must ensure they prioritize mental health resources and leverage them as a competitive differentiator as part of their talent acquisition efforts.
      Change Is the Constant
      In a labor market that’s constantly changing, it’s important to stay nimble, especially when it comes to attracting, nurturing, and connecting with candidates. And while adapting to this state of constant flux should come as no surprise, it can still feel daunting. The best organizations will continue to rise to the occasion by meeting the needs of candidates based on their own terms. Make sure to stay current on what workers are looking for, or risk losing out on top talent who will bolster the organization’s performance for the short and long term.
      By: Allie Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer, Employ Inc.
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      in Talent Acquisition

      Why AI Recruiting is Key to Growth in 2022

      by

      Business priorities in 2022 have all shifted to center around talent. Primarily, finding it. The Great Resignation, or the Great Reshuffle, or the Big Quit — whatever you want to call it — continues to dominate headlines and highlight the ongoing shortage of labor. But companies need to understand that the skewed supply and demand ratio for talent is here to stay. One study even predicts a global human talent shortage of 85 million workers by 2030.
      Despite this trend seeming to look like old news at this point, many organizations’ hiring programs were still completely caught off guard over the last year. In a report by Hiretual, 61% of recruiters said sourcing talent was their biggest challenge in 2021. At the end of 2020, when asked about their biggest anticipated concern, sourcing talent didn’t even make it to the top three.
      That same report found the second and third biggest challenges for recruiters surveyed went to candidate engagement and employer competition, respectively. Again, when recruiters were asked the same question the year before, neither of these obstacles was high on the list.
      What these responses signal is a shift in priority from inbound to outbound recruiting. That is, rather than relying on workers to go out and find jobs, companies are now having to sell available jobs to workers — and doing so at scale is proving difficult. While companies and recruiters may be beginning to understand this, the amount of LinkedIn posts we’re still seeing from leaders exclaiming, “We’re Hiring!” — expecting qualified prospects to go out of their way and click through to a boring careers page — shows not many have adapted to compete.
      As organizations around the world refine strategies for the future, now is the time to commit to growth, and adapt to achieve it. Companies that do will stand to benefit from a final post-pandemic jolt to productivity, setting themselves up for a more sustainable future. But with more jobs available than there are workers to do them, those that fail to change their recruiting strategy will see their workforce — and success — atrophy.
      Getting More Human With AI
      The pressure is on for talent acquisition, but changing priorities brought on by the pandemic will require recruiters to do more than fill jobs. Going forward, recruiters must offer opportunities that meet heightened needs from talent (such as more inclusive cultures and more flexible work schedules) and align with refined company objectives (like scaling skill sets and leading product innovation).
      To do that effectively, recruiters need to be able to spend more time doing the more human aspects of the job, to provide a better experience to candidates, and better qualify talent for the needs of the business — now and for the future.
      If 2021 investment data is any indication, talent acquisition tech stacks are getting reevaluated. In fact, 62% of companies increased their investment in talent acquisition technology last year, according to Aptitude Research. Because something has to give, more companies than ever before will look to AI recruitment technologies to give themselves a competitive advantage. Here are a few ways AI will help companies address key recruiting challenges in 2022.
      Revealing Blind Spots
      Not all talent is accessible in the same places, and many recruiters are looking for candidates with too narrow of a view into the available talent pool. Usually limited by a handful of disparate job boards, with limited search functionality or candidate profile visibility, talent acquisition pros end up missing access to a large share of qualified talent.
      AI recruiting tools will broaden the scope of available talent. By pulling candidate profile data from multiple talent pools, hiring teams can access significantly more of the total talent population and search from a single source. Some platforms are approaching access to almost a billion candidates. Companies that need to scale growth will have more options, and more opportunities to hire.
      In addition, AI will help recruiting teams remove limitations to how they find talent by mitigating unconscious bias from the process to make more equitable hiring decisions. This works by automatically matching candidates based on the skills relevancy of what a recruiter is looking for, rather than focusing on any other candidate’s features. For example, blind searches can be conducted to remove attributes like gender or race, or even education, to help remove bias and lack of diversity in the hiring process.
      By managing diversity in the outbound phase of the recruiting process — as opposed to scrubbing data in ATSs or CRMs — organizations can take a more proactive approach to make equitable hiring decisions.
      Meeting the Need for Speed
      To reach goals for scale, hiring teams need to shorten the time it takes to bring the right jobs to the right people. With AI, organizations will begin to automate more of the transactional and respective aspects of the hiring process. This will give recruiters more time to focus on building relationships by engaging prospective talent in meaningful ways.
      Without the right technology, recruiters will spend less time adding value to the process. Automation will free up the time it takes for recruiters to facilitate communication by removing manual tasks like bulk outreach, scheduling, and managing candidate pipeline data, so they can spend more time consulting with talent to place them in roles that best fit their interests, ambitions, and experience.
      Teams leveraging AI will encounter fewer obstacles with potential candidates in misaligned job expectations and broken feedback loops, resulting in faster time to hire and smoother onboarding experiences.
      Establishing a Foundation for Growth
      For many candidates, contact with a recruiter is the first moment of exposure they have with an organization. That first impression has the potential to create interest by offering the candidate valuable and relevant experience. It also has the potential to diminish the brand in the eye of prospects and their peers.
      With the help of AI, organizations will set up hiring teams to showcase their brand to candidates in the best light and build a workforce that better supports company objectives for the long run. By engaging talent with a more inclusive approach, increasing the speed and ease of the hiring process, and broadening the scope of talent they see and consider, only organizations leaning on AI will overcome today’s hiring challenges to build workforces that grow.
      Shannon Pritchett is Head of Community at both Hiretual and Evry1 (which she co-founded in 2021). 
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