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Class of 2019 college graduates are entering the best job market in years. The National Association of Colleges and Employers says that companies plan to hire about 10 percent more new graduates from this year’s class than they did last year. Employers are opening up positions to them that might have once gone to more experienced professionals. And overall, these grads can expect higher salaries than those in 2018.

But despite their initial excitement over landing their first professional job, many won’t remain in their first jobs long. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than half of recent college graduates leave their first job within a year, most citing a bad fit.

Some of this turnover could be prevented by employers adopting different recruitment strategies from those they use for experienced professionals. Even career-focused students with impressive GPAs don’t know all about the industries they’re entering, nor will they be familiar with corporate policies and procedures.

Each new graduate is essentially a blank slate of professional experience but presents an opportunity for employers to develop young potential. Investing in their youthful virtues—trainability, potential for growth, fresh perspectives, and tech know-how—can be beneficial and even profitable for your company in the ... Read More

In the broad outlines, it’s clearly a mutually beneficial relationship. But in the day-to-day execution, it’s prone to misunderstandings and misconceptions.

As a job seeker, you get significant benefit from working with a recruiter. They make job searches more efficient, getting you a better opportunity in a shorter period time than you can achieve on your own. Still, a distance sometimes exists between the people looking for work and the professionals trying to place them.

This fact leads to a lot of myths about the services recruiters perform and about where they put their allegiances. It’s a frustrating experience for recruiters, who face skepticism and doubt even as they work tirelessly to place people in situations that will enhance their long-term career prospects.

With that in mind, here are four things recruiters wish candidates would know about their roles:

Recruiters Want to Find the Perfect Match for Both Candidate and Client

People sometimes assume a recruiter cares only about the corporate client. After all, most staffing agencies get paid by the company looking for workers, not by the workers themselves. Therefore, the theory goes, they don’t have any incentive to care about the candidates’ long-term needs.

That’s just not true. Recruiters work hard to create the ... Read More

Businesses have depended on job descriptions to define work for employees for generations. And even though technology has drastically changed the work environment over the years, job descriptions in 2019 remain as important as ever.

Good job descriptions can prevent the wrong person from applying for a job and better ensure the right person does apply. In other words, they can help prevent employers from interviewing and maybe hiring someone who isn’t right for the job.

Every job description needs to be thorough and updated each time you’re recruiting someone new for the position. The following list details information that should appear on most job descriptions.

1. Job title
2. Work location (if working remotely is an option, note that here)
3. Company overview
4. Job summary including key objectives and goals
5. Job duties (mention opportunities for training or professional development)
6. Experience required (skills, education, years of experience)
7. Employment type (full time or part time)
8. Work hours/travel requirements
9. Salary range and benefits (bonus program, retirement plans, health insurance)

Job descriptions done well can help you with recruiting employees

Job descriptions also must attract great candidates and encourage them to apply for open positions. For that reason, the descriptions have to be clear and compelling as well.

Here are a few guidelines to help prepare job descriptions to 1) ... Read More

Recruiters get people jobs. You know this. However, you might assume that finding you a position effectively ends the staffing firm’s involvement. From then on, you’re on your own.

That’s a common myth about staffing firms: They find you a job, and then leave you to take care of yourself. Not true. A recruiter provides support during the transition to your new position and beyond.

It’s time to reset expectations about your staffing partner’s role in your ongoing assignment. Here is how a recruiter will continue to offer outreach and assistance as you start your new position:

When You’re Hired

Your recruiter has found a position for you. You might expect this to consist solely of giving you the name and phone number of your contact at the company; then, the staffing associate will move on to other tasks and forget all about you.

Not so. Securing a placement for you involves more than just blindly sending you to your new gig. Instead, your staffing associate will provide you with key details about the placement and walk you through the process of starting your new assignment.

With the gig economy taking over a larger share of the job market, the contacts and information a recruiter can ... Read More

Time and money. Most companies can’t afford to lose either by hiring the wrong person. While making a bad hire may happen on occasion, employers can minimize it with background checks of promising candidates.

Background checks help ensure a job candidate is qualified for a position and poses no threat to the safety and security of others in the workplace.

Most employers run some type of background check on every single hire. To do so, they need a candidate’s signed consent. If they decide not to hire someone based on a background report, they must notify the candidate in writing and provide a copy of the report.

Because background checks can be labor-intensive and time-consuming, companies sometimes outsource them to companies specializing in these services.

The most common pre-employment background checks used today

Former employment checks are used to verify a candidate’s claims about education, work history, and professional license. Recruitment employment agencies can fulfill these background searches to confirm the facts as presented on the resume.

Reference checks can be challenging and take more time. Job candidates tend to supply “safe” references—people whom they believe will vouch for them. So, can hiring companies go beyond these references to ask about skills, past performance, and personality? ... Read More