Category: Employers

The days of taking out ample space in the newspaper classifieds to tout an in-demand job opening may be just about over. As the world changes, recruitment strategies must stay aligned with the best options to reach the top job candidates. One way employers are connecting with new candidates is by using social media to help broaden the reach of their company brand and locate qualified professionals.

As many companies use social media to look into prospective employees’ backgrounds, the odds lean in your favor that your new employee is just a click away on Facebook or LinkedIn. Facebook has joined LinkedIn in offering direct-to-job seeker “apply now” websites.

Figure out for yourself if this strategy, utilized by job recruitment companies like TriStarr Staffing, is right for you. Companies can effectively utilize social media platforms to reach job seekers by following these tips.

Tips for effectively using social media as a job recruitment tool

1. Advertise your open jobs through Facebook Ads Manager and LinkedIn Business Manager. Low-cost options exist on these platforms to connect powerful creative with people who best fit the skills, education, and opportunities available at your company. If you create an ad on Facebook, you can also then connect it with ... Read More

How many people do you know who work from home? If you feel like that number is increasing, you’re not wrong—a survey done by the Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs shows that remote work has grown by over 91 percent in the past decade.

This simple workplace benefit is often seen as enticing for employers who wish to cut down on office space costs, boost employee morale, and attract top candidates who appreciate the scheduling flexibility. Mobile and online applications like Slack allow workers to communicate with each other anywhere and everywhere, no matter if they’re physically in the office or working from home, a client site, or even a tropical beach.

On the other hand, some major companies like Bank of New York Mellon Corp, IBM, and Yahoo, have been cutting down on offering remote work options and asking their remote workers to return to the office. According to SHRM Online, this decision may have come from the following theories about why working remotely sometimes fails:

1. Employers do not adequately train or provide proper resources to remote workers to ensure their success.
2. Some supervisors find it harder to manage someone who they cannot communicate with face-to-face, and are uncomfortable with them ... Read More

You may not be Disney, Coca-Cola, Apple, or Google, but your company has a brand, whether it’s actively managed or not. And your brand extends beyond customers or clients—it reaches employees, too, including the ones you most want to recruit.

In fact, your employer brand isn’t necessarily the same as your company brand. The former is a perception among members of your staff or work force, while the latter is a perception held by your clients or customers.

What attributes make up your employer brand? For most companies, these include their mission, values, company culture, workplace environment, and salaries and benefits. These are areas a company should focus on when working to establish or improve its employer brand.

Advantages of a strong employer brand to job recruitment

A vital but often neglected part of job recruitment strategies is convincing candidates the company is a good place to work. That starts with developing a strong employer brand, one that:

• Creates initial enthusiasm among job seekers in working for your company.
• Appeals to candidates during the selection process and increases their interest in the job.
• Maintains or improves retention of your current employees.
• Saves money on recruiting costs because you can fill positions more easily.

Presenting your employer brand to job ... Read More

There’s more than a grain of truth in the saying, “You hire for attitude, train for skills.” In fact, the late Herb Kelleher, founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, said, “You can always teach skills. One needs to hire attitudes that fit the firm’s culture.”

Now, I’m not about to downplay the importance of skills. I’m a recruiter–I look for candidates who have the skills our clients need. I respect professionals who devote years to learning skills in school or on the job and, often, years more perfecting them.

But skills alone don’t make a great employee.

Overcoming the risk of recruiting employees at the entry level

Have you had the following experience? You’re recruiting employees to hire for an entry-level position. You review candidates whose skills appear untested or underdeveloped. Hiring any of them feels a bit risky. I totally understand, because I’ve been there, too.

However, someone without experience but who is sharp, upbeat and confident may be just who you need to fill that entry-level job. You can train an employee with a clean slate in a way you need for them to perform well in the job.

Employers often have lofty requirements for positions when recruiting employees for entry-level jobs. Research by TalentWorks, a developer ... Read More

A diverse workplace, made up of employees with varied backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives, can benefit a company’s performance and bottom line. However, developing such an environment—co-workers of different ages, genders, and ethnicities—requires well-planned recruitment strategies.

A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 57 percent of recruiters say their recruitment strategies are meant to attract a diverse body of candidates. The remaining recruiters would be wise to develop such strategies of their own. Why? A survey by Glassdoor (a website for job hunters), found that 67 percent of job seekers say a diverse workforce is important to them when evaluating companies and job offers.

That means companies that recruit and manage a diverse group of employees will have a recruitment advantage over their competitors. But the competitive advantage may go further than that. According to Forbes Insights (the strategic research arm of Forbes Media), workplace diversity is a key driver of internal innovation and business growth—that is, greater revenue.

The upside—and yes, the downside—of expanding workplace diversity

A study published in the American Sociological Review, based on input from 500 organizations, found that employee diversity resulted in increased sales revenue and company profit. Every 1% increase in gender diversity correlated with ... Read More

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

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