Recruitment Marketing Articles of the Week 8/28/10 to 9/3/10
Here is our weekly feature in which we share the top articles we enjoyed from the past week about recruitment marketing. This week’s topics include websites to help you get hired, 10 commandments of networking, attention grabbing cover letters, awesome info-graphics, why we go to conferences and consolidation in the HR space.
Here are the articles that interested us this week (in no particular order), enjoy!:
7 Sites that will help you get hired by Liz Wolgemuth (@LizWolgemuth)
Congrats to @CareerDiva and @FistfulofTalent for being included on this great list!
10 Commandments of Networking by Dee Allan (@DeeAllan)
Great blog article on ways to effectively network. Love commandment #3!
The 12 word cover letter that grab’s a recruiter’s attention by Susan Ireland (@SusanIreland)
Sage advice on how to make your cover letter stand out to a recruiter.
10 of the Web’s Most Insightful Infographics by Sarah Kessler (@SarahFKessler) (@Mashable)
I love info-graphics and these are some great ones!
Why do you go to conferences? by Maren Hogan (@marenhogan)
Great piece on why we attend conferences. This is particularly fitting as we are currently preparing for HR Tech. (If you are attending HR Tech and on Twitter, let us know as we are putting together a 2010 HR Tech Attendee Twitter List!)
Kenexa acquires Salary.com by John Hollon (@JohnHollon) (@ERE_net)
RecruitingBlogs and Recruiter.com by Miles Jennings (@milesj)
The Jeffersons by Jason Davis (@Slouch)(@recruitingblogs)
Big news in the industry as there is further consolidation in the HR space!
Hope you enjoy the list. If you have any articles I should add to the list feel free to add them to the comments or send me an email at chris@smashfly.com or follow us on Twitter @smashfly.
Ready for your Career Site Makeover?
I was flipping through the channels last night and I came across Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Every week they take a run-down home, tear it down and put a brand new home in it’s place for a low income family. It is a pretty awesome idea.
And it got me thinking. How many times do most companies take a look at their career sites to decide if a makeover is needed? I’ve looked at a ton of Career Sites and while some are great, others appear pretty rundown with inaccurate or outdated information.
Is it time for your Career Site to have a Makeover? It just might be and here are some basic tips for making sure your Career Site always looks brand new:
SEO: There are a decent amount of ways to help get SEO traffic to your Career Site and here’s a quick rundown that can help your recruitment marketing efforts:
Candidate Capture: When a candidate comes to your careers page, it is a great time to capture their contact information as they are obviously interested in your company. Have an easy to use contact form on the front page of your careers site that connects to a Recruitment CRM or Database as you can use these contacts in future job email campaigns. Also, collect recruitment metrics on how many people visit your site and apply for job positions.
Employer Branding: Candidates that come to your Career Site want to learn more about your company and what it is like to work there. Make sure to have content that highlights the perks of working for your company and get employees to share their experiences with potential candidates, whether through video or blogging. The most qualified candidates want to know the working environment before they apply.
A Career Site can be a great way to educate candidates and add them to your Talent Network. But don’t just stop after initially creating your Career Site, continue adding content and highlight why it’s great to work for your company!
Recruitment Marketing Articles of the Week 8/14/10 – 8/20/10
Here is our weekly feature in which we share the top articles we enjoyed from the past week about recruitment marketing. This week’s topics include 5 things recruiters need to stop doing, fundamental shifts in our workplaces, on whether a boost in spending could fuel jobs, Facebook Places launch and Twifficiency.
Here are the articles that interested us this week (in no particular order), enjoy!:
5 Things Recruiters Should Stop Doing by Linda Brenner (@DesignsOnTalent) (@ERE_net)
Great piece with some helpful tips on improving your recruiting. I particularly agree with “Working Outside Your ATS” section.
Six Fundamental Shifts in the Way We Work by John Hagel III and John Seeley Brown (@JHagel) (@HarvardBiz)
Nice article on important shifts happening in our workplaces. I think the “Dilbert Paradox” is particularly important because you not only have to get the right people on the bus but you need to provide them with the training to succeed.
Companies are boosting their spending: Could jobs be next? by Paul Davidson (@USAToday)
Encouraging article on how trends in company spending increases may signal hiring growth.
Field Guide to Facebook Places by Jolie O’Dell (@JolieOdell) (@Mashhable)
Facebook Places Logo: A 4 in a Square? by Alana Marie (@amedmunds)
The big news this week is the launch of Facebook Places which is said to be a Foursquare (not to mention Godwalla) killer. Here’s a guide to using Places as well as a curious choice by Facebook on their logo (FourSquare shout-out anyone?)
Twifficiency by James Cunningham: Better Than a College Diploma by Steven James Snyder (@TheSnydes) courtesy of Omowale Casselle (@mysensay)
If you hang out on Twitter, you must have seen plenty of Twifficiency posts in your feed. Here’s the story behind a simple idea that turned into a short-lived social media sensation.
Hope you enjoy the list. If you have any articles I should add to the list feel free to add them to the comments or send me an email at chris@smashfly.com or follow us on Twitter @smashfly.
Use Internships to Interview Experienced candidates!
I recently came across this survey by CareerBuilder that had some nice statistics on what type of candidates are currently applying for internships. In the survey, over 2500 employers said that 23% of candidates are experienced workers (more than 10 years experience) or mature workers (over 50).
The fact is that due to this tough hiring environment, more mature candidates that are unemployed are turning toward internships to find their next opportunities. And employers are and should be looking at these trends as a great opportunity to bring in talent without a huge upfront commitment. Utilizing internships as a system to fill full-time positions can be a good strategy for a few reasons:
1) Extended Job Interview - A few month internship is a great way to see how a potential candidate handles day to day activities as well as new projects you throw their way. 3 months of seeing them complete projects is so much better than an hour long interview.
2) Make sure it’s a good fit for both sides- An internship is not just an interview of the candidate but the candidate gets to interview your company as well. If you extend an offer to an intern, the intern knows exactly what to expect in working for your company. This helps to decrease the possibility of a new full-time employee coming in and leaving within the first year.
3) Save money on Recruiting - While internship to full-time hiring shouldn’t take the place of all your recruitment marketing campaigns, filling a few of your open positions with great interns can help you decrease your overall recruiting spend.
Experienced & Mature Candidates that are applying for internships at your company could be great future full-time employees at your company. They are coming in with something to prove and understand that a full-time position is only attained through hard work. Right now there is a great opportunity for companies to use internships as a great system in filling some of their full-time positions with candidates that they know can do the work!
Note: For college students that are looking for a great Marketing internship this Fall, come work for SmashFly!











