Highway to Hope

Hi Recruiters,

After the insights and inspiration from RecruitCon 2024, I feel rejuvenated and on a highway to hope.

The theme, Navigating Change in Talent Acquisition, has the two elements that we need to succeed: (1) The recognition that we are in a period of rapid and whip-sawing change; and (2) pulling the covers over our heads may feel cozy, but what we really need are the experience and strategies that come from the talented and exceptional presenters.

Here are my takeaways from the balance.

Getting Unstuck

Ever get stuck, feeling like you’ve tried every sourcing method invented? Erin Mathew , Executive Talent Sourcer (or is that sorcerer) at PayPal, is absolutely simpatico.?

Erin shared that “Sourcer’s Block” is common, and if we can acknowledge that, it becomes a shared experience for which we can come up with creative solutions as a community rather than a frustration experienced in isolation.

So, how does one get unblocked? Here are some methods from Erin’s practice:

• Expand your sourcing horizons beyond LinkedIn, and you may find talent hiding amid the apps. For instance, podcasts on Spotify can identify professionals with the skills and experience you need.
• Use AI for inspiration, to generate lists of companies and candidates that are out of the immediate box.
• Community-curated toolboxes can be valuable references, offering potentially inspiring techniques and resources.
• Broaden your search criteria and messaging strategies to help identify candidates with relevant skills that may not be explicit on their resumes.
• Analyze and simplify job titles to attract a wider pool of candidates.

Perseverance

Eric Sirkin, MBA , Talent Acquisition Partner, American Engineering Testing, has gone from being a struggling student to having a 21-year Navy career and is now a successful recruiter with an MBA. His journey is nothing short of inspirational for anyone in our field (or any field for that matter). Keys to Eric’s success are perseverance, resilience, and persistence.

According to Eric, these traits enable you to overcome self-doubt, or “imposter syndrome,” and face external challenges as they arise. This yields the resilience to embrace change and forced pivots. You must stay open to unexpected opportunities.

While you pursue your own career journey, Eric reminds us to “be open to the mentorship of supportive leaders, which can boost your confidence and professional trajectory. And most of all, value your own voice. Everyone’s contribution matters. Sharing your experiences can inspire others.”

Wise words!

AI Is Your Friend, Really

Our friend Steve Levy , Principal Talent Advisor at the DHI Group, waxed eloquently on strategies to enhance recruiting intake discovery sessions. A key strategy is to incorporate AI tools, like ChatGPT, to gather valuable insights and enhance the quality of decision-making.?

Overall, AI insights can arm us with a deeper understanding of the talent marketplace so that we can set both strategies and expectations. Specifically, AI insights can bring us:

• A wider range of unique sourcing avenues to expand the talent pool.

• Proactive identification of potential barriers in the recruitment process and the strategies to mitigate.

• Identifying key questions that should be part of intake meetings, to focus discussions and drive more meaningful outcomes.

• Refined outreach, messaging, and engagement strategies that resonate with potential candidates.

I completely agree with Steve’s underlying premise: AI can make us better and stronger right now, and it is really important that we open up and use the tool. Let’s put aside the profession-crushing, world-eating (or ending…) fears for the time being.

Navigating Hiring Trends

Does anyone out there notice that recent hiring trends can be somewhat volatile? Well, this certainly hasn’t escaped ?? Angie Verros , Founder and CEO of Vaia Talent. Angie remarked, “I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Hiring in today’s market is like trying to predict the weather. You’re better off with a good umbrella and a good attitude.”

When the going gets tough, Angie looks to tools and tech, a combination of the human element and augmented intelligence.

Here’s Angie’s list of the most important personal tools and her thoughts on why:

• Networking: “This is so critical. I know that everyone is not a networker, but I don’t know why [...] If I can help elevate you let me know. Eventually, it will elevate you. We have an amazing community with Recruiter Therapy. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
• Persona branding enhancement: “Let people know, in words and deed, what you stand for. It promotes trust.”
• Personal training and development: “You always have to look at alternatives. What if you don’t stay in this industry? I do this all the time, but I love this profession.”
• Alternate skills development: “Expand your horizons. For instance, learn how to code.”
• Maintain a positive mindset: “Sometimes positivity just isn’t there. We all have good and bad days. Push back, stay in front of this. Stay upbeat.”
• Don’t give up: “To get where you want to go requires persistence.”?

Angie stressed that recruiters also must recognize that data has become an increasingly important aspect of hiring, by augmenting and adding quantitation to intuition. Part of personal development should be about making you fluent in data and its application.

“I’m not particularly technical, and I’m not a data and analytics person, But, there’s nothing like data to help you make good decisions.”

When in doubt, or when you’re feeling blocked, data can help you uncover new paths to take.

Design Thinking

William Maurer , consultant at MTC, is a champion of people-centered recruiting and suggests that the design thinking approach is the methodology that will result in a continuously improving process. While design thinking is a borrowed concept from a product designer’s workflow, its core purpose is to provide a standard innovation process to develop creative solutions to problems.

William explained five distinct steps for anyone who is interested in adopting it:

1. Empathize: Focus on identifying and thinking about the end-user—their perspective, goals, and motivations. Empathy is the skill crucial to creating deeper connections. Empathy is certainly innate, and it can be developed and refined to make understanding the candidate’s perspective your superpower.
2. Define: Develop a clear statement of the question you’re trying to answer or the problem you’re trying to solve, why, and what is the desired outcome.
3. Ideate: Brainstorm, push the envelope, innovate. Then, rank ideas by what seems to be the most effective and worthy of testing. Consider doing this in a room/Zoom with other TA professionals and get really creative.
4. Prototype: This is where you make decisions on exactly how you’re going to proceed. Note that you’re not trying to find the final answer, just the potential answer that you want to test first.?
5. Test: Take a look at your results. Where are you achieving success (or failing) and refine.

The solutions that arise from design thinking constantly evolve, based on real feedback, and allow for personalizing interactions based on a candidate’s needs. William adds, “This builds greater trust which results in better hires”.

Serendipity

Junius Currier , Director of Talent Acquisition at Maximus, discussed how serendipity, or the unexpected, plays a role in talent acquisition. This is true for the recruiter and the candidate. Be open and flexible when unanticipated opportunity knocks.

Junius shared, “As an example, here’s a quick look at my career journey, and how I’ve used my different skills—my love of research and ‘the thrill of the hunt’, a curious mindset, previous client-facing roles, [and] my many certifications—to advance my career in non-traditional and non-linear ways.”

Serendipity may affect any element of the recruitment process, such as sourcing, marketing, analytics, operations, etc. It may be mentorship opportunities, career advancement, or a change in path. One thing is for sure: all of your experiences can enhance your personal brand.

The Road Ahead

Wherever your career is headed, when you hear the knock on the door, you need to be prepared. Said differently, a commitment to lifelong learning is essential to taking advantage of these opportunities. You need the luck and the preparation.

As I said, RecruitCon 2024 put me on a highway to hope, with pit stops for confidence, perspective, and community.

It was a great reminder to me that no matter where your next destination is, this industry is full of people willing to have your back.

What else is happening in hiring?

• Hiring For HR Roles Returning to Pre-pandemic Levels
• August Job Gains Likely to Trigger Interest Rate Cut
• 6 TA Metrics to Drive ROI

Aaron’s Corner

Aaron Iba?ez here, coming to you live from RecFest USA in Nashville, Tennessee! Super excited to meet and learn from so many of the voices in TA that I've been learning from virtually. Are you at RecFest? Let's connect. ??

And be sure to catch Shannon Pritchett 's presentation, You’ve Been Recruiting Wrong Your Whole Life, today at 1:30 p.m. on the Unplugged stage!

— Recruiters