Improving the Recruiting Experience

Recruiting is broken and needs to be revamped!

My interview experience was excruciating!

I’ve submitted over 300 resumes online and nothing!

I’m tired of getting canned rejection letters!

Those of us who have ever engaged in a career search have heard these comments, ad nauseum, and often experienced them as well.?Some of us, especially those of us in Human Resources are often the brunt of verbal tirades regarding an awful recruiting experience. So what can be done to improve recruiting on both sides of the table? Plenty! Let me explain what both job seekers and talent acquisition professionals can do differently to ensure a much more palatable and fruitful experience.

Job Seekers:

“I’ll just send out 100 resumes a day and then get a call for my dream job”.?Well, not exactly. This just doesn’t really work anymore like it once use to.?Not to say that it never does; some candidates have been very lucky and received calls from companies simply based on applying online where the applicant tracking system (ATS) didn’t kick them out and send the dreaded TBNT Letter (Thanks, but no Thanks).?However, getting a call by simply applying online is rare.?So, what’s a candidate to do? Quite a bit actually!??

?LinkedIn – Don’t just use it, OWN IT!

1.????Ensure that your search is laser-focused and unrelenting.?One way to do this is to be smarter about your online search.?LinkedIn is an amazing resource on this front.?First, review and revamp your online profile to reflect more than just a list of jobs.?Tailor it to look like the job you want, and the professional who is qualified for that job.?Does it read like a top-notch professional that is different from the competition? If not, then rewrite it until it perfectly matches who you are and how you want to be perceived.?If you can afford a professional career coach or writer who can do it for you, invest in this process! It makes a big difference.

2.????Network, network, network! First of all, join LinkedIn premium so that you can see who is looking at your profile along with other helpful LinkedIn provided statistics about your search.?This is just one of the many perks of premium membership.?Use the anniversary and birthday feature, then personalize it as best you can and start sending notes.?This keeps you on top of mind rather than suddenly popping up on someone’s page asking for favors when you haven’t communicated with that person in years, or even at all.?

3.????So, you found the perfect job on LinkedIn, you apply, and you’re done, right? Wrong.?Find out who the recruiter is, the VP of HR, the VP or leader over the area you’re interested in, even the CEO and send a nice well-crafted connection request followed by a LinkedIn InMail with a resume attached.?Too much you say? Not at all.?I have done this with great success, as have many others.?When job searching in a market where unemployment is extremely low, you must do everything in your power to stand out and make an impact, while not being a pest!

4.????You’re an expert in your field, so then let everyone know, in the right way of course.?We all have something to share; some wonderful experiences that others could learn from; a unique point of view around an issue.?Write about it.?Share it on LinkedIn and let people hear your incredible perspective.?As my grandmother would often say, “Don’t hide your light, baby”.?She was right.?Share your knowledge and help others. You can also do this by joining the infinite number of professional groups on LinkedIn.?Also, share an article that really means something to you.?Just make sure you mention why it matters and how others can learn from it.?These are just a few examples of the many ways to ensure LinkedIn is working for you.?

?Networking with a Handshake

While online networking is very important, it’s also important to network face-to-face. Unfortunately, this is often a lost art.?For some, it’s very easy, but for others, it’s more painful than walking on broken glass.?It’s really about a mindset and a lot of practice.?The more you do it, the easier it becomes and the better you become.?So, with that in mind, ensure that you are joining networks that mirror your career aspirations, interest, and values.?There is a professional network for just about every profession out there.?Find one that works for you and then go and get involved.?Get noticed.?Get a connection and maintain it.?Reach out to professionals in the company or industry that you are interested in and meet them for coffee and chat.?Be engaging, be energetic, show them your best side.?This makes a huge difference and may just land you that perfect job with the perfect company.

?Please don’t do this…

As mentioned earlier, many job seekers lament over the fact that they don’t hear anything or always seem to get a canned rejection letter.?As someone who reviews more resumes than I can count (some companies actually do review resumes outside of an ATS), I have seen so many people apply for positions that they aren’t even remotely qualified for.?This just wastes everyone’s time and creates a lot of frustration on both ends.?When I say not remotely qualified, I mean, for example, applying for a senior HR director when, for instance, you’re a kindergarten teacher; applying for a senior-level marketing position when you’re a sales clerk; applying for a communications director when you’re a finance intern.?Don’t get me wrong sometimes this works, but most of the time it doesn’t.?I’m also not criticizing any of the aforementioned positions, I’m simply saying that by all means, reach for the stars, just understand it’s also important to be realistic regarding how you get to those stars!?If you do want to transition into a very different role, there are ways to do that, but that’s a different article for another time.

But Definitely do this…

Simply put, after every interview send a short and concise thank you letter, recapping your interests and qualifications.?For that extra touch, ensure to mention something that was unique to your discussion so that you stand out in the eyes of the recruiter.?I can’t reiterate enough the importance of a well-crafted thank you letter.?We all get busy and sometimes forget, but this must be a priority in the job seeker’s tool kit.?Oftentimes, when two equally qualified candidates are applying for the same role, the hiring decision is often based on who sent a well-written and thoughtful thank you letter.

?Talent Acquisition Professionals:

?I realize that there is a tremendous amount of pressure on you as recruiters to find the right talent, at the right salaries in the right cities.?Finding a unicorn basically! This can be a very daunting and frustrating task.?A few things to consider.?

?1.????There is no perfect candidate.?It’s very important to also hire for potential and allow someone to grow into the position.?This isn’t always up to the recruiter to decide, but it’s important to educate hiring managers and leaders around this. I know it’s difficult, but it can be done with the proper finesse and facts. Leaders also need to understand this and implement new strategies around this in the workplace.?

2.????I just can’t find qualified/quality candidates, diverse candidates, etc.??This ties back to my first point somewhat, regarding hiring for potential as it relates to quality, but more importantly, in this situation, are you as a recruiter networked enough.?Do you network with city and state leaders, diverse organizations, local universities and high schools, (even middle schools to “plant a seed”) places of worship, etc.?As a recruiter, how connected, personally, to the community are you and what is your company doing for the communities in which they serve. There’s a vast network of community resources just waiting to be tapped into.?I remember a very unique program that I was a part of at a past hotel company.?At one of our properties, we partnered with the local prison and hired inmates who had exhibited exceptional behavior.?They were thrilled to be working and contributing to society, which gave them purpose and a reason to get up in the morning.?This program worked perfectly and served as a creative staffing solution for this particular property while giving back to the community at the same time.?Both sides benefited beautifully from this arrangement.??

3.????So, you met with a candidate, spoke with them, sometimes over several months, and placed them among the top 5 or so candidates. You then make a hiring decision and send the remaining top candidates a canned impersonal letter via an ATS.?This is probably the biggest complaint that I hear from candidates.?For those top 5 or so, pick up the phone and call them letting them know they didn’t get the job or send a very nice personalized letter/email informing them that they were not selected for the role.?I realize that bandwidth among recruiters can be minimal at best, but the top candidates who’ve you’ve developed a rapport with deserve something a bit more personnel than a canned letter signed, “The Staffing Team”.?Also, if you can offer to provide some constructive feedback regarding their interview, do so.?The goodwill that this creates is amazing and really makes an organization stand out.?Many companies are actually now realizing this and a new trend is developing around implementing strategies to provide formal feedback and advice to non-selected candidates regarding their interview experience.?

4.????As generation X and baby boomers age well into their 50’s 60’s and beyond, it’s important to realize that there is a tremendous amount of experience within this group.?At 50, many people are just hitting their stride and are eager to continue making an impact via their vast work and life experiences.?This age group is also working longer than in the past and are forgoing retirement to continue adding value. It’s important to consider this group rather than overlook them.?They are a valuable resource with a lot to offer.

?Clearly, there will always be strong feelings on both sides as to just how broken recruiting is, if at all.?Hopefully, as we continue furthering our personal and professional goals, regardless of what side of the recruiting table we find ourselves, we must continue to evaluate our own journey and ensure that along the way, we are creating innovative solutions and memorable experiences.