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If You Don’t Factor Mobile Into Your Recruitment Plan You’re Making a HUGE Mistake

Sometimes when I’m in a public place—riding a train, walking down the street, or even sitting in a restaurant, I love to observe how many people are engrossed in their cell phones.  And I will tell you I’m no different. 

My Smartphone is my lifeline, I don’t leave home without it—I don’t even leave a room in my home without it (but don’t tell my mother that, because then she’ll wonder why I don’t ALWAYS answer the phone when she calls).

But I have become so addicted attached to my phone that I do EVERYTHING on it, from paying bills, checking movie times—and buying movie tickets, sending emails, playing Words With Friends (I recently discovered that “Nachos” is not an acceptable word—I know I was shocked too!), to reading my favorite blog, EmploymentMetrix (shameless plug!).  So with so much reliance on our Smartphones and unfortunately a large number of people out of work, it is little surprise that job searching and recruitment has gone mobile—in a big way!

Mobile job search apps are BOOMING and the number of candidates searching for jobs on their mobile devices has skyrocketed by more than 100% in the last year alone. So if you’re an HR Pro that has yet to factor in mobile into your recruitment plan, you’re making a BIG mistake.

Check out the latest infographic from Beyond.com—it shows that more than 77% of job seekers use mobile job search apps.  Job Seekers use these apps to quickly react to new job postings, discreetly search for jobs, and simply the freedom it allows them to search for jobs anytime from anywhere.  Potential candidates are no longer tied down to their home computer to search and apply for jobs, now they can do it on their commute to work, while they’re waiting in the doctor’s office, or even waiting for that barista to make their favorite tasty beverage.   So if you have yet to jump on the mobile bandwagon you’re going to be left behind—that goes for HR pros and job seekers alike!

Does Fit Matter When It Comes to Hiring?

You wouldn’t choose to hang out with someone on a consistent basis that you have little in common with, right? So why should that not be a factor when screening a candidate for a position within your organization? If you’re anything like me, you spend the majority of your waking hours Monday through Friday at work and if I had to work people I had nothing in common with (BESIDES work) I’d go crazy! 

While we do a good job of screening candidates here I know that personality doesn’t always win out when it comes to hiring, which in my opinion is a big mistake, but I wanted to validate my feelings so I turned to the masses.

We recently asked more 7,400 professionals across the Beyond.com Career Network, “Should the person that is most qualified get the job?” and more than 73 percent said that a candidate’s personality should play a part when bringing new employees on board. But there are of course always exceptions to the rule.



Sometimes you’re looking for that specific skill set that can only be found in a personality type that doesn’t mesh with your corporate culture, so sometimes it’s unavoidable, but in the long run hiring people that ease into the team will make going to work that much easier for everyone else. 

So how do you ensure you’re hiring candidates that fit?

1. Know the typical personality type of the position you’re filling and stick to those guidelines throughout the interview process.
   
   
2. Ask the appropriate interview questions that will draw out the candidate’s true-self-not just their interview-self (or as I like to call it “first-date-self").
   
   
3. Have the job candidates take a personality test, so you can see what kind of worker they are, how they handle stress, etc…
   
   
4. Have the team members that will be working closest with this person have the final say.  By the time the potential employee meets the team, there should already be a pretty good sense of the candidate’s skill set—so the team should be able to give a quick yay or nay on if they’ll mesh.
   
   
5. Set expectations for the candidate appropriately.  To avoid any confusion or miscommunication, make sure the potential teammate has a clear idea of what the job entails and how the organization works as a whole.
   
   
6. Don’t hire someone out of desperation.  When you make that offer make sure it’s to a candidate that’s going to be the best person for the job when it comes to both skill set and personality. Don't do it because you need to fill a spot and you need to do it NOW!

Looking Forward to Some Fun in the Sun at IAEWS

Master of Ceremonies Rich Milgram will Lead the Bi-Annual Gathering of Recruitment Industry Leaders

Rich Milgram, Founder and CEO of Beyond.com, focused on helping people grow and succeed within their careers, will serve as Congress Chair for the International Association of Employment Web Sites (IAEWS) Fall Member Congress, to be held on September 7, 2011 in Hollywood Beach, FL the day before The ERE Expo begins.

The IAEWS's bi-annual Member Congress unites executives and industry leaders in online recruitment to share ideas and strategies for future growth and success. It is the only event that is 100 percent dedicated to improving the operations and financial performance of online employment services organizations.

"We are very excited to have Rich participating in this year's event," said Peter Weddle, IAEWS Executive Director. "Rich brings a wealth of experience and insight to his role as master of ceremonies and joins a distinguished list of previous chairs, including Aaron Matos, CEO of Jobing; Shawn Boyer, CEO of SnagAJob.com; Don Firth, CEO of JobsinLogistics.com; Kim Peters, CEO of Eluta.ca; Tony Lee, EVP of Adicio; and Constance Melrose, EVP of Dice."

"I'm honored and excited to be a part of this year's IAEWS Fall Member Conference. It's always a great opportunity to be surrounded by other professionals in the world of recruitment," said Rich Milgram, CEO at Beyond.com. "I look forward to reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, meeting new ones, and sharing our current challenges and recent strides."

Going to be at the IAEWS Member Congress?  Be sure to say hi to Rich!  Also, ERE attendees stop by booth #301 to say hi to the Beyond.com team.  Looking forward to seeing you in Hollywood!

The Benefits of Searching for Jobs and Candidates via Mobile

Beyond.com CEO, Rich Milgram recently had the opportunity to create a guest post on the HR blog, Recruiting Trends on the topic of mobile recruitment strategies for both employers and job seekers. With the trend of mobile phones to do everything but make phone calls, this post further examines the benefits of searching for jobs and candidates through mobile devices.

Read the full post.

Beyond.com Reports an Increase in Retail Jobs Entering the 2010 Holiday Season

Beyond.com, Inc., the world’s largest network of niche career communities, today released its Third Quarter 2010 Career Trend Analysis Report, which revealed a significant increase in online job postings in the Merchandising, Purchasing & Retail sector, taking the number two spot among all industries, indicating a healthy outlook for seasonal employment and overall optimism that the economy is moving in a positive direction.

The Healthcare & Medical industry continues to hold the number one spot in online job postings with 30.23 percent, yet experienced a decline over the previous quarter and year. The decrease is projected to be temporary, as the U.S. Department of Labor reports the healthcare industry is expected to grow 24 percent by 2018. The Information Technology industry remained consistent in the third position for online job postings, experiencing a slight increase, while the Customer Service and Sales & Sales Management industries rank amongst the largest percentage gains of online job postings in the third quarter.

According to the Beyond.com quarterly report, which gathers information across thousands of top-tier industry and local career sites, more than 42 percent of industries had a percentage gain in online job postings over the previous quarter. The top online job titles for the third quarter are represented across many different industries, with a particular concentration in the Healthcare and Retail sectors:

1. Physical Therapist
2. Occupational Therapist
3. Sales Representative
4. Cashier
5. Customer Service Representative
6. Merchandise Associate
7. Administrative Associate
8. Assistant Manager
9. Sales Associate
10. Event Specialist

“While it still remains a challenging time for many to find employment, there are glimmers of hope for job seekers looking for work across several key sectors and position types,” said Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com, Inc. “The influx of retail and customer service job postings can be attributed to the upcoming holiday season, which will offer many relief in their job search – whether it be temporary or an opportunity for a long-term position. One thing for certain is that seasonal jobs this year are abundantly greater than the past two holiday seasons, lending hope and confidence for the future of the economy.”

To view the complete Career Trend Analysis Report and Industry Outlook Reports for third quarter 2010, please visit http://www.Beyond.com/Media/QuarterlyReports.asp.

Beyond.com, Inc. Names Joshua Akers as Director of Enterprise Sales

Beyond.com, announced today the recent hiring of Joshua D. Akers as Director of Enterprise Sales for the organization.   Based in Indianapolis, Josh will primarily focus on developing and cultivating the southern sales territory by selling Beyond.com products and services into large enterprise employers.

Josh comes to Beyond.com with more than a decade of experience, including significant contributions to the online recruitment and HR technology industries.  Previously, he worked for several notable companies to develop and roll-out many flagship products for organizations such as RecruitingBlogs.com, Climber.com, Doostang.com, DirectEmployers Association, Nextsource.com and Monster.com. 

In addition to his new role, Josh currently sits on the advisory board for Doostang.com and is the co-founder of non-profit employment initiatives such as GreenCollarCareers.com and Project Grad-Cap.  He is also an award-winning blogger and writer.

“We are thrilled to have Josh join the Beyond.com family,” says Jim John, Chief Operating Officer of Beyond.com.  “Josh has played a strong role in building and growing the online recruitment industry and his passion for working closely with HR leaders as well as helping job seekers find employment is very evident in everything he has done throughout his career. His experience and dedication will be invaluable and we look forward to having him play an integral role in our continued success.”

Online Recruitment: Past, Present & Future

The evolution of recruitment has certainly changed over the years.  Back in the day you would post an ad in the local newspaper and wait for the resumes to come in via mail or fax, but now that everything is so instantaneous and there are so many paths that the recruitment process can take it is hard to pin point where the online recruitment process is going to end up. 

Luckily, a few weeks ago, Mark Anderson, Senior Director of Enterprise Sales from Beyond.com presented on the topic of Online Recruitment, how it started, where it is now, and where it will go in the future at HR Florida. 

Thanks to everyone who attended Mark’s session and for those of you who were not able to be there, you can watch it here:

College Grads Are Finding Ways to Ditch Potential Employers On Social Sites

While Employers are discovering the benefits of using social media sites in their businesses, college students (the early adopters) are apparently shying away from them (at least they seem to be in their job searches).

 

As employers and recruiters are still discovering the remarkableness of sites like Twitter and Facebook, college students who were mainly using these sites as an avenue to share news, pictures, and the funniest video from last week’s frat party, are staying one step ahead of potential employers as these soon to be grads start searching for jobs.

More than 45 percent of employers and recruiters use Facebook or Twitter to screen job candidates, but college students are smart and are censoring their Facebook pages and their tweets. 

No, we’re not saying that they’re no longer posting hilarious videos and have instead converted all of their posts and tweets to be employer friendly—no, these soon to be graduates are simply changing their names.    

No, not legally.  They’re either purposely misspelling part of their name or using a variation of their name (i.e. using their middle name as their last name) in order to keep employers from finding them on social sites.  

A recent survey that was commission by Beyond.com and conducted by students of the Wharton Small Business Development Center asked college students if they were concerned that potential employers may discover their personal information on social networking sites.  And 51% said yes. Which is a shame given that these sites were originally designed to be used in a social setting (hence the name social).  

As a job seeker, if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, just be aware that there are potential employers out there scouring the internet trying to learn more about you.  If you want to be sure that they’ll only view you as a professional, there are a few options for you to consider:

 

1. Change your social media accounts to be employer friendly.
2. Change your name (be sure if you have a vanity URL, that you change that as well if your URL previously contained your name).
3. Change your privacy settings to ensure only your friends can access your pages.
4. Do something drastic and cancel your Facebook and Twitter accounts all together.
5. Use a service like Reputation Defender to help you clean up what’s been posted on the internet about you.
6. Create a LinkedIn profile and promote it on your resume.  There are also other professional sites out there to market yourself to employers. 

Hire the Right Candidates With Behavioral Interviewing

The success of any organization largely depends upon the knowledge, skills and dedication of its employees. Since the selection process for new employees relies primarily on the interview process, it is imperative that managers and interviewers become proficient at interviewing candidates.

Due to the ongoing struggle of finding the right candidates, many employers utilize behavioral interviewing to better gauge the potential of a candidate, especially those who have little or no traditional work experience. Behavioral interview questions allow organizations to effectively evaluate whether or not candidates can quickly and efficiently tackle issues and solve problems, communicate well with others, collaborate in a team-environment and demonstrate true initiative.  

There are many ways to approach and incorporate behavioral interviewing into the hiring process.  Sometimes the level of position or specialized skill sets required for a particular position can change the employer’s approach behavioral interviewing.  Some questions will be detailed and some will be more broadly-defined.  Located below are a few general behavioral interviewing questions which any employer can incorporate into their hiring process:

1. Provide an example of when you encountered conflict and how you resolved it.
2. Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.
3. Give me an example of a time when you tried to accomplish something and failed.  What lesson did you learn? 
4. Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and proactively developed preventive measures.
5. Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.

By incorporating behavioral interviewing, employers can make more effective and informed decisions to be sure that they are hiring the best employees for the position and the company.

At Beyond.com, we provide valuable career resources and articles across a variety of different topics, including interviewing techniques to assist hiring managers with their recruitment program.  We encourage you to visit our website at www.Beyond.com  to review our comprehensive list of resources.

Take Control of Your Online Reputation

When searching for a job, it is important to take a proactive approach to making a good name for yourself and getting your name out in there in the way that you want.  Fortunately there are many ways to take control of your online identity.  See below for helpful tips on how to manage your online reputation.

• Monitor Your Online Content.  The first step in managing your online reputation is to determine what type of information is available about you online.  There are many free tools, such as Google, Blog Control and Technorati, which can help you identify if any damaging information exists.  You may also want to consider performing a background check which allows you to dig deeper than an online search alone.
• Control the Message.  If you come across any negative or inaccurate information about yourself online, there are several ways to address this issue.  You can contact the publisher directly, set the record straight on your personal blog (if you have one), or you can flood the internet with positive web pages and social media profiles that will help push the negative content further down in search results.
• Choose the Right Social Networks.  Make sure you research all available social networking sites.  Although MySpace and Facebook are among the most popular social networks, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these sites are the best place to build a professional online presence.  There are many sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Plaxo, which allow you to create a professional profile and network with contacts in your industry.  You should also consider creating an online career portfolio.
• Look to the Pros for Help.  Monitoring your online reputation can be frustrating and time-consuming, so you may want to consider enlisting a reputation management service.  There are many service providers that monitor and report what content is available about you online and help eliminate information that is inappropriate or inaccurate.  These companies can also help you create positive online content that ranks highly in search engines results, allowing you to better control the information that people will read about your online.

It is important to take the appropriate steps to protect and enhance your professional online image.  By understanding what information is available about you online, it allows you to better position yourself to potential employers.  In fact, your Google results could be the deciding factor on whether or not you are hired for your next job!