10 Tricks To Use LinkedIn As A Recruiting Tool:Recruiters

LinkedIn has become a major tool of choice in the recruitment trade. It has made some recent changes that have me questioning its future, but I still can’t deny how useful the site is for recruiters and networkers alike.


Here is my short list of tips on how to use LinkedIn for recruiting:

1. Accept ALL invitations to connect - There are arguments for and against this and quality vs. quantity, but as a recruiter, the true value of your network is measured by its size – bigger IS better. You never know when that invitation is going to connect you to that very private Sr. Executive that no one else is connected to.

2. Invite everyone to connect - Growing your network takes a lot of work and commitment. Make it a point to add 10 new people to your network, daily (business days). Add your friends, family, colleagues, candidates, etc.

3. Join relevant profession/industry groups - The new LinkedIn search function allows you to search people that are members of the same LinkedIn interest groups as you, regardless of whether you’re connected or not. So, by joining the many Six Sigma Professional groups, you will automatically be given access to the thousands of members of the group.

4. Join relevant geographical groups - In “network theory” it’s called clustering. In general, the theory is that most people invite friends/family/colleagues to join their social groups. Since we still live and work in a predominantly bricks and mortar world that means that most of my immediate network, lives in the same city I do (or one of its suburbs). So, if you are working on an “out of town” role, a great way to find more candidates is to start connecting to contacts that live in the target city.

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10 Online Recruiting Tips That Are A Must: HR/Recruiters

Recruiting employees online is a whole different ballgame from traditional hiring methods. Instead of a newspaper audience, employers have thousands of Internet-savvy job seekers and passive applicants to choose from. Connecting with the right candidate requires a strategic approach to online recruiting, since it can be difficult to choose the right plan for your company. Here are a few tips to help you best use the Internet to increase your candidate pool.

1. Spruce up your "careers" Web page. Cambria Consulting Inc., a Boston-based firm specializing in HR management, identified seven crucial features for high-impact corporate "careers" Web pages. First, the careers link should be prominent on the corporate home page. Second, the page should be easy to navigate and provide interesting information about the corporate culture. Third, a “job-cart" function should allow candidates to research multiple openings and apply for them. Fourth, résumé builders should be available to help candidates present their backgrounds in ways that HR can analyze. Fifth, the page must have an up-to-date listing of job openings. Sixth, standard, easy-to-read job descriptions on the page should include all tasks and skills required. Lastly, the site should have a link to an HR representative – not just a phone number or mailing address – to give candidates an action item to pursue.



2. Use Google to find candidates on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a career-focused social-networking site. Many people have made their LinkedIn.com profiles public, so they are indexed by search engines such as Google. To find “director of information technology” candidates, for example, enter this search string on Google:
site:www.linkedin.com -intitle:directory -intitle:answers -intitle:directory “director of information technology”



3. Search LinkedIn effectively. The advanced search functions on LinkedIn allow you to search by current and past employers, professional title, name, location and keywords. The results include members of your extended network up to three contact levels away. You will be able to see the names and biographies of potential recruits and their current employer, and can easily contact them.



4. Use Facebook’s “My Company’s Hiring” application. All of your recruiters should have a Facebook page where they can talk about issues important to job candidates in their areas of specialization. The “My Company’s Hiring” application can be added to each page, allowing recruiters to post listings of current job openings.



5. Create a Facebook Workplace group. Facebook Workplaces are closed groups. Only people with a company-hosted email address can join them. These groups can foster community among your employees, but they can also serve as a place to post job listings and ask for employee referrals.



6. Network through LinkedIn endorsements and recommendations. LinkedIn members can endorse others on the site. After a user is endorsed, the recommendation will appear on the user's profile. Each testimonial will also link to the recommender's biography. These endorsements are yet another channel through which you can connect to people.

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Why Employers Should Hire Older Workers

Can you handle the truth? If you think you can, let me test you. The last time you interviewed an employee over age 50, were you concerned that he or she would not be able to be as productive as a 20 or 30-year-old employee?

Were you worried that the older employee might have memory or health problems, not be familiar with or be able to be trained to use new technology, or might retire before he or she completes training? Myths, myths, and more myths suddenly develop in the minds of employers when they interview an older worker (50 to 64 years of age).

The first myth that comes to mind to an employer is that an older worker might have health problems; therefore, an older worker will cost the company too much money in terms of health care premiums. It is true that older male employees do utilize more health care dollars than younger male employees; on the other hand, older male employees generally do not carry as many dependents on their health policy as younger male employees do. Therefore, any increases in health care costs older workers might generate, are likely to be offset by having fewer dependents. In regards to older female employees over age 50, they generally use less health care dollars than younger female employees because they are past childbearing age.

If absenteeism rates determine health, then older workers should be healthier than younger workers. Research has shown that absenteeism rates are lower for employees' 50 to 65 years of age than employees between 33 to 44 years of age.

Another health care problem that employers are concern about is that older workers have memory problems. The latest research shows that people do lose some of their memory ability in their working and secondary memories as they age; however, only 10 percent of people over age 65 show any significant memory impairment. Therefore, when people are at risk for memory impairment, they are usually well into their retirement years.

The second myth that comes to mind to an employer is that an older worker will not be familiar with technology or will be too difficult to train. Did you know that the fastest growing groups of new users to the Internet are those over age 40? Okay, your great grandmother may have had trouble using a computer, but research has shown that employees over age 50 are able to learn to operate a computer as well as younger employees. In terms of training, any extra training costs, such as additional one to one training, which an older worker might require, are usually offset by reduced turnover rates among older workers.
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10 Mistakes Employers Make When Recruiting/Hiring

We have been here since 1952 and have been through literally thousands of hiring processes. We are asked about the biggest and most frequent mistakes that hiring authorities make in the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring process. Here they are:

1. Not having a clear idea of what they are looking for - that everyone understands. Hiring authorities aren’t specific enough about the duties, skills, and competencies they need. They confuse amount of experience with competency: “8 to 10 years of experience” - does that mean that someone with six years of experience can’t do the job? Or what about the candidate who has had one year of experience 10 times? Putting any kind of numbers of years of experience limits them. What is important?

Employers would be better off defining the functions they want done very specifically, and then finding someone who can do it. This may mean someone who has done it well before or someone who has the potential to do it well. The specifics need to be written by the hiring authority who has the “pain,” i.e., the person who needs the help and is going to be responsible for the new employee.

Concocting “wish lists” of super-human attributes, combined with unrealistically low pay scales relative to expectations of the experience needed, will create havoc in a talent search. Hazy, ambiguous descriptions along with generalities like “good written and oral communication skills” don’t help either. Know your target.

2. Having an unrealistic idea of what kind of candidates might be available and the money it may take to hire them. Just because everyone would like to hire Superman or Wonder Woman, that doesn’t mean they are available or will go to work at your company. There is no perfect candidate, and waiting for one is as unrealistic as searching for one.

The only way to become realistic about what the market might bear is to interview enough candidates to know what is available and the commensurate earnings expected. It may take quite a few interviews. The number of quality candidates is drastically lower than it was even two years ago. Our clients are often shocked that the salaries they are locked into won’t allow them to hire the quality or experience they wish for.

And just because you believe that your company is wonderful, it doesn’t mean: (1) everyone wants to go to work there, (2) they will accept any amount you offer, and (3) there aren’t four or five other firms like yours trying to hire the same candidates.

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10 Tips for Giving Feedback as an Employer

One of the most critical issues in the employer-employee relationship is feedback. The employee wants to know how they are doing, what they can improve on, and what the employer's expectations are. So take some time now and read this article to discover 10 fantastic tips on giving feedback as an employer!

1. Agree a ‘contract’ between yourself and the recipient so that they are prepared and receptive for feedback.

2. Check for wellbeing and also for capacity. Back off when capacity reached. You can always agree to talk again at a future date.

3. Take your time to explain things, checking for understanding. If what you are trying to say is difficult to explain say so up front and perhaps try saying it a couple of ways. If working across cultures and languages ask the individual for help to ‘get the meaning right’.

4. Where possible illustrate with real examples but if your examples are weak or inappropriate be open about this. Do not fall into the trap of giving feedback through giving an example, having it refuted, finding another, having it refuted, and so on.

5. Do not treat questions and challenge as further ‘evidence’ [‘I said that you did not listen, and here you are, not listening] or unwillingness to listen and learn. Some people absorb feedback best through asking questions.

6. Allow space for the recipient to reflect, check, challenge, etc

7. Ask the individual if they can think of examples that illustrate what you are saying

8. Engage the individual in generating ideas for development actions. Allow individuals to come up with their own ideas. Present options and ideas for improvement and development – not solutions

9. Allow time for the positives. See if you can harness positives and strengths towards addressing development areas

10. Remember that perception is reality but also that intentions are important and where there is a disconnect the person to whom you are giving feedback needs to focus on how to better realise their intentions and figure out what is coming between their intention and their impact

. . . . . And, don’t forget to ask for feedback in exchange . . . . .

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Lisette Howlett, Top 10 tips for giving feedback
http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/790/Top-10-tips-for-giving-feedback.html

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Recruiting Is Different During The Recession - 3 Reasons Why

Economic pressures on workers combined with a higher unemployment rate might lead you to assume that recruiting and hiring are easier during a downturn. Depending on the nature of your job openings, recruiting is not necessarily easier in a downturn, but it is different. Some of the challenges we are used to are still there and are easier to meet (e.g. fewer demands and less negotiating from candidates) but there are new challenges too. Such as:

1. Candidates Don’t want to Change Jobs

One of the biggest hiring challenges in an economic downturn is that passive job seekers do not want to change jobs. While you will get an increase in the number of unemployed candidates, it may be that the candidate you want for a particular position is currently working. And employed passive job seekers are much less likely to change jobs in a recession as many of them perceive changing as risky. The irony is that staying put in their current job many times is not the safest choice. For example the government’s bailout of AIG, banks, and other seemingly stable financial institutions shows us that risks are not always what they seem.

Recruiters and hiring managers today need to work to get passive candidates to overcome their fear of change. Understand what motivates the candidate and outline all the ways that the job opening is attractive specifically to them. The fact that you are recruiting and hiring now might be a point to underscore with candidates assuming you are hiring for expansion purposes; it mean something positive is happening at your company and you are secure enough to make investments for the future.

2. Qualified Candidates are Still Hard to Find

As more organizations lay-off staff and the unemployment numbers climb, recruiters are hearing from more and more people looking for work. Rather than making a recruiter’s job easier, the increase in applicants means recruiters must be more judicious than ever in culling through the information to find the right candidates. Using all the tools available – including careful resume screening, phone interviews, face-to-face meetings, and both formal and informal (i.e. back door) reference checks – is more important than ever to make sure you’re making the right choices. Recruiters must take the time and ask the right questions to determine why the candidate is out of work or seeking a new position. We also have to be savvy when checking references to avoid getting “sympathy” references that lack candid feedback.

3. Generalized Unemployment Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story

While the headlines will tell you that unemployment is up over last year (Editor's note: Article is dated- Current unemployment is around 8.8% up from  around six percent nationally when this article was written-scary) , unemployment amongst the type of people you are recruiting might be drastically different. For instance teenaged workers might be easy to find -- according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a 19.1 percent unemployment rate for teenagers. On the other hand, the unemployment rate for college graduates is 2.5 percent, still a relatively low level. (editor's note: Now over 60%)

Recruiting during an economic downturn is not easier, but it is different. And, for organizations intent on finding top talent, adjustments must be made to their recruiting strategy.


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Why Employers Should Hire Older Workers (2)

The third myth that frequently develops in the mind of an employer when interviewing an older worker is retirement. The baby boomer generation, according to research, will stay longer in the workforce than their parents' generation. Baby boomers do not want a "rocking chair" retirement. Most baby boomers (8 of every 10) plan to work at least part-time following retirement. Some even plan to start their own business, start another full-time job, and many plan to engage in volunteerism. The message is clear; baby boomers enjoy activity and generally gain a lot of that activity by staying involved at work.

10 Reasons to Hire Older Workers

1.) Older workers have lower absenteeism rates than younger employees.

2.) Older workers have lower turnover rates than younger employees.

3.) Older employees are generally more loyal employees.

4.) Older employees have less job injuries than younger employees.

5.) Older employees are less likely to steal from your company.

6.) Older employees bring a wealth of experience with them to work.

7.) Older employees generally have a strong work ethic.

8.) Older workers generally find satisfaction with and enjoy their work.

9.) Older workers want to work, at least part-time, even after they retire.

10.) You will one day be an older worker.

What's your opinion on this? Do you agree with the 10 reasons to hire older workers? Are the myths true in any nature?

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Source: http://www.employer-employee.com/september2001tips.html#Web

7. Build an online network of candidates and prospects with LinkedIn. Whenever you speak with a good candidate, ask him or her to connect with you on LinkedIn. The recruit's contacts will then become visible to you through your extended three-level network.

8. Email your LinkedIn network. LinkedIn allows members to export their contacts to an Excel file. Using this feature, you can create personalized mass emails that present new and upcoming job opportunities.

9. Get warm referrals from your candidate’s LinkedIn network. On LinkedIn, you can view your prospects' second-level contacts. When you talk to your candidates, ask whether you can call or email second-level contacts. If the prospect declines, ask if a specific person can serve as a referral.

10. Try ZoomInfo. ZoomInfo is a business search engine that crawls the Web, scraping names, titles, company affiliation and other contact information from Web pages. While some of this information may be out of date, it’s a good starting point for any search.

Take advantage of HR World's LinkedIn Group to communicate with a trusted network of peers, colleagues and experts.

http://www.hrworld.com/features/online-recruiting-tips-040808/

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10 Tips to Find Potential Candidates on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great tool for finding passive candidates who want to be found. This is its little-discussed power. No one would publish their profiles otherwise. While some recruiters are still reluctant to jump on board, others have been making placements since day one. Here are some ideas on how to get started right away to take full advantage of this remarkable networking tool:

1. Direct Recruiting. Using the advanced search tools, you can find people in your extended network who are potential candidates for your search, or who know someone who is. Since you can see the names and bios of people in your extended network, you can very easily call them up and just recruit them. An extended network consists of three levels of contacts. For example, I have 1,200 people in my direct network. (You can link to me on LinkedIn using this email: lou@adlerconcepts.com.) On average each of these people has 200 people in their own network. This allows me access to over 240,000 people by one degree of separation! I can also see their contacts as well, which gives me visibility to approximately 5 million people.

2. Get Warm Leads from Your Direct Contact's Network. Here's my big rule for successful passive candidate recruiting: only call warm leads who have been pre-qualified. As far as I'm concerned it's a waste of time making a cold call to someone you don't know. First, the person is less likely to call you back. Furthermore, the person might not be qualified, and in this case the person won't give you any good leads. The direct network of all of your first-level LinkedIn contacts can quickly become warm leads. Since you can see the names of the people directly connected to them, just call and ask them who are the most qualified. Then call and recruit them. Since they're all warm leads they'll call you back. During the call make sure you connect directly with them on LinkedIn. This way you'll be able to see their contacts. Call back the next day if they're not a direct fit with one of your current openings and ask them who are the most qualified in their network. This is an awesome way to only work with high-quality warm leads.

3. Leverage Your Employee Referrals. First, get everyone you've placed and currently work with to build a LinkedIn network of associates. Then when you need some referrals, find them on LinkedIn and ask your employees to vouch for them. Make sure the referring employee gets the bonus for any placements. This will go a long way in having your contacts proactively and dramatically increase their network. When you call the referrals tell them who referred you to ensure a return call. This seems quicker to me than using the LinkedIn email system. Additionally, look up some of the employees of your company you don't personally know but who might know people for some of your open searches. Then connect with them and get more referrals. They'll probably call you back and connect with you since you're employees of the same company.

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The Job Interview: How to Answer Candidate's Questions

How do you deal with a job candidate's questions in an interview? Check out the video below to find out!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsJ7EVuSPaI

The Job Interview: How to Review His/Her Resume

How To Conduct a Resume Interview from beginning to finish, find out how by watching this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PnwlG60a-A

How to Recruit Older Workers

The job of recruiters is harder now than ever. Considering that the age difference of today's workforce can span more than 50 years, recruitment campaigns must reach across four different generations, attracting job seekers with completely different values and perceptions about work, family and everything in between.

To cast recruitment successfully into the mature worker segment, forget vanilla recruiting tactics and nine-to-five jobs. If you want to grab the attention of workers 50+, consider the following tips from experts who share their experiences about what works and what doesn't.

Be strategic: know your target market
Recruiters often assume that there's a monolithic, one-size-fits-all strategy that reaches all workers, says Annette Merritt Cummings, vice president and national director of diversity services at Bernard Hodes Group, a NY-based recruitment communications company. So they mistakenly budget one lump sum as opposed to dividing resources into demographic segments.

"Each group requires different strategies when it comes to recruitment," she says. "Don't write this group [older workers] off. It's a huge market of individuals who have huge amounts of knowledge that may go untapped."

She recommends these steps when recruiting mature, experienced workers:

- Analyze your market. Ask yourself a series of questions. What are the differences between the mature worker segment and others? How do they prefer to communicate and receive messages? What are the media habits of workers 50+?

- Realize that even within the mature worker segment, age matters. Never assume that the preferences or habits of sixty year-olds will be the same as those who are in their seventies or eighties.

- Identify their favorite social spaces, including virtual spaces. Focus on print and online publications that cater to the 50+ market segment. Look into social organizations like college alumni associations, churches, synagogues or veterans’ groups. Also check out listservs as well as blogs, job banks, and other online places that serve as popular gathering spots for mature, experienced workers.

- Build relationships. Reach out to retirees who have the experience and skill sets your company desires. Market your business as an age-friendly workplace that values mature workers and provides career opportunities for growth and leadership. To reach retirees, Cummings says you may be better off targeting organizations they're affiliated with and communicating with them on a more personal level, something that’s not nearly as important to younger generations.

- Appoint someone in your organization to head up a mature worker recruitment program. This individual would be responsible for acquiring the expert knowledge on the mature worker market, sharing it with others in your organization, communicating with older workers and tracking results.

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How to Deal with a Difficult Employee

As an employer, your work environment should be positive and things should be running smoothly - but what happens when one employee is too difficult to handle? What do you do? Watch this video to find out:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ru94iNOe98

Resources for Recruiting Mature Workers

You’re a business owner and you need to hire hard-working, dependable people. You’ve heard that in your community there is a pool of talented mature workers who have much to offer. How do you tap into this tremendous asset?

You could run help wanted ads like everyone else does, but with an ad you never know who you’re going to get. Surely there must be a better way.

In many communities, there is! Here is just a sample of the hiring resources available to employers across the country. It’s likely that you’ll find something similar in your area.

· Seniors4Hire.org is a nationwide online career center and a leading Internet resource for businesses that value a diverse workforce. Business owners and HR executives can recruit workers fifty and older including retirees and senior citizens who are looking for a career change.
· The SeniorJobBank is a nationwide website used by employers to advertise their jobs to the website’s audience of talented, dedicated people over the age of fifty. Employers posting with the SeniorJobBank are committed to hiring baby boomers and mature workers. For a modest fee to the employer the site provides job postings, as well as job search, resume and job alert registration for job seekers. Career and education information is provided too.

· In Washington State, the Mature Workers Alliance of Puget Sound is an all-volunteer group of private and public organizations dedicated to empowering over-fifty workers and promoting age and experience in the workforce. They sponsor workshops and job fairs for mature workers to help them conduct successful job searches and connect to hiring employers. They also encourage businesses to recruit and retain mature workers and benefit from the experience, strong work ethic, and loyalty offered by mature workers.

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Why Do Companies Hire & Promote from Within?

The reason so many companies hire and promote within may surprise you, watch this video to find out why!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFYi1IAv7eQ

Best Practices for Hiring Employees for a Small Business

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The Job Interview: How to Evaluate a Candidate's Skills

Maybe what the candidate tells you in the interview isn't the whole story? How do you evaluate their skills on the spot? Watch this video to find out!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK6uNTVwJQU

5 Tips & Tools for Recruiting with Social Media

More and more headhunters and companies are tapping social media channels to recruit jobseekers. Especially in a recession, companies know their ultimate success depends on the quality of human capital they can reel into their organization. Leveraging social media plays an increasingly key role in making sure your company finds its widest array of candidate choices.

1. Start with the usual suspects.

Candidates have been given the secrets to pass the social media recruitment test. Since recruiters tend to check an applicant’s personal blog, Facebook profile, Twitter feed, LinkedIn recommendations, Flickr portfolio, SlideShare presentations or even YouTube resume, establish the same transparency for your company with these tools. Creating your firm’s online character attracts the best pool of applicants and indicates to potentials how they stack up to your ideals, culture and caliber.

To keep costs down, companies should start by posting their own creative job description on a company site or blog and then use email, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to pass around the URL. Nine times out of 10, the best candidates are already in your employees’ networks.

2. Avoid CraigsList, Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs and other major database sites for one of two reasons.

If you’re looking to fill a professional position these sites do not filter resumes enough to make the search worth the time. “Employers” on these sites are often temp or placement agencies or even spammers — not actual employers — and good applicants know this. As a real employer, know that talent is available in excess, but your ideal applicants generally try to target their job search by looking at sites catered to their specific industry and skill set. They’re not spending much time on the large database sites.

Second, the cost of posting jobs on these sites can grow very quickly based on the number of people you’re looking to hire. If you’re a small firm, there’s no reason to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to recruit a few people. If you’re a large organization, your own infrastructure is more suitable for recruiting internally on your own site. Google does this especially well.

3. Recognize that paying for recruitment services is almost always a poor decision.

In recruitment, your fixed costs of recruiter salary is a given, so your end goal should be to eliminate all other variable costs like job posting fees. Again, big sites are not the way to go.

CareerBuilder starts at $419 to post for one month for one job position. A bevy of emails and socially networked messages might not get you as many responses in volume, but rest assured candidates who do respond will on average be more qualified, know more about your specific company and industry, and will possess more genuine interest in being an asset to your firm. In this game Quality: 1, Quantity: 0.

The exception to this rule is niche recruitment. From healthcare to tech, smaller job sites are generally cheaper and viewed by a more industry-savvy audience, so bets are if you’re going open the purse strings, smaller sites are a smarter move in your recruitment strategy. Mashable, for instance, offers a gamut of social media positions. For recruiters using Mashable, the $50 price tag is justified by the hours your HR manager won’t have to spend combing through unqualified candidates who‘ve been spamming their resumes around.

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The Job Interview: How to Sell Your Business to the Candidate

While interviewing a job candidate, you want to entice them and make your business as appealing as possible - but little things can go along way during this conversation. Essentially, you want to learn how to sell your business to the job applicant. To figure out how to do this, watch the video below:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVGZ13TTSys

HR: Best Way to Find Best Employees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEHlIQIqBrk