20.09.10

Targeted Email Marketing - why you get more bang for your buck

Spotlight Feature: ApplyNow Network Marketing Specialist, Irini Cavalliotis, highlights why identifying your target markets will set you apart from your competitors and attract more (and better) candidates.

In recent years, email marketing has proved an economical, quick and simple method of approaching clients and prospective customers. So, why not ride on this success and use emails to target candidates for your next recruitment opportunity?

Australian job board network – ApplyNow Network – uses targeted E-Shots to advertise jobs to candidates who have previously applied for a similar role, in a relevant location.

These highly personalized emails capture the attention of both active and passive job seekers – giving your opportunity a wider (and potentially better) audience than traditional recruitment advertising.

It makes sense to select and focus your efforts – and your dollars – on the people most likely to follow up. To discuss how targeted e-mail marketing can help your recruitment campaign, contact your Employment Office Account Executive.

27.08.10

Could a fib cost you your career?

According to research conducted on behalf of psychometric consulting firm, SHL, a third of jobseekers are lying on their resumes or during interviews.

Lies most commonly involve exaggerating or fabricating work experience, with some 17 per cent of candidates admitting to stretching the truth in this area. SHL national director Stephanie Christopher attributes the lies to anxiety over GFC-related gaps and breaks in employment.

The next most common lies include naming friends as false employer referees (16%), dishonesty around previous salary packages (10%), and fabricating qualifications (3%).

I can honestly say I’ve never lied on my resume or in an interview. Well...almost.

But what constitutes as lying? I have never intentionally provided false or misleading information to try and increase my chances of getting a job but I have embellished my job title or position description in order to more accurately portray my skills, experience and functions within a company.

It’s the same old story, you get employed to a be an ‘X’ but once you settle in to the company and get good at what you do, suddenly the powers that be also want you to be ‘Y’ and you might as well do ‘Z’ while you’re at it.

Your official position title doesn’t change, nor does your job description vary to reflect your new found responsibility and expertise – but when it comes to trying to convey that on your resume it can come across as misleading or untrue. Particularly if you are reference checked and the recruiter calls your old employer.

Recruiter: “So I’d just like to clarify that {name} was employed as ‘XYZ’”

Former Employer: “Uh...well, no. She was actually employed as ‘X’”.

Recruiter: “Oh...I see...” *files your application under LYING DECEITFUL COW*

BUSTED!

Although, depending on the circumstances you left your last job or how nice your former employer is, they may clarify this and explain how great you were and how much more you were able to learn and take on. But if circumstances weren’t ideal on your exit, you can bet your old boss will keep his mouth shut and grin evilly with glee at his efforts to sabotage your career prospects.

Let’s face it, there are times in your professional life when you leave a company and it’s not all cake, drinks and ‘we’ll miss you’ cards signed by the entire office. And this may be through no fault of your own. And it may be through every fault of your own. But usually there are three versions to the story – your version, your boss’s version and the truth.

However, it would be unfair to expect that you would leave this valuable information off your resume and may mean the difference between you getting the job and not.

It’s not so much the information that you convey, but the way in which you convey it.

For example, my favourite way of putting my best foot forward that’s not always the “official” story is to mark those extra duties and skills up as achievements on my resume.

You can accurately and truthfully list what your position entailed, then list the additional stuff as “achievements” – it’s not misleading in the slightest and it makes you look like a superstar!

As far as providing false referees, that’s been happening for a long time and I dare say will continue. Friends of mine have done it. Friends of mine have asked me to be party to it. I may have acted a false referee on occasion, and perhaps it’s partly my fault for enabling them but you help a mate out.

Good recruiters will always know. They’ll ask the important questions and when you struggle to answer them or give vague and general responses – they’ll know. When you answer your phone without identifying yourself, or your company and don’t have your “work” voice on – they’ll know.

But most importantly, you’ll know. It’s unethical, it’s unfair and professional networks have long arms. Get caught out and it may make finding a job even harder.

20.08.10

WANTED: Bearded Lady - must have experience

If you've ever groaned about your organisation's staff turnover, spare a pitying thought for the HR Officers in charge of recruiting for the shows, fairs, fetes and exhibitions that irregularly dot the calendar across Australia each year.

From a recruitment point of view, these are essentially new businesses that start with a bang (fireworks pun!), serve thousands of customers and close down, all within a week or so. Of course, this is a business that brings with it a travelling city of full time carnival employees, each of whom knows their niche role like the back of their grotesquely-misshapen-from-a-tragic-carnival-accident hand. This is a relief, considering most job boards have a dearth of categories specifically set aside for Scone Judges, Shake Shack Operators and Bearded Ladies.

However, on top of the lifelong Showfolk, most exhibitions also require a multitude of employees for more general retail, hospitality, customer service and cleaning roles. The Brisbane Ekka, for example, opened its gates for two weeks in early August. 3,600 jobs were created specifically for this year's Ekka, plus roles for 800 volunteers. That's 4,400 Showbag Sellers, Dagwood Dog Vendors, Information Booth Staff and Stockyard Cleaners from Brisbane that you can bet weren't fulfilling those duties the week before. The magnitude of such an HR feat is overwhelming.

To discover how an HR department might attack this process, we asked one of Employment Office's professional Short Listing Specialists how they would tackle the task of recruiting over 4,000 casual staff. They laughed and shuddered simultaneously. Then, realising we were a) serious and b) going to use their professional advice in an online blog, they gave us a serious estimation.

Our Short Listing Specialist offered: "There would be no time nor need to interview each applicant. That's not cost effective and frankly it's impossible without an army. The best way to work through such an enormous number of candidates would be with a group thing. A series of group assessment days."

Group Assessment Days are an emerging tool in the world of employment, giving recruiters an opportunity to jump in beyond the normal interview process, and see for themselves how short listed candidates interact in a team environment, respond to tailored activites and fit the organisational culture. They're commonly used to whittle down a shortlist for one specific role, but given their strength in drawing out the skills and talents of multiple applicants at once, they're also perfect for our hypothetical mega-carnival needs here.

Without the need to dig too deep to assess people for these kinds of casual roles, our expert estimated a small Short Listing team of 4 or 5 could deliver recommendations on how to best employ 4,000 people within a month. "It wouldn't be the most laidback month of my career" our expert noted, "but we could do it".

For a more traditional role, Group Assesment Days reveal more about each applicant's skills, aptitudes and motivations than any number of interviews can, and can be completed much quicker.

As for those 4,400 Ekka employees, we can only wish them the best. Whether they're hosing out horse manure or selling Bertie Beetle showbags to overtired children, two weeks must seem like an eternity.

06.08.10

Social media profiles a way to 'spy' on employees?

Recruitment and Human Capital Management news and analysis website Shortlist reports that more than a third of all job seekers accept that employers are entitled to check out their social media profiles when assessing them for a role.

However, while 34% of the 900 candidates surveyed expected employers to check their social media profile and found this acceptable, a larger group - some 46%, felt employers were invading their privacy by screening them on social media.

This is a hot topic that usually divides the office. Whilst I can see the merits in undertaking this background research, I’m not convinced it’s the ethical thing to do. I don’t consider it an invasion of privacy – after all, they’re public profiles that have been created and display on the internet for all the world to see, so if there’s anything on there you wouldn’t want people seeing, why have it on there at all?

On the other hand, what you get up to in your personal life is your business and really has no affect on your ability to do your job well (in most cases). Unfortunately, I do think that ‘spying’ on employees or potential employees like this can lead to discrimination.

For example if you’re the kind of person who likes a good drink on the weekends, and your social media profile is testament to this in the form of pictures and/or comments relating to your drunken shenanigans some employers who do not approve of a drinking culture may not pursue your application further based on this. Which is WRONG! As long as you’re not showing up to work drunk or too hung over to function satisfactorily in the workplace, your penchant for an alcoholic beverage has no bearing on your professional life.

We can also examine the original purpose of social media profiles – which were to serve as entertainment and a way to stay in touch with friends. Social media profiles are just that – SOCIAL! I think it is unfair for employers to invade your personal life, when they would no doubt be highly unimpressed if your personal life was invading your professional life. The two have been intentionally kept separate for years because it’s a formula that works and keeps everybody happy.

It’s also worth considering, if employers are going to lurk your social media profile and more than likely make judgements about you because of it (and why else would they even be looking if they weren’t) where do we draw the line? Will employees be rejected because they smoke? Because they’re gay? Because they do not have a family at an age where it is socially acceptable to have one?

It’s a slippery slope and not only are there ethical elements to consider, it can also open up the flood gates for legal action by unsuccessful candidates if they believe they were discriminated against because of a lifestyle factor that was presented on their social media profile.

What are your thoughts? Comment here

23.07.10

We all knew it but here's the evidence - it's your boss' fault!

After reading a great article on HR Daily from leadership author Bruce Rosengarten, I was faced with the startling reality that all the mean teachers from my high school years were mean to me for a reason - because if I fail, so do they!

This is an important lesson that is getting taught the hard way to many management personnel who think that once they reach that last rung on their leadership ladder, that all the hard work is finished and they can just sit back and yell at their minions.

Rosengarten states that "70 per cent of how an employee performs is directly related to how well he or she is led and managed". Essentially meaning, as a manager, the buck stops with you!To read the full article, click here.

The hard facts of it, ladies and gentlemen, is that the work is never finished - last drinks are never called, the bell never tolls and neither does that slightly large lady begin to bellow out the high notes. The fact is, as a manager, you are the teacher, mentor, leader and fountain of all knowledge to your employees - and it's time to just accept it.

So the best way to often measure the management's performance is to take a good hard look at how their employees are coping. Are they stressed? Do they look confused? And worst of all, are they just doing nothing!? This is the way to a successful business and often the way to successfully hire as well. Promoting that one motivated and helpful employee into management could essentially increase productivity in all areas of your business, so choose carefully!

What do you think? Comment here

09.07.10

Mad Men's guide to managing creative people

I read a great article on HR Daily that was picked up from Dan Bingham's guest post on the Halogen Software blog. Here's just a little bit of what he had to say...

One of best lines on how to manage creative people was delivered by Don Draper, the main character from the nine Emmy and five Golden Globe award-winning television series, Mad Men. When Sterling Cooper's new management, personified by Lane Pryce, criticizes the ad agency's creative department for being a bunch of lazy alcoholics, Draper defends his team with a statement I'll never forget:

"You came here because we do this better than you, and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are."

So simple, and yet it pretty much says it all when it comes to effectively managing creative people. Let them be unproductive until they are. A very difficult pill for task oriented managets to swallow, but an absolutely crucial prescription for the creative potential. The following is a guide on how to get the most out of your creative team, keeping them happy, motivated, from the perspective of someone who spent the last two weeks crammign three entire seasons of Mad Men into his brain...And as a creative writer myself, I wholeheartedly agree with everything I'm about to say. To read the full article, click here.

A really interesting look at the creative side of business! It really comes down to how you define "productivity" but I think it is important to recognise the distinction between different areas of a business. While some areas may measure their productivity by a series of broken down tasks and goals, others can more effectively evaluate their effectiveness by looking at the overall end result.

What are your thoughts? Comment here

17.05.10

Tattooed Employees!

Read an interesting article on HR Daily today about tattooed employees. Personally I don't have any problem with it, although I do prefer tattooed employees keep their body art discreet during work hours.

If attending a meeting with a client, my preference would be that tatts are covered up. If an employee was in the office and not seeing clients that day, I wouldn't really mind if you could see them, so long as overall personal presentation (clothes, hair, make-up, shoes) are professional.

Tattoos are becoming more and more mainstream - banning them from the workplace might result in valuable potential employees avoiding your company, and going to a competitor!

http://www.hrdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&nav=1&selkey=1471

Thoughts? Comment here ...

13.05.10

May Update

While marketing and HR departments were definately victims of the economic crisis at the start of the yaer, there is no doubt their prospects are now looking up.

Driven by a massive rise in full-time employment, the economy gained more than 30,000 jobs in April (not quite the “let’s wait and see” Employer trend predicted by recruiters in February-March).

Inexpensive and wide-reaching social media campaigns are undoubtedly behind a lot of these placements.

More and more social networking platforms are becoming available to businesses – including the relatively new Foursquare network and iPhone applications.

While every social media trend won’t appeal to every company – it’s important to keep up to date. Watch this space for an update on what social networking platforms are working for recruiters and what aren’t worth spending time or money on.