Why Arent You Getting the Best Out of Your Recruitment Activity

Why Aren’t You Getting the Best Out of Your Recruitment Activity Not getting the best out of your recruitment activity? Perhaps predictably, it could be for a number of reasons, some of which may be beyond your  control. Lack of time and resources is an all-too-familiar challenge for many in-house recruiters,  whilst some roles are simply very difficult to fill. But there are some elements of your recruitment activity that you can take charge of. We’re going to  look at three which may help you generate better results from your recruitment campaigns. Let’s go. 1. You’re not getting the best because…your relationships have broken down. If you’re working with a technology supplier, it’s vital that you have a trusting and productive  relationship.  How many times have you spent valuable time labouring over a feature that doesn’t  seem to work as it should? How many times have you sat on hold, listlessly shading in the lines of  your notepad whilst the dulcet tones of ‘Samba Fiesta 2’ jangle in your ear? Or how many times have  you felt lumbered with an out-dated system, because the upgrade you were promised is still ‘going  through the approval process’? Enough times to finally tell your supplier you’re thinking of leaving â€"  at which point you become a ‘high priority’? You should always be a high priority, whether your supplier has two or two hundred customers. You  should be confident that when you log a support ticket or give your supplier a call, there will be  someone at the other end of the line who can help you. To get the best out of your recruitment activity, you need a technology supplier who’ll have an open  mind when it comes to requests and updates. Who’ll offer training to make sure you understand  exactly how you can use your system more effectively. Who will share best practice and understand  your unique recruitment challenges. These suppliers are out there, and they could have a positive  impact on your recruitment activity. 2. You’re not getting the best because…you need to be a bit more relevant. This point hinges on who you’re recruiting and how you reach them. Let’s say you’ve always used  Facebook to attract candidates to your apprenticeship scheme. It’s a social media platform, and your  target audience uses social media, don’t they? Except our future apprentices are now less likely to  be on Facebook and more so on Instagram or Snapchat. University students are flocking to Yik Yak.  Twitter is home to those unenthused by the endless videos and presence of parents on Facebook.  Ensure you are reaching the people you’re looking for in their own digital home. A lower volume yet  more targeted social campaign is likely to produce better results than a mass effort on Facebook.  Profile your ideal candidate. Where will they be? What are they interested in? What are they  expecting from potential employers? Let this dictate what channel you use to reach them. What’s more, don’t feel as though you ‘should’ be using social media for recruitment. Unless you  know your candidates are using it, you may see little reward. 3. You’re not getting the best because…you’re not making sense of your candidate data. Using the reporting function in your Applicant Tracking System should offer you a wealth of  candidate dataâ€" but if you’re not able to make real sense of the facts and figures, it’s difficult to  draw any valuable conclusions. Take a look at your time to hire reports. These not only tell you that certain roles take longer to fill  than others, but they can also highlight internal inefficiencies. As an example, you could choose to  run the report from the point at which the job was created. If you then see significant delays  between the job being created and it going live, it may be an indication that your job approval  process isn’t as effective as it could be. Your ‘Source’ reporting should prove helpful when you’re evaluating the success of a social  campaign â€" particularly if you are trying a new platform for the first time. Or you can find out where  candidates are dropping off within your recruitment process by using an ‘Application Stage’ report. Is a particular section of the application form putting them off? Are candidate expectations matching  the experience you’re providing for them? To get the best from your reporting, talk to your ATS supplier. Can they help you to configure  bespoke reports? Can they offer you training to help you understand what your data is telling you? To get the best out of your recruitment activity… Make use of your technology supplier. Use their expertise and understanding to help you use your  software as effectively and efficiently as possible.  Understand your audience. Be where your candidates are and make it easy to apply, whether that’s  through their mobiles, using Dropbox or via LinkedIn. But only dedicate your efforts to this if you are  sure you’re using platforms and methods that your candidates will be too. And use data and analytics to draw meaning from your recruitment campaign outcomes. Maximise  your Applicant Tracking System’s suite of reports to drill down into what type of candidates are  applying, from where they’re applying, who isn’t applying and how long it’s taking to fill your roles. There will always be challenges in in-house recruitment, and not all can be addressed as simply as  the above. But with the right people, knowledge and technology, you’ll be on your way to getting  the best out of your recruitment activity. Author: Hannah Ovenden is  Digital Marketing Executive for Hireserve. Established in 1997, Hireserve creates leading recruitment software with a human touch.  Trusted by  customers including CERN, Global Radio and Cranfield University, Hireserve’s ATS is agile, intuitive  and powerful.

Resume Writing Services Northwest Indiana

Resume Writing Services Northwest IndianaWith the job market suffering an obvious downturn in today's economy, resumes and job search services are a key component of each applicant's employment search. Career coaches and human resource professionals recommend resume writing services in Northwest Indiana. They can help an applicant uncover a more successful path to the job interview.Job search service providers have a specialized service that provides consulting services for both job seekers and employers. Their goal is to turn job seekers into job candidates. They provide in-depth and customized resumes, cover letters, CV's, networking and presentations. They work with clients in nearly every industry to ensure their professional development.This expertise helps a candidate discover strengths and areas of weakness so they can build their resumes around their strengths. These companies can design a detailed, targeted, career path for their clients. Job seekers get a realistic and conc ise look at their resumes and must-haves. Career coaches and counselors work closely with these services to help a potential candidate to identify their strengths and develop a career plan.Northwest Indiana resume writing services also offer customized training and seminars tailored to meet the needs of their clients. Most of the coaches work in the business world. They coach their clients through interviews, resume development, resume management, job hunting and interviewing to build a professional image.They offer personalized consultation and coaching based on a company's individual and individualized needs. Client education is a vital part of this work. Coaches work with clients in setting and achieving goals.Resume writing services Northwest Indiana give individualized attention to each job seeker. They take the time to ensure that each client receives the highest level of expertise. This is the job of a professional recruiter.In today's fast paced world, job seekers have the a bility to gain confidence and self-esteem through the process of job searching. Career coaches and counselors offer help to all who seek their help. Career coaching services are created by individuals who have experience in every aspect of career development.The career coaching and counseling services of resume writing services can help resume writing professionals learn from their mistakes, find direction, and learn how to present themselves professionally and socially. There is no better resource to get you on the right path to success. Give them a try and I guarantee they will improve your chances of landing the job you want.

Brand Adverts That Reinvented The Industry

Brand Adverts That Reinvented The Industry Seeking inspiration to help market your brand? Look no further. These   adverts changed the world of advertising â€" and, in some cases, the world itself.  Get inspired, and change yours! Unforgettable Brand Adverts 1911: Woodbury Facial Soap, A Skin You Love To Touch For decades, sex was the hinge on which the ad industry turned. But the first to exploit our more carnal desires was Helen Lansdowne Resor, considered by many to be the first female copywriter. Helen masterminded the wildly popular Woodbury Facial Soap campaign back in the early 20th century. With raunchy â€" by contemporary standards â€" imagery and suggestive taglines, the soap managed to worm its way onto many a basin-side. While hemlines may have shortened since 1911, one truth remains: sex sells. 1929: Lucky Strike, To Keep A Slender Figure Lucky Strike wasn’t the only cigarette company to lie through its commercial teeth, but this ad is probably one of the worst. Aimed specifically at women, the company promised that Lucky Strike would not only satisfy your nicotine cravings but help you achieve a coveted ‘slender figure’. The ad did well, until litigious action from the candy industry forced the cigarette brand  to switch strategy. The rather desperate ploy was a result of the 20s industry boom. With rising competition in an increasingly consumerist American market, companies were forced to adopt increasingly aggressive ad tactics. This was the age of increasing female spending power, too â€" hence the sudden change of target market. 1956: Clairol, Does she… or doesn’t she? More lady-aimed work from another famous advertising lady. Shirley Polykoff, a copywriter for Foote, Cone and Belding, was almost single-handedly responsible for the success of hair dye brand Clairol. Under Polykoff’s curation, the company’s sales shot from $25 million to two hundred. Her 1956 campaign is a seminal lesson in the cultural power of adverts. Before Clairol’s Does she… or doesn’t she? ad, hair dye was a taboo subject among American women. The ad not only marketed an innovative, natural-looking product, but helped to normalise hair colouration. 1974: Smash, The Smash Martians On to the TV era! Before 1974, the Smash ‘Instant Mash’ brand experienced limited success. This brilliant ad brought overnight success for the label. The spot featured a family of puppet Martians laughing over the slow mashed potato-making techniques of regular humans. Smash contracted Peter Hawkins, voice of the Dalek, to provide his vocal talents. The ad tapped perfectly into the 70s space age/Doctor Who mania, and was one of the first commercials to spawn an entire merchandise campaign, with four books about the Martian family subsequently released. The original Martian spot was named the second best ad of all time in a 2000 Sunday Times poll, coming second only to our 1998 entry, the Guinness Surfer. 1985: Levi’s 501, Laundrette The 80s: an age of sequins, Michael Jackson and tight, blue jeans. Levi’s, despite success earlier in the century, had suffered a decline in sales over the years prior to their 1985 spot. Then Laundrette came along, with its sexy male model star, and the brand reclaimed its place at the top of the heap. So popular was the ad that sales of the 501 line, as modelled in the commercial, shot up by an unbelievable 800%. The commercial was only taken off air because Levi’s couldn’t produce enough jeans to meet demand. By the time 1987 rolled round, Levi’s sales were twenty times up on three years earlier. We bet sales of boxer shorts did pretty well, too. 1998: Guinness, Surfer A tour de force of TV craftsmanship, this 1998 ad has been voted ‘best ever’ in numerous industry polls. It won more awards than any other ad in 1999 and spawned a long line of dramatic, beautifully shot beer commercials. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, the auteur who went on to make Under The Skin, the advert drew inspiration from Walter Crane’s painting, “Neptune’s Horses”. The text over the top references Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’, while the drained cinematography and thumping Leftfield soundtrack made it an art-house advert to inspire hundreds. 1999: Budweiser, Whassup?? Perhaps the original ‘annoying ad’, the 1999 Budweiser Whassup?? series has earned its place in advertising history. In a world which has since borne the onslaught of Confused.com, Go Compare and Compare The Meerkat, Budweiser has a lot to answer for. Besides its irritating slogan (hint: it begins with “Wh”), the ?Whassup?? spot has much marketing merit. It played on the ideals of camaraderie, friendship and ‘guy time’ that appealed to its young, male target market. The word itself became a pop culture catchphrase, generating talk value the world over. The ad won both the Cannes Grand Prix and Grand Clio prizes of 2000. Just don’t be calling up Budweiser any time soon. 2007: Cadbury, Gorilla In 2007, Cadbury’s image had stagnated. A beloved British brand, it had become more household furniture than luxury. This bizarre but popular ad, Gorilla, reinvigorated the brand. Featuring a drum-bashed, Phil Collins-loving primate with beautiful CGI fur, the commercial played on emotion over intellectuality. According to a Campaign survey, it remains the public’s favourite advert, as opposed to the industry pick of Guinness. And Cadbury saw a resulting sales rise of 9% not shabby for a monkey with a drum. 2010: Old Spice, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like One of the first truly viral adverts, ‘Old Spice Guy’ pitched up in 2010 and quickly became an internet sensation. Starring the dashing Isaiah Mustafa, a former NFL player, it made use of three age-old rules: create a strong persona, make it funny and keep things simple. The result was a home run of an ad that had people grinning at their screens for months after, and did much for Old Spice itself. 2011: John Lewis, The Long Wait In recent years, the John Lewis Christmas ad has become synonymous with schmaltzy pop covers and hyper-emotional aunts. But things weren’t always so. In fact, before 2011, the John Lewis spot was just another in a sludge of festive commercials. Then The Long Wait turned up â€" arguably the moment that John Lewis went from a household name to a Christmas stalwart. So affecting was the two-minute spot, with its clever end twist, that you had to have a heart of iron to not know the feelz. This guest post was authored by Inspiring Interns  Inspiring Interns is a  graduate recruitment  agency  which specialises in sourcing candidates for  internships  and giving out  graduate careers advice. To  hire graduates  or browse  graduate jobs, visit their website.

Solopreneurs Jabbing and Right Hooks Matter to Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Solopreneurs Jabbing and Right Hooks Matter to Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career With social media being an important facet of many people’s lives, it makes sense for a business owner to appreciate and integrate the same in their interactions with clients. However, not many solopreneurs have been able to properly make use of social media, mainly because they understand little about it, or focus on the wrong aspects. In his book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, bestselling author and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk shares crucial and important advice on how businesses can constantly engage with its customers (the three jabs), before delivering the right hook (the sales campaign that will take the business to the next level). In interesting, humorous language, complete with illustrations, case studies, and examples, Gary shows how a business can take advantage of the various social media platforms, and which combination of jabs and hooksâ€"boxing analogyâ€"will win the day. Two aspects that stand out when reading the book is Vaynerchuk’s insistence that investing quality time and adding value to your social content are the ways to capture a global audience that is “ready and waiting to emotionally accept your brand.” The jabs (delivering valuable content) give way to the right hook (asking clients to invest), and by keeping to this formula, a business is able to maximize its social media endeavors. The book focuses on five social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram, while also touching a little on LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Vine. Inside the chapters In line with the boxing-themed book title, each chapter of the book is aptly titled “Round.” In each round, Vaynerchuk delves into each social media site, beginning with Facebook. Through vivid examples, he shows readers the challenges marketers go through, while giving his thorough analysis of the platform. For example, with regards to Facebook, Vaynerchuk notes there are a lot of misconceptions that lead marketers to blindly integrate strategies that aren’t suited to their line of business, simply because everyone else on Facebook is doing it. Right off the bat, for every social media site, Vaynerchuk gives the list of challenges, then goes on to tell you how to deal with these potential pitfalls the way a storyteller guides his audience through a narrative. Storytelling is key That’s another thing that Vaynerchuk stresses throughout the book: storytelling. For a business, social media is the avenue to “get across their story about their services, around their product… and the value they bring.” Storytelling enables the business to tell its customers the value it brings to the table, thus keeping customers interested enough to want to “buy your stuff.” Storytelling in 2014 from Gary Vaynerchuk For each of the five main social media platforms, Vaynerchuk gives readers a unique insight into their key aspects. You will get to know how Facebook’s algorithms (EdgeRank) work, the psychology behind Pinterest, Promoted Tweets on Twitter, Tumblr gifs, and Instagram’s visual appeal and reach. Every platform has been well researched on, thus ensuring you have the necessary knowledge to successfully operate a particular platform. This is where the book becomes a study manual for you to understand and learn from. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a very practical book and Gary knock’s out solid action items.  [tweet this] Conclusion What you will take away from the deep insights into the social media platforms; the good, bad and ugly examples of social media engagement; and the lessons on what you can do better is that it takes time, a plan, and teamwork to effectively engage in social media. Each chapter gives you an idea on what works and what doesn’t, so you don’t go around implementing strategies that sometimes don’t make sense (like how Twitter’s short-posts format may not be effective on Facebook). Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a must-read for any business that utilizes social media for its marketing efforts. As hard as the work required to run an effective social media campaign may be, you have to remember one thing: “Give (jab), give (jab), give (jab), before asking (right hook).”

Writing an Application Letter to Complement Your Resume, Part 2

Writing an Application Letter to Complement Your Resume, Part 2When you're writing an application letter to accompany your Rsum, it's a good idea to keep a few things in mind. Although it can be easy to get lost when writing to an employer, it's a good idea to take the time to make sure that you use certain tricks when applying for a job. After all, these aren't your first opportunities at a job and there are chances that things might be different from now on.The first thing to keep in mind when you're writing an application letter to accompany your Rsum is that it should be professional. Your goal when writing your letter is to present yourself in a way that makes you stand out from other applicants. Keep this in mind when you're writing your letter as well.Whether or not you should submit a resume first is up to you. If you want, you can ask a potential employer if they will be requesting a resume before giving you an interview. If you're able to convince them to do this, it's like ly that they won't expect to see your resume right away. This gives you time to contact them to arrange for a personal interview.When you're writing an application letter to accompany your Rsum, you should remember that it's an opportunity to get an opportunity. When you've had your interview, it may seem like everything is over. But if you didn't approach it in the right way, you could lose out on a great job opportunity. Don't leave anything to chance; if you get discouraged, put a fresh perspective on things.You should write the same opening paragraph as you did when you wrote your application. In fact, this same opening paragraph is what you should use for both applications. Just add a few extra paragraphs to summarize your strengths and experience.When you're writing an application letter to accompany your Rsum, you should be careful to only write about your skills. Let the interviewer know in your letter how you can help him or her with their organization or the current organi zation. Keep in mind that there's no point in writing about your hobbies or interests. If you do this, you will only appear as someone who doesn't fit the requirements of the job.When you're writing an application letter to accompany your Rsum, try to be concise and to the point. Try to explain your skills and abilities to the best of your ability. If you have any concerns or questions, be sure to write down a few things you can talk about and leave them for the employer to ask you about.The key to writing an application letter to accompany your Rsum is to make it professional and convincing. If you can accomplish this, you'll be surprised at how well your application was received. By following these tips, you'll find that it's much easier to write a successful application letter to accompany your RSum.